Internet Marketing Blog - Interactive Cleveland

Google Chrome's Coolest New Features

2008-09-03T00:40:00.004-05:00

After having almost a full 24 hours to review the new Google Chrome browser, I've come up with a handful of what I think are the coolest new features. Enjoy!

Find in Page Search - Allows you to find specific key phrases within the body of a web page.

Application Shortcuts - Adds shortcut icons to your desktop or start menu.

Bookmark Popup - Quick popup for adding bookmarks of your favorite sites.

Report a Bug - Allows you to report broken sites or "spam sites" to Google.

Incognito Browser Pages - Allow you to search the web freely without Google Chrome backing up your search history / activity for reference.

A Word on Toolbars

One feature I thought was great is the simplified tool bar that comes with Chrome. I've provided a side by side comparison to Microsoft's IE 8 tool bar and Google Chrome's tool bar as an example.

Google Chrome

Internet Explorer 8 beta

Google Chrome Browser

2008-09-01T18:00:00.006-05:00

Google is set to release its own browser tomorrow called Chrome to compete with Firefox 3 and Microsoft's IE 8. I'm excited to see what Google has in store. After downloading and installing Microsoft's IE 8 beta, I was impressed by some of the features, but will stick to my favorite (Firefox).

A Word About Chrome

Personally, I'm not a big fan of chrome the metal. My mom's 78 Ford LTD had chrome bumpers which were nice when clean, but keeping clean was another story. I hope Google's new browser keeps it's shine longer than my mom's LTD.

Blog or Twitter?

2008-08-24T11:45:00.001-05:00

To Blog or Tweet? This is something that I have struggled with lately when it comes to blogging. I have some interesting thoughts that I would like to blog, but end up posting on twitter, mainly due to time. I really like the convenience of twitter, but also like having the option to post my thoughts on the blog. There are a few tools out there that can help you do both:

Twitterfeed - sends blog posts to Twitter
Twitter Tools - WordPress plug in
TwitBin - FireFox extension

Flash Interactive Map for Royal Caribbean Goes Live

2008-08-20T10:51:00.004-05:00

The "More Places" interactive flash map went live this week. Check it out and let me know what you think!

read more | digg story

Social Browsing with Aurora Concept

2008-08-06T09:01:00.004-05:00

Mozilla labs features a group of browser concepts that explore a different user experience based on how people interact with web sites. These concepts bring the social experience to the web browser, rather than posting links on a social media site. The aurora concept blurs the separation between desktop and web, allowing people to interact with sites in real time. Could this be the browsing experience of the future?

Aurora (Part 1) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

Improving Your Social Media Street Cred'

2008-07-30T13:52:00.002-05:00

Found some interesting links on improving your credibility on Social Media sites as well as blogging best practices. Some great advice from a blogger that is only in his teens. Enjoy!

Value of Social Media Explained

2008-07-16T15:00:00.001-05:00

Found a great article through StumbleUpon, a service I highly recommend, that really hits the mark on explaining the value of Social Media Marketing. The article is a great explanation of how social media sites work to increase your web site visibility and improve your search engine marketing efforts. The article also does a great job of explaining the viral effect of social media sites. Plus, the little graphics are a blast. Great job DoshDosh.com!

Biking to work blog

2008-07-15T11:50:00.001-05:00

I have started a blog on biking to work with hopes of sharing my experience with others who might be interested in lowering their carbon footprint. I will be logging my journey through the east side suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio.

Flash RIA and SEO

2008-07-01T08:45:00.000-05:00

Adobe announced today that they will be working closely with Google and Yahoo to improve rich internet application - RIA search indexing. What this means is that rich media content developers will be able to create more engaging experiences without losing search engine visibility. This is very good news for the RIA community. The only concern I have is where the content will rank relative to content that exists on a normal "static" web site. Also, now that Flash technology will be indexed, how does that fare to technologies such as Microsoft's Silverlight RIAs?

Marketing Mavens

2008-05-18T20:30:00.000-05:00

Just put in my request to join the Marketing Mavens Linkedin group. Hubspot, the site which hosts the link above, also provides a great resource for web marketers.

If you haven't already joined Linkedin, I suggest you do. It's a great way to meet people in your industry, get organized and keep in touch with all your contacts. Linkedin is a great success story in the world of social media.

Powerset Semantic Search

2008-05-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

Powerset recently released a "natural language" search engine for Wikipedia. The goal of Powerset's technology is to make search more intelligent. Over the next few weeks, I will be testing out this new technology just to see how accurate the results appear compared to other search technologies.

Mac Takes "Byte" Out of Crime

2008-05-12T08:03:00.004-05:00

A "remote desktop" like feature on the Mac helps solve crime:

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9941279-7.html?tag=nefd.pop

Wouldn't this be a great feature to have on other commonly stolen items?

XRay CSS Web Standards Tool

2008-05-08T10:00:00.001-05:00

A colleague of mine pointed me to an outstanding tool for inspecting web pages called XRAY. This Firefox bookmark tool allows you to inspect parts of a web page on screen and displays a small pop-up window with information about the page element. Simply drag the XRAY button onto your bookmarks bar in Firefox. Make sure you have your bookmarks bar enabled (checked) in Firefox. Enjoy!

Graphic Design Internship in Cleveland Ohio

2008-05-08T09:00:00.002-05:00

The company my wife Candis works for Akhia is looking for a Graphic Design internship. This is a good opportunity to work with some great people and get real experience in the industry. Please read the information below for more details.

Akhia is now hiring a creative intern. This is a part time position with flexible hours. Applicants must be team players who have a willingness to learn and work hard in a fast-paced, creative environment. The intern will work closely with the design team, as well as the account service team. Candidates must have: - a great sense of design - exceptional attention to detail - ability to multitask - meet deadlines with high-quality delivery Interns will assist with basic print production/design tasks, as well as administration back-up. Macintosh experience mandatory. Knowledge in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator a must. Additional responsibilities include: - Photoshop editing - Creation of mock ups - Upload/offload digital files from FTP site - Prepare files for release - Copy edits on collateral materials - Proofreading - Assist in research and brainstorming activities - Design edits.

Please send resume and cover letter to candis.hecking@akhia.com

jQuery UI site launched

2008-05-06T14:15:00.005-05:00

I'm a big fan of the javascript library called jQuery. jQuery allows you to create cool animations that would normally take a technology with a browser plug-in like Flash or Silverlight to achieve. jQuery UI recently launched a new web site that is focused on user interface development with the jQuery javascript library. Looks like a good start for the user interface design and development resource web site. I'm looking forward to more good things! Check out some of their sample UI demos. Also, nice site design as well. Great job guys!

One Minute Guide to Usability

2008-05-01T10:00:00.002-05:00

YouTube's Video Analytics Tool

2008-03-30T10:00:00.003-05:00

Ever wondered if you could track activity on videos posted to the web? Now you can! YouTube releases a web analytics tool for video publishers. This gives marketers the opportunity to optimize video content.

Google Android Phones Coming this Fall

2008-03-25T09:00:00.003-05:00

Google will be releasing phones based on the Android platform as early as this fall. One is on my wish list!!! The Android phones will have an interface similar to the one used by the palm treo or the blackberry. There is even a demo of one interface similar to the iPhone on Google's Android page.

Flash Unlikely on iPhone

2008-03-05T12:31:00.004-05:00

In a recent article from the AppleInsider, it appears that Apple is urging developers to stick to web standards for building interactive rich media solutions for the iPhone. Adobe, the makers of Flash, have provided a mobile version of Flash called "Flash Lite", which isn't supported on iPhones and the iPod touch as of this writing.

One current solution for iPhone / iPod touch interactivity is the combination of javascript libraries and Ajax. jQuery is one such library, based on web standards, that can create a "rich media like" user experience without all the headaches of plug-ins. Aptana also provides a development environment for iPhones using web standards and various Ajax libraries. Click here to read more about what can be done using Aptana for iPhones. Some really interesting stuff!

Social Media Overload??!

2008-01-25T23:00:00.000-05:00

Social media sites have provided many benefits in the last few years, connecting millions of individuals and creating interactive online communities. Lately, the more sites I come across and join, the more I feel burnt out by all the hype for each new site. I feel as though I am losing the WOW factor with each new site i find. Does anyone feel the same?

jQuery Fun

2008-01-22T14:30:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy working with jQuery, a javascript library for creating interactivity on the web. jQuery can be used to create simple web animations that would typically take Flash and some Actionscript to produce. While JavaScript libraries such as jQuery are not a replacement for rich media authoring tools like Flash, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years as these libraries are enhanced with more "rich media like" effects.

Interactive Cleveland Web Site

2008-01-20T15:42:00.000-05:00

Just relaunched the Interactive Cleveland web site. I could have spent more time on the design, but wanted to get the new site rolling as quickly as possible. I'm planning to make the site more interactive with recent work, client list, etc.

Warp Speed with Spock

2008-01-17T12:45:00.000-05:00

Having trouble keeping track of all your social networking profiles? Spock, a social networking profile search engine, aims to pull together all your profile information from sites such as yahoo, linkedin, myspace and many more. One of spock's main benefits is the authentication of your online identity. Spock also allows it's users to authenticate email, IM and other important information. "Now, that sounds logical..."

SEO Friendly Web Design on Squidoo

2008-01-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

Posted a new lens today on Squidoo, a user generated content site. The focus of this page is to spread the knowledge of web standards and its effect on search engine optimization - SEO. Clean code in your web design is a major factor in how the search engines view your web site from both a relevance standpoint and user experience.

Social Network-Ning

2008-01-15T12:45:00.000-05:00

Can't find a social network that meets your needs? Ning may have the network for you.

http://www.ning.com/

Rather than be a "one size fits all" social networking site, Ning allows people to create their own niche social networks. Ning is a hybrid of chat boards and MySpace with some nice additional features for video and chat. Getting a network set up is as simple as starting a blog.

Join Stuff I think is Cool, a new social network I created on Ning!