Monthly Archives: June 2010

SEO Makes Business Change. So What Does Google REALLY Think?

Posted on June 30, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

How’s your SEO going?

I’ve written about Search Engine Optimization before. It’s one of the things we do here at Answer Guy Central, and (self-serving statement aside) it’s the single most important thing you can do for your business’ long-tail marketing efforts.

SEO isn’t hard, exactly, but it requires a basic understanding of quite a few things, the ability to write well, some content expertise, and a lot of time.

Nobody understands long-tail marketing and SEO better than Google, and in particular a Google employee named Matt Cutts. Matt does a regular video series for webmasters, and it’s fun to watch because even though you know he’s telling you what Google wants you to hear he does so in a way that’s just plain . . . believable. ... READ MORE of this article, SEO Makes Business Change. So What Does Google REALLY Think? from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (406 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "long tail marketing", "search engine optimization", Google, Matt Cutts, SEO
Posted in business change, Search Engine Optimization SEO

Business Process Patents. Not Allowed. Unless They Are.

Posted on June 29, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

I’ve weighed in with my opinion on patents—particularly software patents—a few times. For the most part, I think software patents are a very bad idea, because they describe process, and process can’t be patented.

Unless, of course, it can be.

“The Facebook Patent” (7,669,123) is one example of a patent that describes a process, but no thing. Amazon Patent 7,739,139 is even worse in this regard. Both talk about how something works, but don’t actually describe anything that’s been “created” other than an idea. Ideas can’t be patented. Business Process therefore can’t be patented either.

Unless, of course, it can be.

Yesterday, The United States Supreme Court ruled that a Business Process can in fact be patented, but that it needs to include as part of the business process, a machine. Don’t try to understand what the word “machine” means; your head will explode. ... READ MORE of this article, Business Process Patents. Not Allowed. Unless They Are. from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (237 words, estimated 57 secs reading time)

Tagged with: "business process", patent, supreme court ruling
Posted in business change

Paul Krugman Says The Economic Sky is Falling. Maybe Right.

Posted on June 28, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

I’ve mentioned Paul Krugman before. He’s one smart guy, and I’m not at all embarrassed to admit that he’s operating in an intellectual space that I’ve not only never visited but don’t even have an apt name for.

And Obama-administration-adviser-and-New-York-Times-Economist Paul Krugman says we’re in a Depression. Not just a recession, you understand . . . a full-blown depression.

The Status quo is broken. Change is here, and the only question is whether you’re going to enact business change fast enough and well enough to remain a “have” in a world more and more frequented by have-nots.

Let me begin by saying that just because Paul Krugman says we’re in a depression doesn’t mean it’s so. But if we look at the evidence he cites and conclude that he’s right, or even close, we have no choice but take swift and serious steps. So if this is a depression, what should your business change be? ... READ MORE of this article, Paul Krugman Says The Economic Sky is Falling. Maybe Right. from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (490 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

Tagged with: competition, coopetition, New York Times, paul krugman, status quo
Posted in business change

United States Congress Endorses Virtual VIP, Answer Guy !

Posted on June 25, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — 1 Comment ↓

There are lots of reasons to contract out pieces of the work that keep your business in business. We’re talking flexibility issues, liability issues, expert-availability issues, and more.

But it can be hard to know who to hire as you execute business change. You really no more want to spend your days continuously scouring the earth for talent than you want the liability of having employees sitting idly on your payroll.

The United States Congress is now considering a law that will make this issue all the more difficult to navigate. Under proposed Senate bill S. 3254 Employee Misclassification Prevention Act, (EMPA), it will become harder than ever to hire independent contractors and maintain their classifications as non-employees.

This is an old issue. Microsoft was famously forced to reclassify a large number of their contractors as employees over a decade ago, and in reaction have gone so far as to make a free spreadsheet template available to help you avoid the same fate that befell them. ... READ MORE of this article, United States Congress Endorses Virtual VIP, Answer Guy ! from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (356 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "answer guy", "human resources", "virtual assistant", "virtual vip", congress, employment, S.3254
Posted in business change

You Can and You Should Aren’t the Same: LogMeIn Android

Posted on June 24, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — 4 Comments ↓

One of the beautiful things about using SmartPhones like the iPhone, or my Android-based Droid is that I can now access my computer from literally anywhere, and I don’t even need to carry a notebook computer to do it.

Of course, that’s one of the ugly things too; being connected all the time means either that you let your work take over your life or you create rules to prevent that.

There are a few things that my Droid isn’t able to do for me without some help, though, and since they’re among the most important and common things I do, like checking to-do items in Outlook and taking notes that end up in that software, I rely on remote control software to get me logged into my Exchange server.

And yesterday I ripped LogMeIn out of my server and my Droid, because it presents a security risk that just doesn’t need to be there. ... READ MORE of this article, You Can and You Should Aren’t the Same: LogMeIn Android from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (559 words, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

Tagged with: Android, logmein, remote control, smartphone, software
Posted in Uncategorized

When “Good Enough” Really Is Good Enough

Posted on June 21, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

Many years ago, within just a few weeks of buying my first car (an old-school Volkswagen Beetle) I walked out one morning and found that one of the front fenders was partially hanging off the car. I don’t remember how it happened, but I do remember the feeling of being young, having no experience dealing with this kind of thing or money to do it, and wanting to get it taken care of without my parents finding out . . . because they’d certainly have had opinions about how it had happened and I wasn’t likely to come out looking very good.

I drove until I found a local auto body shop, and an hour later and for very little money the shop had pop-riveted the fender back on. If you’ve ever looked at the way the old Volkswagen Beetles were constructed you might conclude that this treatment was in fact “good enough”. ... READ MORE of this article, When “Good Enough” Really Is Good Enough from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (456 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Tagged with: good enough
Posted in business change

HTC Sense Android Phones Capture Screen. So Why Can’t YOU?

Posted on June 18, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — 29 Comments ↓

As an Android user, one of the things that I’ve yet to figure out is why there are no Apps to capture what’s on my screen. They just don’t exist.

OK, so that’s not completely true. If I “root” my Droid SmartPhone, meaning tweak it to bypass the regular Android operating system and make it do stuff that Verizon, Motorola, and Google didn’t intend, screen grabs become a possibility. I give up my warranty and any hope for technical support if I even need it, but I gain some control and a feature I often wish I had.

Surprise! If you use a Droid Incredible, or other Sense UI – based SmartPhones from HTC, the screen grab feature is built right in. But it isn’t under your control. In fact, it’s just the opposite; it looks like Sense UI does periodic screen grabs in the background and hides the results from you. ... READ MORE of this article, HTC Sense Android Phones Capture Screen. So Why Can’t YOU? from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (241 words, estimated 58 secs reading time)

Tagged with: Android, android screen capture, htc, smartphone
Posted in Uncategorized

Barack Obama Is The Best Negotiator In History. Here’s Why.

Posted on June 17, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

When I grow up, I want to be half as adept as President Barack Obama is at the art of business negotiation.

In announcing his agreement with British Petroleum getting the oil conglomerate to put aside $20 billion to fund clean-up and damages from the oil spill from BP ‘s well in the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama pointed out that by law, BP’s liability was technically limited to just $75 million. While there’s no way BP would have gotten away with hiding behind that shield, they could have just waited until the lawsuits started rolling in and dealt with them then. And they’ll have to anyway, so why give up $20 billion ahead of time?

The answer could have been that by giving up the $20 billion now, BP had negotiated for legislation that really and truly capped their liability at that new level. But no; President Obama was clear and specific: no such limit has been set. ... READ MORE of this article, Barack Obama Is The Best Negotiator In History. Here’s Why. from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (303 words, estimated 1:13 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "20 billion", "business negotiation", best negotiator, president barack obama, public relations, twenty billion
Posted in business change

Worse Than Facebook: Amazon Non-Unique Patent 7,739,139

Posted on June 17, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — 10 Comments ↓

Remember back in February when Facebook was awarded United States Patent 7669123 for Social Networking? Remember how little sense that made? Well, our friends at the United States Patents and Trademarks Office have set the bar for stupidity even higher. Friends, I give you USPTO example # 7,739,139 of not understanding what a patent is, or even what a patent is supposed to be for.

Let’s start with the basics. Again. In general, software patents are a very bad idea. The say almost nothing and stifle rather than encourage innovation and development. They don’t generally describe anything unique, which is supposed to be a tenet of what patents are for. Amazon 7739139 is no exception, and in describing something so obvious 7739139 is just . . . well, judge for yourself: ... READ MORE of this article, Worse Than Facebook: Amazon Non-Unique Patent 7,739,139 from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (479 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "intellectual property", "social networking", 7669123, 7739139, Amazon, facebook, patent, trademark, unique
Posted in Uncategorized

Porn, Censorship, Apple, Google, & Business Change (Whew!)

Posted on June 16, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

On the Internet, where pornography is the single largest business, questions like “what is porn?” take on a whole new meaning. Forget what we’ve learned watching the US Supreme Court try to answer the question, or from that famous lawsuit in Cincinnati against Hustler Publisher Larry Flynt. Porn is what you think it is, and community gatekeepers have de facto powers of censorship because they grant it to themselves.

Apple has famously thrown many apps out of the iTunes Apps Store, because they were “too racy”. Steve Jobs makes no apologies for this, even having gone so far as as to state that he believes “his users want to be protected”.

But there’s no standard being divulged, official or otherwise. If you show women in bikinis in your App you could find it banned, but it might get through. And last I checked, nobody thought women in bikinis were “naughty” . . . at least not in the United States. And oh yeah, that matters too because what you see in the App store differs depending on where you are. ... READ MORE of this article, Porn, Censorship, Apple, Google, & Business Change (Whew!) from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (446 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "perception is reality", advertising, apple, censorship, Google, itunes, marissa mayer, porn
Posted in business change

Should It Be Illegal To Leave A Wireless Connection “Open”?

Posted on June 15, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — 2 Comments ↓

This weekend news broke that the existing security laws in Finland making it a crime to leave your Wi-Fi signal open and unencrypted might be on their way out.

Not being from Finland or an expert in their legal goings-on, my reaction was predictable: That’s ILLEGAL There ?!?!?

Yesterday, Starbucks announced that their semi-free Wi-Fi is about to become completely free. My first reaction was “it’s about time”. McDonalds figured this out last year, and others have known that the extra business gained by encouraging people to stay at your store is a no-brainer for quite some time. Sure, the Wi-Fi at Panera Bread is unreliable, but at least they have the good sense to offer it.

And then Starbucks upped the ante.

Soon, when you stop by everyone’s favorite coffee shop and use their Internet connection, you’ll get a bonus with your burnt cup o’ Joe: free access to paid sites, including The Wall Street Journal. ... READ MORE of this article, Should It Be Illegal To Leave A Wireless Connection “Open”? from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (258 words, estimated 1:02 mins reading time)

Tagged with: coopetition, internet, security, starbucks, wi-fi
Posted in business change

Perception is Reality Part Two: Saying LESS Can Be MORE

Posted on June 14, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

Two of my favorite marketing guys are Chris Brogan and Seth Godin. Both occupy space in my personal Rolodex, and both are brilliant.

I’ve picked on Chris a few times lately, while Seth’s been largely missing from these pages for a few months. Well, he’s back: a couple of days ago, Seth told a story that got me thinking, and you should pay attention to the lesson.

While my natural inclination is to be as transparent as possible and do full disclosure pretty much all the time, Seth points out that sometimes full disclosure can hurt you, hurt your customer relationships, hurt your marketing efforts, and had it been employed would have added nothing of value.

It’s mind-boggling, and if you choose to go this way, I implore you to do it carefully; most of the time you’re much better off saying what your intentions are and then delivering on those intentions. ... READ MORE of this article, Perception is Reality Part Two: Saying LESS Can Be MORE from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (240 words, estimated 58 secs reading time)

Tagged with: "chris brogan", "perception is reality", "seth godin", marketing
Posted in business change

You Should Care: Google Dumps Microsoft, Hates Apple

Posted on June 11, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — 2 Comments ↓

What kind of computer do you use? Are your files all stored on a hard drive in that computer, on a network drive, or off in the cloud somewhere? What software do you like?

Do any of these questions matter?

More and more, the answer is no. There was a time when the choices you made in computers and software defined you, because there was no easy way to exchange information with people who had made other choices. It’s the reason Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office became dominant; everyone needed to use the same hardware and software so they could exchange files with each other by passing around floppy disks.

Floppy disks are gone. CDs and DVDs work the same in all computers, and for the most part we don’t uses those anymore either; we just email files around or make them available online. ... READ MORE of this article, You Should Care: Google Dumps Microsoft, Hates Apple from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (444 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Tagged with: apple, Google, microsoft, the cloud
Posted in business change