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Hello Alaska,
Ugh, I am barely able to man my current social media portals and lo and behold, here comes another one. I've been delaying and dreading this moment, but it is time to address Google's new addition to facilitate online interaction, Google+, a new social network aimed at changing the playing field. The fact that I already have Facebook for personal use, Twitter for sharing content, and LinkedIn to network with business people begs the question, "do I really need another social medium?!"
What is Google+?
According to the Google+ overview, the main purpose of Google+ is "to make connecting with people on the web more like connecting with them in the real world." Still in beta testing, some are saying Google+ aims to take down the other major social networks such as Facebook and Twitter by providing a simpler way to share content with your chosen audience.
Google + vs. Facebook
How could Google+ affect the 600 million strong Facebook market? They will try to do so in part by addressing the privacy concerns that all social networking users have. As the online world becomes more and more transparent, users are changing their names, hiding their photos, and even deleting their profiles in order to avoid having certain content seen by the wrong people. Google + allows customers to regulate who sees what.
Inside Google+
- Circles: Circles makes it easy to share different things with different people. You can add the people in your life to specific circles and control what content you share with each of them. For example, you can separate your college friends from your co-workers and your family from your friends, and share different posts, pictures, and links with each of them.
- Sparks: With Sparks, you can tell Google+ what you're interested in and receive new content on that specific topic. If you're using this for business, you can type in your company name and receive new articles when anyone mentions your brand-sort of like Google alerts, except in one stream of information.
- Hangouts: Hangouts enable users to video conference with multiple people at once. You can start a Hangout and invite people in your circles, or just see who's around.
- Photos: What was Picasa is now Google Photos. You can now easily upload albums and share them with the general public or only with specific circles. Let's say you just went to a family reunion and you don't want the pictures going out to all of your friends. You can just choose to share that specific album with your family, and no one else will be able to view them.
- +1: The plus one button is Google's equivalent of the Facebook "like" button. When someone posts something that you like, just click the +1 button to show your affinity to that person's post.
Specific advantages that Google brings to this new product
- With the addition of Google+ button all posts that are shared have the ability to be indexed into Google search, so over time this tool has the potential of greatly influencing page ranks.
- Google's ability to pull demographic data and browsing history, combined with the information about consumers' interests and affinities that Google + would provide, greatly enhances Google's online advertising power.
- The integration of Google'sPlaces product into Google+, would allow businesses to extend the use of their Places page to a more social format (somewhat like a Facebook Fan Page).
Is all this enough to get you hooked, or at least try Google +? Many appear to think so. The platform launched beta testing in late June and is currently only open to people with invitations, but membership is already estimated at over 5 million users. Right now I don't see enough benefits to add yet one more communication vehicle to my arsenal, but with billions of Google dollars behind the project, there could be a time in the not so distant future, where we need to either get on board, or risk falling off the social media train.
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What's cooking at the SBDC?
Visit the SBDC Facebook page to find an event, or class in your area, like the:
Lender's Symposium
September 22, 8 am ~ 12 pm
2417 Tongass Ave, Ste 223A
Nelida Irvine, Lender Relations Specialist for the Small Business Administration will present resources for all involved in Small Businesses.
Alaska Growth Capital - Loan Program
Aug 23, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Employer Payroll Tax Workshop
August 26, 9 am - 3:30pm
Hot Topics for Women in Business Breakfast
August 31, 8 am -10 am / $15
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I'll tell you what else is cooking, or at least smoldering at this point -
The Alaska State Fair
Aug 25 - September 5, at the State Fair Grounds in Palmer
This year the Fair is offering an impressive array of musicians and entertainers in addition to the usual attarctions. Visit www.alaskastatefair.org for details and to purchase tickets.
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Successful Exporting in Today's Global Economy
Friday, September 9, 2011
9 a.m. to 12 Noon at the BP Energy Center
Participate in an exclusive training program carefully designed to give business executive's strategies, insights, and a ready network of contacts necessary to successfully expand sales globally. If you believe exporting could be part of your growth strategy, this seminar will provide you with the hands on tools and the latest information necessary to succeed. In addition, through this seminar, you will become informed about the effective finance and marketing assistance currently available through both state and federal agencies and walk away knowing precisely how to leverage these resources. To RSVP call 907-644-9611
Contact Vendula Cadiente for more information.
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2011 Global Mayor's Forum
The CFO for the Municipality of Anchorage, Lucinda Mahoney, will be representing Mayor Sullivan at the upcoming 2011 Global Mayors' Forum November 18-20 in Zhuhai, China. The Municipality has asked us to invite interested parties to accompany Ms. Mahoney and participate in this event. The delegation would promote the city of Anchorage, business development, and attract Chinese investment to the State.
Registration for the conference starts at $420 per person and early registration continues through August 31st. You can register for the conference online at www.globalmayorsforum.org.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this opportunity, please contact Jay Jackson, Special Assistant to the Mayor JacksonJA@ci.anchorage.ak.us or by phone at 907-343-7115.
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2011 STATE of REFORM - Alaska Health Policy conference
Legislators and physicians, policy staff and hospital executives, MHA students and industry thought leaders - if you are interested in understanding what occurs at the nexus of healthcare policy and politics, then this is the conference for you.
- Track 1: Implementing federal reforms. What will exchanges look? How will we handle Medicaid expansion?
- Track 2: What's next for Alaska? What's next for our state? What about delivery system reform? How to fund substantive change?
- Track 3: Policy Meets Politics: Who is driving the debate? What is the impact of the 2010 elections?
Register online at http://stateofreform.com/register.html
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Kenai River Marathon
September 25, 9 am
Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Visit http://kenairivermarathon.org for more information and to register
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7th ANNUAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR CONTEST
presented by the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce
The winning artwork will be the image of the Chamber, featured on all marketing materials during 2012, including, but not limited to: Membership Postcard, Membership Directory & Buyer's Guide, the Chamber's Website and the Chamber's Fairbanks & North Pole Map.
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT ARTWORK: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011
Questions?Contact Heather Zimmerman, GFCC Marketing Coordinator at 374.6702 or by email at Heather@FairbanksChamber.org
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Leadership...in Four Dimensions
Half-Day Seminar, Saturday, September 17, 2011
Noon - 4pm at the Westmark Hotel
Workshop Aims to Help Participants:
- Get better at understanding the challenges they face
- Reflect on how they think about their work and their organization, and how they approach leadership.
- Expand their options and become a more versatile leader.
Early Bird Registration - $199/person
After September 7, 2011 - $225/person
(Registration includes handouts, book and lunch on September 17th)
For more information or to register please contact the Chamber Office at (907) 452-1105 or email Lisa@FairbanksChamber.org.
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2011 Juneau Local Food Festival
Saturday, August 27 from 9 AM to 2 PM
Downtown at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center.
The event features locally grown produce, fruits, berries and flowers; seafood; eggs; fresh baked goods containing local ingredients; homemade jams, jellies, honey, herb vinegar and syrup; indigenous plant products; locally produced artisan foods; composting supplies; and items related to food growing, gathering, preparing or serving.
If you have any of these things to offer, please register, or contact Eva Bornstein at 523-2339, ebornstein@jedc.org.
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