We got behind in posting our near daily small business technology updates due to an intense training schedule. Here's what popped up in today's professional reading:
The Biggest Mistake Web Analysts Make… And How To Avoid It! - Great article by Google analytics guru. Suitable for both beginners and advance webmasters.
How Inbound Marketing Works, From Start to Finish - Clever infographic explaining the inbound sales process visually. Need to print some of these poster size for the classroom.
Ecommerce Comes to Twitter - How-to article on getting started with Chirpify, the Twittter ecommerce platform.
Infographic: The most recent (and incredibly impressive) Facebook stats - Another fun infographic to gawk at. Don't forget to pin it on Pinterest.com
Tools of the Travelgeek: Voice and Data Devices - Really useful article for anyone travelling overseas, including on cruises. Describes what equipment to take and how to use it to avoid high data and roaming charges. I didn't know cruise ships charged $5/minute for cell calls. I feel better about my $0.30/minute pre-paid now.
Brailletouch app to bring eyes-free texting to iPhone and iPad - Very cool invention. Click through and check out this innovation.
Smartphone Users Say Web Access More Indispendable Than Texting - Did you know that most smartphone turn to laptops when they lose their phone's data connection? Good behavioral insight in this brief article.
Congrats, US Government: You're Scaring Web Businesses Into Moving Out Of The US - Diatribe with a tongue-in-cheek migration checklist for web based businesses. Read and ponder this.
The Post-Office Generation - Microsoft Office's growing irrelevance due to ubiquitous tablets, Dropbox, and cheapo editor apps.
Portfolio
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Monday, February 20, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: February 9, 2012
How To Build a Rockin’ LinkedIn Presence - Short 5-step tutorial from a Chief Branding Officer on how to set up a company page on LinkedIn. You do have a rockin' personal LinkedIn account already, don't you?
2012 Mobile Trends And What They Mean For Product Strategists - This is the kind of article I look for to keep myself employed and my employer "in business." Short, easy-to-read list of the key trends you and I should keep abreast of and implement.
iPad’s Momentum in Restaurants Grows with Buffalo Wild Wings Trial - This is what I'm talking about today. Customers use iPads to order and pass the time in a major chain restaurant. The snow ball is gaining speed and snow.
Staples leads the way with new tablet-optimized experience - Major retailer is among first to offer tCommerce (tablet commerce). Plan to show this site in my tablet classes today.
Is this the tipping point for mobile commerce? - Seems the logical follow on after the above mobile articles. Good summary of stats. Yeah, mobile commerce is at the tipping point and going over. BTW, I've registered for a free 1-hour webinar on mobile commerce during the past holiday season. You might also.
The Rise Of Content Marketing [Infographic] - Content marketing is the production of content like videos, music and other content which is used to brand a product or build market share. The infographic gives a good summary of the state of this industry.
what is mLearning - Short animated video explaining mLearning in simple terms. This video actually stimulated some ideas on how to add audio to my mLearning project.
ADL Mobile Learning Newsletter - Weekly list of mLearning articles. Haven't had an opportunity to explore the links yet. If you find gold, please comment.
2012 Mobile Trends And What They Mean For Product Strategists - This is the kind of article I look for to keep myself employed and my employer "in business." Short, easy-to-read list of the key trends you and I should keep abreast of and implement.
iPad’s Momentum in Restaurants Grows with Buffalo Wild Wings Trial - This is what I'm talking about today. Customers use iPads to order and pass the time in a major chain restaurant. The snow ball is gaining speed and snow.
Staples leads the way with new tablet-optimized experience - Major retailer is among first to offer tCommerce (tablet commerce). Plan to show this site in my tablet classes today.
Is this the tipping point for mobile commerce? - Seems the logical follow on after the above mobile articles. Good summary of stats. Yeah, mobile commerce is at the tipping point and going over. BTW, I've registered for a free 1-hour webinar on mobile commerce during the past holiday season. You might also.
The Rise Of Content Marketing [Infographic] - Content marketing is the production of content like videos, music and other content which is used to brand a product or build market share. The infographic gives a good summary of the state of this industry.
what is mLearning - Short animated video explaining mLearning in simple terms. This video actually stimulated some ideas on how to add audio to my mLearning project.
ADL Mobile Learning Newsletter - Weekly list of mLearning articles. Haven't had an opportunity to explore the links yet. If you find gold, please comment.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 30, 2012
6 Tips for Improving Twitter Link Click Through Rate - I'm going to try the tip on placing links 25% 0of the way into a Tweet. Intrigued? Click and read!
The “Four Horsemen” of an SEO apocalypse in 2012 - The four are mobile devices, analytics, personalization & content. Click through to learn about their "apocalyptic" impact on SEO.
Google Analytics Tutorial: 8 Valuable Tips To Hustle With Data! - A well written tutorial on advanced tips using Google Analytics by the co-founder of Google.
Why are America’s fastest-growing companies killing their blogs? - I read it, but I just don't believe it yet. I may have to ponder this a bit and read it again later. You?
Everything You Thought You Knew About Learning Is Wrong - Mind blowing! Take notes after class, study all over the place, and don't focus on just one skill at a time.
Kendo UI Mobile (Beta) - Very cool tool to develop applications or web sites once for all the major mobile phone platforms. I'm gonna download this and play. This tool could open app development to the masses.
The “Four Horsemen” of an SEO apocalypse in 2012 - The four are mobile devices, analytics, personalization & content. Click through to learn about their "apocalyptic" impact on SEO.
Google Analytics Tutorial: 8 Valuable Tips To Hustle With Data! - A well written tutorial on advanced tips using Google Analytics by the co-founder of Google.
Why are America’s fastest-growing companies killing their blogs? - I read it, but I just don't believe it yet. I may have to ponder this a bit and read it again later. You?
Everything You Thought You Knew About Learning Is Wrong - Mind blowing! Take notes after class, study all over the place, and don't focus on just one skill at a time.
Kendo UI Mobile (Beta) - Very cool tool to develop applications or web sites once for all the major mobile phone platforms. I'm gonna download this and play. This tool could open app development to the masses.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 26, 2012
Online Marketing in Ecommerce 2012: Survey and Case Study Result -
E-retailers improve site navigation -
Too Much SEO Can Harm an Ecommerce Business -
5 Rockstar Landing Pages that Deserve a High-Five (or do they?) -
8 Crazy Things IBM Scientists Have Learned Studying Twitter -
50 new tech tools you should know about -
E-retailers improve site navigation -
Too Much SEO Can Harm an Ecommerce Business -
5 Rockstar Landing Pages that Deserve a High-Five (or do they?) -
8 Crazy Things IBM Scientists Have Learned Studying Twitter -
50 new tech tools you should know about -
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 24, 2012
McDonald's Twitter Campaign Goes Horribly Wrong - If you had access to a major Twitter hash tag, say #McDStories, would would you tweet with it? Read this article for some examples of a campaign gone bad.
In Social Business, Pay Sales Teams Less And Customer Service More - After the #McDStories post, this post using cows to relate 9 truths about customers seems apropos.
Infographics: Why They Fail For Link Building - Search Engine Land provides an interesting article with four things to avoid regarding those clever infographics.
Facebook Timeline and What Marketers Need to Know - Another good, clear tutorial on how to leverage Facebook's new timeline feature for marketing your product or service. Putting this on my to-do list. You?
The 3-D Printing Pirates Who Could Render SOPA Meaningless - 3-D printing is probably the most disruptive technology since the Internet. Never considered 3-D to be disruptive of laws. You need to follow 3-D.
How to Set Up Blog Comments as Goals in Google Analytics Using WordPress Hacks - Never thought about comments as goals, but here are step-by-step instructions on how to set it all up. Now a Twitter favorite.
Mobile payments and the demise of the cash register - Another disruptive technology coming to small businesses near you sooner than you think. Author says; "Ignore mobile commerce at your peril."
In Social Business, Pay Sales Teams Less And Customer Service More - After the #McDStories post, this post using cows to relate 9 truths about customers seems apropos.
Infographics: Why They Fail For Link Building - Search Engine Land provides an interesting article with four things to avoid regarding those clever infographics.
Facebook Timeline and What Marketers Need to Know - Another good, clear tutorial on how to leverage Facebook's new timeline feature for marketing your product or service. Putting this on my to-do list. You?
The 3-D Printing Pirates Who Could Render SOPA Meaningless - 3-D printing is probably the most disruptive technology since the Internet. Never considered 3-D to be disruptive of laws. You need to follow 3-D.
How to Set Up Blog Comments as Goals in Google Analytics Using WordPress Hacks - Never thought about comments as goals, but here are step-by-step instructions on how to set it all up. Now a Twitter favorite.
Mobile payments and the demise of the cash register - Another disruptive technology coming to small businesses near you sooner than you think. Author says; "Ignore mobile commerce at your peril."
Monday, January 23, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 23, 2012
Thou Shalt Covet What Thy Neighbor Covets - Its not Paco Underhill, but a Fast Company article on how we are influenced by others to buy stuff. It's always amazing to pause and ponder the economic impact of consumer "sheep following the herd".
Target Looking to Halt 'Showrooming' by Shoppers - Short 4 minute video on problem of "showrooming" and Target's response to develop exclusice products that can't be price compared via mobile phones and apps.
Innovative Ways to Leverage QR (Quick Response) Codes for Your Small Business - Blog post by ASBTDC center director Herb Lawrence. Herb is probably the best informed person in Arkansas on QR codes. Feel free to ask him a challenging question in his comments.
QR Codes – 21 Ways To Use Them To Build Your Business - A simple, easy to read list of 21 good ideas. You can likely skim this list in less than 30 seconds and come away with something new to try.
TrakQR.com - New start-up with a great public beta program: create up to 50 QR codes that you can re-purpose/redirect at anytime. TrakQR provides full analytics for each QR code. Currently free, so try them out!
Using 'Quick Views' to Increase Conversions - In today's onlin retail environment, you need every conversion you can get. Practical Ecommerce provides a detailed article with photos showing what to do.
How many of your 100K+ Twitter Followers are Real? - Short article on using SocialBro to segment your followers by when they last tweeted. Helps in spotting deadwood and Twitter bots.
12 Most Effective Ways To Generate Leads On LinkedIn - The site is 12most.com, so this is a "bait" article, but it does provide a good overview of where and how to use LinkedIn.
The 7 Don’ts of Mobile Marketing - If you really thought about it, these should be self-explanatory. That someone had to post these, indicates they're not self-evident. Read & head. Won't take long.
Tablet and E-book reader Ownership Nearly Double Over the Holiday Gift-Giving Period - Heard about this new Pew Internet report this morning while shaving. There are some other interesting trends in this research. Take 5-10 minutes and explore Pew's data. Seems if you didn't give or receive a tablet for Christmas, you didn't "covet what thy neighbor covets."
Seven Ways to Use the iPad for Workplace Learning - A repost of a February 2010 article. Amazing that these 7 uses are still applicable two years later in a rapidly evolving mobile device market.
Target Looking to Halt 'Showrooming' by Shoppers - Short 4 minute video on problem of "showrooming" and Target's response to develop exclusice products that can't be price compared via mobile phones and apps.
Innovative Ways to Leverage QR (Quick Response) Codes for Your Small Business - Blog post by ASBTDC center director Herb Lawrence. Herb is probably the best informed person in Arkansas on QR codes. Feel free to ask him a challenging question in his comments.
QR Codes – 21 Ways To Use Them To Build Your Business - A simple, easy to read list of 21 good ideas. You can likely skim this list in less than 30 seconds and come away with something new to try.
TrakQR.com - New start-up with a great public beta program: create up to 50 QR codes that you can re-purpose/redirect at anytime. TrakQR provides full analytics for each QR code. Currently free, so try them out!
Using 'Quick Views' to Increase Conversions - In today's onlin retail environment, you need every conversion you can get. Practical Ecommerce provides a detailed article with photos showing what to do.
How many of your 100K+ Twitter Followers are Real? - Short article on using SocialBro to segment your followers by when they last tweeted. Helps in spotting deadwood and Twitter bots.
12 Most Effective Ways To Generate Leads On LinkedIn - The site is 12most.com, so this is a "bait" article, but it does provide a good overview of where and how to use LinkedIn.
The 7 Don’ts of Mobile Marketing - If you really thought about it, these should be self-explanatory. That someone had to post these, indicates they're not self-evident. Read & head. Won't take long.
Tablet and E-book reader Ownership Nearly Double Over the Holiday Gift-Giving Period - Heard about this new Pew Internet report this morning while shaving. There are some other interesting trends in this research. Take 5-10 minutes and explore Pew's data. Seems if you didn't give or receive a tablet for Christmas, you didn't "covet what thy neighbor covets."
Seven Ways to Use the iPad for Workplace Learning - A repost of a February 2010 article. Amazing that these 7 uses are still applicable two years later in a rapidly evolving mobile device market.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 20, 2012
Optimizing a Page for Search Engines, Part 1: Keyword Research -
Optimizing a Page for Search Engines, Part 2: Keyword Mapping -
10 Types of Updates to Power Your Social Media Presence -
10 clues someone isn’t really a social media expert -
Heineken uses QR codes to build community -
Business Apps for Tablets on the Rise: 2020 Workplace Prediction Comes True Sooner Than Expected. Are You Ready? -
How Anonymous Is Tricking The Public Into Helping Them Take On The Feds -
Why SOPA Won't Work: We Are All Pirates, Copyright Holders Included -
15 best practices for virtual learning success -
Optimizing a Page for Search Engines, Part 2: Keyword Mapping -
10 Types of Updates to Power Your Social Media Presence -
10 clues someone isn’t really a social media expert -
Heineken uses QR codes to build community -
Business Apps for Tablets on the Rise: 2020 Workplace Prediction Comes True Sooner Than Expected. Are You Ready? -
How Anonymous Is Tricking The Public Into Helping Them Take On The Feds -
Why SOPA Won't Work: We Are All Pirates, Copyright Holders Included -
15 best practices for virtual learning success -
Friday, January 13, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 13, 2012
5 things your social media strategy can't live without - Short bog post on the five sections of a social media strategic plan. After you getr started with social media, these five become evident, but likely not articulated as well as in this post.
23+ Essential Facebook Page Applications to Improve Fans Engagement in 2012 - You could likely use some of these tools to implement your new social media strategy that you updated after reading the first link. Remember: simplicity carried to extreme is elegance. More is just more.
View Source from Safari on iPad - cool trick to add "View Source" functionality to iPad's Safari browser. Basically, create a bookmark and copy the Javascript from the linked page into the bookmark's URL. Clever. Page includes a link to the script needed to do the same for an iPhone.
How to Build a Traffic-siphoning Marketing Funnel - I teach small businesses about sales funnels as part of SEO workshops. Always amazed how many people find sales funnels a new concept. This how-to article lays out the how's and why's of sales funnels.
Mais Non! France's "Free" Cell Phone Service Will (Likely) Never Work In The U.S. - OK, this has no direct value for you, but you should still read this to expand your knowledge of what's going on in other parts of the world. Some pretty cool technology being used as infrastructure. I envision small American towns in rural areas building out small scale versions of the Free.FR model.
23+ Essential Facebook Page Applications to Improve Fans Engagement in 2012 - You could likely use some of these tools to implement your new social media strategy that you updated after reading the first link. Remember: simplicity carried to extreme is elegance. More is just more.
View Source from Safari on iPad - cool trick to add "View Source" functionality to iPad's Safari browser. Basically, create a bookmark and copy the Javascript from the linked page into the bookmark's URL. Clever. Page includes a link to the script needed to do the same for an iPhone.
How to Build a Traffic-siphoning Marketing Funnel - I teach small businesses about sales funnels as part of SEO workshops. Always amazed how many people find sales funnels a new concept. This how-to article lays out the how's and why's of sales funnels.
Mais Non! France's "Free" Cell Phone Service Will (Likely) Never Work In The U.S. - OK, this has no direct value for you, but you should still read this to expand your knowledge of what's going on in other parts of the world. Some pretty cool technology being used as infrastructure. I envision small American towns in rural areas building out small scale versions of the Free.FR model.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 11, 2012
Obama Administration Reportedly Plans to Create Internet ID for All Americans - Just because the President says a federal agency's developing a national Internet ID is not a national ID nor government-controlled system, doesn't make it so. I don't expect this to get any traction outside the current administration's small span of control. You do need to read this and watch for future announcements.
How to Make Great Connections on LinkedIn - Inc magazine posted some good tips on building really useful connections on LinkedIn. Three tips plus an introduction on engagement.
Social sharing buttons improve email click-through rates by 115% - Blog post with a colorful easy-to-read infographic. Bottom line - include social media sharing buttons in your email newsletters 'cause your readers will click on them.
5 Social Media Tricks You Need to Use - Really like these five tips as I've never read them before. "Tweet the Tweeter" is my favorite and I'll start using that tip this evening.
What Your Eyes Say About Who You Are - Fascinating Time article on research done on eye movements while reading web pages. The article includes information on which types of ads and where disrupt reading. The final paragraphs describing applying heat maps to a surgical training video was mind blowing. This research has the potential to radically change how training videos are edited for almost all occupations and tasks.
12 Predictions for the Mobile Landscape in 2012 - Don't know about the prediction of companies having their own app stores (maybe Walmart or McDonalds), but I can see mobile phones as research tools and gamification of learning. Bad news if you're invested in stand alone cameras, GPS, Flash and unlimited data plans.
Socializing Mobile Learning in the Enterprise - Five strategic tips on getting mobile learning started. Summary: partner with someone to create a small project that does something useful, even if it may result in negative feedback.
How to Make Great Connections on LinkedIn - Inc magazine posted some good tips on building really useful connections on LinkedIn. Three tips plus an introduction on engagement.
Social sharing buttons improve email click-through rates by 115% - Blog post with a colorful easy-to-read infographic. Bottom line - include social media sharing buttons in your email newsletters 'cause your readers will click on them.
5 Social Media Tricks You Need to Use - Really like these five tips as I've never read them before. "Tweet the Tweeter" is my favorite and I'll start using that tip this evening.
What Your Eyes Say About Who You Are - Fascinating Time article on research done on eye movements while reading web pages. The article includes information on which types of ads and where disrupt reading. The final paragraphs describing applying heat maps to a surgical training video was mind blowing. This research has the potential to radically change how training videos are edited for almost all occupations and tasks.
12 Predictions for the Mobile Landscape in 2012 - Don't know about the prediction of companies having their own app stores (maybe Walmart or McDonalds), but I can see mobile phones as research tools and gamification of learning. Bad news if you're invested in stand alone cameras, GPS, Flash and unlimited data plans.
Socializing Mobile Learning in the Enterprise - Five strategic tips on getting mobile learning started. Summary: partner with someone to create a small project that does something useful, even if it may result in negative feedback.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 10, 2012
iPhone app uses QR codes to track employee hours - So any employees are going to hate the folks that invented this system. I see spin offs for tracking K12 students and college attendance. Perhaps event event or exposition admittance.
Blum's Picks From CES: 3 Good Gadgets - Minority Report touchscreens, a radical looking smart office phone, and a waterproof smart phone. The smart phone will sell like hotcakes, geeks will also pick up a Minority Report-like touchscreen. I doubt I ever see the smart office phone in use.
CES 2012: Sculpteo Introduces iOS App, 3D Cloud Print Engine - What if you could take a picture of a part and send it to a nearby 3D printer? This could be a game changer and hasten the demise of small plastic manufacturing. Click through for some coll images and a mind bending article.
SURVEY: 49% of LinkedIn Users Have Household Income Over $100K - That's just one of the statistics found in this article. Click through for many other Linked In stats.
Why FourSquare Will Never Be Admissible in Court - Basically, since one doesn't physicaly have to be inside a location to check in and can game the system, then FourSquare is neither alibi nor proof.
Frequency Makes Any Website a Video Channel - Interesting web app to stream the other 51% of video not found on YouTube.
Tablet Learning – Neither Mobile Learning Nor eLearning - Very short article differentiating between eLearning, mobile learning and tablet learning. I don't see any difference between tablet and phone devices except screen size. If you have good instructional design and build from mobile device to web device, there so be no gotcha's.
The ROI of online training: How organisations are moving online - Ad on a UK website with link to Goto Training whitepaper offer.
Blum's Picks From CES: 3 Good Gadgets - Minority Report touchscreens, a radical looking smart office phone, and a waterproof smart phone. The smart phone will sell like hotcakes, geeks will also pick up a Minority Report-like touchscreen. I doubt I ever see the smart office phone in use.
CES 2012: Sculpteo Introduces iOS App, 3D Cloud Print Engine - What if you could take a picture of a part and send it to a nearby 3D printer? This could be a game changer and hasten the demise of small plastic manufacturing. Click through for some coll images and a mind bending article.
SURVEY: 49% of LinkedIn Users Have Household Income Over $100K - That's just one of the statistics found in this article. Click through for many other Linked In stats.
Why FourSquare Will Never Be Admissible in Court - Basically, since one doesn't physicaly have to be inside a location to check in and can game the system, then FourSquare is neither alibi nor proof.
Frequency Makes Any Website a Video Channel - Interesting web app to stream the other 51% of video not found on YouTube.
Tablet Learning – Neither Mobile Learning Nor eLearning - Very short article differentiating between eLearning, mobile learning and tablet learning. I don't see any difference between tablet and phone devices except screen size. If you have good instructional design and build from mobile device to web device, there so be no gotcha's.
The ROI of online training: How organisations are moving online - Ad on a UK website with link to Goto Training whitepaper offer.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 9, 2012
Half of adult cell phone owners have apps on their phones: Part IV. What types of apps are adults downloading? - Figure 10 from a Pew research report showing the nine categories of apps sorted from highest use to lowest. Most used: news and sports updates. Least used: health.
U R What U Tweet: 5 Steps To A Better Personal Brand - Fast Company article with five general steps to improve your personal brand. First step is have a good personal homepage, which most social media users lack. Click through for the next four steps.
Google+ Adds Multiple Administrator Capability - Really important information for those setting up new Google+ business pages. Always a good idea to have 2 or more administrators for critical infrastructure. Practical eCommerce provides step-by-step instructions.
USB 3.0 Is Coming to Smartphones and Tablets - Why is this important? How about increasing download speeds by 15:2 and also increasing the recharge rate. Watch for microUSB ports on new devices later in 2012.
China’s ‘cyberarmy’ could number half billion - Here's a scary thought: "... every Chinese is a potential cyberwarrior ..." How well do you think your business, state, or country would fare against 500 million simulateous hackers? My thoughts exactly.
Mega Collection Of Cheatsheets for Designers and Developers - Probably the greatest collection of cheatsheets. Has printable cheatsheets for everything from simple HTML and CSS to operating systems to programming languages. I'd book mark this page at a minimum.
Hacking Siri for Learning - A request for examples of using Siri for learning. The article does mention one cool Siri hack involving controlling a home thermostat. Can't wait to see what the Army of Davids comes up with as more and more folks push Siri's software. Its only a matter of time.
U R What U Tweet: 5 Steps To A Better Personal Brand - Fast Company article with five general steps to improve your personal brand. First step is have a good personal homepage, which most social media users lack. Click through for the next four steps.
Google+ Adds Multiple Administrator Capability - Really important information for those setting up new Google+ business pages. Always a good idea to have 2 or more administrators for critical infrastructure. Practical eCommerce provides step-by-step instructions.
USB 3.0 Is Coming to Smartphones and Tablets - Why is this important? How about increasing download speeds by 15:2 and also increasing the recharge rate. Watch for microUSB ports on new devices later in 2012.
China’s ‘cyberarmy’ could number half billion - Here's a scary thought: "... every Chinese is a potential cyberwarrior ..." How well do you think your business, state, or country would fare against 500 million simulateous hackers? My thoughts exactly.
Mega Collection Of Cheatsheets for Designers and Developers - Probably the greatest collection of cheatsheets. Has printable cheatsheets for everything from simple HTML and CSS to operating systems to programming languages. I'd book mark this page at a minimum.
Hacking Siri for Learning - A request for examples of using Siri for learning. The article does mention one cool Siri hack involving controlling a home thermostat. Can't wait to see what the Army of Davids comes up with as more and more folks push Siri's software. Its only a matter of time.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 6, 2012
25 Eye-Popping Internet Marketing Statistics for 2012 - All 25 are short sound bites you can use a meetings or re-tweet yourself. Half have to do with mobile in 2012.
12 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2012 - Summary of 12 fast breaking business trends you should be aware of. Take note of #5 Cash Less and #12 Point and Know. Also, you should be following @Trendwatching on Twitter if you don't already.
How To Install Facebooks Timeline - Blog post with embedded 8:23 minute video showing step-by-step how to switch the new Facebook time line into your Facebook account. Great for folks that prefer visual and audio instructions. The host is quite personable also!
4 Pillars Of LinkedIn Marketing For Businesses - The author not only gives you the four pillars but also provides 5-7 good solid instructions on how to build said pillars.
Launching a Mobile Marketing Campaign: Easier Than You Think - Short overview of the 4 key pieces of a mobile marketing campaign. Developing an app (#4) is currently optional for most small businesses, unless you have a killer app that does something value added (restaurant menu, medical appointment maker, etc.)
5 lessons to apply when launching a mobile site or campaign - Quick overview of 5 reasons why mobile marketing is tough which basically all boil down to: No Buck Rogers, No bucks.
An Excellent eBook Full of Mobile Learning Activities - Blog post with a downloadable ebook described as "...great free ebook that anyone interested in using mobile devices as instructional tools should read..." The book is well written with more photos than text. While the book depicts and describes K12 activities, much of this is applicable to adult learners. I'm halfway tempted to develop a similar guide featuring adults in the workplace.
Is Mobile Learning Smarter Learning? Using Mobile Devices for Multisensory Learning and Assessment - Geeky article and 1:23 minute video for instructional designers.
Free Sites for Making Money Online - This is old news for me, but one of you might could use the info in this economy.
12 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2012 - Summary of 12 fast breaking business trends you should be aware of. Take note of #5 Cash Less and #12 Point and Know. Also, you should be following @Trendwatching on Twitter if you don't already.
How To Install Facebooks Timeline - Blog post with embedded 8:23 minute video showing step-by-step how to switch the new Facebook time line into your Facebook account. Great for folks that prefer visual and audio instructions. The host is quite personable also!
4 Pillars Of LinkedIn Marketing For Businesses - The author not only gives you the four pillars but also provides 5-7 good solid instructions on how to build said pillars.
Launching a Mobile Marketing Campaign: Easier Than You Think - Short overview of the 4 key pieces of a mobile marketing campaign. Developing an app (#4) is currently optional for most small businesses, unless you have a killer app that does something value added (restaurant menu, medical appointment maker, etc.)
5 lessons to apply when launching a mobile site or campaign - Quick overview of 5 reasons why mobile marketing is tough which basically all boil down to: No Buck Rogers, No bucks.
An Excellent eBook Full of Mobile Learning Activities - Blog post with a downloadable ebook described as "...great free ebook that anyone interested in using mobile devices as instructional tools should read..." The book is well written with more photos than text. While the book depicts and describes K12 activities, much of this is applicable to adult learners. I'm halfway tempted to develop a similar guide featuring adults in the workplace.
Is Mobile Learning Smarter Learning? Using Mobile Devices for Multisensory Learning and Assessment - Geeky article and 1:23 minute video for instructional designers.
Free Sites for Making Money Online - This is old news for me, but one of you might could use the info in this economy.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 5, 2012
Using Social Buttons to Enhance Search Engine Optimization - Good article from Practical eCommerce with advice on where to position the "Big 3" social media buttons for maximum optimization and conversions.
How to Create a Customer Focus Group Using Google+ - Yes! Because of the nature of Google+ circles, you could run an online focus group. Gotta love crowdsourced ideas. Way ta' think crowd!
6 Mobile Website Design Hints for an Optimized User Experience - We concur with Garth's six hints. How did we miss the obvious? Yes, the mobile homepage needs a conversion! (slaps forehead...)
Why Twitter’s “verified account” failure matters - Don't know how I missed this in the twittersphere. Article is a good case study explaining how Twitter verified accounts work (or didn't work).
20 Must-Do Business Boosters for 2012 - OK, the list is not technology heavy, but any business doing all 20 will have a much better year. Glad to see #20 made the cut.
7 Things Highly Productive People Do - So, if I'm already doing all 7, why don't I feel highly productive? I probably need to work on #4 as I tend to ignore email more than the recommended schedule.
How to Create a Customer Focus Group Using Google+ - Yes! Because of the nature of Google+ circles, you could run an online focus group. Gotta love crowdsourced ideas. Way ta' think crowd!
6 Mobile Website Design Hints for an Optimized User Experience - We concur with Garth's six hints. How did we miss the obvious? Yes, the mobile homepage needs a conversion! (slaps forehead...)
Why Twitter’s “verified account” failure matters - Don't know how I missed this in the twittersphere. Article is a good case study explaining how Twitter verified accounts work (or didn't work).
20 Must-Do Business Boosters for 2012 - OK, the list is not technology heavy, but any business doing all 20 will have a much better year. Glad to see #20 made the cut.
7 Things Highly Productive People Do - So, if I'm already doing all 7, why don't I feel highly productive? I probably need to work on #4 as I tend to ignore email more than the recommended schedule.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 4, 2012
What Job Seekers Need to Know in Today’s Digital Market - Well written piece on the increasing importance of social media when seeking employment and employees. Pay attention to the paragrapgh below the "Your Social Media Profiles Are as Important as Your Resume (If Not More Important)" subheading as it tells you where and what you need to do.
10 Predictions for Work and Economics in 2012 - You only need to know is this one: "...ever more people will enter the mall with a SmartPhone, browse, feel the fabric and so on, scan desired items into their phone, find the cheapest price on the Net, and, in one click, have it delivered to their home."
Photos Are The New Killer App - That's been my experience recently as I snap photos of recipes, future gifts, and steps in using office equipment with my smartphone. Gist of the short article: if you want to make money developing a killer app, something adding value using photos is the direction to go.
How To Repair Virus-Infected PC When Windows Fails To Boot Up [Guide] - Good illustreated web-based guide on using non-Windows operating systems to boot up and recover your PC. Ubuntu and SARDU featured.
The Year in Education: Seven Innovations Changing the Way the World Learns - OK, its not directly related to small business or technology, but you need to know what happening in how people are learning things. Click "next" in the upper right corner of each image to advance the slide show. I liked 7/9 on learning creativity.
5 Ways to Use Google+ to Improve Your Search Engine Optimization - High quality online guide on how to tweak your Google+ pages boost your websites search ranking. You are free to ignore and not actually implement any of these. Remember - survival is not mandatory.
Mobile Payments and Commerce Set For Breakthrough - Short easy-to-read summary of marketing data on mobile payments and m-commerce. You don't have to be an expert, but you should have a idea of what's happening in this area.
Top 20 Mobile Productivity Apps of 2011 - List of 10 top apps for each Android and iOS devices.
Google’s Android Training Initiative – Will it boost mLearning? - Short overview of Google's new Android classes to help developers build better Android apps using best practices. Includes a link to the Android Training Initiative site.
10 Predictions for Work and Economics in 2012 - You only need to know is this one: "...ever more people will enter the mall with a SmartPhone, browse, feel the fabric and so on, scan desired items into their phone, find the cheapest price on the Net, and, in one click, have it delivered to their home."
Photos Are The New Killer App - That's been my experience recently as I snap photos of recipes, future gifts, and steps in using office equipment with my smartphone. Gist of the short article: if you want to make money developing a killer app, something adding value using photos is the direction to go.
How To Repair Virus-Infected PC When Windows Fails To Boot Up [Guide] - Good illustreated web-based guide on using non-Windows operating systems to boot up and recover your PC. Ubuntu and SARDU featured.
The Year in Education: Seven Innovations Changing the Way the World Learns - OK, its not directly related to small business or technology, but you need to know what happening in how people are learning things. Click "next" in the upper right corner of each image to advance the slide show. I liked 7/9 on learning creativity.
5 Ways to Use Google+ to Improve Your Search Engine Optimization - High quality online guide on how to tweak your Google+ pages boost your websites search ranking. You are free to ignore and not actually implement any of these. Remember - survival is not mandatory.
Mobile Payments and Commerce Set For Breakthrough - Short easy-to-read summary of marketing data on mobile payments and m-commerce. You don't have to be an expert, but you should have a idea of what's happening in this area.
Top 20 Mobile Productivity Apps of 2011 - List of 10 top apps for each Android and iOS devices.
Google’s Android Training Initiative – Will it boost mLearning? - Short overview of Google's new Android classes to help developers build better Android apps using best practices. Includes a link to the Android Training Initiative site.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: January 3, 2012
6 Ways To Dramatically Boost Your Landing Page Conversion Rate - The actual 6 Ways are in a free (no email address required) downloadable PDF. Well written guide that I would recommend professionally to clients. Download a copy now for yourself!
6 Tech Trends to Watch in 2012 - Want to know what technical "ships" are just offshore and about to land? This is the kind of article that makes me money and keeps me gainfully employed by telling me what I should be learning. Our favorite 2012 trend is #5 - Bring your own device (BYOD).
Drivers submit a photo, auto shops bid on their car repair - Really neat app that hopefully will lead to lower costs for repairs and eventually auto insurance. Hope this goes viral and has a national impact.
Free mobile internet in exchange for participation in local offers - This is clever. Who doesn't like free? Unfortunately there are no free lunches. Someone has to pay.
5 Steps To Measure The ROI Of Digital Media Channels - Fairly academic article describing the basic steps to aggregate your stats into a single system for analyzing ROI. Light on details and doesn't recommend the final single repository. Read for the underlying concept and not step-by-step instructions.
6 Tech Trends to Watch in 2012 - Want to know what technical "ships" are just offshore and about to land? This is the kind of article that makes me money and keeps me gainfully employed by telling me what I should be learning. Our favorite 2012 trend is #5 - Bring your own device (BYOD).
Drivers submit a photo, auto shops bid on their car repair - Really neat app that hopefully will lead to lower costs for repairs and eventually auto insurance. Hope this goes viral and has a national impact.
Free mobile internet in exchange for participation in local offers - This is clever. Who doesn't like free? Unfortunately there are no free lunches. Someone has to pay.
5 Steps To Measure The ROI Of Digital Media Channels - Fairly academic article describing the basic steps to aggregate your stats into a single system for analyzing ROI. Light on details and doesn't recommend the final single repository. Read for the underlying concept and not step-by-step instructions.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: December 30, 2011
5 Totally SWAG Social Media Predictions for 2012 - I think the first 4 of these predictions are spot on. We'll have to see if the demise of Klout occurs. We are also one of the early adopters that have disconnected our profile from Klout.
12 Sites for Ebook Publishing - This a short, but good review of places you can publish your PDFs and eBooks. While we knew of the top four, we had missed some other key distribution channels. Take a moment and see how many of the 12 you are familiar with yourself.
How to Use Content to Increase Your Sales - A seven-minute video condensing a successful content strategy used by Marcus Sheridan of The Sales Lion. The best takeway is likely to "blog about the problems customers have with what you sell."
GutCheckit Levels Market Research Playing Field for Small Businesses - New cloud service offers small businesses ability to interview potential product buyers and services users for $40 per interview. The first clone to offer a similar service for $10 per interview will win this niche.
This Is Why Your Website Is Slow - Ghostery released its annual list of things that are currently bringing websites to a crawl. Likely nothing on this list is on your site unless you host at GoDaddy.com. In which case you might consider changing your analytics to Google Analytics.
How to interview a designer with the perfect design exercise - This is likely of more interest to me than you, but its always good to learn about solutions used by others.
In retail stores, research tool uses Kinect to track shoppers’ behavior - Very short 1:14 minute video showing a novel use for the Microsoft Kinect situational controller for xBox game sets. Spooky to imagine these systems everywhere one shops. Best demo music we've ever heard. The music also pauses when the customers pause. Did we mention is just a little over a minute?
How the Service Industry Can Use the Web For Leads and Sales - Much needed information on an often neglected web segment. Includes an embedded slide show at the bottom.
10 careers that will be hot in 2012 - No real surprises here, except discount stores will have an increasing need for managers. Who knew?
12 Sites for Ebook Publishing - This a short, but good review of places you can publish your PDFs and eBooks. While we knew of the top four, we had missed some other key distribution channels. Take a moment and see how many of the 12 you are familiar with yourself.
How to Use Content to Increase Your Sales - A seven-minute video condensing a successful content strategy used by Marcus Sheridan of The Sales Lion. The best takeway is likely to "blog about the problems customers have with what you sell."
GutCheckit Levels Market Research Playing Field for Small Businesses - New cloud service offers small businesses ability to interview potential product buyers and services users for $40 per interview. The first clone to offer a similar service for $10 per interview will win this niche.
This Is Why Your Website Is Slow - Ghostery released its annual list of things that are currently bringing websites to a crawl. Likely nothing on this list is on your site unless you host at GoDaddy.com. In which case you might consider changing your analytics to Google Analytics.
How to interview a designer with the perfect design exercise - This is likely of more interest to me than you, but its always good to learn about solutions used by others.
In retail stores, research tool uses Kinect to track shoppers’ behavior - Very short 1:14 minute video showing a novel use for the Microsoft Kinect situational controller for xBox game sets. Spooky to imagine these systems everywhere one shops. Best demo music we've ever heard. The music also pauses when the customers pause. Did we mention is just a little over a minute?
How the Service Industry Can Use the Web For Leads and Sales - Much needed information on an often neglected web segment. Includes an embedded slide show at the bottom.
10 careers that will be hot in 2012 - No real surprises here, except discount stores will have an increasing need for managers. Who knew?
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: December 20, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Need to Know - Small Business Technology: December 13, 2011
- Five Steps To Capturing Mobile Customers In 2012 | http://searchengineland.com/five-steps-to-capturing-mobile-customers-in-2012-104138 via @sengineland
- iPad emulator - see what your website looks like to iPad users. | ipadpeek.com
- Study shows email open rates via mobile increased 34% in 6 months; iPad by 73% - bit.ly/tG7EYX via @mobilemktrdaily #mobilemarketing
- Improve Your Site’s iPad Usability in 1 Simple Step bit.ly/tqgKrT
- 30 Brilliant Social Media Marketing Tips from 2011. (via @HubSpot) #Marketing | ow.ly/7WTNq
Friday, April 23, 2010
Facebook Social Plugins - Part 1
Well, that didn't take long. Facebook launches a new set of Social plugins and before the sun sets a local news crew is on campus intererviewing people. Seems there are some concerns regarding the new tools and personal privacy. Somehow the news crew ended up in our hallway and interviewing a co-worker. Unfortunately, my neighbor down the hall is finishing up a masters degree and couldn't be in the studio at 7 p.m. due to a final night class. Everyone else is camera shy and soon the solution to the conundrum is Timothy. So, Timothy grabs the blue blazer and universal tie that hangs ready behind the door and heads downtown for a live interview on Facebook social plugins. Click on the screen capture to watch the short video segment at KARK.
This morning finds us the recipient of accolades from admiring staff. Their way of saying; "Thank you for taking a virtual bullet for the team." So, having talked about it, we now have to act on it, instead of waiting and benefiting from others' trials and sage advice. So, bookmark my blog and come back next week when I'll offer Facebook Social Plugins - Part 2 on how to add the more useful social plugins to your website.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Social Media Success in 3 Minutes
A focal point of my work in 2010 is helping small businesses adopt and implement social media. Here's a very short introduction to the power of social media and some easy to remember lessons.
So without further ado, I introduce to you the story of Mister Splashy Pants...
The above video is from TED. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.
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