toniCarr

Every Monday our local newspaper features a technology section, this week the subject was Web 2.0 technology and listed websites and their domain names. The concept of Web 2.0 has been around for a few years. In fact the third Web 2.0 Conference will be held this November at the Palace Hotel in the heart of downtown San Francisco.

Read the entire posting on Web 2.0 - What is it?

I came across this blog today and thought you might find it interesting. Should help you understand “Blog Speak“. For some reason he has the page set so that it automatically clicks to his homepage, don’t be fooled you will have to click back. Kind of annoying!

Last week I attended the Search Engine Strategy Conference (SES) in San Jose. As I was driving down from my home in Marin County, I was trying to count how many conferences I have attended.  Amazingly enough this was my fourth conference, it seems impossible, but I have four years of Google Dance t-shirts so it must be true. The Google Dance is known as the big party event of the conference and Google does a great job of making it that way.  Lot’s of food, games, drinks, giveaways, music and product information. Of course most of the people (kids) seem to be half my age!! But I always manage to have fun. View the pictures from the party held at the Google headquarters in Mountain View.

The conference is divided into business tracks from fundamentals, PR, to advanced search engine optimization. This year I was happily impressed with my own level of confidence and expertise in regards to the type of sessions that looked interesting to me. I also feel that my clients level of expertise is getting more advanced therefore it is evermore important to step up my skills and look outside of the box for new ways of doing business. Some of the most interesting sessions I attended had to do with Blogs and feed searches. It is my prediction that one day Blogs will be like web sites “everyone” will have some form of a Blog on their site. As community becomes more in the forefront, Blogging provides the outlet.

Just having a Blog is not enough. Getting published and the feed search engines (RSS) is enough to make your eyes glaze over twice. Another technology to master. The Blog and feed search engines that were represented at the session were Technorati, Topix.net, Bloglines, Sphere.com and Techmeme.com. Each has there own qualities, some it is important to subscribe and set up your own profile. Today most if not all of the subscriptions are free. Who knows this may change. I can see it now, their will be elite Blog Clubs to keep the riff raff out. =o)

Attending the conference is always enlightening to hear what others are doing, shareing ideas, seeing friends and acquaintances from past years like Dan Thies and Matt Bailey.  I met one new friend from Colorado while standing in the line to board the bus to the Google Dance, he has a web based business Rent Vine he wrote a great article in his Blog about his first experience at SES take a look.

Hope to see you in the Blogoshere!

The other day I was talking to a lawyer friend and she asked me how to promote her business on the “internet”?

Since every business is different and the business model for one in the same field can be different for another there are a few basics or first steps to think about. My first thoughts without seeing the website:

• The content of the site - should not be about you, but what can you do for me (the viewer looking for your services) and what sets you apart. Testimonials are great, examples about how you helped your clients without being too specific. How do you work? How long will it take?
  
• How focused and user friendly is the site - is the information easy to find, there is a rule nothing should be more than two clicks away.
  
• Do you get the results you want to see when searching for your business on the search engines? Where are the SE’s getting the information on your site for their listings?
  
• There are key word reports that list how people search and what terms they are using. With this information you can focuse the content without sounding corney.
  
• How often is your site updated? Do you personally refer clients to use your website as a working tool? If someone (a client) has a legal question would they think to go to your website for the answer? Books on the subject, links to information on the internet. Your website could become the hub for expert opinion.
  
• As a lawyer, most of your clients may be local, where do you rank for a local search?  Are you in the local directories? When someone does a local search and your name is listed what page do they come to? .
  
• While your doing the tuneup on your website, start some online news and press releases that will link back to your site. Check out PRWeb http://www.prweb.com/ . Make sure you truly have news or something to report.