What does WhatsApp and Predict-it have in common?

WhatsApp is growing its user base at a rate of 1 million every day. Its user friendliness, ad free interface, and a devotion to your privacy are a proven winning combination that people love. 

Check out our video see how we apply those same qualities to your searches. then try a search for yourself at www.predict-it.com

Predict-it® adds Daily Deals directly into local search

Now you can search your destination for hotels, restaurants, entertainment, day spas and more to find available deals all in one place.

Predict-it’s patented Satisfaction Engine® naturally ranks your search results by how likely the business is to satisfy you. Now within those results businesses are able to offer incentives to entice you to give them a try over other business that may rank higher and have more reviews.

Try a search at www.predict-it.com and see how it works.

Is your multi-location business leaving revenue on the table? Read this article from Search Engine Land

Three Steps for Crushing Multi-Location Local Search

Personalized Content – The Advertiser's Dream is a Consumer Nightmare

Everywhere we look, experts are touting the potential benefits of collecting big amounts of personal data so businesses and advertisers can deliver content relevant to the individual. From a business and advertiser's perspective, there is plenty of data supporting the business value of having lots of personal information about their current and prospective customers. If your goal is to influence the sale of your product or service, how could you argue against the benefits of leveraging personal information to do so? You simply can’t.

You are in business to sell. With the right information in hand, a savvy marketer could use the most basic of sales skills to influence just about any decision in their favor.

True personalization is different from the old methods of marketing where a message would be created to attract a specific audience, then disseminated where it would have the most impact demographically. You see these methods deployed in standard advertising such as television, radio, print, and billboards. To a large degree, this is also how banner ads and Google’s Adwords campaigns are designed.

True personalization delivers personalized content dynamically designed specifically for the person viewing it, and it takes place at the most opportune times. By applying technology available today and using the right techniques, a business can deliver a message that says we understand you, we understand the difficulties you face and we have a solution to your problems. This all takes place in a split second without actually saying the words.

When you consider the fact that most of us have spent our entire lives being bombarded with offers that we could not and would not have an interest in taking advantage of, the average consumer’s acceptance of receiving personalized content is understandable. In a world where the average person experiences 75 or more ads every day, a business isn’t just competing within their own industry, they are also competing for your limited dollars against every other advertising business out there.

As the competition increases, so does the investment leading to what is described in Wikipedia as Ad Creep. As stated in the Ad Creep article, “There are ads in schools, airport lounges, doctor’s offices, movie theaters, hospitals, gas stations, elevators, convenience stores, on the Internet, on fruit, on ATMs, on garbage cans and countless other places. There are ads on beach sand and restroom walls.”^[5] “One of the ironies of advertising in our times is that as commercialism increases, it makes it that much more difficult for any particular advertiser to succeed, hence pushing the advertiser to even greater efforts.”^[6]  The same article identifies this as a "relentless battle to claim every waking moment, and what one executive called, with chilling candor, mind share." ^[4] A New York Times article is referred to which notes that "consumers’ viewing and reading habits are so scattershot now that many advertisers say the best way to reach time-pressed consumers is to try to catch their eye at literally every turn." And, the article suggests that ad agencies believe that as long as ads are entertaining, people may not mind the saturation.^[5] Of course, the greatest proof that the entertainment concept works would be the commercials leading to, and during, the half time of the Super Bowl and the now-legendary Oreo Tweet during the 2013 Super Bowl blackout.

So how long will it be before the love affair with personalization becomes a nightmare? Well, my guess is it won’t be long at all before Ad Creep becomes just plain creepy. Further, for many of us, it will become annoying to the extreme. In the McKinsey Quarterly article, “The coming era of ‘on-demand’ marketing,” a scenario is described where a person sees headphones that she is curious about and taps her phone against them to get some info. As a result, ten scenes and a few weeks later, she gets an alert on her phone while she is at the gym and is given the “opportunity” to buy and download an exercise program. You could only imagine what would happen if she decided to buy that exercise program.

The nightmare isn’t the actual use of our personal information. It could be cool if it was actually done right. What concerns me is its misuse. Imagine walking into a public restroom, having your image scanned as you walk through the door and, after spending an unusually long period of time sitting on the toilet, receiving a text message offering you an antacid or a laxative. Does that sound far-fetched? Of course it does, at least until there is a way to deliver you one in real time. For example, what if that same message was sent to your waiter, letting him know you could use a little help. Wait, that technology exists already. Perhaps he’ll just discreetly offer you some Ocean Spray Prune Juice or, instead of bringing you a mint with the check, there will be a roll of Tums.

OK, let’s say the business has some tact; imagine the same scenario, but instead of telling the waiter about your little problem, you just get a digital message in the mirror as you’re washing your hands. It would inform you that the waiter could bring you something if you asked. That would be simply amazing service, right? Perhaps we would be happy to pay a premium for such service.

But, of course, part of the premium would be that, while you were washing your hands, every company out there that even has a remote chance of helping you with your problem would be sold your information. For the next two weeks, everywhere you turn, you’d be offered relief for a problem that you no longer have. You get the idea. It’s concerning that businesses share our personal information. They sell it to each other and give people access to it that have no real idea what is or isn’t appropriate.

While people are rightly concerned about the recent NSA activity disclosures, we should keep in mind where the information is coming from. This article on the ZDNet website discusses the practices deployed by Facebook in creating “shadow profiles.” Security researchers who looked into Facebook were quoted in the ZDNet article as stated, "The issue itself was not built with malice in mind, it was simply an oversight. The significance of what it unearthed is the real problem that still remains." When I read these comments, it reinforces my concern that we need to enact some accountability and use guidelines while this mass information gathering is still in its infancy stage, rather than react later after the damage is done. 

If that wasn't enough to raise an eyebrow, you may just want to take a look at this article published by The Gazette titled, "The NSA is watching, but so are Google and Facebook"; of course they aren't just watching, they are selling your information to anyone who will buy it. Remember the restroom scenario?

Chasing Penguins – SEO from a business owner’s perspective

Why is it that getting first page exposure on Google feels a lot like chasing Penguins?

On the face of it Penguins look like they’d be easy to catch. They don’t seem like they run fast, in fact they just kind of waddle. Maybe you hold out a nice little fish, the Penguin comes up to you and viola you catch it. So as a business owner you may try this approach with getting first page exposure on Google. You lay out your keywords and phrases (fish) on your web page and after a couple of days you type them in but to your dismay, NO VIOLA. Your page is still buried.

Naturally you must be using the wrong fish so you look at the source code of your competitors who are getting that first page exposure. You make the adjustments to your web page with what you now believe to be a better blend of bait and a couple of days later when you check still NO VIOLA.

This is frustrating as a business owner. You know that each day there are only a limited number of Penguins in your area to be caught and your competition is filling their coffers with them.  As a smart business owner you know you’ll go broke focusing on the nuances of chasing Penguins while you have a business to run so you decide to consult a professional Penguin hunter, or as a lot of us call them an SEO expert.

Your expert Penguin hunter asks the most important questions like “tell me what your ideal Penguin looks like?(which seems a little absurd since most business owners think every Penguin caught is ideal, that is until they catch a couple of bad ones). What is each of your ideal Penguins caught worth to your business? What have you been doing to catch Penguins to this point? Have you ever caught a bad Penguin and if so how did that affect your business? How far around your location are you willing to go to catch your ideal Penguin? Which of your competitors do you think has been doing the best job at catching your Penguins? Do you have any better bait than your competitors to offer your prospective Penguins?

So based on the information you provided your SEO expert tells you, “Sure I can help you catch Penguins however it isn't easy and it isn't going to be cheap.”   The expert explains that just like getting first page exposure on Google, Penguin hunting requires constant diligence and an ongoing action plan. The Penguin is wet, oily and slippery so right when you think you've got a hold of it, it slides out of your hands which is kind of what dealing with Google’s daily algorithm changes feels like. So your expert explains further that just like Google’s regular algorithm updates, what works for you today may not work tomorrow and if you don’t keep on it you’ll be right back where you started with your competitors catching all the Penguins.

Some good news about catching Penguins is the more you catch the easier it is to attract new ones. You see, all the new Penguins see their friends gathered around you and think, that must be where all the good eats are.  In many ways Google does the same thing, they see all the people going to and referencing your site and figure these guys are relevant, have credibility, and therefore must be safe.

With that said the most important thing any business owner can do is focus on what you can control. Provide the best service and product possible to every single customer and make sure all customer facing staff are trained to do the same. Identity the people who are the best customers for your offering, then focus all marketing efforts on them. If you're a high end general contractor it doesn't make sense to spend marketing dollars on people who will sacrifice quality for price. So don’t oversell, undersell, or try to attract people who aren't a good fit for your offering as those are the people most likely to be dissatisfied customers and write bad reviews and talk down your business. 

Catching Penguins consistently, just like getting on the first page of Google for your keywords and phrases is most definitely best left to the experts.  It may not be simple or cheap but bringing in the right customers who are most likely to become your word-of-mouth superstars is worth it. 

How do you determine the size of a tip to leave your server?

So you are done with your meal, the check comes, now it is decision time… How much are you going to tip the person who served you?  It may not seem like such a big decision however if you are at all like me the size if your tip say’s a lot about how you felt about your dining experience. Even if you are someone who always tips 18% no matter what, you could easily ask yourself how you feel about giving 18% to the server.  Are you leaving that tip happily or is it out of obligation?

I tend to leave tips of 15, 20, or 25%.  The service has to be really poor for me to leave 15% and exceptionally good for a 25% tip. Most fall in the middle. What I’ve come to realize though is my friends criteria for saying the service was poor or exceptionally good differs from mine.  It’s easy to agree on an almost never ending list of what would be considered extremely poor service but as we move up the scale towards exceptionally good personal preferences, tastes, lifestyle and economic situations begin playing a bigger roll in how we view the service

.

Here is my short list of what it takes to get a 25% tip from me.

1.           Keep the fluids flowing. I drink a lot of water and sometimes a lot of soda. I realize soda and water don’t increase the overall tab so feel free to bring me a carafe. Either way I don’t like empty glasses at the table.

2.           Unless I engage you or we have previously developed a relationship I’d prefer to keep the idle chit chat to a minimum. I’m there to eat and if not alone socialize with my friends.

3.           Bring out the food in a timely manner. I prefer the main course after we are done with the appetizers.

4.           Don’t ask for my plate while anyone at the table is still eating unless I’ve set it aside and motioned for you to pick it up. Most definitely do not make me feel rushed.

5.           Bring the bill only when you are confident me and my company are done, asking if we want desert is a good way to determine that.

Note that I didn't mention the quality of the food since generally I won’t hold the server accountable for my meal choice. The tip is based on their service.

Another factor I left out is the expectations we have on the business prior to walking in the door. Just look at any of the major rating and review sites and for almost any business you’ll find someone who was really disappointed that their experience didn't match the reviews they read. Ever been referred to the best movie of all time by a friend only to feel like you wasted $8.50 and two hours of your time? Buyer’s remorse can happen at restaurants too and is often reflected in our tips.

  

So back to the original question, how do you determine the size of a tip to leave your server?

The best Christmas gift I ever got you can give too

This year I would like to share something personal with all my connections.

My mom taught me that when someone gives you a gift you should keep it forever. I’m really sentimental about that even though it doesn't hurt my feelings that most people don’t care about it as much as I do. Just looking around my office right now there are at least 10 things that came from people who I haven’t hung out with in years but I think about often. Coincidentally, three of the items were from office party Christmas gift exchanges. A little wood carved Tuscan with a magnet and a Hot Wheel that I know came in a personalized Christmas stocking made by Kelly’s daughter Kiersten. There is a Alvin and the Chipmunk’s musical novelty item Kate gave me. There also is this great little glass Rhino Judy gave me although that was just a random middle of the year gift but worth mentioning since I was listing stuff from old coworkers.

Amazingly, the best Christmas gift I ever got was given to me by an x-coworker one year prior to Christmas while I was dreading the upcoming shopping madness. We worked at the same company but in different departments. We recognized each other as working at the same company but never conversed prior to this day. To say we were even acquaintances would be a bit of a stretch although like the other gifts I will cherish what he gave me forever.  We ran into each other at the local dog park one day and had a brief conversation about the commercialism of the upcoming holidays. That is when I received what I’m about to pass on to you. So let me just say I hope you and your family have a “Merry Christmas” and enjoy this as much as I have.

Regardless of your beliefs about Jesus and what Christmas is suppose to be about, you can’t go wrong with this. Personally though, I believe that this is a gift that would make Jesus himself very happy.

As a bonus this gift could be great for the local economy and can’t be made in China. But that is just a bonus.  

The gift is the gift of our most precious commodity combined with our need for real connectivity especially in this age of electronic socialization. The gift is “time together”. What I was given was the consciousness of how valuable time together really is and how it’s something that can’t be store bought.

Yep, it turns out that the super stores could move all their #Black Friday, #SuperSaturday and #CyberMonday deals to July for all I care. Actually that would be fine, I’d be happy to take advantage of that to buy myself stuff, however, for me Christmas isn't about buying presents anymore.  Christmas is about seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces and hearing the buzz as we talk about doing something together later in the year. That is right. Instead of the mad dash to get great discounts on cheep items for Christmas, I spend my time thinking about what we can do together during the coming year as a family and make the announcement on Christmas.

Oh you should have heard the shockwaves of confusion running through my family that first Christmas when instead of a Christmas present from Walmart or some other major store chain they got a card that said, “this year we are all going to the San Francisco Zoo”.

Sure there was some disappointment about not getting the latest video game, a cute dress or whatever on Christmas morning. But you should have seen the looks on their faces and heard the excitement later that year as we squeezed my whole family, sisters, daughter, nieces, nephew, great nieces and nephews, everyone who wanted to go…we squeezed them into my good old 1977 Dodge Dreamer motor home and took the trip to San Francisco Zoo. So instead of a few minutes of excitement over some silly little gift we all had a day full of memories that will last a lifetime.

The next year, we went to the San Jose Tech Museum and before checking out all the exhibits we watched The Lion King on their huge IMAX Dome screen.  I’ll never forget seeing my mom’s smile as we took a few minutes to enjoy seeing the jaw dropped expressions on the faces of her kids, grandkids, and great grand kids watching the movie. Mom has passed on now but that moment will live forever.  Since then there was a Whale Watching trip on the Monterey Bay, a Beach Bonfire, Ice Skating and a sleepover. 

I need to acknowledge that getting everyone together and coordinating these events isn't always easy, nor is it cheaper than picking up some made in China trinket. But one year, worried about money and not knowing what the future had in store I decided that maybe it would be best to just give the kids a few bucks to spend on whatever. Later, my great nephew came to me asking in confidence, “are we still going to do something together as a family?” Thank you Mario for reminding me that this gift isn't just for me and that it’s less important what we do, but more important that we do stuff together as a family.

Best wishes for you to have memories that will last a lifetime,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Alvin Cordeiro