The gallery space has been remodeled, an initial group of the most talented artists contacted, and the best of original art is either in the gallery or on its way. Soon Fairhaven Originals Gallery (endearingly referred to simply as FOG) will soon be opening its doors to the community. And as a part of the Whatcom County art community, FOG is beginning its role as a contributor.

FOG is a proud sponsor of the upcoming Mount Baker Theatre production of Benise – The Spanish Guitar. This will be an exciting presentation of Spanish flamenco guitar performances and dancing. Play the video above for a taste.

For example, it is advisable to stay away from sites that implement iframes because they don’t add any SEO value and can actually reduce your content’s relevance in the search engines. An iframe is used to load a web page inside another. Search engines see the frame but not the page within. So the pages within the frames get no credit with the search engines.

Something else to look for is the ability to create a properly structured vanity URL. A vanity URL is a web address that contains your brand name and/or keywords. Whatever tool you use it should be doing its best to promote you by having few other references in the URL. Ideally it should be something like “www.site.com/yourbrand.” don’t let these other sites take your credit. Make sure they provide tools that promote your positive online content while not selfishly or clumsily promoting themselves.

There is no way around having to build online profiles to teach the search engines to promote your positive content and increase your brands’ visibility. Spend your time wisely by making use of tools that take care of the heavy lifting for you, especially tools that are SEOed from the ground up to promote your online properties.

One friend commented that she was planning on advertising with Pandora and asked how I felt about the situation. Here is my response:

In all honesty, I do not mind the ads as long as they are aligned with Pandora’s perceived culture. Meaning, Pandora is a place that I can get all kinda of cool music, be introduced to new music and feel liberated to use it.

Ads that promote select subjects to a narrow audience are great. Breast cancer, Dave Matthews’ new album, proponents of peace, even some alcohol ads don’t bother me too much.

So far I have been okay with the right side of their Web site being devoted to ads but I feel it creeping more and more to the left side of the page. Even the placement of  ads in the music window is okay because I can see it but it does not talk to me or make noise.

Don’t get me wrong I am a proponent of any Web company that can post revenue. I’ve been a fan of Pandora for quite a while but have definitely noticed an increase in ads over the last 9 months.

Shortly after my initial gripe tweet, a pop-over came up on top of the usual Pandora screen and it was some random ad. I immediately turned away from Pandora and Tweeted about my frustration. A couple of friends suggested I try thesixtyone.com and I’ve been playing with that.

I’m not saying I will not head back over to Pandora — I am fairly loyal to their service. It has taken me the last year plus to really trust Pandora. Now I do and will accept ads because I support them. But, it’s my hope they do not take advantage of that privilege.

Other Web companies have engaged in the same methodology –building trust and engaging customers over a longer period of time–and it has worked. Alex Whipperfurth would call it getting people to “hijack your brand”. And it works. That is exactly why Facebook is so popular, Zappos has a loyal following and Converse has lasted so long.

I think about this stuff daily.

Theron McCollough
President, PeoplePond
http://peoplepond.com/theronmccollough

• PeoplePond Blogger plugin
• PeoplePond MovableType plugin
• PeoplePond TypePad plugin

Complete details in our press release here. Click the links above to use the plugin of your choice.

The Internet has become the essential hub for all business and personal communications. Join Internet marketing experts Jay Berkowitz, Maria Harrison, Mitch Joel, Jim Kukral, Joe Laratro, Mari Smith and Richard Stanton to find out what is coming next in marketing online.

• Why is there so much buzz about Twitter and how can I make it work for me?
• What are top strategies for marketing your business online?
• How to use social media websites for business?
• What is the future for Google and search marketing?
• What are the best approaches to market your personal brand?

Date: Thursday, April 30, 2009
Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Space is limited. Click here to reserve your webinar seat now.

The team at Cranberry has their fingers in many things, including social media online services, brick and mortar retail, archival storage media and much, much more. As a result we are delving into these spaces with a unique perspective that makes it easy to think disruptively (read outside-the-box).

Bookmark, favorite, subscribe or set your Google Alerts so you don’t miss our unique perspectives on industry, business, entrepreneurial development, technology, society, our favorite foods and everything else that’s fit or not fit to blog about.