It is a question I often ask, but not always the same way:

Do you have time for a Web site?

The question is posed to prospective clients, which some reading this may think is ironic. However after building Web sites commercially for over 15 years now, every once in a while a Web site languishes from lack of or poor content, let alone varying oversight and management.

Web Sites Don’t Update Themselves

With the advancement of content management systems (CMS) and blogging platforms, coupled with RSS, content syndication and aggregation among others, it is easier than ever today to update and post content to your Web site. In some cases a Web site can be updated with little human interaction. Where you can bring in content from other places, your own custom-crafted messaging is vital to the success of your Web site. This is the reason people will want to visit your Web site more than once.

When planning for a Web site, most all consider the monetary cost of paying for the site to be built. They will also plan to write the initial content for the Web site, and for a blog they will write a few blog posts ahead of time to ensure there’s initial consistency. Once the site goes live and the last sip of champagne is drank, the work continues to write new content, review existing content, let alone reviewing analytics, modifying tags and meta data for SEO, and making other changes and responding to readers to ensure the success of your Web site.

A Plan That Works For You

Don’t let writing content for your Web site be yet another item on your burgeoning to-do list! Come up with a plan and process to ensure regular, quality updates to your Web site. Where content plans can cover several blog posts in itself, here’s some attributes to consider in your plan:

• How often do you want to write?
• What do you want to write?
• Does everything need to be a long, extensive piece or can short updates be worthwhile ot readers? (Hint!)
• How much time do you have available to write?
• Ensure you review all content when significant business events occur (e.g. office address, company name change).

Keeping the content fresh on your Web site will be of interest to your Web visitors as well as the search engines. And these are certainly things to toast with champagne.

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Business • Strategize • (1) Comments • Permalink

The next likemind will be Friday, March 19, 2010 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

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Announcements • Business • Strategize • Technology • Thrive • (0) Comments • Permalink

As the use of jargon is more and more frowned on in the business world, taking its place are common words which express the same thoughts, just with more sincerity. When I heard of the book Fierce Leadership by Susan Scott, I wondered if “fierce” was jargon or not, as I had no idea the reason for the use of this word. As I read the book and learned about the author, it became clearer.

Fierce is actually the name of Scott’s consulting business, as well as her approach with dealing with what it seems like everything. She feels it is necessary to be brutally honest and direct in everything you do, and this is quite apparent in the stories she tells and quotes she uses throughout the book.

There are a few takeaways I had from this book. The first is to always be direct and frank in dealing with people, and to merely deal with people. Many times people skirt issues and avoid conflicts as much as they want resolution to them. Rather than let issues drag on, it is in the best interest of both parties to confront issues, as unpleasant as it may be to do so. A second takeaway is to come up with your own style and process for dealing with people. An example from the book is when Scott and her colleagues interview someone for a job and all interviewers have pens – if someone puts down a pen on the table, the interview is over. As blunt as that sounds, it doesn’t waste any more time for anyone at that table, including the interviewee. She also says anonymous feedback in employee reviews are pointless, for if someone has something to say, they should say it and people should know where it comes from.

As blunt as the ideas in Fierce Leadership are, they have apparently worked well for Scott and her firm, and like any advice, these ideas should be considered and applied as appropriate to someone’s style. I was given a copy of her book by a publicist, and I enjoyed reading it and her philosophy. If you are seeking options on how to deal with people you work with, I recommend giving this book a read.

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Book Take-Aways • Business • Strategize • (1) Comments • Permalink

The next likemind will be Friday, February 19 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Business • Technology • Thrive • (0) Comments • Permalink

Marshall McLuhan is famous for the quote, “the medium is the message.” My short definition of the meaning of this quote is that it isn’t necessarily what is being said, but how it is said. I thought of McLuhan on a recent ride on Chicago’s Red Line subway, where I saw the following notice.

The notice reads of upcoming route cuts on Chicago’s CTA system. What it doesn’t say is why, and not saying it is not at issue as it has been widely reported in the media and blogs around the Windy City of the CTA’s budget “issues” and the need to cut service to balance its budget.

As I read this notice, the words were not as important as what I was looking at. The notice is displayed on an HDTV encased in a protective kiosk to ideally prevent it from damage and vandalism. The cost of such a display unit was adding up in my head along with other budget numbers I have read in the previously-mentioned stories. In the end I did not see a notice of services changes, rather an expensive display device.

The irony in this thinking is it came from me, a career high-tech professional and Web consultant. I have discussed such display units with clients. However this is not the only example of using technology that in the end has bothered me. A few weeks back I received an onslaught of phone calls for the eventual winner of the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race, Scott Brown, on my Chicago 312 area-coded business line! Somehow my number was derived from some computer-processed algorithm which followed me, who used to live in the Bay State, to the Land of Lincoln. Months prior to this I received letters form now-defunct GM brand Saturn to my Chicago home thanking me for my loyalty to them. I bought a Saturn in 2003 and dumped it in 2000 (with emphasis on the word "dumped"), yet they were still able to find me.

All in all, no message will resonate with everyone it is presented to. But as we progress into more tech-driven message delivery, we should be cognizant of the sincerity of this message, which can be compromised using modern, inexpensive means. Surely a hand-written note from the CTA, Scott Brown or Saturn would have been perceived by me to be the same as the automated message. Before pressing the send button or making that buying decision, think about if you have to justify the medium as well as the message.

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Business • Strategize • Technology • (1) Comments • Permalink