You and your colleagues are invited to the official Opening Event of the new Convergence Centre at 999 Collip Circle at the University of Western Ontario Research Park, London Campus.

The event will include a formal opening planned for 1:15pm, along with an open house throughout the afternoon that will allow tenants, guests, and members of the public a chance to drop-in whenever they are available. We'll provide food and music, tours of the new building, and we will have talks by Windermere Manor's Writer-in-Residence, Christine Walde, and artist Troy Ouellette about their work and cultural activities happening and planned for the Research Park.

Click through for all the details...

Opening of the New Convergence Centre!

EVENT: Opening of new Convergence Centre at the London Campus of the University of Western Ontario Research Park

WHAT'S THAT?: The Convergence Centre is the newest building completed at the Research Park and one of the most advanced and "greenest" office and laboratory buildings in Canada. Tenants include the new Global Butyl Rubber R&D Centre for LANXESS, the corporate offices for the Research Park and TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario, and Voices.com, one of Canada's fastest growing emerging companies (PROFIT Magazine).

LOCATION: 999 Collip Circle, London, Ontario, Canada

DATE: 2010-20-10 (Wednesday, January 20th, 2010)

FORMAL OPENING REMARKS: 1:15pm to 1:45pm

OPEN HOUSE: 12:30pm to 5:00pm (drop-in anytime for tours of the building, food, music, and guest speakers)

DIRECTIONS & PARKING: The main entrance to the London Campus of the Research Park is on Windermere Road, just west of Western Road, north of the University. Proceeding through the first stop-sign, the new building is located to your right. Free parking is available in front of the building.

Hope to see you there!

David

---

The team at Voices.com is the first company to use TwitterForce to manage Twitter conversations directly within Salesforce.

We've been able to import entire tweet conversations with one click. Specifically, we can create leads, cases, and solutions from tweets.

The set-up was simple. Like other Twitter monitoring applications, we just defined search terms and monitored Twitter search results for those terms.

Finally, and most importantly, we can now engage our customers and industry people by sending outbound tweets with case solutions or custom messages.

Currently, Twitterforce is private and cannot be found by searching or browsing on the AppExchange.

Fret not! If you have Salesforce, you'll soon be able to use Twitterforce to do the following:

- With one click, create leads, cases, and solutions from incoming Tweets
- Link your twitter account to Salesforce and send outbound tweets to Contacts and Leads
- Import full tweet conversations and track their lifecycle using Salesforce analytics

Erica Stapleton, Voices.com's Social Media Manager describes the set-up as "Quick and easy to install, tweeted from Salesforce within 5 minutes."

Do you have Salesforce? Are you planning on rolling our Twitterforce in your organization.

---

It's real. Tonight I confirmed the existence of Twitter Verified Accounts, a much needed add-on for businesses, brands and celebrities to communicate to users that they are the real deal.

As Twitter describes the new service, the purpose of Twitter Verified Accounts is to prevent identify confusion and establish authenticity.

How to Identify a Verified Account

๏ The 'Verified Account' badge will appear in the top-right portion of a user's profile page just above the name, location and bio--as shown in the screenshot below. The badge will click-through to this page.

๏ It will always have a badge followed by the words 'Verified Account'

๏ If the verified account badge appears anywhere else on a user's profile page (e.g. in the avatar or the background) it is not a verified account

๏ The Verified Account badge can not be used unless it is provided by Twitter. Accounts using the badge as part of profile pictures, background images, or in any way implying false verification will be permanently suspended.

๏ The verified account badge will also appear next to usernames in the Find People section

๏ The verified account badge will have the same color as shown above even if users customize the background of their profile page or change the color in the sidebar

Sample of Twitter Verified Account

Will You Be Verifying Your Twitter Account?

Leave a comment if you think this a good idea. If so, how much would you be willing to pay to verify your Twitter Account.

---

Today, marks the launch of the redesigned AppExchange, a online application store for business users where they can extend the functionality of Salesforce.

As many of your know, I'm a strong advocate of Salesforce for both small and big business. In fact, we started with the Professional Edition focused on the Customer Relationship Management elements and have since upgraded to the Enterprise version and have taken advantage of the full suite of tools.

Many of those tools have been found in the AppExchange, including Salesforce for Google Apps, Salesforce for Google Adwords and Salesforce Mobile.

Here is what's new.

1. New App Lists

In addition to seeing the most popular apps and latest listings, you can now view our top native solutions and staff recommended apps.

2. Multi-Dimensional Search

Search for apps by industry, edition, price, and function- all at the same time.

3. A Product Comparison Matrix

Add up to three apps to your 'Saved Apps' section, click 'compare' and see how apps stack up against each other in a side-by-side matrix.

4. Improved User Reviews

You can now rate apps on multiple dimensions like ease of use, support and value. Additionally, partners and customers can comment on user reviews that are out of date or inaccurate.

The site is a huge improvement over the old version and the AppExchange product team is looking for feedback. So, if you're a Salesforce user, head on over to the AppExchange and drop them a quick note with your comments.

---

On January 20, the United States of America will inaugurate its 44th President, Barack Obama. President Obama will be the first African American to hold the office, and will step into the White House in the midst of a trying economic situation and panoply of unresolved international issues.

To commemorate this historic moment in U.S. history, Audible has pulled together the best audio on presidencies of the past, on President Obama himself, and on the challenges ahead. You can listen to our 44th President read his autobiography or hear FDR's 1933 Inauguration Address. Get it all in the Audible Inauguration Room.

And be sure to check back on January 20 to download President Barack Obama's Inauguration Address free!

Audible Inauguration Room

• The Inauguration Room
• About President Obama
• Inauguration Speeches, 1933-2005
• Presidential Biographies

Tags

Audible, download, audio, Obama, Barack Obama, President, inauguration

---

We've explored usability before, but today, I found a tool that makes website usability testing a snap!

A new app, most appropriately called Five Second Test allows website designers to upload a screen shot of a page, invite participants to view the page for exactly 5 seconds, then type in what they remember from the page.

Take the 5 Second Usability Test now.

Web Usability in a Nutshell

Web usability is an approach to make web sites easy to use for an end-user, without requiring her to have any specialized training. The user should be able to intuitively relate the actions he needs to perform on the web page such as click a link or press of a button.

Isn't Web Usability Only for Large Websites?

For many small businesses, the 5-10 page brochure-style website works just fine, but that doesn't mean you can ignore usability. It's the foundation of treating your customers and prospects well when they visit your website.

With tools like the Five Second Test and a host of articles and resources, there's every reason it's time to polish up your website, get some feedback and make a change for the better.

Here are some web usability resources to get you started.

Web Usability Resources

To learn all more about usability here some additional resources:

• Jakob Nielsen's Alert Box column
• Usability 101
• Top ten mistakes of Web design
• Usable Web is a collection of 786 links and accompanying information about human factors, user interface issues, and usable design specific

Usability Podcasts

• The User Experience Podcast
• Usability Tools Podcast
• DesignCritique

Help Our Development Team

Do a good deed and help our development team improve our design by taking the five second usability test.

Take the 5 Second Usability Test now

Have a Resource You'd Like to Add?

If you're into usability and know of another resource, please add it by leaving a comment below.

David

---

There has most definitely been a shift in the media landscape, from traditional media including newspaper, radio and television to online media. The most prevalent of the online media sources are blogs.

What Is a Blog?

Weblogs, web logs or simply blogs, as they are known, are easy-to-use websites (no HTML knowledge required), where you can quickly post thoughts, publish articles and interact with people. Blogs are typically accessible to any Internet user.

Blogs are Exploding

Technorati is now tracking over 50 million weblogs and about 120,000 new weblogs are being created worldwide each day. That's about 1.4 blogs created every second.

Businesses can take advantage of this powerful communications medium, starting with a few simple steps to get involved today.

How To Get Involved

Before jumping in and creating your own blog, it's strongly advised that you should explore who else is blogging in your industry.

To find a blog, visit either Google Blog Search or Technorati.

1. Discover a blog
2. Subscribe to that blog
3. Comment on articles
4. Link to your website

How To Add Comments

Once you've found a blog that covers a topic that you're interested in, it's time to participate. Comments add value to the conversation that’s already going on. They should:

๏ Be Insightful
๏ Be Validating
๏ Carry Momentum

What Can You Do With Blogs?

With some background knowledge of who is blogging and the style of writing your fellow bloggers are pursuing, let's explore how you can use blogs in your business.

With a business blog, you can:

๏ Write about new products or explain your products' features
๏ Highlight the benefits of doing business with you
๏ Send company updates
๏ Minimize customer service or technical issues by answering questions on your blog
๏ Write how-to articles
๏ Inform your customers of changes in your business

Creating Your Own Blog

By this point, you likely have plenty of ideas for using a blog in your business and are ready to start blogging today. The good news is that you can get started in as little as five minutes.

There is however, one final decision to be made. You'll need to pick between a "Hosted Blog" or "Installed Blog".

Hosted Blog

A hosted blog is offered by a third-party service that is accessible on the Internet. Online services such as Blogger, WordPress and TypePad allow you to create an account, login and start a blog. At that time, you can personalize your blog by choosing a theme. It's really that simple.

If you don't have your own website, or are looking for an easy-to-use tool, consider one of these blogging options.

๏ Blogger http://www.blogger.com
๏ WordPress http://www.wordpress.com
๏ TypePad http://www.typepad.com

Installed Blog

Installed blogs are blogging software packages that you first download to your personal computer, then install on your web server. For those who are familiar with HTML and logging into their server via FTP, an installed blog is by far the better option for a variety of reasons.

With installed blogs, you have significantly more control of the look and feel of your blog, your visitors remain on your website, and any links to your articles are links to your domain name which is a primary factor in obtaining good search engine results, also known as search engine optimization.

If you have your own domain name and a webmaster who can help install a piece of software on your server the installed blog option is your best choice.

๏ WordPress http://www.wordpress.org
๏ MovableType http://www.movabletype.org

Start Blogging

Regardless of which option you choose, you'll notice that writing a blog post is strikingly similar to writing in Microsoft Word or any other text editor. Each blog post includes:

๏ Post Title
๏ Body text
๏ Time and date stamp
๏ Tags or labels used to organize similar posts

Claim Your Blog at Technorati

After you've published your first blog post, you can claim your blog at Technorati. When you first sign-up at Technorati check the "I have a blog and would like to claim it now." check box.

The process is really quite simple and it's worth taking a few moments to get this set-up.

๏ Claim Your Blog on Technorati

Blog Consistently by Sticking to a Schedule

One of the questions that comes up at speaking engagements is "how often should I blog?" which varies and depends on how much you have to say.

To not overwhelm yourself, aim for publishing one post each week. If you get ideas in between posts, perhaps start a new draft. Before you know it, you'll have a number of draft posts lined up which are excellent reserves for those dry periods when you're stuck for something to publish.

In short, write only when you have something of value to share. You'll also find that the more you write, even if you're not necessarily publishing each article (there's no shame in holding onto some drafts), the easier and more momentous your blogging becomes.

Do You Have a Blog? Add Your Tips to the List

If you've been blogging for a while you surely have some excellent advice to share.

Add your tips by leaving a comment below.

---

There's been some discussion regarding software developers exploring new ways to bridge the gap between desktop and web applications.

Development tools such as Adobe AIR and Mozilla Prism are the two most notable players. To get a feel for what can been done, Adobe had published a nice gallery of applications.

Let's face it, the only reason desktop applications are still relevant is because of bandwidth and security.

Bandwidth

It was less than 5 years ago that the majority of Internet users were still on either dial-up connection or a by today's standards, a "low-speed" version of the Web as we've come to know it.

New technologies such as Verizon's FIOS, a 100% digital, fiber-optic cable connected straight to your home and speeds as high as 20 Mbps, practically eliminate the need for greater speed.

I believe that if we had the choice, we'd be running our entire businesses online, and even doing processor-intensive tasks such as editing audio and video if it was equal to the desktop experience.

Once we're over the bandwidth issue the Internet economy will only be dealing with security issues.

Security

When companies like Salesforce.com and even Intuit with their online version of Quickbooks, end corporate users are showing little resistance in trusting their most private data ( customer data and financial data ) to web services.

Wrap Up

In 5 years time, will we really be still relying on desktop applications or will the vast majority of our business applications be readily available from any computer, accessible with our username and password?

---

Sitemaps have been around since the advent of the Web and used primarily as a way to list all the pages on a particular website.

Nowadays, sitemaps have other purposes such as organizing web content by topic, showing the search engines which pages you have created and developing a linking structure that emphasizes specific areas of your website over others.

But just how do you make a sitemap? And, how do you get that sitemap into Google, Yahoo! and MSN? That's today's topic and for the webmasters and entrepreneurs out there, I think this article will be quite refreshing.

TWO FLAVORS OF SITEMAPS

Just as we build web pages with both people and search engines in mind, we should have a similar mind set when building our sitemaps. In short, it's a best practice to create one for people, and another for the search engines.

HTML SITEMAP

First, let's focus on your visitors who will be existing customers, prospective customers, vendors, partners and employees.

Your sitemap provides links to all the most important pages on your website and is organized in a logical manner that makes viewing the sitemap a pleasurable experience.

As a best practice, consider the following when creating your HTML sitemap:

- The file name should be sitemap.html
- Organize your pages by topic or category
- Group all your Registration items together such as links to Sign Up pages, Upgrade pages, Feature & Benefit Comparison charts, Order Forms (PDF) and Purchase pages.
- Group all your Help pages together including your FAQs, Create a Support Ticket, Report a Bug and Feature Requests forms
- Group all your Company pages together such as your About Us page, Contact Us page, Legal and Privacy statements
- Limit the number of categories to 10
- Limit the total number of links of your sitemap to 100
- Include an area for blogs, podcasts and videos
- Link to RSS and XML feeds
- Link to your XML sitemap too

XML SITEMAP

Sitemaps are an easy way for webmasters to inform search engines about pages on their sites that are available for crawling.

In its simplest form, a Sitemap is an XML file that lists URLs for a site along with additional metadata about each URL (when it was last updated, how often it usually changes, and how important it is, relative to other URLs in the site) so that search engines can crawl the site more intelligently.

Sitemaps.org has established the protocol for how to create an XML sitemap that is compliant with Google, Yahoo! and MSN.

Here are some short cuts for creating your own XML sitemap.

Google's Sitemap Generator Program

The Google Sitemap Generator is a Python script that creates a Sitemap for your site using the Sitemap Protocol. This script can create Sitemaps from URL lists, web server directories, or from access logs.

ONLINE SITEMAP GENERATORS

These online sitemap generators create your sitemap free and and produce both plain text and xml versions of your site.

Sitemapspal
PortalApp Generator
Peterz.de (German)
Autositemap
Tarrant.it Sitemap Generator
XML-Sitemaps Generator
Hockeygods Online Sitemap Generator
Nuah Online Generator
Pingoat Sitemap Creator
Node Map Sitemap XML Creation Service
Neuroticweb.com Sitemap Generator
AudiMyPc.com Sitemap Generator
Web-design-pros.ca Sitemap.xml.gz Generator (Java Webstart Application)
Free Sitemap Generator
phpSitemapsNG
ScriptSocket Sitemap Generator
Google Sitemaps XML Validator
Google Sitemaps Information Center
AutoMapIt
Safe Area

SUBMITTING YOUR SITEMAP TO SEARCH ENGINES

Once you've created your sitemap, submit it to Google Webmaster Central, Yahoo Site Explorer and MSN's Live Search Webmaster Center.

HIGHLIGHTS

Remember to create two sitemaps; one for your visitors and the other for the search engines. Keep the HTML version simple and organize the information as succinctly as possible. For the XML version use a sitemap generator to streamline the work then submit it to Google, Yahoo! and MSN so they get updates as soon as you refresh your website with new content.

MORE TIPS?

If you have a tip of your own, add it below by leaving a comment.

---

"The customer is king" is one of the older cliches of modern business. While its never exactly false, the phrase usually pays lip service to the idea of customer experience rather than listening to feedback that results in change.

How does an online business make the most of customer feedback? One avenue to explore is the development of downloadable content, specifically audio, video and text resources that truly add value and give customers the experience they've asked for.

In today's business landscape, a customers are smart and have high expectations.

In the most basic form of customer experience, people have come to expect a seamless experience, regardless of which channel (live chat, telephone, email, online help) they choose to communicate with your organization. One-to-one communications with real, passionate people that work at a given company are the norm.

Blogs, podcasts and searchable FAQs are mandatory when providing knowledge about how to place an order or resolve a technical issue.

True that not everyone will be interested in subscribing to a daily blog post offering inspiring commentary, or education on-demand by means of free podcast, but there are those that will. And, it's those that do engage in the high-touch experience will be thankful that the resources were available.

For a small business, having the creative and technical know-how to create multimedia collateral is the first step. That's called production.

Next, a means of distributing the audio, video, text documents will be required in order to fulfill.

In practice, we've organized our resources in three categories which provide our customers with the opportunity to give us feedback.

AUDIO

All the podcasts are listed on a single page, with the most recent episode displayed with the podcast artwork, title and brief description of the show. By drilling deeper and clicking through to the individual episode, a customer can opt to subscribe to the podcast with iTunes.

Each episode includes show notes detailing what is being discusses during the podcast, as well as tags for quick reference and most importantly, a comment box giving the listener the chance to add their comments by typing in a few words.

VIDEO

The video area serves up tutorials and commercials. The tutorials walk you through how to use Voices.com, and on a more basic level, how to get started within the industry.

While the videos aren't much more than a narrated PowerPoint presentation, these embedded YouTube videos have been watched more than 50,000 in the past year alone.

TEXT

Aside from education and entertainment, most customers are looking for information in hopes of solving a specific problem. Enter the frequently asked questions. For this section of our "Help" page, we didn't just list the top 25 frequently asked questions, but rather developed an exhaustive knowledge base that we use both internally, and publish solutions, definitions, step-by-step guides on more than 500 topics within the field of voice-overs.

Customers can search by keyword and immediately see a list of matching solutions as well as a relevancy-match rating which suggests if the article has historically been helpful.

We commonly attach PDF documents such a voice-over rate sheets [pdf], user guides and other tip sheets to let users continue their experience offline.

As part of the feedback loop, customers can read if they found a specific solution helpful (a simple "Yes" or "No" works well) giving us some insight into what works, and which solutions need to be further researched or outright deleted.

WRAP-UP

Every business can add more value and meaning to their relationship with their customers. Creating, hosting and distributing online resources is a good place to start.

Remember to build-in a way to ask for and capture comments and other feedback from your customers. This information is extremely valuable as it will help you refine your materials and continue to be seen as one of the few online businesses that listens to their customers.

---

This tutorial covers how to export your Del.icio.us bookmarks by saving an XML file to your desktop, then importing that file into your personal Google account or your corporate Google Apps account.

You'll be amazed at how easy it is to do. Let's get started.

LOGIN TO YOUR NEW GOOGLE ACCOUNT

1. Login to your personal Google Account or if you'd like to import your Del.icio.us bookmarks into your corporate Google Apps account, login to that account now by visiting http://partnerpage.google.com/

Once you're signed into the Google Account, you're ready to move on to the next step.

SYNC DEL.ICIO.US WITH GOOGLE

2. Use this handy widget and enter in your del.icio.us username and password http://persistent.info/delicious2google/

I've synchronized at least a dozen accounts and had no issues or concerns about security. You can always change your del.icio.us password temporarily for the synchronization, then once this step is done, switch it back to your usual password.

CONFIRM THE SYNCHRONIZATION WAS SUCCESSFUL

3. Visit your Web History, then click "Bookmarks" on the sidebar to view all your Del.icio.us bookmarks, tags and notes successfully imported.

You're done!

BACKUP DEL.ICIO.US BOOKMARKS

While we're at it, take a moment to back-up your Del.icio.us bookmarks by saving the file to your personal computer.

4. Login to your del.icio.us account. Click on "Settings", then click "Ex-port/Backup".
5. Export / Backup, include my tags and include my notes
6. Click Export to XML and save the file to your "My Documents"

IMPORT DEL.ICIO.US BOOKMARKS INTO OTHER SOCIAL BOOKMARKING SERVICES

7. Once you're logged in to your social bookmarking website of choice, look for a link that say "Add Bookmarks" which is usually found in your profile or under the settings.
8. Browse your hard drive for the del.icio.us file and start the import.
9. Rinse and repeat with other social bookmarking websites.

Wasn't that easy?

---

The Fast 50 is Fast Company magazine's annual readers' challenge, a worldwide search for ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Our goal is to remind the world of all the good that's created when passionate people with big ideas and strong convictions are determined to make a difference.

Each year, the challenge generates thousands of entries and tens of thousands of comments from around the world, and results in high-profile recognition of 50 leaders, innovators, and technology pioneers. This year's challenge promises to be bigger and better.

This year, Fast Company is looking for unsung heroes and rising stars among our readers: senior executives, in-the-trenches team leaders, engineers, marketers, and other high-impact players from all kinds of backgrounds.

Fast Company: What's your big idea? Please tell us how this Fast 50 Nominee is helping to address the planet's problems.

Voices.com: Voices.com gives organizations the ability to spread their messages using the human voice to persuade others to take notice and inspire action.

Fast Company: Please describe how this nominee is using business as a force of positive change. What technology, idea, or strategy is the nominee using -- and what problem, such as global warming, poverty, or pollution, does it address?

Voices.com: Issues of great international and personal interest are addressed on a daily basis through jobs that are posted to voice-over professionals at Voices.com. Urgency translates directly through vocal performance, and the final product, an audio recording of an important message, is promptly and cost-effectively acquired by people who work to change the world, using the voice-over as a primary agent of change. Studies have proven that voice-overs are extremely effective, that they affect and move people, and also that the unique voice print of an individual cannot be replicated or compared to any other form of communication.

Fast Company: What are the results, both financial and social? How has the nominee's business performed, and what impact has it had on the problem it addresses?

Voices.com: Voices.com achieved a 62 percent increase in gross sales year-over-year as a result of sound business practices and a strong management team.

Going directly to freelance professional voice actors saves companies and organizations money and streamlines the hiring process. Not just any message gets through, however. A part of the job approval process is to seek out projects that are noble, upright and life altering for the betterment of humankind.

The editors at Fast Company will announce the winners of the Fast 50 in January 2008.

Until then, feel free to add your comments to our entry or read and review other entries as they come in at www.fastcompany.com/fast50.

---

With the academic year underway, I'm beginning to see evidence that fall is upon us. Besides the leaves changing color and the back to school sales, months of development is wrapping up and we're ready to show you what we've been working on.

Introducing "Fall '07", the quarterly upgrade to the systems and services available to you at Voices.com.

Search Engine

In this round of exciting new features and design updates, we've placed a strong emphasis on creating an outstanding search experience.

This starts with making it more obvious that anyone ( registered and non-registered users ) can visit Voices.com, type in a keyword and listen to professional voice over talents who match their search query.

How do we do this?

Simple. First, we are updating the look and feel of the "header", the top portion of every page of the website that contains the Voices.com logo, navigation tabs and help links. Yes, there is a search box there now, however many people simply don't see it there. After a few dozen calls from clients asking how they can search for voice talent profiles, we recognized that we needed to change how we presented the search engine. For that reason, the Voices.com search engine is now colored in lime green located prominently at the top of every page.

New Voices.com header for when people are logged out.

New Voices.com header for when people are logged in.

Notice how we've provided options to search:

- All Voices.com
- Male Voices
- Female Voices

There's also a link to the Advanced search page where power users can refine their search query by narrowing the location, category of work, and more.

Search Results

The search results have also received a face-lift. We've extended the area for the voice description, meaning the results display more words so the people searching can learn more about the voice talent they are about to click through to. You'll also see a jumbo-sized Flash audio player. Playing audio from the search results has never been easier. Finally, we'll be adding in category icons, demo titles and your voice-over demo tags to provide even more info for searchers to understand what they'll be hearing before they click the play button.

Voices.com New Search Results

These updates will go live the weekend of September 29, 2007.

Now, it's your turn. What would make the search experience better for you?

Add your comments below to let us know.

If you'd like to test out the new search engine, also leave a comment below and I'll send you a login username and password to our development environment.

David

---

After the recently acquisition of FeedBurner by Google, we're seeing some early changes to the service. As of today, two previously premium services, TotalStats and MyBrand are now free.

The Official FeedBurner blog explains that:

One of the many benefits that FeedBurner publishers will enjoy now that FeedBurner is part of the Google family is a little something we like to call, "more for free!" Beginning today, two of FeedBurner's previously for-pay services, TotalStats and MyBrand, will be free.

This is great news for web publishers of blogs, audio and video content as it provides even greater insight (TotalStats) and control (MyBrand) over the look, feel and brand integrity of RSS feeds.

There is a simple explanation on how to activate TotalStats and MyBrand. It took me less than 5 minutes to get TotalStats running for all our blogs, podcasts and videos.

Voices.com is currently managing 17 feeds with FeedBurner. We've even submitted "publisher buzz" sharing our success story of how we create, manage and track RSS subscriptions, exclusively with FeedBurner.

If you are new to RSS or are baffled by the orange icon you see on blogs, I'd highly recommend FeedBurner's Feed 101 tutorial.

Similarly, if you are new to podcasting, you should check out our Small Business Podcasting Kit, which is also available as a PDF Download.

Enjoy the new stats courtesy of FeedBurner.

David

---

As we share last week, the VoiceCoaches Marketing Expo was an overwhelming success. If you weren't at the Expo, here was our presentation, available for you as a PDF download.

Voice Over in the Google Era

The ways of the past are no barrier to success for savvy voice over entrepreneurs of the new Google Era. The search giant has brought more to our fingertips than any other web portal on the Internet, corralling relevant websites and taming the Wild West of the World Wide Web.

There Has Never Been a Better Time

Free career resources and advice is available, job opportunities are bountiful, and the costs associated with getting started and building a home recording studio are at the lowest they have ever been thanks to online marketplaces and the global village.

Broadcasters from the old school of presenting are using their highly developed instincts and production skills to land jobs from other radio and television stations around the world. Singers and stage actors from the theatre are exercising their vocal versatility, performing as voice actors in animation, film, and documentary narration as well as producing music beds and jingles for commercials.

Salespeople, former telephone marketers, and educators with great voices are flexing their persuasive musculature in commercials, telephony, and educational voice overs with the gusto and ambition of jockeys at the gate, waiting to unleash their voices on the world.

These are just some of the people who make up the voice industry. This guide will help you succeed in the Google Era, one Google service at a time.

Google Web Search

What is it?
Google Search is the largest search engine on the Internet. Google has indexed billions of web pages and organized the results in a pecking order of which sources are deemed most relevant or popular by other people who link to websites.

What does it do for me?
Google Search can act as a gateway for thousands of visitors to find your website and learn more about your services. Ranking high in the search engine, particularly for your name, is very important.

How can you use it to the fullest?
Optimize for keywords and be sure to update your website often. Build links to your website and add valuable content that the search engines will index to generate more pages in their engine related to your website.

URL: http://www.google.com

Google Image Search

What is it?
Google Image Search provides people looking for images with literally billions of images indexed by their search engine, available for viewing. To use Image Search, select the "images" tab or visit http://images.google.com. You can enter a query in the image search box, then click on the "Search" button. If you’d like to see a larger image, click the thumbnail on the results page to see a larger version of the image, as well as the web page on which the image is located.

What does it do for me?
Google analyzes the text on the page adjacent to the image, the image caption and dozens of other factors to determine the image content. Google also uses sophisticated algorithms to remove duplicates and ensure that the highest quality images are presented first in your results. If you properly tag your images, you will rank higher for specific keywords.

How can you use it to the fullest?
Name your images appropriately and be sure to use descriptive keywords that indicate what your image is of.

URL: http://images.google.com

Google News Search

What is it?
Google News picks up press releases and news from approved sources to distribute in their search engine. The News Search is an excellent tool for keeping up to date on what a competitor is up to or on topics that interest you.

What does it do for you?
Google News can spread your message to journalists and bloggers who are looking for fresh content to publish on their websites or via traditional publications such as newspapers, magazines, and journals. Being found in Google News also helps others to learn about you and provides you with more links in their search engine.

How can you use it to the fullest?
Be sure to update your content regularly and distribute a press release announcing any news about your voice over business or achievements. Going through online press release distribution websites that are recognized as news sources by Google will dramatically increase your visibility and get you in front of people who will cover your story.

URL: http://news.google.com

Google Blog Search

What is it?
Google Blog Search is a special search engine where you can find content of interest posted on blogs. The Blog Search features content updated on a minute by minute basis published to the web by bloggers and article writers as well as citizen reporters.

What does it do for you?
Google Blog Search enables you to sort results in order of freshness, relevancy, or posts dated within certain periods of time.

How can you use it to the fullest?
Google favors fresh content. Update your blog regularly, contribute to other blogs by leaving comments and tag your posts to increase the likelihood of being found in the search engine.

URL: http://blogsearch.google.com

Google Video

What is it?
The world's first open online video marketplace, where you can search for, watch and even buy an ever-growing collection of TV shows, movies, music videos, documentaries, personal productions and more.

What does it do for you?
Google Video can be used to find videos that you may have produced and circulated on the Internet. In order to be included in Google Video, it is wise to upload your video through the Google Video system for inclusion.

How can you use it to the fullest?
Upload any video samples that you may have (and also have permission to circulate) that feature you or your vocal talents. This may be commercials that you have provided a voice over to, video presentations, and video blogs. Be sure to optimize with appropriate tags and keywords for best results as well as submit to be included.

URL: http://video.google.com

Google Directory

What is it?
Google Directory is the Open Directory Project also known as DMOZ, the largest human-edited directory on the web.

What does it do for you?
Google Directory provides you with a free directory listing not only in the Google Directory but hundreds of other directories that are fed by the Google Directory.

How can you use it to the fullest?
You can navigate to a specific category for male or female voice talent and add yourself to the list for inclusion. Be patient as the approval process can take up to six months.

URL: http://www.google.ca/dirhp?hl=en

Google AdWords

What is it?
Google AdWords is a quick and simple way to advertise on Google, regardless of your budget. AdWords ads are displayed along with search results on Google, as well as on search and content sites in the growing Google Network, including AOL, EarthLink, HowStuffWorks, & Blogger. With searches on Google and page views on the Google Network each day, your Google AdWords ads reach a vast audience.

What does it do for you?
Google AdWords directs traffic to your website on a pay-per-click basis, ensuring that you are visible in the search results as sponsored listings as well as giving you the tools to maintain and track your AdWords campaigns on a regular basis.

How can you use it to the fullest?
Always stick to your budget and restrict the amount of time and number of locations your advertisements are being served.

URL: https://adwords.google.com/support/

Google AdSense

What is it?
Google AdSense is a fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant, unobtrusive Google ads on their website's content pages and earn money. Because the ads are related to what your users are looking for on your site, you'll finally have a way to both monetize and enhance your content pages. It's also a way for web site publishers to provide Google search to their site users, and to earn money by displaying Google ads on the search results pages.

What does it do for you?
You can earn extra money for hosting pay-per-click ads from Google advertisers on your website.

How can you use it to the fullest?
Optimize your website so that the advertisers that are selected to advertise on your website are related to the core theme of your website. Maintaining higher levels of traffic on your website will also bring in more revenue via those streams.

URL: https://www.google.com/adsense/support/

Google Analytics

What is it?
Google Analytics shows you how people found your site, how they explored it, and how you can enhance their visitor experience. Improve your website return on investment, increase conversions, and make more money on the web.

What does it do for you?
With over 80 reports, your free Google Analytics account will track visitors through your site, and will keep track of the performance of your marketing campaigns - whether they're AdWords campaigns, email campaigns, or any other advertising program.

How can you use it to the fullest?
With this information, you'll know which keywords are really working, which ad text is the most effective, and where your visitors are dropping off during the conversion process. Don't be fooled by the fact that this functionality is available to you for free - Google Analytics is a full-featured, powerful analytics package.

URL: http://www.google.com/support/analytics

Key Points to Remember

Now that you’ve learned more about Google and the many ways that you can use their services to your advantage, it’s time to start putting some time and effort into making Google work for you!

Wishing you all the best on your Google adventure.

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The dream of every web company is to be featured on TechCrunch, the industry-leading blog that covers start-ups, venture capital and technology. Overnight, TechCrunch did a great story, albeit controversial, about Voices.com and Google Audio Ads.

Google's recent foray into radio advertising is the latest effort in their quest for world domination of new and old media.

TechCrunch explained it this way:

Through partnerships with hundreds of radio stations, Google Audio Ads will offer customers the ability to bid on radio spots, and target ads by geography, station type, listener demographics and time of day.

On behalf of the team at Voices.com, we believe that Google Audio Ads is great news.

Google, and hundreds of bloggers, will spread the word about radio commercials and how they are produced.

The digital economy will kick into gear presenting new radio advertisers with helpful tutorials, how-to's, white papers, and eBooks explaining how to not only purchase ad slots for terrestrial radio but also how to find the perfect voice online.

Voices.com is already positioned as the number one location to find, audition and hire voice talents online, it's just a matter of time until this new platform (Google Audio Ads) cracks open from its beta shell.

All in all, this new Google offering has created an incredible opportunity for us to continue to serve you, the customers who have created a vibrant community of professionals.

As always, your feedback is welcome.

Just leave a comment below!

David

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Have you seen the Google Audio Ads PowerPoint presentation? Get an insiders look at how Google Audio Ads will work for advertisers. Here's Google's pitch.

Earlier today, we wrote about Google Audio Ads. Here's a follow up post to show you how it works!

The following PowerPoint slides explain how Google Audio Ads work, and what you can expect from Google in the very near future.

.: How Google Brings Advertisers and Radio Stations Together

From the slide, you can see that Google has positioned the Audio Ads system to serve both top-level advertisers, as well as the advertising agencies themselves. The graphic also shows 75% of the transactions coming from the agencies, and only 25% from independent advertisers. This is likely because advertising agencies already have media planning and media buying personnel, not to mention existing relationships with local and regional radio stations.

It also appears that only the advertising agencies will have the opportunity to target specific radio stations and broadcasting networks.

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.: How Google Delivers Ads to Radio

1. Station inventory management system and studio log.

2. Google links electronically with stations to search for inventory that fits advertiser criteria.

3. Inventory is paired with Advertiser requests, to be called "Google Avails".

4. Google delivers automated order to radio station and reserves the ad inventory.

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.: Google Audio's Current Footprint

* 800+ stations
* 4200 stations targeted
* 87% US coverage
* Coverage in 19 of the top 25 markets

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.: Will Google Audio Ads Succeed?

So far, I'm a fan of Google Audio Ads. The concept is simple is should prove to be a winner in the marketplace.

However, I see a few potential stumbling blocks that may need to be overcome to for Google Audio Ads to gain mass advertiser acceptance.

Questions for Google Audio Ads Team

* Does Google buy blocks of advertising so that advertisers can choose from a variety of stations and tim slots or is the ad inventory just unwanted (unfilled) air time?
* If two advertisers want to buy the same spot ( inventory ) does that trigger a bidding war?
* What format are the ads in? MP3, WAV or AIFF?
* Since audio files are significantly larger than text files, is Google going to host the audio files too? Is there a limit on file size, or amount of storage per account?
* Where are the voices coming from and is Google going to maintain editorial control?

.: What's Next?

Subscribe to this blog via email for more info on Google Audio Ads.

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Note: PowerPoint slides courtesy of Donna Bogatin at Digital Micro-Markets

Technorati tags: google | google audio ads | audio ads | audio adsense

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Recently I've come across a few new start-ups that have acquired simple domain names in an effort to explain to their users what they do, while being memorable at the same time. Hearing these stories validates our investment in Voices.com as one of the best business decisions we've made to date.

While many new Internet-based companies, now known as "Web 2.0" websites, use made-up, funny and some times ridiculous names, I've noticed a trend of companies opting for the traditional single word domain names.

Choosing a dictionary word for a domain name is harder than it sounds. That's great if you can imagine the perfect word that represents your new idea or start-up, however actually obtaining that name is another task altogether.

On a recent podcast, I heard one of the founders of Like.com sharing his story. Like.com is a visual search engine. For nearly 10 years, we've been searching for pictures using words. Like's big idea is to search pictures with pictures by using a "likeness" technology. Personally, I believe it's a great idea and I'm confident it will be a hit with the marketplace, given enough time for people to discover them.

From my understanding, their team sent emails, placed calls, left voicemail messages all without any luck. They went as far as visiting the home of the then owner of Like.com and decided to leave an expensive bottle of wine as a gesture of good faith. As the story goes, they got a call the next day.

Similar to Like.com, the team at Voices.com made a conscious decision that Voices.com was the best name for a variety of reasons we have discussed before.

It shows that given the right people, ambition and the willingness of the seller, any name is ripe for the picking. Choose carefully, then proceed with caution and I'm sure you'll have great success with your next Internet venture.

Do you have a story about a "dictionary word" domain that was recently acquired?

If so, leave a comment below.

Best,

David

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Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to pitch our business to a panel of high profile Venture Capitalists. I refined my 60 second pitch, and prepared myself to handle foreseeable objects. We didn't land the initial investment, however I'm glad at least one Web 2.0 company did. Here's their story...

The CBC's Dragon's Den is a reality-TV show here in Canada.

It originally started in the UK, and as with most successful British programming, we adopt many of their shows across the Atlantic.

Nonetheless, I'm intrigued by this show, not only because just a few months ago, I was standing in front of the same panel of Venture Capitalists, but, because as a CEO, it gives me some insight into what makes a V.C. tick.

One company, JobLoft, is a job website similar to Voices.com. The difference is that they are a career-oriented website with a focus on the retail and food services industries. The investors, I mean "Dragon's" invested $200,000 for 50% of their company, primarily because of two technologies.

The first of these technologies was the inclusion of Google Maps. JobLoft integrates Google Maps into the search results to show the distance between their residence and the place of employment for the job seeker.

The second technology was job alerts via text message.

Both of these technologies are easily replicated, and, in my opinion don't represent a true "unfair advantage". They will need to continue to work hard to capture more of the market while simultaneously developing new technologies that are of a proprietary nature.

To JobLoft's credit, the website interface and user-experience is top-notch. Additionally, they now have a team of savvy investors working closely to ensure the best possible outcome.

For those reasons, I wish JobLoft the best moving forward.

Good luck!

Tags: dragons den, jobloft, venture capitalist, web 2.0

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Ever wondered how other developers create their web apps? I've scanned in sketches from the initial development of Voices.com

Seeing as I haven't discovered anywhere else on the web that actually reveals the designers' initial layouts and how their ideas evolved, I though these sketches might be of interest to new developers getting started.

Like with most good ideas, they start with a brainstorm. Stephanie, my partner, and I wrote some notes on a paper napkin. The napkin turned into an entire book where we wrote down all the features and functions that we thought would be important for our future customers.

Web 2.0 App Brainstorm on a Napkin

Next, I organized those thoughts into groups. I tried to limit the groups to around 5 or 6. To avoid feature creep, some of the features were put on the back burner or eliminated completely. The group headings turned into the tab titles. The result was 5 tabs across the top navigation bar, and an "Account & Settings" link, as well as a "Logout" link, located in the top right hand corner.

Features and Functions of our Web App

Before jumping into sketching multiple screens, I split one page into four areas, then photocopied the page about 20 times. This saved me from re-drawing the header and logo multiple times per page. Plus, I felt that each activity on the site should require no more than 4 steps.

Blank Design and Sketch Sheet

The core of our web application surrounded the personal websites of each member. Your website URL would be http://yourname.voices.com . I mapped out a basic page and the fields to be included in the Profile.

Since we would be hosting MP3 files, specifically voice-over demos, we needed a separate area to manage the uploading, downloading, editing and ordering of multimedia files. We call this the 'Studio'.

Uploading, downloading, editing and recording of multimedia files in the Studio

Finally, I put myself in the shoes of a client who was visiting the website to hire a professional to record a podcast commercial. He needed to search for an 'authentic' voice, without getting bogged down in advanced search fields.

Searching by keyword for voice talents at Voices.com

The search results page included the name of the voice talent, description, location, and MP3 demo that would be played using a Flash player. Once the client clicks on the voice talent's name, they can view their website. From there the client can send the talent an email. After the email has been sent, the client lands on a 'thank you' page which provides them with the option to either search again or access different parts of the service.

And here's the live layout of search results and the My Account area.

Polished search result at Voices.com

My Account at Voices.com

Do you follow a similar process? Leave a comment below.

Best,

David

Technorati Tags: web 2.0, Web Applications, Web-Apps, web design, Development, screenshots

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So, you have an idea for the next killer Web 2.0 app. That's great, but where do you go from here? Learn how we attack product development and how you can follow a simple and fool-proof system.

The idea for Voices.com emerged 5 years ago when we were a recording studio operating in downtown London. Although work was keeping us busy, we wanted more. We wanted to serve many more customers, reaching out to a global audience. At the same time, we recognized that there are many other recording studios, production houses and freelance voice over talents that could make use of a single destination to promote their services directly to clients in need of voice-overs.

The vision: An online marketplace where anyone with a professional studio, vocal training and experience could create a profile, upload sample MP3 recordings of their voice and audition for voice-over jobs. In turn, the clients could use our search engine to find voice talents by keyword or post jobs requesting that voice talents reply with an cost estimate for the projects.

OK, that's our story, but how did we actually go about taking the idea from the concept stage to an operating business? Here's the answer, in the form of a plan that you can use to start your own Web 2.0 company.

1.The Opportunity
To start you'll need to do some initial planning. Jot down the problem that you are going to solve. This will help you stay focused on your solution.

2. The Solution
Now, brainstorm all the ways you can solve the specific problem or obstacle. There may be more than one solution, and certain solutions may be easier to build than others. Write them all down and elaborate on the steps involved, including first time visitors discovering your company, trying out your web application, and making a purchase.

3. Your Customers
Picture the customers you are going to serve. Even go as far as creating a character sketch. This will help you understand your customers and why they will use your web application. Think of this as your market research. For example, Sally is the creative director at a national advertising agency. She's busy, works on 5 projects at any given time and appreciates quality when she finds it. Her activities are governed by simplicity and likes when things "just work".

4. Understand The Revenue Model
Too many companies start without a clear picture of how they'll make money. Boot-strapping is OK, and is even recommended. With limited financial resources, you'll be forced to make good decisions. Once revenues start coming in the door, you will have developed a sense of discipline in your business spending habits that will ensure future profitability. Common models include; advertising supported, subscription based, pay-per-use and by donation. We'll discuss each of these models in more detail in a future post.

5. Create the User Experience
Before 37Signals came out with their eBook "Getting Real" which I would recommend to any web developer, we had been applying many of the same strategies such as starting with the UI ( User Interface ) and then developing the code to make everything "work". Personally, I'm not a programmer, but I'd like to believe I have an eye for design and can think logically, so creating the UI first was easy to do. With Voices.com, I mapped out the header, the tabs and gave the tabs names. Each tab name represented a different part of the web service. Within each section you could have more options. For example, our "Account & Settings" section includes sub-sections on "Preferences", "Account Details", "Statistics" and "Upgrade Account". By knowing the customer, understanding the specific problem we were going to solve for them, then seeing a sketch on paper, our idea came to life faster than you can say Web 2.0.

6. Develop a Working Model
Create HTML versions of your screens. From there, you can program the back-end to execute the dynamic functions like submitting online forms, uploading files and displaying information pulled from your database.

7. Test, test, test
Once you launch, there's no turning back and first impressions mean everything. With that in mind, you'll want to test your web application on every machine, operating system, browser and Internet connection possible.

8. Provide Outstanding Customer Service & Support
Prepare for a number of questions before you launch. By developing a FAQ ( frequently asked questions ) page you can eliminate answering the same questions over and over. Plus, FAQs can be used to help explain how everything works.

9. Launch Your Web 2.0 Application
Write a press release ( or hire a PR firm ) to craft an announcement introducing your new Web 2.0 application. Email everyone you know to come check it out and ask them the pass along the message to their colleagues. On the day of your official launch, you may be in public beta mode, so people will understand if everything isn't working correctly. The key though, is to answer peoples' questions and listen to their feedback. With many visitors using the application for the first time, they will have a fresh perspective and will think of things you haven't yet considered.

10. Enjoy The Journey
Find something you're passionate about and dedicate your time and resources to making it the best in the industry. The evidence of your hard work will be present in your attention to detail, the visual representation and general user experience. After you've launched, you'll be reflect back on the good times when you were doing the initial development, so enjoy it while it lasts.

This was the story of how we built Voices.com, but it can also be how you build your Web 2.0 application.

Post a comment about your development method.

All the best,

David

Technorati Tags: web 2.0, Web Applications, Web-Apps, web design, Design

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As promised, we'll discuss the concept of Web 2.0. My definition for Web 2.0, in short, is the next generation of Internet applications, business strategy and the underlying technologies that enable conversations and contribution to the online community.

It may be helpful to quickly sum up the first generation of websites.

They were typically produced and maintained by independent webmasters who updated the websites' content only when the information became dated or was no longer aligned with the business goals.

The vast majority of websites pre-2000 websites were "read only", meaning you could only look at the content without changing it. If you wanted to suggest a change, correct or add information you would have most likely been redirected to a contact form or email address of the webmaster who controlled the contents of the website.

So what happened next?

Plenty of things. Open-source software, particularly web server and web development software such as PHP and Perl, and database software such as MySQL enabled rapid development of online applications for a fraction of the cost. The barrier of entry has been lowered to the point where anyone with an idea can build a powerful web service and open its doors to the world.

Web 2.0 and its meaning has been debated at length. With much conflict, and lack of a definitive definition, I thought today we could explore how various key players interpret the meaning of Web 2.0

Technologists see Web 2.0 as the technologies, programming languages and the scalable infrastructure that powers a new breed of online applications known as web services.

Marketers use Web 2.0 services and see them primarily as platforms where they can reach out and connect with customers on a more intimate level. Yet, to call the group of people "customers" may not be the correct term. In the Web 2.0 era, the customers are the creators.

The creators build web pages, upload audio, video and images, and tag multimedia files providing other users with useful information about their creations. This material is known as "user-generated content".

What about corporate types?

Business people and financiers see Web 2.0 as an opportunity to problem-solve for their customers while engaging them in conversation about their products and services.

The Web has allowed businesses to dream up solutions to existing problems, build the technologies to solve those problems, and then allow consumers to turn into contributers by participating through blogs, podcasts, and online profiles.

It's an opportunity that has been in the works for the past decade. The world wide web as we know it took years to build up sufficient broadband capacity for many of the Web 2.0 applications in use today. Web services centered around audio and video distribution simply wouldn't and couldn't exist without high-speed Internet and inexpensive bandwidth costs.

With all of that said, why do I believe that we are a Web 2.0 company?

New additions to the site include RSS feeds that allow individuals to subscribe to the VOX Daily, The Biz, Casting Voices, Buzz and Press blogs, the IV Podcast (also available in the iTunes Music Store), manage voice-over projects, collaborate with colleagues online, use file delivery tools, and implement feedback for other Voices members regarding a relationship forged through business conducted at the website or endorsements based upon the quality of the talent's voice-over demo and qualifications.

From a technological point of view, principles that render Voices.com a Web 2.0 company include the continued focus on a rich user experience by working with technologies such as RSS, CSS and AJAX while using the Web as a software platform.

All the best,

David

Technorati Tags: web 2.0, web-20, web2.0, Web Service

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I've read blog posts by other entrepreneurs and industry critics raising a question. Does the world need another blog? I'd like to refine that question. Does the world need another web 2.0 blog? My short answer is "yes", and here's why.

The Biz, is a different kind of blog. This isn't a commentary on the happenings of the web, nor will I include product reviews or endorse other services.

So what will The Biz be about?

In short, my vision for The Biz will be a blog written by an entrepreneur for entrepreneurs. We'll discuss the various aspects involved with building a web 2.0 company.

In the Business Management category, I'll address business issues relating to strategy, business models and day-to-day operations, while at the same time keeping everything in perspective. Even when it seems as though the sky is falling, I often say, "Listen, it's not as bad as it seems", and it usually never is.

Development is an area that's close to my heart, as it pertains to the development of the web-service itself. Some people may call this product development, but I've learned to approach the development from the notion that we are building a service, and hopefully one that our customers can't live without.

With a product in place, we'll focus our attention on Sales & Marketing, and the most common approaches to generating revenue from web-services, as well as exploring a few unconventional practices too.

Once customers start signing up for your new web-service, you'll need to allocate some time and resources to managing those customers, as well as fielding Service & Support issues. This includes how to create FAQ's, how to address technical support issues, how best to receive feedback, and then what to do about the numerous suggestions that are bound to start rolling in.

After getting your company off the ground, you'll need to consider the prospects of either hiring qualified professionals to round out your team, or seek out partners to help your business grow. All of these posts will fall under the area of Human Resources.

Just like any business plan, this blog will cover the basics on Finance, an often skipped over section that at first glance may not seem interesting, but rest assured, I'll do my best to make creating, analyzing and presenting financial data as enjoyable as possible.

To round out the blog, the over-arching theme is Web 2.0. What is Web 2.0? Well, that will be the discussion of tomorrow's post.

If you have specific questions, post your comments below.

All the best,

David

Technorati Tags: web20, web 2.0, web_2.0, ceo, blog

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Here's the behind the scenes story of why our team decided to change our name from InteractiveVoices to Voices.com and how it could help you with your re-branding strategies.

Several months ago, we came across the opportunity to acquire the domain name and website Voices.com. Our initial feeling was that re-branding our ( and your ) website to Voices.com would be the best move, despite the technical challenges that lay in front of us.

However before we made the switch, we decided to consult with various professionals within our personal networks. David spoke with software developers, branding consultants and venture capitalists, while I connected with bloggers and people from the media. We also spoke with you, our members, to ensure that you'd be happy with the move.

The conclusion? We decided to take the plunge and change the name.

Here are some of the reasons why re-branding as Voices.com was and is the best business decision for our team, as well as all of you.

1. It's short.

2. It's memorable.

3. It's easy to spell.

4. Word of mouth will accelerate. It's simple to say "Listen to me on Voices.com" or "My demos are at Voices.com".

5. The word "voices" was already part of the previous name "interactivevoices", so the new name was more of a refinement of the familiar as opposed to the shock of abrupt change.

6. Our top search engine rankings would stay intact. With the change complete, we're confident that Google, Yahoo! and MSN have successfully indexed the new site and will continue to do so.

7. Your website would have a very cool URL - yourname.voices.com

8. The name encompasses the entire industry, not just a portion of it. Many have mistakenly viewed interactivevoices.com as a source for telephony projects such as voicemail, on-hold recording and IVR, which is the abbreviation for "interactive voice response". Voices.com is home to professionals who record for all applications. In essence, we cast a larger net for you.

9. A modest update to our company logo, brighter colors and easier navigation could all be accomplished at once.

10. An opportunity to deliver a new, but familiar layout and move to a CSS-based design. This means that Voices.com works well not only on Mac and PC, but also on Palm, BlackBerry and all mobile phones. Text size can also be increased or decreased to improve the usability.

The better, shorter, more memorable name will help us to tell our story to clients, producers, casting directors and talent agents resulting in more voice-over work for you.

That's the story in a nutshell.

Are you happy with the new name Voices.com?

All the best,

David

Technorati Tags: web 2.0, branding, launch

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