New gadgets... new headachs?

Recently, I got a new phone and a new computer.  I decided to go Android and bought the Samsung Galaxy S-3.  The new computer runs windows 8.  Both are totally new for me.

I have always used an iPhone and have grown quite comfortable with Windows 7.  Honestly the transition hasn't been bad, and in many ways I am glad I tried an android phone.  It is much easier to customize and many apps that would be $.99 on iTunes are free on Google Play store.

While I have always preferred using gmail to manage my emails, windows 8 integrates so many features through your outlook account.  I've got everything linked for now so on my start screen I can check my calendar events and chat with my contacts without pulling up a browser.  But admitting I have an outlook account does make me throw up in my mouth just a little.

It does feel a little odd to not have a start button, and I still haven't learned all of the keyboard shortcuts.  Windows 8 was definitely designed  with touchscreen in mind.  It operates very smoothly,  but seems to be lacking some how.

I need to install some software on the computer and change a few settings on the phone.  The real headache comes from not having enough time to fiddle with all of the options.  Everything is still so shiny and new, I'm just ready for it to stop being a toy and turn into the tool I need!

Flood Insurance

Image source: Dave Granlund

While I don't usually talk politics at work, I do want to spread this information.  This coming year, flood insurance rates were going to change.  Some people would be severely impacted by the changes authorized, but our elected officials have a lot to say about that.

This past week Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, saw his amendment pass.  His amendment to the Homeland Security Funding bill passed the house 281-146 but still requires Senate approval to become law.  This is big news for homeowners, however this stay only last for three years.

Last year Congress reauthorized NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) and made changes to how actuarial cost is displaced.  Where areas affected by previous incurrences and higher risk would have a higher  cost.  The authorizations called for new flood maps and allowed for rate increases of 20% per year.  Subsidized rates for homes built before 1968 would have also ended next year.

Bill Cassidy's amendment puts a hold on all these increases, so for right now its good news.  Senator Landrieu has the next push for Louisiana.  She has the opportunity as chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee to write Bill Cassidy's delay into the Homeland Security appropriations bill.

Contact your senator today!

Google's Penguin is at it again

Image source Mark93

It's that angry penguin again

It's official, Penguin 2.0 has been released by Google.  The idea behind the update is to target spam that has questionable origins.  While the original Penguin targeted only the front page of a website, the update is rumored to target deeper into the site.  

Mat Cutts, Google's head of spam spoke about the updates in the offical statement from Google. 

"We started rolling out the next generation of the Penguin webspam algorithm this afternoon (May 22, 2013), and the rollout is now complete. About 2.3% of English-US queries are affected to the degree that a regular user might notice. The change has also finished rolling out for other languages world-wide. The scope of Penguin varies by language, e.g. languages with more webspam will see more impact.

This is the fourth Penguin-related launch Google has done, but because this is an updated algorithm (not just a data refresh), we’ve been referring to this change as Penguin 2.0 internally. For more information on what SEOs should expect in the coming months, see the video that we recently released."

... So basically, my site will fall to the bottom of SERP again while my national competitors are placed right back at the top... @#$%* penguin

Hosting an open house!

So I'm hosting an open house Sunday May 19, 2013 from Noon till 2PM at 36450 Stanton Hall Avenue, Denham Springs, LA 70706. You can view more information about it here.  I'd love to talk tech with you!

That Aggrivating "©" and other such symbols

Ok, so how many times have you needed the copyright symbol for some work related document and didn't want to look it up on google just so you could copy and paste it into your document?  It isn't on most keyboards, but you know the symbol exists.  You've seen it plenty of times.

There are symbol shortcuts in windows called "Alt codes".  To access these codes:

• place the blinking cursor where you need the symbol
• ensure your "Num Lock" is on for the numeric key pad
• hold down the ALT key and enter in a four digit code on the numeric key pad
• release the ALT key

so what number combinations equal what symbols?

ALT + 0169 = ©
ALT + 0174 = ®
ALT + 0153 = ™
ALT + 0167 = §
ALT + 0182 = ¶
ALT + 0188 = ¼
ALT + 0189 = ½
ALT + 0190 = ¾
ALT + 0162 = ¢

There are plenty more codes which, of course, may be googled.  The one I use the most is that copyright symbol.

Some quick Google Adwords advice

image source: kinologik

While Google AdWords is an effective marketing tool, there are some quick tips to remember when starting a campaign.

Choose a local target if you only plan on offering your goods and services locally

Realtors should know the value of location.  When activating an adwords campaign, remember to set geographic targets.  Radius targeting is a neat feature to consider.  Drop a pin at your office location and set a radius for how far out you want your ad sent.  Your ad will only appear to people within your radius.  Another option is to geo-target your ads by cities or postal codes.

Create more than one ad

Spending your entire AdWords budget targeting a single key-word with a single ad line is simply not an effective business strategy.  Mix it up a little bit when creating ads.  Every consumer can respond to the same ad differently.  Launching multiple ads allows you to play with different ad-copy, keywords and landing pages.  It can help you find the best ad strategy for the most effective click to conversion rate.

Remember the long tail keyword search

When you use broad match for keyword phrases such as "Denham Spring Real Estate" your ad may display when users search for "Denham Springs" or "Real Estate".  Which is not as effective as an exact match or phrase match.  Exact match is where the ad appears only for the exact keyword phrase, phrase match is where the ad may appear for a close variant of the keyword phrase such as "The Best Real Estate Agent in Denham Springs".

Never underestimate the value of a good deal

The most effective ads offer additional value for those who click.  Remember that under the paid ads are the organic search results.  If you want a higher click through rate, there should be some benefit to the searcher.

Pinterest? What's the point?

Pinterest is a trending website, but really what is the point?  At first glance, Pinterest is confusing and loaded full of cupcake images.  Knowing why and how Pinterest is used can help sort through the messiness of the splash page.

People use Pinterest to get inspiration for their hobbies, create wishlists, and organize ideas.  They organize their ideas onto pinboards, most of which can be publicly viewed.  These pins can be either linked from individual websites or uploaded from the computer.

Source: enguage.com

The primary function of Pinterest is curative, uploading images without proper attribution is counter-intuitive.  Also, the back link provided by pinning from a site, helps the original site increase its SERP rating.   Pins are indexed by search engines and are fully searchable, The problem comes in the description.  Most people do not accurately describe the pins or make use of the full 500 character limit.

iPhone alerts

iPhone alerts are supposed to help keep you productive, though most are pretty annoying and can keep you from working...

Source: Green Data Center Conference

The most annoying of the alerts is the very basic alert.  It is a pop-up window which must be poked before you can do anything else on your phone.  It will interrupt your game of angry birds to inform you that you haven't played your word game lately...

Banners are a quick notification on the top of the screen that only lasts a few seconds.  Banners can also be set to appear on the lock screen, which when swiped will open to the app that sent the event.  Banners wont interrupt you and don't require you to do anything before they go away.

The badge is the passive aggressive alert.  It is the little re dot that sits on the corner of your app and lists how many notifications are associated with it.  It can also be a bit of a nag, that little red dot can just be there to say you haven't checked in in a while like on the Starbucks app or on words with friends.

The notification center is the summary page of most notifications.  It can be accessed by pulling down from the top of the screen while the phone is unlocked.  My favorite part is that the notifications that are listed on that page when swiped open directly into the app sending them.  You can also post to facebook and your twitter feed.