Non-Technical TechGuide

Welcome to the first edition of the Non-technical TechGuide Blog. I pronounce it "b-log", some run it all together “blog”. Either way, it doesn't matter. What’s important is that you understand what it is, and how it can help you reach more customers and grow your business.

Definition

Blog is short for the term weblog. Simply put, it's an online journal. An opportunity to share your thoughts with the world, or just a select few. Only recently has blogging (the act of writing a blog) become used in business. While it is still not 100% accepted in the business community, you will find more and more businesses are using them as another tool to communicate with their client base.

Benefits of Blogs

• Instant publishing
• Share your thoughts with a broad audience
• Community Building- Blogs let you share your knowledge with a much broader audience. Blog language is casual and friendly as if you are chatting with friends and readers can respond online or via email.
• Easy to use - It's sooooooooo easy. I registered, picked a template, and now I am typing my thoughts. As soon as I hit the "Publish Post" button my thoughts will be on the web, instantly, for anyone to find and read. Which leads to my next benefit.
• Google - Like it or not Google rankings can make or break your site. The great thing about having a blog is that since it's mostly text, it is easier for Google to find. Therefor if your blog has good content, with a dose of good keywords, then Google and searchers can easily find you.

I would be remise if I failed to tell you where to go for more information. As always, you can contact me at 2-785-8000, but if you want to do some research on the web start with these sites first.

Blog software providers:

Blogidentity - For $99/year you get a web space plus a variety of robust features for your blog. Includes 1 gig of storage, secure blogging areas and a variety of publishing options.

Completely free are blogdrive and blogger they both provide similar feature and FREE makes it great. But as we all know nothing is ever free. So check carefully for the advertising that is included and make sure it isn't annoying to your readers.

For a few examples of some very nicely designed blogs visit Squarespace. While there service is subscription based, business packages only cost $20/month. Also, if you want a comprehensive list of blogging tools take a look at the e-learning centre, a UK based website.

So, there you have it. A short preview of blogs and what they are for. We will continue to explore their use in business. Let me know what you think about them, if you use them, or would like to. You can send mail to me at mwhite@cccsolutions.com

I look forward to the discussion,
M-

My passion is technology. My gift is communication. My peers, well most dislike them both. My goal, to provide an easy to understand, non-technical resource for the non-tech folks I know. It is my belief that anyone can understand the technology if it is discussed in a normal, everyday language.

This site is here for you. Please send topics that you would like to discuss, technical problems you may be facing, or cool things you want to share.

I look forward to hearing from you,
Marquise White
202-785-8000