Websites People Read

Is Linked In a Big Waste of Time?

 

How have you used LinkedIn? 

 

If you are like me, someone sent you an email invitation and you waited before checking it out.  Eventually you went to the site, filled in your job history and maybe uploaded a photo and then forgot about it.

 

That was about the extent of my LinkedIn involvement for the first year. Oh – I went through my Outlook addresses and sent invitations which led to connections with prior peers.  I had fun reconnecting with people I’d lost touch with and pretty soon my number of connections grew. 

 

Like Six Degrees of Separation, it was fun seeing just how many connects I had in my network and soon amassed more than 1,000,000.  However, other than bragging that I was connected to a million people, I didn’t really see the benefit.

 

Until recently.

 

I’m starting a new venture in speaking wrapped around a speech entitled Make or Break Moments.  I’m concentrating on expanding the idea into a series of workshops. In an effort to gauge interest I used the QUESTION function of LinkedIn to send out a message to my network. 

 

Or so I thought.

 

I posed the question “How do your associates handle Make or Break Moments and would you be interested in a workshop that would help them face those customer moments with confidence?”

 

Not only did my connections respond, but others on the LinkedIn system viewed my question and weighed in on the topic.  Pretty soon I’m emailing people from around the world talking about make or break moments.  I mentioned this at the monthly meeting of Akron Bloggers and learned that answering questions on LinkedIn benefits you in a variety of ways:

 

1. You share your knowledge on a given topic

2. You are connected with people outside your network – building relationships

3. Answers are ranked in terms of “best answer” thereby enhancing your expert status

4. All of the answers and questions are indexed on the Internet and become additional touch-points in the search results

5. Some people have turned the answers to their questions into a blog post – repurposing the information in other venues on the web

 

LinkedIn has a variety of benefits, far beyond serving as an online resume of your work history. 

Joan Stewart has written an article sharing 7 Tips for Using Linked In.

Is your Website Mobile-Friendly?

Almost a year ago I wrote a post entitled Does Your Website Move WITH People? focusing on the new (dot) MOBI extensions for URL addresses.  The idea was to configure your website for the smaller cell phone screens. Something you can back-burner until 2020 - right?

Not according to a recent issue of Advertising Age magazine. In the article Why Google see cellphones as the ultimate ad vehicle.  Reporter Abbey Klaassen interviewed Google's Mobile Product Manager, Sumit Agarwal about the future of advertising on cell phones.  Sumit has this to say:

"The phone is the ultimate ad vehicle. It's the first one ever in the history of the planet that people go to bed with. It's ubiquitous across the world, across demographics, across age groups. People are giving these things to ever-younger children for safety and communications."

The mobile phone isn't just for pop-up ads.  Dreamworks is launching their movie Eagle Eye through mobile vehicles.

Dreamworks today (9.23.08) announced it has teamed with Millennial Media, Inc., the industry's largest and fastest-growing mobile advertising networks company, to design and launch a revolutionary, innovative mobile advertising and promotional campaign surrounding the theatrical release of DreamWorks Pictures' highly-anticipated film, Eagle Eye, which is a DreamWorks/Paramount distribution release.

What does this mean for the small business owner?  The technology is changing so fast that I hesitate to read any articles on the subject older than 6 months ago.  Here is an article on modifying your blog for the mobile phone which offers a couple simple steps and links to the resources you need to make your blog cellphone-friendly.

How about you - have you done anything to actively reach the mobile-user?  I have to be honest - other than purchasing the (dot) mobi address for my site, I haven't done a thing.  Ahhh!

Your Business Photos Set to Music as Easy as Point and Click

Tomorrow is the Twinsburg Chamber monthly luncheon and I'm especially looking forward to the speaker, Brad Kleinman, as he always brings cool new techno tools to the table. 

I was just checking out his blog and already learned something new.  His post entitled BSK Video shares information about an awesome website called Animoto that takes your music and photos/slides and turns them into a video set to the beat of your music.

It sounds like you just upload your photos and an MP3 file and it will sense the beat of the music and compile a video for you to upload to your blog or website.  And the best news yet?  IT'S FREE.

Now you can produce a welcome video for your website or a compilation of photos from your catelogue or share slides from your latest vacation all set to music.  What a great tool.

I just used the program to create a mini-keepsake of a recent Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert that my daughter and I enjoyed.  The music isn't authentic because we don't have the copyright or permission, but Animoto makes it easy by providing:

• Ability to upload your photos (use about 10-12 for a 30 sec. video if the pics are large)
• You can select some photos to be spotlighted and they'll stay on the screen longer
• Music is a variety of styles from classical to hip hop
• Screen savers for the cover of your video or you can use one of your pics
• Tons of tips to make the process smoother

Genius.  I'm writing this while my video "cooks" and as soon as it is done: I'll put the code in this post to share. 

OH MY GAWD - it is so coooool!  - check it out in the post just below.

 Wow - thanks Brad.  Can't wait to hear what other new tools you have to share at tomorrow's lunch!

p.s.  yes, I did take those photos - we had awesome seats thanks to my brother and his family.

Akron Blogger Community Provided Great Dialogue

Today at our blogging "meet up" session we were all talking and asking questions and explaining and commenting AT THE SAME TIME until finally, Stephen Hopson had to say "STOP!  One at a time!"

Although we had just met a month earlier, clearly the recent decision to meet monthly was a good one because we'd each learned so many new things over four weeks we were fairly busting at the seams to share!

Here are some of the new tools I learned about today.  First off - a bunch of tools for Twitter:

Stephen talked about Summize - the tool you can use to find out who is searching for you on Twitter.  Norma Rist had just mentioned that the other day that unless you know someone's "handle" it is really difficult to find people talking about a specific topic.   Which leads me to the tool Ivana Taylor shared:  Tweet Deck.

Tweet deck allows you to manage your tweets, those who respond to your tweets (so you don't have to go searching through all those comments of the people you are following) but also allows you to create a form of Goggle Alerts for Tweets.  You can set up specific words/topics you are interested in and follow the people writing about them.

I shared my new knowledge of You Send It - the website that allows you to upload large files and email someone (even password protect the data) the file without it going through your server.  Stephen and Ivana also told about Pando - a software you download that can assist with the same issue - transferring large files.

All of us around the table are speakers and Chris Brown shared information about a group called the Association of Associations that has a local chapter in Cleveland.  I can't wait to check out the process for becoming a member - perhaps there will be speaking opportunties available.

Lastly, I learned about Cuil - a new search engine that groups search results in a different manner from Google and is offering an alternative to the behemouth.  Check it out - they even include a photo of the person associated with the site if it is available! 

Wait - that wasn't all - Chris Brown suggested I follow Todd Jordan on Twitter - not just on the cutting edge but perhaps on the "bleeding edge" of online tools. 

I'm not sure that's all we touched on but after a vigorous ninety minutes, my head was spinning!  Great meeting, guys! 

Where No Computer Has Gone Before: Camping

I work all day on a computer.  At night I use my computer to research and write my novel.  I love working on my computer, surfing the web and being connected to the global community.  But there are sometimes when a computer just isn't needed.

I started tent camping as a young girl.  I love the opportunity to get away from it all and rough it.  And I do mean "rough it."  But this past week I learned that a whole new batch of campgrounds have added Wifi and all campgrounds are expected to have "hot spots" in the next three years.

Camping and computers?  Am I the only one who sees a disconnect?  You go camping to get back to nature; fishing, canoeing, sleeping in a tent, campfires, S'mores.  Where does Excel and Facebook and Quickbooks fit into this calm, relaxing picture.

Weigh in here:  is there a place for computers when camping or should that be the one place where you unplug and actually experience real life instead of a virtual one with mosquito's?

Can Your Ego Take the Results - How Bad is Your Blog?

In my quest to discover the unlimited number of web resources I stumbled upon Blogtrepreneur's How Bad is Your Blog tool.  First off - what kind of back door, focus on the negative name is this tool? 

Do I sound sour? Well, could be because my ranking congratulated me on getting my family and pet goldfish to link to my site but didn't I have any mates?

Actually, it is a tool that ranks your site based on inbound links according to Technorati and as a new blog I know that I'm just getting the word out so I can't really expect a higher comment. 

It was fun putting in the URL addresses of other favorite bloggers and I did find a few that are worth their weight in gold: Small Biz Trends, Copyblogger, Converstations, and Drew's Marketing Minute.

You have the option of chosing "nice" results or "offensive" results. 

So how bad is your blog?

Twitter - Up to the Minute Communication

Curious: Are you using Twitter?  Call me old fashioned, but when cell phones first became popular, I resented the fact that people could reach me 24/7.  Sure, it was nice for my family, but co-workers and customers and my boss could also find me no matter where I went.  Every minute of the day. 

Of course, like most of the world, I've gotten over the feeling of constant intrusion but now here comes Twitter.  I can Twitter and let you know when I'm going to the store or the movies or on a conference call or the post office or or or.

Why would you care?

I attended a luncheon in which Matt Dickman, a Twitter aficionado, gave a presentation on the value of Twitter and he offered some compelling arguments.  He told how people used Twitter immediately after the collapse of the bridge in Minnesota to notify authorities and family members and in fact the word was out 28 minutes before the news crews or the Internet had word. 

That's terrific if we have another disaster, but how about on the day to day? Today Matt was preparing for a presentation and if you followed his Twitter, you could follow him from the beginning of the day to Starbucks to Kent State to the actual presentation.  He has 626 following his every move!

How have you found this to be valuable?  Do you follow anyone? 

Have you visited TwitterVision?  That's additive.  I guess the coolest thing is the fact that you can see instantly the GLOBE and all the conversations - some in English, many in other languages.  It pops up so fast.  Aside from the "fly on the wall" perspective, what is the value?

I'm not against it - just don't yet see the value.  Help me.

Deborah

30 Classic Website Mistakes to Avoid

Have you ever wondered how your site stacks up?  While attending a conference not long ago I learned of a site that tells it like it is:  Web Pages That Suck.  The author Vincent Flanders is a little irreverent in his reviews but offers valuable feedback.  If you offend easily, I wouldn't spend too much time poking around (How to Write Like a Wanker article is particularly graphic although provides a humorous view of website content).  However, what I found really valuable was the list of mistakes people make.

Vincent offers a whole laundry list of errors by category; first impressions, graphics, links, navigation, and content.  But it can be summed up in his listing of the 30 Top Design Mistakes.

Don't be fooled by the word "design" in the title of this list as the very first one speaks to content, "Our site tried to tell you how wonderful we are as a company, but not how we're going to solve your problems."

Right on!

Although you hope your site is never the featured Daily Suck site - the truth is, we can learn more from our mistakes.  In this case - consider learning from the mistakes of others before Vincent finds your site! 

Have you ever visited a site that struck you as BAD?  What was it about the site that made you feel that way?  The way it was set up?  The content?  The time it took to load graphics?  What is the first impression of your home page? 

Deborah

Making Learning Fun: The Commoncraft Show

Do you remember that song, Dry Bones:  The knee bone is connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone...

Well, I feel like I've just experienced that song.  I was visiting my Bloglines today and learned that my old blog, BizInformer has a new editor:  Greg Boop - welcome Greg.  He is an attorney and is offering interesting perspectives on the world of business.

While I was checking out his new posts, I found one that offered information on online learning which led me to 100 Free Places to Learn Online compiled at a Misson to Learn.  I started checking out the on line learning locations and found the Commoncraft Show.  Love, love, love it. 

Lee uses the simple method you may recall as the Felt board from Sunday School or elementary school, to teach the basics of really cool stuff:

• Blogs
• Wikis
• Social Networking
• Social Bookmarking
• Zoombies
• Light bulbs

I spent a thoroughly enjoyable time viewing his plain English method of teaching stuff that some of us have mental blocks about. 

Nicely done, Lee.  He made learning fun and isn't that what it's all about?  So how can I do the same thing - well not exactly the same thing - but use the same principals of making learning fun to share information?

How can you?

Deborah

Add Value with a Radio Show on your Site

Words, although a beautiful thing, are so one dimensional.  It is difficult to show emotion with words on a page.  It is difficult to connect with your audience through the written word.

That's why so many are beginning to add podcasts to their site.  I'm ashamed to say that although I listen to them, I haven't gotten up the gumption to do one and so I look for encouragement from you to give me the kick in the pants I need.

I read an article this morning that talks through a year-long journey to create a one-hour talk show.  Building a Radio Show One Key Word at a Time by Brent Leary, offers his journey to reach out to his online audience.

Did you know that you can get started today through Blog Talk Radio?  There is already a whole programming schedule of shows to listen to - all industries and interests are available.

But you can also get started with your own show.  Check it out.

Of course, you can also record a podcast on your own computer and upload to your site or blog. 

For advice on how to podcast, check out this tutorial How to Podcast.

Okay.  Here's my commitment.  By March 14, 2008 I am going to create my first podcast.  One month from today. 

Any advice for a beginner?

p.s.  Happy Valentine's Day! 

photo courtesy of Bellvue College