ToddGaber.com

Professional Social Identity

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:03:05 -0500

Social Media has created a revolutionary method of generating relationships with consumers from around the globe. As a business or professional it is imperative that you present an identity that reflects your level of stature. Here are a few quick tips to ensure your identity is reflective of your products/services.

Separate your social life from your professional social networking accounts. Your followers do not need to accidentally be exposed to embarrassing text, photos or videos.
Keep your content relevant; pick a subject and stick to it.
Engage your followers; let them challenge your professional knowledge by asking them questions. Position your identity as a credible one.
Choose your followers wisely; those who provide negative social interactions should be blocked.
Remember; the Internet is Forever. What you post now will be accessible forever. This could have a negative impact later on; make sure to think before you post.

Secure Online Shopping

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:05:06 -0500

I just recently watched a buyer beware story on CNN; it was about how not to get scammed during the holidays. I think that it’s a good idea for me to focus on a few things that you should do when making purchases online.

When entering credit card information make sure to check if the website is secure; an easy way to do this is look at the URL of the current page. Look for “https://” this will ensure you are on a secure website. Browsers usually display a lock to confirm this.
Do your research about the seller; make sure you have looked for customer reviews via Google to determine wether or not the online store is credible.
Make sure to watch your credit card statements after an online purchase. If there are any strange charges appearing you should contact your credit card immediately before your credit is compromised.
Read the websites Terms of Service. Often you will be able to pick out scams by reading the fine print.
Participate within review sections of the website; consumer feedback can help everyone in the future.

The Power of CSS3

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:08:00 -0500

Just wanted to share some links to demonstrate the abilities of CSS3. Click on the images to view demos.

3D Cube That Rotates Using Keyboard Arrow Keys

Analogue Clock

Multiple 3D Cubes (Slide on Hover)

CSS3 Animation - (No JS or Flash)

Minimalistic Design

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

I just wanted to demonstrate some versions of minimalistic web design; keeping clean organized page structure can really help your content. Less is more! Content should not get lost in the design; your products/services need to be visible in order for you to make sales.

HTML5 or Mobile App?

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Do you want to attract a higher traffic rate of mobile customers? Without spending thousands on device specific application development? In this post I want to look at the advantages of HTML5 over mobile application development.

Disadvantages of Mobile Applications

Device specific, this means you have to create multiple applications to reach your entire audience. eg. You would need an app for Android, OS5, Blackberry and Windows.
Extremely expensive as each application can cost thousands of dollars

Advantages of HTML5

One set of code can function across all devices
Cost effective
With Javascript we can create the illusion of a mobile application —> DEMO HERE

Is your site mobile ready?

The Real Cost of Social Marketing

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:01:08 -0500

The Real Cost of Social Marketing

History of Social Networking. A document I created for a...

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:40:00 -0500

History of Social Networking. A document I created for a research project at Vancouver Island University.

Open Source eCommerce

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Today I want to talk about an open source ecommerce solution I came across when implementing a store for one of my clients. I spent alot of time searching for a free and efficient software that could speed up processing transactions. Thankfully I found Open Cart; its an open source PHP store management system which is fully customizable and very fast.

The store is not live yet but here are some of the features that Open Cart offers.

Unlimited Categories
Unlimited Products
Unlimited Manufacturers
Multi Currency
Multi Language
Product Reviews
Product Ratings
Open Source
Free Documentation
Templatable
Automatic Image Resize
20+ Payment Gateways
8+ Shipping Methods

Does your cart offer a CMS that provides product SEO, organizes orders, automatically contacts customers about purchase information, keeps client information, tracks analytical purchase data, differentiates popular products, provides easily printable invoice orders and is an overall online POS terminal.

Contact an accredited web designer today to boost your online sales efficiency and sales capability.

Why Use Twitter?

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:15:06 -0500

Here are a few reasons Twitter is an essential tool for your business; You can use it for the following reasons:

Instant News Feed
Communication Tool
Advertising
Promotion
Branding
Client Relations
Business Development
Finding Future Employees
Information Sharing
Search Engine Optimization

Ruby vs PHP lol

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:00:05 -0500

Ruby vs PHP lol

Are you on Youtube?

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:01:05 -0500

Did you know posting video’s online is another way to attract more traffic to your website?

Youtube is a free resource that you can utilize to promote a multimedia marketing experience for your customers. Here are a few quick examples of how creating promotional web videos can create more sales.

An Interactive View of Products and Services
Search Engine Optimization via back linking
Social Marketing via the Youtube Community
Cost Effective Video Promotion(Free Video Hosting)
Introduce your staff to add authenticity to your business
Provide informational video resources to promote yourself
Feedback via comments and # of views

Advertising with Facebook

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:03:05 -0400

Did you know Facebook is more than just a website to connect with friends? Facebook offers a wide range of marketing options to ensure you attract your desired target market. Here are a few things that Facebook can do for your business.

Pay Per Click Advertising(Only get charged if someone clicks on your Ad)
Set your Monthly Budget(Limit your Ad spending)
Target by Location
Target by Age
Target by Sex
Target by Interests
Target by Income

These tools can let you specify your exact demographic and afford you the opportunity to be on the most active website on the internet. A well structured online marketing strategy along with a monthly advertising allowance is one of the many building blocks to a successful business model.

Old video but amazing explanation of where we are going.

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:00:05 -0400

Old video but amazing explanation of where we are going.

Is Your Business Social?

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:00:05 -0400

Do you participate in online social networks? Here are a few things you might not know about what you can get out of social marketing.

Generate a large customer base through a modern word of mouth technique
Generate Instant customer feedback
Market Research by conducting polls or asking questions within your customer base
Free Advertising
Create brand awareness through cultural manufacturing
Increase Search Engine Optimization
Press Release Tool —> as an instant information resource
Networking for new customers, business affiliates and future employees
Global broadcast of your products/services which opens up an unlimited marketplace of new customers

Contract an online professional to create a social marketing plan to fit your business.

E-commerce

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over the Internet. It also includes the entire online process of developing, marketing, selling, payment processing, and delivering of products/services.

Does your business sell products or servies online? If so do you utilize systems that simplify the process by organizing information and automatically processing transactions?

It’s easy to sell products/services online; here are a few good tools to manage your online commerce.

Typography

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The visibility of text information is key to website success, if your customers can’t read your information they will not be interested in your product.

Quickly tell me which is easier to read?

Of course its the second one :D Light backgrounds with dark text have always been a successful medium to display content. Books have been doing it forever, why have some websites gone against a tried and true principal.

Also notice the structure of content as the focal view of the website; is your website content well organized? Do your color schemes provide an accessible format for all users to read your information? Something to think about when designing a more effective layout design.

Speed it Up

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Here are 5 quick tips to speed up your website!

Put Javascript files at the bottom of the page.
Optimize images for the web or even better loose the images and achieve style via CSS.
Minimize CSS and Javascript file sizes.
Combine Multiple CSS/Javascript files together.
Use CSS Sprites to limit the number of image files downloading on load.

Document Your Code

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Organized code will ensure for easy updating later on! Code should be treated as a language grammar and organization are keys to success; I think all programers should practice proper structuring to ensure clean code.

/*————————————- CSS Reset————————————-*/

/*————————————- Generic Classes————————————-*/

/*————————————- Layout styles————————————-*/

/*————————————- Section specific styles————————————-*/

Flash or JQuery?

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Flash and JQuery are technologies that provide animation to your website. Whats the difference and which is better? I’m sure I could argue pro’s and con’s about either all day but to simplify this process lets describe what they are and what I recommend.

As defined Online:

jQuery is a cross-browser JavaScript library designed to simplify the client-side scripting of HTML. It was released in January 2006 atBarCamp NYC by John Resig. Used by over 49% of the 10,000 most visited websites, jQuery is the most popular JavaScript library in use today.

jQuery is free, open source software, dual-licensed under the MIT License and the GNU General Public License, Version 2. jQuery’s syntax is designed to make it easier to navigate a document, select DOM elements, create animations, handle events, and develop Ajax applications. jQuery also provides capabilities for developers to create plug-ins on top of the JavaScript library. This enables developers to create abstractions for low-level interaction and animation, advanced effects and high-level, theme-able widgets. The modular approach to the jQuery framework allows the creation of powerful and dynamic web pages and web applications.

Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash) is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games andflash animations for broadcast. More recently, it has been positioned as a tool for “Rich Internet Applications” (“RIAs”).

Flash manipulates vector and raster graphics to provide animation of text, drawings, and still images. It supports bidirectional streaming of audio and video, and it can capture user input via mouse, keyboard, microphone, and camera. Flash contains an object-oriented language called ActionScript and supports automation via the Javascript Flash language (JSFL).

Flash content may be displayed on various computer systems and devices, using Adobe Flash Player, which is available free of charge for common web browsers, some mobile phones and a few other electronic devices (using Flash Lite).

Some users feel that Flash enriches their web experience, while others find the extensive use of Flash animation, particularly in advertising, intrusive and annoying, giving rise to a cottage industry that specializes in blocking Flash content. Flash has also been criticized for adversely affecting the usability of web pages.

Depending on the usage I always recommend JQuery over Flash as it is completely cross browser compliant and can preform faster as long as the implementation of code is clean & efficient.

Do you use either to improve your websites user design experience?

Are you Cross Browser Compatible?

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

What does cross browser compatibility mean? Web browsers are what we use to access the internet eg. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera. Not all computers are using the same software to access the internet. Each browser has its own way of reading the information which can result in a different output of content within each browser. Websites can be programmed so that they will always display content the same regardless of browser.

Is your website capable of displaying on computers old and new? Do you function properly on tablets & mobile devices? You can track browser/device usage statistics via analytics programs; from that information you can design your website according to your user populations. Ask your online marketing professional about cross browser compatibility today! Before you loose out on potential sales.