Stop using “Click Here” in your link text

Posted in Commentary, Helpful Tips, Interactive, interactive marketing, Rants by

Just a quick public service announcement reminding my fellow digital marketing and communication professionals: there was a time and place to use “click here” for your link text, and that time has passed.

1. Not everyone is using a device that requires them to click a mouse
2. Your site design should give clear cues to users when they should be clicking – through link text color, underlines, or other graphic clues
3. Contextual link text makes your web copy easier to read and helps with search engine optimization

::hops off soap box::

The future is cool, yet blotchy and with a British accent

Posted in Commentary, Interactive, technology by

Have you been to the Orange Future Self micro site yet? I have and this is what I saw.

20 years in the future, courtesy of Orange

20 years in the future, courtesy of Orange

For Orange’s 20th anniversary, the European telecom company uses some futuristic technology to take your photo via webcam, scan your facial features, and then serve up an avatar you can talk to via microphone or chat widget, all with the aim of giving you a little optimism about the future.

I first stumbled upon it via DigiDay and while it’s an incredible user experience, I didn’t learn a single thing about Orange, and there was no call to action to interact with the company any farther.

My biggest takeaway? Invest in some moisturizer today, for a brighter future tomorrow.

Just Updated – Links Page

Posted in advertising, Career, Helpful Tips, Interactive, interactive marketing, Random but Fun, social media, technology by

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but I have good news!

If you want to read all the things I read instead of updating my own blog, please check out my Links page for St. Louis marketing sites, digital marketing industry blogs, and other sites that I enjoy reading when I’m not at work, school or asleep.

WTH is LOB?

Posted in Commentary, Rants by

This is a post about acronyms and how I don’t like them.

Today I was looking at a report that had a page of charts with the term LOB all over it. LOB is a new acronym for me. So, I did what anyone would do in this case – I Googled it.

According to Acronym Finder, there are 33 different definitions of LOB.

How is this a useful acronym for people to use? I’m still not sure which version the author meant in the original report. Based on context, I think it probably stood for line of business. But who knows, it could stand for Loaf Of Bread or Lazy Old B*stard.

One of my favorite acronym stories comes from my first job. My coworker used to be in the Army and we were working on a government contract, trying to decipher all of the acronyms the organization used. He told me that in the Army, they referred to cars that the soldiers owned themselves as “POVs” or Personally Owned Vehicles. So, yes, instead of calling something a one syllable word like car or truck, it became the three-syllable POV.
Sometimes acronyms can be a bunch of BS, or if you prefer, a Load Of Bull.

I feel honored…

Posted in Uncategorized by

…to be in the top 5% most-viewed profiles on LinkedIn.

How does that old saying go… “You’re one in a million!” Except that there are 200 million LinkedIn profiles. And I am one in ten million.

I mean, I’m not even that good at math and I know that it’s not special.

There are 313,914,040 people living in the US. 6,021,988 live in Missouri. If I were trying to be all elitist, I could just share with my colleagues, friends and family on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook that: “I am one of the top 1.9% of Missourians living in the US!”

So sorry to the other 99% of Americans who don’t live in Missouri and my apologies to the other 95% of LinkedIn users who didn’t get a dumb email to blog about.

Hairspray on the dry erase board, who knew?

Posted in Helpful Tips, Random but Fun by

We all do it from time to time, leaving dry erase marker on the dry erase board too long. Then when the time comes, no matter how hard to try to wipe it off, the marker will not come off. Spraying water on it is futile.

Google to the rescue!

I searched “how to clean dry erase board stains” and found a tutorial that said to first try 1 part vinegar/3 parts water. I sprayed it on and scrubbed with a rag. It maybe removed 40% of the marker. In school, 40% is still an F.

The next step on the tutorial said to spray hairspray on the dry erase board, wait a few seconds, then wipe it off with a paper towel. SUCCESS!

Afterwards, I just wiped the board clean with a damp rag to remove the stickiness.

The secret to the hair spray success is its alcohol content. I would also venture to say that the tackiness also helps pick up the marker off the board.

So next time you accidentally leave the marker on the board too long, you can impress your coworkers with this little secret. You’re welcome.

 

Testing 1, 2, 3!

Posted in Uncategorized by

Quick post tonight to relish in the glory that is live A/B testing. Sorry if it’s nerdy of me, but I’m really excited to be working on projects that involve live A/B testing. As to not skew any results, I won’t say any more. But I will go clear my cookies and click my favorites over and over again…. just kidding!