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Monthly Archives: March 2012

I Must Be Getting Good at This: Seth Godin is Parroting Me!

Posted on March 30, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 0 Comments

Seth Godin, Henry Blodget Copy Jeff Yablon

This might come off as self-congratulatory. Or it might sound like I’m surprised.

Both are correct.

This morning, I came across this piece at Henry Blodget’s Business Insider. In it, Henry praises Marketing Guru Seth Godin for this short post.

I’ve mentioned Henry Blodget here a couple of times, Seth Godin repeatedly. If you read what I think about Blodget and what I have to say about Godin you’ll see that I have widely different opinions of these two very successful men. But today I praise Henry Blodget for pointing out something I’ve been saying for quite a while: attention spans have shrunken to very nearly zero. ... READ MORE of I Must Be Getting Good at This: Seth Godin is Parroting Me! at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (301 words, 1 image, estimated 1:12 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Content, Marketing, Media

Can Your Boss Ask For Your Facebook Password?

Posted on March 29, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 1 Comment

Give me your Facebook password, or you’re fired.

What would you do if your employer said that to you? Give up the goods? Refuse to allow the breach of privacy and hope s/he was bluffing? Lean in (either) direction and quickly hire an attorney?

What if a potential employer demanded your Facebook credentials as a precondition for getting hired?

In the social networking era, it’s a tricky question, and one that can be shut down by simply leaving your social network profiles open to exploration by whomever wishes to see them. ... READ MORE of Can Your Boss Ask For Your Facebook Password? at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (513 words, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change

Bing ToolBar? Bing REWARDS? Where’s Microsoft’s Coopetition?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 2 Comments

Closed systems are a very bad idea. Hey, Microsoft: as you slide closer and closer to irrelevancy, keep that in mind.

This article pointed me at Bing Rewards. And just as I felt a little sheepish for never having written about Kickstarter before yesterday’s piece on Rabbit Troupe, I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t realize Microsoft had created Bing Rewards until I read that yesterday. How did I miss this business change?

Maybe it’s because Microsoft hasn’t actually changed anything. ... READ MORE of Bing ToolBar? Bing REWARDS? Where’s Microsoft’s Coopetition? at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (569 words, 1 image, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Development, Media

Rabbit Troupes, Kickstarts, Social Media, Business Change

Posted on March 27, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 6 Comments

So I’m reading my Twitter feed over the weekend, and I come across this post by one of my sons:

Rabbit Troupe’s kickstarter was officially funded as of . . . 43 minutes ago.

I don’t know what a Rabbit Troupe is, but I do know that the Rabbit Troupe he was referring to is a local band in New Jersey. My son Mike, the lead . . . umm . . .talker . . . for Bedtime Stories, is all palsy with the boys in Rabbit Troupe and was excited that his buddies had successfully raised the money they were looking for on Kickstarter. ... READ MORE of Rabbit Troupes, Kickstarts, Social Media, Business Change at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (371 words, 1 image, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Media

Big Changes Happen . . . Right At This Site

Posted on March 26, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 6 Comments

What the heck have we done to Answer Guy Central?

Unless you’ve never visited us before, you’re rubbing your eyes right now, wondering what happened to the design of this web site. What happened to that simple design and the handful of buttons?

Well, we drink our own Kool-Aid, and today we’ve rolled out a business change that doesn’t make me completely happy, but was the right choice. Relax, Jeff . . . relax . . . relax . . . ... READ MORE of Big Changes Happen . . . Right At This Site at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (453 words, 1 image, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Customer Service, Design

“What People Do Is The New SEO”

Posted on March 23, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 8 Comments

I mentioned the changing face of search and search engine optimization earlier this week. Google is changing the rules for search engine optimization in ways that those of us who practice it need to be afraid of and those of you who we do search on behalf of might need to fear even more.

I’ve been saying that this is about software and artificial intelligence going places that so far they haven’t be able to reach, and that description is accurate. But yesterday I read an even better way of putting it:

What People Do IS The New SEO ... READ MORE of “What People Do Is The New SEO” at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (255 words, estimated 1:01 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Development, Search Engine Optimization SEO

The iPad Retina Display is a Complete Waste of—Everything

Posted on March 22, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 15 Comments

The newest iPad’s “Retina Display” is Stupid.

There, I said it.

Holy cow, the crispness of resolution of video or any elements “built for the Retina Display” is amazing to behold. Now, go find something—anything—that actually makes use of the technology. ... READ MORE of The iPad Retina Display is a Complete Waste of—Everything at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (585 words, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Content, Marketing

Be Afraid: Google’s Rules for Search Are About To Change

Posted on March 21, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 11 Comments

Time to dredge up that old “Is Google a Monopoly?” issue again.

I don’t like this topic, because as a free-enterprise guy and a keen observer of Google and how they do business I’m mostly inclined to scoff at the idea that Google is a monopoly. The argument usually comes down to whether the definition of monopoly skews toward its literal meaning or one that’s more metaphorical; at 65-70% of search traffic, isn’t “a monopoly” the de facto reality of what Google has become? ... READ MORE of Be Afraid: Google’s Rules for Search Are About To Change 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

SmartPhones, Apps, Power Consumption, and Customer Service

Posted on March 20, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 2 Comments

Despite the fact that my Galaxy Nexus SmartPhone has a screen resolution that rivals desktop computers, there are some things that all those pixels just don’t represent very well. For example, here’s Answer Guy Central as seen on the Galaxy Nexus:

full answer guy central on a smartphone, with no app

Looks just like it does on a full monitor, but it’s too small to read comfortably. And yes, you could zoom in and out and make it an acceptable experience, but that’s clumsy—or, an unacceptable experience.

A couple of years ago, we created Android and iPhone Apps so readers wouldn’t have to deal with that. Here’s Answer Guy Central for iPhones: ... READ MORE of SmartPhones, Apps, Power Consumption, and Customer Service at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (695 words, 3 images, estimated 2:47 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Customer Service

Education is Broken … So Here’s Some Business Change

Posted on March 19, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 2 Comments

Last week, I came across this piece on the state of education that I wrote a while back. I watched the video again for the first time in about a year and a half, and liked it as much now as I had, then.

I liked it so much, I sent it to my Pinterest account. I don’t understand Pinterest just yet, except that I see it’s gone from zero to “Holy Cow!” in just a few months. But I’m keeping an eye on Pinterest; it represents a change in the way people act on the Internet, and that makes it a business change worth staying on top of. ... READ MORE of Education is Broken … So Here’s Some Business Change at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (476 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Media

QR Codes Turn Out To Be Useful! (If You’re Drunk)

Posted on March 16, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 1 Comment

"I'm Drunk" QR Code

If you’re drunk in a bar in Michigan this Saint Patrick’s Day and you see this QR Code on a coaster, go ahead and scan it. Maybe a ride will show up.

Despite the “I’m Drunk” caption, the QR Code you see above will bring you to a page describing Search Engine Optimization at Answer Guy Central. Whip out your smartphone and scan that QR Code to see. ... READ MORE of QR Codes Turn Out To Be Useful! (If You’re Drunk) at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (355 words, 1 image, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Customer Service

New Ideas About Hiring The Right People, from Harvard!

Posted on March 15, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 2 Comments

I’m a big fan of “thinking different“. Whether it’s trivial stuff or big earth-shattering shifts, thinking differently is a business change that pays off. Often, you don’t know how that will look until it happens, but if I can get you to “think different“, you’ll thank me. I promise.

Sometimes thinking different can be a stretch, like looking at The National Football League as an example of socialism. But dig inside and you’ll see the wisdom and benefit that can come from something as simple as looking at things in new ways. Business Change? Yes, please! ... READ MORE of New Ideas About Hiring The Right People, from Harvard! at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (417 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change

What The Internet Teaches That The Old World Already Knew

Posted on March 14, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 1 Comment

Yesterday, my phone rang, and an attorney here in New York City was on the other end inquiring about our Search Engine Optimization services. I field these calls regularly, but this one was different for a couple of reasons.

The call was special both because the guy on the other end of the line was both battle-worn and inquisitive (rather than cynical—a much more common reaction), and because he was local to me. We had a conversation that I genuinely enjoyed, and whether or not we ever do business together, that call made my day. ... READ MORE of What The Internet Teaches That The Old World Already Knew at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (757 words, estimated 3:02 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change, Customer Service, Development

The Politics of Employing Homeless People

Posted on March 13, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 5 Comments

The Political Hypocrisy in Homeless People HotSpots

If you know me, you know I don’t do “politically correct”. If you don’t know me, all the proof you need is to read a piece like the one I wrote yesterday, criticizing Gina Trapani and her NarrowTheGapp Project for inventing a social problem that doesn’t really exist.

Here’s an even better one:

At SXSW, the annual tech-weenie gathering in Austin Texas, there are a bunch of people walking around wearing tee-shirts like the one you see above. These folks are carrying wireless 4G Hotspots, making Internet access a lot easier and collecting voluntary fees from people who access the Internet through their devices. The guys in the tee shirts keep all the money they collect. ... READ MORE of The Politics of Employing Homeless People at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (595 words, 1 image, estimated 2:23 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change

How To Make Over Half of Your Customers Angry

Posted on March 12, 2012 by --Jeff Yablon/The Answer Guy-- Influency & Integrated Marketing Strategist • 5 Comments

I’m about to be very honest about a topic that could get me in trouble with over half of the people who read my words here. This makes me nervous, but I’m going to do it anyway.

I hate affirmative action.

I’m speaking from the perspective of a middle-aged white male, and that automatically (and correctly) should make you raise an eyebrow at my position on the matter. But everyone speaks from one bias or another, so I’m going to ask you to try and ignore that point. ... READ MORE of How To Make Over Half of Your Customers Angry at Answer Guy Central, your Influency and Integrated Marketing Source By Clicking Here (852 words, 1 image, estimated 3:24 mins reading time)

Filed Under: Business Change




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