home > 2005 > October

Leveraging the Power of RSS

10/21/2005 By

Earlier this week Steve Rubel of Micro Persuasion detailed some of his best RSS tips and tricks in a post entitled Ten RSS Hacks. Steve’s post shows that RSS offers much more than simply streamlined reading of blogs and breaking news stories.

Although Steve took some of the better tips, I’ll share three of my own

  1. Track job searches using RSS – Indeed, SimplyHired, and craigslist provide RSS feeds for keyword and location searches.

  2. Create a custom Google News page and subscribe to its feed – Go to Google News and create customized sections via keywords (you can also remove standard sections). Subscribe to the feed.

  3. Use Findory to create a personalized RSS feed – Findory learns from your reading habits. You can subscribe to a feed that is personalized for you once it learns what you like.

Filed Under: Chapter 04: Social Software Industry, Web 2.0 Sites

Blogging for a Job

10/20/2005 By

FastCompany.com just published our latest column: Blogging for a job.

Heather Hamilton, a senior recruiter for marketing talent at Microsoft, recently performed an unusual recruiting experiment. As creator of the Marketing and Finance at Microsoft Blog, Heather asked her readers to link to a post on her blog from their blog resumes, and committed that she would check out her reader’s resumes by reviewing her blog’s referral logs.

The implication of this? For one, if you don’t understand how to do what she’s asking you to do, you’re probably not qualified to work in the marketing department at Microsoft.


more….

Filed Under: Blogging, Chapter 25: Finding a Job

Update on SRI Conference: Beyond Blogs and Social Networks, Dec. 1-2, 2005

10/16/2005 By

The conference schedule for our upcoming conference (Dec. 1-2, Jersey City) is shaping up well. I hope to see you there! Among the confirmed presenters are the CEOs or senior executives from Buzzmetrics, Mediabistro, Common.net, Contact Network Corp., SelectMinds, Feedster, Intelliseek, IBM, and Corante, with more to come.

Here’s the press release:

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Beyond Blogs and Social Networks: How Consumer Generated Media and the Virtual Handshake will Make or Break Your Business
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

September 1, 2005 — The Strategic Research Institute is launching its first major social software conference this December 1-2, 2005, in Jersey City: “Beyond Blogs and Social Networks: How Consumer Generated Media and The Virtual Handshake will Make or Break Your Business.” For more information on the book, see http://thevirtualhandshake.com/ , which includes a blog and profiles of many of the leading companies in the social software industry.

The conference centers on the emerging importance of online networks. Considering that 84% of U.S. Internet users have used the Internet to contact or get information from an online group—more than went online to read news, search for health information, or even shop— those who rely solely on phone-calls and face-to-face meetings will be left far behind in years to come. New “social software” technologies–blogs, online networks, relationship capital management software, virtual communities, etc.—are making online communication faster and more effective.

A group of industry leaders and nationally recognized bloggers will present on how to better leverage “social software” as a cutting-edge business tool. For example, instead of conducting focus groups or other potentially time-consuming research, blogs allow executives to monitor consumer feedback and reactions to nearly anything—in real time.

Some topics to be discussed at the conference include:
+ Increasing market share by reaching customers where they live…online
+ Creating cost savings by distributing information faster and more efficiently…online
+ Insuring your corporate privacy and safety: how to be public but not too public…online
+ Increasing revenues by equipping your sales team with tools to open more doors and close more deals…online

FEATURED SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
- Dan Burstein, Founder and Managing Member, Millennium Technology Ventures; co-author, BLOG! How the Newest Media Revolution is Changing Politics, Business and Culture
- Steve Rubel, Vice President, Client Services, Cooperkatz
- Jonathan Carson, President & CEO, Buzzmetrics; Co-Founder, Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA)
- Laurel Touby, CEO, MediaBistro
- Craig Calle, CEO, Common.net
- Geoff Hyatt, CEO, Contact Network Corp.
- Anne Berkowitch, CEO, SelectMinds
- Scott Rafer, CEO, Feedster
- Pete Blackshaw, Chief Marketing and Customer Satisfaction Officer, Intelliseek
- Alex Williams, Managing Director of Events, Corante
- Erin Byrne, Managing Director, Marsteller

CONFERENCE CHAIRPERSON:
- David Teten, CEO, Nitron Advisors (NitronAdvisors.com); Co-Author, The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online (TheVirtualHandshake.com)

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION:
Phone: 800-599-4950 / 212-967-0095
E-mail: mailto:info@srinstitute.com
Web: http://www.srinstitute.com/CF401

* Please mention priority code Nitron when registering.

CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS:
Ali Curi
Strategic Research Institute
Phone: 212-967-0095 ext. 222
acuri@srinstitute.com

Filed Under: Events

David Teten at Princeton Entrepreneurs Network, Nov. 8th, NYC

10/16/2005 By


Princeton NY NetNights, Princeton Entrepreneurs Network , and SoundBoard

present

an intimate evening with David Teten

CEO of Nitron Advisors, LLC

And co-author of “The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online”
Nov. 8th

Online networks are quickly becoming essential tools for business. As “social software” such as blogging, social network sites, virtual communities, and web conferencing becomes increasingly popular, you need to make sure you don’t fall behind. “The Virtual Handshake” provides the tools to take advantage of these new technologies and become dramatically more successful in business. It is particularly focused on helping you sign new customers, meet new business partners, recruit star employees, and even find your dream job.

Mitch Schlimer, SoundBoard Chairman and host of the nationally syndicated radio show “Let’s Talk Business,” will conduct an interview with David Teten followed by Q&A from the audience.

Some of the issues to be discussed include:

- Creating a powerful corporate professional presence online
- Attracting business in online networks
- Starting and promoting your own blog
- Ensuring your privacy and safety online

Copies of “The Virtual Handshake” will be available for sale at the event.

DATE: Tuesday, November 8th, 2005

This event is only for Princeton alumni and SoundBoard members, who can register through their respective networks:
+
Princeton NY NetNights
+ Princeton Entrepreneurs Network , and
+ SoundBoard

.

ABOUT DAVID TETEN:

David Teten is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Nitron Advisors, an independent research firm which uses social software to help hedge funds, venture capitalists, and buyout funds to learn directly from frontline industry experts. He is also Chairman of Teten Recruiting, an executive recruiting firm specializing in serving the hedge fund, private equity, investment banking, and strategy consulting industries.

David is the coauthor of “The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online,” with Scott Allen. “The Virtual Handshake” is the first mass market book about how businesspeople can find new clients, new business partners, or even a new job by leveraging online networks. This new book has received rave reviews from BusinessWeek, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, and many other publications.

David runs the Virtual Handshake resource site and blog (www.thevirtualhandshake.com); writes a personal blog, Brain Food (Teten.com/blog); and co-writes a column about online networks for FastCompany.com. He was recently honored by Human Capital magazine for his innovative use of social software.

David formerly was CEO of an investment bank focusing on serving the internet domain name asset class, which he built to 450 customers. He is a former Bear Stearns investment banker and strategy consultant. David holds a Harvard MBA and a Yale BA.

ABOUT MITCH SCHLIMER:

Mitch Schlimer, also a serial entrepreneur, is Chairman of SoundBoard, a company that creates and facilitates peer-advisory boards for small business owners. Formerly a pro tennis player, Mitch found his calling after injury forced him to quit playing and he established a tennis coaching business. He made a name for himself as a franchise consultant to clients such as Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Blockbuster Video, and through creating enterprises such as one of the first companies to catalogue the contents of homes and businesses for the insurance industry. In 1994 he started the nationally syndicated radio show “Let’s Talk Business” for business owners seeking advice on growing their companies. Eleven years later, Mitch’s passion for helping business owners overcome barriers remains strong and is realized through his show, one-on-one coaching, and SoundBoard’s peer-advisory boards. Mitch has had the privilege of interviewing business stars such as Richard Branson, Harvey Mackay, Anita Roddick, Brian Tracy, and many others.

Filed Under: Events

Making Money with Social Software

10/16/2005 By

After my post about how to get paid to blog, even without your own blog, I started thinking about other companies that are paying people to use social software, and I realized that there are actually quite a few now that will pay you to:
- provide contact information
- refer people for jobs
- refer business deals
- blog

What I find particularly interesting about this is that in the past, making money online generally meant that you had to sell a product, either your own or someone else’s. Now, people are willing to pay you for your knowledge — what you know and who you know — and you don’t have to be a great salesperson or a marketing genius to make some money at it. You might even be able to make a living at it — maybe not with just one of these opportunities, but certainly by combining them.

Another thing that struck me about these business models is that they’re paying for the value of your knowledge, not your time. All too money online business opportunies (getting paid to read e-mails, take surveys, etc.) will never work out to much more than a menial hourly wage. But these have the potential to do more than that — in fact, some of them actually have an increasing return on your time investment.

Last of all, they don’t cost you anything to get started earning money. There’s no investment other than your time.

No investment, high earnings potential, no selling, no marketing — sounds good to me!

I’ve compiled a list of these on my About.com site (how to really make money online is the single most common question my readers there ask me):

Make Money Online (Without Spending a Dime)

I’m also working on a follow-up story. If you know of any other social software companies that are paying people for referrals, contacts, or other information (not just points or credit towrds a paid subscription), please let me know.

Filed Under: Chapter 04: Social Software Industry, Web 2.0 Industry

Increase your productivity 10-44%

10/16/2005 By

Clive Thompson writes in the NY Times on Meet the Life Hackers. One of the key sentences:

“On the bigger monitor screen [the size of a big-screen TV], people completed the tasks at least 10 percent more quickly – and some as much as 44 percent more quickly.”

Filed Under: Chapter 14: Manage the E-mail Deluge, Chapter 18: Your Competence

The Read-Write, Interactive, Web 2.0

10/10/2005 By

From Businessweek: It’s A Whole New Web:

Daneane Gallardo doesn’t just surf the World Wide Web. She lives on it. Every day, she wraps herself in her own personal electronic cocoon of e-mail groups, instant messaging, blogging, creating Web sites for indie musicians, and much more….I stopped watching TV a month and a half ago. If I didn’t have to eat, pee, and have sex, probably I’d have no need for the 3-D world.

This behavior pattern is no longer limited just to a few; as more and more of our human interaction moves online, this is becoming (for better or worse) normative.

Filed Under: Web 2.0 Industry, Web 2.0 Sites

Introductory Post: Blogs vs. Wikis

10/8/2005 By

Blogs and wikis are two specific types of content management systems (CMS). While these two buzz words share many commonalities, there are also a number of very important distinctions between the two. I’ve created a visual to quickly summarize some of the differences.

I encourage you to compare the MSNBC blogs to Wikipedia to see these technologies in action. Please note that what I provide above is simply a framework to think about how blogs and wikis are used.

Questions or thoughts are most welcome.

Filed Under: Chapter 04: Social Software Industry

Blog Ads Offer Bang for the Buck

10/6/2005 By

In spite of the comparatively low reach compared to traditional media, blog advertising delivers great bang for the buck because of the higher click-through rates, according to panelists at the Online Media, Marketing and Advertising (OMMA) Conference last week, as reported by MediaPost.

Brian Clark of GMD Studios reported that in a campaign that his agency ran for Audi, just one-half of one percent of the media buy budget was spent on BlogAds, but they contributed 29 percent of the traffic to the campaign’s landing page. According to McKinney-Silver, the creative agency behind the campaign:

The media cost for the entire blog ad buy was less than the cost of one banner ad on a mainstream site such as Yahoo. The blog ad appeared on sites such as Metafilter, Lockergnome and Daily Kos.

The panelists also said, though, that many advertisers are hesitant about advertising on blogs and other social media because of the possibility of negative comments. They just don’t get it. Clark had this to say:

If you’re afraid of what users are going to say, there are two strategies: You get involved in the discussion, or you stick your fingers in your ears and pretend it doesn’t exist. People are talking about you whether you’re listening or not.

via AdRants via BlogAds via MediaPost

Filed Under: Blogging, Chapter 09: Blogging, Web 2.0 Industry

Get Paid to Blog

10/5/2005 By

Ever wondered how you could get to paid to blog, but you weren’t quite ready to set up your own blog from scratch?

Or maybe you have your own blog, but you’re having a hard time getting enough traffic to it to make any money at it?

Or maybe you have a blog that’s about one particular topic, and you’d occasionally like to write about other topics, but don’t think it’s a good fit for your existing blog?

If any of these describes you, then you’ll definitely want to check out Creative Reporter. The deal is simple — sign up, post to any of Creative Weblogging‘s blogs and you get paid $10 per 1,000 page views (FYI, that’s a very good pay rate). They do have some basic guidelines – they’re looking for original posts, not just links and summaries (those won’t usually attract as much traffic anyway).

In case you’re not familiar with it, Creative Weblogging is a blog network similar to Weblogs Inc., Corante or AllBusiness.com’s Business Blogs. The big difference is that all of these only have one blogger per topic, with occasional guest bloggers by invitation only. With Creative Reporter, anybody can contribute to any of Creative Weblogging’s 40+ blogs, including topics ranging from aviation to VOIP.

I think this is a really smart move on Creative Weblogging’s part from a business standpoint. Not only will it increase the amount of content on their site, it should also increase their readership because of the network effect from new contributors, who will have a vested interested in helping promote the site to their friends and acquaintances. Since they apparently have enough advertisers paying per impression to cover this, it’s a no-lose proposition for them. And it couldn’t be easier for bloggers, since there’s nothing to set up. Just register and start posting.

Filed Under: Chapter 09: Blogging, Chapter 22: Number of People in Your Network, Web 2.0 Sites
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