Addison Technologies, Inc.

Rooty Tooty Fresh-n-Fail

2012-02-28T09:09:00.002-08:00

I like pancakes. Everyone likes them, right? To paraphrase Donkey from Shrek, you never hear people say “Hell no, I don't like no pancakes.” I know, you're right now thinking “That's nice...” as you start really contemplating my sanity. This is a blog for a company that does websites, marketing, and things like that, right? Look, I have a method to the madness, just hang with me.

So, IHOP, the illustrious International House of Pancakes, is having a promotion right now, that among other things, is offering free pancakes. Fantastic, right? I know! But in the “among other things” area, they've also offered a reminder “wake up call” recorded by a celebrity to remind people about the free pancake day, that you signed up for on the website. Great, you say. Lots of pancake'd up people are going to be running around today, after getting a wake up call from someone in Twilight. Lovely. No, no, that's not my point. My point is, their website is down.

See, America loves pancakes and celebrities so, so much that the IHOP website is down.

My point: don't let this happen to you. Think about how much your consumers love your product (and celebrities) before you offer a promotion like this, and make sure your website can keep up. After all, you do know folks who can help with that.

Social Media "Fads"

2012-02-14T10:21:00.001-08:00

Do you know someone in business who is still holding out on this whole “social media fad” thing? Someone who thinks that social media has nothing to offer their business, that's for teens and nothing more? Well, here's another factoid that you can use to help drag them, kicking and screaming, into the year 2012: LinkedIn is making a name for itself as a recruitment tool.

I mean, think about it. It makes sense.

LinkedIn already is the place for corporate networking. They've evolved now to offer job postings, recruitment, and a management system for those pesky resumes you get when you advertise for a job. It has virtually taken the place of the corporate recruiter, or at least made that guy learn how to head-hunt via the interwebs—assessing talent, interviews, etc.

And of course, you already know some talented people who know their way around the social media “fad.” The good folks at Addison Tech can help you out. Cause we're good like that.

^{And no, LinkedIn isn't paying us to say this. LinkedIn, in all likelyhood, doesn't know that we exist. All opinions here are exactly that: opinions.}

Reputation

2012-01-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

A man can get a reputation from very small things. -Sophocles

Reputation. We all have one, whether we like it or not, from the moment we are born. There are plenty of wise people who have written famous things about having a reputation, be that in a good or bad sense. No surprise there. But, really, how much does the average person think about their reputation? Not a lot, most likely. We live our lives, interact with our friends on social media, without giving it a thought. Except that increasingly, we should give it a thought, especially if you’re one of the many people today who are looking for a job.

Now, I’m talking about more than your co-workers seeing embarrassing photos from your recent Vegas trip. No, now there are businesses offering services to look into your online reputation for potential employers, advertisers, and anyone else, really. Who would benefit from knowing if you are a slacker, hard worker, trustworthy or not? Anyone who would enter into a contract with you. Kinda creepy, but it should only be the latest in the reminders to be thoughtful about what you post online.

Reputation Graph VS. People Rank
Like It or Not the Reputation Graph is Here to Stay

Do You Know What SOPA Is?

2012-01-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

So, unless you’ve been vacationing underneath a rock for the last few months, you’ve probably heard of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, or more boringly referred to as House Bill 3261. In its most basic form, it hopes to protect copyright holders from infringement, by enabling court orders to be granted against offenders. Sounds benign, right? No one wants a person’s intellectual property to be stolen from them, unless they’re a scumbag.

No problem.

Except, as things are prone to do, it has gotten more complicated than that.

Proponents of the bill say that it is needed to protect copyrights, to provide teeth to the current laws. However, because the wording of the bill is nice and vague, it threatens websites with user-submitted content (think Wikipedia, etsy, and YouTube) with taking down the entire site because of one user’s post. Opponents say that this opens up the door for internet censorship is a threat to first amendment rights. Though the proponents of this bill claim that it will also protect jobs within industries such as media and entertainment, some companies have said that should the bill pass, they would move their company outside the reach of US laws. To me, that seems like less jobs, but maybe I’m missing something. And it would threaten the growth of the internet itself by making more legal liability for those who would start a new website or business. More legal liability=less new competition/trade/start-ups/creativity. That’s not so good for jobs, either, the way I see it.

So, what, pray tell, is there to do about it? Well, we all know that people on the interwebz, when good and toasty ticked off about something, like to take action. So tomorrow, January18th, some sites are having a 12 hour blackout of their sites as a protest. Others, though not blacking out their sites, are making it easier to black out your own site with apps. And just so you know, we’re not just talking about small websites here, we’re talking about some major internet players—Wikipedia, Reddit, the Cheezeburger network, and Mozilla are just a few of them. But dont just take all of this at my word, here’s some articles that are about it too. Go, read, and make yourself better informed.

Wikipedia to join Web blackout protesting SOPA
Protest SOPA: Black Out Your Website the Google-Friendly Way
SOPA Blackout Set For January 18th: Here’s All The Info
Reddit to go silent in SOPA protest
Stop Online Piracy Act, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SOPA, Buzzwords, IE6, and Squirrels

2012-01-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

The beginning of a new year always seems to make me a little ADD, it seems. There are so many new things abounding, that I find it hard to focus on one, and write a coherent blog about it, because -squirrel- there's so many other interesting things competing for my eye. And so, since we haven't done a blog round up in a bit, here's a good one for you:

Heard anything about the whole GoDaddy/SOPA debacle? well here's some other SOPA -themed activities that might be in the works:
Google, Amazon, Twitter and Facebook consider 'nuclear' blackout

Buzzwords always are fun things to me. Oh sure, they convey what you're trying to say in a lovely jargon, but folks like me tend to make fun of them. Example: one that has been mocked here for nearly a decade: "multi-faceted revenue streams." Yes, we have heard that said in seriousness. teehee:
Words and expressions I want banned in 2012

If you recall This post then you will do the happy dance with us:
IE6 Almost Dead in the US

Not so much a shock, really:
US Survey Shows Piracy Common and Accepted

The ability to get your friend's opinions of places to travel (without actually pestering your friends), instead of wondering if the reviewer on Trip Advisor is being a troll:
How Expedia Plans to Make Travel More Social

Are you boring? Dull? Not so much gifted with interest? Well then, this is for you:
How To Be More Interesting (In 10 Simple Steps)

Another shocking development, Facebook and Twitter have been invaded with spammers. Wait, so you mean that the random hot chick that tried to follow me on twitter, yet only tweets in (*i think) Russian is a spammer? Dude, WTH?
Facebook, Twitter Battle Spammers

Although it's been said many times, many ways...

2011-12-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

Here at Addison Technologies we are gearing up for Christmas, like many others. We've made our lists, wrapped our gifts, or procrastinated until the last minute, depending on who you're talking about. And so, in order to let you, dear reader, get to know us all a bit better, here are the things that we would love for Santa to place under our tree:

A vacation to Alaska that includes Heli-Skiing (for those at home following along, that's where you jump out of a perfectly good helicopter at the top of a mountain to land and ski down).

Indoor Olympic Swimming pool

Two additional employees for Addison Tech

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Lamborghini Sesto Elemento

NFL Tryout

Robots

Private island in Fiji (and a house/helipad/dock to go on it)

Round trip to visit the ISS (bring us t-shirts from the giftshop if you get this one)

Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Bonus Points if you can match the gift with the AT employee: Brad, Woody, Keith, Corey, and Ann.

Merry Christmas, From Addison Tech, to you!

IE Users and IQ

2011-12-13T11:33:00.000-08:00

Start stretching out your fingers, I know the complaint comments will be written, even as I write this. But I read a small article on slashdot about Internet Explorer users, and their intelligence. No, no, not the hoax that went around, that IE users were less intelligent. This is a study about the Risk Intelligence of IE users.

Now, before I even give you a cute little link to go and check out the study, I'm going to cover my hindquarters. We may find out this, too, is a hoax for all I know. their site is certainly nothing to look at (we at AT could help them out with that...I'm just sayin.) And I have not looked through any of their data to see if they're being honest or not. But even they tell you that it's not a scientific study, and they had a small pool to work from. So don't gripe at me, all right?

Right. Now, here's your link.

Their risk intelligence study asked true/false questions, and had the participants answer the question and rate how confident they were in the answer. 100 = they were sure it was right, 50 = they were only kinda sure, 0 = not sure at all. Not rocket surgery. And out of the participants, the Internet Explorer users scored the worst. Go ahead, flame me now. But, I'll tell you, this does help enlighten things. Like the fact that my mom would call and ask if the pop-up proclaiming "Your Anti-Virus Isn't Working!" was legitimate, when she used IE *. Does it mean that IE users are more trusting, and that the rest of the users are more cynical? I'm not sure on that, but I would be interested to see a larger, scientific study done. Assuming that this one isn't a hoax as well.

^{*It's a moot point now, as we have my mother using Linux. Booya.}

Are You Listening?

2011-12-08T11:18:00.000-08:00

We've covered a lot of social media themed ground around here, gotten on some kicks, and beaten a few drums. All for worthy causes, but for what good? Sure, your password will be safe (what do you mean that your password isn't a 16 character alphanumeric and special character acronym? Gah!) and your company has a nice, complete social media policy that everyone's signed and familiar with (right? right...) but what after that? Well, as this article points out, if you don't then listen, you've just waisted a lot of time. Social media isn't just sitting at a keyboard, talking into an abyss. It's about listening to what your customers/clients/users/prospects say back to you. And, I can't emphasise this enough, it's about listening to both the good and the bad. Listen. Hear and take into consideration the bad that is said. Try to analyse what is going wrong, and fix that. Let your consumers know that you've heard them, and are working to fix whatever the error may be. At the same point, listen to what is right, and try not to screw that up, shall we? I've seen many products "improved" badly, when they were perfectly fine to begin with (New Coke, anyone?)

Ignoring what your consumer says about your company, your brand, is nothing but disaster awaiting. Back in the pre-social media days, it was said that one person would tell 80 others about a bad experience. Now, that number is not capped at 80. Nor is the number limited for the amount of people that will see your praises sung. Listen, be helpful and attentive to your clients, and you will see the benefits.

Gawk While You Can

2011-11-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

The question has been raised just about everywhere about if tablets are going to overtake PCs in Joe User's life. I've seen varying arguments for it happening, and others saying that it'll never happen. I've always read them with a grain of salt, gleaning what I can from them, and discarding the chaff. Until yesterday, that is. I read an article that, well, I pretty much agree whole hearted with.

Wait. What?

Yeah, I know. Shocking that I don't have a "Yeah, but..." statement to go along with it. Gawk while you can.

I'll wait.

Now, let me explain.

The keyboard. It's all about the keyboard. Some people don't mind not having a physical keyboard to peck out their manifestos on, but me, if I'm doing something that requires more than a Words With Friends game, I want a real keyboard. It's a quirk of mine. Hunt-and-peck sends me into a spiral of flashbacks to my first computer/typing class, and it's not pretty folks. And before you suggest it, I don't want to lug one around with me, as a peripheral for my ipad. I have enough things to carry and remember, what with purse (heavy enough already, thanks) diaper bag (not storing it with the sippie cup,) cell phone, etc. I have a hard enough time remembering my cheap-o sunglasses, for goodness sake. Thus far, I haven't forgotten a kid or the ipad, but honestly, it's just a matter of time.

Another thing about it, is that I realize I'm not Joe User. I am, however, friends with lots of them. While they want real keyboards to type their emails on, they also want it for things like hot keys.* Several fancy themselves as amateur photographers, cooks, bloggers, etc. As such, things like photo editing and more in depth applications require a real keyboard/mouse in order to not be a frustration. They are similar to me, in that their ipad/tablets have replaced the laptop for some things (Facebooking, Twitter, shopping, music, etc) but not for the things that are a bit more time/labor intensive. When the powers-that-be figure out how to resolve that issue, I think the tablet is gold.

^{*hot keys = keyboard short cuts. think "Crtl + C" instead of clicking the menu option for "copy."}

Peer Pressure

2011-11-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

Realizing that I've beaten the social media policy drum before, I shall try to refrain from rehashing it all again. However, I had to share a triumph: my son's school has adopted a formal social media policy. We were notified yesterday that the school handbook had been updated regarding the school's policy for social media and its students (and before you ask, I had nothing to do with it.) If a tiny school in the middle of nowhere can have a social media policy, what's stopping your company? You don't want to be outdone, do you?* Don't be lazy.

^{*Forget everything your mother told you about peer pressure for this. You want to be like the cool kids, who have social media policies. Only the losers don't have one. No, really, they lose the lawsuits. It sucks to be the loser.}

Gamers to the Rescue

2011-11-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

Let me clarify something, before I get into the meat of this blog post: I am not a gamer. Geek, yes. Nerd? About some things. But gamer, I am not. I was doing good to beat Super Mario Brothers, back in the day. Pinball, I'm golden. Air hockey? A more ruthless soul has not been met. Video games, though, notsomuch. But, being a geek and around computer people on a day-to-day basis, I know gamers. And knowing them, this article doesn't surprise me much. In fact, it makes me proud that gamers are helping do something so useful.

What I am curious about, is how will this information be utilized later. No, no, not the protein folding data. We pay medical researchers for that stuff. No, what I'm curious about is who else will start utilizing gamers as cheap problem solvers. We already have complex problems being solved via distributed computing* in other areas of science as well—SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) uses it to analyze radio telescope data, for example. What intrigues me, is the question of who else will turn a problem into a video game, and then let gamers do the dirty work, as it were. We already have folks who are using twitter as cheap research and development and open source code operating systems, so why not make a game out of problem solving? I'm not talking about the stuff that's kind of a given, I'm wondering what non-lifesaving problems could we solve. Could they figure out how to make my dishwasher load itself (my laziness knows no bounds, sure) or figure out how to find that one sock the dryer always eats. Figure out how to make flying cars an affordable reality; how to make my regular car's heater work faster on a cold morning. Would those things change the world? no. would it help the common man? Oh yeah.

*lotsa unrelated computers, networked together to compute a common problem

Wishing You a Geeky Halloween

2011-10-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

If you have spent any amount of time around geeks, you have an idea that Halloween is a big deal for us. It is our high holy holiday, the day when you normal folk act like we do year round. For one dark, murky night of the year, we are not given odd looks for traveling with a robot or broadsword, nor are we mocked for our obsessive attention to detail. Sure, we made that costume for a *con earlier in the year, but hey, we arent going to turn down another chance to use it!
So, out of our love of Halloween, we at Addison Technologies are going to give you a roundup of things techy for Halloween:

Number 7 is my personal favorite:
Ghoulish Gadgets

While I *want* the vortex tunnel, the haunted toliet paper would be pretty fun too:
Terrifying Halloween Gadgets

Halloween up your cube at work:
Think Geek

What geek Halloween post would be complete without jack-o-lanterns:
Geek Jack-O-Lanterns

Or some nasty looking edibles:
Jello Blood Worms

Make Me an Offer I Can't Refuse...

2011-09-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

If you've been on the interwebz in the last two days, you've noticed that people everywhere are griping about the changes that Facebook has just rolled out, just like every other time that they moved the cheese on the social media giant. And there, of course, are some great, snarky memes parodying both sides of the argument. but I ran across an article about Facebook that intrigues me far more than the volumes of others, crying out "My news feed is different! Wah!"

This article states that, in order for a business to be a successful entity on Facebook, you should not run a "campaign." That's a bit contrary to what we have been taught, isn't it? But it says that fewer people are liking brands, and recommending that their friends like the brands too. My experience on fb says that this is true--I'm very selective about the brands that I like, and I rarely recommend things to friends (my logic: I detest spam in any form, and do not, therefore, want to inadvertently spam my friends with my fondness for a certain brand of widget.) If I am not alone in that sentiment, then you can understand that some people will view an active campaign on facebook as a potential annoyance.

Well, lovely, you say. How do I reach my target audience on facebook, then? One way is to engage them with a program, as opposed to a one time campaign. Customer rewards can make it worthwhile for a person to like a brand. Using myself as an example again, I "like" a local deli for the sole purpose of finding out what the discount code for the week is. Say the word of the week to the cashier, you get a percentage discount. Other places keep me updated on the daily/weekly specials, free shipping, or any other bonus that they are not offering to the general Joe Customer. If my friends would like the bonuses that the business is offering, then I am more likely to send it on to them.( IE, because of me, my father, husband, and many friends "like" the local deli that offers specials.) Keep in mind that you can reach a more vast audience if you use your social media together. Use your geo-location program, your Twitter, Facebook, etc, all together. I cant tell you how many RT's I've seen on twitter, where someone was entering a weekly contest.

Before you go, however, do go read the article referenced. No, really. I only graced you with an opinion about part of the article, but it has more little nuggets for you to internalize. Consider it homework.

Labor Day Policy

2011-09-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Addison Technologies has always supported Labor day and its meaning. A Holiday created for the purpose of work, putting everything else on hold and giving thanks to having the ability to produce. We have tried many times to institute a policy of donating a day of work to your employer on this day, however for some reason employees would rather stay at home. It just seems counterintuitive to celebrate labor by grilling out as opposed working for free.

Until, Addison is successful in implementing free work day on Labor day, we sadly inform you our office will be closed Monday due to the policy of the current observance of Labor Day.

Hey Look! Another Steve Jobs Blog!

2011-08-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know, there's a lot about him right now. But love him or hate him, Steve Jobs has been an extremely influential person in the world of computing. And while reading through countless articles about him, and mocking those which sounded like obituaries (mentaly calling up Monty Python's "I'm not dead yet" and the SNL "Gerald Ford, tragically died this weekend" skits) you see a lot of adoration. A little fewer in between is the negatives, but all have to admit how much the guy has influenced the way we view computers now days.

My first experience with his product was the lovely green monitored Apple IIe, playing Oregon Trail so many times that we were trying to kill off our pioneers rather than get them to California (oh, and we played the learning games the school provided. But we finally wore our lab teacher down so she would let us play Oregon Trail.) My first experience with a computer with a color screen, GUI, and mouse was the Mac, in that same computer lab. Fast forward to college, and I used the design lab's blue candy-shelled iMacs to do my class assignments. Then I married a computer geek, and we now have three Apple products in the house: a Macbook, and two iPads. Our kids know how to operate Netflix, Angry Birds, and Kindal on the iPads--such a different experience than that of the 3 1/4 floppy'ed IIe. And as always, I'm curious to see what Apple will come up with next. What will make my kids think of the iPad as a relic, in their future? The Apple-sans-Jobs company will have all eyes on them in that respect, to see if they can continue in that tradition of innovation.

Death of the HP Tablet

2011-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

"As I write this, I’m sitting in a cafe. Around me, there are five people on laptops — four of them are MacBooks. Four other people are using tablets — all four are iPads. Welcome to the Post-PC world."^*1

Yeah, that pretty well sums it up. HP announced last week that it is discontinuing its tablet division and webOS products, and is trying to spin off the PC division. The part of this that rather surprised people is that this comes only a couple of months after buying the Palm brand and webOS, in order to try to really compete in the tablet world. They launched commercials with celebrities (that chick from GLEE and Russell Brand are the ones that I remember right off the top of my head.) But apparently that did not compensate for the fact that the OS, while smokin fast on other hardware, was bogged down and slow on the HP tablet hardware. And while their PC sales are good, they still are being eclipsed by Apple's MacBook sales. In my own house even, with two computer industry professionals, the numbers are three Apple devices, one PC, and an ancient dinosaur of a desktop that I *think* is running a version of Linux. I personally only know of one person who has a non-Apple tablet, and that was bought after this announcement, when the price dropped. Was HP merely getting out early in this situation, reading the writing on the wall, or is it jumping ship that could be fixed? Time will tell.

In the meantime, here's what other people are saying about it:

^*1http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/18/apple-wins-without-throwing-a-punch/

http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/18/okay-hp-lets-make-some-lemonade/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2011/08/19/hp-down-20-now-officially-hated-by-almost-everyone/

http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/rumors-of-webos-death-are-greatly-exaggerated-20110819/

One Stop Blog Spot

2011-08-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

If you're anything like me, you may read blogs and think link round ups are a cop-out. In writing for this blog for a while now, I realize they are not necessarily so. For me, it is a by-product of adult ADD and not wanting to miss showing you all informative/uber neat/completely random things! It was near-to-impossible to narrow things down to one (coherent) post, there were security topics, hardware topics, awesome save your live apps, and so here you are:

UPSM is working on an app that will document the locations of all AED's (automated external defibulators.) So if someone is experiencing cardiac arrest, you or the 911 operator could locate one nearby, thus getting help more quickly.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/this-app-could-save-your-life/

If you find your laptop is lost or stolen, change the passwords that are stored in it immediately. Duh, I know. But it can be hacked from the laptop, and you could be screwed.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20089726-281/lose-your-laptop-change-all-passwords-pronto/

A PC with Mac Air specs? Why yes, I likee. Oh wait, read that last paragraph. Fail.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/09/acers-aspire-3951-leaks-with-macbook-air-like-specs-available/

Wait, what do you mean that mobile banking on your android went wrong? How could banking on an easily-lost, app'ed up device go wrong?
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/The-Future-of-Android-Part-2-Security-Snafus-73036.html

Price versus Function, Tablet versus iPad.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/are-cheaper-tablets-the-answer-to-the-ipads-dominance/14138

For the truely geeky amongst us, we mourn as news of SyFy's Eureka is cancelled.
http://geeks.thedailywh.at/2011/08/09/eureka-cancellation-of-the-day/

And, for good measure, something from the tinfoil hat file.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/has-the-united-states-already-suffered-its-cyberwar-pearl-harbor/53901

Bragging Rights

2011-06-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

We talk about a lot of things on this blog, from tech news to geeky things, interwebz innovations to soapboxes. But guess what? We actually *do* know what we're talking about, and we've gotz proof! Our illustrious Brad Hurlock has written an article for 422 Business Journal on social media. He covers all the stuff that you may or may not know, from "don't only pimp your business" to "get thee a social media employee policy." But, you know, he makes it sound way more professional. Cause he's good like that.

Really?

2011-06-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've noticed, dearly devoted reader, that I have a *cough* few soapboxes that I climb upon from time to time. I'm going to pull out the one that is labeled "Really, People?" Ok, everyone ready? Got a good seat? *scans crowd* Can everyone see? Ok? Good...

Ok, I just read this article about all the malware on Facebook. Go and read that article, it's short. I'll wait.

*shuffles feet, waits for people to get back...*

Folks, what possesses people to click on that, thinking "this is legitimate"? I mean, really? And the same goes for the one that is the "funny condom commercial" and "live baby birth." Did your grandma post the link for "funny condom commercial"? So, lets look at the logic: would they normally do that? If the answer is no, then...come on, make the jump with me...it might be malware. Is it worth the risk of a facejacking virus that tells everyone you're gullible¹, for the slim possibility of seeing a photo that someone committed suicide after taking? Is it worth your clients, vendors, etc seeing that you clicked on a lamp that happens to look like questionable lady-bits? After all, there is truth in the old adage "It's better to be silent and thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt."

*steps down from soapbox, cleans off shoe prints. tucks it back under the table.*

^{1 Yes, if you have clicked on one of those links, I'm calling you gullible. My own aunt has clicked on one, and I've called her that as well. I have no shame.}

It's getting cloudy

2011-06-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

If you've been paying any attention to web innovations lately, you'll notice that clouds are the latest thing happening. But for those who have been paying attention - squirrel!- to other things, we'll explain the concept briefly. Cloud computing is resources, such as data or software, that are available on demand from a network rather than from the local computer. Say, you are working on a project, and need a certain piece of data that is on the cloud. You connect to the cloud, via interwebz, and get that data, and continue on your merry way.

So here's why there's so much buzz about it lately--Google has a cloud, Amazon has a cloud, Apple has a cloud, lotsa clouds out there. And lets face it, not every user is going to be using them for business--they are set to revolutionize the digital music industry, by allowing users to access their music files wherever they are. Everyone from Joe Businessman to little Billy Tween will be using them for work and pleasure.

Here's some articles about the different clouds:
iCloud casts shadow over other cloud services

Amazon Sees Many Winners in Cloud But Wants Top Spot in eBooks

Google Launches Cloud Music Service ‘Music Beta’

Search is Dead, and I Don't Feel So Well Myself...

2011-05-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

Is traditional searching of the interwebz dead? Bing certainly seems to think so, and Google, though not as vocal, has amended its search features as well. This article discusses that Bing's people are saying traditional ways of searching the web--text content, links, etc--isn't as useful as it used to be. Today, they claim, people want more than just the standard web search results when they type in "seafood." They want the restaurants with the best reviews, they want the best recipes, and they don't necessarily want the history of fried seafood. Ok, understandable. We all want what we want, and don't want the unnecessary.

So, how are Bing and Google achieving this miracle of mind-reading? Crystal balls? Tea leaves? Government mind control devices? No, no, nothing that complicated. Bing, if you are simultaneously logged in to Facebook and Bing, will look at your and your friend's "Likes" and will use that to influence your search outcomes. Google is using their +1 feature, which allows you and your friends to rate websites for their content. A higher +1 rating among your friends means that the site will show up higher in rank on your searches. Essentially, both of these features are asking your friend's opinions about your topic, and guiding the search results based on that.

As with most things, I can see the good and bad with this. If I were able to tell Bing/Google which friends to listen to, I'd be gold. I have some friends who, upon the search for "seafood" would begin asking if the restaurant's menu also has chicken fingers, since that is all they consent to eat. Other friends, though dear to my heart, are not to be trusted for movie recommendations. You get the idea.

So now, we get to sit back and watch to see if this will revolutionize the interwebz search process, or if is more of an annoyance than it is worth.

^{*bonus points to anyone who can tell me which author the title of this post is an homage to.}

Something to keep an eye on...

2011-05-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

So, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has announced that it has added 35 new members, saying that it shows an interest in web standards such as HTML.

First, we don't expect everyone to know that there was even a W3C in existence. We'll give you a pass, it's a web geek thing. But the W3C is hoping that with these new inductees (Sony, LG Electronics, Netflix and Facebook are among the 35) will help to breathe new life into the innovation of HTML and the interwebz.

That's cool, you say, but really, what does it mean for me? Well, if there are new innovations made for the interwebz, it means that--should you implement those innovations on your website--you then are cutting-edge for your products as well as your clients. And of course, someone has to learn and implement those changes, thus bringing some economic opportunities for web developers. Innovation always brings competition and change to the marketplace. Hence why you should keep an eye on what goes on in web innovation. We're just saying....

And, to indulge our ADHD a little, here's a smattering of things that caught our eye but really don't have anything to do with anything:

Super cool looking PC case: Lian Li PC-U6 Cowry case: an aluminum seashell to keep your PC looking stylish

Well this should be interesting: Firefox 4 downloads way ahead of IE9

Failed Gadgets: Buxton Collection

Hey Look, It's a New--Squirrel!--Blog!

2011-03-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, dear readers, it's blog time again. This time, I'm having a hard time focusing on what topic exactly to opine about. So, you get to reap the ADHD benefits, and get a --Squirrel!-- link round up. And comments. You know, cause that's how I roll.

Facebook, Your Future Bank
I don't trust Facebook to get my privacy settings right, so I sure don't see myself handing them my banking information any time in the near future. And what do you mean that the "virtual currency" market will reach 2.1 billion in 2011? That's a lot of fake gardens, Farmville people. How about you give me the $$ you'd spend on that, I'll make a real garden, and not pester the crap out of your friends?

Microsoft: IE9 best at sparing your laptop battery
I read this article on a laptop that has no battery life left, has been through three--count 'em--three power cables, and it occurred to me that I hadn't ever thought about my browser being an integral part of my power drain. But there you have it, in all it's graphy glory.

The Next Generation Of Social Networking Has Emerged
"The next generation" might be exaggerated a bit (I read nothing of Klingons, blind engineers, or British-accented Frenchmen.*) However, I see using social media as invention sounding board, cheap R&D if you will, as just another facet of social media as a marketing tool.

PSA of the Day
Just a good thing to do every so often. Who among us hasn't felt the nausea of a hard drive crash? Or, for those elite, smelt the distinctive odor of toasted computer components? Neither is pleasant, so lets just back our info up, shall we?

^{* yes, I just made a Star Trek reference. My geekery knows no bounds.}

Facebook "Like"

2011-03-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

Been on Facebook lately? Yeah, I know, that's a silly question. But have you noticed that Facebook has been changing the use of the "Like" button? That when you like a company now, it acts more like you've shared it? And so it shows up on your friends' news feeds, letting them know you like a company. From a marketing standpoint, this is fantastic--John, and all of John's friends now have more brand awareness for WidgetCo that he just liked. John will be able to receive special offers that WidgetCo may send out, and therefore hopefully be more brand loyal. And WidgetCo hopes that John's friends will in turn like the Facebook page too. for a business, that is wonderful--more brand exposure.

But in all of this liking, does Facebook come off sounding like a valley girl? Are they making the fact that someone likes something on Facebook trite? Is it becoming something that people will gloss over, simply because it is everywhere? Are we losing the impact of the marketing by making it automatic, rather than something someone has to make an effort to do? Will John's friends care that he likes WidgetCo, or will they ignore it because there's five other news stories similar to it? Something for marketers to noodle.

^{*side note, you know how if you stare at a word too long, it can look like it is spelled wrong, when it isn't? well, in writing this, the word "Like" is looking crazy wrong right now.}

Where Were You in 2001?

2011-03-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Let's travel back to the year 2001, shall we? Gas cost $1.46 a gallon, and a postage stamp was 34 cents. The iPod is released, and Wikipedia goes online. Shrek, Ocean's Eleven, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone were at the theater. What were you doing in 2001? I was in college, typing term papers on a two inch thick Compaq laptop that ran Windows 98 (that would change at Christmas time, when I would upgrade to Windows ME.) I surfed the interwebz on dial-up, with Internet Explorer 6. In the ten years since then, I have graduated college, gotten married, had five different addresses, spawned three children, and upgraded IE twice (IE9 is due any time now.)

Wait.

What's that? You're still using IE6? I'm afraid that we're going to have to stage an intervention regarding that. And this site would agree. After all, as they state on the site, "Friends don't let friends use Internet Explorer 6." You don't want to be behind the times, do you? you don't want to make some poor web developer's life harder, do you? If you use IE6 you are doing just that--developers have to put in extra hours to support IE6, as opposed to the newer browsers. So go and upgrade your IE already. Let someone else be left behind by technology.

And One Password for All

2011-03-04T12:14:00.000-08:00

Wanna know what I think would be a fabulous idea? Make one password work for everything you do on the internet. Think about it: you would no longer have to remember your password for Amazon, for your bank, your credit card site, itunes, etc. Pay your car payment online? Same password as for your Papa John's account. How could this go wrong, really?
*cough*
Was that a little heavy on the sarcasm? Sorry folks, I'll try to lighten it up next time.

So, yeah. There is a proposal floating about wanting to make this happen, in the name of security. "It will be a great thing for commerce" they say. "It will be more efficient" they say. Efficient, maybe. More secure? I doubt it. You see, in jobs past I have worked with people who, though they were told not to, wrote down their passwords on sticky-notes, and had them stuck to their monitor. Even if their password was "12345" they still had it written down, and stuck to the computer. Really. They weren't being asked to have complicated or elaborate passwords, no 15 character, numeric and special characters combo jobs. But, you may say, they'll take it more seriously! They'll be sure to make it a password they'll remember, be conscientious to make it secure! If you believe that, then we've not worked with the same type people in the past.

Another reason that I have big misgivings about this "one password" idea is that, if it were to be hacked, a person would be screwed. This would be password would be linked to benign things like Amazon and Papa John's (if those retailers enrolled in the program) true, but it would also be linked to things like your banking, your mortgage, and your medical records. Think that having your identity stolen now is a pain? Then think about it if they could get everything about you, down to your tonsils that you had removed when you were eight. This would way surpass what they can do with your Discover card number and your social security number. "But it would be really hard to be hacked" you may say. True. But even the Pentagon's computer system has been hacked. If our military, our national security's computer system is vulnerable to hacks, then I am skeptical that they could keep so much information out of the wrong hands.

And that is what all of this boils down to, really. It's my information. My mortgage, my Amazon account, my hospital records, my Expedia account. If i choose to be a moron and tell everyone that my password is the names of my kids all put together, then so be it. I get to reap those repercussions. But I would rather be able to make those decisions than have it made for me. Maybe I'm stubborn. I rather think it's independence.

Want to read more about it? Take a look here.

The End Is Near!

2011-02-25T11:17:00.000-08:00

Anyone feel like marching on a street corner and wearing a sandwich board proclaiming the end is near? We could shout at people with a bullhorn that the interwebz is running out of IP addresses, and we must repent! Come on, it'll be fun! No? Ok then, maybe scaring people with tales of blog's deaths, told by a campfire? Sill no? Man, what fun are you?

Ok, seriously. we really are running out of IP addresses, did you know? though as this interview states, it'll take another year-ish before it results in zombie riots, there is some salvation to be had. We are currently using Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). when we run out of IPv4 addresses, we will move to IPv6, which will give us 340 undecillion (3.4×10 ^38) new IP addresses. That's a stinking lot of zeros.

And this article talks about how the NY Times tried to scare folks claiming that blogging is dead, among young people. Yes, they're using Twitter and Facebook to microblog, condensing their lives into 140 character bites. That means that blogging (in the long diatribe sense) may be not as popular, but blogging is changing, evolving. And besides, you'll still have the long format blog around—too many people depend on photo-by-photo tutorials of how to make a perfect grilled cheese for it to go too far.

Spring Starter Site Promotion

2011-02-15T23:11:00.000-08:00

Addison is offering a special promotion for spring on a new solution we developed called a Starter Site. To be eligible for the Spring 2011 Promotion for you must like AddisonTech on facebook. Just go to facebook.com/addisontech and leave a comment that you are interested in the Spring Starter Site and we will contact you to get things started.

We aim to customize your website solution to meet your goals, and sometimes an entry level site is the right fit. We are now offering a managed cost solution that provides versatility while protecting your image because image is everything. Your website doesn't have to look as if your nephew painted your logo on your work truck.

It's a standard 4 page web site, that will have a custom banner, and you will be able to populate the pages and be able to update them as often as you like. If you can upload photos on facebook, you can do this. It's Brochure ware at a managed cost.

Benefits:
One Domain
4 page web site
Customized banner
Your preferred color genre
Logo integration to banner
Background image or color
You manage the content
Written online tutorial

Who is it for:
Perfect for contractors
Perfect for auto shops
Perfect for Pizza shops
Perfect for businesses that don't have a website

Specifications:
50 dollars a month no setup fees
This is not a consultave solution
You provide pictures(ex. banner and background) and logo
You create and upload content
2 year contract
Credit card required

In Review:
We generally consult and design custom web sites that blend with current marketing strategies and increasing brand awareness and loyalty, however over the years we have not been able to offer something for businesses that just haven't reached a need for those high end services. This is the genesis of the Spring Starter Site and to kick it off we are offering it with no setup fees for a limited time. Just go to our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/AddisonTech and like us, then comment on our wall that you want the spring starter site and someone will be in touch with you.

WebSite Design: Timeline rules

2011-02-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

Web Design / Time rules

As a Web designer or a owner/manager of a company building a new web site, you will be combing over every fine element hundreds of times. That is an important part of the process, but it is equally important not to lose site of the goal of creating maximum user experience on your website. We spend hours upon hours criticizing whether logo should be ½ centimeter to left or this icon should be higher etc etc… Sometimes it better to stop, close your eyes, go the home page and use the time rules. The Time rules are simple and concise.

Part One: 3-5 seconds.
In the first three to five seconds the user will form an opinion about the professionalism, trustworthiness and overall pleasure of the company. This where a good web designer earns his/her pay. So Let’s do an exercise. Open a browser, let the home page load, count to five, and answer the following questions as if you had never seen the website prior to now.

1. Was the website professional and clean?.. pictures..colors..branding

2. What size company did the web site portray?

3. What was the one branding/messaging that was most prevalent?

4. Would an existing loyal customer recognized the site as being the same company
He or she does business with everyday?

5. Would a prospective customer relate the web site to the product or service it is known for?

6. Did the website have a positive or negative rating overall? Give reasons.

Part Two: 7-10 seconds.
The second crucial timing as to whether a website is successful at its goals are in the seven to ten second range. After a user has created an opinion towards the company, the user needs to be able to find information. The information will be different depending on the company or purpose of the site. A user of a news site, for example, would be looking for the hottest, new story of the day. A user of a law office might be looking for types of law they practice or a list of lawyers at the firm. This is where things like, navigation, featured areas, contact information seen clearly in the banner, and live help applications help in making sure the user finds information. If the user does not find how to get to the information in this critical window, he/she will most certainly click the back button and go to a competitor’s website. The vast majority of objectives, relative to what information a user is looking for, should be covered in the site planning portion of the website design. Having a good Site Map and a description of featured areas on the home page prior to site design is critical. Once it gets in the designers hands it is often too late to fix major missing objectives.

After the site design process the website designer plays a key role in prioritizing objectives with page placement and size. Also navigation is cricitical in making sure users find information. Ready for the exercise? First determine what specific information you are interested in finding. You may have 3-4 major things your website should be able to do. That is fine, do this exercise 3 separate times and each time look for one of those things. Once you have a target, open a browser count to ten while navigating for that information. Now Answer the following questions.

Was it natural to find the information?

Did it require thought or translation in terminology to find the information? Did the site use the correct wording for the item a common user would know?

Was the information obvious?

Repeat these questions for all major types of information users would be searching for on your site. Understand you can’t satisfy every user so use common sense and the 80/20 rule (80 target the major 80% of users in the major search) and let minor information and expansive information be more of a drill down option.

Hopefully this will help you gauge the success of your new web design and realize that its not completely about overanalyzing every space on the web site, but being a success to the user in a certain timeline. If you have any questions or would like us to consult on your website go to addisontech.com and contact us. And yes you can try the time rules on our web site and give us feedback if you like. :)

The Giants are Battling Again

2011-02-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

I'm sure by now, you've seen news of the allegations that Google has made against rival Bing, about Google's search results being copied. Google says that they can prove that Bing uses their search results –they have linked results to specifically garbled queries in Google, and then watched those same results show up for Bing searches. While there isn't a lot that Google can do--people who are in the know about these things say that Microsoft likely didn't break laws with this snafu--they do seem to be trying to deliberately embarrass their competitor. This really isn't that surprising to anyone, as much as Google and Microsoft have battled in the past. We expect the next move in this brawl to be that Microsoft will be caught shooting spitballs at Google, causing Google to reply with "Neener-neener" and blowing a raspberry.

Here's a plethora of links on this story, though they all pretty much say the same thing:
Wall Street Journal
PC World
CNet
Financial Times

Did You Win the Nigerian Lottery?

2011-01-25T08:27:00.000-08:00

The holidays are behind us now, with their massive amounts of online spending. I remember hearing someone joke that Black Friday and Cyber Monday were followed by Identity-Theft Tuesday. Well, in a way, they were right. But according to this article every day is "Identity Theft Day" in the underworld of the internet. Nefarious nere-do-wells can buy a person's credit information for reasonably cheap (I can just hear it now: "what do you mean MY credit information was only worth $500!")

While some retailers are utilizing ways to combat this, making sure your IP address and credit card number are from the same region of the US, etc. But what about you? What can you do, to proactively take responsibility for your rear end? Well, first off, don't respond to phishing emails (Go ahead, roll your eyes, but apparently some people really do believe they won the Nigerian lottery.) After that, just be aware. Look at the website you're going to make a transaction with. Does it say "https://....." (emphasis on the "S") in the checkout address bar? Is there a little padlock on the bottom right side of your window? Does something just not "feel right" about the website? If the answer to any of these three is "no" then don't do business with them. Find what you need elsewhere, it is the interwebz after all.

*At least I'm not beating the "secure password" drum again, right? But you do need one, you know.

Is It Photoshopped?

2011-01-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

We've all seen the photoshopped photos, emailed by people claiming "Look at what my aunt's cousin's baby sister's neighbor's pool boy's grandma saw in her photo!" We know, and can easily determine that "the face of Saint Aurelia of Austria she saw in the clouds above Cincinnati" is actually Lady GaGa's face photoshopped over someone's Cincinnati postcard. But what about the good Photoshop jobs? Like, maybe, photos that are used as evidence in court cases? Well, scientist Hany Farid has figured out a way to look for signatures, much like ballistic forensics, in photographs. He says that he is able to tell what camera make/model took the photo by looking for these signatures. If the signatures are altered, then photo editing software has been used on it. It does not, unfortunately, show where or how the photo has been changed.

This allows new verification to a photo's authenticity, useful of course for legal things, court cases and such, but also to photographers and photo purists. Just think: we can finally know if there are legitimate photos of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster,and UFO's!

We told you so. Again.

2011-01-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

We told you so back Here
Now, go read this article

For the love of Pete, employers need to get a social media policy for your business. Don't just make one up, either, but make sure it will hold up according to the law. Yeah, that will cost a little bit of money. But better that, than learning things the hard way, in a lawsuit.
If you are an employee who utilizes social media, then be sure of what your company's policy is. Is it wise for you to mix business and pleasure—ie, are your coworkers or clients your friends or followers? Can you even mention who you work for? What about mentioning coworkers or projects? Find these things out before you potentially find yourself in a lawsuit.

Useless but Fun!

2010-12-28T08:11:00.000-08:00

File this under "Completely useless, but really cool"
There's a guy in Britain who is working on turning the old Game Boy console into a web app. He's using Java and HTML5 to make a web browser emulator, and is working on the old classics like Tetris.*

Will this wind up being another time and productivity sucking app, like the Google Packman doodle was? Probably. But its still really cool!

*Yeah, we know, you can play Tetris lots of places now. Don't be a buzzkill.

The Amazing Shrinking Interwebz

2010-12-01T11:53:00.000-08:00

Is the web getting *gasp* smaller? ten years ago, if I'd asked that question to myself, I would have laughed. The interwebz made the world a smaller place, via information sharing like never before. but today, in this article, the argument is that the web is in danger of being partitioned off to a dangerous extent. Social networking, apps, governments and businesses are keeping us within our little parameters, with much information outside those walls never to be seen, the article claims. Things like net neutrality, wireless carriers wanting to prioritize traffic, and "other 'walled garden' threats" are infringing on the internet. The beneficiaries of this would be bigger conglomo-mega-corporations, with innovation and entrepreneurship being on the losing end.

Think about it, in terms of net neutrality: if internet provider Schmoeweb says to Netflix "Pay me for bandwidth your users suck down" and Netflix says "No," then who loses? The user, who has paid for their Netflix subscription and their Schmoeweb bill, but doesn't receive the quality product. The information is out there, but they are being prevented from getting to it.

Or think in terms of a Mom-n-Pop shop. They improve the mousetrap, and are poised to sell millions, but cant make the payment it will take to get their website out of the internet ghetto that they are relegated to. Innovation is slowed or killed because people won't know what is outside of their garden wall.

The FCC is getting ready to vote on net neutrality, and as web users, developers, businesspeople, we need to pay attention to this. It could effect how exactly we carry out our business on the interwebz from now on.

innovation

2010-11-22T07:14:00.000-08:00

if necessity is the mother of invention, what's the mother of innovation? selection?

well, dear readers, it seems that the selection of internet browser options is widening again. new on the scene is something called RockMelt, a browser that steps away from the traditional Internet Explorer-Firefox-Opera format. RockMelt was created, in part, by some of the people who worked on Netscape back in the 90s, but don't think that this is just a re-make of Netscape. It's a whole new animal, by far. It is built on the idea that people go to the internet mainly for social networking, Googling, and a few favorite websites. Those areas are set to drop down windows and panes.

to even utilize RockMelt, you must have a Facebook account. you can then link up your twitter, have your favorite websites listed, etc. its more of a one-stop for your social media and browsing, than the traditional browser, or even tabbed browsing.

another thing: RockMelt is available by invitation only. want to be the cutting-edge geek of your peer-group? you can go and request an invite at http://www.rockmelt.com

Internet Explorer vs Firefox: Designing Differences

2010-08-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a question for the masses: have you ever viewed a website at the office, and it looked one way, and then viewed it at home and it looked different? Or on a friend's computer versus your own? Ever wonder why that is? Have you ever wondered just how your browser works, how it translates the interwebz into what you see? If you understand how it works, it can give you a better understanding of how your website works.

Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox (FF) both use layout engines, which means they use a piece of software that takes the content—the website's code, image files, and formatting information—and shows it on the monitor. Right. No surprise there, you knew that. They both come at the web with a modular approach, meaning that they break the information down into separate modules. The engine portion takes care of the URL, cookies, scripts and plug-ins. The user interface (what you the user sees) takes care of the menu bars, bookmarks, address bar—you know, the graphic things. The HTML code tells how the web pages should be formatted, where images are located and how it all should be viewed (sizes, colors, spacing, etc.) Each browser uses a different layout engine to show you what the web has to offer. The differences that you may see on a website, when viewed on the two different browsers, comes back to the two layout engines that are the base. While they do the same essential thing, their approach in translating the information is where you get the differences in how a web page looks.

When a website is built using HTML, one way of formatting it is to build tables, rows and columns, to place the desired information. FF and IE treat these differently sometimes. In the examples here, you can see that FF creates cells that are not padded with extra space, unless you tell it otherwise. IE takes the same code and gives a bit more elbow room within the individual cells. How does that affect the end website? Too much space where you weren't planning on it is never a good thing.

The most fun of all (says the designer with great sarcasm) is when FF and IE can't agree on something called "rowspan." That is when, in the building of an HTML table, you want a cell to span more than one row—hence the name of the command. What will look great in one browser will look like a kindergartener coded it in the other.

Here's another example of IE and FF assuming different things: the top margin is not specified here. FF assumes that none is wanted, while IE gives a margin of about 15 pixels unless you tell it not to.

Spacing is also an issue when bulleted lists are involved. FF loves to give extra space for bullet lists, whether you ask for it or not. IE wants to be told that it needs to make a line break, but when FF looks at it, it thinks "Two breaks! Double space!" and so you get more space between your bullets for FF. In the FF example, you can see how the additional space in the bullet list breaks the other graphics surrounding it, in a bit of a ripple effect.

Sometimes, the differences between how the browsers render a website can be tracked down to simple syntax. What IE calls "alpha transparency" Firefox calls "opacity." Both terms do the same exact thing as a end result. Think of it this way: what is the name of a big sandwich with lots of toppings? Some people call it a "hoagie" and some people call it "sub." Two different names for the same sandwich. But those differences change the way the programmer must code, therefore potentially altering how the site details come out.

So, you ask, how do designers deal with all of this? We deal with a lot of grumbling, griping and occasional cursing, that's how. We work hard on your site, thinking it looks great. Then we test it in another browser and – gah!- it's fubar. We love that when it happens, no, really. Then we suck it up, re-code and re-test until it is correct. Is it a pain? You bet. But if we're worth our salt as designers, we will always be striving to provide you with a site that you love, and therefore we want you to have a consistent website. While it would be incredible if the browsers looked at the interwebz the same, the fact that they do not is why they exist. They each offer pros and cons, and designers have to adjust to suit each.

Protect Yourself

2010-08-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

We all know that in business, it's important to protect yourself. So we do with llc's and the like. But what about all of your hard worked for intellectual property? Here's a link to a good little article detailing the different ways that we can keep our business' intellectual property from being misused and abused. Go Take a look

Flash v HTML5

2010-07-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Whether you are aware of it or not, a battle is looming on the horizon. Shots have been fired from both sides, but no full-scale battles have been waged, yet. Allies are mobilized along the battle lines, waiting on who will be the victor. So, who does this war involve? Some rouge country bent on invading another? Neighbors upset at each other over barking dogs? Google vs Bing? No, dear readers, no. This relatively quiet battle is that of Flash versus HTML5. To the victor will go the video capabilities of the web.

But will there be an obvious winner of this battle? At first, at least, they will have to share the market, with each of them doing separate things well. HTML5 will run on smart phones, while Flash either does not or slows the phone down considerably. Flash will take the video content to full screen, while HTML5 does not. Flash uses a standard format for its videos, whereas HTML5 does not—which is a pro for some and a con for others. Flash requires the user download a player, HTML5 will not demand that, being simply the standard for structuring the web.

The interesting point to watch in all this is how Flash steps up to the competition. HTML5 is still in development, and therefore is not "done" with all that it can do. How Flash responds, what it beefs up and how it innovates, will determine how well it can keep its current market share. And as always, that means better things for we the users, programmers and designers!

We Told You So.

2010-05-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

We at Addison Technologies would like to say "We told you so." We don't do that often, but then we haven't seen something coming for the last eight years. That is how long Addison Tech owner Woody Sims has ~~predicted~~ ~~prognosticated~~ foretold that television and the interwebz would merge into one seamless configuration. Then we happened upon this article talking about the upcoming release of Google and Intel's Android/Atom CPU driven TV venture. It only makes sense, really. Think of the practicality for the user—Hulu, Netflix, etc will be easier accessed on a bigger screen, thus opening up untapped markets in that area. Think of applications for your TV just like your smart phone (like Sony and other TV manufactures have been toying with already.) And the marketing, oh the marketing. Google ads, SEO and other online marketing tools will be taken to a new level with this. It's going to make things quite interesting for the realms of television, advertising, internet--media overall, really. Just think: you can say that you knew the folks who told you so!

Google and the Small Business

2010-04-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

We've noted before that Google is introducing new features and tweaking old ones lately. Well, here's another observation of it. This article discusses that Google's "Local Business Center" is now called "Google Places" and has some bigger-better-more customizable features. Owners have been able to add their business to the listing for some time already, but now you're able to tag your listing with keywords, show your geographic service areas, have a business photo shoot (should you live in certain areas) and customize a QR (Quick Response) code for your business. All things that will help your consumers to find you among the sea of competitors.

So, why are we writing about this? Other than the fact that it's something new and business-y? Because if your time constraints don't allow you to do this for your business, or if you aren't completely confident with it, AddisonTech can help you out with that. Time and confidence, we have it!

Who Owns Your Soul?

2010-04-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

No, this isn't going to be a post on religion, heaven, hell, etc. It seems that the British video game retailer Gamestation played an interesting April Fool's Trick on its buyers. According to this article they slipped an "Immortal Soul Clause" in their Terms and Agreements form. Buyers could opt out by clicking a button (and would have received a discount, should they have done so) but only 12% chose to do so. Gamestation says that they did this to illustrate how people to do read the Terms and Conditions that they agree to--they simply click "I agree" and go onward.

My first reaction to this: "Awesome prank!" My second reaction: "Oh man, they're right..." I'm just as guilty as the next person of this. Reading the legal mumbo jumbo on some of these things is a cure for insomnia. On a good day, I skim through the legalese, although I don't know if I would have caught the selling of my soul or not.

So, how do companies protect themselves legally, but get customer readership of the document up? Good question for all of us who have to use them in our businesses. Other than getting Pixar to animate a "Terms and Agreement" short film, how do you see a solution to this? Any ideas out there?

Now What?

2010-04-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

*If you're not a business owner and reading this, play pretend with us for just a minute. I promise, it won't take long.

So, you're a business owner. You want your business to be front of mind with your consumers, so you become social media savvy. You Facebook, you Tweet. Just like your employees do in their private lives. But, as an employer, what do you do if your employees start posting things concerning business that weren't supposed to be public? How do you protect yourself and your clients? Like this article points out, you need a company social media policy.
We know you trust the people you hire, but unscrupulous people exist. A signed by every employee, legal social media policy can cover your rear in case of litigation, plus it should clarify issues for your employees. They then can see what is acceptable, and what crosses the line. Which is good for everyone's rear end.

Is the mighty falling?

2010-04-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

After years of being the top of the smart phone heap, is the iphone's reign coming to an end? This article suggests that this just may be the case. In the US, the android phones are rapidly gaining ground, while the iphone is starting to dwindle. The article also points out that, since smart phones are as much about the "smart" (ie, the browsing capabilities) as they are the "phone," that it is wise to take into consideration that overall mobile browsing is up. This means that the race isn't so much about winner/loser as it is about the success of the platforms.

Ok, so what does that mean for you, the business owner? It means that more of your customers are going to be using smart phones, therefore will be able to browse more. Thus, your company website, social media and marketing will be more important than ever. Now, aren't you glad you know some super savvy people who can help you out with that?

Addison Technologies Announces Merger

2010-04-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Addison Technologies Announces Merger With Go Daddy

Pottstown, PA, USA – April 1, 2010

Addison Technologies is proud to announce that they are merging with web giant GoDaddy.com as of April 1, 2010. The resulting company will keep the same quality workmanship and care as consumers have come to expect from both Addison Technologies and Go Daddy. The main change that customers will notice is that the name and logo will change, from "Go Daddy" to "Go D'Addi" in the next few months. And next year expect to see Brad Hurlock and Woodrow Sims in the Superbowl commercial with Go Daddy spokeswoman Danica Patrick! Negotiations are still underway as to how much clothing will be worn by Mr. Hurlock and Mr. Sims.

In anticipation of the upcoming changes, current Addison Technologies clients and fans are asked to do the following: Please check your calenders, and ensure that today is in fact, April Fool's Day. You may then proceed in groaning, smacking your forehead, giggling, or simply shaking your head.

Liberty and Broadband for All...

2010-03-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

the FCC has released a plan sent to congress that will provide high speed internet for all. will this mean the end of the dial-up internet access? would anyone, no matter how remote their location, would be able to get access faster than a slow drip? will this mean more competition in the market, meaning lower ISP prices for the consumer? lots of people are asking lots of questions about this, understandably. here's a handful of articles about it, go, read, and pay attention to this in the future. it has impact on how internet, web and marketing professionals will be able to interact with their consumers.
Broadband plan for high speed internet sent to Congress
FCC unveils National Broadband Plan
FCC releases 'Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan'
FCC Broadband Plan Eyes Competition, Spectrum

Shameless Plug

2010-03-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, this blog is going to be all about shameless self promotion. It is our company blog, we are allowed.
However, we'll help teach you, dear reader, how to shamelessly promote yourself too! Take a look at this class that our professionals at Addison Technologies are helping the Berks-Mont Business Association put on. If you are a novice in the world of social media (ie, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,) and you would like to utilize these resources for your business, you're in luck. You will learn how do the basic things--set up accounts and find contacts; how to keep yourself and your business safe--privacy settings and security; and how to not annoy people with your new marketing toy--etiquette and common mistakes. Great stuff, right? Wondering what to do with it afterwards? Well, we'll also help you get some ideas on how to utilize it for your business. Why? Because we're cool like that. Just check out the BMBA website for details!

*This class will be offered on April 6, 2010. Space is limited so email now! Laptops with WiFi are Required.

Does Facebook Fan = Loyal Customer?

2010-03-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

It's almost unthinkable now days to not have a Facebook account, especially if you are in business. But have you ever wondered what, if any, impact becoming a "Facebook Fan" makes on a business? Do people set the notices to "hide" or do they anxiously await the next announcement from their favorite places? Well, one business decided to find out just that. In this article they discover what we in social media and marketing have been working hard on. Facebook Fans were more loyal customers, increased their visits to the store, had more positive view of the business, and were more likely to recommend it to others. Exactly what we've been striving for.

As it was, there were over 13,000 customers on the mailing list for the business. These were surveyed, and over 600 responded. When a Facebook page was set up, the mailing list was invited, and after three months they had nearly 300 fans. The people who responded to the survey And became fans became the most loyal customers. They visited the store 20% more and spent a larger percentage of their money.

The writer also points out an interesting fact regarding the number of fans a site has: unless it's a widely known brand, you are not going to receive ginormous fan numbers. The business may have thousands of actual customers, but garner only a few hundred fans. Quality over quantity is the thought though, since those fans are more likely to become super-customers, helping to market your product on their own.

The article urges "cautious optimism" for using Facebook as a marketing tool, with good reason. Common sense says that if your target client demographic is older, less impact may be made. On the flip side of that, however, is that younger clients may be reached more. Yes, Facebook is a bit niche, but as the internet generations age, I can foresee its marketing potential becoming even more broad.

Are you at home?

2010-02-19T15:25:00.000-08:00

I had a blog post for today, all nice and neatly prepared.

This one isn't it.

The other one will wait. By now, if you haven't picked up on this, I am a bit of a security-minded person (if you weren't aware of this, go read this then come back.) I ran across a website, pleaserobme.com that I have to blog about. The premise behind PleaseRobMe is to post when people use social media to indicate they're not at home. This means facebooking/tweeting about work, grocery shopping, travel, etc. could be posted on this site as an "opportunity." They claim that they are doing this to make people aware of their postings, and thus their personal security flaws. Potential thieves, revenge-seekers, and other miscreants can then abuse this information.

I will say that, on the tweets I have viewed on this site, they were all on profiles set to let everyone view them. So that is one simple to solve, make your personal profiles accessible only to those whom you approve. But even then, who out there doesn't have someone on their friend list or followers who you are only on so-so terms with? Are you comfortable with them knowing where and when you are home? it certainly makes me re-think my postings. which, according to the PleaseRobMe creators, is part of their purpose.

AddisonTechnologies provides social media/marketing for many of our clients, and we promise we will never be posting your GPS location or intentionally exposing you to harm, physical or financial. But what about business owners who personally manage their own social media? They have to be diligent, especially if their business and personal accounts are one in the same. To make the account private would eliminate its usefulness as a marketing tool. Those owners would be wise to make the decision--business or personal--for their accounts and stick to it.

While I'm not for their methods, I agree with the message--that of security--that these people are trying to convey. There is a notice on the site that states that they are re-thinking their direction, due to all of the press they are receiving. I hope they will be responsible in their new direction.

Google Again...

2010-02-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

Google's at it again. Yeah, I know, it seems like we talk about Google a lot around here. But lets face it, as web design/web marketing specialists, we've got to be on top of what the giant is doing, in order to be competitive. And thus, we ponder, we discuss, we muse, we mock. And we pay attention. All to give Addison Tech's clients the best opportunities to maximize their businesses.

Now, that being said, on to the next thing we're keeping an eye on at Google!
This article talks about how Google has further set its sights on competing with Facebook and Twitter for the social media arena. Features within Google chat allow status similar to Twitter and Facebook's status. They are working on real-time streams like the others, also.

The article points out, however, that other forays into this realm have failed for Google. Users are typically unwilling to give up their Facebooking to utilize Gmail's functions. In my personal experience, I understand this completely. I have friends on Facebook that, while I don't mind talking to in that format, I wouldn't want them having access to my email. (These are the chronic "they're tracking this email and will send you $1,000 for every forward!" emailers.) Plus, quite frankly, I'm lazy. I took the time to find all these people on FB. I don't need to find them again on some other network that does the exact same thing.

But, lest we forget, this is how Google got big. They took something that someone else had already done, tweaked it, and did it better. So we would be wise to not discount them entirely yet.

"That's amazing. I've got the same combination on my luggage"

2010-01-26T13:14:00.000-08:00

Passwords. We all have them now days. Lots of people despise them, most tolerate them, and idiots write them down on post-it notes stuck to their monitors. It seems like all the time we're hearing about security breaches when accounts for some major company are hacked. Ever wonder why it is that accounts are hacked so easily?
Well, as this article points out, the Rockyou.com breach allowed an opportunity for that FAQ to be answered. Imperva studied the 32 million passwords that were hacked, and some interesting findings came up. Passwords haven't evolved much since 1990.
Think about that.
1990.
Think, if your hairstyle had not evolved since 1990, how much ridicule you'd be subjected to. You shudder at the thought, don't you? Yet our unevolved passwords make us vulnerable to much more than ridicule. Many people use the same password for their email, work, bank information, online bill payments, twitter, etc. By one being hacked, the rest are compromised. Are you able to access any sensitive data at work? The hackers can access it too. Money in your bank account? Its not secure any more.
This isn't just a pesky matter of having to re-set your passwords and set your facebook status to "hey everyone, i got hacked, that last post wasn't me, dude." No, this is a mindset. The article states that the top 10 most common passwords (of the Rockyou.com scandal) were:

1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123

We've all been told by our IT people that the most secure passwords are those that have upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. It's a pain, I know. But if your little fingers aren't getting a workout while typing your password, it's not a good one.

*wipes brow and steps off of soapbox* Now back to your regularly blogged snark :-)

We will be a real company when:

2010-01-14T08:13:00.000-08:00

January 14, 2000 is the day Addison Technologies became incorporated. The idea was simple enough: design, host and market web sites. Addison has lived through the dot com crash, 2 recessions and what appears to be on of the tightest credit crunches in history. I remember a line we used frequently over the course of the past ten years: “we will be a real company when…” . When was whatever we were trying to do was accomplished. We will be a real company when:

We have toll free numbers
Our first employee
We have our own air hockey table
We have over 10 servers
we have over 20 servers
Health insurance
IRA
Our own controller
Have a devoted customer service rep.
We have 100 clients
We have 200 clients
We have 300 clients
Two T1 lines
Have multiple offices
Have our own Jet (well that one is still in the works)

This saying turned out to be prophetic, because somewhere along the way, we became a real company. Congratulations are in order, but more importantly we would like to offer thanks to all the helped along the way. Thank you for not just helping, but becoming part of the Addison Technologies family that continues to grow by the day. The next ten years will be just adventurous as the last, and we can’t wait for the next thing, that will make us a real company!

Quick Questions

2010-01-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

So, dear readers, I was reading through this story about how a researcher has shown how Google is in bed with spyware, cheating its advertisers and annoying its users. Now, my first reaction to this was "Well, that figures." But after thinking about it for a minute, I came up with a couple of points, things I thought I'd never have to ask:
1) Is anyone sadistic enough to Like pop-up ads?
and, assuming the answer to number 1 is a big, fat "no!" then
2) Many browsers (like Firefox and Opera) come with an integrated pop-up blocker that work beautifully. Who wouldn't take advantage of that? And for those of you who are committed to browsers like IE who don't have that...
3) Who, nowdays, doesn't use a pop-up blocker?
I mean, really? Several places offer blockers that work well, over the years I've used various ones with success.
Now, I'm never for a company screwing its clients, nor for a company annoying its users. Its bad form. The point I'm getting to is, I would have never known this was going on, if I hadn't read this article. I would have gone on assuming things were all right and proper, because I wasn't seeing the offending ads. How many people are like the pre-article me? Lots, my friends.
Which brings me to my other point: if you're not going to let trusted professionals help you (like our marketing team at Addison Technologies)then become educated. Find out these things yourself, not in a tinfoil-hat education or instant expert way, but in a become savvy in what you're asking/receiving way. Things generally go more smoothly if you understand how they work.
Now, I'm off to read up further...

Top 10....Well, Make That Top 5 List

2009-12-31T20:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year's Eve to all! The end of the year always means top ten lists everywhere, from tv to music to the internet. Of course, bloggers everywhere are making their own lists of 10 things they thought were important/stupid/influential/etc. All for you to read and ponder.
But let's face it, its New Year's Eve. You, dear reader, are more than likely about to go out with friends, or sit cozily at home and watch them take Dick Clark out of the formaldehyde vat for one more ball drop countdown. You have things to do. So, out of the greatest consideration for your time, we've condensed all the top 10 lists into the top five things that caught our attention.

5.Green Things
Everything has "gone green" lately, from laundry detergent to light bulbs. Why wouldn't IT? It's not only where to recycle those computer parts anymore, either, it's the fact that companies are evaluating how to make their data centers more energy efficient, and seeing how to reduce their carbon footprint.

4.More People Use Netbooks
Tiny computers for business folk to use for internet and email. Bigger screen than a cellphone, but smaller than the average laptop. Great for buses, subways, coffee shops and park benches nationwide. Of course they're a hit!

3. More Built-In Wireless Broadband
For us at Addison Technologies, and any other web businesses, this is a good thing. More people have built in wireless cards in their phones, netbooks and laptops, thereby giving more people web access. More people on the web = more potential customers.

2. Google Chrome
Its always interesting to watch competition, especially when it involves giants like Microsoft and Google. Chrome is promising things like security, which Microsoft has been notoriously hackable on. As with all free market competition, this should be beneficial to us, the end users!

1. Flying Car
It's quite nearly 2010, and we still don't have those flying cars that we were promised way back in the day. But things are looking up, a Massachusetts company is working on a car/airplane that runs on regular unleaded, and can drive on the highway.

Happy New Year, All!

The Searches, They Are a Changing

2009-12-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

Bing vs. Google. Google vs. Bing. As the search war heats up, its only going to get better for web business. As the search giants battle it out, the spoils of the war will go to us, the consumers, by way of better and more relevant search results. Your target audience will better be able to search for your products with the features that are to come. Competition leads to change and innovation!
Addison Technologies already provides our customers with excellent search engine optimization. As the search engines improve their results, then, our work for you becomes that much better!

More Seniors on the Web

2009-12-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

Found an interesting article for all of us web people showing that more seniors age 65+ are using the web. They are still a small overall percentage of web traffic, but they are there and growing in number. What will this mean for us as web developers, and as businesses who have websites (beyond making the text larger, that is.) It will prove interesting as well to see how it pans out as more baby boomers become seniors, therefore making more seniors web proficient.

Google Goggles: Practical and Lazy

2009-12-11T10:36:00.000-08:00

So, according to an article at Internetnews.com, http://tinyurl.com/ydtujv7 , Google is working on adding some new features for all of us. We all know and love (or hate, depending on who you are) some of Google's other functions, but they are adding some interesting ones this time around. While some of the other features intrigue me immensely, I think the Google Goggles feature may hold loads of potential for those of us who do commerce on and with the web.

Google Goggles is a feature where you can take a photo of something and Google will research it for you. How many times have I seen something, asked myself “What exactly IS that?" and had to reply "Heck if I know." How useful, as a consumer, to be able to Goggle something, and get a reply? Want to know what work of art you're looking at? Want to know how much amazon is selling the book on a friend's coffee table for? What subtle flavor profiles does this wine have? Google Goggles would be able to answer those questions for the buyer.

And as a goods producer, how useful would it be for you to be able to see if people were looking up your product via Goggles? I have no idea if Google has any plans on allowing us to see when/where/frequency/etc of a product's Google Goggling, but to me, it would make sense. And if has occurred to me, then one would hope that the officials there would have thought of it. The producer could then get an idea of whether or not your branding is doing its job, if the consumer is aware of your product (ie, what they're looking at.) Or, if your branding is working within a particular geographic region, or with a certain advertising campaign. With that knowledge, you can then tailor your website (from Addison Technologies, of course,) marketing and business plans.

What is interesting to me too, is how it this feature will be abused. We can already foresee that somehow your innocent look-up of a bag of exotic coffee beans will somehow garner a link to a porn site for kinky coffee addicts. Don't smirk, you know it'll happen. And additionally, how will advertisers be compensated for this feature? Will your coffee bean look up garner a Starbucks link first, even if it has no real relevance? Then there's the underlying question: how lazy are we, I mean really? (I'll give you a pass if you Goggle something with labeling in a foreign language.) You can't take the time to type out that book title, you just want to take a photo--unfortunately, yes, we're getting that lazy.

Government Stimulus Website to Cost Taxpayers $18M USD

2009-07-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

You can say one thing for the federal government, they are willing to spend top dollar for the items that they want. The question will be, 'should they be spending that much money for what they are receiving?'

With the fed spending just a shade over $797 billion in U.S. taxpayer money on the last stimulus package in an effort to kick start the economy and reduce unemployment, there are more than a few taxpayers who are leery about exactly how all that money will be spent. President Obama launched the website Recovery.gov in an attempt to alleviate those fears. There were initial complaints about usability and accessibility regarding the website, so the federal government decided to spend some money to upgrade the site.

This was seemingly a good idea that all would welcome, until the General Services Administration quietly released an announcement that the site would cost a total of $18 million USD over a 5 year period. An estimated $9.5 million of that will go to site design alone!

While I am sure most tax payers would be upset at those figures alone, people in the tech sector who handle site building projects (both large and small) are scratching their collective heads at these figures and wondering exactly 'why?' it will cost this much.

According to the report over at DailyTech.com:

"Craig Jennings of OMB Watch, a watchdog group often critical of government spending, states, "I do think $9.5 million is a bit much. They already have a large data set to work with. What Recovery.gov will do -- and whether they need $9.5 million to do this, I don't know -- is display it."

The site currently offers information on the $60.4B USD of stimulus money award by July 3. Many complain that the information is hard to read and understand with it being unclear where exactly the money is going in the case of a specific stimulus award.

Edward Pound, spokesman for the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, the government group running the site insists the site is taxpayer money well spent. He states, "This thing has a lot more to do than designing a good-looking Web site. We're not here to waste the taxpayers' money."

He says that his organization will demand reports from every group receiving stimulus money, telling how they spent it. He states, "We have to have the capability to receive that information and post it. And we need the infrastructure to support all of that. They are going to be filing very detailed information -- who the key officers are on every project, what they're paid, and so forth. And you'll have to be able to see that, very quickly."

The site when first launched was relatively popular, receiving 150 million hits in its first month according to market research firm Alexa. Since then, traffic has lulled and the site currently sits at 36,572nd in Alexa's traffic rankings.

Andrew MacRae, a website developer comments, "It's not a bad website. But it's not a tool to tell me where the money is being used."

Mr. Jennings says his organization has already made a better site at a fraction of the cost. He states, "OMB Watch built a site called FedSpending.org, which does basically the same thing. We said we'll license it for $600,000."

Addison Technologies, Inc offers web solutions to your business problems. For answers to your solution in hosting, website design, search engine optimization, social media and web marketing, feel free to contact their expert staff anytime.

Vizio's announcement makes internet TV one stop closer to reality

2009-07-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Vizio announced their latest lineup of 31 new HDTVs for the upcoming year. They were oddly quiet on the subject of VIA connected HDTV sets. That changed last week when Vizio announced that they will have three sets available near the end of the year.

Vizio smartly included both an Ethernet jack as well as 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter in the VIA sets, making it easier for more consumers to connect their TV to the Internet. VIA’s online capabilities are powered by Yahoo’s Widget Engine, and Vizio has an impressive lineup of services ready at launch. Some, like Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr widgets, are pretty basic, but the audio and video apps are the real news: for music, there’s Pandora, Radiotime, and Rhapsody, and for video you have your choice of Amazon Video On Demand, Blockbuster On Demand, Netflix, and Vudu. Showtime is also preparing a widget, though it’s limited to samples episodes of its original programming, trailers, and extras.

Netbooks effect broadband market and Twitter not selling out, yet.

2009-05-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

A recent report by the Pyramid Research Firm has found that the continued rise in sales of Netbooks will result in a continued and prolonged demand for mobile broadband services. This has to be great news for wireless carriers and certainly explains why several have begun to offer discount, or subsidized, netbooks as part of their service packages.

Quickly vanishing are the days in which customers were required to purchase bulky computer systems with powerful operating systems. Netbooks typically operate on less resource-intensive operating systems since they are designed to provide easy internet and email access to the user. These systems allow the user to concentrate their online time and efforts on web browsing, email, and social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook. Such developments in online communities also display the need for targeted online marketing strategies by businesses. Some components of these strategies, such as search engine enhancement, became vital as users are spending more time online but less time willing to wade through pages of search results to find what they are looking for on the web.

Speaking of Twitter, web strategy and marketing... For some time now, people have begun to wonder exactly how Twitter will begin to generate revenue. Despite the immense popularity of the online social networking tool, it has yet to show a means of producing revenue. According to Twitter co-Founder Biz Stone, Twitter will not be turning to online advertising. In the meantime, it appears that Twitter will continue to operate largely off of the $55 million in venture capital the company has received.

Google to allow Google profiles in search results

2009-04-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

According to Google's official blog, they will now be allowing Google profile results at the bottom of U.S. name-query search pages.

Google claims that they are doing this "To give you greater control over what people find when they search for your name." Like most things related to Google, there are those that will embrace this as an opportunity to have greater control over their personal and professional brand, meanwhile others will see this as yet another move by 'big brother' to gather and reveal more of their personal information.

Regardless of your position on the subject, it is wise to keep in mind that so long as your name is attached to it then you may well be held accountable for your content. Social networking online is no different than how you would present yourself personally and professionally 'offline.' Recently, we have started to move past simple online marketing and search engine enhancement with our clients and work on web strategies and business consulting to help clients maintain a positive image for themselves as well as their company. Feel free to contact us to learn more about our web strategies that will help keep hits coming to your site, while building your professional credibility in your respective industry.

Addison Technologies, Inc. provides web development and business solutions for clients nationwide. We are located in Pottstown, PA with a satellite office in Florence, AL.

Google moving to purchase Twitter?

2009-04-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

It wasn't too long ago that Google CEO Erich Schmidt referred to Twitter as "a poor man's email system." Now it appears that Google was either slow playing the market, or they have finally discovered the growing value of the micro blogging tool. Rumors and reports this week have Google talking with Twitter about a possible acquisition.

The merger would seem to make a lot of sense on the surface. Twitter catalogs information in real-time, which is sure to take a bite out of the Google market share. While Google and other search engines are clearly the better choice for information in most scenarios, Twitter has a major advantage by allowing events to be documented as they are happening. This effectively removes the filter of the media and gives people the feeling that they are somehow experiencing and learning of events through the eyes and words of those living it. We saw this play out here in the United States during the crash landing of US Airways flight 1549 , as well as abroad during the terrorist attacks in Mumbia, India.

In the past, Google has shown the ability to both improve markets while dominating them. At this time, it appears that they cannot compete with this newer technology of Twitter and may well look to purchase it.

Updates on Adwords and the end of Microsoft XP

2009-03-29T03:18:00.000-07:00

This week Addison Technologies, Inc. is going to post some useful news articles, as we have a larger update planned for later on. Feel free to check out the links and give us a visit to discuss these further.

First, and this may well have an effect on many of you reading this, is a reminder that Microsoft will be ending the free support for XP users effective April 14, 2009. Given that an estimated 68% of global internet users are currently using XP, this is bound to upset a few folks. Namely those people who have purchased a new computer in the last year with an XP operating system. This is most likely due to Microsoft's release of the free copy of Window 7 in May. Microsoft tried, and failed, a similar approach with the release of Vista in the past. It appears that Microsoft is putting their eggs in one basket with this approach, but surely they cannot begin to market and sell Windows 7 with so many users still on XP. If you'd like to read more on this, Steven Vaughan-Nichols has a more detailed wrote up of the phase out process for Windows XP here.

In recent Google news, AdWords is now allowing you to create 'coupons' in your digital advertising. If you are currently an Addison Technologies, Inc. marketing client or would like to discuss this option further with us, please feel free to contact our Marketing staff for more details on how this may be of benefit to your company.

Are you on Twitter? Feel free to follow Addison Technologies, Inc. on Twitter by clicking this link!

THE RISKS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IN TODAY'S JOB MARKET

2009-03-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

Social networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook have proven to be amazing tools that are either SEO friendly or hold immense networking capabilities. Somewhat recently, progressive minded companies have embraced these programs as a means for enhancing their market position and to gain greater Google penetration. The benefits to the company are obvious in terms of bringing their brand to a wider audience.

However, there are risks to employees or job-seekers. Most companies initially stayed away from reaching out to social networking sites which gave users of the these pages an impression of privacy. Now users must be aware of what they are posting on the internet under their public profiles.

Earlier this year, a teen was fired from her job for posting on her facebook account that her job was 'boring.' In another example, a young account manager was fired for calling in sick so she could go surfing. The employee's friend later posted pictures in a comment that said 'we should call in sick more often.' When her employer discovered the comment, she was promptly terminated.

A higher profile example is the Ketchum public relations representative, who posted a message on Twitter (known as a tweet) sharing his feelings about the city of Memphis (home of their client, FedEx) that read:

You can read the entire response from Fed Ex here .

Considering that the response ends with
"Additionally Mr. Andrews, with all due respect, to continue the context of your post; true confession: many of my peers and I don’t see much relevance between your presentation this morning and the work we do in Employee Communications."

I think it is safe to assume that this communication has strained relations between the two companies.

Most recently, a University of California graduate student interviewed with Cisco Systems and was offered a position with the company. Sometime later, that person decided to send a tweet that said:

"Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work."

What this user did not know is that Tim Levad, who is the channel partner advocate for Cisco was searching for web chatter about their brand and discovered the message. He responded with

The end result is that a random utterance of a potential employee cost them a valuable job opportunity.

People, both professionally and personally, need to understand that the idea of 'internet privacy' is a mirage. Anything posted on the internet can, and most likely will, be found by another looking for information. That information may well cost them a job, job opportunity, or even a client for their company.

Addison Technologies, Inc. offers a variety of business consulting services including management of their web marketing and corporate social networking profiles.

This week's Google updates from Addison Technologies

2009-03-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

For the past few days, the internet has been abuzz with the latest Google updates. This week we will recap a few of those for you and would be glad to field any questions you may have.

If you have been following the newsfeeds lately, you may have read that Google will now utilize "Interest-based Advertising." This is hardly new or groundbreaking technology on the surface. Both Yahoo and Microsoft have been in the practice of basing customized advertising on activities of particular web browsers.

To date, Google has been basing its system on search content, keywords and website content. Where Google will take this practice to a new level is by combining their existing data with the technology purchased in their $3.2 billion acquisition of the Internet ad service DoubleClick, Inc. By installing Double Click's existing code, also known as a 'cookie', to their advertising partners servers, Google has already begun the monitoring process of its users. Google will be able to track the user's favorite websites, interests and frequent searches while providing that information fluidly to their advertising partners.

While the there are those who only see the nefarious potential of such power, Google is hoping that this new combined technology will create an atmosphere in which the customer is a more willing participant in the marketing process.

To further enhance the overall experience, and perhaps to quiet the critics, Google has provided an opt-in and out-out feature to your profile. This will allow you to provide any additional interests that you may have, and more importantly, you can opt out of the marketing tracking process with a few simple clicks.

Another update from Google that we believe you may find useful is this video breakdown of the Google AdWords advertising process. Have you ever wondered why you pay as much, or as little as you do? Have you wondered if the SEO quality of your page has an effect of both your rankings and your advertising? Google's Chief Economist Hal Varian explains it all for you here:

Addison Technologies, Inc. is your professional answer to your business questions. We provide Web Development, Online Marketing, Web Hosting, Business Consulting and a variety of other programs to meet the needs of your business.

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Navigation is where it starts

2009-03-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

While Site Navigation certainly is not the only concern when designing your website, it is the one element of your new site that will make, or break it.

The key to site navigation is to ensure that your customers know where to find what they are looking for, and to make sure it is as easy to find as possible. Quite often the business can become too concerned with what they want in terms of visual aesthetics, and lose focus on what will enable their customers to navigate their site more easily.

Helen Bradley of E-Commerce Guide wrote an article last month that breaks this down well.

For more information on site design and business solutions on the web, feel free to contact us.

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Business to Business Web Design

2009-02-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

At Addison Technologies, Inc. we offer a variety of business to business web design strategies that are designed to better your business and your understanding of your market.

We work closely with our clients and listen to their needs. We begin the process by interviewing you to gain an in-depth perspective on your business and your goals. Once we have a throughout understanding of what your business does, and where you want to take it, we will implement a strategy that will work best for your company. Not only do we want a working business tool for your website, we want one that captures the spirit of your business and conveys the exact message about your business that you want to have delivered.

We offer a variety of business tools that will be able to help you in your day-to-day online operations. Our customer support and graphic design team have extensive experience working with traditional offline marketing agencies that you may already be using. we can work with them to maximize the market penetration and search engine optimization to benefit your company.

Contact us today, and we can begin working toward a brighter future for you and your business.

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