Wyoming Entrepreneur.biz Blog

Pink event in Second Life raised funds for Breat Cancer Awareness

The Pink event, held October 16 at the Disney fan park in Second Life called Mouse World, was a hit and demonstrated the burgeoning power of 3-D online virtual worlds. Money was raised for breast cancer research and awareness.

 

I recently read an article from the Journal of Information Systems Education (refereed) titled Extending the classroom through Second Life. The authors report a figure from 2007 that states "80 percent of active Internet users will have a virtual presence in the form of an 'avatar' in at least one virtual world by the end of 2011." If true, online 3-D virtual worlds will indeed become the second great Internet revolution, possibly as great in magnitude as the world wide web itself. So what does this all mean and why is virtual world technology becoming such a sociocultural phenomena?

Since the Romans introduced the concept of a world wide web by building their extensive road system, human beings have reached out with manifest destiny-like ventures to extend life to and beyond all possible borders. Once we learned to use email we extended societal borders greatly but lost some human touch in the process. Now, we are claiming it back and virtual worlds is one way we are doing that. Nonverbal communication cues are part of Second Life and similar environments, unlike practically any other medium on the web right now.

Last Saturday morning in Second Life I attended a live Folk concert from the U.K., then attended a class on basic building in Second Life, both broadcast in real time. These are great technologies that will eventually be present on Wyoming Entrepreneur island.

Twitter, Tweets, and Your Business

If you've heard the words "twitter" or "tweet" recently (and the odds are you have) and felt completely out of the loop, don't worry. Twitter is by no means a new phenomenon, but only really hit its stride in the past year and has finally entered the mainstream. In 2008 alone, it grew from 500,000 users to nearly 4.5 million.

In its infancy, Twitter was perceived as yet another way for people craving attention to broadcast useless tidbits about daily life - "Just saw Transformers 2! So great!" Admittedly, when I first learned of Twitter I dismissed it as something I would never use in any way, let alone as a professional tool.

But, as with any new social media craze, entrepreneurs soon recognized an opportunity to harness a new tool and use it to their advantage. Now, every major media outlet, corporation, business guru, etc. has a a Twitter account and you can rest assured they don't use them to update their followers on mundane details about trivial events.

Twitter has become an extremely powerful information sharing tool - look no further than the recent protests in Iran. People there were able to give updates on a minute-by-minute basis and Twitter became every bit as informative as any news channel.

Perhaps the best part of Twitter is that it's much easier than most assume. Simply go to the website, create an account, search for somebody (wyendotbiz, for example), and sign up to follow that account. Every time they Tweet, your homepage, or phone if you'd like, will receive an update. These Tweets will often include brief tips, links to interesting articles, or other information.

So, lets focus on using Twitter for your small business. If you own a bookstore, wouldn't it be useful to let  your customers know of your upcoming midnight sale for the new Harry Potter book? Or what about offering the followers of your coffee shop's Twitter page a discount: "Mention this Tweet the next time you're in the shop and get $1 off your bill!" Perhaps one of the loyal patrons of your restaurant is considering that new place they've heard so much about. A Tweet informing them of your specials this evening might entice them to do otherwise.

These are very basic examples, but the point is that Twitter can be very useful as a marketing and promotional tool. Also, it's quick. Since Tweets are limited to 140 characters, you are forced to be succinct. You can keep your customers informed about your business in a matter of minutes.

Twitter is no longer seen as a hub strictly for gossip and irrelevant opinions; there are also numerous ways that entrepreneurs can use it to promote their business. It may not be a necessity for every business, but it certainly can't be overlooked as an entrepreneurial tool.

Anybody already doing this? Have you seen results?

 

Web Analytics

There is a disconnect between people who are looking on the internet for specific information and web developers that make it hard to find.  People want to do business with you and give up because of a difficult website.

I attended a web analytics conference in May.   It was all about conversion and web measurement.  How will you know if your website is doing its job unless you can measure it in some fashion?  I knew about Google Analytics but I did not know that there is a whole emerging field surrounding analytics that includes not only static web pages but product pages, check outs, forms, surveys and now the ever popular social media including the fastest growing way to reach folks…video.

Everything can be measured; the amount of time people are spending on an interactive page, where and when they left, how much of a video they watched, and how much of a form did they fill out before they got disgusted and left.  All of this information is needed so that a website can be re-worked and customers will stay on your site, resulting in higher revenues.  The key is to not only gather analytical data, but to act on it.  Transform your website into one that will lead to conversions and a richer ROI.

If your website is not doing what you want it to do, I suggest studying up on analytics so that you can have an intelligent conversation with your web developer to see what changes could be made.  The Wyoming Market Research Center offers a website analysis service at no charge to

Wyoming

folks.  Contact us at 307-766-5405 or visit our website at

http://www.wyomingentrepreneur.biz

Podcasts for Business Learning

It took me a while to get used to listening to podcasts, especially while driving, but with long commutes without any radio signal, I've started replacing music to accompany me on the road with free podcasts that I download from iTunes. What I like about podcasts is that you can quickly gain a myriad of perspectives on an industry and learn about new sites, resources and tools.

Here are some of my favorite podcasts, most of course related to my own industry - social media marketing - but all well-produced and informative.

Listener Beware: Don't try to jot down the URLs and other notes while driving. You can always visit the podcast's web page where they usually list links to all resources mentioned.

Managing the Gray - C.C. Chapman is one of my personal podcasting and blogging heros. His shows are heartfelt and thoughtprovoking, touching on the changing ways of marketing and public relations.

Media Driving - Jay Moonah podcasts are musings on all aspects of media and marketing, and they are short, sweet and quite informative.

Six Pixels of Separation - Mitch Joel is an offbeat thinker, writer and podcaster who has interesting perspectives and includes listener commentary in his shows.

Grammar Girl - If you want to improve your grammar or answer some of those grammar questions that have plagued you forever, turn to Mignon Fogarty. She's the master of bite-sized audio podcasts with "quick and dirty tips." Check out her podcast empire of great podcasts (disclaimer: mine included - see below) at Quick and Dirty Tips Network.

Marketing Over Coffee - Christopher Penn and John Wall tend to be rambly but there is so much great information and excellent viewpoints going back and forth that it feels like you're a fly on the wall as they chat over coffee.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I also have a few podcasts of my own including:

 Digital Marketer - This is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network, and I love being a part of this professional, well-oiled podcasting machine. My podcast covers the intersection of work and technology.

Cybergrrl: Living a 2nd Life - I'm a huge fan of Second Life for business, keep regular office hours, consult clients, hold events. You can find out about what I do, how I do it and why through this podcast.

Social Media Goodness - This is a new podcast I've started to talk about social media specifically geared toward nonprofit organizations however anyone can listen and benefit, especially if new to social media marketing or on a budget.

Yank and Limey - This is an even newer podcast that I'm doing with Nik Hewitt, one of the virtual team members for my company Conversify. We riff on geographical differences and gender differences as we discuss social media tools and work/life online.

What are YOUR favorite podcasts and why?

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The Social Media Storm

In my job I end up on email lists from a wide variety of organizations that I have accessed while researching for clients. One email that hit my in basket caught my attention with the following blurb.

"Social media is conditioning your customers to respond to marketing that engages them on all levels – professional, social and personal. This layered approach to marketing creates a message that is like a ball of string that slowly unravels to reveal the core, and at that core is the vital ingredient for successful marketing today – you."

Since we've been spending a lot of time at WyEn.biz working on social media I was hooked.  The link took me to an article by Jeff Korhan who lays out an excellent background and reasoning why small companies need to be paying attention to social media.  To summarize, he thinks that today's consumer is looking for companies that engage them on three levels: professional, social and personal.  If you rely on the old tried and true style of marketing, this means that customers may be looking elsewhere for information about your business and your company.  I'd recommend reading the article.  It can be found at:  http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/three_essential_layers_social_media_storm.aspx?sid=237403&key=1865723550

This makes sense to me -- how about you?  Any experiences with Social Media?

Social Media in the workplace?

Web 2.0 social media in the workplace? Is it good, bad, or both?  Well, of course it probably depends upon what the employee and/or the employer is doing…but, I think the answer is both.  An employer needs to know what may potentially violate an individual’s right to privacy but the employee must know what may potentially violate his/her responsibility to the employer…and sometimes, understanding what is right and wrong is just a matter of common sense…but still, there are more questions than answers.  What about the great opportunities available to employers through social networking?  Check out this article by Steve Bruce posted on the HR Daily Advisor and tell us what you think. 

We Are Here For You!

You may or may not be familiar with our staff, resources and services. WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz is a network of three programs: WY Small Business Development Center; WY Market Research Center; and Government Resources and Opportunities for Business (GRO-Biz). We love to meet with clients face-to-face and assist you to make your business successful. We offer numerous workshops throughout the year and our staff is comprised of individuals who strive hard to provide expertise in a variety of business areas. Visit our website for more detailed information on our services and where our offices are located.

We are also here virtually for you! We have created a small business community on Ning. We want to interact with you in this virtual environment. It's easy to become a member and there is no cost to you. Just follow this link: http://wyendotbiz.ning.com/ . You will be asked to create an account and then you can come and go as it fits into your schedule. 

Who belongs to this community? Members include small business owners, entrepreneurs, economic development professionals and interested individuals. Our focus is Wyoming based, but we have individuals who live outside Wyoming and they can provide expertise and assistance to Wyoming businesses. 

 So why should you join our virtual community? This is a unique opportunity to meet other small business owners and network; promote your business; post photos or videos about your business; ask questions to receive a variety of feedback; join a group to explore issues of interest; blog about your business in a safe environment.

You will also find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wyendotbiz. If you enjoy tweeting, then let us know. We want to know about your business journey!

We are on YouTube (videos feed into our Ning community), LinkedIn, Flickr, and coming soon, Facebook. We realize many people are not involved in all of these sites. It is important for us to connect with you where ever you are. We are exploring more venues for a strong virtual presence. 

So what social media sites are you using?

"Social Web is the Relationship Economy"

The title of this post comes from a comment made at one of the sessions I attended at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco. The title of the session "It's the People, Stupid" emphasized what social media marketing is all about, People! By engaging or at least reading in this blog, you are utilizing one of the many social media tools available. If you are new to social media networking or marketing, whatever the case may be, you probably have at least heard of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and certainly YouTube, as well as many many other tools/sites being developed daily.

It is about the people, it is about networking, it is about building relationships with your friends, family and customers. If you are a business, you should be involved with the social media web.

Traditional marketing methods utilize "push" techniques. Pushing information/marketing to your customer, social media techniques utilize a "pull" technique. Pulling your customer in, which is much easier.

Humans are social beings. We like to be with other people who share similar interests, who like us, who want to know us and more importantly who will listen to us. As a business that is what you can do with social media marketing. Wouldn't it be easier if your customers sought you out?

5 Useful Web-Based Applications for Businesses

Image via CrunchBase

I'm a fanatic when it comes to trying out new Web-based applications that can help me with my work. I am comfortable using the Web for almost any business task. Using Web-based applications is part of "working in the clouds" or using the Web and Internet for major work processes and saving files on the secure servers of third parties providing Software as a Service (SaaS).

Here are a few of my absolute favorite apps, and why I like them.

1. Freshbooks - http://www.freshbooks.com
When it comes to invoicing, I am not exaggerating when I say that Freshbooks has saved my business. Freshbooks is a Quickbooks-like Web-based invoicing application. While my bookkeeper uses Quickbooks, I never could get in the habit of using it. I was doing all of my client invoicing in Word documents and trying to keep track of them - and the invoice numbers - in a spreadsheet. I made so many invoicing errors that it was costing my company money. Since I started using Freshbooks, my invoicing is actually fun. In fact, I was about to outsource invoices to my bookkeeper but it is so quick and easy to set up and maintain that we decided it was more efficient for me to keep doing them.

2. 5pm - http://www.5pmweb.com
I used to shout praises all over the Web about Basecamp and for a good 3 years, it served my company very well. But after reviewing over a dozen project management services on the Web, I decided to upgrade to 5pm. The cost is almost the same ($24/month for Basecamp, $28/month for 5pm), but it has some additional features that I really need now that I'm outsource a lot of work to other contractors. The most important to me right now are updates for task progress and the time it took each of us to complete each task for every client. My new business partner can grab that information and analyze how profitable each task is, the kind of indepth analysis that I've been needing to implement but didn't have data from Basecamp.

3. Google Docs - http://docs.google.com/
One of my first forays into cloud working was getting used to uploading my documents to Google Docs and then sharing them securely with others. Now I can't work without Google Docs. In addition to sharing documents with team members as needed, I can also access my docs from any computer when I don't have mine with me and access them on my iPhone. I love that kind of access.

4. InstantConference - http://www.instantconference.com/
I've used a variety of conferencing apps on the Web but right now, I like the straightforwardness of InstantConference and the fact that I get a number and pin assigned to me that I can use any time rather than having to schedule a call. Oh, did I mention it was free other than the toll-free number for calling in? Useful for those who still want to use an old fashioned phone.

5. Skype - http://www.skype.com/
For long distance calls, conference calls via VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol or calls via the Internet) and video conferencing, I've really been getting a lot of use out of Skype. My new business partner has even set our company up with a regular telephone number that goes through Skype. I've only used it from my computer, however, I'm now expanding into Skype phone services.

These are only a few Web apps that can really save business owners time, money and headaches.

What are YOUR favorite Web apps and how do they work for you?

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Brilliant Definition of Web 2.0

This was sent to me from a collegue on EconDev.  The drawing is the work of Jessica Hagy (http://indexed.blogspot.com/2008/08/this-is-what-20-means.html)