Daily Archives: May 30, 2011

Seth’s Blog: Agency for the Pound Ridge realtor | Pound Rodge homes for sale

A door is not responsible if it swings and hits you in the nose. Neither is the hand of the guy who punched you.

Philosphers and lawyers talk about agency. Responsibility comes with the capacity to act in the world. If you can decide, if you can act, you have agency.

Life without agency would be a nightmare. Trapped in a box, unable to do anything by choice, nothing but a puppet…

Why then, do organizations and individuals struggle so intently to avoid the responsibility that comes with agency? "It's not my job, my boss won't let me, there's a federal regulation, we're prohibited, it's our supplier, that's our policy…"

It's not something you can turn on or off. Either you have the capacity to act in the world. Or you don't.

Facebook Analytics presentation at Blogworld | Email Marketing Strategy for Bedford Corners NY real estate

Last week, I had the opportunity and privilege to present a Facebook Analytics session to a standing-room-only crowd at Blogworld NYC. For those that asked, here are the slides from that presentation. It will be (re)made into a webinar in the days and weeks to come for those who could not attend.

Christopher S. Penn
Vice President, Strategy and Innovation

Blue Sky Factory 17 Ways To Make Your Email Stand Out eBook

Email inboxes are getting more and more crowded. How do you ensure that your emails get noticed? How to you make sure that they stand apart from the rest? If you want your emails to get opened and clicked on, we have just the eBook for you.

In the 17 Ways To Make Your Email Stand Out eBook, we review strategy and tactics, creative and design, as well as unique campaigns. There's a bit of something for everyone.

What are you waiting for? Download the eBook now

This entry was posted on Monday, May 30th, 2011 at 8:05 am and is filed under Conferences, facebook, Metrics, Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Why Link Bait is Not a 4-Letter Word in South Salem | Search Engine Journal for South Salem NY Homes for sale

May 30 2011

Why Link Bait is Not a 4-Letter Word

Ok, clearly for those who can count, link bait is actually 2, 4-letter words. But for some people out in web-land it’s become a dirty, almost derivative, term. I’m pretty sure though, that’s mostly because the word is so abused. Link bait isn’t everything we publish; link bait is a specific kind of content that is meant to draw a lot of attention to a site when it’s released. Link bait can be a beautiful thing when it’s done right. But other times it can make you want a shower.

Some people will just stoop to any depth to get links. They will create controversy, or expose others weaknesses in the hopes of benefitting from it. And they do. And everyone else sneers and calls their efforts mere “link bait”. Content that panders to negative emotions, makes inflammatory statements and goes only for shock value is, unfortunately, a class of link bait. But it’s an ugly one and it’s only part of the entire picture.

Like a secret in a game of telephone, the essence of great link bait got lost and mangled along the way. As any strategy spreads it’s bound to become warped to accommodate the agendas of those applying it.  But the art hasn’t been lost on everyone. As it stands, we’re left with a mixture of amazing link bait, mean link bait and utter crap that someone wishes was link bait. But link bait isn’t the unfortunate garbage and it doesn’t have to be unscrupulous either. It can simply be an incredible piece that is the culmination of a long period of planning and a lot of hard work.

True Link Bait is not Average

The vast majority of content on the web doesn’t really qualify as link bait. The bulk of what we write in terms of standard blog posts and informational articles just doesn’t rank. Most anything that can be put together in a couple of hours probably isn’t gonna reach the link bait bar. Sure, the occasional hilarious rant or brief video is going to be a home run. But more often than not, link bait is going to take more time and effort to create.

The problem is when people try to pass off mediocre material as link bait. Patrick Lencioni, of Table A said “When everything is important, nothing is”.  I think that concept may partly explain why the idea of link bait has become so distorted. By over-saturating the market with a whole lot of nothing special, it’s diminished everything.

Basically: Don’t be the link bait that cried wolf.

It’s ok to keep publishing and promoting your standard day to day content. It has use and merit of other kinds. But it’s best not to use your full promotional arsenal for that kind of work. Not everything deserves a ticker tape parade, so save the fanfare for when it’s really deserved.

Link Bait Breeds Innovation

One of the main reasons I think that link bait is a good thing is because it encourages people to do something extraordinary. Ok, maybe only doing it for links cheapens the purity a bit, but it doesn’t weaken the final product. I mean, sure, we may do it for the links, but let’s be honest; we also do it for the thrill. Trying to create something that will go viral, or that will become an online sensation is a lofty goal. It forces us all to be more creative, cleverer and more comprehensive than perhaps we would have if there weren’t link in it for us.

Making something great usually starts with research. Finding “hot” buttons in terms of popular content relating to your industry is the first place to start. But don’t assume some cheap knock off of someone else’s previous success is going to cut it either. Some people may be able to make a living selling faux Kate Spade’s on a New York City street corner, but it doesn’t usually fly with content on the web. If you want to do an extrapolation on an existing idea the general rule is “bigger and better”. Of course the best way to go is to break new ground.

Link Bait Can Be Valuable for Everyone

Whether it’s a quest for links or not, if someone wants to do something revolutionary we should all support that. Even if only because “revolutionary” is so damned hard to come by. In this day and age, if someone can create something truly new and unique it’s worth heralding. We all have our favorite resources bookmarked so that we can return to them time and time again. Perhaps it’s a tool, a calculator, a collection of images, a case study, a checklist, an infographic an article; a widget…the list doesn’t stop. The point is someone, somewhere, had to put that together. That effort resulted in something that we want, or need, to refer to. Whether the creator was in it for the links or not, we are grateful to have the end result at our disposal.

If the quest for links pushes us to continue to create the ultimate resource or best version of anything, that’s useful for everyone. As long as we do honestly strive to reach new heights in information and entertainment, our link greed actually has positive ramifications on the world.

You’ve got to feel a little bad for the way poor link bait has been bastardized over the years. It started out as a good idea and then became an over-used buzzword. When everybody tried to get a little piece of the action; great attempts at link bait got mixed in with a sea of ill-conceived imposters. So we have to ask, will the real link bait please stand up? I certainly hope so. Let’s hear it for the innovators who add real value to the internet world. How about a hand for the weeks of research and planning, for the data collection and programming? You know what, on second thought, save the applause, just send links.

Written By:

PG

Jennifer Van Iderstyne | SEO consulting | @Vanetcetera

Jennifer Van Iderstyne works as the Online Marketing Director for Search Slingshot. Located in Albany NY, her company specializes in SEO reports and SEO Consulting.

More Posts By Jennifer Van Iderstyne

Blocking Web Pages | TechnoZeast for the Pound Ridge Realtor

Blocking Web Pages

May 30, 2011 by Ajeet Khurana

Web content or website access has always been restricted in most environments, be it at home or the workplace. At times it is necessary for people to block certain web pages, especially in cases where employees in offices are not meant to browse irrelevant websites either from productivity perspective or for security reasons. Such situations leave the organization with no choice other than to block these sites for increase in productivity and for ensuring minimal security threats.

In home environments as well, parents, at time, do not want their children to visit websites that are not advisable or appropriate for them. Another reason for blocking a website for personal usage is that some websites trigger spam attack to steal user’s data or to harm user’s computer. Therefore, blocking a certain website can help prevent viruses from attacking your computer. There are various softwares available in the market that provide us with numerous options to block a certain set of websites.

Multiple implementations have been used and suggested that are dependent upon the level and type of restrictions to be put.

Following are the ways to block certain web pages and stay protected online on different browsers:

  • In order to block a site on Internet Explorer, a user is required to specify a given site or multiple sites as restricted in Internet Explorer settings. For doing that, the user has to know the URL of the website or webpage to be restricted. Click on the Tools menu and select ‘Internet Options’ from the drop-down. Under the Internet Options, all you need to do is to click the Privacy tab. You will see the Privacy settings window that has all the options for setting the privacy and securing requirements of the user. Click on the Sites button in the ‘Per Site Privacy Actions’ window. This is where you will specify which sites you want to allow or block. Provide the URL of a site in ‘Address of Website’ box and click Block or Allow appropriately in front of the text box. The sites you specify will show up in the list below with the corresponding settings that you specified.
  • To restrict a site using FireFox, click the Tools option that is present in FireFox. After clicking the Tools option, click the Add-ons option present in the Tools option. As soon as you have clicked the Add-ons option, another option will appear known as Get Add-ons. Click on that option and then choose the option Browse All Add-ons. On clicking this option, a search option will come into the picture. All you need to do is type in Blocksite in the space. Blocking various sites will only be possible after the Add-on option is installed. There you will be able to specify sites that you want to block.
  • To block a certain site or sites using Google Chrome, one needs to open Google Chrome and click the wrench symbol situated at the upper right side of the page. After clicking the wrench symbol, an option known as the Tools will be present. Click on the Tools option and click the Under the Hood tab present in the Tools option. An option known as Change Proxy Settings will be available that must be clicked. Security options will be present that provide the user with options to restrict whatever site they wish to delete or extradite. You need to double click on the Restricted Sites option and mention the site that needs to be blocked.

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Chappaqua Luxury Homes selling faster says realestate economywatch.com | Chappaqua Luxury homes for sale

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Luxury homes have been spending about 16 percent less time on market since early March even though inventories have been rising, which is normal during the Spring buying season, according to the latest weekly report from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.

Days on market for all homes priced over $1 million has fallen to an average of 118 days, according to the latest weekly ILHM report, which is prepared by Altos Research.  The spring time decline reflects a national trend in days on market measured by Altos, one of the few research firms that reports the number of days properties are listed on a multiple listing service.

Declining days on market coupled with rising inventories suggests that demand is getting stronger for upper tier properties, many of whom have undergone more than one price reduction.  By contrast, when properties languish on market longer, pressure grows for price cuts.  The ILHM reported 36 percent of properties have experienced a price reduction and 12 percent have been relisted.

Days on market began to decline in March, reversing a rise through the winter months.  One fairly consistent trend that has been occurring in many local markets in recent months has been a rising average days-on-market (DOM) figure.

Total inventory in the 30 markets tracked by the ILHM report reached 33,099, with an average price of $1,062,379, which has been steady in recent weeks.  New listings were virtually even with absorbed properties, suggesting demand is good, but the report’s Market Action Index still is a “cold buyers’ market.”

 

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Chappaqua Real Estate for sale