Top Ten Internet Tools for Experts for 2008

I'm sure you've heard of "Web 2.0" and tools like Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. But you might still be wondering exactly how to use them in your speaking / training / coaching / consulting business.Fair enough. After all, if you don't know how these can help you, it's difficult to get the motivation to find out more about them, isn't it?In this article, I'm going to list what I think are the most important Web 2.0 tools for information experts. But I won't just tell you what they are.

I'll also show you ways you can use these in your business. I've deliberately chosen practical examples for experts like you.These are in no particular order, but they are all important.

1. Blogger Blogger is Google's no-cost blogging service. You can have a blog up and running in 10 minutes, and join the tens of thousands of other bloggers world-wide.Practical application: Create a blog that answers the most common questions you get from clients, audiences and colleagues. In other words, it's a "FAQ" site, which demonstrates your expertise as it grows.

2. Flickr Flickr is one of the world's leading photo-sharing sites. Upload photos, organise them in albums and search for related photos.Practical application: Use Flickr to find photos you can use in books, newsletters, PowerPoint presentations and articles. Yes, you have to respect copyright, but if you know how to search, you'll find thousands of photos that their owners have made available at no charge - even for commercial use.

3. YouTube YouTube wasn't the first video-sharing service, and it's spawned off a host of other copycat services. But it's still the most popular, and a must for presenters. After all, you're already making live educational presentations - why not make them available on YouTube as well?Practical application: Get recordings of yourself, and put short extracts on-line. Tom Murrell does this with brief extracts from presentations; Matt Hern does it with interviews he conducts as host of a TV show; and I do it with an educational video clip I created in my lounge room.

4. SlideShare SlideShare is like YouTube for slide shows. It makes it easy to upload PowerPoint presentations and share them with the world.Practical application: Create a PowerPoint presentation and upload it! That's exactly what I did with my "Internet Marketing in a Web 2.0 World" presentation.

5. Skype Skype is the world's most popular software for making phone calls over the Internet. At first, you could only make calls from one computer to another, but their most recent services allow you to make low-cost calls to other telephone users.Practical application: Use it for recording audio products (e.g. CDs or MP3 downloads). Get "Pamela for Skype", a low-cost software program that records Skype calls. Then use it to record interviews with clients or other experts.

6. Shelfari Shelfari is a relatively new (but rapidly growing) book sharing site. Upload your list of books to the site, and then connect with other readers with similar interests. If you're an avid reader (and you should be, if you're going to keep up with your area of expertise), this is a high-quality networking tool and an excellent way to find other important books published in your field.Practical application: Publish book lists - e.g. a "Recommended Reading" list - on your Web site. For example, I publish my "wish list" so people know what to buy me for gifts!

7. Facebook Facebook is the phenomenally successful social networking site that started as a service for Harvard students to keep in touch with each other.Practical application: Join Facebook and join discussion forums related to your area of expertise. And if nothing else, get the experience of a social networking site so you'll be ready when you create your own membership site for your community (see next item !)

8. Ning Ning lets you create your own little version of Facebook. Granted, it probably won't turn into a multi-billion-dollar company, but it can still be a powerful tool for building your own "membership site".Practical application: Sean Weafer created the Rebel Island community for like-minded thinkers. I've also created my own private community for First Step clients.

9. Hipcast Hipcast is a low-cost service for uploading your audio and video files, and for publishing podcasts. It takes all the "heavy lifting" out of publishing multimedia clips on the Internet.Practical application: Publish a "podcast", which is just a fancy name for an audio newsletter. I do mine by simply reading out articles from this e-zine, then recording them and uploading them to Hipcast.

10. Elance Elance is one of the best-known outsourcing networks. It gives you access to suppliers around the world, ready to bid on your projects.Practical application: Use Elance for outsourcing work that you don't have the time or expertise to do yourself (or in your team).

I've used it for ghostwriting, graphic design, book layout, audio transcripts, programming, logo design, and more.OK, that's enough for now ...That's ten! And I didn't even get to mention eBay, iTunes, Clickbank and a few other important Internet tools.The important thing to do is to start using these tools. Not all at once, of course. But as soon as possible. You really must experience them for yourself, because they will open your mind to other possibilities.

Author: Gihan Perera

Read More....

The Trends Of Online Advertising

Unlike traditional methods of advertising, online tools can not only measure the behavior of your target audience, but can also provide an advertiser with detailed statistics about the number of people viewing the ad and how many click it.

This technology has led to a huge amount of Internet growth, particularly for companies such as Google and Yahoo, and has left electronic media outlets, such as television and radio, looking for more ways to measure advertising responses like the Internet. Newer and more accurate ways of tracking are always being studied so that advertisers get the most for their money.

One method currently being tested involves an attempt to understand the kinds of advertisements consumer minds tend to register to easily. Researchers are showing different online advertisements to volunteers and scanning their brains as they watch them.

The reason so much work is being put in to determining just what kinds of online advertisements are effective is because it's so much easier and less expensive to advertise online and advertising on the web promises much faster results than advertising with traditional medias. When businesses and advertising companies know more about online customer behavior, they'll be able strategize ways to appeal more to potential customers and have a more successful business.

There are several different formats of online advertising currently being utilized by businesses and websites and being studied by researchers to develop more strategic advertising plans. One format, seen on almost every website on the Internet, is banner advertising.

Banners ads are placed on websites based on certain key words and website demographics. Most do not realize that companies don't just go on the Internet and search for websites to put each, individual banner ad on. Intelligence is used to automatically put an advertisement on a site specifically geared towards certain customers or what kinds of information they entered into a search engine. Though banner ads are the most favored kind of online advertisements, other formats, like videos, emails and podcasts, are growing more popular each day.

These forms are incorporating more information to captivate Internet users and potential customers by making them genuinely interested in a business and it's products or services. Unlike banner ads, these techniques make a customer familiar with how a business can help them, not just the name of the company. These ads can also be placed throughout the Internet and help to raise a websites search engine rank, driving more traffic towards their site and, therefore, making more sales.

Another way advertisers have gotten web users interested in an otherwise ordinary ad, is to make advertisements more interactive and fun. Many online ads feature different games, riddles or questions to answer that make customers want to click on the ad and complete the task. After completing the task, the user is brought back to the product web page.

With new technology emerging each day, researchers are coming up with more ways to target a certain kind of consumer and entice their minds with dazzling advertisements, making online advertising a clear choice over traditional methods in other forms of media.

Author: James Copper

Read More....

Using a Blog for Business

There are many uses for blogging. In most cases, blogging can be used for advertising. If you own a business, you can make use of blogs to promote your products or services. The usage of blogging in business is gaining popularity because it can establish a business's credibility and name recognition.The internet is a very competitive arena for online businesses. Many people are now into home-based businesses. There are certain advantages in putting up home-based business such as lower capital requirement, free to work any time, and you can spend a lot of your time with your family. If you want to establish a successful online business, make sure that you use blogging. You don't have to be an expert blogger. You simply have to know the basics of blogging and you're on your way to success. Through blogging, you can create a priceless platform where you can demonstrate readily your expertise, experience, talents, and your business to the whole world. Now, you have a more effective way of presenting your business to the world and most especially, to your customers or clients. You can also look into other online businesses which previously made use of blogging for promoting their products or services. If you want, you can contact them and ask how blogging has helped them in establishing business success. You'll be surprised to find out that some business owners exerted their own efforts to create blogs for their businesses. They did not seek the help of expert bloggers to do the job for them. Aside from enhancing your business reputation online, you can also use blogging to enhance the web presence of your business. If you can make a comprehensive website for your business and you're able to create effective blogs, the name of your business will be known online. Many online businesses spend thousands of their capital to enhance web presence but if you want to save some money on the promotion of your business, you must learn to create blogs for your business. This way, you can create personal blogs that your business can benefit a lot. Customers are easily attracted to businesses that are considered leaders in the business arena. You can inform the world about your expertise through the blogs you post in your website. Many people read blogs nowadays. If you can post blogs regularly, prospective clients and customers can be kept informed. You can create a buzz so that you business will become more popular. Oftentimes, readers who are interested in your blogs will also pass the links to their friends, colleagues, and family members. This way, you will have a wider audience. If you can blog appropriately, your business can be among the top ranked in search engine results. If you can achieve top ranks in any search engine, your business will become more popular and more profitable. With more readers and subscribers for your blogs, you can increase the traffic in your business site. You will then be able to reach more customers so that your business will earn more profits. So don't just sit down and watch as your business fails. Start learning the basics of blogging and post blogs in your business website. Soon, your business will flourish and you can earn huge profits.Always have fresh blog ideas at hand so that your readers and customers will remain interested.

Read More....