New York Court: Viewing Online Child Porn Is Legal

Viewing pornographic images or video of underage children on the Internet is legal, according to a New York State appeals court in one part of a decision about the fate of a college professor whose Internet browser had more than 100 such images stored in its cache.
The court’s decision found that looking at child pornography on the Internet without downloading it to a hard drive isn’t the same as “possessing” it, which New York State law prohibits.
“Merely viewing web images of child pornography does not, absent other proof, constitute either possession or procurement within the meaning of our Penal Law,” Senior Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick wrote in his majority opinion. “Rather, some affirmative act is required (printing, saving, downloading, etc.) to show that defendant in fact exercised dominion and control over the images that were on his screen.”
The prosecution in the case, wrote Ciparick, failed to prove that Kent was aware of the existence of a web cache, making it impossible for him to have knowingly downloaded — and therefore possessed — the child pornography to his browser’s cache.
Professor James D. Kent, an assistant professor at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was given a one-to-three year sentence for possession of child pornography in 2009.
Kent took his computer to a student IT specialist for a virus scan after complaining that it was running slowly. The scan detected the pornographic material in Kent’s web browser. He maintains that somebody else used his computer to view the material.
The court dismissed one of two counts of promoting a sexual performance of a child and two of the 143 counts of possessing child pornography with which Kent was originally charged. It upheld the other counts, which were tied to a folder on Kent’s machine filled with thousands of images of child pornography.
Nathan Z. Dershowitz, Kent’s lawyer, told msnbc.com that the real problem in the case is “legislation is not keeping up with technology,” as the court system serves only as an umpire applying the rules as passed by lawmakers.
All judges in the case expressed intense disapproval of child pornography.

New York Child Porn Ruling

10:16 by Robert dawne · 0

9 Steps for Getting Kickstarter Dollars

These days, more Kickstarter campaigns are achieving success than we can keep track of. The iPhone-friendly Pebble watch earned $7.6 million more than its $100,000 goal. And the Galileo iPhone platform closed its Kickstarter campaign at $702,000, far surpassing its $100,000 goal.
Not to mention, Kickstarter recently reported it has raised $200 million from over 2 million backers.
How does one cash in (literally) on the Kickstarter craze? For starters, it helps to have a unique concept, wicked ambition and one unforgettable pitch. We've read all of Kickstarter's guidelines, FAQs and tips, and have researched testimonials from successful campaign alums to compile a set of tips that will help launch you into the Kickstarter hall of fame.
1. The Scope
Kickstarter projects are just that: projects. And Kickstarter has strict parameters to define a project. It's "something finite with a clear beginning and end." In other words, Kickstarter is not meant to help you earn money to launch a business. Rather, it’s about earning money to complete a finite goal, whether that’s releasing your band’s latest album, completing a book, etc.
Now, if that project just so happens to coincide with the launching of your business, so be it. However, don’t expect to use Kickstarter funds toward anything related to general business–you can use the money towards the development of your project and in paying the necessary people to get your work off the ground. So, set very specific and measurable project goals. Not only will Kickstarter approve your project, but potential backers will have a firmer understanding of what they’re funding.
2. The Timeline
One of the biggest factors to take into account is your project’s timeline. This will dictate how long your Kickstarter campaign should run and how long it will take to deliver the finished product.
You can set a Kickstarter campaign to run anywhere between one and 60 days. Keep in mind, however, that projects lasting 30 days or less have Kickstarter’s highest success rates. A project’s momentum climbs in the beginning and the end, but can lag during a too-long middle time period. Find a happy medium between your timeframe and your audience’s attention span.
A timeline is also important so that you can set mailing dates for your backers’ rewards, another essential piece of the Kickstarter experience. Be sure to give yourself enough time to complete your project once the Kickstarter campaign has been funded; that way, you won’t disappoint your backers with late or rushed rewards.
3. The Money
Once you have a clearly defined project, it should be relatively straightforward to define a funding goal. It’s as simple as putting together a budget.
Take into account the following: production, manufacturing, labor, packaging and shipping costs. Factor in your “salary,” too; if you’re using Kickstarter to help you complete a book, backers are paying for your time. (Just be sure to make that clear in your project description.)
The most important thing to remember is that Kickstarter uses an all-or-nothing funding model. If your project doesn’t reach its financial goal within the specified time period, you’ll receive no money. Therefore, don’t set the bar unreasonably high. On the other hand, if you’ve accurately budgeted the project and are fully transparent to potential backers, you should see healthy returns.
4. The Tiers
Hand-in-hand with your budget, you’ll need to determine the proper rewards to return to backers once the project is completed. Rewards are tangible returns for a backer’s money, and can vary widely from project to project. A popular example is rewarding your backers with something made by the project itself, like a copy of a newly recorded album.
Rewards are determined by different funding tiers. Let’s take the CD example: You might estimate that a backer who pledges $20 deserves a copy of the CD. However, if a backer pledges $50, maybe he or she receives a signed copy of the CD. And if he pledges $100, it’s two signed copies plus a concert ticket.
Kickstarter data shows that the most popular pledge is $25, but the average pledge is around $70. Kickstarter also shares that projects with no reward succeed 35% of the time, while projects with a reward less than $20 succeed 54% of the time. Don’t be afraid to vary your pledge tiers widely to accommodate all budgets.
5. The Video
Kickstarter projects with a video component succeed at a significantly higher rate than those without (50 percent vs. 30 percent). So yes, a video is important. According to Kickstarter, this is what makes a killer vid:

• Tell us who you are.
• Tell us the story behind your project. Where'd you get the idea? What stage is it at now? How are you feeling about it?
• Come out and ask for people's support, explaining why you need it and what you'll do with their money.
• Talk about how awesome your rewards are, using any images you can.
• Explain that if you don't reach your goal, you'll get nothing, and everyone will be sad.
• Thank everyone!

Finally, be sure that your video thumbnail is strategic, inviting and piques the visitor’s curiosity. Consider featuring a prototype or a design element. After all, it’s the first image people will see when they visit your project page.
6. The Project Page
Now that you’ve defined your project’s parameters, it’s time to communicate them to potential backers and supporters. Kickstarter emphasizes the most important thing to remember is to be transparent at all times.
That means clearly defining your project’s scope and how you will achieve your goal. It’s also imperative that you explain precisely how you plan to use backers’ money.
Then, explain why you are the best person, company or group to complete this project. Why is your team qualified? What are your past experiences and accolades? Also, create a sense of urgency and timeliness–why do people need this project right now?
Remember to be concise but thorough. Ask yourself, "What questions would people have about my project before pledging money and support?"
7. The Community
Now that you’re ready to launch your project, it’s time to call on your community. Kickstarter recommends tapping your social media followers, but advises a gentle approach. Don’t spam your friends and goad your followers with self-promotion. Consider several different kinds of outreach so as not to overload one network.
And remember: Your community isn’t enough. Consider drafting a pitch document for media coverage, no matter how small the outlet. And ask for help from your local community so they can share in the success–pass out fliers in local businesses and make nice with your town’s radio DJs.
An often overlooked tactic is to tap your backers’ networks, too. Once a person supports your project, he or she is obviously invested in its completion. So ask backers to share the project among their communities.
8. The Updates
Your backers are the lifeblood of your project. They deserve to be updated frequently and thoroughly, as if they were on the team alongside you.
You may choose to either make updates public, or share them privately to backers. To make them feel invested, consider e-mailing updates that include video and photos of your progress, important milestones and team events.
9. The Rewards
A project’s completion means you need to start mailing backers their rewards. You’ll be able to send backers a survey upon completion of your Kickstarter campaign, in which you can ask them to provide their contact information and other requests (T-shirt size, color preference, mailing address, etc.) Kickstarter offers a spreadsheet tool to help you keep all of this information organized.
Staying organized is key. Many Kickstarter alums share that the most challenging part of the process was meeting the mailing dates for rewards. But the process should be pretty straightforward, as long as you account for every step of the process: collecting surveys, calculating shipping costs based on package weight and backer location, purchasing supplies, printing shipping labels, packaging, transporting and finally mailing your rewards.

08:01 by Robert dawne · 0

iPhone Documentary Takes on Syria: Is This the Future of Journalism? [VIDEO]

An anonymous undercover reporter for Al Jazeera has captured the Syrian uprising in a first-of-its-kind-documentary — recorded on an iPhone.
The 25 minute documentary, “Syria: Songs of Defiance,” aired on Al Jazeera’s show People & Power earlier this month. Al Jazeera has not released the reporter’s name for safety reasons. (Check out the video at the end of this post.)
The anonymous reporter states the reason he used his iPhone at the beginning of the documentary. “Because taking a camera would be risky, I brought my cell phone with me as I moved around the country,” he says.
Syrian activists have been uploading YouTube videos of protests and sending out phone calls to media outlets for more than a year now, understanding what exactly has been happening in the country from citizen journalism alone has proved difficult.
Though the Syrian government recently adopted a U.N.-backed ceasefire plan, the violence continues. According to Al-Jazeera “there was no sign of any risk-free demonstrations” as of Friday.

That’s why the reporter’s use of his iPhone is a huge feat — though an incredibly dangerous one. Had he been caught, he might have faced brutal retaliation. The Syrian government banned iPhone usage last December.
Here are four reasons why it was essential for the reporter to go undercover and use a mobile device.
1. Language. Many of the videos that activists have uploaded don’t have narration. In this undercover report, the context that the reporter provides — in English — makes it accessible to audiences worldwide. Subtitles are used for footage documented in Arabic, whether they be interviews with civilians or translations of the songs that protestors sing.
2. Audience awareness. At the beginning of the documentary, audiences can see several unidentifiable objects. They are very familiar to Syrian protestors, but most people who will watch this documentary will probably have never seen them before. Right away, the reporter asks the essential question: “What am I looking at?”
It turns out those objects are “thumb bombs.” They can’t hurt anyone, according to the activist showing them to the reporter, but protesters use them as alerts, to test security and warn those who haven’t entered the revolution yet.
3. Perspective. Syrians have been experiencing the protests for more than a year, so explanations of the significance of these demonstrations hardly ever emerge in their footage. However, with the reporter well-aware of his audience — and being an outsider himself — he can offer a Tocqueville-like perspective. Take this example:

I was walking through Homs and sniper fire started, and I was the only one in the crowd that actually flinched. And a father with his kids was standing by the door and they were sort of laughing at me and pointing, saying ‘why don’t you fall on the floor while you are at it?’
It’s amazing how Syrians, who never heard gunfire because they lived in a very peaceful country, have gotten used so quickly to living in a state of war, how to respond to it. They’ve very quickly become a mobilized revolutionary society, whereas before they had no experience of doing this.

As New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recently pointed out in an interview regarding KONY 2012, “One thing we know intellectually is that it helps to have a bridge character, that Americans don’t just want to focus on somebody abroad.”
4. Form. In the same way that the videos Syrians upload offer a raw, visceral look at the situation, the imagery from the reporter’s iPhone — not always of the best quality, prone to shaking — gives a perspective that large, professional cameras don’t always capture.
Given the circumstances the reporter is covering as well, a polished, glossy video simply would not make sense. In fact, it might take away from the understanding the documentary is trying to convey.
However, one thing that distinguishes this iPhone documentary from other mobile-captured footage on Syria is editing. The inclusion of music, cutting from one shot to another and positioning clips of interviews side-by-side before zooming in on one specific shot — these editing details provide a more stylized look at the entire situation, which is not something one finds in most Syrian YouTube coverage.
Because the majority of Al Jazeera’s footage itself is from the iPhone, the rawness of the actual situation in Syria — and what that means — doesn’t seem to be compromised.
Of course, this stylized editing is a resource that media outlets have, and a luxury for most people documenting the situation on the ground. But, it speaks volumes of the capacity that journalists have to make the situation in Syria come alive for the rest of the world — which, arguably, has been a battle in itself for the past year.
What do you think of this iPhone documentary? Will mobile devices become the default eyes and ears for reporters? Let us know in the comments.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

18:33 by Robert dawne · 0

Women in Tech to Watch

MSNBC's Your Business: Top Five

Female entrepreneurs are leaving their mark on all different industries. Here are five women to watch in the world of tech courtesy of Inc.com.

08:48 by Robert dawne · 0

New Ways to Fund Your Startup [VIDEO]

MSNBC's Your Business:
 Where's the Money?

It's not easy to go to the bank and get a loan these days. If you're looking to secure some funding for your startup, there are some options you may not have considered. Venture attorney Jennifer Hill has tips for new ways to find money.

08:06 by Robert dawne · 0

Would You Fire Someone for Mocking Your Company Online?

Gailen David, an American Airlines flight attendant who mocked the beleaguered company in a series of online videos, has been fired, according to a post on his Facebook page.

David, a flight attendant for 24 years, also runs a website called DearSkySteward.com that includes company gossip.

David has long provoked the company, but the incidents that were his undoing, it seems, began when the American Airlines vice president for onboard services sent a letter to flight attendants David described as "patronizing."

The letter explained to workers the "joint" sacrifices that needed to be made at the company.

"I decided to make a video, so what I did was I dressed up," he told the Broward New Times. "All I did was read the letter, and I added a couple of y'alls and honeys."

He posted the video early last month; it now has more than 56,000 views. His success–he said it struck a chord with his fellow employees–spurred him to make a fake movie trailer called, in homage to Iron Lady, Aluminum Lady. That one featured a fictional (or so he said) vice president.

On his site, he described the video this way:

The Aluminum Lady [is] the most dangerous woman in aviation. She's skillfully taken American Airlines, one of the most admired airlines, to its lowest point and the morale of its flight attendants and their fellow employees right along with it. From their Dallas/Ft. Worth Headquarters to the lavish American Airlines London Townhouse, this historical drama will keep you on the edge of your seat and bring tears to your eyes.

The video received more than 52,000 views.

American Airlines asked him to take the video down. He refused.

"And they said, 'What do you want from us?'" he told the New Times.

The union told him they planned to fire him, but he says he told them: "It's worth it for me, because you would not believe how it's brought the workers together."

Still, he carried on making videos. On March 14, the company fired him.

According to the March 14 dismissal letter David posted on his Facebook page (view a photo of it here), he was fired for promoting rival airlines as well as for publishing private details about customers of the airline.

The letter said an American Airlines investigation found that Google had placed ads for competing airlines on David's website and that he was "making public the travel itineraries of passengers, including current and former members of the American Airlines management team. On the site, you stated that the travel information was being provided to you by 'moles' at American Airlines."

It said he was in violation of American Airlines Rules of Conduct 24,  which states: "Consider the welfare of the company and your fellow employees. Perform no act that is detrimental to either."

Bruce Hicks, a spokesman for AA, said in a statement that David had been warned previously about conflict of interest and passenger privacy violations. He added that AA was very serious about the privacy of its passengers and did not allow workers to violate that trust.

A posting on David's Facebook page said he planned to make a video in response to his firing.

17:50 by Robert dawne · 0

YouTube Has Tripled Their Number Of Captioned Videos Since July 2011

Over the past few months YouTube has been making major strides towards making content accessible for as many people as possible, putting a lot of effort into new initiatives to get as many of their videos captioned as possible.  Today on their blog, YouTube provides an update on their recent progress with closed captioning.

Software engineer Ken Harrenstien writes on the YouTube blog, “Since we first announced caption support in 2006, YouTube creators have uploaded more than 1.6 million videos with captions, growing steadily each year.  We’ve also enabled automatic captions for 135 million videos, more than tripling the number of captioned videos available since July 2011.”  Pretty impressive, eh?
So what have they been up to over the past few months?  YouTube has rolled out a variety of new tools and features for YouTube viewers, as well as for YouTube creators.  Read on to learn more.

Captioning changes for YouTube viewers

More languages

Automatic captioning and transcript synchronization is now available not only in English but also in Japanese and Korean.  Captions and subtitles can also now be added by video owners in 155 supported languages and dialects.  Additionally, in Movies and Shows, viewers can now see a quick list of which languages subtitles are available in before they decide to rent.

New captions search filter

YouTube has also added a search filter that allows you narrow down a search to only videos with captions.  Just click Filter > CC.

Change the look of captions

Don’t like the way the captions look on screen?  Click the ‘CC’ icon on the video player and you can change the caption settings, including font size and colors.  Harrenstien writes, “we’re planning to make this available on other platforms and add more options soon.”

Broadcast caption support

When channel owners provide video caption files in broadcast format, YouTube displays them like you would see on television.  Text can appear in different areas of the screen depending upon where the person talking is standing.  Click here for an example.

Captioning changes for YouTube creators

More formats

YouTube now supports a wider variety of common broadcast caption formats including .SCC, .CAP, EBU-STL and more.  Harrenstien adds, “If you have closed captions that you created for TV or DVDs, we’ll hander this conversion for you.”

MPEG-2 caption import

If you’ve got an MPEG-2 file that contains closed captions with CEA-608 encoding, YouTube will import those captions right along with the video and create the captions for you automatically.
It is clear from these awesome upgrades that YouTube is taking major strides towards making their content available to everyone.  Do you have closed captions on your YouTube videos?  If not, do you plan to?

10:03 by Robert dawne · 0

How To Optimize Your YouTube Videos For A Global Audience

YouTube is a global platform but language and cultural barriers can often make it difficult to reach a global audience.  In the latest update to the YouTube Creator Playbook, version 2, YouTube offers up some tips on how to optimize your video content to reach as many viewers as possible.

Consider this: You upload a video to YouTube.  The video is in English, but it’s got international appeal.  Sure, people from North America, Australia, the UK, South Africa and other English speakers around the world will be able to watch and enjoy.  But what about those that don’t speak English—how will they be able to discover, let alone understand, your content?  And what about those that are hard of hearing?
You don’t have to sacrifice those views, or leave those viewers in the dust.  Here are four tips for reaching all audiences, care of YouTube.

Cater Your Content To a Global Audience

If you want to reach a global audience then, first things first, you need to be producing content with global appeal.  A video about a trend or topic that is only interesting to Americans isn’t going to take off outside of the United States.
In the Creator Playbook, YouTube suggests, “Make use of subjects or themes that have cross-cultural and global appeal such as animation, dance, animals, or strong visuals without dialogue.”  They also suggest focusing on trends that are popular in different specific regions around the globe, tying in content related to tent-pole events happening internationally and more.

Caption your videos

Language is one of the biggest barriers when it comes to getting audiences in different countries watching your videos.  Captioning your videos can help make your videos accessible to an international audience, as well as for the hearing impaired.
YouTube makes it easy to upload captions or to create captions on your own.  You can even use YouTube’s CaptionTube to let fans create captions for you.
If you do caption your videos, make sure to include an annotation or message in your video to let viewers know that the video is captioned so that they can turn on captions if they aren’t already activated.

Add multi-language metadata

Let’s say you’ve created and uploaded a video that you think would be great for a Spanish-speaking audience.  If you write your title, description and tags in English, these Spanish-speaking viewers (who are probably performing their YouTube searching in Spanish) aren’t likely to find your videos.
If you have a video that you think would be good for viewers speaking a couple of different languages, write your title, description and tags in both languages.  Use the language of your primary audience first, followed by the secondary.  This will help viewers discover your content.

Cross-promote with International YouTubers

If there’s a specific global market that you’d like to get into, try finding YouTubers from that region that are similar to you in the types of content they are producing.  Reach out to them to see if they’d like to collaborate.  When you collaborate with other YouTubers you introduce them to your subscriber base and vice versa.  If they’ve already built a subscriber base in the region you’d like to get into, you can gain access to this audience through the collaboration.
YouTube suggests that to find similar YouTubers around the globe, “Change the country setting at the bottom of the YouTube homepage to explore worldly videos and channels.”
Do you cater your YouTube videos to a global audience?  What tricks have you used to help make your videos accessible and to reach the widest audience possible?

07:02 by Robert dawne · 0

Social Commerce [VIDEO]

"Social Commerce" is the new phrase that describes the blending of digital trends of social media and e-commerce. We caught up with some industry experts at the forefront of this emerging market at Business Insider's Social Commerce Summit. Find out how discovery, community and adaptability are helping small business maximize on social commerce.

07:03 by Robert dawne · 0

Google to Launch TV Service

Google is looking to get into the paid TV business.
The company filed an application last week to provide video service to residents of Kansas City, Mo., according to The Wall Street Journal. If approved, the service could launch as soon as a month from now, according to the article, which cites a “media executive currently involved in negotiations to license channels to the service.” Offerings in the video package would include live TV as well as on-demand and online access to TV channels, according to the report, which was based on an earlier article by The New York Post.
The source told the WSJ that Google plans to look beyond the Kansas City market and into other areas where Verizon’s Fiber Optic Services (FIOS). Controlling the pipes to TV subscribers would offer Google a new revenue stream.
Reps from Google could not be reached for comment.
The Kansas City application coincides with another request to put a satellite antenna farm near the company’s data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That addition could allow Google to receive movies and TV shows that could be bundled with a new Internet service in Kansas City that promises to be up to 100 times faster than the average Internet connection.
Google chose Kansas City for its ultra-fast service last March. Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., beat out about 1,000 other municipalities for that honor. That fiber-optic-based Internet service is expected to go live there this summer.
This isn’t the first time that Google’s ambitious plans for TV service have been exposed. The Wall Street Journal also reported in November that Google was in talks with Disney, Time Warner and Discovery Communications about providing content for its fiber-optic based video service in those cities.

07:07 by Robert dawne · 0

Angry father shoots daughter's laptop with .45 pistol after she complains about chores on Facebook

North Carolina father Tommy Jordan made hilarious video for Hannah, 15

Daughter apparently refused to do chores and complained about parents

Destroys laptop with his .45 gun and describes it as 'tough love' for her

An angry father has taught his disgruntled teenage daughter a very public lesson in respecting one’s elders by shooting her laptop on camera and then publishing the video on her Facebook page.
Tommy Jordan, of Albemarle, North Carolina, made the video after his 15-year-old daughter Hannah had apparently written a Facebook post complaining about all of the chores she has to do at home.
She was also moaning about how difficult her parents made her life. But when IT worker Mr Jordan found the post he decided grounding her would not be punishment enough and made the video. 

Scroll down for video

‘That right there is your laptop’, he says in a YouTube video, pointing a camera at a computer lying in a patch of dirt on the ground. ‘This right here is my .45,’ he says, moving a pistol into the frame.
He cocks the weapon and shoots nine rounds into the laptop. The video entitled ‘Facebook Parenting: For the Troubled Teen’ is dedicated to his rebellious daughter.

It’s also aimed at ‘all her friends on Facebook who thought that her little rebellious post was cute, and for all you parents out there who think your, you know, kids don’t post bad things on Facebook’.
He begins by reading out his daughter’s post from a computer print-out, explaining ‘since you want to hide it from everyone, I’m going to share it with everybody’.

Mr Jordan mocks his daughter for thinking her parents would not be able to see the post because of her Facebook privacy settings, ignoring the fact that he works in IT for a living.

'That right there is your laptop. This right here is my .45'

Tommy Jordan

In the post, Hannah says she should be paid for the chores she does around the home and attacks her parents for overworking her.
Mr Jordan laughs at this suggestion, pointing out what an easy life she gets in comparison to what he had to endure growing up. She moans about waking up at 5am and go to bed at 10pm.
Then after about seven minutes addressing the camera to berate Hannah, he stands up and blows holes through the laptop.

He rounds off by saying: 'Oh yeah and after that comment you made about your mom, your mom told me to be sure I put one in there for her. So…that one's from her.'

'Maybe a few kids can take something away from this,’ Mr Jordan writes in the video description.

‘If you’re so disrespectful to your parents and yourself as to post this kind of thing on Facebook, you’re deserving of some tough love. Today, my daughter is getting a dose of tough love.’
He said he found her hidden Facebook post while upgrading her computer. He completes his lesson by saying: ‘You can have a new laptop when you buy a new laptop and when you pay me back the $130 for the software I spent on yours.
‘I hope you’ve enjoyed your little fiasco on Facebook. I hope it was worth all this.' The video has been watched around 1.5million times since it was posted just two days ago.
Mr Jordan has since written on Facebook that the attention has helped him and his daughter 'deal with it' and insisted Hannah is fine, saying they both laughed about the video going viral.
But he admitted: 'I’ll agree that wasn’t a good example of me as a father. I had been reading that post again and again for about an hour, sometimes in tears, other times so mad my hands were shaking.
'I was trying very hard to be civil in my message,' Mr Jordan said, reported Fox News. 'I slipped in that and said a word I shouldn’t have. I deserve a little backlash for that, no doubt.'

23:00 by Robert dawne · 186

Eight Easy Ways to Boost Your Website on a Budget

Call me the website fairy. I know the last New Year’s resolution on your list is to revamp your website. You're most likely putting it off because you work too many hours, can’t afford a designer and you tense up every time you think about it.
The following tips from small-business owners will make your site discoverable to potential clients and attractive to a multiple-visit viewer. These ideas won’t cost you a dime or take forever to accomplish.
Boot-up your printer.
Blog strategically
If you don’t have a blog attached to your website, now is the time to set it up. Log on to WordPress and create a blog for free. Then, link the blog to your website or incorporate it by adding an extra page to your toolbar (YouTube tutorial).
Now that your blog is set up, what will you write about?
Write Q&As on influencers in your industry, suggests Rusty Shelton, founder of Shelton Interactive. If you're launching an accounting firm, reach out to accounting professors in your area and ask to interview them. Ask them about the latest accounting trend or related news, and transcribe the interviews into blog posts. Ask the professors to link their own Facebook pages or websites to your post to give you more exposure.
Shelton recommends blogging at least three times a week and writing 500 to 750 words per post. You don’t have to interview influencers in each post. Write about current events through the lens of your business expertise. You might even attract journalists looking for a credible expert to comment on a news story.
“Last year, a neurologist client wrote a blog post about the Gabby Giffords tragedy,” says Shelton. “He got a call from 20/20 to comment. It was tremendous publicity for him.”
You can also write up case studies. If you see someone in your industry doing something interesting, call and ask for an interview. Chances are they’ll be thrilled to get the publicity and the two of you can cross-promote—a win-win.
Incorporate video
Adding video to a website has never been easier. Just take a smartphone or Flip video camera (available for about $70) and start recording. Begin with a welcome video that explains what your business is about and introduces you as the owner, says Shelton. Put the video on YouTube or Vimeo and upload it to your homepage.
“Having a video on your homepage is a great way to instantly connect with the site visitor,” he says.
Consider posting a video blog every few weeks. Focus on a topic area you're passionate about or ask a client to give an on-camera testimonial. Interview industry thought leaders and record how-to videos.
“Plumbers can do a video on how to unclog a drain or how to deal with a flood,” Shelton says. “Think about real issues people are facing and provide valuable information that will help them. It will build good will among potential customers and they'll share it with others.”
Offer free resources in exchange for e-mails
Post valuable information and you may snag a client for life. Shelton suggests that you create a box on your homepage called "Free Resources." Write a list of useful information and save it in PDF format.
For example, if you are a home designer, make a checklist for people to run through before choosing a color palette. If you’re an accountant, create a checklist of documents needed to prepare taxes accurately.
Post the downloadable PDF in your Free Resources box, and allow downloads only if viewers subscribe to your e-mail newsletter.
“The exchange is important; it allows a business owner to build a direct line to potential customers,” notes Shelton. “Just make sure to change out resources often. You don’t want your website to look like a brochure where there is no reason to go back.”
Register with business-listing sites
Discoverability is vital to the success of a small-business website. Entrepreneurs should register business sites on Yelp and Yahoo Local. Try Bing Local and Google Places. Peter T. Boyd, founder of PaperStreet Web Design says doing this will not only help your search engine optimization (SEO), it will also validate your existence to customers searching for your services.
Add social media-sharing tools
Have you noticed how every article on The New York Times website gives you the option to Tweet it and share it on your Facebook page? This helps to spread the word about articles and brands.
Small-business owners should offer social media-sharing tools on their sites.
“Search is shifting to social,” says Alicia Marie Phillips, a digital-marketing consultant. Every time you type a search term into Google, the first few links that appear are related items shared by people in your network. Adding sharing tools on your site broadens your reach to potential customers.
“If you don’t have a way to tap into Facebook, Twitter and Google+ on your site, you are missing out,” Phillips says. “People really pay attention to what their friends share.”
If you're not sure how to add social media tools to your site (YouTube tutorial).
Offer daily or weekly deals
As a consumer, nothing catches my eye more than a great deal. Try offering a daily or weekly deal that is exclusive for your online customers and publicize it on your homepage. Talk to your customers in person about these deals, too, recommends Ben Nesvig, social media manager at Snap Social Media.
“Do what you can to blur your offline and online business worlds,” Nesvig suggests. “Consider doing merchandising that promotes your website, along with an incentive to go there.”
Pay attention to keywords
The better your search-engine ranking, the better your potential to capture more page views and, ultimately, more customers. How do you cement yourself on Google’s first page?
“Pay attention to the Google Keywords Tool,” recommends Phillips. “Run a few searches for words that describe your business. The tool will tell you what keywords perform well in search and the ones that don’t. Incorporate popular words into your site to increase your ranking.”
Watch your analytics
Check out the backend workings of your website and you might be surprised by what you find. Register for Google Analytics and you'll be able to see which blog posts are doing best on your site, what keywords are bringing up your homepage and which pages are getting the most clicks.
“Pay attention to these analytics," says Jann Mirchadani, owner of Marketing Café, a digital marketing firm. "They will help guide you in creating more content that is meaningful to your audience."
What website improvement ideas can you share with small-business owners?

14:22 by Robert dawne · 0

Anonymous Threatens Facebook Shutdown Jan. 28[VIDEO]

  Anonymous claims on Twitter that the video is fake, and they do not plan to take down Facebook.
Anonymous is planning to target Facebook in an attack Jan. 28 — at least that’s what a video uploaded to YouTube Monday is claiming in the name of the hacker network.
And you thought a day without Wikipedia was bad.
“An online war has begun between Anonymous, the people and the government of the United States,” the video begins. “While SOPA and PIPA may be postponed from Congress, this doesn’t guarantee that our Internet rights will be upheld.”
Following the U.S. government shutdown of file-sharing site Megaupload Friday, Anonymous attacked the U.S. Department of Justice’s website, among others.
Monday’s YouTube video calls on the American people to participate in the hack by downloading Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC), the tool that was successfully used to target the Department of Justice. LOIC crashes websites by sending thousands of information packets to their servers.
The video gives instructions for downloading and running the program, as well as a time — 12 a.m. on Jan. 28 — to launch the attack. No time zone, however, is distinguished.
“Would you like to become part of the greatest Internet protests and first official cyber war?,” the video asks. “Operation Global Blackout is ongoing and everyone can be a part of it.”


Facebook, of course, is one of the world’s largest websites, operating through thousands of servers located across the world. In the video, Anonymous acknowledges the difficulties of attacking such a large site.
“While it is true that Facebook has at least 60,000 servers, it is still possible to bring it down,” says the Anonymous voice. “Anonymous needs the help of the people.”
YouTube commenters have raised an important question, Why would Anonymous want to crash Facebook, after the site came out against SOPA and PIPA?
The video essentially equates the privately-owned company with the U.S. government, with no explanation for the linkage. CNET postulates that Zuckerberg took too long to voice his opposition, landing his social network a spot on the potential targets list.
We’ve heard this threat before from the global network of hactivists, who promised to shut down the site Nov. 5, 2011, over user privacy concerns. Ultimately, no attack was executed and the loosely-connected hacker network called the threat the work of peripheral members.

09:13 by Robert dawne · 0