It all started like this…

I read a lot.  Books, magazines, blogs (tons of blogs), newspapers,  white papers (that’s a fancy shmancy name for a multi page article or document), e-books, etc.  I received the Dispatch every day, Business First every week,  had subscriptions to 8 magazines (I did keep one subscription, it’s an important one), received post updates by email on 42 blogs (no, I’m not exaggerating) as well as reading the backs of countless cereal boxes and happy meal bags.

The newspapers cost $410.48 per year.

The magazines cost $185.00 per year.

If you’re still with me, that’s $595.48 per year.

As far as the billion hours claim… that might be a bit of a stretch.  However, I will tell you that most of what is printed (and I subsequently paid for) I didn’t really care about.  And with due respect to our hometown newspaper, it has become not much more than a pamphlet with  several ads that aren’t appealing to me. Sorry. The point is, it takes a bunch of time to page through newspapers and magazines just to find the stuff that is pertinent to me.  And, it costs a lot too.

If I’m being honest, the money saving is great but I would pay for good content.  Writers and publishers need to earn a living just like the rest of us I think.  Good topic for another post, huh? But, anyway, its the time saved and being able to drill down to exactly what I’m interested in that really excites me.

And, being bombarded with dozens of emails every day from blogs I subscribe to wasn’t much better.  Too much noise.  I needed to be able to see through the clutter to get to exactly what I wanted in as quick a time possible. We are all busy.

Introducing Google Reader (no, it’s not new… far from it actually) and RSS feeds.  Visit Feedburner to get your own account and go here to learn more about how RSS and Feeds work to make your life so much easier.

By the way, all of this stuff is free. And mega easy.

So, here’s how you can use this information.  Visit one of your favorite blogs, let’s just say Mashable, which happens to be one of mine.  On the right hand side you’ll see a little orange square with the letters RSS underneath it. Click on it.

Up pops the subscription page. There are several choices.  Click on +Google.

Up pops the Add to Google Page.  Choose Add to Google Reader.

That’s it!  Your are now subscribed to this blog.  You can repeat for virtually any newspaper, blog or magazine out there. Recently it was announced that individual web pages will be available for subscription through RSS feeds. Cool.

Now you control your content.  All in one place.  Quickly scan all of your different feed subscriptions and the headlines (and first part of the article if you choose)  and decide what you want to read.  You can also Star the articles you really like.  You can share articles with others. You can write notes.

It doesn’t get any easier, quicker or more efficient if you’re a reader like me.

One final tip:  If you use an iPhone or Blackberry (I use an iPhone personally) then you can download Feed Apps that bring the power and simplicity of Google Reader right to your mobile phone.  I use an app simply called Feeds and love it.  Everything is well categorized and the user interface is so easy to navigate.

How do you use RSS and Google Reader?  Would love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

This is just a quick hit. Many people have been asking me lately to point them in the right direction for information on to use Twitter for business. This is the best post I think I’ve ever read on the subject. Great information as usual from Chris Brogan.

50 Way to use Twitter for Business

It’s funny to think how much the world can change in five short years. Where there once was nothing, there now is a new form of media and marketing that is essential to the success of practically every business around. Social networking has been alive and well in one form or another since practically the dawn of time. Known originally as “word of mouth”, the internet has taken that word and turned it into a typed, emailed, posted, IM’d and tweeted message. These new social platforms have basically taken the world by storm and completely changed the way that we get the word out about just about everything. For a growing business, this makes becoming savvy about Facebook marketing more than just a novelty, but an actual survival skill.

Facebook was originally started as a sort of exclusive social networking site that was only for the students of Harvard. Created by students, for students, it gave them a place to connect with one another and exchange information and ideas. Before long there were new networks formed and more schools on board. Today, Facebook is open to anyone that is over the age 13 and is estimated to have over 350 million active users around the world. These users are organized roughly by the networks to which they belong, which can be regional, social, political, religious or any other number of things. Companies have networks for their employees, retailers have networks for their consumers, music artists and bands have networks for their fans. Regardless of who your target market is, there is a network for that, and each network connects with endless other networks, making Facebook Marketing a goldmine for getting your company name and image out there.

The beauty of Facebook of an online marketer is that word travels so quickly across it. If Jane becomes a fan of your company today, it will be posted on all of her friends’ news feeds, with a link to your company. Anyone of her friends that clicks on the link, and becomes a fan now has an update on all of their friends’ pages, who then, in turn click on the link and share your company name and info with all of their friends. Unless Jane and her friend are only friends with all of the same people, this can get information to literally thousands of people in less time than it takes to make dinner. Just think, you can be a nobody at lunch, but a super star by supper. Few other types of marketing can offer that. Facebook marketing has an incredibly wide reach.

So how, as a small business can you take advantage of the viral goodness that is Facebook marketing?   How can you translate the social networking giant into more click-thru’s and conversions for your site? Much like any independent person wanting to connect with friends, your first step is to join Facebook. Set up a page for your company. Give information about your company and make sure that you include your company’s homepage. Once your page is set up, you will need to start connecting with others. Search for networks that you think would be interested in what you have to sell or say, and join them. Set up your own page, if you do not already have one, and start finding friends. Once you have a good base of people, become a fan of your own company. This will post information about your company on every one of your friends’ pages.