Build Rapport with Rapportive

July 27, 2010 by Ros Null 

I love it when I discover new social media tools that will really add to my experience of existing social media tools.  (Complicated sentence I know).  That’s why I was super excited to discover Rapportive a fantastic tool that integrates with your Gmail (and MailChimp) and allows you to see more information about a person’s social media habits.

When I open an email in Gmail, the rapportive tool bar loads on the right of the message (where the text ads usually are) and shows me all the information associated with that email address online.  I can see at a glance what social networking sites the sender belongs to.  If they have a Twitter account.  What their most recent tweets were about.  Website links, headshot and much more.  It’s an incredible way to research and build a relationship with a potential client/boss/investor  without leaving your inbox!

Taking my example to the left… someone interested in joining my team of VAs might see my Twitter stream show up and start following me there and on Facebook or Linked in.

They may take it a step further and start a conversation with me relating to something they see in my recent tweet stream.

Those who use MailChimp are in for an extra surprise because there is an available add on that also shows you whether the person is on your mailing list, and if so, which lists they are on.  Clicking the link will take you to their profile in your MailChimp account and you can see at a glance which emails they have read, what links they have clicked, and if they’ve forwarded your emails to a friend.  A great way to find out how hot a lead is before you spend too much time building rapport.

I am sure you’ll agree that this is just an incredible amount of information to have access to directly in your mailbox, and that this is one of the most exciting social media tools since… well… May, 2010 for sure. ;)

Want to know the best part? It installs in under 3 minutes and you’re on your way.

I always like to get a few reviews on new tools.  Here are some of the other valuable opinions I found for Rapportive online:

ReadWriteWeb.com

WebWorkerDaily.com

Filed under: Organization, Social Media Tips, Tips for Coaches, Virtual Assistant, Web Marketing Tips
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23 Essential Social Media Resources You May Have Missed

July 24, 2010 by Ros Null 

Drawn Social Media ImageWe know, it’s summer in some parts of the world — you don’t want to stay indoors all day everyday. Well don’t worry, even if you missed some of Mashable’s social media resources while out frolicking we’ve got another great list of resources from the past week to get you all caught up.

Below you’ll find our weekly power-guide to the best social media resources this side of the ‘Net. This edition includes a ton of business resources for the social-media-savvy entrepreneur and even some quirky facts (LOL used to mean “Little Old Lady”?). Whatever your passion, dig in and enjoy.

Social Media

iphone image

For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook .

Tech & Mobile

charts image

For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable’s tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Business

dell complaints image

Source:  Mashable.com

Filed under: Social Media Tips, Tips for Coaches
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For Women, Social Media is More Than “Girl Talk”

July 23, 2010 by Ros Null 

A few months ago, I wrote about how social media presents women with increased opportunities for influence and professional development. In the comments, I found a number of commenters (both men and women) who relegated women’s interest in social media to superficial reasons like “girl talk” or women’s natural abilities as “connectors.” I pushed back against those characterizations because I thought they were too superficial and limiting only to have one commenter suggest that there was no shame in women’s natural social skills.

This explanation was a bit too surface for me, so I set out to understand more about the reasons why women are such avid users of social media beyond the fact that it’s an opportunity to be social. My interest in the subject wasn’t just in defense of my own ideas; I instinctively felt that there was more to explore about women’s interest in social technologies. The level of female involvement struck me: of the 87 million women active on the Internet in the U.S., an estimated 67.5 million women are engaged with social media. And by now you’ve probably heard that women are now the majority of social media users on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. This level of engagement indicates that there’s more to the story than just simple enjoyment of social interaction.

Wominnovation

What I discovered might surprise you. It turns out that sociolinguists have found women to be innovators when it comes to communication, especially with new forms of languages. The shift from “ye” to “you” in 15th Century England? Women were behind it. Common phrases such as, “Like, ohmigod,” known as Valley Girl uptalk, were started by young women from California. And in the mid-20th century a group of young women from Oberwart, Austria shifted the primary language of a bilingual community from Hungarian to German, which was a powerful move in a community that had resisted the influence of the German language for close to 400 years.

Today, women are continuing this linguistic innovation by adopting social media, a sort of hybrid of written and spoken language, and a perfect example of the kind of new linguistic form that women flock toward.

One reason for women’s interest in social media has to do with its symbolic capital, and what it represents in our culture. As language changes often signify underlying social change (think tutoiement in the French Revolution), people adopting emerging forms of communication like social media, are also embracing the consonant social identities. Social media represents an identity that is modern, connected, and a little bit daring. It’s an identity that is understood to be comfortable with a certain amount of transparency, promotes information, and has a global outlook, as technology crosses geographic boundaries. It is participative in nature, and this opportunity to add new layers to their identities is part of what makes social media so attractive to women.

The other reason is more pragmatic: social media offers benefits and improvements to a woman’s quality of life. Whether it’s adding convenience to a work arrangement, harnessing information for decision-making, managing relationships, or juggling a variety of other responsibilities, social tools provide a convenient and efficient way for women to manage the various aspects of their lives. The practical benefits that social media affords, combined with its emotionally fulfilling features make it likely that women will not only continue to engage with social media, but with future related innovations, as well.

By now, you’re probably thinking that the emotional and practical benefits that women find attractive about social media are also attractive to men, and you’re right. These factors explain, at least in part, why women are engaging with social media, but we’ll need to go further to understand why more women than men are using social media. To answer that question, we’ll need to revisit the issue of social change.

Social Media & Social Change

As I noted earlier, language changes (or the introduction of linguistic variants, like social media) are symbolic of social change. What social media symbolizes is increased access to both information and platforms to express ideas. It has opened the door for new leaders, experts, and voices, and can help get them a “seat at the table.” Women stand to benefit from this type of social change more than men because women generally have less access to influential networks and leadership roles in society than men do. We sometimes forget that despite considerable progress, women continue to confront numerous inequities and considerable marginalization from influence in our society. It is precisely these challenges that fuel women’s greater interest in social media and social change.

Understanding the underlying reasons for women’s engagement with social media gives the discussion of women and emerging technologies an entirely new flavor. It’s not about a communication style that is unique to women, nor is it based on some supposedly evolutionary instincts that women possess. It’s about engaging women across the various layers of identity that they carry. Female consumers are not monolithic: they hail from diverse ethnic backgrounds and countries, have varied familial structures, do or don’t have children, have a range of education levels, and share many other differentials.

By recognizing women as complete people, and not just as limited stereotypes, and by understanding that their interest in emerging technologies is a reflection of the various aspects of their identities, is a useful starting point for organizations that hope to reach and engage women online.

Now that’s “girl talk” that I can get used to.

Jessica Faye Carter is an award-winning author and columnist. Her company, Nette Media develops social media technologies for women and multicultural communities, and she blogs at Technicultr.

Source:  Mashable.com

Filed under: Social Media Tips, Tips for Coaches
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11 Ways to Speed Up WordPress

July 22, 2010 by Ros Null 

WordPress is inherently fast, and that’s why so many professional bloggers call it their choice platform.

Like many new bloggers, I used to think that until I had enough traffic to make a difference, I’d worry about the bandwidth and site speed later. But that’s not thinking ahead considering that today social media can drive an overwhelming amount of traffic in a very short period of time; you don’t want to get caught with a crashed site.

When you’re not prepared for lots of traffic, it’s common for a web host to suspend your account temporarily, and that’s something you don’t want. If your writing is decent and you’ve been doing some minimal promotion, then it could happen to you. Think positively and prepare your blog as though it’s going to be a huge success. To do that, here is a tutorial on how to speed up your WordPress site.

Note: As always, with everything, you should backup your WordPress installation before making any code changes.

1. Caching

Utilize WordPress Object Cache

By inserting this simple code into your wp-config.php file, you can set WordPress to begin caching database queries rather than initiating new server requests on each load. You don’t have to understand why this works, it just will.

1. // Enable the WordPress Object Cache:
2. define(ENABLE_CACHE, true);
Read more on this topic:

By reducing the number of queries, you’ll both increase the speed of your site, and reduce the server resources that are consumed each time you receive a visitor. As a result, you’ll find that it will make your web host much happier in the event of a huge traffic spike.

Utilize a caching plugin

The main plugin that meets this need is the WP Super Cache, which does exactly what it says. It caches posts and stores them as files on the server so that repeated requests are dealt with faster and with fewer resources. The plugin will automatically update as comments are added so the dynamic nature of the blog isn’t lost.

Another option, which is used right here on Mashable, is W3 Total Cache. It’s a plugin that promises 10 times the speed of your site without it.

2. Choose the Right Host

There are several web hosts that are optimized to run WordPress. And while WordPress is not that picky, it does have a set of ideal server settings. Most web hosts meet the basic requirements, but you can find more information about what’s necessary here.

Choosing the right host means more that just buying storage space. Many discount hosts will try to fool you with promises of massive server space at a cheap price because they know you will likely never use the promised enormous allotment. You should really be aware of:

  • Bandwidth
  • Processor speed/type
  • Databases allowed
  • Domains allowed
  • Which versions of PHP, MySQL, etc. are installed

Look for hosts that have more of a commitment to WordPress as a CMS and blogging platform and not just a mention at the bottom of their features list. Another solid resource is the WordPress hosting page.

Also, though most shared hosts will likely be running Apache, keep in mind that WordPress can also run on NGINX, which can increase your server’s speed by changing the structure of the server requests. NGINX powers massive websites like Hulu, SourceForge and WordPress itself.

If these big boys choose NGINX, you know it delivers.

3. Prune Your Plugins

Take a look at your plugin list and remove the inactive ones. Then remove the any actives ones that you don’t actually use; they are likely to place a strain on your serve resources because WordPress loads all plugins when a page loads.

Make sure you’re always running the latest stable release of both WordPress and your plugins. Many older WordPress plugins are not efficient and will weigh your blog down.

WordPress 3.0 comes with a revamped plugin update feature, allowing you to update plugins faster, smoother and easier. It also offers a bulk update feature that is completely new to WordPress, so there’s no excuse for letting your plugin versions expire.

4. Choose the Right Theme

Themes can make or break a WordPress installation. Go for something stylish but simple. It’s important to understand that fewer images will equals less loading time, which means a speedier site. Choose themes with the fewest possible images and a CSS-based design. Themes with tables, frames and static HTML will be slower than those based on the latest technologies. You might want to choose a minimalist theme and modify it to suit your needs.

There are many resources for minimalist themes, including this one Six Revisions and this one at Tripwire Magazine. Don’t just take the theme’s simplicity as a sign of load speed, though; check the actual speed using something like YSlow or Pingdom’s Page Test.

5. Compress Images

While a clean page means speed, you have to balance that with the fact that strong supporting images are key to a successful blog. But there is no reason to sacrifice speed for quality. By ensuring your images are appropriately formatted and compressed, you can help increase your blog’s speed.

The easiest way to remember formatting is like this:

Images that use only a few colors should be saved as .GIF or .PNG files, and images that use a full spectrum of colors (like true photographs) should be saved as .JPG files. If you use photo editing software, like Photoshop, you can “save for the web,” which will find the best format to save, while still maintaining quality.

Next you should resize images to the smallest possible size to get the job done. When doing so, the color format should be RGB, as indexed images don’t scale well.

When saving, set the total color amount to the smallest value possible without sacrificing quality. A combination of these steps will greatly decrease your image size and therefore your server response time. You should play around a bit to find the right format and experiment when uploading to determine which settings produce the smallest, high-quality image.

6. Compress Your Code

Stylesheets

Stylesheets are easy to compress, just use your favorite text editor to delete comments and unnecessary spaces and line breaks. Although you won’t see a drastic difference unless your style sheets involve tens of thousands of lines.

JavaScript

Compressing JavaScript isn’t as simple, but it is still relatively easy. There are a number of tools available, such as this one, which is free, that will compress your JavaScript code for you. Better yet, don’t rely on much JavaScript at all if you can help it. If your site has lots of interactivity, moving parts and fancy features, there is a good chance it is running a lot of JavaScript and that could slow things down.

Additionally, you may use the Yahoo! YUI compressor tool or the Google equivalent compression tool. Either one will tighten up your code to make it run more efficiently. Coder Journal has a nice comparison of the various tools for JavaScript compression.

Use CSS Sprites

CSS Sprites allow designers to create interactive images, or multiple images using CSS instead of bulky and slow loading JavaScript. Sprites are an advanced technique, but here is a great tutorial at A List Apart. There is even a plugin developed specifically for WordPress that helps with the use of CSS Sprites.

7. Keep It Local

Don’t rely on other people’s servers to be fast, so minimize any widgets, badges or applications that run off other locations. If possible, try to self-host all images and code, such as your analytics. That said, if you’re posting videos use a service that is built for such a load, like YouTube or Vimeo.

But if you are expecting (or receiving) lots of traffic, you may want to look at paying for a dedicated server and not trying to host all your projects in that one place alone. A lot of people don’t realize that the geographical distance from a server actually matters. If the vast majority of your traffic comes from a specific country or region, consider locating your hosting close by.

8. Reduce PHP and HTTP Calls

Websites were once built statically, meaning that each page was hand-coded and built from the bottom up. Now, most websites are generated dynamically each time a visitor loads the page, which allows for each experience to be custom designed for each person, making for a richer browsing experience.

In order to accomplish this, many websites use PHP, a scripting language that allows you to reference remote content based on criteria set by the developer. For example, a site might use PHP to determine that this is a first-time visit, and the site may then use this information to generate a welcome message.

Each time one of these PHP “calls” is made, a request is made to the server hosting the website, which takes time (usually milliseconds). This time is called “latency,” and some websites have thousands of calls each time the site is loaded, which can translate to millions per day depending on traffic.

Wherever possible, scan your site for PHP requests and replace with static HTML. By doing this, the browser will simply read the HTML as opposed to asking the server what it should display. Here is an example of a slow and fast way to produce the same result:

Slow:
<?php bloginfo(name); ?><?php bloginfo(description); ?>
Fast:
<title>Mashable - The Social Media Guide</title>

There’s more you can do to minimize PHP calls. This tutorial will help you cut down the PHP calls that occur in the typical WordPress header. You can also reduce PHP calls by eliminating any logging that might be happening; some advanced plugins offer an option to track plugin activity with a log, which can significantly slow down your WordPress site.

9. Keep Your Code Clean

You can validate your code using the W3C Validator. It might seem snobby to have “standards” on the web, but the truth is, there are standards for a reason. If everyone met the standards, browsers would always know how to display the information they’re given. Use the tool at W3C to validate your code and fix any errors. This can be a painstakingly long process but it’s well worth the end result.

Coding errors will slow your load time, especially if images that are referenced but don’t exist. Use a bug tool like Firebug to identify coding errors and fix them.

10. Database optimization

Using a database administration interface like phpMyAdmin, you can select all tables and click “Repair” and “Optimize,” and scan for outdated tables that weren’t deleted when you removed old plugins.

This plugin will take care of the database optimization while letting you stay out of the database itself. While this other plugin offers automatic optimization which may be better for the hands-off blog author.

11. Adjust Your WordPress Settings

Go easy on the front page

There’s no reason to show 100 posts on the front page, and really, you don’t even need to display the full post content on the front page. You can adjust this setting in the WordPress Dashboard under the Settings > Reading panel.

Turn off inter-blog communication

By default, WordPress interacts with other blogs that are equipped with pingbacks and trackbacks. Every time another blog mentions you, it notifies your site, which in turn updates data on the post. Turning this off will not destroy links to your site, just the setting that generates a lot of work for your site. For more detail, read this explanation of WordPress Pingbacks, Trackbacks and Linkbacks.

Cyrus Patten is the editor of Pingable.org, a blog about everything WordPress. He specializes in the role of technology in community organizing.

Source:  Mashable.com

Filed under: Blogging Tips, Social Media Tips, Tips for Coaches, Web Marketing Tips
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.CO Domain Names Now Available

July 20, 2010 by Ros Null 

In a world where small businesses with corporate blogs receive 55 percent more traffic than small businesses that don’t blog, companies should be taking note on how to improve their blogs, attract more readers and get more results.

But still, a lot of companies with corporate blogs seem to be bogged down in uniformed policies and simply aren’t thinking outside the box. Afraid to take on colorful personalities or step a bit outside of their company’s happenings, many corporate blogs employ an official tone announcing the play-by-play updates of company news. This is just one mistake that businesses are making in the blogging world.

There is a laundry list of issues that need to be addressed when it comes to improving corporate blogs, but here we’ve narrowed down the key elements that companies should focus on. Here are 10 tips for corporate bloggers hoping to make a positive splash in their communities.

1. Establish a Content Theme and Editorial Guidelines

When creating a product or service, you must be able to define the value that it’s bringing to consumers. In the case of a blog, you need to clearly define the focused theme that your team will follow. Choose a blog name and theme that fits well with your company’s expertise, but don’t be afraid to branch out into a larger space. Your blog should provide pertinent information for consumers interested in your area of business.

Once you’ve chosen an area to cover, create a set of editorial guidelines that your bloggers will follow. Guidelines can include appropriate verticals and topics to cover, as well as how and when posts should be written.

A clear goal and theme for your blog will make it easier for users to know what to expect. For example, Dogstuff, an online shop for canine gifts, toys and supplies, hosts a blog called Dog Blog. The blog is simple and to the point, and it’s more than evident that the blog is about dogs. The theme is specific enough for readers to understand what they may find, but it is such a broad topic, that almost limitless posts are possible.

2. Choose a Blogging Team and Process

Choose a team of core bloggers to begin your blogging adventure. Select individuals that are knowledgeable and comfortable writing about the areas you would like to cover. Also, it’s key to choose people who write well and have a great online presence.

Train your bloggers on the editorial guidelines and decide what type of writing and editing process you would like to put in place. Some companies prefer to elect an editor or group of editors to have a final look at all blog posts, while other companies allow their bloggers to publish directly. Figure out the level of comfort you have with your blogging, editing and publishing process and implement a procedure that works well for your team.

3. Humanize Your Company

A company blog is an opportune place to let down your hair and get to know your customers. Think of it as a conversation between people, not between a brand and one person. In order to have a conversation, you need two people — a blogger and a reader.

Give your corporate bloggers the freedom to be themselves. Encourage them to have their own personalities and writing styles. This type of diversity is more representative of your company than any monotonous tone that you could manufacture on your own.

Always keep in mind that your blog is about people connecting and conversing with people, not a corporation. Throw away that “corporate” concept, and you’ll be ahead of most.

4. Avoid PR and Marketing

If maintained correctly, your blog will act as a repository of real analysis and opinions provided by your company’s fine employees. The type of insight and expertise that a blog can demonstrate is far more useful than any PR pitch that you could post. Stay away from trying to sell your readers. There are appropriate venues for that, and your blog shouldn’t be one of them.

Continue to add to the conversation, adding value for your readers. Your opinions will be priceless. And for the times that you don’t have an opinion on an important topic, gauge your community’s opinion by taking a poll or interviewing key people.

Lululemon Athletica, a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company, constantly adds value to its community through its blog by providing posts on topics that their core followers would appreciate. Some of the most recent posts were on how to do a handstand, protect the lower back, and explore a new city.

Readers will get a taste of the massive knowledge bank available at your company. Take your mind off of marketing, and you’ll find that the analysis that you provide sells your company better than a press release ever could.

5. Welcome Criticism

Oftentimes, corporations shy away from opening up their websites and blogs for commenting and interaction, because they are afraid of the harm that criticisms may cause. Make it a policy to welcome criticism, thinking of it as an opportunity for feedback and improvement. There are lots of ways to deal with negative feedback, so don’t be afraid to open up to your community.

6. Outline a Comment Policy

Be aware that if you open up your blog for full feedback (which you should), you will get a variety of comments — constructive, complimentary, hateful, and spam. Be prepared for everything. Create a comment policy that your team can follow, and make sure everyone is on same page. Outline the types of comments that should be responded to, deleted or passed along for follow-up.

7. Get Social

Make sure your blog is open for comments and utilizes share tools, such as Facebook, Twitter and Digg. Share tools allow your users to pass along your content. Why not allow your readers to promote your work?

Put forth an effort to respond to comments or forward them on when a specific employee could offer the best expertise in that area. Make sure each employee maintains a personable tone when responding to comments, so that readers know that your bloggers are genuine.

Lastly, if you haven’t done so already, implement a social media strategy for your blog, creating the appropriate profiles across social networks that your readers and customers are active on. Usually, Facebook and Twitter are a good start, and YouTube is a must for video-sharing. When you post on your blog, announce the new post on your social networks and ask for your readers’ opinions on the subject.

Promote your social presence on your blog, by implementing links, buttons and widgets that link to your social profiles. This will enable readers to stay connected with you across platforms. Whole Foods’ blog, Whole Story, for example, displays its social links prominently at the top of the blog.

8. Promote Your Blog

Just as you would promote any other company initiative, get the word out about your blog. Share the URL on your website, social networks, business cards, e-mails, and advertisements.

Without promotion, building an audience can be difficult. Get behind the quality work that your team is putting into the blog and promote away.

9. Monitor Mentions and Feedback

One way to get a pulse on your blog and its effects on the community is to monitor mentions and feedback. Set up Google Alerts for your brand, blog name and any keywords that might be relevant. Search on Technorati and Twitter for those set terms.

To make things easier with Twitter, set up custom search columns in a Twitter client, such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck or CoTweet. The columns will update in real time, keeping you up-to-date on brand and blog mentions at all times.

Getting more sophisticated, you should look into social media brand management tools, such as Radian6 , for monitoring keywords across social sites.

10. Track Everything

You’re probably accustomed to tracking everything, and your blog is no different. If your blog is a page on your website, make sure your current web analytics tools are set to track all the same data that it monitors on your website. If you don’t currently have a web analytics tool, check out Google Analytics, a free analytics tool with an easy-to-use interface.

At the minimum, make sure you’re tracking site traffic, where referrals are coming from, and traffic-wise which posts are doing best. Learn from the data and adjust your blogging guidelines accordingly.

For all of the bloggers out there, which tips would you add to this list of corporate bloggers rules to live by?

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Source:  Mashable.com

Filed under: Blogging Tips, Social Media Tips, Tips for Coaches
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