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Sep
9
Scary SEO: A Frightenly Good Conference
Filed Under Conferences | 2 Comments
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Dave Snyder has organized an amazing event in South Florida called Scary SEO with a great line up of speakers including Loren Baker, Carolyn Shelby, Rhew Drysdale and many more. Scary SEO is one of the first in a new breed of conference that focuses on limited attendance and personal attention from speakers instead of massive conference halls with speakers that ramble on for an hour about topics that may or may not apply to you. This conference promises education and problem solving on a range of topics from coding for SEO, link building, and paid search to online reputation management and client/project management.
I will be speaking on client management and education and hopefully giving attendees insight into how to handle a range of client types. I spent a number of years succesfully managing projects for cosmetic surgeons and lawyers, which qualify as “difficult” personalities to manage.
There are a limited number of spots left at this conference so register today!
Sep
3
South Dakota Church Sign Fail
Filed Under Misc | 6 Comments
I spent Labor Day weekend in South Dakota visiting my family. The highlights included going to Philip, South Dakota (where I got to go to the Vetrinarian/Liquor Store…get your saddle and box of wine in one place!) and shooting a fully automatic MAC 10 45 caliber with a silencer. It’s amazing to shoot 30 rounds in a matter of seconds while needing no ear protection at all.
But, the real gem of the weekend was the sign outside the church by my parents’ house. Once when I was younger this sign said “Let us help you with death”. I only wish I got a picture of that one. But luckily I did get a picture of this one. Obviously the church staff can’t count past 4 since they think grace is a four-letter word.
Aug
16
Wordcamp Blog Game: Photo ID
Filed Under Contests | 6 Comments
The contestant who correctly identifies this woman in the fastest time is the winner!
Congratulations to Todd Malicoat! Todd, please find DK for your prize.
Aug
13
If you are attending SES San Jose next week, or just happen to be in the San Jose area, don’t miss the Internet Marketers Charity Party on the 18th. Your $40 entry fee/donation will get you apps and drinks from 8 PM on. I don’t know about you but I’ve spent $40 on booze in about 5 minutes so $40 for the evening is a great deal on top of being for a great cause.
Not only will you be helping good causes, you will also get the opportunity to network with very intelligent (and fun) people in the SEM industry. There will also be raffles for prizes such as conference passes. Hop over to the IM Charity Party website for more information on the event and the charities you will be supporting.
Aug
12
I recently took a friend to see Eddie Izzard for his birthday. The show was at the Spreckles Theater in downtown San Diego so I wanted to find a nice restaurant near by to grab dinner first. I perused Google Maps and found a very nice looking restaurant called Currant just down the street from the theater. Their menu and wine selection looked great so we were pumped for a great meal.
The restaurant had a good vibe and was smartly decorated with a chalk board advertising their wine flight selection. I ordered the Pinot Noir wine flight only to be notified that the chalk board hadn’t been updated since they opened and they no longer had those wines. Annoying but I can get over it.
We barely glanced at the menu after we were seated since we had both already made our selections when we looked at the menu online. However when I didn’t see what I had selected on the menu, I asked the waitress about it. Her response was basically the same as her response to the chalk board. She said that they change their menu quarterly so they don’t keep their website up to date. Oh wow, your menu changes 4 times a year? Clearly I can see how updating your site four times a year would be such a major time suck and totally not worth it (sarcasm). As a side note, their site is completely in Flash so yes it would take longer to update but that’s not the only way they are getting screwed by their Flash website as we all know.
The waitress had no idea what was even on the website and I bet if I asked her what the domain was she would have to ask someone else. It is astonishing that companies still feel like once they put up a website they are done. Your website needs to be fully integrated into your everyday business and updated regularly. Especially if you have client-facing employees, they need to be well versed in what is on your website. You and your employees will look like idiots if a customer asks a question about something they saw on your website and the employee has no answer.
I most likely won’t go back to Currant since the food was mediocre on top of not being able to get what I was looking forward to. But for their sake, I hope they start to take their website seriously and stop thinking of it as just a fancy place to put their phone number.
Jul
1
Crest’s “Tiffany” Pro-Health Commercial: Like Nails on a Chalkboard…or on my TV
Filed Under Misc | 21 Comments
If you know me well you know little things drive me crazy. Most notably, repetitive sounds. For instance, I can’t stand ticking clocks. Although, that is probably because I grew up in a house full of them since I my dad is a collector. And by collector I don’t mean just a collector of clocks, I mean of anything and everything of little to no value that he can get his hands on.
Also, if you follow me on Twitter you’ve seen me bitching about my new neighbor’s wind chimes which I am glaring at out of the corner of my eye right now as they dance in the breeze. The lightest breeze and they are noisy as shit. But, I digress.
I am now adding the sound of “squeaky clean teeth” to my list of noises I hate thanks to a Crest Pro-Health Night Toothpaste featuring “Tiffany”. At the end of the commercial she rubs her finger against her teeth to prove to you how squeaky clean they are when she gets up in the morning. Now I rarely watch commercials thanks to my best friend Tivo but whenever I forget to fast foward through them, this damn commercial is on and I never realize it until it’s too late. I lunge for the remote and just as I grab it she squeaks her finger across her teeth like fingernails on a chalkboard. I am fairly sure they could replace waterboarding with Tiffany’s squeaky teeth torture and see a drastic rise in terrorist confessions. So, if you know anyone at Crest that can get this commercial off the air I would be forever indebted. In the meantime, if you are into torturing yourself, here it is:
Jun
25
The Only SEO Title I Have a Chance at Winning
Filed Under Contests | 4 Comments
Chris Hooley has proven how crazy he is again and has put me in one of his SEO Superlative Poll categories: Best Dressed SEO. I would have to argue that I should also be in the Most Likely To Close the Bar category as well but I digress. Until he adds a Most Drunk Tweets category, I’m going to have to settle for 4th place out of 5 contenders for Best Dressed. So hop over there and vote for me so I don’t come in last place. Although being the last of the best dressed in our group of TJ Maxx shopping nerds wouldn’t be that bad now would it?
Jun
24
Closing One Door and Opening Another
Filed Under Career | 4 Comments
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I recently left my position at Einstein Industries, Inc. after nearly 6 years with the company. I had a very successful run there and owe the bulk of my knowledge to the great people I worked with each day. I decided to leave for a completely different type of position and am now enjoying the task of growing an already successful business to new levels. My new venture is with a customized flash memory drive company called Bespoke|USB at which I am responsible for, well, almost everything right now. So, if you need memory sticks to promote your business, hand out an conferences or give to clients hit me up and I’ll get you a great deal!
Jun
12
DK, who you may know as the PubCon Poker Tournament guy, is at it again! DK is amazing at listening to what people want and turning it into a reality. He has been listening to everyone saying that they are tired of conferences where you sit in a room with hundreds of people and have speakers recite what you could learn by just reading their blogs (for free). He’s also heard all of the feedback about the lack of networking opportunities unless you are already “in”. So he has created Think Tank, a unique networking and learning opportunity…no big sessions with speakers that talk *at* you instead of *with you*, well organized networking events that are guaranteed to entertain and educate, a great location and much much more. Read more about Think Tank 2008 at Purposeinc.com and we’ll see you in San Diego in September!
Mar
31
The mission of Trash the Earth Day (coming this April 5th) is to grow and diversify the environmental destruction movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting an unhealthy, unsustainable planet so our children will have the same fun and benefits of trying to save the planet that our generation has enjoyed. Supporters of Trash the Earth Day pursue their mission through education, politics, events, and consumer activism.
The League of American Non-environmentalists Defending Freedom to Litter (LANDFL) released the following statement regarding Trash the Earth Day:
“The recycling movement has created nearly one million new jobs in America alone. If we don’t continue contributing to the decline of our environment, the need for recycling will decline leading to a drastic reduction in recycling related jobs in America. The balance between improving the environment and keeping our economy strong is delicate. We cannot ignore the need for Americans to continue to litter and produce excess waste, guaranteeing the need for recycling in the future.”
Please watch the following video starring a Great American Hero for more information on Trash the Earth Day to see how you can do your part to trash the Earth.