Archive for the ‘Tools’ Category

Test with Google voice

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

One of the best ways to find out if a marketing technique is working is to test and track it.

Now, Google Voice allows you to use individual phone numbers for your marketing campaigns. The phone numbers are free and easy to track through the system.

You can listen to voice mail messages, read transcriptions, add notes, read or send e-mail, and download or copy embedded code of the voice files all from one location.

https://www.google.com/voice

How could you use Google Voice?

The magic of a question

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

A couple of months ago the guys at  Marketing Over Coffee started a new group on LinkedIn.  It began with a question of the week and developed from there.

I enjoy listening to their podcasts, so I started to participate.  After a few weeks, I decided to follow their example.  Rather than start a LinkedIn group, I used my established New Media Photographer Facebook page.

Every few days I ask a question. People respond within days of the first question. This little adjustment has breathed new life into my Facebook account.  Engagement is way up. New people are pressing the like button every day, increasing the membership.

Questions are an important part of social media, marketing and life.

People love to be asked questions. Most people have in their heart the desire to help others and share information.  When you ask a question, it gives someone the opportunity to feel valuable whether in person or online.

Rosh

Drop Gallery is a good idea

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

How would you like to have the ability to drag and drop images into a folder and know their next stop is your online gallery? It sounds appealing, doesn’t it?

This is what you get with DropGallery. So far, it’s only available for Windows, but they promise applications will be coming soon for Mac as well as the iPhone and Android.

If the convenience of an application such as DropBox is any indication, DropGallery will be a valuable tool for many photographers.

You can use up to 2GB of the service for free.  If you like the service, you can upgrade to 50GB for $4.99 a month.  The service plans also offer backup service.

This service can be used for many professional and amateur applications.  Set the galleries to either public or private, which will give photographers the option of collaborating with other photographers, art directors and editors.

This is a new application with promise.  Before long, I’m sure this technology will be integrated into other applications such as FlickrPhotoshelter or Smugmug.

Rosh

New Media Photographer Podcast 116

Monday, August 30th, 2010

This week: Rosh interviews photographer Pascal Depuhl about the photographers Website and Customer Relationship Management  (CRM).

Social media and the incredible photograph

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Imagine it is 1995. You are sitting across from a prospect with your portfolio laid out. She flips through the pages of your book and stops at one of your beautiful images. “Wow!” she says. “This is an incredible photograph.”

At this point, she might call a few people to her office to see your work. Chances are, they will not be available. Imagine if she could have pushed a button and sent a copy of that incredible picture along with a big endorsement to all her friends in her business and beyond? In 1995, that button wasn’t available.

Of course, as you leave her office you bump into a familiar face. It’s one of the many photographers you know who is also presenting work that day. The next question you ask yourself is how do you follow up on a regular basis without being a pest?

What about the clients that disappeared, lost their jobs or moved? Where did they go? How could you keep in touch for future opportunities?

What about competing with the photographers on the coasts who always seem to know the latest styles and equipment in 1995? Wouldn’t it be nice to have access to that information without waiting months for the photography magazines to publish? How about easily accessible, in-depth how-to information from the top professionals — anytime or place – with the option to ask follow-up questions?

What about the ability to share your images around the world without a large marketing budget, or the power to monitor the local or international markets for people in need of your service? None of this was possible in 1995.

This is 2010 and what I’ve described is what social media does for individuals and businesses. The magic buttons for people to share your portfolio with all their friends is available. The ability to have buyers subscribe to your latest images, purchase select images at 3:00 a.m. at your price or view your photographs passively at their leisure is a reality. Access to the newest information and the world is here.

Are these stupid and a waste of time?

I originally posted the blog  to the ASMP strictly business site in July. I’ve referenced the post a lot in my recent talks, so I thought I would share it with the new media photographer community.

Fotobabble as a tool for photographers

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

There are a lot of gimmicks online for manipulating your photographs.

Fotobabble is no exception. Gimmicks aside, this application actually can be useful for a photographer.

Think of all the ways you could use audio as a tool with your photographs.  I’m not talking about a complete slide show or full video, just a little information to enhance the viewer’s experience. This application, for example, could be very useful in the area of education.

Fotobabble could be used to explain how an image was photographed, who or what is in the image, or where it was taken.

A picture with audio embedded could serve as a valuable tool for business and marketing.  Funny photographs with creative audio have the potential to be viral hits.

The process is easy.  Sign in to Fotobabble.  Upload your photograph. Hit the record button.

After you record, you can share your audio-image via social media or embed it on your blog or Web site. You also can choose to have the audio automatically play during the loading of a Web page or let the viewer press play.

How could you use this application?

Social Media Updates

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Twitter recently announced an easy-to-install tweet button for Web sites and blogs.  It has now added a bookmarklet for easy tweeting from any Web page. All you have to do is drag and drop the button to your browser tool bar.  You can find it here.

Facebook released its own geo-location application called Facebook places.  Although Facebook is being criticized for the move, I think if you are a business you should at least check in and make sure you are listed.

I thought it was interesting to note Facebook uses Bing maps.

Foursquare recently added the name-your-hometown feature. It is useful to help you find new friends and for new friends to find you.

Google and Verizon’s Net neutrality policy is creating a bit of a stir. Mitch Joel has a good post on the topic on the Twist Image blog.

If you are interested, read Google’s post on the topic.

If you see some good information related to social media, please share it in the comments.

New media photographer podcast 115

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

This week: Rosh interviews photographer Chris Sheehan from Shelter Studios

Where should we eat?

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Where should we eat?

More people are depending on their smart phones to figure how where to eat, what to do, and how to get there.

It’s as simple as pushing a button.

Yelp has an application called Monocle for smart phones. All you have to do is point the phone’s camera in any direction and the application will overlay a list of restaurants and ratings. Another click will deliver social media reviews to help you decide.

Over time people will use these tools to find more than just a good restaurant.  The need for good photographs to accompany social media reviews will grow in importance.

If other applications take a cue from Google,  local listings will become more dynamic and will need to be managed.

This will include your client’s business as well as your own. What are you going to do about it?

Rosh

Evernote for photographers

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

I’ve had an Evernote account for a while.   I think it’s a excellent application, especially for smart phone users.

Since the announcement of the impending demise of Google Wave and my acquisition of an Android phone, I’ve been considering using my Evernote account as a default method to capture inspiration during my travels around the Web.

So far, I’m finding the application to be a winner.

The biggest help has been the addition of the Evernote button on my Firefox browser.  It simply allows me to click a button and save the Web page I’m viewing to my account, along with comments and tags.

It works great for the podcast.  I’ll usually write a highlight note, give it a couple of tags including “pod” for podcast and the link is automatically attached.  The tagging feature makes all my podcast-related notes easy to find.

I’ve also created multiple notebooks so I can keep topics organized.  I have separate notebooks for the blog, marketing ideas, clients and photography.

Evernote also is excellent for capturing great photography Web sites for future viewing.  I can tag fashion, business, food or interior photography for needed inspiration.

The ability to take notes is an added bonus.  Sometimes I’ll come up with a photography idea on the road. I’ll use Evernote to create a voice recording or written note so I will not forget the idea.  Trust me, I’ll forget.

Sometimes I’ll see a great location I might want to use later. I’ll take a quick snap shot with my phone and tag the photo with key information.  The software can read words within your photos allowing subjects such as signs to be found via search. I can even geo-tag my location with my Droid.

Tagging photographs, audio, video, links or written notes is becoming an important and common feature for many online applications. I believe Evernote is one of the best.

Tagging gives you the access to your information quickly. You can access your desired information with a simple search.  You can even save your common searches.

If you feel you are collecting valuable information and don’t want to create a blog,  podcast or tweet the information you can enable the share function so others many view your brilliant finds.

Evernote is a great tool for any photographer. Try it out.

Rosh

Thanks to http://www.damego.com for their review on the Droid application.