The piece of mail most people never like to receive arrived in my box the other day.
Official Jury Summons.
While I appreciate the fact that Lackawanna County wanted to make sure I am not left out when it comes to performing my civic duty, I must respectfully decline the invitation.
It’s not that I don’t want to take advantage of the “free parking” (which happens to be the only words in big red font besides “keep this summons”). It’s not that I don’t want to earn a whopping $9 a day ($25 on day 4 and over). And it’s certainly not the 17-cents a mile (which would amount to $1.36 a day round trip) that’s holding me back.
Normally I would be frantically searching Google for “How to get out of jury duty” while at the same time cursing the S.O.B. who decided it was my turn.
A quick perusal of the summons revealed an email address to which I quickly send off a message letting them know that I am not a Pennsylvania resident, therefore I am unable to serve.
Phew!
Don’t get me wrong, serving on a jury is one of those things that makes us proud to be an American. I just believe that juries should be made up of volunteers who actually want to perform this civic duty and have the time to do it – a concept that has been thrown around many times, but never embraced.
Jury duty, for most of us, is met with as much excitement as getting one’s eyeballs pecked out by a pack of roosters. For other’s it’s a day off of work, the thrill of being in the courtroom and a sense of pride.
Which one of those types are you?
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Now, onto the mail bag:
From email: I have an eCommerce site at [URL REMOVED]. Sales are good, but they could be better. I was told I should be doing some link building and blogging to help my SEO. I just don’t think people would be interested in reading blog posts about [my products]. Do I really need a blog?
Blogging is an important part of every company’s overall SEO strategy. Search engines like Google look for content rich websites that provide information in a non-spammy way. Writing about the products you sell, how they can be used and how others are using them are great ways to get your feet off the ground with your new blog. As the search engines start to index your blog and find relevant keywords that link back to your site, you’ll start to see the benefits blogs have in getting you those coveted organic listings. If you don’t have the time or the best writing skills, you can always look for a core group of writers to provide you with a constant flow of blog posts. One more thing – once your blog is up, try to post at least two times a week.
From email: The other day you mentioned that a website should be redesigned every 18 months. What if I don’t have the money to spend on a full-blown redesign?
If budget is a concern, you can always do the basics which include these five items: 1) freshen up your header graphic and front page images; 2) add features such as social sharing buttons, product reviews, cross-sell and up-sell features and others that are missing since your last update; 3) have your code looked at to see if it’s up to modern standards and can be made less “weighty”; 4) have your item page looked at to make sure it’s laid out in a way that makes it easy for a customer to buy and is incorporating best practices; 5) streamline your checkout process and get rid of any unnecessary steps that hinder a customer from clicking the “submit order” button.
From Facebook: If I unfriend someone, do they know.
Yes. They are sent an email that says you’re no longer friends, you blew it, adios. Only kidding. I guess it’s a good thing that Facebook doesn’t let you know when you’ve been jilted by a so-called “friend.” So feel free to un-friend away, they’ll never know. Or will they?
From email: Boxers or briefs?
Really? What if I said, neither?