New York SBDC Research Network

Who said that building a website has to be a complicated thing? I was interested to read Jennifer Shaheen's article at Entrepreneur.com, " Build a Website in Blog's Clothing ," where she discusses how using a blogging platform can be used to set up a small business web presence. The blog format can offer just about everything a website needs: up-to-date content, search engine visibility, a way to communicate with customers, and plug-ins and add-ons a plenty (for an example, look at all the extras we have running on the right side of this blog.) Best of all, it's free. The blog format takes the newest posts and pushes them to the top, which is great for providing upcoming news and events. But you can also create posts with more permanent content, for example, your contact info. Just build a link to that post into one of your sidebars, and it will always be visible.

I don't know. We've been doing this for 3 1/2 years now. It's about time we figured that out. Enter Typealyzer . Developed by a search optimization firm in Sweden, the site uses text analysis of any blog to determine the mindset of its author (or, in our case, authors). Here's what it says about us: "Type: The Guardians The organizing and efficient type. They are especially attuned to setting goals and managing available resources to get the job done. Once they've made up their mind on something, it can be quite difficult to convince otherwise. They listen to hard facts and can have a hard time accepting new or innovative ways of doing things." I like the bit about "managing available resources to get the job done." That's us. Not so sure about having "a hard time accepting new or innovative ways of doing things". That's not us. The blue triangle up there says that we're a left-brain group. We'll try & be more creat

Sites I've come across recently: The StartUp Blog at PartnerUp , with common-sense pieces such as "An Introvert’s Guide to Networking" and "Delegating Work: Don’t Panic, Everything Will Be Fine". The Entrepreneurial Mind , affiliated with Belmont University's Center for Entrepreneurship. Also, Alltop , actually a gateway to business blogs of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business, Entrepreneur magazine and many more. Not a blog, but a how-to site: My Own Business , "An Entrepreneurial Guide for both Start-ups and Operating Businesses."

As some of you know, Roger and I will be presenting at next week's ASBDC conference in Chicago. As part of our presentation, "Blogging for Your SBDC: Implementing Web 2.0 Technologies at Your Center", we've created a page of resources related to blogging and other Web 2.0 stuff. Some of these resources I've blogged about before, but now they are in one place, along with with links to blogs and other 2.0 creations from SBDC centers around the country. Enjoy: Blogging for Your SBDC: Resources (This list is by no means exhaustive, but is designed to give you a few more ideas about how to use Web 2.0 technologies, and how they are being used by other SBDC centers.) Blogs & Blogging: 40+ Free Blog Hosts from Mashable.com Trading Links - Any Real Value? by Gail Hornback Copyright & Fair Use Overview: Website Permissions from Stanford University Existing SBDC Blogs: Clarion SBDC (PA) Knowledgebase Hawai`i Business Research Library News Blog Coastal Bend SBD

According to a recent article from Federal Computing Week there are at least 31 active public blogs run by federal agencies. This piece highlights 5 blogs hosted by (or at least related to) federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (Secretary Mike Leavitt was the first head of an agency to write a public blog), the Congressional Budget Office, the State Department, and the Navy. We spend a fair amount of time searching for federal regulations and statistics. This more personable and conversational side of federal government feels particularly refreshing.

I've been enjoying the Modern Mechanix blog . It featured Face Masks for Arctic War (Jun, 1940) on January 28; Death Ray Machine Is Invented by Cleveland Scientist (Sep, 1934), plus FILMING TABLE TOP EARTHQUAKES (Dec, 1935) on January 27; Letter Chopper [think shredder](Aug, 1935) AND Electric Glove for Police Stuns Victims With 1,500 Volts [think taser] (Sep, 1935) on January 26, 2008. The blog started on October 18, 2005 with Mechanical Willie (Aug, 1934), a Westinghouse gadget that combined crooning with housework [think Rosie the Robot on The Jetsons].

When I’m not sure what to blog about, I read blogs to get ideas. Today I went to Stephen’s Lighthouse (by super-librarian Stephen Abram), and found a link to another blog posting, about, well, blogging. This posting, “ 55 Essential Articles Every Serious Blogger Should Read ” from the Entrepreneurial Blog of Matt Huggins , highlights articles and, of course, blog postings, that provide useful information to bloggers. Topics include getting started, creating content, increasing traffic, and making money. Helpful stuff. This blogger intends to take a closer look, and maybe your clients who are bloggers or would-be bloggers could benefit too…

Taken at 4:42 pm, April 27, 2007 The blog's two years old this week. In the 12 months, from May 2006 through April 2007, we've had an average of 292 hits (a median of 272) per month. There's been a decided uptick in recent months, with 461 hits in March and 602 in April. While 75% of our traffic is coming from New York State, a quarter is coming from especially Europe. Similarly, about 1/4 of the domestic visitors are from outside New York State. Though some of the people who found this blog came to follow up some demographic or program detail we'd mentioned, at least one recent visitor came as a response to a piece that Darrin wrote nearly two years ago about a scam . I cite these statistical notes to show that a blog, initially designed for a fairly small niche of a couple hundred NYS SBDC advisors, can become a broader tool. I am curious, though as to which is better: the reminder on Wednesday, which we do now, or Friday, which we used to do? There's always a spi

This is a blog with a specific audience. We don't advertise it outside the program, so consequently we don't get a barrage of emails soliciting reviews of, or links to websites for, specific products and services. That's not the case in much of the blogosphere. Lately, I've been trying to persuade other small business blogs to mention the "What's Your Signage" website , as the right blogger can be a very valuable marketing ally. It's slow-going, and requires patience, and knowing that you're sending the right message to the right blog. I came across this article: " The Must-Know Do's & Don'ts of Marketing to Bloggers ". It's written by a woman who has been receiving unsolicited email pitches for years. If any of your more technically-literate clientele discuss the blogosphere as a potential marketing tool, have them keep these tips in mind. Otherwise, they'll just be wasting their time on an audience that likely will