Personal Drone Lands on White House Grounds

Personal Quadcopter drone presents potential threat to Obama.

Personal drones are already making a nuisance of themselves at the very top of the heap. That didn't take long.

Here's a text and video news report by ABC News on the drone that landed on the White House grounds.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/small-drone-found-white-house-grounds-law-enforcement/story?id=28481933

Defense of the White House is really poor, as news reports of easy breaches and fence jumpers keep coming. Common sense solutions are non-existent.

Why is the Secret Service so clueless and sloppy? Is this just incompetence, or is it verging on masochism?

A bullet pierced a White House window, but Secret Service didn't even know about it for 4 days.

What's next? Google Glass augmented reality spectacles left in the White House, video-recording its surroundings, and uploading to some rogue Tor site?

Signs of Sloppy SEO

Sometimes businesses get sloppy with their websites, especially when it comes to SEO and ROI.

You need SEO to attract qualified customers to your website. And to rise higher and higher in Google search results for your top keywords and long tail phrases. Just building a website does not mean it will do anything for you. 

There are many ways to decrease the productivity and effectiveness of your website.

Slim content. 

Failure to respond to relevant news items concerning your field. 

Not providing great answers to typical customer questions.

Poorly written content.

News page not updated frequently.

No blog posts grinding out fresh, original, link-worthy content.

Bad webpage title tags.

No meta description.

No XML site map.

No robots protocols.

More than one H1 tag and using H tags for content text formatting rather than indicating subcategories.

No call to action on every page.

Insufficient content on About page, with failure to provide company history, community involvement, charity work, trade associations, certifications, and awards.

Lack of webpages based on hot topics in your field.

PHOTO top of post: The Star.com

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/02/07/drones_pose_massive_challenges_for_aviation_industry.html

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Goodwill Big Foot message and SEO content diversity

And our Employee of the Month, a Mr. John Yeti, is eager to serve you. To his family for dinner.

Love this image. I bought 3 really great books at Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois on Pioneer Parkway today.

But what is going on in this image posted on Facebook recently?

This is a corporate message using a cartoon of a fabled creature, Big Foot, to grab attention.

This is also a nuanced motivational poster. It's communicating:

"We Goodwill employees are tough. We have the endurance and stamina of a Big Foot or Sasquatch. We can trudge through blizzards and ice tsunamis to get to work. That's how customer-centric we are."

This is a good example also of an SEO factor called Content Diversity.

You gain SEO advantages, for driving more qualified customer traffic to your website, when you provide continuous content updates in varied formats and purposes.

Don't focus entirely on sales hype, grinding out relentless offers, discounts, event invitations, we-oriented fluff, or generic persuasive communications. Joke. Divulge eccentricities. Discuss interesting aspects of corporate history. 

Share your expertise. Speak to typical customer problems, questions, and interests.

Use creative ways to get a message, like "All Locations Are Open," to your target audience and fans.

If you're in the Peoria, IL area, I'm your local internet marketing adviser and SEO services resource. Can I help you today?

CONTACT

steven.streight@gmail.com

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Pink Freud sorry music polska

Pink Freud, as play on Pink Floyd and Sigmund Freud, is a good band name for SEO purposes. 

A memorable, witty, funny, fun to say name. Then the music itself is fairly innovative and ultra modern, sort of an electronic cosmic jazz ensemble. Add cool art work for the releases, and you've got a nice product for those who need sounds to go through their ears. 

Pink Freud "sorry music polska". Space jazz deconstructions. 

PINK FREUD "Rozmowy Z Kapokiem" -- track from "sorry music polska" LP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4seS1WcY-y8

Jazz Archives says:


QUOTE

Pink Freud’s music combines the inexhaustible energy of the music of the 1960s and 1970s with contemporary influences sought wherever possible, from grunge to hip hop.

Formalized, rich compositions and modern sound generated by electronic instruments leave the musicians enough room for spontaneity, individualism and the wild and crazy improvisations so typical of jazz.

A narrative structure to compositions and a wide array of electronic instruments are distinctive features of Pink Freud’s music.

The musical sense of humour and detachment from the sounds produced are the features by which the band’s style can be recognized.

Pink Freud have become famous for their totally new and sometimes completely crazy interpretations of well-known musical motifs, like Nirvana’s Come As You Are [included in the album presented here – for all you rock fans out there: believe me, this track alone is worth the listen!] and Gershwin’s My Man’s Gone Now.

:::by Warsaw Voice:::

END QUOTE

http://jazzarchives.blogspot.com/2010/08/sorry-music-polska.html

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Streight SEO to provide SEO and social marketing for Amazon

I will be providing SEO and content marketing expertise to Amazon corporate, specifically in the area of recruiting, via my colleague Job Abraria who will be moving to Seattle soon to work in the Amazon offices.

We had a great time at Bogie's restaurant. I explained how Amazon can attract quality talent for their job openings, by using Mobile, Video, and Social. We identified what most recruiters are doing wrong and what needs job seekers have in their search for a good position.

By implementing SEO, user-centric content, leading edge technologies, and effective social platforms, any business can skyrocket past all competitors, most of whom talk the talk, but fail miserably at the walk.

With simple but hardcore strategies, focusing on the meat, the real heart of the situation, in a unique and clever manner, you can easily gain competitive advantage and achieve branding dominance.

Job is a recruiting specialist and creative marketing strategist. I would toss out an idea he never thought of before, then he would immediately describe how to implement it and expand it. He didn't require any passionate explanations. He instantly would get it and take it to the next level. What a team we are already!

Combining my expertise with his for Amazon is going to be an exciting and fun adventure.

If you're a Peoria, IL area business, or a global corporation, Google-compliant SEO is what I can provide for good ROI. If you want documented results from your website and internet marketing, contact me.

Email me today at:

steven.streight@gmail.com




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Streight SEO at Public Relations Association event

I'm spreading my SEO expertise all across the Peoria, IL area, transferring my carefully researched, Google-compliant, ROI oriented information to you.

I will be speaking on SEO at a local business event.

Public Relations Association Round Table Meeting on January 21, 2015 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM, at

Barrack's Cater Inn
1124 W. Pioneer Parkway
Peoria, IL


Speakers will be:

Steven Streight, Streight SEO on "Driving Traffic to Websites with SEO"

Steve Tarter, Peoria Journal Star on "Your Job Matters"

Kim Stewart, Volt Staffing on "Career Planning - How Do I Get My Next Great Job?"

Jeff Griffin, President, Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce "Leading a New 103 Year Old Organization"

For more information, CONTACT me at:

steven.streight@gmail.com

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My Favorite Downton Abbey Quotes

Downton Abbey has so many literary gems in the dialogues. Here are some of the best Downton Abbey quotes, but there are splendidly more where these came from.

Sympathy butters no parsnips.

Violet:The monarchy has thrived on magic and mystery, strip them away and people may think the royal family is just like us.
Isobel: Would that be so wrong?
Violet: Well, only if they want to stay in Buckingham Palace.

Carson: The business of life is the acquisition of memories. In the end that's all there is.

Violet: There is nothing simpler than avoiding people you don't like. Avoiding one's friends, that is the real test.

Violet: I wonder your halo doesn't grow heavy. It must be like wearing a tiara around the clock.

Robert: They do say there's a wild man inside all of us.
Violet: If only he would stay inside.

Isobel: You take everything as a compliment.
Violet: I advise you to do the same. It saves many an awkward moment.

Isobel: Fear not, I've never traveled with a maid. You can share my knowledge of the jungle.
Violet: Can't you even offer help without sounding like a trumpeter on the peak of the moral high ground?

Ethan: Would you care to try one of these? I think they're quite nice.
Carson: Have you lost your mind?
Ethan: Why? What have I done?
Carson: You're a footman, not a traveling salesman. Please keep your opinions on the catering to yourself.

Daisy: You've still kept me here with a dishonest representation.
Mrs. Patmore: Oh dear, have you swallowed a dictionary?

Molesley: I thought I'd make some coffee, would you like a cup?
Baxter: No thank you.
Molesley: It's just a cup of coffee, you won't have to surrender any of your independence.

Mr. Carson: But what does it matter anyway? We shout and scream and wail and cry, but in the end we must all die.
Mrs. Hughes: Well. That’s cheered me up. I’ll get on with my work.

Mr. Carson: Alfred has embarrassed the family. He forced Mr. Matthew to appear downstairs improperly dressed.
Miss O'Brien: Oh! You make it sound quite exciting.

Daisy: Don't you believe in spirits then?
Mrs. Hughes: Well, I don't believe they play board games.

Carson: Miss O'Brien, we are about to hire a footman, and I have no time to be training hobbledeehoys.

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The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams REVIEW

How "The Dilbert Principle" Rips the Lid Off Corporate Managerial Scams

If you think I'm a sometimes harsh critic of domination systems and power structures -- you must not read Dilbert much.

Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert cartoon, which is pro-worker and anti-management, has an abundance of smart, sharp remarks about the trainwreck that is modern American managerial practice.

After all the great teachings of Deming and Drucker, management just acts dopey, tyrannical, and clueless most of the time. Very few exceptions.

"The boss wants to see you in his office. Now." remains the #1 most dreaded phrase in cubicle land.

Employees never expect praise or a fantastic new assignment. They always fear being in trouble. Because managers don't typically encourage or empower anybody. They basically instill anxiety and subservience.

And they don't treat customers any better than they treat staff. Which is why so many businesses fail.

Adams has a new book out, about how he failed his way to success. But I found this, his earlier book of cartoons and his business insights, a First Edition, at a thrift store yesterday.

One way a company engages in self-harm is by having what used to be called "sick days" fold into the slag pile of vacation days, under the heading Personal Paid Time Off.

Since there are no more days allotted specifically for staying home and getting over your flu, employees are accidentally encouraged to come to work sick as hell. They don't want to use up a vacation day.

This book is loaded with cartoons, interspersed with bright commentary and revealing anecdotes. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll grimace. You'll shriek with hilarity and Eureka! insight bursts.

If you weren't cynical or at least skeptical about post-industrial management scams, you will be after only a few pages. Then you keep reading and relishing the dirt, the grime, the stupendous pit of slime that reigns in far too many corporate structures.


The Dilbert Principle covers such things as:


* Humiliation as a management technique
* Selling bad products to stupid people
* Mission Statements as idiotic fluff that says nothing
* Vision Statements as grandiose empty sentiments
* Performance Review torture tactics
* Office furniture semiotics
* Power hunger fools rise to the top
* 13 Lies of Management
* Casual Day freak shows
* Dress Code symbolism
* "Like a Boss" bullying
* Stifling creativity
* Ensuring mediocrity
* Punishing over-achievers
* Fake customer-focus
* Enforcing low self-esteem

You'll be nodding your head in agreement, page after naughty page, as you concur with the employee  insubordination and office indignation expressed in memorable phrases.

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Nosebook olfactory social media programmers needed

Looking for investors and programmers (C++, C#, Objective-C, PHP, Javascript, HTML5, CSS, Schema.org, Python, Ruby, etc. -- and strong experience in the new "Digital Olfaction and Gustation" programming language, obviously) for my new social media platform Nosebook.

Nosebook engages a new digitized sensory experience that can tell you a lot more than mere words or pictures.

One whiff -- and you get the entire story. Scent updates, aroma shares, smelly hash tags, odor ads -- fragrancing your way to friendship, the new old fashioned way.

Many organizations are excited about Nosebook and other forms of aroma, scent, and fragrance transmission via smell-sensor web browsers. No more need for incense, aromatherapy oils, or room deodorizers. Just go to the internet for the exact stink you seek.

Not good at putting your thoughts or feelings into words? 

Use smell signification systems to communicate more authentically.

http://www.digital-olfaction.com/

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Get Back to the Meat of Your Product

STREIGHT SEO Marketing Tips for 2015

#1 = Get Back to the Meat of Your Product

You have to stay focused on the real heart of your product. The meat. The central core. What is this essential bottom line reality of your product? The problem it solves for the customer.

It's easy to get carried away with contests, discounts, deadlines, special offers, spectacular events, email blasts, Facebook boosts, TV commercials, radio spots, billboards, etc. -- and drift away from hammering away at the real triggers that compel people to buy your items.

Gimmicks, stunts, and splashy glitzy excitement is not the best way to market most things. You need hard-nosed business acumen and strategic marketing expertise.

You need to zero in on the benefits and unique features of your product -- in a way that is memorable, rational, and complete.

"You don't sell bacon. You sell the sizzle." is an old advertising slogan. When I worked on Madison Avenue years ago, a principle was drilled into my brain -- the USP. Unique Selling Proposition.

You find that one huge benefit of your product.

You find out how customers talk about that need they have, which is fulfilled by your product.

You use their language in all marketing, conversational and competent -- not generic, we-oriented, corporate fluff.

You position your product as the answer to a need.

You differentiate yourself from all competitors with a unique claim or be first to claim something that competitors also have in their product, but have not advertised it yet.

What is the meat of your product?

How are you wafting the delicious aroma of it to those who are starving for a solution to their problem?

Cut through the typical boring hype. Get to the heart of what your product does for customers.

Make sure you have your product story nailed down BEFORE you go off on fancy flights of marketing imagination.
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Cyber Security Experts Agree That Sony Picutures Hack NOT by North Korea

There is growing skepticism in the cyber security and hacktivist crowd about North Korea being to blame for the recent Sony hack, supposedly involving “The Interview” film.

One thing the mainstream media gets wrong is calling Sony Pictures “an American corporation.” It's a Japanese company, with an American division. What makes this a sensitive issue is that Japan committed war crime atrocities against Korea (and China) during World War 2.

So a film by a Japanese company portraying the assassination of the North Korean ruler stirs up the old animosities. It is also, even though humorously, advocating the violation of the Geneva Conventions.

We must also understand that Sony Pictures had horrible cyber-security in place. It was like leaving piles of cash on your front porch and hoping nobody comes by and steals it. Or leaving the front door of your home unlocked with a sign that says "Unlocked Door."

You just can't get any more stupid that having "password" as your password and storing password files in unencrypted files titled "passwords." Sony Pictures is looking more and more ridiculous as the details about their easy-to-hack computer network are revealed.

Cyber security expert S. Cobb made this remark about corporate cluelessness in response to George Clooney (who was trying to get other Hollywood types to sign a petition against North Korea):


QUOTE

In my own work I have seen the way in which multinational companies generate billions of dollars in profits by applying digital technology to improve productivity.

My job has been, for the better part of two decades, advising companies on how to defend this highly profitable digital technology that they deploy.

Sadly, time and again, too many times to count, my fellow security professionals and I run into companies and company executives who reject our advice as too costly to implement, as an unreasonable burden on their business. When we say that the path they are taking comes with a large amount of risk, they either don't believe us or they say, "fine, we'll risk it."

The result? America's corporate ecosystem, like those of many other countries, suffers from systemic cyber weakness to the point where no company today can afford to say "bring it on". Why? Because they know they are not impervious to potentially crippling hacking attacks.

I used to be in the penetration testing business, that's where you pretend to be bad guys in order to test another company's cybersecurity; our guys had a 100% success rate. They always found a way in, and they didn't even break the law to do it. Every pen tester I've ever spoken to has a similar record.


END QUOTE

http://scobbs.blogspot.com/2014/12/dear-george-clooney-word-about.html



The problem is that if you tighten your network security too much, it becomes difficult for vendors and employees to use it. Cyber security experts say you can't really defend yourself 100% against cyber attacks. If someone wants to break into your network, they'll eventually find a way to do it. What's important is having the ability to recover quickly after an attack.

The controversy about whether or not it was really North Korea who is responsible for the Sony Pictures hack involves how cyber attackers will spoof their origins and it's time-consuming to trace an attack back to it's real source.

Here's a list of more links to information you can explore. Take the time to read these, especially if you're a CEO, CIO, business owner, or IT person.


Wired “The Evidence That North Korea Hacked Sony is Flimsy.”

http://www.wired.com/2014/12/evidence-of-north-korea-hack-is-thin/



Gawker “Cyber Security Firm Says Sony Hack Was Likely an Inside Job by a Woman”

http://gawker.com/researcher-sony-hack-was-likely-an-inside-job-by-a-wom-1676556756




Associated Press “Stolen Emails Reveal Lapses in Sony Security Practices”

http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2014-12-17-US--Sony%20Hack-What%20Went%20Wrong/id-f5a2cdefe54d46d7842d7c0f5b109fd9




Risk Based Security “A Breakdown and Analysis of the December 2014 Sony Hack” (This is a highly detailed analysis and in-depth rundown for technical IT people to enjoy. Everyone can learn a lot from it.)

https://www.riskbasedsecurity.com/2014/12/a-breakdown-and-analysis-of-the-december-2014-sony-hack/




New York Times “Sony Attack Was First a Nuisance But Swiftly Became a Firestorm”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/business/media/sony-attack-first-a-nuisance-swiftly-grew-into-a-firestorm-.html?_r=0





S. Cobbs “Why the Sony Hack is NOT Cyber War”

http://scobbs.blogspot.com/2014/12/why-sonyhack-is-not-cyberwar.html






Kryp3tia “Winners and Losers in the Sony Hack”

http://krypt3ia.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/sony-hack-winners-and-losers/





Zero Paste

http://0paste.com/6875#md





TechDirt “Ridiculousness of Calling the Sony Hack the 9-11 of Cyber Security”

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20141218/18192929485/ridiculousness-turning-sony-hack-into-911-computer-security.shtml





Mark W. Rogers “Why the Sony Hack is Unlikey to Be the Work of North Korea”

http://marcrogers.org/2014/12/18/why-the-sony-hack-is-unlikely-to-be-the-work-of-north-korea/






Motherboard “Sony Hack Should Not Be an Excuse to Pass Bad Cyber Security Laws”

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-sony-hack-is-not-an-excuse-to-pass-bad-cybersecurity-laws-north-korea






NY Times “US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Warns of Dire Threat of Cyber Attack”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/world/panetta-warns-of-dire-threat-of-cyberattack.html







Ars Technica “State Sponsored or Not, Sony Pictures Malware Bomb Used Simple, Buggy Code”

http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/12/state-sponsored-or-not-sony-pictures-malware-bomb-used-slapdash-code/




Motherboard “Sony Hack Proves We Need to Replace Email”

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-sony-hack-proves-we-need-to-replace-email





Motherboard “Best Thing We Can Do About Sony Hack is Calm Down”

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-best-thing-we-can-do-about-the-sony-hack-is-calm-down





Business Insurance “Sony Hack is Cyber Security Game Changer”

http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20141221/NEWS07/312219980




CNN Politics “Government Hacks and Security Breaches Skyrocket”

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/19/politics/government-hacks-and-security-breaches-skyrocket/




Huffington Post (2011 article) “Cyber Security Experts Slam Sony for Not Fixing Vulnerabilities”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/04/sony-security-hacks_n_871310.html





LinkedIn Pulse: “Why Sony's Breach Matters for All Companies”

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-sonys-breach-matters-steven-sinofsky






CBS News “Hacking after Sony: What Companies Need to Know”

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hacking-after-sony-what-companies-need-to-know/




BoingBoing “Obama Admin Sanctions North Korea Anyway”

http://boingboing.net/2015/01/02/obama-administration-north-ko.html





CNN: “Norse Responds to Sony Hack Questions”

http://blog.norsecorp.com/2014/12/30/cnn-norse-responds-to-sony-hack-questions/





Norse Cyber Security “Marketing Departments Are More Vulnerable to Hackers”

http://blog.norsecorp.com/2014/12/21/marketing-just-isnt-ready-for-hackers/






USA Today “Maybe North Korea Wasn't Behind the Sony Pictures Hack”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/rieder/2015/01/05/maybe-north-korea-wasnt-behind-sony-hack/21290467/





CNN “Experts Doubt North Korea Behind Sony Hack”

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/27/tech/north-korea-expert-doubts-about-hack/






The Daily Beast “No, North Korea Didn't Hack Sony”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/24/no-north-korea-didn-t-hack-sony.html





TrendMicro “WIPALL Malware Leads to GOP Warning in Sony Hack”

http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/wipall-malware-leads-to-gop-warning-in-sony-hack/

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SEO and title tags for competitive business advantage

How I suddenly realized I had to fix my own blog's title tag. (A true and embarrassing story.)

As an SEO specialist, I'm always learning. I just recently started blogging heavily about SEO on my Pluperfecter blog. I want to prove the theory that this will help my Google search results page rankings over time.

My tighter focus on SEO topics for my blog started just a month or so ago, and already, when I search "seo peoria il", my blog is appearing at #21, the first item on page 3.

Here is what appears on the Google search results page (a recent post -- note that it is not just any SEO post, but is specifically my post on SEO for Peoria IL area businesses).


QUOTE

SEO for Peoria, IL Area Businesses - Pluperfecter
pluperfecter.blogspot.com/…/seo-for-peoria-il-area-business…
Dec 8, 2014 - When you need SEO services for your website, you know your goal is to drive more ... My clients are primarily local, in the Peoria, IL area.

END QUOTE

That's pretty darn good considering all the web design shops who claim to be doing SEO, and the ferocious competition in the SEO field. I'm waging competitive SEO war against other SEO warriors. This should get interesting quick.

My blog also appears as the next result, #22, the second item on page 3.

QUOTE

Pluperfecter: internet marketing, SEO, web usability, web ...
pluperfecter.blogspot.com/
3 days ago - Why You Must Go FAR Beyond Resumes and Cover Letters in Today's Job Market. Resumes, cover letters and interviews are often ...

END QUOTE

But then I noticed that my title tag "Pluperfecter: internet marketing, SEO, web usability, web..." [truncated by Google] did not have my name in it. Huge mistake that I'm sorry to admit I just now realized. I hastened to update my blog's title tag.

It will take a little while for Google to catch up to this change I made, but when it takes effect, people will see this title tag (shorter, to avoid truncating) on search results page:

Pluperfecter: Steven Streight on SEO and internet marketing - Peoria, IL

It's about time I took some of my own medicine that I dish out to clients.

:-)

Need SEO or internet marketing help?

CONTACT me today.

steven.streight@gmail.com

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Top 28 SEO Mistakes of 2014

Top 28 SEO mistakes that I saw in 2014, as I did SEO for banks, hospitals, insurance, law firms, accounting, agriculture, energy companies, manufacturers, associations, event planning, dentists, restaurants, chambers of commerce, and tourism:

(1) Bad or missing title and meta description tags.

(2) Slim content, with few keywords, and not answering typical customer questions.

(3) Poor use of H tags (for example, not using just one H1 tag, which states the theme of a webpage).

(4) Failure to use a dedicated phone number that is used only on the website, to track results.

(5) Not using an FAQ type format for content, as specified by Google Hummingbird recommendations.

(6) Failure to use effective, non-stock photos with keyword savvy captions, contextually relevant surrounding content, and img alt attributes.

(7) We-oriented generic corporate fluff that doesn't differentiate the business from competitors.

(8) No XML site map.

(9) No robots protocols.

(10) Antiquated attempts to use black hat gimmicks, that ultimately get a website banned from Google search results.

(11) Failure to integrate social media, blogging, PR, video, etc. with branding and SEO.

(12) Failure to implement Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools.

(13) Failure to implement Schema.org structured markup microdata.

(14) Poor use of internal and external linking on site.

(15) No associated feed.

(16) No favicon.

(17) Not enough interactive functionalities.

(18) Not optimized for mobile devices.

(19) Bad design, colors, layout, typefonts.

(20) White or light gray text on light colored backgrounds.

(21) Boring About page that doesn't give adequate history and purpose of company.

(22) Not having strong calls to action on every webpage.

(23) Bad Contact Us page, without web form or missing some contact information, and no strong call to action.

(24) No photos of CEO, staff, real customers.

(25) No slogan or tag line for logo on Home page.

(26) No strong benefit statement on Home page.

(27) Not using enough variety of substitute words and relevant keywords in customer language that users put into search engines.

(28) Not keeping up with ongoing algorithm changes and SEO requirements of Google.


Need help with Google-compliant SEO to achieve business goals?


CONTACT ME today:

Steven Streight

steven.streight@gmail.com

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Go Beyond Resumes to Get a Job in 2015

Why You Must Go FAR Beyond Resumes and Cover Letters in Today's Job Market

Resumes, cover letters and interviews are often unproductive.

A resume and cover letter is not going to get you noticed. An interview? You'll probably blow it like everybody else does -- if you use the 1950s techniques so popular still.

Sending out resumes and cover letters?

When thousands of people apply for the same job opening, your chances of getting it approach zero.

Almost to the point where that tactic of sending out resumes and hoping for an interview is comparable to the ancient "shoe leather" methodology.

The super old fashioned way was to pound the sidewalks, going up and down the streets, knocking on doors, asking to speak with the personnel manager, filling out applications, getting a polite "we'll keep it on file," then waiting for the phone to ring to set up an interview.

The new way is upside down, backwards, opposite.

You STOP chasing after job openings.

The job you get may not even have an "opening."

The clients you get may not have even thought they would be customers of what you're selling.

You STOP caring about job boards, job fairs, career coaching, employment-search training, tricky interview questions, resume format, and cover letters.

You leave all that behind and become heroic.

You position yourself as the hot item, not the job or the employer.

You become, and DISPLAY, something that employers and clients actively seek.

You stand alone as a super valuable item, so hot, that a company might invent a job position just to have you on their team, and not their competitor's.

How? By knowing what problems companies typically have in a field and becoming an expert at solving them.

Gaining experience at solving them, even if that means doing it for free for a local charity or by charging low introductory prices at first, to get some real clients who pay you for what you do.

Basically, you get the employers to hunt you down. You lure them to yourself. You create a word of mouth vortex that swallows up all the conversation in your field, with your message being the loudest and most respected.

The emphasis is on your exceptional expertise and your ever-increasing knowledge and upgrading of skills.

You are not just good. You are great and getting better every single day. You rock. You are a blessed Over-Achiever on Steroids. You smash through mediocrity and losery slackers.

You know exactly how to solve a problem and you teach others about it in your blog articles, Facebook posts, LinkedIn updates, and YouTube videos.

You authentically present yourself as the solution, the smartest one, the most creative resource in your local area.

You have multi-media productions, from blogs to videos, showcasing your talents, skills, expertise, problem-solving style.

You quit "going to interviews" for jobs. The interviewers come to you.

The media wants to spotlight what you do. Magazines want you to write articles for them. You find forums in which you can be a big shot, know-it-all and have fun sharing your brilliant ideas and asking your probing questions.

You become the employer or client's Top of Mind Choice when it comes to what you do.

Your focus is no longer on "how great is my need for a job" or "why won't anyone hire me?" -- it switches to "how great is their need for my expertise?" "where should I be showcasing my expertise?" and "who should I be approaching about the problems I can solve?"

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Can social media marketing be ineffective for some companies?

Is Facebook platform a loser for some businesses? I extremely doubt it, but a friend and colleague of mine, Geoff Livingston says it is for his business.

Instead of saying "you should do this" (as one would say in consulting a client), we tend to say to our fellow internet marketers "have you tried this? it worked for me."

He also discusses his opposition to what is a pillar of my own marketing: the humanized, personalized presence of the CEO blogger or "personal branding" as he calls it.

He says he made some mistakes, blending personal and business posts.

I bet I've made even more mistakes than he did, but who's bragging?

I abandoned my entire branding, Vaspers the Grate, that I spent 5 years building -- and redefined my brand as Pluperfecter. I have abandoned a bunch of my older blogs and wikis and social platforms, having signed up for over 100 different accounts. Remember Pownce, FreeBase, CampFire, Jaiku, Yippykaya, Unthink, So.cl, Spock, Gleamd, Ning, 8apps, Diaspora?

http://geofflivingston.com/2014/11/17/if-i-had-to-start-social-over-again/

QUOTE

Today, because I have shifted much of my content production to photography, I spend more time on Flickr and 500 Pixels than I do Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or Google+. When I do participate on those sites, more of ten than not it’s either for business or to post a picture.

I look at the interactions with my customer base, and believe in some instances that I am wasting my time. So given my customers, passions and the interaction, where would I start?

In the mid 2000s, everyone associated their personalities with their blogs. It was the age of personal brands, and like many others — in spite of my protests about personal branding as a movement — I weaved my personal social media activity and blogging for business together.

As a result, it was harder to scale prior companies, and my own personal adventures and missteps impacted business. Tenacity5 is different (I hope). I have a role as president, and while I am the front man, but it isn’t a personality vehicle. It is a business....

I’ve blogged before about how Facebook is almost a zero-sum game for pure marketing posts. Analytics continues to reaffirm that when posts are marketing centric they fail. When they are personal, they tend to do well. Though I caught a lot of grief back then for not marketing on Facebook, I am no longer the only one experiencing this.

END QUOTE

I market my SEO expertise on Facebook. I don't reach out to businesses, but to individuals who may own a business or know someone who does.

So I don't really do B2B. I do it indirectly I guess you could say.

Sharing your expertise is the key, whether it's on FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, G+, whatever. Since I do SEO for local businesses in my area, it makes sense to promote my expertise (not so much my company) on FB where I am friends with so many local people.

It's been working well for me, but each case, like I say, is different and has unique dynamics and analytics.

Re: blogging, Geoff states:

QUOTE

Today, I wouldn’t waste my time blogging as a primary business activity. In fact, for the most part I have slowed down significantly. I still post once a week here, mostly because I believe that a blog still has a role in my online life, even if it is for the fewer. But the topics are stream of conscious now. There is no editorial mission outside of what I think, and no real business goal outside of supporting personal projects.

END QUOTE

I would disagree, only to say that I keep up my Pluperfecter blog daily (try to), because of the incredible SEO power it gives my Streight SEO brand. By feeding SEO topic information to the Google Hummingbird search engine, I keep rising higher and higher in SERPs.

And I can point potential clients to my blog as a showcase of my practical and hard nosed business and IT acumen.

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How To Find a Job in 2015

90% of getting hired is something that most job applicants fail to do. Prove you understand and can do the job.

Most applicants are too worried about playing the interview game, which sucks. Don't play the "12 tough questions" game. Bypass it. Zoom right into what the job requires and how you meet or exceed those requirements.

Prove you can do the job. That's how you get a job.

Especially if you have displayed your proof of expertise in a blog, website, social media updates, video gallery, or photo portfolio, whatever is appropriate for your field.

You should interrupt the job interview at some point, and say something like, "May I now explain what I think this job entails and why I believe I can do it better than most applicants probably would?"

You must, in a nice and non-arrogant manner, seize command of the interview, in supreme self-assuredness based on experience, training, and self-guided learning.

You must not play along with the silly games PR people play, with all their weird "gotcha" questions and logical conundrums.

Cut to the chase. Instead of worrying about how to answer "What are some of your weak points?" or "Where do you want to be in 20 years?" -- drive right to the heart of the matter.

Can you do the job and get along with the staff, or not?

That's all that matters.

Assuming that you have also dressed appropriately, arrived early for the interview, are not chewing gum, don't stink, keep upgrading your skills, avoid acting too chummy or desperate, and other basics of self-presentation.

NOBODY WANTS TO GIVE YOU A JOB.

NOBODY WANTS TO HIRE YOU.

COMPANIES ONLY WANT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS.


Thus, PROVE you can solve the problems, and you'll be employed.

Most applicants have not done any research on the company.

Most applicants are visibly desperate for a job.

Most applicants think getting hired is a matter of "luck."

Most applicants think they can charm their way to a job if they're pleasant enough.

Most applicants don't want to try new approaches to getting a job.

Most applicants care more about salary and benefits than what the company does and how much they'll enjoy or not enjoy the work.

Most applicants think if they answer tricky interview questions better than others, they'll get the job.

Most applicants think sending out hundreds of resumes, and going to lots of interviews, is a valid job hunting tactic.

Most applicants only seek advertised jobs, rather than searching for a company that could use their skills, whether or not a job position is being recruited.

Most applicants think that the more resumes they send out and the more interviews they have, the closer they get to landing a job.

All these myths are untrue in today's world. Too many people are sending out resumes and going to interviews. Most of them are not getting hired. It's a waste of everybody's time in most cases.

Ask questions about the job, decide if you can handle it, then prove that you can do the job.

Talk about how you solved similar or worse problems.

Show the interviewer your blog and videos where you display your knowledge and talents.

Show them where reputable publications have published your brilliant articles.

Show them a photo of you doing the job, using the right tool to get the desired results.

Tell them what the industry has defined as the Top 5 Problems and how you would solve them.

Explain the Top 5 Biggest Mistakes that are done in this position and how you would avoid them.

That's how you get hired or gain new clients.

It's that simple.

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