This is a little off-topic for me. But I came across this site that talked about prostate cancer symptoms and I just wanted to share it here.

Few years ago, my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Fortunately, it was detected really early and he managed to recover fully. He had one relapse which was captured almost immediately during his 6-monthly reviews. Past few years, all have been well. I know that many people do not like to talk about such negative stuff, but as someone who has had a brush with this disease, I would say that all information about it is important.

This link about prostate cancer symptoms is good because it is quite easy to understand. One of the most important line in there is “The early stages of prostate cancer generally show no symptoms.” A full medical check up is important. If you are over 40 years of age and have never done one, do so.

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NOTE: You can also read about Stroke Risk Factors over at my friend’s blog: Stroke Risk Factors

Technorati Tags: prostate cancer, cancer symptoms, prostate cancer symptoms

OK, finally, here is a nice, practical treatment of the whole “click here” discussion which have been going on in my head - Text Links, Contextual Meaning and Your Users. Head on over to Ben’s “Are You Using the Five Types of Links Properly?” where he skillfully talks about the various types of links and how you should or should not be using them.

Frankly, this is a much more logical and practical approach then merely debating the rights and wrongs of “click here“. If you are even remotely interested, read his post.

Technorati Tags: seo, click here, anchor text, links

I did not expect this to be so interesting a discussion when I penned the my post “What does SEO and clicking links got in common?” based on Phil’s “Click Here - It’s Not About SEO!” post. But for sure, it is a fascinating topic at several levels.

Indeed, the Web has moved on from the early days where “clicking” and “double-click” were terms that could get you kicked into the Geek Room. Like Yucca Korpela stated in his article - “Why “Click here” is bad linking practice“, assuming that users did not know what to do when encountering a link is no longer a valid argument. He went on to illustrate the useless-ness of “click here” with examples of browsers that automatically generates a list of links. Frankly, I have no idea why anyone would want to do that, but then again, some people actually eat their greens; so…

Referencing Yucca’s article might not be very relevant in 2007 as it was written in 2002. Five years is eternity in Internet time. I believe that today, “click here” is no more or no less a phrase that can be used by anyone. Just like “take this” or “take that”.

Somehow, I still get the feeling that we are all approaching this from an extremely mechanical, technical point of view. After all, we do not communicate with each other in keywords. Nor do normal people talk in sound bites. So, if “click here” taken out of context means nothing, so what? I can think of a million words taken out of context to mean nothing… or a lot.

“Take this.” - what? a punch? present? $100?
“Oh, lovely.” - what? someone left pooh on the floor? your neighbour’s dog? new dress?
“Grab it!” - ok, I will not go there…

But I hope that I made my point. Any phrase, no matter how meaningful in context, means nothing out of it. “Click here” is not the problem. Taking things out of context is. Some claim that “click here” looks silly on paper. Well, it certainly should. Grab a newspaper, oh ancient one!

If I were to be asked to write an article, I think one of the first things that I would need to know is - who is asking me to write it. If the Wall Street Journal asked me to write a piece for their front page, I certainly won’t say “click here”. But if MSN featured my article on their web site, I will send an email to the whole world and scream “CLICK HERE!!!”

In the end, it is the communications that has to take place. Whether or not you choose to use “click here” or some other anchor text, it should be within reasonable flow of your piece. Many times, there will be better alternatives. But there will be times when you just want to tell people “Now that you know - CLICK HERE!”

What do you think?

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Technorati Tags: SEO, contextual links, user interface

Somehow, when we get onto the Internet, there seems to be a sudden shift in our mentality. We want it all for free. It’s good to get things free. But sometimes, there are consequences.

When it comes to your business, I don’t believe that scrimping is the way to go. Prudence, yes; scrimping for the sake of soothing your miserly side is really not the wisest option. If you are doing an online business, then a shopping cart becomes a key component of your operations. Do not be misled, not all ecommerce software are created equal. For sure, there are good software out there that are free. But unless you fully appreciate the technology and all it implies, your quest for free software could land you into a situation where you will need to spend a lot more to get it right.

Among all the various pieces of the puzzle, I would suggest that your shopping cart software might be one of the most critical decision. I took a quick look at Ashopcommerce and it seems to be a fairly comprehensive solution for an online store. I particularly liked that they had integration with MYOB and QuickBooks, which most small businesses use.

There is a 10-day free trial option which is quite ideal for you to test out the software. But more importantly, it will allow to put their service to the test. When running a business, prompt response to your questions and quick resolution to your problems should rank really high in your selection criteria. Use the 10 days to find out if the company is responsive. When you are spending money, it is always wise to check.

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Technorati Tags: shopping cart, ecommerce software, shopping cart software, online store

I just read a very interesting post over at Phil’s blog where he wrote about “Click Here - It’s Not About SEO!“.

In the early days of the Internet, everywhere you went, you saw “click here“. The idea then was that since everything was so new, people did not really know what to do, so you had to tell them - authoritatively. I guess that was what Brian was referring to in his opening paragraph of “Does Telling Someone to “Click Here” Actually Matter?“. Over time, many things have changed, but you still see “click here” everywhere. Why?

In a world where SEO matters, contextual links increases rankings and jaded surfers rule, does “click here” still work? Sometimes, we analyse too much. If you are not reading a page, seeing “click here” will not entice you to click. But if you were reading, does not “click here” make sense in context? Or if you were just lazily surfing around, and you see “click here” then you shrug and say, “Why not?”.

Too many people today surf the web with “intentions”. They are either Internet Marketers trying out new stuff, or Internet Gurus over-seeing their domains (pun intended), or wannabe get-rich-now people like me! Seems like the days of surfing for the sheer pleasure of discovering new things just don’t cut it anymore. There are way too many sites now. Heck, even random surfing has been institutionalized by Stumble Upon! Aaarrggghhh! Can you say “regulated window shopping”?

For anyone not initiated into the world of split testing, SEO, link relevancy and such, does “click here” work better or “visit me now” make a significant difference? Do they care?

They don’t. But you do. You the marketer. You the wanna-get-rich-online-now kindred soul of mine. We care.

For me, I have an opinion (don’t we all…) and that opinion is that people will click on a link if:

• they know it’s a link
• they want to know about whatever it is they were reading

Sure, with great keyword relevant links or psychologically primed colored links or any other mechanisms, you can increase the clicks. But right at the bottom of it all, are your readers pulled in by what you write. If not, they would be long gone before they can get to “click here“.

Technorati Tags: SEO, contextual links, user interface

When you are in the Marketing business, sometimes, image is everything. But how can you impress if your office is only large enough for your 2 desks and you need to go on diet just to get to the fax machine?

How about using a professional organisation that can provide high end office rentals as well as a Conference Room Rental for those critical meetings? A conference room with all the facilities could be just the final touch to your winning presentation.

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Technorati Tags: book publishers, books, author, self publish

After all the posts about toxic toys, massive recalls and other exciting developments, here is a nice little post about how you can make your own play dough that is not only non-toxic, it can actually be edible. But of course, no sugar, so I doubt if you would eat it. But I thought this would be a nice post to share, after all the negative news about toxic toys. For those who are not aware, you can read the other posts on toxic toys.

Technorati Tags: mattel, toys, thomas the tank engine, play doh, play dough, non toxic toys

This post is for the kids!

read more | digg story

When I was a child, I thought that if you wrote well and had a cute twist of phrase, you would become a famous author one day, it was natural.

Unfortunately, when I grew up, I realised that the world was made up of business people who minded more about making money than whether that book was a true expression of self. Welcome to the world of Book Publishers. Fortunately, the world today is much different from the one where I grew up in. This is the modern age where you can publish your own books. MY BOOK, MY WAY. Is that cool or what?

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Technorati Tags: book publishers, books, author, self publish

Marketing Strategy is probably one of the most insulted of all terms. Just because a company has an advertising plan for the year or have its promotions lined up 6 months ahead, they call it their marketing strategy.

Sometimes,marketing professionals fall into this trap in their excitement to sell their ideas. After all, a “strategy” sounds so much more cool than a mere marketing plan. When you have a strategy, it must be backed by an excellent execution plan.

To gain 5% market share is a strategy (one element of it only, I hope!). To have national advertising and a direct marketing program, is execution. Without a clear strategic objective all the grand plans would be nothing more than the mindless gyrations of a huge marketing budget. Lots of things happening, but will not get you anywhere. For a small business, this becomes even more crucial.

The strategy of a small business needs to be more aggressive, more focused. And the execution of that strategy needs almost pin-point precision. You don’t have a penny to waste. This is where a good marketing agency comes in. Do not imagine for a moment that you can just “wing it”. A start-up might have no choice. But once your business is off the ground and you are shooting for some real growth, get together with professionals. They can help you achieve your goals much faster.

Take time to find your marketing partner. It is not just the glitzy presentations and pitches that an agency makes - you need concrete evidence. The guiding principle here is this: don’t use an advertising agency that is 10 times bigger than you are, and don’t use one that has no domain knowledge of your industry/market.

Too huge an agency and you will not be on their A-list. You will get the kind attentions of the big wigs during the pitch, and you never see them again, except, maybe when it comes time to renew. A smaller agency is good. But if your account is more than 50% of their size, then again, be wary. Can they scale and grow with your business? Maybe they can. Talk to them. Find out about the people behind the company. When you are a small business, relationships are the most important. My friend Vivienne over at Versa Creations wrote a nice little post on “4 Great Tips to Selecting The Best Marketing or Advertising Agency“. You should read it.

Technorati Tags: marketing plan, advertising, advertising agency, marketing agency

When you embark on an advertising campaign, many small business owners believe that they can go out and buy their own media and save on the agency costs. Usually, this is only true if there is some mis-communications between the company and the agency. It is quite unthinkable that ad-hoc media buying can be more efficient and effective than professional media buying.

An agency that specializes in media buying is going to have bulk deals, demographics and other information that most other people, who are not insiders, will not have. If you over-spend on media, it is usually a case of poor planning or getting carried away by grand visions. A good agency should be able to advise on the optimal media spend. Cheap media buys usually hide the reasons why they are cheap. Unless you are in the know, it will be hard for you to tell genuine buying opportunities from lame sales tactics.

Seriously, don’t try it on your own.

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Technorati Tags: media buying, advertising, advertising agency

A few years ago, I had the privilege, or perhaps, some might say, the misfortune; of being selected to go out of the country to set up a subsidiary office for my employer. It was almost two years away from my family. I do not know if you have ever experienced this, but I can tell you, it’s not pleasant.

Now, if I could have known about the possibility of getting a picture blanket, that might have made my stint away a little less miserable. Oh well, that was then. Today, you have the opportunity to use this also as an excellent going-away gift for friends and loved ones.

I have an idea! Let them bring one to college of you frowning at them, that way, you can be there too!

Technorati Tags: bedding, personal gifts, photo blanket, picture blanket

For all those who are going it on their own, one of the biggest hurdles when starting your own business is your logo. But everyone knows that a logo is one of the most important communications tool for the long term. But if you do not have a rich uncle, where are you going to find money to get a nice logo done?

Here is a patent pending process by www.logoyes.com that will enable you to design your own logo. They will step you through a series of easy point and click steps and end up with a professional-looking, fairly customized logo of your very own. It’s quite a good experience. There is an option for you to try it for free! If you are in the market for a logo, this is one option.

Of course, if you have the cash, getting an experienced logo designer adds much to the overall impact. But I tried it and created something really quickly, and I must say, it seems quite cool. And lots of fun too! Just take a look at the results.

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Technorati Tags: logo design, DIY logo, patent pending