Lets pause today for a copyright, legal rights, and the internet conversation. We are creators of content, hosts of sites, and believers in free speech. So first off, we don’t normally take political sides, and neither bill is specific to one political party. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) bills circulating Washington DC have us very concerned for several reasons.

You learn about sopa & pipa here.

or watch this:

Here are some key issues.

1. No Due Process. The US Government can choose to shut down funding, and even block the site URL from us search engines and DNS.

2. It doesn’t stop the issue of illegal content. IP addresses will still be accessible and so will the content.

3. It sets precedent. What other countries will follow in our paths if this went through? Can you imagine a world with a very disconnected internet? Countries like North Korea, Iran, and China already filter internet for a variety of reasons. They shut down free speech, conflicting views and organized political opposition. This is not what we want in the US.

Tell Congress if you agree with any of this.

http://sopatrack.com/

http://sopastrike.com/strike/

We love non-profits. In fact, it’s where we began. Because of this, we need to let you in on a little secret…

There is no magic that comes with an online “DONATE” button.

We wish there was. We would really like to include the magic for free as part of our services for you. Being able to take donations online is a very good feature to include as part of your web presence. Most of your followers, members, and advocates will really appreciate you making it even easier to support your important work.

Do you want to see your donations noticeably increase?

Start telling more real stories of impact. Share with the world the results of your work. Give us pictures, videos and a cost break down of how each gift you receive is being spent to make a positive impact on the world. Make our donations human. Use your website to do this. Then encourage people who love your organization to share these stories. And then… make it easy (via a DONATE button) for new people to support your work. That is ‘the magic’ of a donate button.

The internet use on a smart phone may be one of the fastet growing modes of communication and consumption we have ever experienced. The overall adoption rate is growing faster than radio, tv, and the internet experienced. In some countries the internet is really only available on mobile phones, like in sub sahara Africa for example.

Here at factor1, we have the strong opinion that there is no difference between mobile web and what you get on your computer. There is only one internet, just different ways to view it.

So all sites we build are mobile friendly at a minimum. And often we build more advanced sites that are responsive to the screen size and displays the content as best possible for the size of the device.

Some fun mobile facts to think about.

• 39% of people use mobile phones while using the bathroom
• 33% of people use mobile phones while watching television
• 87% of people use mobile phones while on the go
• 400% increase in mobile phone use over 2011

Based on the below InfoGraphic, What can you do to connect with people via their mobile devices?  What does your company do to reach people via smartphones?

Graphic via http://visual.ly/

As we work with many non-profits, we get asked this question quite regularly: “How can we receive donations online?”

After you have received your 501c3 status, these are the steps:

Step 1
Open a bank account
* Most any bank has electronic services available.

Step 2 
Open a Paypal merchant account

Step 3
Connect Paypal with your bank account
Here is PayPal’s very helpful FAQ

Step 4
Take the HTML code from Paypal, insert via HTML editor onto one your your website’s pages

- OR -

Step 4w

Create a Wufoo account.
Make the world’s easiest donation form.
Embed the code into your site follow instructions…

This is just one simple way of doing taking in donations online. We hope this helps, but feel free to post your questions in the comment section of this blog.

Funny thing in life, Simple almost always wins.

• Myspace was complicated and too many things. Facebook is simple (kind of).
• Blackberry UI is complicated. iPhone is clear.
• Constant contact is deep in menus and pages. Campaign monitor is the good kind of shallow.

The more I use technology, the more I appreciate simple. I have owned way too many high priced bluetooth headsets. Funny thing is that the simple headphones / mic included with my iphone seems to just plain work, clearly, flawlessly, and without a need to keep a battery charged.

Where can you make simple cuts in your life, service, product and delivery.

P.S. Simple, not dumb, or lacking in core function.

Time to celebrate! the much anticipated Google+ for your business, place, organization or brand. Signing up is probably 10x easier than facebook ever was.

1. First off, you need to be a google+ user personally. (head here: plus.google.com)
2. Once signed up, you may want to find some friends to add to your network, but thats not a requirement
3. Once you sign in, you can add a page from a graphic on the lower right of your screen, or this link: https://plus.google.com/pages/create
4. Chose the type of page that suits you best. If you are a local retailer, a place may suit you best. If your business operates in many states, a brand may be a better fit.
5. Fill in the blanks, add in a photo and you are all set. Google learned a lot from the terrible facebook process and made this set up super straight forward and easy.

So whats the difference between Google+ Pages and Google+ Profiles

Pages are extremely similar to profiles, but they have some key differences:

• Pages can’t add people to circles until the page is added first or mentioned. Learn more.
• Pages can be made for a variety of different entities whereas profiles can only be made for people.
• The default privacy setting for elements on your page profile is public.
• Pages have the +1 button.
• Pages can’t +1 other pages, nor can they +1 stuff on the Web.
• Pages can’t play games.
• Pages don’t have the option to share to ‘Extended circles’.
• Pages don’t receive notifications via email, text, or in the Google bar.
• Pages can’t hangout on a mobile device.
• Local pages have special fields that help people find the business’ physical location.

All set? Great, now check out factor1 on google+

I know this has happened to you, as it has happened to me. You see a tweet, email, or some article highlights a great new tool, service or app for your business. It could be something new for marketing, productivity, accounting, or social media. A pretty logo, a nice splash page, and a killer video. And WOW, only $20 a month, or maybe its $49.99. You get super excited, because, well as the video says, this new tool is going to revolutionize your business.

What I constantly see, is these things launch with great buzz, or even you bought it with great excitement. But in 2 or 3 months, no one is talking about it, and you never use the thing, or maybe you jump ship to the next revolutionary idea.

Have you ever really stopped and asked yourself this question: Is this going to really change MY unique business? Is my life going to be different after using this for 3 months? Or maybe Is this going to have a direct impact in new customer conversions?

We all need to ask ourselves questions like this. I see far to many businesses flocking to the next great app, plugin, SaaS, or whatever, all with the wrong ideas in mind. Keep your customer base in mind, your work flow, and your bottom line.

Indeed there are so many great applications, web tools and resources in the world today. Seriously, I applaud the application, Software as a Service (SaaS) companies and website plugin tool creators. Just keep your head on straight. The true innovators out there dont need these shiny widgets to make their business function with excellence.

Great Infographic on posting statistics for the best consumer reach.

(more…)

People love fun. How can you take your product or service and have a little fun with it? You dont need to down play the power, seriousness, or delivery of the product itself, but the marketing and messaging can really make it that much easier for people to see you stand out out from the competition.

Example: Slick plan. Its a web app that we use to help plan out site navigations (boring right). But check out this email as a great example of having a little fun. Great Job Slickplan!

You heard me. Your business does not need a phone app in the apple or android app stores. More than likely.

Last week, a client of ours was super excited to tell me all about this new web app they are “creating”. By creating I mean they paid some phone app company a set up fee (usually $250 – 500) and $50 a month for. When I asked what the app would do, they rattled off all the amazing features. Features like a home page, news, about us, contact, directions, and product info. So I asked to clarify, that this is indeed an “app”, Yes, they proclaimed! It will be free in the apple and android app stores.

Here is my giant issue. Please hear me very clearly here.

If your app is no more than basic content found on your site, its a waste of time, money and your efforts.

Yes apps are all the rage. All the cool kids are talking about apps. Trust me, no one is going to be browsing the app store, and think to themselves, “sweet! a company I have never heard of has an app about their company / service / product, and its free!”. No, no one will think that.

Save your money, time and app lust. I have a fix for you. Build a site that is mobile friendly. We have a few ways of doing this. One is responsive. Take our site for example. Resize your browser window smaller. Bam! It re-organizes itself to fit the screen size. Navigations get touch friendly, fonts remain clear and readable. Another alternative is a seperate mobile site with the core info, that we have an auto detect script set up on. Basically if the visitor screen size is less than 640px wide, send them to the mobile site. Give them an option back to the main full site. Yes, you can still use a QR barcode to direct people to your mobile site. They can call you, map your location, and learn more all from the mobile web, with no need for an app.

You may have a need for an app. If your idea is functional, helps a user, provides them a beneficial resource for planning, searching, researching, or tracking something. Great, go for it! Verizon has a great app to track my minutes used on my iPhone.  Starbucks has a store locator, with info on menus, amenities, and wifi. E-trade has an app to search, research and watch over your trades. Catch my drift here?

Make it useful, keep it relevant, and make it a benefit to your users (not just you). Or dont do it at all.