It could be on a business account, but more likely it’s on your personal social media account that you say something dumb. You may make a racist remark; criticize a friend in intemperate language, or take a political position that infuriates a big portion of your readers. The best defense if not doing it, of course. But if you don’t realize the dangers, you may act without thinking. Parents are starting to warn their teens and even younger children of these dangers. Future prospects for college admissions and jobs may be harmed by careless social media use. But the problem will be... [...]

Since many marketers use Microsoft Outlook to manage their email, we want to make you aware of this new article in InfoWorld, by Woody Leonhard. Microsoft just released a patch to correct problems in their Outlook email client. While it may correct some problems, unfortunately, it reintroduces other problems in the calendar function. An initial patch in early December solved some earlier bugs, but caused some users to only be able to use Outlook in “safe mode.” In mid-December, Microsoft released another patch to correct that bug. But that patch wasn’t widely available until... [...]

Microsoft says that 200,000,000 computers, tablets, phones and Xboxes have used Windows 10 in the last month. And, with their marketing push and free conversion for most users (the vast majority of Windows users use Windows 7), they expect a lot more to use it, too. They have been aggressively pushing users of earlier versions of the software to convert to Windows 10. They are expected to become even more aggressive, adding it to the list of updates that get installed automatically. Some users, ourselves among them, are finding the conversion doesn’t go smoothly. Even though the Microsoft... [...]

The new year is finally here. We have turned another page on the calendar, but if we choose, we can also turn another page in our life’s direction. Each year builds on the ones that have gone before. ■ What did you learn in 2015? ■ What new skills did you acquire? ■ What did you decide to change? Now is a good time to assess your business direction and goals. Many people choose the SWAT tool for assessment. SWAT is an acronym standing for: • What are my Strengths? • What are my Weaknesses? • What are my Assets I can better employ in my business? • What are the Threats to my... [...]

2015 is almost gone. It has been a wonderful year for many marketers, and for that we can thank God. There have been challenges, to be sure, but on the whole, it has been a good year. Today, especially, and now through the New Year, we can enjoy the warmth and comfort of family and friends. We can think back, and we can look forward. Celebrate our achievements, and make plans for what is to come. We are not publishing any ads today. It’s time to take a break for reflection, refreshment and family fun. We are aware of a “Boxing Day” sale that starts tomorrow. We will place a notice... [...]

How do you come up with the ideas for a new product? Or for a new advertisement? Most of us take the “grip it and rip it” approach. We start with writing a first sentence, and we charge ahead, writing whatever seems to logically follow it. That gets the job done, but it doesn’t always get it done well. Stepping back and thinking about alternatives often (usually?) produces better results than charging ahead with our first thought. We can improve our results by being “systematically creative”. If we ask ourselves probing questions about what our clients need and how... [...]

A couple of weeks ago, we received the following email: On 2015-10-16 08:23, xxx yyyy [we have hidden the name] wrote: (Since it is significant, forward the following E-mail to your CEO or relevant responsible person. Thanks) Dear CEO/Principal, We are the department of Asian Domain Registration Service in China. Here I have something to confirm with you. We formally received an application on October 16, 2015 that a company claimed “CondYmenp Company” were applying to register “imnewswatch” as their Net Brand and some “imnewswatch” Asian countries top-level... [...]

Thanks to Ghergich & Co. (and a special shout-out to Megan) for sharing this infographic with us for the benefit of our readers. Copyright Infringement: Images You Can and Can’t Share on Your Blog  [...]

What is Periscope? Periscope (http://Periscope.tv) is Twitter’s new live-streaming video app that allows you to watch live video from all across the globe. Periscope also has a function even more important to marketers, the ability to create videos that vcan be seen around the world. The beauty of Periscope is that it saves the video streams once you are finished, so that anyone can view them for up to 24 hours. Periscope’s live feeds can be shot from iPhones and iPads and watched through smartphones, desktops or laptops, either through the app or on the Twitter website. A viewer... [...]

One of the greatest things about the computer age is that it has become easy for individuals to instantly share their thoughts and opinions with others online. This can mean great exposure for businesses when happy customers leave positive reviews with friends and family on social media. While positive comments can be great for a company, negative ones can be quite dangerous. Online reputation management helps businesses monitor what others are saying online in order to build and track their company’s online reputation. Your brand is only as good as its reputation. As a small business, it’s... [...]