If you were on the internet yesterday, you probably noticed blacked out sites, black squares over the Google logo, etc. and been seeing the terms “Stop SOPA and PIPA”. So, what does this all mean?

SOPA and PIPA

SOPA – Stop Online Piracy Act

This is bill that was introduced to the House of Representatives in October. If passed, the bill would give U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders greater power to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods.

PIPA – Protect Intellectual Property Act

This bill is the Senate’s version of SOPA, which calls for enhancing enforcement against “rogue websites operated and registered overseas” and defines infringement as the distribution of illegal copies, counterfeit goods or anti-digital rights management technology.

The Debate

Both acts are designed to address a legitimate problem in dealing with foreign-based websites that are engaging in digital piracy and trafficking in counterfeit goods. Some people said that the bills would help in dealing with this problem. Others say that these bills miss the mark claiming that the bills have the capacity to stifle innovation, censor search results, impose monitoring obligations, and will change the way information is distributed on the web.

Opponents of the bills state that the acts would allow U.S. internet providers to block access to infringing domain names, allowing lawsuits to be brought against U.S. based search engines, directories, forums and blogs for links posted to those sites and force the removal of those links.

If this were the case, that could mean that websites could get shut down, which could affect ecommerce businesses. These claims also say that the government would be able to block any foreign or domestic site for infringing links. Sites like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook could potentially be shut down because they would become liable for everything users post (hence the blacked out pages in protest).

What does this have to do with the eCommerce world? Depends on how you look at it. Owners of websites need to be aware of what’s going on, especially on issues that affect the web and their eCommerce sites. It also helps to have a web partner like GoldenComm that is keeping up to date on changes in the web and can alert you to any potential problems.

When I was about 12 years old, my family took a trip down to St. Louis, MO.  I was living in my hometown, Peoria, IL, and my parents packed up the family, and headed about 3 hours southwest for our family vacation.  This vacation was going to be special – we were going to a St. Louis Cardinals game!  And not only this, we were going to get to see one of the great Cardinals players in that game – “The Wizard” Ozzie Smith – a 15-time All-Star, Baseball Hall of Famer.

This was also special because I was born in St. Louis while my father was in law school.  A couple of years later we moved back to Peoria, IL to be close to family, but St. Louis still holds a special place in my heart, as do the St. Louis sports teams.

The game was awe-inspiring to this 12 year old boy.  I think there’s even a picture in one of our old family albums of me on the field with “The Wizard” in the background.  Every child has fond memories of times where they got close to the people they really look up to, whether it be a celebrity, sports figure, etc., and this was definitely one of mine.  These people inspires us, and we feel like we can conquer the world when we’re watching them.  That’s how I felt that day watching “The Wizard” play.

For the past several years, I haven’t had much time to go to baseball games or keep up.  But, while I was living in Peoria, I would catch up every once in a while on a young rising star who got his start playing in 2000 for the Peoria Chiefs, the single-A Midwest League feeder team for the St. Louis Cardinals (at that time).  Albert Pujols got his start playing in my hometown, had wowed people, moved up quickly in the ranks, and was playing for the Cardinals by 2001.

It was exciting to be following the Cardinals during this time.  Pujols helped lead the Cardinals to victory in the World Series in 2006, and most recently in 2011, with Pujols matching Babe Ruth’s record of three home runs in a World Series game.  The Cardinals hadn’t been this hot since they won the World Series in 1982.

Cardinals mania was at an all time high, and dang, was it fun to be a fan.

By 2011, I was living in Orange County, CA, but still following the Cardinals.  So, I was really saddened when I heard that Pujols was leaving the Cardinals.  “Are you crazy?!” I was thinking.  “You’re letting this amazing player leave?!”

But then, I was thrown a twist.  Albert Pujols would be coming to Orange County to play for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

This definitely helped soften the blow.  Although saddened by the loss of the Cardinals, here was this All-Star player coming to play in our backyard!  I guess if he had to leave, then this is definitely where I’d want him to come.

And I’m not the only GoldenComm fan to be excited over this news. The day after the Pujols news broke, Jason, our owner, came in to work flashing his big smile and wearing his very own custom-made Pujols Angels jersey.  He proceeded to wear this jersey everywhere for the next week – around the office, in meetings, in front of clients, at his monthly SEO seminar, etc.  You can see him in the picture giving his “Master Your Webmaster” SEO seminar while sporting his new attire.

Pujols-mania is high in Orange County, and Jason and our team at GoldenComm are proud to be a part of it.  We all feel like 12 year old kids again, excited to see this baseball star work his magic in Orange County.

So now, even though I’ll always be a Cardinals fan at heart, I know we’re all really looking forward to Albert Pujols’ first season here in California.

For more information on this All-Star player, visit the Albert Pujols website.

From all of us here at GoldenComm, we would like to extend a warm welcome to Albert Pujols.  We’re excited for the 2012 season, and we welcome you to Orange County!

 

What a great visit we had to Joovy warehouse in Irvine!  Joovy has been a Golden Comm client launching a new site within the past six months.  We have some big strategic plans for 2012 and can’t wait to be a part of such a great company’s growth.

 

Greg Gardner, Vice President Operations graciously showed us around the warehouse and showcased some new products and upcoming  ideas.  As you can see these toys are not just for Joovy kids!  For some great gift ideas check out Joovy Toys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To set the stage, when our agency was invited to attend the 2011 Agency Summit at Google Headquarters in Mountain View CA, I was ecstatic to meet my maker.

I would not call myself a Geek, nor a Marketer or a Sales Guy. I’m a Search Engine Marketer. The Googlers (Google Employees) call me an SEM. SEM’s represent an emerging breed of professionals constantly seeking to out-wit, out-analyze, and out-game, the most competitive algorithm in the digital age.

Now put yourself in my shoes, to make a comparison it felt like waiting in anticipation before the first coin toss at a football game, first pitch of a baseball game, or even the feeling of lights dimming at the movies before the sequel to that epic saga you had followed since you were a kid. The show was about to begin. The crowd of SEM’s looked right, left, then down at their tablets, laptops, and mobile phones. We were all frantically, checking in, tweeting, and finishing that last email as our host stood confidentially in the front of the theatre ready to introduce the delivery of the state of SEM and focus of Google and most excitingly what’s next?

Allen Thygesen delivered the “State of Search” address. He focused our attention on Small Business market penetration and the future of complete digital adoption. He noted that only 30% of companies have a website and in his opinion (and his opinion matters) Small Businesses represent the largest growth opportunity for Google. His remarks really energize SEM’s (link back to part 1 for a full description of our tribe) as GoldenCommunications serves a large community of small and medium size business here in Orange County, CA. Allen spoke about a secular shift from offline to online and a clearly demonstrated demand for local search results. Allen mentioned “there is headroom here” as we are still at an early adopter stage. I personally agree as it’s not ok, NOT to compete in the online space, not with all the tools, transparency, and direct customer intelligence we gain through online marketing.

Another great presenter, Ryan Gibson spoke about the challenges, best practices, and new strategies in search. Ryan related that “Search is hard to do well.” However, with an onslaught of new tools added to the performance analytics suite through Google Adwords and Google Analytics he shared that the people who truly understand the analytics of auction based media will be positioned well now and in the future as all digital media may adhere to these foundational principles as the media space expands.

Follow the latest Ad innovations from Google

Now back to my personal journey inside the heart of Google. What is the heart of Google you may be asking? Well if you think it’s only an algorithm, then you made the mistake I did and forgot that there are people behind the algorithm. And as I was thinking deeper, people are really the heart of any company…

I’d like to focus this final thought on one Googler, his name is Adam Grunewald he is part of Google’s Agency Strategy team his job is helping SEM’s like myself win auctions on behalf of our clients. Over lunch Adam helped find solutions to a very complex search wall my team had not been able to overcome. He not only gave insight into the algorithm but more importantly gave insight into our online business.

Inside the heart of Google are people, these are really smart people, really helpful people, that can really help accelerate your business. Google Headquarters is a fun and fascinating place, but truly what impressed me most is the heart of Google. And for that, SEM’s like me are personally grateful to working with such a great business partner.

How user friendly is your website on a mobile phone? Most of the population today is searching the web via their mobile devices and are looking for quick facts and simple answers. Making your website mobile friendly is an easy solution to increasing your customers user experience.

At Golden Comm we can reformat your website into a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) for mobile phones. A WAP is web browser for mobile devices that takes information from your website directly to your phone. It is basically a simpler version of your website. It allows you to just add basic information like an about us, schedule and contact information. Said another way, we put all of the information that a mobile user would need right at their finger tips!

A lot of you are probably thinking, why not just create an App? Creating an App is a more timely process and is not compatible with all mobile devices. Compared to a WAP, which is a timely and simple solution, an App has the full content on your phone and is not pulling from the website.

According to Morgan Stanley’s Internet Trends Report from 2010, more consumers are searching the web through their phones then on their PC’s and wireless options are growing at a rapid pace. The report states that 48% of consumers use their mobile device for search and the number of Mobile App and Browser users has doubled since 2009.

Reformatting your website for mobile use is very easy and should be an important thing to consider when creating your website.

Let us help you see the potential in creating a WAP.

Contact Us for more information.

Spectrum Building Services has delivered best-in-class office cleaning services to customers in a wide variety of markets, including corporate/commercial, plant services/manufacturing, education, retail, government, financial institutions and public venues.

In the scope of facilities maintenance, their clients turn to them for janitorial service, building maintenance, painting, office cleaning, landscaping, window washing, carpet cleaning and hard surface floor care. Spectrum delivers these janitorial services efficiently, effectively and professionally. Choose stand-alone offerings or bundle packages tailored to your company’s specific office cleaning needs.

Spectrum is managed by a team of experienced leaders, with both Fortune 500 and growth company experience. An extremely high customer retention rate attests to the satisfaction of their customers and the quality of the facilities maintenance services they deliver each day.

Their corporate headquarters is located in Orange County and they provide services throughout Southern California.

d2 Business Solutions is a Managed Service Provider (MSP) specializing in the SMB market. They provide IT outsourcing and project management, maintenance agreements, hosted Spam filtering, hosted backup and hourly technical support to clients nationwide. Their services save companies money by reducing the need for expensive on-site technical staff, on-site visits and an accompanying acceleration of problem resolution and improvements in critical network availability. They understand the complexities of designing, monitoring and maintaining secure and reliable IT networks and have a heavy background in security.

d2 Business Solutions offers their clients reliable, flexible, and secure management solution to meet their specific and individualized needs. Their corporate office is based in Orange County, CA, with additional offices in Los Angeles and New York. Let them help you today!

Thinking of being a Leathercrafter? Well, the Tandy Leather Factory has got you covered with their new website. The Leathercraft Library is everything digital for Leathercrafters. It offers downloadable videos, tutorials, doodle pages, patterns, tip sheets and more. You can even get a monthly subscription to their vast video archive. Becoming a Leathercrafter has never been easier!

University of Hawai’i Press is a one stop Bookstore from the University Of Hawai’i that specializes in Pacific and Asian Culture. This site lets you browse books, journals and publishing partners. Also with their dynamic blogs, it keeps you up to date on book reviews and events.