Archive - Cool Tools RSS Feed

Where’s the WOW in Business Blogging?

By on December 11, 2006 in Blogging, Conversations, Cool Tools with 0 Comments

If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know I believe Blogging Has Two Roles and how smart business people will start Putting an Ear To the Blogosphere.

When I talk to business people about blogs, the "WOW" usually comes when I demonstrate how easy it is to Get Started Reading Feeds and it can help Synchronize Their Communications.

Upon the realization we can listen to conversations and news about ourselves, our company, our customers, our competitors…and not have to go back to each site time and again. Yep – that should be a "WOW."  At least a "cool."

Here are some of the tools I use to follow the conversations:

  • Google offers two great search tools with RSS Feeds: Google News (news.google.com) and Google Blog Search (blogsearch.google.com)
  • Technorati is a wonderful tool with multiple types of searches.
  • With BlogPulse, you can track trends as well as blog posts.
  • Bloglines is not just a Feed Aggregator. It also acts a blog search engine.
  • CoComment allows you to track the comments of a blog post without taking part in the conversation.

The beauty of all of this is we can Search Once and Subscribe. We can…but do we?

Snap Preview: Cool Tool or Interruption?

By on November 25, 2006 in Cool Tools with 7 Comments

I first saw the Snap Preview Anywhere tool on Douglas Karr’s site, and I thought i was pretty cool. Today, after reading a John Jantsch post, I decided we’d give it a try here.

Looking for assistance here, is the pop-up preview a benefit or an interruption? I think this tool will be a great addition to our Blogroll page, but I don’t know if it works well on this front page.

I was about to put an image here – but just mouseover a link to see what it looks like.

UPDATE: I’ve decided to remove the Snap Preview on the main page, but it still exists on the Blogroll page.

Whaddya think? Keeper or stinker?

TheGoodBlogs: Full of Pith and Vinegar

By on November 24, 2006 in Cool Tools with 6 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I’m really digging TheGoodBlogs widget.

This morning, a headline caught my eye, "Care about people, listen actively and name-drop shrimp" Post after post on the Pith and Vinegar site got my brain and heart pumping. Good stuff – immediately on the blogroll.

Thank you to TheGoodBlogs concept and The Idea Dude. Because of your work, I’m constantly introduced to new sites, new ideas, and new readers.

It’s more than a directory or network, it’s a connectivity tool. Highly recommended. If I could just figure out how to get into the Marketing category…

What’s in Your Browser? Kyle Knows

By on November 15, 2006 in Cool Tools with 2 Comments

When I need answers to tech-related issues, one of the first places I check is Kyle’s Cove. Kyle has a Users Guide for just about everything.

Maybe now I’ll upgrade my IE and Firefox browsers.

  • User Guide to Ineternet Explorer 7.0
  • User Guide to Firefox 2.0
  • User Guide to Flock

One of the feeds I check daily is Kyle’s Around the Technosphere – good stuff from a great guy.

If I Had a CrapHammer…

By on November 4, 2006 in Cool Tools, Marketing with 4 Comments

Wait a minute…I do have a CrapHammer, thanks to MyBlogLog (I’m really liking how MyBlogLog builds community – a lot!). While responding to comments this morning, I noticed a new face on the roll.

Curious, I checked see what this site was about- and I’m glad I did.

This site is caffienated, funny, insightful…important. Have a swing – you might get hooked.

Is Flickr a Marketing Tool?

By on November 1, 2006 in Cool Tools, Marketing with 5 Comments

Here are two companies in the business of patio covers are using Flickr as an extension of their marketing package.

Home improvement contractors, HomeLivingSpaces and Envirowood Patio Covers, both appear in a Flickr search for their product. I’ve been working with Doug Mitchell on the Envirowood Patio Covers blog.

I like the way Doug mashed up PowerPoint, Flickr and SlideShare to produce this piece:

The use of tags in both Flickr and SlideShare make Envirowood findable in more ways than one.
Their previous site included a large series of photos that was hosted from the same server as their site. High-resolution images increased bandwidth which increased costs.
These are just two reasons to use Flickr as part of your company’s marketing toolkit. What ways are you using Flickr to promote your business?

Related:
- Is YouTube a Marketing Tool?
- Is Blogging a Marketing Tool?

MyBlogLog Communities – Gems and a Jim

By on October 29, 2006 in Cool Tools with 2 Comments

One of my goals this weekend was to dive deeper into the fast growing community of MyBlogLog. I joined several communities of familiar and favorite blogs. I also placed a Recent Readers widget in the Experiments section in the sidebar.

As I was joining some of these communities, I kept seeing one person’s picture over and over again. Recognized commonality is a foundation for community building — and the more I saw Jim Walton appear and comment, I knew I had to read his blog.

He only launched this month and already has some great conversation going on. Provoking thoughts and inspired stories. Stay contagious, Jim.

A SlideShare Mantra

By on October 24, 2006 in Blog Coach, Blogging, Cool Tools, Marketing with 7 Comments

My friend and business partner, Sandy Renshaw turned one of my "cornerstone" posts, A Blog Posting Mantra, into a SlideShare presentation:

Very nice! It’s a great way to bring some of your best posts back into the public eye. Need some help? Sandy threw out an offer to assist.

IGotNewsFor Ben Yoskovitz

By on October 16, 2006 in Cool Tools with 3 Comments

I always try to catch a glimpse at Technorati’s Featured Members, looking for a business logo or some hint of a business blog. Tonight, I saw a recognizable face.

So what was Ben Yoskovitz of IGotNewsForYou fame doing on the Featured Members page? Launching the GNMBusiness Channel.

Grasshopper New Media is responsible for The Great Big Small Business Show, one of the best podcasts available for small business/entreprenuer types.

Go get ‘em grasshoppers.

Google Docs & Spreadsheets

By on October 12, 2006 in Cool Tools with 4 Comments

I like the new Google Docs & Spreadsheets . It allows you to edit the HTML on the fly, without all the ASCII characters found in MS Word (though the next version of Word will not have that garbage anymore).

You can save it as a Word doc or PDF; get a Word Count and check your spelling, insert links and images….very nice!

Googledoc1             Googledoc2

I’ve used the collaboration on the spreadsheet. The embedded Google Talk is fantastic as you can virtually work with anyone, anywhere. 

Andy Piper has a good review if you want to learn more.

Page 12 of 15« First...«1011121314»...Last »