ThePodcastSisters

PutPlace For Digital Media Peace Of Mind

As we increasingly create and save more and more information it becomes challenging to keep track of files as we talked about on this week's Podcast Sisters podcast where we were talking about the tools we use to bookmark information. 

That's where the new service Putplace becomes really valuable. 

At PutPlace you can store your files and access them wherever you are. 

PutPlace is currently in Beta and you can therefore use the service free of charge for up to 2GB of space - when the service opens up fully there will be an annual subscription fee based on the amount of data PutPlace handles for you. 

And if you have ever had a disaster losing your digital files, PutPlace wants to know about it - send them a photo of your digital despair and you're in with a chance to win an annual subscription to PutPlace for 100 GB of data and US$200 USD Amazon gift certificate.

Five finalists will be selected by the PutPlace team and the voting will then be open to the public. The contest runs between 1 and 31 July 2008 and winners will be announced on 15 August 2008. So go on take a snap of your despair and enter into the PutPlace pull a face competition today.

Oh and did I mention - PutPlace is an Irish start up - over at PodCamp Ireland we are very proud of CEO Joe Drumgoole.

Twitter Hall Of Fame

As you know, you'll find Anna and I on Twitter.

I've seen a steady increase of entrepreneurs, media companies and corporates start to join the Twitter community over the recent months.

Twitter has become a place to research, build friendships and even promote your business. But I don't recommend jumping in to the Twitterverse without doing a little research first.

Yes you can microblog and each microblog post is only 140 characters maximum. But remember that each Tweet that you make is indexed in Google and will come up in Google searches and Google Alerts- so be careful what you Tweet.

As part of your research, why not take a look at this article from InsideCRM called the 'Twitter Hall of Shame' which shares 50 notable Tweets covering information from business to political Tweets, and from marriage proposals to wine tasting parties on Twitter.

And if you are on Twitter, don't be shy about connecting to Anna and I.

What stories do you have to share about the difference Twitter and microblogging has made to you?

Attribution: Thanks to Fiona King of InsideCRM for sharing the 'Twitter Hall of Shame' article with me.

Join The Podcast Sisters In Conversation At Friend Feed

Have you found your friends on FriendFeed yet?

I use FriendFeed as a place to syndicate all my feeds from my blogs, and profiles on Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media sites. In fact there are 41 different services you can add to your profile on FriendFeed.

You can find friends on FriendFeed to and subscribe to their feeds. Take a look at my profile as an example.

A recent development is the establishing of rooms on FriendFeed. A room is like a mini FriendFeed for a particular subject or group of people. Everyone in your room can share information with each other and leave comments that only other people in your room can see.

You can create a room that is :

• Public - where anyone can access or join the room
• Semi-Public - where anyone can read or comment, but only admins can post
• Private - where only invited people can access this room - for example I am working on a project with some colleagues and we could create a room to share information just amongst ourselves.

You can also subscribe to the feed for a specific room so that you can keep up to date with the conversation there rather than having to visit the room each day.

So today I have set up a room for The Podcast Sisters - yes we have a group on Facebook and you can connect with us through email and by posting a message here at the blog.

However with the adoption of FriendFeed increasing, I thought it might be a great time to create our own room where we can congregate and share our thoughts, feedback, ideas and questions about our journey in the world of web 2.0.

So why not join us over at FriendFeed - all you need do is register for a free account then subscribe to The Podcast Sisters room and join the conversation. I hope we see you there soon.

And if you are interested in all things to do with social media in Ireland, why not join the Social Media Ireland room I've just set up - it's a place where I hope we will be sharing best practice case studies, ideas for integrating and implementing social media strategies into your marketing and communications plan, and asking questions of other social media evangelists and enthusiasts in Ireland.

Free Teleseminar 12 May 2008: Social Media For Solopreneurs

I'm afraid it's been a bit quiet over here on The Podcast Sisters recently as Anna and Heather have been travelling and then Anna has been ill.

If you are missing our voices and views about social media, then you might want to hop on my call this week for Biz Growth Live, where I am in conversation with Peggy Murrah and Chris Muccio about social media for solopreneurs and how it can help you attract more clients.

You can find out more about the call which is a FREE teleseminar masterclass taking place at 1pm ET/6pm Ireland and the UK on Monday 12 May 2008 here.

If you already receive my newsletter you will have the details of the call in number so you don't need to register again.

Hope to hear you on the call soon.

BBC Blog Network

I am always amazed that the BBC is at the forefront of social media, journalism and media. The BBC has always been a corporation that has been seen as large monolith however they have just launched the BBC Blog Network.

I love this personally as my personal interest in world news, internet and politics are all covered. It will be interesting to see if the blogs start linking out to the blogosphere or if they remain a medium of news delivery...but another example of how businesses are starting to see the value of blogging.

The Power of Connection

This week I was on a panel at the Prowess conference - wonderful organisation for female entrepreneurs. I made many new friends but most of all I learned 2 things

• One we need to get the message out about how technology is there to help, how it is an enabler for both driving the top line growth, reducing cost and also as a support network.
• Secondly, the power of the human connection. Speaking to as many people as possible and asking that vital question - How can I help, how can I provide value to your life?

As entrepreneurs it is so easy to become insular, or isolated....but through conferences, networks and social media we can ensure that we stay focused upon achieving that success.

Remember the social media tele-summit will be a great source of inspiration...I am presenting on Monday!

Customer Service - Research Shows Gap between Companies and Consumers

I don't know many people - I do know some, unfortunately! - that do not put a high emphasis on customer service.

Accenture has just produced some shocking customer service research that although is based on large companies, I think there are lessons for small businesses as well..it says

"75% of executives felt their customer service was moderately or extremely good, but 57% of consumers described themselves as upset or marginally to extremely dissatisfied with their experiences."

It also found that

"It found that 81% of customers who rated their service satisfaction as "below average" said they will purchase from a different supplier the next time, and for those who rate their satisfaction as merely "average," the likelihood of buying from the same company drops from 51% to 27%."

One aspect that we talk about on the Podcast Sisters podcast is the effect of social media on word of mouth, the article also points this out as an important aspect for companies

""It used to be you shared experiences around the water cooler and impacted maybe four people," Sprague said. "Now people get on their blog and tell 40 people or 400 people immediately."

The question for us as small business leaders is whether we REALLY are putting customer service at the heart of our strategy. Do you measure it? Are you open to feedback, listen and take action?

Social Media Teleseminar - Feb 08

Friend of the show Leesa Barnes is arranging a telesminar which will look at all areas of social media, called The Social Media Telesummit.

Krishna and Anna have been asked to speak at the event which is due to take place Febraury 20 -29th 2008

Leesa suggests that if you answer Yes to any of these questions, then the event is for you

Are you a business leader who: Is ready to learn how to use social media as a business growth tool? Wants to use social media to make money instead of wasting money? Wants to create a social media action plan so you stop chasing the latest, greatest or newest online trend? Believes that there's a better way to find new clients without cold calling or buying ads? Is looking for guidance from proven experts who are using social media to build their platform, become financially successful and find clients with ease?

Widgetery Goodness Part 2

As promised on this weeks podcast, here are some more 'random' notes on the Widget Conference.

• Widgets are about releasing content.
• 4 tips on creating great widgets:- Keep it simple, Make sure it is a perfect fit for your audience, Make it interactive, Keep refreshing the content
• Don't forget to tell people that the widget is portable, let them know they can share easily with their network.
• Ask yourself if the widget is a plug in that makes the core of your offer better...
• Think of a widget as "a flyer on steroids"
• Idea to monetize - put phone number to call for more content.
• In the near term, the web is about content and functionality but in the medium term it will be about liberating data for people to create their own version of the web.

Finally one of the overriding marketing messages was "You can't make me want your 'stuff', you can only bring it to me and help me, to use and share your 'stuff'

I love Widgets Conference Notes

This week I have been in Brighton at the Widgetery Goodness conference. I have learned such a lot from the day - the speakers were fantastic as they didn't just concentrate on widgets but also how they fit into a marketing plan. I will try and list some learnings over the next couple of days.

• Web 2.0 makes the people the operating system, widgets are about the user and allows someone to bring information together - where they want it.
• Think of them as small pieces of the web that are transportable.
• To be effective you want them to be sharable - you want the user to pass the widget on via their site or other ways.
• Imagery and ideas created value in the past for marketers...now it is about extracting value in the widget for the user.
• Use widgets as part of enhancing your product offer not as part of a marketing plan.

As I said I will post more over the weekend and watch out for a discussion on next weeks podcast show!