Unprofessional Slander - Response

This one goes out to you, Mr. 2 post 'anonymous' blogger who is using my company name in their spam blog (you could at least have deleted the first post in your archive, an obvious bit of spam blogging on top of your own pile of slander).

Any and all comments, opinion and advice given on the Seigfried Designs blog are from my own personal experiences in a professional industry. All articles/posts in this blog are to be considered my opinion. It's is ME after all writing this blog, Alex Seigfried, and I have no intention of obscuring myself anonymously online when I make comments on other companies and their services.

There is not a single lie in any blog I write, period. I'm sorry you don't like what I have to say about your company, but at the same time I would be remiss to not keep my clients informed of poor business plans and practices in my industry. If I could be more generic and say 'listing site' instead of your company name, then i would, but the fact is there are plenty of other companies that fall under that same category that are very GOOD at what they do. You, just don't meet those standards.

Trust is the most important word in my life. Sometimes my point of view doesn't jive with other companies, but that's the nature of the first amendment and I will not be bullied into altering my point of view by Mr. Monopoly or any other poorly thought out business proprietor.

In this company, Seigfried Designs, you shake the hand of a real person, someone you can meet and share a conversation with. I stand 100% behind this blog.

P.S. Spelling errors on my blog are inevitable, since I'm not an English major nor does spell check catch everything. However spelling errors on a clients website are a no-no, and ADVERTISMENTS, articles and blogs meant to PROMOTE a business are simply unacceptable.

Video - The Flip

Last year I bought a video camcorder called The Flip and it's a really amazing device. So small it fits in your pocket, with an hour of digital memory and so easy to use a child could figure it out. What makes this device so compact is that it only shoots 'web quality' video, which means low resolution video that looks great online or in powerpoint presentations but you can't shoot a TV show or DVD movie with it. But for the purposes I'm using it for, web quality video is all i need. It's all ANYONE needs for their website, Youtube or personal home videos.

It's cheap. $130 for a digital camcorder is a great price.

Stick The Flip in your pocket and walk around your home or business, shoot video, interviews and personal messages. Video is the single most important multimedia you can have on your website, now and in the future. Nothing is more personal than a video, you'll connect with your visitors in a way that a block of text or a picture cannot. Be honest, open and yourself and watch your sales leads spike. Then distribute your video to Youtube, Veoh and many other video social networks, use thier 'embed' links on blogs and other websites... spread yourself around. Remember, it's not about having a website, it's about having a 'web presense', so get out there and let people know more about you and what you do.

Blogger vs Wordpress

There seems to be two camps, when it comes to using a blogging service online.

Blogger or Wordpress

Both are good at what they do, but some people perfer one over the other. The difference comes from 'who is using the service'. Many people hire a web professional to create and maintain their blog, but some people like to do it themselves.

This is why web professionals like Wordpress the best, because they can have complete control over every aspect of their blog. Mainly because web professional know CSS and various programing languages that allow them to take full advantage of Wordpress.

However, there are also clients who just want the initial blog set-up and then THEY will do the changes and updates from there on out. These people prefer Blogger because the interface and usability is simple and straight forward to the non-technical minded. Having setup two blogs for clients, I've found they prefer Blogger and rarely have any problems adding widgets or content to their sites.

Pros & Cons

Wordpress:
Pro -complete control
Pro -static pages
Con -Doesn't allow for the running of javascript or any scrips via templates
Con -customization requires you to completely replace CSS, so there is no fiddling with existing code.
Con -interface if more for technicaly minded people
Pro -great community to lean on for support/troubleshooting.

Blogger:
Pro -Google search engine loving (self-promotion on Google.com)
Con -No static pages (you have to setup your own navigation to articles)
Pro -easy to use n00b interface
Con -easy intigration of html/java scripts via widgets
Pro -CSS is laid out so that you can alter the original code AND recover the default settings if you mess up.
Con -terrible support/troubleshooting good luck getting anyone to answer you.

Warning: Google Website Optimizer and Google Analytics

There is trouble in paradise, for some reason, after utilizing Google Website Optimizer, all of my "Content" information stopped being recorded on my main Google Analytics Account. I'm currently working on a fix and will post my results here.

New Service - Blog Creation & Setup - Philadelphia Blogs

Following trends and the natural progression of information technology online, we are now offering Blog Creation and Setup for all major blog services.

Blogger, WordPress, LiveJournal Profiles & More.

We can:

• Helping you get started by creating an account and teaching you how to make self-updates.
• Making your blog stand out from the crowd by customizing templates for a unique look.
• Intigration of your blog into an existing website.
• Helping you make a website in Wordpress that is part blog and part static pages, that you can self-update.

Securing Your Gmail Account: New Threat - Philadelphia Web Design

If you use Google products then there is a good chance you have a Gmail account. If your not sure then use your login and password for Adwords or Analytics to try and login to Gmail.com.

Your account is going to become unsecured if you don't take immediate action, within the week.

A hacker at the annual Defcon hackers’ conference in Las Vegas, has found a way to access your Gmail account and steal your ID information. He's releasing the tool next week to the general public. Link to article on hungry-hackers.com

How to Protect Yourself:
Google has recently made SSL encryption available to all Gmail accounts, for every action you take while using your account.

• Log into your Gmail Account.
• Click the Settings Tab.
• At the bottom of the page, select "always use https'
• Save your Settings.

Google Website Optimizer - Philadelphia Web Design & Internet Marketing

Google's new tool takes the guesswork out of effective page design.
http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer

Before this tool came along, designers like myself would look at our website's page traffic and make guesses as to why one page was delivering results and another was failing. We were not only subject to our own guesswork but clients would happily chime in that they felt the color of a button or a spinning, flashing, animated gif would make the difference between success and failure.

No more.

With Google's new, FREE, tool I can now test different pages or different content on each page and get measurable results.

How it used to work:

1. Design a page.
2. Wait for Statistical data
3. Re-design whole page, one link, one picture...etc. (whatever I felt might make the page better)
4. Wait for Statistical data
5. ...repeat forever....

How it works with Google Website Optimizer:

1. Design 5 different pages and/or 5 different pieces of content (picture, picture and text.. any kind of content from a link to a massive flash animation)
2. Google randomly serves up all 5 variations to visitors of your site
3. Get Statistical data on which pages/content was most effective
4. Use the most effective page/content on website.

It's the difference between Waiting to React & Taking a Pro-Active approach to web design. I encourage everyone to use this tool. Whether you are creating a new web page or you just need to trouble shoot existing web pages, this tool is for you.

Trouble with Bounce rates? Test new content.
Arguing about the best design for your site? Test the page.
Can't figure out whether flash animation or static pics is best? Test it!