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Consultancy, Guest Bloggers

Inferno Buying The Blog Research Launch

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“86% of businesses with a blog credit blogs with generating more business opportunities”

From Inferno Communications:

86% of businesses with a blog credit blogs with generating more business opportunities A significant new survey is released today showing that blogging is becoming a key business tool, providing a valuable way for companies to create new and genuine relationships with their customers. The research, carried out for UK PR agency Inferno Communications by Loudhouse Research during August 2007, polled 300 UK companies with over 250 employees. It reveals that 50% of those companies surveyed now undertake some form of blogging – either having their own blog or encouraging employees to comment on blogs.

Of those companies that do have blogs, 64% were launched in the last 6 months. And 86% of these blogging companies state that their blog has generated additional business opportunities. Blogs also compare well to other forms of business information, ranking with business decision makers as equally important as trade shows and internet searching, and more influential than TV and radio advertising.

The research questioned UK managers with direct sales and/or purchasing responsibility to discover how they and their companies use blogs to interact with existing and potential customers and how they engage with the blogosphere to inform their own business decision making. The main findings of the research found:

· 50% of UK companies now undertake some form of blogging

· 64% of UK corporate blogs have been launched in the last 6 months

· 86% of companies that have a blog credit it with generating more business opportunities for their company

· 66% of managers in the survey have visited blogs in the last 12 months

· 80% of blog users visit blogs during working hours

· 33% of blog visitors will access a blog on a daily basis

“The research shows that blogging in the UK is fast becoming a serious business tool,” Grant Currie, Managing Director of Inferno PR commented. “There are many parallels with ‘Internet 1.0’ in that there has been a lot of hype and questions asked about ‘Web 2.0’ technologies and mistakes are being made. But the fact remains that it appears blogging is one of the Web 2.0 technologies that is now taking serious hold in the business world. UK companies are now beginning to adopt blogging as part of their business strategy and those that have done so are pointing to specific business success and opportunity being created. It seems the hype is over and the real business of blogging is on its way.”

Currie also cautioned businesses to understand what is and isn’t achievable in the “blogosphere”before developing their own blogging strategies. He said, “Businesses shouldn’t view a blog as another billboard from which to shout their corporate messages. Starting a blog is essentially starting a conversation and as in verbal communication, conversations have conventions, rules and boundaries. Those businesses in our survey who have derived new business opportunities from their blogs, will have found that these successes came indirectly from the blog, rather than directly. A blog is not the place to sell and businesses should get suitable advice before embarking on their blogs.”

Prominent UK blogger, Neville Hobson, author of the Hobson Report echoes these thoughts, saying: “A business blog is a powerful communication tool, as many companies who successfully use them can attest. Blogs also represent disruptive change and a challenge to traditional business thinking. Companies who recognize the social characteristics of effective communication are those likely to gain the most from business blogging.”

The research also cautions businesses looking to exploit the blogosphere revealing significant difference in opinion between buyers and sellers over what constitutes a ‘good blog’. For instance, only 30% of respondents felt that corporate branding was a positive thing raising questions over the validity of trumpeting the company line on a blog versus allowing individual views to flourish. Furthermore, those respondents with spending responsibilities saw blogs as the second best source for informing a business
decision (behind industry reports), while those with selling responsibilities saw blogs as the least favourable source (behind industry reports, trade press and trade events).

Biz News

Minmax Infosystems

Working on the development of the new Work Connexions Business social networking site. Minmax has become a software partner providing additional resources and backup to our more complicated projects.

About:

Minmax Infosystems Private Limited. (MINMAX) was established in the year 2000 at Chennai, one of the metropolitan technology hubs of India, with the mission statement “Identify and supply the ever-increasing information technology specific demands of the business community for efficient manpower and solutions for Minimum Cost and Maximum Benefits to our Customers”.

Business Solutions

MINMAX’s proposed association with reputed information technology giants such as Microsoft, Oracle, etc., allow us to provide leading edge information technology with both hardware and software and follow proven methodologies in implementation, training and after sales service.

Systems Integration

From MINMAX, as a total solutions provider, we can formulate a complete business solution plan encompassing computer hardware, networking, operating systems and application software, to make up a complete integrated system with ease especially for larger enterprises.

Networking

At MINMAX, we have qualified team of network engineers determine the infrastructure requirements and design a network that accurately meets the clients’ immediate as well as future needs. This team will take care of everything right from consulting, procuring the necessary technology, configurating it to the client’s needs, to complete implementation.

Training

At MINMAX, we have a team of certified trainers who can take care of our customers training needs and provide them with the necessary skills needed to maximise their usage of information technology.

Others

At MINMAX, while we take-up software development projects we also take-up the responsibility of maintaining the legacy systems support with minimum cost until the new product is ready for up and running. This not only helps us understand the client’s left out requirement if any but also to incorporate those requirements into the new product. We also provide consulting on Project Management, Quality Processes and ISO Certification Process.

Achievements

MINMAX has received certain prestigious appreciation from it’s clients for its quality work done in the past during the Money Exchange Application Software development for Redha Al Ansari Exchange Establishment, Dubai, U.A.E. and many more.

Visit the Company website here: www.minmaxinfosys.com

Owen, Websites

The Joys of Scaremongering

According to a report I’ve just glanced over, 9 out of 10 websites are “sitting ducks”. The article lists a whole range of problems that websites ranging from Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) exploits to Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF). With such a range of issues most websites seem to have, it’s a wonder there’s any sites still around on the Internet!

Obviously, White Hat Security, the company who came up with the report recommends taking action as quickly as possible.

It’s reports like that that give security companies a bad name. It’s preposterous to claim that it’s only a matter of time before most websites will be run over by vermin and spontaneously combust. And if you don’t have alarm system monitoring you’d never even know about!

I agree with their assement, it would be good advice to follow:

.. finding and prioritizing all Web site properties by designating their importance to the business and a party responsible for their security; finding and fixing Web site vulnerabilities by assessing them for weaknesses with each code change; remediation of vulnerabilities done on a schedule based on severity; implementing a secure software development process using an organizational standard development framework; and implementing an in-depth Web site vulnerability management strategy.

But if I had to choose a company to supply my security services White Hat Security would be the last company I hire!

Campaign, Marketing

Best Internet Deal Ever

At www.WorkConnexions.com , we are convinced that we offer the best deal to promote your business on the market. You can search for businesses, work resources, geographically, and also through industry sector providing true diversity. Our advertisements are cheaper than any other site, whether you need banners (per page view or click thru) or premium advertisements. We also offer a high quality W3C compliant website. In fact Work Connexions can be your only website choice for marketing. Save time and money on expensive web development and newspapers and log on and do it yourself.

With our increasing internet presence You will increase your sales, find the resource, and get the job done.
What makes us different is the Requests and Offer sections. In Requests, you can post your recruitment adverts, requests for proposals and other invitations. In Offers you can post an advert of your own…maintenance services, hair dressers and travel agents all feature, amongst many others. Then once you’ve used the services or worked for a new customer, you can write a review on how it went. So if you hire a mechanic to fix your car, he knows you’re going to let the world know what value you got.
Managed accounts start for as little as £30 please contact us on 0121 288 9051.

Social Media Sites

New software being tested for Wcx

Work Connexions has undergone some changes recently. We are in the process of changing our software so that we can interrogate third party tools apps more efficiently. This will ultimately allow us and you a greater freedom to integrate your online business presence to Work Connexion website. We can work in conjunction with your website, and other advertising mediums to help get your business message effectively across. The Work Connexions community of web sites can help your business by directing and increasing traffic to your website. Contact us today for a detailed quote.

Uncategorized

Forum Guide

This is one the most interesting articles about online user communities written by Kathy Sierra. Available here We have condensed it below to give you an idea. We actively support these ideas in our forum.

 

Work Connexions Team

 

There Are No Dumb Questions and There are No Dumb Answers

The best way to grow a user community is to get even the beginners to start answering questions. The more they become involved, the more likely they are to stick with it through the rough spots in their own learning curve, and we all know that having to teach or explain something to another person accelerates our own understanding and memory of the topic. The problem, of course, is that the beginners are… beginners. So, here are a few tips used by javaranch, one of the most successful user communities on the planet

1) Encourage newer users–especially those who’ve been active askers–to start trying to answer questions
One way to help is by making sure that the moderators are not always the Ones Who Know All. Sometimes you have to hold back the experts to give others a chance to step in and give it a try.

2) Give tips on how to answer questions
Post articles and tips on how to answer questions, which also helps people learn to communicate better. You can include tips on how to write articles, teach a tough topic, etc.

3) Tell them it’s OK to guess a little, as long as they ADMIT they’re guessing

4) Adopt a near-zero-tolerance “Be Nice” policy when people answer questions
Don’t allow other participants (especially the more advanced users) to slam anyone’s answer. A lot of technical forums especially are extremely harsh, and have a culture where the regulars say things like, “If you think that, you have no business answering a question. In fact, you have no business even DREAMING about being a programmer. Better keep your paper hat day job, loser.”

5) Teach and encourage the more advanced users (including moderators) how to correct a wrong answer while maintaining the original answerer’s dignity.
And again, zero-tolerance for a**holes. All it takes is one jerk to stop someone from ever trying it again.

6) Re-examine your reward/levels strategy for your community
Is there a clear way for new users to move up the ranks? Are there achievable, meaningful “levels”?

Also, before you point out counter-examples of successful communities like slashdot… remember, I’m talking about user communities–people using a particular product or service–and not just any community. I’m sure there are tons of, say, political forums where a “be nice” policy is not only unneccessary, but most likely impossible.