Monthly Archives: November 2010

Free Wi-Fi (Almost) Everywhere? FON is The Real Deal

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

I have Internet connectivity everywhere I go. I use my Smartphone as a modem to get my Netbook on-line. No comment as to whether this is allowed by my wireless phone provider; there are legitimate ways to do it, and others that are … let’s just call it “questionable”.

I’ve told you about problems with Free Wi-Fi at Panera Bread. By now you know that Starbucks is not only giving away Wi-Fi, but also giving away content. But even with companies like those making your search for a Wi-Fi signal as easy as they can, there are limits. Wouldn’t it be great if Wi-Fi was everywhere?

FON is bringing Wi-Fi everywhere. They aren’t kidding; take a look at this map to see where FON is available right now. ... READ MORE of this article, Free Wi-Fi (Almost) Everywhere? FON is The Real Deal from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (414 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Tagged with: fon, internet, telecommunications, wi-fi
Posted in business change

Search Engine Optimization is Evil. Or It’s Business Change.

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

You know the inmates are running the asylum when The New York Times devotes a very long article to the subject. Yesterday, a Sunday Magazine-length piece ran in the Times, telling us “all about” how being really, really bad at customer service can be a marketing strategy on the Internet.

The bad guys are coming.

Or rather, they’re already here. As the Times article pointed out, businesses have discovered that that old Public Relations axiom “The Only Bad Press Is No Press” applies really well on the Internet. Specifically, the article called out a business called Decor My Eyes for figuring out that every time someone wrote a negative review of them it creates more pull toward their web site with search engines. ... READ MORE of this article, Search Engine Optimization is Evil. Or It’s Business Change. from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (495 words, 1 image, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "search engine optimization", Google, internet, New York Times, SEO
Posted in business change, Search Engine Optimization SEO

They TRIED for $550: Nissan of Manhattan Stole $250 From Me

Posted on November 24, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — 9 Comments ↓

Answer Guy’s Customer Service Wall of Shame Inductee

Let’s see how good I really am at this Search Engine Optimization thing.

We’ll use a real-life example of incredibly bad customer service at Nissan of Manhattan and maybe, just maybe show Nissan USA and Nissan of Manhattan why bad customer service is bad business. Nissan of Manhattan, I want your attention.

Yesterday, I took my 2008 Nissan to Nissan of Manhattan to have the brakes looked at. Nissan of Manhattan isn’t where I purchased my Nissan, but they’re geographically convenient for me, and I had used Nissan of Manhattan once before when my car was struck by a truck while in Manhattan. Nissan of Manhattan was close-by then, too. ... READ MORE of this article, They TRIED for $550: Nissan of Manhattan Stole $250 From Me from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (1245 words, 1 image, estimated 4:59 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "customer service", "search engine optimization", nissan of manhattan
Posted in business change, Customer Service

Is The Internet Dead? Nope. It’s Just … Mobile

Posted on November 23, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

The Internet is Dead!

I was poking around this morning and was surprised to find a reference to that thought dating all the way back to 2001. And it was pretty smart, too; the idea wasn’t that we had outgrown the usefulness of a global interconnected network of computers, but merely that we’d find new, better ways to use the Internet.

Got a SmartPhone? Or an iPad?

Über Venture Capitalist Fred Wilson has something to say on this subject, and he’s right on. If you don’t develop your mobile platform strategy as part of your Internet strategy, you’re letting the biggest business change in decades pass you by. ... READ MORE of this article, Is The Internet Dead? Nope. It’s Just … Mobile 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: app, fred wilson, internet, smartphones, venture capital
Posted in business change

Due Process? Not How US Congress Sees the Internet

Posted on November 22, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

How’d you like to live in a country where you had no right to due process under the law? You know: a place where some government official decides you’re naughty and punishes you on the spot, with no chance to defend yourself.

A place like: The United States?

It’s not a law yet, and given how little time there is left in the current session of Congress this bill, like this one, almost certainly won’t become a law, but the United States Senate has before it a bill that would make it possible for your web site to be taken off line immediately if the US Attorney General decided you were participating in “infringing activities”.

As I said, it’s unlikely this law will be passed. Disclaimer: I am not an attorney ... READ MORE of this article, Due Process? Not How US Congress Sees the Internet from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (422 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Tagged with: congress, due process, internet, law
Posted in business change

Arrogance, Intelligence, and Jason Calacanis

Posted on November 19, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

The biggest business change of all is when you take on a partner. And hard as that is when the partner brings skills to the table, it can be even harder when they bring money.

Want some?

Jason Calacanis has some for you. Or less specifically, some angel investor or venture capital is ready to pony up the bucks to be in business with you.

I point this out for a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, I want to give Jason his props. Calacanis’ manifesto on venture capital and angel investing and the current state of affairs in those businesses is a great read, pure and simple. Even if you aren’t looking to take on investment partners, Jason Calacanis has put together an almost-unbelievably great explanation of a fascinating subject. Read it. ... READ MORE of this article, Arrogance, Intelligence, and Jason Calacanis from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (328 words, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

Tagged with: angel investing, jason calacanis, venture capital
Posted in business change

Who Needs a SmartPhone? RIM CEO Makes Blackberry a DumbPhone

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

You know how you can tell you’re in trouble? When business change is happening all around you, even TO you, and your response is to pretend it doesn’t matter.

The CEO of Blackberry maker RIM has gone on the record as believing that Apps don’t matter. And literally he’s correct; most of the things we do with our SmartPhones on the Internet could be done inside a browser.

Is this guy ever missing the point.

It’s absolutely true that I don’t need a “New York Times App” to read the articles from the New York Times over the Internet. I need a browser and the URL to their web page, period. Of course, viewing a page that was designed for a large screen on my tiny SmartPhone screen isn’t fun, so I hope there’s a small-screen version.

That’s an app, folks. ... READ MORE of this article, Who Needs a SmartPhone? RIM CEO Makes Blackberry a DumbPhone from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (348 words, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "killer app", blackberry, dumbphone, New York Times, smartphone
Posted in business change

The Beatles First-Ever US Concert

Posted on November 16, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — 2 Comments ↓

Seriously . . . The Whole Thing. Thank you Apple, (and Apple).

The sound is awful, the video grainy, and there are no production values at all, but . . . wow. Just Watch The Boys. THESE Beatles were having a whole lot of fun.

Remember when life was simple?

The Beatles, Live Oops. Apple has nuked this Beatles Live Concert Video. It was fun while it lasted . . .

Tagged with: apple, fun, the beatles, video
Posted in Uncategorized

Seth Godin Is Back. But His Language Skills Are Unreasonable

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

Seth Godin is one smart dude. He’s one of the world’s most sought-after speakers and marketing gurus, and has, I’m not kidding, his own action figure. I’ve seen it.

Today he missed the boat. Not a big deal; everyone’s entitled to the occasional misstep. But in speaking about being unreasonable on his blog, today Seth Godin sounded like he was saying “go ahead, be a jerk if you have to”.

There’s actually nothing wrong with the idea. From time to time you have to ignore what everyone else thinks and just go with your gut. And to be fair, Seth used some examples that make sense and ring true.

But your words are . . . listened to. And you can bet that Seth Godin’s words are being listened to, passed around, and sworn by.

It’s important to remember the importance of your words, and the language skills you use putting them together. ... READ MORE of this article, Seth Godin Is Back. But His Language Skills Are Unreasonable from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (381 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "seth godin", language skills, marketing, unreasonable
Posted in business change

Hubspot, The Grateful Dead, Business Change, and You

Posted on November 15, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

Sometimes The Lights Are Shining On Me. Other Times I Can Barely See. And when you work on business change I’ll bet It Occurs To You What a Long Strange Trip It Can Be.

As much as I write about business change and as many times as I’ve held the music labels and music business in general up as examples of how business change doesn’t get done, it somehow never crossed my mind that Jerry Garcia and his Grateful Dead band mates were among the earliest and most successful practitioners of the art of business change.

Until I saw this video.

And when it turned out that the video profiled Hubspot CEO Brian Halligan and was shot at the Hubspot offices near Boston, my mind started racing. ... READ MORE of this article, Hubspot, The Grateful Dead, Business Change, and You from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (403 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "long tail marketing", "music labels", "search engine optimization", coopetition, hubspot
Posted in business change, Search Engine Optimization SEO

Free Speech, Amazon, Child Pornography, and Business Change

Posted on November 12, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

This week, someone noticed a how-to-be-a-pedophile book for sale on Amazon.com. It had been there for a while, and not very many copies were selling. Then, the Internet happened.

As soon as the existence of that book (and Amazon’s willingness to sell it) started getting around, its sales rank shot up in a big way. I presume that was the result of curiosity taking over, and not an indication that there are tens of thousands of would-be pedophiles lacking the intelligence to find their tools without help from others.

Hmm . . . a discussion on the intelligence of pedophiles. I may have to revisit that topic.

I was planning to ignore this as one more tidbit not worthy of your time. But then, Amazon did a flip-flop. When first criticized for selling the book, they cited free speech as the reason they had no choice but to keep doing so. Twenty-four hours later, they reversed field and pulled the book. ... READ MORE of this article, Free Speech, Amazon, Child Pornography, and Business Change from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (684 words, estimated 2:44 mins reading time)

Tagged with: "managed computer care for small business", Amazon, free speech, internet, porn
Posted in business change

Don’t Link Anything? Don’t Use The Internet. (Dvorak)

Posted on November 11, 2010 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Business Change & SEO Consultant — No Comments ↓

Here’s a link. Click it quick, because in about a month it might not be there any more.

And John Dvorak is cranky about it.

(Don’t worry; we’ve got your back. Even if that link goes away, you’ll be able to read what was in it, here. Unless Facebook sues us for copyright infringement and we have to take it down):


  Please upgrade your browser

Here’s what matters in this story, and what you need to do about it if you’re going to manage business change as more and more of what you do moves to The Cloud:

A couple of weeks ago, when Facebook acquired a small company called Drop.io, they immediately announced that they were going to shut the company down. What part of this was about buying a competitor to eliminate it? Probably none; Facebook didn’t have anything to fear from Drop.io’s activities in a small part of their universe. ... READ MORE of this article, Don’t Link Anything? Don’t Use The Internet. (Dvorak) from Answer Guy Central, your Business Change, SEO Consulting / Search Engine Optimization & Computer Support Source by Clicking Here (345 words, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)

Tagged with: copyrights, drop.io, facebook, internet, the cloud
Posted in business change