Mikey Mioduski is a creative designer at Compendium Blogware, designing stuff and blogging about it. He sometimes writes about stuff that others have designed, wishing he'd designed it. He sometimes writes in third person. Enjoy!Mikey Mioduski is a creative designer at Compendium Blogware, designing stuff and blogging about it. He sometimes writes about stuff that others have designed, wishing he'd designed it. He sometimes writes in third person. Enjoy!Every person who's ever started a blog has probably had a brief lapse where they neglected the crap out of their blog. If you make a living as a professional blogger of hot new gossip, being an unreliable provider of juice might dent your traffic. And in turn, your income. Your return visitor rates probably mean a lot to you.
But if you are a contributor to your company's blog, and your contributions have been hard to make due to external factors, or sheer laziness, you're in a much better position. You see, it's never too late to pick back up where you left off, because when you empower your entire company to pitch into your business blog, you aren't relying on one person or one voice. You are actually casting a wider net with your entire team, and as a result, your visitors tend to be new to your blog-- having found you through search. So the return traffic isn't as important.
And if you're using a smart and easy multi-user blogging platform, like ours, your other team members can keep on posting until you find your piece again.
It reminds me of this incredible graphic I found yesterday for Clayton Stobbs, a Business Development Manager here at Compendium. The stock image showcases four business people carefully assembling a multi colored foam puzzle. It might not be exactly like group blogging, but what I'm getting at here is this: I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while. But thank you to the Compendiumites who've kept it up.
Nice work team.
But if you are a contributor to your company's blog, and your contributions have been hard to make due to external factors, or sheer laziness, you're in a much better position. You see, it's never too late to pick back up where you left off, because when you empower your entire company to pitch into your business blog, you aren't relying on one person or one voice. You are actually casting a wider net with your entire team, and as a result, your visitors tend to be new to your blog-- having found you through search. So the return traffic isn't as important.
And if you're using a smart and easy multi-user blogging platform, like ours, your other team members can keep on posting until you find your piece again.
It reminds me of this incredible graphic I found yesterday for Clayton Stobbs, a Business Development Manager here at Compendium. The stock image showcases four business people carefully assembling a multi colored foam puzzle. It might not be exactly like group blogging, but what I'm getting at here is this: I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while. But thank you to the Compendiumites who've kept it up.
Nice work team.
Crazy week in Suite 1400. The marketing teamdoubled this week, welcoming paid intern Ford McAlexander, design and interactive guru Isaac Pellerin, and copywriting extraordinaire Heather Benfield. With this new squad of pro marketers, we will preach the value of our easy to use blog software to the world.
I've also had a great opportunity to work with Karen Jung at ExactTarget on a very cool blog raising awareness and hopefully funds for the people of Haiti. Once it is live I will promote the heck out of it, so please stay tuned. Karen had 15 months of experience volunteering in Haiti and has many stories to tell, and is also very well connected to some of the more grassroots organizations in the country that might not get the attention of some larger organizations. Exciting opportunity, I truly hope it helps.
Again, welcome new Compendiumites and power marketing team. Looking forward to some big things with our powers combined.
I've also had a great opportunity to work with Karen Jung at ExactTarget on a very cool blog raising awareness and hopefully funds for the people of Haiti. Once it is live I will promote the heck out of it, so please stay tuned. Karen had 15 months of experience volunteering in Haiti and has many stories to tell, and is also very well connected to some of the more grassroots organizations in the country that might not get the attention of some larger organizations. Exciting opportunity, I truly hope it helps.
Again, welcome new Compendiumites and power marketing team. Looking forward to some big things with our powers combined.
My computer has been rebooting on and off this morning with new updates and installs, and I think it's out of the clear now and ready to use. After my last reboot, I opened up Firefox to a screen that I've never seen before.
I had to double take this one.
What a simple way to pump a little life into something so drab, something that might otherwise be frustrating. Firefox could have given a basic "error" message. Or they could have omitted the page entirely and acted like nothing ever happened. But instead, they totally redeemed themselves with this clever little piece of messaging.
I'm not even mad. I think this makes a great case for businesses looking to loosen up a bit, because a business, afterall, is made up of people. And (most) people don't walk around saying "ERROR."
Firefox shows that it's alright to let your real personality shine through. Although it's quite a paradigm shift, such a change has many benefits. Businesses who have embraced new media outlets such as corporate blogging will not only attest to seeing dramatically improved results from a search marketing stand point, but they have also seen the benefits of stepping out from behind the curtain of the 20th century business model.
In an online world, reputations are too easily tarnished to set false expectations and hide behind bogus claims. Businesses who blog honestly and openly are humanizing their marketing by telling real stories and enabling their employees to tell real stories of their own-- all the while boosting their presence online and driving their business.
So even if you screw up once and awhile, it's okay to admit it. It might even get a blog post written about you.
I had to double take this one.
What a simple way to pump a little life into something so drab, something that might otherwise be frustrating. Firefox could have given a basic "error" message. Or they could have omitted the page entirely and acted like nothing ever happened. But instead, they totally redeemed themselves with this clever little piece of messaging.
I'm not even mad. I think this makes a great case for businesses looking to loosen up a bit, because a business, afterall, is made up of people. And (most) people don't walk around saying "ERROR."
Firefox shows that it's alright to let your real personality shine through. Although it's quite a paradigm shift, such a change has many benefits. Businesses who have embraced new media outlets such as corporate blogging will not only attest to seeing dramatically improved results from a search marketing stand point, but they have also seen the benefits of stepping out from behind the curtain of the 20th century business model.
In an online world, reputations are too easily tarnished to set false expectations and hide behind bogus claims. Businesses who blog honestly and openly are humanizing their marketing by telling real stories and enabling their employees to tell real stories of their own-- all the while boosting their presence online and driving their business.
So even if you screw up once and awhile, it's okay to admit it. It might even get a blog post written about you.
Many companies have realized by now that corporate blogging offers many benefits, namely improved search presence. Our cofounders realized this a long time ago, and saw that through blogging, a company can create a huge net of keyword rich blog pages that serve as landing pages for a range of targeted keywords-- ones helpful to potential searchers.
In other words, business blogging helps you get found. Compendium, I feel, is the best blogging software for businesses because our software as a service enables them to get up and writing on a fully scalable level devoid of the hassles, plugins, downloads and security issues that come along with most popular freeware blogging platforms. Because of this, companies using Compendium to drive their search marketing efforts will find measurable success with tangible return on their investment.
Another reason to go with Compendium? Because we are a software-as-a-service blogging platform, that means we have a vested interest in our clients' success. We consult with SEO experts to constantly improve our product, we continue to develop new features and improvements, and advise our clients on how to best incorporate them.
That's what makes Compendium Blogware such a great option to get organizations of any size up and blogging, worry free and fully focused on driving keyword results.
Just got back from an awesome conference called The Future of Web Design 2009. So I guess you could say I've seen what the future has to offer. I gotta say, it looks promising.
If you're designing your business blog, or you're thinking about a blog redesign, I'd recommend checking out some of these names I'm about to drop. As we know, business blogging can really help you to communicate your message to potential leads / customers. Because blogs do very well in search, your blog could very well be the first impression you ever make on aforementioned lead / prospect. With new developments in web design, from things like HTML5 and CSS3 to new ideas in content strategy and creation, you can really make that first impression a big one by paying attention to your business blog's design.
So if you're just getting started, just thinking about it, or are just hungry for some inspiration and knowledge... here were some of the speakers that I found truly inspiring from the conference.
Mike Kus
Designer at Carsonified
personal site: http://thethingswemake.co.uk/
Mike Kus emphasized the importance of thinking "outside the web." As soon as we start thinking about a website design, we limit ourselves. We think of things we already know, things we've already seen, things that are trendy. But Kus approaches his designs as if they aren't web designs at all, but instead posters... tee shirts... or some entirely different medium altogether, autonomous of the web. He then brings his idea "back to the web" where his results are often head turning, bold and memorable.
Daniel Burka
Former Creative Director at Digg
now Director of Design at Tiny Speck.
personal site: http://www.deltatangobravo.com/
Daniel Burka's talk, "Listening, Really Listening, to your users," was stellar. I also had the opportunity to sit in on his 3.5 hour workshop the day before, which was even stellarer as he went into open honest detail about the endless lessons he learned over the many years working at Digg, one of the most popular news sharing sites online. Burka made great points on the importance of testing your site with real users, and really listening to what they're telling you-- not only with their words, but with their actions. He emphasized the importance of adapting to change, and being willing to do so. He quoted someone else, "If you look back and aren't embarrassed by your website's version 1.0, you spent way too much time on it."
That's the beauty of web design (as opposed to print), is that we can change things every single day, and if we try something, and it doesn't work, we can try something else. This mentality and willingness to adapt is what made Digg the site is today, and why it gets ridiculous traffic and interaction from its community. Burka also made a fantastic point about the politics involved when making changes to a website of such scale. Burka indicated that there were intense debates at Digg when facing design changes that would often delay change, or induce design by committee results. In his words, Apple is fortunate to have such a benevolent authoritarian dictator, because the result is an incredibly simple, streamlined, yet layered and powerful website.
Very cool, very humble guy.
Joshua Davis
NY Based Artist, Designer & Technologist http://www.joshuadavis.com/
Joshua Davis was the Keynote Speaker at FOWD. This guy charged the stage with bright red pants, a matching bright red jacket, and two Red Bull Energy Drinks. He then blew minds with his ideas and art in a presentation exploring the notion of "Space."
Davis started as a painter and fine artist, who fell in love with Flash back in the early nineties, and has since spent his time exploring and pushing digital art. His work and approach to art and design are extremely innovative, his process totally unique, his results powerful and unexpected.
If you can ever catch Joshua Davis at a comedy-- I mean speaking gig, or at one of his art exhibits, I highly recommend it.
Here's to the future.
-- MSM
If you're designing your business blog, or you're thinking about a blog redesign, I'd recommend checking out some of these names I'm about to drop. As we know, business blogging can really help you to communicate your message to potential leads / customers. Because blogs do very well in search, your blog could very well be the first impression you ever make on aforementioned lead / prospect. With new developments in web design, from things like HTML5 and CSS3 to new ideas in content strategy and creation, you can really make that first impression a big one by paying attention to your business blog's design.
So if you're just getting started, just thinking about it, or are just hungry for some inspiration and knowledge... here were some of the speakers that I found truly inspiring from the conference.
Mike Kus
Designer at Carsonified
personal site: http://thethingswemake.co.uk/
Mike Kus emphasized the importance of thinking "outside the web." As soon as we start thinking about a website design, we limit ourselves. We think of things we already know, things we've already seen, things that are trendy. But Kus approaches his designs as if they aren't web designs at all, but instead posters... tee shirts... or some entirely different medium altogether, autonomous of the web. He then brings his idea "back to the web" where his results are often head turning, bold and memorable.
Daniel Burka
Former Creative Director at Digg
now Director of Design at Tiny Speck.
personal site: http://www.deltatangobravo.com/
Daniel Burka's talk, "Listening, Really Listening, to your users," was stellar. I also had the opportunity to sit in on his 3.5 hour workshop the day before, which was even stellarer as he went into open honest detail about the endless lessons he learned over the many years working at Digg, one of the most popular news sharing sites online. Burka made great points on the importance of testing your site with real users, and really listening to what they're telling you-- not only with their words, but with their actions. He emphasized the importance of adapting to change, and being willing to do so. He quoted someone else, "If you look back and aren't embarrassed by your website's version 1.0, you spent way too much time on it."
That's the beauty of web design (as opposed to print), is that we can change things every single day, and if we try something, and it doesn't work, we can try something else. This mentality and willingness to adapt is what made Digg the site is today, and why it gets ridiculous traffic and interaction from its community. Burka also made a fantastic point about the politics involved when making changes to a website of such scale. Burka indicated that there were intense debates at Digg when facing design changes that would often delay change, or induce design by committee results. In his words, Apple is fortunate to have such a benevolent authoritarian dictator, because the result is an incredibly simple, streamlined, yet layered and powerful website.
Very cool, very humble guy.
Joshua Davis
NY Based Artist, Designer & Technologist http://www.joshuadavis.com/
Joshua Davis was the Keynote Speaker at FOWD. This guy charged the stage with bright red pants, a matching bright red jacket, and two Red Bull Energy Drinks. He then blew minds with his ideas and art in a presentation exploring the notion of "Space."
Davis started as a painter and fine artist, who fell in love with Flash back in the early nineties, and has since spent his time exploring and pushing digital art. His work and approach to art and design are extremely innovative, his process totally unique, his results powerful and unexpected.
If you can ever catch Joshua Davis at a comedy-- I mean speaking gig, or at one of his art exhibits, I highly recommend it.
Here's to the future.
-- MSM
My close colleague and good friend Meghan recently got married to a very cool dude named Ryan. I not only want to congratulate the happy couple, I would like to point out something we recently discovered.
Meghan Manning. Pretty nice name right? A couple M's, a couple AN's.
It get's better.
Meghan Manning recently got promoted from Marketing Coordinator to Marketing Manager. The former Meghan Peters Marketing Coordinator at Compendium Blogware is now Meghan Manning, Marketing Manager at Compendium Blogware.
I couldn't make this up.
But Meghan Manning Marketing Manager is not just a literary or rhetorical stylistic device, she is a smart and savvy search marketer. If you want to get schooled with great tips and ideas on how to motivate a company to blog better, stronger and more frequently, tune into Meghan Manning Marketing Manager's blog, "Why Blogging Matters."
Thanks for all your hard work MMMM and for having such an incredible name.
Post script.
I should also point out that Compendium's Marketing Team is called the M-team for a reason. We only hire people with first names beginning with the letter M. So if your name is Richard or Peggy or something, and you've been thinking about applying for a marketing position with Compendium, you might want to consider going by "Mick" or "Meggy" if you wish to be taken seriously.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
- MM
Meghan Manning. Pretty nice name right? A couple M's, a couple AN's.
It get's better.
Meghan Manning recently got promoted from Marketing Coordinator to Marketing Manager. The former Meghan Peters Marketing Coordinator at Compendium Blogware is now Meghan Manning, Marketing Manager at Compendium Blogware.
I couldn't make this up.
But Meghan Manning Marketing Manager is not just a literary or rhetorical stylistic device, she is a smart and savvy search marketer. If you want to get schooled with great tips and ideas on how to motivate a company to blog better, stronger and more frequently, tune into Meghan Manning Marketing Manager's blog, "Why Blogging Matters."
Thanks for all your hard work MMMM and for having such an incredible name.
Post script.
I should also point out that Compendium's Marketing Team is called the M-team for a reason. We only hire people with first names beginning with the letter M. So if your name is Richard or Peggy or something, and you've been thinking about applying for a marketing position with Compendium, you might want to consider going by "Mick" or "Meggy" if you wish to be taken seriously.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
- MM
When I first heard that Compendium employees were undergoing a mandatory Substance Abuse Training session, I was initially filled with rage. Maybe not rage. Maybe fury. No, fury's probably an exaggeration too. How about this, I was slightly distraught.
I was initially slightly distraught because I'm 26 years into my life. While today is the oldest I've ever been, tomorrow I will be one day closer to my late twenties, which is daringly close to what I call the point of no return. Sure I tested my limits in college, and grad school, but how am I supposed to know the effects of substance abuse on my professional life if I can't bring them to work with me?
Having said that, I believe in the power of optimism. My scotch glass is always half full, so I tried to keep an open and limber mind, and yesterday, when the nice woman from Management 2000 came and explained why Substance Abuse at the work place sucks, I really tried to give her the benefit of the doubt.
The training session changed my whole perspective. It turns out substance abuse at work is not cool at all. Plus, Compendium is growing like crazy. Our simple blogging software is helping tons of clients get found in organic search. In fact, we are doing such a good job that we won a very large grant. And part of keeping that grant means that we must abide by certain concessions, ie we can't be hammered all day at work.
So here's my list of Pros and Cons in regards to Compendium becoming a Drug and Alcohol free workplace. You will see that my initial rage / fury / distress can be quelled, because the pro's seem to outnumber the cons.
Cons:
- no in house blogging for liquor incentives. ask Megan Manning who is our blogging czar... it works.
- no more kegerator.
- no more of Brian Graham's home brewed beer
- no pregaming for the bus ride home
- no drunken sales calls to the clients that "got away."
- turns out a lot of work related deaths are attributed to substance abuse. we will have none of that.
- the elevators here are pretty old. not sure how substance abuse plays into that, but if you happened to be on crack or acid, and an elevator got stuck, your bruce willis-like instincts might betray you.
- not everyone drinks alcohol, so these non drinkers wont feel left out of anything
- kanye west
- we get to keep that awesome grant. come on!
- we get to make more field trips for any substance induced fun.
- more fridge space for... food?
- research indicates that that people have to make up for colleagues who abuse drugs and booze, and we have enough work to do as it is.
- we don't want an *asterisk next to our name in the SAAS hall of fame as the best business blogging software, or best search marketing tool with aid of Captain Morgan, or heroin. no way. we did this the right way.
- nobody really drank out of the kegerator anyway. can i take that home?
The pro's have it. Downtown Indy won't be the same, but overall it's a change for the best. And congrats again to Compendium for winning the grant, truly awesome news.
Jay-Z called for the Death of Autotune, I'm calling for the death of Stock Imagery.
Yeah right. Stock images are ok I guess because you can find a visual that represents what you're writing about in your blog kind of. Like if you're writing about "social media" you can find a stock image of some little icon people in a circle... you know, to really drive the idea home.
Stock images are easy. But the most memorable blogs and websites in my mind are the ones that create everything from scratch. Obviously I don't practice what I preach... But I just want to give props to these very cool sites that really deliver one of a kind content, because content is really what separates a succesful business blog from an okay one.
IDEO and alistapart.com are two examples that I know of who create custom graphics and illustrations to represent their content. Not an easy task! But it pays off brilliantly. The old design saying goes something like this: you're supposed to design around the content. Chances are a stock image can't express exactly what you wanted to say and also maintain the graphic standards of your brand. Granted not all of us have the budget for such customization, but maybe it's as easy as asking a local art student to pump out some drawings for you. Or asking your buddy the aspiring photographer to get some shots. Whatever it is, wouldn't it make for a much more beautiful internet if each site we visited had it's own unique look and feel, even in the content.
Here's what the heck i'm talking about in case I've lost you.
Exhibit A. Ideo.com's patterns... Awesome illustrations (please don't tell me these are stock or my whole theory is kabosh.)
Exhibit B. Also from Ideo. Notice they have their own style, yet they still speak to the content with the imagery. Even the layout is super unique.
Exhibit C. Alistapart has a darn good illustrator pumping out top notch watercolorings (?) makign each article that much more compelling and interesting.
Exhibit D. See what I'm saying?
It's definitely more time consuming, but again, this customization is another way to make for a more engaging, more memorable experience for visitors to your business blog, which is not an easy task online.
Gracias for the inspiration IDEO and Alistapart.
Yeah right. Stock images are ok I guess because you can find a visual that represents what you're writing about in your blog kind of. Like if you're writing about "social media" you can find a stock image of some little icon people in a circle... you know, to really drive the idea home.
Stock images are easy. But the most memorable blogs and websites in my mind are the ones that create everything from scratch. Obviously I don't practice what I preach... But I just want to give props to these very cool sites that really deliver one of a kind content, because content is really what separates a succesful business blog from an okay one.
IDEO and alistapart.com are two examples that I know of who create custom graphics and illustrations to represent their content. Not an easy task! But it pays off brilliantly. The old design saying goes something like this: you're supposed to design around the content. Chances are a stock image can't express exactly what you wanted to say and also maintain the graphic standards of your brand. Granted not all of us have the budget for such customization, but maybe it's as easy as asking a local art student to pump out some drawings for you. Or asking your buddy the aspiring photographer to get some shots. Whatever it is, wouldn't it make for a much more beautiful internet if each site we visited had it's own unique look and feel, even in the content.
Here's what the heck i'm talking about in case I've lost you.
Exhibit A. Ideo.com's patterns... Awesome illustrations (please don't tell me these are stock or my whole theory is kabosh.)
Exhibit B. Also from Ideo. Notice they have their own style, yet they still speak to the content with the imagery. Even the layout is super unique.
Exhibit C. Alistapart has a darn good illustrator pumping out top notch watercolorings (?) makign each article that much more compelling and interesting.
Exhibit D. See what I'm saying?
It's definitely more time consuming, but again, this customization is another way to make for a more engaging, more memorable experience for visitors to your business blog, which is not an easy task online.
Gracias for the inspiration IDEO and Alistapart.
Online video is here to stay. I probably didn't need to tell you that.
I'm not sure exactly what qualifies as "U.S. Internet audience," but according to these recent numeros from comScore, Inc., over 80% of this demographic watched online video in August. In fact, the numbers for the month of August, 2009 proved to be the highest in online video's history.
161 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during the month, the largest audience ever recorded. Online video reached another all-time high in August with more than 25 billion videos viewed during the month, with Google Sites accounting for more than 10 billion.
If there was any skepticism about online video's future, I think it can be safely dispelled at this point. This data from comScore and also some numbers rounded up by Luke Wroblewski (Senior Director of Product Ideation & Design at Yahoo!) are probably just specs in the mass of information telling us that video is a fundamental piece of the online world.Moving forward with online content and business blogging.
That being said, try to pay attention to what you as a consumer or business person tune into online. What kinds of video are you watching? A few years ago, I would wage that YouTube had the stronghold on our online video viewership-- funny quirky weird viral videos passed along in emails. But today, there is more substance to online video as traditional media streams have really embraced the concept. We can catch up on our news, sports and even our favorite tv shows. I bet even my mom knows what Hulu is.
Or for those self actualizers out there, your can teach yourself new Photoshop tricks, nasty guitar licks, or just kick back and listen to some of the world's thought leaders for an afternoon on places like Ted.com. Some of the best videos online give us the chance to educate ourselves and others, or spread the word about things that we're passionate about. This is just the beginning.
Online video and the future of business blogging.
The proliferation of online video does not mean that all video will be watched, in fact it means quite the opposite. But if you are a marketer with a story to tell, and you understand the value of search marketing and business blogging, then exploring this popular and powerful medium is yet another way to engage your audience. Video blogging is growing in popularity because it is so accessible, and great for those of us who don't like to read. Just being honest. I tuned in last week to Crispin Porter + Bogusky's "Fearless Q&A," a live webcast integrated with twitter and whatnot, and I definitely plan to tune in again this week because I found it interesting, relevant ... something I can learn from. Long story short, these new online video outlets such as webisodes, live webcasts and video blogging can give visitors another reason to return to your site. Which is nice.
Thank you for reading.
Don't look at me, look at our CEO and Co-Founder, Chris Baggott. His upcoming webinar, "What every marketer should know about the future of Business Blogging" is this Thursday, October 22, 2009, from 2-3 est.
I've been working here for well over a year now, I've heard Chris talk about business blogging week after week, and it never gets old! If you've never tuned in to one of his webinars, I can honestly say it is well worth your time. Not only will he educate you, he will probably make you a believer. From the many case studies of real companies blogging successfully, to first hand encounters, Chris' stories and ideas are both entertaining and enlightening.
If you have a chance and are available Thursday, you should check it out!
Sign up here.
I've been working here for well over a year now, I've heard Chris talk about business blogging week after week, and it never gets old! If you've never tuned in to one of his webinars, I can honestly say it is well worth your time. Not only will he educate you, he will probably make you a believer. From the many case studies of real companies blogging successfully, to first hand encounters, Chris' stories and ideas are both entertaining and enlightening.
If you have a chance and are available Thursday, you should check it out!
Sign up here.
Maybe you work for someone else, maybe you work for yourself. That aside, if you aren't a business owner, try to imagine that you are, for a moment. If you are one, you probably already know the value of search marketing.
So imagine you own a business. Try to imagine how you are going to deliver your message, your product or service to people who could really use it, or improve their lives somehow by utilizing what you have to offer, but might not know you exist. You yourself hate advertising, and you don't want to cram a message down the throats of people who might not need your service, but you want to be found by the people who honestly and truly want to find you. So how do you do it?
Where is the first place they will most likely look to solve their problems, anymore? If you haven't already guessed, they're going to search online. Not only does online search give us instant direction, if not instant results, it is becoming easier and easier to access. And even if your company is a household name in your town, state or country, you will still benefit from ranking higher in search. And time is of the essence. Companies that establish a presence online early will have much greater momentum in search results than a company that waits and waits because they're hesitant, or just not ready to adapt. As the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Or something.
So, let's say you own a business. Do you think you'll benefit from being found online? One of the most scalable, honest and human-friendly solutions to establishing a strong presence online is through business blogging. The best time to start was awhile ago. The next best time is now!
Why should Chris, Ali, and Megan consider sending me, their loyal creative designer, to SXSW Interactive this coming year? Aside from the top ten reasons listed on the SXSW site, and aside from the fact that I do partake in the designing of things interactive for Compendium, and aside from the fact that it seems like the place to be in the industry, I am a tremendous note taker, a pretty decent listener, and a person who really enjoys learning new things from experts.
Also, I've never been to austin, but I have a few good friends there who just might be able to put me up on a rather nice couch, which means, I'm also a cheap send (unlike those high maintenance sales folk (just kidding high maintenance sales folk)).
As the leaders of the 3rd generation in business blogging, I feel it is appropriate that Compendium has a strong presence at the conference this year, and I would like to get that seed planted right now, with this post.
Thank you for your consideration.
** speaking of bosses, happy b-day Springsteen.
We all know what blogging is.A few years ago, when Compendium was just starting out, I think our sales team spent just as much time explaining what business blogging was as they did our product. Today, the benefits of business blogging are much more widely known and accepted, and I think this transformation will best be explained tomorrow afternoon by our CEO Chris Baggott.
If you haven't signed up for upcoming webinar, "What does the 3rd Generation of Business Blogging Mean to You?" you should take the opportunity right now to sign up. It's tomorrow. I am definitely looking forward to it, because I think it's a topic that hasn't gotten too much coverage, but certainly should.
I think Chris is onto something here with the state of the blogosphere, and he seems to be very excited to break it down and answer questions afterwards.
Details:
September 17th, 2009
2pm EST
Free to all
At a computer near you
Sign up for the webinar here.
From the Fuel Your Blogging site, David Leggett gives us some good pointers
on some easy steps to make our blogs more user friendly, even if we aren't UX Designers ourselves. Check it out here, "Non-UX Designers Can Pay Attention to User Experience Too!"
I like Leggett's first point, to "walk a mile in the user's shoes." It's really easy to get caught up in what we do, in our company or industry's bubble, and to also assume that our blog visitors have been to our blog before, and are familiar with what we do, who we are, what we offer. That's not always the case.
Because blogs (especially-- ahem, blogs powered by Compendium) are so great tools for search marketing, a good amount of the traffic coming into a blog is there for the very first time. We use Google analytics to verify this for our own blog, which tells us that over 80% of our traffic falls into the "new visits" category, and the overwhelming majority of our entire blog traffic comes from search engines.
So try to remember that these visitors are new, they might not know as much about the industry or your product as you do, and if they found you through search, they are probably in research mode. Think of your own search habits, think of sites that you really like, some that you don't, and try to figure out what it is that makes some easier to visit than others. If your users hav a hard time finding what they were searching for (that's where the UX design comes in), they are likely to leave and find their solution elsewhere.
So, make it obvious and simple for them to find what they need. Easy, right?
on some easy steps to make our blogs more user friendly, even if we aren't UX Designers ourselves. Check it out here, "Non-UX Designers Can Pay Attention to User Experience Too!"
I like Leggett's first point, to "walk a mile in the user's shoes." It's really easy to get caught up in what we do, in our company or industry's bubble, and to also assume that our blog visitors have been to our blog before, and are familiar with what we do, who we are, what we offer. That's not always the case.
Because blogs (especially-- ahem, blogs powered by Compendium) are so great tools for search marketing, a good amount of the traffic coming into a blog is there for the very first time. We use Google analytics to verify this for our own blog, which tells us that over 80% of our traffic falls into the "new visits" category, and the overwhelming majority of our entire blog traffic comes from search engines.
So try to remember that these visitors are new, they might not know as much about the industry or your product as you do, and if they found you through search, they are probably in research mode. Think of your own search habits, think of sites that you really like, some that you don't, and try to figure out what it is that makes some easier to visit than others. If your users hav a hard time finding what they were searching for (that's where the UX design comes in), they are likely to leave and find their solution elsewhere.
So, make it obvious and simple for them to find what they need. Easy, right?
There is simply no denying it. You can't live without search. You love it. You use it. You bath in it. Even when you're not thinking about it, you're probably doing it. You like big fat searches. You do it at work. You do it at home. You do it on your way from work to home on your phone. You like to type in questions like, "How do I rank in google?" or "what is the best month for blueberry picking?" because you know someone has already searched this exact same phrase, which means your search will bring you the exact answers you're looking for. You love big fat fatty searches. Sometimes you even clarify your searches with a date or a geography, "best blog software for business 2009," or "implant dentist northern colorado" because you know it will give you the most relevant information possible.
You can't live without search. Trust me. I tried it. I almost died. In fact, I think a little piece of me did die that week. I wasted time that I will never get back. Not cool.
When we have questions, we want them answered immediately. It's a fix, it's instant gratification, we demand it, and maybe that's sad, but that's the era we live in. If you are a business trying to stay with the times, you will be better to realize that your future customers and prospects are no different than you. They have problems that they need answered. Like you, and like me, they can't live without search. Put yourself in your customers shoes and you will see the importance of search marketing. So as the saying goes, "If you don't like change you're going to like irrelevance even less." I don't know who said that, but if you search that exact phrase, you'll find out.
What are you doing to get your company found in search? Stay relevant, and get found with a business blog from Compendium.
You can't live without search. Trust me. I tried it. I almost died. In fact, I think a little piece of me did die that week. I wasted time that I will never get back. Not cool.
When we have questions, we want them answered immediately. It's a fix, it's instant gratification, we demand it, and maybe that's sad, but that's the era we live in. If you are a business trying to stay with the times, you will be better to realize that your future customers and prospects are no different than you. They have problems that they need answered. Like you, and like me, they can't live without search. Put yourself in your customers shoes and you will see the importance of search marketing. So as the saying goes, "If you don't like change you're going to like irrelevance even less." I don't know who said that, but if you search that exact phrase, you'll find out.
What are you doing to get your company found in search? Stay relevant, and get found with a business blog from Compendium.
I lost $25 monday night, and I blame it on the fact that I am not using online search this week. In case you're just tuning in, I'm running a little experiment this week testing the importance of search marketing and business blogging.
You might blame this loss of $25 on my naivety, my inability to say no, or my willingness to trust in the good nature of all mankind. But I blame it on not Googling for an entire week.
What happened?
I was pumping gas Monday night on Indy's west side, around 6pm, minding my business, when a middle aged man in a flannel and jeans approached my auto. He looked like a slightly more weathered Jim Crocce, but with red hair, and a massive beard. So maybe more like a lumberjack. [note: I would put a picture of Jim Crocce or a lumberjack here, but I'm not using search this week, and i have no clue how I would accomplish such an insertion.]
"Oh you went to DePauw? I saw your plates. I went to Purdue, great school that DePauw, I know it well..." This red hairy man continued about our respective Indiana schools, and I listened. Then he told me he was a farmer, at an organic milk farm in laffayette. he was in a sticky situation because he had a dead cow in a truck down the road that ran out of gas. He needed $18-33 dollars precisely to get his dead cow and his empty truck back to his organic dairy farm before there was trouble.
"I know what you're thinking, I'm just gonna use the money for booze or crack. But I don't smoke crack any more, and anyway, I promise you I'm a cow farmer, just smell my clothes." His clothes did in fact smell like those of a cow farmer's. An organic one at that.
"Have you ever seen a cow placenta?" he asked me. I said no. But I was beginning to really believe that he was a cow farmer.
The man repeated the name of his organic dairy farm a few times, telling me that he didnt have the cash because he left in such a hurry, but if I loaned it to him, he would take my phone number, and have Stacey, the farm's receptionist, arrange to wire me the money the following day. Not only that, he said if I gave him the money, he'd arrange some free organic milk to be shipped my way, and even offered to take me and my friends fishing on his awesome fishing boat.
"No drinking on the boat, though."
Well, like I said, I [used to] trust in the good will of all mankind, even dairy farmers. So I gave this guy $25, with obvious hesitation, but I did it. He wrote my first name and phone number on the palm of his soiled hand so that Stacey could call me and arrange the money wiring.
I realized as I drove off and saw the man with the manure-eating grin on his face, that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't going to see that money ever again. I've done so many dumb things in my life, but if you were to Google "the top 10 stupedist things mikey mioduski has ever done," this would surely make the list.
It is my feeling that if I could search "organic dairy farms laffayette, indiana" maybe I could at least make myself feel like less of an idiot. I can't remember the name of the farm, but chances are if I found a list of a few, one might ring a bell. But I'm not using online search engines this week, so until I come up with another way to figure out the name of that imaginary farm, I will just have to wait on that call from Stacey.
You might blame this loss of $25 on my naivety, my inability to say no, or my willingness to trust in the good nature of all mankind. But I blame it on not Googling for an entire week.
What happened?
I was pumping gas Monday night on Indy's west side, around 6pm, minding my business, when a middle aged man in a flannel and jeans approached my auto. He looked like a slightly more weathered Jim Crocce, but with red hair, and a massive beard. So maybe more like a lumberjack. [note: I would put a picture of Jim Crocce or a lumberjack here, but I'm not using search this week, and i have no clue how I would accomplish such an insertion.]
"Oh you went to DePauw? I saw your plates. I went to Purdue, great school that DePauw, I know it well..." This red hairy man continued about our respective Indiana schools, and I listened. Then he told me he was a farmer, at an organic milk farm in laffayette. he was in a sticky situation because he had a dead cow in a truck down the road that ran out of gas. He needed $18-33 dollars precisely to get his dead cow and his empty truck back to his organic dairy farm before there was trouble.
"I know what you're thinking, I'm just gonna use the money for booze or crack. But I don't smoke crack any more, and anyway, I promise you I'm a cow farmer, just smell my clothes." His clothes did in fact smell like those of a cow farmer's. An organic one at that.
"Have you ever seen a cow placenta?" he asked me. I said no. But I was beginning to really believe that he was a cow farmer.
The man repeated the name of his organic dairy farm a few times, telling me that he didnt have the cash because he left in such a hurry, but if I loaned it to him, he would take my phone number, and have Stacey, the farm's receptionist, arrange to wire me the money the following day. Not only that, he said if I gave him the money, he'd arrange some free organic milk to be shipped my way, and even offered to take me and my friends fishing on his awesome fishing boat.
"No drinking on the boat, though."
Well, like I said, I [used to] trust in the good will of all mankind, even dairy farmers. So I gave this guy $25, with obvious hesitation, but I did it. He wrote my first name and phone number on the palm of his soiled hand so that Stacey could call me and arrange the money wiring.
I realized as I drove off and saw the man with the manure-eating grin on his face, that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't going to see that money ever again. I've done so many dumb things in my life, but if you were to Google "the top 10 stupedist things mikey mioduski has ever done," this would surely make the list.
It is my feeling that if I could search "organic dairy farms laffayette, indiana" maybe I could at least make myself feel like less of an idiot. I can't remember the name of the farm, but chances are if I found a list of a few, one might ring a bell. But I'm not using online search engines this week, so until I come up with another way to figure out the name of that imaginary farm, I will just have to wait on that call from Stacey.
Last Friday I decided to see if I could go an entire week without using a major online search engine. Today marks the second day of my quest, which is not only testing my patience, but also the legitimacy of business blogging and search marketing in today's media evolution.
My coworkers have asked me how it's going so far. As a whole, it's not as life changing as I thought. As it turns out, people got along for quite some time without information on demand. And I'm really happy for them.
For major daily work, my browser remembers all the websites I've ever been to (at least within the past few weeks or months or whatever), and I have no problem getting places like Salesforce.com, or Google Analytics, or some of the blogs I follow. But it's really the little things that are killing me. What I am really missing out on are those mindless little searches that provide details, or context to something else.
What I wanted: Nissan Altima
What I got: Nissan Computer Corp
What is that? I don't know, but they make it affordable.
A colleague of mine cashed in his clunker this weekend for a Nissan Altima, and I wanted to find out more about the car, you know, to get a visual. Had I been using online search, i would have typed "Nissan altima" into my web browser's handy search bar. Then I would have clicked on the first link in my results, and bam, I am 99.99% sure I would have been on nissan's site looking at the specs of the Nissan Altima within 2-3 seconds.
But I'm not searching this week, so instead, I tried plugging the following URL into my browser's URL window display: "nissan.com"
As it turns out, http://nissan.com isn't the site I was hoping for. I don't know if I'm spelling "nissan" incorrectly or if the url contains something else in it, like nissanusa.com or nissanauto.com... The beautiful thing about search engines, like Google, is that millions of others have made the same mistakes or presumptions in exact spelling, and you are often given suggestions .. did you mean "________"? Yes, I did.
And a lot of the time in online search, despite spelling errors, I can still find what I was looking for on the very first try. Such is not the case with old school URL guessing, where searchers are often left empty, or in very weird places.
My coworkers have asked me how it's going so far. As a whole, it's not as life changing as I thought. As it turns out, people got along for quite some time without information on demand. And I'm really happy for them.
For major daily work, my browser remembers all the websites I've ever been to (at least within the past few weeks or months or whatever), and I have no problem getting places like Salesforce.com, or Google Analytics, or some of the blogs I follow. But it's really the little things that are killing me. What I am really missing out on are those mindless little searches that provide details, or context to something else.
What I wanted: Nissan AltimaWhat I got: Nissan Computer Corp
What is that? I don't know, but they make it affordable.
A colleague of mine cashed in his clunker this weekend for a Nissan Altima, and I wanted to find out more about the car, you know, to get a visual. Had I been using online search, i would have typed "Nissan altima" into my web browser's handy search bar. Then I would have clicked on the first link in my results, and bam, I am 99.99% sure I would have been on nissan's site looking at the specs of the Nissan Altima within 2-3 seconds.
But I'm not searching this week, so instead, I tried plugging the following URL into my browser's URL window display: "nissan.com"
As it turns out, http://nissan.com isn't the site I was hoping for. I don't know if I'm spelling "nissan" incorrectly or if the url contains something else in it, like nissanusa.com or nissanauto.com... The beautiful thing about search engines, like Google, is that millions of others have made the same mistakes or presumptions in exact spelling, and you are often given suggestions .. did you mean "________"? Yes, I did.
And a lot of the time in online search, despite spelling errors, I can still find what I was looking for on the very first try. Such is not the case with old school URL guessing, where searchers are often left empty, or in very weird places.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — At a press conference on Circle Tower this morning, Broad Ripple resident Michael Shaun Mioduski, 26, Creative Designer at Compendium Blogware, shocked the 14th floor when he announced to coworkers that he would attempt to go an entire week without the use of online search engines, such as Bing.com and Google. The stunt is set to begin next monday.
Mioduski reports an "unhealthy dependency" on search engines for tasks such as finding solutions to his daily problems and inquiries in a matter of seconds. To the best of his abilities, the designer cannot recall a single day in 2009 that he did not use search engines, at least once.
Not everyone at the company seems to support the decision. "Nothing good can come out of this," said Kaila Woodside, director of Client Success at Compendium. "What's he gonna' do, remember thousands of URLs?"
"Dumbest idea I've ever heard," said Compendium CEO and Co-Founder Chris Baggott.
The risks involved in not using search are great. When faced with any standard daily problem, Mioduski will be forced to implement an early 1990's style of resourcefulness-- which include things like Yellow Page books, map reading, and asking real people questions. Such practices could take several minutes, if not longer. Colleagues fear that Mioduski's overall productivity level will dip, if not dissappear entirely. They also fear he will ask them a lot of questions.
When asked why, Mioduski simply stated, "Because I need to know if I can."
Search engine marketing, SEM, a practice increasingly common among organizations looking to get the most from their budget, is a form of online marketing implemented by companies who wish to draw more traffic to their websites and blogs by way of search engine results pages. SEM can range from paid placement, to unpaid, or organic, search result rankings.
Blogging for business, or blogging to improve search results, has grown in popularity for the very reason that when implemented correctly, it helps companies rank higher in organic search. More importantly, it helps searchers find what they are looking for. As the overwhelming majority of clicks in search engine results pages occur in the organic section of the page, more companies are focusing on organic SEM by blogging about the solutions they provide.
More updates on the attempted searchless week to come.
I Love Typography is one of the many type blogs and other online resources for graphic designers to tune into and read up on the latest in type design. From discussing trends and new typefaces to promoting some of today's best type designers, ILT's fundamental goal is to "inspire its readers, to make people more aware of the typography that’s around them."
Good type fundamentals are important for designers of every medium... including websites, blogs, and yes, business blogs. Knowing the basics of good typography and choosing the right typeface can not only improve overall readibility-- it helps comminicate tone and contributes to your overall branding efforts. Good designers have a library in their minds full of their favorite fonts. If a project calls for something outside the mental library, a good designer will use their knowledgbase to discover new typefaces until they find the right font with the characteristics they're looking for.
I Love Typography's "The Rather Difficult Type Game" is a fun little way to test yourself and your ability to identify a handful of fonts. Check it out here!
I actually got more right than I thought I would, but I've got my work cut out for me!
Improving your type skills is just another way to contribute to your business blog design and usability. Here's another killer resource for web based type to get you started in the right direction, http://www.webtypography.net/
Good type fundamentals are important for designers of every medium... including websites, blogs, and yes, business blogs. Knowing the basics of good typography and choosing the right typeface can not only improve overall readibility-- it helps comminicate tone and contributes to your overall branding efforts. Good designers have a library in their minds full of their favorite fonts. If a project calls for something outside the mental library, a good designer will use their knowledgbase to discover new typefaces until they find the right font with the characteristics they're looking for.
I Love Typography's "The Rather Difficult Type Game" is a fun little way to test yourself and your ability to identify a handful of fonts. Check it out here!
I actually got more right than I thought I would, but I've got my work cut out for me!
Improving your type skills is just another way to contribute to your business blog design and usability. Here's another killer resource for web based type to get you started in the right direction, http://www.webtypography.net/
