Google just announced today that within their Webmaster Tools utility you can now receive automatic alerts when the Googlebot experiences a jump in Crawl Errors. You can read the whole post on the Google Webmaster Central blog.

There are many reasons that a search engine bot might get a crawl error on a site. It’s actually pretty common. The significance of this update from Google is that they will alert you to an unexpected increase in crawl errors. Maybe something went wrong with your database. Maybe there’s a typo in a bunch of new pages you posted. Maybe a site you link to heavily is down or changed their URLs. No matter the reason, this is good info for a site owner to know.

Additional tip: Google Webmaster Tools is something you should be using already!

It has always amazed me how technology has continually moved our society. The past century the human race has seen more advances than the prior 2,000 combined. If it weren’t for visionary people many of the gadgets we take for granted today simply wouldn’t exist.

While it is commonly accepted that art imitates life, it is also obvious that life imitates art. This is no truer than in tech. Even the authors of the late 18th century provided creative fodder for the inventors of the 19th and 20th.

I’m a huge fan of portable tech devices. I owned a Palm Pilot years ago and have owned a mobile phone for the past 20 years. This on top of the pile of other gadgets I have acquired has only increased my thirst for tech.

Since the release of the iPad I have been salivating for one of these gadgets. The simple yet flexible functionality of the device is simply astonishing. Can it do everything a notebook computer can? Probably not but then again it isn’t supposed to.

I have realized that my desire for an iPad most likely stems from the science fiction I grew up on and the possibilities they teased us with. For years I watched the crew of “Star Trek” carry around amazing portable devices that could allow them to develop incredibly complex mathematical equations and comprehend the space-time continuum. While a great deal of what they spoke was complete fabricated jargon it still didn’t take away from the mystique.

I also noticed that in the Pixar file “The Incredibles” another of these futuristic devices made its own appearance. It is funny to reflect on watching the movie and the device seemed so futuristic in 2004 at the time but now I look at it and say “hey, that’s an iPad”.

It is amazing how far technology has caught up to fiction. We can only hope that the visionaries of the future keep pushing our boundaries forward and give us inspiration for the next generation of life altering devices.

Or you end up being nothing to no one. Read More

I’ve written several posts about newspapers and their intent to put pay walls around content. Like this one and this one. It’s a subject I’ve followed with great interest in the last few years because I believe it’s flawed thinking. Read More

A cautionary tale.

It was a warm Saturday evening and I had to attend the wedding of a young employee from my company. I dressed in my best black cocktail dress and heels and was feeling fairly pleased with myself when Joe, my husband, and I headed over to the festivities.

The reception provided a good chance to “catch up” with some of our staffers. As it began to wind down one of my direct reports – a young guy – took it upon himself to patiently usher me out of the reception hall and out to my car with comments like “well, I guess this thing is over”, “time to get on out of here”.

I noticed that as soon as my car started heading out of the parking lot that my self-appointed escort had high-tailed it back into the building. Hmmm, odd I thought

By the time we reached home I realized that he was hustling “the boss” out so that he could get down to some serious partying. I felt just like Grandma Moses.

Once home I took my cranky self up to get ready for bed as Joe headed down to his man-cave. After shedding my slinky black dress and heels (and still mumbling obscenities under my breath) I headed into the master bath to wash up.

And that’s when my nail broke.

Need I share the murderous invectives that filled the air at this point? I thought not. Once I was able to regain a modicum of self-restraint my logical brain directed me to the new bottle of nail glue in my cabinet. I grabbed the bottle and struggled to open it. The cap was a real challenge – more so than usual. I thought something dropped out when the cap came off – but could find no evidence so I sloughed it off.

I spent the next few minutes – while the glue was drying on my nail – performing a few more of my nighttime ablutions. And then I was ready to depart from the bathroom. Only I couldn’t. The heel of my right foot was glued firmly to the floor tile.

I spent the next twenty minutes frantically trying to extricate myself so my husband would not laugh himself into cardiac arrest when he walked in. To no avail. Pulling my foot away would have resulted in the heel staying behind – not an option. I was unable to reach any potential tools that might help me scrape my foot off of that tile. So I gave up.

My next strategy was to begin yelling to Joe for help. Also to no avail. For about 45 minutes I gave periodic shouts in his general direction. None were heard down two flights and drowned out by his bevy of electronic gadgets – each noisy in its own way. Thank god I hadn’t set myself on fire!

I couldn’t even sit on the side of the tub to rest my weary bones as I waited to be rescued from my own bathroom. Finally I heard Joe’s footsteps on the stairs. I steeled myself for his reaction. Based on the cumulative effect of all of the indignities I had suffered that evening – his very survival would depend on his response – that or he’d have to leave me glued to the floor!

God bless him, he walked in, sized up the situation and headed to the garage for Goo Gone. Within 5 minutes I was a free woman. And life was good again!

And then we both laughed until we cried.

We’re in a creative business so emotions can sometimes run high. On occasion we’re subjected to an angry outburst which is generally counterproductive to any project it impacts. Read More

Remember that if you run an SEM (pay-per-click) or online display advertising campaign in Spanish your landing page also needs to be in Spanish.

We’ve had some Insights posts that talk about getting jobs in the creative field. You should read them.

Job applicants should also read the job description for the position they are applying for.

So this tip is really for everyone out there who is applying for a job, based on what I’ve seen over the 10+ years I’ve been hiring people. I know this type of advice is all over the place, but if you’re really interested in even getting that interview, start with making sure you’ve paid attention from the very beginning.

• Read the full job description for the position you are applying for
• Match your personal qualifications with that within the job description
• If you feel you are qualified or just really want the job, apply for it!
• Explain any differences between the job description and yourself if necessary
• Tell the prospective employer why you’d be a great match for the company
• Tell the prospective employer why you’d be the perfect person for the job
• Tailor your resume to the position you are applying for
• Do some research on the company you are applying to and the type of work they do
• Evaluate how your work compares with that the company does, and take that into consideration in your cover letter
• Spell everything correctly
• If you REALLY want the job, follow up via phone after a week to ask questions or find out whether you just aren’t going to get it – and then move on if you don’t get an interview

It’s a competitive job market out there. Make sure you put your best foot forward and really showcase yourself.

Don’t get so close to the avoidance product or service you’re marketing that you forget it’s not a subject welcomed with open arms. You may come up with a “kick ass” new promotion for adult diapers, but if you wave it openly in the face of your target audience – especially if it’s open enough to be observed by others close to them – you might find yourself permanently banned from their considered set. No one wants to come home to a flyer waving from their doorknob suggesting that their almost certain incontinence can be solved at a discount!

Try reaching out in a quiet and sympathetic way – and make sure it’s low key. Keeping their cover will get you rewarded. No sixteen year old girl wants a glaring ad for acne medication plastered to the back of her favorite fashion magazine so she’s uncomfortable carrying it around. But she will be needing those acne products. Don’t alienate your low hanging fruit!

One organization that needs to keep this in mind is the AARP. They bombard the poor, naïve 49 year old with mailer after mailer on dealing with old age. Don’t you know we’re NOT old at 49 – and we don’t want you waving your flag around us in an open and blatant way. It’s time to wake up guys – this problem isn’t going to get any better as the masses of forever young boomers get angrier at you by the day!

When fans attend the College World Series they want to be in the know, not just about game updates but also related updates about all the surrounding special events.

We established an opt in text alert service in 2006 for fans to get info via their phones and the program has continued to grow.  In 2010 the number of subscribers grew 6 fold, a clear indication of the ever increasing demand for mobile information.

Over the course of 2 1/2 weeks, subscribers received 72 alerts, special promotions and event updates. From rain delay announcements to ticket availabilities (online and at the box office) to autograph sessions with MLB payers and gate giveways to team advancements and special on field events, subscribers had the inside track on all the special events that surround the CWS.  They also received alerts about team practices so they could attend to watch their team on the practice fields and had the opportunity to participate in contests and polls.

With less than 2% opt out rate, the text alert program has been a hit with fans and allows them to keep up to date on all things CWS.