The Web Development Blog is moving!

As some of you have heard, I'm leaving University Marketing and Communications, and will be doing freelance Web design and consulting. But that doesn't mean I'll stop blogging. It just means that I'm moving the blog to a new location at http://www.heidicool.com/blog/.

MKTG 101: Web Content Should Serve Visitor Needs

Some new Twitter users want to help me get rich, find peace with my life and help me tap my inner invisible pink unicorn to be spiritually one with the universe. I know this because they post links telling me they can make this happen if I buy their books and CD's or read their blogs. They just never tell me exactly HOW this is supposed to happen.

MKTG 101: Social Media Marketing is still marketing—know your audience

Social Media Marketing is hip. It seems like everyone wants to get involved, call themselves an expert and use the magical powers of social media to triple sales, recruit students, etc. But social media isn't magic. Social media, like advertising, direct mail and telemarketing is but one of many tools in the marketer's toolbox. Like any tool it needs to be used in the proper context—in conjunction with other marketing strategies. As such social media—when used for marketing—still relies on basic marketing principles such as understanding your target audience, the features and benefits of your product or service, brand awareness and so forth.

2 Top 5 Lists = 1 Top Ten List: My most read Web Development Blog entries from 2008

Now that the New Year has been rung in, it seems that the meme of the moment is to blog about the year in review. So I thought I'd follow suit. I looked over my blog entries to see if I'd trended towards any new themes for 2008. While I have written more on social media this year (who hasn't?) I quickly noted that my topics overall continued to range across a wide array of Web related subjects. Next I looked at my stats to see which articles were getting the most traffic and comments.

Social Media is People (but more enriching than Soylent Green*)

Everyone wants to know how to take advantage of social media. Whether it's to promote a business or an academic program, it's not unusual to hear people as, "How should we be using Twitter?" or "What should we do with Facebook?" The questions often focus on the tools, but as I've mentioned before, in Social Media: Your Interactive Information Resource, social media is about making connections—human connections. While this has been apparent to me for sometime, it's become increasingly clear over the past month. So rather than writing a typical how-to or advice article, today I'll just tell you about two recent events that really drive this message home.