Part 1 of 2

Email is so pervasive in our lives that many people, I’m sure, wouldn’t know what to do with themselves if someone pulled the Internet plug. A few short years ago, email was considered an “unreliable” delivery mechanism, meaning that if you had something of importance to say or send, you’d better use a backup plan to be sure your recipient got it.

No more. Email is routinely subpoenaed in legal cases. It’s considered in many courts to be as good as a written contract and there are several “contract” sites that rely on email for contract execution.

People now receive mail on their cell phones and blackberry’s. While some predicted that SPAM would be a major detriment to the email infrastructure, we’ve managed to handle it pretty well, both from a legislative and technical perspective.

Yet, I never cease to be amazed by what people “do” in email. Whether it’s forwarding something inappropriate or including a vast number of people on a “CC” list or replying to “all” instead of “one”…the list goes on. So, here is the current “Dave Segrove list of things to do and not to do” when it comes to email. Some are just ideas, some are common sense and others are…well, I’ll let you decide.

“DO NOTs”, “GOTCHAs” and other things(in no particular order)

1. WORK AND PLAY DON’T MIX

Do not confuse business and pleasure. In my mind, this has got to be the most ignored and fundamental “rule” when it comes to email. There are several “sub-categories” under this heading.

• Chain Emails

  I may be on your mailing list for some reason and I’m happy to be. But if my relationship with you is business-related, I do not want to see your chain emails. A “chain email” is one that you must forward to 10 or 100 people in order to get the message out, for good luck, to avoid bad luck, to sign a petition…the list goes on. SPAM still accounts for over 90% of all email traffic and chain emails are a big part of that.

  That’s not to say there is no place for some very good chain emails, but consider the recipient. Send it to your friends and family perhaps, but not your business colleagues.

• Jokes, Cartoons Etc

  I’m always amazed at the number of these I get from people I’d never have expected to. I like a good joke or cartoon as much as the next person, and if I get one from a friend or family member, that’s very different. I don’t expect (unless perhaps in rare cases) to receive these from business associates.

  Bottom line: you don’t know whether you might offend the recipient and you don’t know what that might result in.

  Many companies prohibit this sort of traffic as part of their policy, but I see it all the time.

• Pictures, Family Stories Etc

  Sorry gang, but business is business. If we’re friends, then by all means add me to your Facebook list or send me your photos or stories. As a colleague, client or vendor, I shouldn’t be copied on these.

2. DO NOT ASSUME PERMISSION

We may have communicated in the past. I may have received your business card from you in a meeting. Please don’t assume I gave you permission to add me to your mailing list. If you want to add me to your mailing list, send me an email or call me to ask.

In most cases, people are quite happy to join your list, but don’t take it for granted.

3. DO NOT BE CASUAL

If your email is business-related, keep the language thus. Don’t assume a “tone” you would not use in conversation. Email is very subject to misinterpretation, specifically because you cannot hear the voice inflexions of the sender.

4. NEVER EVER USE PROFANITY

’nuff said.

5. DON’T ABBREVIATE

Email is not texting. Sure, you may be emailing from your cell phone or portable device, but that’s your problem. Abbreviations are subject to interpretation. Don’t assume that someone will understand what TTYL or L8R means.

6. BIG ATTACHMENTS

As Internet “pipes” get bigger, so do email attachments. Unless someone’s expecting a big file, either give them some notice or find another way (FTP for example) of getting it to them. Many corporate firewalls and routers will block big messages. You run the risk of not knowing whether it was received or not. Not all email systems will tell you.

Big attachments also fill up mail boxes and may cost money in bandwidth, for either you or the recipient.

7. SHOOTING FROM THE HIP

“Flaming” is an Internet term for an attack on another. While these tend to happen in forum settings, they can happen in emails too. It’s very easy to take offense at a message, type a quick reply and hit send before you’ve had time to take a breath.

Now what?

Remember, in most cases you cannot take it back. You cannot “un-say”. If something upsets you, be careful before replying. In my case, I’ll often type up what I want to say in a word processor. That way, there’s little chance of me sending the message by accident (or on purpose). After I calm down, I can edit or delete what I’ve typed and then copy and paste it into an email.

8. IT WILL OUTLIVE YOU

Copies of email messages are stored all over the place. Don’t assume an email conversation is just between you and the receiver. Don’t send something that might come back to bite you later. Email is legally admissible in many places as evidence. Just because you deleted it from “Sent Items” doesn’t delete it from the Internet.

9. REPLY TO “ALL” / FORWARDING

This can be amusing when it happens. It can also be deadly (business-wise). You receive an email from someone who has copied a group of people. You reply with a comment intended for the sender’s eyes only. You hit “send”.

Hang on, did you replay to “all”…? Uh oh…

I received an email recently from someone who forwarded an email from someone else and I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t supposed to see the original because it wasn’t very nice. In fact, it’s what prompted this article.

Be careful when replying to messages that were sent to a group. Ditto, be careful when forwarding a message to one or more people. Is there something that wasn’t intended for general consumption in there?

10. AN ADDRESS THAT ISN’T “PORTABLE” OR APPROPRIATE

Now, this last item may be determined by your company. If you work for a corporation and use their email system, you are probably expected to send and receive work-related emails with a company address. In nearly every case, you can’t take this with you when you leave.

So, if you are using your company address for something else, you might want to stop doing so. This may be against company policy to begin with, but if you can’t take it with you, are you going to have a problem if you leave?

Use an email address suitable for your business. If you want to use AOL or GMAIL or YAHOO, then do so, but use an address that works and that is appropriate. onehotguy@[emailsystem.com] may be cool for your personal life, but does it work for your new legal practice?

So, there you have it. I’m sure there are many other things that could be on the list. As email evolves, we need to as well. It’s no longer the casual tool a few years years ago.

If you made it thus far, you have my complete admiration. This wasn’t supposed to be a novel when it started…if you email it to anyone, you might want to just send a link…I think that’s appropriate

We’re delighted to announce the launch of www.DesertDwellersRealty.com, the real estate broker website of Desert Dwellers. The site features integrated IDX property searches and individual web pages for each of the Desert Dwellers agents. The site also boasts RSS news feeds, dynamic content (CMS) and a host of links, area information and tools.

Welcome to the web!

It’s that time of year. Yes, holidays, winding down – one hopes – and looking forward to the start of a new year. It’s never too early to begin laying down the foundations of a business, marketing or personal plan for 2010. Here’s a simple R-E-C-I-P-E.

Take a RETROSPECTIVE look at 2009. Look at the good, the not-so-good. You’ve lived (almost) another 12 months and you’ve experienced (almost) another 12 months. That’s a year’s worth of wisdom. You’ve probably learned much more than you realize and you can put that all to good use in your plan for 2010.

EVALUATE the successes. What were your goals at the beginning of the year? Did you have any? If not, resolve to change that immediately! How does your year end appear to be shaping up relative to those goals? What were the successes in 2009. Were they planned or unplanned? Write them down and figure out what you achieved. Plan to do it again if possible.

CELEBRATE your successes. Give yourself a pat on the back! Even the smallest achievement is step in the right direction. It’s something to build on. Experience is a success in itself, so at minimum, you’ve got that to celebrate.

INVESTIGATE the failures. I hate to use that word, but I couldn’t think of a better one. What didn’t work as planned in 2009? If you had a plan and something didn’t work out, try to understand why. Accidents happen. The unforeseen happens. The saying "the best laid plans of mice and men…" exists for a reason, as does "if at first you don’t succeed…". You now have the benefit of hindsight.

Begin your PLAN for 2010. Yes, I know 2009 isn’t over, but it’s almost December and the year end will be here before you know it. Your plan should include measurable goals (see A SIMPLE GAME PLAN). Looking back over this year, include possible pitfalls you need to watch out for. Try and add a goal that you didn’t have this year. On your calendar, put a short-term objective for each month and a method by which you can measure success. Don’t wait until the end of next year to get yourself back on track. If 2009 didn’t go as expected, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and plan to try, try again.

ENJOY yourself. It’s the holidays. Season of goodwill and time to be grateful for all the big and little things in our lives. Next year will be a challenge, but you’re going into the New Year with a plan and a whole 12 months of additional experience and wisdom. Let bygones be bygones and resolve to begin 2010 with a clean slate and a whole year of potential.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving (and Holiday Season)!

As a web designer, part of my Quality Assurance (QA) testing is to verify that my websites work in a number of different browsers. One cannot "assume" that just because it’s okay in one, it’s going to be okay in another. Beyond just working, the appearance of the site is often affected by the browser as well. Sometimes the behavior difference can be quite dramatic.

Some of these differences are due to the fact that there are differing standards for browser and web design behavior. Though there are a fundamental set of "rules" that everyone follows, the difference in "tweaks" can be very frustrating at times, but the ultimate result is worth it.

As a result of all this testing, I’ve come to develop a fondness for certain browsers. While Microsoft’s Internet Explorer used to dominate the browser market, others have begun to develop a following of their own. I thought I’d share some of my experiences with you.

The "Big 5" browsers are, considered by many, to be:

• Internet Explorer
• Firefox (Mozilla)
• Chrome (Google)
• Safari (Apple)
• Opera (Opera)

I used to be a big fan of Internet Explorer (IE) (www.microsoft.com/windows/Internet-explorer). However, as the version numbers went up so did the complexity of the browser. I’ve found that many "built in" features of Windows suffer from a tendency of trying be all things to all people and IE is no exception. In addition, the changes from one version to another have been very dramatic, both from a visual and usability standpoint. According to w3schools.com’s month-to-month "Web Statistics and Trends" report, Internet Explorer, with no less than three major versions out there, has seen its heyday (mid 2008) and it’s market share, though still significant at about 35% has dropped a lot. Whether this is due to security or usability concerns, who knows, but I’m betting that the numbers will dwindle even more as awareness of other browsers grows.

From a personal standpoint, my major complaint about IE has been the speed at which it loads and the continual having to unload or "switch off" various components. I also don’t like software that interacts with my operating system at a level that makes me feel as though it knows better than what’s good for me. Added to this have been security issues for years now. My use of IE has simply been reduced to testing. Yet, Microsoft does claim that IE is one of the "safest" browsers out there.

The lion’s share of the browser market belongs to Firefox (FF) by Mozilla (www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/firefox.html). In the Windows world, Firefox became a big rival to Internet Explorer in 2006. I believe that much of this was as a result of the whole legal drama that surrounded Microsoft’s including IE in Windows, along with what seemed to be one security issue after another. Firefox was there and took the lead.

I used FF for about a year as my primary browser until Google Chrome came along. I became increasingly frustrated with loading times that seemed to grow and grow, along with what seemed to me to be an incredible number of updates. Perhaps it was no more that IE, but the fact that the updates were installed when I loaded the browser, gave it the appearance of being perpetually updated. I always liked the "tabbed" browsing windows that Firefox, I believe, was first to adopt. Yet, over time, I feel as though the browser has suffered a little from the IE habit of trying to be too much. So, as with IE, I use it primarily for testing purposes.

Google Chrome (www.google.com/chrome) made it’s debut in 2008. It was heralded (by Google) as being a fresh browser, built from the "ground up". Early reviews were positive. It was certainly different, and took a little getting used to. Gone were many of the text menus that I’d gotten used to. It behaved differently too. One tab crashing didn’t wipe out the others. I also rather liked the way it tracked my browsing history.

Yet, there were some early problems. Some addins, such as Flash, were a little "iffy" and some sites refused to load in Chrome, telling me to use IE or FF instead. I’m glad to see that this has changed and, as Chrome’s use has grown over the past year, many of the early problems have been ironed out.

From a personal standpoint, Chrome is my current browser of choice. It’s fast. Very fast. Once you get used to piloting it, I’ve found it very reliable. It does what I expect it to do: allow me to browse the web. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Safari (www.apple.com/safari/) used to be the "Mac" browser. It still is, but the Windows version has been adopted by a growing segment of the browser marketplace. Safari is what Apple products tend to be: glossy, streamlined and functional. It’s a nice browser. It feels "clean" and "light". Many consider it to be the "fastest" browser out there.

My personal use of Safari has been for testing purposes, but I do like it and will continue keeping an eye on it as a potential alternative for Chrome should be need arise…

Finally, the last of the "big 5" is Opera (www.opera.com/). While this browser still has a relatively tiny percentage of users (about 3%), it’s growing. Like Safari, Opera feels "clean" and "light". It loads quickly and does a good job.

Opera is the only browser that has not crashed once since I’ve started using it. I like the way it "remembers" the last site I was on, and this, straight out of the box. There is little "fluff" with Opera, like Chrome and Safari. I personally believe that it’s popularity will grow as people become aware of it.

As the mobile platform usage grows, I expect both the mobile versions of the above browsers as well as new ones to make their presence felt. As a web designer, I do have to take mobile browsing into consideration. Most "airtime" costs when it comes to browsing, so sites need to load quickly and the amount of content needs to be "bare bones" to keep costs down. My mobile browsing testing has been limited to IE and some "emulators" from the mobile phone companies which allow me to do some limited testing. That said, Opera has a nice feature built into the desktop version which easily simulates a mobile browser. It was the original reason I downloaded Opera and, from a developers standpoint, I’m very glad I did.

As a designer, I also test my sites using Lynx (lynx.isc.org), which is a pure text browser. This allows me to see my sites in a mode that might be used by a visually impaired visitor as well as how search engines view the sites.

So, there you have it, the Dave Segrove opinion on the major browsers. To summarize, I think Internet Explorer and Firefox have become too "bulky" and slow to be practical. Chrome is where it’s at, right now, but Safari and Opera show a lot of promise. You can download and run all of these browsers on the same PC and try them for yourself. It always comes down to what you’re comfortable using, but it never hurts to try something new…or old again…

I was working on my laptop the other day in at a Paradise Bakery in Phoenix (free Wi-Fi and an excellent "frequent flier" program) when I looked around at several other people, like me, all busily tapping away at their laptops.

Whether it was the potent mix of a particularly strong coffee coupled with a ray of sunshine that hit me just right I do not know, but I suddenly thought…"hey – all that advertising space".

• How many people have laptops?
• How many people use them in public places?
• How many people glance at them while walking by?

Imagine a simple ad on the back of the laptop lid…

"Ask me about…[insert product or service]"

or "Need [insert product or service]? Visit www.[insert website].com"

Nothing elaborate, and something that can be read from ten to twenty feet away. Buy a simple clear or white weatherproof label, print, stick and voila!

In this economy, anything’s worth a shot, right? Who knows what sort of conversation might ensue…

It’s funny what you can come across when browsing for something completely different, but then again, it shows what a good blog article title can do…

BLOGGERS BUSTED BY COURTS

The article on legalzoom.com (here’s the link), discusses the 2009 case of Liskula Cohen, a model, who was called some rather unpleasant things in several anonymous blog posts. She decided to sue. Since the poster was unknown, her attorney’s had to go after Google, owners of Blogger.com where the comments were made.

The case made it to the New York Supreme court where it was decided that the comments had been defamatory and Cohen had rights to claim compensation. More specifically, they quoted a similar Virginia case and stated that anyone suffering "damages" as a result of "tortious or other actionable communications on the Internet" should be able to "seek appropriate redress by preventing the wrongdoers from hiding behind an illusory shield of purported First Amendment rights."
Back in 1995, the US Supreme Court had ruled the opposite, citing that the First Amendment guarantees protection, is vital to any democracy and "Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority".

A quick Google search for “bloggers sued” brings up a host of results (add 2009 to the search for more current stories) from here and abroad. It that there isn’t a part of the world that doesn’t have a blog-related lawsuit in progress somewhere.

So, what does it all mean?

Well, other than I shouldn’t be so easily sidetracked, it goes to show that "anonymous" isn’t necessarily so. Of course, many of us already know that once we step foot into the Internet world, we’re about as anonymous as a polar bear at a penguin convention. Yet, that aside, it also goes to show that what you say really can matter online. What you say can come back to haunt you, whether it’s a comment you make on a personal level, or, I’m guessing, a professional one too. The "offense" may not have been intended, but that’s up to the "offended" party. There are, I’m sure, some very legitimate cases that deserve a look, but that has to be balanced by the First Amendment (or other freedom-of-speech laws around the world) and allowing people to say what they want to.

The legal lines are very shaky in this regard. Quite literally, the jury is out when it comes to what’s okay and what’s going to end someone up in court. As an enthusiastic blogger and writer myself, I hate the thought of censorship at any level, but such is the world we live in. It’s going to be interesting to see how it develops, but in the meantime…if it’s something I wouldn’t say I loud in a public forum, it might be worth keeping to myself…that makes sense to me.

Oh – and this blog is my opinion and is not intended to offend anyone…sigh.

I write about different marketing strategies and techniques, both traditional and non in my online newsletter Webby’s Updates which you can read at www.JDELtd.com and subscribe to if you so choose. You can download this and other articles from by Small Business GENetics site, www.sbgenetics.com

What is it about that "Friday Feeling"? The anticipation of two days of no work? Having survived another week of the rat race? Sleeping in? Happy hour?

What ever the underlying cause for that slightly excited 4pm sense of excitement, many people feel a sense of accomplishment; and many wish they could feel that way every day. While this post comes under the broad heading of "marketing", it can apply to other aspects of personal or professional life.

The old proverb "an apple a day keeps the doctor (or dentist) away" has some conventional wisdom within. Take the proverb and substitute "goal" for "apple" and "apathy" for "doctor" and we’re on to something.

Last week I posted an article comparing a marketing campaign to a military one (see VENI, VIDI, VICI). In the article I illustrated that, like it’s military counterpart, a marketing campaign is comprised of a series of goals, each building on the former to achieve the ultimate goal.

Okay Dave, but what’s this got to do with-

Hang on – I’m getting there.

Take a look at your marketing campaign plan. Hopefully it’s broken down into strategic milestones, monthly or weekly goals. If not, perhaps you could consider doing so, and while you’re at it, break into daily goals too.

That’s a lot of work, Dave…

Is it really? The more detail you can break a plan down to, the easier it is to adjust the smaller components. But most importantly, you can set daily goals. This might be something as routine as "complete 10 marketing calls" or "5 ideas for flyers", but at the end of the day, it can be something you can put a line through and say "done". It’s a part of your campaign. You’re a step closer to reaching your goal and getting where you want / need to go.

Is it a "Friday Feeling"? Perhaps not quite, but you can look back at the day with a sense of having achieved something relevant to you and your business.

Happy Friday.

I write about different marketing strategies and techniques, both traditional and non in my online newsletter Webby’s Updates which you can read at www.JDELtd.com and subscribe to if you so choose. You can download this and other articles from by Small Business GENetics site, www.sbgenetics.com

"VENI, VIDI, VICI"

Julius Caesar is attributed with saying these immortal words (translation "I came, I saw, I conquered") in 47 BC. The Romans, for a many years, quite literally conquered the world; and they did it one battle at a time.

A marketing campaign is like a military campaign: there’s a short-term goal and a tactic for achieving it. Notice I said "short term". A war is (alas) medium or long-term and a marketing program likewise. A marketing program (like the a war), is made up from a series of campaigns, each leading to what is an ultimate objective.

VENI

Now, this is "marketing according to Dave Segrove", not something I read somewhere else. While I consider long-term marketing strategies okay, I think they belong in the realm of larger companies or, preferably, nowhere.

Ooh – he’s picking a fight…

Not really, and here’s why.

I see this particularly with small companies, but the marketing plan (or campaign), becomes another word for "vision" : In two years, by doing this and that we’re going to achieve….

In order for a marketing plan, like a military campaign, to stand a chance of working in a small company (in my humble opinion), is should:

1. be short term (less than six months);
2. have clearly stated and immovable and tangible goals;
3. have a start and end date;
4. include a method to measure success;
5. have a plan to get there;
6. includes the necessary resources;

VIDI

The immovable and tangible goals should be engraved in stone. Again, I go back to the military analogy. The campaign to conquer a city will help win the overall war. Once the objective has been stated, is should not really be changed. The other parts of the plan may change, heck, plans do all the time, but if the goal changes, then a new plan must be called for.

When I work with clients, we often have to go back to basics, determining what their business goals are for, say the next couple of years, from which we can develop a marketing strategy, which is broken down into short-term plans. If plan A succeeds, we develop plan B. More often than not, we run several at once, building fail-over and backup into our game plan.

A marketing plan can be one page, but (in the Dave Segrove method), must include all 6 items. If you cannot develop a plan that includes all six, then perhaps you should question then plan idea and take a step back and look at your overall strategy.

VICI

With the proper planning and goals, you’re all set to go-a-conquering. Hail Caesar – and steer clear of anyone called Brutus.

I write about different marketing strategies and techniques, both traditional and non in my online newsletter Webby’s Updates which you can read at www.JDELtd.com and subscribe to if you so choose. You can download this and other articles from by Small Business GENetics site, www.sbgenetics.com

• You have a need.
• I can fulfill that need.
• Here’s how…

Sounds really simple, doesn’t it? But that is the essence of marketing.

• You need feed yourself and your family.
• Many stores sell food.
• You pick the most convenient (products, variety, value, location)…

The winner is the one who hits the “you need/I have” nail on the head.

Creative marketing may involve “developing” a need that someone didn’t know they had. Hate to say it, but it’s true – I mean just look at half the medicine ads on TV. How many times have you seen a “problem” and said “huh, I didn’t even know there was a condition called [insert ailment]“? Though some might find certain types of marketing questionable, it’s all fair. Developing a “perceived” need…it’s not “deceptive”, it’s “marketing”.

And the secret ingredient?

You. Whether representing a product or service, when you market, you present yourself as (part of) the solution to someone’s problem; you’re marketing yourself as much as your product / service. Makes no difference whether it’s in response to a “help wanted” ad or to offer your services to help someone find a home or build a website, or sell them a new car or medication. You’re the one who has to convince the client that yours is the product they need.

Marketing is 50% art and 50% science…oh, and 50% experience. You can never get it 100% right. So keep trying. Get out there. Don’t wait for them to come to you. They might not even realize that…

• Hey, you have a problem here.
• Good thing I’m able to help you with that.
• Here’s how…

I write about different marketing strategies and techniques, both traditional and non in my online newsletter Webby’s Updates which you can read at www.JDELtd.com and subscribe to if you so choose. You can download this and other articles from by Small Business GENetics site, www.sbgenetics.com

I supposed I had best define what I mean by "negative marketing". By this I mean, quite literally, making your product / service / self, look better by providing negative feedback about the competition.

Political campaigns are full of it (and not just negativity). "Attack ads" are commonplace, dare I say "normal"? The idea behind these are simply to make the opponent look bad. While commercial advertising may seem less aggressive, you do see comparisons made, especially in some auto ads…

"…we have 24 cup holders, that’s twice as many as you’ll find in a comparably-priced [insert name]…"

Some, I’m sure, would argue that comparing the benefits of your product / service / self with the competition allows you to demonstrate why yours is better. It’s an argument that has merit, but not one I completely agree with.

But heck, who put me in charge, right?

When you’re marketing yourself / product / service, I think you do yourself a disservice by "going after" the competition with negativity. I could be wrong, but if you can’t stand on the benefits of your product / service / self without resorting to pointing out what the competition doesn’t, then does your product / service / self really hold water?

There are going to be plenty of times when you are in a competition. Personally, I’ve found that by being positive and complementary about the competition tends to result in a more favorable impression made on the audience…thus the client.

Leave the competition to fight among themselves. If you believe in your product / service / self, you won’t need to do any negative marketing at all.

I write about different marketing strategies and techniques, both traditional and non in my online newsletter Webby’s Updates which you can read at www.JDELtd.com and subscribe to if you so choose. You can download this and other articles from by Small Business GENetics site, www.sbgenetics.com