Facebook parent Meta will pay $725 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that the social media giant shared the personal data of 87 million users with a shadowy British political consulting firm working for Donald Trump in 2016. That company, Cambridge Analytica, shut down two years later amid the resulting scandal. The settlement still needs approval of a federal judge in California as of this writing.

The lawsuit focused initially on Facebook's alleged complicity in political skullduggery, then expanded into a wider probe of how Facebook monetizes its operations by selling the personal data of unwitting users. Facebook denied culpability then and now, even while agreeing to pay what amounts to the biggest breach-of-privacy fine in the history of Big Tech.

“We pursued a settlement as it’s in the best interest of our community and shareholders. Over the last three years we revamped our approach to privacy and implemented a comprehensive privacy program,” a Meta spokesperson told CNBC.

Having watched this case and written about it for years, I remain skeptical that major changes have indeed occurred. I'm likewise dubious about the broader impact of the case on the social media industry. Will it have a salutory effect? Probably not. The racket is so lucrative, something like this will feel like just a speed bump. Consider that Facebook currently is valued at about $245 billion. It can pay the occasional speeding ticket.

The greater threat which this affair poses for the company is a potential loss of user trust. Will Facebook users begin to wonder what it really costs for them to use this "free" service?

Most people who design websites think of Smart Slider 3 as a fantastic tool for building slideshows and banners. Here's one of the best-kept secrets in the business: "SS3" (pro version) also is an amazing page builder. It lets us create dazzling, dynamic multilayered custom designs just as you would design pages and ads for glossy print publication. I have done both, so I know.

Also it will work on any WordPress or Joomla website. It's more versatile and powerful than either Divi or Elementor for WordPress. It easily beats the three best page builder extensions for Joomla - SP Page Builder, YOOtheme Pro and JD Builder. When you need impeccable, bulletproof responsive design that renders flawlessly across all viewport ranges, no page builder can touch it.

SS3 lets us target up to six viewport ranges, versus the standard three. You can see exactly what you're doing in real time. I call this "hypermobility," because it is so much more flexible and accurate than any other method available to us.

All in a drag-and-drop visual editor, without having to write any code, unless you really want to. SS3 doesn't demand coding knowledge, but makes it very easy for those who are adept at writing CSS.

This new killer WordPress website is for a family-owned midsized corporation, Rebel Converting, with locations in northwest Milwaukee and Saukville. They make premium branded wet wipes for wide-ranging consumer and professional markets, all the way up to pharma-grade. Over a period of months we worked directly with owner Mike Kryshak on this enterprise-level project which included full-on, intensive SEO.

It doesn't mean that we preach. It doesn't mean we proselytize clients. It doesn't mean we pontificate. It means that in going about our business we walk the talk of the American Progressive Movement in the 21st Century.

The movement has a complex origin and contested definition, with factional leaders vying to imprint their own stamp. But, as much disagreement exists, there is broad consensus on several key points.

Progressives above all value diversity. We believe that our differences are our strengths, not something to fear. Progressives also believe in social progress, as defined by progress toward a truly egalitarian society which has its goal an inclusive prosperity.

We believe that this inclusive prosperity can give a fair and equal shot at happiness and fulfillment for all people regardless of ethnicity, gender identity, sexual preference, religious beliefs, or adverse circumstances of birth. And we believe in public policy as the vehicle to bring about an inclusive prosperity.

Many progressives like me take the above views even further, toward a kind of holistic quest for planetary happiness for all the other living things with whom we share this fragile Earth. The best English term we have for that is “environmental consciousness.” Native peoples, and the great Eastern religions, have been concerned with the subject for millennia.

Right now you're asking, “What the heck does this have to do with web design?”

Tons, actually.

You've hired a web designer. Now what. What kind of build process can you, should you expect? We can't speak for anybody else. But here's our own 10-step web development process, as an example. The rigorous protocol starts with a "discovery" phase. Does your new agency have this, or something like it?

They better. Because, time is money - your money. And lots of your money will be wasted unless there's a rigorous development process in place. If I were to diagram it, it would look exactly like a funnel. The top, widest part of the funnel is all about information gathering. At the bottom of the site comes the easy part: launch.

We have a whole page which spells out the process step-by-step, so I'll refer you to that for more detailed information. Here's a quick rundown. There are 10 steps.

As a subscriber to the Sucuri blog, came across this today. By Ben Martin, it's packed with loads of useful info. It's relevant to anyone who's running an e-commerce site based on the WordPress platform. It does however skip one important item.One of the best ways to protect yourself is to force all transactions off-site and have them be handled directly by your merchant service provider.

Today I'm pleased to announce that Javelin has been named one of the top 20 digital marketing agencies in Wisconsin by DesignRush Marketplace. DesignRush is an up-and-coming international online directory service matching regional clients with the right web design and marketing firms, by vertical competencies and centers of excellence. They have an informative and sophisticated platform which truly is curated - not pay-for-play. Otherwise, as I told them up front, I would have opted out.

Grandma never measured anything when she baked an apple pie. This is kind of like that. From client to client, the proportion of ingredients always varies. You may not even need all the ingredients, if you are operating in a low-temperature competitive environment. Two or three might do the job. That's important for you to understand, because professional SEO can get really, really expensive.

Today let's turn web design upside down. I'm going to talk about what often seems to be the forgotten half of the viewport family - bigscreens and large laptops. Their pageview share approaches 50 percent, among all Internet-capable viewing devices. But they are rarely talked about nowadays in my circles, in the mad rush to scale websites down to fit little tiny phones.

If you own a Joomla or WordPress site, and you have an SSL certificate, it may be displaying this error message in Google Chrome and some other major browsers. You'll see a tiny little icon at top right in your browser bar. Does it signal a breach? No. Does it pose a gigantic security risk? Usually not. Is your website broken/infected? Not at all. But, is it something you need to address?

Yes, and soon. Why?

Should you hire a web design agency or should you attempt to build your own website with one of the cheap template systems out there? Here are my top ten reasons to go with a pro.

You wouldn't place your life in the hands of amateurs. So why is your business different? Sure there are lots of cheap options for building cookie-cutter  do-it-yourself websites. But here's why you should consider having it done professionally. I'll boil it down to just two words: "distinctive" and "effective." Those 20 total characters are the difference

These days anybody who owns a website is going to be besieged by aggressive SEO sales pitches. You'll be told that your SEO pretty much sucks, and it's damaging your business. Let's get a few things straight. SEO is an advertising tool which exists alongside and complements all your other marketing channels. Your investment in SEO needs to be apportioned relative to all your customer engagement strategies. The level of investment also should be apportioned relative to measurable traffic goals which you set.

Website owners who sell online rely on web surfers finding their pages through organic searches. The title of a page is less important nowadays with the advent of structured-data markup But it still matters a great deal, and the rules have changed. The so-called "long-tail title" clings to a stubborn fanbase among many SEO consultants. My own experience leads in the opposite direction.

People in my business talk about web design as if it were a separate, distinct, stand-alone profession. One that invites wild, almost garish creativity. To the point that you see crazy calls to action such as "Let's get funky." It's true that today the graphic possibilities are limited only by the developer's creative imagination. But here at Javelin we believe that raw creativity must be rigorously disciplined. Because "web design" in fact belongs to a long-established, mature marketing discipline called branding.

Seems like everybody is selling SEO. You wake up one morning, and your dog has a new gig selling SEO door-to-door. He's partners with a pony. You're already getting robo e-mails from SEO companies. Soon they'll be robo-calling you 24/7. I haven't yet seen my first SEO billboard. It's coming. But really, do you need all this insane SEO? Not necessarily. If I were you, I'd look at this just like at any decision to put money back into the business.

To hell with it if it's not instant. So goes the mantra of this our brave new world. That's why it's always a bit of an uphill battle to sell something that by definition takes its own sweet time: organic SEO. Whereas PPC is fast food cooked in a fryer, you cook organic SEO slowly in a crock pot. Takes way longer, but the nutritional value is so much higher. And the health benefits so much longer-lasting.

We go to Google, Yahoo and Bing to shop. We go to social media sites to network and wise off. So here's the 500-lb. gorilla question. Why would you ever pay to advertise to people who by definition are neither shopping nor primed to purchase? Most of them are going to just shut out the message. Or, if they notice the message, it will make the shallowest of impressions. The message blends into the background noise of the mind, becoming invisible in plain sight.

Worldwide sales of tablets will top 100 million this year. Next year, if the trend continues, tablet sales will surpass notebook sales for the first time. Right now among US mobile subscribers, smartphones outnumber cell phones. With young people leading the way, the way we use the Internet is changing at lightspeed.

You're in business, maybe shopping for a Milwaukee web designer. You don't speak a word of Geek. Why, then, are people like me talking Geek at you on their websites? I really don't know. It doesn't make sense. They must be assuming that you're a marketing director or IT person from a big company. Folks like that do at least know enough Geek to bluff past the gatekeepers.