Looking for a new way to communicate?
We are very impressed by the impact and accomplishments of Games for Change...and with what one can learn at their annual festival about applying the enormously popular video game format to causes and learning environments.
Do read on, or click on the link, if you are as intrigued as we are.
2009 Sixth Annual Games for Change Festival, May 27 - 29, in New York City! (http://www.gamesforchange.org/fest2009.) This is the only event dedicated to the exciting new movement of video games for social change - games about poverty, global conflict, climate change. Called "the Sundance of video games" for "socially-conscious game-makers" we're building a new genre of video game - games to change the world - for the better.This year's festival features an Opening Keynote by Pulitzer-Prize winning author and world-changing New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof who will give us a sneak peek into his new book, television show and video game!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
No Business Is Too Big to Think Small
On-line or off, the Internet is teaching us a lot about identifying stakeholders, key word by key word, connection by connection. I was recently reminded how easily one's perception of their business can disconnect them from their best customers at a small business conference, when I asked each participant to give me the eight words that describe their business the best. There were hardly more than two words any of them could offer that might actually lead a client or purchaser to their door.
Renee Oricchio, on the Inc Technology Blog, eloquently offered a eulogy to an industry standard in The Death of The Elevator Pitch, that precious two minute tomb guaranteed to definitively identify your business or your mission. (I do urge you to read Ms. Oricchio's analysis.)
It was never easy to digest one's life work into two minutes, but it was a helpful exercise. Today's elevator is the search bar on your web browser. So, ask yourself, how many words do you use for a search? Probably not more than eight.
Aside from the eventual need to isolate those key words for all those pages on your website, there is another major advantage to starting with the Keyword/ Search Engine Optimization exercise. It will help you know your business, or the one you've been hired to promote, better. Through the miracle of the Internet you can find how your competitors are so successful by comparing their keywords to yours; you can go to websites your clients like and find out what words attract them the most, and you can find out how many other associated words or phrases contribute or detract.
How do you do this? There are many keyword generator sites and programs, but the one I find the most initially helpful is the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. You can type in words or phrases you think are essential to your business, or you can paste in the URL of a competitor's website and see what words and phrases they generate; then, in the results, you can see just how many times the words or phrases came up in a search....even save some of them for later reference.
Your first try won't be the best, but it will get you thinking about those attributes that make your enterprise simultaneously locatable and unique. The exercise might even help you improve or alter your service or event or product mix toward something more successful.
Just how popular should your keywords be? Check out this article on Wordtracker's site.
Renee Oricchio, on the Inc Technology Blog, eloquently offered a eulogy to an industry standard in The Death of The Elevator Pitch, that precious two minute tomb guaranteed to definitively identify your business or your mission. (I do urge you to read Ms. Oricchio's analysis.)
It was never easy to digest one's life work into two minutes, but it was a helpful exercise. Today's elevator is the search bar on your web browser. So, ask yourself, how many words do you use for a search? Probably not more than eight.
Aside from the eventual need to isolate those key words for all those pages on your website, there is another major advantage to starting with the Keyword/ Search Engine Optimization exercise. It will help you know your business, or the one you've been hired to promote, better. Through the miracle of the Internet you can find how your competitors are so successful by comparing their keywords to yours; you can go to websites your clients like and find out what words attract them the most, and you can find out how many other associated words or phrases contribute or detract.
How do you do this? There are many keyword generator sites and programs, but the one I find the most initially helpful is the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. You can type in words or phrases you think are essential to your business, or you can paste in the URL of a competitor's website and see what words and phrases they generate; then, in the results, you can see just how many times the words or phrases came up in a search....even save some of them for later reference.
Your first try won't be the best, but it will get you thinking about those attributes that make your enterprise simultaneously locatable and unique. The exercise might even help you improve or alter your service or event or product mix toward something more successful.
Just how popular should your keywords be? Check out this article on Wordtracker's site.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
