As time progresses we will look at what we do to make our business and how we market ourselves better based on customer demand and feedback as well as trends in the marketplace. We have changed some broad categories into more focused niches. We are also making the fact that we are about providing marketing services for our clients and are committed to consistent branding more obvious. We used the word, “share” to describe the final part of our 4-step work flow and now we have replaced it with the word, market or marketing. Our new motto of “Harmonious New Media” also reflects this.

We are making our photography service more prominent and instead of covering the broad category of “portable media” with are going to focus on Podcasting as a service. We will continue to explore other areas for future products and services but those will be feature and discussed in a “labs” section to be announced at a later date. You will probably see those innovative explorations at our portal site, SpinningSilk.com . One new service we are offering is an enterprise level/server based e-mail service via MXLogic. You can find what we are offering at our SpinningSilk.com Marketplace.

I admit it. I grew up in a fairly conservative culture and something like Earth Day was often seen as something “counter-culture” or what the “hippies” were into. Truth be told I am still a very conservative person both politically and religiously although my views don’t always fit into the boxes people would like. One of the areas I am “outside the box” is probably the recognition that taking care of our environment is a matter of stewardship. It a frame of mind that goes beyond alternative fuels, preventing animal extinctions, etc.

The recognition that I am a steward of the resources that has actually inspired the direction I have taken in business and home life and general innovative thinking. When web design and digital photography became available I was excited that I would be able to produce the original creative content without high printing costs. I also like to think of myself as an innovative thinker and thinking “green” spurs innovation like nothing else. “Alternative” energy is basically looking at everyday things in new light if you will excuse the pun.

During the late 80’s I worked at a Boy Scout camp in Northern Greenville County,SC. For 4 years I was the ecology-conservation director which for the most part meant we taught nature related merit badges to the campers. However we also were in charge of running a nature lodge and maintaining the trails and other areas in order to prevent erosion, etc. Other than my current job that was the most enriching job I ever held. I’m thankful I learned to see how geography, natural forces, plants and animals were created to work together and to also see the impact each of the elements have on each other.

I’m always on the lookout for how our business can be the best stewards or the resources we have from providing services that save fuel, participating in a roadside trash clean up, exploring and innovating technologies, etc. Last week I had the opportunity to hear Elizabeth Garrison of Ever Green Recycling, A Greenville, SC based company with a goal of help companies create and implement recycling programs that work for their businesses. Check out the web site and think about how you and your company can participate in ways to  How is rising fuel prices and environmental issues caused your company to think about innovation and seek out new solutions to provide good and services more effectively?

April 21, 2008 is Creativity and Innovation Day. Well at least according to the web site linked it is in Canada. It’s based on Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday (April 15) and culminates on Creativity & Innovation Day, April 21st. I just found out about it myself.  You’re probably reading this on Monday morning and for most people Monday is maybe a day we don’t look forward to or at least it’s a busy day in which creativity and innovation may take a back seat.

Before you get overwhelmed with the challenges of the day or start to feel down at the thought of a dreaded task, take a few moments and ask yourself, “Can I approach today with some innovative thinking? Can I take advantage of a problem or process and turn it into an innovative idea?”

I couple of books I acquired last year at a creativity seminar have help me approach challenges in my business and home life in creative ways.  Six Thinking Hats and Thinkertoys are great for helping me think different.  Another fun book that can help you think in different ways in order to solve problems is A Whack on the Side of the Head. I encourage you to check them out sometime. If not as a purchase at least check with your local library.

As I look ahead at this day and the challenges I will be facing I am going to ask myself the following questions in hopes of getting the most out of situations even though they may look interruptive at first;

• How can I take the greatest advantage of the time I will be spending in the car today?
• Can I eat differently? Focusing on what will help me think better instead of “coping with stress?”
• Can I get a message out about the products or services I provide in unique or different way?
• Can I better automate a task that is repetitive in my life?
• What one think can I do today that will make today more remarkable than this time last week?
• Can I create a process to stop myself for putting off a back burner task and in turn help me go the extra mile and exceed expectations?

I hope this reminder catches you at a good time?  What are you thinking about doing today in order to be more creative an innovative?

If you’ve been on the Internet or involved in any kind of business development I’m sure you have heard the term, Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short. This is nothing new. Ever since search engines or directories have been on the Internet companies have wanted to be at the top of the listing.

I hate to use the term “early days” but the previous mindset regarding preparing a web site to be easily found by a search engine involved some back-end technical steps which at one time made sense when search engines and portals had more of a directory approach.  The initial approach involved adding what is known as “meta tags” in the code of the web site and while some of these are still important to a degree modern search engine optimization is focused and hopefully will always be focused on the actual content in terms of text, images and other non design elements.

In terms of marketing this is actually a huge advantage in terms of competition, making updates known quicker and standing a better change at being found. Provided a web site has compelling content and is updated frequently.

What are some ways to to optimize, design and develop a web site so one can make frequent updates and provide compelling content? Here a few things to consider;

• Have a web site designed around a content management system - The makes it easier and faster for the non-designer, i.e. owner or employee of a company to update a web site without asking the web designer to make those updates.
• Incorporate a blog feature on your web site - The search engines love frequent content and writing on the topic related to your business on a frequent basis increases your search engine ratings
• Register your domain name for more than one year. The more years the better as search engines like Google rate domains with a longer registration period higher as it makes them look less, “fly by night.”
• Include words in your title tag you think people will use to search for a business like yours
• When writing, write naturally. Be sincere and don’t try to trick the system by stuffing keywords in the document.

These are just a few tips but they are ones they have helped us tremendously in the past few years to the point we rank on the first or second page of important search terms, many of which we have a lot competition.

Some SEO resources you may want to look at include;

• The Search Engine Academy of South Carolina
• The Wikipedia SEO entry
• Google’s page about working with SEO companies

Again these are just a few resources. We are constantly looking at ways to optimize web site for our clients and also our own business so we can not only get more customers but also practice what we preach and become more experienced to help others. If you are struggling with getting good search results for your web site contact us and find out what tools and resources we have that can help you be more successful. Of no one can guarantee you will be number one, that’s impossible and always changes but we can help you get achieve greater visibility amongst all the other choices out there. What are your SEO Success stories or concerns?

Last night was a great night of networking and learning in various networking groups. It wasn’t until the middle  of the afternoon when I looked at my wife and business partner’s shared calendar that I was aware of a Small Business Owners meeting at the Greenville, SC Chamber of Commerce. I am so glad I went.  Everyone there were small business owners in the Upstate of South Carolina or interested in entering the Greenville,SC market. We had a chance to listen to Timothy Justice of Rescom Construction and ask him questions about what we could do in our own businesses to take them to the next level. Very encouraging.

After the meeting at the Chamber I went to the meeting of the Upstate Entrepreneur Forum which was about a mile away. This was another opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs and listen to Elizabeth Garrison of Ever Green Recycling, her business vision and past business experience.  Once again I got some great tips and ideas to grow my own business and to make it stronger.  Not to mention I love meeting others I can work with and help succeed and thus help my community prosper.

I had to leave the UEF a little early, It pained me to do so but on the other side of town another group I am very passionate about was meeting.  The Greenville Mac User’s Group has been around a long time and I’m happy to be a part of the group of enthusiastic Mac computer users.  Last night’s GreenvilleMUG meeting revolved around the discussion of backups and we also had a video conference with our local Apple rep who could not make the meeting in person last night. I have a desire to start a more specialized group of people who want to develop applications of the Mac OSX platform and the iPhone.

The only thing I regret about going to all the meetings last night was I had to spread myself around, leave early at one and show up a little late at another. I didn’t get to network and make as many connections as I could have. I do plan on e-mailing people I meet with last night who I exchanged business cards with to do some of that networking today.

Did you see me last night (4-14-08)?