12 more expert sources

Here are a few more resources that SF IABC's independent communicators consult when they need expert guidance:

Harvard University Libraries
...recently consulted for info on behavioral finance (!)

The New York Times Archives
...use it as your homepage

.gov Image Search
...for public domain images

Google define: word
...for a selection of definitions from authoritative sources

The Visual Thesaurus
...see word associations in a Thinkmap

1-800-GOOG-411
...free directory assistance to find business locations and phone numbers

U.S. Patent & Trademark Office TESS
...use the Trademark Electronic Search System to find trademarks in use

Google Alerts
...for a free daily/weekly news clipping service

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
...for the latest web standards, guidelines and tutorials

Society of Professional Journalists Freelance Directory
...find a journalist with niche expertise

Grammar Girl
...quick and dirty tips in on-demand podcasts

ProofreadNOW
...proofreaders and copyeditors on call 24/7 for your emergency project

Thanks to the group for their excellent shares!

Resource sharing roundtable

The SF IABC Independent Communicators' Roundtable convenes Thursday May 8 to share favorite websites, blogs, books, groups and gurus. Here are mine:

Top 12 Best-kept Secrets*

Desk References

Whatis.com
Part of the TechTarget.com Network, Whatis.com features definitions for thousands of the most current IT-related words.

WHOIS
Provides website domain name registration information, including name and contact information for the site administrator.

Search Engines

Alexa
Get traffic rankings, user reviews and contact information for any URL. Owned by Amazon.com, Alexa ranks Web sites based on a sampling of the number of users and page views.

BlogPulse
Intelliseek's BlogPulse tracks the day's most referenced phrases, people and links. Search for blog posts on hot topics, or see what bloggers are saying about your organization or brand.

Good Books

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
By Steve Krug
A quick read for before your next Web site project, this book covers Krug's three Laws of Usability, and much more.

Simplified Strategic Planning: A No-Nonsense Guide for Busy People Who Want Results Fast
By Robert W. Bradford and J. Peter Duncan
"Strategy is about seeing the options and making choices," says Robert W. Bradford, President of the Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, Ann Arbor, Mich. This step-by-step book guides you through the process. It's highly readable, with worksheets and checklists.

Internet Know-how

MarketingExperiments.com
An online laboratory with a simple (but not easy) mission: To discover what really works. They test e-marketing tactics and publish the results in the Marketing Experiments Journal.

News and Information

Techmeme
Technology coverage is driven by a software agent that searches the blogs and news sites of industry insiders, passionate independents and established journalists.

Technology and Tools

Google Analytics
This free tool has been upgraded to help you learn more about your website visitors and track progress toward campaign goals. Watch the video about how it works.

SiteReportCard
Check your website for broken links, spelling errors, long load times, HTML and meta tag mistakes, search engine inclusion and link popularity -- all at once -- for free.

Wordtracker
Find out what keywords people use to search for the products or services you offer with Worktracker.

Weblogs and Wikis

BlogFlux
BlogFlux (formerly The Eatonweb Portal) catalogs blogs alphabetically and by tag, topic, language and country. The improved site now offers a subscription service for email alerts on blog updates.

12 Tools Even You Can Use**

Using social media in everyday work life can be a huge time sink. But these tools can also help you expand your professional network, share information and resources, and solicit feedback from customers and colleagues.

Even the out-there sites like Second Life, a 3-D digital world built by online residents, present an opportunity to learn about creative ways buyers and sellers connect in a Web 2.0 world.

Check these out, then take one for a test drive:

1. Blogging: Typepad
2. Bookmarking sharing: del.icio.us
3. Collaborating: PBwiki
4. Content sharing: Digg
5. Following: Twitter
6. Livecasting: Justin.tv 
7. Meeting: GoToMeeting
8. Networking: LinkedIn 
9. News feeds: Bloglines
10. Photo sharing: Flickr
11. Video sharing: Revver
12. Virtual reality: Second Life

Top 10 Social Media**

Tech Geek Blogger Robert Scoble defines social media as Internet media that allow people to interact in some way. By that criteria, these are the most trafficked English-language social media sites, ranked by Alexa.com. Each site offers one or more service that enable user interaction, including personalized content, media sharing, blogging, networking, instant messaging, chat rooms and e-groups.

1. Yahoo!
2. Microsoft Network
3. Google
4. YouTube
5. MySpace
6. Orkut
7. Facebook
8. Hi5
9. Blogger.com
10. Friendster

Favorite Gurus

See CC-T’s Blogroll, the list in the right-hand column of this blog.

* From CC-T Unlimited Resources
** From "The Wizardry of Web 2.0," by Cathy Chatfield-Taylor, EXPO Magazine, October 2007

Rituals for copywriters

"Writing Rituals -- A Productivity Guide for Marketing Writers," by Nick Usborne, presents five steps to help you quit wasting time and get to work. I like Nick's Excess Voice newsletter and believe this would be a worthwhile addition to a writing resource library. I just wish it were available in hard copy, not e-book.

Plan a 2008 strategy

Marketing Experiments Journal recaps lessons learned in 2007 with the 2008 Internet Marketing Strategy brief. This is an excellent starting point for developing a work plan based on strategies that have been tested and proven effective.

Marketing Wisdom for 2008

Download your free copy of MarketingSherpa's 2008 Wisdom Report, packed with bits of wit and wisdom from the trenches. E.g.:

"Poor communication of our goals, thoughts and ideas is one of the leading causes of any project failure. As professional communicators, you would think we'd be better at this, but sometimes we are so focused on the audience we are marketing to, that we forget to properly communicate with those working beside us."

-- Mike Santoro, Walker Sands Communications

Here here.

CSRwire

CSRwire, the Corporate Social Responsibility newswire, spreads the word about what companies are doing to be more responsible citizens of the planet. News is distributed to more than 500,000 professionals in 210 countries.

Copyscape

Search for copies of your content on the Web with Copyscape.

Thanks to Kelly of Copylicious for the recommendation, and to Austen of Twixal for the endorsement.

Engineering search engine

I've discovered a vertical search engine that includes an online engineering dictionary, which is quite handy when it comes to figuring out what industry terms like "mass grading" mean. (I didn't find that specific term, but I did find "grading," from which I could intuit the other and confirm my gut instinct.) It's GlobalSpec, The Engineering Search Engine.

LinkedIn for marketing

Two years ago I expressed skepticism about the legitimacy of LinkedIn. Silly me. The professional networking service has grown to 12 million people in 150 industries. Now you can upgrade to a business account and use LinkedIn as a highly targeted email marketing tool.

Copywriter Kelly Parkinson of Copylicious says she uses the service to gain access to marketing professionals who hire freelancers and reports a 50% response rate to her emails, with at least one new gig landed after each mini blast. Awesome job leveraging your professional network, Kelly!

Google Analytics

The free Google Analytics tool has been upgraded to help you learn more about your website visitors. Watch the video about how it works.