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Syntax Highlighter is a great tool for highlighting & formatting code.

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Syntax Highligher is a Javascript code that formats and highlights code in an easy to read format. It is free and easy to install http://alexgorbatchev.com/wiki/SyntaxHighlighter.

I’m in the process of gearing up for a web design course that I’m offering to fellow graphic designers from here in Jacksonville, Florida to out in Los Angeles, Califorinia. They are looking to learn the basics of web design and I am looking to help them out. By using the syntax highlighter I’ll be able to share snippets of code with others. Stay tuned, more to come in the upcoming days.

Test of Syntax Highlighter

/**
* SyntaxHighlighter
*/
function foo()
{
if (counter & lt;= 10)
   return;
  // it works!
}

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Tips for using LinkedIn effectively for professional networking.

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

LinkedIn it to win it.

LinkedIn is a great tool for making professional connections, building your brand and is a relatively new way to market yourself.

If you are NOT useing LinkedIn

You can sign up for a free account at http://www.linkedin.com/ it’s easy and free.

Don’t be left in the dark, times have changed, communication is continuing to evolve. But as e-mail replaced snail mail, social media is replacing other traditional references.

Take into consideration these benefits of using LinkedIn or other similar professional networking sites.

Connections & Credibility:
Two candidates for a job with similar experience and credentials.

One candidate has a resume and the standard three references.

  • Another has a LinkedIn account
  • With hundreds of connections in the industry
  • With recommendations from various jobs and positions
  • Is active and engaged in their industry
  • Is proving they are an expert in their field

Which one do you think has a better chance of getting a job?

Opportunity:
By being engaged and aware of what’s going on in your industry you become aware of many new opportunities that are available. Perhaps a company is looking to hire or someone is in search of a particular service. Getting your name out there and getting your voice heard will open many opportunities for you. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

For those of you who ARE on LinkedIn already.

Are you effectively using the channel? You may have created an account and put your info up on the site but:

  • Are you engaging with people in your industry?
  • Are you making new connections?
  • Have you joined a group?
  • Do you participate in a group?
  • Are you promoting yourself, your services or your knowledge?
  • Do you recommend people?
  • Do you ask for recommendations?
  • Have you added any engaging content to your page?
  • Do you login semi-frequently?
  • Do you promote your channel?

How do you score on professional networking?

Ask yourself the questions above and give yourself a point for each that you can say yes to. It may take time and effort to work on building your base but it does not need to be done over night, just with effort and persistence.

Make a plan to advance in your skills.

So make some goals towards getting better at professional networking and set a plan for yourself to complete them. Maybe you do it as a morning ritual or maybe it’s networking Tuesdays??? I recently went from a score of 7 to a 9 and am working my way to a 10.

Feel free to connect with me at http://www.linkedin.com/in/kennyharper

There is more info on using LinkedIn effectively to come in future posts.

Good luck and keep pushing!

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10 Reasons to get yo Twitter on!

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Key Theory: Reasons to Twitter by Kenny Harper

If you don’t get Twitter or still think it’s a waist of time perhaps this post will enlighten you. I still run into others out there who just don’t get it… this is for them.

As a former Twitter skeptic, I can say I didn’t really understand what Twitter was about at first myself. It seemed to me that I didn’t really need to know what all my friends were doing at every point and time. Now I see that there is more uses for Twitter. I think it is a valuable tool for any company who wants to boost their on-line presence.

Top misconceptions about Twitter.

  • Having to read every tweet
    You don’t need to catch it all. You can’t really. Just scan the tweets sometime and follow what you’re interested in.
  • Needing to care about people’s trivial tweets
    Some people tweet about random nothingness, others tweet about information, most tweeters are in the middle. If you don’t like someone’s tweet style, unfollow them.
  • Needing to spend hours on Twitter
    Spending a few minutes a day can help you keep connected and can be a great way to break into new arenas.

10 Great uses for Twitter

  1. Tap into new markets and meet new people.

    You can’t be everywhere at one time but you can connect with people from all over the place on Twitter. You can even connect with people who you’d never get a chance to connect with any other way such as CEOs, business owners and celebrities.

  2. Discover new resources and connections.

    That is one of the great things that I found out really quickly on Twitter. You can meet new people and find out new tools or web sites that you probably would have never found out on your own.

  3. See real feedback on products/brands/services.

    Instead of getting information about how great a product is from the company that made it, read what people are saying in Twitter in real-time.

  4. Get answers to questions.

    Have a question you need an answer to  shout it to your twitter followers and get replies. If your tweet doesn’t get much response, try connecting with people directly. Example, does anyone know a program that would edit pictures for less than $100. > Pixelator….

  5. Get new ideas from others in the Twittersphere.

    There are so many great ideas going on all the time with Twitter. Search a particular topic and see what the buzz on the topic is. Chances are you’ll get some ideas about the topic that you hadn’t thought of before.

  6. Create a dialog and connection with your followers / clients.

    See what your followers / clients are up to. You may catch one of there tweets that mentions they’re in need of a service or are having an event. By following them you’ll be in the loop to what’s going on in their world.

  7. Self Promotion.

    If you have a company, blog or personal project that could benefit from people checking it out. You can use Twitter to share your stuff with others. Just don’t abuse Twitter with spam, people don’t like it and won’t follow you.

  8. Get breaking news and read interesting articles.

    See what’s going on in the world in regards to various topics. Remember you don’t need to read them all but you can do a quick scan and catch a lot of things. Following the news, weather, shows, celebrities, blogs and other tweeters can be fun and interesting.

  9. Get feedback from ideas before putting them into action.

    If you have an idea that may take time to execute or money to invest, perhaps you could get a little feedback from some Twitter followers before you take the plunge. Example if you’re creating an ad to run in a magazine maybe you’d want to get several ideas together and then share with your followers. See what get’s the best response, you may be surprised.

  10. Share news in little bite-size clusters.

    Creating good blog content takes time and effort. Tweeting takes seconds to do and can get ideas across really easy.

Remember to:

  • Have fun
  • Be yourself
  • Engage with others

There are plenty more reasons to use Twitter but this should be enough to get you going.

Helpful links:

Next I’m working on some YouTube videos showcasing some Twitter Techniques, subscribe to http://youtube.com/keytheory or http://facebook.com/keytheory to keep up to date with new posts.

After Effects must have keyframes selected from one layer in order to export them as text.

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Three SEO Basics: Content, Inbound Links & Development

Friday, February 12th, 2010

SEO Basics: Content, In-Bound Links, Development

Search Engine Optimization isn’t as fun and hip as Social Media or nearly as sleek and sexy as Graphic Design but it still does play a vital role in on-line traffic and should be addressed in efforts to increase web traffic. Below are the three basic things that I suggest one should focus on with SEO. There are plenty of other factors… more than worth counting but these are keystones in the framework.

Slideshow features some additional information. Help me share my presentation by sharing or embedding. Thanks.

SEO 101 Slideshow

A search engines goal is to provide the best resources pertaining to the searchers search.

Good Practices for Creating Content for SEO:

  • Be original / Not Plagiarized
  • Write for your targeted consumers
  • Format for web w/subheadings & bulleted lists (easier to scan)
  • Be informative, useful, helpful
  • Be interesting and Engaging
  • Check spelling and grammer
  • Update content regularly

Inbound Links:

Getting in-bound links from reputable web sites helps give your site more credibility. Some methods include:

  • High ranked web sites
  • Web site directories
  • Social Media sites such as Digg or Delicious
  • Creating links to your site in Blog posts
  • Trade links with other web sites
  • Pay for professional assistance getting links

Important: Use keywords in the links back to your site.

  • Bad: To learn more about our product click here. >> Home Page
  • Better: Learn more about T Mobile G1 >> G1 Product Page

Proper Web Site Development:

It is crucial that your web site is developed with SEO in mind. Not all web designers have the experience to develop the site for SEO. Possible things to consider:

  • XHTML / CSS – (Validated)
  • Naming Convention: file names, directories, pictures, files
  • Proper Site Architecture
  • Proper content formatting
  • Flash & Javascript work arounds
  • Meta Tags: Titles, descriptions, (key words)
  • Proper link development
  • Sitemap

Other SEO Considerations:

SEO takes time & continuous effort in order to achieve good results especially for competitive key words.

Social Media is a great way to assist with your SEO efforts but before jumping into SEO and Social Media really should do homework and define a strategy with solid objectives to achieve.

There are many other factors involved in SEO then mentioned in this slide show but these are some core principals.

If you’re new to SEO and aren’t sure how to get started consult a professional and to learn more on what you can do to help out your own efforts.

Another thing to consider is having your site looked at for usability and performance. If your site gets a good rank but doesn’t produce results then you may need to change things on your site to make it more effective.

SEO Resources

http://tools.seobook.com
http://www.seomoz.org/tools
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
http://www.google.com/sktool
http://websitegrader.com
http://www.siteopsys.com
http://www.google.com/analytics

If you’re looking to meet with others interested in SEO, try joining a group like Jax SEO Meetup. A MeetUp group in Jacksonville that gets together once a month to talk about SEO techniques and information. You can also check out Jax SEO Works tips on improving your SEO ranking.

Next SEO post I’ll be going over my Top 10 SEO objectives in a new web site development.

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Presentation on SEO at Art Institute of Jacksonville: SEO 101 pt1.

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Art Institute of Jacksonville: SEO Presentation by Kenny Harper

In early Feb 2010, I put on an SEO & Social Media presentation at The Art Institute of Jacksonville thanks to Chris Stagl, Academic Department Director Web & Interactive media. I spoke to the students about a few different topics but focused on the importance of SEO / SMO when working through a web design. Through my next several posts I plan to share some of the key notes from the presentation.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search engine optimization involves using online strategies to improve site visibility and rankings on search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo.

SEO Facts:

85% of qualified Internet traffic is driven through search engines, however 75% of search engine users never scroll past the first page of results.
Source: Seventh WWW User Survey – Georgia Institute of Technology

Users looking for products on-line are far more likely to type the product name into a search engine (28%) rather than go into an engine’s “shopping” channel (5%) or click on banner ads (4%).
Attracting a loyal audience to your web site is best achieved through top search engine listings.
- Social Media High impact
Source: Forrester Research Media Field Study

Benefits of SEO:

  • Increase site ranking.
  • Increases web traffic.
  • Increases conversions.
  • Higher web rank > More Traffic > More Conversions > More $$$

Basic SEO Process:

An SEO strategy can be very involved and take quite a bit of time to execute and even longer for results to occur. Anyone can go through the motions but it takes an expert to really hone in on what will be effective for an SEO strategy.

  1. Initial Analysis
  2. Keyword Research & Analysis
  3. Competitor Analysis
  4. Sitemap & RSS feed inclusion
  5. Search Engine Directory Submission
  6. Social Book Marking / Social Media
  7. Blogs + Press Release Creation
  8. Articles Submission
  9. Link Popularity
  10. SERP Report / Analytics

Three Basic Principals of Search Engine Optimization:

  1. Good Quality Content (formatted for web)
  2. Inbound Links
  3. Proper Web Site Development

Part II in this 3 part series we’ll look deeper into the basic principals of Search Engine Optimization.

AII Jax SEO Basics Presentation by Kenny Harper

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Tips for Creating a Personal Brand.

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

JAMA Building your brand event.

JAMA, the American Marketing Association of Jacksonville had a great event in Jacksonville today about creating and managing your personal brand. JAMA puts on monthly events that are geared toward networking and developing skill sets in the marketing industry. You don’t have to be a member to go to an event but it is encouraged.

Marylin Feldstein, of Career Choices Unlimited, put on the presentation which was a refresher course on branding and focusing on one’s self image. I personally can relate to the topic, in fact it’s exactly what I am currently working on in 2010. In the past several years I focused so much on my clients and their projects and put my own personal brand on the back-burner. That’s one reason my site is still “under construction“. I have developed award winning projects but my own site does not reflect that… doh! But it’s never too late to start re-defining or re-branding yourself.

Your brand = your image + how people perceive you +  your essence

If you want Marylin’s branding tips you’ll have to track her down. Below are my thoughts.

My top 10 tips for defining your personal brand.

  1. Determine what makes you special. If you possess unique skills or charachteristics use them to your advantage.
  2. Be yourself. If you’re a little edgy that’s ok there is a market for just about all kinds of personalities.
  3. Network. Social media is great but noting is like meeting someone in person. If you build a rapport it will go noticed.
  4. Research. See what others have done that have worked… see what others have done that have failed.
  5. Develop goals towards re-branding yourself, set objectives and try to schedule a time-line. There is no rush but you’ve got to keep on it.
  6. Get feedback from multiple sources. Typically friends aren’t always the best to ask as they aren’t always objective.
  7. Get professional help. If you aren’t a marketing pro, perhaps you should consult with one before creating an identity, logo or branded messaging.
  8. Don’t be overly critical. Although your brand is extremely important, you don’t need to achieve perfection as it doesn’t really exist.
  9. Know your audience and who you’re trying to sell yourself to, you can’t please all parties. If you have fans, you’ll have haters.
  10. Continue to grow & re-evaluate where you are and push towards refining yourself to where you want to go. Defining your own brand can take quite some time and isn’t usually hit right the very first time. Ah hem…

While you’re here if you’re not a Fan of Key Theory on Facebook. Take a quick sec and check it out. http://facebook.com/keytheory

Natalie Halpern & Tom Brennemen

Natalie Halpern & Tom Brenneman

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Custom Facebook FAQs

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Facebook Web Design

There has been a lot of interest in the custom Facebook pages that I had mentioned in an earlier post. Here is a bit more information about the Custom Facebook pages and the pros and cons about them.

Reasons to have a custom Facebook page:

  1. Stick out of the crowd of other Facebook pages.
  2. Create a branded experience and establish consumer recognition.
  3. Break free from the restrictive layout and design choices of Facebook.
  4. Increase the pull to drive traffic to specific destinations by changing site hierarchy.
  5. Make your page look fun and interesting.
  6. Create the tabs you want, with the names you want.
  7. Use Flash to create a unique user experience for people to want to share.
    http://www.facebook.com/target#/target?v=app_4949752878**
  8. Your competition will eventually get around to doing it, beat’em to it.
  9. Make your Facebook experience more engaging.
  10. Having an interesting page will help people remember your page from others.

Drawbacks of Static FBML:

Although there are definite advantages of creating a custom Facebook page with Static FBML there are some drawbacks as well.

  1. Static pages do not have the same dynamic functionality that core pages do.
    The wall, discussion, photo gallery and a few other tabs have functionality built into them that are easy to use and dynamic.
  2. Changing elements on the static page will not be as easy, it would be recommended to create static pages for things that will not change frequently. http://facebook.com/sunkistsoda**
  3. You can not add much actual functionality to the pages as they do not allow connections to scripts, for this you may need to develop an application.
  4. Flash elements must be clicked on first to enable. http://facebook.com/artizanmetal
  5. Creating links out of Facebook will take users to a warning page before they will go to the new link.
  6. Not all elements of the Facebook are customizable, this isn’t MySpace. Look at the examples provided here for an idea of what can be accomplished. http://facebook.com/wenourishhope

Deciding if you want a really custom Facebook Page:

  1. Do you a Facebook page already created?
  2. Can you provide admin access to your Facebook page?
  3. Do you have a need for a branded page that will be static, for the most part, and not change very often?

Custom Facebook Process:

  • The first thing to be done is discuss what the goal of the Facebook tab(s) will be.
  • A wireframe (blueprints) will be created to outline the layout and functionality of the page.
  • Once the wireframe is approved a design will be created based on the wireframe.
  • Once the design has been approved the page will be developed in XHTML and be deployed in Facebook.

How much does a Custom Facebook Page Cost?

Everyone wants to know the cost but it all depends on the scope of the work. Think of it this way, if you asked for construction company how much to build a new house, the answer would depend on what type of a house you’d be looking for. The same goes here. Before giving a price quote the job must be fully specked out.

Prices range from $500 and up depending on the goals and requirements of your particular project. This may seem like a lot of money to some people for a custom FB but I have made the decision to only work on projects that I can put enough time into to be proud of and be a success.

Cost Break down:

  • Discovery
  • Strategic Planning
  • Wireframe Design / Content Hierarchy
  • Graphic Design
  • XHTML / CSS Development
  • Facebook Implementation

Price Influences:

  • How complicated is the project. (Simple layout text and images vs Complex layout page)
  • How many pages / tabs will need to be created?
  • Do you have an existing brand (look & feel) or will you need one created.
  • There is time allocated for a couple rounds of revisions in the cost of the design but revisions outside the allotted amount may increase the cost of the project.

How long does a Custom Facebook take?

Depending on the current volume of work and the scope of the project a custom Facebook page can take anywhere from a few weeks to two months. Once your project has been fully specked out a time estimate can be provided.

If you have decided you are interested in creating a custom Facebook tab feel free to contact me.

** I did not work on the Sunkist Soda or Target Facebook pages used as examples above.

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How to Create and Manage Your Personal Brand

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Branding yourself

JAMA Event:

How to Create and Manage Your Personal Brand

  • Jacksonville, Florida
  • Thursday, January 28
  • 7:30am – 9:00am
  • Fairfield Inn & Suites, Jacksonville Butler Blvd
  • Breakfast via Panera Bread
  • Click here to register (http://jamajan2010.eventbrite.com)

Eat, Learn and Network

Marilyn Feldstein, certified professional coach, CEO of Career Choices, Unlimited will be sharing tips on how to create and manage your personal brand.

Even if you are aware of branding sometimes it’s good to get a recharge and networking with others interested in doing the same can help your efforts.

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Measuring Social Media ROI (Return on Investment)

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Social Media Chart

Well a lot of people have been asking me about doing social media. Most people think it’s free advertisement which in a way the tools are free but it does take time to plan and time to do which is worth money. If you pay a social media marketer or an agency to do your SMM for you then it can cost a lot of money as well. So how can you make sure your getting your money’s worth? You’ve got to do a lot of work to track it but it’s possible.

I did some googling and found a very helpful article on Mashable.com -  HOW TO: Measure Social Media ROI which I break down below.

Here’s some highlights on Social Media ROI:

Conversion Formula:

(final value – starting value) / starting value = Return on Investment

Define Clear Goals:

Know what you want to accomplish and be sure to monitor the progress before and after the campaign.

Metrics Tools:

These won’t tell you a direct ROI but they can be used to determine some patterns in consumer’s behavior.

  • Google Analytics – See detailed statistics of your site traffic. Track conversions and more… Free!
  • Omniture – Very helpful. Facebook and Twitter tools.
  • TweetMeMe – Google analytics for TweetMeMe
  • PostRank – Social Media Analytics
  • HootSuite – Twitter manager with good analytics

This is a witty cartoon of Social Media ROI.

Olivier Blanchard Basics Of Social Media Roi

To be continued….

Next I’m going to dig further into Sentiment Analysis, Social Media Product Suites and review some of the techniques. I’ve been getting into social media more with my father and his company JaxSEOWorks.

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Jacksonville Web Video & Motion Graphics in the house.

Friday, January 8th, 2010

First Federal Moolah Checking

First Federal Moolah Checking

One of the cool things about working for an agency like On Ideas is getting to work on a variety of great projects for different clients. In the fall of 2008 On Idea’s developed an animated spot for First Federal bank. I got to work on designing and producing the project with a great team of people. We designed storyboards and executed in After Effects. We focused on creating the commercial using simple animations and visuals. The campaign had good success and On Ideas has produced several more animated spots since then.

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