The Year in Places 2013 Edition

Road Trips

For the last few years I’ve been keeping track of my days away from home. The qualification is an overnight stay. “Travel brings power and love back into your life.”― Rumi 2013 was an odd year travel wise. We had several weekend trips lined up, but for one reason or another, a few of them were cancelled. It was also the first year in recent memory that I did’t have a single business-related overnight trip. I need to find some out-of-town clients this year, book … Read Full Post

Nebraska: The Good Life

Fly-overs of Nebraska via helicopter. Awesome. Get of the interstate, just ever a little bit, and this is what you’ll find.

SEO Isn’t Your Problem – Conversions Are.

“I need some SEO.” A statement that I hear frequently from clients and prospects. Search engine optimization – the goal of which is to rank #1 for your keywords of choice, a result which will bring riches beyond your imagination. SEO is both a worthy need and a much-maligned industry, but I don’t want to touch on that today. The first step when I deal with a client looking to bring optimization to their web site is understanding their goals. Small business owners ofter move … Read Full Post

Your Password Sucks

In the news this morning was word that Evernote’s user database was infiltrated by hackers. Usernames, encrypted passwords and other personal information was compromised – although payment information appears to be unharmed. Last summer (June, 2012) a similar breach happened with networking site, LinkedIn, where 6.5 million encrypted passwords were stolen. Combine both of these data breaches with ongoing evidence that most web users do not take password security seriously enough and this will only lead to further problems. The realities of the LinkedIn data … Read Full Post

Links from the last week

If you follow me on Twitter (@shartley, @shawnhartley), you’ve seen these recently. If not, enjoy some light weekend reading. Randy Riggs Structured Meeting Planner: http://davidseah.com/blog/2012/09/randy-riggs-structured-meeting-planner-dr02/ Top Six Content Marketing Mistakes: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/08/10/the-6-top-content-marketing-mistakes/ 37signals Earns Millions Each Year. Its CEO’s Model? His Cleaning Lady http://www.fastcompany.com/3000852/37signals-earns-millions-each-year-its-ceo%E2%80%99s-model-his-cleaning-lady Infographic: Check out these smartphone statistics http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Main/Articles/807197aa-e8ad-43c8-878b-c47f7f051bb4.aspx 5 tips to make social media measurement easier http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Main/Articles/19932490-d7db-4362-8499-4424675b8a3d.aspx (link broken 7/17/21) Physicians’ Stories told by Physicians http://thehealthcaremarketer.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/physician-stories-told-by-physicians/

Some Light Weekend Reading

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve seen these recently. If not, enjoy some light weekend reading, and then question yourself as to why you aren’t following me. For the conversationalist version of me, @shartley; for the content curation version of me, @shawnhartley. Supercharge Your Energy for Ad Agency New Business: http://fuelingnewbusiness.com/2012/08/01/tips-to-boost-energy-for-agency-new-business/ New Research on Why CEOs Should Use Social Media http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/07/new_research_on_why_ceos_shoul.html Secrets of Super Negotiators – Monetize Everything http://www.forbes.com/sites/shenegotiates/2012/07/25/secrets-of-super-negotiators-monetize-everything/ Why You Shouldn’t Buy New Followers For Your Business http://www.openforum.com/articles/why-you-shouldnt-buy-new-followers-for-your-business Study: Ad Agencies Not Doing … Read Full Post

Hungry For Gumbo

I guest authored an issue of a paid email newsletter a while back called Hungry for Gumbo. The idea behind Hungry for Gumbo from David is, “I share ideas about writing, work, art, film, food, drink, place, politics and other items of interest to the group.” Group membership is established at the rate of $1/month – clearly one of the best deals out there. This past week, I took a turn in the kitchen and penned a guest edition. I would suggest emailing David from … Read Full Post