Archive for March, 2008

I am really a nice guy which is why I don’t often mention names, but this amazed me. A colleague of mine informed me that as she was using the spell checker on the webmail system, the word “f*ck” was offered to her as an option for the correction of a persons name. She was shocked and a bit offended. I was able to duplicate the issue and let the web hosting support folks know about it. My comment to the support folks was “if someone wants to use that word and can’t spell it… well that might explain why they use it”.

So here is my question; am I over reacting, or should this word not be in the default dictionary for the spell checker?

StumbleUpon is all the talk in Social Networking, and for good reasons. It is a great way to meet folks to network with both in an outside of your industry. And yes, we know it can be good for generating some web traffic. Ok — real good.

I have had the privilege of helping people get going on their SU journey, so I figured I would just put it all in a blog post and start to send it out. Much of this has been said by others, but I decided to draft the Stumble Upon commandments.

So here are the rules on how to “Stumble without Falling”

1. Thou Shalt Not Stumble Thyself Exclusively (lest you go blind in the eyes of others). Literally, if you are just Stumbling yourself people will watch but let you keep on enjoying yourself – they won’t stop you or join you. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist)

2. Thou Shalt Not Attempt to Network Without a Photo or Avatar. Avatars help in branding as long as you are consistent with your website and other Social Media Networks. People don’t know who you are, but they will feel like they know you a bit more if you use your photo as an Avatar. Baby pictures are cute, but not helpful when you run into that person at a conference – they just won’t look the same.

3. Thou Shalt Not Spam. This applies to SU or otherwise. It’s just wrong and a great way to get blacklisted by the community. That includes IM’s and mass sending of lots of links.

4. Thou Shalt Not Have a Blank Profile. On top of having your picture, say something about yourself. It’s just common courtesy. Here is an example of a great StumbleUpon profile that I recently referred someone to.

5. Thou Shalt Not Ignore Those Who Review You. If someone reviews your site, send them a note thanking them and asking them how you van help them.

6. Thou Shalt Not Only Offer Thumbs Up or Down. Take some time to write a review; people will appreaciate that you have an opinion, even if they disagree.

7. Thou shalt Not Submit or Support Worthless Content. If it didn’t happen, it wouldn’t need explanation. Ask yourself, do I really like this site? Will someone really benefit from this? Am I just doing someone a favor, and ruining my reputation in the process?

8. Thou Shalt Not Pay for Reviews and Stumbles. Sites that offer Stumbles and Review for money are kind of the antithesis of what Social Networking is. To me it is the difference is effectively sharing about a product or service and simply not being genuine.

I am super busy and only got to 8 – Feel free to submit your suggestions for #9 & #10. No big prizes, just a link and kudos.

This really isn’t news other than I have not posted any specific information on SEM consulting services on this blog prior. As far as SEM services, I am a one man operation however I utilize the services of two firms in particular to handle my overflow work. I also work with a designer who handles any web design needs that may arise. From time to time I consider adding additional SEM staff and building Web Traffic Team into a larger entity, but I did that once already and I just don’t think it’s the direction I want to go in. There is always the possibility of partnering with one of the many SEM firms that I respect and trust, but for now, I am very content working as I do.

I will be focusing on a few niche industries, mostly related to financial services and offering a host of services including:

- Tele-coaching
- One on One Coaching
- Full Service SEM
- Social Media Marketing
- Link Building
- Pay Per Click Search
- General SEM Consulting.

For more information on SEM service offerings and pricing, please visit the Search Marketing Consulting section of my blog.