Month: August 2014

Google currently has a 70% market share in the search engine optimization industry. As a result of being, by far, the biggest search engine out there, Google has the ability to throw its weight around in determining what websites people view. This week, it made the power of this influence clear by announcing that it would change its search formula to promote more secure websites, in a move to protect consumers using its services.Google's algorithm will now boost up in search rankings websites that automatically encrypt their services. When sites are secured, it is more difficult for hackers, the government, and other entities to steal personal data. Google says that, for the moment, it will only be a small factor in their overall algorithm -- however, over time, they may increase its impor...

People often base their first impression of a store on its window displays. Yet, they're so commonplace that most people tend to just walk by them, failing to even notice the business's window art or otherwise just blatantly ignoring the displays. While some might take this as a sign to stop working on window displays all together, many stores are going the opposite direction and investing even more time and effort into their window art, which makes complete sense. After all, an eye-catching window can increase a store's foot traffic, bring in more sales, and even attract some press for the company. "Window displays and graphics are important, especially in the retail industry, for a variety of reasons. Before the customer enters the store, the first thing they typically see are th...

An accountant in Trumbull, Connecticut pleaded guilty to a federal tax charge on Thursday, July 17, 2014 after being caught defrauding a property owner in nearby Bridgeport. The accountant, Thomas Ragonese, 55, is believed to have worked alongside a construction and property management company to steal thousands of dollars from their client. The property management company and its owner also pleaded guilty.While working for ACT Builders, owned by Anthony Testo, Ragonese reportedly prepared monthly rent rolls and provided other services for the company, which was contracted to manage an apartment and several other residential units. From January 2007 to August 2010, Ragonese assisted Testo and his company in defrauding the owner by submitting false rent rolls that listed certain occupied re...

Thirty-two high school and teenage graphic designers from 17 different countries recently descended upon Anaheim, Calif. tocompete in this year's Adobe Certified Associate World Championship. According to a July 29 Las Vegas Review-Journal article, graphic design software giant Adobe hosts the competition each year for graphic designers 22 years of age and younger. Of 117,000 entrants, only 1% were selected to compete at Anaheim -- the United States sent only three representatives. Competitors were required to design a promotional poster for Kiva, a real-world client, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Kiva is a nonprofit organization that works to alleviate poverty around the world by encouraging people to donate to entrepreneurs in developing nations, according to a KFOX 14...

America's most popular teenage chat app just made a bold marketing move. The creators of the app launched a new feature that could end up being the future of the advertising industry, or could at least breach a new marketing territory regarding how different brands interact with each other and consumers. Social media reputation management is critical to any type of brand management, and without it minor issues can become major public relations disasters. But what if people conversed directly with brands and companies via bots? This is what Kik, a popular teen chat service (similar to WhatsApp) is doing. There may be nay-sayers out there already saying that the chat box is nothing new, and most of us have AOL's Instant Messenger in mind when it comes to talking with bots. Kik users ar...