SO…we talk a lot around here about responsive sites.  So what is the big deal.  I found a good post on Google Mobile that shared the following points:

• 75% of users prefer a mobile-friendly site
• 96% of consumers say they’ve encountered sites that were clearly not designed for mobile devices.
• When they visited a mobile-friendly site, 74% of people say they’re more likely to return to that site in the future.
• 61% of users said that if they didn’t find what they were looking for right away on a mobile site, they’d quickly move on to another site.

Nuff said. Read the whole article here:  http://googlemobileads.blogspot.com/2012/09/mobile-friendly-sites-turn-visitors.html

I haven’t always lived life that way.  I put such a premium on running a good business, sticking to my word, and making sure customers don’t want for much at all in regards to their online presence.  But, as my boys are getting older, I’ve recognized there have been times where I’ve put them second.

That’s not something I’m willing to do any longer.

So, if you’re a client, or thinking of becoming one, know this:  My family comes first.  I will go above and beyond in every way that I can.  Your business is extremely important to me.  And I really enjoy working on great projects.

But I cannot, and will not, allow my children to grow up thinking that their dad loves his job more than he loves them.

So what does this mean?

It means that:

• I’m no longer answering my phone all hours of the day.  If you have an emergency, leave me a message.  I’ll get it when I get in.
• Phone consultations are no longer free.  Each customer gets adequate training sessions, and can plug into our weekly free sessions at our office to set up the help that they need.  But I am no longer available for free phone support on your project post-launch.  There is a support package that allows for unlimited calling, and if that is your preference, you can set that up at anytime.
• It’s important for me to schedule vacation time.  My vacation will be clearly communicated.  But I will not be available during that time.  I will set up a communication path for emergencies, but I pride myself on making sure that are rarely emergencies.
• In the past, I have allowed customers to postpone projects mid-stream as needed, and then start back up at their convenience.  This is no longer the case.  If you fail to meet your deadlines, it will not alter the price of the project, but it will alter the timeline.
• It also means that in order to keep projects moving along, I’ve decided I will only work on three projects at a time.  By focusing on fewer projects at one time, I hope to increase efficiency, and cut down the development time.

Social Logins = easier signup process = less frustration = less missed sales opportunities.

No brainer.  Makes sense to me.  But until now, I haven’t really had much data to back that up. Then I came across this infographic from Lanoba.com.  While I can’t necessarily recommend their product, as I haven’t used it, the concept is sound.  More importantly, this graphic breaks down what I’ve been sharing with people about social login for a long time.

Give people options during the signup process.  Some will prefer to use their social logins.  Those that don’t…won’t.  Everybody wins.  If you’re thinking of launching a website that requres logins by the user, use social logins.  You’ll thank me later.

I had the opportunity this past weekend to present a session at the iUrban Teen Tech Summit.  I spent the morning at the University of Portland sharing with over 100 teens about how they can begin building a digital portfolio now, as well as gaining proficiency in a variety of skillsets.  You already know this, but we snuck in some discussion about the Teen Gamer Corps as well.  :)

I forgot to bring copies of the slides to the presentation, so I told the participants I would upload the slides to my website.  Please note:  there isn’t any audio…just the slides.  I probably need to record a video at some point so this would make more sense to those that weren’t there.

Click here to see the presentation: 

GTD has many different implementation models, apps you can buy, etc. I have been trying to decide what tool to use, because I have very specific criteria which is centered around using Evernote. I was only looking at apps/services that had extensive Evernote integration…until now.

I have found The Secret Weapon…

…and yes, that is what it is called. They have created the “seemingly” perfect system, using Evernote itself…no additional app to buy, or even integrate. AND Evernote is essentially free.

I just checked it out…and I’m all in. And I think it will help you too. ( I know this sounds all info-mercially…sorry)

So I thought it would be great to chronicle my experience setting this up in a series of posts entitled The Secret Weapon.  Stay tuned.

Malware, short for malicious software, is software designed to disrupt computer operation, gather sensitive information, or gain unauthorized access to computer systems. While it is sometimes software, it can also appear in the form of script or code. Malware is a general term used to describe any kind of software or code specifically designed to exploit a computer, or the data it contains, without consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software.   – Wikipedia

I hate malware.  I respect hackers, as I used to be one myself, but the intentional crippling of software systems with no regard to consequences isn’t a morally defensible position.  That said, it is a reality that if you are deciding to host a website, either hosted yourself, or on someone else’s server…you are going to have to deal with malware, both proactively & re-actively.  So in regards to my own websites, as well as the ones I manage for my clients, I have always taken the following two-pronged position:

1. Being proactive means doing the best you can to make sure your sites are not open to brute force attacks, using smart passwords, etc.  A good metaphor is locking the door before you leave the house.
2. In the case of an intrusion, keep regular backups in multiple places.  Then, if ever infected, change all passwords (databases included), delete everything and restore from a previous backup.  Following the metaphor, this is like burning anything left in the house, changing the locks, and then buying all new stuff.

This strategy has served me well since 95, when I built my first website.

I had my first problem with a compromised website 3-4 years ago, and relatively problem free since.  Well until January 28th, 2012.

Aaaaaaaaaaaargh. WP intrusions. 28 sites hacked. Goodbye to my weekend. #ihatemalware

January 28, 2012 2:35 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@MungaiMedia

Jomo D. M. Greenidge

We had been hit, along with thousands of others, in a mass intrusion attack focused upon WordPress.    Not all of the sites we host use WordPress, but many do.  All of the ones that do, were hit hard.  I immediately went into action, changed all the locks, burned all the stuff, and refilled the houses.  Within 24 hours all the sites were infected again.

I immediately could tell that this was not going to be a good week.

I then re-executed the above plan, as well as a host of other-worldly ninja acrobatics designed to take security measures even further.  Again, 24 hours later, all the sites were infected again.

Two days shot to heck.  Now its time to get serious.

The next thing I tried was to nuke the entire server, ie the technical infrastructure upon which the sites operate (in terms of our metaphor - the neighborhood).  Once the fireball dissipated, then I built a new neighborhood in its place complete with new houses, stocked full with all new stuff inside.  Now…that had to solve the problem.

Nope.    Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

The next two weeks

At this point, I felt like a professional Sim City strategist building & rebuilding sections…and yet it hasn’t done any good.  I’ve demolished entire city blocks trying to eradicate the source of this infestation…and yet I haven’t been able to figure out where its coming from.  I then took a fine-toothed comb and start working my way through the rubble…looking for signs of sabotage.  As I did clean sites, one at a time, I would bring them back online.  I found out that rebuilding sites from the rubble, while checking the code individually was doing two things:  showing me that there wasn’t anything wrong with the individual sections of that code, while giving me a new depth of insight into the inner workings of WordPress.  Most importantly…the sites were staying clean.  After about a week of this, I found how the malware was getting into the sites.  Then I had to figure out how to stop future attempts at co-opting my server.

By then, I was fairly confident I had eradicated this infestation.  I learned a lot over those three weeks, and I’m glad to be able to say that most of my clients never even knew there was a problem, much less felt the pain I was going through on their behalf.  So if you have a WordPress site, and are having problems figuring out how to get your site clean & safe…give me a call.  And if you are one of the cyberthugs responsible for this attack, punch yourself in the face.  Really.

Jomo lives with his wife Rebecca, their two sons, and Rebecca’s cats: Aoife & Lucius.  Jomo does not own a cat, but often will be found playing with a black panter…seen above.