Good news for everyone who is still playing catch up on the social networking scene.  There’s something new.  Wait, before you throw your hands up in defeat, let me tell you that it is not a new network, well not really, but it is useful and extremely easy to use.  It’s called Poken.

Developed in Switzerland, Poken is a USB drive shaped like a little person (three-eyed alien, panda bear, a firey skeleton, or a bee are available) with a silver hand attached to its side.  When you hold the hand against another person’s Poken, giving them a high four, your device glows green telling you that you have successfully exchanged virtual business cards between the two devices.

Your Poken can store up to 64 contacts at any one time, and it will glow red if a connection was not made, in which case you just try again.
At home, your Poken’s hand detaches from the body and plugs into your computer’s USB drive.  Through encrypted coding it transfers all of your new friend’s social network information into your Poken account where you can manage all of your contacts and your own information.

***In case you’ve only read this far and had to stop to immediately purchase a Poken for you and all of your friends or coworkers (hint, hint, Joel, you can buy them in twelve packs…) then I have good news: You don’t need to start an online account before using your Poken.  Of course you can set it up while you wait for your device to arrive in the mail, which you should have plenty of time to do because Pokens aren’t sold in the US yet.

Getting an account is painless and it takes about four minutes to complete the form.  But don’t drag your feet.  Be aware that you need to activate your account before your friends can add you to their network otherwise an “unregistered” message is displayed on their profile when they plug you into their computers and they’ll probably delete you.

When you create your “business card,” add information for up to 25 social networks from Badoo or Bahu to more stream-lined networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Orkut.  Upload a single picture, add as much contact information as you want friends to see like phone number, address, email, blogs, organizations, or birthday, and you’re on your way.

You can also set up different identities for yourself where you can group your new Poken friends as you add them giving contacts only the information that you want to see.

“Business card?  What is this, 2008?”

Poken means no more typing names and numbers in your cell phone or scribbling on cocktail napkins at parties.

Let me give you an example:

You’re at a party and you start talking to Tim Wilson whom you find out shares your love for collecting laserdiscs.

Before Poken:

Tim gives you his business card and tells you that he has a great Facebook laserdisc discussion group where rare discs are bartered for regularly.  You go home and search for “Tim Wilson” on Facebook ready to start trading movies with other cinephiles, but you find over 500 search results for his name.  Now you’re stuck sifting through every Tim Wilson on the planet.  Once you find him, you have to send him a friend request and cross your fingers that he checks his Facebook regularly before you can join his world-class laserdisc fan club.  No fun.

Since Poken:

You meet Tim Wilson at a party and talk about collecting laserdiscs.  You both have a Poken, you connect them, and when you get home all of his social networks are at your disposal.  Before you know it, you’re finally able to watch Jenny Lewis and Fred Savage in The Wizard on laserdisc thanks to your new friend Tim Wilson and his awesome Facebook group.

The Ups and Downs of Poken Strangers

Of course, like any piece of technology, there’s a downside.  If you are on Facebook and you Poken someone who is only on Orkut and Hyves then one of you needs to join one of the others’ networks.  On the upside, you might discover a new social network that you love in the process.

Another strike against the Poken is that it runs on battery power.  According to the official site www.doyoupoken.com, your Poken battery will last approximately six (6) months.  The more you use it though, the shorter your battery will last.  When inserted in your computer, your Poken will blink telling you that it’s hungry for more batteries.  Never fear, the battery is a Lithium CR1632, which I found for as cheap as $1.66 on Amazon.com.  You can remove your old battery and install the new one with a flathead screwdriver in a matter of seconds.

Security is not an issue.  When you set up your account, you enter your username and password for each social network that you use.  The information is only entered once used only to authenticate each account for your Poken.

If you ever lose your Poken, mark it “Lost” on your online account.  You can even send a message to the person who finds your Poken to display if they plug it into their computer.  By default, each time you plug the device into your USB port, you are prompted to enter your password anyway, ensuring security.  No one else ever has access to your information.  Plus, you don’t store personal information on your Poken.  It’s all stored on the website where you interact with new friends.

I’m sold on the idea, but do I really need another device to carry around with me?

By now you have enough grocery store key fobs and iPods and cell phones to carry around.  Why do you need another thing to lug around?  Pokens come with a clip that you can hook onto your keys, briefcase, backpack or belt loop.  It’s much faster than digging a business card out of your crusty wallet and your online identity is more comprehensive than a piece of cardboard with your name and phone number on it.

Poken hasn’t exactly caught on in the United States yet though NPR reported that Pokens were present at this year’s South by Southwest Festival (SXSW).  Until everyone is carrying these around, Poken friends will be scarce but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get one.  The technology will probably move to cell phones very soon, but that will require everyone to buy a brand new $200 phone to use it.  Why not spend $16 for a Poken and start socializing now?

Drink the Kool Aid.  Get a Poken and you’ll be throwing more high fives (well, fours) than David Puddy.

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After her third knee surgery, but long before she got a computer or the “internets,” my Grandma Sue joined the innumerable hordes of introverted silver-topped at-home shoppers who turned to QVC as a safe haven from the long lines of crowded shopping centers.

Needless to say, our Christmases ever since have been filled with cigarette lighter battery chargers sans iPhone USB ports, heatless soldering guns (or as we call them in our house “The Blister Maker 5000”), and battery-free wind up flashlight stocking stuffers; a smorgasbord of gadgets that would leave MacGruber green with envy. But our gifts often end up being flimsy and break after only a few months (or uses).

In her defense, how was Grandma Sue supposed to know? She didn’t test those products before she bought them. Besides, some offers are exclusive to TV, so even if she had gone to the mall, chances are she wouldn’t have found a doohickey as innovative as a flashlight that doubles as a personal fan complete with Styrofoam propellers and belt clip.

Not everyone shops from home though, well not yet anyway. Whether we want to admit it or not, the recession is in full swing, but even in our current economic downturn there are shoppers who want to spend money. At-home shopping may be causing stores to close their doors all over the country but e-commerce is on the rise.

Part Two: Where Did All the Stores Go?

People are always asking, did I know about Grandma Sue. In all of her years of navigating unsavory winter terrain and battles with unruly last-minute shoppers and disgruntled Walmart workers, is it likely that Grandma Sue developed such a hatred for physical shopping locations that she unwittingly became a major contributor to a commercial consumer goods boycott? Could it be possible that Grandma Sue is somehow responsible for the downfall of brick and mortar shopping centers around the world? Is it even plausible to assume that she could have at least seen this coming? Or that she’s part of some underground senior secret society that has its sights set on taking down major corporations one Home Shopping Network purchase at a time?

Probably not. But maybe she was on to something after all…

According to this bleak CNN Money post, senior writer Parija B. Kavilanz reported:

‘There’s going to be a massive sea change in the retail landscape,” said Nina Kampler, executive vice president with Hilco Real Estate, which advises retailers on their property management.’

Michael Burden, principal with industry adviser Excess Space Retail Services, expects as many as 14,000 stores will close in 2009. ‘We could see among the highest ever number of closures,” he said.’

Kavilanz added:

‘Ideally, (Kampler) said a retailer’s occupancy cost should be equal to 10% of its sales. But a long stretch of slumping sales and rising mall vacancies can dramatically push up the occupancy costs. Once rent and occupancy costs hit the 20% to 25% of sales threshold, you are treading water,’ ” Kampler said. ‘You can’t run a viable business with those numbers’.

What do you do if you’re one of the thousands of stores that are closing their doors?

Kavilanz added:

I think the whole consumer economy is being recalibrated,” said Kampler. “It’s something that’s not been done in decades. I think it will be a three-year recalibration of consumer behavior and expectations.

What is that “recalibration” going to involve? It’s likely that consumer trends will turn toward e-commerce. But will you be there waiting?

Part Three: Broadband internet connections, 3G networks, and QVC.com! Cover your hair and your eyes, it’s the Apocalypse!

The Home Shopping Network was launched in 1982. QVC (Quality, Value, and Convenience) followed in 1986. A decade later, www.qvc.com was launched (1996). The JC Penny catalog has been around since 1963. At-home shopping is not new, it’s just better.

I know this because Grandma Sue knows this.

High-speed internet connections are quickly becoming more affordable, definitely more affordable than rent and property tax, making it easier for “small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in worldwide marketing and expand their outlook beyond their nations.” http://www.trade.gov/investamerica/ecommerce.asp

The economic slowdown could actually force smaller businesses to turn to e-commerce, which potentially means more visibility, and drive up sales especially from foreign customers.

According to the International Trade Administration*:

The Census Bureau estimates that total e-commerce sales in 2007 were $127.2 billion, an increase of 17% from 2006. E-commerce sales accounted for 3.2% of total retail sales in 2007, rising from 2.8% in 2006. eMarketer continues to estimate that retail e-commerce sales will increase an average of 18.6% in 2008 and 2009. That is strong growth, but is still down from the annual growth rate of 20.6% experienced between 2001 and 2005.

But if your stores are forced to close their doors, will your website hold up?

I am Grandma Sue’s waning sense of consumer responsibility.

Cautious consumers are likely more frugal on every retail venture, which probably means they are doing extensive research before making any big purchase on electronics, winter coats, or even food.** Where are consumers conducting their research? On the internet. Since they are already there, why not get them to your site?

Part Four: Get a Website!

Get a website, make it a good one, and make yourself as visible as possible. Great web design, quality content, and strong search engine optimization are keys to getting your page ranked highly on Google so your customers can find you. Use social networks to promote your products and services. Sign up for everything: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace, etc. and link them all to your site; generate linkbacks to your site and make it credible.

The ITA report concluded:

The continued rise in the percentage of total retail sales occurring through e-commerce is one sign of buyers and sellers becoming more comfortable with e-commerce transactions, while the fact that only 3.2% of total retail sales take place through e-commerce reflects the significant potential remaining.

While you may be left without a storefront, don’t be left out in the cold. Tap into the potential of e-commerce and be one of the survivors.

Maybe it’s time to start from scratch, again.

*As of this blog’s publication date, the 2008/09 report had not been released.

**Pink Dot, a grocery store in Los Angeles, will deliver your groceries to your apartment after you order them online.

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We came across this story here in the office about our favorite coffee spot, Tim Horton’s.

In it, Pete Blackshaw breaks down the fall of Starbuck’s vs. the rise and intense loyalty of Tim Horton’s customers. While regional chains like Tim Horton’s have their charm, Blackshaw uses an interesting metric to track the positive reputation Tim Horton’s has relative to Starbucks, even though both experienced rapid, wide expansion: Facebook.

It’s worth asking here whether Tim Hortons is executing what Starbucks is trying to rediscover. Even though it’s a chain, the brand — its mission, its people, its community ethos, even its interaction-rich and user-friendly website — comes across as uniquely authentic. And the appreciation for its authenticity shines in the Facebook forums in particular. Yes, brands like McDonald’s and Starbucks have more fans in total, but Tim Hortons takes the cinnamon donut when you look at total fans relative to total outlets*. And the fanaticism is notable, if not a bit scary.

It’s an interesting take on using Facebook and other social networks – instead of quantifying numbers of people interested in a topic – music, restaurant, ice cream flavor – Blackshaw is using social networking as a way of gaging the qualitative value of a customer base.

It’s an interesting interpretation, one backed up both on the Internet by the unabashed names of these Facebook groups -

Tim Hortons for Our Troops: 15,500 members
Biodegradable Cups at Tim Hortons: 10,300 members
Addicted to Tim Hortons: 9,000 members
Tim Hortons Rules of Ordering and More: 5,600 members
Addicted to Tim Hortons #2: 5,000 members
Tim Hortons Is Like Religion to Me: 1,900 members

- but it’s also reflected in the customers at the Timmy Ho’s themselves, an experience we North Coasters are already quite familiar with, but one Blackshaw only recently discovered.

The Buffalo franchise was mobbed, and the drive-through line in particular brought back Southern California high-school memories of the congested, almost-communal In-N-Out Burger line. But in full pursuit of the “total” experience, drive-through would not do. So I kissed the wife and kids goodbye and walked inside, only to encounter an equally long, yet somewhat impressive, line. So with time to boot, I started quizzing folks around me about the “secret sauce” of the brand’s success.

“Good food — always.” “Great menu.” “Friendly employees.” “You mean, you haven’t been to a Tim Hortons?” “The coffee is addictive.”

While we’re all about Tim Horton’s, it’s interesting how social networks can be used more as a qualitative barometer rather than simply a quantifying tool. It’s something we’re looking into with our own web marketing campaigns – sometimes building a small rabid fanbase leads to bigger things down the road.

* Emphasis is ours

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Google is the premier search engine on the web today. There’s no denying it, and both users and the stock market alike are clear indicators of how important Google is to search engine efforts. In some ways, Google controls the Internet economy moreso than even the all-powerful Microsoft. Appearing high on Google’s search pages for a given term – related to whatever business you’re involved in – is more valuable than any billboard or television commercial.

But is Google really the gateway to all web business? When a search engine optimization specialist tells you “Your site isn’t Google-friendly” does that mean you have to kowtow to the one company whose motto is “Do no evil”?

Yes and maybe. The same strategies that work well on Google work well on almost any search engine – Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, etc. Relevant keywords, related content, powerful links to and from related, high traffic sites – they work regardless of the search engine.

But should your site be written to appeal to Google’s search bots? Or should you write to your human site visitors? Can you do both?

In an ideal world, yes, writing for both Google and other search engine bots and human visitors should operate the same way. But while search engines prize keyword density, human readers can usually tell if a site is designed for search engines. Search engine optimized copy is not quite as natural as normal marketing copy.

For example, here’s a paragraph Google might read as very powerful for selling web design:

360 PSG, a web development company, offers website design, custom web applications, and a powerful content management system for any business website. Our web designs fit any small business. They work for e-commerce, online portfolio pieces, and online news releases.

Now, that’s not bad, but it’s a little dry. At the same time, it’s readable, simple, and clear.

Another tack we could have taken was straight-up advertising-style copy:

Take control of your website with 360 PSG. Our powerful web designs can help your business establish a strong web presence. Our Fission CMS makes it easy – just login, click, type and save, and you can have unlimited pages, and unlimited web options. Find out more today.

That’s not bad either, as ad copy – it’s inviting, it sells our system as easy to use, and effective, but you’ll notice there are very few words or phrases in that paragraph that count as keywords.

In that first paragraph, we had “website design,” “custom web applications,” and “content management system.” The second paragraph had none of those words together.

If someone is searching for those particular services or products, the first paragraph is more likely to attract search engine results. The second paragraph might be more effective selling to human readers, though it’s much less likely to attract search engine results.

So it’s a fine line to walk – on one hand you want to attract search engine traffic. On the other, you need to drive sales through your site.

Here at 360 PSG, we focus on both – the subtle techniques that boost search engine ranking, plus the effective copy that attracts visitors to a sale once they’re at your site.

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There is only so much search engine optimization techniques like keywords, content, metatags and meta descriptions can do to raise your website’s profile. The real trick – and the method search engines like Google and Yahoo use to measure a website’s “relavancy” – are links, particularly incoming links.

Links, in human terms, show that like minded people are seeking out and reading your site content, whether its an online store, a blog, or some other type of website. Social networks and social bookmarking sites and indexes like Digg or Myspace are great places to drum up that important related traffic.

Incoming links are any link on another site that points to your site. Search engines index sites and their outgoing and incoming links – the more you have, the better. But while almost any incoming link can help your search engine ranking, the best links come from high-traffic sources related to your website topic. For example, this blog discusses web design, web development and web marketing strategies. Good links for us are similarly focused sites – a post on the Blogdesignblog about good blog design is related to our web design topics. A post about the future of search engine optimization on the Search Engine Roundtable relates well to this particular post.

The above links both to our own site and the blogs and websites I mentioned will all be counted by search engines as topical, related incoming links to those sites, and measured as topical, related outgoing links from this site.

But, as a blog author, I had to actively search for those above topics. I used the Google Blog Search to find them, but there are other ways to get those types of incoming links.

Social networks like MySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook are good places to post links and material related to your particular industry or topic so people looking for that type of information can find them. For those types of services, you can create a profile and post links to your site, with categories that people with related interests can see.

Social bookmarking sites are similar in that shared interests can draw attention to your website, but sites like Digg, Technorati and Reddit target specifically news-style articles. That might mean you have to go through the work of generating your own content, but that content in turn is put into a feed read by over 500,000 (in the case of Digg) users who rate, read, and discuss your article. Those comments might be full messages, but users also “digg” or give your site “authority” through links. The more links or diggs you get, the more eyes will see your article, and in turn your site.

One important note: People – particularly the savvy Digg community – can see through cheap tricks, black hat tactics and spam like X-ray. Don’t cheat with duplicated, plagiarized content or BS links. It’s not cool, and could get you blacklisted in the long-run.

So get out there – make friends, discuss your business, industry or hobbies – it all can track back to your business.

PS – Digg this article! Click the icon below!

HT: Lorne Fade Design for the pic

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We’ve got some exciting times here at 360 PSG – namely the launch of a bunch of new websites for some of our clients. Here are some of the highlights:

Grow! Inc.

Grow! Inc. is a Virginia-based small business consulting firm that already had a website, but wanted something a bit more enticing to both clients and potential prospects. So we built a brand new website design for them, complete with the web content control of the Fission Content Management System. We also had our copy department build original web content for the site, including full search engine optimization. We’re pretty pleased with the design, and let us know how you think it worked.

KaLu Salon & Spa

KaLu Salon & Spa came to us needing a completely new website from the ground up. So we set them up with the content control of our Fission CMS and came up with a complete website design for them. One of the CMS features KaLu staff has used the most has been the graphical calendar feature of the website. With it they’re able to advertise their regular “special” nights, like teen parties and their Martini Nights. We’re proud of the look of the design, with the rich hues and calming design, exactly in line with the way a spa should look.

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One of the most important parts of search engine optimization, or SEO, is that a site should be updated regularly.

One of the most important aspects of a blog is that it is (theoretically) updated regularly.

It’s simple addition: if your site has a regularly updated blog, your site can benefit from it through SEO. But that’s not the only reason a blog can help Google or Yahoo find your site.

Like we mentioned before, a business blog can be a powerful tool for establishing a good reputation among both customers and business peers alike, but that same blog can also raise your profile for search engine rankings because of the content and potential audience your blog can bring to your site.

Here are the three basic reasons for it, and how you can take advantage:

1. Frequent updates: A good way to use your blog is for information that might not warrant a press release (like a sale or new product). Those little news nuggets might happen as frequently as once a day or once a week, but you should make sure you post them on a timely basis. If you don’t have an announcement or something like that over a given time, find something. You might find a news article that deals with your industry, or maybe a customer question gave you an idea for a How-To piece (hey, kind of like this post!) to educate people on self-help tips (which might lead to them coming to your company for extra help). The simple trick, though, is to update your blog regularly. Don’t let it sit too long, or you’ll lose out on good SEO.
2. Keywords galore: If you keep your business blog focused on your business, meaning your posts are consistently related to one topic, you’ll probably find yourself filling it with vocabulary and terms related to your business. That’s exactly what you want for search engine optimization. Search engines love key phrases in fresh content. For example, in this post I’m discussing search engine optimization and blogs, so good words for me to include are “search engines”, “seo”, and “blog.” If you’ve made it this far in the post, you’ve probably read those words a few times. If you’re writing a blog about your own industry – let’s say it’s one that focuses on antique toys – you’ll be loading your blog with keywords and phrases like “victorian era toys” or “toy truck” or whatever other terms related to what you sell or do. While those words are naturally in your body copy, don’t forget about your titles, tags and categories. It’s just as important to target words for those areas as it is to include them in your copy.
3. Linkbacks got your back: If you’re writing a good blog, you’re already linking to other websites, blogs or news articles that are related to or illustrate your point. For example, SEO for Google has an article on how blogging frequency can improve your Google page rank. And this article talks about what a linkback is, and how it helps blogs. They’re both articles where I did research for this post, so it’s only fair that I reference them, especially if I quote them verbatim. The added benefit is that search engines reward sites that link to relevant content. And if you link to another blog, they might link back to you, sending not only more readers, but further rewarding you with SEO improvements.

Everything I mentioned above is something you can definitely do for your own business, but if you’re like many business owners, you might not have time to keep up on point number 1: frequent posting. That’s where (plug alert!) companies like 360 PSG come in. We offer blogging as a service, written by our staff of copywriters, focused on your business. So if you’re strapped for time, or maybe need a little bit of writing help, give us a call.

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“Credibility” and “blog” are not words that have traditionally gone together, at least not with celebrity-hounding sites like PerezHilton.com or any political blog constantly harped on in the news, but it has increasingly become an effective tool in spreading the word about your company – and drawing visitors to your site.

A business-based or industry blog can add credibility to your website and your business as a whole. By focusing on one particular niche issue, whether it be advertising, real estate or any other industry focus, you can offer commentary that contributes to the dialog on that issue.

Think of it this way: Let’s say you own a company that specializes in dog grooming. There are thousands of people every day looking for tips for primping their pet on the Internet. Who would be the expert those people would trust getting advice from? A dog groomer, right? You, as a dog grooming business owner have an authoritative voice in that particular topic.

It’s the same thing that we at 360 PSG are trying to accomplish with this blog. We’re experts in web development – from web design to custom programming to web marketing. So we’re offering our expertise with the posts on this blog. We’ve talked about web headlines and logo design, and we’re going to have more posts about anything else that can help a web business.

Why would a business, especially one that traffics in information, offer free tips about its specialties? Well, it’s not like we’re giving up the farm, such as the secret of our amazing Content Management System or telling people exactly how to design a great website. We’re offering tips and knowledge – background stuff that, in all honesty, we want potential customers to read before they work on a project with us. The information in our blog not only tells customers about 360 PSG, but customers with good research know better what we can do for them.

That’s what you want a blog to do for you. It’s a win-win situation, really – a blog both educates consumers and also sells your company, products and services.

Targeting potential customers is one way to approach your blog. Another tack to take can be to start an industry blog targeting your business peers as an audience.

Here’s another example: You’re a plumber. Sure, you could write a blog discussing tricks for customers to solve septic tank issues, but maybe you don’t specialize in home plumbing – you’re a commercial installer. An end-consumer blog won’t help you much because your sales are driven more by referrals from other companies. That’s where you can be a source of industry news within the plumbing industry.

Instead of how-to’s or tips, maybe you would focus on new technology in plumbing, and how it helps or doesn’t help plumbers, say, implement commercial bathroom installations. Or perhaps you comment on the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Association’s actions in some way. You’re not at all targeting prospective clients, but your blog could potentially raise your profile within the plumbing industry, by extension helping your business.

The real trick is focusing on one issue, and as a business owner your business is your focus. Just talk about it.

There’s another benefit to blogging, one that might draw more eyes to your website. But we’ll put that up tomorrow. Check back soon!

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