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BlogNashville: The Grand Ole Blogpry

"Never suppress a generous impulse." - Epictetus

projects:hoggardfundraiser [FireWiki]

Internet-illiterate parents hold back kids

Parents who lack Internet skills could be damaging their children's education and job prospects
(This an other esculent wonders served hot daily at Sue's Place)

Blogging Trends

from Blogware

Weblogs 101

An INTRODUCTION TO WEBLOGS from SOHOSAD
Why Soho sad?

Dave Winer coming to BlogNashville

Scripting News: 4/28/2005

This is starting to get out of hand...

Trying to find a feed? Try Feedfinder

Feedster :: RSS Search Engine :: Feedfinder

Not to be confused with Feedfinger.

Ed Cone on Business Blogging

To Bizblog or not to Bizblog

Nay
Yea

Change or Die

This Is Your Brain on Change

Changing the behavior of people isn't just the biggest challenge in health care. It's the most important challenge for businesses trying to compete in a turbulent world, says John Kotter, a Harvard Business School professor who has studied dozens of organizations in the midst of upheaval: "The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems. The core of the matter is always about changing the behavior of people." Those people may be called upon to respond to profound upheavals in marketplace dynamics -- the rise of a new global competitor, say, or a shift from a regulated to a deregulated environment -- or to a corporate reorganization, merger, or entry into a new business. And as individuals, we may want to change our own styles of work -- how we mentor subordinates, for example, or how we react to criticism. Yet more often than not, we can't.

Professional Blogging & Blog Consulting

View from the Isle

End of First Day Roundup at Mobile Media

From NC's Audio Activism

Here are all my notes from the first day of Mobile Media in LA sponsored by the Media Center.

Business Blogging on the Rise

INC - Weblogs are becoming more popular as a business marketing tool.

"Online personal journals (weblogs or "blogs") are becoming more popular with small businesses that see them as an inexpensive marketing tool and a way to differentiate themselves from the competition...
[Blogs] can be an excellent tool to build relationships and create brand equity.”

axentric. a web designer's tackboard.

Fading Yellow Highlighter and more...

CONE MILLS CELEBRATES 100 YEARS

Charlotte Observer | 04/26/2005 | Century of spinning

The world's largest manufacturer of blue jeans celebrates 100 years.
As it turns out, the NC Cones still know how to spin, only know it is stories and blogs being woven. Long live jeans and blogs!

Essential bookmarks for web designers and web developers

"I wanted to list on a one single page the most useful web-sites, which make the life of web designers easier. "

"Before you become a leader success is all about growing yourself. Once you become a leader success is all about growing others."

Fast Company Now: Leading Ideas: Grow the People Around You

Great leadership is characterized by the desire and ability to grow the people around you. A great leader shifts his/her focus from delivering great results to developing others who can deliver great results. This is the only way that success is scalable and sustainable. MORE

Was ist die Blogosphere?

PlasticThinking: Moe's Blog.

Ich sehe gerade den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht mehr. Was bedeutet der Begriff "Blogosphäre" denn eigentlich genau? Da es keine in Stein gemeisselte Definition für einen relativ neuen, erfundenen Begriff geben kann, ist wahrscheinlich die tatsächliche Verwendung entscheidend. In dem Weblog cassandra was right! hieß es mal:

Read on

The Red Couch: Interview: Buzz Bruggeman

Buzz is scheduled to attend BlogNashville


Brugge

excerpt:

Every industry has them and you probably know a few in your sector. They are professional connectors, people who know everyone in their industry and seem to have their hand on the pulse of what’s happening. They help people find jobs, make deals, form book partnerships, and so on. They know about emerging products and services before anyone outside the development teams and certainly long before many in the press or industry analysts get wind. Those folks consider the connectors trusted sources.

In the Blogosphere, the Connection King is Buzz Bruggeman, and no one who has met him has ever wondered why he’s called ‘Buzz.’ He works rooms at tech conferences, keeps an ongoing email dialog with scores of people, each of them influential in their own way, totes a bag filled with an array of the latest beta devices and software for distribution to friends and industry insiders. In the case of this book, he connected Microsoft’s Andy Ruff who thought of it and its two authors. He's likely to have been that “informed source” in a recent tech-related article. In short, when you really want to know what’s going on, what’s hot and what’s not in the PC industry, Bruggeman is the go-to guy.

UrlTrends :: View Any URLs Google PageRank, Alexa Rank, Popular Search Terms and Incoming Links

"The best SEO tool for tracking your website"

Log files in search engine optimization

An important part of search engine optimization is analyzing the web server log files in order to study the effects of the campaign.

There is specific data about your web site that you should be looking at in your log files on a regular basis. Several variables should be examined monthly or even weekly to ensure your site design and page optimization is on the right track:

Learn more.

How to make money from your blog: 5 tips

How to make money from your blog: 5 tips

(Thanks to Steve Rubel for the keen eye.)

Advertising, editorial lines blur as bloggers' salaries tied to traffic

Online Journalism Review

Portable Media Expo

Nov. 11-12, 2005


FROM THE WEBSITE:
Portable Media Expo showcases the present and future of portable content with demonstration exhibits and conference sessions devoted to creating, delivering, and profiting from podcasts and other unique digital content.

The complete conference program is actually two conferences in one: Portable Content Summit and The Podcaster Conference. Conference attendees can choose sessions from either conference - each features a combination of keynotes, expert panel discussions, peer presentations, and a healthy dose of audience participation.

Topics will include areas of interest for those who create content, those who monetize content and those behind the technology of delivering the content.

Welcome to the Tipping Point. We have arrived!

Glenn Reynolds, over at Instapundit agrees with Jeff Jarvis that we are at the tipping point from Old to New Media.

My nose tells me that we are at a tipping point, but am not sure that I would expand it to include great swaths like Reynolds and Jarvis -- although that might be true too. My sense is that we are at the tipping point for blogging, particularly business blogging...because there is money involved, and when there is money involved, as well as prestige, and all the other perks of being first, there is a sense of urgency that might not haunt other types of bloggers.

Anyway, read as the Instapundit walks you through these and other complex issues of the day, including David Brooks on adipose wrecks, Henry Copeland on Business Week getting it wrong...or incomplete, Levi's videoblogads and more.

Web 2.0? Try 3.0

Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism, Etc.

"Dan is author of We the Media: Grassroots Journalism By the People, For the People, a 2004 book that is widely credited as the first comprehensive look at way the collision of technology and journalism is transforming the media landscape." He will be doing the BlogNashville.

excerpts:

The first web was fairly static, and it was basically a read-only affair. For the most part, we’d simply download text and images from remote sites that were updated periodically with new text and graphics.
...
The first big shift - to what I prefer to consider version 2 - came when the web became more of a read-write system. This was a huge change, and it’s still in progress.
...
Blogs have been especially important in the world of the read-write web.
They are far more than the “what I ate for breakfast” diaries of cliche; they have become a key part of a growing, complex global conversation.
...
And then comes the latest web. This is where it gets really interesting.

The emerging web is one in which the machines talk as much to each other as humans talk to machines or other humans. As the net is the rough equivalent of a computer operating system, we’re learning how to program the web itself.
Read the full article.

memeorandum: Fresh brewed news plus stewing views

Fresh brewed news plus stewing views

Another BlogNashville participant, and coming all the way from California, is Gabe Rivera from the excellent memeorandum.
"memeorandum presents a distinctly readable and relevant hourly synopsis of the latest online news and opinion, combining weblog commentary with traditional news reports. "

Lots to enjoy!

Radiant Marketing Group

Among those the Charlotte blognoscenti hope to visit with at BlogNashville is the Radiant Marketing contingent, where there is always something to learn.

Among the recent offerings are:

- If the Blogosphere Were a Nation...
...who would be its elected officials?
- What Are Weblogs and Why Do They Matter?
- Mass is Out, Niche is In
- Business Blogs Subject of Business Week Cover Story
- Business Blogging on the Rise
- The First Business Blogs
- Promote Your Company With a Blog
- Hugh Hewitt's 'Blog' - Quick Review
- Blogging for AllBusiness.com

...and more. Always a fascinating read.

Crossroads Dispatches

The generalist synthesist weblog - quite often about innovations in innovation and marketing. Juxtaposing the right brain and left. Yin and yang. Analytical and intuitive. Technical and visceral. Future and in-the-now. Intersection of technology, creativity & innovation, leadership, systems, beliefs and worldviews. Eventually, on-the-road coverage from a world journey to the emerging creative class centers of the world.

Featuring:
- Biz Blogging Angst: Balancing Surprise (aka Stealth) and Participation in the Long Tail
- Maybe This Being Real Stuff Reaps Bonus Dividends
- Niching Authenticity
- The Dwelve Journey in Business Speak
- The Honey Pots and the Inner Guru
- The Blessing of Stuckness
- I See Patterns and The Zenification of Nearly Everything
- When You Don't Want to Spread the Word About Great Products and Great Customer Service
...and many other excellent pieces.

Look for Crossroads Dispatches at BlogNashville.

Who Let the Blogs Out?

by Biz Stone, Genius



I just got through reading "Who let the blogs out?" by Biz Stone, and am going to heartily recommend it for anyone wanting to learn about the past, present and future of blogging, particularly business blogging. As Stone says, "Blogging will make you smarter", but it will also make you richer, and he gives the reader tips on how to make it happen.

Among his tips is this one:

If you use Google's AdSense, you will probably do better to have the ads appear on each post, rather than simply on the main page...as the ads will be targeted to the contents, which are usually more discernible on each post, rather than the entire page in aggregate. Of course, the ads don't appear on each post as they appear on your main page, but only appear as each post is seen individually.

So, how do you make such a change? Simple. Find the AdSense script in your template, and, in brackets, place the term "ItemPage" before the script, and "/ItemPage" after the script...which even says "script". In place of "quotations marks" you will use instead, < >. (I know I am making it sound more difficult, but I can't use the code on here, or it will try to read it, instead of printing it.)

Stone covers nearly every aspect of blogging, and does it will style, wit and the knowledge experience affords. From Dave Winer's early creations to blogs as weak-tie machines and bizblogging, to tips for improving your blog, to political and community blogging, the book covers it well, and keeps you turning pages all the while. I finished it within a couple of hours.

Delightful and instructive...as a good book should be.

-Dave

Getting Smarter

from Blogspotting: The blog of BusinessWeek

excerpt:
I am not trying to play down how hard it is for established media outlets to get their heads around citizen journalism. But along the lines of what Dan wrote, there are good signs that the smart established press outlets are sussing this out. Just check out what MSNBC and the News & Record are doing.

Blogs Will Change Your Business

NO BLOG? NO BUSINESS.



Attn:
Charlotte Observer, Business Editor.

Business Week: Our advice: Catch up...or catch you later

excerpt:
Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they're going to shake up just about every business -- including yours. It doesn't matter whether you're shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They're a prerequisite. (And yes, that goes for us, too.)

I'm reminded of the updated
UNIVERSAL BUSINESS BLOG MANTRA...
Authenticity.
Passion.
Transparency.
Originality.
Integrity.
Interactive Community.

If your business does not have a blog, or its equivalent, the assumption will be that you are inauthentic, you lack passion, you are hiding something, you are unoriginal and lack integrity, and you are not community-friendly.

Well...maybe it is true! And perhaps you deserve to lose customers to more receptive, friendly, and open providers. Maybe business blogging will help weed out those who are only in it for themselves anyway. We obviously aren't. We share information like banshees, who were also very keen bloggers. Well, maybe.

Everyone learns from each other. Or at least they could, if they factored in sharing.

UPDATE

Now I hear that the Blogfather, Mister Ed Cone, is going to take the matter even further in the upcoming ZD publication. We'll let you know when that one comes out. These are exciting times!

Business Blogging: Cover story on Business Week

NevOn: Telling the business world about blogs

excerpt:
Now it's getting completely mainstream. Business Week's cover story in the 2 May edition is all about blogs. You can't miss this one - just look at that cover!

It looks like it's the main feature story in all Business Week editions, not only the US edition. So wherever you are in the US, Europe, Asia - everywhere in the world that Business Week circulates - you'll see this cover staring at you from newsstands everywhere.

Business Week

Advanced Business Blogging

It's advanced!

Blog Business Summit Speakers

Meet some of the Business Bloggerati...

Trade Street and Tryon Street

Trade and Tryon Street

an active mind: From Space... (part 2)

an active mind: From Space... (part 2)

"After Google Maps was released I, along with thousands of other people, have found all kinds of interesting landmarks, geographical formations, oddities (the White House with a blank roof) and more.

Here is a rather extensive list of some views from space. Feel free to add more via the comments link at the bottom or by e-mailing me at ewen dot blog at gmail dot com and I'll add them to the list as they come in."

An astonishing list of sites...

(Referred to Trade Street Journal by the author.)

The Business Case for RSS (pdf)

The case for syndication

Microlocal Blogging in Charlotte

Microblogging & The Growth of Blogotopias

Charlotte is starting to be an expensive place to live, and the economy doesn't seem to exuberant, rationally or otherwise, and so it is not imprudent to consider cutting expenses. And oftentimes it is ones place of residence that is the largest drain on one's purse or wallet. There is not one bill, but many.

Not so with a simple apartment. And if one can live close to work, get rid of the car, have just enough roof, but not too much, and pay one bill, not ten, and pay less that a thousand dollars a month in total...well that would be something worth looking into. At least for some people who considering such adjustments to their wherewithal. And were it not a thousand, but 400 bucks, in all, two bedrooms, nice park, amenities, proximity, large oaks, tree-lined paths and streets, fountains, creeks, libraries, bakeries, a Penguin...well, you just might find yourself developing an even keener interest in the matter. Even as a substitute for hotel expenses when merely visiting Charlotte.

Anyway. It's true. You can even have a six-month lease.
"2 Bedroom Special - 6 month lease - 399-439/month" reads the sign on the office window.

As a blog aficianado, you'll also appreciate their blog, which I write, and which has links to important places and sites. It's not perfect, but Morningside is a damn good value. As I look out the window at hills with massive oaks casting marvelous shadows across the verdant and ample lawns, I find little to criticize.

The view from your home is more important than the view of your home. And here, both are quite pleasant. Well worth the price.

NewsGator Online

News aggregator

The Business Case for RSS

Free Report

UNIVERSAL BUSINESS BLOG MANTRA (updated)

via Vaspers the Grate:

UNIVERSAL BUSINESS BLOG MANTRA (updated)
Authenticity.
Passion.
Transparency.
Originality.
Integrity.
Interactive Community.

Blog Smart! Understanding Weblogs and their Business Uses (Business Blogs)

Professional Workshop on Business Blogging

Join renowned blogging expert Dave Taylor for a half-day workshop created for every business executive and entrepreneur who wants to create and maintain a sustainable business advantage.

Among the things you will learn:
-How Blogs create loyalty through trusted, authentic dialog.
-Authentic voice replaces traditional marketing lingo that is increasingly transparent.
-Search engine friendly blogs improve your web findability.
-How business leaders are using content syndication (RSS) to solve information overload.
-How blogs create credible, relevant business communication...
...and more

Your competitors are doing this today -- you and your staff needed to start six months ago.

How to write for your business blog

Epic Trends

Blog vs. HTML Newsletter

BLOGthenticity

...if you add up writing, editing and production time, a blog wins hands down.

Rick E. Bruner's Report on Online Advertising 1994-2004

Hugo E. Martin on Media, Marketing & Internet

Unleashing the Killer App

Read the whole book online!

Pregnant Quotes

"There are five kinds of companies: those that make things happen; those who think they make things happen; those who watch things happen; those who wonder what happened; and those that did not know that anything had happened." - Anonymous

"Marketing is so basic that it cannot be considered a separate function. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final result, that is, from the customer's point of view.... Business success is not determined by the producer but by the customer." - Peter Drucker

"You cannot bore someone into buying your product". -David Ogilvy

"Create the possible service; don't just create what the market needs or wants. Create what it would love." - Harry Beckwith

"Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static “snapshots.” It is a set of general principles — distilled over the course of the twentieth century, spanning fields as diverse as the physical and social sciences, engineering, and management.... During the last thirty years, these tools have been applied to understand a wide range of corporate, urban, regional, economic, political, ecological, and even psychological systems. And systems thinking is a sensibility — for the subtle interconnectedness that gives living systems their unique character." - Peter Senge

If I face a human being as my Thou, and say the primary word I-Thou to him, he is not a thing among things, and does not consist of things. Thus human being is not He or-she, bounded from every other He and She, a specific point in space and time within the net of the world; nor is he a nature able to be experienced and described, a loose bundle of named qualities. But with no neighbour, and whole in himself, he is Thou and fills the heavens. This does not mean that nothing exists except himself. But all else lives in his light. Just as the melody is not made up of notes nor the verse of words nor the statue of lines, but they must be tugged and dragged till their unity has been scattered into many pieces, so with the man to whom I say Thou. I can take out from him the colour of his hair, or of his speech, or of his goodness. I must continually do this. But each time I do it he ceases to be Thou. - Martin Buber

The best way to predict the future is to create it. - Alan Kay (Father of the Personal Computer)

Animation Factory - Free Animations, 3D Clip Art, Backgrounds, PowerPoint Templates, and Video Clips

Animation Factory - Free Animations, 3D Clip Art, Backgrounds, PowerPoint Templates, and Video Clips

DHTML (dynamic html) & JavaScript code library

Dynamic Drive

The Search Engine Marketing Kit - Chapter 1 [Search Marketing]

SitePoint

Idea Management: Tools & Access

Zen & the Art of Corrective Blogging
Therapeutic Blogging in the 21st Century
BLOGMEDICINE AT THE BLEEDING EDGE

The blog is the killer app

Blog: The killer app

Once upon a time, email was considered the "killer app", or the piece of software that was going to revolutionize something or another. Well now email is largely just a pain in the fundament, and the blog is fast becoming the new killer app. Jut what at what it is doing to news, communications, marketing, business, education, politics...and yet email was around in the 80's, and took nearly a decade to catch on. Blogs are spreading like wildfire. And for good reason! Just look around this site and you will see hundreds of ways in which it is changing the world of business, marketing and communications, and so much else.

If you would like to share your success stories, please drop us a comment, and let's talk.

-Dave

Google AdSense Tour

Take the tour!

Google maps give fresh perspective

Photographs of North America's most significant landmarks and locations, including the Grand Canyon, Alcatraz and Mount Rushmore are being given a fresh perspective thanks to a tool by Google.

(via Dave Winer)

The New Business of Content Alerts

EContentMag.com

...the push model is getting a fresh infusion: new companies like PubSub (www.pubsub.com) and MessageCast (www.messagecast.net) are about to take alert distribution to new levels of immediacy, coverage, and flexible delivery, and hope to bring the search engine marketing model with them.

At PubSub, you subscribe to a search term or a highly specific type of structured data, like airport delay warnings or SEC filings for particular companies. While traditional engines scour years of retrospective information to match a term, PubSub monitors 8 million blogs, 50,000 newsgroups, and structured sources like Edgar to match your term against new, real-time information. Then the company delivers these matches directly to you via RSS, instant messaging, email, etc. "We do the opposite of search," says co-founder and CTO Bob Wyman, who has been in the thick of content innovations at DEC, Microsoft, and Accrue since the early 1980s. "I want to know whenever something happens. We tell them the whenever question. It is the other half of search."

While PubSub works across many content sources (although it can be filtered to specific ones), MessageCast employs a more publisher-centric model, which lets a user subscribe to a specific blog or content source and receive immediate notice of new postings through the company's LiveMessage service. When a new item comes in, whether you are on IM, email, PDA, or RSS, "we will find you on the network and hand-deliver that information to you," says Royal Farros, CEO.

Keep in Touch With Blogs, Stay Connected to Consumers

DMNews.com

Buzz Metrics’ proprietary Discussion Miner technology retrieves millions of discussions from blogs, message boards, chat rooms, product feedback, etc., while BlogPulse 2.0, a recent upgrade from Intelliseek, covers 9.3 billion blogs, indexes six months of blog posts and data, creates customized graphs that cover themes and topics in the blogging world and gives daily blog statistics.

DIY Blog Advertising

In the age of Google Adsense, running your own advertising on a blog can be a minefield for the new blogger or experienced blogger alike. A variety of interesting terms are often used and knowing what to charge is can also be difficult, but the rewards can make the effort worthwhile...

Using the Web to Market Your Company

The Green Sheet

Yahoo Search Marketing Services bids Overture Brand Adieu

The SEO Blog
Yahoo has officially dropped the Overture brand name from its paid-search products. The company announced plans to drop the Overture name in the North American market at the beginning of March. Yahoo will phase out use of the brand internationally in the coming months though they will retain the Overture name in Japan and South Korea.

It s All About Content

Today, Jeremy Pepper takes a look at the value of content. From many perspectives, content is still considered king. And why not? If you don't have good content, chances are you won't be able to secure advertising for your site, Google or otherwise.

Bike Charlotte: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 6:30 PM

BikeCharlotte.com - Your Local Biking Resource

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 6:30:00 PM
Moderate | Road | 25-30 MIles | Every Week

Cannonball Tuesday Training Ride
Myers Park Presbyterian Church Parking Lot Corner of Providence & Queens
Harry
704 525 4900
harryjohnson@att.net

Ride will start on the Booty Loop... lap 1.5 times depary for Runnymeade to Colony Rd. to Carmal Rd. to Quail Hollow Rd. to Sharon Rd.. back to the Booty Loop.

Data Analysis Software

Arbitron

Featuring:
SmartPlus - SmartPlus is an easy-to-use multimedia application that gives you powerful analytic and reporting tools and outputs pre- and post-buy reports in formats that are ready for e-mailing or posting to your Web site.
TAPSCAN - TAPSCAN® Radio helps you find the best stations for your radio buy with detailed research, scheduling and reporting options.
Media Professional - a buying and planning application that gives you access to Arbitron respondent-level radio ratings data and to listening data for otherwise non-reported stations.
Media Professional Plus - enables you to buy and plan for radio without the restrictions of standard radio Metros.
Custom Coverage - helps you analyze, plan and buy radio listening at both the county level and outside of standard Arbitron Metros.
TVSCAN - allows you to run demo, trending and ranking reports for television viewing data and plan, schedule and post television advertising.
Market Analysis - allows you to tap into Competitive Media Reporting (CMR) data on local market TV advertising expenditures.
QUALITAP - helps you uncover the lifestyles and media habits of specific demographic and geographic groups.
MEDIAMASTER - is a mixed-media campaign reporting tool that helps you see the impact of an entire campaign. Examine radio, television, print, cable and outdoor media buys in a single report, all with the same base of comparison.
PRINTSCAN - allows you to plan, buy and track newspapers and magazines simultaneously, as well as create insertion orders, track revisions and cancellations.
PrintPlus - simplifies print buying and lets you do more work in less time.
Marketmate - Marketmate-TV and Marketmate-Radio, from IMS, are planning applications that easily tabulate local market reach and frequency for all TV and radio markets.
NEWScope - NEWScope helps you effectively evaluate newspaper schedules on a market-by-market basis by giving you access to circulation data for both daily and Sunday newspapers.
MediaMix - Use this optimal system to combine reach and frequency results for broadcast TV, radio, magazine, newspaper, cable, outdoor and other media schedules to get bottom-line results for your media buy.
MRPrf - a Web-based solution that helps you quickly create winning media plans. It combines all media and all markets in one easy-to-use application.
Brandfx - a powerful media flowcharting software that gives you all the flexibility and functionality of a spreadsheet along with all the analytical strength of a custom media flowchart program.
Local RollUp - a versatile reporting solution that complements Brandfx perfectly. It applies advanced database technology that consolidates, organizes and summarizes all of your planning data from Brandfx flowcharts into a single, comprehensive information resource.

MarketingSherpa Issues Call for Nominations to 2nd Annual Best Blog Awards

MarketingSherpa today announced the launch of its 2nd Annual Best Blog Awards for the marketing, advertising and public relations communities.Nominations are free and may be submitted by anyone (blog author or fan) using the nomination form located here.

Awards will be given in seven categories:

1. Best b-to-b marketing-topic blog
2. Best blog on online marketing (Search, email, Web, etc.)
3. Best PR-topic blog
4. Best advertising-topic Blog
5. Best blog on small business marketing
6. Best individual’s blog on the general overall topic of marketing, advertising & PR
7. Best group (multi-author) weblog on the general overall topic of marketing, advertising & PR

Geez...I guess we could conceivably be nominated for any of these categories. So...what are you waiting for???

Payment Calculator

Wealth Development: Prestige Customers
This tool will calculate your monthly loan payment based on the loan amount, interest rate, and term (years) that you provide. Amounts shown for homeowner's insurance and property taxes are only approximates as these amounts are always property specific.

Which segment are you?

Claritas has created a tool for identifying the various cultural and socio-economic segments or sectors in your midst.

Adsense Smart Pricing Explained

Darren Rowse | Contributing Writer

So what is the take home advice for bloggers using Adsense? Mine would simply to be aware of Smart Pricing and keep on developing quality blogs with quality content on niche topics. All of the hints that Google have given us about Smart Pricing indicate that they will only charge advertisers the higher click values when they come from relevant, quality sites - which gives a pretty good indication to me as to what type of blog I should be creating.

KM Cluster Announces Next Practice: Business Blogs

Fortune Magazine named blogging one of the top 10 business technology trends for 2005. The Harvard Business Review included blogs in their list of breakthrough ideas for 2005.

GAP - Global Attention Profiles

Ethan Zuckerman is carrying out research into the relationship between media attention given to a country and economic and developmental factors. He visualizes this relationship by producing maps that indicate degree of attention (red is high attention, blue is low) over time. Ethan is using BlogPulse data to apply his analyses to the blogosphere.

Skype - Free Internet telephony that just works

SkypeIn, SkypeOut & More...

Google Video Search: Blog

Videoinstances of the word, "blog".

Podcasting vs. Blogging

Podcasting vs. Blogging

Build a Better Blog

Tips and Tricks for Creating a Professional Business Blog
Sample chapter

Listen to a new GoRadio podcast from Greensboro News & Record

goTriad.com - Listen to a new GoRadio podcast now!

Again, Greensboro leads the Carolinas...

Search Engine Relationship Chart

bruceclay.com

HBS Working Knowledge: Organizations: Learning in Action

HBS Working Knowledge: Organizations: Learning in Action

Most managers today understand the value of building a learning organization. But in moving from theory into practice, managers must realize there's no one-size-fits-all strategy applicable to every company and every situation. In this excerpt from his book Learning in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work (HBS Press), HBS Professor David A. Garvin shows how different organizations put different learning strategies to work.

The Learning Organization Litmus Test

How do you know if your company is a learning organization? These simple litmus tests can help determine whether or not your company qualifies:

Does the organization have a defined learning agenda?

Learning organizations have a clear picture of their future knowledge requirements. They know what they need to know, whether the subject is customers, competitors, markets, technologies, or production processes, and are actively pursuing the desired information. Even in industries that are changing as rapidly as telecommunications, computers, and financial services, broad areas of needed learning can usually be mapped with some precision. Once they have been identified, these topics are pursued through multiple approaches, including experiments, simulations, research studies, post-audits, and benchmarking visits, rather than education and training alone.

Is the organization open to discordant information?

If an organization regularly "shoots the messenger" who brings forward unexpected or bad news, the environment is clearly hostile to learning. Behavior change is extremely difficult in such settings, for there are few challenges to the status quo. Sensitive topics — dissension in the ranks, unhappy customers, preemptive moves by competitors, problems with new technologies — are considered to be off limits, and messages are filtered, massaged, and watered down as they make their way up the chain of command.

Does the organization avoid repeated mistakes?

Learning organizations reflect on past experience, distill it into useful lessons, share the knowledge internally, and ensure that errors are
not repeated elsewhere. Databases, intranets, training sessions, and workshops can all be used for this purpose. Even more critical, however, is a mind-set that enables companies to recognize the value of productive failure as contrasted with unproductive success. A productive failure leads to insights, understanding, and thus an addition to commonly held wisdom of the organization.
And unproductive success occurs when something goes well, but nobody knows how or why. There is a peculiar logic at work here: to avoid repeating mistakes, managers must learn to accept them the first time around.

Does the organization lose critical knowledge when key people leave?

The story is all too common: a talented employee leaves the company, and critical skills disappear as well. Why? Because crucial knowledge was tacit, unarticulated, and unshared, locked in the head of a single person. Learning organizations avoid this problem by institutionalizing essential knowledge. Whenever possible, they codify it in policies or procedures, retain it in reports or memos, disperse it to large groups of people, and build it into the company's values, norms, and operating practices. Knowledge becomes common property, rather than the province of individuals or small groups.

Does the organization act on what it knows?

Learning organizations are not simply repositories of knowledge.
They take advantage of their new learning and adapt their behavior accordingly. Information is to be used; if it languishes or is ignored, its impact is certain to be minimal. By this test, an organization that discovers an unmet market need but fails to fill it does not qualify as a learning organization, nor does a company that identifies its own best practices but is unable to transfer them across departments or divisions.

From Chapter 1 of Learning in Action

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Charlotte Observer - Resist the urge to start blogging

Charlotte Observer 04/04/2005

...and whatever you do, don't get on the Internets. It might put you ahead of us, and that would be unacceptable. We are the smart ones. Not you. Shut up and read. DO NOT WRITE. DO NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO WRITE. WE ARE THE DESIGNATED WRITERS. NOT YOU.

It is laughable really, being a visionary and all, and seeing slower heads leading even slower heads...in the wrong direction.

I'm beginning to think certain institutions are being a wee bit pussilanimous. Either that, or getting marching orders from on high. It doesn't reflect a love for knowledge and information, thank you very much.

Well guess what. Information is going to reach the people anyway. And you could have helped bring it to them.

Listen to what is written in the official press:

This Internet stuff has gotten out of hand, and just because widely available, simple-to-use technology makes it possible to share your goofy opinions with billions of people doesn't mean you should.

Blogs -- Web logs -- are sources of rumor, innuendo and downright lies, and there's no control over what goes into one. Doofs too naive to discern ravings from reportage cite them as if they were factual. There are enough misinformed people already, thank you.

Blogs are also a lot of work. Oh sure, it sounds fun, ragging on Ryan Seacrest one day and posting your plan for Mideast peace the next. But then you realize that if you don't keep updating the blog, the pack of dimwits hanging on your every word will dwindle.

I'm offended by this dreck. What is the point? Is it that the Observer lives is an either-or universe, when they could be living in an and-and universe? Look. Some day everyone will be communicating with telepathy, and someone will try to figure a way to get into the supply chain and make a profit from every thought transmitted. But I'm always reminded of the words of Epictetus, who counsels us to "never pass up an opportunity to be generous."

We know that some news organs are essentially controlled by the Pentagon and the White House and big-spending advertisers and such, and for the sake of transparency, it would be nice if those that are, would disclose that connection.

I do not understand obscurantism, and consider it a disservice to humanity. And granted...there has been a brain drain from traditional media, as the internet siphoned off the quick, the deep and the free. And now the quick, the deep and the free are blogging, among other things...but that doesn't mean that the quality of the traditional media has to fall so precipitously. Or does it? And are they pushed down by those who should really mind their own business?

People are so quick to assume the competitive posture. Even though we know that cooperation is a more successful model when done properly. And I can imagine a day when the latest and best killer app is not the blog, but some other potententially competitive activity. Many bloggers will become defensive and start hurling insults at the new toy in town. But blogging really is the new killer app. Like email was at one time. Or the WWW.

RESIST THE URGE TO USE E-MAIL

Sounds pretty silly doesn't it? Like some schoolkid in love with crayons.

I really do wish the Observer would at least try to keep up. Create a Future section, and pretend blogging is still in the future. There are bloggers at the Observer. Let them show the rest of of the folks how and why it is done. Or ask the folks at the Greensboro News and Record. Now that is an advanced news source!

When Charlotte plays host to the Blogger Conference in a few short months, will the Observer send representatives, like they did in Greensboro? There are some bright folks up in those hallowed glassed in boxes. When will they carpe the diem? A simple perusal of this very blog should be proof enough that blogging is an important and essential untapped resource...for business as well as many other sectors of society, religion included.

WFAE radio is soon to be podcasting, and probably blogging. Glad there is some leadership in our media midst.

"If a company doesn't have a blog or a podcast... I'm gonna go spend my money somewhere else."

HOW TRANSPARENT IS YOUR BUSINESS?

Mike Collins: "What do you think the marketing potential of this podcasting world, blog world, is, Steve, ultimately, because we are in the infancy of all this? Where do you see it going in the next five or ten years?"

Steve Rubel: "Customers are gonna say...if a company doesn't have a blog or a podcast, and isn't willing to engage in a conversation with me in real time, I'm gonna go spend my money somewhere else... Blogging is changing Microsoft right now. Microsoft has 1200 employee bloggers..."

[Transcribed from their conversation on Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins.]

Blogopaedia

Some useful links for bloggers:

All Consuming - aggregates what the weblog community is reading.
Annotated New York Times, The - tracks blog postings that cite articles published by The New York Times.
blogcount.com - Blogcount asks: How big is the blogosphere? What is its shape, color, true nature? Blogcount catalogs efforts to answer these questions. We collect and organize the best reports and analyses on this subject.
Blogdex - Blogdex is a research project of the MIT Media Laboratory tracking the diffusion of information through the weblog community. Ideas can have very similar properties to a disease, spreading through the population like wildfire. The goal of Blogdex is to explore what it is about information, people, and their relationships that allows for this contagious media.
Blogdigger : RSS / Atom Search Engine - Search Blogs Blogdigger is a search engine for blogs. Blogdigger uses state of the art syndication technologies, such as RSS and Atom, to index blog content and make it available for search. Blogdigger also makes all search results available in RSS or Atom, so users can subscribe to keyword searches and automatically be notified, via the News Aggregator of their choice, of new content pertaining to their interests. Blogdigger searches thousands of RSS and Atom feeds, and is built-in to many popular News Aggregators, such as FeedDemon and NetNewsWire.
Blogdigger also uses it's vast collection of blog content for novel applications:
Blogdigger Groups is a state-of-the-art online aggregator, providing RSS or Atom feed grouping into a single configurable page. A Group can be filtered either by blog or by keyword, and content is exported in RSS, RDF, Atom, OPML and OCS, making it the richest and most full-featured feed splicing tool available.
Blogdigger Link Search provides backlink checking, seeing which posts are linking to other online content, tracking the conversation as it evolves.
Blogdigger Media provides RSS feeds of recent media content for many well known media types (WindowsMedia, MP3, QuickTime, BitTorrent) that support RSS 2.0 enclosures. Subscribers to the Media feeds are automatically pushed links to media content of their choice.
BlogPulse - automated trend discovery for weblogs mined daily from new entries in over 80,000 blogs using machine learning and natural language processing techniques.
blo.gs
blogsearchengine.com
BlogShares - Fantasy Blog Share Market
BlogStreet : Blog Profiles, RSS Ecosystem, Blog Tops, Search and ...BlogStreet. BlogStreet India login faq. Blog Profile, RSS Ecosystem, Search &Directory, Blog Tops. Blog Profile, RSS Ecosystem, Search and Directory
Bloogz The Blog Search Engine: Bloogz The Blog Search Engine. ... Weblogs, Url. Search Blogs in. Italian, English,German, Español, French. All languages Order by Relevance
Daypop Top 40 Links - regularly updated list of links that are currently popular with webloggers from around the world.
eatonweb portal
Globe of Blogs An index of weblogs as submitted by their authors. ... Globe of Blogs.
Intelliseek - Marketing Intelligence, Business IntelligenceUsing cutting edge technology, Intelliseek helps F1000 companies transformunstructured data into relevant, actionable insights.
memeorandum - following the latest meme of the political and news blogs.
Myelin: Blogging Ecosystem - ranks blogs that are the most linked and the most prolific linkers.
Popdex - web site popularity index.
PubSub PubSub is the world's first Internet-scale matching engine
Truth Laid Bear Blogosphere Ecosystem, The - application which scans weblogs once daily and generates a list of weblogs ranked by the number of incoming links they receive from other weblogs on the list.
Waypath - Blog Discovery Engine
Weblog BookWatch - tracks links to books and other media appearing on weblogs.
Weblogs, Inc. Weblogs, Inc. is dedicated to creating trade Weblogs (aka “blogs”) across niche industries in which user participation is an essential

Mobile Bytes

Concise Windows Mobile Software reviews.

Succinct reviews, bargains and a lot more...

Here is a description of the blog & its purpose:

I'm a junkie. I check a dozen or more Pocket PC/Windows Mobile web sites several times a day. I love finding and trying out new software on my Pocket PC. I don't like reading long reviews and I don't care how many stars a reviewer thinks a program is worth. I want to know what's new, what does it do, does it actually work and how much does it cost. If that sounds good to you then you've found the right place.

Good stuff! Check it out!

Web Hosting, Domains, Ecommerce, Email and Marketing Tools from Yahoo! Small Business

Yahoo! Small Business

Articles & Resources
Sales & Marketing

State of the Blogosphere March 2005, Part 3: The A-List and the Long Tail

Sifry's Alerts

excerpts:
the fact that the A-list exists does nothing to drown out the immensely larger set of conversations that are going on among smaller groups of people, like friends and niche topic bloggers. In fact, even though the amount of influence that a single blog may have is less than that of a single blog on the A-list, the aggregate influence of all of the long tail far outstrips even the mainstream media.
This also has implications for enlightened marketers and media companies. There is power in the conversations going on around you, and not necessarily from the places that you'd ordinarily expect. Companies that work in conjunction with the trends going on in the long tail: e.g. fostering peoples voices, listening to and incorporating their comments and feedback, and fostering a community have a tremendous opportunity awaiting them.

Syndicator blog

The Syndicator follows trends and dollars in the shifting world of content syndication.

Who is the Syndicator?
The Syndicator watches over the changing landscape of content syndication. From weblogs, to editorialogs, to RSS, Atom, and the new tools of the trade…from the publishers, corporate marketers, IT professionals, PR companies and advertisers both grappling with and profiting from these new syndication pathways, The Syndicator tracks the trends and the dollars.

Blogging featured on Charlotte Radio

WFAE 90.7 FM - Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins

Rather than bothering with all the revolutionary changes happening in our own backyard, Mister Collins cast his net to New York and California.

Among his guests were:
ITConversations
and
Steve Rubel of MicroPersuasion
...who said that businesses will do well to include blogging, since in time their lack of communicability will cause potential customers and clients to go where there IS communication, or in other words, blogging.

I hope Mike will take it upon himself to learn more about blogging and podcasting, and realize there are giants in our midst. Talk with them next time. They can help localize it.

Thanks for the effort.

The BizBlog Show and more on The Podcast Network

The Podcast Network

WhatCounts :: Home

Email publishing solutions that fit your business

From dynamic content delivery, to sophisticated survey systems, integrated Blogging/RSS, SMS, CAN-SPAM compliance and deliverability tools, the WhatCounts platform offers the most comprehensive features in the marketplace.

Another Poke At Tags As Search Savior

Search Engine Watch

excerpt:
I've been dubious before about tagging in relation to search, but Steve Rubel's Targeting Through Tagvertising article makes me want to poke at them a few more times for a reality check. He writes:

Type the word "blogs" into Google and it can't tell if you are searching for information about how to launch a blog, how to read blogs, et cetera.

Sure -- and that's true of every major search engine, an age old problem. They generally solve it by offering query refinement tools, such as the related searches links that Yahoo offers. Google's problem is that it among the majors has never offered query refinement and is long overdue to do so. Google Suggest, if ever rolled out to the main site, will help.

Steve Rubel was guest on Mike Collins' "Charlotte Talks" today.

Some interesting wiki

Podcasting
Godcast
Skypecasting
PODS
Blogcast
Mobcasting
Autocast
Pod
Bloggercon
Audioblogging
Egocasting
Broadcatching
Folksonomy
Flash fiction
News aggregator
Atom (standard)
RSS (file format)
List of Internet stations
MP3 blog
Digital video
Geocaching
Weblog
BitTorrent
IPod
List of portmanteaux

Blogger Top Blog Host

Google's Blogger is home to some eight million blogs, more than any other hosting service

Six out of seven sales resulting from search come from natural search traffic

DMNews.com | News | Article

Give visitors what they want.
Keep it simple.
Direct traffic.
Provide a map.
Create a buzz.

"There are also blogs and RSS feeds to consider for buzz. Blogs and feeds have become a primary source of information for millions of people, many of whom are decision makers and influencers in their fields. Consider syndicating feeds for product information, company news and even special promotions. If you have expertise in a specific area, share it on a blog. Encourage a blog-friendly policy for employees. They could end up being your best marketing channel. "

Jaffe/Get the Juice

Joseph Jaffe is President and Founder of Jaffe, L.L.C.

Internet Will Lead Integration Efforts in Next Wave of the Evolution of Marketing Says New Marketing Guru Joseph Jaffe

Jaffe to Release Excerpts from New Book at Digital Marketing Conference & Expo

excerpt:
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 2005--Joseph Jaffe, one of the most prolific thought leaders in new marketing, will give audience members at next week's Digital Marketing Conference on April 19 - 20, 2005 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City, a sneak peek at his upcoming book - "Life After the 30-Second Spot."
In addition, attendees at the conference will be privy to a talk on how the Internet will lead marketing and advertising integration to the next stage of growth. Mr. Jaffe will discuss the role of online marketing and how it fits into the integrated mix in today's marketplace.
"Without the Internet - integrated marketing communications does not exist," said Mr. Jaffe. "We need to expand our thinking beyond 'vertical' integration to one which embraces both 'horizontal' and 'holistic' integration. The Digital Marketing Conference and Expo is the perfect platform to explore the idea that the Internet is no longer just a direct response mechanism - rather it is the chameleon of modern day marketing and the ultimate integrator."

Volvo: Zero Gravity Marketer

A History of Firsts

In addition to its sponsorship of podcasts, Volvo and Apple built two iPod connectivity options into the automaker's entire 2005 line. And in keeping with its Swedish roots, it's offering free downloads of Nordic bands on an iTunes destination dubbed "Nu."
Volvo plans to continue reaching out to its target through podcasting sponsorships.
"I think we're going to continue feeling out the podcasting space. We've been doing it on a very niche basis with Autoblog, and we're looking at how that's going to grow," said Papadopoulos.

Managing Your Marketing Career, Part 2: Online Visibility

asking the question...
Don't you think you should be actively managing your online identity?

Printing Industry Commentator Dr. Joe Webb Starts New Blog at DrJoesBlog.com

Offers Observations About Trends in Printing, Publishing, and New Media

“When we look back at this period a few years from now, we will realize blogs served as incubators for many new media publishing ventures.”

Harrisville, RI (PRWEB) April 14, 2005 -- Printing industry consultant, futurist, and commentator Dr. Joe Webb announced the availability of his blog, www.DrJoesBlog.com, focused on the discussion of printing, publishing, and new media trends.

“Blogs have achieved mainstream status in relatively short time. They have become essential for executives and decision-makers who want to stay on top of news and opinion for new actionable ideas for their industry and are looking for a competitive edge,” said Dr. Webb. “When we look back at this period a few years from now, we will realize blogs served as incubators for many new media publishing ventures.”

How to Create a Photographic Gallery Using CSS - WebReference.com

How to Create a Photographic Gallery Using CSS - WebReference.com

Blog Marketing taglist at del.icio.us

del.icio.us/tag/blogs marketing

Tagvertising Blogging 2 0

webpronews

As you read this, millions of individuals are working under their own volition to create a new Dewey Decimal System for the internet.
excerpt:
The consumer phenomenon is called "tagging" or "folksonomies" (short for folks and taxonomy). Tagging is powerful because consumers are creating an organizational structure for online content. Folksonomies not only enable people to file away content under tags, but more importantly also share it with others by filing it under a global taxonomy that they created.

Here's how tagging works. Using sites such as del.icio.us - a bookmark sharing site - and Flickr - a photo sharing site - consumers are collaboratively categorizing online content under certain keywords, or tags. For example, an individual can post photographs of their iPod on Flickr and file it under the tag "iPod." These images are now not only visible under the individual user's iPod tag but also under the broader community iPod tag that displays all images consumers are generating and filing under the keyword. As of this writing, Flickr has more than 3,500 photos that are labeled "iPod."

Tagging is catching on because it is a natural complement to search. Type the word "blogs" into Google and it can't tell if you are searching for information about how to launch a blog, how to read blogs, et cetera. But using del.icio.us you can bookmark this page or subscribe to its RSS feed. Then, everyday you will find the latest interesting links consumers are finding and sharing about blog marketing. Now imagine you run a blog marketing consultancy and you want to advertise to users who follow these tags. This is what's we'll see this year as tagvertising takes hold.

Promotional Blogs on the Rise

Promotional Blogs on the Rise
ClickZ Network
excerpts:
"Until about a year ago, promotional blogs were few and far between. There was the occasional attempt, but most efforts served more as examples of what not to do.
That isn't the case anymore. Marketers use blogs, both in text and video form ('vlogs'), to connect with audiences and generate buzz about products, offerings, and events. Blogs are reaching new creative heights, and companies are establishing a new standard of blog marketing.
Leading the way is the entertainment industry, which has embraced blogs for their popularity with TV-watching and movie-going audiences. Among those using them is Peter Jackson, director of 'Lord of the Rings' and the upcoming remake of 'King Kong.'"

Through a partnership with The One Ring Inc., the online marketing company behind the largest "Lord of the Rings" site, Jackson has been documenting the filming of "King Kong" via a vlog production diary. The vlog, which has been live since last year, features behind-the-scenes footage and information on the cast and crew. It also sells official "Kong is King" merchandise.

KongisKing.net currently averages 1.5 million unique visits per month -- and the film won't even be released until December 2005.
...
So far, the new breed of promotional bloggers seems to be doing everything right. They have a motive for using the medium; they aren't jumping on the blog bandwagon without good reason. Their sites don't just generate awareness and buzz, but connect consumers with the company's products by inviting them into their personal world. Posts on these blogs have a purpose and allow users to relate to the people behind them.

It will be interesting to see how other industries use blogs as their popularity among marketers grows. How far will companies go to make consumers feel a personal connection to what they're offering? Will their enthusiasm lead to continued improvement or blog overexposure?

Whatever the case, those eager to experiment had better hustle. This window of opportunity won't likely be open for long.

Blogging, Podcasting & "Social Media" on Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins

Friday, April 15, 2005 at 9:00 AM on WFAE 90.7 FM Your NPR News Source

You can also dial in from the internet, like Iddybud from New York does.

Here is the description:
We'll explore a developing form of communciation on this edition of Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Dubbed "social media" by one of our guests, blogging and podcasting are two young stars of the internet landscape. Web logging or "blogging" has made regular citizens into political pundits, journalists and government watchdogs while podcasting is creating a new world of amateur talk hosts and making programming controllable for the every-day listener. Learn more about this on the next Charlotte Talks and join us by calling 704-926-WFAE (9323) or 1-800-603-WFAE (9323) or email charlottetalks@wfae.org.

Greensboro News & Record on the Rise of the 101s

Entrepreneur Roch Smith Jr. takes on the 101 World
and organizes bloggers one city at a time

N&R coverage of Roch Smith Jr. and his growing 101 network. "Smith's product is the rough equivalent of an alternative newspaper -- that's published continuously instead of weekly."
(via Ed Cone)

EXCERPTS:
Greensboro101.com is a central Web page that uses sophisticated software to produce an up-to-the-minute listing of what's going on with Greensboro's blogs.

The site is open to anybody who wants to read it, but its special feature is that bloggers can link their blogs directly to the site. Then, as they update their sites with news or comments, Greensboro101.com automatically presents a rolling list of topics from all the blogs for that hour. All the readers do is click what they want to read.

The software does the work. "I've described it as democratic and agnostic," Smith said, meaning he doesn't cast his opinions into the mix.

Smith isn't the only person to operate such a site. But he plans to make it stand out with creative software and the involvement of local people. He has also appointed an advisory board of local people for the site and holds regular meetings.

For Smith, 42, it's all an effort to keep the Internet very local and very accessible.

Last week, Smith launched Charlotte101.us and Nashville101.com. If those sites catch on, Smith is ready to go to any city where there's a market. The key, said his friend, journalist Ed Cone, will be to find local people in those cities who can work for the sites to keep them uniquely local.

Smith's product is the rough equivalent of an alternative newspaper -- that's published continuously instead of weekly.

Trade Street Blog Cafe

The Official Blog of Kaldi's Koffee House

GasPriceWatch.com - The Worlds Largest Consumer Advocacy Gas Price Site

Watch your gas.

GasPriceWatch's US gasoline feature is the voice of consumers when it comes to American gasoline prices. We monitor gas prices across the country so you can get the best deal in your area. Search our database to find the lowest gas prices in your area. Prices are updated frequently by users like you. All Regular prices are per gallon in US dollars.

International Infographics Awards

SND-E Cursos y concursos

Standards for online content authors

Quality Web Content

A new approach to conference learning

KMWorld Magazine

elearningpost

Many good articles

Including:
Is Phoenix the Future?
Quality Personas
The emerging mind
A new approach to conference learning
Paired Interview Technique
Standards for online content authors

The Fast Company Blog reviews ""Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East"

and more...

Guide to Business Blogging, Corporate Blogging

CorporateBlogging.Info

Corporate blogger testimonials

QuickBooks Blogs

The Official QuickBooks Online Weblog

and here is their product blog.

(via BlogWrite)

Peter Senge: The theory and practice of the learning organization

‘Strategist of the Century’ talks about The Fifth Discipline and explains the five disciplines central to learning organizations.

Peter Senge came and spoke in one of my favorite classes at University, about metanoia and a host of other fascinating topics, and even back then, he was what Gurdjieff might call a remarkable man. I am still curious about the glowing azure octagon radiating from the center of his being.

Time has given his mind a thousand wings, and his books have flown off the shelves and into the heads of some our largest institutions. This is a good thing. Haj vouched for him. Besides, his quality was real and apparent.

Here is a sample of his work.

One of his major influences was Robert Fritz, with whom I had the pleasure of spending several days and evenings (along with Kalen Hammann), and took the classes, had one-on-ones and such. Another major force, and one of the best thinkers to explain vision and the creative process.

Six Sigma

Business 2.0 - Web Guide

i Six Sigma - Six Sigma Quality Resources for Achieving Six Sigma Results

Six Sigma - What is Six Sigma?


Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.

The statistical representation of Six Sigma describes quantitatively how a process is performing. To achieve Six Sigma, a process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities.
...
The Six Sigma DMAIC process (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) is an improvement system for existing processes falling below specification and looking for incremental improvement. The Six Sigma DMADV process (define, measure, analyze, design, verify) is an improvement system used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma quality levels.
...
Both Six Sigma processes are executed by Six Sigma Green Belts and Six Sigma Black Belts, and are overseen by Six Sigma Master Black Belts.

According to the Six Sigma Academy, Black Belts save companies approximately $230,000 per project and can complete four to 6 projects per year.


Some powerful medicine for da bidness.

BizBlogging

Do you have a small business story associated with blogging? We are interested in learning more from you so that we can share those trials and successes with other small business owners. Please leave a comment or drop me an email. Thanks!

Google Toolbar and how it helps bloggers

A useful tool for bloggers

You are able to add a Blogger button on your Google toolbar, and, whevever you have a great idea, or want to blog about the page you are on...simply click on the "Blog This" Blogger icon...

... and a small window, with the title and hyperlink to the page already in place. You can write your thoughts, hit publish, and it is immediately on your blog for the world to see. Exhibit A, for ye paranoiacs.

Jeffrey Zeldman Presents The Daily Report

Jeffrey Zeldman Presents The Daily Report

Business 2.0 - Web Guide - Business Education

A copious resource for business education, schools, sites, etc...

eBusiness at MIT | News

eBusiness at MIT | News

This year's theme is "eBusiness 2.0: What Works, What Didn't, and What's Next." eBusiness best practices will be presented and you will experience a glimpse into the next wave of eBusiness innovation. Through presentations of the latest MIT research and industry advancements, this program will provide insights into emerging business trends, technologies and paths to competitive advantage. You will hear from Tim Berners-Lee, Erik Brynjolfsson, Glen Urban, Charlie Fine, Peter Weill, Michael Cusumano, Eric von Hippel and Tom Malone.

In addition, more than 40 industry luminaries and leaders are scheduled to speak at this year's event including:

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web
Tom Leighton, Chief Scientist and Founder, Akamai
Art Coviello, CEO, RSA Security
Richard Clarke, Former White House National Security Advisor
Steve Hall, CIO, The Thomson Corporation
Paul Cormier, EVP of Engineering, Red Hat
Peter Quinn, CIO, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Knowledge@Wharton discusses blogging

Blogs, Everyone? Weblogs Are Here to Stay, but Where Are They Headed? - Knowledge@Wharton

The growth rate of blogs is impressive. Technorati, a search engine that monitors blogs, tracked more than 8 million online diaries as of March 21, up from 100,000 just two years ago. A new blog is created every 7.4 seconds. That adds up to 12,000 new blogs a day, 275,000 posts a day and 10,800 updates an hour. "At its most basic level, it's a technology that is lowering the cost of publishing" and turning out to be "the next extension of the web," says Wharton legal studies professor Kevin Werbach. "Blogging is still in its early days. It's analogous to where the web was in 1995 and 1996. It's not clear how it will turn out."


What is clear is that opportunities for blogging abound. Companies can use bloggers to put a more human face on interactions with employees and customers; marketers can create buzz through blogs; and bloggers can act as fact checkers for the mainstream media. There are dozens of applications for blogs, Werbach notes, and many that haven't even been conceived yet. To be sure, the concepts behind blogging aren't exactly new. Comment and feedback have been around as long as the Internet itself. What's new is the ease with which anyone can publish their thoughts on any number of topics, whether it's the latest Congressional hearings, the newest gadget or the hottest pair of shoes. "Blogging is really driven by interest and desires, not commercial activity," says Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader. "It's rare to see something take off like this when commercial prospects are so minimal. People just want to share ideas."

Inside Higher Ed :: Of Blogs and Dialogues

The “vulgarity debate”

In his paper for American Anthropologist, Alireza Doostdar makes a brilliant (and neatly executed) leap from the terms of the vulgarity debate to Pierre Bourdieu’s critique of Kant’s distinction between “pure” and “vulgar” taste. “A vulgar work,” as Doostdar paraphrases the argument, “is that which is facile and fools the senses into submission instead of provoking one to think about deeper meanings.” The ability to “rise” from the sensuous to the conceptual is a function of education. And that, in turn, makes distaste for “the vulgar” one of the automatic dispositions — in Bourdieu’s lingo, the “habitus” — of those who have accumulated a certain degree of economic, social, and cultural power.

I hesitate to provide even this much of a summary of the argument. Not because it’s too complicated, but because it can be too easily — vulgarly, even — converted into an apology for boilerplate populist resentment, whether against “the media elite” or “tenured radicals” or “bourgeois intellectuals” (depending on the ranter’s preferred mode of denunciation).

Google to unveil its 'video blogging

Larry Page told a conference in San Francisco that the company would be archiving people's video clips, starting in the next few days.

Building Community With Wikis and Weblogs and Other Forums

SWOT Team


Summary of Advice Received

Before determining which marketing vehicle is most appropriate, understand that successful B2B marketing starts with the premise that business people buy when they trust that the perceived value is applicable to them and comes from a stable company. Our responses mirror the four main points of this mantra:

Earn trust.
Show value.
Establish relevancy.
Demonstrate stability.
Once you understand this concept, determine how it will best fit within each of your activities. Doing so should help you decide which particular collateral format works best. Below, you’ll find a chart based on information from our readers that lists which particular marketing vehicle is best suited for specific situations. Josie, we hope this will make your selection process easier!

Webby Awards Will Take Place in New York City

KSBI-TV - Technology

The 9th Annual Webby Awards will take place in New York City on Monday, June 6, 2005, marking the first time the Internet's top honors will be held outside their San Francisco birthplace, organizers announced today.

Hailed as "the online Oscars" by The New York Times and "the only awards for internet sites that matters" by The Los Angeles Times, The Webby Awards are the leading international honors for web sites.

The 9th Annual Webby Awards will honor the best web sites of the year on Monday, June 6, at New York City's landmark Gotham Hall, a majestic turn of the century ballroom.

The master of ceremonies for the star-studded event will be celebrated comedian Rob Corddry, correspondent on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."

The future of blogging | CNET News.com

The future of blogging | CNET News.com

Reuters Panel Declares "Blogs are not the enemy"

Docu-Blog/Steve's POV

Make way blogging, podcasting is here!

Taipei Times - archives

excerpt...
If you've never heard of a podcast, here's a brief description. The concept was developed last summer when Adam Curry, 41, a former VJ for MTV and an inveterate tech tinkerer, became intrigued with the idea of freeing Internet radio and audio blogs from his computer and putting them on the capacious drive of his Apple iPod.

He called the result podcasting, named after the Apple iPod that is often at the center of the system.

The basic idea is instead of listening to radio over the airwaves, you download the radio shows you want from the Internet onto your iPod and listen to them when you want.

That may not seem such a revolutionary idea, except for the fact that the wonders of digital technology make it easy for anyone who wants to record his own radio show to upload them to various sites that then use syndication feeds to deliver the radio segments directly to listeners' MP3 players.
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"Podcasting will shift much of our time away from an old medium where we wait for what we might want to hear to a new medium where we choose what we want to hear, when we want to hear it," noted Linux guru Doc Searls when he discovered podcasting way back in September.

"It is totally going to kill the business model of radio," Curry said. He believes that mainstream media and advertising companies are rapidly losing the ability to reach their audiences as the decline of network television, the rise of the Internet and the fragmentation of the media make the models that have existed for the last 50 years rapidly obsolete.
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But Dave Winer, who teamed with Curry to launch the first podcasts and is also the writer of the longest-running blog on the net, Scripting News, is more sanguine and warns against expecting an overnight revolution.

"We're the sources, the people doing stuff, and podcasting is a way to tell people who care what we're doing," Winer told the BBC last week.

News: White Paper Released on Importance of Blogs to Public Relations

Apr 06, 2005

"We've entered the era of mass personalization where people expect far greater participation in their favorite brands and companies. For companies, bloggers represent an immediate source of information and feedback, but also an opportunity to engage a rapidly expanding global network of influential, credible, passionate and involved group of real people who communicate constantly," said Pam Talbot, President & CEO, Edelman U.S. "The white paper is to help companies better understand how to engage bloggers through authentic dialogue in ways that are appropriate and respectful."

"Blogging is not a fad, and it's not going away," said Rick Murray, general manager, Edelman Diversified Services. "There's a right way and a wrong way to think about and approach the blogosphere, and public relations professionals who get it wrong will get burned -- it's that simple."

Added David Weinberger, author of the JoHo Blog and co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto: "The Edelman/Intelliseek white paper does an especially good job explaining blogging as not just another opportunity to spout one's 'message' but as a way of entering into genuine conversation with and among one's customers."

What is Citizen journalism?

Citizen journalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Citizen journalism, also known as "participatory journalism," is the act of citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information, by Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis. They say, "The intent of this participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires."

History

The public journalism movement emerged after the 1988 U.S. presidential election as a countermeasure against eroding trust in the news media and widespread public disillusionment with politics and civic affairs. Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University, was one of its earliest proponents. From 1993 to 1997, he directed the Project on Public Life and the Press, funded by the Knight Foundation and housed at NYU. More recently, he runs the PressThink weblog. Former Wichita Eagle editor Davis "Buzz" Merritt steered his newspaper in a public journalism direction and wrote "Public Journalism and Public Life," published in 1995. Academics and others who have written about the topic include Ted Glasser , Philip Meyer & his students , Arthur Charity, Lewis Friedland, Jeff Dvorkin , Leonard Witt , Herbert Gans , and Jan Schaffer.

NYU School of Journalism's Jay Rosen on local happenings

What's in PressThink's Pocket? Citizen Journalism!

4. The 101 sites spread. Will there soon be a network of local switchboards? First there was Greensboro 101, a local blog directory that became a local portal site, a natural competitor, and possible partner to the local newspaper site. Then there was Charlotte 101, kind of a franchise deal with Charlotte bloggers Dave Beckwith and Darryl Parker to do a similar thing. Now, cleverly timed to BlogNashville, there is Nashville 101, the third operation from Roch Smith, Jr., founder of Greensboro101.com. See my earlier interview with him. ("I've been contacted by media people wanting to replicate the Greensboro101 concept in other cities.") He e-mailed me with his expanded strategy:

Our plan is to provide turn-key 101s for individuals or groups who wish to operate one in their city. We have over 200 [cityname]101 domain names registered and plan to promote them as local citizen media cites through cities101.com (not up yet).

In addition to gearing up to roll out more cities, we are in the process of developing an ad system that will not only coordinate the placement of advertising on the 101s (the revenue from which will be shared with the participating operators ), but that will also allow participation by local bloggers who will also share in the revenue. The idea is to create geographically targeted online advertising opportunities that can sustain localized citizens media to the very end of the long tail.

And so we can squint and see a local infrastructure in place, nationally. Not that Smith is going to corner the market any time soon. There are many similar sites going in other cities, and each one may be considered a potential contender with the local newspaper in the race for a Journalism 2.0 approach that works. See PhillyFuture for one example. SanDiegoBlog for another. Here's one in Vancouver.

In Journalism 2.0 (the way I explain it to myself) the People Formerly Known as the Audience, safely considered "consumers" during one era, are more involved in production. Interactivity makes daily journalism into a better, faster learning machine, which means it can improve its accuracy many times over. And in the 2.0 era new ways to pay for good work emerge from a variety of directions-- the media industry is only one, and not the most likely solution.

Civic entrepreneurs like Roch Smith, Jr.--who are paid in influence, and the satisfaction of seeing your creation thrive--are equally likely to have good answers to the puzzles presented by Journalism 2.0. With most in the industry unwilling to spend, the need for experiment and innovation is being met from outside.