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Jean Compton deals in folk art, Americana, and antique rags dolls and toys, and she needed a website that would show off the items she finds.

For each item, she wanted to be able to show a few views, along with a description. We worked with her to create a design and color palette for the site that would best complement a wide range of images. Working together, we also discovered the best types of photos.

Because Jean is a wonderful writer and able to share charming stories on the items she finds, we encouraged her to add a blog to the site as well. This has become a key attraction of the site: The stories keep the site fresh, and she can use the posts to talk about items that she has recently found, already sold, or simply felt to be of extra interest. Through her writing, visitors get a sense of her lively personality, which makes them that much more excited to seek her out at antique shows and fairs.

The gallery of the site uses the open source Gallery2 system, and the blog is in WordPress.

Check out the site, especially Jean’s blog and the beautiful photos in the galleries, at www.jcomptongallery.com.

For Allegheny Chesapeake Physical Therapy, we wanted to create a site that could expand with their practice — no small challenge, given their 12 locations, wide range of services, and variety of client tools and content.

We created their redesigned site using the Joomla open source content management system. Their web team can update all content on the site, and add news items and events. Staff have access to an employees-only area for in-house information and tools.

The new design reflects the open, friendly style of ACPT — and at the same time, it’s flexible enough to accomodate new text, photo, and video content easily.

This morning I’m talking with a roomful of business owners about social media — what it is, *why* it is, and what it means for their businesses and organizations.

It’s a crash course, and they’re coming in with a range of backgrounds and experiences. But they’re all motivated to learn, because they see that the business landscape is shifting and they don’t want to be lost.

I asked the group what their key questions are. Here’s what they said:

• How do people find the time to do this? Do employees handle these tasks, or is there a way to integrate it into a busy schedule?
• I’m not afraid of social media, but I’m not sure how to learn it. What’s the place to start?
• Social media creates so much volatility, with people reacting and overreacting so fast. How can a business cope with that volatility?
• Hw does social media fit into our overall marketing and media mix?

I have my thoughts on answers, but there are surely many different ways to approach these questions.

How would you advise this group?

One of our client companies is iTwixie, a web company creating the ultimate online hangout for tween girls.

iTwixie was one of six startups accepted in AlphaLab’s Winter/Spring 2009 program, which provided the company with seed funding plus office space on Pittsburgh’s South Side, guidance from AlphaLab and the organization’s parent, Innovation Works, and excellent interaction opportunities with Pittsburgh’s venture capital community.

This is a terrific program, especially for technologists looking for an entry point into the entrepreneurial world.

If that’s you, you’ll want to know that it’s time to pull together your ideas and make your pitch for the next AlphaLab application deadline:

AlphaLab is now accepting applications for its Summer/Fall 2009 session that officially starts on June 15th, 2009!  Here are some important changes to note for this new application cycle:

• We are introducing an Early Action portion to the application period where applicants can be apply and be accepted early for the AlphaLab program.
• Early Action applicants will be invited to a meet-n-greet event with AlphaLab staff where they can interact and ask questions.
• Early Action candidates that are accepted to AlphaLab will be able to get an early start on working on their companies and have early access to AlphaLab resources.
• If an applicant is not accepted as part of AlphaLab Early Action, they will still be considered as part of the general application period.
• The Early Access deadline is April 17th, 2009.

The general application deadline is May 15th, 2009.

For more information about the application process (including Early Action) and to access the AlphaLab application, visit: www.alphalab.org.

ABOUT: AlphaLab is a catalyst for launching the next generation of software, entertainment technology and Internet-related companies. Created by Innovation Works, one of the nation’s most active seed-stage investors, AlphaLab provides funding, free office space, expert business advisors and services through an intensive program in Pittsburgh. AlphaLab helps companies rapidly develop their technology, gain user feedback from early product releases, develop go-to-market strategies, and move toward successful commercial launch.

This screen shot illustrates the conversations you could be starting with not only your existing customers, but also potential customers.

With Twitter, Livescribe is participating in useful question and answer, ad they’re broadcasting their smart, user-centric product development to the public.

Livescribe makes smartpens. The pens record what you hear while you write. Touch something you wrote and the pen plays back that moment of the audio recording. Check out the power and potential in an amazing flash playback here.

I heard of them from Kathleen Danielson. She’s a student who started using one a month ago and seems pleased. I don’t use a Livescribe pen — not yet — but I started following Livescribe on Twitter because it looked like a cool gadget. I have since been impressed with how the development of the technology has played out in Livescribe’s conversations with real users.

Livescribe, like Twitter itself, is essentially a tool for easily recording bits of information about what we’re doing, from multiple sources, and linking them together for playback, search, and sharing with others. These kinds of technologies are limited only by their users’ creativity.

I wrote yesterday about what Google’s Interest-Based Advertising will mean for web users, particularly as regards the ads people will see, the information that will be collected, and the privacy implications. But what does it mean for advertisers?

AdWords Help includes a few help questions and answers about interest-based advertising, to help advertisers get up to speed. Here’s the key info (with sources linked).

Interest-Based Advertising hasn’t launched yet; it’s in limited beta (source).

It won’t cost any more than regular AdWords (source). Presumably it will be available to everyone.

SPECULATION: Even though there’s no specific fee, I would guess that these more targeted ads would cost more, simply because advertisers should be willing to pay more to communicate with a more targeted audience. Or perhaps they’ll cost the same, but you can choose to advertise only using interest-based advertising and not using the scattershot content-targeting. I would think that interest-based ad placements would be set in a separate section (just as content ad placements are currently selected separately from search ad placements).

Back to the published facts:

Users will be identified with “anonymous user cookies” that will associate each user with “interest categories” — like “sports” or “baseball.” Ads will be shown based on these cookies (source). Personal information won’t be tracked, nor will it be made available to advertisers (source). Users can set their own interest categories through the Ads Preferences Manager, which is already available (source).

Google plans to generate interest categories much as it currently generates keywords from content, but it’s still working out the categories (source).

Advertisers can ask to join the beta (source), or they can wait until the system is finalized. You’ll be automatically enrolled if you use AdWords.

Google is adding a new kind of advertising to its ad network: Interest-Based Advertising, also sometimes known as “behavioral targeting.”

Other companies like Yahoo and AOL already offer similar systems. Google says that advertisers have been requesting interest-based ads for some time, and that this system allows advertisers to more effectively target people who want the items and services offered in ads.

It’s true that behavioral targeting means that ads are shown only to those who have demonstrated interest and are therefore more likely to buy. As an advertiser it’s good to know how this system works. I’ll write more about that tomorrow.

At the same time that behavioral ads are likely to be more effective, they also raise concerns about privacy and user control. Google acknowledges these concerns on its official blog, and attempts to address them:

This kind of tailored advertising does raise questions about user choice and privacy — questions the whole online ad industry has a responsibility to answer. Many companies already provide interest-based advertising and they address these issues in different ways. For our part, we’re launching interest-based advertising with three important features that demonstrate our commitment to transparency and user choice.

• Transparency - We already clearly label most of the ads provided by Google on the AdSense partner network and on YouTube. You can click on the labels to get more information about how we serve ads, and the information we use to show you ads. This year we will expand the range of ad formats and publishers that display labels that provide a way to learn more and make choices about Google’s ad serving.
• Choice - We have built a tool called Ads Preferences Manager, which lets you view, delete, or add interest categories associated with your browser so that you can receive ads that are more interesting to you.
• Control - You can always opt out of the advertising cookie for the AdSense partner network here. To make sure that your opt-out decision is respected (and isn’t deleted if you clear the cookies from your browser), we have designed a plug-in for your browser that maintains your opt-out choice.

To find out more about what Google is doing in this important area, please visit our Public Policy blog and Privacy Center.

These are pretty reasonable options. Scott Gilbertson of Wired points out that they are not ideal, and that the whole thing is pretty intrusive:

In short, Google plans to track your online moves and build a collection of “interests” based on which websites you visit. For example, if you start your day on the Major League Baseball homepage everyday, Google will know that you’re more likely to respond to ads for baseball paraphernalia.

Along similar lines are the “previous interaction” ads that will allow Google to show ads based on demonstrated behaviors. For example, if you put a shiny new Nikon D700 in your shopping cart, but never actually purchase it, Google will offer advertisers a way to place ads for the D700. Think of it as a way of constantly reminding you of the things you’re lusting after.

…

In a perfect world Google’s new ad system would be opt-in. Unfortunately in our world it’s opt-out, perhaps not ideal, but at least you can turn it off.

Don’t expect it to be easy to opt out though. Google is using a cookie to turn off the tracking, which means you’ll need to opt out on each and every PC you use and every browser you use on those PCs. Worse, should you ever delete Google’s opt-out cookie, you’ll need to opt out again…

As a consumer and user of the internet, you now need to decide whether it’s OK for Google to keep track of what you see and do online and to show you ads based on it. If you choose “yes,” then you’ll start to see ads that are more applicable to you, and a big pile of information will be stored.

If you’re using a loyalty card to get discounts at your local grocer, like Giant Eagle’s Advantage Card, you’ve already made that decision elsewhere. If you share a computer with others and you don’t each log in separately, your collected information will be based on the pages that all of you visit.

If you choose “no,” then you’ll continue to see ads based only on the search words you just typed or the content of the page you’re currently visiting. They might be less useful to you.

But most importantly, keep in mind that if you do nothing, you’ve effectively chosen “yes.”

Photo credit: “Spy Cam” by PhoebeJ

From musicradar.com, “27 engaging Twitter tips for musicians” that are great advice for non-musicians as well — anyone hoping to use Twitter for professional or business purposes would benefit:

1. Have an objective

What do you want to achieve? If you want to widen your fanbase by building a Twitter community around yourself, talk about making music and eventually try to take over the world, you’ve come to the right place. Knowing what you want is half the battle, stick to the following and you’ve a great chance of achieving it…

2. Be descriptive

Choose an appropriate username, don’t call yourself @TheDarkKnight if your band is called Loose Change. Provide as much information in the bio section as you can – believe it or not, people will read it, as you should read theirs…

3. Get to know your audience

People fill their bios in for a reason – read them, see what they’re into and talk about it. That way you will…

4. Engage with your followers

The golden rule. Don’t just talk about yourself, take an interest in everyone else. Reply to messages and be as personal as possible. If it’s good enough for Trent Reznor…

Read the full post at musicradar.com.

(Thanks to Venangago-go for highlighting the post.)

Last weekend I spoke at the monthly roundtable of the Pittsburgh Writing Project. My topic was Web Marketing for Writers — a subject close to my heart, both as a writer and as one who has helped many writers establish and maintain an online presence.

You can download the Powerpoint file here: Web Marketing for Writers (PPT)

Or if you prefer a PDF: Web Marketing for Writers Presentation (PDF file)

(You’re free to use or adapt this presentation, but please attribute the content to me and Big Big Design, and link back to bigbigdesign.com.)

We had a fine discussion, with several members of the group offering tips from their own experience.

Tip for presenters: You will benefit greatly by having someone in the audience corroborate what you say and offer examples from a different and complementary perspective. In this talk, my unexpected collaborator was Paul Kelly, publisher at St. Lynn’s Press.

Paul’s perspective (I’m paraphrasing): Every writer who wants to be published must have a website — it’s required for credibility and for creating and building your marketing platform. As a publisher, he loves to see that a writer has developed an audience, and the web makes that possible. Show that you’ve got 5,000 or more web visitors a month, interested in what you have to say, and you’re much more likely to be offered a publishing contract.

Chris Brogan recently posted “20 Blog Topics to Get You Unstuck” — a list of brainstorming ideas to help one get past writer’s block.

Although he aimed this at bloggers, it would be equally useful in thinking of topics for a newsletter to customers and clients, or for an internal newsletter.

Another useful technique is to keep an open file for quickly jotting ideas when you come across them. A bookmarking tool like Delicious is perfect for this — create a tag like mytopics, and mark the bookmark as private if you want to collect your thoughts before sharing it.

At Big Big Design, we’ve recently started using Evernote for tracking thoughts and ideas. This is even more private that Delicious, and I love the iPhone app.

If you’re blogging, use a blogging tool like ScribeFire (Firefox plugin), to start a new draft of a post and keep the relevant links.

But really, you can just have an open text editor window sitting on your desktop. Click, click it’s open; jot the idea, paste in a link to remind yourself where you got the idea (so you can cite your source); and then get back to what you were really working on. When you’re ready to write, you’ve got a ready set of ideas at your fingertips.

Photo credit: “Hole in the wall” by Arria Belli