This was the first time we publicly exhibited Solid Cactus ... Continue reading “Chicago! Chicago!” Or, “Deep Dish Pizza, Steak & eCommerce.”]]> I spent last week in Chicago, IL at the 2010 Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition. As the evangelist for Solid Cactus, I had the pleasure of working the booth and talking with current and prospective customers about the various eCommerce design services Solid Cactus offers.

This was the first time we publicly exhibited Solid Cactus eCommerce, our all-in-one shopping cart and marketing platform and it was very well received. We also extolled the virtues of our other services including call center & virtual office, eCommerce marketing and Yahoo! Store design and programming.

I had the opportunity to meet many of our customers, some who have been with us since the very beginning including Mike Eldridge of SafetyGlassesUSA.com, Nacho Hernandez of MexGrocer.com, Doug Van Harren of TriangleCables.com, “Candy” Pam from BlairCandy.com, Liz Broussard from ClassicCharms.com and many, many more!

I also got to spend time with some other Yahoo! Store developers including Eric from EY Studios, Dan and George from King Webmaster and Kevin from Ventura Web Design. In this competitive world in which we live, it’s great to see that guys like us can all get along!

Joining me in the windy city was Donna Talarico, Beth Hartman, Joe Palko and Greg Kosicki from the Shavertown, PA office and Peter Heming from the Barrie, ON, Canada office. When the six of us weren’t working the booth, we sampled all the culinary offerings of the city.

Monday night we hit Gino’s East and took on their famous deep dish pizza. Honestly folks, I wasn’t impressed. I thought the crust tasted like a corn muffin, but the sauce and ingredients that made up this soupy pie were good. We didn’t have to wait in line, but I was told that normally there is a wait.

While on the subject of pizza, I thought we should give another Chicago pizza spot a second shot. So on Wednesday night we went to Giordano’s. We were all in agreement that Giordano’s deep dish pizza was better than Gino’s. The crust was more of what I was expecting and it wasn’t as soupy at Gino’s. The highlight of the evening at Giordano’s was when 47 year old Greg Kosicki was carded in order to enjoy a Sam Adams. Unfortunately, he left his license in his wallet at the hotel. Luck, and a little persuasion, was on his side as he eventually was given a cold bottle to enjoy.

Being in Chicago, we just had to go and seek out a great steak house. Our choice was the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant which is just what the name implies – a steak house in a remodeled, historic firehouse. Albeit a bit on the expensive side, the steaks were great, the service was attentive although it was pretty loud. I think we all agreed that this was the best dinner of the week.

On our last night we decided to go for some Italian so we hit the Italian Village which is located in a “complex” which holds three other theme restaurants. Dinner was your standard Italian fare… nothing too spectacular and nothing to complain about.

A lot of people have asked me, “how was the show?” Honestly, compared to previous year’s shows, I felt attendance was down. I remember being at Internet Retailer and the aisles were so crowded you couldn’t walk down them and there were lines of people at booths waiting to talk with company representatives. I didn’t see this at all this time around, which was disappointing. While the promoters said it was record attendance, I find room to argue. However, leads appeared to be more qualified and with the slower pace of things, you had more time to spend talking to visitors in the booth.

Next year, the show is in San Jose, CA. Since I don’t take flights that are over 3 hours long, it will take me 2 days to get there, so if I’m a little late you’ll know why!

The Boot Camp training room is ready to go!

MyOutwardHound.com is a small, niche store that primarily sells the Outward Hound line of dog gear that includes car booster seats, dog strollers, dog ... Continue reading “Google, Are You Geo-Targeting My Search?” Or, “Maybe Only People In California Buy Dog Stuff.”]]> I’ve come to notice something very interesting on one of my eCommerce stores and I’m beginning to wonder if this is just a coincidence or something that can be attributed to Google.

MyOutwardHound.com is a small, niche store that primarily sells the Outward Hound line of dog gear that includes car booster seats, dog strollers, dog life vests, and outdoor gear for dogs. The manufacturer of these products is the Kyjen Company located in Huntington Beach, California. Since the site is pretty keyword rich in “Outward Hound” terms, our search engine placement is good – which is a double edge sword. People looking to buy Outward Hound items find us pretty quickly, but so do people who think we’re the manufacturer and are looking for replacement parts or warranty information.

To help those customers who aren’t looking to buy, but need the contact information of the manufacturer, I added the following text to the customer service page:

Outward Hound Product Warranty Question or Information:
For question regarding replacement parts, accessories or warranty claims on Outward Hound pet product, please contact the manufacturer directly at:

The Kyjen Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 793
Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Phone: 800-477-5735
Fax: 714-841-8979
E-mail: info-mail@kyjen.com

Since that text was added, nearly 16% of site visits for February MTD comes from the state of California, which is more 3 times more than the second highest state.

I started noticing the number of orders being shipped to CA and I had to dig further into why, and the numbers got me thinking.

Is Google (or other engines for that matter) crawling pages like this looking for information that may determine where orders ship from and geo-target search results based on where the search originates from? Or, do these products fit the California lifestyle?

That same page has an address on it for our office in Wilkes-Barre, PA, but traffic from Pennsylvania is just like any other state according to the sites analytics. I want to ride out the month of February before making changes to this page, but come March, I’m going to remove the California address and do a test to see if site traffic from California users decreases.

I’ll keep you posted with my findings. In the mean time, if you own a dog that you spend a lot of time with outdoors, check out MyOutwardHound.com – even if you don’t live in California.

Now, now… I didn’t say I “hate” chocolate, or I “don’t like” chocolate… I’m just not a fan. Maybe my disdain for this confection comes from being exposed to such cheap drug-store brands like Russell-Stover or Whitman’s as a young lad. Or maybe it had something to do with ... Continue reading “Cadbury Mini Eggs Are My Weakness.” Or, “1,080 Ounces of Heaven.”]]> I’m not a chocolate fan.

Now, now… I didn’t say I “hate” chocolate, or I “don’t like” chocolate… I’m just not a fan. Maybe my disdain for this confection comes from being exposed to such cheap drug-store brands like Russell-Stover or Whitman’s as a young lad. Or maybe it had something to do with eating way to many 3 Musketeer bars and spending the night repositioning them into a bucket next to my bed.

Whatever the reason, I’m just not a fan. Except at Easter time.

Oh, Easter! The one time a year when Cadbury makes the only chocolate I’ll eat – the Cadbury Mini Eggs. These irresistible nuggets of milk chocolate shaped like a bird’s egg and coated in a crispy, sugary, candy shell are my weakness. Just ask Pam, the owner of BlairCandy.com.

When she told me that she spent this past weekend getting all the Easter candy up for sale on her eCommerce store, I knew this was the moment I’ve been waiting for. Just a few weeks ago, I finished the last bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs I had left from last Easter. You see, I buy a lot and keep a candy dish filled with them throughout the year, so when it’s time for a quick Mini Egg fix, they’re right there.

Today, I received my order of three cases of these sugary delights from BlairCandy.com.

• 108 bags.

• 1,080 ounces of chocolate.

• 1 year’s worth of way too much chocolate.

• Far too many calories to even think of.

But who cares! I’ve got a year’s supply of the only chocolate candy I eat and I’m happy.

If you’re looking to get a chocolate fix or if you have a hankering for some nostalgic candy, head on over to Pam’s website and see all the delicious confections she offers, and tell her I sent ya.

Just don’t buy up all the Mini Eggs, I may be back for more…

Well, it’s not a “fond” farewell. It’s more like good riddance, thank God it’s over and lets move on.

The year that just passed is one that contained moments I’d like to remember and moments I pray to forget. I sold one of ... Continue reading “Happy New Year.” Or, “Good Riddance, Now Lets Move On.”]]> Ok, so I’m a couple days late bidding 2009 a fond farewell.

Well, it’s not a “fond” farewell. It’s more like good riddance, thank God it’s over and lets move on.

The year that just passed is one that contained moments I’d like to remember and moments I pray to forget. I sold one of my businesses which relieved me of a great deal of stress while at the same time dealing with the end of a 16-year relationship that forced me to start my life anew.

Always up for a challenge, I faced what was thrown at me head-on, recreating myself every step of the way. I took on a new role in the company I helped build over the last seven years, one with less responsibility so I can one again enjoy what I do.

I bought a new home and started a new life in south Florida where the weather is warmer, my mood is better and my productivity is, well… up. I kept my home in Scranton and rack up the frequent flyer miles traveling back and forth each week to spend a few days in the office and to enjoy the company of my two Chihuahua’s who haven’t made the move to Florida yet.

I refinanced my mortgage from some crazy rate in the high 7′s to something around 5. I was told that I was acting “responsible” by doing that, so it made me feel good, and it leaves me with more money at the end of the month to squander on vices such as…. well, let’s not go there.

I still didn’t get to the dentist for this toothache that has plagued me since after Thanksgiving. I’m still waiting for the dentist to respond to the “Contact Us” form I submitted on his website and the note I posted on his Facebook page. I have an iPhone and since every phone call I make or receive with AT&T gets disconnected, so I have to resort to other means of communication. So when my upper right molar falls out due to rot, I’ll blame Apple.

I enjoyed blogging about all the corruption in Luzerne County that was finally brought to light in 2009. It makes me happy to see people like Greg Skrepenak, Jeff Piazza and all these other small-time gangsters who think they’re Al Capone get caught with their fingers up their ass. I’m still waiting for one person in particular to get nabbed, who will remain nameless, but those close to me know exactly who he is.

I’m looking forward to 2010 to see how many more skanky women will say they got their hands on Tiger Wood’s club. I’m scared to see just how bad President Obama is going to wreck the health care system, which makes me want to get this tooth looked at even sooner. I’m not looking forward to the day when the terrorists finally do carry out another attack on the United States. We dodged a big bullet on Christmas Day because of multiple failures in the government, and being a man of very little faith, I don’t feel all that safe knowing a plane almost got blown up because warning signs were ignored for months.

It’s time to move forward.

Time to forget the mistakes of the past and concentrate on not making them again in the future.

So start working on that.

As for me, I’m still going to be the crazy, miserable, son-of-a-bitch you’ve come to know and love/hate. After all, everybody can’t buy into this “new year – new you” crap you know!

I was 150 pounds lighter, 16 years younger and fresh out of college with a degree that doesn’t guarantee a big income. You see, I went to school for mass communications, and before I wasted those four years of my life spent hating my professors, I wish someone would ... Continue reading “What is an epix?” Or, “I Got A Hat for Christmas.”]]> The year was 1993.

I was 150 pounds lighter, 16 years younger and fresh out of college with a degree that doesn’t guarantee a big income. You see, I went to school for mass communications, and before I wasted those four years of my life spent hating my professors, I wish someone would have told me that there wasn’t any money to be made in radio. If I knew that, I probably would have pursued my other career objective of becoming a proctologist. But alas, graduation came and I needed a job.

A friend of my sister happened to be in the human resources department of Commonwealth Telephone Company (now Frontier Communications) in Dallas, PA. She manged to get me in for an interview for a customer service position in the company’s cable television division. I landed the $8.50 an hour job and the rest is history.

After spending a year fielding calls from people complaining that their cable was out or the pay-per-view porn movie wasn’t working, I applied for an open position in the technical support department of the company’s newly formed Internet Service Provider (ISP), epix.

I went from complaints about cable television to helping people configure their 28k modem to connect to this new thing called the world wide web. There was no Netscape, Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari. We still were running Microsoft Windows 3.1 and the “Internet” was basically pages of text, but it was a start.

Knowing that there was somewhat of a future for this new technology, I started toying with the idea of selling product online. Not to bore you with the story you have heard over and over about how I traveled on this crazy road of success, but it was during the time spent at epix that I launched one of the very first eCommerce stores and learned about the technology behind the Internet.

In between taking tech support calls, I was building a website, adding products, hard coding HTML and playing around with a very primitive “shopping cart” that was nothing like the carts of today. At lunch and after work I would go and order product to fill the orders and get them shipped out.

There were only four or five of us in the epix division in ’94, but with the growth of the Internet, the group grew pretty large before I finally left the company in 1999. After moving up from support, I had various other roles within the company, the last one being a Sales Engineer. One of the folks I worked pretty close with was Carl Fedak.

Carl joined the division in the support department and like me moved up the ranks. When Commonwealth was sold to Frontier the epix brand was killed along with the positions of many people I had the pleasure of working with over the years, including Carl’s. He applied for a job at Solid Cactus and has been with the company for a few years now and today spends his working hours as an account manager in the call center.

When I visited the Wilkes-Barre PA Call Center yesterday for their holiday luncheon, Carl surprised me with a gift that brought back a few memories. There was a lot of promotional merchandise which bore the epix name over the years. I still have a beach towel, the shirts and sweatshirts I had are long gone and I had plenty of coffee mugs, but I can’t remember ever having one of the baseball hats that Carl wrapped up and gave me for Christmas.

Thanks for bringing back some memories, Carl!

While Black Friday may be the big one for brick-and-mortars, Cyber Monday has gained a reputation as the holy grail for eCommerce store owners and it ... Continue reading “Cyber Monday Bargains.” Or, “Smile for the Camera!”]]> Jeff Chirico from WBRE TV called me early Monday morning. He was doing a story on the biggest shopping day of the year for online merchants – Cyber Monday.

While Black Friday may be the big one for brick-and-mortars, Cyber Monday has gained a reputation as the holy grail for eCommerce store owners and it gains in popularity each year. Jeff turned to Donna Talarico and myself to get the skinny on how social media is being used by both consumers and businesses alike.

Granted not everyone has embraced social media to the extent that you and I have (right!!!), but those who did got to take advantage of some great Twitter, Facebook and MySpace only deals! I hope you were one of them.

Thanks to Jeff and the WBRE crew for thinking of us!

Jeff Chirico from WBRE

SHAVERTOWN, LUZERNE COUNTY –The internet was also very busy with shoppers. Today is Cyber Monday. Tonight, consumer reporter Jeff Chirico tells us how bargain hunters can score by using social media.

If you’re shopping online this Cyber Monday, you’ll find deals on almost every retailers website. But to find some of the best sales this year –you may have to go social. Scott Sanfilippo, co-founder of Solid Cactus says “social media has taken on a whole new dimension in marketing. Years ago it was print ads, radio, email marketing. Now it’s all changed.”

Solid Cactus is an ecommerce developer. Sanfilippo says retailers are jumping on the social media bandwagon because it reaches hundreds of millions of potential customers for relatively little money. A lot of retailers are taking advantage of Facebook, they’re using twitter to promote deals and offers.” Donna Talarico, Solid Cactus interactive media specialist, says “they’ll put links to Cyber Monday deals, coupon codes that are exclusive to Twitter. Toshiba for instance is giving away three free laptops on Cyber Monday only on Twitter. It’s a way to boost its base of followers. Even small retailers like Blair’s Candy from Altoona, is tweeting its holiday discounts.

So if you’ve never used social media, where do you start? Sanfilippo says the quickest and easiest site is Twitter. It takes just a minute to create a username and password and another few seconds to follow your favorite retailers.” Talarico says one of the biggest things on twitter is people using hash tag, the number sign and Cyber Monday, so if you do that search on Twitter you can find real time Cyber Monday deals.”

And experts agree –this new form of marketing to holiday shoppers won’t disappear once Santa returns to the North Pole.

The fruits of our labor as well as ... Continue reading Bloopers!]]> Today I shot a video for a promotional email Solid Cactus is sending out on Monday announcing a “Cyber Monday Programming Marathon.” The video features members of the corporate marketing and store programming departments as well as a guest appearance by Marina from Saguaro’s, the in-house cafe.

The fruits of our labor as well as the blooper reel here for your viewing pleasure: