05/23/2008 C.O.T.W.: The Writer's Almanac

As many of you know, I've been going through some tough times over the past few weeks which is why the COTW has not been updated since April 11.

Now it's back and a perfect website for the "relaunch" is the daily Writer's Almanac hosted by Garrison Keillor. It's a worthwhile investment of a few minutes to read a wonderful poem and brief bios of famous and interesting people. For a bonus, listen to the Podcast to hear Keillor's distinctive voice deliver the poems masterfully. To visit the website, click here.

Why high search engine rankings are critical

People sometimes ask me to quantify the importance of high search engine rankings. Consider these tidbits that I've collected from around the web:

• Search is the #2 daily activity of Internet users ("googled")
• High rankings = increased traffic
• 2/3 of search engine users don't go past the first page of results
• The #1 ranking for any search term usually gets 40% or more of all clicks
• The top 4 rankings get about 70% or more of all clicks
• High rankings = positive brand equity
• 39% of search engine users believe that the top ranked sites returned in their searches are the leaders in their field.

If you want interested visitors coming to your website, then high rankings are critical.

FTC makes CAN-SPAM changes

Really important stuff here. The Federal Trade Commission amended four CAN-SPAM Act provisions as follows:

1. An e-mail recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her e-mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future e-mail from a sender
2. The definition of “sender” was modified to make it easier to determine which of multiple parties advertising in a single e-mail message is responsible for complying with the Act’s opt-out requirements
3. A “sender” of commercial e-mail can include an accurately-registered post office box or private mailbox established under United States Postal Service regulations to satisfy the Act’s requirement that a commercial e-mail display a “valid physical postal address”;
4. A definition of the term “person” was added to clarify that CAN-SPAM’s obligations are not limited to natural persons.
   

Find out more in the official press release.

Middle-aged users' declining web performance

Here's an informative article from world-renowned usability expert Jakob Nielsen. Between the ages of 25 and 60, people's ability to use websites declines by 0.8% per year, mostly because
they spend more time per page (slower reading?), but also because of navigation difficulties. In the current business environment, most websites are designed by people in their 20s. If your website targets a wide age range, make sure people older than 50 try it out. To read the article, click here.

Social media is not a threat to marketers

I know more than one marketer who is very concerned about the emergence of social media. The article The End of 'Command and Control' Branding in Technology discusses why the so-called "new media" (I hate that word) types and such formats as RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts, video,
communities, "microblogging" and other emerging forms of social media are not threats to marketers. It sounds like a good theory right now, but if Google begins to favor social media sites full of user generated content over traditional websites? To read the article, click here.

Cops Can't Catch 'Em -- So Online Posses Are Now Nabbing Car Thieves

Here's a great article from Wired Magazine showing an extreme example of how web-based tools and old fashioned person-to-person communication online is helping nab car thieves. This article tells of a car dealer who posted information of a theft, including photos of the car and a description of the thief on an enthusiasts site. Within hours, not only had people seen the car, they had photos of the thief. He was arrested. To read this fascinating article, click here.

Google Maps now offering traffic info

Google Maps is my favorite mapping service because of the simplicity of the interface compared to MapQuest and other competitors. Google Maps has just become even better with the addition of traffic conditions (look for the traffic icon on the map itself). Here's the word, straight from Google:

Now, along with current traffic conditions, you can see traffic incidents such as accidents, construction, and road closures in most cities where we have traffic coverage on Google Maps. Also, when you turn on the traffic layer, a new control will pop up so you can change
the day and time to see typical traffic conditions, based on historical data.

Historical data? cool. To see the current Columbus traffic conditions, just enter "columbus, oh" into the address box. To visit Google Maps, click here.