Is search engine optimization (SEO) dead? The folks behind InboundWriter won't come right out and say so, but during my recent conversation with them, they made their feelings about traditional SEO techniques and tools clear, especially in light of Google's recent changes to its search algorithms, and its discussion of how they affect web publishers.

Which is why InboundWriter is a tool that helps writers create web copy that will increase its relevance, not only for search engines, but also for visitors -- with an eye to increasing engagement and sales conversion.

InboundWriter is extremely simple to use. Just cut and paste your copy into the web interface and add three keywords or phrases that describe your content. InboundWriter will then index the social web (including such sources as Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Quora, Google, Amazon, Wikipedia, and up to three websites of your choosing) in real-time to see what your target audiences are reading, sharing and talking about.

You will then be taken to a screen where you can make a few selections about how you want your copy to be optimized, and the system will display a rating and tips to for improving your text. As you edit the copy, InboundWriter will update its evaluation on the fly. Once you have finished working with your document, it remains available in your account if you wish to return to it, or to collaborate on editing it with others.

InboundWriter's online editing tools include basic formatting controls, but they won't replace your favorite word processor or online editor. Since InboundWriter is not an SEO tool, it does not accept or evaluate links, for example.

While InboundWriter is very simple to use, what it's doing behind the scenes is not. I was told that it continuously reviews 15-20 different factors, and that those factors will continue to be refined as needed.

Eightfold Logic, the copmpany behind Inbound Writer, has announced that it has received $2 million in Series C funding from existing investors, including Rho Canada Ventures, Castile Ventures, Formative Ventures, and The Entrepreneurs' Fund III. The new financing brings the total capital raised to nearly $20 million.

InboundWriter offers a free plan under which users can optiimize up to 8 documents per month. An unlimited plan is also available for $19.95 per month. You may also try out InboundWriter without creating an account.

There are no more excuses for using old browsers that are slow and prone to virus attacks. And anyone who has, or uses, the web pays the price. Those of us who design and maintain websites have to resort to all sorts of time-consuming (thus expensive!) tricks to make the sites we create work with IE6 -- a browser that is now almost nine years old, and which Microsoft strenuously urges customers to stop using. Learn more.

Even if you've upgraded your own browser, these extra costs, incurred by CHCS and every other web development firm on the planet, are passed on to you in one way or another.

Unfortunately, big companies are the main culprits. According to Forrester Research, "60 percent of companies use Internet Explorer 6 as their default browser." So in this economic environment, when every dollar counts, corporate and organization employees need to start asking why money is being wasted on old systems. And customers, donors to non-profits, and taxpayers need to ask whether IT departments are having to waste money by maintaining old systems.

So don't wait. There are many excellent alternative browsers available now, with more on the way. Here are some links:

UPDATE: Windows Update is now pushing Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP. Let's hope that will decrease the number of IE6 users. Unfortunately, it can take corporate users a long time to approve updates, so IE6 isn't going away anytime soon.

A while back, I wrote a post on managing electronic information. Since then, a number of new options for dealing with the e-flood have popped up.

I have been playing with the beta of Gist.com, which tries to pull together publicly-available data (blogs, Twitter posts, news articles, etc.) about your contacts. Think of it as a clipping service. I like it so far, but in order to make it effective, I have had to spend a lot of time massaging the data, as the site sometimes has a hard time organizing even such simple data as names, emails, and companies.

Social Minder, with which I've also been experimenting, has a more limited function: to help you remember that you haven't connected with certain people for a while. Gist does this, too, but for this one specific purpose, Social Minder has more options. It seems to be narrowly focused to appeal to those whose business relies on building and maintaining professional relationships.

Now Google has announced, to a great deal of fanfare, a project called Wave, that sounds like it will take Gist one step further -- by incorporating what Gist does directly into a Gmail-on-steroids web interface. It's not available yet, but the responses have been generally positive, although Mike Elgan raises some good points that may call for caution.

None of the new options has made me change the system I discussed for managing electronic information back in Februrary, but it will be interesting to see where things go in the next few months.

With swine flu in the news, it's time to make arrangements that we hope will never be needed. With a little advance planning, many organizations can operate well, even if employees can't be in an office together. I've written before about web-based tools that can help; here are some further thoughts. You may already have some of these tools, and many are free or inexpensive.

Connecting with Customers

By Phone and Fax: If you don't already have a system that allows you to forward your incoming phone calls to other locations, try Accessline, which is available at reduced rates to Costco members. (GrandCentral, mentioned in my earlier post, is being revamped as Google Voice, and is not accepting new users at the moment.)

On Your Web Site: Feedback forms and bulletin boards are good ways of communicating with clients. Make sure that your site can be updated easily, though a content management system (CMS) like the CHCS CMS.

Through Blogs: We can help you create a company blog that can be updated as needed. You may also want to use micro-blogging services like Twitter and Identi.ca to get the word out.

On the Social Networks: If you haven't already, now is the time to create company pages on LinkedIn, Facebook, Yelp, and other such sites. These can be a useful way of letting your clients know what's happening with your organization.

Through Online Conferences: There are a number of systems for audio and video conferences. We're still experimenting, but so far, we've been impressed with Dimdim.

Through Email Lists: We don't really recommend email lists any more, as so many email messages get marked as spam. But if you feel that such lists are appropriate to your customer base, we'll be happy to help.

Connecting with Colleagues

By Phone: Make sure that you have everyone's contact numbers -- landline, cell phone, text messaging, voice mail. In an emergency, it's likely that the phone network and the internet will be stressed. Options that require less bandwidth will tend to work better; for instance, text messages often go through when voice networks are over capacity.

Through Email: Most CHCS clients have email through Google Apps. You may access your mail on the web at http://mail.YOUR_DOMAIN_NAME. For instance, if your domain name is acmewidgets.com, you can access your email at http://mail.acmewidgets.com. If you generally use an email client program like Outlook or Thunderbird, past emails will be accessible through the web if you have set up your account to use IMAP. Ask us if you need help.

Through Instant Messaging: Google Apps users can communicate directly with colleagues through the webmail interface. For people with computers equipped with cameras and microphones, the Google Talk system even supports audio and video. See Google Talk help.

Through Online Meetings: See "Online Conferences," above.

Accessing Company Information

Electronic Copies: Plan what data (like customer lists, address books, and financial records) you'll need to have access to, and put copies on the web, so that you can access them remotely (with appropriate security, of course). Google Apps users can take advantage of their Contacts, Docs, and Calendar, all of which can be edited via the web, and on mobile phones with web access. Alternatively, you might like to try Zoho or Glide.

Carry Files: Once you know what files you need, you can easily copy them to a USB key.

Automatic Backup and Synchronization: We like Dropbox, which is a system that automatically makes copies of critical files to the internet, and to other computers.

Remote Access: There are a number of systems that allow you to log into a computer remotely. They all take some setting up, but one we like is called Hamachi. Contact us for help with a remote access system.

*****

Now is the time to make contingency plans. Please feel free to contact me if you would like assistance.

I think that the Internet has changed society profoundly, in generally positive ways. (We could have an endless discussion about the details, of course, and I won't start one here.) But we've also had to learn how to protect ourselves -- by guarding our privacy, avoiding viruses, filtering spam, and so on.

And individuals like you and me have been forced to interact with large, interpersonal companies, more directly than ever before. Maybe fifteen years ago, you'd buy a computer from Acme Computer Geeks down the street, who'd help you decide what you needed, then put it together for you. You could buy a dialup connection from any number of ISPs, many of which were one-person operations. I even remember walking into a local telephone company office, and picking out a new phone number from a hand-written list (with numbers already taken crossed out)!

Now, of course, it's all "more efficient," which means that phone support, when you can get it at all, is of poor quality, and takes a lot of your time. And there are horror stories about all of the big names -- Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Comcast, Dell, Facebook, GoDaddy, Google, HP, IBM, Microsoft, MySpace, Network Solutions, Palm, Plaxo, Qwest, Sprint, Verizon, Viatalk, Vonage, Yahoo, Yelp, and on and on.

So what's the little guy or gal to do? Give up on computers and the Internet entirely, or try to avoid all the big companies? In the 21st century, that's not a very reasonable alternative, especially if you're running a business or a non-profit organization. Since, ironically, you can find lots of news about these companies on the Internet itself, you could spend lots of time keeping up on the issues. But most people don't have the time or the desire to do that. Just as, for most people, it makes sense to consult an attorney, an accountant or an auto mechanic, I hope you will take the advice of a technical professional when the need arises.

In an interconnected world, it's not possible to avoid the big companies, unless you want to become a hermit. Let local, independent professionals -- who keep up with the latest news, and who know how to interact with the big companies -- do it for you. Contact us and we can assist you, or recommend someone we trust.

If you've ever searched for a specific person's name on Google, you probably know that, in the past, it often hasn't worked very well. Google wants to change this, and compete with Facebook and LinkedIn while they're at it.

In order for searches to work, the person you're searching for has to set up a public profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, and now Google. Some people worry, understandably, about the privacy implications of this. I have argued that business people will probably find it worthwhile to give up a little privacy in return for visibility that can be positive for marketing purposes. It's a matter of being careful about what information you choose to make public; all of the sites I've mentioned have good tools for controlling what is displayed, and to whom.

If you decide to set up a public profile on Google, here's how you do it. First, decide which email address you want associate with the profile. (The email address itself doesn't need to be public, but that address is how you will log in the future to make changes.)

• If you want the profile to be associated with an email address @gmail.com, log in at http://mail.google.com and click on Settings, then Accounts. You'll see an option that says Google Account settings. Click on the link, and you'll be taken to a page headed [Your_Name]'s Google Account.
• But wait! If you don't have an email address @gmail.com, or if you'd prefer to use a business or personal email address that you already have, you can still create a Google profile. You can do this by registering your chosen email address as a Google Account--see instructions. Once you have done that, go to https://www.google.com/accounts/ to create your profile.

Now that you have logged in to the Google Account Settings page, look under Profile. Click on the link that says Create Your Profile. Fill in the information, especially the About Me and Contact Info sections. Note that the information on the About Me page is public, and will display in Google searches, so be careful what you add. The Contact Info data is not public, unless you specify otherwise.

When you are ready, click on the big blue button at the bottom of the page that says Create A Google Profile. You can always return to this page and make changes later.

It will be interesting to see how useful, and how widely used, Google Profile Searches turn out to be. After all, they aren't social networks, and don't have the features such sites have. But I wouldn't be surprised if Profile Searches become popular, since most people turn to Google for most searches.

For more information, see the articles in the Google Operating System and All Facebook blogs.

Managing email, social networks, and other electroniic communications is a must for me, and for most of the folks I talk to. Macworld has an excellent series on how to manage email. (Their techniques work on other computers, too.)

If you missed my earlier post on this subject, here's the link. How do you manage electronic communications?

I like being connected. I love reading the latest news, finding out what my friends are doing, and being able to do business any time. But I also love getting away -- despite what my friends might think, I do have a life!

So it's incredibly important to prioritize my connections. Here's how -- in broad terms -- I do it. I'll discuss details in future posts and in the upcoming CHCS webinar series.

First Priority: Phone and Email

Like most people, during business hours, I answer the phone and leave my email program running. I have separate phone numbers and email addresses for business and personal use, so that I can decide what to deal with first. And I've set up "rules" or "filters" that can prioritize and file messages for me.

After hours, I'm on call most of the time. Luckily, my clients are pretty understanding about calling after business hours except in emergencies. But our phone system is set up to connect with one of our staff if needed. And I get notified by email or SMS if someone has left me a message.

Some of the phone tools listed below have overlapping services, but we try not to be dependent on any one service. And we still have land lines and cell phones. But I don't use the "push email" function of my cell phone to get new emails automatically -- I don't feel like being that connected.

• Phone Tools
  • VoIP and Long Distance: Viatalk
  • Phone Messaging, Toll-Free Numbers and Faxing: Accessline (through Costco)
  • Virtual Number: GrandCentral (ask me for an invitation)
• Email Tools
  • Thunderbird for Windows (with Gmail IMAP Account Setup and a number of other add-ons)
  • A new option: Postbox for Windows
  • Apple Mail for Mac OS X
  • Google Apps (Gmail) Web interface (with Offline Access and Gmail Manager add-on for Firefox...you are using Firefox, aren't you?)

Second Priority: Instant Messaging

My company uses instant messaging (IM) extensively, because our staff often works from home. Since there are several different IM systems (Yahoo, AIM, MSN/Live.com, Gtalk, Jabber, etc.), it makes sense to use an IM program that connects with all of these systems, as well as with the new Facebook Chat IM system. With Growl (for Mac) and pop-up notifications (built-in for Windows), I can find out immediately if someone sends me a message, but I can set my "status" or "presence" to "away" or "do not disturb" while I'm working.

• IM Tools
  • Pidgin for Windows (with Facebook Chat Plugin)
  • Digsby for Windows
  • Adium for Mac OS X
  • Gtalk (part of the Gmail/Google Apps web interface, includes video)
  • VoxOx (very early beta, looks promising but not ready for prime time yet)

Third Priority: News and Social Networks

Since I manage a web development business, I need to keep up with local, national, international and business news, as well as web and technology news. Traditional news outlets and blogs are making for a rich news environment. Blogs and groups with RSS feeds have essentially replaced the older listserves and email newsletters, which have been lost in a sea of spam.

It's not possible to read everything, but thanks to RSS feeds, I can browse through headlines quickly and at my convenience. Now that social networks (like Facebook and LinkedIn) have made inroads among the business community, along with microblogging services like Twitter, I use RSS to keep up with them, too.

There are lots of ways to read RSS feeds. Browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer have RSS readers built in, as do email programs like Thunderbird, Outlook and Apple Mail. But since I consider email to be first priority, and news to be less urgent, I prefer to read my RSS feeds in a separate location.

• News (RSS) Readers
  • NewsFox (add-on for Firefox)
  • Vienna for Mac OS X
  • Google Reader

Once you've installed one of the programs above, when you go to a web page with a feed, you will likely see an orange or blue symbol next to the web site address in your browser. Click on the symbol to subscribe. Finding RSS feeds for social networks is a bit trickier.

• RSS Feeds from Social Networks
  • LinkedIn: Go to your LinkedIn home page and click on the orange RSS icon next to "Network Updates." You can also subscribe to RSS feeds on the Answers pages.
  • Facebook: To follow your friends' postings, go to Friends in the main menu, and click on the blue RSS icon in the left column marked "Friends' Status Feed." To get notifications for events like people writing on your wall, go to Inbox in the main menu, click on Notifications, and click on the blue RSS icon in the right column marked "Your Notifications."
  • Twitter: Go to http://twitter.com/home and click on the orange RSS Feed icon at the bottom of the right column.

I hope you found these comments helpful! Your comments are welcome.

CHCS is gearing up to present a series of informal "webinars" for our clients and friends. In appreciation of your support, we hope to share our ideas and tools for success in a challenging economic environment.

Here are some of the topics we're working on. Leave a comment below, and let us know which ones appeal to you, and what other subjects you'd like to see covered!

1. Making Your Website the Hub of Social Networks
2. Selling What You Know to the World
3. Nonprofit Fundraising on Websites
4. Using Video and Audio on Your Website
5. Developing Websites In A Hurry
6. Inexpensive Websites for Nonprofits and Individuals
7. Making Websites Greener
8. A Short Introduction to Optimizing Your Website for Search Engines
9. Is Email Dead? Communicating with Clients in Today's Environment
10. Using Social Networks (Facebook, LinkedIn)
11. Communicating with Blogs and Twitter
12. Using Google Apps Email, Docs and Calendar
13. How to Produce Your Own Webinars
14. Managing Information With RSS Feeds
15. Using the CHCS Content Management System
16. Using the CHCS Image Gallery System
17. Buying and Maintaining Domain Names
18. Saving Money with Open-Source Software