3/8/2012

As many of you know, I've been spending the past week + at the hospital with a dear friend who is in serious condition. This has forced me to rely on my IPAD2 for communications and connections to the real world.  For the most part, I've been happy with the IPAD, it is a handy-dandy little device and a lot easier to lug around than even my netbook and much easier to browse than my smartphone.  

I have been disappointed to find numerous bits of code that can't or won't work correctly on the IPad2 (and will be just as problematic on the new device being released this month). The first Ipad and Iphones all had simulators for testing so web developers could keep up with the coding changes.  Unfortunately the later versions don't.

With that said, we all need to check our websites on the latest Ipads.  The statistics are showing a fast spike in traffic from tablets and handheld devices. If your site uses any depreciated code we need to move fast to fix the items.  Most can be upgraded now.

 

2/15/2012

I thought I'd take a few minutes to create my own "What I Do" meme.

10/20/2011

SEO - With a full plate of SEO work this week, I recieved an infographic that reminds me why my sites always do well with the search engines.  Take a look if you are interested.

Phishing Alert:  Have you received your domain keyword expiration warning by email?  This is a scam.  There is no such thing.  Delete the email and move on.  If you use gmail, go ahead and mark it as spam.  We would love gmail to blacklist this unethical company.

9/27/2011

Important Stuff

I'll be in Vancouver BC from 10/1 - 10/9.  During that time you can still contact me by email even though I'll have to open a computer to read it since I can't get a data plan for my smart phone that will work in Canada.  I won't be able to do site updates but will be there for any server type emergencies.

 Latest Cool New Stuff

The last few months I've been having a blast developing websites for the latest and best browsers.  As I backwards check for the few people who haven't upgraded, I'm reminded how much those users are missing.  If you think you are missing out consider this a reminder that change is sometimes really, really good!  At a minimum you should ditch all versions of Internet Explorer and start using Firefox or Google Chrome for the latest in tools and productivity.  

The industry standard used to be develop all the way back but that is no longer gospel.  Fewer and fewer developers can make cutting edge websites that work on cretacious era systems.  The demand for multi-browser support now means making sure it works on a 42" monitor, a standard lap-top, a tablet and a smartphone.  With the move towards touch technology and mobile functionality, the cost factor to backward design an average website for IE7 and below is simply not worth the effort.

 

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older stuff 

Email Server Hell

For the past week  many of you have had problems sending and receiving emails.You haven't been alone.  It hasn't mattered how your domains have processed emails, which server, which ISP or which email client you've been using. The system has been quietly sputtering to a near stand-still.

Overview (skip this if you don't care):

Ultimately, the problem lies in the need to fight the huge volume of spam that crosses the world every minute of every day.  To combat these annoying and sometimes malicious attacks, ISP's (Internet Service Providers) have tried a variety of ways to authenticate a legitimate sender vs. a potential spammer.  Over the years protocols have been implemented then abandoned as each has failed to do more than put a bandaid on a gaping wound.

All email providers, hosting companies and ISPs have tried to keep up with the changes even as they vary from provider to provider. We've added various records, signatures and authentication schemes responding in fits and starts. The biggest complication is that no governing body or single protocol applies so we often end up chasing our own tail.

Latest Problem

Beginning about July 1, several different problems converged to become a perfect storm.  The biggest email providers (Yahoo, Gmail & AOL) tightened up incoming authentication checks.  Several of the biggest RBL's (real  black holes - AKA real-time black-lists) were timing-out causing false positives.  Smaller providers were also upgrading protocols.  Suddenly everyone but the spammers were getting delivery failure notices!

By Friday afternoon I was getting phone calls from around the planet asking for help!

Solutions

Since there were multiple problems and a variety of providers - not all solutions applied to every domain.  However, there are two items that should be applied to all domain emails

Static IP addresses for outgoing emails. This means that each domain on a single server is responsible for it's own white list status.  You can't be blamed for someone else's bad email habits. 

SPF and Domain Keys.  Each domain should have these dns records telling the recipient that yes, you have the right to send using this email address. 

Unfortunately it's not as straightforward as I'm making it sound.  Creating good records is a finicky job and testing, testing, testing to make them work took days. What would work for gmail would get bounced from yahoo and so on.

What Can You Do?

You have to be proactive and protect the reputation of your domain's emails services.  

• If you use an auto-signature on your emails keep it simple and make sure that you aren't triggering beysian filtering for spammy words.  Your name, phone number and URL is really all you need in the signature.   
• Don't send bulk email through your domain account.  Use a service like Constant Contact and send ONLY to an opt-in list.  Keep that opt-in list clean!   
• Understand your ISP's outgoing email policy.  If they block port 25 you can end up with failures sending.  If they block incoming emails for any reason you can end up missing important emails.  Use your trusted sender list to minimize problems.    
• If you need my help with your outgoing / incoming email problems make sure to send me a forwarded copy of the offending email so I can use the underlying code to track down the problem.  

Current Status

As of today, Monday July 11, most of the serious issues are being resolved for those of you who contacted me last week.  There are still a few lingering problem providers out there but those will resolve as their dns cache clears.

Long Term Solution

It's very likely that this isn't the end of the bigger problem.  60 BILLION spam messages are being sent every day.  The sheer volume is changing how we use electronic mail.   

Many of you should consider moving your domain email from the free, or add-on service that comes with your hosting account to a email service provider such as Google Apps for Business.  The cost of service/cost of doing business ratio works out for many small businesses to a ++ solution.  This does not change your domain hosting it simply is a specialty service that works.  The add-on benefits are tremendous.  Let me know if you need more information about how, why or if it would help you.

It's a Mobile World

Think you can wait until next year to get your marketing ready for SmartPhones?  Think again. SmartOn Mobile reports that: 

• 100.9 million smartphones were sold in Q4 of 2010, up by 87.2% from the same time in 2009.

• 79% will buy smartphones in the next 2 years

• 72% open emails more often on their phones, or equally on their phones and computers.

• 67% prefer a (native) mobile application over a mobile website when it comes to utility functions.

• 59% want to receive real time notifications on important updates from nonprofit mobile apps

• 15 million tablets were sold in 2010

If you don't have a smart phone you may find it hard to understand the appeal, but once you've made the switch you'll wonder how you ever got by without one.  Moreover, you'll discover how important UX (user experience) is when shrunk to a computer the size of a cell phone.

Most websites don't need to be rebuilt from scratch, you'll just need some user functions added. Navigation and action steps need to be made a bit bigger and easier to use when the visitor is "all thumbs". Forms need to be super clean in code and in style - simplify your steps whenever possible.

Scalability is pretty weird in this brave new mobile world.  A website needs to look as good on a smart phone as it does on a honking big wide flat screen monitor.  If it matters to your visitor - it matters to you.  Borrow a smart phone from your favorite young person and test your website yourself.

The mobile explosion has moved faster than the experts predicted.  You don't have to be a psychic to see opportunity here. This is one more chance to position yourself ahead of your competition.