I’m working on marketing strategies for my clients. I thought writing down 500 marketing ideas, thoughts, tools and concepts would help to stretch my mind and push the limits. Some ideas are standards. Others, if I’ve done this right, will lead to  incredible profitable ideas. Not every idea is for every business, but I hope the list will stretch your mind, too.

• If you don’t have a Web site you are not in business.
• Create a Facebook fan page.
• Create targeted Facebook ads.
• Create an AdWords campaign.
• Create very targeted adgroups for your AdWords campaigns.
• Ask current customers for referrals.
• Start a newsletter.
• Create a social media calendar.
• Create a marketing calendar.
• Advertise in your industry trade magazines.
• Regularly send quality public relations releases to trade magazines.
• Attend local networking events.
• Start a networking event.
• Train sales people on how to find referrals for your networking partners.
• Start a rewards program for networking partners.
• Start a rewards program for good customers.
• Register your business with Foursquare.
• Reward your Foursquare mayors and frequent customers.
• Write an e-book.
• Start a podcast.
• Create videos about how to use your product or service.
• Create videos related to new or unique ways to use your product.
• Create a marketing journal to track what works and what does not.
• Create videos specifically for Facebook fans.
• Search engine optimize (SEO) your Web site.
• Use call outs in your Web site.
• Make sure your Web site is easy to navigate.
• Start a blog.
• Open a Twitter account.
• Open a LinkedIn account.
• Look for target companies on LinkedIn.
• Review your competitors on LinkedIn.
• Create a direct mail campaign.
• Create custom landing pages for all your marketing efforts.
• Create a company mascot.
• Use a Web camera and offer specials whenever your mascot is displayed.
• Use Social Mention to monitor the conversation about your brand.
• Optimize a Web page specifically for Yahoo search.
• Optimize a Web page specifically for Bing search.
• Write a white paper about your industry.
• Leave pens with your logo and information on them in strategic locations.
• Learn to golf and invite others to join you.
• Invite someone to lunch regularly.
• Offer your services to charity.
• Sponsor a charity event.
• Write a book and sell it on Amazon.
• Review books in your industry on Amazon.
• Retweet (share information on Twitter) people who you are interested in knowing better.
• Use A/B split testing for your online campaigns.
• Learn to write better headlines for all your advertising.
• Offer coupons.
• Offer your service on Craigslist.
• Leave helpful comments on industry blogs.
• Open and use Google reader (or any RSS reader).
• Subscribe to RSS feeds and organize the feeds related to industry and interest.
• Create lists on Twitter of people in your target market.
• Make sure your front Web page title tag says what you do, not who you are.
• E-mail relevant articles to clients and prospects. (Do not send jokes.)
• Make your newsletter about your customers and not just about your company.
• Read Purple Cow by Seth Godin.
• Make sure your Web site has a site map.
• Open a Google Webmaster tools account.
• Use Google Wave to collaborate in real time.
• Submit your information to Google local.
• Use spyfu.com to keep track of your competitors’ Internet ad activities.
• Offer a referral fee for new business.
• Partner with related companies.
• Have your logo professionally redesigned.
• Create a FAQ page for your Web site.
• Add a Like button to your blog and Web site.
• Add a Tweetmeme button to your blog and Web site.
• Add social media locations in your e-mail signature.
• Know what your bounce rate is and think about how you can improve it.
• Create a fun game for your Web site.
• Create a mobile advertising campaign.
• Place a company sign on your car.
• Test ad headlines with Google AdWords.
• Place successful Google AdWords ads in newspapers and magazines.
• Send thank you cards after every job.
• Start a Flickr page to share behind-the-scenes and event photographs.
• Ask your clients for a video testimonial and display the passionate ones.
• Start thinking about your customers’ return on investment (ROI).
• Return all phone calls the same day.
• Consider hiring a live answering service. (It’s not that expensive.)
• Create new and unique business cards.
• Try  TV advertising through Google.
• Advertise on Yelp.
• Trade something of value for your Web site visitors’ e-mail addresses.
• Call all of your current customers and introduce a new product.
• Write an article to publish on sites like ezinearticles.com.
• Ask to be a guest blogger.
• Interview top people in your industry and share their ideas with your clients.
• Create a poll on for your Web site.
• Use PollDaddy on Twitter to ask questions of your followers.
• Ask how your product or service could be better on Formspring.me.
• Host a carnival for the families of your clients.
• Hold a photo contest.
• Use link shorteners with analytics to test headlines and ideas.
• Create an affiliate program.
• Don’t show people what the product or service is, demonstrate why they need it.
• Create supporting Web sites that link to yours.
• Create Web site descriptions that entice people to click on your search listing.
• Do you know your organic search click-through-rate?
• Make sure you fill in all your Alt tags so Google images can find your photographs.
• Submit your Web sites to relevant directories.
• Ask visitors if information you provide is helpful.
• Use Facebook analytics and demographics to see who your marketing is attracting.
• Use YouTube’s insight tools to find out when people lose interest in your videos.
• Use insights for Search to see what people are looking for in the search engines.
• Use Google keyword tool to find new and better keywords.
• Ask your best customers for a referral.
• Make it easy for people to give you referrals.
• Make it easy to do business with your company.
• Don’t send spam.
• Make sure your contact information is on every page of your Web site.
• Understand your brand. (It’s reputation, not your logo.)
• Update photographs of every employee for social media and public relations.
• Develop relationships with local reporters.
• If you want someone’s attention, write about them.
• Treat everyone like a VIP (Very Important Person).
• Champion other people in your industry.
• Use Google Alerts to keep track of trends.
• Use Google Alerts to keep track of people writing about you and thank them.
• Include hot topics in the title of your blog posts.
• Never stop thinking about finding new link bait ideas (topics that attract links to your site).
• Ask your lowest-ranking employees how to improve products and marketing.
• Include translation options to widen your market.
• Create a privacy policy for your customers.
• Update your Web site shopping cart for a better experience.
• Use Feedburner to track and manage your blog subscribers.
• Remember, design does matter.
• Don’t let the dangerous, business-killing words, “It’s good enough” hurt your company.
• Develop an incredible and true company story.
• Protect yourself from spam comments. They will hurt your Google rankings.
• Increase your Web sites speed. It’s better for visitors and Google SEO.
• Apologize first.
• Describe your target customer in once sentence.
• Join a BNI group. (I was in one for fourteen years).
• Create  biography sheets for all your employees.
• Create a direct mail marketing plan.
• Post your new blog posts on Twitter.
• Speak to groups and organizations.
• Buy mail and e-mail list from reputable companies. (Be careful.)
• Don’t purchase e-mail lists.
  
• Make it easy for representatives to up sell.
• Give holiday gifts.
• Send thank you cards on Thanksgiving.
• Send birthday cards to your clients.
• Take time to knock on the doors of businesses around you; you might be surprised.
• Change, refresh or upgrade your corporate look every three to five years.
• Develop a specialized niche and become the expert.
• Cold call.
• Create a cold-call script.
• Never forget a call to action in your marketing material.
• Join clubs.
• Write original content. Duplicate content is ignored by the search engines.
• Refer the professional people your company hires.
• Analyze what is working for your competition.
• Use compete.com to compare Web site traffic.
• Use SEOmoz tools to track links.
• Read Mashable and Techcrunch to keep up on emerging technology.
• Hire teens to pass out fliers.
• Sponsor a local sports team.
• Join a professional organization.
• Get a vanity phone number.
• Make your e-mail address simple.
• Don’t use Web-based e-mail as your company e-mail.
• Sign up for Help A Reporter Out (HARO).
• Teach your networking partners how to refer you.
• Become the expert: Teach at a local college or university.
• Develop ways to stand out in a crowd.
• Increase your fees.
• Network with other sales people at trade shows.
• Cross-promote with other businesses.
• Develop a co-op advertising group.
• Offer a guarantee.
• Sit in a room for an hour and list marketing ideas for your business.
• Post your business cards on public bulletin boards.
• Create a lens at Squidoo.com.
• Create a company 365 photography project using Tumblr.
• Use Website.grader.com to see how Google views your Web site.
• Create an exclusive online club for your best clients.
• Offer free Webinars.
• Use the WordPress plug-in Sociable to support sharing of your content.
• Introduce yourself to you seat mates on an airplane.
• Don’t forget traditional newspaper classified ads.
• Barter with start-ups (but be smart about it).
• Create a welcome kit for new clients.
• Create a memory hook.
• Reward non-sales employees for referrals resulting in closed business.
• Make it easy to embed your stuff on other Web site. Scribd.com is a solution.
• Use your voice mail as a marketing tool.
• Answer questions on Yahoo answers.
• Use an e-mail service like Constant Contact, iContact, Mail Chimp or Vertical Response.
• Support top colleges in your industry or client industries.
• Attend local meet-ups.
• Organize a Tweet-up (meeting of twitter users).
• Organize a Barcamp.
• Start a LinkedIn group.
• Start a Facebook group.
• Answer questions on LinkedIn answers.
• Create fun T-shirts related to your product.
• Contribute to forums.
• Create a free social media platform for your target market.
• Use e-mail auto responders with friendly messages.
• Offer an e-mail option to your blog RSS feed.
• Always have a your biography and a recent photograph on your desktop.
• Create a page where media and clients can access your logo.
• Offer free consultations.
• Offer expensive consultations.
• Tell your family it is OK to send you referrals.
• Listen to dissatisfied customers.
• Ask clients why they hired you.
• Avoid heavy Flash on your Web site. It’s bad for search engine optimization.
• Remember SEO is great but search engines don’t buy your products or service.
• Claim your sites on Technorati.com.
• Place meta tags on all your Web site pages.
• Create unique meta tags for each page.
• Offer multiple pricing levels of your service.
• Offer a free trial.
• Create a custom name tag for networking.
• Submit your company’s products or service for awards.
• Paint your building a unique color.
• Post ads on Backpage.com.
• Make e-mail request contact forms short and easy to use.
• Call in to radio shows. Become their expert.
• Create an iPhone and iPad application for your company.
• Create an Android application for your company.
• Use text messaging advertising.
• Create a presentation and share it using Slideshare.net.
• Don’t use intro splash pages on your Web site.
• Share your location using an Internet map service such as Mapquest,  Google maps, or Bing maps
• Share your information on Delicious.com.
• Create a shared calendar using Google Calendar.
• Create an easily accessable v-card for prospects and clients.
• Create a Flickr group for customers to share photos.
• Give away micro drives with your information on it.
• Sell the experience.
• Don’t use white envelopes. (Instead, pick a fun color).
• Be a mentor.
• Take a successful business person to lunch and ask questions.
• Use telephone call tracking to analyze what advertising works.
• Post special offers on your receipts or invoices.
• Use QR codes to help people to find more information using their smart phone.
• Create a downloadable PDF with helpful information.
• Engage in at least one marketing activity every day.
• Every time you see a great visual marketing idea, take a photograph of it.
• Look for new markets.
• Publicize every milestone.
• Share good books with your clients.
• Advertise in the Yellow pages. Yes, people still use it.
• Display portfolios using a flat screen TV in a window.
• Donate your services to a charity auction.
• Create a mission statement.
• Create a weekly office happy hour and invite clients.
• Use Eventbrite.com to organize free or paid events.
• Start a photo blog.
• Find a marketing mentor.
• Exchange links with related businesses in different parts of the country.
• Create a technique for your industry and name it after your name or company name.
• Fire bad clients so you can market more and serve good clients.
• Create a multi-media story about your company using photography stills, video and audio.
• Self-publish a book through sites like Lulu.com.
• Use services such as 37 Signals’ Highrise to manage contacts.
  
• Define your ultimate client.
• Business is always booming. Never complain to your customers.
• Call all your competitors to keep tabs on pricing.
• Always stand in a V formation at networking events to invite others to join your conversation.
• Become a connector at networking events. Introduce people.
• Look prospects in the eye.
• Write testimonials for your best vendors.
• Use an iPad or tablet to display your portfolio of products and services.
• Ask yourself would you buy from your company? Why?
• Give customers more than expected.
• Understand marketing is everything you do in business.
• Use the AdAge 150 list to find helpful marketing blogs.
• Do unto others.
• Use internal links. Link related content within your Web site and blogs.
• Use widgets to display and share content.
• Be strategic about tagging your videos.
• Reuse your best social media content for marketing material.
• Use Ning.com to develop communities.
• Create a ustream program.
• Don’t be afraid of testing new marketing ideas.
• Ask people why they unsubscribed to your e-mails.
• Stop doing what doesn’t work.
• Keep your marketing consistent; don’t stop.
• Keep extra marketing material in your car at all times.
• Use your smart phone or digital recorder to dictate new marketing ideas.
• Focus on one product and message at a time.
• Remember you can always ask for more client information later.
• Segment your e-mail. Make sure your e-mail is focused on the right prospects.
• Consider holiday advertising outside your religion or traditions.
• Don’t accept outside advertising on your company blog.
• Use integrated marketing techniques; employ traditional and digital marketing to drive Web traffic.
• Consider advertising your company’s “green” efforts.
• Advertise your newsletter in e-mail signatures.
• Make your brand extremely different from your competition.
• Deliver high-value presentations or work on an iPad. Let your  clients keep the iPad.
• Give away iPods or mp3 players with a special audio segments or podcasts about your company.
• Read Presentation Zen, by Garr Reynolds before you give your next presentation.
• Keep your promises.
• Advertise on local cable stations. The rates are often reasonable.
• Be remarkable. Thank you, Seth Godin.
• Be aware of non-verbal communication.
• Think about how you can make it easier to purchase your product.
• Offer financing.
• Get to know your local politicians.
• Leave a call to action on voice mail messages.
• Host a directory of resources for your target market prospects.
• Increase your business hours.
• Create a company holiday.
• Make your brand exclusive and expensive.
• Be less concerned about vanity searches.
• Don’t create videos more than five minutes long. (Two to three minutes is best.)
• Don’t mix family and business social media.
• Invest in fast and reliable Web site hosting.
• Subscribe to Chris Brogan’s blog.
• Subscribe to Mitch Joel’s blog and podcast
• Listen to the Marketing Over Coffee podcast.
• Monitor your Web sites for malware.
• Use Yahoo’s SiteExplorer to review your links and important pages.
• Note that social media is not just Facebook and Twitter.
• Ask questions in your headlines.
• Claim your listing on City Search.
• Use a lot of relevant people’s names in your blog posts.
• Search for your prospect’s No. 1 point of pain and find solutions.
  
• Keep a list of good public relations Web sites such as prweb.com.
• Create a company show for blip.tv.
• Offer a free Internet service to attract attention ie: Twitter.grader.com.
• Use Twitter grader to search and connect with top tweeters in your area.
• Conduct regular Web meetings to stay connected with your clients. Try goto meeting.
• Sell a special version of your product on eBay.
• Use WordPress as your Web site platform.
• Share company events via Web cam so people can tune in to what they are missing.
• Keep a list of freelance writers to write great copy for your business.
• Use Buzzom.com to find new relevant Twitter followers.
• Sell branded wearables using Cafepress.com.
• Turn your brand into a cause.
• Upload interior photos of your store on Google local search.
• Use professional product pictures on your business cards.
• Video white board sessions to share online.
• Create a program designed to make using your product easier.
• Create a Photosynth image of your business interior.
• Recommend your clients on LinkedIn.
• Subscribe to your competitors’ blogs.
• Find out who owns competing Web sites: http://ajaxwhois.com/.
• Host a chamber of commerce event at your office.
• Visually track how people use your blog or Web site with Crazyegg.com.
• Donate to your client’s favorite charities in their name (with permission).
• Use Aweber.com for their e-mail delivery and auto responder services.
• Use sites like Verbalink.com to transcribe audio or podcasts for marketing.
• Use eBay labs to see what products are hot.
• Use Google’s Wonder Wheel to find related keywords.
• Use Evernote to capture and save great ideas and information.
• Use Tweetdeck or  Seesmic to engage with your social media community.
• Trade banner ads with relevant companies.
• Create a Hubpage.
• They don’t care how long you’ve been in business.
• You can’t tell people about your service, you can only show them.
• Ask your customers how they would like to be contacted.
• Don’t send single advertising e-mails. Create a campaign of three to five e-mails.
• Simple works extremely well in advertising.
• Consider Salesforce.com for customer relationship management.
• Ask your sales team what is working.
• Use Facebook pages to promote your events.
• Invite good clients to view exclusive product previews.
• Create funny videos that might go viral.
• Use risk reversal techniques. Put the risk on you rather than the customer.
• Include a postscript message in your business letters. It’s the most read part of a letter.
• Make sure your fax number is easy to find.
• Fax specials to clients who us faxes regularly.
• Test Web site button shapes, colors and sizes for better click-throughs.
• Place your Web site on all marketing materials.
• Display your brochures prominently in your office.
• Use the link shortener http://su.pr so followers can easily Stumble your content.
• Use surveys.
• Display and promote your associations.
• Don’t decide in advance what customers want or can afford.
• Stop talking about yourself.
• Look for excuses to visit clients in person.
• Make sure your About page is interesting and full of useful information.
• Visit industry or customer-related chat rooms.
• Host a virtual trade show.
• Create a wiki.
• Create a Web page list linking all positive mentions of you or your company.
• Post comments on large news sites. Especially news related to your industry.
• Link to Google blogs when relevant. They offer good traffic back to your site.
• Review products related to your industry on opinion Web sites.
• Send your products to bloggers to review.
• Target advertising on specific Web sites through Google AdWords.
• Test: Target your entire daily Internet advertising budget on one state or city at time.
• Claim your name on new social media sites. You never know what will take off.
• Hire a marketing consultant.
• Use Instapaper.com to save good articles for future reading.
• Set your blog up for sale via the Kindle.
• Employ a good copy editor.
• Create an icon that represents your company. This is great for linking and branding.
• Keep your vehicles and equipment clean and updated when in public view.
• Check for broken Web site links.
• Turn your 404 (missing page) into a marketing tool.
• Don’t submit new sites to the search engines, link to them.
• Create Web pages dedicated to long tail keywords.
• Prepay for your domain years in advance. Google likes that.
• Keep old domains; they are valuable.
• Create a box-opening video of your product.
• If your best clients like to text, keep in touch via text.
• Religious institutions are a great place to network (with class and respect).
• Hire interns to do the mundane marketing activities.
• Make it a policy to make the effort to save clients in trouble, it creates loyalty.
• Find jobs for your unemployed clients; this creates more loyalty.
• Attend weddings and funerals to show respect (but avoid business talk).
• Visit a new city to be inspired and gather fresh ideas.
• When making a pitch, focus on what the client or prospect will get in return.
• Create a company theme song or jingle.
• Create an online suggestion box for your clients.
• Spend more time impressing existing customers.
• Send customers an advance letter letting them know of any price increases.
• Kids and pets always attract attention.
• Create an office video series for YouTube. Make it interesting and fun.
• Set up an employee contest to create the next advertising campaign.
• Delegate good marketing ideas so they get done.
• The unexpected attracts attention.
• Make visiting your office or store an exciting experience.
• Create 24-hour online conferences using industry-specific YouTube videos.
• Sometimes absolutely stupid ideas will make you millionaire.
• Submit product photos to Flickr Creative Commons and require a link to your home page.
• Allow customer rankings and reviews on your Web site or blog.
• Develop a strategy to become  a “best place to work.”
• Include discount coupons with your invoices.
• Create a well-designed annual report.
• Create business cards from Moo.com.
• Never go to an event to quickly hand out business cards and then leave.
• Advertise in industry newsletters.
• Submit a tutorial for your product to online how-to Web sites.
• Share office space with a partner service.
• Create a list of the best books in your industry.
• Avoid business and industry clichés – think outside the box.
• Create unique or humorous job title descriptions for employees.
• Back up all files and data bases on a regular schedule.
• Make sure your Web site looks great on all browsers.
• Calibrate your monitors used in all marketing and advertising work.
• Remember names.
• List your best referral sources and create a marketing plan around it.
• Offer free shipping.
• Embrace the negative and turn it into a positive.
• Consider product placement on TV and movies.
• Consider lower-budget projects for product placement.
• Buy season tickets for entertaining.
• Ask for the sale.
• Put your tagline on your business checks.
• Improve delivery time.
• Let angry people talk until they are done and then offer solutions.
• Join a service organization.
• Send gift cards as a thank you.
• Don’t burn bridges.
• Follow all leads. Find a trusted source to direct unwanted leads.
• Use Facebook notes to offer specials.
• Advertise products in the Facebook market place.
• Promote the fact that you are hiring.
• Outrageous can be good.
• Sponsor a bloggers tour.
• Ask how can you make your client’s job easier.
• Don’t be afraid to offer your expertise to big media.
• Don’t let little things become big things.
• Borrow marketing books from the library.
• Create a cool poster and give it away.
• Take editors to lunch. Ask what they consider a good story.
• Give a surprise extra — after the first purchase.
• Volunteer for local government committees.
• Don’t place ads just one time to see if they will work. Run an ad  a minimum of six times.
• Advertise and network in Second life.
• Remember your competitors are watching you, too. Don’t fear it.
• Define your unique selling proposition (USP).
• Follow up with former co-workers. LinkedIn is a good resource.
• Cross-promote on other companies’ newsletters.
• Remember that most purchases are emotional not logical.
• Answer your phone cheerfully.
• Price differently than your competition.
• Don’t race to the bottom to be lowest price.
• Trade prospect lists with companies that have the same target market.
• Network with companies and trade lost referrals and leads (for a second chance).
• Sponsor a parade.
• Train third-party sales people how to best sell your product.
• Serve.
• Make the customer the hero.
• Read the classic How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
• Follow Twitter hashtags to find prospects.
• Read the The Long Tail by Chris Anderson.
• Focus on keeping great employees.
• Promote your vendors on Twitter.
• Host a photo walk.
• Don’t accept average.
• Different people consume media differently; give people options.
• Trade commercials on podcasts
• Advertise on a targeted podcast
• Create a public Wave to share information.
• The best social media Web site is where your clients and prospects hang out.
• Create a list of 505 marketing ideas
• Read this list again

Thank you to every teacher, author, speaker, blogger and podcaster who has influenced me. You made this list.

There are many more Web sites, ideas and concepts. What would you add?

Rosh

This week: Rosh talks about customer service in this short podcast.

• New Media Photographer: A photographer who publishes to the web.
• Time: 15:30
• Podcast hosted by Rosh Sillars
• This podcast is about new media, social media and digital marketing for the photographer.
• Topics on this week’s show:  Memorial Day, Big blog post coming this week, Facebook privacy change, Social media and customer service.
• New media photographer comment line link love: none
• Podcast network commercials from Dave Warner Lensflare35 and Jim Goldstein EXIF and beyond
• Photography news by Trevor Current:  Trevor is off this week.
• Become a fan on Facebook
• New Media Photographer Twitter @newmediaphoto
• Tumblr.com New Media Photographer
• Friendfeed – New Media Photographer
• Itunes New Media Photographer subscription
• Comment line 206 202 3568
• Email New Media Photographer
• New Media Photographer
• Rosh Sillars Photography Portfolios
• The Rosh Group, Inc.
• Prosperous Artists
• The Driven Business
• Tags: new media, digital media, social media, photography, photographer, photography marketing, business of photography.
• Do  you have a recommendation for the new media photographer award?
• e-mail

This week: Rosh interviews photographer Damien Franco.

• New Media Photographer: A photographer who publishes to the web.
• Time: 45:00
• Podcast hosted by Rosh Sillars
• This podcast is about new media, social media and digital marketing for the photographer.
• Topics on this week’s show: Coma busting show, Connecting with your social media community, quality of quantity, interview with Damien Franco talking about Facebook Privacy, The Driven Business Podcast , What business books would your recommend? Facebook widgets, How to measure ROI, thinking about Wave after one year.
• New media photographer comment line link love: none
• Podcast network commercials from Dave Warner Lensflare35 and Jim Goldstein EXIF and beyond
• Photography news by Trevor Current: Currentphotographer.com , twitter – @trevor current.
• Photography news Links:

1. Genuine Fractals Update for Photoshop CS5
2. Imagenomic Updates Portraiture 2 Plugin for Photoshop CS5
3. Three New Offerings From Kubota Image Tools
4. Adobe Event – Working with DSLR Video in Adobe CS5 Production Premium
5. New Microsoft Office Plug-in Makes it Easy to Purchase iStockphoto Images
6. New Website Helps Educate Image Users About Licensing
7. Give the Olympus PEN E-PL1 a Virtual Test-Drive

• Become a fan on Facebook
• New Media Photographer Twitter @newmediaphoto
• Tumblr.com New Media Photographer
• Friendfeed – New Media Photographer
• Itunes New Media Photographer subscription
• Comment line 206 202 3568
• Email New Media Photographer
• New Media Photographer
• Rosh Sillars Photography Portfolios
• The Rosh Group, Inc.
• Prosperous Artists
• The Driven Business
• Tags: new media, digital media, social media, photography, photographer, photography marketing, business of photography.
• Do  you have a recommendation for the new media photographer award?
• e-mail

Last May I wrote about Wave, an exciting new application from Google.

Wave is a real-time collaboration tool. I was very excited about the platform because I had spent months on the road telling people the future of business would be collaboration. My predictions came to fruition with the advent of Wave.

On my last night in New York at last October’s Photo Plus Expo I received my prized  and long-awaited invite to test Wave.  It didn’t take long to recognize the platform’s value and potential for opportunity. Unfortunately,  the system was sluggish.

Once a public or private Wave took off,  people eventually stopped participating. It took too long to load. Users found it difficult to add content.  Success was punished.

Another inconvenience was being automatically added to a Wave after you opened it. Imagine landing on a Web site contact page and being automatically added to its e-mail list.

Last week Google opened up Wave to the world.  Many of the functionality issues have been addressed. It seems to operate at a higher speed so that I now can view my Waves with ease.

In the last six months I have used Wave as a personal Internet note pad for my podcasts and blog posts.  I’ve attempted to use it for collaboration on a few projects, but e-mail and Dropbox.com quickly replaced Wave.  The traditional notification systems were better than Wave’s program and people seemed to forget about the original Wave. Earlier in the year Google addressed this issue by adding e-mail notification to the system.

Unfortunately, a year after Wave’s introduction the wonderful time-saving, futuristic and life-changing applications or extensions promised are still nowhere to be found.

As cool as the iPhone is, it would not have the same appeal and success if it didn’t have all the amazing applications available.

A year later, Wave is still technology without a practical or revolutionary use. When I open the extensions gallery on Wave, I find approximately 60 extensions.  About half of them are the original extensions for which I could find little use in the last six months.  There are extensions and gadgets available outside the gallery, but finding and installing them is not an easy task.

However, Google made the right call on migrating some of its wonderful real-time technology to Google Docs.  As I’ve said since Wave’s introduction: It’s not Google Wave, it’s the technology that is important.

If Wave is to become a player, it  needs more applications. We don’t need more weather maps, board games or lists.  We need real-time business and collaboration  tools that amaze us and make us better communicators and business people.

Rosh

P.S. If you have discovered an extension for Wave worthy of sharing, please list it in the comments.

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

This week Rosh talks about this last day at BNI and the new book.

• New Media Photographer: A photographer who publishes to the web.
• Time: 30:00
• Podcast hosted by Rosh Sillars
• This podcast is about new media, social media and digital marketing for the photographer.
• Topics on this week’s show:  www.socialmention.com , http://www.go2web20.net

• Podcast network commercials from Dave Warner Lensflare35 and Jim Goldstein EXIF and beyond
• Photography news by Trevor Current: Currentphotographer.com , twitter – @trevor current.
• Photography news Links:

1. Sony’s New DSC-H55 and DSC-TX5 Cyber-Shot Cameras
2. Pentax Optio W90; Waterproof, Shockproof, Freezeproof and Dustproof
3. Pentax X90 Megazoom Digital Camera
4. The Essentials from Trek-Tech
5. SanDisk Announced Their 64GB Ultra SDXC Memory Card
6. Epson Wins Four 2010 “Hot One” Awards
7. The Lynda.com iPhone App

New media photographer comment line link love: none this week

• Become a fan on Facebook
• New Media Photographer Twitter @newmediaphoto
• Tumblr.com New Media Photographer
• Friendfeed – New Media Photographer
• Itunes New Media Photographer subscription
• Comment line 206 202 3568
• Email New Media Photographer
• New Media Photographer
• Rosh Sillars Photography Portfolios
• The Rosh Group, Inc.
• Prosperous Artists
• The Driven Business
• Tags: new media, digital media, social media, photography, photographer, photography marketing, business of photography.
• Do  you have a recommendation for the new media photographer award?
• e-mail

This week Rosh talks about new technology and his blog posts from the past week.

• New Media Photographer: A photographer who publishes to the web.
• Time: 30:00
• Podcast hosted by Rosh Sillars
• This podcast is about new media, social media and digital marketing for the photographer.
• Topics on this week’s show: Instapaper, wave, Evernote, Buzzom, Google Buzz, Picscout, squareup.com, Google shopper, Google Goggles Translate via Mashable, Tineye, programs do remove your meta data, Photoshop is 20 years old, Google Adwords for photographers, The magic of compound blogging.
• Podcast network commercials from Dave Warner Lensflare35 and Jim Goldstein EXIF and beyond
• Photography news by Trevor Current: Currentphotographer.com , twitter – @trevor current.
• Photography news Links:

1. Samsung High-Speed TL350 Digital Came

2. Samsung High-End TL500 Compact Digital Camera

3. Samsung’s Waterproof AQ100 and Durable SL605

4. Samsung Announced 5 New NX System Lenses

5. Samsung’s HMX-U20 and HMX-U15 Pocket-Sized Camcorders

6. Adobe Photoshop Turns 20!

7. Joby’s New Gorillapod Magnetic and Ballhead X

8. PicScout and PhotoShelter Partner to Help Sell and Protect Your Images

New media photographer comment line link love: none this week

• Become a fan on Facebook
• New Media Photographer Twitter @newmediaphoto
• Tumblr.com New Media Photographer
• Friendfeed – New Media Photographer
• Itunes New Media Photographer subscription
• Comment line 206 202 3568
• Email New Media Photographer
• New Media Photographer
• Rosh Sillars Photography Portfolios
• The Rosh Group, Inc.
• Prosperous Artists
• The Driven Business
• Tags: new media, digital media, social media, photography, photographer, photography marketing, business of photography.
• Do  you have a recommendation for the new media photographer award?
• e-mail

This week Rosh talks about the apple new technology.

• New Media Photographer: A photographer who publishes to the web.
• Time: 30:00
• Podcast hosted by Rosh Sillars
• This podcast is about new media, social media and digital marketing for the photographer.
• Topics on this week’s show:  Make sure you have your email centralized.  iPad, Twitter hover card roll-out, Love my philly , Leaf , Basecamp. www.12sprints.com,
• Podcast network commercials from Dave Warner Lensflare35 and Jim Goldstein EXIF and beyond
• Photography news by Trevor Current: Currentphotographer.com , twitter – @trevor current.
• Photography news Links:

1. Hasselblad Announces the H4D-40 Medium Format DSLR
2. Pentax Announces Three New Digital Cameras
3. Olympus Adds Two New Ultra-Zoom Digital Cameras
4. Two New Stylus Tough Cameras From Olympus
5. Introducing The Olympus PEN E-PL1
6. Olympus Announced Two New Additions to Their Micro Four Thirds System Lens Lineup
7. Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZR3 Super Compact Digital Camera
8. Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TS2 Rugged Digital Camera
9. Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS7 Digital Camera
10. Create Digital Portfolios on Your iPhone with TapFolio
11. WordPress for Android – Version 1.0 Released

New media photographer comment line link love: None this week

• Become a fan on Facebook
• New Media Photographer Twitter @newmediaphoto
• Tumblr.com New Media Photographer
• Friendfeed – New Media Photographer
• Itunes New Media Photographer subscription
• Comment line 206 202 3568
• Email New Media Photographer
• New Media Photographer
• Rosh Sillars Photography Portfolios
• The Rosh Group, Inc.
• Prosperous Artists
• The Driven Business
• Tags: new media, digital media, social media, photography, photographer, photography marketing, business of photography.
• Do  you have a recommendation for the new media photographer award?
• e-mail

This week Rosh talks about the apple ipad.

• New Media Photographer: A photographer who publishes to the web.
• Time: 30:00
• Podcast hosted by Rosh Sillars
• This podcast is about new media, social media and digital marketing for the photographer.
• Topics on this week’s show: Marketing over coffee interview with Seth Godin, grader.com, woorank.com, compete.com, Where are the people reading your blog located?, su.pr, iPad , Changes in publishing, Photography Future. Sixty-six ways to promote your blog. Basecamp.
• Podcast network commercials from Dave Warner Lensflare35 and Jim Goldstein EXIF and beyond
• Photography news by Trevor Current: Currentphotographer.com , twitter – @trevor current.
• Photography news Links:

1. Introducing the Apple iPad
2. The Apple iPad for Photographer

• New media photographer comment line link love: None this week
• Become a fan on Facebook
• New Media Photographer Twitter @newmediaphoto
• Tumblr.com New Media Photographer
• Friendfeed – New Media Photographer
• Itunes New Media Photographer subscription
• Comment line 206 202 3568
• Email New Media Photographer
• New Media Photographer
• Rosh Sillars Photography Portfolios
• The Rosh Group, Inc.
• Prosperous Artists
• The Driven Business
• Tags: new media, digital media, social media, photography, photographer, photography marketing, business of photography.
• Do  you have a recommendation for the new media photographer award?
• e-mail

Today I’m sharing a few ideas and thoughts about how I’m using Google Wave.