Need a tool for quick mockups?

I had the pleasure of trying a demo of Balsamiq Mockups for wireframing recently. My brother turned me on to it so I figure I try it too.  I can't overstate how simple the application was to use. The program is used to make basic wireframes for applications, websites, iphone apps and just about anything else you might need one for. The interface is clever yet simple and the only thing you need to  be able to do to build a wireframe/mock is the ability to drop and drag with your mouse.  In the case of a website you can demonstrate click through functionality. Check it out for yourself. (www.balsamiq.com/products/mockups) Overall a very handy application for designers.

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Although Lynda.com has been around for a long time, I hadn't taken stock of the vast amount of information on the website until recently. I worked for a company that purchased accounts set up for the team so this was my opportunity to brush up on new software updates and also to learn something new. Although you can find tutorials online by doing a google search. The material prepared on Lynda.com is unmatched in that the information is highly organized and arranged for the beginner, intermediate and advanced user quite nicely. In many instances the master instructors lead you with real world projects that you can follow from beginning to end easily.

I took a spin and looked up some advanced technique for Adobe's Flagship vector program Illustrator with well known instructor Deke McClelland and was pleasantly surprised. All I kept thinking was I should have subscribed Lynda.com years ago. Many of you have probably heard of Lynda.com but have never taken the plunge. The membership is as low as $25 per month so it's definitely affordable. Go ahead and subscribe, you won't regret it. Look at it as a tax write off that will actually benefit you.

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Spoiler Alert:  I’m not going to show you new tricks or give you inside information to any trade secrets. Now that half of you stopped reading, I’ll address the other half that isn’t scrambling for a “quick-fix.” 

For the most part, search engine optimization (SEO) doesn’t work out as a global strategy that will optimize for every type of query and keyword.  It’s unique to each individual project.  An SEO trick is just that, a trick. If it doesn’t eventually get you penalized, it will usually result in your project having a short lived jump in ranking that will gradually fall off over the weeks, or be completely negated in the next algorithm adjustment. 

Speaking of which, NEVER assume that the search engines will ever stop adjusting their algorithms.  They have teams of people literally being paid millions, which spend all day, every day, writing search intelligence that closes the gaps all of our SEO tricks exploit. Their mission is to have search intelligence find the actual answers to the questions that users ask search engines.  Not lists of companies that gamed the system to market or sell related products in that space, but the actual answer to the users’ actual question.  In essence, build something that really has all the answers.  Once they’ve done that, the business model continues to work by making sure people can trust those answers for years or decades to come.

So what can you do as a long term strategy?  I’ve tried explaining it recently like this:

Think Jeopardy!

Your, content, your website, your products and solutions, are the answer to a question. Just like the game Jeopardy!, your job is to figure out what that question is. Once you figure out what questions you answer, you have to evaluate and adjust accordingly.

“I’ll take ‘Huh?’ for $200, Alex.”

Sorry, I’ll break it down more.  Once you’ve determined what questions you have the answers to, you need to really sit down and determine if those questions have any value, or rather… does anyone actually ask them?  If they don’t, you need to adjust how you are leveraging your content.  Figure out related types of questions that actually do generate a bit of traffic, or at least a level of interest.  Work your messaging around those questions instead.  What’s the point to having the answers to a question that no one asks?

If the questions you answer already have a level of interest, figure out which areas are the best performing, and really push those.  Make them a focus.  Become a thought leader in that space because that is where your traffic will come from.  That will be where your brand becomes recognized.  That is where you will see ROI.

It basically boils down to this: If you consistently answer a question with original thoughts, you won’t need tricks to rank.  No matter what algorithm changes come through, if you are using best practices, and you keep your content fresh, you’ll rank consistently for a very long time.  All you have to do is actually become the resource you claim to be.

Written by Scott Bouchard, Web Director of TMCnet

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The WWDC 2011 keynote was jam-packed with software innovations and new offerings from Apple, including new versions of its desktop and mobile operating systems, as well as the all new iCloud.  Of everything announced though, there was one new feature I saw that could potentially disrupt my day-to-day professional life if it took off, and that is the Reader update to the Safari browser.

In a nutshell, if you navigate to a Web page containing an article while using Safari 5 and click the Reader icon in the Smart Address field, the article is pulled forward cleanly, with all disruption, advertising, and unassociated visuals removed.  Basically, it looks similar to the double-spaced papers you used to hand in at your High School.  The layout is actually painfully clean and easy to read, something not often seen online anymore.   Even if the article is paginated across 10 or so separate pages, Reader pulls them all together into one flowing document.

So what’s wrong with easy to read content?  For a user, nothing… yet (I’ll explain the “yet” later).  For a publisher, the concept of a feature like Reader in browsers could seriously damage online advertising efforts: the life blood and singular revenue system of many of these sites.  Pagination on articles is designed to increase repeated advertising exposure (impressions) based on a singular interest point.  Reader negates that strategy entirely.  Secondly, if your advertising does not run within the content of the article itself, it’s removed.  As far as I can tell with some simple testing, Reader also pulls out all Flash/video advertising… even if it is included in the context of the article itself.  Realistically, if a user becomes accustomed to using the Reader function exclusively, entire online advertising strategies become ineffective.

Currently the Reader feature is only available on Safari 5 (6.3 percent market share as of March 2011), but as mentioned in the keynote yesterday, it will be rolled out in iOS5 this fall across all mobile Apple products. I know, it’s still a drop in the bucket as far as market share is concerned.  But, who isn’t to say that Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer won’t follow suit with similar features in the near future?  They all seem to play copy-cat in some way or another sooner or later.  It’s not like mobile usage is decreasing year to year either.

Now back to that “yet” from before.  What does this change mean for the users?  Initially, it means you’ll be able to read great content on the Web, but sooner or later these publishers are going to need to bring in online revenue.  One way to bring in this revenue would be similar to product placement in movies.  Conceptually, if you can’t run a commercial, work the product right into the content.  This means content itself will become commercialized more so than normal.  Publishers will start small, but eventually for the sake of the dollar it will be abused and content quality will suffer.   Many publishers may want to retain their quality and move their online publishing strategies to an exclusively application-based solution.  With an app, they regain control over their mobile content and advertising, without having to worry about browser features interrupting revenue strategies.  In the long run though, this may cost the user in download and/or subscription fees.

Do I think this a doom-and-gloom feature?  Absolutely not. Personally,  I think it’s ingenious.  As smartphones became more powerful and mobile browsers became easier to use, mobile versions of websites have gone the way of the Dodo.  But, a cluttered website is still ridiculously hard to read on some screens.  Reader basically makes article content of any website mobile friendly.

My only concern is that features such as Reader open a door that could potentially send a lot of the online publishers back to the drawing board, and we’ve essentially gotten the “heads-up” about it.  Plan accordingly.

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Lesson number 1 for all of the SEO experts out there:  There are no secrets.   If you think you came up with something new… you didn’t.  There are only different combinations of the same old actions we’ve been reading about for years.  If you did, by chance, discover something groundbreaking, congratulations!  It won’t last.  People like you and me are in the business of figuring out the search engine algorithms, and positioning ourselves appropriately for the highest return in our placement on those search engines.  If you make an adjustment and skyrocket past my site, I’m going to sit down, open up your site, and dissect you.  Once I figure out what you did, I’m going to do it.  Then the guy down the street will do the same to me.  And, then we’re all back at square one again.

Another thing people have to remember:  The search engines are not here to help your business make money.  They are businesses themselves.  They are concerned with providing users with the most relevant results, not the most gamed results.  Relevance in Search = Traffic; Traffic = Impressions; Impressions = Ad Sales; Ad Sales = $$$.  That’s where the reality of gaming comes in.  Search engines LOVE when you game them, as long as you do it on their terms.  No search engine will argue with you if you ask to pay them top dollar to be placed at the top of their searches.  The problem comes when you try to game them without buying in. They punish you, or worse, they punish all of us with drastic algorithm changes.

The only way to win is to actually have what you say you have.  If you’re trying to be the top resource in something, be that top resource.  Have the original content.  Have an easy to navigate website.  Have your information categorized intelligently.  Have an interface that promotes return usage.  Build a site for the user.  Above all else, make an investment in yourself and your site.  This stuff takes time.

TIME.  Oh man, does everyone in this business hate that word.  But it’s true, sustained organic ranking takes a lot of effort over time.  It’s like going through a lengthy and grueling initiation.  You have to prove yourself.  “THANK YOU SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER!?”

THWACK!

The only advice I can give you when it comes to time in regards to SEO, is ‘don’t give up.’  Keep your efforts up and consistent.  You will be rewarded eventually.  Also, try to think of more inventive ways to tell your boss, “We just need more time.”  They really, really hate that answer.  You’ll get that whole “We don’t have time… We need immediate results… Time is money… Yadda, Yadda, Yadda,” speech.

Here’s how I figure it based on my own research:  SEO is about 60 percent relative and original content, 10 percent site architecture, and 30 percent sustained effort over time.

10 percent architecture… WHAT??!!  I know… probably not the smartest thing for a Web Director to say, but think about it folks.  Look at your own competition.  I bet your site is being beaten by some god awful website that hasn’t been updated since 1992, or a site where you couldn’t figure out the navigation even if you had a map, or better yet… a pdf.  Hell, you may be getting schooled by all three, multiple times.

There’s a lot out there about SEO.  Books, Blogs, Expos, Shows, Websites, etc.  It’s an ever evolving part of online business and it will always be a constant battle.  We want to figure out the search engines so we don’t have to buy into them, and they don’t want to be figured out because they want our money.  It’s that cut and dry.

Do your research, make an investment, be vigilant, get a helmet, and try to smile.

Written by Scott Bouchard, Web Director of TMCnet

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Yeah that's right, you in the SUV.  The one with the 4 inch screen suction cupped  to your windshield.  The one keeping their eyes on that dumb purple line instead of on the road like they should be.

You are ruining my morning commute.

I've lived in the Connecticut area for about 25 years now, and I know these roads.  I know the fast roads, the slow roads, the roads that always have traffic, the roads that are always clear, the dangerous roads, the forgotten roads... needless to say, no matter where you throw a problem at me on my commute, I can detour it easily.  I've put in the time and learned these routes, I've explored them personally, I've used them semi-frequently, and when I finally have a need to use them, I ACTUALLY KNOW WHERE I AM GOING.

You on the other hand, probably can't get to your own mother's house without plugging in your Garmin, or TomTom, or whatever else is out there.  You who worship at the "Church of the Purple Line", where your faith in your GPS is unquestionable.  You can't live without it.  You would be lost without a guide to show you the way for every second that you are in transit.   You, who at the first sign of traffic hit the "Reroute" button...

You're in my way.

Not only are you now using my back-roads that you've never seen before, you're driving extra slow because you have no idea where you are.  You're nearly doubling how long my commute should take.  You drive almost as if you are playing a video game, where you navigate the map on the screen instead of the road in-front of you.  You misread turns and slam on your brakes, because you panic.  You have disobeyed your GPS and you don't want her to yell at you.   Don't worry, she won't, but I sure as hell am going to lay on my horn until you realize you are causing issues for the rest of us.

You are clogging roads you should not be on.  You are slowing down traffic state wide.  You are increasing commutes and raising the levels of road rage.  You are responsible for people having to resort to fast-food breakfasts, because they no longer have the time to stop and get something healthy.  You are responsible for that extra cigarette or 6 being smoked during our morning commute.  You are responsible for that extra drink needed at the end of the night to help wind down.

You are killing the rest of us.  I hope you're happy.

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(Beverage Dispenser on May 19, 2010 8:22 PM)

Yup, it drives me nuts when my GPS never tracks right and it brings you to a dead end or something. I always check with an online map before heading out.

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(Chris on Aug 28, 2009 1:39 PM)

Well, I’d say you have a bad unit. Btw, I know a few people with iphones who have bad units too and had them replaced more than once.

I got my Storm shortly after it came out (dec 08) and I don’t have any of the problems you are describing. In fact I think this is the best first generation anything I ever owned. The only thing I’m missing is WiFi.

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Mac based web developers may want to check out Coda before Dreamweaver - Nov 07, 2008

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(looksgood on Aug 11, 2009 12:32 PM)

never. in fact using ie6 to write this comment.

(joystick on Nov 23, 2009 9:57 PM)

I’ve read a lot of articles on this topic–whether to dump IE support, or when and how to do it. Personally, I stopped coding for IE6, and honestly, IE in general. I don’t do any testing with IE. I think my designs are able to transcend browsers, luckily, so it’s not like things are very much out of whack. But I’m certainly not going to waste my time fixing some alignment or padding issue that only appears in IE.

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(John on Jul 23, 2010 5:38 PM)

Just in case people are looking up information on Efax, and finding out more recent experience, I'm just going to make a quick response.

First thing, it's not free (just in case - I actually did assume it was free, but they charge you $15 as soon as you sign up - to pay to use the faxing service). The subscription is free, but not sending faxes.

The service was good when it was good, but whenever the fax didn't go through, I was actually charged more than double the price of an original fax. That was infuriating. So I decided to cancel it.

That chatting problem discussed is still current. I got a bot as well, and useless information when I was attempting to cancel. I emailed THREE different departments, NONE of which gave me any confirmation of the cancellation.

So I called the London office, and they sent me a cancellation email (a dodgy one) and then I got an email telling me to call eFax to cancel, because it was no sufficient to email to cancel. I sent a very angry email through and it was finally solved.

So basically quitting eFax is a bloody mess. I got what I needed from it, but it was just a mess. And they seemed incredibly disorganised.

(jacqueline on Sep 17, 2010 9:17 AM)

I got that fedup with their ineffective excuse for 'customer service' that I started a group on Facebook. Feel free to post your survival story.

All the best
Jacqueline

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(Portia on Jun 27, 2009 9:41 AM)

to me this is a big shocker to everone he is a VERY motivational person and did so much he is someone that is known all around the globe with out a doubt.

HIS DREAM WILL LIVE ON FOR EVER

R.I.P MICHEAL JACKSON YOU WILL BE MISSED AND LOVED BY EVERYONE......

HIS DREAM WILL LIVE ON FOR EVER

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Michael Jackson Dies and Takes the Internet with Him - Jun 26, 2009

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(search engine optimization firm on Jun 16, 2009 6:43 AM)

SEO really helps increase business profit. the more advertisement or exposure to the company, the more the company will become popular from their products/services.

(Rob Abdul on Jun 26, 2009 9:46 AM)

I don't think that Bing will be successful until Microsoft sort out their indexing issues.

For example, sites that have almost all their pages indexed in Google have barely 20% indexed in Bing.

Therefore Bing is not seeing most of the web.

I wish Microsoft would sort this out - they have millions at their disposal and the brightest people working for them.

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