The SDM Show

The source is an excerpt from "The SDM Show," hosted by Rob Cairns, featuring guest Tim Nash, a security expert. The discussion centers on various cybersecurity topics, including recent security incidents like an AWS outage and a vulnerability used in airport PA systems, as well as the risks of using end-of-life operating systems like Windows 10. A primary focus is the "circle of trust" in the WordPress ecosystem, where they examine the security of popular form plugins like Contact Form 7 and Gravity Forms and the challenges of trusting third-party vendors and individual developers. Finally, they discuss the controversial timing and potential issues of the upcoming WordPress 6.9 feature release during the busy retail season, advocating for separate streams for security and feature updates.

The SDM Show hosted by Rob Cairns, featuring guest Dave Burnett, a fellow Torontonian and expert in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The conversation primarily focuses on the evolving relationship between AI and SEO, with Burnett sharing his background in both fields, from owning a promotional products company during the Great Recession to becoming an OpenAI beta tester. Cairns and Burnett discuss common anxieties about AI, emphasizing that it is simply reshaping work processes and requires users to master prompt engineering to avoid receiving "average" content. The experts also explore the enduring relevance of SEO, particularly for local search, and discuss strategies for businesses to build online authority and integrate AI effectively into their marketing and business models, concluding that success requires consistent effort and time rather than quick fixes.

The SDM Show, hosted by Rob Cairns, which focuses on various business and marketing topics. In this segment, Cairns and guest Bridget Willard discuss the critical importance of holiday marketing preparation, specifically addressing the year-end buying season that includes Black Friday and Cyber Monday. They debate whether it is already "too late" to plan for holiday sales and analyze the logistical and strategic pitfalls of offering deep discounts, especially for small businesses and the WordPress industry. The conversation also touches on the need for technical readiness for increased web traffic and the fundamental necessity of tracking marketing analytics for effective business growth.

This episode of The SDM Show Podcast, hosted by Rob Cairns, which features a conversation with guest Al Schuster, the founder and owner of Polaris Brand Promotions. The discussion centers on the role of brand ambassador agencies in providing experiential marketing services, such as in-store product demonstrations, trade show staffing, and event activations, for various consumer goods, particularly alcoholic beverages and packaged snacks. Cairns and Schuster explore how these promotions drive brand awareness and sales, emphasizing the importance of planning for peak retail seasons like October, November, and December (OMD), while also touching on the complexities of regulation and effective strategies for client engagement.

The is a conversation between Rob Cairns and Adam McLaughlin, focusing on McLaughlin's new business venture, pieceofcakevideos.com, which provides easy, subscription-based social media video content for small and medium businesses. They discuss the challenges of creating consistent video content and how McLarin's service simplifies the process by recording a conversation with the client, then using AI and manual editing to chop the footage into short, engaging, evergreen clips for platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. The speakers emphasize the importance of authentic, unscripted content for building trust with an audience, contrasting short-form video as a "Costco sample" that funnels viewers to longer-form content. They also address the role of AI in their workflow, noting that it assists with efficiency but does not complete more than 60% of the final product, with human oversight necessary for quality and timely content monitoring.

The source is an excerpt from a podcast discussion between Rob Cairns and Ryan Waterbury on an episode of "agency chat," focusing on the challenges and strategies of managing and growing a business. The conversation centers on the crucial role of mindset for business owners and the difficulty of delegating tasks and letting go of control, especially when hiring others. Both speakers emphasize the importance of working on the business (strategic development, systems, and processes) rather than just working in the business (day-to-day tasks), advocating for scheduled time to focus on growth. They also discuss the need to re-evaluate and update systems, including contracts, client onboarding, and toolsets, suggesting that AI can now automate certain tasks to save time and reduce the need for manual work or new hires.

The source material consists of excerpts from an episode of The SDM Show, hosted by Rob Cairns, featuring guest Caleb Mattingly. This podcast conversation primarily focuses on the multifaceted field of cyber security, covering topics such as personal experiences entering the industry, the importance of user awareness and education, and challenges related to password management and keeping software up to date. Key security concepts are explored, including the necessity of disaster recovery and offsite backups, adhering to the principle of least privilege for user access, and addressing modern threats like business email compromise and increasingly sophisticated phishing scams—including those augmented by AI. The discussion also touches upon enterprise security, cloud environments (like AWS), and the risks associated with inadequate security protocols in both large and small organizations.

The source provides excerpts from "Episode 603 Building the Changelog WP Service With Ryan Logan and Derek Ashauer" of the SDM Show, hosted by Rob Cairns and focused on topics like business, digital marketing, and WordPress. In this episode, Cairns interviews guests Ryan Logan and Derek Ashauer about their collaborative project, Change Log WP, a service designed to notify WordPress users when the change logs for their monitored plugins are updated, helping them stay informed about features, fixes, and security vulnerabilities. The discussion covers the project's development, its current status (pulling all plugins from WordPress.org and being free), future plans for monetization and expanding to premium plugins and themes, and the technical aspects of building a scalable service. The hosts and guests emphasize the value of Change Log WP for both agencies and do-it-yourself website owners, noting its utility for competitive analysis and crucial security updates.

The source provides excerpts from Episode 602 Essential SEO Mistakes to Avoid Now With Warren Laine-Naida of the SDM Show, hosted by Rob Cairns and featuring Warren Laine-Naida, where the discussion centers on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices. Specifically, the segment addresses what not to do in SEO, with Laine-Naida offering several reminders about outdated or harmful tactics. Key topics covered include avoiding practices such as buying links, keyword stuffing, making basic on-page SEO mistakes (like poor heading structure or duplicate content), ignoring the importance of internal linking, and using bloated website design. Additionally, the discussion touches on the need for appropriate off-page SEO engagement, focusing on technical SEO audits, the distinction between PPC and organic keywords, and the strategic use of landing pages.

The source provides excerpts from "Episode 601-a.mp3" of The SDM Show, hosted by Rob Cairns of Stunning Digital Marketing. The discussion features Cairns and guest Chris Hallberg, the founder of the software go expand, focusing on topics like business, productivity, and digital marketing. A central theme is the importance of mindset and having a structured operating system—such as the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)—to achieve business success, which Hallberg complements with his background in military leadership and his new software that integrates people tools and Agentive AI. The conversation also touches on the practicalities of Hallberg's software, including its cost, security, and emphasis on data-driven decisions over subjective feelings to improve team performance and company culture.