First of all, let me introduce myself. I am Justin Daining, the new web developer at The Image Shoppe in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I have been building eCommerce websites for the last four years and have learned a thing or two along the way. In my experience, developing an eCommerce site is a lot like dating a high-maintenance person. Because of the territory, you have to deal with clothes, hair and accessories (product, cart, and checkout layouts) and the constant gaze of onlookers (security and support). With those things in mind, let me tell you a little about my experience with this high-maintenance significant other—I mean—eCommerce.

A common conundrum among small business owners and managers is the tendency to default into what we call "firefighter" mode. All day long they are doing triage in their heads: What orders need to get out now, what bills needs to be paid now, what employees have issues that need to be dealt with now. These pressing issues are the fires that continuously smolder at their toes.

It was a long road to get to our new website. As many of you likely know, we almost always push client work in front of our own marketing efforts. That's great for clients, but not so great for us. TISbits also was put on hold, but we are ready to rock and roll again in 2012!

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This is hot off the press from Twitter - Please read. If you need help fixing your Twitter feed, we are able to help you.

We have been proactive in making these changes to our clients' websites, but if you are a client and see something amiss, please don't hesitate to contact us!

So many tirades, so little time. With Facebook pushing 450 million users, it's no surprise it takes the top bill in the press. From privacy issues to litigation of all types, Facebook is definitely in our faces.

While Facebook seems to get most of the mainstream press these days, let's not forget about all the good work Twitter does for business.

Doing business today requires an online presence. Like it or not, your brand is judged by your participation on the web with an invisible sliding scale.

Ask 10 people to define the word “sustainable and you’ll get 10 very different definitions. This 2nd Annual Local First conference addressed these topics with speakers and breakout sessions to over 100 participants.