I know, I know… Technology can be frustrating! Unfortunately, when faced with techie issues that many users do not understand, they many times choose to trivialize these critical issues in the guise of then not having to deal with them. I see it every day.

At least once each week I want to throw something at or kick my computer. Either it isn’t behaving as I would like or I am learning something new that is challenging me. At the end of the day, however, I never choose the path of least resistance or minimize issues I know to be important simply because I don’t want to deal with them.

For e-mail, your most important and guarded information relies on your password being unique to you and not known to others. Even in a business environment, outside of the IT gal or guy, no one but the user should have access to other’s passwords.

Think about it… If everyone had the same password for their account, what would prevent a disgruntled or even curious employee from tapping into management or accounting department e-mails? Nothing! That is why password security is in place and should be handled appropriately.

Because your company is techno-challenged does not mean you ignore these issues (or become belligerent or accusatory) because you don’t want to deal with them. The truth be told, what you aren’t dealing with at that point is the compromise of your business’s security.

Internal and external threats abound. If you haven’t had to deal with any yet in no way negates their existence. Unique, secure and protected passwords are essential for any company’s network security. To think otherwise is simply naive.

At your service,
Judith

I recently read about the top viral marketing tactics used by B2C (Business to Consumer) marketers in the U.S. and thought I would share those with you today.

What this survey indicates is “sticky” features that allow visitors to do something at your site works.

91% Encouraging E-mail Forwarding
80% Tell-A-Friend Boxes on Sites
69% Online Games, Quizzes and Polls
54% Cool Microsites
47% Offereing e-Cards
46% Video Clips
29% Audio Clips

Source: MarketingSherpa

This is interactive technology folks — use it!

At your service,
Judith

I get asked all the time about ways to put articles on your site without having to write them. With that I first advise my clients to write their own articles. Doing so will then reflect their personality and expertise, thereby soft-selling their skills and giving folks a reason to want to do business with them over their perceived competitors.

That said, there are always those who would rather buy than produce and when it comes to buying articles one has to be very leery about the source. There are tons of sheisters out there (just as with most things online) who are trying to tap into those who want short cuts.

Many of these services are selling articles that are either very poor quality (which will reflect on you), or they have no right to sell the articles because they do not have the author’s permission and have just copied them from other sites and modified them slightly.

By not seriously investigating who you get your content from, you risk copyright infringement complaints if the original author finds out. And, believe me — they can find out. Being an author myself, I have Google alerts setup to notify me if my writings show up online without my knowledge.

Your best bet is to make the time and to write your own material based on what you know your customers want and what you know about best. That way you can’t go wrong and it is time well spent!

If you want a credible and reliable resource for articles, check out EzineArticles.com. They do a great job of making sure legitimate and quality articles are provided for you to use (as long as you give credit to the authors per their instructions.) You can also learn a great deal about article writing dos and don’ts as well as how to get yourself motivated to write your own articles at the EzineArticles Blog. Check it out and get writing!

At your service,
Judith