April 2009

  • Your Website is Like an Elephant

    Your Website is Like an Elephant

    Do you like elephants? Lots of people do. We visit them in zoos, admire their exploits in the circus, take the chance to see them in their natural habitats when we can. You’ve probably never heard anyone say, “No, I don’t want to go see the elephants. I’ve already seen an elephant.” Even if we’ve…

  • Finding a Web Designer

    Finding a Web Designer

    Last week I met with a client who brought her husband along. As we were discussing the new website we’re planning for my client, he expressed some dissatisfaction with his own website.

  • Get My Website in the Top Ten for Google!

    Get My Website in the Top Ten for Google!

    I keep seeing job postings like this. Often they specify that they want this done in a particular amount of time, perhaps through the creation of 500 one-way backlinks to pages of PR6 and above. They make me want to send strongly worded letters to the posters of the ads saying things like —

  • The Cute Website

    The Cute Website

    I was working with a client the other day, and she expressed dislike of a paragraph I’d written for her because it was “too sweet.” Another phrase was “too cute.”

  • Getting in the Mood to Write Your Web Content

    Getting in the Mood to Write Your Web Content

    With only a few weeks till the end of the semester, I asked my students to list the obstacles they saw to doing well with their big research paper.

  • Scoping Out the Competition

    Scoping Out the Competition

    Different businesses and different industries approach competition differently. I have a friend who sells cookware; she and her competitors get together and trade recipes. I’ve also worked with people who exulted when their competitors had problems, and wouldn’t care to trade with customers who also went to the competition. Whatever your attitude toward your competitors,…