Digital Recording

When I first started recording my music I had a Reel to Reel, Teac 4 track, with Simul Sync. This 40 pound piece of equipment allowed me to have 4 tracks on a single piece of tape. I could lay down; guitar, lead vocal, harmony vocal and lead guitar or bass. It was the latest technology. Simul Sync allowed the tracks to sync up which was a problem because the recording heads were in slightly different locations.

The next step in technology was the 4 track cassette tape recorder. Instead of either lugging the Teac around or having everyone come to my house, we were able to bring the 5 pound cassett recorder wherever we went. This upgrade from the reel to reel took about 10 years to hit the market place. There was very little ability to modify the recorded sound and it was still only 4 tracks. More channels and tracks came out relatively quickly.

As with many other media Digital changed the game. According to Wikipedia the history of digital recording looks like this:
• In 1937, British scientist Alec Reeves files the first patent describing Pulse-code modulation[1].
• In 1943, Bell Telephone Laboratories develops the first digital scrambled speech transmission system, SIGSALY[2].
• In 1957, Max Mathews of Bell develops the process to digitally record sound via computer.
• In 1967, the first digital tape recorder is invented. A 12-bit 30 kHz stereo device using a compander (similar to DBX Noise Reduction) to extend the dynamic range.
• In the 1970s, Thomas Stockham makes the first digital audio recordings using standard computer equipment and develops a digital audio recorder of his own design, the first of its kind to be offered commercially (through Stockham's Soundstream company).
• In 1970, James Russell patents the first digital-to-optical recording and playback system, which would later lead to the Compact Disc[3].
• In 1972, Denon invents the first 8-track reel to reel digital recorder.
• In 1979, the first digital Compact Disc prototype was created as a compromise between sound quality and size of the medium.
• In 1979, the first digitally recorded album of popular music Bop 'Til You Drop by guitarist Ry Cooder is released by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded in Los Angeles on a 32-track digital machine built by the 3M corporation.
• In 1982, the first digital compact discs are marketed[4], and New England Digital offers the Sample-to-Disk option on the Synclavier, the first commercial hard disk recording system[5].
• In 1990, digital radio begins in Canada, using the L-Band[6].
• DVD players begin selling in Japan in 1996.
What I know is that I first came into contact with Digital in the late 80’s and early 90’s. We who grew up with the reel to reel, scoffed at the new technology. We turned our nose up at the sound quality. We refused to move on. We learned quickly.

The first digital recordings were still recorded on tape. Next post we will talk about the next generation.

Ric Cushenan is President/CEO of Cush Media. Cush Media is a full Service online marketing company with Search Engine Marketing, Jingles, Behavioral Targeting and tracking of results. Go to www.cushmediaonline.com for more information

Marketing your new Web Site

You have created your web site and now business will just start to flow your way right. Not so fast….. Now that you have a web site how will potential customers find you?

You can put your URL on all your marketing material and business cards. But that reaches people you have already been in contact with somehow. What about all the other people who don’t know that your business exists. Your web site developer has built your web site to be searchable, relevant and geo-targeted. Your site is registered with the Search Engines but how do you get potential customers to your web site.

There are a number of ways to accomplish this. The next few Blogs will go into detail on the following:

Traditional Media – Placing your web site address in traditional ads on TV, in the Newspaper, on Radio or Billboards.

On-Line Advertising – Using the traffic generated by the content of another site to drive traffic to your web site. Examples include; Newspaper or TV Web Sites, Yahoo or other destination sites, on-line magazines, online trade publications and newsletters and coupon sites like Valpak.com. Ad types include banner ads, Big Box Ads, interactive ads, Video ads, and site sponsorhips.

Search Engine Marketing – This includes Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click advertising on Google, Yahoo, Bing and other Search Engines.

Social Media – creating sites on Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, Twitter and other Social Media sites. There are also many opportunities to advertise on these sites.
Joe Marchese who writes for Media Post says “Social media is not its own discipline in marketing, as much as a new skill set required for every other marketing discipline.”

Ric Cushenan is CEO of Cush Media. Cush Media, www.cushmediaonline.com is a full service on-line marketing company. We specialize in web site development, SEO, SEM, Social Media, Behavioral Targeting and Tracking through on-line analytics.

All Things Digital – Coupons Online

Taking a break from our current conversation about web site development and driving traffic to your web site. I wanted to take a step back and look at another opportunity to reach consumers online. Digital coupons are reaching people through the search engines and mobile applications. There are many competitors in this area already. Longtime printed coupon companies like Valpak and new online companies like Groupon are going after this market.

Groupon negotiates discounts on popular local goods, services and cultural events. Then they offer the deals to subscribers in a free daily email. The deals are activated only when a minimum number of people agree to buy. You can also log onto Groupon daily and check out the daily deal that way.

The Valpak Digital Network, a comprehensive digital advertising solution with over 150 affiliate sites, connects advertisers to consumers online and on-the-go. The Valpak Digital Network works with an advertiser’s direct mail insert to deliver customers from the digital world right to their doorstep. The offers are available through Valpak.com or by searching for coupons on Google or any of the other affiliate sites. Thousands of Buy one Get one free offers are available every day on the Valpak Digital Network. Check out the video below to see how the Valpak Digital Network works.

http://www.coxtarget.com/promo_videos/vpdn-subway-081810.html

Both products are available via mobile devices. Valpak has Smartphone apps. for I-Phone, Droid or Blackberry.

Online coupons are a great way to reach out to potential new customers with attractive offers that can bring them through your doors. Many of the listings also have a link to your web site which helps with offsite optimization of your web site.

Ric Cushenan is CEO of Cush Media. Cush Media works with small to medium sized businesses to develop their marketing through print and online media. For more information go to www.cushmediaonline.com

Diving Traffic to your site using the Internet

Ok so we have built a web site, the site contains good relevant content, has easy to find contact information, is optimized, registered with the search engines and available for potential customers to use. We have had some success with traditional media driving traffic to the web site. Now we would like to take advantage of the internet to drive potential customers to our web site. Where do we start? There are so many possibilities.
Possibilities include:

• Banner ads on high traffic sites
o Newspaper web sites
o Yahoo
o AOL

• Pay Per Click programs
o Google
o Yahoo
o Bing
o Ask
o AOL

•Behavioral Targeting
oYahoo

• Off Site Search Engine Optimization
o Links
o Social Bookmarks
o Blogging
o Article Marketing

• Video sharing and Podcasts
o I-Tunes
o Youtube

• Social Media
o Facebook
o Myspace
o LinkedIn
o Twitter

Books have been written about each of these areas and we will not try and cover each one in that much detail. The next few posts will try and get you started with each of these areas. I will also provide resources if you are interested in finding out more. So let’s get started.

Ric Cushenan, MBA, is CEO of Cush Media. Ric has over 25 years of Marketing and sales experience with Newspapers, Targeted Publications and Search Engine Marketing.
Cush Media, www.cushmediaonline.com is a full service on-line marketing company. We specialize in web site development, SEO, SEM, Social Media, Behavioral Targeting and Tracking through on-line analytics.

Driving Qualified Traffic to your Website using Traditional Media

Once you have created an effective web site, every piece of communication your business produces should contain your URL. Whether you are creating business cards, flyers, billboards, in store advertising, radio, TV or print ads, all communication should reference your URL. Your web site has the most complete information on your products, services, specials and contact information so getting prospective customers to interact with your web site should be one of the main goals of your advertising.

During my career working in print advertising with newspapers and targeted publications I had a number of opportunities to put together campaigns that used print media to drive traffic to a customer’s web site. I found that using a print ad to drive traffic to a web site was very productive when combined with a call to action or offer advertisement. There must be a reason for the potential customer to go to the web site. Some of the most effective campaigns included:

• Special Offers
• Register to win
• Large Selection Online
• Free Estimate
• New Inventory
• Closeout special

Traditional media reaches a mass audience with your message. A percentage of this audience will be in the market for your product. If you are using traditional media to drive traffic to your web site the most important aspect is that the web site URL be an integrated part of the ad not just an afterthought. Ads that just have the URL listed at the bottom of the ad seem to be less effective in driving traffic than ads that contain a reason to view the web site.

The cost of traditional media may put it out of the reach of small to medium sized business. Next we will look at using the internet to target your marketing by geography and need.

Ric Cushenan is President/CEO of Cush Media. Visit www.cushmediaonline.com to see more information.

Finding the right Web Site Developer

Now that you have decided how you want your web site to look, feel and act, how do you find the person or company who is going to build the site?
What should you look for? Should you build it yourself or let your cousin Vinnie build it on summer vacation? Should you turn control over to a large full service web site development agency or use a small local firm? What are my options?

If you decide to build the site yourself there are some good tools available to build your own web site. Microsoft Front Page, Site Builder from Yahoo or WordPress are a few good options. But this still leaves multiple questions including:
• Is My Domain Name available?
• How do I find out if it is available?
• How do I register the Domain name if it is available?
• Who should I have host the web site?
• How will I optimize for the Search Engines?
o What techniques will I use?
o What Social Media Sites should I use?
o How do I link to my web site from Social Media Sites
o How do I register my business with Google places?

If you are comfortable with your answers to all these questions than you are ready to move ahead with building your web site. If not then you may want to seek out a reliable web site developer. How do you decide who to use? There are thousands of web site development companies in whatever city you live in. Do you want someone local that you have easy access to? Does access matter to you? I have worked with small to medium sized businesses all across the country and this leads me to the more local approach. There are many questions that need to be answered. I have found that in the beginning having access to the company building your site is crucial. I want someone who will respond to questions, look at ideas, and explain timetables and where they are in the process. I want to understand where my money is being spent before it is spent. I want some control. I want to own my Domain Name. I want the hosting site to be in my business name. Finding a web site development company that will provide all this can seem like a daunting task. But it does not have to be. Search the internet for web site developers. Look for ones that have reviews. Look for developers that are experts in SEO and Social Media. Look for developers who have the ability to build a functional site or a very creative site.

Building and maintaining your web site, is one of most important decisions you will make for your business. The next step is how to promote the site after you build it.


Cush Media, www.cushmediaonline.com is a full service on-line marketing company. We specialize in web site development, SEO, SEM, Social Media, Behavioral Targeting and Tracking through on-line analytics.

Frist Steps in developing your web presence

The first steps in developing your web presence are to decide the purpose, content and structure of your web site. Will your site be very informative about your different products and services or will you give just enough information to get the searcher to call you? Will your site be very straight forward and functional or will your site have lots of graphics, video and pictures? Will it be an e-commerce site, or will it be designed to drive traffic to your store or business? Do you want people to call you, send an e-mail or fill out a form to request more information? How many pages will your site be? Will you include your hours of operation? Will you have links to affiliate web sites or just detail your affiliation? Do you have a Logo that will be included? What will be the colors of your site? Do you want to build the site yourself, have your nephew build it in his spare time or hire an expert to develop the site? Will you use a template program?

All of these questions should be answered before you move to the next step of having your site built.

Cush Media, www.cushmediaonline.com is a full service on-line marketing company. We specialize in web site development, SEO, SEM, Social Media, Behavioral Targeting and Tracking through on-line analytics.