Giant Spheres Web Log

Wearing hats

Kristoffer Benoit — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:00:52 +0000

Quickie -

Since there are many SEO offers coming into most business’ email, clients are coming to me to boost their google juice, hence I have been spending a lot of time with google analytics and adwords.

One can easily spend hours pinpointing data for analysis and analyzing keywords.

Once again the web designer is asked to wear another hat.

Loves Labours Lost – Sound Design

Kristoffer Benoit — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:53:52 +0000

Below are some of my sound cues for the upcoming theatre production of Shakespeare’s Loves Labours Lost.

Many of my favorite compositions were too long for the production as the scene changes in the play are so short.

I am pleased with the feeling of the audio within the context of the play and have had the final song (spring and winter live) stuck in my head since it’s creation. A big thank you to the cast for bringing the track to life with their beautiful voices.

I intend on updating the live recording of the spring and winter song as the actors become more comfortable with it.

STE-026_spring_winter live

spring_winter_live

holofernes_quick_short

lll_5_costard_arrives_injured_

lll_bolkshevicks

end_scene_1_into_don_moth_them

lll_6

Leap by Rick Smith – Book Review

Kristoffer Benoit — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:00:34 +0000

The premise of Leap by Rick Smith is that most people who have achieved great things did not leap into their ventures with great risk, but tended to keep one foot on stable ground while moving slowly towards their goals. “The leap I’m writing about here is precisely the opposite. It’s about knowing ‘before’ you choose; it’s about making certain the risk-return equation is leaning heavily in your favor. ”

The author makes an interesting point on finding your energy, the place at which you are happiest and most productive, and than building your career out of that energy. He calls upon you to find your primary color. “the energy that accompanies and grows from full engagement” (in the workplace. ) “working a job that requires you to constantly correct your weaknesses in the pursuit of a goal you are not passionate about sucks your energy away.” It is easy to relate to this idea. We all want to be happy. We should naturally gravitate to situations that allow us to stay positive, be ourselves and stay within our comfort zone.

The author claims that you don’t necessarily have to know where you are going to end up. Many of the success stories shared in the book are from people who have wandered from job to job, position to position. Mr.Smith points out how each step of their path has helped them to gain the experience necessary for them to achieve their final goals. He calls this the “spark sequence”, “exploratory events that;

Build exposure to what lies ahead.
Created confidence and skills.
Allowed us to visit our new lives without quite going there.I may not be where I want to be right now but I am gaining skills and knowledge that will help me get there.”

These ideas rang true to me. Before I started my PA equipment rental company Calgary Sound Rentals I was working as an assistant manager at Wicker Land a wicker and rattan furniture store. At Wicker Land I learned about marketing, sales, management, accounting and more. These skills definitely helped me to succeed in building a strong foundation for Calgary sound rentals to grow on.

The author also argues that when creating a successful venture your intentions have to come from a place of good and should ultimately be selfless.

This book provides excellent examples to accelerate your career while giving insight into our nature, our relationships to one another and how to follow our own energy for a more successful career.

“The more we let external forces determine the work we do and the success we achieve, the more we discount the outcome and see the world through other peoples eyes.”

How to organize your time with a handy to-do list

Kristoffer Benoit — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:13:21 +0000

A quick tip for organizing your time is to make a to do list with four columns. The first column is to be written every evening or at the end of your work day. The other three are to be written by the week, month or as you think of them respectively.

Below is an example list for a web designer (such as myself. Of course my list is much longer.)

1st column
- Top Priority
  - Things that must be done by the end of tomorrow.
    - Design web page navigation:
    - Design web page header background image:
2nd column
- Next Priority
  - Things that must be done by the end of the week.
    - Code header section of web page
    - Design left margin social media images
3rd column
- Long term
  - Things that must be done by the end of the month.
    - Complete web page design
    - Start writing first blog post
4th column
- Quickies
  - All of the little things
    - Read blogging tips article
    - Email Jen re: latest web mock up
    - Phone Richard to make appointment

By organizing your time into a list layout such as this one your tasks become clear and are arranged by priority. If you find you have a few spare moments you can always tick off a few of your quickies.

Here is a link to the handy iphone app I use to make and manage my list Touch ToDo It is great because it also sync’s tasks with dates with your Google calendar.

Publish and Prosper Blogging for your Business by DL Byron & Steve Broback -Review

Kristoffer Benoit — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:00:51 +0000

Publish an prosper blogging for your business is a quick read that somehow already feels dated event though it was only published in 2006. (That’s the Internet for you.)

Many of the ideas in this book have been explored extensively on the web. (As has everything else.)

I think if one were to read this book 10 years ago it would have been extremely beneficial. Nowadays even the most extreme Luddite knows what a blog is and possibly even how it works. If you don’t you are reading one right now and this book may be for you.

There are a few interesting tips on how to interact with your community by reacting to comments in a positive way and by encouraging a conversation. There is also mention of what kind of posts will get you noticed although I think now that there are so many blogs out there you have to go beyond many of the tips in this book. I did learn a little about track back and pinging as well as using handy tools like feedblitz to send users email notifications when you post, but it was not enough for me to recommend this book.

If you are looking to lean more about blogging maybe skip this book and check out problogger or blogging tips instead for excellent examples and posts on how to hone your craft.

If you have any great blogging resources please share them in the comments area.

Twitter Power by Joel Comm – Book review

Kristoffer Benoit — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 06:59:52 +0000

A quick book review of Twitter Power by Joel Comm

Writing a book about twitter must be a challenge considering how temporary things are on the internet. Joel Comm the author of Twitter Power succeeds in his pursuit by being completely up to date at the time of it’s writing. He also wrote in a way for the book to be useful for the future growth of twitter by delving into broader topics such as what to post, why to post, how to use the service, and so much more. This book has you covered from sign up, to successful tweeting strategies for social media marketing.

Of particular interest to me were the suggestions on what to tweet. The author recommends a good balance between links, personal stories and marketing (promotions, contests, sales etc.) I also enjoyed learning about the many web pages and services that work with twitter (or with twitters information) to provide completely new ways of obtaining and giving information on the web.

You could take the time to discover effective practices on twitter, or you could simply read this book. Twitter power effectively culminates the authors experiences to provide you with everything you need for a rewarding twitter endeavor.

Twitter Power is a well written quick read that delivers everything you could ask for from a book on a service where you can only post 140 characters.

Follow me on twitter at @krisbenoit

Why should my business tweet?

Kristoffer Benoit — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:58:21 +0000

In this article you will find answers to these questions; what is twitter?, how is it used?, why should I use it?.

Here are some more benefits of tweeting for your business.
- It takes very little time.
- Makes you look like an expert.
- Provides another way to connect to potential customers.
- Is more personal.
- Could be a great customer service tool.
- Can lead followers to other online content you produce.
- Will increase your “google juice”.
- Is great for gathering information on your market.
- Allows you to connect directly with your customer.

Here are few suggestions for your tweets
- Blog links
- Witty thoughts
- Re-Tweet related experts
- Contests and promotions
- Links to 3rd party sites with info relating to your business
- Upcoming events

And now… How does it work?

Twitter is a microblogging service that enables it’s users to “tweet” 140 character messages.

When you log into the service, or visit it from your mobile phone, the most recent tweets from the people you are following will show up in a time line. You can choose to see what every public user on twitter is tweeting or you can perform a search to find specific words and topics.

Getting information from twitter is like drinking from a fountain the information constantly flows and there is a lot of it. Luckily you can group people you are following into categories to streamline content. I use this feature to group profiles into; web designers, sound designers, alternative media and more.

Each time you visit Twitter you can be sure the content is current. Twitter displays the most recent tweets at the top of your time line. This enables you to find current and relevant information. During the winter Olympic games I could easily discover Canada’s hockey score by performing a quick search on twitter. Goals would show up moments after they took place. This up to date information stream is extremely useful for following current trends in any market.

With twitter is simple to find links to blog articles, videos, mp3’s, pdf’s and so much more. If you are following the right people the information will automatically come streaming in on your time line. You will not even have to perform a search. This is why it is important to follow people who are tweeting about the topics you are interested in. The last thing you want to do is wade through random tweets with little value. It is easiest to follow multiple profiles and then weed the uninteresting feeds out. This is a great way to use the internet in general. Aggregate content and get rid of the streams you are not drinking from often.

Twitter allows it’s information to be accessed via an application programming interface or API. This has enabled twitter to progress much faster on the world wide web than many of it’s social media competitors. Having access to the API has allowed programmers to use twitter for many things that the original creators probably never thought of from mapping food and medical supply info in disaster stricken areas to finding the nearest pizza parlor.

Yet another reason to be using twitter is that it’s information is used for google and bing’s search results. Check out this Mashable article for more info.

Once you begin using twitter you will notice a few handy shorthands unique to the platform. For instance a # tag is used for creating a topic. You can utilize this by searching with the hash tag in front of a topic, for example if I place #yyc as a search term twitter will return results relating to Calgary Alberta (yyc is the airport code for Calgary.) Another common use is #followfriday or #ff a twitter topic trend where twitterer’s suggest people for other users to follow.

Using an @username tag will allow people who see your tweets to click on that name and go to that users profile. Also “username” will see that you have tweeted about him or her. Likewise if someone tweets your @username than you will see their tweet even if you are not following them.

Using rt@username will “re-tweet” that users last post. This is a good way to spread useful information from other users to your followers. It will also give you street cred with that user and you both benefit because your users may then follow them and vice-versa.

You can also send direct private messages to people who you are following and whom are following you back.

You can follow me at @krisbenoit

Let me know if you have any twitter tips for small business and have fun!

5 Small Ideas for Bigger Business

Kristoffer Benoit — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:35:08 +0000

1 Create an email signature with your name, phone number, Twitter username and web page urls. This will enable people to easily learn more about you, It will also provide them with a record of your contact information in their email.

2 Create a twitter account and, to start, tweet once a day.

Twitter is an amazing tool to connect you with your potential market. It takes little investment for plenty of return. Keep an eye out for a soon to be released “why should my business tweet” article for more information.

3 Advertise on your vehicle with a removable magnet. This tip requires very little cash and is a great way to get your name out there, also having your brand on a vehicle reinforces the legitimacy of your business.

4 Create a custom voicemail for your cellular phone.

Often small business owners will use their personal cell phone as their business line. In case you miss a call why not have your voice message reinforce your branding.

5 Register your web page on the many free online directories.

There are many free directories online where business can submit their information including; images, emails, phone numbers, web address and more. Why not enable your clients to find you in more places than just your web page? Having more incoming links from trusted reputable sources will also improve your “google juice”.

What small ideas have provided you with big results?

Tipping Point – Book Review

Kristoffer Benoit — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:00:30 +0000

The tipping point is about how business’ and people come to a point where they are no longer controlling the popularity of their service or product. It is the point at which the proverbial snowball starts rolling. Malcolm Gladwell uses case studies to show how companies products and brands reach this point of snowballing success.

I know that no book can tell you exactly what to do to sell a billion units of your product or how to become the most popular service supplier in your field but I was expecting a little more direct advice from the author.

The book is comprised of case studies on successful businesses and organizations. Although these case studies give a window into how to achieve the snowball effect, I felt like the author could have gone into more analysis. In the cases he touches upon, the companies seem to have very little to do with there own success aside from having a quality product or service. They either had a product that people wanted to talk about or there was a drastic change in another market that directly benefited them.

If I learned anything from this book it is that if you want to reach a tipping point you have to have a quality product that appeals to an enthusiastic market willing to promote your product for you… or great timing.

Over all this book made very little impression and simply washed over me. The content was dry and the commentary redundant.

Guerrilla Marketing on the internet – Book Review

Kristoffer Benoit — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:59:12 +0000

I wish I had the time to implement all of the ideas listed in guerilla marketing.


I found this book extremely useful, especially for creating good copy. The authors inspired me to rephrase many of the informational areas of my page to make them more exciting and enticing.  They encouraged me to write more about what my product or service can do for my customer instead of simply stating what it is that I sell and which services I offer. 
One great tip is how to snag large sales by starting with products or packages that require less financial commitment.  Then offering larger and larger packages after developing a trusting relationship.   
There are also excellent sections on how to design and build your website, and how to utilize email, rss feeds, podcasts and more to spread your message.  
They delve into social media and talk about the power of word of mouth advertising.  
There is even a section on how to build your own guerrilla marketing dream team and they even touch upon outsourcing.
I would recommend this book to any business owner no matter what their experience level with the web.  This guide touches on a great number of topics giving a well rounded base for any entrepenuer to build upon.