Calibre Grand Tour

Cousin Philip shared with me today a great new tool for my library: Calibre! This software allows you to manage your e-books, no matter what their format. In fact, that's the real beauty of this library management application software - it actually allows you to convert e-books from one format to another. I can't wait to put it to use! Meanwhile, here's an introductory video that gives you the Calibre Grand Tour:


Read more!

Pocket

Read It Later has now become Pocket! That's good, because I never could get it to work properly on my iPhone. This video has a snappy tune and makes it all look so easy. I think I'll give it a try!


Read more!

NetVibes

Finishing up the course on Web Marketing, I'm re-reading the section on Social Media. There, the recommendation is to set up a "Social Media Desktop", to monitor information - about your business, your products, your competitors, or anything else. One of the technological tools mentioned was NetVibes. Let's see what it's all about:


Read more!

Trumpia

Mobile marketing is not the same as other forms of Web marketing. The challenges are MUCH bigger. This video shows how Trumpia is reaching out to online businesses with a simple appeal - they allow multiple marketing using multiple media & methods. Check it out:


Read more!

Historypin

Now I've seen everything - a site that makes it easy to add vintage photos to a Google map so that we can envision how the world looked back when. Historypin may be the answer for all those old family photos you've wondered what to do with! And what about genealogy - putting the family houses on a map will make the stories we've heard make more sense. I will DEFINITELY be exploring this site - how about you?


Read more!

How to Reddit

Many of the social media mechanisms are unfamiliar to most Web surfers. That's why it's so nice to come across an image such as this one. It gives a visual description of just what Reddit is, and how to use it. Check it out!


Read more!

Privatizing the Web

I've had an interesting experience with this next video. The talk by Eli Pariser at the 2011 TED Conference is certainly interesting in and of itself. However, the effort to include it in this blog has led me on an unexpected journey. I've discovered the coding used by this apparently-transparent Web site, which aims to be cutting-edge, has posed many problems for this ordinary human being. Most video platforms, such as YouTube or Vimeo (check out this review of free and premium video platforms) allow you to customize the size to fit your blog space. This TED video allows no such options. How ironic for a talk whose theme is how restrictive the Internet has become! Everywhere, unbeknownst to the viewer, are filter bubbles that surround our Web searches. Acting as "gatekeepers" that keep information out, they purport to customize our viewing according to our preferences. Instead, they have ended up "privatizing" us inside increasingly-restrictive environments, and leave us with little control. Anyway, here it is, an excellent introduction to the narrowing paths our widening search algorithms have stumbled upon... http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html
Read more!

LinkedIn

Here's the first in a series of six videos for new graduates on how to use LinkedIn to pursue their career goals finding a job. It must be pretty intimidating to be entering the job market in 2012, and I imagine that every tip, such as these videos, will help. Good luck!


Read more!

Tech Tools for Non-Profits

Here's a great idea: TechSoup provides free accounts for non-profits, which includes training videos and a learning center.



This webinar shows us how to integrate social media into a website. Watch out, though - it's 54 minutes long. BUT - well worth it...


Read more!

HootSuite

HootSuite takes social media marketing one step further - they allow clients to collect ALL their social media feeds in one location. The more I read about Web Marketing, and explore the options of social media, the more I realize that a tool such as this would be ideal. Why? One can be overwhelmed so easily! There's too much info to keep track of. SO - explore with me the advantages of a Social Media Management suite of tools.

Loading playlist …

Share

Plans cost $5.99/month, and a free plan is available. That sounds like the one for me...
Read more!

Cultural Conflicts

I recently wrote criticisms of the policies and practices of what I will from now on call the Unnamed Company. Within days, I discovered that two sites I had built on their platform had simply disappeared. No notice to me, no evidence of prior existence. Is this retribution? I don't know, but I will be more cautious. It's sad to have a trust level shattered...

More
Read more!

SlideShare

I've come across a new method (at least to me) of creating presentations: SlideShare. I found it on a British Web site: RBA Information Services. I'm looking for something to replace Slide.com - not sure if this will do it, or if it's just one more way to present information...

SlideShare 101

View more presentations from Amit Ranjan

Read more!

Dreamweaver Multiscreen Templates

At last - a template that is adjustable to various screens! I came across this video embedded in a tutorial by Chris Converse of Codify Design Studio. I am contemplating the redesign of an association website, and one of the main upgrades needed is to make the Web site viewable on all platforms. I will study this Dreamweaver template tutorial, and see if it works!

Called "Customizable starter design for multiscreen development", the tutorial can be found online here: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/dreamweaver/articles/dw-template-media-queries.html#articlecontentAdobe_numberedheader_1

Read more!

Spoke

Here's a new way to explore information about companies and people in the business world: Spoke. Here's how they describe themselves:

"Spoke is an online free content business database and the authoritative source for business information. Spoke aggregates business information automatically as well as allows industry experts or any knowledgeable people to share their business information on any type of business profiles, topics, companies or people. Industry or Business Information is atomic in nature, an address, a link, a name, and can be added to an industry profile in a matter of seconds. Each updates are then attributed to the knowledgeable person having made those additions enabling those contributors to gain recognition in their fields as well as providing the right level of transparency to the entire business community."

What is Spoke? from Spoke Software on Vimeo.

Read more!

Considerations

I am writing a report on my evaluation of blogging platforms, and I used the word "considerations". Wanting to be quite sure of what the word means, I looked it up in Google. For the first time, I noticed the odd inclusion of a definition at the top of the research results, a definition not documented, and not linked to any Web page. In other words, it was content inserted by Google into the search results page. As such, it was unexpected, and being undocumented, it became suspicious. Investigating further, I noticed the link called "More info". Following that link led me to a page of wonders - 6 definitions (from unspecified source), 5 more definitions under the header "Web sources", but again with no documentation of where they come from, and finally 20 examples of usage, with Web links to the source page. At the bottom of the page, hardly noticeable without close inspection, was this: "The usage examples, images and web definitions on this page were selected automatically by a computer program. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Google Inc. or its employees."

Well, it looks as if Google is off on another tangent. They have been an incredibly innovative company, providing product after service after service after product, for "free", that are just downright useful. But now they are beginning to skirt the edge of acceptability more and more. In this case, they have changed the apparent PURPOSE of the search engine, with no explanation or apparent fore-warning to their customers. They have used it to showcase THEIR product in with their algorithms. 

They have already done this before, with "sponsored" searches, and even more insidiously, by "privatizing" and "commercializing" their search engine. For instance, because I am using the Blogger software to write this blog posting,every search I do is tracked and recorded by Google - they have sent me to an "https" site, and they have added miles of tracking code to my search terms. Like this: "https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Tsa&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=consideration&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=0W1ST_qPOqev0AHSsPzeDQ&ved=0CDIQkQ4&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=537&ech=1&psi=0W1ST_qPOqev0AHSsPzeDQ.1330805578586.3&emsg=NCSR&noj=1&ei=0W1ST_qPOqev0AHSsPzeDQ". They have tricked us. 

Google's recent consolidation of 60+ privacy policies into 1, and the subsequent "sharing" of all the information ANY of these once-private-companies contained, was just the final nail on the coffin. They have been entombing us for years, and we were too eager to use their "free" products to question their motives. They have become an insidious company, no longer trust-worthy. And now we are each left on our own, to try to work our way out of this worm-hole.  

Well, there are some things you can do. To "clean up your act", follow these suggestions from the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/29/google-privacy-policy-changes_n_1310506.html

And then there's the arrogance of thumbing of their noses at the European Union's Justice Commission! See this quote from the IT Security and Network Security News on eWeek.com:

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Google's product policy privacy changes violated European data protection laws by failing to gain consumer consent.

The Financial Times ran a terrific editorial on Friday, 3/2/12, called "Privacy Property", in which they end with this quote:

The principle must be that data are the private property of the users they are obtained from, which they may share or sell but only in free informed transactions. A free
market is a good model for the internet – and markets only do their job if property rights are well-defined.

 The editors also maintain that "The Commission should move ahead on revised and harmonised privacy legislation with a robust right to be forgotten." Amen.

Read more!

Joomla!

Well, finally we come to Joomla! And, by Jove, I think I've found it - the blogging platform for my next endeavors. Why? Like Drupal, it is open source, free, and supported by a large community of developers. That means, there will always be someone to help, when the going gets tough. Also like Drupal, Joomla! has Content Management Software embedded into it. And, Joomla! has extensions for a mobile blog (http://www.ostraining.com/blog/joomla/mobile-joomla-tutorial/). One final thing: what I like most about Joomla! is the visual component: it is more attractive visually, and more intuitive to a designer's eye. Check this out:

Read more!

WordPress

I actually downloaded the WordPress module for a Yahoo! Small Business Website I have, and was rather disappointed with its performance. It just felt clunky. It was not nearly as intuitive as I expected it to be, and it didn't have the editing controls I was used to, and wanted available. I have to say, this was a big disappointment. Granted, this may not have been the best test of WordPress - maybe I should download and install the stand-alone software, which will give me much better hands-on control. However, the experience was just jarring enough to make me want to look further. That's why I've been checking out these other platforms...
Read more!

Drupal

Drupal is a blogging platform that is DEFINITELY over my head. And yet - it might have what I need to take my blogs to the next step. Here's a page that has lots of links for those of us who want to get started: http://drupal.org/start. But first, I have to ask, why would one want to use Drupal? Well, for starters, it's open source, its free, and it has a large community of supporters, much like Joomla! Here's the "elevator pitch" about Drupal, geared for the non-technical people: 

  Drupal is a free, community-built website development tool. It allows you to easily create, update and manage a website without requiring a lot of technical know-how. Drupal uses a point-and-click interface to let you add pages, menus, images and file uploads and it enforces security, so you can apply permissions to different kinds of users. As your website grows, it's easy to add custom features from the thousands of free modules you can download. Drupal is highly regarded as one of the best website frameworks available and is rapidly gaining adoption all over the globe.

(http://drupal.org/node/220314)

I think this is one platform I'll explore further!
Read more!

Posterous

Can you think of a more preposterous name than Posterous? Well, lo and behold, it is the name of a blogging platform, for the phone, no less. How pre-posterous! Check out this review: https://posterous.com/press/Posterous_App_Review_Guide.pdf. Naturally, I couldn't let it go at that. I had to look up the word: preposterous means "Contrary to reason or common sense; utterly absurd or ridiculous". So, that would make posterous mean...absolutely sensible, no? Alas, it doesn't have what I'm looking for, but it might be the right platform for you.

The find out more, check out the Helpdesk for Posterous Spaces
Read more!

Squarespace

With a surprising name for this blogging platform: Squarespace. And yet, maybe the name is a good indication of what it's all about: not fancy, but functional. This video, however, shows that it is far more than that - Squarespace has the snazziest set of design tools I've seen. For $12/month, $20/month, or $36/month, you can create a personal or business blog that will stand up to the best of Blogger, WordPress, or TypePad (3 of the most popular blog platforms).
In addition to state-of-the-art design tools, Squarespace offers something I haven't seen before: an Advanced Blog Importer. That's the conumdrum of these easy blogging platforms - what happens when you're ready to move on? For instance, how on earth do you move a dozen Blogger blogs? They download as RSS feeds, which is pretty useless for importing into one's own domain.

Touching all the bases, Squarespace also touts their ability to manage one's Social Media:

Mobile blogging? Square space has it: http://www.squarespace.com/iphone. Support? They have that too: http://help.squarespace.com/. So what's missing? Manual coding! It's as if they've taken all the ease and beauty of Adobe Dreamweaver and put it online, in a hosted package, with options for just about everyone. EXCEPT - for those of us who want to own the data, to house the Website, and control the details. So, I guess I'll pass this one up. But, it might be just right for you...
Read more!

Compendium

Here's a different sort of blogging platform: Compendium. They brand themselves as "The Business Blogging Software Platform", so naturally their focus is a little different. Their features include:

•  Moderation Workflow, 
• Customer Story Caption
• Content Generation Tools
• Social Media
• Category Optimization
• Search Engine Optimization,
• Technology.

Here's a handy link to articles on their Business Blogging Resources page. All in all, I'd say I would explore this option more, if I had a large company, and wanted to minimize the hazards of doing the Web work myself. However, it does bother me that no prices are listed...
Read more!

Penzu

I'm taking a look at the 20 Best Blog Blog Platforms, from New Movement Media, and this one is unfamiliar to me: Penzu. It looks like it is set up for private journaling, as opposed to public blogging. Check out this page called Penzu - Why Journal (http://Penzu.com/content/why). And, of course, check out this video!.

Penzu from Penzu Inc. on Vimeo.

The company has 3 videos, all of them short and sweet. Check out the others at: http://vimeo.com/user3215195
Read more!

Dreamweaver 5 and CMS

Here is an excellent video about using Dreamweaver 5 and a content management system such as are now available with Joomla!, Drupal, and WordPress blogging platforms. It's really an eye-opener, how well these systems can work together. I'm not quite ready to add another dimension to my web development skills by using CM software, but I am definitely exploring the options.


Read more!

Aggregating Feeds with Pipes

Once again, I feel as if I've jumped into the deep end of the pool, but with my eyes open. Somehow I ended up on a page talking about Pipes. From there I eventually landed on a quite interesting video showing how to aggregate feeds - using Yahoo Pipes. Don't worry, I have very little idea of what I'm talking about or where I'm headed with this, so I won't go too far down this road. However, it does appear to be a very cool idea! What I'm thinking is this: The website I'm working on gets updated once a month, and up to a half dozen pages get new content. It would be nice to have a feed that directly shows our members what content is new. This technique may fit the bill. I'll have to mull it over and explore further, but for now, I'm intrigued...


Read more!

Blogging Platforms

Week 8 of Foothill College's COIN 72 (Web Marketing) reaches the topic of my favorite pastime: blogging. And, just to show I'm not too old to learn new tricks, even as I approach another birthday - I spent several hours this morning exploring other blogging platforms. This blog, and all my other blogs, is hosted by blogger.com, which is now owned by Google. Our textbook mentions several other platforms such as TypePad, MoveableType, WordPress, Joomla!, and Drupal. Oddly enough, it seems as if Drupal is the one that has caught my eye. Why? It's one of the two platforms hosted by my server (IX Web Hosting), and it allows for multiple blogs (compared with Joomla!). Jumping off into the deep end this morning, I spent 30 minutes watching this quite fascinating video created by Robert J. Safuto of Awakened Voice. I must admit, it's a bit over my head for now, but what it shows me is that this is a blogging platform that gives the author a LOT of advantages! You can slice and dice your content in many different ways, and there seems to be a large community of practitioners who are waiting to help. So, check out this hardly-for-beginners explanation of Drupal's Content Construction Kit and Views. Again, over my head, but like the carrot on the stick, it points me/us? in the right direction. So, here goes:



To learn more about installing Drupal 7.1, read Safuto's guide, Builing Your Blog with Drupal 7 Version 1.
Read more!

Mobile Marketing

Oh no - I've seen the future! Mobile marketing is going to be BIG. What can a poor consumer do? Well, for starts, we can learn what's coming at us down the pike. Here's a short video about Millennial Media company. It's first S.M.A.R.T. report (Scorecard for Mobile Advertising Reach and Targeting)was produced in March of 2009, and by August 2011 they had produced 49 more intelligence reports.



Millenial Media doesn't just study the trends of the industry - they are one of the prime movers. The February report from MobiThinking.com lists Millenial Media as second only to Google in the mobile media market. Here's a video ad by Patagonia, created with Millenial Media, just to give you an idea of what the new age has in store for us.


Read more!

Foursquare

Here's a company I know nothing about: Foursquare. It claims to have over 15 million members worldwide, and advertises thus: "We build tools that help you keep up with friends, discover what’s nearby, save money and unlock deals." They cater to businesses, and have over 750,000 signed up as paying customers. The price? It's a mystery. This business tool goes on the list for consideration when creating a business Web site. To read more, see about Foresquare.



Read more!

Ad Preferences

It's come to my attention recently the extent to which Google has modified what is available to us in a fundamentally game-changing way. This video tells the "nice" side of the story - you can control which Internet companies market to you by choosing your "Ad Preferences" in each search engine. Of course, this is not the whole story, but at least this video does explain a little bit about the disturbing discovery many Web surfers are making - advertisers know where you've been, what you like, and what you do online.


Read more!

Do I Diigo?

Here's a new tool: Diigo. It seems to have lots of options to underline, highlight, annotate, and clip online articles of interest. I'll check it out!
Diigo V5: Collect and Highlight, Then Remember! from diigobuzz on Vimeo.

Read more!

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of "improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results." (see Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization).

To quote a little more from the Wikipedia article: 

As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content and HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Promoting a site to increase the number of backlinks, or inbound links, is another SEO tactic.

One of my first endeavors in the remodeling of narfe65.org will be the analysis of how well we have positioned our web site so that it appears on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) when people look for it. For instance, if someone searches for "narfe meetings in the bay area", will they come up with our Meetings page, which will tell them when we meet and where? What do our members actually search for when they try to find their chapter's web site? Who IS looking for us? All of these are questions for a process of SEO, and the answers are what I will pursue for the next 10 weeks.
Read more!

Promotional Videos

We are entering the second half of our quarter in COIN 72, an online class in Web Marketing taught by Mimi Will at Foothill College. My final project will be creating a plan for the reorganization of the narfe65.org website that I created in 2005. As I begin this process, I started searching for "competitive organizations", to see how they deal with the challenges of online marketing. Granted, a non-profit association of members is VERY different from a commercial establishment or company. However, some of the same principles will apply. We need to attract members, and keep them active and interested in maintaining their membership. To accomplish that goal, we must "sell" our organization, our ideas, our goals. We must motivate our members to feel a part of "us". And we must fulfill the needs of our members.

One of the organizations I discovered when I conducted this search for "competitors" to NARFE was NFFE, the National Federation of Federal Employees. In the process I came across two promotional videos that I think do a fine job of promoting their organization.

The first one is from HUD members, who explain briefly what they do, and why their work matters:




The second video is more specific about what the organization has done lately. It is more upbeat, and more motivating.



Both videos are good examples of the advantages of using video for an organization and/or a business - Video gets multiple messages across in a way that attracts its viewers, as it informs, entertains, and motivates with its brief message.
Read more!

Stumbling On

I've been invited by a friend to join StumbleUpon. Should I? Meanwhile, I am getting multiple messages from Google about their new "Privacy" policies. I've been to their Dashboard, and am appalled at how much personal info they have already collected. They have bought up so many companies whose services I use, and then they've joined all this info together, and present it to the world. I am not comfortable with this! But do I want out? And do I want to add one more Internet option?


Read more!

AdWords 101

We are now entering week 5 of Web Marketing, and Chapter 4 of our textbook is on pay-per-click advertising. This seems to be where it's at for commercial Web sites, though I'm not entirely sure how it works. I know we all see the results, when ads show up on the search engine results pages. Classmate Samuel shared the following link with us: http://www.google.com/adwords/seminars/adwords101.html. It kind of makes sense, to go to the online expert to see how its done. Here's a video to get you started:


Read more!

Social Campaigns

Here's an interesting idea - Constant Contact's offer of free social campaigns. This offer connects with (creates?) a Facebook page, and allows businesses to set up offers to reward those viewers who "like" them.

With Social Campaigns, you create, publish, and promote special landing pages on your Facebook Business Page - the Like Page and the Reveal Page.

To read more about how a business can use this tool, check out Must Have Menus introductory page on social campaigns with Constant Contact.


Read more!

AnyMeeting Free Web Conferencing

Here's a good idea - free web conferencing! The reason I signed up for Web Marketing is to learn more about adding some interactive tools to the website of our local chapter of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (http://narfe65.org). Here's one of the tools I will consider:


Read more!

iStudiez

Here's another tooltip from Denis: iStudiez, from iStudentPro.com. I downloaded the Lite version through the app store on my iPhone. If I like it, I might even pay the $2.99 for the full Pro upgrade. Then again, I may not need it, with only one class/quarter. Thanks, classmate!
Read more!

Here's an organizing tool suggested by classmate Denis. I have to admit, it has the best intro video of any of these software tools that I've seen. And, it looks eminently useful! Will download it now...


Read more!

Social Media - Stumble Upon

One of the social media tools that one can add to websites is Stumble Upon. Is it worth it? What does it do? The following video gives a brief intro, but it fails to answer my question: Is this a tool that is appropriate to add to a commercial business or non-profit association website? Any opinions? Experience?


Read more!

Project Planning

Here's another idea I'm exploring: project planning for teams. One tool I've heard about is a Gantt chart. I explored that in an earlier post: Oops, I forgot to post that video! Well, I'll look for it and try posting later. Anyway, I learned how to set up a Gantt chart using Excel, but this bit of software from Ganttic that promises to set it up for me. Perhaps I'll give it a try...


Read more!

Time Tracking

One problem I am quickly facing with my current class on Web Marketing is keeping track of my time. There are so many different deadlines (mostly on Tuesday and Saturday) and so many different tasks: reading, researching, discussion posting, assignments, tests, and final project. SO, this morning I began a search for an online time tracking tool. Here's what I came up with: Grindstone. What a perfect name for such a tool! Anyway, here's an introductory video to show how to use it. Hope it works!


Read more!

Start with a Business Plan!

No matter where you look for information about starting a business, almost the first piece of advice is to "Start with a Business Plan!" Well, that's always sounded pretty overwhelming to me. But here's a video that gives a good introduction to what should be included in a business plan:



Source: Dr. Dan Nathanson of Anderson Graduate School of Business at UCLA, from the site MyOwnBusiness.org
Read more!

Social Media Campaigns

Here's a video that talks about "How to Develop a Successful Social Media Campaign". Here's how YouTube describes it: "In this video interview, Internet marketing expert Eric Enge outlines the various steps involved in developing - and experimenting with - a social media campaign." As you can see, I've jumped into my course on Web Marketing! Social media options are part of what I want to learn, so this is a good start...



If you like this video, check out more, on Web Marketing Today: http://www.youtube.com/user/webmarketingtoday
Read more!

Web Marketing

Today begins the Winter quarter at Foothill College, and I'm ready! The class I chose for this quarter is Web Marketing, taught by Mimi Will. The textbook is Web Marketing All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies, and I've already read the first 100 pages. I can't wait to learn-what-I'm-going-to-learn in this class. Hope it will prove usefull! My goal is to re-work the website I created using Adobe's Dreamweaver Suite 8. This website is for San Francisco's NARFE Chapter 65 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees organization. As such, we are not a commercial enterprise. However, I think many of the principles of marketing will apply. We want to attract more federal employees and annuitants, we want more of them to join our organization, and we want a more active membership. Hope you'll join me on this journey! Feel free to make suggestions, and offer your own experiences. Well, let's go!

Read more!

Tools for Teams

Here's an idea for teams to use: Asana. Introduced by Stepcase Lifehack, it is touted as "A Modern Way to Improve Teamwork." See for yourself!


Read more!