Recently I was working on a client’s search marketing campaign. Within a few clicks it became apparent just how important monitoring and managing your reputation online can be.

Contributor sites like Yelp, CitySearch & Google Maps / Local make it very easy for anyone on the web to write and publish a review about your business. You might be thinking, “That’s great! We really strive to provide great service, an awesome product (fill in the blank).”

But what about the dangerous cocktail of that one customer who received bad service, slipped through the cracks and likes to talk? You may provide great service 99.9% of the time but one negative review or comment can spread like a nasty virus. You’ve worked for months – even years to build your brand – don’t let one disgruntled person wipe it all away.

Fortunately my client’s online reputation was all very positive but one of their main competitors had numerous scathing, negative reviews and comments that I would guess they know nothing about.

Monitor what people are saying about you

First of all, in order to take action against negative comments about your business you need to know that they exist. If you don’t know they’re out there how can you possibly respond quickly and effectively?

Is the buzz about your business good or bad?

Tools to help you manage your reputation online

One free tool that I like is WhosTalkin. This site lets you search social media conversations. Their search and sorting algorithm uses data from over 60 social media websites like Twitter and WordPress.

WhosTalkin for Reputation Management

Another essential tool for managing your online reputation is Google Alerts.

Google Alerts is an extremely useful tool when you want to know what both consumers and the press are saying about a brand, company, issue or event, or, if you want to know how the public feels about something.

Setting up Alerts is easy. Simply go to Google News and click on the ‘Alerts’ button in the left hand column, choose the word or phrase you wish to monitor, what kind of alerts you want and how often. You can edit and add new ones whenever you like but remember to use quotations to designate an “exact search” if you are monitoring a phrase rather than a single word or you’ll get a lot of irrelevant results.

Google Alerts for Managing Your Reputation Online

Google Alerts can be useful to track the evolution of a news story such as the H1-N1 virus or follow an industry trend. I use it to track SEO trends and product news. It can also be very useful to track the competition and as a reputation management tool. For example, if a disgruntled employee bashes your business on a blog site you will be notified and you can take action.

What should you do if you find a bad review?

Find out who wrote the comment. Who are they? Who do they work for? Is it a competitor? Try to determine what their comment will mean for your business? Is the comment posted on a well-respected, heavily trafficked site? What is their audience reach?

Determine whether the comment is factually incorrect. If it is, request removal or retraction of the comment. Offer to keep the person who wrote the comment up to date on your business via email. If you receive no response leave a comment in your defense at the site. Keep in mind that this should be your last resort. You really want the comment removed.

What if the comment is negative but true?

Try to share your side of the story. Were there extenuating circumstances that kept your business from performing well that day? Note – Don’t make excuses. Show how you are resolving the issue. Did you make an additional hire to help assist customers? Did you change a policy or procedure? Indicate that you are willing to take additional questions or comments via email. Doing so will make the public conversation private.

What can positive review do for you?

Other than giving you a nice stroke and ego boost, a positive comment can have a positive effect in your local search rankings. Local search rankings are influenced by the number of reviews and citations the business has. Citations are “mentions” of your website (may not have a link).

How can you get more positive reviews?

Writing a review for your business may not be on the top of your customer’s list. Let’s face it – It’s a pain. Make it as easy as possible for them to give you good feedback. At ArcStone we use RRR (Ratings, Reviews & Recommendations) pages to help facilitate gathering reviews. The RRR page provides links to the local search sites and explains the process.

Good luck managing your online reputation! Remember if it’s too daunting or you’re just too busy doing what you do – reputation management is a service we specialize in at ArcStone Technologies. Please contact me at lisa@arcstone.com if you’d like details on our SEO & Search Marketing Services.

It’s a familiar situation for most nine-to-fivers: you have a huge file, multiple people need it, none of which are in the same location, the companies shared server is impossible to navigate and large email attachments get blocked by the firewall.

Welcome To The Big File Dilemma
In today’s world of data-overload, it’s easy to accumulate a collection of impossibly large files. Databases, video, image and audio files can be hundreds of megabytes. Working with large files locally poses no challenge as hard drives have gotten larger and cheaper. The issues of file size rears it’s ugly head once those files need to leave your computer.

A Connected Solution For A Connected World
Traditionally, large files were shuttled from worker to worked VIA removable media. While this is convenient for short trips and temporary storage, shipping media across the world becomes expensive, and the storage media itself is prone to failures. Most people have suffered through the tragedy of a cracked CD or unreadable thumb drive.

If only there was a way to easily, securely, and cheaply share large files over the Internet (foreshadowing).

Wonderfile To The Rescue
With Wonderfile sharing large files is a snap. Wonderfile’s advanced uploader allows you to select several files of any type and size, set permissions, and see the uploaded progress for each file.

The best part about Wonderfile is you can start using it for free with no credit card or contract needed. Sign up today and see how easy it is to share large files with Wonderfile.

For Over Ten Years ArcStone Has Helped Organizations Find Value In Their Digital Assets
After several months in development, and a lot of customer feedback, we are pleased to announce the launch of Wonderfile 2.0.

For those of you unacquainted, Wonderfile is ArcStone’s solution to one of the biggest problems facing modern businesses today; how do we leverage the vast amounts of information distributed among our organizations thousands of digital files?

Wonderfile Is The Swiss Army Knife Of File Management
For over ten years ArcStone has helped organizations large and small find value in their digital assets. Wonderfile is the culmination of all that work, a system designed to effortlessly manage the mountain of unstructured data every business and individual has.

Wonderfile Adapts To YOU, Not The Other Way Around
The hallmark of our system, and what makes it different from anything else, is that Wonderfile adapts to YOU, not the other way around. The reason other file tagging systems don’t work well is they force you to adopt their organizational model.

Wonderfile Is Your Own Personal Digital File Library
In Wonderfile you make the model, you’re personal way of thinking is the engine that drives Wonderfile. The net effect of Wonderfile’s flexibility is a powerful, personalized search engine, effortless sharing of any size and type of file, and a solid base from which to build customized file tagging solutions.

Amazing Things Your Files Can Do In Wonderfile

• Send A Very Large File To Someone With Password Protection
• Collaborate With Colleagues On The Same File And Track Revisions
• Be Automatically Notified When Someone Adds A File To Your Project
• Access Your Most Important Files From Anywhere
• Create A Powerful File Store For Your Companies Intranet
• Group, Search, Organize, Archive And Share Files In An Unlimited Number Of Ways

Start Using Wonderfile
You can start using Wonderfile in minutes for free. There is never any contract or setup fee. Just go to Wonderfile’s sign up page to get started.

Once you start using Wonderfile you’ll never struggle to find, share, or backup files again. It’s just that simple.

Like store-brand cough syrup, VoIP (Voice Over IP) has left a bad taste in many peoples mouths. Expense, reliability, and complications have plagued many small business VoIP adoption. Although not often viewed as a complete VoIP system, the scrappy software based solution known as Skype can be an excellent free alternative for testing the VoIP waters, or even adopting as your business’s De facto VoIP solution.

You Can Call Your Clients From A Beach In The Bahamas and No One Is The Wiser

Voice Over What?
Simply put, VoIP is a way to make phone calls over your computer, mobile phone, or specialized desk phone’s Internet connection. With VoIP you don’t incur any costs from the phone company on a per minute basis or for long distance. Generally, if you make a lot of long distance calls a VoIP provider’s monthly fees will be less than what you would usually pay the phone company.

The biggest VoIP advantage is the ability to bring your phone, and number, anywhere you go. You can call your clients from a beach in the Bahamas and no one is the wiser.

Skip The VoIP Headaches With Skype
Because Skype is a software based solution there is no need to buy an expensive specialized phone to get started. Simply download Skype for your computer or supported hand-held device. Skype also works on hundreds of cell phone, including the iPhone (I use Fring), and is now coming pre-installed on many Nokia handsets.

Once installed signing up for an account and making calls is a snap. Calling from one Skype user to another (Skype-to-Skype) is always free, and has the added benefits of accessing all the other Skype features that go beyond simple voice communication. Calling from Skype to a normal phone requires a paid plan. Paid plans fall under a pay-as-you-go model or unlimited service. Unlimited US calling is less than three dollars a month.

Skype For You, Your Business, and More
Skype also offers free tools to help manage your companies Skype implementation. There are also a multitude of partners offering additional services, and a constantly expanding set of business centric tools that leverage the Skype communication network.

A few of the great things you can do with Skype beyond just making calls:

• IM (instant message), conference call, and send files
• Hold a web conference, share your screen, and collaborate on documents
• Video chat, screen cast, and send faxes
• Run a call center, run your help desk, and dial from SalesForce.com

Flattening The Communication Landscape

With Skype There Is No Large Upfront Investment And No Need To Dump Existing Infrastructure

Although the web 2.0 revolution (coupled with the explosive use of smart phones) has opened up many new avenues of communications, Skype stands out for many reasons. Skype has a multi-dimension / multi-media / multi-device approach to communication, and melds old-world networks with the latest cutting-edge trends. With Skype there is no large upfront investment, no need to dump existing infrastructure, and virtually limitless potential for creative applications of the Skype protocol.

If you have used Skype in the past let me know what your experience was like in the comments of this post.

Happy Skypeing!

Flashbelt 2009 is right around the corner. A truly exciting event where local flash designers and developers converge to see some amazing demo’s. A chance to learn what Adobe and flash masters are working on to push the boundaries and maximize the efficiencies of using flash in day-to-day work and play. The event is made up of both presentations and workshops and other events, and is appropriate for all experience levels.

Never been? Check out at least one presentation, you will undoubtedly go back for more. get yourself registered, space is limited.

Learn more about it and see who’s there this year.

Thanks to our friend Dave Schroeder at Pilotvibe, the founder and host

The numbers are in. I’ve thought about this thoroughly and in keeping with ArcStone’s nerdy roots, created an algorithm.  I added up productivity gains subtracted employee gripes and moans and then divided by hours logged.

(Gains – Gripes) / Hours = X

The clear winner for best technology investment in 2008?

Our switch to Google Apps for our company email, calendar and documentation platform.

Google Apps has five elements that you need to know about…

1. User Management – to secure access and set permissions for your team.
2. Email – in this case Gmail, which is Google’s fantastic web mail service.  Users can also use mail clients like Outlook or Thunderbird if they wish.
3. Calendar – An online personal calendar which may be shared with your colleagues.
4. Sites - An easy to edit wiki system.  Need a quick wiki to organize a project, or documentation?  It literally takes a non-technical user 5 minutes to create a new site and start adding content.  You can then restrict content to certain users or publish to the web at large.
5. Docs – an online productivity suite which includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and data collection application.   These have become very important tools in the tool box for us at ArcStone.  We use Docs for tracking basic spreadsheet information centrally like employee phone extensions and incoming leads, to collaborating on our 2009 business plan.  Google Docs also includes a slick form generation tool, enabling non-technical users to easily create online forms for surveys and similar data collection projects.  Google is clearly targeting Microsoft Office users, but I have to confess Google Docs still has a ways to go before replacing Office – don’t plan on using it exclusively.

And how much $$ for all these goodies?  If you have fewer than one hundred employees, the price is truly right. You pay them $0.  All it took for us was a DNS update so that Gmail started getting our our email and then some configuration / internal communication / training to make the transition.

Before you ask, no I’m not working for Google.  I just want to share something that’s working well for us.

If you’re an ArcStone client and you’re interested in making the transition to Google Apps, drop me a line.  If there’s enough interest, I’d be happy to schedule a group Webinar demonstrating how we use Google Apps and help you decide whether or not to make the move.

The iphone has revolutionized mobile phone technology not only in the United States but also in the world. Now with the 3G available in 57 countries and coming soon to 23 countries, the iphone is increasingly becoming a mobile phone of international acclaim.  The benefits and advantages of the phone are available for your reading pleasure on the Apple website.

But the iphone is more than just a phone. It is a tool for effectively and efficiently managing the complex demands that span every facet of our hectic lives. It’s a way of life. That’s right, a culture – the iculture.

At ArcStone, we have embraced the iculture and bask in its glory on a daily basis. Almost half of the employees have iphones and they constantly rave about them.

Nick Longtin, a connoisseur of Indian cuisine once commented, “I love Tandori chicken. I bet you can even Tandori a shoe and it would taste great.” The idea Mr. Longtin is espousing here is that anything (edible or not) preceded by Tandori gives it major credibility. This same analogy carries over to the letter “i.” Placing i in front of mundane words like phone and culture give these words a whole new meaning. To illustrate this concept, let’s delve deeper into the linguistic significance of the letter i.

I  is the ninth letter of the greek alphabet, called iota. As we all know, the word iota in modern English is a noun meaning the smallest amount or part imaginable. It stands to reason that the idea behind the iphone was to enable users to achieve maximum efficiency with the smallest amount of effort.  It is no surprise that then that it combines three products in one: a phone, an ipod and a breakthrough internet device.

In the fast paced society and culture we live in, where time is of the essence, we expect everything microwaved and ready for consumption or use with minimal effort. The iphone helps to achieve this delicate balance between speed and accuracy which results in huge time savings.

The next time you hear the words iphone, iway or iculture remember that it’s an invitation to live life by design and not from crisis to crisis.

The hardest part of staying in shape is often staying motivated. Your significant other might drop a comment here or there, or maybe a winter trip to Mexico might do it, but I discovered that my computer (and a couple of accessories) actually does a far better job.

I read about it a while ago, but just recently made the purchase. The Nike+iPod Sport Kit.

For around $30 your runs can be monitored (pace, distance, calories burned) and you can turn on a voice to chime in each mile, provide motivational comments or simply announce your pace and milage with the push of a button. This of course is overlayed upon the killer mix you have created or downloaded as your ipod playlist.

After the run, simply plug in your ipod and it uploads your run data to a very slick nike web application – a beautifully designed web site application. Here you get graphs of your run and a plethora of other very cool options like:

Download ipod playlists of others’ workout mixes (Sport Imixes)
Find running routes that others in your area have mapped, and add your own
Create running groups or teams (and compete!)
Create a training schedule
Create goals and competitions (for yourself or you and others)
Get interactive coaching/workouts

And much more. I am only 2 weeks into it but I have never been so motivated to stay on track with my workout, and to continue to improve my pace with every run. Tonight, Lance Armstrong even chimed in at the end of my run to congratulate me on setting my personal best pace per mile.

In all, I see it as the perfect blend of human and computer interaction. The design of the hardware, the user experience, graphical interface and feature set, the personal and community aspects are all exceptional.

Best of all my wife can’t give me a hard time for sitting down at the computer after getting the kids to bed. Just uploading my workout hon’!

I helped a friend move some furniture this weekend. Up at 7:00 am! Earliest I’ve been up on a Saturday in several months.

Reed DeLapp spotted quite the photo opportunity near the IKEA furniture pick-up, and his iPhone came to the rescue. The quality of iPhone and Treo photos is quite impressive. I don’t think I would even attempt a photo like this with my Motorola Razr, and when these photo opps com along, it’s nice to be prepared (ask Nick Longtin if you’re not convinced).

Check out this tool!

I was rummaging around my files and found this old (but still useful) Flash program from days gone by. It has been noted in the past that ArcStone is a hotbed of tea consumption.

Since we are so busy it’s often hard to time the perfect steep, resulting in a bitter and undrinkable liquid. My solution was to create the Steep Master 1000, an interactive steep timing system.

Keep reading for detailed operating instruction for the Steep Master 1000 and tips on creating the perfect steep.

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