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New Media Reasons to be Cheerful - November ‘07
2007-11-30 15:20:00
Right now there’s so many exciting developments in new media, marketing and on the Internet in general, that its becoming quite a task to decide which makes me the most cheerful. November saw Google announce Open Social and Facebook enter the Internet advertising market with SocialAds, the XO was launched as was Kindle which lead me discover my first reason: Askville by Amazon is a neat application, you can ask the community any question about any topic and with any luck the community comes up with satisfactory answers. I always have questions so I expect I’ll be using it a lot. Docstoc - has a wide range of business templates and documents available to share. There’s some debate about the quality of some of the documents therein but the concept is great especially for small businesses. Zoho - I Stumbled upon this on-line solution aimed at providing everything from word processing and spreadsheets to CRM and project management. Kijiji- I like Craigslist and use ...
More About: Media , Reasons , New Media

Effective Blog Uses
2007-11-28 15:16:00
Julie Anderson, VP of Marketing at PeopleMaps was kind enough to share their experiences with corporate blogging on our Facebook discussion forum. PeopleMaps puts blog technology to good use for different purposes in their organisation: “PeopleMaps has been blogging for a while - and we do it in a few different ways: We use our main company blog as our news channel out to all our audiences. We ask new customers to subscribe to email updates to be sure they’re kept up to date with our activities. We don’t blog all the time on this channel - people are too busy to read our news every day! We use 2 other blogs to speak to two separate audiences - our consumer audience and our corporate audience. This allows us to be specific in our topics - and builds up our traffic independently from our website SEO and online advertising activities. Internally we blog to keep various other groups informed of our activities - e.g. our shareholders. These blogs are private as we don&...
More About: Blog , Effective

Track Traffic with Google Analytics
2007-11-27 15:09:00
Do you know how many visitors your site gets, how long they stay, where they come and how often they come back? These are vital statistics used to track Internet marketing efforts and in monitoring the effectiveness of your website investment. Fortunately our friends over at Google have just the solution. Google anaylitics is a free web site traffic analysis tool that tracks traffic to your website. It works by having you enter some code on your website so that its engine knows to track your site. Using Google is a great way to understand your on-line community: how they find you; how they navigate your site and how they become customers. Website owners can monitor and improve web site results by honing in on their specific community. The service includes a dashboard containing vital visitors stats and the ability to drill down on these to find out more; score cards to assess traffic; conversion rate tracking analysis for keywords targeted; targeting by region (for example); t...
More About: Traffic , Google Analytics , Analytics , Track

Facebook Page Setup
2007-11-26 23:18:00
Following the launch of our Out-Smarts Facebook page last week, I was asked by Christine at Bluelime Media to write a blog post for their blog about setting up a Facebook business page. For step by step directions on how to do so you can read the post by clicking here.
More About: Page , Setup

Internet Advertising - Google Versus Facebook
2007-11-23 20:31:00
I’ve been using Google Adwords for a while now for targeted online promotion of my business and so far so good, I’ve been relatively happy with the results. What I like best about AdWords is the fact that you can get going and test the waters really easily. For as little as $5 per month you can get started with campaigns and tweak to see what works and what doesn’t before expanding your promotions. Enter Facebook and their business pages. Business pages are great - a free way to raise brand awareness amongst your network and their friends. However, their advertising component whilst being attractive (you can reach out and promote to a highly targeted demographic including age, location, sex, keywords, education, workplace, views and relationship status) isn’t great for those who want to test the waters. Unlike Google, Social Ads have a minimum daily investment of $5 for advertising. Really what you are paying for here is the targeting capabilities and t...
More About: Internet , Advertising , Versus

XO - Learning in the Third World
2007-11-21 20:49:00
Yesterday I blogged about the new Kindle but I am much more excited about the XO. This laptop project has been in development for years and is aimed at empowering children in the third world to learn by providing them with access to low cost computers that are child friendly. With that in mind the laptop has been designed to be rugged, easy to use, to view, has great power efficiency and it uses free open source software thats helps keep the costs low. The aim of the project is to provide an XO to as many kids around the world as possible to make it easier for them to learn. Right now if you give a donation of a laptop another will be shipped to you. Its a great cause (the donation can be written off) but the promotion is only on until 26th November and the response has been overwhelming so get cracking.
More About: World , Learning , Third World , Earning , Third

Facebook Pages
2007-11-20 21:25:00
Out-Smarts has a business profile in Facebook and within a day of creating our page we have 7 fans! We’re testing the waters to see how we can use this profile to share our knowledge and expertise; to collaborate with interested parties and to assess if Social Ads is a viable Internet advertising tool. Become a fan and check up on our progress or submit to our discussions - the current one being innovative corporate blog uses.
More About: Pages , Ages

Kindle your Reading
2007-11-20 20:14:00
Splashed across the front of today’s Vancouver Sun is the so called “future of books” - the Amazon Kindle : an electronic reading device that allows readers to enjoy up to 200 books at once. Retailing at $399 the Kindle also supports blogs, magazines and newspapers allowing the busy exec to access some good reading whenever the chance pops up. Using a model similar to Apple’s iPod and iTunes, users simply connect to Amazon from wherever they may be (using advanced cellphone modem technology built in to the Kindle) and buy books or subscribe to dailies and mags. Amazon keeps a back up so you don’t have to worry if your Kindle is stolen and connection fees are built in to the price of the content you buy so your cell phone provider needn’t even know. According to the promotional video the battery lasts for hours and the screen is easy to view (its monotone granted, but it does look quite simple and the font size is changeable). The Kindle concept ...
More About: Reading

Top Marketing Blogs
2007-11-19 18:03:00
Looking for some good marketing reading to get you off to an easy start on a Monday morning? Then check out the Top Marketing Blogs to Watch in 2008 on Evan Carmichael’s blog. Watch for Out-Smarts on next years list!

New Media Adoption in the Finance Sector
2007-11-16 15:37:00
When I meet with executives in the finance sector and talk about new media adoption I usually get the response that investors are typically old school and like to do business the “traditional” way. I always have to ask about the next generation of investors - those for whom new media adoption is the norm: have these financial organisations considered how they will attract these new investors in the future without using new media? Steadyhand, a local financial organisation that provides mutual funds does just that. It bucks the trend both in terms of the mutual funds services it provides and its approach to new media adoption which is leading edge to say the least. The company has adopted a blogging policy that encourages all employees to contribute as well as Internet advertising and social marketing strategies that effectively reach and involve their target audience. Traditional finance companies should take note - this is the way of the future.
More About: Media , Finance , Adoption , New Media

The Correct Way to Pitch to Bloggers
2007-11-13 13:31:00
Guest writer Monica Hamburg a local freelancer and humorist points out the correct way to pitch to bloggers: “Hi, can I speak with Mr. or Mrs. [insert surname here].” Sigh…. You know one thing for certain when you get these types of calls: the caller doesn’t know you from Adam. Sadly, pitches to bloggers often fall into the same category, with the sender failing to understand that generic, impersonal emails send precisely the same message as those dreaded telephone calls: we don’t know you, we don’t care who you are, just purchase our product/service and help us out. The single most important element in blogger relations is to know about the person you are pitching to. You should know why they would be interested in your request (e.g. promoting, reviewing, talking about your product or service etc.) and tailor your email accordingly. Generic solicitations not only beg to be deleted but further show your company in a negative light, indicating that you are too lazy...
More About: Bloggers , Pitch , Rect

SecondLife Tax Implications
2007-11-09 15:39:00
There’s an interesting article in this week’s Business in Vancouver about Second Life and its real life tax implications: “Taxing Events in your business Second Life”. Beware any foolhardy Second Life entrepreneur who thinks that making money in the virtual world is free: the tax man may be watching. The bottom line is that earnings your avatar makes are tax deductible just like earnings in the real world and should be recorded as such. (FYI the the Linden $ is currently trading at $.003 Canadian and holding its own better than the US dollar is these days!). The article suggests having 2 avatars - one for personal pleasure (whatever that maybe) and another if you intend to do business in SL.  By doing so you can easily track spending and income for tax purposes. Apparently there’s a whole person dedicated to helping companies maximise the value of their SL ventures over at PriceWaterhouseCooper’s downtown office. I have asked this question b...
More About: Secondlife , Implications

10 Sites To Submit Your Blog To
2007-11-07 15:51:00
Its all very well having a company blog and contributing to it regularly but you have to ask: are we doing everything we can to ensure that our intended audience can reach us? If you don’t submit your blog to relevant blog and search engines your efforts will be handicapped. Here’s a list of 10 sites that you should consider submitting to to promote your blog and reach more people (listed in no particular order). Technorati Ice Rocket iBlog Business Add-Me Sphere Blog Search Engine Google Blog Search Yahoo Feed Submit Blog Top List MSN
More About: Sites

Social Ads and Open Social: It Pays to Be Social
2007-11-06 13:36:00
This week the buzz in the social networking arena has surrounded Google’s Open Social announcement on Friday and the upcoming announcement expected from Facebook tomorrow. It seems that right now it pays to be social. Google’s entry into the social networking arena with OpenSocial was fanfared on Friday. OpenSocial is a collaboration between Google and major SN players like LinkedIn, MySpace and Ning to facilitate building social networking apps and to encourage third party participation. The idea is that through application standardisation the development of social networking applications and add-ins will be easier and a shared API will lead to ease of deployment across different SN applications. Facebook in turn is taking a run at Google on the Internet advertising front. With a big announcement expected from Facebook today rumours are circulating that the company intends to use data collected from user profiles to offer ads highly specific to interests and needs ...
More About: Pays , Open Social

FREE BLOG TRAFFIC
2007-11-03 16:45:00
Something on the light side for the weekend from a great cartoon strip about a 5 year old who uses voice recognition software to blog.
More About: Blog Traffic , Traffic , Free , Blog

Mobile Marketing Buzz
2007-11-02 15:44:00
Mobile marketing is the latest phenomenon changing the way marketers communicate with their target audience. Companies are using text messaging more and more to reinforce their brand and codes that can be read by cellphones are appearing on ads and bill boards to elicit response and promote offerings. At the SOHO trade show this week I had the good fortune to meet up with a local company called Quick Mobile whose focus is facilitating mobile marketing applications. Interest in their offering is growing at an average rate of 10% per day and they do all of the above. One great application that you can try yourself here in Vancouver is the Translink bus timetable service. If you’re waiting on the bus and want to know if its on its way simply text the number shown on the timetable at the bus stop and, Bob’s your uncle, you find out how long a wait you face.  Wicked! Watch out for more on mobile marketing in the coming weeks right here.
More About: Marketing , Mobile , Mobile Marketing , Buzz

New Media Reasons To Be Cheerful - October ‘07
2007-10-31 15:02:00
It has been a good month for discovering new ways to social network with 3 of this month’s reasons to be cheerful coming from that area. There’s lots of activity on that front as the on-line community continues to grow and evolve (see map below). Tazzu is a new social network I discovered this month. Its aimed at providing a forum for online business, technology and knowledge networking professionals to collaborate. Tazzu is developed locally. Ning - is a neat site that allows you to create your own social network. It would be a great way for a sports team for bookclub to share comments, photos and updates. FreeWeb - Interested in building your own web page that takes advantage of Web 2.0 technology? Then this is a great resource, add your own blog, chat and pictures. Keyword Density - how often does a key work appear on your pages? Find out. Map of online communities - a tongue in cheek map of the on-line world. November looks to be exciting with new discoveries in m...
More About: Media , Reasons , New Media , October

Companies Spending More on Web 2.0
2007-10-30 13:23:00
According to a Gartner report, corporate spending on Web 2.0 is set to increase. Companies are catching on to the benefits of Web 2.0 and these technologies are set to gain a bigger share of the corporate budget in coming months. Web 2.0 is the ineractive web. It gives companies the ability to go full circle in their on-line relationships with clients (it closes the feedback loop and turns it into a constant cycle of communication as well as an invaluable source of research). Web 2.0 also has applications within the organisation allowing widely dispersed teams (for example) to communicate more effectively and work better together thus positively impacting productivity rates. When it comes to Web 2.0, collaboration is key and any area of your business that will positively benefit from enhanced collaboration and communication could potentially benefit from implementing a Web 2.0 strategy.
More About: Spending

New Look For MySpace
2007-10-26 16:37:00
I’ve just been on MySpace for the first time in a while and they have a completely new look to their pages. All the rap they were getting about their cheese factor and the growth of Facebook has obviously been taken to heart.  The new look is much cleaner and the layout more contemprorary but the basic functionality remains the same.  For diehard MySpace fans, the old look hasn’t gone - its just been categorised as “Classic”.  It remains to be seen whether these changes will encourage users in business communities other than the entrenched music and youth market companies to join but I fear the service doesn’t have enough substance to warrant this.
More About: Myspace , New Look

Business Networking On The Internet Pays
2007-10-25 21:02:00
Almost daily people tell me they don’t see the point of blogging or that social networking is just for personal purposes. I say baloney! These are great tools to use to get your company’s name out there and publicise your expertise. Here’s just one example of why I trully believe that being active in the blogosphere and in social networks is a great tool for business development: I had an interesting experience this week when a company got in touch with me to find out more about Out-Smarts services. “Big deal” I hear you say, “people get in touch with companies all the time”. You’re right there but what is interesting about this is not the fact that they got in touch but how it transpired. They had been referred by a colleague who knew me through comments I had made on that company’s blog. I had never met this colleague before and the only previous contact I had had with that company is through a Facebook contact who wor...
More About: Business , Internet , Networking , The Internet , Pays

Threadless - Putting Web 2.0 to Good Use
2007-10-23 16:05:00
I was going to keep this one for our Reasons to be Cheerful post for October but its too good to wait. I am always looking for examples on the web of innovative companies that are using Web 2.0 and its collaborative capabilities in really innovative ways. I came across an example of a web site that really does this well called Threadless . This T shirt design company that truly engages clients online by: encouraging visitors to design their own T shirt or order from the catalogue of unique and popular shirts; promoting participation by using blog technology so that visitors can share tips on design, opinions on T shirts and other hot topics; hosting an ongoing competition that draws visitors back by having them vote on the best designs submitted this month - winners get a cash reward; building a loyal following that shares photos of T-shirts and wearers building loyalty; having users sign up as members of the “Street Team” and begin promoting the Threadless web site t...
More About: Putting , Good

Google AdWords - Which Edition?
2007-10-22 16:32:00
Its easy to get started with Google AdWords. For a small monthly fee your company could take advantage of the Google search engine to advertise to your targeted audience. Perhaps the only challenging part of the set up is deciding which flavour of Google AdWords is right for you: Starter or Standard Edition . Starter Edition - If you are an Internet advertising neophyte, Starter is the obvious choice and the one recommended by Google itself. It is aimed at companies with a single product line operating in a single geography. The service is simplified to let users easily set up a campaign and device appropriate keywords. Starter comes with analytics and reporting capabilities that are less complex: ideal for someone just getting up to speed. Standard Edition - is the full blown all you can eat AdWords suite. It is definetely for the more seasoned Internet advertising professional advertising multiple products across many regions. It brings advanced planning tools that lets you p...
More About: Google Adwords , Adwords

Blog Loyalty
2007-10-18 16:10:00
One of the biggest challenges for corporate bloggers is attracting visitors and getting them to come back. I found a blog post from Australia while on StumbleUpon today. The site I stumbled is dedicated to driving on-line loyalty through great content and it has some of that. But it was the name attracted me first: Skelliewag - its sounds mischeivous - I had to find out more.  I discovered a valuable resource for bloggers. A recent post talks about ways to turn new visitors to loyal readers. Tips include: Always welcome, thank and establish rapport with commenters; ask questions; stick to core topics and visit and comment in the blog of your commenters. There’s 14 more great tips in the post.
More About: Blog , Loyalty