Friday, October 28, 2011

Things to watch in 2011

JWT shared what we should watch for in 2011... We'll comment on there predictions in the next post.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

How do you go about changing the world...



Perhaps the most influential person in my lifetime. When we look back at some of the greatest innovators...Edison, Bell, Ford, Salk, Disney - you've got to include Steve Jobs on that list. Some of his contributions... the proliferation of the Windows drop-down Navigation, The Mouse, Imacs, Ipods, Itunes, Pixar, Iphones, and the latest enchantment...Ipad.

Here's a few soundbites into his genius...



Answering his critics with the essence...




The Apple Brand




The Crazy Ones...




A Tribute

Tuesday, June 7, 2011


About Trademarks and Copyrights

TM vs. SM vs. ® vs. © Copyright © laws protect ownership of things like music, writing, artwork, photographs, and other "original works of authorship." Copyright protection is automatic and may last for over 100 years. However, not everything can be copyrighted, and some copyrights expired prior to 1976 laws. The "circle-c" mark has been "optional" since the 1970s, but is properly used with a date and identification of the author/owner. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it is a federal crime to remove or alter a copyright notice when you're making copies, regardless of whether the copies are lawful or not. Trademark laws protect "words, names, symbols, sounds, or colors that distinguish goods and services from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of the goods. Trademarks, unlike patents, can be renewed forever as long as they are being used in commerce." Unregistered trademarks are a bit harder to enforce than registered, but last as long as they are being used. Trademarks may be registered in states or countries or both. The (TM) symbols for TM and SM are completely optional and require no registration. However, there are advantages to having a state or federal trademark registration, including the fact that it will tell others when you first used your brand, which can be important in priority disputes. Valuable marks justify getting professional advice.

To learn more - and there is a LOT of info - check out the United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page (their glossary is a good place to start) and the U.S. Copyright Office in the Library of Congress. Check out video library (http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/TMIN.jsp) Here is more input: Depending on your local state laws, trademark registrations have different lifespans and can either be renewed or not. If a trademark is registered it is only registered for a certain period of time and then the owner decides to renew it or not. As long as you continue using a trademark, and were the first to use it, you can enforce it in state or federal courts, whether or not it is now or has ever been registered in a state or federal proceeding. Most state copyright laws were preempted by federal laws passed in the 1970s, but may still be important on certain types of works, such as "sound recordings" made prior to the changes.

There is also a "circle-P" mark on some older phono records, meaning they are covered by an international phonograph duplication treaty. The © copyright notice and ® registration mark have nothing to do with state registrations. Any time you claim rights in a trademark, you may use the "TM" (trademark on goods) or "SM" (service mark) designation to alert the public to your claim, regardless of whether you have filed an application with the state or USPTO. However, you may use the federal registration symbol "®" only after the federal USPTO actually issues a registration, and not while an application is pending or after registration expires. Also, you may use the registration symbol with the registered mark only on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the federal trademark registration. Any major change to the mark or the goods/services will require another registration. Federal registrations require periodic maintenance fees (i.e., every 10 years).

Creative Commons



You may have seen a new circled double cc notation accompanying content on the web, in video, or print.

Creative Commons is a balance within traditional “all rights reserved” settings that copyright law creates. Creatve Commons tools give content creators, companies and institutions a streamlined, standardized way to grant copyright permission to their content and work. The combination of creative commons tools allows users a vast digital commons, and a pool of content that can be copied, distributed, edited and built upon, within the auspice of copyright law. Below are a brief listing of CC licenses.


The Licenses

  • Attribution
    CC BY

    This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. Recommended for maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials.

    View License Deed | View Legal Code

  • Attribution-ShareAlike
    CC BY-SA

    This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. This license is often compared to “copyleft” free and open source software licenses. All new works based on yours will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use. This is the license used by Wikipedia, and is recommended for materials that would benefit from incorporating content from Wikipedia and similarly licensed projects.

    View License Deed | View Legal Code

  • Attribution-NoDerivs
    CC BY-ND

    This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.

    View License Deed | View Legal Code

  • Attribution-NonCommercial
    CC BY-NC

    This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

    View License Deed | View Legal Code

  • Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
    CC BY-NC-SA

    This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.

    View License Deed | View Legal Code

  • Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
    CC BY-NC-ND

    This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.

    View License Deed | View Legal Code

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

12 Mind Blowing Facts That Every Marketer Should Know About The Web!


From HubSpot -

It's no secret that the marketing landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years as social and mobile technologies have gone from early-adopter novelties to mainstream essentials.

Still, there are plenty of traditional marketing stalwarts out there who aren't buying all of the social media hype or can't convince their boss or marketing team to experiment in the brave new world of inbound marketing.

So we've rounded up a dozen powerful stats that are sure to be eye-openers, if not total mind-changers.

1. 78% of Internet users conduct product research online.
That means your website stands a good chance of being a prospect's "first impression." That also means your new business card isn't a business card—it's Google.

2. In the past year, Web-based email usage dropped a staggering 59% among 12-17 year olds, who prefer to communicate via text, instant messaging, and social networks.
If 12-17 year olds aren't your primary customers, you may think, "So what? They're just kids." But web-based email usage has been on the decline among ALL Internet users under the age of 55. And by the way, today's kids are tomorrow's customers—and they're probably not going to be reading your email.

3. 78% of business people use their mobile device to check email.
So that means pretty much everybody that can check email on a mobile device, does. Is your email newsletter optimized for mobile devices?

4. 40% of US smartphone owners compare prices on their mobile device while in-store, shopping for an item.
Is your business website optimized for mobile devices? If not, you may be missing out on hundreds of sales opportunities.

5. 200 Million Americans have registered on the FTC's "Do Not Call" list.
That's 2/3 of the country's citizens. The other 1/3, I'm guessing, probably don't have a home phone anymore.

6. 91% of email users have unsubscribed from a company email they previously opted-in to.
We're getting savvier with technology and less patient with unwanted solicitations. And it's just so easy to hit 'delete'.

7. 84% of 25-34 year-olds have left a favorite website because of intrusive or irrelevant advertising.
Frankly, I'm surprised this stat doesn't read "100%" and apply to a much wider age range.

8. 57% of businesses have acquired a customer through their company blog.
Finally, some good news! Blogging is good. Intrusive ads are bad. See how simple it is?

9. 41% of B2B companies and 67% of B2C companies have acquired a customer through Facebook.
If this stat doesn't poke a hole in the "Facebook is not useful for B2B companies" myth, I don't know what will.

10. The number of marketers who say Facebook is “critical” or “important” to their business has increased 83% in just 2 years.
That's right—critical or important. When a channel generates not only leads, but real revenue, you can't call it "experimental" any longer.

11. Companies that blog get 55% more web traffic.
The more you blog, the more pages Google has to index, and the more inbound links you're likely to have. The more pages and inbound links you have, the higher you rank on search engines like Google—thus the greater amount of traffic to your website. Which is why we repeat: Blogging is good.

12. Inbound marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional, outbound marketing.
That's right—62% less. The average outbound lead costs $373. The average inbound lead costs $143. And as we love to say around here, "if it don't make dollars, it don't make sense." Outbound marketing just don't make sense anymore.

You can find sources to all of the above stats along with a boatload more eye-popping facts, figures, and how-to's in the presentation embedded below or you can join us next week each and every day at 12pm EST for a very special edition of HubSpotTV where we'll share hundreds of tips (and give away dozens of awesome prizes!) in celebration of Marketing Transformation Week.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Who's Securing Your Surfing?



Informative little piece about the way that you are being eavesdropped on when sitting at your computer. Who's watching, why are they watching, how are they watching? And what does all this watching mean to you. I've got to admit, I don't really think about it too much, and I suppose I should be more anxious about the way this may effect my security, my shopping habits, what goods people have on me.

Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Facebook - The Numbers Are Astronomical!

Latest numbers on Facebook... It continues to grow exponentially. One out of 12-13 on the planet earth now participate in Facebook...(is that possible?)

The World Is Obsessed With Facebook from Alex Trimpe on Vimeo.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Digital changing the game for authors and publishing...

Digital changing the game for authors and publishing



This is a clip from Novelist Brett Easton Ellis on how Digital is changing everything about authoring novels and publishing.

"And also the idea of a book costing not $25 anymore but $10 means you're also wiping away a lot of the cost of making a book. You know, the printing, the shipping, et cetera. And so the royalty rates for authors are shifting as well. So it's not as authors are necessarily going to lose money on their work in terms of people like buying to download them. The royalty rate is actually going to be the same, if not more, because they're cutting out all those other costs. So that can be a good thing as well."

When you ponder the massive change taking place - the reinventing of publishing and even storytelling...it's both wondrous and daunting.

I personally do not own a tablet myself, but I think about them almost daily. It's probably the next purchase on the tech "wishlist." Around my house there's well over 1000 books, which I've read maybe a hundred of... but, if I could collect them all in a folder... on a shelf in their own section of the digital wing --- who knows--- I might just clear out a few hundred square feet of living space, and put in a new workbench, or gym or something!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Hubspot Video on Changing Face of Email Marketing




A very nice synopsis of the changing face of email marketing, inbound vs. outbound marketing...and other things that you should consider about your digital message.


1. Cultivate Your House List

When you ask people to sign up for your newsletter, you are cultivating your house email list. When someone opts in to receive updates about your offers and special promos, you are cultivating your house list. “It is a list you work to build over a long period of time,” said Karen. And you know what? Your house list performs better than the vast majority of your other email marketing tools. It enjoys a high adoption rate and provides high ROI, so make sure you leverage that channel and expand it further.

2. Forget About List Rental

Renting lists is not only expensive, but also ineffective. The return on investment from rented lists is much lower than that of house lists, about 10-15%. It is a marketing approach that is less inbound and more interruptive. That is why if you engage in renting lists, you risk losing your reputation as a trust agent and becoming notorious for spamming people who didn’t formally opt in.

3. Focus on Lead Nurturing Instead

Instead of purchasing lists, consider focusing more on lead nurturing campaigns. Lead nurturing is the practice of sending event-triggered emails to a specific segment. You launch these by targeting email subscribers based on their recent conversion events. For instance, if someone visits your luggage eCommerce site and downloads a report about flying in times of tight security control, you can follow up with a luggage checklist for secure travel.

4. Optimize for Mobile

The consumption of email on mobile devices is only going to increase. Get ready for this by optimizing your messages for mobile viewing. Avoid tables and large images in your email templates. Accoridng to MarketingSherpa's 2010 report, 67% of people do not display images by default in their email system. Also, try to build shorter copy where the call to action is at the very top.

5. Build Social Authority

buildsocialauthorityGmail’s Priority Inbox gives you a quick preview of the role social media will play in email marketing. Your company’s authority will be tied to your presence on social media channels (and to the relationships you have with people on those channels). As Karen said in her presentation, “The ‘spam’ filter is now social.” The key to keeping up with these developments is to build social authority. Experiment with adding a follow-me module in your email communication and allow people to share you offers on social media.




Friday, January 14, 2011

11 Social Web Facts That Will Blow Your Mind

Hubspot Facts on Social Media - Posted by Kipp Bodnar

1. In 2010, 107 trillion emails were sent on the Internet. (Source)

2. At the current rate 36 billion photos will be uploaded to Facebook each year. (Source)

3. Each day 2 billion videos are watched on YouTube. (Source)

4. Each month 30 billion pieces of content (links, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook. (Source)

5. In 2010, users sent 25 billion tweets. (Source)

6. Worldwide there are 1.97 billion Internet users. (Source)

7. At the end of 2010, there were 88.8 million – .COM domain names registered. (Source)

8. As of December 2010, there were 255 million websites. (Source)

9. Worldwide, there are 2.9 billion email accounts. (Source)

10. The average Internet user watched 186 online videos per month (USA). (Source)

11. Every minute 35 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. (Source)