Anttix's blog

Businesses have a tendency to focus on their standard demographic. If they typically serve a specific age, gender, orientation, or interest group, it is natural to sometimes narrowly define that group when creating a marketing plan. It is important, however, to expand the scope to include other growing markets whenever possible.

As the senior citizen internet user population increases, how should your website respond? The good news is that the 'rules' are largely the same, with a few minor tweaks.

Begin with a straightforward approach

Each year American citizens are faced with options when it comes to filing their tax returns. While plenty still prepare their own forms, and others prefer to hire professionals to do the dirty work, growing numbers of people are shelling out cash for tax preparation software. If you decide to go this route, it is important to understand some general guidelines.

Choosing a Brand

You told them what?!
A teenager I know recently approached me excitedly. He told me all about the online contest he had won. Among hundreds of thousands of others, he was selected to receive $1,000, and various perks, including free dvd rentals. Naturally suspicious, I asked him when and how he entered this contest. "That was the best part-- I didn't even have to enter!" he boasted.

When I was growing up, I remember adults quipping that, "Only two things in life are certain-- death and taxes." Perhaps these days that adage should be changed to read "death, taxes, and computer viruses". Either you have already experienced the frustration of dealing with a computer virus, or you will, at some point, be the target of an attack. This should not be cause for alarm, provided you are armed with the best defense.

Choosing Antivirus Software

Last month we examined the advantages and disadvantages of ereaders. The final decision of whether or not to own one may come down to whether you are a reader who does not mind learning new technology once in a while, or a techie who does not mind reading once in a while. As I definitely fall into the first category, I did not find ereader navigation to be as intuitive as the advertisements would have you believe. In fact, my first reaction was shear appreciation for the cognitive simplicity and tactile satisfaction of traditional books.

In the August Anttix Antics, we ran an article introducing the reincarnated Microsoft search engine known as Bing. While there are countless legitimate search engines available to satisfy your query needs, most of us do not feel too creative when it comes to the routine task of locating information. We tend to choose a search engine as our default, and conveniently pop phrases in as needed.

A broken-in pair of slippers, a mug of steaming coffee, and your favorite... screen? Hand held electronic book screens, better known as e-readers, popped up as gifts from coast to coast this past holiday season. While Amazon released its Kindle in late 2007, this was the year e-readers really caught on, partly due to an aggressive advertisement campaign as newcomers Barnes & Noble Nook and Sony Reader entered the competition.

It might seem that a website company is naturally green because there are no smoke stacks or toxic waste outputs, but that's not necessarily correct. Sometimes it is the little things that you overlook that can affect our environment.

Aside from the trendiness of 'going green', it simply makes sense for any company, period. By becoming a green company you can save money, help the environment, gain tax breaks, serve the community, and attract responsible customers and employees.

Were you among the throngs of fans who googled Michael Jackson back in June? Or did you do some research to find out how much cash Uncle Sam might give you for your clunker? Maybe you followed the Jon & Kate Plus 8 (divide by 2) math. The results from the major search engines are in, and while some top searches reflect popular topics of 2009, a few sites are quietly sneaking upward.

How important is your online retail presence? Just ask the Mercent eCommerce Index. Mercent measures year-on-year (YOY) same-seller online gross merchandise value. According to their data, the 24-hour period beginning late Thanksgiving Day 2009 saw a 33% overall growth relative to last year's sales (EarthTimes.org). While physical stores reported minimal (if any) increase over last year's economy-drained holiday shopping season, it appears online stores enjoyed a healthy surge.