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Statistical Relevance
I know, I’ve already lost half of you. And the other half that’s still hanging on is waiting patiently for me to start throwing formulae at you. But that’s not going to happen. I do want to point out, though, that while statistics are monotonous, boring, and somewhat difficult to understand they are one of the most important facets of marketing. After all, marketing is all about studying a group of people, modeling their behavior, and creating a product that most effectively uses that behavior to drive profit. If not for statistics, creating these abstract consumer models would be next…
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What do you do?
In the world of small business, networking is everything. Whether you’re at a business conference or a football game, you should always be prepared to meet that next great business partner. This means you should be presentable, on your “best behavior,” and prepared to talk shop whenever you need to (or to respectfully decline in favor of relaxing with family). The most common icebreaker in networking is the loaded question, “what do you do for a living?” If you’re stock answer starts with, “I work for …” then you’re in trouble! I didn’t ask you who you work for, I…
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A Dream of Remembrance Lost
1 It began with a silence. A silence that seemed to echo against every surface and magnify as time crawled by. It was deafening in magnitude and paralyzing in intensity. Then it was gone, leaving only the deep throaty voice of a shattered earth behind to fill the void. Thom dove beneath the kitchen table next to Tanya and Pete as the chandelier crashed to the floor in the next room. Dishes fell to the ground around them, forming an eerie snow-like scene with the three of them huddled together in the room’s center. “Thom,” Tanya said weakly over the…
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Origins
The windshield had fallen off and rainwater was running into the car soaking Matt’s face. The car was upside down and, from the position he was in, Matt had long lost sensation in his legs. A pool of mud, blood, and icy rainwater had begun to collect below his head, roughly where the steering wheel had been and where the remains of his chest were now delicately held in place. Matt could barely hear the clap of thunder above the car through the sheet of pain in his head. His eyes drifted closed and he passed out for the third…
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The End of an Era
The moon was out, but the tall grass around me prevented its light from helping as I navigated my way through the darkness. I ran around the corner of a path in the tall snake grass and ducked into the reeds as the beam of a flashlight passed over my head. It was hard enough to be quiet in the rattling weed without having to duck, crawl, and otherwise avoid the lights of the other team’s sentries. I was deep in enemy territory, without any support, but I knew I was close to the target. It was lying in a…
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Dealing with Unhappy Customers
OK. It happened. Something went wrong and one of your customers is on the phone yelling. True, they should have read the fine print at the end of the user agreement before they accepted liability for using your product. But right now that is the last thing you want to tell them. At some point in time, we all have to deal with a dissatisfied customer. Someone who waited two days past the 30-day return window. Someone who forgot to turn their cell phone off before charging it. Someone who tried to install a new sound card in their computer…
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Electronic Media
In a world where everyone is increasingly concerned with the ability of media to be personalized, it’s only obvious that we’d start turning to “virtual” libraries rather than real ones. Who wants to peruse stacks of off-topic books when a computer could just display the most relevant material? Searching becomes easier, and our time is used for what we really want to do: read. This is obviously the next evolution of the digital world. While the techy in me in intrigued by that idea, the romantic in me dies a little. The other day I was pointed to an article…
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Smart Web Design
Everyone has a website these days, but how effectively are they executed? Do they look the same on different computers? More importantly, will they stand the test of your users? No matter how you design your site, people will try to use it differently. If you try to build it specifically to work in Internet Explorer, people will still visit with Firefox and Safari. Placing an annoying “Best used in…” message at the top of your site is just that – annoying. You can’t dictate how your customers browse the web any more than you can tell them to buy…
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WordCamp Portland
Today’s post is brought to you live from the WordCamp event in Portland, Oregon. Stay tuned throughout the day for updates! 9:00am And it begins … welcome to the second annual WordCamp Portland, hosted in the downtown offices of WebTrends right next to Pioneer Courthouse Square. 9:15am The first door prize giveaway. They’re giving out web hosting, premium subscriptions to the WP E-Commerce suite via raffle tickets. 9:30am Communication breakdowns already. “Why is the wall up,” everyone asks when they start dividing the room before the first so-called “general” session. Unfortunately, my power outlet is now on the other side…