The WebSpecialist Blog

Maryland Takes Important Step Regarding Social Media Privacy and Employers

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:46:00 GMT

In a move that Marylanders can be proud of, the Maryland legislature has become the first in the nation to ban employers (or potential employers) from requiring or asking for Facebook passwords in order to review an employee's or job applicant's Facebook page from the inside out.

While this doesn't prevent employers from viewing public Facebook pages, WSI is proud to be in a state that has chosen to act quickly and decisively on this important issue. Chalk one up for social media account privacy in Maryland!

See full article here.

Law Firm Living An Online Reputation Nightmare

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:34:00 GMT

Even if you don't live in Florida, you've probably heard of Elizabeth Wellborn, P.A. Elizabeth and her law firm in The Sunshine State are dealing with a firestorm of controversy over the recent firing of 11 employees for wearing orange shirts to work one day. According to multiple online news resources, the employees had been wearing orange shirts on pay day Fridays for a couple of months, to show solidarity when going to happy hour to celebrate after work on those days.

Florida is an "at will" employment state, so the law firm did not have to give any reason for the firings.

Now, it's certainly not our place to judge this law firm's actions, but there is no doubt they have caused themselves a lot of unwanted publicity through this action. Not only was the story carried by news outlets like Yahoo News, The New York Daily News and the Sun-Sentinel, but of course it was almost immediately being discussed on social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook.

Perhaps just as important is the fact that the company website was so overwhelmed with visits that its server couldn't handle all the traffic, and many people who attempted to visit the site simply got en error page. In addition, many Google users immediately took to the law firm's Google Places page to write bad reviews of the company. Prior to this story hitting the news, the company had no reviews at all (good or bad) in Google. As of this writing, they have 80 reviews, 79 of them rating the firm only 1 star out of 5. Anyone who has ever tried to get bad reviews removed from Google knows that it is nearly impossible to do so.

As a result, a law firm that was previously happily under the radar online is now facing a nightmarish online reputation. As we move further and further into the social web, online reputation management (ORM) has become a mandatory part of a well balanced Internet marketing strategy, especially for restaurants and service providers. A service like this can help a business owner to know when something bad has been said about the company online, and respond to it both quickly and appropriately.

WSI offers online reputation management services individually, or as an add-on to more comprehensive search engine optimization (SEO) services. Contact us if we may be able to help your company stay on top of your online reputation before you find yourself in your own nightmare.

The New Tech Tattoo

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:51:00 GMT

Here's a story that sounds like it came straight from the latest sci-fi flick. According to this story in the LA Times online, Nokia has applied for a patent for a tattoo that will alert you to incoming phone calls and text messages on your cell phone. Apparently the tattoo is applied using a special ink that contains iron and iron oxides that are magnetized, and can be "programmed" sort of like a blue tooth device so that it only reacts to your phone (and not your neighbor's). It causes a sensation under the skin to alert you to an incoming call or message.

Aside from the immediate questions, like how hard it might be to reprogram your tattoo once you get a new phone, we have to wonder if many people would choose to partake in this fairly invasive use of technology. We all know people who rely so heavily on their smart phones that the phones might as well be permanently connected to their bodies. But under the skin??

Switching gears a bit: A far less invasive use of modern technology (for businesses, anyway) is a website feature that we find a lot of business owners are not yet aware exists. It's the ability for your website contact form to send a text message to a designated cell phone number upon submission by a website visitor. This is especially handy for companies that offer emergency services, such as heating and air conditioning, or emergency disaster clean-up. Within 15 seconds of submission on the website, the technician on call can receive a text message with the name and phone number of a potential client who is presumably waiting for their return call.

If this is news to you - and you believe your company might benefit from such technology - it might be time for a website upgrade or redesign that brings your company up-to-date with the latest technology. Contact WSI WebSpecialist to see if we can help. (Being alerted to the incoming text by "tingling tattoo" is optional.)

So What Is Pinterest, and What Is It All About, Anyway?

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 20:56:00 GMT

If you follow social media news, you might have noticed that Pinterest, a relatively new social networking site, has been making the news lately. You may have shrugged it off or ignored any articles about it, thinking, "What's the big deal? It's just another little social networking site that will never make it off the ground or become important."

However, Pinterest has done the complete opposite of falling into obscurity. Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social networking sites around. Daily users have grown at a rate of 145% since the start of 2012. Users of the site spend approximately 72 minutes on the site per day! That's a huge amount of time.

So what is Pinterest? It's basically an online visual bookmarking site. You can "pin" images that you find from around the web to various "pinboards" on Pinterest. You can also browse other users' pinboards to see what they have pinned.

Who is using Pinterest? 97% of Pinterest's Facebook fans are women. This might be because Pinterest's own About page describes itself as a place to plan weddings, decorate homes, and organize recipes – generally activities favored more by women than men.

Have you tried out Pinterest? What are you using it for? Let us know in the comments!

Going Global? Make Sure Your Website Speaks the Language

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:20:00 GMT

You might be searching for some help with Baltimore web design, but chances are you want to reach an international audience. And why not? The world is suddenly a very small place; with the right tips in website localization, any small business can take its website global. But how does a website that speaks English win over the hearts of foreign followers? With great pictures, of course! Relevant, well-placed and — most importantly — culturally-sensitive images are a fantastic way to connect with friends around the world without having to take a crash course in a new language.

In fact, Mashable's Robert Laing recently put together a list of "5 Ways to Win at Website Localization" and using images to communicate was No. 1.

"When building trust and earning customer loyalty is the objective, images can make all the difference in the world," Laing writes.

Laing wisely points out that great attention to cultural needs and things like national flags should be looked at in-depth when it comes to website images... and we agree. Your expert in Baltimore web design can help you pick images that transcend language barriers and not offend global audiences.

The Little Apple Gets a Big Website Makeover

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:51:00 GMT

The best and brightest in Maryland website design will tell you that it doesn't matter how small your business is or how unknown you are — a new website can transform your brand's image.

The city of Manhattan, Kansas learned this recently when it hosted the "Little Apple Hackathon." Teams of designers competed for Best Overall Design and Best New Functionality. The Hackathon was a unique response to the city's problem of having an outdated and hard to use website. After months of building mock-ups and reviewing new ideas, a winner was chosen by the city this week.

The slick winning website features a brand new logo, a video hub to watch live feeds of city meetings and new images and photos to show off the beauty of the Little Apple. Manhattan may only boast a population of 53,000, but the new website has a chic, big-city feel to it, proving that power of good website design is something everyone can experience.

Local is the New Global

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:48:00 GMT

Facebook is talking about it. Google and Bing are allegedly obsessing about it. And all the little guys are even wondering about it. The "it" in question is local web optimization. So why is everybody buzzing about local when once upon a time the desired SEO goal was global domination?

Easy. As searches become more specialized, users are directed to businesses, people and places within steps of wherever they're using their laptop or smart phone. Therefore it's more vital than ever for small businesses to make sure their hours of operation, location and services are correctly listed online. Updating business profiles on search engines should be part of a local SEO strategy. Now more than ever, small companies are invited to be empowered by staying in control of their website, social media and search engine results. And we think that's great news. Viva local!

Latest Panda Updates are Marketer-friendly

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:44:00 GMT

Baltimore SEO gurus and Internet marketers have been waiting for the latest algorithm update from Google Panda. After all, the company clearly stated that Panda would be taking a holiday nap but would be back in action at the beginning of the year. And it appears that the wait is over: Panda 3.2 came roaring back last week and the updates are causing some marketers to cheer.

This 10th refresh apparently addresses issues with Panda's last update. Marketers, according to Brafton.com, are reporting that traffic levels have been restored to near pre-Panda levels. And because there have been no changes in terms of ranking signals, it seems this latest Google update, while important, is fairly minor. This round of adjustments is one in a series of 500 changes Google plans to make to its various search algorithms this year.

Bad Websites are Never in 'Vogue'

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:43:00 GMT

Every so often, Delaware web design specialists like us stumble upon a big brand with a really bad website. All the marketing money in the world occasionally can't buy good taste. And that was precisely the problem at French Vogue. The website from the fashion epicenter of the universe was a grainy, cluttered, slow-moving hot mess. Now the bigwigs at French Vogue — especially notoriously tough editor Emmanuelle Alt — are looking to change all of that.

According to a press release from Conde Naste, the redesigned Vogue.fr will go live on February 6 to coincide with the fall 2012 runway shows.

"Contents wise, the new Vogue.fr blends the digital and print editions, feeding off each other under the watchful eye of Emmanuelle Alt, and aims to be the digital extension of the magazine, adapted to the time frame and use of the media," the release says.

The publisher also promises exclusive interviews, backstage photos and new content daily. We say, way to go French Vogue. You're never too big to get your website "ooh la la" back.

Google+ Marries Mobile and Social

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:11:00 GMT

Mobile websites make talking to your smartphone-obsessed clients incredibly easy. But when a social media site updates its mobile capability, you can be sure that users are applauding. And that's just what Google+ has done recently to keep pace with other social media giants like Facebook and Twitter.

According to Mobileburn, the new mobile version of Google+ features a "What's Hot" newsfeed which informs users of friend updates and trending topics. Also, users are now able to see who's given one of their posts a +1 (which is the Google+ version of a Facebook like). These updates are intended to allow for desktop-like sharing from the ease of a smartphone. Sharing is one of the main draws of social media, and Google+ hopes to capitalize on that. Like any good mobile website, Google has gotten rid of features that were redundant and slowed down use, like the much-griped-about Incoming column. The changes will pop up soon on the latest versions of the app for the basic web, OS and Android.

Do You "Like" Any Companies on Facebook?

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:23:00 GMT

As a company, we'd like to think that our clients are willing to show their support for the work we do for them by "liking" our company page on Facebook. We also hope they might share our company Facebook page with their Facebook friends. But the hard truth is that it's been an uphill battle for us - and for many other companies we talk to. Now a November 2011 report from eMarketer.com is making us feel at least a little better.

According to the report, it's common for Facebook users to resist "liking" companies. Citing a Crowd Science survey, the report states that only 9% of Facebook users currently "like" a branded Facebook company page - and that the reasons for liking the page were most frequently to "show support" (typically friends and family of owners and employees) or because they "enjoy what is being said" - not because they liked the company's products or services.

Also important is that of those who "liked" a branded retailer's Facebook page, the most common reasons were to seek out sales and promotional codes, and to share both positive and negative reviews. Less than 50% said they liked a page in order to follow company news and updates, or participate in a conversation with the company or its fans. Yet these are two reasons most often given for why companies create Facebook pages.

Maybe it's time for companies to move away from branded pages on social media sites, and simply stick to advertising on them instead.

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Display Issues

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:58:00 GMT

Lately while working with a few clients on their own computers, we've noticed some minor but slightly annoying issues with the way some websites were being displayed in the 2011 release of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9). They typically involved slight overlapping of images and text, or slight misplacement of graphics. However, in one particular case, we noticed and entire website menu that was displaying vertically instead of horizontally - and consequently making the site almost impossible to navigate.

If you use IE9 and have noticed any of your favorite websites looking a little wonky, it may be that you have the browser set to display in "compatibility view." We can understand why some of you may have chosen this view when installing IE9; after all "compatibility" sounds like a good thing, right? But if you choose to use Internet Explorer*, we think you'll have a much better browsing experience if you turn off compatibility view, and instead let websites display as they were intended.

To turn off IE9's compatibility view, do the following:

Open Internet Explorer.
Press the Alt key on your keyboard to display the "File menu."
Click on "Tools" in the menu bar.
Select Compatibility View Settings.
Remove the check mark for "Display all websites in Compatibility View" and close the Compatibility View Settings window.

We'd love to know if many of you have had this issue, and if the steps above actually improve your browsing experience. Add your comments below!

*WSI WebSpecialist recommends Google Chrome or Firefox browsers for most PC users.

Life After Facebook: Other Social Media Marketing Avenues Worth Considering

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:22:00 GMT

Maryland Internet marketing and social media marketing specialists often sing the praises of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but a new study from eMarketer shows that users are spending hours on other social sites that your brand might want to consider.

Got a visual-based business like fashion or interior design? Maybe you should take a look at Pinterest. The make-your-own inspiration board sharing site has grown massively since last year and eMarketer reports that the average user of Pinterest spends 72 minutes a day on the site. Brands are taking notice and bringing shopping ideas and product suggestions to the site at warp speed.

Looking to market to Eastern European customers? Then Odnoklassniki might be for you. Odnoklassniki is the Russian version of Facebook but brings in users from around the globe. And those users, according to the study, spend a whopping six hours a day on the site! International brands have already logged on and are having a global conversation with customers they could never reach on Facebook.

Lastly, if you're marketing a game or products for gamers then you can't miss with Tagged.com. Tagged users spend two hours a day on the site as they play games with one another while chatting. Tagged takes social gaming to the next level, and companies big and small are trying to figure out inventive ways to use the site to communicate with young gaming audiences.

And yet even more social media sites recorded increases in time spent from users. Tumblr racked up an impressive 82 minutes a day from visitors while China's microblogging site Sina Weibo had a major bump with 69.8 minutes a day.

And yet if Facebook is where you want to stay put, you're certainly not wasting your time. The study says the average Facebook user spends a staggering 6.1 hours a day updating their status, playing games and uploading photos.

Proof That Your Website Could Look Worse

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:56:00 GMT

If a terrible website has pushed you into searching for the best in Maryland web design, just remember your website could always be worse. Like, a lot worse. We've decided to share this PC World slide-show of the Worst Web Design Mistakes from last month as an example of what not to do — and as proof that small changes can make a big difference.

Some of the commonly-made mistakes called out by PC World, like over-clutter of social media widgets and incessant apologizing for not updating, are easy things to fix. Others (poor color contrast between text and background or annoying side scrolling) are more a matter of lack of direction and support from the web designer. Mainly, all of the items on the mistakes list (even the laughably bad ones like the Comic Sans font overkill) are things that can be caught and fixed way before a site ever goes live — if you're working with somebody who knows what they're doing.

New Data Shows App Usage Up While Mobile Browsing Slumps

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:06:00 GMT

Mobile websites are the smartphone-friendly way for small businesses to communicate with followers. Yet a new study from analytics firm Flurry suggests that when it comes to smartphones, users are more interested in apps than browsing.

Flurry reports that the average smartphone user spends 94 minutes a day on apps and just 72 minutes on web browsing. These numbers are drastically different from last summer, when 81 minutes were reportedly spent on web browsing. App usage continues to grow — jumping 15 percent in December alone. The waning interest in mobile browsing could come from users switching from the web to an app to access social media sites like Facebook. Nevertheless, mobile websites are still a bright idea. Gigaom.com notes that with the arrival of HTML5, many apps will soon be accessed like traditional web pages, meaning a hybrid between mobile browsing and apps is just around the corner.

Have you considered either an app or a mobile website for your business? Have you decided on one over the other? What was the deciding factor? Share your company's experience below.