The Shoreline town of Madison held the annual Christmas Tree lighting this weekend.  This marks the real start of the Christmas Season for the town.  The many small shops provide a slice of small town Americana.  You won't find any "big box" stores along Madison's Main Street. The shops are are small businesses, often run by the owner/proprietor.  The entire Main Street area has been freshly re-designed with new sidewalks and lighting.  Boutiques, Cafes, Restaurants, a Movie Theatre, and a bookstore regularly recognized as one of the best in America all await.  Here's an image of this year's Christmas tree, flanked by the US and Madison Town Flags.  Look carefully overhead and you'll find a Crescent Moon along with Venus in the early night sky.  

Have you ever been on the receiving end of a telephone call, usually from a phone number you do not recognize, but you answered anyway?  Immediately, you're met with either an obnoxious recording, or worse, a real person.  The message is the same:  "Hello, you need to verify your listing on Google.."   Hang up.   That's right.  It's not Google. Google is about as likely to call, as Ed McMahon is to ring your doorbell and announce you've won the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.  That is to say, neither are going to call  (Ed's been dead since 2009, so that's problem).  Google simply does not make these calls. A popular scam is known as "Phishing".  This is the practice of somebody trying to get information from you that they can exploit.  Phone number, credit card, account numbers, etc.  Sometimes these calls are relatively harmless, but often they are not.  If in doubt, just hang up. Shoreline Pixels is an approved Google City Partner.  We have the ability "verify" ownership of a businesses Google My business page, using an exclusive phone app designed just for this purpose. "Verification" means simply that you take a moment to prove that you are indeed who you say you are.  Your verified listing on Google carries that much more weight with the Search engine.  Google periodically removes business listing that haven't been verified, so it's important that a business owner take the time to make sure their business listing is verified.  It's just that these nuisance calls are not the way to accomplish this. If you're still need a helping hand, don't hesitate to reach out to us.  You can leave us note on our Contact Page and we'll be happy to help.  No obligation required.  We want to see you succeed.  

Did you miss last week's "Sturgeon Moon?" A beautiful sight rising over Madison's Surf Club Thursday night.