So what’s in the water that’s got everyone freaking out?

For about a week now we have been hearing about a “flesh-eating bacteria” in the coastal and inland waters of Southwest Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, but what’s really in the water and how careful do I really need to be?

Vibrio vulnificus is a bacteria that occurs naturally in coastal waters. The bacteria, which is more abundant in the summer months (you know, the months without an “R” in the name), is not new, it is not more abundant than in years past, and it is not “flesh-eating”.

When exposed to the bacteria, individuals with underlying health conditions can experience symptoms including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, and chills after eating raw or undercooked seafood, especially oysters. Swallowing water while swimming is not a danger, the gastrointestinal form of the infection can only be contracted by eating raw or undercooked fish. These gastrointestinal symptoms can be severe, or even fatal, but only for individuals with a compromised immune system.

Individuals with an open wound that has been exposed to seawater or brackish water can develop an infection at the site of the wound. Jay Grimes, a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory who has studied Vibrio bacteria since 1980 advises those who like to fish in Gulf waters to prevent the risk of Vibrio skin infections by keeping hydrogen peroxide and Betadine in their tackle boxes. “Hydrogen peroxide is not an antiseptic, but when you pour it on a wound, the bubbling has a cleansing effect. Then if you put Betadine on it, chances are good you won't get an infection.” he said.

“Floridians and visitors without flesh wounds or underlying medical conditions should not be alarmed”, said Michael Drennon, epidemiologist for Sarasota County. Healthy individuals should continue to enjoy the beach and other salt water activities.

It is important to note that that shellfish from grocery stores and restaurants are approved and licensed for distribution. If you choose to harvest your own shellfish, it should be from an approved harvesting site. Sarasota County does not have shellfish harvesting sites and harvesting sites in other parts of the state are currently closed. Cooking shellfish thoroughly eliminates harmful bacteria and viruses in the meat.

For more information please contact the Siesta Key Chamber Of Commerce

Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce
5114 Ocean Boulevard
Siesta Key, FL 34242

(941) 349-3800

WordPress Sites Seeing Increased Malware, Brute Force Attacks This Week

A glut of WordPress sites have fallen victim to both malware infections and a series of brute force attacks that have been making the rounds over the past several days, researchers claim.

According to Peter Gramantik, a malware researcher at Sucuri, highly obfuscated malware payloads have been targeting sites with out of date plugins and sloppy, weak passwords.

While the fact that malware is targeting outdated plugins and weak passwords isn’t particularly surprising, Gramantik claims what makes the attack interesting is the fact that the payload is being blindly injected. Bug-riddled PHP is apparently corrupting legitimate WordPress files, along with theme and plugin files that belong to the popular content management system.

Read the whole story here: http://threatpost.com/wordpress-sites-seeing-increased-malware-brute-force-attacks-this-week

Concept Digital Media specializes in building sites on the Joomla platform.

Dangers of Hiring Unlicensed Contractors

Before you hire a contractor for those home improvements, HVAC work, or any other work that requires a person to be licensed - consider the following:

Fines for the homeowner: Hiring an unlicensed contractor is a violation of Florida Statute 455.228 which can result in a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for the home or business owner, and you could be liable for the court costs on top of that.

Also, if an unlicensed contractor files bankruptcy or skips out while working on your home or business, you are responsible for all fines, unpaid bills to suppliers, and for the wages of employees who worked for the unlicensed contractor.

Poor qualifications: Unlicensed individuals have not demonstrated the education, insurance, or qualification required of a licensed contractor. This can leave you with poor quality work or unfinished projects, which means that you could spend more money hiring another contractor to repair or finish the project.

Possible criminal background: Unlicensed individuals frequently have criminal backgrounds that may include fraud, theft, violent crime, sexual offenses, and substance abuse.
Likelihood of becoming the victim of a scam: Unlicensed individuals often disappear after taking your money, leaving you with very few options to help you get your money back or your work completed.

No coverage under homeowner’s policy: Homeowner's insurance does not cover unlicensed contractors so the homeowner is held responsible for hiring an unlicensed contractor and is therefore accountable for any work associated with the contractor. If an unlicensed contractor's carelessness leads to injury or damage to you or your neighbor’s property, you will be held accountable.

For more information, and how to avoid hiring an unlicensed contractor - please visit Sean McCutcheon's Air Conditioning and Heating, inc.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO is an intense race to be first in the listings - as more specialized tools are available and new technology is released - only web developers who stay on top and up to date will be able to deliver their clients true results.

Never trust any SEO company who claims they work directly with Google and can get you on page one overnight - it just doesn't work that way.

SEO takes time and a lot of work. Google rewards those who do it correctly and may penalize sites utilizing "black hat" techniques that artificially position sites high in organic listings.

Search Engine Optimization has changed dramatically in recent years. The shift is from one of Web page optimization and link-hounding to content and engagement optimization.

In short, Search Engine Optimization and Social Media are now undeniably intertwined. It has become extremely difficult to achieve any measure of success for important keyword searched without Social Media. Organizations that take advantage of Social Media can dominate their market.

Web page optimization and inbound links are still very important, but they may not be enough. Blog content dominates many question related searches. Video, audio and image are routinely mixed in on page one searches on Google and Yahoo.

Google frequently changes it's algorithms for indexing sites and seems to favor Blog-Type sites that have new, fresh, original and relevant content!

Some of the ways you can stay ahead of your competition are:

• Add a blog to the mix.

• Tag and thoroughly describe images.

• Create customer testimonial videos housed on YouTube.

• Write articles and press releases to submit to sites like EzineArticles..

• Create and optimize profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Maps and industry-related Social networking sites.

• Get very proactive about asking your customers to create positive reviews on sites such as Yelp and Google Maps.

What you distinguish to be the shade blue is in actuality the color red.

You have been trained incorrectly your whole life that red is blue therefore the sky is actually red and not blue.

Some people mistakenly think just because something is on the internet it must be true. So there you are - I just told you red is blue - and it's on the internet so it must be incontrovertible fact.

And besides - can you establish that the color blue in fact exists? Can you verify that everyone who sees blue is perceiving the same exact color? While you are at it - can you prove that you exist - or are you just a pigment of my imagination?

The internet is an ocean.

Your website is a boat.  It could be a canoe or a aircraft carrier, but some kind of boat.  Information like reviews and photos are fish that swim around in the ocean. 

Any fish you throw in the ocean will eventually be caught by someone, so be careful what you throw in the ocean.  And definitely do not throw trash overboard - because that stuff floats around forever.

Watch your domain name - do not let it expire!

A local Landscaping company let their domain name expire and recently hired me to build their new website. It turns out that one of their competitors saw their name was available and quickly registered it. The Landscape company had no idea that the web address on their flyers, business cards, and other material has been sending people to a competitors website for the last year.

I should also note - that when I go to this competitors website and try to call them - the number rings directly to a so-called "marketing company" - the person on the other end is always at a grocery store or you hear screaming children in the background.

So we have an unscrupulous marketing company and an equally dishonest landscape company. I have called and emailed, and have not yet heard back from the owner of the company - although the "marketing" person (who will not tell me the name of her company) claims she will talk to the owner and see if they will let me client have his name back.

They claim they thought my client was out of business - but if they would have bothered to make a phone call they would have seen that it was not the case.

We will see if the owner of the company does the right thing and transfers the name back to my client. If not - it won't be the end of the world - I have already registered the .net version of his name, and I will still get my client to the top of the search engines - the right way! The competitor put very little effort into their own site - and it's nothing more than poor design and a bunch of keywords on every page - which makes it highly irrelevant anyway - so it will just fade away.

The wonderful thing about the internet - it is a self cleaning oven - and sooner or later it will get rid of the garbage and reward the good websites.

As for losing domain names - this happened to another local company a couple years ago. They let their domain name expire and a company from China quickly registered it and told them they could have it back for $5,000.00.

If you use GoDaddy - they are very good about letting you know well in advance you have a domain coming up for renewal.

Unless you have a registered name, or can afford to pay a lawyer big bucks - there is not much you can do if someone takes your name. If you think there is even a chance you are going to use a certain name in the future - go ahead and register it. Also - make sure you get the .net and .org versions.

And one last thing - when hiring a wed designer, marketing person, or anyone - get references and ask to see their work - that will give you a good idea who you are dealing with!

Web Cramming And Free Websites

Small businesses and non-profit groups can be targets for a billing fraud scam called web cramming.

Sometimes a "web Design" company will contact a business by phone and offer a free customized website. They tell the business owner that after 30 days or so a monthly fee of $20 to $30 dollars will be billed for hosting services.

Customers are automatically billed for this service even if they did not authorize it. The charges start appearing on their phone bill. One version of the scam involves companies that offer "rebate" checks, that when cashed, will transfer the customers internet service provider. this scheme generally binds you to a contract, such as a long-term agreement with severe penalties for withdrawing.

And of course the websites are terrible quickly produced template designs - full of mistakes, and cannot be edited.

No business can afford to have a poorly designed useless website. If will cost you much more than that low monthly charge. Be aware of the effect your site will have on potential clients - often times it is the first thing they see.

How to choose a web designer

Every business needs a website. The questions is – how do you find the right web designer to take care of your internet presence? Will the web designer you choose take the time to know your business inside out, and be able to help bring you customers?

Unlike other traditional marketing strategies, a website has a global reach and can attract potential clients 24-7. Sometimes it’s hard for business owners to grasp the internets potential, but those who invest the time and money into a professionally built website will see the positive results immediately.

Unfortunately, sometimes it seems everybody and their brother claims to be a web developer. This is not a carefully regulated industry, you do not have to have a license to practice, and so many business owners just do not take the time to fully understand the potential effect a website can have on their business. There are even some business owners who make the important decision to hire a designer based on price alone.

There is no consistency or base line when it comes to web development companies – one company may charge $5,000 for a basic site while someone working out of their home with no overhead may claim to be able to do create a comparable site for a fraction of that amount. One day I passed a home with a sign in the yard that read :”Websites $400.00”.

With thousands of Web developers out there, ranging from individual freelancers to larger marketing and web design agencies, how can you make sure you choose the right one?

You need to decide what you want the website to do. Do you want a site that is nothing more than a glorified brochure? Maybe you are a small pizza restaurant and want to simply have a menu up on the internet. Of course, a properly designed and search engine optimized site will bring you more customers and more business, so you should always try to take advantage of all the internet has to offer. It is understandable that many businesses in this economy have limited budgets, so there is nothing wrong with starting small and having a plan to expand the site over a period of time until it is most effective. I would rather see a business do this than have no site at all.

So ask yourself what kind of information will you have on the site – what do you want to share with your visitors.

Remember – your website can be your single most important salesman – and he never sleeps. Many times your website will be the first thing a potential customer will see – so it is important to make a good first impression.

Those of us who are Web designers can spot another good web designer easily. But for the average person - choosing a professional can seem an overwhelming task.

Testimonials and referrals help greatly. If you are part of a Chamber of Commerce, or other networking group – ask around and talk to people who have worked with the designer you are considering hiring. If you use referrals and do your homework, you will have a much better chance of finding a designer who's right for you.

There are many designers who claim to be qualified but have no real experience. Some designers are great at creating beautiful graphics but do not have a clue when it comes to Search Engine Optimization. I actually know a business owner who asked his web designer to perform some SEO on his site – The designer refused to do the work and claimed he was only concerned with creating beautiful sites, and did not have time to waster on working with SEO.

Obviously you should ask to see examples of previous work. But also spend time talking with the web designer and make sure they are going to be the best person for your site, If you are a air conditioning contractor you probably don’t want someone who has only built restaurant websites.

Be clear about who owns the site once it is created. Some designers like to retain copyright, and can hold you hostage by not allowing you to edit or transfer your site. In my opinion - the site should belong to you no with conditions at all.

Facebook Common Sense

#1 Use great passwords

A good password uses a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, symbols. A password should have at least eight characters. An example of a great password: Ke4%rdSs

#2 Nobody’s home…

Never mention that you will be away from home. Always be very vague about the date of any trip, or better yet – wait until you get back to tell everyone all about it.

#3 Don’t post your full birthday

The exact year month and day of your birthday could be a target for identity thieves. It is possible they could use it to obtain more information about you and potentially gain access to your bank or credit card account. If you must post your birthday – Use only the month and day.

#4 Privacy controls

Use privacy controls to limit access to only your friends, friends of friends, or yourself. Restrict access to photos, birth date, religious views, and family information. Of course it’s always a good idea to leave political and religious views off your Facebook page anyway – especially if your employer or potential clients may see it.

Be careful what contact info you post – and never use your address. If you have small children – never use their names in photo tags or captions!

#5 Everything you do and say, is on the internet to stay!

It is always best to not put anything on Facebook (or the internet for that matter) that you wouldn’t want your mother, employer, or a client see. In our “reality T.V.” world too many people feel the need to tell everybody all about themselves. Just remember – anything you put on the web is there forever! No matter how careful you are – sooner or later someone is going to see those embarrassing photos of you, and it’s always the last person you would ever want to see them!

A little bit of common sense goes a long way.

Social media – or social mediocre?

Social media is about connecting us to other people, and allowing us to access topics, information, and entertainment. It can also be just another distraction that decreases what little productivity there is to begin with. Never before in the history of man (or woman) have so many people had so much access to so much technology – but no idea how to utilize even the smallest fraction of it.

Word of advice: Like my grandfather always said “Don’t ever get a tattoo where the judge can see it” If you do end up diving into social media – just remember that everything you say and do will be on the internet forever!

Never before in the history of man has so much technology been available to so many people who have absolutely no idea what to do with it.

“Outside a dog – a book is man’s best friend. Inside a dog – it’s too dark to read” – Groucho Marx

Antisocial Media: In our anything goes reality TV world are too many people sharing too much information? The old saying was that “any exposure is good exposure” – but I don’t think that is true anymore. People lose jobs because employers see their drunken party photos on MySpace. Houses get robbed when people post that they are not home on face book. And you never know for sure who you are really talking to. Maybe it’s time for AntiSocial Media? Maybe we all should start being more mysterious?

GSCC Premier Volunteer

SARASOTA, Fla. (June 17, 2009) –The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce recognized Syd Krawczyk with the Premier Volunteer Award at Sarasota Prime Time – exhibit • meet • greet Wednesday, June 17 in recognition of his outstanding volunteer service.

Syd Krawczyk was presented the Premier Volunteer Award for his significant volunteer contribution, leadership positions held, commitment to The Chamber and special achievements.

Syd Krawczyk is president of Concept Digital Media, Inc., which offers Web site design, photography and graphic art to Sarasota, Bradenton and the surrounding areas. A Chamber member since 2005, Krawczyk is active in various Chamber activities and committees. His committee involvement includes Chamber Partners serving on the PNL Steering Committee, chairing the new First Monday events and serving on the B.A.N.G (Business and Networking Groups) steering committee.

In addition to Syd's committee involvement, he also volunteers his professional photography services at various Chamber events.

The award honors a Chamber member for exemplary volunteer service within The Chamber and is based upon the level of volunteer contributions that the member has made and the degree to which the general membership has benefited. Many factors are examined in the review process such as number of hours volunteered, leadership positions held, special achievements and overall impact of the volunteer’s involvement and service.

Prime Time was hosted by the Sahib Shrine Center and featured 50 exhibitors as well as complimentary hors d'oeuvres provided by five Chamber member restaurants. The next Prime Time will be held at the Polo Grill & Bar September 16.

Need a website?

Would you try to run a business without having a phone number where potential clients could reach you?

What about trying to offer a service and not having transportation to get to your jobs?

If you do not have a company website, you may be severely limiting your exposure to potential clients. You may work 60 hours a week – but your website will be up 24/7/365 as your company’s representative. You need a website that is informative, interactive, easy to navigate, and reflects your professional image.

Many people do not take a business seriously if they do not have a website – it’s just that simple. Unfortunately, if you have a bad website – it reflects poorly on you as well. It seems like everyone is claiming they do website design lately, so if you do need a website, please do a little homework before you hire someone to insure you get the best site possible for your budget.

Concept Digital Media, Inc. offers CAI members professional web design that grows with you and your company. We tailor our services to your specific needs because we understand all businesses are not alike. We can get you started with a basic website package and first year of hosting for as low as $500.00. Our flexible, and easily expandable web design platform, will change with your growing needs. We offer SEO, Social Media Optimization, Photography, and Graphic Art.

Please give me a call if you have any questions. As a small business owner myself – I like to see other businesses succeed, and it would be my pleasure to help you in any way I can,

- Syd

Prepare for Hurricane Season

Hurricane Season is just around the corner - make sure you and your family is prepared.

Locate a safe room or the safest areas in your home. In certain circumstances the safest areas may not be your home but within your community.

Pick an alternate meeting place in case your home cannot be reached

Have an out-of-state friend as a family contact, so all your family members have a single point of contact.

Post emergency telephone numbers by your phones and make sure your children know how and when to call 911.

Know how to disconnect/switch off all utilities

Install smoke detectors and test them on a regular basis to ensure that they are working properly

Take a first aid course

Make plans for anyone in your family who may have special needs: (e.g. the elderly or small children) and also for your pets.

Have a family disaster kit - Always store your kit in a convenient place and in an easy-to-carry bag:

· Water: store water in plastic containers, 1 gallon of water per person for each day, allowing for up to 3 days.

· Food: store non-perishable food and ready-to-eat canned meats and vegetables, juices, soups, and high energy foods (e.g., peanut butter, nuts and dry cereals, candy, coffee and tea, sugar, salt, vitamins, biscuits).

· First-aid kit: bandages, adhesive tape, scissors, needles, antiseptic, pins, latex gloves and cleaning agents. Also include all prescribed medicine and non prescription medicine for pain, anti diarrhea antacid, laxative and something which may be used for poison control (e.g., syrup of ipecac or activated charcoal).

· Tools and supplies: battery operated radio and batteries, flashlight, tape, needles and thread, plastic sheeting, paper and pencil, matches (keep in water proof container), whistle, can opener, fire extinguisher, garbage bags.

· Personal hygiene products: toilet paper, feminine supplies, disinfectant, chlorine bleach, toothbrushes and toothpaste.

· Clothing, shoes and bedding.

· Important family documents should be kept in a safety deposit box along with a complete home asset inventory. If a safety deposit box is unavailable - documents should be kept in a water proof, portable container: including wills, insurance policies, deeds and stocks, passports, bank account details and credit card information, as well as other family records, such as birth/marriage certificates.

Remember: practice the family plan and maintain the supply kit, by rotating your food and water supplies and by regularly checking your batteries.

Importance of an asset inventory

Even with everything insured, without an asset inventory -- especially one that is itemized with video and photos, you could spend months fighting with the insurance company for reimbursement or replacement of missing items. In a perfect world we would be able to go to the insurance office, insure our residence and belongings for "x" amount of dollars, and that would be good enough. However, the reality is that in the event of a loss, the insurance company will want to see detailed proof of that loss.

Most of us never complete an asset inventory. Yet we continue to accumulate, buy newer equipment, upgrade entertainment systems, inherit antiques and family heirlooms, acquire artwork, etc; often storage units are a necessity. The distressing thing is – few of us could sit down and remember everything we own of material value if we had to, let alone supply sufficient information for an insurance company.

What if you lose your home and valuables? What if a thief invades your business and wipes out years of hard work.

Everyone who owns a computer knows the value of a recent backup in case of a crash. Similarly, you can rely on an asset inventory report that includes the make, model and serial number, and copies of receipts. This report can also be stored with your other important documents such as deeds, birth certificates, and account information, in a safety deposit box. The asset inventory can maximize insurance benefits, determine if you are under or or over insured, facilitate theft recovery, or be used for pre-nuptial and divorce arrangements. Most of all, a detailed asset inventory creates peace of mind. If you don't have a camcorder, camera, or the time - (or even if you do) using a third party asset inventory service is an excellent idea and an easy way to validate your belongings to an insurance company.
A good asset inventory service is licensed, bonded and insured and offers a certified report that includes photos and a digital copy with video on a CD/DVD. The one-time cost of an average third party asset inventory is usually less than what most people pay a year for car insurance.

Please make sure you have sufficient insurance and are covered in the case of fire, flood, hurricane, or theft.

Getting ready for hurricane season by doing a home inventory

Insurance companies advise homeowners to have a current inventory of their assets. If you do not supply your insurance agent with an inventory - there is the possibility that you may be over or under insured, or you may not have the correct type of insurance. Many items such as cameras, firearms, and jewelry are only covered up to a certain amount and require a separate policy to be fully covered.

Insurance companies require "proof of loss" before settling a claim. If you have an up-to-date inventory - you will have that proof.

Be prepared for Hurricane season and other disasters - create a detailed asset inventory list and a "walk through video" of the home or business, and digital photographs of your home or business property and individual contents. You can also scan receipts, insurance information, and other important documents for transfer to digital medium for safe storage.
A good idea would be to store this information in a safety deposit box.
In the event of a fire, hurricane, or theft you should be able to recover financially by receiving a quick settlement from your insurance company. Having an updated inventory eliminates the burden of proof insurance companies require before settling a claim.

Customer service

It is very annoying that lately I have come to realize that most people and businesses I have to deal with on a continuing basis simply cannot do their jobs. It seems like everyone has lost the capacity for problem solving, and are either possessing sub normal intelligence for an above average capacity for indifference.

Take Verizon for example. Almost a year ago I called them a month in advance to tell them I was moving and asked that they connect the service to the new place at least 2 weeks before I was to move. To make a long story short – 3 different technicians were never able to figure out how to get the DSL working , They tried to bill me for three months of service I never had, and a year later I still have not been refunded my money for the modem I sent back.

Customer service is nonexistent - it’s really only customer placation. “we’ll take care of this right away for you”, “I’ll let me manager know about your problem – and he’ll get right back to you”, or “we are so very sorry and understand your frustration, we are working hard to come up with a solution”.

The last 2 weeks I have been having problems with IX web hosting, and every time I create a trouble ticket – I get the same generic response back.

”I'm very sorry for such inconvenience. We are much concerned about our service level we provide and doing all our best to keep our servers on appropriate state.

Our system administrators have worked on the problem and it has been fixed completely. Please check your websites once again, everything is fine from my end and with the servers. We do not expect any further problems to occur as a direct consequence of this problem. Thank you for your understanding and patience.If you will need our assistance further, do not hesitate to contact us anytime, we are available 24/7.”

The problem has not been “fixed completely” –(as opposed to fixed partially?) – they obviously are not concerned about their service, and what does “doing all our best to keep our servers on appropriate state.” even mean?

They even thank me in advance for my understanding and patience. I understand that I need to be patient while I look for another hosting company.

The list goes on and on – auto mechanics who can’t fix cars, printers that can’t get their colors correct, and forget about getting any electronics fixed – everything is disposable – they just replace it.

In a world where nobody knows how to do anything because they spend all their time trying to figure out how to make the latest high tech gadget work, it is truly good to run across a true professional occasionally.

If you are fortunate to find someone who truly excels at what they do, and just doesn’t offer empty promises and apologies, please get the word out – there aren’t many of them around!