The web is an amalgamation of humanness wrapped up in pretty designs and slick interactive widgets, and that means your company needs to separate itself from the noise with a unique voice and compelling value proposition. Finding that voice and discovering what adds value online for your customers requires someone with a thorough understanding of your business, coupled with a passion for the web. Learn more about my experience, skills, or education. A printable version of my resume (pdf) is also available.
On mattjansen.com you’ll find a variety of articles I’ve written on popular web topics, and suggestions on implementing a smart web marketing strategy — here are a few points that a company successfully fusing business with web will exemplify:
Combats dark search engine marketing tactics like link farms, aggregators, deceptive redirects, phishing scams, and spoof sites all of which can tarnish brands with pro-active online marketing
Develops content that will create repeat visitors interested in exploring and purchasing the products discussed
Encourages customers to buy additional products in an online store through effective cross-selling and suggestive selling
Establishes goals for its online presences and follows through with statistics that measure trends and point at potential pitfalls
Networks with other online presences to drive incoming links and improve pagerank
Send a note to contact@mattjansen.com if you have questions about how best to market your products or services on the web.
The measure of how efficiently any body operates can be measured by the smoothness of interaction between its myriad parts. Human bodies have organs that interact via signals sent through the nervous system and through packages of nutrients and waste transferred in the bloodstream. When harmful bacteria or viruses enter the body, its resources respond immediately to slow and eventually destroy the foreign particles (remember this point, it’s important).
Zooming out to view any job function as a body, the same concepts of efficacy apply. Consider a typical office worker’s day filled with e-mails, phone calls, meetings, and spontaneous conversations. Communication takes place through wires and waves, and materials shift to different locations through mail and local trash pickup :-}
With so many parallels between bodily functions it’s only right to bring some common sense through the filter:
If a virus or bacteria continues to fight against your immune system does your body give up? Certainly not. It either shifts to a different sort of antibody or calls in more white blood cells. Don’t let bureaucracy or contract nibbling get you down! Be persistent, and call on additional resources when it makes sense.
When your body processes something, parts of it will come out one end or the other. After you’ve brainstormed new ways to approach a problem (that would be eating food for the layman), if it’s quality then digest it and get rid of the bad part. If it isn’t palatable, well, sometimes life can be unpleasant. Be realistic in choosing ideas that will add value without hogging resources, and good ideas can benefit from refinement.
Looking at someone with smoldering eyes doesn’t tell them what’s wrong. Usually it takes some jaw-waggling. When a process isn’t working, tell the process owner! Laser eyes (or bellyaching to fellow disgruntled workers) won’t solve anything, other than building a common bond of disgruntlement. Be open about sharing what’s working and what isn’t, then focus on a solution.
Muscles, organs, and the brain atrophy if not used enough and wear out quickly if overworked. Whoever’s in the middle get’s the candy. Strike a balance between focused work and joviality.
The brain’s capacity is unlimited (though some day 100 years from now they’ll likely prove me wrong), so don’t worry about filling it up! Thirst for knowledge is one thing that separates humans from other species, though strangely, showing off seems to be common amongst living things. Learn what you thought you needed to know, then go back and learn more. You’ll be brimming with interestingness and good ideas.
Bringing these concepts together can create a sense of calm as all body parts begin working together. The kicker is cultivating an awareness of spending time where it will create the most benefit (remember my point earlier on the body immediately identifying foreign particles?). To be real though, even a perfectly healthy body can miss out on some opportunities, which is why the healthiest are the most persistent.
Good luck out there, I hope the body of efficacy helps!
There are two main ingredients in Google’s formula: (1) Publish quality content that people find useful, and (2) Prove that your site is worthwhile by networking with other web site owners and convincing them to link to you. But tread carefully here because gaining links in a “shady” manner can earn a boot out of Google’s index.
If you haven’t already, I recommend you subscribe to Google’s Webmaster Central Blog to keep up on what they expect from site owners. Then focus on making your site content-rich, and free of hidden links or stealthy web-rings. In essence, avoid darklinking. Google also recently introduced their anti-malware team to the public, which is focused on identifying sites that distribute bad software (badware).
eBizBlog wrote an article that details out each suggestion in their article What Not To Do: Google Gets Specific. It’s a great read if you’re looking to understand more about these points:
Avoid hidden text or hidden links.
Don’t use cloaking or sneaky redirects.
Don’t send automated queries to Google.
Don’t load pages with irrelevant keywords.
Don’t create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.
Don’t create pages that install viruses, trojans, or other badware.
Avoid “doorway” pages created just for search engines, or other “cookie cutter” approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content.
If your site participates in an affiliate program, make sure that your site adds value. Provide unique and relevant content that gives users a reason to visit your site first.
Check Google’s official Webmaster Guidelines for more of their general expectations. One point caught my attention, they recommend submitting your site to the Open Directory Project.
Another important aspect if you’re using a content management system (CMS) is to filter out duplicate or archived content. Failing to do this can condemn your site to Google’s supplemental index, which few surfers ever explore. An XML sitemap will boost search traffic to your site as well because then Google is able to understand your site structure completely.
Mostly though, use common sense and think about what your customers are looking for on your site. Cater to their needs and Google will index your site regularly.
The advent of blogging has created an immense opportunity for traditional companies in the form of free buzz. It’s a way for corporate decision makers to connect directly with their employees and customers with casual dialog. Of course, the expectation is that when people share their opinions a company will take action based on their feedback.
One way to work through this without the same level of expectation is by encouraging employee blogging. This will help build a good online presence especially if employees are happy where they work. However, if negative blog posts are surfacing about your company that’s an indication there are internal problems in need of quick attention.
Essentially, blogging holds a company accountable to the public. Treat employees and customers fairly and this will work positively.
That said, it’s important to give would-be bloggers a few tips, which essentially become the company’s blogging policy. The points below are written from the perspective of an employer, please feel free to copy and modify them to fit your needs.
Are there important points I’m missing? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Blogging Policy Template:
Many people participate in blogging for business and pleasure. metaViper recognizes that your time outside of work is your own and that topics you choose to blog about during that time are independent of company domain. That in mind, we would like to recommend a few good practices:
If you identify yourself as an employee of metaViper it’s important to distinguish your opinion from the company’s.
Blogging about metaViper is encouraged with the first premise in mind.
In fact, here are a few things you might be interested in blogging about: metaViper’s focus on quality content, our relaxed culture that encourages diverse and collaborative independence, or some of our most recent articles.
Personal blogging at work shouldn’t interfere with your job. Microbreaks are important but make sure your work gets done.
Information posted to the blogosphere is public and will be accessible for years as part of your online breadcrumb. Remember this when sharing your opinions.
It’s important to use information that’s accurate. Someone might rely on the information you post!
If you use information from another source, give them credit. Usually it’s also polite to provide a link back to their web site, when applicable.
Help metaViper stay competitive and help us protect our customer information; don’t post confidential company information.
Respect copyright and trademark laws.
End of blogging policy template.
This template is a great place to start and includes most of the important points in understandable language. It may be necessary to consult with a lawyer for additional legalese.
You might also be interested in checking out IBM’s blogging policy posted by James Snell on his blog. James is an IBM employee. Their policy reflects most of the concepts I’m proposing here and is another great example to work from.
This is part of an ongoing commentary on digital nomads, which is essentially another name for a mobile workforce.
Ask almost anyone if it’s important for them to stay in touch with their coworkers and they’ll say “of course!” Digital nomads will respond the same way, and at surface level there are a variety of services available to keep in touch with peers. But before listing off a variety of trendy new web sites to visit with the latest twist on sending text and media to each other, it’s important to stop for a moment to think about why people stay connected with their teammates in the first place.
Why should digital nomads stay connected with their team?
Team members can point out new problems they’re encountering in the field with customers or business processes and share it with the greater group.
For leadership, it’s important to regularly communicate with the team on what initiatives are the highest priorities, and share any changes to the strategic direction. It helps everyone continue to focus on what benefits the overall success of the company instead of tunneling into pet projects.
Whenever a team member shares a story about how they screwed up with a customer and what they did afterward, it’s an immense payload for any company. People are drawn to problems, they’re curious about situations that don’t look squeaky clean and perfect. They’re more likely to take the time to read a post about a problem, and if there isn’t already a happy ending they may assist with working toward a good solution. In the end team members are learning from their peers’ mistakes.
Sometimes it can also be effective to hear from customers directly and collaborate on solutions. Get Satisfaction does that very well, in a fun way.
Logistically, communicating helps to organize events like product launches, conferences and networking opportunities. It keeps schedules in sync.
There are a variety of solutions, but Google Calendar works well (installing Google Apps is even better). Backpack is another good option with lots of collaboration and project tracking built in.
Brainstorming is always the most effective with multiple people. For digital nomads that’s difficult without an easy-to-use digital communication medium.
A great way to share ideas online is through digital whiteboards. That allows digital nomads to quickly sketch out ideas for discussion. Skrbl is a great example.
The web is big on mob wisdom right now, and it’s no different for teams inside a company. Whenever a problem surfaces, exposing it to many viewpoints all at once will usually result in a pretty smart suggestion or decision.
Even with all of those advantages, there are times when it makes the most sense for digital nomads to work independently. Help point them toward effective communication tools but don’t create an expectation of hyperconnectedness. That will add stress and detract from productivity.
Why is it important to preserve independence for digital nomads?
Sometimes people need space to experiment without fear of judgment. Working independently creates space to work with different ideas without the pressure of delivering an instant, ideal solution.
Independent exploration frequently yields more diverse idea sets. After creating those ideas digital nomads will be looking for ways to share and grow them with peers.
Too much collaboration can distract from individual goals.
Beyond the services listed above, a combination of phone, e-mail, instant messaging and a little Twittering usually takes care of the essential communications.
Wind whips through Earth’s atmosphere at speeds ranging around 92-398 kilometers per hour and that would easily pump out megawatts of electricity. The kicker? To harvest that wind power you’d have to fly a device 7-16 kilometers above the surface because that’s where jet streams of air make their gusty home.
Scientists have developed technology to fit that need in the form of airborne wind turbines that look similar to oversized kites. That technology even in its current state could generate 40 megawatts of energy and future iterations could power the world’s energy 100 times over by using 10% of Earth’s available land space. So what’s holding us back?
In a nutshell it’s the inherent fickleness of wind. Even with the strongest jet streams scientists realize that sometimes the wind will fail:
While there is enough power in these high altitude winds to power all of modern civilization, at any specific location there are still times when the winds do not blow. Even over the best areas, the wind can be expected to fail about 5 percent of the time.
That means an efficient means of storing energy will be critical for times when the airborne wind turbines aren’t gathering as much power. Not to mention powering some sort of device to keep the turbines suspended until natural wind currents take over again.
On a massive scale there is also potential for too many airborne wind turbines to affect climate patterns, but our current energy needs wouldn’t even come close to that precipice.
Jet streams generally fall into two categories, polar and subtropical. Polar jet streams are lower in altitude and move faster while subtropical jet streams are higher and slower moving. The position between the sun and earth seems to have a strong effect on the location of the jet streams and creates a “follow the sun” behavior.
Early tests of generating power from flying kites have proved successful already:
Even though a clear cut recipe for success may not exist for building and growing an open source community, there are some common patterns that emerge when considering currently successful projects. Though mobile devices really are a different and unique medium, many concepts that drive open source overall apply here too, especially as platforms like Google Android, Symbian and Openmoko continue to seek new talent and expand their communities.
First and most important, any new open source project that’s looking to add quality members needs to seek them out in sufficient numbers to create a diverse set of perspectives. Once that’s in place the conversations tend to take on a life of their own. Google Android began its community by relying on the search giant’s ubitquitous reputation in creating easy-to-use and free software. Google generated lots of buzz by making an announcement that it would be supporting an open source mobile platform and people flocked toward the idea.
But, even with Google’s name behind the project, Android is facing delays.
Another feature that Google emphasizes in most of its projects is easy communication between members. That’s key because then the exchange of ideas and points and counterpoints encourages innovation and the discovery of new efficiencies.
A problem that occurs more frequently with open source projects than with their commercial counterparts is the availability of documentation. How will a new user learn to use the system? Are there easy-to-understand manuals that speak in a language anyone can understand? Sometimes open source projects have a very active and large communities but they begin to ignore new visitors, instead just expecting everyone to begin at their water level. Nothing will push a new visitor away faster than a difficult to understand interface with no appropriate documentation.
Here is a list of items that will significantly influence the success or failure of an open source initiative — including mobile open source platforms like Google Android, Symbian (new to the open source landscape) and Openmoko.
Large, regularly active community
Direction for the hive mind, provided by a core team of respected experts
Tools for easy communication d2d and d2c
Public change log to publish changes between versions
Easy-to-use documentation that quickly brings a new user up to speed
Strong marketing arm that creates a unique brand identity and ensures the community is easily findable online
Forum moderators that make sure questions by end users are answered and a baseline of professionalism is established
Digital nomads are a growing segment of the world population that does their work on-the-go. They have a different mindset than traditionally oriented office workers and that means it’s important to consider carefully before investing in a mobile workforce, the bottom line (ROI) is a good place to start that discussion.
To gain good perspective on the ROI of digital nomads it’s important to look at both tangible gains like reduced facility expenses and intangible factors like employee morale and the security of intellectual property.
The leadership inside many organizations has a tendency to focus on tangible benefits. That kind of benefit usually takes the form of numbers that are comfortable in their black and white symbolism. The problem with that approach is that it can often lead to shortsighted decision making and quickly lead an organization toward mediocrity or worse.
The table below illustrates the theoretical costs and gains realized from a set of tangible benefits. Values will scale to a cost of -100 to a gain of 100. This provides a model for discussion without the distraction of company-specific metrics.
With this analysis, it’s clear that the business is benefitting strongly by utilizing digital nomads, though individual organizations are sure to allocate valuations differently. This is simply a tool meant to provide clarity and direction.
Looking at someone with smoldering eyes doesn’t tell them what’s wrong. Usually it takes some jaw-waggling. When a process isn’t working, tell the process owner! Laser eyes (or bellyaching to fellow disgruntled workers) won’t solve anything, other than building a common bond of disgruntlement. Be open about sharing what’s working and what isn’t, then focus on a solution.
If you haven’t already, I recommend you subscribe to 
One way to work through this without the same level of expectation is by encouraging employee blogging. This will help build a good online presence especially if employees are happy where they work. However, if negative blog posts are surfacing about your company that’s an indication there are internal problems in need of quick attention.
