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When [Delete] Really Doesn't....

Tossing out that old MicroSD card from your phone? Selling your old laptop but you're just positive you deleted all your personal photos and videos? Might want to press [Pause] on your plans for a moment. Here's why:

Can you honestly say you've never done it? Really? You've never stepped out of the shower and thought, "I look rather good at the moment....", grabbed your cellphone and *click*...captured that moment for yourself (or, perhaps, for a loved one)?

It's okay to admit it, even if only to yourself. But what happens when you hit that shutter release on your camera, cellphone, or built-in laptop cam? Where is that data stored? More to the point of this article, what happens when you think, "Nah...maybe I don't look so great, after all.", and hit the [Delete] button? That's the end of it, right? Well...unfortunately for you, no. And, in this age of instant over-sharing, more and more people - predominantly women and young ladies - are finding this out the hard way when they wake up one morning and find their private pictures being shared online.

When data is created and stored on a drive, the operating system automatically maps a path to that file. After all, you have to be able to tell the computer where to physically retrieve that data from the storage device when you click on the icon, right? An entry is made in the system's registry and the file is listed in something called the Master File Table. Conversely, when you decide you want to delete a file, the computer basically wipes away the path to that file. Mark that wording: It deletes the PATH to the file, NOT the file, itself. The file remains in the same place it was created but the file's spot in that Master File Table is now marked as "re-usable". This means that, as more data is added to the storage device, there's a good chance that, at some point, that section of the storage device will be over-written.

Take note of those caveats: "good chance" and "at some point". The overwrite process is not instantaneous. Nor is it even guaranteed on a large storage device where it's likely a user will not even fill up half of the device's capacity. It can take quite a bit of time and, sometimes, several actual overwrites of that storage sector - particularly if the file you "deleted" has been stored for a while. We won't get into all the technical reasons why this is the case, here. It has to do with file indices, registry entries, master file table allocations, etc....Suffice it to say that the lovely image of you in all your birthday suit glory does not, in fact, disappear into history just because you pressed [Delete].

So how do you and your friendly-unmentionables become fodder for unwanted internet attention? Free and user-friendly software such as Recuva is available that, once installed and ran, can scan a storage device's data, locate files that are still intact - just no longer mapped to the user interface area - and recover those files for easy access. Once that process is done, the original files can be used just as easily as any other file. They can be recovered to any drive or storage device and, more concerning, they can be shared online.

On the other hand, such recovery software can also be quite useful when catastrophe strikes. When your cat finds your keyboard nice and warm and accidentally deletes those work reports you've spent days compiling. Or when you break up with your loved one and delete all your cute vacation selfies only to get back together the next day and realize you behaved rashly. These are the kinds of reasons such software was created. However, like all good things, there is always a shadow on the sunniest days. So be careful. When you're absolutely certain you want to delete data, use a secure deletion tool (a simple Google search will provide you with dozens of great software products for this), and educate your loved ones on this important topic before they simply toss out or give away their data storage devices.

Is Your Business Rockin' Google's Search Results?

With all the focus put into SEO these days, one of the expectations is that a properly-managed SEO campaign will automatically take care of your actual presence within the search results (i.e. how dynamic those results are). Unfortunately, however, this is not an assumption any business owner should make lightly and there is still some back-end work you should be doing to give your customers the most complete information about your business in the most direct way.

Working within Google for this example, let's take a walk through what a customer sees when they search for our business, 603 Media Group:

As you can see above, there are a number of elements that are represented within these results. Each of these elements is controllable and configurable by you and your search engine optimizer.

The first listing you should see when doing a direct search for your business name is your OWN website - not a social media page, referral link site or business listings aggregating site. After all, you don't want a customer to look for your business and then lose that potential conversion to a competitor because the result they click on gave them - ack! - choices....

Underneath your website listing, assuming that your website has been properly coded using the "title" and "description" tags, you will see neatly listed and described summaries of different pages of your site. This is especially useful to potential clients because it allows them the opportunity to jump right to the product or service they are seeking without having to first navigate through your site. Remember, design for quick conversions and short attention spans!

The next thing you want your customers to see is your Google Places information. Now, you're a business owner so, of course, you've already created a Google account, uploaded and updated all of your information, added photos, hours, services offered, etc...right? Right? If not, we would strongly encourage you to talk to your optimizer and get the ball rolling on that.

One of the things that Google has been very clear about this year is the importance of using their social media platform, Google+, if you want to improve your rankings within their search algorithms. Their goal is to seamlessly integrate all of your Google-based activity into one comprehensive user experience. So take advantage of that! In this example, you can see a snippet of the last blog we published and shared on our Google+ account just a few hours before this screenshot was taken. We've accomplished two things with this: Our search results now contain dynamic content that engages our customers before they even leave the results page and we are turning that engagement into increased traffic towards our blog. Win-win!

Finally, the next several results that you want to see under a direct search for your business is as many of your social media channels as possible. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Flickr, Instagram, etc. With frequent use of your social media channels, you can improve the ranking of content that is directly related to YOU, thereby providing customers with a better and more engaging search experience and hopefully turning those searches into sales.

As you can see, with the right application of time and effort, you can ensure that your customer engagement within Google's search results page is as dynamic as possible. And, if you need a little help...give us a call! It's kinda' what we do.

About the Author: Jeremy Jones is the Senior Marketing Strategist for 603 Media Group. Primarily tasked with the challenges of keeping our small business running, Jeremy also occasionally branches out into public speaking, blogging, website design and raising his ten-year-old son to not be another one of "those damn kids".

Open For Business: The Other Side of Holiday Commerce

With the holiday season in full swing, I see an unusually vocal opposition this year to the decision by many businesses to open their doors during the "family time" of the holidays. This is an unfortunate stance taken by those who are so fortunate that they are unable to see the other side of the coin.

American holidays are heavily centered on family, food and relaxing down-time. We pride ourselves on our tradition of taking time off, gathering in big family get-togethers, cooking magnificent meals and sharing the day with football and pies of many varieties. What we often fail to see, however, is that this is not how a great multitude of Americans spend the holidays. 21st century America is populated with record numbers of single parents, folks with little or no immediate family, and families and individuals who are living paycheck to paycheck and working hard for every dollar they earn. For these workers, the opportunity to earn wages on any day is a blessing. If a company offers holiday pay plus overtime for working during the holiday, well that's even better. For them, the opportunity to work, provide services to customers and earn the money that keeps food on their table is a welcome gift. Although some may feel strongly that it is just "wrong" for a business to be open on a holiday, who are they to so vocally decry the right of an individual to provide for themselves and their family?

From another perspective, many holiday workers are folks who simply have nothing better to do. Maybe they have no immediate family. Perhaps they have simply made the decision not to travel to see family this year. Or they are single parents whose children are with the other parent for the holiday. There are a multitude of legitimate reasons why people voluntarily choose to accept holiday working hours if they are so offered.

At some point, we as a society are going to have to accept the fact that America has changed. Pining for the traditions of old will not bring those traditions back. Many young folks do not return home for holidays and welcome the hours of wage-earning that are offered by their employers. Additionally, the economy is in trouble. People are hungry. Bills must be paid. And, frankly, spending money to travel, buy tons of food or host a big gathering is simply not in the cards for those who need every dollar they earn just to survive.

In short, the next time you feel compelled to rage against businesses who open their doors on a holiday with the assistance of voluntary staff, take a moment to look around, be thankful for what you have, and consider that you are blessed in a way that those who choose to work on a holiday may not be.

Facebook rolls out Pages Feed. How will it help businesses?

Another month, another Facebook Pages flop....

As anyone who has been on Facebook for more than a day will know, many, many business pages are re-posting that viral statement about how "only 10% of our audience is seeing our posts", etc, etc. Following a heavy dose of negative press on the issue from some of the more influential social media bloggers out there, Facebook appears to have come up with a solution. Or, shall we say, a convolution?

Introducing Facebook Pages Feed. On the left-hand side of your News Feed, buried amongst all the other links you never look at - below your Favorites, perhaps above your Groups, somewhere near your Apps - there is a new link titled "Pages Feed". Clicking this link will bring you to a news feed that is dedicated to all the Pages that you follow. Unfortunately, this page is not organized chronologically and the jury is still out about the completeness of the posting history of your Liked Pages that is represented here.

I'm guessing that Facebook probably views this option as an olive branch to business page owners who have been negatively affected by the mass reduction in views of their posts. But, in reality, this is more like the branch that your hiking partner pushes out of the way only to let it snap back and slap you in the face. Does anybody at Facebook HQ not remember "Interest Lists" and the mass success failure of that little initiative?

There are several points to make about this whole Facebook conundrum:

1. If you are using Facebook as your primary content delivery system, you are putting yourself at the mercy of the social media giant's whims and fancies.

2. Due to the recent changes, you are already missing out on a ton of potential user engagement due to Facebook's ever-changing EdgeRank algorithm and the myriad variables involved in optimizing your position within your fans' News Feeds.

3. Speaking of EdgeRank...Google it. Learn it. Make it work for you or risk sinking into the News Feed abyss.

4. For those fans who made the effort to select your page to view in their normal News Feed, this will not affect their ability to still do so.

5. EdgeRank continues to be a fluid, evolving algorithm that, like it or not, you are going to have to figure out how to work with. That means tracking your key indicators, making notes of what types of posts track well with your audience and altering your posting habits to make the most out of these factors.

Facebook is an excellent example of evolutionary formatting from a service-provider standpoint. Unfortunately, they tend to light fires before making sure there's enough water to put them out and their response to obvious formatting mistakes has been historically slow. This puts Facebook business users in the position of needing to really spend more time on page management which potentially detracts from other essential business time. After all, which is more likely? That you will spend more time trying to get your content in front of your fans or that they will spend more time trying to reach your content amidst the plethora of other posts, comments, likes, photos and sponsored posts that are also being tossed at them every minute of the day?

About the Author: Jeremy Jones is the Senior Marketing Strategist for 603 Media Group. Primarily tasked with the challenges of keeping our small business running, Jeremy also occasionally branches out into public speaking, blogging, website design and raising his nine-year-old son to not be another one of "those damn kids".

Best brand advocates? Your own employees!

Walmart has an image problem. I know that's not much of a newsflash but the point remains. Lately, the most vocal group of Walmart haters has not been the anti-China crowd or the anti-shuttering of Mom and Pop stores crowd or any of the myriad other normal detractors. No. Lately, it is Walmart's own employees who are slamming the mega-chain's mere existence. So united are they in their negative feelings of the company that thousands of employees are threatening a national strike on Black Friday.

In the marketing world, we talk often and loudly about "brand advocates" - that is, those happy customers who are so smitten with your product or service that they tell everyone they meet about you and your organization. We court them, we cater to them, we bribe them with baubles (admit it, you do) and we pray that they will speak on our behalf to all who will listen.

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to an old friend about his work. He never really talks much about what he does. His Facebook profile isn't saturated with each minute detail of his exciting days at work as so many of my other "friends"' pages are, and his eyebrows get this particular furrow whenever the subject comes up. On this particular day, however, I pressed him on the issue.

"Man," he said, "I hate that company. They suck. I wouldn't wish that place on my worst enemy. Don't ever buy from them."

I was shocked. I always thought he loved his job. Was the product bad? Nope. Were the services sub-par? Never. Were shipments to customers routinely delayed? Not at all. Well, what was it that made this company so bad that his strongest advice to me was to not ever buy from them?

He didn't like the way he was treated.

Word of mouth from customers is vital to growing brand awareness, to be sure. But in your search for advocates, don't forget the one group of people who can be particularly powerful in both positive and negative ways - your employees.

I've had service personnel come out to manufacturing facilities where I've worked to repair equipment. These are workers who are sent out into the field to represent their company to their clients and yet, for some reason, as soon as they have an ear to bend, they unload about how awful their employer is, how little their engineering department knows, etc. Always kinda' leaves me scratching my head wondering why I'm hiring this company and its personnel if they're really as inept as their own employee says they are....

On the other hand, I've had site visits from personnel who can't talk enough about their employer - in good ways! Now, I consider myself to be pretty in tune with the particularly odiferous presence of a fresh load of you-know-what. So I can usually tell when someone is blowing sunshine just to keep me happy or is genuinely in love with their work. And when you have someone in front of you who is elbows-deep in ink and grease repairing a busted drive union on a 30-year-old printing press while raving about his company and the work he does, well...that's just bomber (as my 9-year-old would say). And, the next time an employee puts a wrench through a pair of impressed cylinders, I'll be darn sure to call that same company back to repair the damage.

Not every organization needs to worry about their employees' personal feelings making the headline news. However, understanding that sometimes employees are just stuck in the whole "grass is greener" mindset, it still cannot be denied that your workers are your first line of ambassadors when it comes to your organization's image, brand and reputation. Court them. Cater to them. Find a culture that respects their efforts, rewards their successes and fosters personal investment in the organization and you'll have your own personal team of brand advocates doing your marketing work for you. Win-win for all!

About the Author: Jeremy Jones is the Senior Marketing Strategist for 603 Media Group. Primarily tasked with the challenges of keeping our small business running, Jeremy also occasionally branches out into public speaking, blogging, website design and raising his nine-year-old son to not be another one of "those damn kids".

Copyrights - No Big Deal?

One of the biggest problems the advent of technology and the fully-integrated, networked and inter-linked world has created is a tremendous misunderstanding of copyright laws. Through simple "Select All > Copy > Paste" functions, the bodies of work created by one person become the un-paid-for expressions of another. To some, this cavalier use of intellectual property is no big deal. After all, they figure, if you're putting it out on the web, you must be okay with it being used, right? Wrong.

Photography, especially, has fallen severe victim to this dilemma. Most photographers want to be able to put their work on their online portfolio for all to see without the distraction of watermarks or logos branded into the image. Right-click disabling software is not effective either as those who know how can easily bypass such measures. But it is not the photographs or the method of acquiring them that are the real problem in today's technologically evolved world - it is the mindset of the general populace that is to blame.

The ease of capturing and re-using digital images or text has fostered a general impression in our society that it's simply okay to do so. As professional photographers, we have seen this in so many different areas over the years. We have had people see a photo of ours on Facebook that they like and state publicly that they are printing it out and blowing it up for their walls with never a thought of compensation to the owner of the photo (us). We have had commercial clients balk at the "Usage Rights" fee in our commercial contracts because they don't understand that they are not purchasing a photo - they are purchasing the rights to USE that photo. It becomes difficult sometimes to explain that this is not a new concept. Usage rights have been around since the birth of copyright law.

Perhaps the worst offense we have endured, though, is the taking of photos from our public profiles for use in news publications - either digital or print. You would think that a news organization, in particular, would understand the value of copyright. Surprisingly, some do not. Perhaps the cause of this is the very sneaky brainchild of organizations like CNN who, several years ago, realized they could get their news photography for free by simply offering photo credit to the photographer. Suddenly, every Joe and Jane with a camera who just wanted to see their name in print was offering up all their photos to the news outlets for nothing. As a result, some news organizations now expect you to provide photography for free.

I am aware how much of a rant all of this must sound like. Maybe even a bit whiny. I get it. But, to those of us whose income relies heavily on our craft, it is no small matter. Architects get paid. Caterers get paid. Seamstresses get paid. Photographers have every right to expect the same. So the next time you see something really wonderful and you have the urge to press that right-side mouse button, please stop for a moment and consider what you do for a living...and ask if you would be okay with me copying and using your work for free.

About the Author: Jeremy Jones is the Senior Marketing Strategist for 603 Media Group. Primarily tasked with the challenges of keeping our small business running, Jeremy also occasionally branches out into public speaking, blogging, website design and raising his nine-year-old son to not be another one of "those damn kids".