Improve your kitchen with a kitchen renovation

posted in: Stuff

Sometimes we find ourselves wndering if our kitchen could look better and be more funcitonal. This may turn into feelings of discomfort and insatisfaction with your old kitchen. Are you asking yourself if your kitchen still makes you happy? Maybe it is time for a kitchen renovation for which you should hire a home renovations Guelph company. You deserve to have a kitchen that brightens your day, not darkens your mood! If your kitchen is looking past its prime and in complete need of a renovation, maybe it is time to call the pros. Below, we outline our the top 10 tips for renovating your kitchen and getting rid of all outdated details.

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Online marketing basics

posted in: Stuff

For several years now, an online presence has been an extremely important asset in business and startups. Companies look at an seo firm as an actual partner more than a simple service provider and web design agencies as a vital element in their promotional efforts. (more…)

How to install Gnome Shell themes in Ubuntu 11.10

posted in: Stuff

As easy as just two simple steps. Of course, this assumes you have already installed the Gnome Advanced Settings panel (gnome-tweak).

First add Satyajit repository by openning your terminal and typing (or copying from here) the following command:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:satyajit-happy/themes

Once the repository is added, just install the Gnome-Shell User Theme Extension:

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-extensions-user-theme

This last command will enable an option in the Gnome Advanced Settings panel go to “Shell Extensions” and enable the “User Themes Extension”. Logout and log back in. At this point there should be a new “Shell Theme” option that allows uploading of new gnome-shell themes which can be found at GnomeLook.org.

Easy!

How to add Facebook Videos in your Website

posted in: Stuff

Facebook allows for videos to be uploaded to any account and it is easy and convenient for many users. However, Facebook does not offer a simple way  to embed them in your web pages or website like Youtube, Vimeo or other video sharing sites do. Facebook does not officially provide an embedding code, so for people who want to embed a Facebook video on their blog post or web page, there is no readily available way to do it. (more…)

Adding Youtube videos in Joomla 1.7

posted in: Stuff

Sort of gave the trick in the title. Inserting Youtube videos in Joomla 1.6 or Joomla 1.7 (sort of our flag systems along with WordPress), the only thing that needs to be done is clear all the filters from the content editors on the articles manager options. (more…)

Virtuemart and the impossible Modules

posted in: Stuff

Geekspeak alert. The following is a horror story about playing with Joomla, VirtueMart and its PHP files. May this help anyone looking for a solution to the itemID problem in VirtueMart. The following may not be a perfect solution, however, in the particular situation it worked like a charm and continues to work. (more…)

Copywriting for money

posted in: Stuff

…or how to get people to give you money with your copy

When writing for anything that has the goal of someone giving you money, tell them why they should do it. We as buyers are only interested in your product or service for selfish reasons… what is known as the WIIFMs (or What’ s In It For Me).

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Funny video and the rap song that made him famous

posted in: Stuff

This is not news, this is barely something that should matter, except for the fact that is funny. Of course, some healthy fun is always great. This has gone all over the web, has been in the news in different places and now Antoine Dodson (the guy in the video) has a website and has created some controversy in his hometown in Alabama.

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Digital marketing… what is it about?

posted in: Stuff

Let’s talk about digital marketing. Gone are the days when people used to think about the internet as only for nerds in a basement. Kids are at it with so much intensity, that any 5 year old can now explain you the best new tricks for Google, Facebook and Twitter.

Internet marketing was about promoting a website and helping it be seen by potential clients. We used to have only PPC and SEO (which is older than people think – some nutjobs want to make it as old as 1970!), and then came along social media. Youtube made the web a TV and Twitter and Facebook made it a thing to be carried everywhere. So what is digital marketing all about? (more…)

Unexposure: Creating a brand online or hiding in the shadows

posted in: Stuff

There is a growing awareness of the need to go online. Most business owners today understand that you have to be online to even exist. The question that most of these business owners have is: Is it really for me? Or as an extension, if I go online, will I be able to sell? Is people really looking for my product online?

We tend to confuse online marketing with creating websites. And even though creating a website is an important decision and can be a powerful tool for your product’s marketing, it is hardly the only way to market online. The internet has more than websites, it is used for email, for social communication, for information and for entertainment.
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And in the end… there will be a new champion

posted in: Stuff

Amazed, as most of you, that Spain and Netherlands made it through to the final. At the beginning of the World Cup no one could have predicted this final, most would have said they were good teams, with possibilities, but Germany, Argentina, Brasil, France, Portugal and even Italy looked like better options to most.

I thought Spain would get a nasty defeat from the Germans, I wanted to see this final between two nations that have never won the cup, but really thought it wouldn’t happen. Germany seemed simply formidable and yet, it fell by the closest of margins and by a defense player’s goal (Puyol).

I have some very dear friends in Spain and they are wild with excitement. Most in Spain can’t believe it either, after many cups being big contenders and not living up to expectations.

How is this related to marketing or the web? (more…)

Fear of change

posted in: Stuff

So here we are, getting ready to move to a new city. The usual boxing of all the old stuff and the review of what stays and what goes… time for a complete cleansing. Time to see all the stuff we have accumulated over the years and audit our past decisions.

A picture from a road in La Mancha, Spain
The road ahead

We are about a month away from the move and this boxing game has already taken most of our space, the apartment is a mess. Its all for good, we are moving to a bigger space in a better, quieter, safer and kid friendly area. But as in every change, the fear of the unknown is quite palpable. Leaving all the connections and all the work we have done these past years, a question keeps popping in my head… are we doing the right thing? (more…)

Lessons from my travels through Spain

posted in: Stuff

Spain is a beautiful country. Beautiful scenery, great people, delicious food (a bottle of 5 litres of extra virgin olive oil for only about $20CAD, excellent wines for only 3 bucks, cheese from heaven – made in La Mancha… crazy!). I was invited to talk about different subjects related to online marketing, business promotion and personal branding for entrepreneurs in different events through several cities.A day in Toledo

I learned a lot from this trip. Usually you go thinking, “here’s what I will teach”, but you often come back getting more than what you give and that is the true value of sharing. Spain is in the middle of very hard economic times. It is a country trying so hard to reinvent itself, to find unification and to find growth and stability. In spite of this (or maybe because of all this), people seem to be having a lot of fun. In the streets of Granada, you could never guess that the city is going through one of its worst economic crisis in years. While going about through several small cities and towns in La Mancha, everyone seemed happy and to a big extent, contempt. People in Huesca, Madrid and Zaragoza share a smile and are courteous, all talk about how the times are bad, but no one actually complains, all keep working and keep living. (more…)

To build the highest tower, you need to start building

posted in: Stuff

While doing some research for a couple of speaking engagements in Spain, I found a video about the nature of teamwork and some interesting insights into ways to accomplish anything.

Lessons to be learned. This also applies very well into any process. Instead of spending a lot of time planning and thinking, spend a little bit less and focus on making it happen. Try as many times as needed until success is achieved. Edison said it: (more…)

Can anyone be an Internet Marketer?

posted in: Stuff

It is not uncommon nowadays to hear someone say, “I do internet marketing“. It just seems that there are just simply too many of us out there! Nothing could be farther from the truth.

There are a LOT of MLM guys out there. Most have found the web a nice place to do their “work”.

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Post copiers and witless bloggers II

posted in: Stuff

This is part two of the little odyssey that could from some time back.

So, to whoever was or may be interested, the person removed the article after some heckling and nagging. Didn’t respond to any message or email, but simply removed the offending article, which was good, right? Unfortunately, other blogs have shown up. Nice! Now, the question is, is it worth it to chase all this copying? Guess not. (more…)

Holidays, holidays… are you ready?

posted in: Stuff

We are in the best season for the retail industry… the holidays. Most retailers have been working hard on preparing for this season, but some, lagged and are still trying to catch up. What can you do if you are in dire need for a fast strategy to promote your products or services for this holiday season? (more…)

Can Search Engines control you?

posted in: Stuff

Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask, etc… all search engines designed to help us find websites that otherwise we would not know they even exist. All is good and great until you start seriously thinking about it. (more…)

The future is now

posted in: Stuff

Most traditional marketers were only (and still are) interested in earning an income while promoting whatever product. There were no laws and people would use any dirty tactic to sell, no matter the consequences. Then they learned about product loyalty, quality over quantity and other marketing elements that make products and services desirable. (more…)

Windows 7 is here, these are hotkeys to make your life easier

posted in: Stuff

So Windows 7 is out and most people are now getting used to the new settings. It has very little change in regards to eye candy compared to Vista, but has a couple of interesting improvements. While so many have reviewed the goods and bads, I think it is pretty much the same as Vista but with a couple of very nice fixes that were more than needed in the previous system. (more…)

Droid does… Android vs. iPhone OS

posted in: Stuff

Verizon has launched an aggresive baiting campaign and its breaking the iPhone’s marketing to give Android’s spot in the world of smartphones (and very soon, superphones).

Verizon’s new ad not only spoofs and mocks iPhone’s advertising style, but completely trashes iPhone’s known issues and annoying quirks. (more…)

Free Legal Stuff

posted in: Stuff

The Web Surfer’s Guide to the Free Internet

Here be the first edition of the Web Surfer’s Guide.

Before the free parade, please read the following pointers about downloading free stuff online:

1. Be careful what you get. Most free stuff comes with a risk. This may mean its bad stuff (as in bad free music or movies) or that the product is not final (as in alpha and beta software releases full of bugs).

2. Stay as far as you can from Warez and Piracy sites. Even though you may be attracted to the lure of free (illegal) stuff, the risks are extremely high if you don’t know what you are doing.

3. If so inclined, donate, comment, provide feedback, report bugs, help with code, give ideas, promote the product. This will help those who give you for free and will give people a reason to keep supplying free stuff.

Now the good stuff. The free sources links (some here for now, more coming in future revisions of the guide):

Here be “Freeness”

www.frostclick.com/ – Free Music, free movies, free software… free all and very, very legal. How cool is that?

www.frostwire.com/– Free download software – Torrents and Peer to peer (like Limewire)

www.ubuntu.com – Free OS with a huge fanbase and support forum. Almost all issues can be solved there or you can post yours and get help. Try it with the software below.

www.virtualbox.org/ – This is like a computer within your computer. Allows you to safely test other OS without having to do a full hard disk install.

www.drupal.org/ – To build websites you can use this free content management system (CMS). Its all the rage with programmers. Not so user friendly though.

www.joomla.org/ – Same as Drupal, but easier for less skilled programmers. Excellent system for regular users without much programming skills (even without programming skills at all)

www.wordpress.org – A highly popular CMS for blogs. Use it in their site (www.wordpress.com) or install it in your server for more options, scalability and benefits for your site.

www.sourceforge.net/ – Open Source home. Programmers and developers post their newest work here and let you download it free. Search for a tool you’ve dreamed of, chances are, you may find it there.

www.iconpot.com/ – Free Icons for personal, commercial use without having to provide credit everywhere.

www.1001freefonts.com/ – Most of these fonts you can download and use in personal projects, some require permission or to be purchased for online use.

www.net-matrix.com/ – More free software. A huge collection of free software.

www.hulu.com – Free TV shows and some movies. Only available in the US.

www.archive.org – A very interesting initiative to create an archive of all human. There are free movies, cartoons, antique acetate records (music), home videos (yes, home videos). Want to see how a website started? You will find all its changes here too.

www.legaltorrents.com/ – Free legal torrents. Movies, music, animations, images, etc.

www.wikipedia.org – The world’s largest free encyclopedia. Ok, everybody knows it, I just felt I had to mention it.

https://translate.google.com/ – Free Google translator for almos any language. Very good, not as a real translator, but does the job for non important things.

This is a very, very short list of the wonders hidden on the web. I have a much larger collection of free legal stuff sites, but for the time being, this is the first edition… I will come back and work on this guide some more. If you ask for a source of free stuff for a particular subject, chances are, I’ve got it. Post in the comments what you would like to find out and I will add it to the guide on the next revision.

The truth about paid advertising online

posted in: Stuff

Online advertising spending has a downward trend and some believe it will continue

As internet users evolve, they stop clicking at the first thing that moves. I remember when the internet was this strange new thing (circa 1993) and most of the time I was just trying to find what to click. That certainly changed over time. The internet has become an every day tool for most of us. The internet has permeated the way we do business, make purchase decisions, share information, keep in touch and work. (more…)

What real Marketing does

posted in: Stuff

Wow! I love Apple! Its always a marketing inspiration, no matter where I am and what I’m doing. Most people like the brand, heck, even love it. Some poeple are extreme fanatics and go out and constantly promote it. That kind of brand loyalty, WOM (Word Of Mouth) and supermarketing effect makes Apple a sure marketing example to quote. This edit of Apple’s Keynote address in September 2009 is a way of dissecting the event. Notice how the keywords are related to each product and subject.


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The Wild New West

posted in: Stuff

Talking with someone today, we were discussing about how the online marketing has become some sort of wild new west. Every man for himself, no law other than the gun you carried and ripe with opportunity… if you survived! (more…)

Michelle Obama has strong arms…

posted in: Stuff

Before you think  this is some sort of tabloid blog, let me assure you that the headline is related to marketing in many ways and marketing is my subject here.

I was waiting for a meeting with a client in a lawyer´s office today. While drinking a very nice cup of coffee, a newspaper article on a table caught my attention. The headline read Michelle Obama: First Lady of flex” and it turns out that her secret is exercising regularly and something called “supersets” which are a set of triceps pushdowns and hammer curls. Now, there is not much marketing in this so far, is it? (more…)

Are internet marketers the new rockstars?

posted in: Stuff

Now, that is a good question. To judge by the language and styles we internet marketers use online, in our blogs and sites, I would certainly say yes. Just like rockstars, we have our trends and styles. (more…)

Drop it like it´s hot! Top 10 reasons why the web is hot now

posted in: Stuff

Granted, internet marketing is all over the place these days. To hear all internet “gurus”, internet marketing is the non-plus-ultra of the marketing world. Not to swim against the current, your friendly neighbourhood marketing guy, a.k.a. me, has decided to make a list of the 10 top reasons why the web is hot and will continue to be hot for a while longer (some even predict that it will not stop for a very long time).

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It’s not just about size… skill also matters (when promoting your company)

posted in: Stuff

It is quite unbelievable that most companies and business owners still think that being online is just about creating a website and forgetting about it. As most people already know, creating a website is just the very first step of many, many more steps in creating a successful marketing strategy. In fact, nowadays, some marketing gurus do not even use a website to promote products or services.

OpenSource Analytics
OpenSource Analytics

All is good and great as far as creating a website and promoting it goes. But that is far from it. There are several tools to measure the marketing efforts. It is vitally important to measure every single thing done online, otherwise, there is a big possibility that our efforts may go in vane.

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