All posts by Joe_Wooldridge

Who to call with an electrical problem? In Overland Park (and JoCo) it’s an easy decision 24/7.

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I’ve picked up my horn. Not the French Horn, but the Bullhorn.

It is tough to find competent, experienced contractors that are also honest with needed repairs and reasonable in price. I mean, we all have to keep the lights on in business – so to speak – but it is nice to find a hard-working pro that comes out and meets you face-to-face for an estimate and who has a genuine interest in solving your problem to your satisfaction.

Our choice of electricians in Overland Park, KS is (drum roll please):

All Tech Electric & Contacting LLC

6400 W. 110th St.
Overland Park, KS 66211 **Get MyJoeCard Here**

913-963-1116
Hours: 24/7 *Emergency Electrical Repair Service*

Electrician near Kansas City - 24 hours a day

They’ve also got a pretty sweet deal going with www.myjoecard.com:

Save $25 off 1st Service w/ MyJoeCard!

The rest of the ‘blurb’ at the website hits the main points:

  1. Call a quality, experienced electrician (30+ years) that will personally meet you for any consultation and estimates, and supervise every project on site.
  2. No extra charge for evening or weekend service.
  3. Punctual, Professional, Honest and Reliable.
  4. Licensed, Bonded & Insured.
  5. Call 24/7.
  6. Emergency service available in Kansas City.
  7. No job too small!

All Tech Electric and Contracting in Overland Park, KS (Video)

All Tech’s personnel of Master Electricians are top-notch, friendly, professional and very social. If you check their Facebook page, you’re likely to end up at a local commerce/business shindig with pizza, strawberries and the world’s best chocolate cookies (guilty!).

Their excellent location near College Blvd and Nall ensures quick service to surrounding areas in Leawood, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Lenexa and Kansas City.

All-Tech Electric & Contacting provides both residential and commercial services in the greater Kansas City area. Expect accurate diagnoses of electrical problems, and performance of quality work for all electrical repair service (I.e. switches, outlets, service panels, upgrading of electrical wiring, GFCI, emergency backup generators, etc.). With that service you also receive a 1 Year Parts Warranty.

A team of licensed master electricians handles all projects and service calls. Want to know more about how their team repairs switches / outlets, ensures safety and protection, solves electrical service panel issues and performs wiring upgrades? Visit their site at: www.kansas-electrician.com.

Don’t forget to mention MyJoeCard for your $25 off 1st Service special!

– Joe

 

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2013 - Your Best Year Ever

Make Every Day Count in 2013

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2013 - Your Best Year EverI am going to endeavor to Make Every Day Count – day by day in 2013 – and track it. I want 2013 to be my best year so far in my life on a number of levels.

This is not my list of goals for 2013, this is my approach to attaining those goals (in addition to a written plan).

I figure if I can make a concerted effort to keep track of my daily efforts to make every day count – then I have a chance to really realize some dreams.

What would make the day count?

I guess that is a personal question (and dependent on one’s goals for the year). Here is my take:

1. Monday-Friday will be my primary work week.
2. Saturday will be for fun/rest,
3. Sunday will be for God/rest/fun.
4. I will keep a record of what I did each day to make the day count (some will be better than others).
5. If I am sick that day, I will consider resting, recovering and taking care of my health to be the optimum way to make the day count.
6. I may spend time working on Saturday/Sunday as needed for projects.
7. I may spend time M-F for R&R to counteract #6.
8. Fitness (stretching/weightlifting/running) will be a regular point to Make Every Day Count.
a. If I feel better every day then every day will be much more productive.
9. Spending time with family, loved ones and friends will be an important part of Making Every Day Count.
10. I will stretch my mind with reading, learning, music, art and travel.

It will be interesting to keep track of this Making Every Day Count program. In addition to growth, joy and abundance – I want to enjoy KNOWING that I am not spinning my wheels, having unproductive days or wasting time.

If I am not sure of the inherent value of my endeavors or activities – I will gauge how I think I would assess the goal/activity as my future/older/higher self. As in:

1. How would I view/value this in retrospect 20 years from now? 40 years from now?

Figure I’ll sleep better and develop a greater hunger to Make Every Day Count as I go along. Probably become a heck of a lot more productive, happy, healthy and fulfilled.

I suspect if a person does this every day – they will get better at it.

Join me if you want to.

Love, Happiness and Success!

Joe

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It’s Time for the “Te-Vick” Offense in Kansas City: The Chiefs Gameplan for 2013.

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2013 Kansas City Chiefs - The "Te-Vick" Offense
How to fix the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013? Here’s a plan.

Oh, if they made me the decision-maker for the Kansas City Chiefs, here is what I would do.

  • It would win.
  • It would be revolutionary.
  • It would be exciting.

Some would hate it. Most would LOVE it. ALL would watch it. I’d sure love to see it.

The Kansas City Chiefs in 2013:

  • GM: Marty Schottenheimer
  • Head Coach: Brian Billick
  • Offensive Coordinator: Josh McDaniels
  • Defensive Coordinator: Rex Ryan
  • Offensive Game Plan: The “Te-Vick”
  • Starting QB: Michael Vick
  • FB/QB: Tim Tebow
  • RB: Jamaal Charles

Draft Plan:

  • 1st Round: O-Lineman
  • 2nd Round: O-Lineman
  • 3rd Round: Wide Receiver
  • 4th Round: Big Running Back
  • 5th Round: O-Lineman
  • 6th Round: Tight End
  • 7th Round: Fullback

The “Te-Vick” Offense:

The “Te-Vick” Offense = a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. A run-based offense of ground and pound running game with the backfield featuring Vick, Tebow and either Charles or a Fullback.

  1. Jumbo package on the field 70% of the time
  2. Multiple snap options at all times
  3. Tebow or Vick can go in motion
  4. Tebow doubles as a FB to run or block for Jamaal Charles
  5. Play-action and bootleg options for Vick
  6. Screens to Tebow/Charles
  7. Outlet passes to Tebow/Charles
  8. Bowe and New Receiver stretch field for long gains

A few thoughts on this game plan:

  1. No one is built to stop this type of attack anymore in today’s pass-happy NFL.
  2. No one will adjust their defensive personnel to stop just ONE TEAM on their schedule.
  3. Teams will HATE playing us because we’re physical.
  4. Defensive personnel are predominantly lighter, faster guys who are drafted for their speed and ability to cover receivers will get bulldozed and will start to wish they were somewhere else at about the 3:00 mark in the 3rd Quarter.
  5. Interest and Media Coverage would be INTENSE.
  6. If the first year is a sour one, then use our high draft pick in 2014 on Johnny ‘Football’ Manziel.

Clark Hunt, here is your winning plan. It wins. It is relevant. Fans will love it. Jerseys and merchandise will sell like hotcakes. Arrowhead will once again be the biggest and best BBQ party on the planet.

I can almost smell it!

Thanks for your time.

Joe Wooldridge
Future President of Football Operations
Kansas City Chiefs

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Google Fiber - THANK YOU

Fire Up A Torch. Light Up The Sky.

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Google Fiber - THANK YOUMy friends, there is a coming superstorm. Not a bad one, but a good one. An EXCELLENT one.

One that we will build (and in some cases are building, and have been working toward).

We have a World that is in flux in many ways – which is alarming, in that we have been sedentary for decades (centuries?). Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ was dispelled by global growth – a lack of question marks on the map – and more importantly, a lack of querying in our minds. The old ‘it’s all been done’, ‘I can’t make a difference’, ‘what can I do?’ fears and excuses are sad comforts that are easily cultivated in our minds and later manifest in our Worlds.

Snap your fingers and dispel those lies. Do it now.

The World needs people that are, as the Chili’s say, are ‘Wide Awake Now‘.

Wake Up!

Start making a difference. You are a generator of storms. We are all builders, creators, explorers, pioneers, inventors and innovators. Marianne Williamson is right – Our greatest fear is not that we are powerless – but that we are powerful beyond all belief.

My experience is that activating that power in oneself happens when we begin allowing ourselves.

Allowing.

To dare, dream, plan, build, achieve, create.

No one can keep us down but us. Let’s allow ourselves to experience a full life and fix this World as much as possible.

Right now there is an election going on that people are all in a furor about. But this is not about politics. Every time someone starts getting ‘bent’ about politics, it just makes me think about how disarming the idea of choosing someone else to make decisions for us can be. If we all dared to make the World that we live in a better place – then evil men would be eternally discouraged and confounded.

I like the sound of that.

Every day that sun comes up, the turnstiles turn, people die, people are born, and the status quo rolls on in a slightly different iterations.

I’m all for kicking it into a better gear.

Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has returned like a wicked multi-headed Hydra.

It aint no big deal.

We’ve been slaying beasts and overcoming ‘insurmountable’ problems for as long as anyone has been paying attention. It is what we do.

What heads on the hydra?

  1. Global economic fears,
  2. Global environmental fears,
  3. Conspiracy fears,
  4. Health-related fears,
  5. Fears for our safety, livelihood and future.
  6. Et al and ad naseum.

I’m not buying it. Make a play for all of the brightest minds and light will shed (thank you again, Anthony Keidis).

The mythical beasts have returned in digital forms. The Medusa holds us paralyzed in her gaze through TV screens, live feeds of varying nonesuch-ery and sales pitches. The evil creeping up has been creeping up slow and digging its tendrils in for a long time. Certain unnamed industries have used a steady hive of smartly-dressed, sexy sirens in Washington lobbyists to turn the eyes, blind the minds and darken the hearts of our good men that we keep VOTING for. Those poor, over-paid, over-sexed and over-privileged lost sailors.

We must retake the World for tomorrow by waking up today.

I pride myself on having a television that is far older and crappier than the one in the lavatory at the local sports bar. Yes, I admit I will follow a certain long-maligned local NFL franchise and my Alma Mater in certain sports. Not saying that we don’t need some re-creation and entertainment. But let’s wake up and not be blinded, used, misled.

Dearest Mankind, we can handle ANY problems that come our way. We have to believe, we have to try, and we have to wake up and pay attention. We are capable; we have been blessed with endless gifts. You can’t tell me that one person can’t make a difference. Sure, more helps. But we all have to start somewhere. If we start lighting torches and lanterns, we kill darkness around us and provide light for others so that they may light their torch as well.

It is not about a political party affiliation. It is about who we are, what we do, how we see ourselves and how we can choose to change the World by starting with ourselves, our outlook, our decisions on what we will think and what we will do with our time and abilities.

They say that is cheap, but I am lighting my torch. I want to spread light, to shed light, to help wake people up. I dream of seeing a World of empowered free-thinkers.

Let’s wake up and slay some dragons. Our ancestors climbed mountains, slayed beasts, overthrew tyrants, sailed seas, conquered the wild, trekked forests and deserts and tundras.

We can do the same. Let’s allow ourselves. Let’s have REAL ADVENTURE and build a better World.

Forget online fantasy role-playing games that eat up your time. Disengage from any scurrilous activities that are beyond engaging us – but engorging us . . . hello Mr. Eight Fantasy Football League Teams.

The World is for doers. For dreamers. For those that dare.

So wake up and un-plug. Dare. Dream. Do. Grow. Learn. Create. Build.

That person in the mirror is a dragon-slayer – and we’ve got plenty of dragons in our new Hearts of Darkness.

The World in flux? How about the WORLD ON FIRE WITH LIGHT!

You want opportunity, challenges, adventure, drama, romance? It is all there in front of us – ALL YOU WANT.

So, here I am spouting off, running around with my torch, looking for dragons to slay. I need some help. That darkness closes in a bit at times. It also brightens the heart when I see other points of light.

Grand terms, yes. Why not.

It is only our World, our minds, our lives and our futures.

Strike it up!

If I can help – let me know. There is a lot going on out there. If you have a retail business and could use some exposure, branding and extra traffic (Internet or ‘foot-traffic’) – I will help. If you made it through my ‘rah rah’ blog post, the least I could do is offer to help.

Just let me know you’d like to help spread some light, slay some dragons, have some adventure and build your business a little more.

What will I do to help? I will advertise your business at no cost. As long as you are willing to help me as well – help me spread some light – and make a decent offer (discount or promotion) for our Cardholders.

That’s it.

I’ve been inspired by many to try to spread light. I get inspired by people and company led by people that dare, dream, do, build, create and do things for the right reasons. I’m talking to you, Google.

Yes, a lot of people like to gripe about an industry leader. But this one actually builds things and GIVES THEM TO THE WORLD.

I like that.

  1. An excellent search engine that organizes the World’s information and puts all of it at your fingertips? (Google)
  2. An incredibly detailed, feature-rich global (and then some) mapping system?(Google Maps),
  3. An awesome email system? (Gmail),
  4. Et cetera.

They just keep going.

What I love is their latest gift to the World. Google Fiber.

This has been needed for so long. I’m doing EVERYTHING I can to help make this latest Google ‘gift to the World’ get built and spread as quickly, and effectively as possible.

  • Gigabit Internet Speeds Upstream and Downstream? OH YEAH!
  • Crystal-clear HD video-conferencing? OH YEAH!
  • Speeds that are 100 TIMES FASTER at a better rate than companies that just want to keep out any new competitors, continue to screw their customers and NOT work to build something better? OH YEAH! (Yes, Pete – I heard you).

Well, I’m drinking the Kool-Aid.

It can’t be any cooler that Google Fiber chose to start in Kansas City. They have decided to LIGHT UP A TORCH that can light up the sky and help make the World a better place.

It starts here. I’m helping them. I am helping spread the word.

Thank you, Google Fiber for coming to Kansas City and firing up that big, huge torch. I see the light. Better things are coming.

Booyah!

And I’m out.

Joe

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conXkc logo 2012

Con X KC convention Sept 14-16!

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conXkc logo 2012Here it comes!! Got your tickets?? A very fun weekend is almost upon us!

Con X KC convention is finally near . . . Sept 14-16th at the Ramada Conference Center – and you can get discount tickets through MyJoeCard.com or visit www.conxkc.com/myjoecard (We are an Official Con X Sponsor).

The ‘Inside Skinny’ on Con X Tickets (Prices/Discounts/Etc.):

– Children 12 & under FREE!!
– Military 50% Discount! (*Valid by showing Military ID at the box office).

Normal Ticket Prices:Tickets - Con X KC 2012

  • Con X Day Pass: $20.00
  • Con X Weekend Pass: $45.00

Discount Ticket Prices with MyJoeCard:

  • Con X Day Pass: $15.00 *Save $5 w/ MyJoeCard*
  • Con X Weekend Pass: $35.00 *Save $10 w/ MyJoeCard*

Get the MyJoeCard discount on your tickets here: www.conxkc.com/myjoecard

It is about time Kansas City had a Movie Convention. Science Fiction, Horror and Pop Culture are alive and well in Kansas City! They have a VERY awesome facebook page, check it out!Facebook Con X KC

So save the weekend of Sept 14th-16th, 2012.

Meet Star Trek, Stargate and other Movie Stars! Autographs? Photo opportunities? Yes!  They will have all of that there.

The shindig is at the Ramada Convention Center (see map) in Kansas City, MO.

They also have a lot of cool ways to interact with the featured guests, parties, dinners, meet & greets – and you might still be able to get a VIP pass and/or have your business be a sponsor for Con X KC (as available – limited number of spots).

Please Note!!

*You must print your PayPal receipt and  present it at the ticket booth for admission!
**The Con X Day Pass is good for one day of admission to the convention only (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday). Tickets to special events during Con X Weekend are separate.

MyJoeCard Sponsor - Con X KC 2012star trek in kc

** (FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COURTESY OF CON X) **

Kansas City, MO – June 6, 2012 – Burnt Water Productions (BWP) presents Kansas City’s first and only pop-culture, horror and sci-fi convention on September 14-16, 2012.  Con X 2012takes place at the Ramada Conference Center and boasts film icons, TV stars, filmmakers, artists, authors and musicians who have not only entertained us over the years, but have served our country and earned Olympic Gold Medals.  Walter “Chekov” Koenig (“Star Trek”) and Margot “Lois Lane” Kidder (“Superman”) headline the event along with cast reunions for “Paranormal Activity,” “Stargate SG-1” and “Amityville Horror.”

80’s movie fans will delight in meeting “Back to the Future” and “Top Gun” actor James Tolkan and Police Academy’s Leslie Easterbrook.  Kansas City native and dancer Sandahl Bergman (“Conan,” “All That Jazz”) also makes a return to her hometown.  If movies like “Pet Sematary,” “Shawshank Redemption,” “Halloween,” “Steel Magnolias” and “Sin City” had you lining up at the theatre box office, you won’t want to miss Con X full line up of stars (complete list on their website).

Fans of all genres will get a complete “Celebrity” experience with a weekend full of options: a chance to meet the celebrities, get autographs and pictures and a lucky few will even get to know their favorite celebrity one on one at an intimate dinner in the hotel’s Fireside Room.  Cocktail party and concerts benefiting Wounded Warrior Project …”Taking of Savannah” red carpet premiere … a film festival … shopping in the dealer room … Q&A’s with the celebs … these are just a few of the things that will make this a weekend convention goers won’t soon forget (full list of events on their website).

Tickets for the weekend convention are available online now with an early bird discount through June 30 and those showing a military ID at the door will get 50% off.  A limited amount of VIP Passes and Celebrity Dinner tickets are available online while supplies last.  Vendors spots, sponsorship packages and discount rooms at the Ramada Conference Center are still available.  More information can be found on the Con X website.  Check the site and their Facebook page for updates and a complete list of celebrity guests, events and vendors.

con x kc celebrity dinner 2012

For interviews with convention organizers’ Burnt Water Productions, celebrities attending the convention or to apply to cover the event, contact publicist Marla Stoker at 314.973.5525 or  marla@marqueemediaandmarketing.com.

http://www.conxkc.com – http://www.facebook.com/conXkc – http://twitter.com/conXkc


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World's Top Search Engines

The importance of proper SEO grows daily

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World's Top Search EnginesYellow pages? I am sure some people still use the yellow pages to find what they need. I just don’t know any of them. Like it or not, the relevance of yellow page directories has come and gone.

So where does a business spend their marketing dollar to get the best ROI?

Increasing their visibility for WHAT they do in search rankings at the World’s leading search engines.

This doesn’t mean trying to employ some strategy to trick Google, Yahoo! or Bing into putting their listing at the top. That will not work. Even worse, if it did work – it will only be for a matter of hours or a couple of days before the algorithm update – which will relegate the cheating strategy site to search oblivion.

Just two days ago I met a potential client who was imagining a strategy of using a lot of little sites in an effort to dominate Google’s rankings! I couldn’t believe that someone had suggested this to them! I wasted no time telling them to ABSOLUTELY AVOID any such strategy.

They were aghast at the news.

Which brings me to the topic of educating business owners about organic search engine optimization. A good portion of delivering quality SEO is educating the client on the right approach – and mindset of the approach – as well as working to ‘undo’ or delete whatever bad SEO strategies that have affected their rankings negatively.

It is amazing how many people don’t understand that they will be penalized for deceptive, shady strategies and/or duplicate content/duplicate listings.

Another common hurdle is trying to educate the business owner who wants to be ranked number one for their town, plus all other surrounding towns and areas in organic rankings. This simply does not work.

Here’s why:

  • The best search engines provide the best quality of search results.
  • Quality of search results depends on three things:
    1. accuracy,
    2. relevance,
    3. value.

So here’s the deal – here’s how to get and keep the best possible organic search rankings for your business:

  1. Accurately represent your business on the web,
  2. Provide value for site visitors.

Yes it is a good idea to be social and use social media to connect with people. Making your business accessible through the latest social media platforms says a few things about your business, namely that A) you are a vibrant and relevant business, and B) you are open to connecting with consumers on the Internet.

Having a well-defined presence at Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. also helps establish the accuracy and relevance of your company’s brand.

Rankings = Marketshare in 2012

What are some good guidelines to use when discerning the good strategies from the bad?

  1. Always strive for accuracy . . be WHO YOU ARE, and WHERE YOU ARE.
  2. Adopt the point of view of a search engine and then reflect on that before getting excited about some ‘special strategy’ that someone told you about.

RE: #2 above . . .

Yes, you need to look at things from Google’s point of view. Consider that Google is working every day to sift through a gargantuan amount of information from innumerable sites that is growing every day. In order to be THE BEST search engine in the World, Google has to sort through this mass and deliver the most accurate, relevant results that have the most value for their search engine users. So how does Google do this? Many ways, including:

  1. Continually updating the value of a complex, top-secret algorithm that ranks all web sites/pages/content to determine and deliver the highest-quality search results.
  2. Continually tweak methods for identifying ‘webspam’ and removing the offending webspam publishers from the indexes of their datacenters.
  3. Continually update the datacenters with fresh, relevant content that is being delivered ’round the clock’ by billions of spider bots that crawl and index the information available on the World’s servers.

In addition to those efforts, new efforts are being made by the Big Three (Google, Yahoo! and Bing) to improve the formatting of the web by integrating semantics through use of microdata and mutually agreed-upon protocols as in http://www.schema.org (see my blog post on The Semantic Web), which will dramatically increase the overall accuracy of information on the internet.

Quality SEO is not rocket science – but more common sense. With Google, you are either part of the problem or part of the solution.

My advice?

Be part of the solution.

The job of a quality organic search engine optimization consultant is to:

  1. Quantify your company as it applies to search,
  2. Define the parameters of your company and how they should be represented online,
  3. Research whatever current presence your company already has online (which you may or may not be aware of) – and remove any negative elements,
  4. Assess the needs of your company’s Internet presence – including social media outlets, and necessary site elements,
  5. Develop a plan to showcase your company in the most accurate light and most accessible fashion,
  6. Implement this initial plan for your company’s Internet presence, and
  7. Work with you on a plan to remain vibrant and relevant to the online community (which may include social media, adwords campaigns, email marketing and blogging).

Q. Can you do these things for yourself?

A. Yes. In fact, an effective and winning strategy will most likely require your participation.

Q. Should you hire a professional SEO consultant to make sure that your company is optimally presented on the Internet?

A. ONLY if market-share is important to the success of your company, and the success of your company is important to you.

In 2012 – and the future – how important is the Internet to the success of your company and to garnering a respectable amount of market-share?

  • Consider that 2012 is the year when overall ad spend for digital marketing (Internet) eclipses the amount spent on television advertising and print advertising.
  • Consider that hiring a reputable SEO professional that can show you recent examples of their SEO results, and comes highly recommended is as important as choosing the right doctor, dentist or surgeon.

The doctor is in! We look forward to helping your company have success online. Please call 913-271-2955 or contact joe@joewooldridge.com for a free consultation and quote.

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Save on healthcare costs with HCCR

Something New – and It Saved Me A Lot of Money

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Save on healthcare costs with HCCRA new thing. A new idea – and a company that is working hard to bring something good to America/The World. I decided to check it out for myself.

First, I’ll give you the straightforward ‘guts’ of something new that I tried, how it worked and how much it saved me on a doctor’s visit – then I’ll give an overview of the concept and company as I see it.

  1. I joined HCCR, then went to my most recent doctor’s appointment (and it was my primary care physician) and saved a significant amount of money (over $70 from the “deal” I thought I was getting) on my visit.
  2. When I arrived for the appt at my doctor’s office in Olathe, I showed the receptionist my HCCR member card and they were glad to see me – and glad to see that I was an HCCR member (more on this later).
  3. I was seen by my doctor and received excellent service.
  4. As I was paying for my visit on the way out – the office clerk noted that I am an  HCCR member and gave me their ‘lowest cost’ rate (which was lower than medicare or medicaid – or any rate that would be charged to an insurance company). I saved over seventy bucks on the spot. YES!

How cool is that?!!

So, of course, with any new ‘idea’ that comes along the mind wonders “really? how can this be? why would they want to give me this ‘lowest cost’ rate?”

Its really not rocket science – in fact its not even insurance! Doctors and dentists have an expensive headache on their hands every time they have to deal with an insurance company to get paid. There are a myriad of costly and time-consuming games/hassles that insurance companies utilize to try to keep from paying healthcare providers:

  • delays (four months? eight months?),
  • push-backs (“this isn’t covered”),
  • charge-backs (“we changed our mind about whether this is covered”)
  • extensive paperwork and processing

By the time a doctor/dentists gets paid through the insurance company – through the delays and extended processing expenses – they realize a substantial reduction of their compensation.

In other words, they make MORE MONEY if they just have a patient uses HCCR and pays cash on the spot. Makes sense.

Still don’t believe it? Well, then how about a 100% satisfaction guarantee? Heck, what if you could try it for FREE for six months? Well, Go Ahead – try out HCCR for free for six months. NO COST.

  1. Go to http://www.healthcarecostrevolution.org/new-join-now
  2. Use coupon code “MYJOE” and get 6 months for free.

Signing up was easy and it didn’t require any financial information. You’ll get an email confirmation with your access code, and your HCCR member card will arrive in the mail within a day or two.

MY EXPERIENCE: I took a moment and went to their website and signed up for a membership with HCCR (Healthcare Cost Revolution). The next day I received my membership card in the mail. From there I was able to login at the website and check out the list of providers (over 60 local quality, board certified doctors that can treat virtually anything that might be wrong with a person, and dentists with over 20 years of experienced) and a list of local pharmacies where I would received very healthy discount prices on all medications.

What I really liked was seeing my primary care physician – who I have been using for over 12 years – on the list. Very cool.

MY ADVICE: Try it out. It is worthwhile. How many new things come along and actually save you money on quality healthcare?

This program is a “must” for anyone not covered by health insurance, and it’s also a perfect fit for H.S.A. users and those with high deductibles.  With the HCCR membership a patient can get their needed and/or uncovered care at the lowest possible prices.  H.S.A. users simply pay for the service with their H.S.A. card and the cost applies to the deductible.  Those with high-deductible (catastrophic) policies can use the membership to keep costs to a minimum for all uncovered, (prior to the deductible being reached) care.  This could save someone usually at least 50% on all their uncovered healthcare bills prior to the deductible being reached. HUGE!

Ideas are powerful things. When a new idea is ready and it is brought forth – then LOOK OUT! To quote Victor Hugo “An invasion of armies can be resisted; an invasion of ideas cannot be resisted.” See full quote here.

I’m confident you will be impressed with your experience – and you will love saving money at the doctor, the dentist and the pharmacy. Additionally, HCCR is a locally-owned Kansas City area company – so you’ll also be shopping local!

Enjoy.

P.S. Their site says “Disponible en español,” . . . so I believe they service spanish-speaking people as well.

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Web Analytics: On-Site Analytics In A Nutshell

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Web Analytics - On-SiteIt starts with data. Internet data. Get it, measure it, analyze it . . . and report it.

Why?

Well, to be better, My Dear Watson. More specifically, make your website and product/company better.

Part of that improvement lies in helping to measure traditional advertising campaigns and to hone your digital marketing campaigns for optimum effectiveness.

*business research and market research*

By properly implementing Web Analytics you will have access to valuable info:

  • # of visitors
  • # of page views
  • # length of visit
  • # traffic flow
  • # most popular links
  • # geo location of visitors

Off-Site versus On-Site Web Analytics.

Off-Site Analytics measures potential audience (I.e. your site’s opportunity, visibility and ‘buzz’) on the Internet overall (and Off-Site Analytics is not today’s main topical focus).

Effective Use of On-Site Analytics

On-Site Analytics track and measure the site visitor’s journey from the moment they reach your website. With On-Site Analytics, you can see what works – and how well (measure ‘drivers’ and ‘conversions’);

  1. Define what is important to your organization.
  2. Set goals.
  3. Develop a digital marketing strategy to achieve goals. *Note: unless your organization has an endless supply of money, you will want to measure the Return On Investment (ROI) from investing in the following digital marketing channels (I will address Digital Marketing ROI in another post):
  4. Implement On-Site Web Analytics:
    • Decide what you want to measure and how you want to measure it.
    • Configure Google Analytics (or other) to track all relevant assets (pages, files, pdfs, podcasts, videos, links, contact forms, etc.).
  5. Start a digital marketing campaign(s) (I.e. Email blast, Adwords Ads, Banner Ads, Pop-Up Ads).
  6. See what assets or landing pages are driving the sale – or phone call/email that leads to the sale.
  7. Compare this info with key performance indicators (jargon for performance measurement).
  8. Take the information gathered from your efforts, interpret it, adjust your organization’s digital marketing strategy accordingly.

How can your organization best apply On-Site Analytics? /UGLY BABY ALERT!/

Be prepared to learn that you have an ‘ugly baby’ for a website (and possibly an ‘ugly baby’ for a digital marketing campaign as well!). That’s okay. The whole idea here is to reach your organization’s goals. The improvement of certain aspects of your website and your digital marketing campaign will move your organization further along the path to reaching its defined goals.

Now that you have gathered Internet data on your digital marketing efforts:

  1. Verify the accuracy of the data. (I.e. Compare your website’s data as shown through Google Analytics, to direct analysis of the raw server logs). What is it they say? Trust, but verify.
  2. Ensure the validity of the reporting (ideally two reports; the first being a snapshot of data relevant to focus; the second being an overall site metrics. The combination of these two allows context and perspective).
  3. Interpret the data.
  4. LEARN from the data. (What worked? What did NOT work?)
  5. Identify issues, roadblocks, challenges.
  6. Adapt (improve strategy).
  7. IMPROVISE/INNOVATE (improve, change, create or eliminate) your:
    1. tactics,
    2. functionality,
    3. products,
    4. services.
  8. OVERCOME CHALLENGES. If you don’t fail, you can’t learn. Remember that every digital marketing campaign fails to a certain degree. Embrace the experience, dissect the elements that are lacking, and pay attention to what your audience is telling you.
  9. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Evolution of Web Analytics.

The definition of Web Analytics and On-Site Analytics continues to evolve, and the methods and tools used for Web Analytics continually evolve. To ensure optimum accuracy and effectiveness, your organization needs a resource (person) to be continually integrating new techniques, tools and functionality of existing tools.

Dynamic Evolution: Digital marketing continues to evolve, as does traditional advertising, the mobile web, competing platforms, emerging technology, how people connect/share and overall consumer habits. Effectively utilizing Web Analytics to measure your organization’s performance will require insight, peripheral vision within your org’s industry, anticipation of future tech, recognition of emerging trends, impact assessment and adaptability. Change is the only constant.

Joe Wooldridge is a Digital Marketing Generalist, currently working on MyJoeCard.Com in Kansas City.

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Web 3.0 – Preparing for and building the Semantic Web

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Web 3.0 – Preparing for and building the Semantic Web

Ready to help manifest the future of web? Get ready for Web 3.0 – The Semantic Web

In web 3.0 you will need to build your site and web applications to deliver content in a semantic, organized format. We’re seeing this progress as Google, Bing and Yahoo! have embraced the microdata formats from schema.org.

This is the future of being found on the internet for what you do. It is time to build your site for web 3.0 (the semantic web). Start now by using schema.org’s microdata wherever and whenever possible.

Kate Ray provides this great video re: web 3.0 w/ transcript, interview bios, etc. Need info on building a site or incorporating semantic web elements into your organic SEO strategies? Contact Joe Wooldridge at joe@joewooldridge.com and stay tuned to www.joewooldridge.com.

Web 3.0 Interviews with:

  1. Tim Berners-Lee
  2. Clay Shirky
  3. Chris Dixon
  4. David Weinberger
  5. Nova Spivack
  6. Jason Shellen
  7. Lee Feigenbaum
  8. John Hebeler
  9. Alon Halevy
  10. David Karger
  11. Abraham Bernstein

Joe Wooldridge is a digital marketing generalist, currently working on www.myjoecard.com.

via Web 3.0 on Vimeo.

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Erato’s Return (New Poem from October 12, 2011)

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desert-museA dream she flew
Westward with new heaven on the rise
Eyes providing sparkle for infinite grains
Gifting beauty to the desert lands
Goodbye to the living lies
This elegance tarries no longer
Freedom calls her back
It’s time to weave new dreams

Joseph Wooldridge
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 @3:44am.
for Joan Severance

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