First Word

Blogging makes a great tool to market your business. Many free and paid services are available. I'm going to weigh in on my opinion based on observation and use of the tools. Blogger -- I obviously prefer Blogger. I use it for this blog, and I have been satisfied with its capabilities for what I do. And that is key to the process. What are you going to do with it? Now video blogging has become a big deal, and many marketers have promoted its use as popular. I see many sites now use video blogging, too. For what I do, video blogging isn't key. So my use of the video feature isn't as critical. Most sites now offer that feature (more or less in capability). Blogger allows you to insert a video. The problem I found is that my iPhone capabilities make it nearly impossible to send a video to my computer (too much bandwidth is required). So if you do intend to video blog, it's more dependent on whether or not you have the video-making capabilities. Additionally, some blogs ...

When it comes to social media, it can't be ignored as an effective marketing and promotion mechanism. I run into people who still eschew its value. They look at social media like Facebook and mistakenly believe that it's only good for reconnecting with old high school flames or playing Farmville. The real value of social media works likes this (and if you're not participating you are missing out on a huge opportunity): Replacing the community newsletter or bulletin . In many ways social media like Twitter or Facebook have replaced the town crier. The news feed give equal access and lack censorship. I've often learned the headline news of the day on Facebook vs. the news. I don't like watching the news anyway, because it's so negative. On social media, you can read about the events as people react. You can also hear what is truly going on with your neighbors (if you're connected to them). While loaded with minutia, social media often provokes great discussi...