2010 New Year’s Resolutions

By Samuel Lavoie | Published: January 2, 2010

I will keep things short, as 2009 was a good year overall with tremendous opportunities that may lead to great things in 2010 and beyond. Connecting with great Montreal entrepreneurs and people through all sort of event and of course the Web Standard organization W3Qc.

Looking back on 2009

Looking back at 2009, I’ve started a new full-time job in 2009 as a Digital Strategist at TMP Worldwide… which I ended on December 24th, to work full-time on my own stuff – more on that in the coming weeks of course. ;)

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Passed the Google Analytics IQ Certification

By Samuel Lavoie | Published: December 31, 2009

I have passed my Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ) test on 31 December 2009.  It has been on my to-do list since it was announced earlier this year. Happy that I’ve been able to check that out of my to-do for the new coming year, with a respectable score of 91%.

You can view my Google Analytics IQ Certification and my online test records.

The Google Analytics Individual Qualification is a proof of proficiency in Google Analytics that is available to any individual who has passed the Google Analytics IQ test.

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Posted in Internet Marketing | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Basic Search Engine Optimization for Recruitment Site

By Samuel Lavoie | Published: October 20, 2009

This post is somewhat in the beginner range of SEO. Did that to help TMP Worldwide clients to have quick actionable item. As the Digital Strategist for the Montreal office it’s definitely more toward people new to this and especially HR people. I’ve cut all the extra stuff to just keep it to the core elements. Of course these principles make complete sense for every site, not just recruitment.

The importance of websites to a recruiting strategy is indisputable. The websites’ efficancy and effectiveness is imperative and is growing more valuable every day. A unified Web presence, part of a long- and short-term global marketing and communications strategy adapted to recruitment needs, is key.

Let’s look at some important basic technical website marketing guidelines you should consider when marketing your Web presence to future employees. Most of these elements involve search engine optimization (SEO), using a site’s integral elements (title, HTML code, incoming links, outgoing links, etc.) to improve its ranking in search results.

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Google Wave the Communication hub

By Samuel Lavoie | Published: October 1, 2009

Google’s looking for nothing but challenge the email as we know it for years. A pretty lofty ambitious goals for their newer  product.

Why you should care about Wave?

Google has a good track record at successful products launched in established markets. Look at Gmail launched against Microsoft Hotmail and Yahoo Mail with now more that 150 million users. It’s Open Source; the code is open for improvements and such as you can create your own Wave server. Take a look at the Wave Developer blog with an interesting Wave API preview.

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Posted in Social Media | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

My Twitter Two Year Anniversary

By Samuel Lavoie | Published: August 27, 2009

It’s my 2 year twitterversary today and I took the time to think about my presence there.

So I have been using this web service called a social tool, Twitter for more than 24 straight months. Beside the fact that I’ve been using it for 2 years is freaking me, it’s been a nice ride so far with lots of positive outcomes :)

More seriously, when I joined:

  • Celebrities were still not on it.
  • Quebecers were very few on it.
  • It was basically geeks, programmers and Internet ninjas.

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Business name Inspiration

By Samuel Lavoie | Published: August 20, 2009

Coming up with a great business name is a struggle for many of us, myself included. More often, we tend to focus on one thing only, the sound or how good a business name looks. It’s hard to name your business with a name that suit your company’s image and is not already taken by someone else. Other thing like bilingual business names can make this even more complex.

As for the tagline, it should somehow combine some elements of your mission, promise and brand as James Chartrand perfectly nail it down in this post about rock-solid tagline. At the opposite I found lots of people advocate to name their business with silly, funny and somewhat off names. Thoughts on that?

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I’m Still Alive And Kicking!

By Samuel Lavoie | Published: August 10, 2009

I was unable to maintain my blog since around may due to some private work that needed my full attention. And on top of that I took 2 weeks vacation in Europe, Provence and Barcelona. It was a blast, there’s no doubt about it.

Beside private work, it’s been pretty busy at the TMP Worldwide office, of course as the only Web guy, everything web related goes down to me. Still seems to me that meetings and process are taking way too much of my time…but heh that’s the corporate world.

Business Work projects

Some really cool things are going on for me on the business side; it should see the light and being more public in a little while…

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The Future of Facebook

By Samuel Lavoie | Published: June 19, 2009

facebook-zuckerberg

What will the future of Facebook look like in a few years? I still remember when it was brand spanking new. Talking about it to everyone I knew. To put into perspective it’s now the 8th largest country in world. Read More »

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Web Marketing Event in Montreal

By Samuel Lavoie | Published: May 7, 2009

Webcom Montreal 2009

Communication, Marketing & IT Professionals and Decision-Makers meet at the International Web Conference Webcom Montreal on Wednesday May 13th to discuss about Digital Identity, Innovation and Economic Development.

webcom-montreal

For a third time, I’ll attend the Webcom event on May 13th. Why? It’s one of the most popular (if not the most) events in Montreal about Web Marketing and Web communication where a lot of decision maker gather together for keynotes, panels, talks and hand shaking.

The event is a bit pricey at $499 for the day, but for speakers from Google, Yahoo! and Sales Forces and 500 people from the Web and marketing it’s one of a kind in Quebec. Note that members of the W3Quebec and other Non profit organization have a 15% discount.

7th edition already planned

Next edition, in October 2009, will still take place at the same venue in Montreal and should again bring in around 500 attendees. It mostly targets communication and marketing people interested in web and all things digital.

Posted in Events | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Better Title tags for SEO & Accessibility

By Samuel Lavoie | Published: April 14, 2009

As many professional SEO people already know, Web accessibility and SEO are often tied together. Those area of expertise are just starting to hit mainstream Web Development if we can say so. Moving forward to develop better website, search engine optimization knowledge and more recently accessibility are important assets. Let see how title tags and headings can both add context to your site. Read More »

Posted in Web Development | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments