How to Create a Basic Business Disaster Recovery Plan in 4 Steps
Nov 8th
by Fandotech Blog
Loss of data is a common problem for businesses. Fortunately, it’s a problem that can easily be avoided with the correct preparation. While devastating amounts of data can be lost during catastrophes like hurricanes, the September 11 terrorist attacks, fires and floods – it doesn’t take such large events to cause a business to lose important data. It can be as simple as dropping a laptop to the floor, or a power surge that results in burning out a storage device. If you don’t have your crucial data backed up, even a small situation can turn into a disaster.
If you still think natural disasters are the leading causes of data loss – and that the chances of it happening to you are pretty slim, take a look at the results from a study by Strategic Research Corporation of the leading causes of business continuity and disaster recovery incidents:
- Hardware Failures (servers, switches, disk drives, etc) – 44%.
- Human Error (mistakes in configurations, wrong commands issued, etc) 32%
- Software Errors (operating systems, driver incompatibility, etc)14%
- Viruses and Security Breach (unprotected systems are always at risk) 7%
- Natural Disasters 3%
NLRB Alleges that Connecticut Company Illegally Fired Employee Over Comments on Facebook
Nov 8th
In an unprecedented case, the NLRB is pushing all in over the battle on social media. And its press release today leaves little doubt where it is placing its chips — strongly in the employee’s favor.
I had heard about this case a few weeks ago through the grapevine here in the area, but today’s press release makes it official. It is an important case to follow.
According the release, the NLRB’s Hartford regional office issued a complaint on October 27 alleging that “an ambulance service illegally terminated an employee who posted negative remarks about her supervisor on her personal Facebook page. The complaint also alleges that the
company, American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc., illegally denied union representation to the employee during an investigatory interview, and maintained and enforced an overly broad blogging and internet posting policy.”
It is further alleged that:
“when asked by her supervisor to prepare an investigative report concerning a customer complaint about her work, the employee requested and was denied representation fromher union, Teamsters Local 443. Later that day from her home computer, the employee posted a negative remark about the supervisor on her personal Facebook page, which drew supportive responses from her co-workers, and led to further negative comments about the supervisor from the employee. The employee was suspended and later
terminated for her Facebook postings and because such postings violated the company’s internet policies.”
So what’s the really big deal about this? Well, it’s the next part of the NLRB’s press release that should have employers and their counsel on edge: The investigation found that:
Linkedin Profile and Connection Tips
Nov 8th
by Eddie Bluff
I’ve received some interest in expanding on best practices for Linkedin. I have been really trying to up my engagement and I have been having a ball doing it! It’s actually a lot of fun being active on Linkedin and as my connections grow I have more frequent “what a small world this is” moments as I see my 1st degree connections are connected to others I know. In a previous post I was mentioning how I was preparing for a Linkedin presentation we are giving at the next BizzBuzz Social Media Conference in Hartford, CT on November 16. In a previous post I laid out what I thought were decent tips about how to best establish your profile. Here are some additional ideas on how to best utilize what Linkedin provides from a feature standpoint.
Once your profile has been completed make sure go to Account Settings and set your profile for full view. Unless you have real reason not to there is good opportunity to not only let people see who you are and what you are about but also the search engines. Your profile can be a great source for SEO friendly links because:
- Linkedin has great authority within Google
- Your website links can be customized with unique anchor text. If you don’t do this the default anchor text to your website is “company website” which says nothing.
- The content within your profile can and to a degree should be relevant to the content on your website.
Social networks prove invaluable in time of crisis.
Nov 8th
by BizBuzz Weekly
The devastating floods in rural Thailand have galvanised Thailand’s online community and ICT industry to come up with new ways to help through the power of open source, social networking and cloud sourcing for volunteers, as well as providing an integrated relief portal for the victims.
Poramate Minsiri, known as @iWhale on Twitter and founder of the kapook.com portal, has set up thaiflood.com in response to the disaster, alongside a Facebook campaign to promote the site which now has been ‘liked’ by over 5,000 members.
The portal is a center for news updates and information on flood victims as well as details of how to make donations.
“We believe Thais never abandon fellow Thais in times of need and the power of this spirit will never disappear fro Thai society,” said Poramate.
PRACTICE CAFÉ TO GIVE PARTICIPANTS IN HARTFORD BIZBUZZ SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE FACE-TO-FACE ACCESS TO SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERTS
Nov 4th
HARTFORD, CT, Nov. 4, 2010 – Experts in social media marketing will be on-hand to give one –on-one consultations to participants in BizBuzz Social Media Conference on Nov. 16. “The Practice Café” brings together social media professionals for free consultations on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Analytics, and Blogging.
BizBuzz Social Media Conference is a full-day event that will explore the impact social media has on marketing, advertising and public relations as well as the latest tools to engage the public. Participants will learn how to use social media for marketing, customer service, and public relations. There will be three tracks available for conference participants: Nuts and Bolts, Marketing, and Business Management. The event will be held at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. BizBuzz is presented by Site-Seeker, Inc.
The Practice Café will be open from noon to 1:30 and free to all conference participants. Staffing those sessions will be:
- Derek Beere, – Mason, Inc.
- Eddie Bluff – Vice President & Co-Founder – Site-Seeker, Inc.
- Heather Colby – President – Colby Strategic Marketing
- Amy Graver – President and Creative Director – Elements
- Gillian Kenny – Marketing Director – Fandotech
- David Parmet – Director of Communications – Converseon
- Dawn Melesko – Social Media Director – Go Media
- Tim Tracey – Founder – YouGottaCall.com
- Brent Robertson – President – Chief Creative Officer at Fathom LLC
“We are expecting between 500 and 650 participants to attend this conference based on the buzz on Facebook and Twitter that it’s been generating,” says conference chair, Kathy Hokunson, Sales and Marketing VP, Site-Seeker. “In addition, our Ticket Tuesday Contest has been generating a large number of tweets that’s really showing the power of social media. Participants in the Ticket Tuesday contest are tweeting about the conference using the conference hashtag (#bizbuzzCT), in their tweets on Tuesdays (11/2/10, and 11/8/10) to earn points towards free tickets to the conference. To show the speed and connectivity of social media, if a participants tweet is retweeted by a friend or colleague on a Tuesday, the participant earns 5 points. If a ticket is purchased on the Tuesday and the participants twitter handle is referenced, the participant earns 25 points
The conference kicks off with a keynote address by social media pioneer Brent Robertson, President and Chief Creative Officer for the award-winning branding firm, Fathom. He will set the stage for the day-long conference with his presentation, “Building Sustainable Relationships with Social Media.” His concept of “Intersections of Affinity” builds on the idea that marketers need to identify and target the intersections where their audience has developed an affinity with an organization and use them as the launching pad for social media activities.
BizBuzz will feature three tracks: Nuts and Bolts, Marketing, and Business Management. Conference participants will have their choice of a full menu of presentations in each of these tracks and do not need to stick to one track all day. Presentations will include:
- The 15-Minute Social Media Fix –Danielle Cyr and Jessica Lyon, Co-Communications
- Social Email Marketing - Gillian Kenny, Fandotech
- What is a Social Media Strategy and Why You Need it – Dan Weingrod, Cronin and Company
- Why NOW is the Time for Market Leaders - Sean Branagan, Digital Vertical
- CEOs Who Blog Panel – Panelists: Michael Bernard, ConnectiCare; Scott Hokunson, Blue Heron Landscapes; Rebecca Mead, CONNSTEP, Daniel A. Schwartz, Pullman & Cumley. LLC, Pamela O’Hara – President – BatchBlue Software, LLC
- Blogging for Business - Amy Graver, Elements, LLC
- Twitter for Beginners – Kathy Hokunson, Site Seeker, Inc.
- Getting Social with ALL Media – Meghan Burns, Adams & Knight
- Creating and Sustaining an Effective Facebook Page – Rubin Quinones, Path Interactive
- Optimizing Your Blog Content – Brian Bluff, Site Seeker, Inc.
- Facebook – Building on the Base, What’s Next? – Andrea Hewlett and Dan Salamone, Site Seeker, Inc.
- Tapping into Social Media for Market and Competitive Analysis – Fred Wergeles, Wergeles & Associates
- Understanding LinkedIn for Professionals – Eddie Bluff, Site Seeker, Inc.
- Social Media Case Studies in Success –Connecticut Business Industry Association, Amerift Brands, Sun & Ski Sports, and Girl Scouts of America.
- Utilizing Video – Alfonso Santaniello, Creative Strategy Agency
- Geolocation: Foursquare and More – Edward Main, Connecticut Science Center
- Social Media and Search – Convergence or Divergence? – Brian Bluff, Site Seeker, Inc.
- Leveraging the Personal Brands of Your Employees on Social Media - Patrick Ambron, Brand-Yourself.com
- Social Media Policy Panel Bernard E. Jacques – Attorney -Pepe & Hazard LLP
- LinkedIn for Young Professionals – Andrea Hewlett, Site Seeker, Inc.
- Social Media – The New Paradigm – Richard A. Marti Jr., A Passion for Connection
- The Online Newsroom-Making the Most of Your Public Relations Program – Andrea Obston and Katrina Lennon, Andrea Obston Marketing Communications
- How to Make Money with LinkedIn – Gregg Crystal, Inalign, Inc.
- Youtube – Why is this Relevant to Social Media? – Kevin Rowe, Site Seeker, Inc.
- Make Social Media Personal – Caitlin Thayer, Thayer Consulting, LLC
- The Real World: Social Media – Alyssa Henry and David Rosen, Syracuse University iSchool
- Sophisticated Twitter Marketing -Kathy Hokunson, Site Seeker, Inc.
The conference will conclude with a panel called “The Future of Social Media is NOW” which will be moderated by Brian Bluff, Site Seeker, Inc. Panelists will include: Brent Robertson, Fathom Marketing; Danielle Cyr, Co-Communications; Alyssa Henry, Syracuse University iSchool and Kathy Hokunson, Site Seeker, Inc. Following this, participants can network together and with speakers at the TweetUp Networking cocktail hour.
Tickets will be priced at $140.00. Discount tickets will be available for students at $80.00, with a valid student ID. To register or for more information go to: www.bizbuzzsocialmediaconference.com.
About BizBuzz Conferences
BizBuzz conferences are presented throughout the Northeast by Site Seeker, Inc., and its other major sponsors. They offer business owners and marketing communications professions a look at best practices for using social media productively. All explore the impact social media has on marketing, advertising and PR and give participants a first look at the latest tools to engage the public. Sponsors for the Hartford conference include Site-Seeker, Inc.; Fandotech, Digital Vertical Marketing; The Events Company; Visual Technologies; and Andrea Obston Marketing Communications. For more information, including registration and sponsorship packages see: www.bizbuzzsocialmediaconference.com. Follow BizBuzz on twitter: @BizBuzzConf.
Rest in Peace Yellow Pages; Your time has come
Oct 30th
It is no secret. The Yellow Pages are dead. Remember them; those big yellow books that were once the go-to place to find anything from a pizza delivery service to your family dentist? Today, the Internet and Google have replaced the yellow pages. It is quicker to get online, search, read reviews and get exactly what you want before even finding the “D” section in the book.
This changes everything.
Today, an effective website is the best tool for Dentists to attract and keep existing patients. Think about it. I go online, I Google “Dentist in Hartford, Connecticut” and BAM! A list of Dentists in my geographical location at my fingertips! I click on their URLs and I find sites with pictures of the office, smiling patients with great looking teeth raving about Doctor and team, and phone number begging me to call immediately to request an appointment.
Facebook SEO: Ensure Your Facebook Business Page is Found by Search Engines
Oct 30th
According to a piece on Mercury news in March, Facebook recently surpassed than Google in the amount of traffic– on a weekly basis in the U.S. That immediately makes me think of how businesses can use this to their advantage? Can a small business benefit from it? Is it possible to tap into the this huge stream of traffic coming off of Facebook?
If you have a business of your own, it would make sense for you to optimize your facebook page – just like you optimize optimize your websites, blogs and landing pages. But how do you do it? Is it even possible?
Here are a few things to consider:
Choose a Facebook Business Name with care: The odds are that you already have a business name in use. You might most probably want to use the same name for opening your Facebook business page. You may certainly do so but with a few more inputs – add a few relevant keywords (but take care not to overdo it) in the tag line or in a short descriptive paragraph. This should be done just like you do on-page optimization or your website (like writing appropriate titles with keywords, meta-descriptions, etc).
Using BatchBook for Managing Family Information
Oct 30th
Several people sent me the link to NYC VC Fred Wilson’s blog post in which he asks his readership for suggestions for a “Family CRM” service. He explains that he and his wife Joanne Wilson a.k.a Gotham Gal are looking for a way to share basic contact/calendar information, build some e-mail lists for social correspondence, planning and general family-managing.
In the thread, a few BatchBook customers recommended our CRM BatchBook (thanks Boris, Sri, Stefano and Sandro!), so I’d talk about how I use my BatchBook account to help manage my busy family.
First, I should explain that BatchBook was not designed for managing families, but it WAS designed for those small businesses that are about the same size, shape and energy level of an on-the-go family. I think the folks who recommended us recognize that the flexibility of BatchBook makes it work for all sorts of situations, including the work/life balancing (or is it juggling?) act that we small business owners face every day. As we know all too well, the line between business owner and family member frequently blurs.
My other co-founders and I started BatchBlue so that we could build a business deeply integrated with our family lives (I have three small children; they have two). Part of the solution for me has been using a personal BatchBook account to manage my family life. Here’s how I do it:
From the NEBA Conference: Of “Social” Media, Cloud Computing & The Future of the Law
Oct 30th
Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to attend and present at the 40th Annual New England Bar Association conference in Mystic, CT.
Besides catching up with some of the brightest up-and-coming bar leaders (such as Jennifer Parent who will lead New Hampshire’s bar next year), the core programming focused on how lawyers and bar associations can really adapt to the changing times — both from the economic side and the technological side.
Our panel discussion focused on how technology is changing the profession — but the core principles we discussed are frankly applicable to businesses and clients as well.
- Doug Cornelius — who writes on the terrific Compliance Building blog in his spare time from being Chief Compliance Officer for Beacon Capital Partners — talked about one of the biggest changes to the way we communicate since e-mail was introduced: “Social” media and “social” networking. Doug noted that he really dislike the terms because, after all, isn’t all networking “social” in one form or another?
But beyond that Doug emphasized that all of these aspects are tools that can be used to communicate with others. Doug added that “marketing” was the least interesting aspect of these tools; rather, it is the opportunity to build relationships and share information that is a core component.
At the end of the day, as Doug said, the “Pony express” lasted just 18 months. Changes to technology will always take place and the current wave of social media is just taking advantage of the messiness that is e-mail. These tools allow for collaboration. And that’s something that companies and their lawyers can take advantage of reduce inefficiencies and solve problems.
