We are pleased to announce our most recent launch for the Carthage Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Carthage is the perfect destination for your next vacation, weekend getaway or a business meeting! You’ll find attractions, events, hotels, meeting facilities, sports, dining, shopping, and more in Carthage, Missouri.

Check out their website at Visit-Carthage.com! Here are some of the features on their site:

• Learn more About Carthage
• See a Calendar of Events
• Discover Attractions
• Stay up-to-date on recent News
• Discover Carthage History
• View Interactive Travel Brochure
• Plan a Visit, Event or Group Tour

I read the headline “Apple’s iBooks Author App Creates Controversy” and I though “how could anyone have a problem with this? Oh, it’s  just annoying people that complain about great things to create controversy”. But then I saw this “IMPORTANT NOTE: If you charge a fee for any book or other work you generate using this software (a “Work”), you may only sell or distribute such Work through Apple (e.g., through the iBookstore) and such distribution will be subject to a separate agreement with Apple.”

So if I write an eBook with this software I can’t use the content of that eBook anywhere else. How sad.

At least I still have an excuse as to why I haven’t written an eBook yet. LOL!

Apple’s iBooks Author App Creates Controversy – DesignTAXI.com.

There is an alternative. It doesn’t take much money, but it requires a lot of time. It’s called social media. Social media is much harder than traditional advertising, but it’s free and (in my opinion) it works better. You’ll still spend some money, but it will be on discounts and free offers for your customers. Your biggest expense will be your time.

Social media should be used with a pull and stay strategy. You pull people in and get their contact info or get them to follow you. Then you send them updates to keep them thinking about you.

Advertising works, if you have a good strategy, but it costs a lot more and you have to pray a lot harder. Advertising is a push and pray strategy. You push a bunch of ads out and pray that people buy from you.

Now this isn’t to say you can’t use advertising with a pull and stay strategy. You can do that, but it doesn’t work as well.

The biggest gap between you and your customers is TRUST. It isn’t price. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking price is the only thing that matters. Yes, price is a factor. It’s usually the first thing we think about when looking for a service. But we are only looking for that service because we don’t TRUST anyone that offers it. If we already knew someone that offered that service we wouldn’t be looking for it in the first place. Think about that for a while.

So how do you get people to TRUST you? One great way is word of mouth. People will take a recommendation from someone they know. Another great way is to teach people. This is where social media, email marketing and a blog come in handy.

Jason Fried talks about teaching people to trust you in his book, REWORK. I’ve read this book 5 times. Seriously. According to Jason Fried, the more you teach, the more people will come back to learn more. The more they learn from you, the more they will trust you. And, here’s the best part, the more they trust you, the more they will buy from you.

Now how do you get started? The best social media book I’ve ever read is UnMarketing by Scott Stratten. I would read that first. Then if you still need help send me an email.

Google launched a petition. Wikipedia voted to shut itself off. Senators’ websites went down just from the sheer surge of voters trying to write them. NYC and SF geeks had protests that packed city blocks.

You made history today: nothing like this has ever happened before. Tech companies and users teamed up. Tens of millions of people who make the internet what it is joined together to defend their freedoms. The free network defended itself. Whatever you call it, the bottom line is clear: from today forward, it will be much harder to mess up the internet.

The really crazy part? We might even win.

Approaching Monday’s crucial Senate vote there are now 35 Senators publicly opposing PIPA. Last week there were 5. And it just takes just 41 solid “no” votes to permanently stall PIPA (and SOPA) in the Senate. What seemed like miles away a few weeks ago is now within reach.

But don’t trust predictions. The forces behind SOPA & PIPA (mostly movie companies) can make small changes to these bills until they know they have the votes to pass. Members of Congress know SOPA & PIPA are unpopular, but they don’t understand why–so they’re easily duped by superficial changes. The Senate returns next week, and the next few days are critical. Here are two things to think about:

1. Plan on calling your Senator every day next week. Pick up the phone each morning and call your Senators’ offices, until they vote “no” on cloture. If your site participated today, consider running a “Call the Senate” link all next week.

2. Tomorrow, drop in at your Senators’ district offices. We don’t have a cool map widget to show you the offices nearest you (we’re too exhausted! any takers?). So do it the old fashioned way: use Google, or the phonebook to find the address, and just walk in, say you oppose PIPA, and urge the Senator to vote “no” on cloture. These drop-in visits make our spectacular online protests more tangible and credible.

That’s it for now. Be proud and stay on it!

–Holmes, Tiffiniy, and the whole Fight for the Future team.

___

P.S. Huge credit goes to participants in the 11/16 American Censorship Day protest: Mozilla, 4chan, BoingBoing, Tumblr, TGWTG, and thousands of others. That’s what got this ball rolling! Reddit, both the community and the team behind it, you’re amazing. And of course, thanks to the Wikimedians whose patient and inexorable pursuit of the right answer brought them to take world-changing action. Thanks to David S, David K, Cory D, and E Stark for bold action at critical times.

P.P.S. If you haven’t already, show this video to as many people as you can. It works! http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/

Conventional wisdom says that you shouldn’t bring up politics in relationship to your business. While some of you know that I don’t always follow this wisdom, usually I’m still reluctant to go as far as to protest on my company website and with my company newsletter. However, in a way, I am my company and I started my company so I could be myself.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as H.R. 3261, is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, by House Judiciary Committee Chair Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX). The bill expands the ability of U.S. law enforcement to stop online trafficking of copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. The House Judiciary Committee held hearings on November 16 and December 15, 2011. The Committee will continue debate on January 24, 2012.

If passed, the bill will allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as copyright holders, to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. Depending on who makes the request, the court order could include barring online advertising networks and payment facilitators such as PayPal from doing business with the allegedly infringing website, barring search engines from linking to such sites, and requiring Internet service providers to block access to such sites. The bill would make unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content a crime, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Lobbyists say that the bill protects the intellectual property market and corresponding industry, jobs and revenue, and is necessary to bolster enforcement of copyright laws especially against foreign websites.

The truth, however, is that this bill violates the First Amendment and will cripple the Internet. It will threaten whistle-blowing and other free speech. It may also increase the cost of owning and operating a website due to lawsuits and penalties brought upon internet related services.

To oppose this bill many people have initiated a number of protest actions, including petition drives, boycotts of companies that support the legislation, and even proposed service blackouts by major Internet companies scheduled to coincide with the next Congressional hearing on the matter.

In protest, on Wednesday January 18, 2012 I’m taking my company website, http://MyModernWeb.com, down. However, as usually, we will be providing service via phone, email and online chat.

Our clients and affiliates, this means you, will NOT be affected. Your website will continue to function as usual. That is unless you decided to join us.

Some useful resources for you to consider:

http://sopastrike.com/

http://demandprogress.org/

http://www.digitaltrends.com/opinion/sopa-sponsor-rep-lamar-smith-to-sopa-opponents-you-dont-matter/

Personally my favorite thing about the internet is freedom. I’m a big fan of individual rights and the free market. The internet encompasses both.

If you like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google and blogs. Then you don’t want SOPA.

Learn more here.

Please get involved and help stop SOPA.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

This book is full of many must do tips to help you generate more business, but be prepared to be put in your place. Stratten doesn’t just tell you what to do. He also tells you what not to do. And he’s a little harsh about it. But personally that’s what I need.

UnMarketing.

To find out how much your website will cost to develop go to http://mymodernweb.com/instant-quote and fill out the form.

How joyful we are that the time has come to extend to you our sincere gratitude because it is good friends and customers like you that make our business possible.

May the coming year be overflowing with all the good things in life.

-The MyModernWeb Team

We are proud to announce our most recent website launch for Preston Family Dental in Republic, Missouri.

Dr. Marcia Preston opened Preston Family Dental in 2002 and from the beginning has focused on providing comprehensive preventative and restorative dental care in a family friendly, comfortable environment. Her practice provides personal care for patients of all ages. She offers a variety of services that include oral health education and instruction, tooth restorations, crowns and bridges, veneers, root canal therapy, periodontal therapy, 6-Month Smile Orthodontics, and tooth whitening. Your experience will begin with a comprehensive exam and a personalized treatment plan that will address any dental issues or concerns you may have. Dr. Preston’s dental staff consists of two “expanded function” Dental Assistants and two Dental Hygienists that will assist her in your care. She also has available to you an Office Administrator, Insurance Coordinator and a Financial Administrator. Her staff will make sure your visit will be enjoyable and that all your questions will be answered. By routinely attending continuing education courses, the staff is able to provide you and your family with the most up to date dental services.

Check out their website at PrestonDentalTeam.com! Here are some of the features on their website:

• Schedule an Appointment 24 hours a day.
• Get to know the Preston Family Dental Team.
• Discover various Services.
• Visit their News page often for their most recent dental health articles and up-to-date news.
• Contact Preston Family Dental.

Preston Family Dental is taking advantage of our Online Marketing Department service. We post to Facebook and Twitter everyday, write weekly blogs, send email campaigns every month, interact with customers through the live chat on the website and keep their website up to date. All this to accomplish the goals of the website: to spread the word to a wider customer base, provide service to online clients and bring extraordinary success to PrestonDentalTeam.com.