This post has nothing to do with advertising and marketing, but everything to do with being human.

A few days ago was the 5th anniversary of Katrina, the devastating hurricane that almost destroyed New Orleans. While there is still a lot of rebuilding to do, the city is once again showing its unusual spunk, and helping the citizens feel secure are the new levees which are designed to protect against another Katrina. The levees were planned three years ago and only very recently completed.

They are billed as the 8th construction wonder of the world and when you read the description you realize why.  Twenty six feet high, with castle like turrets to help break up waves, there was enough concrete used in the construction to fill 100 football fields. The structure is two miles long and twelve feet wide, and is supported by 4500 diagonal pylons filled with concrete that are anchored 200 feet deep.  The straight pylons go 100 feet into the water and are filled with concrete also.

Isn’t it sad that it took such a tragedy to motivate engineers to create these new levees. The scars will probably never heal completely for the residents who were so traumatized by those awful weeks, and while it will fully come alive again, New Orleans will be a different city with a new soul still in the making. And now we are about to commemorate another tragedy with indelible memories for our country, 9-11.

There should be some way that bloggers everywhere can write something that will prove inspirational. Something like the wave that sweeps across a stadium during a baseball game. Americans come in all colors and stripes. We should celebrate our differences and be proud of our resiliency. After all, how many countries can offer the opportunities the United States does to anyone who wants to become part of the whole?

Online shopping for certain items has its positives and negatives. For the positives you can check out and compare items and prices from thousands and thousands of stores in minutes instead of wasting gas driving to a few different stores. This can get you the best deals around even if the store is across the country. You don’t even have to get dressed in the morning to go on a shopping spree. The variety is amazing too. Online stores rarely go out of stock like a physical store might. Another bonus is that you can do Internet searches for bonus codes to use on the online stores. The codes might not be easy to get normally, but the Internet has made it a breeze and entitles you to other discounts and promotions with ease. As long as you have a credit or debit card, shopping online is a breeze for deal seekers.

The negatives of online shopping are basically waiting, shipping, and the unknown. Your product will have to be shipped so you’ll generally end up waiting several days before you get the item you ordered. That doesn’t help if you need something fast. Shipping is a problem too for those deal seekers. It might erase any savings if you have to pay shipping charges for your purchase. There are many places that make shipping free or offer free shipping with certain purchases or dollar amounts, but if you don’t snag one of these it’s a big bother. The last problem I know of is the unknown. Is this company reputable or is it a scam? Will the item arrive undamaged? Will it be what I was expecting? Also for clothes and shoes you will only know if the sizes run true and if they fit well when you actually receive them and get to try them on. That can result in many returns and delays.

For most people the ease and savings of shopping online overpower any drawbacks, and that’s why online stores have boomed. Many people still use physical stores though too. Sometimes nothing beats going and actually seeing stuff in person. It might not be worth the price of shipping either sometimes to shop from stores that might be across the nation. Either way the decision is up to you.

If you have a company and are selling anything, then you need a web presence as well.  We offer programming services for e-commerce sites along with everything else you might need. Things like custom web design, digital photography, copywriting, and SEM are all doable by us. So if you are in the market for your own site, come to us and get it all done in one shot. Give us a call or visit today and see what we can do for you.

If it’s been a while since you’ve revamped marketing and advertising efforts, it might be time for a change. Your present marketing strategy may not be hurting, but it might not be helping either. A new refreshed effort could help boost sales and set a much brighter future.

At DDA, we can energize your current medical or corporate marketing with custom and innovative interactive and traditional advertising. If the amount of leads you’re receiving has been stagnant for some time, then look to DDA’s website design and development and search engine marketing (SEM) services. Our website redesign services will give you a fresh, updated look and custom video production is a fun and entertaining way to grab and retain attention. If you’re looking to take even greater steps toward re-energizing efforts look to custom solutions like advanced programming applications and eLearning platform development with virtual medical simulations.

There’s also another point to consider, your advertising might be just fine for your current needs, but because of the sudden growth in mobile web browsing and devices like the iPhone and iPad not running Flash, you might suddenly be losing out on a percentage of web browsers. DDA’s newest division AppleSavvy can help with Flash conversion and iPad and iPhone friendly development services.

So make a change, call DDA today and get the boost you need to succeed.