http://georgebutler.com Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:44:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Have you just upgraded to Wordpress 2.7? Have you noticed that for some unexplained reason you're unable to login? I was on the verge of pulling out my hair when this happened to me. Then I found out the awful truth. I'd just been... HACKED! You may have become a victim like I ... http://georgebutler.com/blog/wordpress-hacked-secure-your-blog.php Let's face it. There's plenty of competition on Google's search results. Some spend fortunes and others invest entire careers in the pursuit of the top spot. I, for one, know that the search for "George Butler", results in a bodybuilder's photographer and an architect before I appear on the list. In an effort to understand ... http://georgebutler.com/blog/seo-plugin-for-wordpress.php Note: this article is for wordpress 2.6.5. and may no longer apply in newer versions. The problem: Wordpress is feature rich. It's great for those who spent hundreds of hours combing through help forums, but all those features can overwhelm those new to the internet. The solution: Simplify Wordpress for the less ... http://georgebutler.com/blog/wordpress-for-clients.php Voice gives music to words. In the absence of sound, typography communicates the subtle intonations that words alone cannot. Typography plays a major role in not only business, but also politics. This short video on ABC News explains the importance of picking the right typeface for the job, by exposing possible insights into ... http://georgebutler.com/blog/language-made-visible.php Concise Writing. Use less words. Get to the point! The popularity of "top ten lists" show us that readers want information distilled to point form. Getting the gist of an article in 10 words saves us time and effort and let's us disseminate the articles' contents and isolate what actually ... http://georgebutler.com/blog/top-1-way-to-improve-your-website.php I spent an hour yesterday pouring over Amazon's marketing materials for their e-paper reader, the Kindle. What enamored me most was its ultra functional design. Materialistic gadget hounds have argued it's too ugly to be the next ipod, but the goal of the kindle wasn't to stand out. It's so successful today ... http://georgebutler.com/blog/70-30-rule.php Humor and personality have always been a powerful tool in persuasion. As the world changes to accommodate a more free flowing conversational style, television, and radio advertising come up short sounding too generic and aimless. Public video sharing services have allowed for a more interactive, more direct relationship with the customer as ... http://georgebutler.com/blog/hes-just-that-good.php Twitter's unfortunate mascot, cleverly named the "fail whale", has become a ubiquitous symbol for twitter's success. By branding in a fun, light, and creative way, twitter has successfully distanced themselves from their more serious competition. But, In taking this approach, have they gone too far? Has it left a lasting image ... http://georgebutler.com/blog/the-fail-whales-success.php How about generous? A recent study from the University of Michigan found that people are willing to pay more for menu items set in more complex fonts: ...with people perceiving complicated font to mean complex food that needs greater skills to prepare... Designers have known this from the beginning of time. Perception ... http://georgebutler.com/blog/do-fonts-make-you-hungry.php Here's a tip: wear yellow. According to voting, yellow is the color of happiness, summer, fun and energy. The good people over at Cymbolism present keywords and ask, "What color do you think of?" The votes are tallied and results shown. Some of the top color/word combinations: http://georgebutler.com/blog/feeling-blue.php