Aromahead.com was launched with a lot of help from our PHP king, Alex Vasarab. Alex stepped up to the plate while I was out to get the design implemented and also, to greatly enhance the registration and student accounts system at the site. We also launched the complex online Aromatherapy Certification Program that includes integrated video components, exams, references and learning materials; all administered by the client.

Also exciting is the launch of MannyPuig.com. You probably recognize Manny 'The Sharkman' Puig from MTV's Jackass and Wildboyz. Through a tangled web, Manny's new management team asked Big Sea to build something 1. fast and 2. well. We put together a comprehensive and scalable site that they can add to and edit at their leisure, and have big plans for the future. They intend to sell advertising and also, to add sponsorships to their videos, blogs and galleries. Stay tuned for a lot more cool features here - we've got some grand ideas.

• ABC's 'TechBytes' segment, aired across the country on local ABC affiliates.
• TechCrunch really started the buzz a few weeks ago.
• Aussie Geek Podcast featured us in their 'From the Wire."
• Families.com blogged about us in their 'fun' department.
• Homeschool Buyer's Co-op is partnering with us to share the service with their 33,000 members

Since we were expecting a soft-launch without a lot of hoopla, we were quite surprised and pleased at the immediate response. ABC.com asked for our 'media relations team' when they called - and were quite surprised to find out that we are but a team of 2 working on this project!

We're really excited about all kinds of new features we'll be adding to the site, making improvements and adding capabilities. Stay tuned!

We set up a very easy content management system for ROK to be able to add new products and change their content. The site is structured with flexibility and SEO in mind so that adding retail capabilities in the future will be a simple add-on.

Stay tuned for the addition of active listings for rent/lease, a few simple Flash components to add some movement, and of course more imagery sprinkled throughout the site over the next few weeks.

The new design is sleeker and cleaner with a much more modern (and compliant!) look. It's also ridiculously search-engine friendly - and this site already had awesome placement thanks to David's constant tending. It should only get better.

6 Places that Flash Does Not Belong

The 10 Commandments of Web Design

The web is a powerful tool though - think of it as a real-time phone book that offers photos and maps. In fact, that's exactly what many people use it as when looking for local businesses. To help drive foot traffic, we've found a few things you can do yourself for FREE. These things will help people find your site and then get them in the door.

1. Get listed on Google Maps. This is a no-brainer. It's free, and whenever someone is looking at a map of your area, your small business will be listed next to it. You'll first have to sign up for a free Google account, then you can add your business, photos, reviews, etc.

2. Get listed on Yahoo Local. Same as Google's maps, but on Yahoo. Also free.

3. Email Campaigns Start a monthly email campaign that offers short articles or links to interesting information, sites, etc. that are relevant to your industry. There are a ton of do-it-yourself email builders out there. We love MailBuild and can help set you up to use that system too. It's super cheap and a very effective way to remind your customers you're out there.

4. In-Store Coupons While you're at it, offer some special discounts to web visitors and to your email list. Make it worth it for them to print it out and bring it in. After a few months of experimenting, you'll find out what offers are popular and can build on those.

5. Publish Your URL This is a no-brainer but so many small businesses forget: publish your website address on everything! Put it on your outdoor signage so people driving by can look you up for later. On your business cards of course. On your shopping bags, your ads, and your coffee mugs. Everywhere and anywhere. Then make sure your website is worthy of your visitors' time!

Of note, social networkers are more trusting of online advertising and actually use online advertising to make purchases. In addition, these teens support social networking site advertising and email campaigns. (Implication: advertising on social networking sites makes sense.)

Sports, TV and movie enthusiasts trust advertising more than other teens in general, but don't necessarily use it for purchases.

News readers, music listeners, and social networkers all trust and USE advertising more than the other groups. Again, the implication is that advertising on social networks works - and focusing on the music channels or news channels might not be a bad idea.

This organization offers a lot of great events and programming, and needs a site to promote them. We're integrating a custom calendar system that they'll be able to add to and edit, as well as online membership and event registration.

Thank you to the Zimmerman Advertising Program (ZAP) at USF, who are generously sponsoring my trip! This will be an exciting little vacation while I learn about all of the great research going on in the world of advertising.

I'm presenting a paper entitled 'From MySpace to Brandspace: Elements of Brand Sponsored MySpace Profiles." Together with Dr. Kelli Burns, we analyzed 50 different brand-sponsored MySpace profiles to find elements of successful social networking by advertisers. If you'd like a copy of the paper or the presentation, just let me know.

We're also building a full e-commerce retail gift shop for them to sell all of their cool creepy-crawly gifty things from their extensive on-site store. We're using PHP to build the backend, and PayPal for payment processing since their not quite ready for a full-blown merchant processing account. Stay tuned!