A lot of business owners and technology directors think it’s best to buy their employees the newest, coolest-looking, most well-advertised gadgets as soon as they hit the market. This is actually a flawed school of thought, and logic.

Almost every new technology that hits the street comes laden with bugs and irreversible, unpatchable issues that you or the manufacturer won’t be able to remedy. Ultimately, the only solution for this is to shell out another mint for the ‘New & Improved” version of your tech toy a month or two down the road.

In reality, tech manufacturers are using the impulsive business owner and personal user as “beta testers” for their new devices. This is the way it’s always been. The manufacturer releases their new toy, gets an unfathomable amount of groans and moans, and applies the fixes to the next version, leaving the livid consumers in the dust (and a little bit of financial discomfort). Take a look at the first iPhone. It was completely ridden with bugs. The new version is supposedly flawless.

In order to have a successful business, especially one that is based around digital media and communication, stability is imperative when it comes to your technology. In this industry, the strength of your business is directly dependent on the stability, functionality, and efficiency of your technology!

Here at AKMG, we don’t risk our integrity to get the newest toy the day it comes out. We wait a month or two, unless you are the CEO who gets the toy the day it comes out, then hands it to me to fix when it breaks….

Here at AKMG, go to great lengths make sure that campaigns our affiliates deploy are 100% Can-Spam compliant. Anything less than full compliance is simply unacceptable.

We use Lashback, a state-of-the-art compliance management system in which we are alerted every single time an email address on a suppression list is emailed. We have many different flags and triggers within this system, but this unsubscribe violation is one of the more frequent violations of Can-Spam. We also recommend Unsub Central to our advertisers as the premier unsubscribe suolution for their particular offer. It is widely used in the industry, accepted by affiliates and unriveled as an outsourced unsubscribe email solution.

We take Can-Spam violations very seriously and have implemented detailed measures to ensure that our advertisers message is delivered in a professional, legal format and the consumer receives marketing that they are truly interested in. eMail marketing has proven itself for many years to be the most effective avenue for marketing online and we takes steps daily to ensure its longevity and viability in the marketplace.

Scuzzbucket emailers can ruin this industry, but we don’t have to let them. We have a responsibility to conduct ourselves in a professional manner and abide by the laws that have been set forth….please do your part.

For more info on Can-Spam specifics, check the WIKI.

As can be clearly defined in history, crime adapts to the time in which it exists, the people who live in it, and the respective technologies that run it. In today’s high-tech world, we face many issues in the advertising industry that we must constantly be one step ahead of.

With the advent of lead / revenue tracking software and pixel implementations, inevitably comes the unshaven, mother’s basement-laden hacker who will make attempts to generate illegitimate profit with or without the intention of destroying the industry that we thrive in.

Here at AKMG, we’ve taken huge measures to ensure that our data and our clients’ data is dynamically protected, constantly changing and strengthening with the necessity of the times.

I have designed the custom-engineered software / hardware systems that will keep us on top of the changing world, and growing threat that we specifically experience here in the realm of advertising.

Making sure that every lead, every conversion, and every penny that we and our clients see is genuine is one of the most exciting and fantastic parts of my job.

In order to know how to prevent and stay on top of fraudulent methods, I have to know exactly how it’s actually done, and in turn, make the culprits methods useless through what I put in place. This is the foundation of reverse-engineering…making what’s useable unusable to the guy you don’t want using it in the first place.

The systems we’ve designed, and the ones we’re implementing right now, make it that much easier for us to stay way ahead of the fraud that goes on in our industry. These are big pieces that make up the integrity of AKMG’s backbone.

Beating the hackers at their own game is incredibly fun for a nerdy guy like me…and it takes one to beat one

My Saturn recently bit the dust. For about 6 months now, I had to keep the engine fan running by turning on the air conditioning. Therein lies the “Catch-22″. The air conditioning also overheats the engine. So, I had to almost overheat the engine to make sure the engine didn’t overheat.

Last week, my engine-fan workaround stopped … working .. around. The engine began overheating no matter what. It was definitely time to say ‘goodbye’ to my ugly duckling of a car and move on, as sad as it was.

I just recently decided that I am the most indecisive person when it comes to purchasing a car, but I might change my mind about that.

First, I was set on an FJ Cruiser, then it was a Chevy Aspen. I finally made up my mind when I got an unbelievable, ‘once in a lifetime’ deal at the big Cadillac dealer in L.A. through a radio station I used to be affiliated with.

The new ride is officially a Cadillac SRX. It’s burgundy, gorgeous, and it has four wheels and moves when I press the gas pedal. My Saturn unfortunately lacked the last intangible of a “working vehicle”.

My Caddy is only a symbol of my new life out here. The real fast lane I get to drive in is on the Promenade at AKMG. Every day is new, fast-paced, exciting, and different, and it NEVER gets boring. Ever.

I can honestly say I love my job, I didn’t think that could be accomplished. It can. Now I can get here without my car igniting … and in a little more style, of course.

I will miss my Saturn SL1. It will forever remain in my heart and in my mind anytime I break down on Sunset Boulevard in the future.

Josh

RIP: Ugly Duckling
Hello: Dream Job

I was thinking today about just how important it is to stay on top the latest information and issues in your industry.  While this is important for almost every industry, when it comes to the technology it is imperative.

I remember when I got out of school how top-of-the-line and state-of-the-art everything seemed.  Had I not made it a habit to constantly keep up with today’s standards by reading industry literature and publications my knowledge would be obsolete.  No question about that.

In nerd vision:  When I left Pittsburgh, a dual processor cost THOUSANDS of dollars.  You can get one for a few hundred now…and the technology inside is a million times more sophisticated than it was.

When it all comes down to it, you have to grow with the times, but why wouldn’t you want to?  Staying on top makes for a better view.

Industry standards and physical technologies change on the daily and so do I.  It has to be that way, and I love it.

I never take California for granted. Almost every single day, I find myself looking at the palm trees, sun, and beaches with complete disbelief and overwhelming satisfaction. I have been in Cali for about three years now, and nothing about it seems to get commonplace.

I don’t find myself having bad days out here. Sure there are moments, but they are fleeting, and can dissipate as quickly as I can plant my foot in the sand or wander outside to submerge myself in the gorgeous sun and in what I call, “The California Smell”. It’s a really good one, in case you were wondering! I’m not talking about about the downtown Los Angeles smell.

Anyway.

Peace and satisfaction .  I can honestly say I have found the intangibles that compose me as a happy person. My work here plays a huge part in that serenity. I get to see my work realize itself daily into large factors that help the company maintain to the fullest extent and grow to an even more amazing one. The passion I have for continuing to do so completes me in more ways than one.

At the end of every single day, I get to look at that big cinnamon sky, smell that saltwater air, and go on my way with a smile on my face, never touching the ground. It never gets old, and I’ll never take it for granted.

It’s coming up on over a month since I joined the AKMG team as the Director of Technology and Information Security. What a fantastic company and group of people to work with! I really get to use all facets of my abilities and knowledge here. We have integrated state of the art affiliate and advertiser systems with our phenomenal anti-fraud and security techniques.

So a little bit about myself, let’s see… I went to school in Pittsburgh, PA (let’s go Steelers!) for Computer Science, focusing in cryptography and reverse engineering. When I was younger, I was known for taking things apart and putting them back together, specifically computers. Later down the road, I started doing the same with software.

I love what I do, and I love helping others resolve any problems related to technology, or anything else for that matter, while talking to them in a language they can understand! Being able to do this for AKMG and our business associates really hits the spot for me.

Being satisfied creatively with the work I do is so important. I’ve gotten more creative satisfaction than I imagined with my work here. In fact, when I’m not working as the techie over at AKMG, I’m playing the drums all of the time! I’m a professionally trained drummer, and I’ve had the opportunity to tour the country, play with top recording artists, cut tons of records and even work with the Blue Man Group.

I take a little Blue with me everywhere I go. If you haven’t seen the show you need to. I keep requesting PVC pipe, trash cans, and fluorescent paint for my desk. This is to no avail yet, but I’ll keep trying.

Anyway! I look forward to the days ahead, the people I’ll meet, and the shared success here at AKMG!

Josh