Last week, Google released a new update to its Panda algorithm that targets low-quality content. Who won and who lost?

Panda Update 3.5 is Live: Winners & Losers

Tier 1 wireless companies are banding together to create a nationwide database of stolen smartphones. Within 18 months the carrier databases will be merged to form a national database that will also be used to block stolen devices from being altered to run on another carrier’s network.

Mobile Companies Join Forces to Combat Smart Phone Theft

Google has announced a search engine optimization penalty to “level the playing ground.” Google’s goal for the penalty is to give sites that have produced great content a better chance to rank and drive organic search traffic and conversions.

Google Plans SEO Over-Optimization Penalty

According to a recent Harvard Business Review article, 25%-50% of people report that they feel overwhelmed or burned out at work. The biggest cost it to your productivity. Read the full article below for some great suggestions on the best way to help focus and get things done more efficiently.

The magic of Doing one Thing at a Time

Major trends in client computing have shifted the market away from a focus on personal computers to a broader device perspective that includes smartphones, tablets and other consumer devices,” Steve Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner, said in a statement on Monday. “Emerging cloud services will become the glue that connects the web of devices that users choose to access during the different aspects of their daily life.”

Check out the full article below. It’s an interesting quick read!
Personal Cloud’ to Replace PC by 2014, Says Gartner

While reading through sites I use to keep up-to-date, I found this interesting article. In it there are the 10 web predictions for 2012 from Sitepoint. I’m all for #9, the dying of IE6! It’s notorious for causing us and our clients so much issues with compatibility with new web technology.

I also found #3 interesting. I have been personally been using Windows phones for many many years now. Before ‘smart phones’ were called smart phones! I still have a windows phone today and love it.

Check out the full article below. It’s an interesting quick read!
10 web predictions for 2012

The massive amount of information that flies at us from so many different directions is overwhelming to say the least. Many times we can get so caught up in filtering through this information that we miss the bigger picture and what really is important to our business and success. Follow this link for a list of 5 things you can stop doing in 2012 and be even more productive than you are today!

According to an IBM analysis of consumer spending trends over the long holiday weekend, record online Thanksgiving Day shopping paved the way for strong Black Friday retail sales. Notable trends from the benchmark study include the following:
The Mobile Bargain Hunter: Black Friday witnessed the arrival of mobile deal seekers who embraced their devices as a research tool for in-store and online bargains. Mobile traffic increased to 14.3 percent on Black Friday 2011, compared with 5.6 percent in 2010.
Mobile Sales: Sales on mobile devices surged to 9.8 percent from 3.2 percent, year-over-year.
Read the whole article to make sure your business is marketed in the highest trending areas: http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Business-Analytics/IBM-Benchmarks-Black-Friday-Sales/

Your marketing message is not about you or what you do. It’s about what your target audience is going through and what they desire to be, have or do. Make sure your marketing message is aimed at fulfilling that desire. If you sell insurance, for example, emphasize how your product can bring them comfort in times of crisis.