According to a report on Fox News, Internet addresses will run out in less than one year. The Internet protocol used today, IPv4, provides about 4 billion unique IP addresses that are used to identify each computer, website, or internet-connected device. This service, which was created 30 years ago, seemed like a perfect attempt at supplying enough IP address, but today there are only about 232 million IP addresses left. This number is rapidly going down due to the boom in smartphone and web-enable devices.

When IPv4 was created, smartphone technology had not been created yet, and the idea of devices such as refrigerators needing an IP address was absurd. Today, however, almost every electronic device can connect to the Internet.

One solution to this problem is IPv6. This new IP service would provide nearly 4 billion IP address to every person in the world. Unfortunately, this service has been frowned upon by many service providers because it would require a large amount of upgrades, and some users would completely have to purchase new hardware.

Until IPv6 is release, or a new solution is created, service providers may force customers to share IP address. This could ultimately cause some services, such as Gmail and iTunes, to cease to work.

Read the full article for more.

This past year, Microsoft announced the launch of Outlook social connector, a new feature for Outlook 2010 that will link social network feeds directly to your Outlook inbox. The first to partner with this new feature was LinkedIn, but Microsoft promised other social networking sites would soon follow. Microsoft recently fulfilled that promise by announcing that Facebook and Windows Live Messenger have now been integrated into Outlook. Right now, this integration is only for Outlook 2010 beta, but Microsoft plans to release the plug-in for Outlook 2003 and 2007.

This new feature will not only will pull Facebook profile photos, but will also pull the latest newsfeeds of your contacts directly to your inbox. While you are reading your e-mails, you will be able to see photos, latest feeds, wall posts, and various other content. Microsoft also announced that this info will work on a live feed so there will be no need to refresh anything. Microsoft did say that Outlook social connector does have it limits though. Outlook will only be able to pull data fromFacebook. The ability to “Like” posts or update statuses will not be available…for now.

Microsoft is hoping this new feature will be useful in the business world by making e-mail more sociable. Being able to know exactly what your clients are thinking will be a major asset in the marketing world.

Read the full article to learn more about the announcement.

Whether it’s the Star Wars Kid, Leave Brittany Alone, or any other number of videos online, almost everyone has come in contact with a viral video. As soon as these videos hit the Internet, they amass millions of views in a very short time. While most of these videos are meant to simply make you laugh, marketers are trying to figure out how to use viral videos as a way to boost business. With sites such as YouTube, businesses have access to millions of viewers; but what is it about viral videos that make them different than all the other videos out there, and how can you make sure your video stands out?

An article by Mirna Bard offers 5 suggestions as to why some videos go viral and others don’t. She believes the key to a successful video is making sure your video is funny, uses some type of gimmick, has useful content, has an exciting title, and is no longer than 30-60 seconds.

Now these 5 elements will not guarantee that your video will go viral, but knowing what makes a video spread will help you create better content that will be shared across the Internet. Read the full article to see how video marketing might work for you.

So you’ve decided to take your small business into the online market. You know who you are targeting, know what you want to say, built your website, and are ready to sit back and watch the numbers come in. Only one problem: no one’s coming to your site. You ask yourself, what did I do wrong?

Surprisingly enough, you are not the only person asking this question. In his latest book, “Local Online Advertising for Dummies,” Court Cunningham discusses 10 of the most common mistakes small businesses make when starting their online market. Most mistakes, it turns out, are not in the execution, but with the thinking or perceptions behind it. Luckily, Cunningham points out that many of these mistakes can be easily avoided or corrected. So if you are having trouble with your online market, make sure you aren’t falling victim to these common errors.

Read the full article

eNewsletters are becoming a fairly common thing these days; so it’s not surprising that many companies seem to be forgetting their purpose. In a recent article, author Dylan Boyd complains that more and more newsletters are becoming nothing more than “Sunday Newspaper ad circulars.” For those unfamiliar with what an eNewsletter is for, Boyd explains what should and shouldn’t be included. Stories, articles, ideas and information that keep your subscribers connected with the company are welcome. Save your ads and sales pitches for another day. Remember, eNewsletters are supposed to build relationships with your subscribers, not bombard them with discounts and sponsor ads.

Back in April, Google announced they were changing their Local Business Center to Google Places. The tool enables business owners to manage their presence on Google. Google is making the push to become the de facto directory for local businesses on the web. The launch introduced a whole bunch of new features including local search and map listings, real-time updates, custom quick response (QR) codes and coupons, and even photo shoots for businesses. While Geo startup Foursquare (and even Twitter) is taking a social approach to local business listings, coupons, and offers, Google is approaching this from the search side. It is powerful as a search tool a far as that goes, but it is clear the location war is just beginning.

Thanks to everyone who attended the UCSD Extension’s Tech America online marketing seminar last week. I hope the presentation inspired to learn more about social media and how you can apply it to your business.

You can download a copy of my presentation here, check it out on Slide Share, or contact me via my LinkedIn profile if you have any additional questions.
Cheers,
Steve

Most small-business sites are works in progress – constantly being revised, improved, and updated. So invariably, something is always missing. But some pages are so important that not having them could hurt your bottom line, cost you clients, and even turn away business. A few of the essential pages for a website are: contact us, about us, “gimme” or sign up for more information, site map, and privacy policy/terms and conditions page. 

A website privacy policy, (also know as – terms and conditions or disclosure statement) is often forgotten, but is essential, since it servers a multitude of functions. It is meant to inform the website visitor about what information might be collected on a website, how it will be used, to whom it will be disclosed and other privacy-related issues. Posting a website privacy policy is a sign to the visiting population that you understand privacy concerns and have built your website with this and them in mind. It shows you value open communication about privacy and are willing to articulate and stand by your privacy practices.

This type of statement can help make visitors to your website feel more comfortable and secure. Not only that, but many companies now require a privacy policy before they do business with you. So it might be time to post one.  The Better Business Bureau has a good sample privacy notice on its site for reference. A privacy policy doesn’t have to be prominent in your web design, but should be visible on all pages. Most people look for a link to it from the bottom footer of websites along with your site map.

YouTube has gone back to the basics. In 2009, YouTube added more features and buttons then they had in past years combined. They realized the website was getting cluttered up and decided to streamline a cleaner version allowing users to go back to the website’s core action ~ to simply watch videos. We can take away important lessons from YouTube’s transformation, 1) even very incremental alterations in user action (such as a 6-7% engagement) can mean a lot when dealing with huge volume; and 2) the most important thing when creating any website is to remember what the main objectives of the website are. The new interface is strikingly similar to what we’ve seen in the past and will certainly take some getting used to. What do you think, do you like the new look?

This year, the Woothemes.com team met for a week-long, working retreat and decided to use the trip as an experiment to connect with their customers by testing out their own products in the real-world. The goal was to get the team together for usual company brainstorming, but they also wanted to practice what they preach and show off their new themes and applications for small business.  They set up a blog, iphone applications, and used Twitter and Facebook to stay connected with customers and fans. The results were a great success, with website visits up 55%, unique visits up 52%, and page views higher by 13%. The experiment in social media generated 5 key takeaways which any small business can learn from:

• Social media doesn’t have to be complicated to be successful
• You can tie social media into anything
• Know what you want to get out of social media before going into it
• Transparency builds trust, and trust can lead to sales
• When you can, practice what you preach

WooThemes.com used their own products in a unique way to make a connection with their current customers, increase their social presence with new customers, and most importantly increased sales.  Read more