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Monthly Archives: May 2011

Google Has Your Back On Security! Umm … No, They Don’t

Posted on May 31, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 1 Comment

Your next computer virus will come from … Google.

Or at least the next phishing scheme you look at might. Or worse yet: the next time you see something that looks like a phishing scheme, and aren’t sure whether to trust it or not, you may have no-one to blame but Google for the problem.

Holy cow.

In a case of “sticking their head in the sand” that may be even worse than Apple refusing to acknowledge the existence of the Mac Defender Malware Threat, Google has created a situation that could act like a virus on your computer, no matter what kind of computer you use, and they’ve tried to cover that up. ... READ MORE of Google Has Your Back On Security! Umm … No, They Don’t at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (945 words, 1 image, estimated 3:47 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change

Matt Cutts Lifts JC Penney Bad SEO Penalty (Really, Google?)

Posted on May 27, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 2 Comments

Don’t say I didn’t tell you so.

In February, when Google hit JC Penney with the Search Engine Invisibility bomb to punish them for employing Black-Hat SEO techniques, I applauded, but I’ve also suggested that Google can’t simply drop a company as large as JC Penney out of their index permanently, no matter how egregious their Black-Hat Search Engine Optimization might be.

What the right choice? Should Google drop a company guilty of employing Black Hat SEO a few dozen or a few hundred positions in their rankings? Should they penalize black-hatters by removing them from the index entirely, but allow them back in after a predefined period? ... READ MORE of Matt Cutts Lifts JC Penney Bad SEO Penalty (Really, Google?) at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (691 words, 1 image, estimated 2:46 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Search Engine Optimization SEO

Business Change, For Real … in Britain

Posted on May 26, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 1 Comment

If you can, please forgive the blatantly self-promotional nature of this post. Yes, I have that agenda today (think Search Engine Optimization), but I’m also talking business change.

On Monday, The New York Times’  David Brooks wrote about the different paths government is taking in Britain and the USA. His argument in a nutshell is that in Britain government is changing, and the people are benefiting. Business as usual isn’t working, and is being rejected at the highest levels. Here in the USA, well . . . business as usual rules the day, controls the actions of many of our politicians, and we have serious problems—and aren’t addressing them. ... READ MORE of Business Change, For Real … in Britain at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (527 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Search Engine Optimization SEO

When Is a Store Like BestBuy Really a Bank? (Hint: Always)

Posted on May 25, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 0 Comments

With most electronics stores having disappeared, BestBuy almost stands alone as a place where you can walk in and find pretty much whatever you’re looking for in the way of televisions, computers, accessories, and pretty much anything else that boys think are toys.

But what is BestBuy really selling you?

I once wrote about some shady business practices at BestBuy, where computer buyers are forced to pay for services they don’t need. I suggested that BestBuy’s practices in that area might be illegal, and certainly there’s a moral question attached to forcing customers to buy services as a condition of buying products—at BestBuy or anywhere. ... READ MORE of When Is a Store Like BestBuy Really a Bank? (Hint: Always) at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (485 words, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Customer Service

Amazon Goes Gaga For Gaga. Servers Melt, Business Changes.

Posted on May 24, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 5 Comments

I’ve been screaming for change in the music business for years. Despite selling a cutting-edge and constantly-changing product, music labels have resisted business change in a way that boggles the mind. Yesterday, the music business changed … but we’ll have to wait and see if the change takes hold.

Lady Gaga and Amazon.com got together and offered Gaga’s new album for ninety-nine cents. Smart move on Gaga’s part, because even with all the revenue an artist with her popularity is passing on by all but giving away an album that she would have sold millions of copies of at full price, the interest she drums up and potential to garner millions of new fans by foregoing that revenue is even larger. ... READ MORE of Amazon Goes Gaga For Gaga. Servers Melt, Business Changes. at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (433 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change

SUE ME! British Soccer King Ryan Giggs Beds Imogen Thomas

Posted on May 23, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 3 Comments

Imogen Thomas

Ryan Giggs had an Affair With Imogen Thomas. There, I said it.

I don’t know if it’s true, by the way. In fact, until this morning I had never heard of eitther the British soccer star Mr. Giggs or the model-turned-reality-TV-contestant Ms. Thomas. But if Twitter says that the married Ryan Giggs had an affair with the sultry Imogen Thomas, it must be true, right? ... READ MORE of SUE ME! British Soccer King Ryan Giggs Beds Imogen Thomas at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (478 words, 1 image, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Content

Customer Service, Viruses, Apple, and “See/Speak No Evil”

Posted on May 20, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 8 Comments

Apple Macintosh Computers Get Viruses.

Apple doesn’t like to admit that. In fact, Apple has a long history of claiming that you won’t get a computer virus if you use a Macintosh, while the real truth has always been Macs get fewer viruses only because virus writers have traditionally written fewer Mac Viruses (Virii?) than viruses that affect Windows computers.

With the Mac Defender malware now running rampant across the Internet and the hard drives in Macintosh computers, Apple’s response has been, essentially, “we aren’t going to talk about that with you”. Apple certainly isn’t going to help you get rid of a computer virus. And the reason? It’s simple, really: It’s because they’re Apple. ... READ MORE of Customer Service, Viruses, Apple, and “See/Speak No Evil” at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (435 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Customer Service

Computer Geeks, Useful Information, Real People, David Pogue

Posted on May 19, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 0 Comments

Sometimes, the best business change you can make is when you “go back to your roots”, Rewind to what you know best. Stop being “cute”.

Today, for the first time in a long time, David Pogue wrote a column that was worth reading.

I say that, fully aware that I’m not the world’s end-all arbiter of what’s worth reading. And let me be clear: I’m trying to compliment David Pogue, not insult him. Pogue is an occasional touchstone here at Answer Guy Central, and it makes me sad that every now and then I write about him in a way that sounds snarky. He’s even written in to complain a bit. ... READ MORE of Computer Geeks, Useful Information, Real People, David Pogue at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (322 words, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Content

Google, Recipes, Copyright, and Search Engine Optimization

Posted on May 18, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 1 Comment

If you want to find a ripped-off copy of the KFC recipe for chicken, or Mrs. Fields’ Chocolate Chip Cookies, search engines like Google are ready to do your bidding. And actually, there’s some question as to whether recipes can even be copyrighted.

For that matter, the entire question of whether copyright is still even a meaningful topic is clouded by the way the Internet works. And don’t get me started on how easy it is to “borrow” the words of others and make buckets of money. ... READ MORE of Google, Recipes, Copyright, and Search Engine Optimization at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (414 words, 1 image, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Content, Media, Search Engine Optimization SEO

Have a Business Change Problem? Understand It? Think Again.

Posted on May 17, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 1 Comment

Yesterday, in the course of congratulating my son Gary Yablon on his graduation from Rowan University, I interwove a story about how hard it can be to make a living in a changing business. I also made a few points about expectations; the reason it’s hard to be a computer consultant is that people now believe they can manage their own computers.

In large part, that’s become true. But when things are beyond your understanding, it’s time to call in an expert. The issue is this: how do you know what you don’t know? ... READ MORE of Have a Business Change Problem? Understand It? Think Again. at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (486 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Media

Computers Are Easy, Right? (No, Not Really)

Posted on May 16, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 36 Comments

In my fifty-one years on the planet I’ve learned a few things. Mostly, I’ve learned that there are very few “facts”; almost everything comes with room for interpretation.

Jeff Yablon and Gary Yablon at Rowan University Graduation 2011

Even this picture, where a father and his son pose together at the son’s college graduation, might be something other than it appears. It isn’t; my oldest son graduated from college last week, and I’m proud of him. But for goodness’ sake, it’s just a picture, right? Anything can look good for 1/100th of a second! ... READ MORE of Computers Are Easy, Right? (No, Not Really) at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (698 words, 1 image, estimated 2:48 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Media

“I Don’t Care What You Think”: Is That Unreasonable?

Posted on May 12, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 3 Comments

I Don’t Care What You Think.

Give those words a moment to roll around in your head. Decide what they mean. To you.

Now say them again. I Don’t Care What You Think.

Do you care what other people think? Should you?

A couple of weeks ago, for my birthday, I gave myself the gift of just not giving a *%!!@*. But like most people I’m a creature of habit, and I’ve already taken that gift back. This morning, I find myself in a war of wills with a couple of people I’m very close to and my rationale for my position is that I’m trying to take care of their needs and do “the right thing”. ... READ MORE of “I Don’t Care What You Think”: Is That Unreasonable? at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (389 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change

Sending Out Props: A Great SEO Lesson

Posted on May 11, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 2 Comments

I haven’t written anything about Search Engine Optimization in a whole week. No, I haven’t lost interest. No, I’m not ready to stop hitting you over the head with how important SEO  (or SEO Consulting if you don’t have the time to handle SEO yourself) is to your long-tail marketing plans.

Yesterday, I came across this piece. It’s simple. It describes some easily understood SEO ideas. And then it gets … even better.

"Principles of SEO" Post at Blog Traffic Exchange ... READ MORE of Sending Out Props: A Great SEO Lesson at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (496 words, 2 images, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization SEO

Matt Drudge, Tribes, Facebook, Twitter, and You

Posted on May 10, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 0 Comments

Facebook became bigger than Google over a year ago. Twitter is huge. But you know who’s bigger? Matt Drudge.

Drudge, the impresario of The Drudge Report,  of course isn’t actually bigger than Twitter or Facebook. But he’s more influential. The Drudge report sends more traffic to other web sites than anyone else, including Facebook and Twitter.

That doesn’t help Matt Drudge directly, not that he needs help. Except: maybe it does; if The Drudge Report drives that much traffic, it can sell that much more advertising, at a higher price. ... READ MORE of Matt Drudge, Tribes, Facebook, Twitter, and You at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (200 words, estimated 48 secs reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Media

Ben, Jerry Share Your Tweets, Do Fair Trade Business Change

Posted on May 9, 2011 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 0 Comments

I don’t know if Ben & Jerry’s is really doing the world much good through their promotion of the Fair Trade movement, nor if anyone at Ben & Jerry’s actually cares about fair trade, but I’ll say this: Fairtweets.com represents real business change.

No longer owned by notorious do-gooders Ben and Jerry, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream nevertheless still promotes itself as a green and socially-responsible company.

When I first came across Fairtweets.com, I scratched my head a bit. When I noticed that Fairtweets.com points its users at random articles about the fair trade movement including the negative ones, I scratched it some more. Then I started digging. ... READ MORE of Ben, Jerry Share Your Tweets, Do Fair Trade Business Change at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (402 words, 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change




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