Here’s a handy guide to some digital key terms, websites and applications
Actually derived from “Blog early, Blog often”, Bebo was launched in 2005 and offers music, quizzes, videos, photo uploading and pop polls/ Built around school networks, Bebo is typically used by younger users.
Allows you to store all your online identities in one place.
Delicious allows you to bookmark websites – save manage and share webpages tagging as you go to network with others with similar interests.
Boasting some 400 million users, Facebook is one of the few web applications that has grown and adapted successfully since its formation in 2004. Used to maintain friendships, its highly targeted demographic profiling makes it a great medium for niche advertisers too.
The best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Widely used by bloggers, Flickr hosts more than 4 billion images. Picasa works in a similar way.
Want to know what’s being said about your brand on the web? Sign up to Google Alerts to be emailed every time someone blogs or writes about your brand (or indeed any other search term you specify). Particularly helpful for crisis management as well as keeping tabs on your competitors.
Track visits to and usage of your website with another free tool from Google. Understand how people find, navigate and convert on your website.
Superb free Google tool that allows you to create and share documents, spreadsheets and more with others. Hosted by Google, your collaborators can make changes to the documents in real time – much easier than using “track changes” and then emailing a document around.
I’ve even used the software to create rotas without the usual trauma. Click through for a how-to guide.
With email having been created 40 years ago (and messages needing to be passed to and fro, remembering to Reply All to keep everyone in the loop), Google asked the question “What would email look like if it was made today?” The result is an online collaboration tools that enables groups of people to edit and discuss documents simultaneously on the web.
Google Wave is explained in this helpful video.
A business networking site sharing some similarities with Facebook but focussed on professional relationships. Upload your CV, link to other social networks, blogs and Slideshare.
Before Facebook MySpace was the biggest social networking site. Now returning to its original roots, MySpace is a place for musicians to showcase their material and has provided a grassroots launch pad for bands such as the Arctic Monkeys.
Create your own social network in minutes. Here’s one I created for a class of CIM eMarketing students. Ning is great at hosting info, news and events for people with a common interest.
Voip application that uses the web to make and receive voice calls, send instant messages, transfer files and video conference. You can even “buy” a telephone number in another country and have calls transferred to your PC or a
Upload and share Powerpoint, Word and PDFs. Great for web conferencing, also a useful source of material for teachers and researchers.
Twitter and Google Buzz
Twitter is the micro blogging site that has exploded in recent years. Limited to 140 characters, twitterers update their thoughts in 140 characters or less. Great for making contacts, also arguably quicker than Facebook and SMS for instant contact with people.
Buzz is Google’s recently launched response. Synchronised with plenty of other micro blogs and social networks, unlike Twitter there is no 140 character limit. Without Twitter’s first mover advantage, the jury is still out on Buzz’s long term appeal.
Wiki
A collaborative website, the most famous of which is Wikipedia which now boasts over 13 million articles (and in one survey proved as statistically reliable as the Encyclopaedia Britannica). Wikis involve the visitor in an ongoing process of creation, updating and collaboration.
Since its launch in 2003, WordPress has become one of the most popular hosted blog services and is the first to make the leap to a fully fledged CMS widely used outside the blogosphere.
Easy to use, the magazine style Bloggers Handbook is an excellent users guide to Wordpress and all the major blogging platforms.
Now owned by Google, YouTube is a site for uploading and sharing videos. There are also various niche alternatives focussing on special interest fields. Great for hosting videoclips which you can then embed into your own website, YouTube also offers opportunities for viral marketing. Also checkout Vimeo, an alternative offering higher resolution video and without the 10 minute time limit to clips.
Marie Page runs an international e-business selling instructional DVDs teaching contemporary musical instruments. She blogs at http://musicademy.com/blog
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