Byte of the Week

Today I’m presenting for a free webinar on Free Google Tools at noon until 1:00 (CST). You are all welcome to attend. It’s a project for the Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace. http://www.mnrem.com/blog/?page_id=53

You can register here: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/606704318

Here’s the official description:

Google has a range of free tools that can not only save your money but make it easier for you to collaborate with others online. This session will highlight a few of the tools that are most useful to small businesses.
Title: Survey of Free Tools from Google
Date: Thursday, February 2, 2012
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
I will post the slides and an archive from the presentation on the MNREM site later today if you’re interested in the topic but can’t make the time.
Sorry for the last minute notice – but sometimes that’s the best way to get fit it into your schedule.

Happy New Year!

Today’s Byte is a little different. First I wanted to send a reminder on a free webinar that I’m doing on Thursday on Facebook Stats: http://tinyurl.com/7m6hccc Please feel free join us.

Then I’m working with a group that is looking for product reviews – one lucky reviewer will win a $100 gift certificate. And you can review some of their free products and still qualify. Learning ZoneXpress http://www.learningzonexpress.com/ creates fun educational products that promote healthy choices – especially nutritional choices. They are running a Facebook contest, So if you write a review (fewer than 400 characters) and post it on their FB page you qualify for a drawing to win the gift cert.

• You can get the rules on their blog: http://tinyurl.com/6o39zxs
• You can check out their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/learningzonexpress
• You can sample some of their products for free here: http://freemyplate.com/

Good luck!

This week I got a chance to try out a paid service thanks to SEMRush. They track organic search engine ranking and Pay Per Click ads. http://www.semrush.com

Type in a keyword phrase to find the popularity of a term, the cost per click to bid on that term in Google ads, the competition for that terms and related terms. You can also find the top 20 search results for that term. I particularly like the related terms feature. They include variation of term (for example tracking multi-term phrases that include your original term) but also include terms that relate but do not include your keyword terms.

Or type in an address/URL to find how it ranks in Google for its top terms (also popularity of terms, competition and traffic drive by terms), how much spent on Google ads, competitors and links to details about competitors, such as how much they spend on Google ads. It’s helpful to see the competition and learn about how much they are spending (and with what success) on the Google ads.

Also Thursday (Dec 15) at noon, I’m doing a free webinar on Starting a Facebook Page for Business. Everyone is welcome it’s sponsored by MNREM and MIRC – you can get more details here: http://www.mnrem.com/blog/?p=426

In September I am giving a free webinar on QR Codes for Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace. You’re all welcome:

QR Code: What, How Why?
Have you noticed barcode matrix graphics in magazines, ads, even billboards? Have you wondered how they work and how you can use them to reach your audience? We’ll talk about what they are, how to use them and how to create them.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/197549182

Also for Minnesota folks, I wanted to share my annual State Fair scavenger hunt: http://wp.me/p48Vv-18X

Sorry to folks outside Minnesota. This is pretty area specific this week.

Google joined the Minnesota High Tech Association earlier this month. My hope was that it meant they might start doing training and sponsoring speakers here. Well, apparently it does. They just announced Google Training offered Sep 9 and 10. They are offering a range of classes on how to build a free web site, get listed on Google Places, buy ads and use some of their other free tools. There are three workshops, each lasting an hour. So I’ve signed up for two just to see how it goes. I’ll report in after to tell you how it goes.

I know these sessions have filled up quickly in Dublin – but they are open now if you’re interested: http://www.minnesotagetonline.com

I wanted to thank folks who attended the free webinar earlier this month on search engine optimization. If you didn’t get to attend and want to see the presentation or listen to the recording, you can check them out here:
http://www.mnrem.com/blog/?page_id=53

We’ve set a date for the next one-hour webinar and I wanted to invite you to attend – Thursday April 28, 2011 at 10 am. The topic is Social Media for Industry. Here’s a description…

Join us for an introduction to social media strategies for renewable energy businesses. Learn how other businesses are using Blogs, Twitter, Video and Social Media networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook. We’ll talk about how to use social media to other businesses and consumers.

No need to pre-register, simply join the webinar immediately before the webinar:http://connectpro31594469.adobeconnect.com/r53173140/

I am doing two webinars on search engine optimization on March 15. It’s geared towards businesses in the renewable energy sector – but I think it might be interesting for a wider audience, especially for B2B folks. And it’s free. Here are the details…

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 : First They’ve got to Find You!

Getting Found Online/Search Engine Optimization
How easy is to find your web site online? Your web site is in competition with thousands of other web sites for search engine ranking. In this one hour webinar we’ll go over four simple strategies that will help you rise to the top. We’ll include some free tools that will help you assess and improve your standing.
The webinar will be held twice. Please pre- register by following the meeting link:
10:00 a.m. http://connectpro31594469.adobeconnect.com/r26184697/
2:00 p.m. http://connectpro31594469.adobeconnect.com/r34778891/

Then last week I wrote about Creative Commons – this week I wanted to follow up with the conversation that spurred by renewed interest in copyright. The conversation started at the Twin Cities Media Alliance Fall Forum http://tinyurl.com/25e542b I wrote about how to get copyright years ago (http://byteoftheweek.com/2005/08/24/copyright-on-the-web/) but we talked about some new issues.

One of the “new” issues is that many of the web sites that act as platform or cataloger of content often retain some ability to use your content. Here’s a snippet from Ustream about their policy…

Ustream.tv does not claim ownership rights in your User Submissions. However, by uploading, streaming, submitting, emailing, posting, publishing or otherwise transmitting any User Submission to Ustream.tv or on the Site, you hereby grant Ustream.tv a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, perpetual and irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, prepare derivative works based on, perform, display, publish, distribute, transmit, broadcast and otherwise exploit such User Submissions in any form, medium or technology now known or later developed, including without limitation on the Site and third party websites.

I was kind of surprised to see how much control Ustream does have over my info. There are some social media tools that are more accommodating with copyright, such as Vimeo, Blip.TV and Flickr. Those tools include some easy ways to put a creative commons clause on your work. If you’re using the tool to market your services that might not be a big issue – if you’re on artist, this is a huge issue.

I wish I had a good answer to a more copyright-friendly livestream tool – but today I’m just raising questions

This morning I gave a presentation to the Minneapolis Breakfast Club. I belong to the club; we each get one week to present on our wares. It’s a great group of folks. I promised to post the PPT here…

I have been totally negligent in the Byte lately and I’m cheating today by sharing news, not a tip. I apologize but I wanted to send a heads up about two events that are coming up. Also I just posted notes from a presentation I gave today on telling a story using social media: http://tinyurl.com/ygh7k7g (It actually does contain tips.) It was a webinar and I hope soon to write about giving a webinar. It’s hard but I think I picked up some tips that might make life easier for you should you ever be in a position to present for a webinar.

Here are the events:
The Twin Cities Media Alliance will hold its 2009 Fall Media Forum on Saturday November 7, at the Hennepin County Library Central branch, 300 Nicollet Mall, downtown Minneapolis, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (It’s free.) The theme for this year’s forum is Networking And The New Media Landscape: Reporting News, Building Community, Making Money. Learn more here: http://twincitiesmediaalliance.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/tcma-fall-media-forum-november-7/

Realizing Our Broadband Future: Getting from Here to There
Wednesday, November 18 – Thursday, November 19, 2009 (Cost $105) held in Duluth
Blandin Foundation’s 2009 Broadband Conference will focus on the future of Minnesota communities, providing community leaders with the information and tools they need to position their communities in the future. http://tinyurl.com/n4gqvb  

In the next week I will find time to write up a tip!