Secret Purchase In The Middle Of a Typhoon
by Tom Anthony on Aug.12, 2009, under Internet Marketing
One of my first clients was the New York Times Company owned Norfolk, Virginia TV station WTKR. The then general manager knew I was in the Internet business and confided that during a recent hurricane the TV station’s web site was overwhelmed with viewers looking for the latest weather – at the time they only carried the national content from CBS. (Called “CBS Now”). The point was clear – whether you are ready or not – if it’s on the internet people will find you.
That is sort of the case with this Google owned platform, Blogger. On March 31st, 2008 I launched my “new blog” at http://blog.tomanthony.com and just put a forward link on my Blogger profile http://tomanthonydotcom.blogspot.com. Now every time I log into my Google account it lies there waiting for me to do something.
I did not want to have to keep up with two blogs, but I believe it is in my company’s best interest – if nothing else as a link back to the corporate site at http://www.strategicimsweb.com. But I don’t want to waste anyone’s time either, so I have decided to post unique information on my Blogger page. The next thing there will be about a secret purchase I made in the middle of a typhoon. Dang – what a great teaser line!
No one listening
by Tom Anthony on Aug.07, 2009, under General Posts, Personal
OOOOO K sir I’ll let Senator Jim Webb know…
I was hoping for a town hall meeting but what I got was… “Well the Senator is going to Asia for a two week tour starting Sunday, and even the people who work here have not been told of a certain date for any Town Hall events”. I asked the young man to pass on my “strongly opposed” sentiment to the Health Care bill and the Cap and Trade legislation – and the answer I got was “OOOOO K sir I’ll let Senator Jim Webb know…” It truly sounded like the Senator’s aid through I was some kind of a nut.
I did fill out the message form on Senator Webb’s website.
“Senator I am really disappointed you have not scheduled any meetings with your constituents to discuss the health care issue. Are you avoiding a public debate, or perhaps do you feel it is not important? I am not thrilled as a taxpayer to finance your two-week, five-nation tour of Asia “to explore opportunities to advance U.S. interests in Burma and the region”. If anything sir I would have hoped you could seek out ways to advance U.S. interests here at home where there are grave concerns about our ability to maintain even this weak economy. What could be more important than listening to the people who elected you?”
http://webb.senate.gov/contact/
And here is an interesting account of someone else who tried to get the same information:
http://swacgirl.blogspot.com/2009/08/jim-webb-has-no-townhalls-scheduled.html
The best example of a cowardly politician is Senator Mark Warner who is only taking moderated questions on Google – no meetings – no live response – in fact, so far no response…
Here is a typical question posed by someone in Richmond… “Sen Warner, you said during July you would answer our questions. It is now August, but I don’t see any responses. Also, you have no public meetings scheduled to discuss healthcare during the Aug. break. Are you afraid to face your constituents?”
After figuring out which button to push I submitted this question: “Senator, why are you so afraid to answer our questions about healthcare?”
BTW You have to log in with a (free) Google Account to participate http://moderator.appspot.com/?embed=#0
There does not appear to be a place on Senator Warner’s website to contact him by email – but if you want to call or write to the Honorable Senator Mark R. Warner;
101 W. Main Street
Suite 4900
Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone Number: 757-441-3079
Fax Number: 757-441-6250
-or-
459A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-2023
Fax: 202-224-6295
http://warner.senate.gov./public/
here is another interesting blog entry about Senator Warner:
http://swacgirl.blogspot.com/2009/08/will-mark-warner-face-virginia-citizens.html
And next I went to Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) site… apparently Congressman Forbes has scheduled a meeting… sort of. It’s a free “Seniors Protection Workshop” to be held at the Chesapeake City Council Chambers on Wednesday, August 26th at 10:00 a.m. It is sort of about health care, but not covering the current health care legislation. In fact is it intended mostly for senior citizens according to his web site.
(https://forbes.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=140880)
Here is the question I posed to Congressman Forbes:
“Are you scheduling any public town hall type hearings dealing with health care? Our two senators are apparently under their desk on this issue – one is fleeing on a two week Asia junket with no town hall meetings scheduled, while the other one is only taking questions through Google Moderator and since July has answered exactly none.”
I would like to make my voice heard – but so far I can’t find anyone to listen. I mean literally – can not find anyone to listen… I am not just a frustrated citizen – there really does appear to be no one in Washington listening – here is a post revealing that with the notable exception of Democrat Tom Perriello, pretty much no Virginia Politician has any plans whatsoever to face the citizens this summer: (it is a PDF file)
http://www.richmondteaparty.com/TownHallMeetingsAug2009-1.pdf
You people in Washington should be absolutely ashamed of yourself.
Beam me up, Scotty!
by Tom Anthony on Jul.22, 2009, under General Posts, Media, Personal
In October 1994, the Star Trek Association of Towson, a fan club in Towson, Maryland, sponsored “The Big E Con,” a convention held aboard the carrier Enterprise while the ship was at its home port of Norfolk, Virginia. The events featured tours of the ship and appearances by Star Trek notables including James Doohan, or “Scotty” on the original series.
At the time I was the production Director for WFOG radio. The week preceding the convention as part of the pre-promotion I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Doohan by phone at his home in Redmond Washington. I tried to keep the interview interesting by focusing on Jimmy Doohan, and not just the Character he played on Star Trek – but you be the judge. Here it is, almost 18:00 unedited and real life. There is a point where he corrects my pronunciation of his last name – his son called to ask for money during the interview, this was the real deal.
The following week I toured the real USS Enterprise with some of the convention celebs. By some weird stroke of luck I remembered where I stashed some pictures I took during that tour. In this picture I am standing with Actress Terry Farrell from Deep Space Nine, Michael O’Hare the original Commander of Babylon 5, Herman F. Zimmerman the Chief Production Designer for Star Trek Next Generation and DS9, and another actress who’s name totally escapes me. But I think I did pretty good remembering Farrell, O’Hare, and Zimmerman after 15 years!
True or Not
by Tom Anthony on Jul.22, 2009, under General Posts, Personal
My daughter is home schooled, so from year to year I buy various text books and computer programs as part of her curriculum. Sonlight Curriculum Ltd. out of Littleton , CO has always been a dependable source. They specialize in courses with a Christian focus… and I have to believe the following is 100% true. But true or with a slight marketing spin, the following is one of the best email marketing letters I have received recently.
Subject: Explanation of how to get $25 off your Sonlight order (for a very limited time)
Dear Tom,
I am deeply embarrassed. Yesterday afternoon, in preparing my letter about five reasons to order sooner rather than later, we accidentally attached the wrong subject line to the email you received. I had prepared that subject line for a different email headed to a group of people who had never purchased from Sonlight before. I wanted to see if a special offer might help these non-customers place their first order.
The subject line for that email offered $25 off the recipient’s Sonlight order. The email these non-customers received specified a time limit on the offer, as well as a minimum order total of $250.
This morning I discovered we sent that subject line to everyone who has bought anything from Sonlight in the last two years!
Yikes … NOT what we had intended! Talk about expensive mistakes.
But I talked with John and Sarita, who said, “You gave your word. You must fulfill your promise … Since you’ve got lemons, do what you can to make some lemonade.”
So we’re going to do something we pray doesn’t completely swamp our computer system and warehouse crew. I can imagine it may slow our ability to process orders for a few days, but…
We have decided to honor the promise of my last email to you in the following manner:
Since you’ve ordered from us before, we’re extending the offer (originally intended for families new to Sonlight) to you for a very limited time. Place your order worth $250 or more (not including shipping) no later than 11:59 p.m. (MDT) tomorrow (7/23) and you will receive $25 off. That’s in addition to any Sonlighter Club discounts you may receive.
Just enter PRXDY in the box marked “Special Offer Code” at Step 2 of check out.
I hope this little bit of “lemonade” is a blessing to you.
Sincerely,
Tim Heil
Customer Relations Manager
Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Billy Jean on WQPD
by Tom Anthony on Jul.04, 2009, under General Posts, Media, Personal
For many years I have had a box of old cassette tapes in my closet – or attic – or wherever was out of the way at the time… I finally went out and found a cassette deck at the thrift shop the other day and began transcribing them to digital. Mainly because at some point the cassettes actually lose the information stored on them. Audio cassettes, VHS tapes, 8 tracks – there is a reason they are not around anymore.
Each uses the same technology originally known as “Magnetophon” and invented by the Germans during the 1930′s. (more info) The information is stored by passing a generated magnetic field to a ribbon of plastic tape impregnated with some form of ferrous material. The little do-dad that generates the magnetic field is called a record head. The tape becomes magnetized in a certain pattern. Then when passed in front of a similar do-dad called a playback head the magnetic field is transformed back once again into an audio signal. In my mind this was a kind of magic– especially for the time.
Well the problem is that the magnetic tape is wound into a spool inside the cassette. Eventually the magnetism passes from where it is stored on the tape to the section it is wrapped around. At some point the magnetic field reaches a sort of equilibrium and the original sound or picture is not retrievable. So the dozens of recordings I had stored away will actually fade away.
Not Ed Scales
I started running the tapes through my studio to get them in MP3 format and found some interesting stuff. Mostly old air checks of me in the early 80′s on the radio in Lakeland Florida. Routinely each radio announcer would record their show on a cassette deck that was wired to record only when the microphone was turned on. In the jargon of the business it was sometimes called a “telescope” as it condensed an entire workday into a 30 or 40 minute recording. You can hear the song starting and then the tape jumps to the end of the song when the announcer next turns on the mike. The program director would then review your“telescope” to give you constructive critique – or in my case to tell me to stop talking so much.
The one below is pretty long – 45 minutes! It was a show I did on WQPD on a Monday night somewhere in March or April of 1983. I had to figure that out by some clues on the tape. A really talented high school kid named Ed Scales was my guest and we did several improvised “bits”. Basically I got on the control room studio phone a pretended to talk to a character that Ed performed from the adjoining studio. We did this live and without rehearsal. In fact in the one where I “interview” Maurice Gibb I had no idea what Ed was going to do. He came on the phone in a falsetto voice that totally cracked me up. Since Ed was in school I knew the recording was made before June. One of the last comments I make on the recording introduces the number one hit song of the day, Billy Jean by Michael Jackson. That was not released until February of 1983 – thus this recording had to be made in March or April.
The last eight minutes of the recording is the air check of the next announcer, Woody Boyer.
Better Now?
by Tom Anthony on Jun.15, 2009, under Internet
Boy is it ever frustrating to have a medical condition to deal with. For me it is a Thyroid situation that is mostly under control – at least for the moment. Back in April I parted ways with Web Teks to pursue opening IMS – a company focused on strategies for internet marketing. At first things went very smoothly. I put together various supporting web sites, updated social media venues, and re-established business banking accounts that had been dormant for a long time. Next I prepared to update my Web Strategies Podcast programming when I started to lose steam.
It’s a little hard to explain if you don’t have some experience with Thyroid conditions – but what started to diminish uncontrollably was my personal energy level. So I pretty much lost the month of May 2009. Keep in mind that it was not drive, desire, or intent that faded – just the ability to execute. I know I was slow to respond to some long time friends and colleagues, but I honestly could not focus on anything but my immediate health situation.
Late last year I had pre-paid for a vacation to Bermuda scheduled for the first week of June – and it was a close call for me not to cancel. Also scheduled before my May downtime was my participation at the Online Marketing Summit in Atlanta during the second week in June.
As it worked out I found myself gaining back my energy and took both trips. Although I find myself looking back at time lost, it is time to get back at it.. Today I am working on posting meaningful materials from OMS and I hope you will find some benefit from the experiences I brought back from the Online Marketing Summit in Atlanta.
Into The Clouds
by Tom Anthony on Apr.22, 2009, under Internet
I guess it must be my ADD kicking in… A client asked my new company IMS to quote developing a couple of commerce web sites… including hosting costs. Well since I just launched the new company I have been busy… getting the banking in place, obtaining business licenses, finding and leasing office space, staffing the company. Hosting? I had not really thought about it in terms of giving a quote since developing price grids for Pinnacle Online when I was the CEO – and that was going on four years ago!
One of the terms that was brand new back then but too new to act upon was Cloud Computing. Cloud what? Wikipedia describes it this way:
Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. …The concept incorporates infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) as well as Web 2.0 and other recent technology trends that have the common theme of reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users.
So to simplify, using a combination of technologies Cloud Computing allows users access to instantly scalable applications. Examples could include Salesforce.com or Google Apps. Users access the online application through a web browser.
This same technology allows business owners a way to simplify managing multiple websites, or stream media, or even online secure data storage. About the best example I know of for automated offsite computer backup online is itsoffsite (http://www.itsoffsite.com/). I interviewed company President Martin Joseph not too long ago on the web strategies podcast.
Oh yeah… the ADD thing… I better get back to posting some prices huh?
Oh yeah again… the new company website is at http://www.strategicimsweb.com/
Google is not the problem
by Tom Anthony on Apr.08, 2009, under Internet
Now when people ask me what I do I give them the short answer; Internet Marketing Strategy. What is the Internet Marketing thing all about? Well it’s not limited to Google, although that is a great place to start. There are Search Engine Fundamentals that should be applied to your website before any comprehensive Internet marketing Strategy can be formed. Google or “Search Engine friendly” web sites are simply one of many tactics available to you.
Other tactics include:
- Social Media marketing
- Mobile and Local Search
- One of the biggest missed opportunities in internet marketing is failing to have complete and correct information about your business available to mobile phone users and in Local listings on search engines and online yellow pages.
- Viral Marketing
- This can cover a lot of individual examples, but essentially Viral Marketing happens anytime you create something that causes the recipient or viewer to pass the message to someone else. Probably the best example is a “send to a friend” link in an email or webpage.
- Reputation Management
- Finding negative comments about your business online and responding positively is critical for large and small businesses alike.
- email Marketing
- It’s not just about sending a blanket email blast. Creating content specific to each email campaign and quantifying the results will show you how much return on investment you are making… Or not making as the case might be.
- Search Advertising
- Pay-Per-Click advertising has a whole process to learn or outsource. How much should you pay – how do you measure return, how do you find the right search terms, how do you write the ad… the list goes on and on.
- Analytics
- Constantly refining the content of your site to both be as relevant as possible and to increase organic ranking in the search engines.
- Server Based
- And then there are server based tweaks like a 301 redirect. If someone looks for a page on your website they should see the same thing with and without the “www” in the URL. Similarly if there are back links to your web site without the WWW the search engines may see that as a back link to a different website.
Whole books are written on each of these topics… well except the last item about redirects. So in the venue of this blog it is just the briefest hint at what can be done to help your customers find and do business with you.
Internet Marketing Strategy Company
by Tom Anthony on Apr.06, 2009, under Internet
If you have been following my posts you probably already know something’s up. I have launched a Digital Marketing – slash – Internet Marketing Company. Here is the very original name.. . IMS Strategic Internet Marketing Services Pretty clever I think.
If we know each other personally expect a call from me in the next few weeks to tell you more about this. More to come…
Evil Google
by Tom Anthony on Mar.17, 2009, under Internet
This needs no further explaination – but – Jake is really funny sometimes 
From: Brian Walker
Google’s moving into the phone service business. This sounds really cool.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/technology/personaltech/12pogue.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1
Adam Coppin wrote:
And really creepy that they’re going to be listening to my phonecalls as well as reading my emails, monitoring my blog and tracking my position on the globe…
As if anyone really believes the “do no evil” motto any more…
Adam Coppin
Senior Web Strategist
Web Teks, Inc. – An eBusiness Solutions Firm
Jake wrote:
In a Google World:
0730 – Set Facebook status to “Eating breakfast at Chick fil’a” – also updating my Twitter
1200 – Watch old episodes of MacGeiver on YouTube during my lunch break
1330 – Get a voice mail from a friend mentioning something about a chicken suit and a request to bring over one of your power tools
1700 – On the drive home from work, notice that billboards change as you drive down the highway, advertising a Black and Decker Robot Chicken that can break into your neighbor’s house with a paperclip
What’s so wrong about all that?
.___. .___.
{O,o} Jacob Tews {o,O}
/)__) Developer (__(\
-"-"- Web Teks, Inc. -"-"-
http://www.webteks.com
the xy axis in the trackball is coordinated with the summer solstice
-
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