Hence we have the Internet. Say goodbye to yesterday when looking for a local plumber involved pulling out the yellow pages and searching around. Today’s day and age relies on a quicker, more accurate, and effective approach. When businesses of all shapes and sizes decide to put a website up, usually it is to find new business.

Having a website live online is only half of the equation. How will you get customers to your site? Where will they know to look for you? The key is strategic planning on your behalf to ensure you’re setting the foundation for them to see you.

Here are 3 very useful and free online directories that every business should submit their website to.

1. Google Local Listings, AKA, Google Places.

Click here to sign up for a free account

Google local listings are the listings you see on a search results page at the very top. Normally, you’ll see a map and all of the alphabetical markers correlating to the top 10 local businesses. Depending on what your business does or sell, many potential customers will go to the nearest business on that map. Others will call around to find the best price. Either way, it is very effective and highly recommended for everyone to take advantage of.

Setting up an account is easy, and will only require you to open up a free Gmail account. Google will send you a postcard by mail to verify your listing, which will take about 2-3 weeks to receive.

 2. Yelp.com

Click here to sign up for a business account on Yelp.com.

Yelp.com is a very unique database to submit your business and website to. Not only does Yelp provide you with a platform to add company information, pricing and offer deals on, but Yelp integrates closely with Bing.com in displaying certain items on Bing Listings. For example, if you were to search “new york city pizza” in Bing, Next to the listing would include a little yelp icon advertising the promotion you create on the site. Free to sign up, we highly recommend using this tool and collecting as much feedback you can from past and current customers.

3. Thumbtack.com

Click here to visit thumbtack.com.

 Thumbtack is similar to Yelp in the fact that you can customize a profile and include testimonials, hours, pricing and more. Although, thumbtack seems to cater towards service-based businesses more than those offering a product. Reason being, is that Thumbtack offers a unique bidding system where potential clients can contact the company and put a request in for a quote right on the website. Even though this isn’t rocket science, they do a great job to make the process for both the business and customer very easy.

In the end, the more directories and websites you can network your business with, will definitely up the chances of finding new customers.

This article is written by guest-blogger Josh Olswanger of Thrive Web Designs, a Boise web design firm.

Since I’ve never been to a dentist that offered them, I find it quite interesting that she’s providing massaging dental chairs! In hindsight, that seems like a no-brainer when you consider how stressful a check-ups can be for some people. Between these new chairs and an iPod/iPhone, one might be inclined to nap the next time you’re at the dentist. Can I just say that the iPod has revolutionized the whole dentist and lawn mowing experience.

Anyway…

Even before getting my wisdom teeth removed by an Army dentist in 1986, I’ve never really been bothered by my dental visits. I was guarding mobile Pershing missiles in Germany (back in the old days when there WAS a West Germany) and I’d been given a Secret Clearance (impressive, eh!?) “Without A Need To Know” (ok, not so impressive). So basically, if I walked into a room where the plans for world domination were being outlined, I’d be asked to leave but with no hard feelings. But in a crazed effort to get out of morning PT and the 5 mile runs in the German winter (while wearing what what was called a “banana suit”: wafer thin military issued sweats), I more or less “created the need” for a dental procedure by claiming that my wisdom teeth hurt and I needed to have them removed. Not only was I getting out the morning run, I was saving myself a potential post military expense. I really, really hate running. So no strategy to avoid them was too fantastic.

I made my way to the dentist across the base and eventually end up in the chair of a Lt. Colonel who read my file and announced that due to my secret clearance he’d not be allowed to fully knock me out and that I’d be getting a local. The argument being, I might start sharing national security secrets in my sleep. As a Private First Class, I was of course a treasure trove of national secrets. But the entire process was more or less pain free and I was even out that same night for some light recreation in the city of Ulm where I was based. My teeth weren’t impacted so I got off easier than most; no violent barfing or blowing up like a chipmunk. I won’t bring up the fact that later in the day, I actually extracted (with blood) some small slivers of toothy bits that the good Colonel has neglected to full extract. I guess you get what you pay for.

Footnote: I had been inactive about two years when I got a letter from the Army outlining the terms of my previously mentioned secret clearance. Per the letter, the information I had regarding the Pershing missiles would remain classified for a term of 99 yrs and that I was compelled to sign and return the attached form. I did. What did I care, eh? And about two yrs after that, I saw the Pershing again–face to face at a Smithsonian display.

“Sergeant, does this mean we’re through for the day?”

The package arrived late yesterday and I immediately installed the software with a high degree of anticipation and expectation. It’s actually been some time since I’ve anticipated the software purchase like I did the NaturallySpeaking 11. Mostly because it is an entirely unique package unlike recent Adobe suite products that are mostly redundant. I opened up the well packaged software and inserted the disc for installation as well as the reasonably built headset/microphone. The installation went relatively smooth up until the 75% mark where my computer decided it was no longer going to cooperate; it turns out my sound card wasn’t playing well with others. As you can imagine dictation software requires a working sound card and with that my installation came to a screeching halt. A was entirely baffled on how to rectify the problem. I eventually relented and called Nuance Support versus relying on my sheer will and ego to solve the problem myself. I’m happy to report that I got through with little or no hassle to a support agent named “Kenny” (who is probably in Mumbai). Ken was altogether helpful  & patient as he walked me well through what eventually turned into a system reboot in a variety of other tasks. He quickly identified the issue is my sound card (duh!) And with that there was very little he could do other than suggest updating my drivers or considering a USB-based headset that would not rely exclusively on my stricken sound card. Well, after about three hours of fruitless labor and a trip to my local Best Buy, I now find myself dictating this entry using the NaturallySpeaking software and fairly satisfied with the results.

NaturallySpeaking 11 seems to deliver everything it promised by allowing me to speak in a natural tone and meter and have it reliably transcribe my words. Have there been mistakes? Absolutely but most of the time I can trace it back to sloppy enunciation or stuttering train of thought. I don’t speak with any regional accent (although my former Michigan brethren may disagree) and I could get more than a few people to vouch for for my relatively clear speaking voice. “She cooks a proper cup of coffee and a copper coffee pot” was perfectly transcribed, for example. One of the nicest features I found is integrated is the Dragon Sidebar that acts as a practical cheat sheet for most every command phrase. Without exception, commands are plain English and logical but to have them listed on the right side of my screen is a benefit I’m taking advantage of is I learn the software.

NaturallySpeaking 11 is compatible with my OpenOffice software as well is my Outlook 2007. While it can perform some basic Windows 7 commands, I don’t ever anticipate using it as a substitute for my mouse and keyboard shortcuts. Predictably, the default browser support is limited to Internet Explorer and Firefox (ok that sucks less). So as a Google Chrome user I’m left somewhat out of the game. That’s not to suggest that there is no support at all, is simply not up to speed and not worth the effort of trying to substitute a trusty mouse/keyboard combination. Integration with Outlook 2007 has proven to be quite satisfying and for the most part effortless. As I make my initial forays, I can’t imagine typing out another e-mail more than two paragraphs without firing up the NaturallySpeaking software.

What’s not so great? At least a couple of times this afternoon I’ve had to stop and restart the NaturallySpeaking application as it seemed to struggle a bit. I won’t go so far as to suggest that crashed or outright interfered with other applications but it seemed greatly relieved when I chose to restart altogether. That being said let’s not lose track of the site that this is my first day using the software and perhaps I’d done something a little out of the ordinary. Additionally a taskbar spans the top edge of my monitor and someone who values every pixel of real estate I find that somewhat frustrating. However I’m happy to report that there are several options for how the task bar is displayed so I can’t really consider that too much problem. Lastly, I found that even as writing this post, my headphones are beginning to wear on my ears just a little bit. Granted that’s not a function of the software but even the most comfortable headsets will eventually become a factor. So alas, my plan is to dictate the next great American may in fact be foiled by $35 headphones versus software limitations.

Again touching base with the Dragon Sidebar, I can’t imagine using that tool with anything less than a 22 inch monitor so even on the largest laptop screens that (optional) space requirement might prove to be a bit too much. But I found it quite convenient as it toggles the visible command-cues as I switch between applications like OpenWriter, Outlook and so on.

So the million dollar question that you’re asking – the most obvious and logical question – is did I dictate this post flawlessly without correction. Absolutely not. I made some occasional along the way using my mouse and keyboard simply because it was more efficient than using NaturallySpeaking. After all this is my first day and I suspect many software Easter eggs have yet to be uncovered. Would I recommend this software to the typing impaired? Well, it’s 100 bucks and that ain’t exactly free. But when you consider the power and technology you get with that C-note, I think it’s a pretty good deal in my initial satisfaction level is strong.

Footnote: My computer isn’t top-of-the-line but it’s no slouch either. I can’t help but think the older machines would logically suffer performance hits.

The iPad looks like an amazing piece of hardware. My first MAC was a Performa 630 with 4 megs of RAM and now about 15 years later, we’re literally holding Jetson’s grade gadgetry in our hands. But within hours, I was finding blog posts techno-sniping at all of the things that the iPad could NOT do. Some arguments were admittedly valid and of course many were just cynical.

At the risk of sounding like an old crank I have to come to the defense of a 50 billion dollar company. Small sidebar: I use a Windows 7 machine now. I bailed from the Mac platform when the stock floundered at $8 a share and I was confident that this and their 10% market share spelled doom. Say it together with me: iPod. And as as I write this, the stock tips the scales at $200 a share.

Alright back to business. Sure it’s inexcusable that the iPad (more so than the iPhone) doesn’t support Flash. I found it somewhat amazing (or perhaps arrogant–it’s a common Apple perspective) that within the context of Mr. Job’s initial presentation, he visited three sites in succession that clearly used and required a Flash plug in. Smack dab in the middle of the New York Times website he scrolled past the troublesome and annoying blue cube that alerts users to the need for Flash. But wait–we can watch the insane on YouTube so I suppose all sins are forgiven? Uh. No.

But I digress. The iPod uses an IPS  display that is far superior that 90% of the LCD flat screens being used in homes and offices as we speak. Certainly better than the display I’m looking at right now. Built in WiFi, music videos, email–the whole shooting match. And no, this was never designed to be a camera so tell me again why that matters?

Clearly Apple has been victimized by the bar that itself has placed so high. We’ve  become spoiled by the handheld machines with more computing power than the mainframes that sent men to the moon. I count myself among those that demand quality in their hardware but let’s not lose track of the amazing accomplishments that have poured out of their walls over the past 10 years. And no, it’s not a perfect product. But it’s still what we’ve come to expect from Apple–super sleek engineering and unmatched ease of use. Perhaps most critically the iPad nay-sayers are missing the bigger picture. That is, that who else has even come CLOSE to developing and launching such a product. No one–and no one is on the horizon either. Will I buy one? Time will tell–I’ll need to hold one in my hands before I part with $500 or more.

Now tell me again about the Kindle? What does it do?

Jump ahead about 3 years and finally the day came. I made the appointment and within a week, I was enjoying an 18 mps download speed, fiber-optic television courtesy of UVERSE! We decided to go ‘all cell’ and didn’t install the voice service. Finally, the curse of storm-induced DishTV outages were over and better yet, I now had BBC America.

After two weeks, I called AT&T and dramatically downgraded my services. Here are the highlights behind the decision to end this honeymoon so quickly

• On my HD TV, I was able to cite a clear downgrade in HD picture quality. Sure I can be  a stickler over ‘all-things technical’, but my son noted the same, over compressed HD signal as a sub-standard when compared to the DishTV picture. I know many folks can claim the opposite to be true but in my scrutinizing eyes the picture wasn’t as sharp
• The UVERSE DVR remote allowed users to “skip” forward (we seem to use that much more often than the fast forward option) but it subjected me to nevertheless watch the video. Sure it was in ‘fast forward’ mode, but the clear winner here is DishTV. The same DishTV remote feature simply takes the viewer 30 seconds ahead almost instantly. Translation, tapping the “skip” button 4 times in a row on a DishTV remote lands me about 2 minutes deeper into a program. Doing the same multi-tap trick on a UVERSE simply doesn’t work as you have to ride out each “skip”, one at a time. You can’t “stack” the stick commands and it proved very tedious.
• Full and complete DVR features on two TVs: turns out it’s a DishTV exclusive (so I’m reading). While UVERSE allows up to four “satellite”‘ units to draw from the primary DVR, the secondary TVs can NOT pause live TV but can only pause/play/fast forward recorded programming. Within the scope of our decision to stay with DishTV, this ended up being a major factor.
• In my eyes, the 18 mps internet speed was the core feature of the upgrade. This was the cornerstone of my interest in UVERSE. Who would have ever guessed that tripling my internet speed (I was at 6 mps) would have been such a bland, milquetoast upgrade.
  • Yes, FTP’ing large files or downloading new music on iTunes it was clearly faster–no argument there. But even though I spend 8 hours a day working online, it turns out I don’t make many uber-large file transactions. Hardly any in fact. But even sites like YouTube seemed to load fast enough with my 6 mps connection. I mean the movie may load faster but it didn’t START any faster. So having it pre-loaded is of questionable value.
  • Emails with large attachments did not load any faster–Outlook seems to be immune to the speed upgrade. And for the most part, day to day browsing was likewise only modestly faster–at best. The one thing to remember about browsing the web is that you’re only as fast as your weakest link (the website you’re visiting).
  • Speestest.net is a great site for measuring your connection speed. Using a variety of test servers I found my speeds clocking in as low as 8 mps, regularly at about 10-12 mps and once in a while in the 16-17 mps range.
  • Cost to Value Ratio: This is what broke the back of UVERSE. Had the 18 mps rate cost less, I’d have kept it.  But upgrading my monthly cost from $35 a month to $65 proved too much to stomach based on my modest enthusiasm for the speed and it’s real-life results. If you download games all day (5 gig demos) or regularly transfer crazy large files like billboard size images it’s a keeper. But even as the power-user that I am, I just didn’t see the difference that warranted doubling my monthly bill.
  • For the total goobers: The gateway hardware is comically large (the size of  a Mom’s photo album) and the interface for managing connections, security and MAC id’s in pitiful if you’re used to a full featured set of options. And as one that grew to love DD-WRT I’m almost in tears.

If you were paying attention, you’ll recall that I didn’t CANCEL my UVERSE account but rather only downgraded it. One, in spite of the hulking breadbox gateway, it does provide consistent speeds–both upload and download. The promised speeds of 6 mps down and 1 mps up are effectively delivered. With my traditional DSL I only got 650 kbps upload and about 4.5  to 5 mps down. The fiber-optic based UVERSE clearly manages and maintains the speed more consistently. Additionally, keeping the new configuration gives me the option to change my mind down the road. You never know—prices and feature sets change all the time. So with the hardware in place, I’m one step ahead.

The first marketing email came in this past Monday and congratulations to them for keeping very close tabs on new sign-ups and getting right to work. As one that spent several years in retail internet marketing, I know that’s important. And with retail taking it’s current economic beating, it’s the cost efficient life-blood of most companies that are paying attention.

Then Tuesday came along. And another marketing email from Kohls.

The sun rose on Wednesday and my inbox was swollen with another offer from Kohls

As I logged in this morning–you guessed it–Kohls was back like a toe fungus.

I was hip to the marketing groove by day two so the UNSUBSCRIBE option was taken on Tuesday. They threw in the broad caveat that I might still get marketing emails for a couple days while the request was processed. Funny how you can be added overnight but to be removed, it takes several days. Things that make you go “hmmmm”

What the marketing team at Kohls has done is abuse their marketing mailing list. They abused the consumer by bloating their inbox day in and day out and risk numbing the consumer to their message. One day Kohls will want to ‘give away the store’ with ‘super savings’ but because they’ve nuked me with daily messages, they’ve trained mailing list users to either ignore (and delete without viewing) the marketing message that’s become email ‘white noise’ or simply scan and perhaps ‘miss’ the marketing target.

Or in my case, they might simply annoy me. Plain and simple. Call me a cad, but if my best friend wrote me everyday it would get old and tedious.

So how is it that the system that serves me so well made such an odd error by flagging a recent incoming message as SPAM? I mean it was addressed to me (not that it matters). In fact it was addressed to my dedicated GMAIL account vs. the Google Apps route that allows me to run my domain branded email.

The email in question was regarding a class action lawsuit levied against Google. CLRB HANSON INDUSTRIES, LLC d/b/a INDUSTRIAL PRINTING, and HOWARD STERN vs. Google Inc. As a Google AdWords client, I was included in the official notification. The email was simple version of the official court documentation and included a unsubscribe link at the bottom (good for them!).

This of course begs the question as to how and why was this email marked for death and relegated to my SPAM folder. While it’s content was lengthy, it didn’t promise length. While it promised the opportunity of money, it wasn’t coming from an African nation. It had no images…and so on…none of the traditional trappings of SPAM. Yet somehow, the unflappable GMAIL filter denied it entry.

Quite honestly I’m not a conspiracy theorist so I’m happy with the idea that it was a simple, automated action that over-reached. Above and beyond that, let’s not lose site of the fact that Google is a company created in a free market economy with no legal obligation to dispense what it most certainly considers slanderous and bad for business.

Nevertheless, the coincidence was an amusing and the $20,000,000 (the proposed settlement) is…how many other SPAM folders are littered with this same legal announcement.

A recent trip to YouTube found me again filtering through the millions of mindless boobs with quite literally nothing to say but still feeling compelled to share it with the masses. The vulgar, inane and bored breed like bunnies on YouTube. But enough with the stereotypes (lest a certain blog be likewise labeled) and on to the show. I stumbled across a simply setting/feature that will revolutionize my Fred Figglehorn / YouTubing experience.

YouTube videos afford users the chance to comment. Regrettably a vast majority (it amazes me how many) of those comments are littered with racial slurs, bigotry and words more appropriate for prison than a computer screen; those who can’t communicate, swear. And on the occasion of sending along a video link to an unsuspecting friend, I’m more or less subjecting them to the balance of content that tags along just below. While I can’t manage another users account, I can at least shield myself from the text based barrage with a simply check of the box and a browser cookie. The option has been there for some time (I never suggested this information was revolutionary). To the point: Select the OPTIONS link that’s adjacent to the “Text Comments” heading and simply check the “Hide Comments” box. The end. No more idiots. No more F-Bombs. No more slander.

Secondary to this simple tweak, here’s another that not as old but will  likewise smooth the road when watching vids and prefer the High Quality version. You’ll need to actually establish a YouTube account, but after doing that you can login and manage your account. Specifically, select the Playback Setup–>Video Playback Quality and check the “I have a fast connection…” radio button.

After a few visits that left me scratching my head about obvious omissions and then finally taking two minutes to actually compare my percpetions and reality side by side, my greatest couch potato fears were realized. It was in fact true–of the top 10 rentals (for that week, via IMDB), only one appeared on my NetFlix New Releases home page. The NetFlix feature that allows me to flag movies I’ve seen and liked/disliked and thus make targeted recommendations is the obvious suspect.

Data driven content that’s tailored to the users needs and preferences is a great tool–when it works. But in this case, it’s seems to be trying too hard and in turn trimming down my selections to the point of negligence. So instead of  the Oscar winner and #1 rental of the week, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” I’m instead offered the instant classics like “Walled In” or “Drillbit Taylor”.

Being the smart (deleted) cookie that I am–I logged out to see what the general public saw when investigating NetFlix for the first time. Just as odd and equally as inexcusable, I found that they offer only a snap-shot of what’s available in their library. Instead of impressing me the the breadth of the entire collection, they’ve seen fit to only share 21 titles (filed as New Releases). This is more of a marketing mis-step than a techical shortcoming.

This sort of unwieldy database driven results/content isn’t unheard of. It’s especially easy to find on news pages like MSNBC where I regularly see text-advertisements for something like a “Tropical Paradise Vacation”  sitting adjacent to a story outlining horrific terrorist attack on a South Pacific Island (I’m making that up–there’s been no attack!).

TiVo offers a similar feature that makes programming suggestions but it too isn’t without issue. I’m reminded of Spence Olchin line from the classic comedy, “The King Of Queens”

“Oh my God! My TiVo thinks I’m gay!”

Which brings to mind a second topic. Why is there a Gay/Lesbian movie catagory in the first place? What’s that about?

And for the record–NetFlix is an excellent service. It’s not my intention to diss’ anyone

You see, it is my obsession to seek out (and hopefully become literate with) the latest and greatest tricks, tools and clever code collections of script snippets that can transform a website from functional to fancy. In some cases its practical but more often than not its bells, whistles and eye-candy. Along those lines, I’ve recently discovered the joys and relative ease of JQuery scripts. I feel no shame in admitting that I’m not skilled enough to create a script myself. But I have likewise found that with the proliferation of “ready-made” scripts, there’s little reason to tackle that skill in the near future. I mean, these things are replicating like rabbits.

In the course of finding these scripts and kicking their tires I often find myself reading blog entires and help/support sections that are found in tandem to the scripting code. While JQuery may be relatively easy to execute, it’s not without hiccups and a little hand holding via a support forum can go a long way. And it is within these forums that I find the inevitable entry or gripe that reads “…what about users that have Javascript disabled?” That question (or some variable of it) is posed with military-grade regularity.

OK so here’s the gripe

When the “disabled Javascript” question is stumbled upon, I can’t help but scratch my head an wonder what all the fuss is about? I mean some uber-goober has just used Notepad and effectively turned water into wine and the only comment some nerd can muster is one regarding a rarely disabled browser feature. Are you just looking for something…anything…to lob back over and into the developers lap? This mad genius that has just freely given you the ability to include some ridiculously cool way to juice up your gallery of kitty-cat images or a sweet little effect for mouse-overs. You should be naming a first born child after them, not whining about the five percent or often LESS of users that have Javascript disabled and thus “can’t use it”

The five percent or less total represents my informal results based on some simple Google Analytics reporting. More often than not, it was well under five percent.

Here’s where I might get into trouble with the usability fascists that lurk among us mere mortals. Militant coders have their place and I’m not dismissing the importance of getting one’s ducks lined up to ensure a uniform presentation. I stand by the words that I began this entry with. However, I live in a world where a 95% chance of success is pretty danged acceptable! In most circles, we’d be willing to bet the pink slip on those odds. What is with persistent paranoia over somehow offending this five percent of web users? This five percent that insists on disabling a tool that enhances the over all web browsing experience? Is it a fear of hackers? Is the security issue truly that prolific? I dare estimate that even LESS than five percent of typical users even know HOW to disable Javascript on their browsers…it just came that way.

I stand worry-free along side the 95%…there truly is power in numbers. And for the record, I make regular use of the script on my personal page–but in not mission critical areas (that I know of).

And so the logical final words on this topic are these:
What’s worse—a simple forum question about disabled Javascript options?
Or—burning over 600 words rambling on about how annoying the question is?