websense

You know that I am not exactly the big promoter of all things Facebook. I think there are other SEO and Social Media marketing strategies that can prove much more beneficial. That being said, I want to take a quick look at Facebook’s new Questions and Answers. It’s kinda cool, and I think there are a variety of ways it can be leveraged to gain some insight into the buying habits of not just your companies current customers, but their friends as well, since the Questions feature is open to all of Facebook, and therefore will be seen by the friends of people who respond to your questions. So, here are a few questions you can ask your customers/fans/friends to gain a little marketing knowledge of your customer base.

1. Regional questions pertaining to local activities and restaurants
a. What’s your favorite night to eat out?
b. What is your favorite restaurant?
c. Do you buy more chicken or beef?
d. Do you buy the same groceries every week, or shop the sales?
e. Would you rather see a baseball game or a football game?

2. Fundamental Brand Questions
a. Coke or Pepsi? (just kidding)
b. Do you buy car parts from the dealer or an auto parts store?
c. Do you still buy CDs, or just download music?
d. Old Navy for price or Gap for quality?

As you can see, the possibilities are endless, and I think have the potential to reveal some pretty good buying trends. Take advantage of the trends with specials and coupons. A restaurant owner may tweak his menu based on responses. Local store owner might have a better real time understanding of food buying trends (look for low heat homogenized milk to be a growing trend in foods).

People are funny. You can watch the Food Network and almost predict what the next big grocery item is going to by, just by what the chefs use in their shows. Very subtle marketing. Now Panko breadcrumbs are everywhere. Same with olive oil. Ten years ago, that was Popeye’s girlfriend’s name. Now many American households just can’t be without the stuff – mine included. Pomegranates seem to be the next big thing. The same thing will start to appear with the FB Questions (just as Twitter has trends, so will Questions). A good marketer will watch these questions for clues to the next big things, but business owners will be able to employ this easily to gain knowledge in real time about customer wants. It will be interesting to watch.

Have you tried out FB Questions yet? What question did you pose?

The following comes from an article found on Law.com – it pertains to a court case that is vitally relevant to my business, as well as clients of TKG. I wish I could post the whole article, because I feel that it is written better than I could, to make sure the legal aspects are represented – but I’ll give it my best shot. To read the entire article (which I recommend), I have provided a link:

http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202486373422&Web_Host_Liable_for_Contributory_Infringement
Sheri Qualters All Articles
The National Law Journal

So here’s the basic rundown: A web hosting and SEO firm in South Carolina called Bright Builders hosts a site and provides SEO services for a counterfeit golf club company. The fake golf club company openly states on it’s site that they make and sell the best fake Cleveland Golf clubs on the internet. Cleveland Golf gets wind of this and sues. Judge decides a verdict against Bright Builders (the web hosting company) to the tune of $770,750!!!!!!! The fake golf club guys get a jury return of a mere $28,250 statutory damages verdict.

A lawyer (Finnerty) in the case maintains that hosting a web site is the same as being a landlord –
“A Web-hosting company’s obligation is similar to that of a landlord’s, he said. A landlord doesn’t have the obligation to act as an investigator against his tenants to find out they are doing anything illegal, but once they knew or should have known, they have to act,” Finnerty said. “How is that any different online?”

Basically stating that a Web hosting company has a minimal obligation to know what they are hosting, as a landlord has a minimal obligation to know whom he is renting an apartment. If the hosting company or SEO provider discovers something remiss, or flat out illegal, they are obliged to report it.

I guess that’s just basic common sense. I don’t know that I want to get hit with a monetary judgment because I wasn’t aware of what a client had on a Web site TKG is hosting or does SEO for. I think for the most part, we are fairly familiar with all of our clients and would notice something going on. In this particular case, it was clear and obvious that Bright Builders knew what was up, and just didn’t do anything about it. TKG has always upheld the highest Web standards, and hopefully, this would never be an issue. That being said, we host hundreds of Web sites, and a few are just hosted here, we haven’t touched them other than to host.

As law catches up to technology, we’re going to see more and more of these cases. Judges are going to have to try and use existing law as a precedent, as in the landlord example. Or they are going to be setting landmark precedents. Hopefully, these types of cases will be decided justly, and won’t impinge on the freedom of the Web.

What are your thoughts on this case? Do you think the hosting company should have been liable for damages, or do you think it’s a crock? I think I am in the middle on this one. If they were aware of the situation, then yeah, they are liable, but I don’t see how they are more liable than the actual site owners. That one baffles me a little. What say you?

TKG is HIRING!
We’ve had a few staff changes, as well as some positions in departments that just keep growing and growing, so we’re looking for some new blood around here! If you are motivated, like to work in a fun, upbeat atmosphere while wearing jeans and sneakers rather than a pin striped suit and tie, please apply!

SEO STRATEGIST – Just as our SEO department keeps growing, as does the number of SEO staffers going part time due to motherhood, so we need more strategists! If you have experience, and know your way around SEO, send us your resume, we’d love to talk to ya!

SEO SALESPERSON – Because SEO is vital to any website’s success, we are on the lookout for a great sales person who truly understands SEO, and how it impacts a site’s conversions. If you believe in the fundamental importance of SEO, and can demonstrate it to your client, give us call!

ACCOUNT MANAGER If you are great at client interaction, and can run interference between two departments who rely on each other to work together, check out this job posting – we need ya!

RECEPTIONIST – Hannah is moving up in the world, becoming a personal assistant for Stacy in HR, and me. On second thought, this could be construed as a step down, as she’ll have to contend with me, but she’s too nice to mention what a pain in the neck I am.

If you’re interested in any of the above positions, I invite you to stop over and check out our offices. I think you’ll be in for a great surprise – a laid back atmosphere, pool, foos, darts and a nice deck when you need a little down time. Casual dress, friendly faces and some pretty awesome aesthetics to keep the creative juices flowing. Drop by, we’d love to meet you.

The LinkedIn Blog announced a new feature this week called “LinkedIn Today”- an industry specific news feed based on what your connections are reading.

It’s a pretty cool idea, and can probably help you get the news that is relevant to you. The way it works is fairly obvious, the news stories shared the most often by your connections, coworkers and peers will be presented to you in an industry specific. If you follow more than one industry, as many would want to, clients’ industries, others that affect your business, etc. then the top five news stories that affect the industries you follow will be highlighted.

From the LinkedIn Blog, “By following industries, you can get the relevant news on your Front Page and in the top navigation. We’ll also send you a weekly email of the top industry headlines across all of the industries you follow. And, no matter how many industries you follow, we will only send you one news email per week.”

They also have apps for your phone of course. If you are pretty busy, and don’t want to wade through all the regular news to try and get the industry specific news you are looking for, this could be a beneficial tool. Aren’t we getting lazy? Too many clicks through a news site, just pipe the news I want right to me and forget the rest! In any case, you can do just that now, on your LinkedIn profile. Kinda cool, sort of a one stop for the business community, which I am sure is the whole point.

I think LinkedIn is a great tool. I think this could make it even more useful, unless it clutters up a good thing. We’ll see how it pans out.
If you want to read more about it, check out the LinkedIn Blog post, or watch the video below, originally posted on the LinkedIn Blog.

My heart goes out to all those who lost a loved one in Japan this weekend, and our thoughts and prayers are with the survivors.
Hopefully the radiation from the nuclear plant will not have an ill affect, and the clean up process will go quickly. God be with you, Japan.

In light of the devastating effects of this earthquake and tsunami, many people would like to make donations to help out. Amazingly, there are already scammers making calls and taking donations. Please, if you want to donate to help the people of Japan, call yourself, or go to a trusted site. Don’t make a donation to anyone who calls you on the phone, and be very careful when using a website. Be sure you are actually in the right place, these scammers like to change the spelling of the url very slightly so that you don’t notice, and make a nice little donation to them, rather than your intended recipient.

In an effort to be helpful, here are a couple of organizations taking donations – these places are legit.
Catholic Charities
Mercy Corps

Please keep the people of Japan in your prayers. They are in for a long haul – it’s not going to be easy.