Top-level domain names:

From January 2013, companies will be able to apply for a customised internet name. For example we could apply for .morellodigital, Virgin for .virgin etc. This frees companies up from the current restrictions of .com and .net, among others.

In terms of creating these “top-level domain names” costs are expected to be a whopping $500,000, including a $185,000 application fee.

Nor is this going to be confined to companies. Cities (London – .london or New York .nyc) can take advantage of this new opportunity as well.

Costs are a concern:

Although the costs for small businesses clearly will not be as high, this does constitute as an extra cost. And potentially businesses will be left with no choice but to buy the domain relevant to them. Purchasing and owning a new top-level domain name will be much cheaper than a protracted legal battle with a cybersquatter.

Cybersquatters excited by the potential:

Cybersquatters are the term coined for those people that buy up domain names speculatively in the hope that they can resell to those that actually need at a profit. It is surprising that this practice is allowed to go on so freely, given that it effectively holds businesses to ransom. These opportunists can name their price when it comes to selling the domains. Sky for example, would not be able to operate as effectively with anything other than Sky.com as their domain. They could but any other term is not as relevant. So if you owned the domain 15 yrs ago, you could name your price!

Going to the highest bidder:

Another potential flaw in this new opportunity is that it has been decided that ownership of popular names will be decided by auction. So not only will the costs potentially be sky-high, but somewhat farcically, you may be stripped of the opportunity to own the domain name most relevant to your business.

Everybody wins!

Let’s start with Kiribu… please take a look at this unique travel networking website, to discover fellow travellers and their stories. Where ever you are in the world, whether you want to chat with a knowledgeable local or a well informed local business, Kiribu is the place to begin!
Why not discover and share YOUR travel experiences… www.kiribu.com

We have also recently revamped the Longmynd Service Station website. As a friend of Morello Digital’s, we will also be sponsoring Lee Reynolds (the director of Longmynd Service Station) in his motor racing hobby. Lee is a very busy man; he recently competed in the Ma5da Speed Racing Championship, keep a check on the website for upcoming events.

It has also been a pleasure to work with Pauline Hughes to produce a Blog site for Horse Back Therapy. Pauline provides McTimoney Corley Musculoskeletal Therapy for horses and dogs at her rehabilitation centre in Shropshire, as well as courses and livery for fellow horse lovers.

Pauline spends valuable time assessing a horse, before performing musculoskeletal therapy and is fulfilled when the treatment she provides improves the horses performance, movement and behaviour. Take a look at the website for more information on Pauline and McTimoney Corley Musculoskeletal Therapy.

Yet another Blog goes live… on British Bird Food this time. Okay, so not really a website launch, but a fantastic addition to an already successful website. A great example of Blogging and some great offers on bird food and bird feeders right here.

Last but certainly not least, we have really enjoyed creating a new website for Impression Jewellery. They really can make anything, if you have a special piece of jewellery in mind, but are yet to find it…let these guys know! Handmade jewellery and cufflinks for all occasions.

We will be back again, with some more website launches VERY soon.

Microsoft has been seen by some in recent years, to have dragged their feet, when it came to embracing the internet. The handling of applications online has put pressure on the company’s traditional software business.

But Microsoft took a calculated bet that it could extend the life of its current, highly profitable business model without losing out on future opportunities online.

This is all part of the wide industry move towards “cloud computing” .  With the free, advertising supported version of Office, together with options that let companies buy some of its capabilities as online services, Microsoft has shown its full engagement with the cloud.

The aim of the company will now be to convert online users to paying customers. Only about 20% of Office revenues come from customers, and industry analysts expect only a small proportion to be lost as some users give up software to use the service.

Adoption of Google’s online applications have accelerated in the past year;  with new paying customers added at a rate three times faster than a year ago.

So now, any LinkedIn user can follow a company on the network, and will receive real-time alerts from the profile in their news and activity stream. It’s very similar in theory to the act of “following” someone on Twitter of becoming a fan of someone on Facebook.

With over 45 million registered users, it is no surprise to us that LinkedIn is pushing more social features.

We think there are potential risks here for the online reputation of companies. They need to ensure their pages are updated with relevant, and fresh information all the time. There will need to be procedures in place in terms of who can update the pages, and what they can say.

What do you think?Is this something that could potentially benefit your business? To enable potential job applicants to keep an eye on the jobs coming up within your company in the near future is one use for this…can you think of any more?

Many employees get disheartened as people don’t read their blog posts, and not enough companies actually realise how much money a blog can actually make you.

The biggest mistake people make with their company’s blog is getting the wrong person to write it. Think of a blog as you would a Formula One Car. You can have the best car on the grid, but if you get your Grandmother to drive it, the results will not be to your expectations.

People are anonymous on the internet, and if you put the company junior in charge of the blog, it will either be ignored or ripped to pieces.

And if you apply Game Theory to Social Media; which many of the leading voices in the field are; you are only as good as your last blog post in terms of building the networks you will need to generate business from this.

Your blogger needs to be able to talk about your business and your industry as good as anyone in the company. They are a spokesperson for your brand. The person needs to be paid well, since you are effectively turning them into a public figure; your brand ambassador if you like. Many companies make this mistake.

Always remember, that yours is not the only blog out there. You need to take several steps before you promote your blog. There is a hierarchy!

Step 1: Listen. Go to the leading blogs in your industry. See what is being said, and from there, you can work out what needs to be said. Find your place in the “blogosphere”

Step 2: You must follow first. You don’t lead first. Learn to follow first and people will start to trust you. Therefore, go to industry blogs and leave comments. Reference useful posts within your own posts. Add to the discussion and people will get to know your name.
Step 3: In time, then you can become a leader. But if you have not established yourself as a competent blogger, who can be relied upon for relevant and fresh information, you simply won’t cut the mustard!

Don’t just talk to yourself. Smart bloggers don’t invent something from scratch..they reference others’ posts and then add to them.

You need to be timely in your opinions. If they are not up-to-date, then why would someone bother reading it? You will simply get lapped by bloggers who actually have something relevant to say.

Make it visible as well. People need to be able to find it easily on your company website. Put it on your signature and reference it in newsletters.

Another and final word..keep it under 500 words..that is smart blogging!

Some links that you will find useful for additional reading are:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/reports/community-management/

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/

Start now: Leave us a comment and then check out this blog..one of the leaders in the field..start participating to build trust and get new business! And please let us know how you fare of course.

On the subject of RSS, more and more people are no longer visiting the actual site where news is posted – they are viewing it in a reader and then going there if they want to. It is highly likely that any story is just one of many in a news reader so do try and write a catchy, attention gathering headline!

This post is really a link and also a plug for the people I am sending you to. Hubspot is a great company and it’s founders have also written a great book called Inbound Marketing. I would recommend you think about buying their book and you should also subscribe to their site – it has loads of excellent material.

The link to their article headlined above is http://bit.ly/bEMLwe

Let me know if you think it is worthwhile. We are always on the look out for new sources of info so do let us know if you have anything good we should be looking at too.

Companies must now tap into online conversations to find out who is talking about them and their brand, what really interests them, and where they are saying it.

The importance of social media is grossly underestimated. People think that by having a Twitter account, that they are one step ahead of their rivals. But they are missing a major opportunity to establish strong relationships with not only current and potential clients, but also internet users that can promote their brand for free!

Social media offers you the opportunity of doing in-depth research at a much lower cost than conventional advertising methods. And it is much easier to measure.

It is possible to set goals and get ROI, but you have to know where
you’re going and what you want to achieve. Tap into the online conversations
to find out:
• who is talking about you
• what they are saying
• is it positive or negative
• where are the conversations taking place
• what communities talk about you
• what are your competitors doing in social media
• what’s the buzz about them
• what content resonates with your audience
• are there subjects of interest you could provide content for
• what social sites have the most conversation
• who are the “fire-starters” you need to connect with
• who are the influencers in these blogs or communities
• where are the opportunities and threats
Once you have this information you can allocate your resources wisely. You’ll know where to start and what social sites you should be concentrating on. When you know the lay of the land it’s much easier to plot a path to your
destination. A social media marketing strategy is your roadmap.

So think about your audience. Who buys your product or service..what are their interests/what’s important to them? Google Alerts, Google BlogSearch, Twitter search, BlogPulse, Yahoo Groups, are good places for you to make a start. These will tell you what blogs, message boards, and forums, are relevant for your business, once you have analysed your target market thoroughly.  It’s not rocket science, but it takes time! It is well worth the effort!

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, whilst all the Web 2.0 stuff is great for consumer comments, those comments can be both good and bad. When you look at Tripadvisor, it is highly unlikely that all the comments are 100% positive … if there is a negative comment though, how have the hotel dealt with it – did they just ignore it, or comment back and explain the issues?

How did you react in that scenario – personally, if the hotel ignores the bad comment I would consider that a bad comment on the hotel itself – if it can’t be bothered to reply then how will they be at looking after me?!!

These days of course, there are multiple routes available for people to praise your service, or slag you off too. Either way you should be checking what people are saying about you.

This all came to the fore yesterday when a client of mine showed me his own experience. I think it would be safe to say that when this chap became a client he was less than convinced by my evangelism on the benefits of social media! How he has changed! Not only is he now blogging and tweeting away like a good un, he is now going to add Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube to the mix too … and part of the sources for his articles etc will come from what he reads via the alerts he has set up in Google Reader (personally I use Feedly as I think it is more user friendly).

One of his alerts is his company name of course, so when a particular client started something of a rant in a forum, he was alerted to the comments and was able to go back and respond. He may not be able to stop her saying things, but at least he can balance the view.

I would therefore suggest you go do three things right now if you have not done so already.

• Set up Google Reader
• Set up Google Alerts
• Set up Feedly

Of course you may want to add your competitors to your alert list so you can see what they are up to aswell!!

If you have had any experiences yourself, please let me know, or if you use any other tools I’d like to hear about them too please.