We are all guilty of this crime at different points in our career. We are working hard on multiple customers, there is no time. Deadlines and family take over our minds completely. We do not look up until it is too late, the world has changed, we are behind. Luckily there is a simple cure, force yourself to spend at least 30 minutes a day on current events in your industry.
In this world of instant information it is not a difficult task. Keeping up with your industry requires reading the web sites that best report on your field of expertise. Since ENA Resource Management is involved in E-Commerce I spend my reading time on that subject. The following is a list of my favorite sites...
http://www.webanalyticsassociation.org/index.asp
http://www.imediaconnection.com/index.asp
http://www.jupiterresearch.com/bin/item.pl/home
http://www.searchmarketingstandard.com/
http://www.onedegree.ca/index.php
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/
I will list these and more as a permanent addition to this blog soon.
We work with a lot of small or medium sized businesses so I also read the web sites my customers use. This helps me understand my customers decisions. Again, the following is a list of these favorites...
The obligatory Inc. Magazine
http://www.inc.com/
Entrepreneur
http://www.entrepreneur.com/
The Startup Journal
http://www.startupjournal.com/
CEO Express (A great link resource)
http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp
You cannot serve your customer well if you do not keep up with what is going on. Consider the reading time as continuing education. Without education there is ignorance and ignorance costs real money.
Have a great weekend everybody, see you early Monday morning. Remember your homework assignment, just 30 minutes! There will be a quiz.
Love you all!
Elliott D. Nadelman
Software Engineer
enadelman@enaresource.com
http://www.enaresource.com
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
First and Last Task
What is the first and last task? Keywords? Maybe it is the page titles or meta tags? Any ideas? It is delivering what the customer wants.
I have worked in many engineering companies as a consultant, contractor and an employee. The difference between successful projects and the horror stories is simple. Ask yourself "are you creating what the customer wants?" The web site or content management system may be the coolest technology in the world but if the customer does not like it YOU failed. I have seen truly elogant code that was completely useless because the customer didn't want it. If you are working on your own web site then go ahead, knock yourself out. If you are creating a customers web site then create their vision.
The customer is always right, "but" sometimes the customer needs education. If your customer is not technical they will often ask for things that may not look like what they have in their minds eye, or there is a less expensive alternative that is more cost effective. Giving good advice and gently educating a customer is a skill you have to master in order to really serve your customers. This is where the word "consultant" comes from.
Gentle education is a talent. In general, when confronted, customers resist the offered advice. Gentle education is offering advice in a way that does not generate a confrontation but rather causes the "I see what your saying!" response. Good communications with your customer is paramount. Understand what your customer is trying to say first and then give your best advise.
We have communicated effectively with our customer. Life is good. How do we proceed? The best answer is to get some sort of prototype in front of them as soon as possible. We need the customers buy in. The prototype should fairly represent the design you worked out with the customer so that everyone is clear on what will be delivered. Some find PowerPoint presentations (one slide per page of the web site with links) to be very helpful. Customer expectations must be set appropriately.
Once the first or second page of the site is complete go back and verify with the customer again. Make sure it is coming out the way they expected. The menus look right, the font is right, the colors look good and the content is layed out correctly.
Finally deliver the finished site. Walk the customer carefully through all aspects of their site. Expect revisions at all times. The customer is never perfect. Things are omitted or not thought out completely at design time. Be gracious and factor in some time for these revisions in your quote.
Please endulge me with a short tangent. NEVER SAY NO to a customer. It is always a matter of how. If the customer wants the entire web site done in Java, the answer is not a flat no, it is "are you sure you want to spend that much money when there is a much less expensive alternative?". You say no, they say "bye bye". You talk about them spending too much of their money and better options, they say "like what?". The question they ask is your opportunity to use your expertise to show the customer what is possible and what is in their best interest. Of course if they still insist on a pure Java web site then make a quote and hire a programmer It is, after all is said and done, their project.
Always be customer service oriented. The customer is why we are here, without them you do not have a business. If you are not customer service oriented you will end up working for a company that is, keep your customer happy... or else.
Love you all!
Elliott D. Nadelman
Software Engineer
enadelman@enaresource.com
http://www.enaresource.com
I have worked in many engineering companies as a consultant, contractor and an employee. The difference between successful projects and the horror stories is simple. Ask yourself "are you creating what the customer wants?" The web site or content management system may be the coolest technology in the world but if the customer does not like it YOU failed. I have seen truly elogant code that was completely useless because the customer didn't want it. If you are working on your own web site then go ahead, knock yourself out. If you are creating a customers web site then create their vision.
The customer is always right, "but" sometimes the customer needs education. If your customer is not technical they will often ask for things that may not look like what they have in their minds eye, or there is a less expensive alternative that is more cost effective. Giving good advice and gently educating a customer is a skill you have to master in order to really serve your customers. This is where the word "consultant" comes from.
Gentle education is a talent. In general, when confronted, customers resist the offered advice. Gentle education is offering advice in a way that does not generate a confrontation but rather causes the "I see what your saying!" response. Good communications with your customer is paramount. Understand what your customer is trying to say first and then give your best advise.
We have communicated effectively with our customer. Life is good. How do we proceed? The best answer is to get some sort of prototype in front of them as soon as possible. We need the customers buy in. The prototype should fairly represent the design you worked out with the customer so that everyone is clear on what will be delivered. Some find PowerPoint presentations (one slide per page of the web site with links) to be very helpful. Customer expectations must be set appropriately.
Once the first or second page of the site is complete go back and verify with the customer again. Make sure it is coming out the way they expected. The menus look right, the font is right, the colors look good and the content is layed out correctly.
Finally deliver the finished site. Walk the customer carefully through all aspects of their site. Expect revisions at all times. The customer is never perfect. Things are omitted or not thought out completely at design time. Be gracious and factor in some time for these revisions in your quote.
Please endulge me with a short tangent. NEVER SAY NO to a customer. It is always a matter of how. If the customer wants the entire web site done in Java, the answer is not a flat no, it is "are you sure you want to spend that much money when there is a much less expensive alternative?". You say no, they say "bye bye". You talk about them spending too much of their money and better options, they say "like what?". The question they ask is your opportunity to use your expertise to show the customer what is possible and what is in their best interest. Of course if they still insist on a pure Java web site then make a quote and hire a programmer It is, after all is said and done, their project.
Always be customer service oriented. The customer is why we are here, without them you do not have a business. If you are not customer service oriented you will end up working for a company that is, keep your customer happy... or else.
Love you all!
Elliott D. Nadelman
Software Engineer
enadelman@enaresource.com
http://www.enaresource.com
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
The Clothes Make the Man
Bologne. Many great men never owned a decent suit and many men wearing Armani are unremarkable (other than the suit they are wearing that is... an Armani IS truly a great suit.). Why am I talking about fashion? Well, tools have become, for many Internet denizens, the fashion of this century and I have always wanted to debunk this myth.
I have seen some fantastic web sites developed with freeware and some horrible things done with very expensive tools. We all have. Great tools can make it easier, if you understand their capabilities, to do great things with your talent.
A paintbrush and canvas in my hands will produce art unworthy of the fridge while Picaso created masterpieces with them. It is the person using the tool that counts, or in other words, the man in the suit.
That all having been said I now feel comfortable talking to you about the various tools available. You do not need a big budget or the latest cracking
software to have a quality set of tools. By the way software piracy is a crime, you know that already right?
Before I embark on what I know will generate hate mail I want to be clear... tools are very personal. One persons wonder tool is anothers garbage. Please keep that in mind when you rip my head off with the inevitable email.
If money is an issue (or nonexistant) there exists tons of freeware thanks to some very talented coders who generously volunteer their own time. (Check out SourceForge.net) My favorites are HTML-Kit and NVU.
The next step up is the medium priced and easy to use tools like Microsoft FrontPage. Please note that I recommend, if you use FrontPage, you also use one of the freeware packages. After your web site is done open the pages individually with HTML-Kit and do some house cleaning. Microsoft has gotten better but still has a ways to go.
At the top is Adobe. Dreamweaver, Flash et al. If you have the cash get the web bundle, it is amazing. Be prepared to work through some tutorials and probably a class or two but it is more than worth it.
If you disagree with my choices, and I know you do, go ahead and flame me in an email. I can take it. Better you vent on me than take it home to your family.
Love you all!
Elliott D. Nadelman
Software Engineer
enadelman@enaresource.com
http://www.enaresource.com
I have seen some fantastic web sites developed with freeware and some horrible things done with very expensive tools. We all have. Great tools can make it easier, if you understand their capabilities, to do great things with your talent.
A paintbrush and canvas in my hands will produce art unworthy of the fridge while Picaso created masterpieces with them. It is the person using the tool that counts, or in other words, the man in the suit.
That all having been said I now feel comfortable talking to you about the various tools available. You do not need a big budget or the latest cracking
software to have a quality set of tools. By the way software piracy is a crime, you know that already right?
Before I embark on what I know will generate hate mail I want to be clear... tools are very personal. One persons wonder tool is anothers garbage. Please keep that in mind when you rip my head off with the inevitable email.
If money is an issue (or nonexistant) there exists tons of freeware thanks to some very talented coders who generously volunteer their own time. (Check out SourceForge.net) My favorites are HTML-Kit and NVU.
The next step up is the medium priced and easy to use tools like Microsoft FrontPage. Please note that I recommend, if you use FrontPage, you also use one of the freeware packages. After your web site is done open the pages individually with HTML-Kit and do some house cleaning. Microsoft has gotten better but still has a ways to go.
At the top is Adobe. Dreamweaver, Flash et al. If you have the cash get the web bundle, it is amazing. Be prepared to work through some tutorials and probably a class or two but it is more than worth it.
If you disagree with my choices, and I know you do, go ahead and flame me in an email. I can take it. Better you vent on me than take it home to your family.
Love you all!
Elliott D. Nadelman
Software Engineer
enadelman@enaresource.com
http://www.enaresource.com
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Internet Spelling Bee
There is no excuse for misspelled words and bad sentence construction in web site content. I myself cannot spell. I am a programmer so often my prose resemble if / then statements. Luckily the richest man in the world, Billy Gates, has the solution. Spelling and Grammar checkers are two of my best friends when I am creating content.
When I write content I start in an editor with spell checker and grammar checker. I use Microsoft Word. I understand my disability and except it, I am spelling impaired. It took me a long time to accept my limitation but once I did it freed me to overcome it. Since I am a software engineer I turned to software for the solution.
Once you have written your content do both checks on it. Correct all errors immediately. If a phrase or word is not in the dictionary of the software tool you are using because it is jargon or a newly coined word then double check your spelling on the Internet before adding it to your personal dictionary listings. Wikipedia is my personal favorite for finding correct spellings, it has mislead me in the past so I also do a quick Google search to verify my results.
It was tempting for me to list some of the offenders I have found on the Internet. I decided it would be unfair since there are so many examples of bad content out there to chose from. Singling out a few of these seemed to be unwarranted, we all know who they are.
A quick aside, this posting applies equally well to resumes. Enough said on that subject.
Please remember, your web site, blog or Internet posting represents you to the world. You do not want to be seen as illiterate or uneducated. It takes only moments to have the software tool of your choice double check your work. So just do it, your readers will thank you.
Love you all!
Elliott D. Nadelman
Software Engineer
enadelman@enaresource.com
http://www.enaresource.com
When I write content I start in an editor with spell checker and grammar checker. I use Microsoft Word. I understand my disability and except it, I am spelling impaired. It took me a long time to accept my limitation but once I did it freed me to overcome it. Since I am a software engineer I turned to software for the solution.
Once you have written your content do both checks on it. Correct all errors immediately. If a phrase or word is not in the dictionary of the software tool you are using because it is jargon or a newly coined word then double check your spelling on the Internet before adding it to your personal dictionary listings. Wikipedia is my personal favorite for finding correct spellings, it has mislead me in the past so I also do a quick Google search to verify my results.
It was tempting for me to list some of the offenders I have found on the Internet. I decided it would be unfair since there are so many examples of bad content out there to chose from. Singling out a few of these seemed to be unwarranted, we all know who they are.
A quick aside, this posting applies equally well to resumes. Enough said on that subject.
Please remember, your web site, blog or Internet posting represents you to the world. You do not want to be seen as illiterate or uneducated. It takes only moments to have the software tool of your choice double check your work. So just do it, your readers will thank you.
Love you all!
Elliott D. Nadelman
Software Engineer
enadelman@enaresource.com
http://www.enaresource.com
Monday, March 26, 2007
Go to the Mountain!
There is no guess work necessary when trying to get your web site noticed. You must simply go to the mountain... that mountain being Google.
Google is not trying to hide the criteria they use for setting the rankings. There is no need to buy a book or seek out a psychic. Simply go to Google and setup your Webmaster tools account, it is even free of charge!
There are volumes of information available on Google about Best Practices and enough tools to help you implement them and test it.
Quick question, do you have a robot.txt file? If not then you have obviously not been to the mountain. Now, for extra credit, have you submitted a sitemap file to Google? These are my two favorite questions because they tell me very quickly how much attention is being paid to doing what is necessary to ascend.
All kidding aside, this is not rocket science folks. I know a rocket scientist and let me assure you he does not care about this stuff. I am an engineer but that is not a requirement. What is required is that you spend the time to read the material. If your not willing to do the homework then do not be upset with your page ranking later on.
Tell you what... if you read the material (and I mean really read it) and you still do not understand, just leave a comment here and I will help you right here on this blog.
Love you all!
Elliott D. Nadelman
Software Engineer
enadelman@enaresource.com
http://www.enaresource.com
Google is not trying to hide the criteria they use for setting the rankings. There is no need to buy a book or seek out a psychic. Simply go to Google and setup your Webmaster tools account, it is even free of charge!
There are volumes of information available on Google about Best Practices and enough tools to help you implement them and test it.
Quick question, do you have a robot.txt file? If not then you have obviously not been to the mountain. Now, for extra credit, have you submitted a sitemap file to Google? These are my two favorite questions because they tell me very quickly how much attention is being paid to doing what is necessary to ascend.
All kidding aside, this is not rocket science folks. I know a rocket scientist and let me assure you he does not care about this stuff. I am an engineer but that is not a requirement. What is required is that you spend the time to read the material. If your not willing to do the homework then do not be upset with your page ranking later on.
Tell you what... if you read the material (and I mean really read it) and you still do not understand, just leave a comment here and I will help you right here on this blog.
Love you all!
Elliott D. Nadelman
Software Engineer
enadelman@enaresource.com
http://www.enaresource.com
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