One thing I love about the Enthusiast model is how we are able to interact in creative ways with our clients. Not just once but along the journey as we all grow, mature, and learn. One client of note is a great local city paper out of Culver City, now 100% digital, called The Front Page. I wish my home town had such great coverage on the details of city hall, the school board, and land development activities.
I was graciously invited to begin a column on marketing and Internet related topics. I am happy to say my first article has been posted and I hope you enjoy it. Everyone in business wants their core business to be remembered and stick to their buyers. How this happens can be a mystery but there is a method to the madness. Read on to learn how your ideas can be like “gum on the brain.”
Here is an excerpt:
“All too often, the delegate sent in place of true audience understanding in marketing today is the common platitude.
Please welcome the meticulous “Quality is Job No. 1” to the podium. He is flanked by the energetic “Providing Innovative Solutions” and the plural presence of “Our People Make the Difference.”
Not only can these phrases be wielded by any competitor without malice, they lack the concrete, real life details that make schema connections with your audience. “
I invite you to read “SSKI vs. KISS: Schema and a Smooch for Marketing” for more.
– jc
Why, oh, why, isn’t there a standard that all web browsers adhere to? Sure they all “kind of” use the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) CSS standards but there are enough discrepancies between the browsers (Firefox, IE, Safari, etc.) that it’s a real pain to get a web site to look the same in all web browsers. Sometimes it’s like walking a tightrope trying to get IE to display a search box the same size as it appears in Firefox. It can be a really frustrating endeavor, not to mention a waste of time.
Web browsers should differentiate themselves in their speed and features, not in how they interpret the standards suggested by the W3C. I look forward to that day, the web will be better off.
There are some hopeful movements, such as the Web Standards project that are trying to make it easy for browser vendors to get on the same page.
Enthusiast is in the business of helping organizations grow leveraging the Internet. We do this by providing services that make the planning, execution, and measurement of a web solution simple and effective.
One of the ways we help clients and the public is through the information available here on our own web solution. We use this blog and news, editorials, success stories, and other articles to highlight important events, noteworthy solutions, or just areas of opportunity commonly overlooked. Read the rest of this entry » »
Recently, we interviewed Christine Whitmarsh of Christine, Ink and she had a few things to say about what makes good writing. I wanted to get your feedback on a couple specifics and see if we can get Christine to join the dialogue as you ask your questions.
Christine was asked “what are your thoughts on the way company insiders try and talk to their potential buyers?“
Read the rest of this entry » »
If you are curious about the latest in home theatre and gadgetry, you have probably been watching the wall-to-wall coverage of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Lots of interesting things being debuted including using your cell phone as a credit card someday. In a rare and ironic scheduling overlap, the Apple focused MacWorld Expo is happening at the same time in San Francisco. Read the rest of this entry » »
Best Buy has taken on an edgy approach to the workplace called ROWE. Basically it focuses productivity on actual work done rather than time spent. I think most companies would insist they already do that but read the article and you tell me.
I also think it is interesting as on-demand solutions like Enthusiast Site Director, Salesforce.com, and NetSuite work great in this sort of environment due to their accessibility.
I would love to hear what you think about it.
–jc
With all the new buzzwords and acronyms going around these days, it is more than a bit challenging to keep up with it all. From your best friend sending over a TTYL to the late advent of “educational” radio ads to help us learn the technical differences between LCD and Plasma televisions.
Do these marketers really expect me to learn what 1080p or 1080i means or what more or less “amazing” mirrors has to do with my Super Bowl watching experience in 30 seconds? Read the rest of this entry » »
I am sure you have just now finished the photo shoots, the interviews, and the limo rides and have a few minutes to celebrate being named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year — certainly that is an inclusive masculine. Time declared the you, who edit the Space Station pages on Wikipedia, you who rouse appetitites with video cooking on YouTube, and you who market your products on the web using Site Director the Person of the Year. Read the rest of this entry » »
