If you need to convert a TIFF to a JPEG or a DOC file to a PDF, Zamzar will help you get the job done.  The site converts text documents, music, photography and video files. Give it a try.

Need to get things in order? Todo.ly will help you organize your list of tasks, projects and things to do.

Back up important files using Box.net. The site offers both free and paid online backup service.

Following the deafening silence from the Internet community and calls that last year’s hyped platform is dead, Google is working to improve its beta version of Wave.

It’s no secret that I’m a Wave fan.  I’m also realistic.  Google has to make  many improvements. Here are some of the developments:

As I’ve recommended,  it is important to keep up with new activity on your Waves. One solution is to install a browser plug-in. I’m using the Firefox plug-in for Wave.

Hyped as the e-mail killer, Google Wave is now using e-mail to keep users up-to-date with their accounts. To add e-mail notifications, look for the settings next to the inbox icon. I believe this is a smart move and should benefit all users.

In January, Google also added a read-only function to Wave. Previously, all Waves had read and write functions, which allowed people to make changes to any Wave to which they had access.  This is part of the appeal of Wave. When you make a Wave public, however, this can lead to problems. Another nice feature:  click on the individual members of a Wave to adjust their access.

Google also improved the history function by creating a restore option.  Not only can you view the history of a Wave, but also you can restart the Wave at a previous point in its history.

The Google team says it plans on adding a reply only option too.  This would allow users to add and adjust their comments without affecting the rest of the Wave. (I think that concept is also called a blog.)

I like Google’s improvements. Although speed is still an issue, it seems to be getting a little better.  If you have not tried Google Wave,  give it a shot.  Collaborate on a project. Plan an event with friends or family.  Share information with the Wave community or plan a photo shoot with other people.  The uses are endless once you understand the basic concept of this collaborative tool.

Rosh

I had a project estimate presentation with a large client.  We had a long list of topics and services to discuss.  One of the services was search engine optimization (SEO).

I was asked to justify the price tag for SEO.  I explained what we do, the actions, research and management of each page.  Although my response was accepted by the client,  I felt my answer was incomplete.  It was the wrong answer.

SEO is a valuable service.  Much of my photography work comes from people finding my portfolio through the search engines.  SEO works.  In fact, this company originally found our Web site because of our SEO efforts.

So what was wrong with my answer? I focused on what our company does — what some might call the features. No one really cares about feature details, only how the features will benefit them.

The client only needed to know one thing: Better search engine placement will help them make more money.

SEO is a good investment. The client most likely will earn back more than they paid for the service. I know it. I’ve experienced it.  The future of most companies hinges on being highly visible on the Internet.

The same principle holds true for your photography.  Your work is valuable.  When someone asks you  to justify your price, make sure you have a good answer. Here are a few examples:

• “My photography will help you sell more products.”
• “You are losing money with the poor photography on your Web site.”
• “I will make you look beautiful.
• My vision, style and passion will capture the memories of  the most important day of your life.”

People don’t care how you’re going to do it. They just need the justification to spend money on the amazing results you will provide.

Rosh

Sometimes it’s good to review some of the basics.

What do people find when they land on your page? Are they pleased?

Does your Web site look professional? Can visitors easily identify who you are and the name of your business?  Don’t forget  to have easy-to-find contact information on every page of your Web site.

Is your Web site easy to navigate? Just because it’s obvious to you doesn’t make it user-friendly for the rest of the population. If you think they will be able to figure it out, you have figured wrong. Don’t make people work too hard.

If you are using a blogging platform such as WordPress as a base for your site, you have a wonderful opportunity. Most blogging systems offer a real simple syndication (RSS) feed so people can subscribe to your site with their favorite reader, such as Google reader.

It’s amazing how many sites don’t have the option to request more information or subscribe to  newsletters. Acquiring e-mails from people who care about you and what you do is extremely valuable.

If you want people to click on a button, make it  easy to find. Make it loud.  Slick buttons that flow with the beautiful design of your site often are overlooked.

How quickly does your Web site load? This is important.  In 2010 it will become even more important as the search engines continue to use page-load speed as a criteria for page rank.

Remember, it is important to test how your Web site looks on different browsers.  Your favorite browser is not enough.  You might be surprised at how different your site looks on other browsers.

While the latest focus is on driving traffic to your site, don’t forget to pay attention to the basics.  All the traffic in the world doesn’t do any good if people can’t find what they are looking for and don’t like what they see.

Rosh

Here are five fun photography-related Web sites and applications:

shapecollage Vincent Chung sent me an e-mail introducing his collage tool. It’s available online or as a download.  It looks like a lot of fun.

imapflickr Create custom Google maps with your geotagged Flickr photo to embed in your Website or blog.

magofun Use  your photographs to make personalized magazine covers.

www.snaphaven “The world’s safest photo site” (It may only be fun if your hard drive goes down.)

Google Goggles – Photo search application for Android.

Metro Detroit has a new daily newspaper:  the Detroit Daily Press, which is scheduled to be online Nov. 23.  Well not online, they don’t have a Web site yet. This new publication will be available in print for daily delivery to Metro Detroit newspaper readers. You’ve got to be kidding me.

I love newspapers. I spent almost 20 years of my life photographing for print media.  I wish there was hope for the survival of the industry.

The day I presented my New Media Secrets talk to the Denver Press Club last winter,  the Rocky Mountain News shut down.  I knew about this before many others. Why? Credit the immediacy of social media.  News was coming directly from the Rocky Mountain newsroom via tweets and  Facebook status updates from employees who’d just learned it was their last day on the job.

That was the day I declared myself free of my dependence on old media for my income.  I’ve not solicited any of the local media for work since.  It has been a rough transition, but my career is better off for it.

I know a number of local writers jumping on board this new publishing venture. I sincerely wish them the best.  But, all I’ve heard through the grapevine are old attitudes about the need for print media.  The investors are outsourcing many of the services and setting up the paper like they would have in the 1970s. I’ve not heard any concern for photography, video, Internet or new media concepts.

In other words, nothing new is being created and there’s  little commitment to the growth and innovation of the industry.

I understand the owners have committed two months’ worth of capital to support the project. Even in a good economy, two months of capital is not enough to support a start-up publication. In a declining media market, with few advertising dollars available in the depressed market we have here in Detroit,  it appears destined for failure.

According to the recent Razorfish digital brand experience report, 84 percent of consumers get their current information and news online.

This upward trend will continue. The two traditional major daily papers in metro Detroit now only offer home delivery three times a week, which is the impetus for the launch of this new daily paper.  This doesn’t even take into consideration all the other newspapers and magazines that have closed this past year in Michigan.

Another concern about the health of this endeavor is the lack of buzz, marketing or community-building strategies. The only reason I knew about the new newspaper is because friends of mine where applying for positions with cheap rates and no benefits.  They have only offered a few traditional old school press releases.

Their Web presence seems to be a secondary concern. Their target market goal is the more than 100,000 baby boomers missing their traditional daily paper. Are baby boomers really missing their newspaper? While boomers don’t seem to be embracing the online editions, returning to old-school methods doesn’t seem the answer.

I hear the Daily Press now has a Facebook page. Do they know what to do with it? Do they have a plan? Are these extremely misguided people wasting a lot of money?

Rosh

I’ve made it no secret that I’ve been on my back all week sick.  Thank you to everyone who has sent well wishes.  For those of you who have been bitten by one of the many bugs going around, I wish you a quick recovery.

Below are a few thoughts I wish to share from the past few days.  Note my copyeditor is also under the weather.  Please be forgiving of this post.

Twitter Lists

Twitter finally added the list feature to its platform.  This feature allows Tweeters to categorize people they follow in to lists.  For example; you could create lists of photographers you follow, news sources or professional organizations.  One nice element is that if you see a list you like created by another person you can follow that list too.

This simple update is a major upgrade and a benefit to all. Lists act like a blogroll or link to another persons site.  It’s a sign of confidence.   It’s another way to share and keep up with your favorite tweeters.  Is this the end of #Followfriday?

I submitted my very last #followfriday list this morning.

I’ve noticed that the Twitter accounts delivering automatic feeds have had trouble getting added to lists.  That is because of the 15- 20,000 twitter accounts they have following them – a majority are robots or people who find no value in their tweets and never took the time to unfollow.

With that said, it will not take long for Spamers to create services, list pools our automated lists so it looks like people actually care.

Social media at work.

A local Detroit social media influencer Ken Burbary took action this week when a friend was in need.  Jamie Loveless was stricken with H1N1 while vacationing in Florida with her family.  Ken started a fund-raiser within his social community to help his friend.  With the help of a few social media heavy weights Ken and the community of over 200 contributors exceed the goal of $5000 dollars.

Unfortunately, mid-afternoon Thursday we all received the word that Jamie lost her battle and died at the age of 27. She left behind  her husband and nine month old son (story).  You can still contribute and support the family.

Interview

Although I was not at the top of my game, I was able to interview John Harrington Thurday evening for the new media photographer podcast.  I’m looking forward to playing it for you Monday.  John always has good information.

Catching the Wave

The Google Wave for photographers post has received a lot of traffic.  Obviously, people are interested. I will write more about Google Wave as I work with the platform more.

Down time

I’m going to give myself the weekend off from writing.  I have weeks worth of photography work to catch up on.  I’ll have the podcast ready for you on Monday.

Rosh

I was inspired by “robot photographers can’t catch a break” posted at aphotoeditor.

The Web site xtranormal.com is where the videos were made. It was a lot of fun creating these scenes.  After signing in you have access to a suite of scenes, characters, camera angles, sounds, movements, expressions on an intuitive well designed interface.

The first thing I did was to create a birthday video for my wife.

Later, I took about ninety minutes to create the video below.  It has a few glitches, but I thought I would share it with the new media photographer community.  It’s a role paying segment about using photography for web sites.  If I receive a good response, I’ll spend a little more time to make a few more segments on other photographer related issues.  Hopefully, they will be positive and constructive (but not as funny as the robots).

I encourage you to make a video and share it with us.

Note: if you find any errors in this post – it’s my wife’s (copy editor) birthday and she has the day off.

Rosh

Google added a key words forecasting element to Insights for Search, which is one of my favorite tools.

Insights for Search is used to discover Internet inquiry requests based on specific key words entered into Google’s search engine. The application allows you to view trends based on dates, region, or type of search. The site offers insight to related words that are relevant to your needs.

Sometimes a key word you think is well-suited to support your Web site is neither the best nor the most searched. Use Google’s data to follow the trends and see the up-and-coming key words that could be relevant to your Web site.

I used this new feature to learn that “photographer” as a key word is on a downward trend. However, “Photographer blog” — especially “wedding photographer blog” –is on a major upward trend. Google predicts these trends will continue for the next year.

How well  will this tool work for you? I can’t predict.

While sharing a few ideas with a friend on Wednesday, I mentioned that I had a number of secret weapons in my photography business. They really are not that secret because I talk and write about them too much. In case you haven’t read every post, comment, tweet or speech I’ve written. I thought I would share a few with you today:

1. Canon 135 2.8 portrait lens. This is my favorite lens for portraits and events — especially events. It is not heavy. I can work in stealth mode and capture moments from a reasonable distance.
2. RSS feeds. I’ve absorbed a ton of information through the feeds.
3. Podcasts. Like RSS feeds, podcasts offer an incredible amount of information that is available when you are. I often listen while processing photographs.
4. Shooting RAW. I don’t shoot RAW all the time, but when it’s important, it’s RAW. I also like to open Jpegs in RAW through Photoshop when I have a lot of work to do on an image. It makes a difference.
5. WordPress — it has all the elements I need for my Web sites and it’s very SEO friendly.
6. Tokina. My 12-22 Tokina lens is one of the sharpest I’ve ever had.
7. 4 x 6 photo cards. People really don’t know what you do until you show them. I’ve built my photography business with these cards.

These are just a few of my favorite secret weapons. If I shared any more, I’d have to attach a virus to this post.

What secret weapons are you willing to share?

Rosh