Skynet Blog

At Skynet, we work with a lot of businesses. But as a company with such a widespread array of talents, we will gladly work with anyone. 

Our design team recently worked with a local Hip Hop Musician, JaMoe The Great, in conceptualizing and designing the cover for his new album, “The Book of 9Eighteen”. The project was a great breath of fresh air coming out of a huge amount of business websites and other more ordinary projects for a marketing firm like Skynet. 

The exciting part of this news is that we are making ourselves known not only to a wide array of local businesses, but to local talent as well. We hope to continue to grow our reach in the community and beyond with projects such as this.

Google’s new logo has been revealed for long enough now that most of us have seen it and developed an opinion about it.

Let’s just say what’s on everyone’s mind first - Yes, it does seem slightly reminiscent of a title for some kind of children’s show on PBS. The bright colors combined with the extremely simplified and rounded typeface gave a lot of people that crayon vibe. But there’s a reason for everything!

An analysis on Gizmodo (seen here) revealed that this new logo can actually do us a lot of favors as far as webpage load times go. 

Essentially, the transition from the complex serif font to the more simplified and circle-based font makes the shape of the logo much more mathematically simple. In the .svg file format (scaleable vector graphic) the image is only 302 bytes uncompressed. In contrast, the more complex vector file of the original logo came out to 6,380 bytes uncompressed. 

While 6kb is almost nothing on most modern internet speeds, this change really demonstrates the trend of building website on more basic vector graphics rather than heavy raster (pixel-based) images.

What do you think? Is this a welcome change, or do you prefer a more flashy look at the cost of a bit of extra loading time?

In this day and age, it is enormously vital to have a website to give your business an online presence. With the amount of time that people spend on the internet, a website has become the face of many small businesses and big businesses alike; a face that should always give a good first impression of the business. Websites offer current clients and potential customers an opportunity to engage with businesses to obtain detailed information and to interact with what that business has to offer. If information is outdated or a user's experience becomes negative because of broken links, then it is definitely time for a little website maintenance to save face.

The proper maintenance of a website takes time, a lot of effort, and can be frustrating for a business owner already pulled in a thousand different directions on a daily basis. We want you to know that the experienced team at Skynet Solutions has your back and can help any business with the following common website maintenance tasks:

Move, change, add, update, or delete web links

Add, change, resize, edit, update, or remove images

Embed, replace, edit, and remove videos

Replace or change existing logos and create new logos

Update contact information or any other website text content

Update meta keywords, page titles, and descriptions

Update website buttons, inventory pricing, and shopping cart software

Make changes and updates to website and newsletter layouts

Adjust formatting and style enhancements of layouts

Provide statistics on website traffic and visitor information

Consult on search engine optimization and implement a plan of action

Generate an easily navigable sitemap for search engines to index

Work on all platforms (e.g. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Ruby on Rails, etc.)

Remember when Firefox was the “cool” browser to use? It was a time before Google Chrome, when Internet Explorer first started to fall.

As you can imagine, Mozilla isn’t happy with Firefox’s declining user base, and they’ve developed a plan to begin regaining territory lost to Chrome. This plan revolves around a three-pillar philosophy

1. Quality - Ensuring that every feature is streamlined and enjoyable to use.

2. Uniquely Firefox - Giving users “Control to shape their web” with a strong focus on online privacy.

3. Best of the Web - Creating better integration with add-ons and partners.

More usage of Firefox could mean less search volume for Google, as Firefox no longer uses Google as its default search engine. It’s hard to say exactly what else this would mean for the future, but it’s safe to assume that Google, Apple, and Microsoft will react and bring even more changes to our current selection of browsers.

Either way, this fierce competition will likely end in victory for consumers!

Has anyone else noticed an especially slow network lately? Well, according to Senior Technical Instructor, Doug Bassett, if you're not using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), "It's not you, it's not crazy, it's not malware, it's just Microsoft pushing out Windows 10 to as many people as possible."

Many IT admins out there have reported that their networks slowed to a crawl when those files were automatically pushed to their computers and none are happy about it. Especially those who deal with hundreds of computers on a limited amount of bandwidth.

In a statement from Microsoft, "For individuals who have chosen to receive automatic updates through Windows Update, we help upgradable devices get ready for Windows 10 by downloading the files they'll need if they decide to upgrade. When the upgrade is ready, the customer will be prompted to install Windows 10 on the device." How thoughtful of them.

In the meantime, every computer on your network could be pulling somewhere between 2 to 4.3 gigabites of unwelcome data whether or not you actually decide to upgrade to Windows 10. These files are reportedly being stored on the Local Disk in a hidden folder that's called $Windows.~BT.

So, what can be done about this? Well, Doug Bassett recommends that you use WSUS. Unfortunately, not all of us can simply do that, so his other work-around is to, "Either set a group policy to turn off automatic updates," or "go and manually do it. Hopefully you don't have 10,000 machines trying to settle this stuff up."

What’s the first word that comes to mind when someone mentions the term “internet search”? It’s probably “google” isn’t it?

Google has been the dominating force in online searches for years now, but according to Microsoft, Bing is about to gain some serious ground in the market.

Recently released Windows 10 implements Bing in multiple functionalities, including the new Voice control app, Cortana, a desktop search bar, and the new Edge web browser. As it stands now, Bing has 20% marketshare in search engines. However with all of these features, Microsoft is predicting a 10-15% increase in search volume through Bing, which is good news for advertisers. Could a search engine finally give Google a run for its money? Only time will tell now!

When Windows Server Backup does its job, it works quietly. There are no alerts to indicate a successful or failed backup. Thanks to wsbalert.com powered by Skynet Solutions, there’s now a way to get instant Alerts in case of failure.

Seeing the problem with Windows Servers, we swooped in and created our own solution, electing to share it with others who are interested. This also marks another successful launch of a new website. This simple, sleek and functional website sports responsive design, making it mobile friendly, which has recently become very important after google’s “Mobilegeddon” ultimatum.

Paraphrased and repackaged from the article “Reimagining the Web Design Process” on News360 by Clark Wimberly.

The advent and popularity of Mobile Devices has forced a lot of change in the world of Web Design and Development. Varying screen sizes and the creation of new mobile browsers has made the good ol’ static web page obsolete. The most noticeable changes in the design side of things are fairly simple to summarize:

1. Mobile First - These days, the majority of people are browsing the internet on their phones or tablets. For Web designers, that means that creating simple pages that can be morphed to these more vertical screen dimensions is of utmost importance. Always think mobile before you create the desktop version.

2. One Brick at a Time - Starting with small elements (type, colors etc) then building them up into a complete web page is much easier than building a full page, then breaking it down into smaller elements to shift into a mobile format.

3. Think Beyond Breakpoints - Creating a web page involves content. Words, pictures, and various other elements that make up the meat of the page. Creating a styling system that is dynamic has never been more important. Know that things will change when your page is viewed on different devices. 

4. Get Real - Testing absolutely must be done on different devices. Making .psd files for different screen sizes is useful, but actually using a touch screen and interacting with the site on a real phone or tablet will reveal issues you would never think of when designing on a desktop.

Since over 78 percent of consumers research products and services online, even the smallest of small businesses can benefit from having their own website. It's the chance to make a lasting impression!

Studies show that nearly half of small businesses still do not have websites. In this day and age it's difficult to believe that such a large number of businesses still rely on just a yp.com listing as their only online presence. Being able to reach out to consumers online with a personalized website benefits a business by giving it credibility as well as an outlet for information. Any business without a website is missing out on one of the most powerful marketing tools available to them.

Unfortunately, many business owners believe that the cost of building and maintaining a website would break their budget. The expense of a multi-page, in depth website starts in the range of thousands of dollars. While yes, a fancy website with many pages and facets would be great, it isn't very realistic for a small business with a small budget.

Because we recognize the need for most businesses to have at least a basic website, Skynet Solutions offers one-page sites that are cost effective, personal to the business, and functional. We can work with any budget from any business, small or large to create a website that reflects a business’s look, culture, and values. Our one-page sites are even mobile-friendly, have call functionality like click to call, and have contact forms. They can even be expanded on later as the needs of the business continue to grow.

Take a look at these two great examples of one-page websites we've already produced for other local businesses. The new site for Charles Taxi Service displays an elegance and professionalism, with stock photography, and plenty of relevant information. Farris-Ault Exterminators now have a wonderful website that shows their personality, has a lot of great content, and didn't break their budget.

With the overall convenience of Google as a search engine, it’s easy for us to not worry about how it works and assume everything about it is working to help us. But a recent study published by the Yelp data science team and conducted by researchers at the Harvard Business School and Columbia Law School, reveals that there’s something fishy going on behind the scenes.

Click here to view the full research paper.

To put it succinctly, the research shows that Google often skews search results to display its own content before other, potentially more useful, results. The most obvious way this happens is through Google’s Local OneBox. This is the functionality that you often see on the right hand side when searching for something local. This usually gives you detailed information about a business and a link to its Google+/Google My Business page. 

Because of this, businesses that have a Google+ page are almost always displayed first, even if they are less relevant to the search. This is why it’s always important to ensure that your web presence is being handled by someone who understands search engines and knows how to put your business on top. At Skynet, we specialize in SEO. Give us a call at 918-895-1982 and we’ll talk with you about how to make your business more visible on the web.

On this one very special day, considered by many to be the birthday of America, the team at Skynet Solutions reflects upon the importance of July 4th and what this symbol of freedom means to us.

It all goes back to 1776 when Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. The founding fathers signed the document on the 4th of July declaring our independence from the tyrannical reign of King George III with a powerful and revolutionary message: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Everyone who signed the Declaration of Independence literally risked their lives in doing so. The penalty for that sort of treason back then was hanging. That is why we think of it as more then just a document, but as a symbol for the courage of those few who stood by their convictions to better our future and for their bravery in declaring our freedom. This significant piece of our nation's history infused into our culture the noblest of ideals and the highest of aspirations—belief in liberty, equality, individual rights, and above all, happiness.

As long as we all remember that Independence Day is not only a national holiday, but that it's also a symbol of our patriotism, then we are free to celebrate. In fact, that is exactly how our second president, John Adams, thought we should honor the occasion in a letter that he wrote to his wife, Abigail, “ … it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great Anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance … solemnized with pomp, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever.”

In this day and age, if you have a small business, you'd better have a blog somewhere to go along with it. Without an online blog, search engines are going to have a hard time finding you and so are your customers. The goal of a search engine is to return the most relevant results to users and your goal should be to keep those search engines happy. A lot of blogs receive the bulk of their traffic from the major search engines, so it only makes sense to work in conjunction with them to optimize your success. We have put together a list of tips that will ensure your business's blog stays relevant and at the top of search engine rankings.

Content drives search engine traffic, so updating your blog frequently is one of the best ways to push your company to the top of the list when people search for your products and services online.

Post blog updates at least once per week to keep the search engine spiders coming back to your content more frequently. If they visit your blog regularly, they will quickly index your new content.

Actively blogging on a regular basis is one of the most cost-effective channels for generating leads to acquire new customers. The more you publish, the more your site is crawled and the more leads are sent your way by search engines.

Search engines measure the pages of your website based on their freshness and rank them accordingly. So, keeping around old content that exists simply to generate pageviews can sometimes do more harm then good. However, some old content that continually answers a user's query may remain fresh forever in the eyes of a search engine.

On average, blog posts have a fresh and relevant lifespan of about 2 to 3 years where they will continue to attract readers and be shared across other blogs and various social channels. So, if you have older blogs reaching the end of their lifespan you can give them a new lease on life by updating them with new information like current statistics or latest developments on that topic.

Be consistent with a blog posting schedule no matter what it takes. This is critical because when your regular readers are looking for new posts and can't find them, they may assume that your blog is no longer important to you or relevant to them and will quickly lose interest.

Readers will adapt to your posting rhythm and will begin to expect that reliability from you. If you post every Monday, then it's important to continue updating your blog on Mondays to remain consistent.

If you're running out of new ideas for content, there is nothing wrong with a little repetition every once in awhile. Sometimes before a message can get its point across, it needs to be repeated. Just don't repeat something for repetition's sake as that can become annoying to your readers.

If you are concerned about not being able to keep up with a rigorous publishing schedule for your blog, find someone within your organization who can take it over or look into outsourcing your blog posts to a reliable company like Skynet Solutions.

Around this time every year, Tulsa People Magazine chooses “A-List” winners. These are local companies that provide exceptional service as voted on by the people of Tulsa.

We’re proud to announce that not just one, but two of our clients are Tulsa People A-List winners! 

Skin Renewal of Tulsa has been voted an A-List Winner in the “Body” category for their excellent dermatological services and products. We created their website and handle various forms of advertising for the company. Congratulations to Skin Renewal of Tulsa!

In a totally different Industry, Arrow Exterminators has also been noted an A-List Winner in the “Services” category. As the company name suggest, Arrow does residential and commercial pest control, and has made a name for itself as one of the biggest in Tulsa. We also created their website and handle a large portion of their advertising. Congratulations to Arrow Exterminators!

"Mobilegeddon", the mobile apocalypse, or so it was explained to us, is over. The Google algorithm update that pushed mobile-friendliness was rolled out on April 21st, so we've had a little over a month to see its effects. This update changed how the search engine evaluated and ranked various websites. Clearly Google wanted to improve a mobile users experience by increasing the visibility of mobile-friendly sites and decreasing the visibility of non-mobile-friendly sites. Many online communities heralded this update as the next big game-changer in the mobile world but the results seem to have been less than apocalyptic.

Were you affected? Thankfully the aftermath of Mobilegeddon wasn't quite as dramatic as some predicted it would be. While some websites reported minimal effects, very few, if any, have yet to reveal any catastrophic drop in their search rankings. The rollout was slow and after the first few days a handful of major sites were penalized, but they weren’t completely blown off the face of the Earth either. Instead, they dropped a bit in the search rankings while a few other sites correspondingly rose. All in all, not much shifted greatly.

Did you survive? It wasn't "The End." This wasn't the first time that a Google update announcement has caused a lot of unnecessary drama and it certainly won't be the last. They just want users to have the best possible experience regardless of what type of device they're using. Google will continue making regular updates and those will continue to vary in scale from the hardly noticeable to the truly game-changing. Looking ahead to future updates, take the appropriate precautionary measures, let the cards fall where they may, and you will survive, but also think of it as an opportunity to advance your business with a website that keeps up with modern developments and invest in mobile technology and mobile marketing strategies because they're not going away any time soon.

What's next? At this point, if your website still isn't mobile-friendly, it's not actually the end of the world, but you may need to consider the ramifications of remaining unfriendly. If your website gains a lot of visitors from mobile devices, it may be worth it to invest in optimizing your site for those mobile customers to create a superior user experience. Inspiring mobile sites are ultimately a good thing for your business and a great thing for the Internet in general. Once you've tackled the development of a mobile-friendly site, then it's time to start looking into some of Google's latest enhancements: fact-checking and structured data.

Skynet Solutions believes that supporting our locally owned businesses is vital to growing a strong community with a thriving economy. We strongly encourage the nurturing of locally owned and operated businesses for a number of reasons: they sustainably use local resources, employ local people at decent wages, and primarily serve local consumers. All of which goes back into our community where it belongs.

That's why we're proud to work with the Bixby Metro Chamber of Commerce. They provide a pathway to the Bixby community for business owners by growing relationships and togetherness to promote civic and commercial progress. They have also been very helpful with networking, promoting, branding, and education to help the businesses in the area thrive. Recently, Skynet Solutions and the Bixby Metro Chamber of Commerce, along with other members of the community, came together to promote the opening of a new business, Pool Escapes, located at 11031 South Memorial Drive, with an official ribbon cutting.

Memorial Day 2015 is this Monday the 25th, and most of us have plans for the holiday weekend. It's that time of year again to bear in mind that we live in one of the greatest nations on the planet only because time and time again brave men and women have been willing to fight and die for our freedoms that we sometimes take for granted.

There are many different ways to show respect for those who have died serving our country. Whether you're visiting a national cemetery or gathering with friends and family, take the time to remember and honor the fallen veterans who died during military service. Here are a few other things you can do to observe Memorial Day: fly a US flag at half staff until noon and then raise it to the top until sunset, fly a POW MIA flag, provide public decorations like yellow ribbons, and take part in the National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00pm.

Say hello to Skynet’s shiny new look! There comes a time every once in a while when you need to shake things up and get with the times. That time has come for Skynet Solutions!

We are officially rebranding ourselves as a digital marketing and web development firm. With this change comes a new, neat little logo. The change:

Insight on the reasons for the change:

A problem we kept running into while marketing ourselves is trying to convey exactly what we do while using the old logo. We offer so many services that it became difficult to succinctly express our purpose. So we decided to create a logo with variations for our different departments.

We also took the opportunity to switch to a more modern color scheme, getting rid of the cheesy combination of orange and blue. Orange still exists in our branding, but it’s more of an accent color that comes up on occasion, and it isn’t tied to our logo.

As for the iconography, the divider between Skynet and Solutions looks sort of like a scroll wheel. This communicates the numerous choices of departments (Design, development, marketing, retail, support) as demonstrated in the animated GIF at the top of this post. Need something pretty? We’ll rotate over to design. Need a functioning website? We’ll switch to development. Get the idea? Pretty cool, huh?

Multi-faceted.

That’s how we look at ourselves as a company. Our new look emphasizes this and brings us into the sleek world of modern design. We’re excited to see where this new initiative takes us.

We’ve also created a whole new website to match our branding change, and that will be live very soon, so keep an eye out for it at www.skynet-solutions.net!