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Yes. Branding is one of the most important aspects to marketing. Sure, when you or your business are just starting out it might not seem like that big of a deal but it really is. Think about this: if brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, McDonald’s or Wal-Mart hadn’t taken the time to work on branding, would they have become as well-known as quickly as they did? Plus, don’t you think they took special efforts to ensure correct branding was done? It’s like this, if you want to get anywhere you need to put yourself out there. Even if you are a very small business owner, only yourself even, it’s important to get your company name out there. Just because your business is small doesn’t mean it has to look small. It’s all about perception!

There are many ways to start branding yourself. For instance you can have a catchy name or slogan. Think about Twitter - even their name is interesting. Or Google - not only is their name catchy but it’s also a play on words. Google is the largest and most used search engine today. Googol is the largest number. Coincidence? I think not.

Besides coming up with a catchy name or phrase to become well-branded, you can promote yourself. Google is a huge search engine - promote yourself on the sponsored links side of the search engine results pages (SERPs) using Pay Per Click advertising. If you are already running search, why not do email marketing. Or, better yet, write a press release about your new business. Press releases are a great way to get your name out there.

You should write a release if you have just started a new business. To write the release talk about what makes your business better than your competitors or different. What makes your business stand out. If you are running any new promotions, it’s time for  a press release. Press releases are a great way to get information out quickly and help build awareness for both branding and your site.

In a nutshell, branding is definitely important to your business. You want people to buy from you more than once, make yourself unforgettable!

Recently, I spent over an hour reading through a blog post (and the many comments) on TechCrunch: What An Antitrust Case Against Google Might Look Like. First and foremost, I must say that I learned much more than I had planned on by reading it.

The first thing I learned was to scan an articles length before printing it. I thought this would be an excellent article to reference, so I printed it out. I then walked over to the printer to find page 26 of 40 printing. So, for now on I will either copy and paste into a word document exactly what I want printed, or I’ll scan the article. Although if I would have done that in this case, I would have missed out on some of the comments as I usually dont’ read them all but felt I should this time considering all of the paper I had just used. Plus, the comments seemed to be where the real meat of the story was.  After reading this article I have learned to actually read the comments. There’s nothing like learning from other users of their experiences with whatever the hot topic at the moment is.

The next thing I learned was much more relevant to  the article. First I must say that I love Google. My dream job would be to work for Google. To be scouted by Google would be incredible. So when I read the article and read through numerous different comments from users who weren’t so fond of Google, I was a bit surprised. Granted, the majority are advertisers and not just searchers or Internet users, but being an advertiser myself I’m still very fond of Google. Sure, the clicks can get to be pretty pricey - mesothelioma starts at around $22/click for a first page click on the sponsored links - but that’s what happens when you have a highly searched keyword.

Here’s my two cents worth though. In my honest opinion, Google isn’t even really in charge of the click prices. It’s an auction. So, for those complaining of click prices and Google charging too much, I’ve got a couple recommendations: 1. try using exact match or 2. try longer tailed keywords and if you still aren’t satisfied 3. try another search engine.

So, I’m going to leave everyone with this: if you don’t like what Google has to offer - make something better.

According to TechCrunch, Facebook is taking a different approach to their Terms of Service. They are now allowing users to give their input on what they think should be done. Hopefully they will then take the feedback to heart and come up with some Terms of Service the majority will agree with. One thing Facebook founders and users must remember is that you can’t please everyone all the time.

But, this could be a huge opportunity for Facebook to grow even more. If they listen to other Facebook users and rewrite their Terms of Service to suit the needs of the users it will only increase Facebooks ever-growing popularity. People react very highly when they notice their voices being heard and their ideas being used.

For a complete listing of the Facebook Principles, which will help everyone to understand what Facebook is about, click here. While it’s a rather lengthy read, it’s also well worth it. I especially liked their 10th principle: “One World. The Facebook Service should transcent geographic and national boundaries and be available to everyone in the world.”

All I have to say is, great job Facebook. You are officially on the right path.

I was reading through the blog posts on TechCrunch when I came across this article: Trouble in the Clouds: Gmail Turns Into Gfail.It really is amazing the things people will say when their normall routine has been compromised. People were very upset at not being able to check their emails and they made sure via other means of communication that others knew of their hardships.

My question is: Why? Gmail is not the only email out there. Sure, I have 2 gmail accounts and I definitely use those more than the others but I do have other email servers should I need them. So, if there is a client that I desperately need to be in contact with, I can, just through a different email then what they were expecting. That’s probably not the most logical way to back up emails but it works when one of my email servers goes down.

Plus, lets face it, you know Google will eventually figure out what happened, fix the error and go to whatever length they need to in order to guarantee that the same problem does not happen again. So, this could have been a lesson in relaxation. After reading through the many comments on TechCrunch, it became obvious that people really do need to learn to relax.

In my opinion, location based services will be next big thing to hit both the Internet and mobile Internet users. Just as Twitter took a while to gain an Internet presence and is now starting to really explode, I feel that location-based services will do the same.

For example, Loopt is a Smartphone application where you are able to connect with friends and find out where they are. For example, if I were heading to Barnes& Noble I could use the Loopt feature to see if any of my friends were there. To do this, I would sign in to Loopt via my iPhone and look at my friends list to see where they are. Right now this isn’t very widely used as many people are just learning of the application. But, it has to start somewhere right? This social networking platform can by synched with Facebook, Twitter among other social networking sites so you are able to alert others not on your Loopt friends list of your whereabouts.

For location based services to work on your phone it needs to have a Global Position System (GPS). That is the technology that is able to pinpoint your location. This information would then be shared with those throughout your friends lists.

Location based services help with more than just friendly meet ups though. For instnace, if you were searching for a restaurant you could plug your preferences into your application and it would pull up the different restaurants near you. Or, if you were in an emergency situation and called 9-1-1, the emergency response team would be able to locate exactly where you were located.

It’s easy to see that location based services are going to be the next big thing in mobile technology. Are you going to take advantage of these great services?

Only a few months to go and the new Microsoft 7 will be here! Although the exact date has yet to be released, it should be soon.  According to CrunchGear it will be released very soon and all computers purchased on or after July 1st of this year will get the free upgrade.

So, what does this mean? Basically, you will have the latest version of Windows. The versions will synch - Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Home Premium, Vista Business to Windows 7 Professional, Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate, etc. Some of the major changes that are being talked about that have leaked out are the inclusion of Internet Explorer 8.

There are going to be many upgrades and I can’t wait to see the new and improved Windows 7 but for now I’ll just be patient. I’m not going to do as many others are doing and turn to illegal sources to get the new operating system. It will soon show that patience does pay off.

Facebook recently rewrote their terms of service. The new terms of service suggested that “Facebook would retain personal data even if someone deleted their account,” according to the BBC News.  Since this announcement, many users have been wondering if they should keep or delete their account. Mark Zuckerberg, creator of the online social website Facebook, defends his position for the changes by saying the records would be used to show how people were using the site.

With his defense in mind, I would say that he is on the right tract as it could be a safety measure. I’m saying this as I’m thinking of school shootings and myspace accounts that were investigated. But, that is really the only reason I could see those kind of measures needing to be taken. Regardless, I’m not saying whether I necessarily agree or disagree with Mark Zuckerberg.

One thing is for sure, I have faith that Mark Zuckerberg is going to get everything back on track. I feel secure in saying this after reading on TechCrunch: Zuckerberg On Who Owns User Data on Facebook: It’s Complicated. That article seemed to really shed some light on the changes that are being made. He has already made a huge step in gaining back people’s loyalty. He’s listened to what the people have said in regards to the changes and he has reverted back tothe previous terms of service per the voice of the people. I think he will have the new and improved ToS’s up in no time and they will reflect both the changes he feels need to be made and what Facebook users want.