You can always tell when the weekend is approaching. If it isn’t Twitter getting killed, it’s podcasting dying, death of blogs, slaughter of the record labels or one or more form of Heritage media.  It’s honestly quite difficult to top it every week. On the one hand, we bloviators have generally no compunctions re-using the same media type, but for it to really generate a respectable bitchmeme, you’ve got to really be creative.

Steve Rubel, well known for predicting economic doom and gloom due to over-investment in technology, this week predicts the death of all tangible media.

Steve says “by January 2014 I will wager that in the US almost all forms of tangible media will either be in sharp decline or completely extinct,” including (but not limited to) software, books, video games, newspapers, CDs, and DVDs.

Once again, Steve’s penchant for hyperbole gets him in trouble. Certainly, there will be a sharp decline in the usage of a lot of the media we still purchase to this day, and for a lot of the categories of physical media he alludes to, I expect them to disappear altogether a whole lot sooner. But all tangible media eliminated? That is something that won’t happen until we’ve as a race technologically transcended the need for human bodies.

Video Games

Steve cites systems like XBox live, and the advent of their online only markeplace for UGC content as evidence the death of video games in their physical format. The problem comes in when you consider the size of your typical video game can be between 4 gigabytes and 34 gigabytes. On your base level Internet connection, the download times start at six hours, and end at three days.  

Even if you have one of those brand spanking new Comcast or FiOS connections, you’re still looking at least a couple hours. None of that takes into account those cute bandwidth caps all the operators have decided were such good ideas recently.

Newspaper and Music

He doesn’t get much argument on this one from me.  Music, in physical form, is more or less dead. Physical record shops are a rarity, and the record labels continue to pursue self-destructive business models (suing your customers and their 12-year-old children is not a winning marketing move).

Similarly, newspapers around the world and across the country refuse to take drastic enough actions to adapt to life in the digital age. Those that understand that the future is online don’t do enough with organization to adapt to producing content for the web environment, and the rest of the industry is still in denial.

These are examples of industries that will not transition to digital media, but be replaced by a new guard that has the will and ambition to create viable solutions in this arena

Books

As dozens of Rubel’s commentors noted, there might be a transformation of the book business to a mostly online model, but it will never make the full transition. Books in many of their various forms and genres are considered collectible. Some commentors had other protests:

“I like having the artifacts of my reading around me to decorate the house. I’m in my 40s, though, so perhaps future generations will have no such nostalgia for tangible media artifacts.”

“I like being able to flip through an atlas and a few large picture books, something I can’t do on Kindle. These provide very different experiences than Google Maps and a Flickr photo album.”

I think that innovations in eBook technology will make the format so popular that this will be a moot point, but it’s almost impossible to put a date on when this will happen on a broad scale. There is so much that needs to be right about the device, from user experience on down to business model. Kindle is the closest we have at the moment, and I’m really excited about what’s promised by the PlasticLogic, but there’s no telling how the general public will receive it.

TV and Movies

We’re getting closer and closer to a world where physical media and even the traditional distribution methods are superflous, and no longer needed. The primary limitations in place that prevent a full on replacement of network TV, cable TV and the Hollywood studio and distribution system lay in monetization and, of course, bandwidth limitations.

It wouldn’t be fair to cite Blu-Ray statistics for a fair estimation of your average size, since many pundits think that Blue-Ray adoption rates indicate it won’t take hold as a standard before it become obsolete. If you take into account the standard size of a regular DVD movie, you’re still looking at average download times of five to seven hours for most broadband subscribers.

Timeshifting, media RSS, podcasting, and downsampling all can help to bridge this gap, but it will all be meaningless until someone is able to create some sort of set-top box for the living-room that people will actually want to use on a regular basis. This, in my opinion, won’t happen until the device makers in this space start to pay attention to the types of content out there and the ways that people like to consume their digital content.

I’ve been imagining this moment is just around the corner for at least the last five years.  At this point, I’m starting to give up hope they’ll ever understand.

Given these factors, we won’t see the elimination of the physical media for movies for quite a while (with the outside chance that some device maker could have an epiphany tomorrow).

So, Could It Happen? Could It Happen by 2012?

Yeah, maybe.  Maybe if …

eBook manufacturers absolutely nail the perfect combination of form, function and business model.  Oh, and Oprah has to keep plugging it on a regular basis…

… the recording industry continues down it’s self-destructive business model…

… the New York Times goes out of business …

… device manufacturers finally read one of my articles about “the veg-factor” …

… and the cable and telco companies decide to lift bandwidth caps and finish building out a real broadband network for America.

Quite honestly, I’d love to believe that all this could happen in the next two years or so. I just don’t see it happening, though.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:The End of the Music Industry in 2008RIAA’s Sacrificial Lamb Appeals Damning Court RulingHow Big Media Can Beat P2P and Make a Killing in the RecessionDon’t Send Bac’n: Use TwitterSearchThe RIAA Will Die in 2008The Case of Facebook v SlickCashIs Social Advertising a Safe Haven for Marketing Budgets?

Source:Mashable!

In the United States, the day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday. Many stores offer tremendous discounts starting very early in the morning. For some, the day becomes a major operation as they strategize where to go for the best deals.

Luckily, there are websites that provide information from various retailers’ ad circulars in one handy location. Here are 10 sites to help you research deals to plan your Black Friday.

You can look up ads by retailer or category, or just sit back and talk about your favorite Black Friday stories on these sites’ various forums. What are your plans for the biggest sale day of the year?

BFADS.net - Keeps you posted on current hot deals as you wait for all of the Black Friday ads to roll in.  Also has a message board for users to trade experiences and ideas related to the day.

Black-Friday.net - Offers some discount codes beyond the standard Black Friday ad scans, but that is the extent of this site.

Blackfday.com - Blackfday presents not only the sales info for the traditional brick & mortar stores, but also all of the big online retailers.

BlackFriday.fm - Partnered up with DealsPlus, BlackFriday.fm brings you the latest circular ad scans as well as a video explaining what Black Friday is.

BlackFriday.GottaDeal.com - GottaDeal offers up chances at bargains every day, but for Black Friday they have a dedicated section.  Besides the standard method of looking up the sales by retailer, you can also look them up by product category to quickly see who has the best deal on your desired item.

BlackFriday.info - This Black Friday site brings you hot deals and coupons throughout the year, but for the actual big day they not only show you the ads early, but provide you with a shopping list of what will be available.

BlackFridayAds.com - Lets you look up deals by store or category, as well as prepare shopping lists so you are set to go on Black Friday morning.

DealTaker.com - DealTaker offers information for Black Friday and Cyber Monday along with tips on how to make the most out of both events.

TGIBlackFriday.com - TGIBlackFriday puts up circular ad items and lets you compare the Black Friday price to the everyday price from PriceGrabber.

TheBlackFriday.com - Offers pretty straight forward listings of stores in alphabetical order. Will be updated as ads come out.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Report: Black Friday Online Shopping Up 10 PercentCyber Monday Gains 10% Since Last YearOnline Shopping Still Strong After ChristmasComedian Lewis Black Drops into Drop.ioiPhone Comes To UK On Friday, Fair Use Limit DroppedMySpace Goes (RED), Google Logo AppearsFor the Holidays: Give the Gift of Wikipedia

As we rehash the Google-Yahoo story once more in light of the companies’ insistence to press forward into a non-exclusive search advertising arrangement - for which they have drawn considerable ire for earlier in the year when they trialed such a partnership at a time when Microsoft’s pursuit of a complete (and then partial) buyout of Yahoo, was still more or less on the table - there comes another provocation writ to the effect that the proposal is not anything to be alarmed by.

Actually, the exact title of the piece published today is “Why the Google-Yahoo ad deal is nothing to fear,” under which author and SJSU business processor Randall Stross presents a sort of “what monopoly?” flavor of argument. But the outline and commentary delivered by Stross makes some points that seem loose and even nitpicky at points. Altogether, the article hinges on the concept of auctioneering. Advertisers must bid, so all is fair, right?

Not quite. Yes, Stross makes a perfectly valid point to write up the auction process as the key factor in what drove Google and Yahoo to purportedly think they would not be troubled by a potential denial from regulators at the U.S. Department of Justice. (Though I think Stross steps a bit too far in thinking that Google and Yahoo “innocently thought that their advertising pact…would said through a regulatory review.” And Stross also steps leisurely past the fact that Google and Yahoo had played briefly without such an official OK before “they voluntarily submitted” to DOJ review, as he describes it.)

But the element of Google’s current market share (and, furthermore, what it would have access to following approval of this effort) is part and parcel of the sales process. It is, in short, what determines the value advertising. Advertisers pay considerably more to Google for ads that are more or less equal in size and shape to Yahoo’s own placements because Google’s audience is naturally much larger, and is growing still. (If third party analysts’ readings are accurate, Yahoo, Microsoft and others of the upper echelon of the Web search industry are either growing much more slowly, have become stagnant, or are decreasing in share.)

Another item Stross mentions is one I will just go ahead and paste verbatim:

“The deal would mean that some ads that visitors see on Yahoo’s search results page would be supplied by Google. Yahoo expects it will bring in $800 million annually in additional revenue because some search phrases get better results on Google, and some search phrases draw a plentiful number of advertisers on Google but none at all on Yahoo.

Everyone who wants to see Yahoo, the No. 2 search engine, regain some of its lost luster has abundant reason to cheer the deal on….”

The first paragraph is stands pretty much without error. Some search phrases do get better results on Google. And, yes, some search phrases do draw advertisers that don’t crop up in Yahoo’s own list of clients. But to claim that everyone who wants to see Yahoo regain some of its mojo should love the deal is, hardly something to consider seriously. That would be something a Google representative might say to sugar coat a message that would otherwise read as such: “Yahoo is hurting, folks. You want them to make more money? Here’s a quick fix. $800 mil’ for the next year, give or take some pennies. It might not budge the stock price, but Yang & Co sure could use the cash. And look at it this way, if we do good, Yahoo does good. That simple.” (Maybe throw in a “bada bing, bada boom” for spice.)

I have to say that it’s also a bit humorous to see Stross hedge some of his argument on an advertising deal made between Google and Ask.com, which started in 2002 and registered renewals in 2004 and 2007.

What this essentially comes down to is that there is always a mixture of pros and cons in the world of big business. Some win, some lose. And there’s really no disputing the fact that Yahoo will likely bring in that $800 million in revenue if the DOJ flicks on the green light. In that sense, yeah, it can be a winner. But the DOJ has to consider the perspectives of not only the advertising networks, but the advertisers themselves and the costs and potential repercussions associated with bridge-building between the #1 and #2 players in the industry. One example, the Association of National Advertisers, comprised of some 400 advertisers big and small, told the DOJ earlier this month that it was apprehensive of the deal, thinking it would amount to a 90% control over search advertising inventory. The government frankly can’t quite ignore that large an organization or pass it off as a kind of paranoia.

Also, the World Association of Newspapers too found the deal disconcerting. WAN president Gavin O’Reilly explained very plainly several days ago that, “Advertisers will increasingly migrate to Google since they will see diminishing price advantages to advertising through Yahoo. Google has refused to allow Yahoo to show Google ads on the websites of new publishing partners it acquires after the deal is finalized - in other words, Google has imposed a condition that impedes one of Yahoo’s last remaining opportunities to compete with Google.”

Statements made against the Googe-Yahoo deal aren’t, in the words of Mr Stross, an effort “to depict Google as a price-controlling monster.” At least not those statements made by parties doing business with one or both companies. Rather, they are a concerted push to scrutinize the possibility that Google, with a Yahoo partnership, will become a market controlling behemoth. Which has its downsides.

I would venture to guess others players would simply hang up their competitive hats, because so much traffic going one way means less traffic going in any other direction. Eventually the choice really just becomes a matter of being seen or not seen. That’s already the case now to some degree. It’ll be even more pronounced if Google-Yahoo becomes a real thing. The free market is quite a wonderful ideal, sure, but as observers recognize more than ever, some regulation is necessary to provide reasonable opportunity for all involved in the economic process.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Yahoo Starts Layoffs While Deciding What To Do NextYahoo Gets Better Consumer Rating than GoogleYahoo and Google Sued Over Their NamesYahoo-Google Deal Looking Good; Common Sense Packs Up And LeavesWho Woulda Thunk It: Google Still Wants Deal With YahooThe Daily Poll: Is Microsoft-Yahoo Inevitable?MASSIVE: Microsoft May Acquire Yahoo for $50 Billion

Source:Mashable!

Last August we featured a post with more than 230 online apps for running your business. Since there are hundreds of new apps coming on the market every year, we figured it was time for an update. This year we came up with more than 270 additional apps. Some are completely new since last year, others might have been overlooked, and still others made significant improvements that gained them a spot on the list.

Accounting, Billing, Invoicing, Estimating & Contracts

LiteAccounting - Invoice and track payment from your customers without a bunch of extra, useless features.

Invoice Journal - Free invoicing program.

endeve - Issue invoices, manage clients and check revenues all in one place.

ContractPal - Take your contracts and forms paperless and have them completed, validated, signed and processed online.

Bootstrap - Online bookkeeping software that lets you track sales and expenses, organize your records for tax time, and more.

Citrus - An online billing website that allows your customers to view, download and pay their invoices by credit card or direct debit.

Zapproved - Create and send proposals, manage the approval process and reach agreements without any hassle.

Mumboe - Online contract and business agreement management app.

FinanciFY - Easy to use online financial management tools for small businesses and individuals.

Invoice Place - Online billing software that lets you track invoices, quotes, receipts and more.

Zoho Invoice - Manage invoices and payments, format invoices and quotes, set up recurring invoices, and more, with free and paid plans.

GoToBilling - An online app that manages invoices and payments, marketing, customer relationship management and more.

NetBooks - Marketing, sales, inventory and financial control in one place.

Pulse - Cash flow management app for small businesses.

Shoeboxed - Online tracking and organizing of your receipts.

FreeAgent Central - Accounting and money management app for freelancers.

CurdBee - An online billing application that integrates with payments through PayPal or Google Checkout.

Clarity Accounting - Online accounting for small businesses and professionals with multi-user support.

Calendars & Scheduling

Appointy - An online appointment management tool.

SuperSaaS - This is online scheduling software that allows you to accept appointments booked directly on your website.

BookingPad - An online bookings system that can be integrated into any website.

clickbook - A free online booking and scheduling program.

eXpireTrack - Track and plan for the date that products are to expire.

Scheduly - Add your business to their directory and then let your clients pick their own appointment time slots (from your available slots).

When is Good - Find out the best time for everyone to meet without the hassle.

Shiftboard - Online scheduling for businesses to coordinate worker schedules.

Robyn - Easy online scheduling for service providers.

ScheduleOnce - Scheduling engine to get everyone who needs to meet together at one time.

TimeBridge - See the availability of everyone you need to meet with.

Charts, Diagrams, and Whiteboards

Exploratree - Online mind mapping software that provides ready-made thinking guides.

Wisdomap - A simple mind mapping application.

Best4C - An online charting and diagramming tool.

Scriblink - A simple, free online whiteboard.

Gliffy - Online diagramming and charting software.

Mindomo - Free online mind mapping software.

Mapul - Online mind mapping that allows you to create organic looking mind maps.

WiseMapping - Free mind mapping software that allows you to publish and share your mind maps.

Collaboration & Workgroups

Homecourt - Homecourt is a Web-based collaboration tool.

blogtronix - An enterprise social platform that includes blogs, wikis, documents and social media so that users in large and small organizations can collaborate and build communities inside and outside their company.

WorkflowPerfect - A Web-based business process tool that facilitates collaboration.

ClientSpot - A project collaboration and time tracking software specifically for virtual assistants and other freelancers.

skrbl - Online collaboration and white board space.

Planzone - Secure and private collaborative project workspace to share files, manage tasks, and communicate with others.

Nuospace - On demand collaboration software that provides online document management, allows you to edit pages in your browser, and offers tools to engage your colleagues.

DeskAway - An online project collaboration app aimed at small businesses and teams that organizes, manages and tracks your online work.

Mentat - A free project-sharing service accessible from a browser of supported devices (including BlackBerry).

Easy Projects .NET - Project collaboration software that offers both a downloadable option and a hosted version.

Ecto Connect - An online collaboration, communication and content sharing app.

Clearspace - An online collaboration suite that includes documents, blogs, discussions, projects, and more.

Twiddla - An online conference tool that allows you to mark up websites, graphics, and photos, or brainstorm on a blank canvas.

Sosius - Online workspace that includes a contact & group manager, custom workspace, file management, calendar, blog, discussions, chat, and more.

CollectiveX - Create free group sites for collaboration and networking.

Yammer - A twitter-like app for getting updates from your co-workers.

BrightIdeasLab - An online home for all your brilliant ideas that also offers collaborative brainstorming space.

Ximdesk - Collaboration and social networking platform for enterprise.

Status - A Twitter-like app for keeping your work group connected.

GroupSwim - Social collaboration and community tools to bring your employees, customers, and partners together.

Kindling - Idea management and collaboration tool that lets you vote on ideas.

Conferences, Presentations & Meetings

Expectnation - A conference program organizing software.

KinetiCast - Create online presentations, deliver them, and then track who’s watching.

Gretastudio - Create on-demand presentations for your company’s products, record training and e-learning materials, or other types of presentations that require audio or video content.

280Slides - A free online presentation software that allows you to import existing documents, download to PowerPoint, publish to the Web and more.

SlideRocket - Design professional quality presentations and then deliver them in person or over the Web.

vcasmo - Presentation software for business presentations, academic teaching, seminars, conferences, sales pitching, live events and more.

slideboom - Allows you to share PowerPoint presentations live online.

Empressr - A visual storytelling and presentation application.

Zoho Show - Create embeddable presentations online, present from a remote location, or share and collaborate on presentations.

slidelive - Present Microsoft PowerPoint presentations live online with this browser-based meeting solution.

Text The Mob - Collect feedback during presentations and seminars by posting polls or message boards on a large screen and having your audience send their input via their cell phones.

ReadyTalk - Online Web meeting and audio conferencing solutions.

Persony - Inexpensive Web conferencing service.

Calliflower - Conference calling tools that include Skype integration, invitations and reminders, and more.

GoToMeeting - Online meeting and conferencing software.

buzz2biz - A free online meeting platform.

MyCommittee - Online tracking of meeting agendas and minutes.

GroupLoop - Web-based committee organizing software.

Crowdsourcing, Networking & Community

Wild Apricot - Online tools for clubs, associations, and communities that include email newsletters, blogs, discussion forums, a member database and more.

OctopusCity - Build your online business network, keep in touch with people through mini-feeds, messaging and free teleconferencing, and save time by keeping one universal address book system.

LittleEngine - A community of small businesses and their patrons that are committed to buying locally and supporting local businesses.

Advisor Garage - A social network that connects entrepreneurs who need advice with advisors on just about any business-related topic.

Xing - A global networking and contact management site for business professionals.

Cambrian House - A free crowdsourcing app.

Socialcast - Private online communities of all sizes to help organize enterprise communication that allows employees to decide how to find and use information while reducing email clutter and unproductive communications.

CEOWorld.biz - Global networking for managers, entrepreneurs, and senior execs.

cmypitch.com - Online networking for entrepreneurs, investors and service providers that helps connect people who can help each other succeed.

Customer Relationship Management, Customer Service & Contact Management

Mojo Helpdesk - Mojo Helpdesk allows you to track customer requests, keep your customers and your staff informed about what’s happening with their accounts, and deliver better service.

TagTicket - This hosted helpdesk software is great for managing customer problems as well as in-house issues. There’s nothing to install, and it allows you to manage, track and share your emails and files with other staff.

RightNow - RightNow is an on-demand customer relationship management program that integrates sales, service, marketing, feedback and voice functions.

sfa finity - This CRM software offers all the regular features, plus account-centric, contact-centric and opportunity-centric perspectives, allowing you to view information the way you prefer.

LinkingUniverse CS - This progress-oriented CRM tool helps you work toward your customer goals. They also have a blog with tips for using the program.

Stazzle - Stazzle is a basic CRM that allows you to track information from birthdays and anniversaries to favorite ball teams and restaurants. It also allows you to track who referred which client and why.

HelpSpot - This help desk software allows support staff to easily manage requests from multiple sources in addition to providing powerful self-help functionality.

CRMdesk - This help desk software allows you to automate your online customer support.

insidesales.com - InsideSales.com provides a lead management CRM suite that incorporates an auto-dialer and allows coordination between multiple departments dealing with a single customer.

Free CRM - This is a Web-based customer relationship management software that allows for sales force automation. Track leads and manage your sales pipeline.

bConnections - This is a simple, easy to use CRM system that allows you to shorten your sales cycle, provide better customer service, make informed decisions, and increase your sales.

salesboom - This is a CRM and back office solution that’s user friendly and provides seamless integration.

SalesJunction - SalesJunction is a highly customizable but easy to use contact management system that’s very affordable.

Leadvine - LeadVine can help you increase sales by allowing you to post sales leads and have the community find you new customers.

Bizroof CRM - A free, Web-based contact management program.

Bizzvo - Bizzvo offers contact management, email marketing and invoicing solutions.

BatchBook - BatchBook is a small business CRM that manages contacts, communications, and to-do lists, and offers list and report functionality (including creating things like mailing labels and email lists).

Solomon - Solomon is a simplified Web-based CRM and contact manager.

ClairMail - ClairMail provides account management, mobile payments, customer service, and more, all on your mobile phone.

Appature CRM - A marketing-focused customer relationship management program.

Helperoo - A simple email support system geared toward small teams.

Mzinga - A full set of comprehensive social media and enterprise learning solutions that address talent development, enable support staff to communicate and collaborate with customers and partners, and helps your marketing team increase brand visibility, demand for products and services, and more.

Oprius - A contact management software designed for independent sales people.

b2b CRM - A Web-based CRM that manages contacts, activities, and your sales pipeline, and integrates with Outlook and Word.

zendesk - A branded online customer support system.

helpdeskpilot - Help desk software that includes email integration, a knowledge base and more.

Tactile CRM - A cost-effective CRM that tracks sales, deals, emails and customer contacts.

Nuebbo - Online contact and virtual business card management.

Simple Sales Tracking - An online sales tracking app that offers free and paid plans.

Soocial - A simple contact management app and address book.

Database, File Storage & Information Management

Pixily - An online service that lets you aggregate, organize, find and share your documents.

ThinkFree Docs - Online document sharing.

.docstoc - An online repository of free documents you can download, or upload your own documents to share.

Thinkfree - Online access to files, collaboration space for your team, and the ability to edit documents and post to blogs with a Web-based editor.

SpringCM - Online contract and document management.

ProofHQ - Online management and review of designs, artwork and documents.

Xythos - Online document management and storage.

NomaDesk - Online virtual file server with offline continuity.

Middlepost Docs - An online document manager that also allows you to sign docs.

AirSet - Online document management and sharing.

Email

MailChimp - Email marketing app that includes subscriber management, advanced coding capability, tracking and reports, and more.

Ping82 - Control, manage and track your email using tools made to improve communication between people working together on a project.

eMail Manager - A Web-based email management solution for high volume email environments.

IFM Campaign Manager - A Web-based email list management and marketing tool.

Xpenser - Record your expenses with email, SMS, Twitter, IM, and more.

Synergymail - Online email marketing app that includes campaign tracking.

Mad Mimi - Email marketing utility that allows you to create branded email newsletters and promotions.

EmailBrain - Email newsletter management app.

Employee Management, Payroll & Human Resources

Taleo - Taleo is e-recruitment and talent management software.

Zapoint - Zapoint is a Web 2.0 enterprise talent management platform with integrated performance management, skills mapping, organization mapping, recruiting and succession planning.

Halogen Software - Halogen offers talent management and employee performance solutions.

SuccessFactors - An on-demand talent and performance management platform that gets everyone in your company working together by aligning goals.

Cornerstone OnDemand - This is an on-demand talent management suite.

paylocity - Online payroll, human resources, time tracking and tax services.

Litmos - Create, deliver and manage online training.

Akken - Staffing and recruiting management software that includes email, CRM, accounting, human resources, and more.

TalentMaze - A marketplace for employers to find top recruiters to find the best employees for their businesses.

Rejose - Applicant tracking system that’s simple, efficient and cost effective.

Catch the Best - Online resume and applicant tracking solution.

Feedback

Kumquat - Quickly and easily solicit feedback from clients, superiors, peers, fans, family, or anyone else on projects, plans, on-going activities, blogs, or whatever else you want.

Feefo - Feefo is an independent customer feedback system that is transparent and comprehensive (and doesn’t allow business owners to edit customer feedback).

RivalMap - An online app that helps you monitor and share market news, maintain knowledge of your industry and competitors, and discuss information.

Feedback 2.0 - Collect opinions, expectations, and suggestions from a selected audience and discover the consensus.

ConceptShare - Share media with colleagues and have them leave feedback, reply to comments, approve artwork, and markup on visuals.

Backboard - An online feedback tool that allows users to markup documents (including images, text and websites).

Marketing & Publicity

StartPR - StartPR allows you to monitor your brand on social media sites including blogs, social networks, and more.

Prospect Insight - This is a Web marketing automation suite that provides information to your sales team on where to spend its time in order to maximize your return on investment.

HubSpot - HubSpot is an Internet marketing suite that integrates with your website to track your online marketing efforts.

iKarma - A reputation management service that allows you to compare customer comments, display testimonials, get customer referrals and manage your word-of-mouth.

Survelio.com - An online survey service.

Sonar - An online polling software.

formatpixel - Create your own online magazines, catalogs, brochures and more.

Traceworks - Online marketing software that helps you set goals, plan, execute and optimize your marketing activities.

ReputationHQ - Online reputation management app that searches for your desired information across millions of websites.

WordJot - Business blog hosting platform.

IncSpring - An online marketplace for businesses to purchase brands and logos directly from designers.

Anthillz - Professional relationship and reputation management.

BrandDoozie - A DIY online marketing material creation suite that helps you create professional-looking business cards, brochures, logos, and more.

Shoutlet - Distribute and track viral marketing campaigns across social media outlets.

Money Making & eCommerce Solutions

GoodBarry - An integrated system that runs your website, email marketing and online store that also automatically grows your customer database.

Scrobbld - PayPal and eBay order management app that keeps all your transactions in one place.

Office Applications

Celum Imagine - Software that lets you manage and distribute your photos, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs and multimedia content.

gOffice - They offer Web Word Wizard, a true online word processor.

PDFHammer.com - An online, free PDF editor that allows you to merge/combine files, rearrange, reorder and delete pages, lock your PDFs and more.

Organization & Management

OrderMotion - An order management system for online businesses.

MagSuite - An open source marketing automation, sales force automation, accounting, service automation and inventory control system.

Process Maker - Organize your company’s work flow and eliminate paperwork.

Alfresco - Open source enterprise content management that offers collaboration, record management, knowledge management and more.

minutesinaminute - An online app for keeping track of your company meeting minutes.

SyncWizard - Synchronize your contacts, calendars, bookmarks, and more with your portable devices.

analysis-one - Online tool to help you monitor your financial and non-financial business performance.

Phone & Voicemail

Phonesheet.com - This is a Web-based phone call and contact management program that allows you to track incoming and outgoing calls on a daily basis.

Vontoo - Vontoo provides automated voice messaging on demand.

Task Lists, Planning & Project Management

Torch Project Management - Torch allows you to collaborate using messages, e-mails, files, tasks, Google Docs, and other methods. You can bid, track your time and invoice clients directly. Offers seamless work flow (connecting bidding, project management, time tracking and invoicing).

PlanPlus Online - An online calendar, time management, project management, and contact management suite from FranklinCovey.

Wrike - Practical project management software that allows you to create tasks from emails.

Comindwork - Project management, knowledge management, and collaboration software.

No Kahuna - Project management with no unnecessary features.

Teamness - Organize project data and share it online with customers or colleagues.

Teamwork Project Manager - Online project management that includes custom views and quick access tabs.

PriorityTrack - Gather ideas, prioritize, collaborate, and keep projects on track.

ProjectPipe.com - Project management for small-to-midsized teams.

Planix - Consistently and accurately estimate resources, scheduling and costs of software development projects.

Pelotronics - Project organization and collaboration app.

Task2Gather - Free online task and project management.

ididwork - Keep track of the work you actually do, see what other members of your team are doing in real-time, and get feedback from your manager.

Gtdagenda.com - An online planner for Getting Things Done.

Undone - An online to-do list manager and project management app.

Qcron - Project management and time tracking app.

OnStage - Online project management, workspace and collaboration tool.

Joint Contact - Project collaboration and management tool.

Viewpath - Manage projects and events online.

5pm - An online project management tool with a customizable interface, an interactive timeline, time reports, email integration and more.

Flempo - An online to-do list with the ability to assign tasks and keep track of progress, collect tasks from other systems (using the Flempo API), and more.

TaskAnyone - Assign tasks to anyone via email, and TaskAnyone will follow up until they follow through.

TaskBin - Manage group tasks in a single shared to-do list.

ProjectOffice.net - Online project management that includes issue tracking, expense tracking, and knowledge management.

Lighthouse - Simple issue tracking and project management.

@task - Online time tracking, work flow and project management app.

Jumpchart - Online website planning app.

LiquidPlanner - Team management, task management and project scheduling all in one online app.

eloops - Online project management software that includes a calendar, data backup and social networking software.

XPLive - Project management app that focuses on individuals and interactions over processes and tools.

Project Spaces - Project management and online workspace that includes a document library, task list, calendar, announcements and email lists.

Goplan - Simple online project management.

TargetProcess - Project management software that features real-time progress tracking, communications features, and more.

Staction - Group project management and communication app.

Collabtive - Easy to use collaborative project management software that tracks milestones, task lists, time tracking and more.

LessProjects - Project management from the people who created LessAccounting.

Jumptree - Project management that updates you by email, manages accountability and more.

Project2Manage - Free hosted project management that includes milestones, to-do lists, and more.

Mingle - Project management and team collaboration app.

Time Management & Tracking

TrackMyPeople - Track your time and your employees’ time online.

Office Timesheets - Web-based time and expense tracking that’s easy to use and available anywhere.

Tick - A time tracking app for the service industry.

TSheets - Simple online time and labor tracking for small business.

Tempo - Simple time tracking with reporting features.

myHours.com - Online time management, tracking and timesheet solution that is accessible online or via mobile phone.

LiveTimer - Online time tracking service with reporting features, iPhone/iPod Touch interface, and more.

Paymo - Time tracking that includes online invoices and expense tracking.

Time59 - Online time and expense tracking and invoicing.

Paybackable - Online expense tracking that includes mileage expense calculations and expense reporting.

motismo - Online time tracking for creative professionals.

Virtual Office Platforms

WORKetc. - A suite of online tools including employee timesheets, document management, customer support, sales management, project management, billing and invoicing, and more.

ConcourseSuite - This open source online suite of programs offers customer relationship management as well as online presence management, team collaboration, and customer service.

OpenGoo - An open source Web office with text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, task lists, email, calendars, contacts and more.

Website Tools

Outlandish - Landing page management tool for small to medium-sized advertisers.

VersoChat - An all-in-one solution for Web analytics, chatting with online visitors, live Web statistics and more.

LeadLander - Allows you to see exactly which companies are visiting your website to investigate your products.

LEADSExplorer - LeadsExplorer allows you to capture what companies your website visitors are coming from so that you can turn them into leads.

Sharedbase - An online tool to manage your members-only website and your membership database.

SmoothStart - Create online landing pages for generating, managing and tracking new leads.

Industry-Specific

Gympro - A program for personal trainers that allows you to manage your client information, assessments, workouts and schedule.

Practice Fusion - This is a free online electronic medical records software.

Buildium - An online property management program for property managers and associations.

TopSchool, Inc. - A Student Lifestyle Management system for schools.

ekklesia360 - This is a content management system designed specifically for churches to help increase new visitors and provide up-to-date information to their congregation.

Body-Quest.net - This is a business management solution for personal trainers that allows you to track your clients’ progress.

TenantWIZ - A property management program for vacation homes that works whether you own a single property or a large hotel or condo operation.

booktoeat - booktoeat allows restaurants to accept online reservations and bookings.

restaurantdiary - restaurantdiary is a restaurant booking and reservations system with no commission charges and flat monthly fee.

ClubReady - ClubReady is a fitness club management service that helps increase revenues and dramatically improve client and employee satisfaction.

ServiceBeacon - ServiceBeacon provides a Web-based car dealership marketing application for both new and used car dealerships in addition to their consumer services.

openSIS - An open source student information system that tracks student demographics, contact information, scheduling, gradebooks, report cards, transcripts, health records, attendance, cafeteria management, state reporting, and more.

RdEXpress - An online restaurant booking system for single unit restaurant operators that also includes a CRM and marketing system.

Music Arsenal - A business tool specifically for indie bands that helps you manage tasks, projects (tours, albums, etc.), concerts, records, and more, all online.

Plaid - On-demand ministry management software that organizes contact lists, tracks visitors, sends emails to targeted contacts, prints attendance sheets, and more.

Scriggle-it - An online fan management and music marketing solution for bands and musicians.

DonorDrive - Constituent, donation and event management software for non-profits. Includes reporting and exporting capability, e-mail marketing, message forums, and more.

Ministry(Starter) - A content management system geared toward Christian ministries.

RealProEdge.com - An email tool specifically for real estate agents.

fourthbook.com - An easy to use online church management software.

Massage manEdger - An online suite of tools for massage therapists that includes a website with online booking, electronic client files, streamlined daily accounting and more.

rezgo - An online booking software for travel tours and activities.

carbonmade - A free online portfolio showcase.

Planning Center Online - A church worship services planning app.

Creative Manager Pro - Online ad agency management software.

Rentomatic - Simplified property management app that includes an online rent-payment system.

Tuggle - Online ministry management suite that includes communication and event management tools.

CollabTrak - Project management specifically for Web designers.

N2uitive - An online insurance claims interview management software.

Macrocasa - Manage your real estate website and business.

Propertyware - Online property management software that organizes property and lease information, records income and expenses, lists vacancies, and more.

RentYield - A property management tool for landlords and real estate investors that allows you to stay on top of your rental income and track performance of your properties.

Shockfolio - An online portfolio site for actors, musicians and photographers.

Weefolio - A free online portfolio creator.

Streetfolio - Property management app that manages cashflow, insurance, mortgages, and more.

Miscellaneous

GigTide - Online creation of resumes, that also allows you to publish, manage and track your resumes, contacts and cover letters.

RB-Apps - RB-Apps provides customized, DIY business mini-applications based on the RB-Apps Platform.

lumifi - Use lumifi if you need to compile research and collaboration from multiple sources, discover information you might otherwise miss, and assemble that research into a well stated case.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Mashable Lists: Your SuggestionsAsking the Community: Mashable ListsActionThis to Offer Task Management, Integration & Analytics for TeamworkCoghead Offers Business Apps VerticalsUpspring is LinkedIn, Facebook & Google Ads Rolled Up in OneTripIt’s New Traveling Business VerticalCashboard Launches with Basecamp API

The so-called social Web just became legitimately open, as MySpace has launched the two first implementations of its Data Availability initiative on Flixster and Eventful. Simultaneously, the company is announcing that it will support OpenID, allowing its users to sign into any OpenID-enabled website using their MySpace credentials. The move comes one day before Facebook’s developer conference kicks off, where the rival social network is widely expected to announce the first implementations of its own data portability initiative: Facebook Connect.

The implementations of Data Availability on Flixster and Eventful work much as you might expect. On Flixster, users can register using their MySpace credentials, at which point they can import their profile data and connect with any of their friends who already have accounts on Flixster. On Eventful, users can not only import their profile data, but also receive alerts for events coming to their area, based on the artists that the user has friended on MySpace. Hence, if you’re friends with Augustana on MySpace and they are having a concert in your town, you’ll automatically be alerted to it.

All of this information is synced across the Data Availability supporting sites and MySpace. So, if you update your profile, edit your biography, or remove an artist from your friend’s list on MySpace, this will immediately be reflected on Flixster and Eventful. Certain more sensitive data like religion, sexual orientation, and ethnicity are only cahceable for 24 hours by Data Availability partners, while core profile data like age, location, and profile photo can be stored on the third-party site, though still synced with MySpace.

Asked about the distinction between data that is cached and that which is stored, Jim Benedetto, SVP of Technology at MySpace told me: “It’s very technically challenging to rely on MySpace’s server [for accessing all of the data]. [As a user] if I don’t want all information to be available to Flixster, I can revoke access and cut it off. But a core piece of information such as my age, email, first and last name that is key to the initial registration, Flixster can maintain control over so people can continue to login to Flixster with it.”

As for the OpenID initiative, much like other Web giants including Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo that have announced support for the movement, MySpace is only acting as an identity provider, meaning that while you can use your MySpace credentials to sign into other Web sites, you cannot yet use your credentials from another OpenID provider to sign into MySpace. Nonetheless, announcing support for OpenID is another small victory for MySpace over Facebook, and keeps the pressure on the latter to legitimately open up.

MySpace first announced Data Availability in May, with launch partners Yahoo, eBay, Twitter, and Photobucket. Asked about the status of these higher profile rollouts, Benedetto told me that “All of them are currently working on their implementations. Flixster and Eventful are just smaller companies that were able to move very quickly using our APIs to get them live.”

As for Facebook, they announced Connect with Digg signed on to support the initiative one day after MySpace kicked off Data Availability back in May. Google also has its own hat in the ring in the battle to become your universal profile with its Google Friend Connect offering.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:MySpace Data Availability Goes LiveEventful MySpace App: Tell Your Aritsts Where You Want Them to GoFlixster Calls Down $5M of its Series BEventful Launches Facebook App for Bringing Artists to Your CityTwitter Interface for Eventful: Fact of Fool?Eventful Working with Presidential Campaigns in Grassroot EffortsEventful Demands $7.5 Million - and Gets It

Source:Mashable!

Glam Media, the self-described distributed media network that sits atop the women-centric market of the Web, with either a whole or partial role in over 600 websites and blogs, is expanding its sights yet again this year, just weeks after it introduced a new advertisement marketplace called GlamX Ad Exchange. Today the company unveiled its very own application platform. It is dubbed, simply enough, Glam Application Platform.

Glam is inviting publishers, developers, and advertisers alike to exercise the platform, which it has code-named “Atako” and currently has positioned as a private beta. The company believes the strength of the release resides at its core, where an open-source design has been implemented. (Said to be based on the Google Gadget spec, the platform may also take advantage of OpenSocial and OpenID.)

The Glam Application Platform also arrives with levers to monetize developments easily, with or without advertisements. If application creators wish to go without marketing, developments may be distributed freely, as they would ordinarily, or through direct payments. Any applications borne of the Glam Application Platform will be delivered through a system called the Glam Apps Store.

Whether or not Glam has taken cue from Apple’s own App Store initiative, whose design was first publicly introduced earlier this year, Glam is no doubt employing the concept to further its mission to tap its increasingly valuable content network as broadly and deeply as possible. Since the point at which Glam surpassed iVillage last year as the dominant force in online media space specific to the female demographic, the flash terms “vertical” and “network” have in kind been touted ever more strongly by the company. With the Glam Application Platform there’s no doubt that the company sees its global audience of roughly 77 million monthly users as carrying considerably more value than has so far been realized.

The initial establishment of the Glam App Platform, because it is private beta, may have a limited impact at first, but it likely won’t be long before it does away with developer invitations. In the meantime, the effectiveness of the debut will hinge largely on which designers gain entry to start.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:Glam Launches Distributed Media PlatformLifetime to Use Glam’s Managed Vertical NetworkGlam’s New Ad Exchange Connects Marketers, Publishers, & Ad NetworksGlam Media Steals Executive Talent from MySpaceGlam Reigns over iVillage as the No. 1 Network for WomenGlam Signs Google for Ad Brokerage and SearchGlamMedia Launches GlamTV, Offering Indie and Mainstream an Internet Platform

Source:Mashable!

Prices seem to be increasing everywhere on pretty much everything from fuel to groceries, making finding good deals more and more important. So whether you’re an avid bargain hunter or just need to save some cash, we’ve put together a list of over 20 resources to help you find coupons online.

We’ve listed a wide variety of coupon sites ranging from those that let you print coupons to take to the grocery store with you, to sites that provide cheaper prices for online stores, and even social sites where users can vote on the best deals.

Do you use coupon sites? If so, which do you find offer the best deals?

Brick & Mortar Shopping

CoolSavings.com - Tons of printable coupons divided up by style of shopping with listings of free samples you can get.

CouponMom.com - Has coupons you can print, helps you find coupons, gives you strategies on how to use them to make them most effective, and a whole lore more.

Coupons.com - Who needs to wait for the Sunday newspaper circular when you have Coupons.com? Go to the site, find your desired coupon, and print it out to take to the store.

CouponSurfer.com - Mixes up printable coupons for brick & mortar stores with ones for online sites.  The heavier emphasis does seem to be on groceries and food.

OnlineCoupons.com - This one works a bit differently than some other sites in that you pay an annual subscription fee and also pay for them to mail you physical coupons for the grocery store.  Coupons for restaurants may be printed for free at any time after you join.

Valpak.com - Enter your zip code and get results for coupons in your area as well as some online vendors.

Online Shopping

BensBargains.net - For eight years Ben’s Bargains has been updated daily with new coupon codes for all sorts of online deals. The site mainly focuses on electronics.

CouponCabin.com - Focuses on everyday coupons, but also has coupons that have a clear expiration date.

CouponChief.com - Collects various coupons for numerous online merchants into one handy site which is searchable by store name or product category.

CouponWinner.com - Thousands of coupons for hundreds of different online merchants from free shipping to free products and hefty discounts.

Dealighted.com - Aggregates deals from numerous shopping forums around the Web and puts them into one centralized source for you.

DeaLoco.com - Besides providing you with normal coupon listings, they also assign a “Grief Factor” to each to tell you how much hassle it will be to use it.

DealsOfAmerica.com - Attempts to bring you deals only from the most reliable of sources by focusing on the largest online retailers and traditional brick & mortar chains.

FatWallet.com - Featuring thousands of deals for online stores along with forums for users to discuss the current deals and ones they have found on their own.

FreeShipping.org - As the domain name suggests, this site is completely dedicated to finding you free shipping deals for all of your online shopping needs.

GottaDeal.com - Well known for their annual early release of Black Friday advertisements, GottaDeal is working all year long to bring you the best in online and offline deals.

MyCoupons.com - Has over 4,000 stores you can look up by name. Also has message boards for sharing more codes, rates how well codes have worked, and a whole lot more.

RetailMeNot.com - One of the more clearly labeled coupon sites with clear labeling of what the coupon does, what the code is and when it expires.

Slickdeals.net - Lists new coupons by the date issued and then lets you sort them down by when they expire, vendor, and other methods.  Also has active forums for more discussion.

Social Coupon Sites

Dealigg.com - Besides being able to vote up the standard coupons, you also get a nice selection of free sample offers you can vote on.

DealsGlobe.com - You can give deals the thumbs up or down as well as search the coupons by numerous methods, even down to admin and user submitted.

DiscountPatrol.com - Users submit deals they find online and then others vote them up if they consider them a truly great deal.

Mallicious.com - The editors of Mallicious post new deals each day and then the users vote them up or down Digg style.  Users are also encouraged to post deals that they find.

RedFlagDeals.com - A site for Canadian deals that allows users to vote up the best ones to the top.

[Image Credit: Sale photo by Tim Parkinson (Creative Commons Attribution)]

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:Cellfire Launches Tomorrow - Free Cellphone CouponsCoupon Alerts As You Shop OnlineStaples Gets More Eco-FriendlyCellfire and MerchantCircle Team Up for Local Mobile CouponsText2Store Launches Affiliate Widget for Local DealsOhMyBuzz Adds Direct Sales to E-commerce PortalMashable T-Shirt Design Contest: Win an iPhone!

Some of the first-day statistics are in for JibJab’s video ditty for the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign. And a number of figures, when placed side by side, are pretty interesting. It turns out that among the third-party channels utilized to spread the jingle far and wide, none other than Microsoft’s MSN Video site charted some 870,000 views, effectively landing it at #1. The industry giant YouTube netting just over 100k, placing it third, where it sat behind MySpace TV’s view count of 255k plus by the 24th hour.

This afternoon, those three channels report views of 907k, 157k, and 267k, respectively.

Where MSN Video failed to muster a good amount of momentum, however, is in user response. While YouTube and MySpace have seen thousands of viewer comment posts combined, Microsoft is largely barren, with a mere 6 to name currently. Peculiar? Oddities on the Web are known to surface, so this may well be MSN’s lucky day. More to the point, JibJab is showing a healthy start in its move toward matching or perhaps even surpassing the benchmark previously set by 2004’s famous “This Land is Your Land.”

Of course, ample time has not yet passed to offer a sensible prediction on the matter. We’ll have to revisit the comparison if and when a substantive trend arises.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:JibJab Takes $3 Million in Fresh FundingJibJab’s Hilarious Video Greeting CardsMake Your Own JibJab MoviesBrain Dead Republicans & Zombie Democrats Duke it Out on JibJabJibJab Debuts its Election Video Carnival for 2008In Case You’re Still Not Ready for Valentines Day… JibJab and FaceSpaceImeem Gets Full Length Horror Film: Debuts Next Week

Source:Mashable!

Many companies are intrigued by the concept of social media, but have no idea how to actually integrate it into business practices. In an earlier post, we explored one approach to putting a simple social media plan in place.

Changing employee behavior is challenging, and social media participation is often looked at as an additional burden rather than leveraged to improve the efficiency of a current task. Unless traditional communications are replaced with social media infused conversations though, it’s difficult to seed corporate adoption of these new tools.

Here’s a list to stimulate ideas for better social media integration into traditional business practices, which we’ve broken down by department:

Human Resources

Introducing New Employees. Many companies ask new hires to send an email introduction to their department or to the entire company (depending on its size). Instead, start an internal blog or social network where new employees can post their introductions and connect with other employees that share their interests. Dow Chemical is one large company that launched an internal social network.

Employee Newsletters. Replace the monthly employee newsletter with regular updates to an internal blog. Use tags or keywords to categorize the content, which gives employees a searchable database of information about the company rather than a folder full of emails that are cumbersome to review. Then when employees contact HR with questions about 401(k) contributions or sick days, direct them to the appropriate post on the blog. Employees can also pose questions and HR will be able to answer them once for everyone to see.

Training. Depending on your business, consider leveraging one of many virtual world environments for training purposes. For a business that deals with customers, create a replica of your store or office where new employees can engage in a variety of real world scenarios, from responding to customer questions to learning where to find inventory and supplies.

Sales

Sales Collateral. An internal wiki allows sales teams scattered in various locations to create, collect, share and download the most updated sales material from one location. By limiting the exchange of PowerPoint presentations, product sell sheets and other support collateral to one place, management eliminates a significant amount of heavy email storage and ensures everyone has access to the most updated information in real time as well as improves the ability to track edits and updates by team members.

Lead generation. Many business people create profiles on popular social networking sites like LinkedIn. However, few use it for more than a contact database. Sales teams can leverage their vast network of contacts to generate sales leads, secure new business introductions and demonstrate industry knowledge. Sales managers can incorporate social networking challenges into sales goals.

Management Communications. An internal blog run by the sales leads is an ideal platform for team communications. To ensure participation, ask each sales team member to leave a comment confirming they read the post.

Marketing/Communications

Public Relations. With an external facing corporate blog, the communications team can engage its publics (customers, media, analysts or other audiences) in brand conversations. Blogs can extend the conversation beyond the press release, provide a platform for thought leadership, and in the case of a crisis, prove an invaluable channel for direct community communications.

Interactive Newsroom. Create an interactive newsroom where traditional media and bloggers can find links to the company’s social presence. This may include high resolution product photos hosted on Flickr, a link to the company’s Twitter profile, a bundle of RSS feeds for the company’s blogs, a searchable repository of podcasts, or even social profiles for media contacts (AIM/Skype/Avatar).

Better Customer Engagement. Several companies, including Starbucks and Dell, have created social networks where customers can provide direct feedback on products and services as well as interact with each other. This two way channel allows for improved customer relations and a much quicker feedback loop with the company’s most loyal customers. Even in the B2B space, a blog or social network created exclusively for a specific customer set demonstrates a commitment to customer service and illustrates your company’s efforts to get as close to your customer as possible.

Thought leadership. A CEO can submit an op-ed piece to the Wall Street Journal or Inc., but those opportunities are few and far between. Supplement traditional thought leadership pieces with a monthly or quarterly podcast, where employees can discuss industry trends and company views to a wider audience. These podcasts also become sales engagement tools and can be posted to internal employee blogs as well. And you don’t have to be a big company to host a successful podcast, as this example illustrates.

Product/Design Group

Customer Support. A staple of many technology companies, support forums are searchable threads of conversations where engineers or product designers can answer questions and help troubleshoot issues. The best part is that once a question is answered, the link to the discussion thread can be shared with others who have the same question, eliminating duplicate efforts.

Product Prototypes. Creating prototypes is an expensive endeavor for many businesses. Furthermore, it’s difficult to share prototypes with teams spread out around the world. Virtual worlds allow for teams to collaborate in real time with 3D models, which are less expensive to create and easier to discuss during the development phase.

Innovation. An internal platform where engineers or designers are encouraged to share their most outrageous ideas, pet projects, or passions often helps foster creativity. This in turn leads to new products and a greater sense of community at every level of the company.

Conclusion

There are many more ideas than just those listed here. If you have tips on how your company uses social media to improve productivity or otherwise improve the flow of information between groups, please share them in the comments.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:Aloha Social Media Summit Hawaii Discount CodeSmall World Labs Gets $1M to Compete with KickApps, et al.Save the Date for the New Communications Forum 2008Canadian Bosses Think Facebook Is More Important than TVBe a Digg Rockstar with Social Media Firefox ExtensionTicket Giveaway to SMX Social Media in Long Beach, CABusiness 2.0 May Be Getting the Axe from Time Inc.