OFBPA

Link: http://www.stingraysocial.com/1/post/2011/10/google-offers-launched-in-baltimore-lets-deconstruct.html

This may be big news for business folks who use daily deal/coupon sites here in the Baltimore area. According to citybizlist Baltimore, Google has launched their Google Offers product in Baltimore as of 10/25/11. Baltimore has numerous entrants in the daily deals space, with established competitors such as Groupon & Living Social battling it out on a daily basis inside of Baltimorean’s inboxes.

From a marketer’s perspective, I’m going to examine Baltimore’s first Google Offer, a $30 for $15 deal at Conkling Street’s Blue Hill Tavern. First, let’s flashback to Google’s failed bid to purchase Groupon. Google was rebuffed in their attempt to purchase Groupon in late 2010, which made the rumors of a Google Offers launch much more interesting. Google Offers launched in January 2011, and has been opening up new cities in a controlled manner since...
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Last month’s entry of Web Tools For The Rest of Us highlighted a nifty cloud-based application for PCs, Smartphones & Tablets named Evernote. We’ll continue exploring cloud based applications this month, with a focus on Google Apps.

Google is primarily known for their market-leading search engine product, simply named Google. It’s so popular now, it has become synonymous with the industry it leads. It is the 21st century Kleenex.

What many people, including business owners, don’t realize is that Google provides a powerful application suite named Google Apps. The basic Apps product is free, and combines many of Google’s most popular standalone productivity apps into an tightly-integrated, easy to manage suite that is useful for businesses of many different sizes.

Here’s a link to the Free Google Apps portal, where you can explore the features in greater detail.
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/group/index.html

Here’s a quick listing of the apps included in the free version:

· Gmail
· Google Calendar
· Google Docs (similar in function to Microsoft Office)
· Google Sites (website creation)
· Google Reader
· Blogger
· Picasa Web Albums
· AdWords

For those businesses requiring a souped-up version of Google Apps, there is a $5 per month/per user upgrade that opens a larger suite of products & features. It operates under the name Google Apps for Business. Here is a comparison chart: http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/index.html

I’ve been using the free Google Apps platform now for nearly one year. It serves most of my needs very well, and considering Google’s penchant for innovation & their ability to acquire & integrate new technologies quickly, I see Google Apps as a winner both now and into the future.

Are any of our other readers operating either in part of in full on the Google Apps platform? Would love to hear your impressions. We’ll continue the discussion on OFBPA’s blog, which is also fed to our Facebook fan page.

OFBPA Blog
http://ofbpa.com/b2evolution/blog1.php

OFBPA Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/ofbpa

Dave Foertsch
OFBPA Board
Social Media/PR Chair
davidfoertsch@stingraysocial.com
http://www.stingraysocial.com

Web Tools for The Rest of Us
By David Foertsch,
davidfoertsch@stingraysocial.com

Anyone who uses the web knows there are new applications & tools being invented daily (maybe even hourly) for the sole purpose of making our lives more connected and efficient. While this is a noble pursuit, it can be overwhelming to most folks, not knowing where to turn for advice.

Every tech magazine, blog & video program is jam-packed with lists such as –

· “The 50 iPhone apps you need now”
· “32 new social media resources you might have missed this week”
· “10 amazing tech tools to use in your business”

To help you weed out the noise and focus on the most useful tools of the recent past, we’ll highlight one each month. Here is one I’ve been using for two years, and it keeps getting better.

This month’s highlighted tool is Evernote. My advice is, if you don’t already use it, stop reading and go sign up now at http://www.evernote.com/. A basic account is free, which allows you to upload 60Mb per month.

Evernote is a “cloud-based” service that allows you to save & store nearly anything in a digital notebook. Additionally, you can share your notebooks with others with no more than a couple clicks on your PC, tablet or smartphone. Their motto is “Save everything.” See the intro video here: http://www.evernote.com/about/video/#zHom6bgqg9Y|1|1

For anyone who is already an Evernote user, and looking for new ways to make it more functional, check out the Evernote Trunk http://www.evernote.com/about/trunk/. Evernote has evolved into a platform or “eco-system” that many other businesses can use to develop add-ons or complementary products that extend Evernote’s functionality.

That’s it! If you take the leap and begin using Evernote, share your experiences with the group. I'm interested to see the creative ways you use the service. Enjoy!