The national TechSoup NetSquared initiative is coming to Houston to advance non-profit organizations' effectiveness through Web-based social tools. The first Houston Netsquared group meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 14th, 2006, at Rockfish Grill ( 11805 Westheimer Rd.) at 7 p.m.

UPDATE: We are very excited to have David Geilhufe joining us from the Katrina PeopleFinder Project to speak with the NetSquared Houston group about the massive challenges technologists faced responding to Hurricane Katrina.

From meetup.com: https://www.meetup.com/Net2Houston/events/4876300/

An article in the March 24-30, 2006 Houston Business Journal entitled 'Flood of ad, PR jobs indicate positive business barometer' discussed the successes of two Schipul clients' online job boards, Houston Ad Federation (www.haf.org) and PRSA Houston (www.prsahouston.org).

Looking back at 2005, online job postings and views of those online postings have increased substantially indicating a positive growth in the city's economy as a whole.

Schipul's Membership Management Software, Tendenci, enables clients to easily post job listings and also gives organizations' members the option of posting resumes online as well.  

These listings can be a great source of revenue for an organization, draw traffic to their Web sites thanks to built-in search engine marketing utilities within the job posting module and add fantastic benefits for an organization's membership.

Read more about Tendenci's job board software here.

The Baltimore Sun published an article reviewing the garage rock band the Arctic Monkeys' Internet and blog-fueled success.  Reporter Rashad Ollison discussed the impact of the online media hype and importance of product (band) market positioning with CEO Ed Schipul:

"Ed Schipul runs Schipul - The Web Marketing Company, a firm in Houston, Texas, that analyzes various online trends. Given today's madly fickle, Internet-enhanced pop music scene, he suggests that overexposure would kill the group. Instead of lashing out at the media hype machine, he says the band should "do something more constructive with the hype, like funnel the attention to a charity or something."

"With my company, we talk about positioning in the mind of the consumer," Schipul explains. "If a band like the Arctic Monkeys doesn't bring something unique, then they will drift off in the minds of consumers. They need to have something that will resonate beyond the hype to last. ... It would be smart for them to come up with a sound, a niche, a category and promote that. The bigger the category, the bigger the band, like grunge and Nirvana in the '90s.""

Click here to read the entire article on the Baltimore Sun's Web site.

In the 11 years since the introduction of the first Web browser, the Internet has been considered an interactive communications tool, but we’re just beginning to unlock the Web’s ability to help us truly interact. Instead, most organizations still use the Web primarily to disseminate information.

That’s about to change thanks to a movement called, “Web 2.0,” a collection of emerging technologies that enable social networking by offering Web users the ability to add and edit Web content. It was initially referred to as “Consumer Generated Media,” but the label proved to be too restrictive for the sea change that has been occurring.

As illustrated by the blogs, video blogs (vlogs), podcasts and wikis, Web 2.0 is essentially a platform for sharing information of all kinds.

A Fundamental Change
In the past decade, search engines have turned the Web into an enormous user-driven and non-linear repository of information. Instead of the information source dictating how information is presented and consumed, the user is in charge.

The belief that the Web user should have some control is at the heart of Web 2.0. As the name suggests, these technologies are fundamentally changing the Web and how it is used.

Unfortunately, public relations practitioners have generally failed to grasp how this revolutionary change can be leveraged. Instead, most organization Web sites continue to mimic corporate brochures and still take a sequential approach to presenting their information. First we’ll tell you this, and then click here and we’ll give you that.

And even though the Web makes frequent updates possible, most corporate sites remain static for long periods.

In an environment in which Web users scan their favorite blogs daily, these old habits can signal to the market that your organization isn’t keeping up. On the flip side, numerous organizations have used blogs and podcasts in the past year to support their positioning as trendsetters.

Examples of Web 2.0
A great example of how everyone can have a voice and everyone can be part of the conversation is Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com), the popular online encyclopedia completely generated, edited and updated by Web users. Not only is Wikipedia a great channel for getting your organization’s message out, the technology that makes it work is available to incorporate into your organization’s Web site.

Using wikis, an organization may enlist its customers to help collaboratively produce how-to guides for their products – or might present new product concepts in order to gather immediate feedback. Internally, wikis might be used to develop more user-friendly employee handbooks by encouraging employees to tinker with the wording.

Two other popular sites that illustrate the power of Web 2.0 technologies include Del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/) and Flickr (www.flickr.com).

Del.icio.us describes itself as a collection of favorites. Essentially, the site’s community of users list Web sites that they like. It might sound innocuous, but in fact this knowledge sharing can be very powerful. Each time a user adds a favorite site, they choose a few words to describe the site, which is called “tagging.” For instance, possible tags for this article include: Web 2.0, public relations and social networks.

Public relations counselors can make del.icio.us a standard part of their PR program by establishing a list of favorites with their organization’s Web site and adding each news release, article or white paper as they are posted online. It’s hard to predict what might capture the attention of the user community.

Flickr, another quintessential web 2.0 site, shares many attributes with del.icio.us, except users generate the content in the form of uploaded photos. Users create tags to describe the images they like, which again offers a unique, current and relevant look into the minds of the publics we are working to reach and influence.

How to Get Started
Public relations strategists generally are behind the curve in terms of understanding how to leverage Web 2.0 technologies to achieve greater results through improved flexibility and cost efficiencies. However, it will be increasingly difficult to keep it business as usual in the midst of a technology revolution.

Following are a few specific steps you can take to get started:

• Be willing to share control with the Web user – By giving Web users the ability to add and edit Web content, you can foster a community and build an indelible connection between the users and your brand. Even though you may prefer to control all aspects of their communications programs to the smallest detail, the true power of the Web only comes when you enable Web users to add and edit Web content. 
• Build flexibility into your PR program – The real power of Web 2.0 technologies is they immediately tap into the attitudes and behaviors of Web users. To capitalize on this knowledge, develop PR plans that allow you to quickly adjust course and capitalize on opportunities the spring up.
• Take responsibility for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Many PR Firms have finally discovered Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for press releases.  Tech savvy firms have been involved in SEO for years with their clients showing up in Yahoo news and attracting additional media coverage.  But Web 2.0 is more about gathering information for strategy formulation.  Helping your clients being an active part of the conversation even with sometimes over reactive bloggers.
• Continually Listen and Analyze – Take advantage of the feedback loops in Web 2.0 technologies to keep tabs on what people are saying about your brand. Beyond that, examine the words and phrases used to describe your brand. You might find that the market views your products or services differently than you do, which can prompt a review of your positioning.   
• Make it a point to experiment with emerging technologies – In the past year, numerous organizations have experimented with blogs and podcasts. This year, look for corporate vlogs and wikis to join them. They won’t be right for every organization, but learning and trying can be rewarding too.

If your organization is still approaching the Web the same way it has for the past decade, this should serve as a wakeup call. The wired world is changing.

Visitors to your Web site are no longer entering through your home page and flipping through the site as they would a brochure. They are using search engines to hunt for and transport them to specific bits of information.

Now, Web 2.0 is taking that user behavior a step further by transforming the Web into a platform for sharing information of all kinds – text, sound and images.

By tapping directly into the minds of the Web user, Web 2.0 technologies provide public relations counselors unfiltered information with which to create strategic solutions that resonate with their publics. Web 2.0 can help reveal what target publics really care about, in close to real time. This can be invaluable in helping ensure that messages and tactics are aligned with the interests and concerns of their publics.

The Society for International Affairs (SIA), a non-profit educational organization that provides information related to the federal export and import regulatory process, now offers many new, highly interactive capabilities with the launch of its revamped Web site, www.siaed.org. 

Powered by Tendenci membership management software (www.tendenci.com), the site features quick and easy online event registration, an online e-tail store and employment opportunities of interest to the international trade marketplace.

The SIA Web site serves as a central component of the organization’s effort to provide a forum for the exchange of information on the export and import process.

Tendenci’s “all in one” Web based platform offers Content management to permit SIA to update its site with the latest educational information and details about the organization’s upcoming conferences, an online calendar for easy-to-access event promotion, online event management to track payments and organize attendees, and a membership directory that is easy to self-update and manage. 

Tendenci’s integrated  capabilities enable anyone who wants to stay updated on international trade to subscribe to automatically receive word of site updates as they happen.

Tendenci also makes it easy to develop and distribute electronic newsletters, create an online job board or business directory, post articles, news releases and podcasts, post surveys to keep track of changing attitudes and offer Web-based continuing education courses.

“For those involved in international trade, knowledge is critical, and what makes our new Web site so powerful is that it will be easier for our community of users to share knowledge,” said Matthew Doyle, SIA’s Director of Communications.  “With Tendenci, we acquired key functionality that enables us to track our members’ interests and better respond to their needs.” 

Tendenci is developed and marketed by Schipul – The Web Marketing Company (www.schipul.com), a leading worldwide provider of Web-based solutions for membership organizations. 

About Schipul – The Web Marketing Company

Schipul – The Web Marketing Company developed and builds on the Tendenci® membership management software. Schipul is based in Houston, and provides marketing services on the Internet to a variety of service industries in local, national and international markets. Schipul’s clients include Clear Channel Exhibits, National Pharmacy Technician Association, The Children’s Fund, Wolff Companies and DPK Public Relations. Additional information about Schipul is available at www.schipul.com and www.tendenci.com.

About the Society for International Affairs

The Society for International Affairs, Inc. is a volunteer, nonprofit, educational organization that was jointly formed in 1967 by US Government and Industry.  SIA provides a forum for the exchange of information related to export and import licensing. Additional information is available at www.siaed.org.

The Businessmaker's Radio Show recently interviewed Schipul's CEO Ed Schipul as part of their focus on local entrepreneurial success stories.

Ed Schipul and Russ Capper discuss the trials and tribulations of starting up a technology business, surviving the Dotcom Bubble burst and growing a technologically savvy company.  

Be sure to tune in to the podcast to hear the history of Schipul - The Web Marketing Company, the importance of a recurring revenue model and just how far a little determination can take you.

Click here to listen to the Schipul technology business start-up interview

Are you looking for more clients or better public exposure?  Is your Web site performing as well as you would like it to?

The Medical Imaging Magazine recently published an article entitled 'Enhancing Your Imaging Image' offering valuable tips on re-evaluating your marketing plan for better business success.  These tips move beyond the medical industry and can be incorporated into any business or industry.

Ed Schipul and Lauren Hall give some practical advice on Web site maintenance and search engine marketing:

"You're dealing with a more computer-savvy audience nowadays. Now even senior citizens are surfing the 'Net regularly, so a Web site is essential to any good marketing campaign. Among the tips that Schipul and Lauren Hall, his director of search-engine marketing, offer:

• Make sure your site is updated regularly. If not, it's not worth bothering, especially if you're trying to present yourself as someone on the cutting edge. Remember, the same "announcements" you're making in your press releases can (and should) go on your Web site.

• Do keyword research. Keywords are words or phrases you have determined are most likely to be typed into the search engine by your target market. Schipul found that "rhinoplasty" actually would glean a higher number of hits than "nose job" for a plastic surgery client, indicating that patients are highly educated. Enlist the services of an outside firm or bring in an Internet specialist of your own to tackle the research.

• Offer lots of information on your home page. Among the information, Hall suggests, are testimonials, case histories, office hours, and upcoming special events. Bear in mind that your site must offer a clean visual while presenting all of this information.

• Test your Web work. Use the "A/B" test. Run one headline or picture on your Web site (or in an ad) for the first 2 weeks, then a different one the next 2 weeks, and see which garners the most hits. Just make sure to change only one variable each time."

Read the Medical Imaging magazine article in its entirety for further suggestions on 'Enhancing Your Imaging Image' and be sure to read Schipul's Web Marketing Fundamentals article for a top ten list of 'must-have' elements for increasing sales lead generation from your Web site.

Rapidly growing Schipul – The Web Marketing Company, which has made the Houston Business Journal’s Fast Tech 50 list the past two years in a row, has relocated to larger offices in West Houston. 

Schipul has taken 6,100 square feet at 11757 Katy Freeway, which is managed by Premium Assets, Inc.

The new location, which is roughly twice the size of Schipul’s previous home at 11999 Katy Freeway, provides the added space needed for Schipul to continue expanding. 

Schipul developed the proprietary Tendenci® membership management software and is a leading worldwide provider of Web-based solutions for associations and other membership organizations. 

Schipul’s diverse team of Web marketing experts combine SEM, direct marketing fundamentals and social networking software to maximize their clients’ return on their Web marketing investment.

Exhibitors preparing for the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2006 won’t want to miss the OTC Event Marketing Seminar, organized by Sullivan Group, which will feature Ed Schipul, CEO of Schipul – The Web Marketing Company (www.schipul.com). 

Schipul will present “Blogs, RSS and More: Harness the Power of the Web to Maximize Your ROI at OTC".  The presentation will be part of a unique panel discussion covering the essentials of event branding, online marketing and communications basics. 

Other panelists include Clare Sullivan Jackson, president and CEO of Sullivan Group, and Phil Morabito, CEO of Pierpont Communications.

The seminar is scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 2nd at Majestic Metro Theatre in Houston. The focus of the OTC Event Marketing Seminar will be on helping exhibitors cut through the clutter to attract attention and forge meaningful relationships with customers and prospects. 

Schipul’s presentation will focus on how marketers can leverage the rapid, widespread adoption of emerging technologies that enable user-generated content, such as blogs, vlogs, podcasting and wikis to stay a step ahead of the competition.

“Exhibiting at OTC requires a significant investment, so it is critical that organizations utilize their Web sites to their fullest potential during the conference,” said Schipul. “We will focus on the powerful and easy-to-use online tools that are available to drive traffic to an OTC booth and increase sales.”

Registration for the OTC Event Marketing Seminar is $50 and will be accepted through February 1st 2006. To register online, visit www.sullivan-group.com.

Schipul - The Web Marketing Company has been named the number 28 company on the Houston Business Journal's FastTech 50.

The Fast Tech 50 Awards were presented November 4, 2005 at the Hyatt Regency in Houston to the top 50 high tech companies in Houston that experienced the greatest percentage revenue growth in 2004.

"The Schipul team attributes this award to our clients, as without them, we would not be here or among today''s winners. We look forward to continued growth in 2006 and beyond and salute our clients," said Ed Schipul, CEO, Schipul - The Web Marketing Company.