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Recent Blog Posts
Google Algorithms May Save Patients’ Eyesight
In 2002, a character in the teen adventure-drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer used the word “Google” as a verb for the first time on television, at least according to Charles Arthur, writer of the book Digital Wars. Google.com had only been registered as a domain for five years when Alyson Hannigan’s Willow asked “Have you Googled her yet?” making reference to the search engine that would soon become the most popular and powerful in the world.
A few years later, as “Google it” entered the American lexicon as a common direction given to someone looking for information on the internet, Google released a statement expressing concern over the use of the word as a generic trademark for a web search. Fast forward another decade and, while we still use “Google” as a common verb, most of us actually mean using one of Google’s many platforms to find the answers we need.
Negative, Misleading Content Troublesome for Google and Facebook
More than ever before, individuals around the world are turning to the internet as a source of news and information, particularly related to current events. In previous generations, interested people were forced to wait until the evening news broadcast or until the next morning’s newspaper was published to find out what was happening in the world. The rise of 24-hour news channels like CNN was helpful but still pales in comparison to the information currently available on the world wide web.
The problem, however, is that internet services like Facebook and Google often have trouble distinguishing between what is actually news and what is not. It is becoming increasingly common for false, misleading, and intentionally negative stories to spread just as quickly—and often more so—than fact-based news items.
A Changing Approach
Facebook Announces Quarterly Results, Staggering User Numbers
Last week, the city of Chicago welcomed home the world champion Chicago Cubs. According to official estimates, approximately five million people took to the streets of the Windy City to celebrate with the team, making it the seventh largest gathering in human history and the largest ever on American soil. Imagine being able to reach a significant percentage of those five million people with a message about your firm and how you may be able to help them. Sounds pretty incredible but completely impossible, right?
Now take that five million and multiply it by 360. The result is 1.8 billion. That is how many people worldwide use Facebook—360 times more people that those who attended the Cubs’ victory celebration. Believe it or not, today’s digital technology offers you the ability to reach an increasingly large portion of those users with the right approach and guidance from marketing professionals.
Mixed Messages in Branding: The Story of Guaranteed Rate and the Chicago White Sox
If we are going to talk about a baseball team in Chicago, we would be remiss if we did not take a moment to recognize the accomplishments of the 2016 Chicago Cubs. In the late hours of Wednesday night—Thursday morning in Cleveland where the historic event took place—the longest championship drought in professional sports came to an end with a slow ground ball to third base. For the first time in 108 years, the Chicago Cubs are the champions of the baseball world, and we at OVC, INC., proudly offer our sincere congratulations to the players, coaches, team officials, and fans.
As one Chicago team celebrates and looks toward a promising future, another is caught up in the midst of a confusing situation regarding its business relationships and associated branding. The dilemma highlights the importance of strong visual branding that is appropriate in its application and intended audience.
Cyber Attack Leaves Millions Unable to Access Favorite Websites
If you are like most Americans, you have come to rely on the internet for a significant portion of your day’s news, information, and entertainment. Your ability to perform your job and promote your company may even be reliant on a global connection. When something happens that disrupts your connection to the digital world, the results can be more than just inconvenient. When something happens that disrupts everyone’s connection, the problems get even bigger.
Denial of Service Attack
Early last Friday morning, Americans on the East Coast woke up to find that they could not access popular websites, including Reddit, Twitter, Netflix, PayPal, and even Amazon. Users scrambled to check their internet connection and the status of their service provider, but the problem was not with individual households or broadband services. Instead, experts and government officials believe that the issues were a result of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack orchestrated by hackers. There are even indications that similar, smaller-scale attacks using the same malware are continuing to affect seemingly random targets.
Quality Backlinks to Your Website Boost Traffic and Search Rankings
To be competitive in today’s marketplace, it is more important than ever for your firm to maintain a well-structured website designed to be compatible with a wide range of desktop and mobile devices. The success of your site depends on a large number of elements. Some—such as intuitive design features and engaging content—are visible to end users, while others—such as backend search engine optimization (SEO) and loading speed—are not visible to the average user but are no less important. Backlinks are an often-overlooked piece of the SEO puzzle, but when developed and utilized correctly, backlinks can contribute directly to increased traffic to your site and an improvement in your search engine rankings.
What Are Backlinks?
Most people are familiar with the word “link” used in the context of the internet; it refers to a clickable connection from one web page to another. So, what does the word “backlink” mean? A backlink—from the perspective of your website—is any link back to your page from anywhere else on the web, and may also be called an “inbound link.” Search engines like Google presume that a site with a large number of quality backlinks is a trustworthy site and one that is more relevant than others related to a similar search term.
Online Video Trends That Can Guide Your Marketing Efforts
We live in an ever-changing world, especially when it comes to our technology and the ways in which we communicate. While this, to a certain extent, has always been the case, changes are occurring faster than perhaps ever before, with each generation’s technology improving significantly compared to the one that came before it. One such example can be found in the proliferation of online streaming video, and the way in which streaming content has completely transformed how we choose to be entertained and informed.
A Brief History
In the early 2000’s, television was essentially the same as it had always been. There were more channels than before, of course, as cable and satellite providers looked to serve niche markets and interests with appropriate programming. Digital video recorders—often referred to by the particular brand name TiVo—allowed consumers to watch programs at their convenience, but only shows that had already aired and been recorded. At the time, Netflix was just a few years old and was little more than a mail-order DVD rental company, but we were starting to hear seemingly outlandish predictions that streaming content would be how we accessed entertainment in the near future.
Snapchat Changes Its Name, Announces New Product
When a company decides to overhaul its image or its flagship product, the reaction from consumers can be unpredictable. Of course, much of the public reaction will depend on the company’s ability and willingness to communicate about the upcoming changes and how suddenly they occur. A surprise announcement and poor marketing can lead to public relations nightmares—think New Coke—but when the marketing is done properly, including the effective use of social media, major changes may be welcomed with open arms.
A New World
When Coca-Cola made the fateful decision to replace its top-selling product with a new version in 1985, the internet was in its infancy. Companies had few options for getting information to consumers, especially when something big was on the horizon. Today, a company can develop a social media strategy that instantly lets the public know about upcoming ventures and changes. Sometimes, the company itself specializes in social media, and the promised changes look to affect the way that people connect with one another.
Meeting the Needs of Cancer Survivors in the Chicago Area
The exact definition of a cancer survivor may vary from person to person. For some, surviving cancer means getting the first clean results following aggressive cancer treatment. For others, they may wait five years without a recurrence before calling themselves survivors. Perhaps the most fitting definition of a cancer survivor is the simplest—anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer and continues to fight the battle with the deadly disease is a survivor.
Of course, using this definition allows for the recognition of various phases of survivorship, as survivors in the midst of initial treatment often face different challenges than those who are 10 or 15 years removed from the acute battle. At OVC, INC., we recognize that all cancer survivors deserve care and support from the moment they are diagnosed, and we are proud to partner with an organization like the American Cancer Society to help meet the needs of cancer survivors around the country.
Microsoft Claims That Cancer Will Be “Solved” in 10 Years
While most of us are using the wonders of technology to communicate with one another and for recreational purposes—think Pokémon Go—computers and the Internet were originally developed as tools to make solving problems more efficient. Over time, of course, computing technology has made its way in to just about every industry on earth. Harvesting combines are guided by GPS, manufacturing plants use CNC machines—CNC stands for “computer numeric control” to cut and process materials, and lawyers are able to reach prospective clients through social media and marketing campaigns.
Computers have also long been used in the fields of biology and chemistry for various purposes, but a recent announcement from Microsoft still has many wondering if the technology giant will be able to deliver on its promise. According to reports, Microsoft has begun work on a series of programs that has led to a prediction that cancer will be “solved” within the next decade.
