Love this YouTube video, a perfect perfect satire of the whole BP in the Gulf of Mexico debacle. Obviously plenty of others agree, given that it now has over 5 million views.

As a former PR professional, this whole crisis makes me shudder for two reasons – first and foremost, I would hate to be in BP’s shoes and secondly, I have no idea in the world how they can possibly spend $60 million on PR for crisis management.

What concerns me even more are the long term ramifications of this situation, especially given the disastrous potential effects of the banned chemicals they are using to disperse the oil, which will in fact make everything worse by spreading oil-dispersed particles right throughout the water column (instead of floating on top as oil does). But of course, from BP’s perspective, it will be all good because the TV cameras will no longer be able to see the oil slick floating on top of the sea.

Sigh.

What do you think?

Or do you take things (and yourself) a whole lot more seriously than that?

For me, it’s a bit of both. I think that anyone who can’t step back and laugh at themselves and life in general, is really in danger of losing perspective.

But I also think there are some things we need to take pretty seriously – and act on when and if we can.

Like the enormous pollutants pouring in the Gulf of Mexico right now. Was this just about a very bad mistake by BP that lead to one of the world’s largest environmental disasters?

Or was it our need to push harder and harder to extract fossil fuels from more and more challenging locations – like 5,000 feet underwater? Here in New Zealand we are at risk from a government who are looking at the short term money to be made from selling off our natural resources – including offshore oil, to the highest bidder, without fully taking into account the potential consequences.

A disaster like the BP one would be cataclysmic for an island nation the size of New Zealand. I can only hope that our politicians pay attention to the voices who are telling them to beware.

But really my post is about living life with integrity. Being true to ourselves, and knowing that we can go to sleep at night without fear or guilt, without the worry that we have taken steps that might unnecessarily endanger others.

And that goes for our online presence too. Do you share information that might benefit others? Do you shoot down or laugh at those less fortunate, or those who are trying to make a difference? Do you actively support causes that have the power to create a shift in the world?

What we do, what we say and how we think does make a difference.

Check out this blog post by my friend James, based on the research of Dr Masaru Emoto. It is a clear indication of the impact our thoughts and the written word can have on our environment – and our food. Try the experiment yourself – see if it makes a difference.

Namaste

Karen

Most of the time, when we do SEO work for clients, it is all about attracting as many visitors to a site as possible, and then converting them into customers or prospects or followers or subscribers.

But the powers of search optimisation can also be put to work for worthwhile causes.

Causes that might even change the world.

Tonight I have been doing some reading, about subjects that are close to my heart and I thought I would share some links with you – on subjects that really do have the potential to change lives for the better.

1) Autism – Mercury in vaccines and so much more

2) Mercury Poisoning from Environmental Toxins, Dolphin Meat and You

3) Your Diet Could be Killing You – Make a Change and Prevent Diabetes, Heart Disease and Cancer

4) Lifechanging Movie Soon to be Released – Forks Over Knives

and

5) Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days – Its Real and it Works!

Please take the time to click through on these links and share the information with people you love. We have the power to change the world for good – and sometimes it can be a lot simpler than we think.

It’s time to take action!

Seems to be a frequently Googled question, so I thought I would have a go at addressing it.

It’s an interesting one for anyone who is already online, since they would appear to be benefiting from all the websites that are currently online, but perhaps they are looking at the issue from a business perspective – for example, if I am someone who gets most of my customers from word of mouth, I spend no time at all in an office in front of a computer and I am already flat out busy … why have a website?

From that perspective, it is a good question.

Maybe right now you don’t need one – but it is likely that at some point in the not so distant future that you might find it beneficial.

1) Google is the new “yellow pages”. For a huge percentage of the population, the first point of call when they are looking for a product or service, is to turn to the internet and start searching.

2) Your competition have websites. So when someone is hunting for a particular business or service, in their area or city, frequently they will see at the top of the page the “local listings”, which sit next to a Google Map. If your business is not in the local listings, chances are people will think you don’t exist and go to your competition.

3) Having a website can be cheaper than printing and distributing brochures. Most websites that first went online were pretty much digital versions of marketing brochures or company profiles. They have evolved into something a lot more dynamic and interesting now, but putting up a simple website with just a few pages is faster and cheaper than printing 1,000 brochures and deciding what to do with them. Your website can be updated quickly and easily (by you if you have a good content management system) and you can change the look and feel of your business image whenever you want (without having to throw all those brochures out).  If you are at a trade show or an event where you would normally hand out brochures – have some great signage on your stand and simply give out business cards with your website address for more information.

4) Your website can give you clues about your customers. Including something like “site search” on your site, can give you valuable information as to what your potential customers are looking for when they come to your site. It might be specific products or services, or it might be information. You can also install Google Analytics (free)to get a clear idea of where people are going in your site and how much time they spend on each page.

5) Your website can be making your money, even when you are busy doing other things. You may have heard of affiliate marketing – or if not, you have probably seen websites with advertisements for products and links to sites like Amazon.com. Every time someone clicks through from your site on one of those advertisements, then buys the product, you make a commission. Check out sites like Affilorama.com for more information about how to be successful at affiliate marketing.

6) Your website is a great place to experiment with new products and services. Before you commit to spending a whole heap of overhead on developing a new product or service, test it out on your website first and ask for feedback. You may get ideas that take your concept into a whole new – better, direction.

7) Having a website maximises the benefits you can get from social media. If you have set up a Twitter account and/or a Facebook account for your business, or even for yourself, having a website means you can promote different aspects of your business – new releases, events, services etc, just by linking to your site.

8 ) A website can increase the resale value of your business. If you are considering selling your business at some point in the future, having a website – and a great URL (domain name) that is relevant to the business, will add to the value of your company. If you are thinking of selling in the near future, now is the time to really get your site up and humming.

9) If you don’t have a business but you want people to know who you are – creating a site like a blog is a great place to start building your profile and online persona. It can support your job applications, serve as the base for that book you have always wanted to write, and give you a creative outlet. You can set up as many different blogs as you like, to focus on different topics – the software is free, templates are easy to use and you can choose from the hosted sites like wordpress.com or buy your own domain name and get it hosted cheaply by one of the many hosting providers around the world.

10) If you don’t a website, because you don’t know where to start, it’s time to Get With the Programme! Again, there are loads of free sites you can start out with, and millions of companies who can set up a site for you. Don’t be afraid to ask the things you don’t know … you can start out by Googling if you want. You’ll get up to speed pretty damn fast, and then there is a whole world of additional information just waiting to help you transform your site into something powerful.

Any questions? Feel free to comment below and I will answer.

The rumbles are out there in the interwebs (as per usual) about more changes in the Google algorithm and what impact it will have on companies wanting to optimise their websites.

Well the good news is that if you are focusing on building awesome content into your website – you will still come out on top of the heap!

Never stop thinking about what you can add to your site that might be of interest and value to any readers, anywhere. Especially good if it relates to your core business of course … but the occasional article or blog post that is off track can be good too … it’s a little like when your local supermarket decides to move things around. You find it harder to see the things you normally buy, but you sometimes end up discovering completely new products you’ve never bought before.

And you eventually rediscover where they have hidden your usual shopping staples.

So where do you put fresh content on your site?

You might build a blog or add a blog to your site, skin it to match the rest of your site design.

Or add a section themed around the main content of your site; a press section perhaps; news; or expand existing pages to include more relevant information and detail that might be of interest to visitors.

Any questions? Post them below – I would love to hear from you.

Karen

Yep, that’s it … I have officially designated 2010 as the year of moving beyond the comfort zone.

What does that mean for you?

What challenges can you create for yourself that will take your life, your job, your business – and your website, to a new level.

What are the things that technology has enabled in the last 12 months that might entice you to look differently at what you are doing – and make some changes as a result?

Check out this interview with Mashable’s Pete Cashmore on CNN, and his post about the 10 top trends he forecasts for 2010.

Are you going to be riding Google Wave – or at least one of the first to actually get your head around it and start using it the way its developers conceptualised?

Are you going to take Twitter to the next level for your business?

Will you be ready to take new technologies by the horns and really make them work for you?

Or will you be sitting back waiting for everyone else to take the lead before you make a move.

Stretching ourselves, taking some risks, moving outside the comfort zone of business as usual is key to innovation, growth and progress, particularly when so many have battened down the hatches to weather the recession.

As we have seen in the past, the best companies have emerged out of tough economic times leaner and more creative, more productive than before, to really take the world by storm.

Are you going to be one of those? Or will you be one of those who fall by the wayside because you were too scared to put your toe in the water.

I wish you courage, creativity, commercial nous and great success in 2010 – roll on the new decade!

Happy New Year everyone.

Karen

What a lot of  “google analytics watchers” don’t realise is that it usually takes time for a load of hard work in search engine marketing to pay off.

But when it does, it can really pay off big time.

And that’s always a good day.

Karen

bait

Yeah, so it’s the season to head into the wilds for a spot of fishing … the whitebait are running and I am guessing their bigger cousins, the salmon are probably out there feeling frisky too.

So what do you need for a good day out on the water?

First thing is to get your bait sorted.

And that’s a very round about way to getting to my topic for this post – developing “link bait” - otherwise known as “content so awesome that other sites will fall over themselves to link to it and recommend to their friends”.

Developing material that makes people want to link to you is really what the success of the internet and virtually all forms of social media is built on – the very human desire to share cool stuff with our friends. Because what’s the point of coming across something amazing, or ROFL hilarious, or inspiring, or just downright useful – if you can’t then share it with someone else. Half the pleasure lies in being able to talk about those discoveries with your friends – argue about them sometimes, send them on to others to share as well so you can all talk about it and have a laugh or whatever response is most appropriate (or inappropriate in some cases).

We have all seen those YouTube videos that go viral (if you haven’t then you need to be better connected) … and we have all been the recipients (and sometimes the senders on) of those emails that demand to be sent on, in order that you either receive great blessings, or avoid great calamity.

In their own ways, these are the same things as link bait, except somewhere out there in the world of SEO, someone coined a phrase that is less than flattering – but still pretty apt.

So … keep in mind when you are developing content that you really hope will draw people into your site – not only does it have to be really “share worthy” in its own right, not appear to be spam if people choose to pass it on, and ideally be original – you also may need to invest a little time in sharing the love yourself, to make sure it gets the attention you think it deserves.

Don’t be afraid to put it out there – first and foremost, test it in the communities you hang out in and see what they think … if the response is positive, then start spreading the love.

Use your social media networks – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, delicious, YouTube and anywhere else you hang out, invite people to have a look and cross your fingers that they like it enough to pass it on or link to it from their blogs and websites. The more compelling it is, the most likely this is to happen.

So spend most of your time thinking and making it great, before you invest in spreading the word.

Then of course, if you get a good result, the hardest thing is coming up with a sequel that matches its success, or even better, outstrips it! Of course, if your first effort is already out there working for you, your second can piggyback on that groundwork to some extent … if you have a hit YouTube video, chances are that any other videos you post to your channel will also get some attention.

But don’t rest on your laurels – make sure you keep the standards high, and reward the people who were interested enough to come and have a look.

Before you know it, you and your creations could be an “overnight success” – we’ve all seen it happen, so we know it’s possible.

Good luck and happy fishing!

Karen

So I did a little research and apparently a woman in the UK did exactly that – launched an advert only channel in 2004. Which seems to have disappeared with little trace and a placeholder website using her domain name.

Does that mean this is an idea with little merit? Or perhaps just that her timing was wrong … or the facts that she was under-resourced and had no television experience might have had something to do with it.

Why do I think it could be a good idea in the current environment? Because television channels are struggling to sell advertising space, devices like Tivo and MySky are making it a breeze to never watch another tv ad again … and yet there is a huge creative industry that is vested in making advertising.

Some of it now shows on YouTube of course … and the creatives get to make longer and more subtle ads in the hopes of them going viral. So perhaps there is a place to air the best of what is made – and a chance for us to view them in high-res, without waiting for endless buffering before we can appreciate the work that has gone into each one.

What I am thinking is, how many of our movie makers/directors/camera peeps etc etc got their starts making ads for the telly?? Many many I am sure, to say nothing of the employment and experience it provides for our actors who are struggling to make a living.

So if pay-TV is the model that is making money, while free to air is losing revenue on a daily basis … where to from here?

Of course, an advert only channel could also show those compilation programmes with the best of international advertising humour etc … there is plenty of scope to create interesting viewing.

Love to hear what you think- does this idea have legs in 2009??

Please comment below.

cheers

Karen

giant rooster on lawn

but it didn’t look quite like this.

It was a real one – my son sent me a text at work the other day saying “there’s a rooster on our lawn – wtf?” – lol!

I was slightly bemused, and had no idea where a rooster would have come from in suburban Christchurch.  About a week later I was hanging out the laundry and heard the unmistakeable sound of hens clucking someplace over the fence – so it would seem one of our neighbours has taken up the egg production business.

So next time the rooster turns up, a little bit of door-knocking should quickly solve the problem.

And the point of this post?

An eye-catching headline can work wonders!

Don’t be afraid to be creative and put it out there.

That’s all for tonight.

Ka kite ano (see you tomorrow).

Karen