Biznology

30 years is a long time. If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect that I was getting old. A few months ago, I wrote about my experience taking a couple of my kids to “Take Your Child to Work Day” in April, and while walking through the IBM cafeteria for the first time in quite a while, I suddenly asked myself, “What’s a Model 168 doing here?” It took a second for me to realize that it was a museum piece. A relic from a time long ago and far away. But it’s also the first computer I worked on 30 years ago when I started at IBM.

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I was lucky enough to be given a preview copy of a great new book by Craig Stull, Phil Myers, and David Meerman Scott called Tuned In. I got the preview, but it is being published today. It was a very interesting experience to read this book, because I feel as though I understand the authors’ perspectives so well already. But even though I know where the authors are coming from, I was still riveted by this book. They tell so many great stories that illustrate their big point, which is that you need to be willing to listen to what’s going on around you to really produce a business breakthrough. I found myself sorry when the book ended, because the stories are so helpful in driving the philosophy home, and each story is interesting on its own merits.

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I speak at many events each year, but the Internet Strategy Forum Summit is something special. I spoke at this event last year and found myself sticking around to hear all the other great speakers. The minute I saw the lineup, I began planning to do the same this year. If you can get to Oregon on July 17 and you’re interested in attending this event, keep reading to find out how you can get a free ticket. If you don’t think you’ll be lucky enough to win a free ticket, I can also get you a 15% discount on your conference fee.

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Jim Evans contacted me a while back hoping I could help him with his master’s thesis on search marketing for non-profit organizations. I helped him a little bit, and he graciously agreed for me to post his work for my readers. It’s long (about 70 pages) but it’s a great overview of search marketing research. The most interesting part to me, however, starts on page 37, where Jim talks about Google Grants, a program that provides non-profit organizations with free advertising in the paid search listings.

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If you’re still lamenting the demise of the Overture Keyword Tool, you’ll like the newest Skinflint Guide—it’s a procedure to help estimate keyword demand from the free Google keyword tool. My co-author, Bill Hunt worked out this procedure with his team at Global Strategies International. Check out my post on Search Engine Guide to learn more about free keyword demand estimating.