On the Mindspace web team, we strive to make all the web sites we create cross-browser compatible. Sometimes problems pop up that perplex us, make us scratch our heads, and wonder why this hasn’t been fixed yet. Most of the time, these problems revolve around Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

I submit for you review, today’s Internet Explorer nuisance: We were testing the admin of a web site where the URL was “client_admin.mindspace.net” (the URL has been changed to protect the innocent). When tested in every browser, we could log-in and navigate through the site with little problems. When tested on versions 6-8 of Internet Explorer, we could log-in but could not navigate through it without receiving a “You are not authorized to use this. Go away.” error.

We scoured the code to find out to it was in an issue with the PHP session. A quick search on “ie php session problem” pulled up this link. Simply put, IE doesn’t like seeing an underscore in a URL. A quick change and a restart of Apache later and it was working in our old frenemy.

Perplexed? Yes.

Heading scratching? Definitely.

Fixed yet? Absolutely not. Hopefully it’ll be fixed in Internet Explorer 9.

[Image Credit: Chisa/Flickr]

It’s a fact that search engines do their best when they give visitors the best search results. This is why Google has so clearly dominated the search engine market—it simply provides the best results. As such, the goal for Search Engines Optimization is, stated simply, to provide the most relevant content.

Having said that, of course one should keep in mind that Google et al does not use browsers to see what is on your web pages. So, in order to find your pages, your site should be constructed in such a way that Google can find the content your website was optimized for. Mindspace applies over 15 technical code-based ways to ensure this is the case for each and every page on your website when SEO is applied.

Our Interactive team was charged with the task of updating the existing website design and content, as well as making it dynamic enough to be easily maintained and changed. After an initial interview and a two month period of research and assessment, Mindspace proposed new graphic design and the creation of a custom CMS (Content Management System) which would allow for ALL content to be editable by the content owners and creators. An inventory of all pages was also delivered, along with a plan for cleaning and migration—a large portion of which would be automated. A five month timeline was proposed, along with a budget range and a video for the home page to present the company’s significant differentiators.

Despite significant unanticipated setbacks like the server being two months delayed, more than 100% turnover on the client site web team and a significantly increased scope, the website was complete ten days early and within the budget range originally projected. The client even asked to have the launch pushed back a week since they didn’t expect how speedy our delivery would be.

Today, the custom CMS allows for complete customization of the entire website. Old pages are being redirected to the new website, and SEO has been incorporated into all pages. Calls to Action are dynamically driven by the page content and there are well over a dozen modules that allow for different content types. Pages or entire sections can be turned on and off and moved or renamed—all while not breaking any existing links. A page inventory is readily available anytime. Multiple versions of content can exist simultaneously, and content owners each have a customized dashboard that they can use to communicate with each other about any content. Last but not least, the site’s content is almost entirely maintained by the company’s web team, which, thanks to Mindspace, is now comprised of one person.

Footnote: Within four months of the website going live, the company was acquired in a friendly acquisition aimed at growing the business.

There was a sincere attempt at combining the best practices of the multiple teams, but a lot of time was typically spent routing, formatting and distributing content (rather than creating it). This is where  Mindspace stepped in to help. Our Interactive team was asked to assist one of the business units in creating simple to use, flexible and extensible communication tools that were to be used by the company’s MarCom team members for channel communication.

Our solution included several components. First, we started with the push vehicle—a website. The website met the company’s current branding standards, was built to be updatable any time and required minimal to no training to edit. The control of the content was given to the content owners, and different levels of access were created to accommodate a content owner hierarchy (some were allowed to post, others allowed to approve and others were able to create new sections or edit user access). The writers were also introduced to site visitors, which added a personal touch to the website’s communication style. Additionally, the company’s 10,000+ subscribers received a newsletter that had overlapping relevant content with the website.

Upon launch, a special outreach campaign was used with direct mail components and prizes to promote these new tools. Participation climbed continuously over the two years it was in operation, and the client confirmed that the new site was easier to use and less work to maintain than their previous disparate combination of solutions. The new website was also significantly more consistent with the company’s branding efforts.

In order to measure effectiveness, metrics were also built in that allowed each department to see how often their articles were read.

After two years, the Mindspace team was asked to take the tools to Phase II and extend it to four other business units within the same company. This has since been accomplished with a similar minimal learning curve and customer response. A few new features were added, like tracking per article, password protected documents, image inclusion, two-way automated Twitter feeds, “green” flagging, multi-national support and more.

Our solution, dubbed “Advantage,” is now being used by over 200 content editors across six business units. It continues to be a successful channel marketing tool that allows for a large disparate team to communicate in a concise, consistent manner. By putting the control in the hands of the content owners, not a web team, communication time was significantly reduced and the MarCom team was able to spend their time communicating their marketing efforts instead of managing logistics.

A client will often ask if we can use an existing CMS such as WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla to help speed up development and/or to trim development costs. After all, nobody wants to pay to re-invent the wheel, right? It’s a fair question, and one that warrants careful investigation. After all, the price tag of free often weighs heavily in the equation for prospective site owners, and if software exists that’s already 90% complete, why not start there? The short answer is a prime example of the 90/10 rule… The last 10% of the project takes 90% of the resources, and won’t get 100% of the way there..

There are some good arguments for using a canned CMS, such as: quick deployment, maturity of code, wide availability of expertise, and a broad spectrum of widgets to satisfy the post launch whims of the most eccentric site owner. At first glance, the CMS sounds too good to be true, especially after conversing with some young zealot who can promise a site up and running in less than an afternoon! So if boxed CMS’s are all that, why are there so many? As the cliché goes, if it’s too good to be true…

Following are a few items your CMS fan-boy probably overlooked:

• Out-of-the-box CMS’s tend to look canned even though most packages can be skinned with pre-rolled design templates. Note that most of the heavily re-designed instances (say Drupal) has required a team of web developers doing surgery on the core organs of the software.
• Content editing and formatting is restricted to the limitations of the CMS interface and HTML editor. Considering the greatest claim of the CMS is content editing without technical knowledge, this is invariably a drawback.
• While it’s typically easy to upgrade the major CMS’s, any customizations may require a fork in code development which will render your installation void to further upgrades. So, even though it’s open source, don’t get too creative with the code.
• Once you have established yourself with one web host that supports a particular CMS and version, it can become difficult to move your site to a new hosting environment.
• It’s not enough to simply know the language behind the CMS, the developer needs to possess an in-depth understanding of the structure of the CMS itself, a learning curve that can be much steeper than merely learning the programming language.
• With a large install base come many eyes. For both for good and bad, bugs are more readily discovered and potentially exploited when the software is ubiquitous.
• Commonly, CMS owners find themselves compromising desired functionality for conformance to the available options of the software. Would you rather realize your vision or shoe-horn your dreams into a fixed space?
• Considering SEO is a constantly moving target, it is nearly impossible for the shrink-wrapped CMS’s to keep up with the technology. Furthermore, expecting your CMS to be a magic pill for search engine rankings is simply not realistic.
• Extensibility is a big sales point of CMS’s, but many site owners are blind-sided by the tall work orders submitted by consultants to perform seemingly menial tasks.
• With many CMS’s to choose from, which one is right for you?

With all the negative vibes, you might be wondering if we ever think it makes sense to use Drupal or Joomla as the basis for a website. The answer is, “Of course!” – as thousands of satisfied web patrons have discovered. We just don’t think there is such a thing as a one-size-fits-all solution, and that the flexibility isn’t always as advertised. Moreover, most of our clients come to Mindspace for unique solutions that will make them stand out against the crowd. A cookie-cutter website is simply a no-go for the pro.

The Interactive team at Mindspace utilizes best practices from our collective years of web application development. At the beginning of a project, if we recommend a custom CMS, we typically have some explaining to do regarding the above. But usually well before the project is half over, the client realizes how, by re-using solid building blocks of time-tested code we are able to construct complete web solutions that not only delivers the vision rapidly, but also integrates current business culture and work flow.

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We contracted with a web developer over six months ago and still do not have a functional website. We’re way over budget, investors have abandoned us, and our developer will no longer return our phone calls. The site is 90% finished, so we just need someone capable to make a few final changes, could you do that for us?

At Mindspace, we believe in being a can-do organization, but that doesn’t mean we have super human powers. (It only appears that way most of the time) We’ll sympathize with your pain, but you need to understand that no amount of work will violate known laws of physics and get your site completed by last week. We’ll run triage on your project and provide you with a realistic assessment.

Here’s another one…

Our site was built by an off-shore company, but we are tired of being up all night in telephone conversations with ‘Ernie’ from ‘Bakersfield’ only to get the wrong deliverable several days later. We want to hire someone local that we can work with face-to-face.

Ah! The perils of Bangalore. Yes, they are cheap labor. 200,000 Engineering grads competing for 5,000 call center jobs in a country where you can live a middle class existence for $5,000US/year. There are good and bad stories of New Delhi software, and unfortunately we only hear about the bad ones. Sure, we can take over development and give you face time, but note that our middle-class geeks simply cost more than their hemispherical doppelgangers. Our developers are our product, and keeping them happy and productive is a high priority for us. Rest assured that any premium is more than compensated for by top quality software by the best minds in the business.

Another fav…

I want a social networking site that can interface with Norad and air traffic control centers around the world. My nephew Malvern said he could do it on his summer break were it not for his accordion camp.

Perhaps you should convince Malvern that being a dot-com zillionaire will get more chicks than wielding a mean squeeze box. All kidding aside, one of the biggest misconceptions of website construction is the amount of multi-disciplined effort required. Building a production-grade website requires a skill set that includes knowledge of multiple programming languages, networking protocols, database and operating systems administration, all tied together by some form of project management. While we don’t doubt that Malvern is a prodigy who balances his checkbook in hexadecimal for kicks, it’s very rare to find a single person these days with the skillset to build the next Internet shrine single handedly. When you retain Mindspace, you’re securing an experienced team of developers who span the entire spectrum of Internet technologies.

Have Malvern send us a resume. Besides attracting the best and brightest for our team, we could use his accordion skills on polka Fridays.

Then there’s this guy…

I have a list of 25 million, double opt-in email addresses that I’d like to broadcast my message about medication to help men build their self esteem.

It sounds like a noble cause, but we’d find that many opt-ins on any list to be a bit dubious.

Let’s face it, as a civilization we’re still in the infancy of the Information Age. And with any revolution, there’s a lot of misinformation and rogue frontiersmen to be wary of. As innovation continues at breakneck speeds, Mindspace will be working diligently on the front lines of the new media in a perpetual effort to sift the value from the hype.

Stay tuned for more Tales from the Interactive Trenches!

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Watch the video below to learn about:

• - Scott’s career path
• - Ford Motor Company’s Fiesta Movement campaign
• - Statistics to use in getting social media buy-in from senior-level executives
• - How Scott differentiates interactions across various social media channels
• - Brands that Scott feels are doing a great job with their own social media initiatives

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgl0cO7PXX0

As Scott explains, the Ford Fiesta Movement is a social media initiative that was designed to create excitement about the company’s newest car. Now in its second phase, the Fiesta Movement consists of 20 teams with two agents each. Fiesta Movement Team Phoenix, comprised of creative talents Sunny Thaper and Austin Baker, is one of the competitive teams involved in the national campaign. I enjoyed meeting Sunny and Austin last week as well and appreciated them taking the time to share more information about their efforts for this campaign.

Watch the video below to learn about:

• - How Fiesta Movement Phoenix is being publicized
• - Social media channels that are proving most effective for the Phoenix market
• - Ways you can get involved with the Fiesta Movement challenge

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kztHf_BMFKo

Let’s help Sunny and Austin win the Fiesta Movement (and possibly a brand-new Ford Fiesta) and bring the Phoenix market to the forefront of this national campaign. Text message “PhxSpots” to 44144 and sign up for e-mail updates to learn about upcoming events and ways to help Phoenix earn “points” for the challenges.

And to learn more from Scott Monty, check out his personal blog where he shares his perspectives on social media: The Social Media Marketing Blog.

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Because it’s March.

Because we’re Mindspace.

Have a Bright Sunshiny Day

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In this particular example, I find it amazing (and embarrassing) that someone outside the H.J. Heinz company created and used an @HJ_Heinz Twitter account for two whole weeks before the Twitter handle was reported and then changed to @NOThj_Heinz. The H.J. Heinz company spokesperson responded at one point stating that “as part of our regular monitoring practices, we actively monitor the social-media space, which is how we discovered the Twitter account ‘hj_heinz.’” Really?! Then why did it take you two whole weeks to discover the Twitter handle and have it changed? Even if Heinz had identified the Twitter squatter on day one (or even day two), I find it hard to believe that it would take a full two weeks to have the Twitter handle changed – especially when the person was willing to turn the account over to H.J. Heinz and explain his intentions.

In this example, the Twitter Squatter was sharing positive information about the company and its products, so what’s the problem? Well, the main issue is that the @HJ_Heinz account was the company’s only representation on Twitter for that entire time (and still is to this day) and went unnoticed by the company. What if the person had been sharing negative or inaccurate information? That could have easily been a PR nightmare! And certainly there are messages that could help boost the H.J. Heinz brand beyond just the information being picked up by the Twitter Squatter from various online sites. So what is the H.J. Heinz team waiting for, and why are they letting an “unofficial company spokesperson” continue to be the only voice on Twitter for the brand?

My simple advice:

1. Actively monitor your brand (and that doesn’t mean performing occasional Google searches).
2. Have a presence at the “social media cocktail party” so you are in the “room” and know what people are saying about your brand.
3. Come to realization that you cannot control all messages being shared, but you can control messages communicated by the company.
4. Get engaged and have a voice – Monitoring from the sidelines is not enough.

Work to build your presence in the online space and it will eliminate the possibility of Twitter Squatters controlling your brand and instead provide room for brand evangelists (hopefully) instead of “unofficial company spokespersons.”

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Now, I haven’t seen MTV’s Jersey Shore – partly because I refuse to watch it – but it is causing quite a stir among the Italian-American community, particularly The National Italian American Federation (NIAF).

Based on everything I hear – the tans, the clothes, the tattoos, the fighting, the partying, rinse and repeat – it sounds like a dramatic group of young adults who, together, are bound to draw some attention.  It just so happens that they are Italian, and are waving their Italian flags everywhere and busting out of their “I love Italy” shirts while causing all sorts of commotion.  For all the Italians I know in America and in Italy, I don’t know any like them.   

So the NIAF sends out emails monthly to members asking for help “to promote positive media portrayals of Italian Americans,” and has campaigned against the show through national media outlets like Fox, ABC, Newsweek, and The New York Times.  I appreciate the NIAF for valiantly defending the Italian-American name, culture, heritage and reputation, but so much time is spent campaigning against this show.

As a public relations pro, I have a tendency to look at the positives to a situation.  What about NIAF using Jersey Shore to leverage a campaign to educate America on what real life Italian-American families are like?   There is no other time more appropriate than now to launch a positive campaign.  There are many media outlets willing to listen because of the controversy caused by Jersey Shore. 

There are so many inspiring stories of immigrants coming to this country and finding their way, carving the path to success, making a name for themselves and building a legacy for their families.  What about the Italian-Americans who have contributed to entertainment, government, law and business in America?  Do the names Giada De Laurentiis, Chief Justice Antonin Scalia, Janet Napolitano or Jerry Colangelo ring any bells? 

NIAF is an influential group based in Washington, D.C. and has access to many of these Italian-Americans who they should include as part of their campaign to “promote a positive image of Italian-Americans.”  They need to act quickly on a positive publicity campaign while this story is still hot.  Then, maybe the NIAF will make the tans of the Jersey Shore group pale in comparison.

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