I’ve talked about the Future of Flash in the past, and well, technically now that the future is here I thought we should discuss it again.

First of all, I still stand by my original thoughts about Flash and SEO, however, Google has recently made some interesting improvements. One problem flash developers were facing was that Google would index any external content linked in the flash files as a separate entity. That’s if Google would index the external content at all. But now Google has added “external resource loading”.

This means that when a SWF file loads content from some other file—whether it’s text, HTML, XML, another SWF, etc.—we can index this external content too, and associate it with the parent SWF file and any documents that embed it.

- Official Google Webmaster Central Blog

So What’s The Current State of SEO and Flash?

Although most SEOs would argue to stay away from flash because of it’s inability to index the content properly, I would argue that it almost doesn’t matter anymore. SEOmoz said something that caught my ear in their “New Policies Based on Updated Correlation Data“. They basically implied that header tags have less weight associated with them than they did in the past. It almost seems as if Google is paying less attention to the HTML markup and more attention to incoming links and conversations around the content.

So if your flash is getting indexed and you have a quality content with relevant incoming links, you should not have any problems with Flash being indexed and ranked properly in the search engines.

Now before you go and rip my head off I should state a few obvious problem that still exist:

• There are still accessibility issues (portable devices) when using flash elements however a good flash developer should know their way around them.
• HTML still provides a better format to organize your content for more efficient indexing

The main takeaways here should be that people should not be afraid to at least experiment with flash. It no longer has the indexing issues it used to have. Also, Google still supports the use of SWFObject which takes care of a lot of the indexing problems flash still has.

- Photo by Mazintosh << de nuevo en Granada >>

With the Internet moving at the speed of light it is important that companies keep up in an age of on-demand lifestyles. It may not be for everyone, but for most it is essential that you be kept up to date in the latest communication methods. Furthermore it is more important than ever that your company is only clicks away from your next most valuable client.

Here are a few things companies need to know these days:

1) Your website is more than a business card. The days of static websites floating out in the Internet are gone. Websites these days need to be focused on providing the most appropriate and up to date information to it’s viewers at all times. This is why it is almost essential that your website be on some sort of content management system that allows your most qualified staff to update your site with ease. It’s also important to have some sort of analytics in place so you can optimize your site based on it’s usage.

2) Position your self. Forget the yellow pages, is your site optimized for Google searches? Like I said before, we live in an on-demand world now and you need to position yourself to be found by your target audience. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing your website with keywords and easily indexable code. Some content management systems help with the SEO by cleaning up the HTML and linking structure of your site so it’s important to take into consideration when choosing the best platform.

3) Communicate. Who needs cold calling or newspaper ads when you have services like LinkedIn and Twitter ready and willing to facilitate your business networking at lightening speed. The mind shift has already taken place and people are openly talking about their lives with millions of other people from around the world. Learning how to use and leverage these tools to expand your business’s potential is a necessity in this economy.

4) Embrace your community. Companies are starting to submit to the candid discussions happening in social media. It’s no longer about controlling your image but rather responding to your communities feedback to make it better. This is a great reason to start blogging and monitoring the blogosphere for relevant conversations in your industry.

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The times are changing fast and you can either get on board and ride a long or you’ll get left behind.

Contact Magicomm today to learn how we can help you make the transition.

- Photo by boboroshi

Recognizing the merging of media workflows is HUGE for Printers and their customers

I have reviewed the new Adobe Creative Suite 4 features and I have only one thing to say…AWESOME…INCREDIBLE….WOW!

Ok, that was more than one word, but Adobe has really outdone themselves this time. What is clear is that they have recognized that “Content is King” and the creators of the content need to move faster and be more efficient, while enabling them to move across different medium seamlessly. Consider It Done, Number 1!

In reviewing the key new features of the entire CS4 product line, I have some thoughts. I know that many of you will be surprised at that, but let’s discuss that at another time. My thoughts are below.

• Speed Enhancements: Photoshop really got a supercharged upgrade. Moving large file without having significant wait times is a big deal. None of us get paid extra for watching the screen refreshing. That just costs us time and money. Besides, we have a tendency to be bored and then our attention will wonder to Twitter (@ricklittrell) or check the local news on the economy (well, maybe not. I don’t want to get depressed). Also, adding real time Preflight lets us fix things while we are working on them and will help us down the road as these files get deeper in the process, where all changes are more expensive and could impact the final delivery. Multiple art boards in Illustrator shows that they recognize the reality that in integrated marketing has many parts and that they all may not be the same. Good Call!
• Image Editing: Content-Aware scaling is INCREDIBLE! When I first saw it in the announcement, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’m sure that situations will arise that will cause some hiccups, but just making the scaling algorithm more “content sensitive” is very cool. I don’t know how they did that, but my hats off to them (whoever “them” is at Adobe). Additionally, enhancing the editing of 3-D images will make these tools a “must have” for those of us (and who would not qualify in the graphics industry) that provide solutions integrated with the internet. I can only image what type of Avatars will come from this feature set. This will be fun to watch.
• Video: They have clearly shifted into high gear with the video functionality. With video being one of the fastest growing areas on the internet, having more tools at your finger tips for video and audio editing and integration will be a huge time saver, as well as allowing us to better build the imagery that our clients push us to. Variable video will become easier to produce and deploy. By adding their new “Speech to text” abilities that will link directly to the metadata, will enhance our ability to search for specific scenes and make these clips more internet search friendly. The search engine optimization friendliness of this function is HUGE! Don’t leave home without it.
• Interaction between Adobe applications: They have completed (for the time being) the integration of Macromedia into the Adobe core product line. Bouncing from medium to medium, without losing significant features in the process, allows designers/illustrators/photographers to play in all mediums at once. This will not replace the skill sets required to excel in each medium, but this recognizes that being “multi-media” friendly is the new world (and very fun world) for the creative and graphics production community. Kudos to Adobe for giving us the ability and tools to do this more easily. This is a step forward with enabling us to produce cross media solutions quicker. It’s still a challenge, but the mediums have so much overlap in today’s marketing, graphics production, and creative world, it just got easier to do. NOT EASY, just easier.
• Collaboration: By bundling in with Acrobat Connect, they understand that everyone on the team for a project may not be in the same location. That is the reality today for most of us. Due to the complexity of the integrated campaigns that have become the norm, most of us partner with others to expand our abilities to support our clients in an expanding media world. NO ONE, not even the biggest companies, can have on staff the necessary skill sets to produce, at a high level, an integrated campaign without assistance from outside groups and individuals. With “the outside” being potentially beyond your country boarders, even on the other side of the world. We are in a worldwide economy (the past week’s events confirms that even more), we need tools that allow us to build best-in-class teams, from a selection of partners that potentially could be located anywhere in the world. We will still have the language and cultural issues that have to be dealt with, but the geographic issues just got reduced and we all are now closer and the better for it.

So, that’s my cut on the new Adobe Creative Suite 4. With Magicomm focusing on cross media solutions, that use variable data printing, customized emails, personalized url’s, and variable video (with social media thrown into the mix for good measure), we are very excited about this release. Many of you already know that I have been a HUGE (both physically and philosophically) supporter of Adobe for many years and with this released they have confirmed my support. Great job, Adobe! Now the challenge is…What do you do next to top this?

“See” Ya Later,

Rick Littrell

Magicomm, LLC

Here’s an idea for you. Imagine the following scenario.

You’re at work, possibly pouring your morning coffee and checking your morning email. You scan through quickly and notice a few emails with subjects like “I got your name from…” or “Really liked what you had to say about…”. What are these people talking about?

These are just a few of the subject lines you COULD be recieving by utilizing SEO and Social Media to establish yourself as a trustworthy, knowledgeable resource.

Hubspot has been doing a great job spreading the gospel of Inbound Marketing and has even created a little mini series on youtube to portray its benefits.

So how do I start getting these emails and phone calls from people who want my services?

Well first of all, every ones social media strategy is going to be a little bit different. The key thing to remember is to position yourself as a knowledgeable figure within your industry. Magicomm does this by answering questions on LinkedIn and Twitter as well as following multiple conversations across assorted marketing networks.

Something to remember is that this little thing called the Internet puts a great wealth of information at our fingertips. If Joe Somebody wants something, all he has to do is Google it. So now all you have to do is become the result.

How do I become the result?

The main idea here is quality content (if i had a nickel for every time I said that …)

So where is your quality input needed?

First thing I would try is a user run Q&A site like LinkedIn Answers or Yahoo Answers. This is a great way to establish your credibility and get your name out there.

Next I would find appropriate Ning sites to join as well as groups in popular social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Plaxo. The discussions in these groups are very focused and can be a great means of networking.

Finally I would take everything you’ve learned by participating in these networks and reading other people’s thoughts and questions, and I would use it to create original blog posts.

You’re leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that leads to your blog and hopefully, ultimately a phone call from an interested prospect.

Remember that social media is just a tool. It’s how you use it that makes it powerful.

Moving from a “Push” model to more of a “Pull” model.

The New England Printer & Publisher Magazine just published an article “The new marketing and sales business model” by John R. Graham, who is president of Graham Communications. This is one of the first articles that I have seen in a Print-focused magazine which discusses the concept of “social media marketing” and how it is impacting conventional marketing wisdom. It is important that printing companies that want to become “marketing solutions providers” pay attention to this trend. I think that he is DEAD ON in his assessment!

There’s an interesting dynamic going on now in the global marketplace. The individual is taking control of their communications (now being more appropriately called “conversations”) with corporations. Now, an individual that is not satisfied with a product or service can communicate that worldwide in nanoseconds through the power of the internet. The traditional editing process that publishers provided during the dissimilation of information has been reduced, if not completely removed in most instances. With YouTube, blogs, discussion groups, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc….The individual (or community would be a better description) has taken control of the message from the corporations. Corporations must “interact” with their customers if they expect to thrive in the future.

The concept of “Open” bi-directional communication between an individual and a corporation should be the rule, not the exception. By using this strategy, while engaging in a conversation, you will reap surprised by the results. But putting this into place requires commitment of resources and time. You have to develop a culture that wants to share and be committed to create an “individual” conversation between your customer/market/prospect. Strategies will vary, but the result will remain the same…Have conversation with individuals, Enhance relationship with market, Expand revenue opportunities. It’s as simple as that.

“See” Ya Later,

Rick Littrell

Magicomm, LLC