16
Feb, 2012
blog post by Virginia
Part of the exciting and fun part of getting ready to buy your own piece of the web is looking for the perfect domain — sometimes even before the business you’re thinking about exists. It’s fun to spend your Friday evenings looking up domains to buy, and doing laundry. Maybe you want it to be clever (youtu.be), or maybe you want it to be your business name (heystac.com), or maybe you want to get the SEO benefit of including keyphrases in the domain, which helps a good bit. I’ve been playing around with a few different ideas in the last month for my own personal blog, though, I’ll probably just end up buying the name my mother gave me + .com.
But I’ve got to warn you about that. Some people out there will take advantage of you and me while we search. It’s too bad, really, to have to worry about one more thing. But I don’t want you to get caught not covering your tracks.
The Warning: Some people are lurking around watching what domains you search for to buy them out from under you.
The Scheme: If you search for a domain and it’s available today and you don’t make the purchase, tomorrow someone might buy it, turn around and try to resell it for a severely inflated price, which may be referred to as cybersquatting.
The Perspective: This doesn’t happen all the time. Not all websites sell you out. But sometimes it happens.
The Solution: You don’t have to live in fear. Here are my two tips to avoid heartbreak.
1) Search safe. Use search websites that don’t share with 3rd parties.
Make sure of the following:
- domain search information is not shared
- domain search information is not stored
- whatever entity you get WHOIS information from also does not share, store, or use domain search information
Avoid:
- using Network Solutions, a past violator of the scheme of purchasing and reselling for more money
- typing in a domain directly in your browser and seeing if any website shows up
Don’t feel like doing that much research? pcnames.com is safe, but from experience, it’s not always completely up-to-date. So it’s a good spot to do brainstorming, but before you marry yourself to a domain, click through to GoDaddy and see if it’s actually still available.
2) If you like it, buy it! This is the fool proof way of covering your tracks. If you’re in between a couple different ones, treat yo’self to a couple domains. They’re usually $8-$20 buckaroos a pop, and you’ll get them for a year or two. You don’t have to commit to a longterm renewal package or anything. Just reserve them for yourself so they’re ready whenever you are. Plus, you can always transfer them to another person’s account. Even if you’re searching the right way, someone else might unintentionally hijack a domain just by getting the same idea as you and buy that perfect domain for themselves. (Great minds think alike, so if you’ve got a great idea… chances are someone else might think of it too.)
29
Dec, 2011
blog post by Matt Haff
We’ve noticed some drastic fluctuations in our site traffic during the past 12 months, primarily in March and August. After mulling over analytics reports and comparing to other websites, we discovered that about 100 different sites all experienced the same changes.
If multiple sites were experiencing this, then we knew something was happening on a bigger scale. Sure enough, the changes in our traffic were due to Google algorithm updates. Sam, our SEO expert, then pointed me to a site that focuses entirely on the changes that the Google algorithm goes through.
You may not be familiar with the phrase “Google algorithm,” but chances are you are somewhat familiar with the concept. The updates to Google’s algorithm is how Google stays relevant, always changing, always unknown. It prevents SEO strategies from becoming stale and keeps web developers on their toes. If you are paying for search engine marketing and you haven’t re-evaluated your plan in over a year, then it’s time to.
What are you waiting for? A new year is nearly here and it’s a great time to take a look at your current search engine optimization plan and make some changes. Make 2012 the year that you unlock the full potential of your website design and content through monthly or quarterly SEO updates.
22
Nov, 2011
blog post by Rachel
If you’ve read any of our posts before you’ve seen the banners on the right… right? You haven’t? It’s okay. We forgive you. I forgive you, at least.
Now that we’ve addressed your lack of attention, let me tell you what you’ve been missing out on. There are a lot of organizations around the world doing good, from feeding and educating children to saving the victims of human trafficking. While there are many great options, we’ve chosen a few to support.
charity: water
Did you hear the incredible story about the girl who donated her birthday to raise money to build a well? Her birthday donation campaign raised over a $1 million after she tragically died in a car accident. That was through charity: water, a non-profit bringing clean and safe drinking water to developing nations. To date, they have provided 2,060,000 people with clean water.
Compassion International
Compassion was founded over 50 years ago to support poverty stricken children around the world. You likely know someone who is already a child sponsor through Compassion. Since beginning in 1952, they have helped 1.2 million children in 26 countries.
Hello Somebody
We recently heard the Hello Somebody story and loved it (and their cool watches). Through a donation or purchasing something from their store you can help children receive food, education, and development.
Sierra Club
Don’t you want a safe and healthy community, smart energy solutions, and to protect America’s wilderness? Then check out what the folks at the Sierra Club are doing. Founded over 100 years ago, they have been creating and keeping communities safe, exploring energy resources, and protecting the earth.
RVCA
PM Tenore, the founder of RVCA, has created a community for artists of all kinds. Original shirts from their artists can be bought at local skate shops and videos from their artists can be seen online. Through their creative expression, they’re giving back to the worldwide community by way of inspiration.
Now you know what those images to the right are all about. Click on any of them to visit the organization’s site to learn more about what they’re doing or how to get involved.
Do you sponsor a child or serve locally already? Tell us a little about what you’re doing whether it’s your own idea or supporting the vision of someone else.
09
Nov, 2011
blog post by Virginia
Email, widgets, Excel charts, graphs, Basecamp messages, iPads — napkins.
How do you come up with your best ideas?
For me it’s sometimes methodical. I make myself sit down and try to think. To do that regardless of what kind of mood I’m in is what I’d call disciplined thinking, kind of like a writer who insists on writing and working every day even knowing that most of what he’s written will be scrapped at EOD.
But other times ideas come to mind when I’m not expecting them. I’m at the grocery store, I’m out to dinner, I’m driving across town, I’m sitting on the couch in pajamas. A few people know to be prepared for random thoughts and you know, carry around Moleskine journals for the purpose of jotting down thoughts to remember later, or maybe just to look cool. I try not to judge. But I’m not the type to carry a notebook. Of course, I’ve got my iPhone to type a note into, but I’m a clumsy typer on it and find it constricting. I like writing without lines, sometimes sideways up a page, and throwing in extra notes and arrows to connect the thoughts.
So I write on the backs of receipts, scrap printer paper, napkins, whatever’s within reach — so sometimes that only leaves my hand.
I tend to think that while creativity can and does thrive with a certain amount of discipline (i.e. a musician who is well practiced being able to compose brilliant things), there’s a place for random inspiration that’s brought about by a different, unforced environment.
heystac has a new website design in the works. And when we first met to discuss it, I took notes on the napkin pictured above. That’s where we started. We’ve had more formalized brainstorming sessions since, but the initial talk was over a burger and fries and brownie a la mode.
Whether you’re coming up with a new business plan or thinking through how your website might look, you can ask yourself a lot of questions. If you’re going about it in a formal, bullet point, iPad note way, maybe try disconnecting from technology and see what you come up with on pen and napkin.
What’s your process for brainstorming look like?
07
Nov, 2011
blog post by Matt Haff
The moment all web developers have been waiting for is finally here, sorta. As of October, Internet Explorer’s global market share is below 50%, the lowest it has been in the past decade. This is due in part by 6% of web browsing now occurring on mobile platforms such as smart phones and tablets.
What does this mean for you? Absolutely nothing, IE is still the most common browser and will be around for years to come. However to web developers a glimmer of hope shines as modern browsers continue to grow. It also reaffirms that mobile web use is continuing to grow and take over the desktop market.
Google Chrome is the primary browser benefiting from the decline of Internet Explorer while Firefox and Safari have stayed relatively steady. Safari continues to dominate mobile browsing with over 63% market share, while Opera is down to 18% and Android drops to 12%. Checkout the original article and pretty graphics
