The phones ringing

Vanity numbers are dead

Online services for an extra business line

-google voice

-others

why to to this?

tracking

AlterNation: Everything You Thought You Knew Is Wrong!

About gaming, that is. Welcome to AlterNation Episode 2! This week we talk online social games, location-based services and the dangers invovled with them (oh my!), and look at a case of schools using webcams to spy on students, big brother style.

For show notes, click more.

[powerpress]

AlterNation: Your Source for all Things Internet

Welcome to AlterNation, the official Alter Imaging podcast! Alternation will provide a weekly review of the latest internet news, as well as commentary and tips. In episode 1 we discuss the huge amount of Google news from last week, Facebook's 6th anniversary, and some interesting statistics.

[powerpress]

For show notes, click more.

Building Business with Inbound Marketing

If I was walking up to a customer on the street to sell them something, I would probably not bring a sledgehammer with me to get my points across. It seems funny, but this is exactly how Rick Burnes, inbound marketing manager at Hubspot, describes traditional marketing. They hammer out messages via advertisements (radio, TV, magazines) in an attempt to beat customers down with their message and brand (through repetition). Now that method may have been great for companies with massive budgets such as P&G or McDonalds, but today you don’t need to spend nearly the same amount of money to cultivate a loyal following.

Does Flash Still Matter?

I never thought I would be an apologist for the Flash platform, but it's only when something is gone do you really realize how much it means to you. Much the same way that HTML tables have gotten a bad rap due to its misuse, Flash also has a stained past. Many Flash based websites suffered from poor usability due to long-loading Flash intros, unintuitive navigation, and a lack of possibilities for SEO.

The Web 2.0 movement began a design trend towards clean, light websites along a more considerate view towards visitors with less capable browsers and mobile devices. Flash is now mostly used for interacting with entertainment, whether it's viewing a video, playing a game, or manipulating information in a Flash based infographic.

Location Based Social Networks Set To Take Off in 2010

Why does every social media website care where you are? Better yet, why do you care? There is a trend, although not a new one, that is gaining popularity in 2010 that could potentially change the way people are marketed to. That is the trend to “go local,” because that’s where the money is. Everyone is trying to grab hold of the hyper-niche markets like the popular service review site Yelp. Yelp recently added the option to allow users to check in, bringing it in direct competition with an already over-crowded group of location based websites: Foursquare, MyTown, GoWalla, and Loopt.

How to Write a Tagline that Sticks

When you hear "Just do it" or "Think Different", what comes to mind? If you've been conditioned enough, you'll recognize that the two phrases are the taglines of Nike and Apple. The same thing goes for other taglines like "Who ya gonna call" (Ghostbusters) and "Snap! Crackle! Pop!" (Kellogg's Rice Krispies). These taglines stick for two reasons, you've heard them often, and they're well designed. If those are the two factors for tagline success, then it's easy to write a good tagline, right?