Archive for July, 2009

Web hosting has been around now for almost two decades. It has remained relatively unchanged in how it works. There is one major difference and that is how the data centers (the centers where the web servers are housed) are powered. We have begun to move to using alternative energy to power them and by using these companies, we are helping the green movement as well.

Just like our home computers, the servers that drive the Internet need sufficient and constant reliable power. When you consider the amount of power that data centers consume on  a daily basis between the computing equipment and the cooling equipment to ensure the heat doesn’t overcome the equipment, large numbers of kilowatts of electricity are used to power these great sized rooms or buildings.

Just like everything else in the last year or so since the great increase in price of fuel and the threat of global warming, there is now the push to power data centers with alternative energy.  Some hosting companies are already using alternative energy to power their operations, and not just a little.

HostGator.com, which is based in Texas, is one of those hosts that have completely made their hosting farm a “green” farm. They power their equipment completely by wind power and putting some of that generated power back into the grid. It is not shows how HostGator is being responsible to the environment, but is a model that alternative power could be used to totally replace traditional fossil fuel based power plants.

This blog and the associated web site, are hosted by Hostgator and therefore are entirely powered by alternative engery sources. If you’re looking for a way to put “green” measures into your own business model, I would consider looking at Hostgator for your web hosting needs. I have been completely satisfied not only with their product, but also with their great support backed by a great staff of people.

I have always been an advocate for using alternative fuels and I think we are just at the beginning of a new beginning of fuels that continue to renew themselves. In the future, it is easy to imagine now that alternative energies such as solar, wind, and other sources will be used to power the new backbone of our society, the Internet.

Businesses exist only because of one thing, customers. Without customers there is no business. Therefore, customer relationships  and how they are treated are key to the success and growth of your business whether online or offline.

There are many ways to develop great relationships with customers. The old fashioned way was to visit them in person and make the face to face contact so that the connection was made on what you do, what they do and how your service could improve their bottom line. Most of the time this was done using real world examples that existed and could be referred to in a conversation.

The new kid on the block for developing quality relationships with customers is social media. This new online development which came as part of the Web 2.0 philospohy has made developing relationships with prospective customers huge. In the past, your relationships with prospects was limited to how far you could travel in a day, unless you traveled overnight to a distant locale. Now through the Internet, it is now possible to build a relationship with someone in not only another city, but in other countries in the same day.

We are all familiar with comfort foods. They are the foods that make us feel good. Customer relationships work the same way. Customers will build trust in you after a while and begin to turn to you for their answers the same way they turn to their favorite comfort food when in need of something tasty and close to the heart. Therefore, it is important to keep the trust in place between you and your customer.

It has always been my belief that the customer should be treated with the utmost respect as they are the reason why you remain in business. If the customer keeps coming back to you, it is in your best interest to also help them out in some way so that they continue to spread the word about you. Great customer relationships will result in great word-of-mouth advertising, something that is greater than any advertising method available. However, it is up to the way customer relations is addressed that will determine your destiny as a professional.

On June 24th, I had the great opportunity to be interviewed by Hugh Macken of VMR Communications of Marshfield, Wisconsin on BlogTalk Radio. Our hour long discussion covered various methods of using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to increase your organic search engine ranking.

With a new website coming live just about every minute, getting good search engine ranking is critical to getting your site viewed by visitors and potential customers. In the interview, we covered topics such as proper site design to enhance search engine friendliness all the way to the importance of inbound links to your site from high ranking websites such as Google, Facebook and Twitter.

Some people say that search engine optimization is only a fad, however, the principles of proper site design, content creation, and site management are the key.  There are many blunders that are done continuously which hurt a site’s rankings. Avoiding these blunders from the start is the key to your site’s popularity among the search engines. Just like personal popularity in school and at work, web sites are judged by the search engines in the same manner. Getting over those obstacles is your goal.

I invite you all to listen to this conversation that may take edge off your mind about search engine optimization and how it can serve as a major marketing advantage to your business and your own personal professional reputation.

I’d like to introduce myself .  I’m Stephen Kriso and have been working in the Technology field for over 10 years. In 2001, I established SAK Information Systems as a total solutions provider for networks and web technologies.  Since then, I have investigated just about every new concept and tool that can be used to enhance the Internet marketing experience.

It has always been my goal to share with friends, family and clients my thoughts on business and especially ideas when it comes to the Internet and its direction. Therefore, the reason that this blog has been established is to be able to comment on new discoveries and technologies in the world of Internet communications and marketing.

The main goal behind establishing this blog is to communicate directly with the public on a more personal note about what is happening within Internet marketing and ways to embrace emerging methodologies. The Internet has grown since its inception in the 90’s and will continue to grow as a communications medium. Even though it seems like it has matured, it is still a young medium and trying to find its own way in our evolving world.

It seems like everyday there is a new web marketing tool coming to the foreground that can help market yourself or your business. Some of them work well from the start and others needs some maturing before they become viable. That’s the essence of this blog, to talk about emerging technologies and how to incorporate them.

As the Internet changes to mold to current trends, I encourage you to comment and make suggestions on services and products that enhance uses of the Internet.