Web 2.0

Bargains for Businesses

Presenting

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Border image: http://comocrearmiblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/blog.jpg

Bloggin’

Along:

Presentation Outline• Introduction• What is a blog?• Using blogs for business• Options for creating a blog• Using Blogger• Benefits of using a blog versus a website• Blogging requirements• Capabilities and tricks of using Blogger• Blogger website examples• Concluding quote• Connections to Web 2.0• Conclusion• Just FYI: Where does it go from here?• References

Introduction

• Blogging is fascinating• I want to learn more about Blogging• I hope for this investigation to help me personally so I can

create my own blog• I also hope my learning can help me professionally and be

used as a fundraiser for my students

What is the focus?

Why have I chosen this route?

• Using blogs as websites for small businesses

Web + Log = Blog Virtually present content on the

web Belong to one author Simple one-page “journals” Have a focus Various topics Shown in reverse-chronological

order Interlinking and sharing options Grants power of the media For the public Additional potentialhttp://www.dailyblogtips.com/wp-content/uploads/blogs.jpg

http://langwitches.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/blog-world.jpg

How can blogs be used inthe business world?

Consumers are looking online for products and services (97% of American Internet users)

Businesses on the web have more success Businesses need websites Business owners may not have the money or expertise to create websites(Official Google Blog, 2013; Fazani, 2009)

Use blogs as company websites Create these blogs to replicate regular

websites (Fazani, 2009)

What is the solution?

http://www.empowernetwork.com/eoriji/files/2012/04/small-business-ideas.jpg

free set-up, just buy domain name

free set-up, just buy domain name

hosted service, $50 per year minimumand 30 day free trial

http://michellerafter.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Blogger-logo.jpghttp://skookummonkey.com/wp-content/uploads/wordpress_logo.jpghttp://blog.monitor.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/typepad_logo_on_white2.jpg

(Com

mun

ity N

et A

otea

roa,

n.d

.)

Options for creating a

blog

Let’s focus on

• Can be found at www.blogger.com• Uses a Content Management System (CMS) as its foundation• A“hidden gem” in the area of website development (Kutcher,

2012)• Cheap (free set-up and domain name purchased for $3+)• Free Google hosting and security • Customizable

(Kutcher, 2012)

http://michellerafter.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Blogger-logo.jpghttp://www.internet4classrooms.com/images/create_a_blog_first_page2.gif

• Little or no experience necessary (Community Net Aotearoa, n.d.)• Low cost domain name (Community Net Aotearoa, n.d.; Confluent Forms, 2011; Fazani, 2009)• No software required • Free hosting • Complete customization • Personalized domain names • Use of WYSIWYG editor (Confluent Forms, 2011) • Easily integratable with other Google services such as Google Analytics, Google Docs,

AdSense, and Picasa (Confluent Forms, 2011; Confluent Forms, 2012, & Kutcher, 2011), JQuery and other Javascript libraries (Confluent Forms, 2011), free business email, PayPal, Google Merchant, and Open Table (Confluent Forms, 2012)

• No upgrades are necessary and editing is easy (Confluent Forms, 2011)• Drafts can be updated and kept private until ready for public view (Confluent Forms, 2011)

Benefits of using blogs versus traditional professional websites

http://www.bloggingpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Blog.jpg

• A landing/home page that explains the business• An about page which goes into more detail about the business

and what it offers• Information with contact details (location, telephone number,

email)• A professional design• An appropriate domain name

(Fazani, 2009)

General requirements for a blog

Blogging capabilities and tricks• Blog home page = landing page • Add pages = about, contact information, and product and

services• Free templates • Business logo added to the header • Irrelevant material can be disabled

– Comments– Backlinks– Blogger profile– Subscriber count– Followers– Blogger header

(Fazani, 2009) http://media02.hongkiat.com/blogger-templates-most-

wanted/most-wanted-blogger-template.jpg

• Features can be added– Product and company information– Testimonials– Videos & photos(Fazani, 2009) – A contact us page submission that goes right to Google email– Google calendars with company schedules/hours– Gift registries– Slideshows– Google fonts(Confluent Forms, 2011)– A search box linked only within the blog (Fazani, 2009)– Newsfeeds so others can share your site (Community Net

Aotearoa, n.d.)– HTML Page editing or CSS customizing, (Confluent Forms, 2011)– Google AdSense (Official Google Blog, 2013)– Social media sharing widgets and much more

Blogging capabilities and tricks (cont.)

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Example 1: Luma http://www.lumaonpark.com/

Professional domain name

Pages

Read more links

Buy a gift card link onseparate page

Scrolling images

And believe it or not, this website is… (Confluent Forms, 2011)

Example 2: Renew Pilates http://www.renewpilates.com/

Up-to-date calendar

Contact us form

Example 3: Impishhttp://www.shopimpish.com/

Blog pride!

Gift registered couples

Collective intelligence

Example 4: Hooda Mathhttp://www.hoodamath.com/

(Official Google Blog, 2013)

Google AdSense $$$

Direct links to games

Regular blogwith updates

Search widget set to only search my blog

Home/landing page with description

Co

nta

ct f

orm

wid

get

Pag

es w

idg

et

Changed HTML code to remove Blogger heading

Purchased a professional domain name

Created and added PayPal HTML codesfor a Buy Now drop down menu

Uploaded Images of productsand gave titles to the artwork

Removed comment options and Blog archive

Left social media sharing capabilities to promote page

Included contact information

In the words of a designer from Confluent Forms

On using blogs as websites:

“It’s a fully functioning site of which no design limitations were encountered. Its content is fully editable by a client who is running multi-faceted business with little technical experience. As the graphic designer using Blogger in this way is liberating. For my clients it’s empowering.”

(Confluent Forms, 2011)http://evolvemovement.com/evolve/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/empower.jpg

Connections to

• Common people and businesses can create

content on the Web• This information can be shared with others

• Creating a business blog can be learned solely

through the Internet and collective intelligence

• Blogs use the Web as a platform for creation

and business • Advances in convenience and economical aspect

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Just FYI Here is a layout of what comes next:

Research and create a presentation on how blogs can be used for small business websites

Create a sample of a small business blog Make a how-to for creating a small business blog Research and create a presentation of the benefits of

international travel for youth Research and create a presentation on the logistics of said

program with potential traveling company partnerships Create budgets for all expenses Report 1-6 to the corporate level school board Acceptance and action

ConclusionI sincerely enjoyed this project although a few times I felt as if I had gotten in over my head (especially when it came to HTML code editing!). I discovered so much useful information and was able to put it into practice. I was able to see the potential of blogging and found out how to use a blog to create a professional website that could be used for my own personal business. Although I did not get a chance to complete my own blog to the point I had hoped I do believe it provides a decent example of my understanding of blog customization. Ideally, I could have created specific prices for each individual product, written more descriptions of products, researched and added more useful widgets, delveddeeper into HTML coding, etc. But I was able to seehow businesses save money using this innovativeWeb 2.0 option. I was also able to gain a basicproficiency in creating these business blogs, andmost importantly, I can now share this newknowledge with others in the future.

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References• Brain, M. (n.d). How Blogs Work: Creating a blog. [Web log comment] Retrieved from http://

computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/information/blog3.htm• Community Net Aotearoa. (n.d.) Blogs: quick, easy websites. Retrieved from http://

www.community.net.nz/how-toguides/it/publicationsresources/blogs.htm• Confluent Forms. (2011, July 28). You can do some amazing things with Blogger. [Web log comment]. Retrieved

from http://www.confluentforms.com/2011/07/you-can-do-some-amazing-things-with.html• Confluent Forms. (2012, November 28). Using Blogger and Creating Gorgeous Websites. [Web log comment].

Retrieved from http://www.confluentforms.com/2012/11/using-blogger-create-gorgeous-websites.html• Fazani, A. (2009, February 23). Building a Small Business Website with Blogger – Part 1. [Web log comment].

Retrieved from http://www.bloggingtips.com/2009/02/23/building-a-small-business-website-with-blogger-part-1/

• Google. (2007, May 11). Blogger: How to start a blog. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU4gXHkejMo&feature=related

• Kutcher, D. (2011, July 28). You can do some amazing things with Blogger. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/07/you-can-do-some-amazing-things-with.html

• Kutcher, D. (2012, June 13). Using Blogger for your Organization’s Website. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://googleandyourbusiness.blogspot.com/2012/06/using-blogger-for-your-organizations.html#!/2012/06/using-blogger-for-your-organizations.html

• Official Google Blog. (2013, June 20) America's businesses are growing. The web is helping. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://googleandyourbusiness.blogspot.com/#!/2013/06/americas-businesses-are-growing-web-is.html

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