This isn’t exactly a WordPress tip, but it’s a handy tool for coordinating multiple people for an event- or choosing what to do. Instead of endless e-mails, pick some dates and times, send it out to everyone to see their availability and preference- and get a response in one quick move:

Doodle
Schedule an event…

… such as a board meeting, business lunch, conference call, family reunion, movie night, or any other group event.
View example, create poll
Make a choice…

… among movies, menus, travel destinations, or among any other selection.
View example, create poll
How does Doodle work?

1. Create a poll.
2. Forward the link to the poll to the participants.
3. Follow online what the participants vote for.

It’s just another cool web 2.0 tool to stash in your toolbox.

The next Websitetology seminars will be held, Monday January 21, 2008

8:30am to 5 pm

Location Nehemiah University, 750 S. Main Street Dayton OH 45410

If you are wondering if you should take this seminar: http://websitetology.com/?p=91

Sign up for it here: http://websitetology.com/?page_id=247

You are a small business, or a big business, you know you need a website, but developers are expensive, keeping the site updated can be a pain, and paying to get on the front page of Google sounds like another headache.

Well, never fear, Websitetology is here. We use Open Source (Free) software to run business websites for maximum payoff and low cost maintenance. Yes, the software is for blogging- but, it can do so much more. That’s where most people get hungup- even the New York Times keeps thinking that there is a difference between a blog and a website (both can do the same thing for your business- and are available online).

The reality is, we average over 9000 unique visitors at www.thenextwave.biz/tnw  and it helps position us as leading edge thinkers in our field. It’s also a lot easier to maintain than our old style main part of our site.

It’s the reason why we teach the seminar, and help others learn how to position themselves as the leader in their field— but, look at what the NYT has to say too:

Blogging’s a Low-Cost, High Return Marketing ToolTO its true believers at small businesses, it is a low-cost, high-return tool that can handle marketing and public relations, raise the company profile and build the brand.

That tool is blogging, though small businesses with blogs are still a distinct minority. A recent American Express survey found that only 5 percent of businesses with fewer than 100 employees have blogs. Other experts put the number slightly higher…

Blogging requires a large time commitment and some writing skills, which not every small business has on hand.

But some companies are suited to blogging. The most obvious candidates, said Aliza Sherman Risdahl, author of “The Everything Blogging Book” (Adams Media 2006), are consultants. “They are experts in their fields and are in the business of telling people what to do.”

For other companies, Ms. Risdahl said, it can be challenging to find a legitimate reason for blogging unless the sector served has a steep learning curve (like wine), a lifestyle associated with certain products or service (like camping gear or pet products) or a social mission (like improving the environment or donating a portion of revenues to charity).

Even in those niches, Ms. Risdahl said that companies need to focus on a strategy for their blogging and figure out if they have enough to say.

“As a consultant, blogging clearly helps you get hired,” she said. “If you are selling a product, you have to be much more creative because people don’t want to read a commercial.”

Sarah E. Endline, chief executive of sweetriot, which makes organic chocolate snacks, said she started blogging a few months before starting her company in 2005 to give people a behind-the-scenes look at the business.

The kind of transparency is a popular reason for blogging, particularly for companies that want to be identified as mission-oriented or socially responsible.

A typical post on sweetriot’s blog described the arrival of the company’s first cacao shipment from South America and how Ms. Endline met the truck on Labor Day weekend after it passed through customs at Kennedy International Airport.

She wrote about climbing aboard to inspect the goods and then praised the owner of Gateway trucking company, who helped her sort through the boxes so that she could examine the product.

“At sweetriot we don’t use the word ‘vendors’ as we believe it is about partnership with anyone with whom we work,” she wrote….

He added: “I’m trying to create a community of help for small Internet businesses like mine. My blogging philosophy is like the open source model in software. It’s sort of a hippie concept. If I can help other people, it’s personally rewarding. And those people will likely pay it back in some ways.”

Mr. Stubblebine said he gets new customers largely by word of mouth, and he uses the blog as a way to share news with friends and people who wield influence in his industry as well as a reference check for customers. “That’s why I cover the growth of the company.”

David Harlow, a lawyer and health care consultant in Boston, said he started his blog, HealthBlawg, as a way of marketing himself after he left a large law firm and opened his own practice. Besides, he said, blogging was easy to get started and the technology was straightforward.

Now, after about two years of blogging, Mr. Harlow said he was pleased with the results. He gets about 200 to 300 visits a day, he said. He has also become a source for publications looking for commentary on regulatory issues in the health care field and has even gained a few clients because of the blog. In addition, he has formed relationships with other legal bloggers (who call themselves blawgers) and consultants around the country.

Many small business bloggers achieve their goals even if only a handful or a few hundred people read their blogs….

If you don’t think a few hundred people are important, there are many small businesses who have websites that don’t get a few hundred visits a year. We’ve found that using the blogging tools properly, can help you get to the top of search for many more terms than your company name or the name of the founder.

It won’t be long when all websites have bloglike components, including comments, RSS and easy maintenance. If you can’t wait, come take the seminar and get ahead of the curve.