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Three things that really irk me
I’ve been sitting around all day trying to figure out why my hair is falling out at an astronomical rate. I think its because I’m sick and tired of all the crap in the world. I’m in a mood to pick a fight so sorry in advance if I offend you.
SEO is not about computer programmingÂ
I sat down with an unnamed person last week and listened to him complain about his company’s problems with SEO and Web marketing. He told me that he had a very reputable Utah-based SEO company come and present their services. He was ready to hire them when he was overruled by the CEO who had been sold by the company’s programmers that SEO is all about computer programming and that they could do it and save the company a bunch of money.
Fast forward a couple of months and the company’s internal SEO effort has gone nowhere (surprise). I wouldn’t be shocked if their programmers are now updating their resumes with all sorts of great SEO BS that could get them more money at a different company. It’s so nice for some people to have the option of learning, trying and failing on other people’s money and time. Â
Anyway…
Programming is only part of the SEO equation. What do you do when you get someone to the page? Are the computer programmers going to write the copy? Are they going to create the call to action? Of course not. For the most part, they stink at that stuff. You need marketing people who understand how to build good copy and how to convert users to buyers. There is no sense in getting people to your site if you can’t convert them to buyers.
Furthermore, don’t leave it up to your programmers to do keyword research, PPC, community development, affiliate management and PR, which are all Internet marketing tools. Internet marketing is way more than just natural SEO, people. It’s time for CEO’s and technologists to wake up and figure it out. It’s also time for marketing people to stand up and start winning these debates. If marketing people had a better understanding of SEO then they might actually sell something internally and externally.
Global warming is a scam
Don’t get me wrong, I believe the earth is getting warmer. I believe the climate is changing. I don’t believe this is caused by man. I (along with many other qualified non-former politicians and non-celebrities) am not sure why the hype is so strong lately but I agree with author Michael Crichton (he wrote Jurassic Park) that the environmental movement is full of bad science, foundations seeking $$$$ and more $$$$ and celebrities who want to promote a cause they know nothing about.
Crichton makes a brilliant observation about global warming in Jurassic Park. He basically says that humans are arrogant to think that they can destroy the planet Earth which has withstood much more than we could ever hope to throw at it over billions of years. Excellent point.
What about Al Gore’s movie? You know, the one with the hurricane spewing forth from a smoke stack on the cover? Last year was one of the quietest hurricane years on record. Nice one, Al. Have you seen the movie? It’s a joke! It’s a two hour campaign ad.
The modern environmentalist movement is about hating America for it’s progress. It’s a ploy to destroy capitalism. It’s a socialist lie. China is polluting at an astronomical rate. In the next few years their carbon emissions will eclipse ours. Do you hear anyone complaining about China? Do you hear the French calling for a global tax on China’s carbon emissions? Of course you don’t because it’s political not scientific. Think about it.
For more on this, I recommend the book Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1500 Years. It’s a book written by real scientists (no they’re not former politicians or movie stars)Â who examine the real science behind global warming. I suggest picking it up.
Get educated on this and stop listening to the hate America, BS science crowd.
Apple’s advertising is deceptive and unethical
I have finally had it with Apple’s deceptive and unethical advertising campaign. It’s one thing to make fun of your competitors (that’s a bad marketing tactic by the way) it’s another thing to out right lie and deceive. You can watch all their lame “I’m a PC and I’m a Mac” commercials here. Upon examination you get the following:
- Mac’s don’t crash. I’ve had a Mac crash on me and I’ve had an employee’s Mac crash on me just before we used the machine for a critical sales presentation. Yes, Mac’s do crash.
- Mac’s can’t get Viruses. Macs can get viruses and have gotten viruses in the past. I pushed an Apple employee on this at Mac world and he finally admitted to me that OSX isn’t as bullet proof as their deceptive ad campaigns make it out to be and they can get viruses. They’ve got them before and as they get more popular they will get them in the future.
- PC’s can’t communicate with third party hardware. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Wow, that’s like Hitler calling Stalin a serial killer.
- Mac’s don’t require technical support. Sure they don’t. They never crash! Oh, wait…
- Only Mac’s come with a built in video camera. I’m staring at the built in video camera on HP Pavilion as I write this. I would compare this advertising to a car company promoting the fact that their cars have tires. Nice job, Apple marketing!
- You get better results using multimedia applications on a Mac. This is more user skill set rather than a software or hardware issue.
- Mac’s can’t get spyware. You can get spyware by just visiting certain Web sites independent of the OS you are running. If you are using a Mac to access the Internet, you can get spyware.
And on and on and on. If Microsoft or Dell ran a campaign like this the blogosphere would be in an uproar! Steve Jobs would be calling for a federal investigation. Some guy on a blog post on Info World left this reply to a related story on how he would respond to Apple if he were Bill Gates:
“We at Microsoft wish Steve and the Apple family all the success in the world in their brave and long fought efforts to top the 2% market-share barrier. I mean, every little bit helps us justify the meager payback we get from our Mac development efforts. Moreover, with Mac’s switch to Intel, a high percentage of Mac buyers are now buying Windows - at full-pop - to install on their Mac. We’re reaching a completely new market. So keep those cool, innovative ideas flowing, Steve!”
Classic.
and keep up the great ads, Steve-o. When your balloon finally pops and you blow your users trust - there’s going to be hell to pay.
Here’s more:
In a news story today Canada’s leading climatologist calls global warming “the greatest deception in the history of science.”
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/global-warming020507.htm
Left by Chris Knudsen on 02/05/2007Great article (linked in your comment). It’s amazing how politically charged the topic of global warming is. That, alone, should scream “don’t believe what the media tells you!” If anything, one should start off their investigation/opinion by believing the opposite of what the media is pushing…
Left by Connor on 02/05/2007Fun article. About Mac’s and viruses really the only virus that has ever affected the Mac was back in the 80’s or early 90’s back on OS 7,8,9, etc. True there have been some concept viruses come out recently, but nothing has ever replicated or caused any problems yet. I will be the first to admit when there is a problem, but right now Mac’s security tend to be better. Check out this article:
http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2006/11/macarena.html
As far as spyware goes, I guess it depends on your definition. Sure you can get cookies that track harmless stuff on any computer. But Mac’s don’t get the Spyware/Malware that PC’s do where it will make your computer do weird things such as not display any internet pages at all except for some weird spyware site!
The ad’s are just in jest. No one claims Mac’s don’t crash, but they do crash less. I go into companies where they have the same amount of Mac’s as PC’s and they always spend more time on the PC support than they do on me
Left by Mike Kingsley on 02/05/2007Love dem fightin’ words, Chris. 1. SEO is technical marketing. 2. Global warming is a “feel good” cause. You just have to support it with your mouth to feel like you’re doing your part. 3. Apple is a great liar, but most marketers are.
Left by Blake Snow on 02/05/2007You may dislike ‘em, but man… the newest ad (”Security”) is hilarious!
Left by Connor on 02/06/2007GLOBAL WARMING: I agree 100%. It is amazing to me how left-winged the media has become. Why is it that the moderates can’t seem to influence the media much?
MACS: I totally agree again. I can’t remember the last time my pc crashed. I’ve never had a virus of any note (the last time I remember getting a virus was off of a floppy disk someone gave me in college 15 years ago). Spyware/Adware is simply a money-making scheme for some. They don’t target Macs only because of their lack of market share. If Macs ever become significant, they will get spyware/adware. Etc etc etc. Are Macs cool? I suppose. For me, it isn’t worth it to pay 2-4 times as much just to be cool. There is no other benefit in having a Mac for me.
SEO: This is the only one where I somewhat disagree with you. I think that SEO expertise can be picked up by anyone who has interest in it. Sometimes that ends up being a programmer, sometimes it is a marketer, and sometimes it is someone else. And, if nobody in the organization has the ability, then get outside help.
I’m a developer. I worked at OneGreatFamily a couple of years ago. Using my SEO and Omniture skills, I nearly tripled their daily subscriptions. I don’t believe they’ve improved that number at all since I left 2 years ago despite internal marketing and development efforts as well as outside “consulting”. Bottom line: it is the individual, not the job title IMO.
Left by Sean Roylance on 02/10/2007