New poll results found that there is a partisan divide when it comes to the choosing the best e-mail service provider. 

Poll Position asked Americans which company they choose as the best e-mail service provider and Google topped Yahoo by a 23%-20% margin.

Even though AOL trailed the pack with 12% picking it as the best e-mail service provider, AOL’s e-mail was number one among Republicans with 20% picking it best. Google trailed closed behind among Republicans at 19%, with Yahoo at 16%.

Democrats frown on AOL’s e-mail service, with only 5% picking it best. Democrats picked Google over Yahoo by a 27%-25% margin.

Among independents, Google was tops at 23%, Yahoo at 20%, and AOL at 10%.

AOL’s e-mail service was rated best among 18-29 year olds, with 32% picking it versus 10% for Google and 18% for Yahoo. Google did best among 20-44 year olds (37%), while Yahoo was best among 45-64 year olds (27%).

See a breakdown of survey participants by age, race, gender, and political affiliation in crosstabs for this poll.

Poll Position’s scientific telephone survey of 1,184 registered voters nationwide was conducted November 10, 2011 and has a margin of error of ±3%. Poll results are weighted to be a representative sampling of all American adults.

What do you think? Which e-mail provider do you consider to be the best? Vote in our online companion poll and comment at http://pollposition.com/2011/11/13/best-e-mail-service-provider/.

The online companion poll in which you can vote provides unscientific results, meaning it’s a tally of participating Poll Position users, not a nationally representative sampling.

Poll Position is committed to transparency and upholding the highest professional standards in its polling, explaining why we provide you with the crosstabs of our scientific polls. Crosstabs provide a breakdown of survey participants by age, race, gender, and political affiliation.

About Poll Position - Poll Position is a unique non-partisan news, polling, and social media company founded and lead by two award-winning CNN news and polling veterans. The company’s goals are to engage, enlighten, and entertain millions of people with exclusive news-making, buzz-generating public opinion polls and giving people everywhere an opportunity to vote and comment on hot topics, while learning the views of others. 

Learn more about Poll Position’s polling methodology at http://pollposition.com/2011/09/26/our-polling-methodology/.

At the Back of a Book?

Many LinkedIn professionals simply copy their bios from their website or the back of their book. And believe me you can tell. For example, I recently spoke to Ted Gee about changing his LinkedIn profile. I told him that his summary read like a back flap of a hard cover book. His exact response was, “You nailed it! That is exactly what I did”.

Why Your LinkedIn Profile Should Not Sound Like an Author’s Biography…

Your profile should not sound like an author’s bio because it is and old and over used format. Do you remember anything you have read from a bio? No, that is because there is never anything interesting or memorable in an author’s bio. Your profile needs to entice your audience to want to learn more about you. It needs to have strong and engaging copy. It had to make the individual who is reading it scroll down further and eventually visit your website. But none of this can ever happen if your profile is dull and average.

Here are 5 Secrets to Making Your Profile More Exciting and Enjoyable to Your Readers…

1) Make your profile summary in 1st person not 3rd person. LinkedIn is a virtual networking platform for business professionals who want to do more business. It is the first step in building a relationship with someone. You wouldn’t introduce yourself in the third person if you met someone at a networking event. – would you? Then why would you introduce yourself on your profile in 3rd person when writing in first person gives you a more genuine and personal touch.

2) Speak to your audience’s desires, wants and needs. For example here is part of the introduction we created for the summary for PRLeads Founder Dan Janal:

Imagine being featured on the front page of USA TODAY — and then being able to double your speaking fees immediately just like PR LEADS client Patrick Snow of Creating Your Own Destiny. Imagine the website traffic and sales you can generate if only you can find a way to get more publicity so you can speak to millions for free!

Now, small business owners, solo PR firms, speakers, authors and entrepreneurs can get name-brand publicity tools and publicity coaching they can afford. I’m talking about the same top-tier publicity tools that major corporations use to get mega media placements – but you can get it at a fraction of their cost.

Do you see how Dan’s intro speaks to the needs, wants and desires of a small business owner looking to attract media attention?

3) Reveal mistakes your target audience is making and how you are the solution to their problems. For example, in Skip Weisman’s profile summary we revealed how one of his clients admittedly lost 5 million in ten years before working with him. By showing your audience the types of mistakes they are making (that they don’t even realize they are doing), you will stop prospects dead in their tracks. They will automatically want to see if they are making costly mistakes themselves. The key part of this process is to provide reasons how you can help members of your audience and why they should work with you.

4) Show client results. For example, on Help My Website Sell founder Adam Hommey’s profile we included results like:

* Ross Jeffries (Founder of Speed Seduction) – For every dollar he spends on internet marketing consulting, he earns several dollars back. In fact, with one of his promotions, he made more than $60,000 in less than 24 hours!

5) Use LinkedIn profile templates. When you use templates like the ones found at http://www.InstantLinkedInMarketingTemplates.com, you get the structure, format and organization you need to create a more audience-focused, exciting profile. Here is just what one user had to say about LinkedIn templates:

Kristina, I wanted to thank you and recommend your products for LinkedIn Profiles. I purchased them and followed your templates and my LinkedIn profile went from completely empty to completely professional. I have had testimonials, been published and still didn’t know how to use those tools to my advantage. Your tools gave me that. Since then I have had more connections, more recommendations, and more conversations with potential customers. Always remembering to use the call to action skills I learned from your templates.

The next time you login to your LinkedIn account read your profile and see if it appeals to you as a reader. If it does not, you definitely have to follow some of the tips you just read to improve upon the copy.

Remember you have to entice the reader to learn more about you and what to work with you or purchase your products. One way to guarantee this is to make sure your profile does not read like an author’s biography.

LinkedIn marketing Expert Kristina Jaramillo, the creator of the first LinkedIn marketing templates at http://www.InstantLinkedInMarketingTemplates.com helps business professionals network more effectively on LinkedIn so they can get more website traffic, prospects and profits. Now, with her free special report, you can uncover how you can become “the trusted source for your industry on LinkedIn” by avoiding her top 14 mistakes. Get this information for free at: http://www.GetLinkedInHelp.com

According to a new study, Children’s Future Requests for Computers and the Internet, kids are predicting that the future of media and technology lies in better integrating digital experiences with real-world places and activities. They’re also suggesting that more intuitive, human-like interactions with devices, such as those provided by fluid interfaces or robots, are a key area for development.

The multi-phase innovation study was designed and run by Latitude, an international research consultancy that helps clients create engaging content, software and technology that harness the possibilities of the Web. Latitude asked kids across the world to draw the answer to this question: “What would you like your computer or the Internet to do that it can’t do right now?” The goal of the study was to catch a glimpse into possible futures for technology as seen by digital natives, and to highlight actionable opportunities for new content, user experience (UX), and technology offerings. A complete study summary (PDF) is available for download at http://bit.ly/kidstechstudy.

More than 200 kid-innovators, ages 12 and under, from Argentina, Australia, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, India, Mexico, The Netherlands, Panama, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States participated and submitted drawings of their imagined technologies.

Overall, the drawings demonstrated that kids wanted their technology to be more interactive and human, better integrated with their physical lives, and empowering to users by assisting new knowledge or abilities. Several study participants imagined technologies that are just beginning to appear in tech-forward circles, such as Google’s revamped image search, announced on June 14th 2011, which allows users to place images, rather than text, in Google’s search box to perform a query.

Researchers scored the kids’ inventions on the presence of specific technology themes, such as type of interface, degree of interactivity, physical-digital convergence and user’s desired end-goal. See infographic displaying some of the top attributes presented in kids’ created technologies across world regions.

View some of the kids’ drawings here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37527143@N03/sets/72157626937576399/

“This study is part of our larger research initiative that gives children a real voice in the broader, often very adult, discussion of future technologies,” says Steve Mushkin, founder and president of Latitude. “Across a variety of creative exercises, kids from all over the world have proven, time and again, that they think in extraordinarily sophisticated ways about how tech could enhance their learning, play, and interactions with the people and things around them – and the ways that technology might help us solve the big global problems we all face.”

Kids Innovation and Discovery Studies (KIDS) engages children across the world in creative problem-solving scenarios, providing valuable insights for educators, technologists, and society.

Key insights and business implications from the Children’s Future Requests for Computers and the Internet study include:

-The Digital vs. Physical Divide is Disappearing: Children today don’t neatly divide their virtual interactions from their experiences of the “real world.” For them, these two realms continue to converge as technologies become more interactive, portable, connected and integrated. Nearly 4 in 10 kids imagined technologies that bridged the gap between virtual and physical experiences.

“For many kids, the ‘online’ versus ‘offline’ and ‘virtual’ versus ‘real’ distinctions are quickly disappearing,” says Mushkin. “They naturally think about a future in which traditionally ‘online’ interactions make their way into the physical world, and vice versa – a concept already playing out in augmented reality, transmedia storytelling, the Internet of Things, and other recent tech developments.”

-Why Aren’t Computers More Human?: The majority of kids (77%) imagined technologies with more intuitive modes of input (e.g., verbal, gestural, and even telepathic), often capable of human-level responsiveness, suggesting that robots with networking functionality and real-time, natural language processing, could be promising areas of opportunity for companies in education, entertainment, and other industries.

“Kids are asking for computers to look, feel, sound, act – and interact – more like humans,” says Jessica Reinis, a senior research analyst at Latitude who led the study and who specializes in creative methodologies for researching with children. “In many cases, it’s not enough to have a machine that simply completes a task for them; kids today have a strong bent towards independent learning, creation and artistic endeavors, and they’re looking for technologies that can teach them and really engage them in new ways.”

-Technology Can Improve and Empower Us: Instant access to people, information and possibilities reinforces young users’ confidence and interest in self-development. One-third of kids invented technologies that would empower them by fostering knowledge or otherwise “adult” skills, such as speaking a different language or learning how to cook. Some participants moved beyond personal development, envisioning technologies that could foster positive social connections or influence behaviors tied to sustainability.

“One of the sweet spots we see clearly is content and game elements that flow seamlessly between screen space and physical space, and which have the ability to change the ‘real world’ for the better – for instance, online games that generate real currency to help solve societal problems or games that use social motivators and accountability to influence personal behaviors in health, energy use, and so on,” explains Mushkin.

Children’s Future Requests for Computers and the Internet Study Findings Now Available A complete PDF study summary is available for download at http://bit.ly/kidstechstudy.

Read Latitude’s blog posts discussing the findings of the Children’s Future Requests for Computers and the Internet study at the following links:

http://www.latd.com/2011/06/14/study-kids-are-the-royal-road-to-tech-innovation/

http://www.latd.com/2011/06/24/study-kids-say-the-future-of-tech-is-robots-real-world-integration/.

Latitude Presents Study Findings at Children’s Media Conference in UK Latitude’s Steve Mushkin, founder and president, and Neela Sakaria, senior vice president, will be presenting the findings of Children’s Future Requests for Computers and the Internet at the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield, UK on July 7th and 8th 2011. For more information about this session, go to http://www.thechildrensmediaconference.com/2011/event/unlikely-visionaries-how-kids-are-predicting-and-designing-the-future/.

In addition, Latitude just launched a new study in partnership with Project Synthesis and the LEGO Learning Institute called Robots @ School – http://www.latd.com/2011/06/17/study-robots-school/, to further extend some of the present study’s findings.

Over the course of 2010, Latitude asked more than 200 kid innovators, ages 12 and under, from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, South Asia, and Australia to submit drawings of something they’d like their computers or the Internet to do differently. Researchers then scored and analyzed kids’ inventions based on the presence of specific, future-oriented technology themes.

About Latitude’s Kids Innovation and Discovery Studies (KIDS): KIDS is an ongoing research series by Latitude which invites kids from across the globe to tackle big ideas in structured problem-solving scenarios, providing valuable insights for educators, technologists, and society. http://www.latd.com/#kids

iOS Users Now Able to Enjoy Ease of Picksie “On the Go” with New Mobile App providing Consumers with Most Up-to-Date, Customizable Entertainment and Dining Information

Picksie , a unique new location-based discovery service, announced today the launch of their mobile application in the App Store, providing iOS device owners with immediate access to personalized dining and entertainment options based on current location, previous preference, weather conditions and more. Picksie currently covers 900 cities/towns within the New York City/New Jersey and San Francisco metro area with additional markets slated to debut later this year.

Developed as the next generation of location-based discovery services, the Picksie mobile app enables individuals to instantly discover a wealth of entertainment and dining options whenever and wherever they choose. Picksie applies a user’s profile, past ratings, searches and reviews, as well as current day, time and weather, to recommend events, activities and places of interest – including restaurants, cafes, bars and cinemas. By creating a Picksie profile, users save time deciding what to do and receive instant recommendations that match their unique likes based on their current location.

Picksie filters and removes irrelevant choices upfront, helping users simplify their decision-making process based on time of day, day of week and weather.

App users can narrow down options even further using the collective opinions of thousands of online review sites worldwide – all without ever having to leave the Picksie app. The more frequently the user uses Picksie, the “smarter” the service becomes, customizing its recommendations over time to best fit unique individual preferences ranging from vegetarian diets to kid-friendly activities to roof-top bars and more.

“We are thrilled to introduce Picksie to the Apple app store as this marks a crucial step in providing Picksie users with relevant entertainment suggestions when they want it and when they need it,” says Ajay Mohan, CEO, Picksie. “With Picksie now available on all iOS devices, users can enjoy smart entertainment recommendations at their fingertips. The more Picksie is used, the more intuitive it will become at generating recommendations, making it an app that thrives on a mobile device.”

Picksie was founded by Ishi Systems, a product development firm delivering end-to-end technology solutions for enterprises as well as startups. Ishi has been developing enterprise, security and mobile solutions for its customers globally since 1994.

Picksie is a location-based discovery service optimized for iOS devices that answers the question “What can I do, right here, right now?” Picksie applies a user’s profile, past ratings, searches and reviews, as well as current day, time and weather, to recommend events, activities and places of interest – such as restaurants, cafes, bars and cinemas. By creating a Picksie profile, users save time deciding what to do and receive instant recommendations that match their unique likes and location.

BY THE WAY, IF YOU ARE IN SOUTH FLORIDA AND WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LOCATION BASED SOCIAL NETWORKING, CHECK OUT OUR EVENT FOR WOMEN IN ECOMMERCE featuring Chris Agranoff the CBS News Television Tech Correspondent as our guest speaker!

Here are five tips to get you started on using technology to handle your own PR:
Amp up your website. Getting a brilliant website is the first step to being a tech savvy PR person. Your site serves as the billboard for your company so make it work for you. Talk to an SEO expert to make your site keyword energized, and from there be sure to constantly create new and useful content. Have stunning pictures that portray your company in the best light. Your website can also house your blog where you can position yourself as an expert and thought leader in your industry.
Get your research done. We have it so easy these days! Researching (practically anything) is just a few clicks away. Start by researching key reporters and publications you are targeting with your story idea.  Find and read past articles and Google reporter’s names to learn more about their backgrounds. This step is so important on the road successful PR outreach. Think about how you can create a story for an outlet, not just a story that benefits you. How can you work together? What is the common tie?  It’s key to do your research before pitching anything to anyone.
Know the key online tools. There are so many great online resources to take advantage of when doing your own PR. Here are a few favorites: HelpAReporter.com (HARO) – This service connects reporters looking for sources with individuals looking to be interviewed or featured. It’s a terrific and easy way to find opportunities for PR.HandleYourOwnPR.com (HYOPR) – HYOPR is a do-it-yourself PR service that helps entrepreneurs and small, medium and home-based businesses find success in PR.  The site offers free PR tips, low-cost media lists, and press release writing services. PRWeb.com – PR Web is an affordable news release posting site that will push your news to its extensive distribution network of major news sites and search engines so your story gets in front of consumers and journalists. PitchEngine.com – This PR tool invented the Social Media Release and enables users to create and share news and content in an interactive setting. AwardSync.com – The AwardSync tool enables users to search for and identify opportunities to submit themselves and their businesses for awards so someone can get buzz and gain recognition and credibility.
Go social. Facebook , Twitter and other social networking tools are a great way to make your PR interactive online. In the past you needed to place an ad, get PR or send a direct mailing to a prospective customer to get in front of them. Today, technology has enabled companies to market directly to prospects and customers. However, being involved in these sites takes time and know-how. You need to engage visitors, provide useful content and keep your social sites active.
Audio. Video. Action. Uploading video online is so easy these days…and beneficial for you too! Use videos to demo your products, welcome visitors to your website, create interactive customer testimonials or put together your own webinar on a topic in your expertise area (you can use a fantastic program called Camtasia to screencast your webinars). You can even create your own YouTube channel or online podcast!
The DIY PR technology tools and resources available are plentiful – and if used wisely – can be beneficial to promoting your business in an era of technology. Good luck!
Jenny Finke is the U.S. founder of HandleYourOwnPR.com, a media list provider, and founder of Red Jeweled Media, a full-service PR agency specializing in working with small businesses and entrepreneurs. Please find her at www.HandleYourOwnPR.com and www.RedJeweledMedia.com.

October is National Cyber Security Awareness month, and despite the frequent warnings, adults say they would be tempted by a friend’s link, a posting on a social network or websites, catering to gaming, pornography, entertainment gossip, free product deals and of course, sites featuring a naked celebrity.

Even though Americans spend more time online than ever before, an overwhelming majority of them still want privacy when it comes to their own computer. The question is, are you keeping your computer safe from onlookers and cybercriminals?

• 79% of all Americans want to keep the files or documents on their personal computers private from others, including their children (39%), parents (26%), spouse or significant other (17%), co-workers (48%), boss (42%), and friends (40%).

• 45% of Americans would be embarrassed about their friends or family seeing certain files or documents on their personal or handheld computer, smart phone, or PDA, with men more concerned than women about others seeing the websites they have visited (18% vs. 12%, respectively).

This survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of PC Tools. All data collection was done by telephone within the United States from August 12-15, 2010 among 1,012 adults ages 18 and older. To see the full results of the survey, click here: http://www.pctools.com/press-room/article/id/283/

PC tools invites you to learn more about this Harris study and the importance of security and protection. We can set up interviews with a PC Tools representative. We have also provided helpful tips to protect your personal information and privacy.

Tips for Preventing Cybercrime:

1. Know your networks — Choose the safest and most appropriate wireless network while you’re checking email, Facebook and other online activities.

2. Be smart when using public computers — Most travelers know they can check emails and say hello to love ones by using public computers at a local hotel or café. But many don’t know to check for antivirus software on public computers. Even visiting a secure website (https: ) can result in simple keylogger theft of your password, so avoid logging into personal accounts (such as Facebook) and instead limit your use to online research.

3. Scrub your IM chats, keep personal information private – Regularly maintain your computer and keep your registry clean so that cybercriminals can’t access your personal data. Software such as PC Tools Performance Toolkit 2011 guarantees your privacy by ensuring that all traces of your online and computer activities are permanently erased and unrecoverable on your PC.

4. Change your password often – Since cybercriminals can potentially crack your password if you are using WiFi or a third-party computer, PC Tools recommends you change it often. PC Tools offers a free password generator at http://www.pctools.com/guides/password/.

5. Turn on the Firewall — A Firewall protects your computer by preventing unauthorized users from gaining access to your computer through the Internet or a network. PC Tools offers Firewall Plus for free and comprehensive protection with PC Tools Internet Security 2011.

6. Don’t click and run – If you download a recipe, map or movie ticket, save it on your computer and scan it before opening. Never click on the “run” program option. PC Tools Internet Security 2011 or Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2011 can scan your computer to make sure any file you download is safe.

7. Keep your AntiVirus current – There’s nothing worse than finding malware installed in your computer during the holiday shopping season! PC Tools offers products to keep your banking and shopping transactions safe at www.pctools.com.

8. Safeguard your finances — Cybercriminals can snatch your banking information over Wi-Fi or unreliable third party online networks, so don’t log onto your finance accounts or enter monetary information online over unsecured networks.

Additional resources:

Cyber Security Awareness Month Tips: http://www.staysafeonline.org/

PC Tools products: www.pctools.com

By Ben Johnson

Let me share an example with you. A few years ago, a friend of mine created a website. To bring traffic, he visited chat rooms, forums, discussion boards and blogs and posted his links there. A lot of people visited the site, but no one purchased his products and his bounce rate increased tremendously.

Another way of tempting people into clicking your link is to start participating in discussion forums. Create this anchor text, and link it to your website, in your signature regardless of the products you are selling: “Don’t click here if you are under 18”.

People will click and leave. Your bounce rate will increase and conversion rate will decrease.

So…What is the Solution? How can You Prevent Your Conversion Rate from Declining?

The solution is simple: Start bringing relevant traffic to your website.

Relevant Visitors – Your Key to Online Success:

Don’t worry about a lot of traffic. If your heavy traffic can’t make your wallet thicker, then you don’t need it. So what if your Analytics report shows thousands of visitors a day… Remember, your report won’t pay your bills.

The energy that you put in to bring tons of traffic should be diverted to brining relevant and targeted traffic.

One Misunderstanding I Want to Avoid Here:

One thing I want to clarify. I am not against heavy traffic. Heavy traffic is good as long as it’s relevant and targeted. So, if you want heavy traffic to increase your sales, you need to ensure that your traffic is relevant as well.

How to Bring Relevant Visitors to Your Website?

Search Engines:

The best way of bringing the targeted traffic is through the Search Engines. You need to rank high in search results on your keywords to bring relevant visitors to your website. Even if you are only getting a few hundred visitors a day, your conversion rate will be much higher when you will compare it with the conversion rate that you will get via heavy but irrelevant traffic.

So, you need to focus on optimizing your website for search engines to attract the most targeted traffic and enjoy increased sales.

Social Networking:

Social Networking is Hot these days. FaceBook has changed the way we were accustomed to using the internet in the past. You can meet new people and promote your products easily via social networking.

But… Remember, stay at least 1,000 miles away from spamming when you use social networks. Utilize them effectively by making new friends. Don’t just keep on posting your links to bring traffic. Instead, talk to people, answer their questions, and when the right time comes, promote your services as well.

When you will interact with people and they will get to know you, they will also promote your products for you by referring your site to their family and friends. So, this is also a great way of making your business successful online with relevant traffic.

Conclusion:

So…Now, you know what you need to do to make your website successful. Focus on driving relevant traffic to your website via Search Engines and Social Networking and then work hard to increase it.

Author’s Profile:

Ben Johnson is the Alliance Manager at Logoinn, a custom logo design company. He writes about the effect of design on marketing and brand identity and helps small businesses find design solutions for effective marketing.

Social media is not longer a fad. It’s become a serious business necessity. Its where people, your customers, are looking for companies to do business with.  Your customers are spending time on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter,  Ning, Flickr and YouTube and if you don’t have a presence, they are finding the competition.

You’ve probably already read that if Facebook were a country, it would be the fourth largest in the world. And you may also have heard that YouTube® is the 2^nd largest search engine in the world surpassed only by Google (for now).

If you own a small business now more than ever you need some cost-effective marketing tools. And social media is cheap!  In fact, for the most part, it’s FREE. Except of course, for T-I-M-E.  And we all have the same 24 hours in a day of which roughly 8.5 of those is spent on our professions, businesses and careers.  And it seems like we have even less time during the holidays to spend socializing online.  With all the parties and events to attend, it can get downright mind-boggling. However, now is NOT the time to stop your social networking activities. Because, your prospects are still online doing their research, spending time connecting with family, friends and colleagues, and making holiday purchases. In fact, now is the perfect time to use social media to reach your prospects and customers with your special offers, incentives, coupons and such.  You must know they are looking at who’s doing what elsewhere. Who’s giving the best buying incentives and who’s giving back to the community. Because in addition to being a business owner, you are also a consumer. And likely doing the same thing.

Here are just a few tips to help you use Social Media this holiday season:

Here’s Looking at You ~ If you’ve been thinking of putting together an informational video to help consumers make wiser buying decisions or to create a holiday experience or just to entertain your customers, there is still time to do so. YouTube, Vimeo and a host of other video sharing sites are ready to host your videos. For a huge list of video hosting sites, check out Internet Video Magazine.

Sharing is Caring ~ What exciting holiday offers or discounts can you share with your followers?  Use the power of social media to spread the word about your latest special that is “exclusive” to those individuals who follow you. And by the way, encourage them to share the offer with their family, friends and business associates.

Use Your Blog to Spread Holiday Cheer ~ Now is the perfect time to shout out to your peeps that you are aligned with a cause or local charity. Encourage your customers to “give a little back” while getting their gift-giving needs met. Online fundraising is becoming mainstream on sites like Facebook’s Causes and MySpace’s Impact.  Now is the time to hop on the cause-marketing hayride.  Be sure your blog posts feed into your social sites so EVERYONE in your funnel knows what your company is doing.

Monitor you Brand’s Reputation ~ If you have not been listening to what people say about your brand, now is as good a time as any to start. In fact, it is probably the BEST time because more people purchase online during the holiday season than any other single time of the year.  How do you monitor your rep?  Here are a dozen FREE tools to help you monitor and manage what’s being said about your company:

1. Addict-o-matic: Allows you to create a custom-made page to display search results.
2. Bloglines: A Web-based personal news aggregator that can be used in place of a desktop client.
3. Blogpulse: A service of Nielsen BuzzMetrics, it analyzes and reports on daily trends in the blogosphere.
4. FriendFeed Search: Scans all FriendFeed activity.
5. Google Alerts: Target keywords that are important to your brand and receive streaming or batched reports­.
6. HowSociable?: A simple way to begin measuring your brand’s visibility on the social Web.
7. Icerocket: Searches a variety of online services, including Twitter, blogs, videos, and MySpace.
8. Monitter: Everyone is talking about Twitter, but what are people talking about on Twitter? Beyond the integrated search of Twitter apps like Seesmic and TweetDeck, Monitter provides real-time monitoring of the Twittersphere.
9. Seesmic: Monitors multiple Twitter accounts and enables keyword searches and tracking.
10. Technorati: Search engine and monitoring tool for user-generated media and blogs. Billing itself as “the leading blog search engine,” Technorati has been helping bloggers and those with their fingers on the blog pulse stay informed for years.
11. Tinker: Real-time conversations from social media sources like Twitter and Facebook.  
12. UberVU: Track and engage with user sentiment across FriendFeed, Digg, Picasa, Twitter, and Flickr.

(Source: Pamorama)

People spending time on Social Media are spending literally billions of dollars in new business! So how much of it will your company get?  Can you afford not to be Social? Is it time to say Ho Ho Ho to Social Media for your business?

Connect with Heidi Richards Mooney on Twitter at http://twitter.com/heidirichards and http://twitter.com/WE_magazine. On Facebook at http://www.linkedin.com/in/heidirichardsmooney and LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/heidirichardsmooney

And her blogs Tulips Talk at www.TulipsTalk.com and Redhead Marketing at www.RedheadMarketingBlog.com

I’ve been bartering since 1994  and I’ve been amazed by the things I can get by striking up a deal. Since I’ve launched my own Barter Exchange, I’m even more impressed by the services and products you can get on barter. A lot of my colleagues don’t EVER spend a dime in the store, before they check the barter exchange store first.

I know a few that are actually pretty wealthy in “barter terms” and can afford to splurge in our barter store with over 40,000 merchants to choose from. An Own Your Power Member, Suzette Caloca is actually a web designer of mine who loves to barter. She provides quality work and has a high demand, so she doesn’t have a hard time building up her Barter Bank account. I just paid her in barter bucks to do my business cards!

Her stories about bartering inspire ME to barter even more, check out why she’s barter ballin’!

What is name of your business and what do you do?
STUDIO Suzette Web and Print Design (but it not an official business name, I get paid to my name)
I design anything and everything for web and print marketing

How long have you been bartering?
Actively, 8 Months.

What makes an exchange like Give ‘n Take better than bartering on your own?
Give n’ Take’s Barter system allows me to trade with anyone in exchange for barter dollars that I can in turn use with anyone in the DoBarter Network (over 40k members!)

Why do you think you’ve been successful with bartering?
I think I’ve been successful, because I have a product that everyone needs to market themselves, their product or their business.

Top three coolest barters so far?
$9,000 in dental work (including TEETH WHITENING)
$2,200 for a brand new wooden playset with swing for my kids. (Shown in photo).
$1,225 for credit repair.

Why do you think most people don’t get bartering exchanges?
I don’t think they understand the barter system and I still have yet to find a website that knows how to explain it in plain English to someone who is not familiar with barter at all.

What would you tell these people to change their minds?
I was skeptical at first, I didn’t know how this was going to work out for me or if it has anything to offer me, but I swear by it now. What would I tell people to change their minds? Hmm… how about, I’ve bought over $15,000 worth of stuff in the past 8 months with NO CASH… wouldn’t you want that too?

Now how’s that for example of Living the GOOD Life on Zero Cash? I’ve said it time and time again; BARTER IS SMARTER!
Want to barter with Suzette for web design? Join Give ‘n Take for FREE today and we’ll connect you. Also add her as a friend in our community.

Own your power,

Simone

Daisy Wright, President of The Wright Career sent me two interesting interviews last week and I asked if we could share them with readers of WE magazine for Women. Daisy said yes. Here they are:

JibberJobber is your one-stop resource to organize and manage your job search; track personal and professional relationships; keep track of companies you are targetting and track jobs you have applied for. Listen to this informative interview between Jason Alba, founder and CEO of JibberJobber, and Daisy Wright, Certified Career Coach and owner of The Wright Career Solution. Jason Alba. Jason knows what it means to have been unemployed, and wondering where his next job opportunity was coming from.  Jason’s background is in IT, specifically web development, and he combined his experience as a job seeker with his business and technical background to create JibberJobber, and as they say, the rest is history.

Listen here:  http://tinyurl.com/km4t82

Discussion on Social Media

If you have heard of Twitter, Zoominfo, VisualCV, Whowhere, Spoke, Jigsaw, then you are in the forefront of social media?  It is the talk of the town these days, and sometimes the term belies one of its main purposes – a career tool for job seekers as well as a networking tool for business owners.

Follow this link http://tinyurl.com/mphwc9 to listen to Career Coach Daisy Wright as she discusses social media tools and how they can become a part of your job search strategy. You can also click on the podcast button below to listen.

Daisy Wright is a Certified Career Management Coach, speaker and author of No Canadian Experience, Eh? A Career Survival Guide for New Immigrants. She provides interview, resume and career coaching, as well as workshop facilitation. Daisy can be reached by phone at (905) 840-7039, by email at daisy@thewrightcareer.com. Visit her websites: www.thewrightcareer.com and www.nocanadianexperience-eh.com.