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links for 2010-12-29

  • CSS3 is truly amazing. It gives web designers the ability to create flexible and easily reusable design elements, and reduces our reliance on images and graphics editors. This is a guide shows you how to create stylish social media buttons using CSS3, HTML, and some freely available social media icons.
  • Although it’s common for agents to use social media platforms, very few actually leverage the technology to its full potential. With literally thousands of social networking sites to choose from, it can be a little overwhelming to choose the right one. The big three are obviously Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. To put things into perspective, Facebook houses half a billion members while Twitter holds 75 million and LinkedIn boasts 80 million. Each of the groups is growing at an astounding rate, but not every platform is suitable for business purposes. In a recent study conducted by NetProspex, it was found that 43 percent of employees at the largest companies in America use LinkedIn while 11 percent use Facebook and 3 percent use Twitter. Facebook and Twitter are generally geared for personal use while LinkedIn is 100 percent business. LinkedIn has proven to be a powerful resource for businesses, but even more so for channel partners.
  • FontsMadeEasy.com is a fonts download and view tool that helps people to choose and download a new font.
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    links for 2010-12-28

  • If I were going to launch a blog this very moment, and if my intention was to start from zero and re-create the success I’ve enjoyed on this blog… hm. I guess my first move would be to get a domain name.
  • For Fireworks, there are countless extensions, that expand the program allowing additional web & screen design functions
  • Yahoo, which earned $1.6 billion in revenue last quarter, is “sunsetting” Delicious because the unprofitable acquisition “is not a strategic fit“. The tech and blogger community, along with Delicious fans, are crying ‘no.’ Michael Arrington says Yahoo is in “absolute disarray“. Even though Yahoo’s Delicious home page says it’s “the biggest collection of bookmarks in the universe”, many most internet users have probably never heard of the social bookmarking site. So, what’s the big deal? Forget all the PR blunders for a moment and the significant damage its done to consumer confidence. Here’s why it matters. Yahoo bought Delicious in 2005. At the time, a post on the Delicious blog said: We’re proud to announce that del.icio.us has joined the Yahoo! family. Together we’ll continue to improve how people discover, remember and share on the Internet, with a big emphasis on the power of community. We’re excited to be working with the Yahoo! Search team
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    links for 2010-12-06

  • In this tutorial, I will start and finish a logo while documenting the entire process. I encourage you to open up photoshop and follow every step, it will help you learn a lot more than just reading it.
  • This is the time of year that many of us are thinking about what we didn’t do in 2010 and what we should do for 2011. Even professional online marketers have a long ‘to do’ list of things to improve their online marketing performance – made up of tasks to specifically improve ROI or something to save time and improve efficiency. For those of you that are doing your own online marketing, this sort of tasks may be way down on your list, way below items more specifically related to your business. These are the types of tasks that may not be ‘sexy’ and fun, which is why they are easily ‘put on the long finger’ (as they say in Ireland), but are critical to bring the best results from your online marketing activities.
  • I hope you had a blast fine-tuning your blog with testimonials last week. It’s really encouraging to hear that some are trying out the methods, can’t wait to receive more feedbacks on that! In the mean time, I will be sharing few more practical ways to display testimonials (and portfolio) on your LinkedIn and Facebook Page! Now there are definitely limitations comparing to working on a self-hosted blog because application is the main key. Not the best of plans but hopefully you can be inspired by this post and work out creative ways to promote your brand:
  • Today is the first page in a new chapter of our mission to improve access to the cultural and educational treasures we know as books. Google eBooks will be available in the U.S. from a new Google eBookstore. You can browse and search through the largest ebooks collection in the world with more than three million titles including hundreds of thousands for sale. Find the latest bestsellers like James Patterson’s Cross Fire and Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, dig into popular reads like Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken and catch up on the classics like Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Gulliver’s Travels.
  • Search operators in Google help you refine and improve search results. For instance, a query like “Taj Mahal AND Hotel” will search for pages related to the Hotel Taj and not the Mughal monument. Similarly, “kindle -site:amazon.com” will find all Kindle related resources outside the Amazon website. This Google cheat sheet [PDF] has a nice overview of all the popular search operators that are supported in Google. Other than this “official” list, Google also supports an undocumented search operator called AROUND(n) that will help you find documents where the distance between two search terms is around ‘n.’
  • Looking for an alternative to the Windows native Windows Media Player? If yes, then look no further; fortunately for you we have gathered a list of 7 great audio players for people running Windows computers. Find the players detailed below and check out which one will suit you best.
  • Google today unveiled its long-rumored entry into the e-book sales world, not called Google Editions, as was previously speculated, but a more anonymous-sounding Google eBooks. The basic idea is to provide an entirely web-based e-book platform accessible from any device with a browser. The business model they’ve opted for is slightly less centralized than the competition, but not quite the distributed seller network I envisioned last week. My wool-gathering regarding the decentralization of the e-book store model are all in that post, so we’ll just focus on the particulars of eBooks service for now. One quick note: I’m going to continue to use the term “e-book,” though the service has opted to drop the hyphen. Like so many new tech-related phrases, the word and its relatives have yet to settle into a single standardized form.
  • Google eBooks is all about choice, so you can use just about any device you own to read any book, anywhere.
  • Google's thrown open the doors to an online bookstore stocked with over 3 million titles, which you can store and read in the cloud as if they were Gmail messages. Google's also offering free reading apps for Android and iOS devices. Beyond Android and iOS, Google's eBookstore supports Nook, Sony readers, and other devices, as well as offering straight-up access through the web. Other retailers, like Powell's, will offer Google's eBookstore offerings for sale, and Google claims it will offer "unlimited storage" of your purchases, with your page progress synced across everything. Google's made an effort to offer up lots of modern, popular books at reasonable price, but there are also a lot of free books in the collection, culled from Google's scanning of more than 15 million items in library archives. A video demonstration of Google's new Books and eBookstore is available, but it's neither playing nor embeddable for us—we'll update soon.
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    links for 2010-11-30

  • Three day work week! Woohoo! Now, what are you going to do with all of that free time? Sure, you’ll probably get in the regular Turkey/Shopping/Football Thanksgiving activities, but here’s a few more ideas from The Loud Few if you are in St. Louis over the holiday.
  • After your Google Apps accounts are converted, your users will have access to most Google products. Previously, many Google products — such as Blogger, Reader, and Picasa Web Albums — were available only in personal (consumer) Google Accounts. See the list below for which Google products are accessible to users for use with accounts on your domain. Note that this list is subject to change without notice, and that not all products are available in all areas.
  • Digital marketing is gaining traction in a number of industries, and business-to-business (B2B) marketers are in on that trend, too. Increased spending on online marketing is driving companies to try new and innovative means of getting the word out about their products and services — one area that’s getting a lot of buzz with B2B marketers is social media. The following five case studies lend insight into how B2B marketers can use social media to generate leads, create specialized communities, improve SEO, become knowledge sources, and strengthen marketing campaigns. Let us know how your brand uses social media for B2B marketing in the comments below.
  • At noon on November 13, 2010 unsuspecting shoppers got a surprise while enjoying their lunch. A flash mob singing the Hallelujah Chorus!
  • Irvin Kershner, director of the best Star Wars film, has died at 87 in LA. Kershner also directed such genre hits as the Bond flick Never Say Never Again and Robocop 2, and the cult favorite TV series Seaquest DSV.
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    links for 2010-11-24

  • Starting a new web design project, even when you have someone else actually doing the design and coding for you, can be an intimidating proposition. If your company does not have an existing website you are likely wondering “Where do I start?” If you have an existing website it makes the task a bit easier – but your objective is to bring a fresh perspective, so you don’t want to rely on what you already have too much. The more you can understand about your objectives and be prepared to communicate these objectives to the web design agency building your website, the better the final product will be. At the Loud Few, we work with many clients in St. Louis and throughout the world to meet their web design and online marketing objectives. Regardless if you are working with us, another agency, or a group within your company, here’s a checklist of areas to think about when starting a website design project: Read more: The Loud Few – How to Prep for Your Web Design Project
  • As the sole e-commerce manager for my company, I’m tasked with developing and implementing plans with goals to increase: revenue, customers, transactions, average sale value, referrals, and feedback. Each of these metrics are, bottom-line, sales objectives. To put it simply: we aim to increase business. There are so many tactics and activities used in e-commerce it can be overwhelming. You want a strategy to reach your audience, ensure your store converts into buyers, and foster these new relationships. Leveraging each steps of the sales process effectively against your resources (time and budget) is what will raise the bar on your goals. What we need is a simple, surefire way to manage all of our marketing tactics. I like simple, and it is our company culture to cut out waste. With those ideals in mind, here is a series I developed to help you strategize, prioritize, manage, and measure all elements of your your own e-commerce marketing plan.
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    links for 2010-11-22

  • I've had this issue as long as I can remember – Adwords and Google accounts collide. If you are an intense user of both, you know what I'm talking about. It is a great mystery why Google invests so much money in developing magnificent products that generate 0 revenue, and the one product that brings in all of its revenue – adWords – remains a step child. It is the only product that works really badly with the whole Google single-signon system. To take just one small example – the password strength requirement is different in AdWords. AdWords requires a stronger password, so if you attempt to sign up for a new Adwords account, your good ol' password from your Google account may not be strong enough. Anyways, that's enough whining for one post. The reason I'm writing it is to explain how I finally got all my logins lined up without getting thrown from one account to another unexpectedly or getting logged out in the middle of writing an email.
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    links for 2010-11-17

  • If you’re one of the countless small business owners who have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon, we have two things to say to you: congratulations and beware. Even big companies, like MacDonald’s, get flamed for their Twitter missteps, reminding us all that social media can be a free for all where good intentions sometimes go terribly wrong. It’s tough to navigate this world when so much is out of your control, but there are elements of your social media strategy that you can and must manage. I recently spoke to Ryan Holmes, the CEO of Vancouver-based HootSuite, a popular social media dashboard for groups, who offered five tips for tweeting entrepreneurs.
  • The Loud Few is an interactive marketing agency focused on delivering measurable results through the smart execution of user experience and digital marketing strategy.
  • Comprehensive analysis of the Twitter user experience in the iTunes App Store showed very plainly that people were looking for an app from Twitter—we didn't have one so they generally got confused and gave up. Obviously, we saw room for improvement. Starting today, Twitter for iPhone and iPod touch is available for free on the iTunes App Store. Loren, Leland, and the rest of the Mobile team have artfully crafted an application that takes the Twitter experience to a whole new level of awesomeness. We hope you'll love it like we do. Something worth noting is that you don't need a Twitter account to enjoy this application. Browsing trends, reading Top Tweets, finding popular users, and checking out public tweets geographically nearby are all possible immediately upon download. Discovery and consumption of interesting, relevant information is a central focus. However, quick and easy signup exists within the application so new users won't need to visit our web site to create an account.
  • Earlier this year we launched a Google Voice HTML5 web app for iPhone users. Today we’re taking the Google Voice experience on the iPhone to a whole new level with the launch of the official Google Voice for iPhone app. With this native app, you’ll continue to have access to all the major Google Voice features on your iPhone, like: Cheap rates for international calls Free text messaging to U.S. numbers Voicemail transcription Display your Google Voice number as caller ID when making calls In addition to these benefits, the app provides some features that make using Google Voice on your iPhone a much better experience: With push notifications, the app will alert you instantly when you receive a new voicemail or text message Most of your calls will be placed via Direct Access Numbers, making them connect just as quickly as regular phone calls
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    links for 2010-11-06

  • For over thirty years one iconic villain has reigned in the dark corners of so many hearts mdash; and not just of those who proudly parade beneath the banner of sci-fi junkies. Darth Vader has transcended the page and screen to live on in ways most characters will never achieve; but then again, most characters do not have command over the power of the force like the dark Sith Lord does. So when you are looking for a dose of inspiration from the darker areas of the imagination, turning to the artwork inspired by the face of the dark side is a fantastic way to go.
  • Below I’ve laid out a plan for you to find profitable niche markets, produce content, and monetize a niche blog that will make you money every month. And we’re going to do this using completely free and available information on Amazon.com and a little insight from Google. This guide, as well as the niche, are my gift to the person who wants it most. Let’s make money in 2011! Follow these methods outlined below, and with some practice and patience under your belt, I promise you will be producing great content that ranks well in Google, informs consumers about the products they are searching for, and refers them directly to Amazon where you’ll get a cut of the sale.
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    links for 2010-10-23

  • In honor of Banned Books Week, Geekosystem's Susana Polo looks at 10 great science fiction novels that have been banned, or at least threatened with removal from libraries and schools. Including some major classics of the genre! These titles are among the most popular and beloved science fiction works of the last century. They've told us how bad the future might be before we get there, how free you can be if you don't follow blind belief, and that children are perfectly capable of digesting some pretty heavy concepts, actually. But they've all been banned or threatened with banning.
  • Welcome to Damp Gnat's MICROPUTT FREE to play and FREE to host on your own website. Engage visitors with your brand in a fun and tactile way! Customise and add your own LINKS and TEXT to the game. Visitors drive TRAFFIC to your game page with Facebook Share. Or SPONSOR a hole and drive TRAFFIC to your site from Adverputt. Read our FAQ for instructions on hosting the game
  • Games might not yet be recognized as art but they are increasingly being used to explore the kind of deep themes that were previously the preserve of artists and philosophers.
  • After years of breathless anticipation, Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" is finally a go. Though which continent the assuredly massive production will take place on is still up in the air, the cast list has been announced. Click ahead to see who's going to journey to the Lonely Mountain and battle Smaug the dragon.
  • CSS is the fundamental way of styling our web pages. Its deceptively easy syntax allows us to do many things to affect the visual layer of our work. And especially with CSS3, the language has gotten even more powerful. There are many useful CSS techniques and tricks out there for you to take advantage of. This is a collection of a few useful CSS snippets that you might want to keep in your toolkit.
  • We teamed up with some of our favorite designers to create stunning email templates anyone can use. You don't need to know a thing about design or programming to use them. Just plug in your content and you're all set. And the best part? They're completely free for all MailChimp customers with paid accounts.
  • When it comes to SEO, there are certain elements that need to be in place for any newly-designed or updated website. Have 301 redirects been put into place? Is the robots.txt file authored to allow adequate crawling? This infographic depicts a handy checklist that will help get you through any new site launch or transition.
  • YouTube has earned a reputation for featuring brain cell-slaughtering fare such as the truly abysmal Fred and playing host to the some of the most depressingly stupid comments this side of Yahoo! News. But for every participant liberally dishing out misspelled racist, sexist and homophobic talking points, there is at least one whose channel genuinely offers something provocative and educational. For teachers hoping to infuse multimedia into their classrooms, YouTube makes for an excellent starting point. Plenty of universities, nonprofits, organizations, museums and more post videos for the cause of education both in and out of schools. The following list compiles some of the ones most worthy of attention, as they feature plenty of solid content appealing to their respective audiences and actively try to make viewers smarter.
  • In this guide, we will cover an incredibly great feature of WordPress: Custom taxonomy. Custom WordPress taxonomies give you unprecedented power in the way you can categorize and relate your WordPress content with each other. Though WordPress taxonomies were introduced in WordPress 2.3, it has been revamped in WordPress 3.0 for WordPress developers. Recently, we had looked at creating custom WordPress post types in the WordPress custom posts guide, and to further our command of WordPress 3.0 site and theme development, we’re going to now discuss custom taxonomies.
  • Today we are glad to release a Payment Icon Set, a set with 18 payment icons in PNG format, in the resolutions 32×32px — 128×128px. This set was designed by Phil Matthews and released especially for Smashing Magazine and its readers. The icons are inteded to be used on e-commerce websites where you can show what types of payment the shop accepts. Each icon comes in curved and straight edge variations. As usual, the set is free to use in private and commercial projects — no credit is required.
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    links for 2010-10-03

  • A couple of days ago I noticed one of my apps was producing an usually high amount of revenue via ads. When something like that happens I'm really interested in finding what's causing it. So first thing I did was logging in to AdMob and examining the reports for this application. This is what I found:
  • The table below shows the 104 elements currently in the HTML5 working draft and two proposed elements (marked with an asterisk).
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