David Byrd : Raven Call
David Byrd
David Byrd is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer for Raven Guru Marketing. Previously, he was the CMO and EVP of Sales for CloudRoute. Prior to CloudRoute, He was CMO at ANPI, CMO & EVP of Sales at Broadvox, VP of channels and Alliances for Telcordia and Director of eBusiness development with i2 Technologies.He has also held executive positions with Planet Hollywood Online, Hewlett-Packard, Tandem Computers, Sprint and Ericsson.
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June 2010

You are browsing the archive for June 2010.

SEM...Pay to Play; Is It Worth It?

June 30, 2010

Search Engine Marketing, unlike SEO, is a paid approach to search engine advertising.  Companies pay the major search engines for placement in the sponsored links sections typically on the top and right hand side of the search engine results pages (SERPs).  The placement of a company's sponsored ad depends on a Quality Score derived by the search engines based on the quality of content on the company website, the context of the ad, and the amount a company is willing to pay per position. For the most part, the business model works well for the search engines, advertisers, and potential customers.  Unfortunately, there are a couple of glaring issues with search engine marketing.

The first issue with SEM is that there is a 95 character limit on ads for paid search.  It is nearly impossible to offer product differentiation from company to company when confined to 95 characters.  This makes ad copywriting a very creative and difficult task, as you need to find a way to provide relevant information as well as your value prop in a very confined space.  To add a little perspective, twitter, which some view as restrictive, allows a tweet to be up to 140 characters.

The second, more issue with SEM is the persistent rise in cost per lead acquisition.

EVOO and SEO

June 28, 2010

I came up with the title for this blog before I began cooking this weekend. I had only one task. Create a dish where extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) was the star. However, fate decided differently.

Grilled Stuff Pork Chops

June 28, 2010

Ingredientsnocoupons

  • 4 double thick bone-in loin end pork chops
  • 3 tablespoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 quarts water or apple juice
  • 4 ounces Pepperoni
  • 4 ounces mozzarella cheese
  • 2 ounces pickled jalapeno peppers
  • 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

 

Directions

In a plastic container put the salt, lemon juice and apple juice.

SEO, SEM, Social Media sells IP

June 25, 2010

It has been at least a year since I discussed the need to expand your marketing efforts to include more on line elements. Most of the Broadvox VARs are SMBs and have few, if any, resources to expand their online efforts. However, the world has changed a lot and there are many ways that a SMB can inexpensively gain a better understanding and strategy to improve their online marketing efforts. The number of consultants has increased, as well as both their skill sets and potential incompetence.

IPv6 Pushes to the Forefront

June 23, 2010

Last year some estimates for running out of IPv4 based addresses was placed in 2012. Today as a result of a huge increase in demand by Asia for Internet numbers John Curran, CEO at the American Registry for Internet Numbers is moving the date to as early as mid next year. In any case, ISPs and companies that have put off preparing for IPv6 will have to do so quickly. Moreover, they will need to support it and IPv4 for many years until the older addressing scheme is phased out.

Simply a Grilled Cheese Sandwich and SIP

June 21, 2010

One of the simplest things to make is a grilled cheese sandwich. Yet, many of you wait until you go to a Mexican restaurant to have a quesadilla, a grilled cheese sandwich. The only difference is the use of tortillas versus sliced bread. I have chosen to provide you with a basic recipe that calls for chicken, steak or shrimp.

The Third Way Moves Forward

June 18, 2010

Yesterday the FCC voted to issue a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding the application of some elements of Title II of the Communications Act to ISPs. With the courts having determined that the FCC cannot apply net neutrality under currently defined regulatory boundaries, it has decided to ask for a restructuring that may save or destroy the progress and innovation of IP communications in the US.  It may save it by assuring ISPs cannot arbitrarily affect various applications or competitive products traversing their networks. It may destroy it by causing the same ISPs to determine they cannot afford to expand their networks if they cannot manage negative traffic impacts.

AT&T is threatening to halt or slow the rollout of U-verse IPTV and Verizon has joined them in complaining that the Third Way is unfair and unnecessary. A few weeks ago, I noted that AT&T has asked to decommission their TDM network within ten years.

BP and IP

June 16, 2010

As I sat this morning watching the live feed of the oil unleashed by British Petroleum (BP) in the Gulf of Mexico, I wondered about the role of IP communications in the event. Certainly, the reason that I can see the oil gushing out of the earth is because of the Internet. Most of what I read about the tragedy comes via Internet news sites and other IP sources. But, what role on a daily basis does the technology play?

Interviewing for a Double Chocolate Ice Cream

June 14, 2010

I can't believe I missed two entries of blogs, especially when I had subjects to discussed. But first the weekend's food. My godson, Taylor, and goddaughter, Mackenzie, came to spend the week on Friday. The twins have been a part of life since their birth and to celebrate their arrival I had a BBQ on Sunday.

All You Can Eat Fettuccine

June 7, 2010

I didn't cook a lot this weekend as we decided to eat light on Friday and tried out a new restaurant on Saturday. Therefore, I knew that Sunday's dish had to be spot on as it, by default, would be the recipe of the week. I thawed some chicken over night with an idea to do something with it, pasta and gorgonzola cheese. However, Sunday morning, I got an inspiration to make the dish using mustard, lemon juice and cream.

Test My ISP

June 4, 2010

Earlier this week the FCC announced that four out of five Americans do not know the speed of their broadband at home. Additionally, 91 percent considered the speed of their broadband to be sufficient for their needs. This is considered by some to be very revealing information. I for one look at it as "so what".

IP Connects the World Again

June 1, 2010

What a weekend for food! It began with a Tostada (fried corn tortilla covered with refried beans, spicy beef, cheese, chipotle cream and guacamole), French toast (with an apple sauce, honey and maple syrup), sweetbreads three ways (braised with mushrooms in a white wine sauce, deep fried with Panko crumbs and a remoulade sauce and grilled with a smoky BBQ sauce), and grilled tuna (with spicy soy sauce, a peach salsa and wasabi mash potatoes). Wow! I had little choice but to wonder what would be the most the most interesting of dish of the week.

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