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Technology Trends for Business Growth

Learn how technology can make your life easier and discover low-to-no-cost technology tools to enhance your business. Explore the importance of your website and the opportunities available online.

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Technology Trends for Business Growth

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  1. Technology & Trends to GROW your Business Tim O'Brien, Technology Consultant

  2. Tim O’Brien, Technology Consultant • Tim.obrien@nebraska.gov • 402.326.3104 • LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyrobrien • Presentation and additional information will be at www.neded.org/grow.html

  3. Agenda • Introduction • About DED • Technology Trends • Investigate opportunity using the web • Technology for the right price! • Wrap-up

  4. Three things to learn • Technology can make your life easier • The website is the MOST important marketing tool • Technology tools for low to no cost!

  5. About The NE Department of Economic Development • The mission of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) is to develop economic opportunities by keeping Nebraska businesses, communities and people globally competitive. • 4 Divisions • Community & Rural Development • Travel & Tourism • Business Development • Administration & Operations

  6. Business Toolkit by Steve Williams • NEDED (http://www.neded.org/content/view/75/133/) • Doing Business on the Internet • (http://www.neded.org/files/assist/webresources.html) • Contact Steve Williams • Steve.williams@nebraska.gov • 800.426.6505 • Nebraska Department of Economic Development

  7. Additional DED Info • www.neded.org • Nebraska Advantage – www.nebraskaadvantage.biz • Microenterprise • Rural Advantage • Building Entrepreneurial Communities • Value Added Ag - www.ruralnebraska.info • Community/Business Training • Marketing Grants - www.visitnebraska.org • Community Websites & Online Presence • Job Opportunities & Quality of Life Online • Targeted Industry

  8. The Experiential Economy

  9. Trends

  10. Trends

  11. Why Connect Online? • Brick & mortal retail sales worst in 5 years • Yet online sales grew again this year by 19%, the best ever www.comscore.com

  12. Why Connect Online? • Market & consumer are increasing integrated & connected online • Facebook.com alone is now worth $15 billion

  13. More Trends • 36% of online American adults consult Wikipedia • 24% of Teens have a Blog • More than half (55%) of all online American youths ages 12-17 use online social networking sites. • Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital footprint; 47% have searched for information about themselves online, up from just 22% five years ago. • 48% of internet users have been to video-sharing sites such as YouTube and the daily traffic to such sites on a typical day has doubled in the past year.

  14. More Trends • Almost all internet users (93%) have at one time or another done something related to e-commerce. • 81% of internet users have used the internet to do research about a product they are thinking about buying, with 20% doing this on the typical day. • 66% of online users have purchased a product online, such as books, music, or clothing, with 6% saying they do this on the typical day. • 64% have bought or made a travel reservation online, such as an airline ticket, hotel room, or rental car, with 4% doing so on the average day.

  15. More Trends • 26% have participated in an online auction, with 3% doing this on the average day. • 17% have paid to access or download digital content, such as a newscast, sporting event, or radio show; some 4% do this on the typical day. • 11% have bought or sold stocks online, and just 1% do this on the average day.

  16. More Trends • Social Networks • Web Applications • Real Estate • Online Videos • File Sharing • Gaming • Management Styles

  17. Features of Web 2.0 • Enhanced retail opportunities • Real-time web updates • Community support & loyalty • Dynamic web features that increase market visibility & quality • Increased workforce & worker connectivity • Social networking • Professional networking

  18. Web 2.0 Web 2.0 Directory - http://www.go2web20.net/ Examples • Digg.com • Skype.com • Blogger.com • Rocketboom.com • Mahalo.com • LinkedIn.com • Chacha.com • Flickr.com • Facebook.com • Twitter.com • Revision3.com • 37signals.com Web 2.0 Explained on YouTube - http://youtube.com/watch?v=nsa5ZTRJQ5w

  19. E-Commerce • Internet • Understand the web and trends • Know how information is organized and located • Business Model • Business objectives, value delivery, revenue model, Management • Marketing • Build traffic, establish loyalty, pricing models, distribution • Goal: Satisfied customers

  20. Why have an online business? • Liquidate inventory • Enhances Value • Reduces Inefficiencies • Streamlines Supply • Links Business with Customers • Everything Is Faster! • Eliminates Boundaries What separates the little guy from big companies in the e-commerce world? There's no way a big company can give the customer service you can

  21. Do I need to Sell Products online? • No • Create a “Brochure” website • Who you are • What you do • News • E-mail Lists • Blog • Discussion Boards • User Profiles • Why?

  22. Software – Office Software • Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher) ~ $400 • Alternatives to MS Office • OpenOffice.org ~ Free • Includes Alternatives to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access • Opens and Saves into MS Office Formats (.doc, .xls, ect.) • One Click PDF Creation • Other Programs included Math & Draw

  23. Software – Office Software • Lotus Symphony ~ Free • http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/ • Google Docs & Spreadsheets ~ Free • docs.google.com/ • Share & Collaborate • Web Based • StarOffice ~ $70 • http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/

  24. Software – Desktop Publishing • Layout Programs • Microsoft Publisher ~ $150 • QuarkXPress ~ $800 • Adobe’s InDesign ~ $700 • Scribus – Free - http://www.scribus.net • Photo Editing & Organization • Adobe’s Photoshop ~ $650 • Adobe’s Photoshop Elements ~ $100 • Gimp – Free - http://www.gimp.org

  25. Software – Desktop Publishing • Microsoft Photo Gallery – Free with Windows Vista • Organizes & Edit Photos • Google’s Picasa – Free - http://picasa.google.com/ • Organizes & Edit Photos • Picnik http://www.picnik.com/ • Free & Web Based!

  26. Software – PDF Creation • Adobe Acrobat Professional ~ $450 • Create & Edit PDFs • Nuance PDF Convertor Professional ~ $100 • Create & Edit PDFs • CutePDF Professional ~ $50 • Simple Edit Tools & Creation tools for PDF • CutePDF Writer ~ Free • http://www.cutepdf.com/products/CutePDF/writer.asp • Create PDFs

  27. Online Communication & Collaboration • Skype • http://www.skype.com • GizmoCall • https://www.gizmocall.com/ • Google Talk • http://www.google.com/talk/ • Live Messenger • AIM • WebEx

  28. Online Communication & Collaboration • Microsoft Groove • Microsoft Live Meeting • 37signals.com • Basecamp - Collaborate with your team and clients. Schedules, tasks, files, messages, and more. • Highrise - Keep track of who your business talks to, what was said, and what to do next. • Backpack - Gather your ideas, to-dos, notes, photos & files online. Set email and mobile reminders. • Campfire - It's like instant messaging, but optimized for groups. Especially great for remote teams.

  29. Web Design – Content Management Systems • Who uses content management systems? • Nearly all large websites (www.nytimes.com, www.vw.com, www.theonion.com,) • How much do content management systems cost? • Most are open source (free) to millions of dollars • The examples I included above all run on open source CMS systems!

  30. Web Design – Content Management Systems • Content Management Systems I recommend • Joomla – www.joomla.org • Drupal – www.drupal.org • Reviews and demos of nearly all CMS can be found at - http://www.opensourcecms.com • Joomla Demo

  31. Test Sites Username for all is Admin with Password Letmein1tourism.obriendigital.com  with back end management attourism.obriendigital.com/administratorecommerce.obriendigital.com with back end management at ecommerce.obriendigital.com/administratorhttp://ecommerce3.obriendigital.com/  administration at http://ecommerce3.obriendigital.com/admin/login.php

  32. Thanks! Questions? Presentation located at www.neded.org Tim O’Brien, Technology Consultant Tim.obrien@nebraska.gov 402.326.3104 LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyrobrien Back up your data frequently! Use CDs, DVDs, or an external Hard Drive

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