News and Blog

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak Launches ‘Woz U’ Online Tech Education Platform

Submitted by grawlings on Mon, 10/16/2017 - 10:47

Steve Wozniak nicknamed “The Woz” known as a coding genius and co-founder of the tech giant Apple along with late Steve Jobs has launched his online technology related education platform called “Woz U.” The platform will help people polish their skills that will ultimately lead them to a successful career in the growing tech industry. 

According to a press release, “Our goal is to educate and train people in employable digital skills without putting them into years of debt,” Wozniak said. “People often are afraid to choose a technology-based career because they think they can’t do it. I know they can, and I want to show them how.”

education

DDoS attacks on Sweden’ Transport Agencies Delay Train Service

Submitted by grawlings on Fri, 10/13/2017 - 11:23

The official website of Transportstyrelsen, Sweden’s Transport Agency (STA) came under a series of DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks on Thursday morning forcing it to go offline.

The attack on Transportstyrelsen came a day after the IT systems of Sweden’s Transport Administration (Trafikverket), which monitors railway traffic, was attacked by hackers leading to delays in trains schedule.

“I can confirm that in the morning we had something that was judging by a congestion attack,” Transport Agency Press Officer Mikael Andersson told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

cyber security

Equifax Website Hacked To Deliver Malware-bearing Flash Update

Submitted by grawlings on Thu, 10/12/2017 - 17:18

In May 2017, the website of renowned credit reporting service Equifax was hacked and sensitive, private data of around 150 million of its US customers was hacked due to an old Apache flaw. The data hacked included names, Social Security numbers and other personal info. The company received backlash from left right and center over its inefficiency in safeguarding consumers’ data. However, with the passage of time, consumers’ trust was regained as they started to rely upon Equifax again. It seems that Equifax’s trying time is not over as yet as the site has been hacked again.

backdoor
internet safety
malware

Smart SEO Tactics

Submitted by a.foley on Fri, 04/07/2017 - 09:57

For a non-expert, it can be hard to keep up with fashions in search engine optimization. One minute a particular tactic — like industrial-scale link building or keyword stuffing — is all the rage. Two years later, it’s as if the whole craze never happened. Many people end up dismissing fashion as frivolous, and it can be tempting to do the same with SEO.

Creating quality content isn’t about flair — it’s about creating a match between what you say, what your audience wants and what their intentions are when they make a particular search. If content is in the right form, meets your audience’s informational and emotional needs — and, yes, uses the right keywords naturally — it’s quality content.

The beauty of having strong content is that you can promote it on social media, adapt it to sales collateral and be proud to show it off. 

Business
Marketing
SEO

5 Easily Avoidable Mistakes

Submitted by a.foley on Wed, 04/05/2017 - 10:11

Starting a successful e-commerce business is no easy feat. Everyone makes mistakes and learns valuable lessons, but that doesn’t mean you need to make the mistakes yourself to learn and grow. You can learn from other people’s mistakes and avoid making them yourself.

1. A Generic ‘About Us’ Page
Your About Us page should include the background of your business, how did it get started, who started it, and why? If you offer a unique product, then how is it made, what’s the story behind it? You should also include your contact and location details on your About Us, if you have an office, factories, physical stores, then you should list all of those locations on your About Us page too, and include pictures, or videos so people can get some insight into your business and see for themselves what it’s like.

Business
Ecommerce
Marketing
SEO

SEO is Still a good Investment

Submitted by a.foley on Tue, 03/28/2017 - 10:07

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) continues to be one of those areas of business that still puzzles entrepreneurs, both new and established, across the web. However, this isn’t because there’s lack of information about it. On the contrary, there is far too much information floating around and, unfortunately a lot of it is false.  And the most damaging notion that keeps making appearances is that SEO is dead and that any investment in this strategy is a waste of resources. This couldn’t be more wrong.

It is understandable for new businesses looking to save money to fall quickly for such misinformed baits. With SEO being a relatively invisible tool and slow manifesting resource, it’s an easy target.
SEO, however, is not dead. In fact, it’s much more robust and essential in the present marketing and business landscape across the world.

Business
Marketing
SEO

Luxury Ecommerce Experiences

Submitted by a.foley on Mon, 03/27/2017 - 10:08

E-commerce has long been a sore point for many luxury brands. Luxury brands differentiate themselves in part by the high-end experiences they offer in-store and have sometimes struggled to adapt those experiences to the web. Online, without the immersive experience of walking into a luxury storefront and being greeted by a thoughtfully curated assortment of products and a knowledgeable salesperson, high-end retailers worry whether their luxury goods will be as appealing.

Luxury retailers seek to solve this problem by re-creating luxury experiences online.

Storytelling

Storytelling is arguably the most important aspect of the luxury e-commerce experience. Luxury brands are defined by their heritage, by a rich history of craftsmanship and design, and those aspects of the brand must be communicated online.

Business
Ecommerce
Marketing
SEO

Handling Negative comments and keeping your Customer Happy

Submitted by a.foley on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 10:34

The often ignored big picture is the fact that negative comments can actually help build a better business if they are heard and the get the attention they deserve. Here are 3 ways comments can help your business progress:

1. Improving your products and services
By taking the time to read your customers' feedback, you’ll better understand what people like and dislike about your organization. Getting positive and happy comments? That’s great, keep it up and don’t get lazy. If you are getting negative comments, think about the issues that your customers have and do you best to alleviate those pain points.

Business
Ecommerce
Marketing

Location Extensions for Local Businesses

Submitted by a.foley on Tue, 03/21/2017 - 10:15

Google has begun automatically appending location extensions to eligible Google Display Network ads when users are nearby and express interest in a certain category of business.

Like location extensions in Search and Maps, display ad location extensions will include information such as photos, business hours, and store location.

Google display ads with location extensions will be shown to users who are near the location and may be interested in a particular business. Google gives the example of a user browsing a food blog being shown and ad for a local bakery complete with location extensions.

Internal data from Google indicates location extensions lead to an increase in clicks to a business, with 60% of clicks being related to directions or store information.

Location extensions can be added to display network campaigns campaigns by selecting the option to “Extend my ads with location information.”

Business
Marketing
SEO

Tips for Cross-Border Ecommerce

Submitted by a.foley on Mon, 03/20/2017 - 10:08

With the strong dollar over the last few years, many retailers have shied away from looking at cross-border ecommerce. However, even with some minor fluctuations in the foreign exchange markets, it is still best to have the right cross-border enabled infrastructure and mechanics so you can take advantage of a smart growth opportunity and be ready to act no matter the exchange rate.

For many businesses, it seems obvious. Broadening the aperture to expand into new markets is one of the best ways to grow your business and increase profits. The real challenge is fully optimizing the potential of cross-border ecommerce. For businesses currently offering a cross-border experience, it’s imperative to constantly be improving the experiences and thinking about what you can be doing better.

Business
Ecommerce
Marketing
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