Nice People Numero Dos

No, this is not about my web site translated into Spanish.

This is about a first in my 6 years in business and how I got a hand-written Thank You note from a customer today. While I love the 21st century, a little old-fashioned class is nice. So here's to Gloria - I like her style!

I know some of my web sites are successful for my clients, but rarely do they tell me about it. I've accepted that as part of doing business. After all they DO pay me, and that's thanks enough.

But the incoming President of the Chamber of Commerce took her time to sit down and write me a thank-you for my presentation at the Annual Meeting.

Those little things are appreciated by most people and make us all feel special when we get them. Good Karma, good Karma...

Lunch 'n Learn Presentation

That's right gentle readers and loyal fans, I'm giving a presentation for the Chamber.

Here's their press release to papers, radio and TV:

Cañon City Chamber of Commerce
403 Royal Gorge Blvd.
Cañon City, CO 81212

Sept. 26, 2006

Community Calendar Item

Who: Cañon City Chamber of Commerce

What: Lunch & Learn presentation, “Using the Internet to Market Your Business”

When: Thursday, Oct. 5 from 12:15-1:15 p.m.

Where: Merlino’s Belvedere Restaurant, 1330 Elm Ave., Cañon City

How do I register? Please RSVP to the Chamber at 275-2331 by Oct. 4. Cost is $25 and includes lunch.

Additional information

The Cañon City Chamber of Commerce presents this month’s Lunch & Learn topic, “Using the Internet to Market Your Business.” Featured speaker is Cindy Dykstra of CD Webmaker, the designer of the Chamber’s own website. The presentation includes:

• Why Internet marketing is so powerful
• Things you need to know before jumping in
• Planning for a successful web site
• Driving traffic to your web site

I don't really get too nervous about public speaking (especially for a GEEK), but seeing this in print, hearing it on radio, and seeing it on TV makes me think about some serious meditation (or knocking over a drug store for some valium LOL).

DISCLAIMER: if that part about the drug store upsets you, get a sense of humor or quit reading this blog!

Ready for Internet Explorer 7?

Word on the street is that IE7 will be released before the end of this year. Although "released" may not be the best description. More like it will be pushed from its cage into the wild.

Remember when Windows Service Pack 2 was automatically downloaded and installed if you had Windows Updates turned on and set to do just that? I hear that's what's going to happen with the new browser release.

I also hear that Redmond has done some good things, or has tried anyway, with IE7. Tabbed browsing like FireFox, security fixes, and most importantly to web designers and developers, support for CSS2.

That should make web engineers everywhere happy, right? Well...we'll see. It will depend on how prepared they are when the day comes that the auto updates are installed. Since we all have to work around IE6 now, our scripts and CSS are going to be a little funky in IE7. How funky? Personally I don't know yet.

My laptop gets out of the shop on Monday, and I'll install IE7 on that machine, NOT my main box. Then I'll start looking at my client's sites to see if they stand up. I'm betting there'll be some work to do on several of them.

Question is: How will my clients take being billed to fix their site because of Microsoft's new "release"? and How are we supposed to make our CSS etc. work for both the new version as well as the machines that don't have 7 installed?

Net Neutrality

Sorry, no time for any commentary this morning, but here's another round of dirty politics from Ted Stevens. Read the article on the poll he and his telecom buddies devised to give firmer ground to his bills.

Net Neutrality Poll Down "The Tubes"

Then visit www.itsournet.org and speak your piece!

Web Site accessibility (for the blind and deaf)

Target was sued (and lost) for offering items on its web site that it didn't offer in its store AND not making the web site accessible to the blind.

Target is a huge company and I'm just a one-woman business but I figured out a long time ago that the blind and /or deaf also shop, read and connect. Why would any business close their doors to that group of consumers?

I think the answer is most web site owners have webmasters who wouldn't know where to start to make a site accessible. Accessibility was a big reason for me to start designing in XHTML and CSS. Now I know my designs aren't perfect, but I'm TRYING!

The other reason to be concerned about accessibility is that I'm in my forties (not a twenty-something with perfect 20/20 vision!), I have bad eyes and work at a computer screen up to 14 hours a day. Every time I see my eye doctor I ask if I should order that seeing-eye dog yet.

I will want to be able to shop, read and interact online 20 years from now just like I do now. So, yeah, I'm going to be screaming accessibility more each year.

Another thing is that I'm a big believer in the Internet being for everyone: rich, poor, young, old, blind, sighted, deaf and hearing. I promote Net Neutrality and I support accessibility. Let's keep the 'Net open and free to ALL!

Here's a forum discussion on the Target lawsuit and accessibility issues.

How to Choose Domain Names for Your Website

How do you expect to be found by people who don't know the name of your business? There are three categories of domain names to be chosen in order to make your domain name work for your website. In this article about choosing domain names for your web site, I'll explain each category and why you need one from each of them.

I recommend getting all three types of domain names to cover your bases. In the competitive world that is online marketing and search, you want every advantage you can get.

Selling the sizzle...

Most people, me included! just don't get this. It's not an easy thing to get.

"Don't sell the sausage, sell the sizzle."

Even if you do get it, how do you do it? Selling the customer what they want-happiness, confidence, peace of mind means thinking differently about your product or service. Your online, or offline business does so much better if you can pull it off.

Here's a great forum thread about doing just that so you can learn to "Sell the Sizzle...".