The decision of whether or not to have your website done in all flash should not be big one.  The designing of an all flash website may be more attractive and aesthetically pleasing but all flash websites should be avoided as search engines can not fully read the content or links embedded within the medium.

If the above statement alone is not enough to avoid building out an all flash website, consider the following:

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Popularity: 4% [?]

E-Commerce Times – Court Ruling Lets Yahoo Web Radio Avoid Big Licensing Fees

Viral Blog – Can Gap Refresh Sagging Brand With Facebook?

Advertising Age – What Happened to the Ad-Network Apocalypse?

PRWeb – Erasing Borders On Facebook: New VisaHQ.com Widget Instantly Checks Travel Visa Requirements

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Popularity: 4% [?]

We’ve been talking corporate blogging with almost every client and prospect for a while now. We’ve cited branding reasons and SEO reasons for blogging, among others. Sometimes it’s a hard sell. Companies not focused on web marketing find it difficult to justify budget spending in untested areas.

To start a blog, a company needs available resources: budget, employee(s), strategy, and promotions. How do you convince a company NOT blogging that it’s in their best interest to start? For internet marketing agencies like ours, it always helps when a study is announced that supports your recommendations.

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Popularity: 67% [?]

This month, I’ve received somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 spam @ replies on my personal twitter account. It’s got me wondering if my 16 month old prediction (that everyone will eventually privatize their accounts) might actually come true. The way Twitter apps typically work today, any and all replies using the @username convention are updated into a person’s reply column.

At some point, Twitter spammers are going to do more than mass follow. They’re going to start talking to you. And me. And everyone else. Picture a spam account created for the sole purpose of broadcasting unwanted marketing messages at anyone and everyone. Spammers don’t even have to follow you. They can send messages to your reply column  as frequently as they want.

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Popularity: 19% [?]

Happy Friday to everyone!  Check out some of this week’s interesting headlines:

Reuters – Apple probes iPhone explosion reports

Examiner – Social media banned in college stadiums

CNN.com/Technology – Report criticizes Yahoo over prescription-drug ads

Advertising Age – Viral Video Chart: Roller Babies’ Reign Ends, Microsoft in Top Spot

Internet News – Wikipedia Mobile debuts; Upgrade for Facebook iPhone App on tap

DMNews – White House adjusts e-mail opt-in after allegedly sending unsolicited e-mails

Wired – CBS Embeds a Video Playing Ad in a Print Magazine

Venture Beat – Twitter to roll out commercial accounts this year 

CNET – Not so fast, Twitter: ‘Tweet’ isn’t yours

Popularity: 4% [?]

Email Marketing continues to be a versatile, timely and cost-effective channel to communicate.  If you’re selling products or sharing information there are some basics you need to follow.  Here are five tips for creating and managing a successful email program.

1.  Have a Plan

Don’t make the mistake and create on-the-fly email messages.  Being reactionary can cost you in the long run.  Take the time to create a strategy for your email marketing campaigns.  Be sure to:

• Align your email strategy with the business objectives

• Determine and document the success and conversion metrics (e.g. increase email sign ups, increased online sales, increase in-store purchases, etc.)

• Create an editorial calendar

• Be flexible and expect to make adjustments to your plan

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Popularity: 38% [?]

Mashable – HOW TO: Use Facebook for Professional Networking

Technology Review – An Operating System for the Cloud

Seo By the Sea – Keywords and Content and Seach Suggestions from Time-Related Queries

Copyblogger – The Seven Deadly Sins of Blogging

Mashable – Google Caffeine: What You Need to Know

SEO Blackhat – Mandatory Commercials Have Come to YouTube

Advertising Age – How Wedded Are Marketers to the iPhone?

ClickZ – How Google’s Caffeine Will Impact PPC

Internet News – Microsoft Blocked From Selling Word, Fined $290M

PEW Research Center – Forty Years After Woodstock, A Gentler Generation Gap

Information Week – Sony Battles Amazon With Open E-Book Standard

eMarketer – The Online Video Advertising Picture Clears Up

DMNews – Ad effectiveness on content sites outranks ad networks and portals, according to study

Popularity: 4% [?]

If you have a Twitter or Friendfeed account, you’ve no doubt already heard the news that Facebook acquired Friendfeed. But what does that mean to users like you and me?

Granted, the majority of you probably didn’t have a Friendfeed account 48 hours ago. Just last week, I tried to get my Facebook friends to sign up while Twitter was down, and I got a whopping two people to give it a try. My own sister was one of those two. And after a few days, her conclusion was that Friendfeed is overwhelming.

What plans might Facebook have for the future? As Nick O’Neil of AllFacebook.com stated Monday, “…the companies are being relatively tight lipped about information surrounding the acquisition…” So the best we can do is take a quick look and offer a speculation or two.

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Popularity: 61% [?]

Sometimes we need to be reminded that there are many ways to reduce and limit expensive Research costs by using the wide range of available online resources that offer information, research and tools at no cost.  We have compiled a list of the top web sites that are worth checking out.

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Popularity: 23% [?]

Here are this week’s articles to remember. Have a great weekend!

Twitter – The Adventure Continues

Web Worker Daily – Back Up Your Social Media Profiles

Technology Review – Warning Issued on Web Programming Interfaces

VentureBeat – Google goes after Microsoft Office with word-of-mouth workplace marketing tools

Advertising Age – Nike, Frito-Lay Can’t Disrupt Evian’s Viral-Video Dominance

Advertising Age – Creating Sustainable Conversations Will Define Success in Future

Technology Review – Cuil Tries to Rise Again

CNet – Facebook hits one billion video views

Computer World – Image gallery: 10 Apollo-era technologies used today

SEOMoz – Building SEO in the Development Process

FriendFeed – Popular iPhone Apps for FriendFeed

Popularity: unranked [?]