Business school can help you when working for or running an already established business, but it can’t provide you with the real world experience needed to run a start-up or pursue entrepreneurship. More and more, MBA curriculums are being distinguished as training and networking grounds for upcoming entrepreneurs. Being sharp enough to face the challenges of running a company can be merciless, particularly in this high tech, fast paced territory. Because getting ahead in business frequently has nothing to do with qualifications or exceeding a set of specific goals, here are some cutting edge blogs that will help you win at the business game and expand the horizons of your education.

Cutting Edge Business Blogs for Productivity

It takes a disciplined personality to set accountable actions in order to become a successful individual. Acquire some helpful productivity skills that you couldn’t learn in business school from these blogs.

1. David Allen, Getting Things Done (GTD) -The acronym for “Getting Things Done” is a work and life management system by David Allen. His purpose is to improve the quality of life by providing the world’s best information, education, and products for personal productivity.
2. Productivity Cafe – Your source for ideas on getting things done, being effective, and reducing stress. Aim towards efficiency and a better life.
3. Productivity 501 – A site dedicated to bringing you regular tips and tricks to help increase your personal productivity.
4. 43 Folders – Discusses personal productivity, life hacks, and simple ways to make your life a bit better. The posts are engaging and give a different view of personal productivity and the challenges of modern knowledge.
5. Lifehack.org – Find great tips for saving time, organizing your life, and increasing productivity. Lifehack.org invites reader participation on its forums and has a popular “How to” section that’s worth checking out.
6. Laura Stack: The Productivity Pro – Learn how to get things done, be more productive, and enjoy life to the fullest with the suggestions from professional Laura Stack.
7. Black Belt Productivity – Read articles that preach time management as the main method to maximizing your productivity. Little life hacks, easy-to-use tools, and calendars are also reviewed in this blog.
8. Zen Habits – Get a business blog that covers everything from achieving goals, productivity, being organized, GTD, and motivation, to getting a flat stomach and eating healthy.
9. Jeet Blog – Mainly focuses on different Web 2.0 apps and online tools and how they can help you become more productive in your daily life. You will also find articles on blogging, social media, and on different aspects of the blogosphere.

Cutting Edge Business Blogs for Career Development

If you are just graduating college, there may be some specific needs you have when entering the job market. Check out these sites for a little help making the jump.

1. Career Rocketeer – This is one of the most popular career development blogs on the internet. They welcome ambitious career entrepreneurs of all ages and professions who are driven to reach greater career heights.
2. The Creative Career – Observations on the transition from college into career. It also has insight on how students can adapt to the aspects in public relations, communications, and marketing that are always changing.
3. Brazen Careerist – This blog is anything but your classic career site. Formed by a group of top Gen Y thought leaders, these posts provide forward thinking and encouragement to define your own path.
4. Daily Career Connection – This business blog is for individuals interested in growing as job professionals. Whether you’re just starting out or have been looking for a long time, this business blog has many tips that can help.
5. The Career Key Blog – These bloggers want you to utilize this site as a forum for sharing news and respectable resources about careers. They also explore many self employment and entrepreneurial options.
6. Rise Smart Blog Learn more about rising up in the ranks at work, even if you’re starting at the bottom, from this site.
7. Women’s Leadership Blog – This blog is sponsored by Future Women Leaders . Although not solely for career coaching, it shares resources, tips, and advice to inspire women to become leaders in both their professional and personal lives.
8. CareerDoctor.org – Great advice from Dr. Randall Hansen, Career Coach. He has over 20 years of experience coaching everyone from teenagers to senior executives with a variety of education and job search issues.
9. SI Career Development Blog – Brought to you by the University of Michigan School of Information, this is not just a blog for their students. The articles posted can help anyone obtain valuable information to develop a career.

Cutting Edge Business Blogs for Social Networking & Media

Business networking is a valuable tool to gain information, so increase your visibility in your field and make connections to help you move forward with the help of these business blogs.

1. Mashable – This is one of the leading tech blogs focused on Web 2.0 and social networking news. With more than 5 million monthly page views, this is the go to site for reviewing new sites and services along with breaking updates on what’s new on the web.
2. Sociable Blog – Get all the latest news and articles, as well as some great video about social networking,  social media, communities, and software from all over the world.
3. Networking Now – This blog is written by the founder of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization. Get marketing secrets and anecdotes about his years of experience in small business marketing.
4. The Social Networking Weblog – Videos, tips, and tricks make it easy to get a grasp on working with social media. There are also some easy step by step tutorials.
5. Social Media Coaching Center – Find what you want to learn about social media on this site. They’ve put together a group of coaches and social media gurus to show you how to use the tools and networks.
6. Online Social Networking – Educate yourself on the new strategies and tactics of social media. You can also get helpful information about building your presence on the web.
7. Market Like a Chick – This blogger’s main emphasis is to present advice and useful guides in social media and blogging. Her commentary is offered from a strong woman’s point of view.
8. The LinkedIn Blog – This is the corporate blog of the world’s biggest professional network, LinkedIn . It gives you the chance to communicate with more than 10 million members.
9. Chrisbrogan.com – Chris investigates the use of social media and social networking tools. He has been helping individuals work more productively for years.
10. Social Media Explorer – Journey into the world of social media to find efficient and formative ways to relate brands with buyers. This blog is authored by Jason Falls.

Cutting Edge Business Blogs for Self Awareness & Improvement

The business world can be frustrating, but just remember you can choose how you respond to your settings. Increase your self-awareness so you can get a better understanding of what pushes your buttons with the help of the below business blogs.

1. PIckTheBrain – This is a website covering anything related to self improvement and development. The main categories discussed are self education, personal productivity, and motivation.
2. KnowledgeReform.com Blog – Get self improvement advice and tips as well as practical knowledge needed for self empowerment. You will feel inspired to enhance your life upon reading many of these posts along with the need to educate your mind as well.
3. Think Simple Now – An objective composition that pinpoints key issues in our lives that cause us to be unhappy or depressed. Simple answers are brought to you in a way that’s easily comprehendible. Motivate yourself to seek contentment and true well being.
4. Steve Pavlina.com – Steve is known as one of the most respected personal development bloggers on the World Wide Web . He has written over 1,000 articles on a wide variety of self-help topics.
5. The Positivity Blog – Focus on bringing and seeing the positivity in your life with this blog. Expand your opportunities and open up new phases of life with these informative articles
6. Life Optimizer – These posts can help you optimize personal effectiveness and focus on your dreams to gain success. It is a great source for personal motivation and inspiration.
7. iNeedMotivation – This blog is all about self help and motivation for practical individuals. Topics discussed include personal development , spirituality, and the principles for success.
8. Live Your Life with Prosperity and Success – Written by Brian Maxwell, who is a life coach, motivational speaker, and author of self help books. After working with some of the world’s biggest companies, he decided to start speaking motivationally to smaller groups to provide inspiration for living life with happiness and wealth.
9. Self Improvement – The goal of this blog is to stress the value of self help to individuals around the world. Whether she’s discussing dealing with failure or giving tips for problem solving in everyday life, she is bound to provide some inspiration.

Cutting Edge Business Blogs for Marketing

Although there are marketing classes taught in business school, these blogs offer up innovative views on today’s business marketing.

1. Seth Godin’s Blog – Mr. Godin was founder of Yoyodyne, an interactive marketing company, which Yahoo Inc. acquired in late 1998. His blog often creates direction in business and life, such as financial advice for grads.
2. Duct Tape Marketing – Get marketing tips from this small business expert. John Jantsch hands out three or four small business marketing tips weekly in easily understandable bite-size tidbits.
3. Drew’s Marketing Minute – Tips and strategies on issues such as business plans, picking domain names, and going mobile are included. There is a plethora of information to help you make the right choices for business.
4. The Internet Strategist – Gain knowledge from an internet industry veteran with her own New York marketing firm. This blog specializes in traditional and internet marketing for entrepreneurs and growing businesses.
5. Strategy Stew – A place where business and marketing professionals go for creative ideas on trends. There are links to experts and all things related to getting your ideal customers.
6. How to Change the World – Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage capital firm. His articles often provide usable lists that are relevant to marketing for his readers.
7. TylerCruz.com – Chronicles everyday operations of his life as a web entrepreneur. Post topics range from blogging tips, affiliate marketing, inspirational and motivational posts, guest posts, in-depth articles, and reviews.
8. Search Engine Land – A great resource for news and information about search engine marketing, optimization, and how search engines work for searchers.
9. Business Pundit – Learn things you never would have thought of on this unconventional blog. You will receive bold opinions and advice on marketing topics that help businesses grow.
10. Copyblogger – This blog offers some copywriting tips that are essential to online marketing and effective blogging.
11. Online Marketing Blog – Offers digital marketing related articles, resources, and interviews. Subjects discussed range from search marketing to online public relations.
12. PyroMarketing – Greg Stielstra, author of “PyroMarketing: The Four Step Strategy to Ignite Customer Evangelists and Keep Them for Life,” shares his marketing mastery on his blog.
13. Andy Beal’s Marketing Pilgrim – Andy Beal discusses news from the search engine industry. Her posts are on topics like blogging, RSS, and other internet marketing strategies.

Cutting Edge Business Blogs for Personal Branding

No professor will show you how to differentiate yourself as an expert in your field, articulate your unique value, and establish respect and credibility. These unconventional business blogs on personal branding will.

1. Personal Branding Blog – Position yourself to become known for your perseverance and expertise. See your brand from the very beginning and go beyond the competitive edge taking place in major companies.
2. Altaeeblog.com – Learn all about using personal branding power to enhance your opportunities. Get yourself noticed and gain motivation at the same time.
3. Brand Yourself – Get a better understanding of the basics behind business branding. Learn about what you need to do to get your name out there.
4. Quick Sprout – By the age of 21, Neil Patel was named a top 100 blogger by Technorati. He was also voted as one of top influencers on the web according to the  ”Wall Street Journal.” See why by visiting.
5. Krishna De’s Biz Growth News – Get some inspiration as well as resources and research so that you create an engaging personal brand. Gain knowledge of traditional marketing, communications strategies, and social media.
6. Cube Rules – Cube Rules offers support and personal branding advice. They cater to career-minded individuals working in corporate America.
7. Jibber Jobber Blog – These personal branding experts offer updates on networking and organizational tools. There are also thoughts and reviews on other resources.
8. The Engaging Brand – Read this blogger’s thoughts on the world of business, branding, and creativity. His goal is to enable people to be the best that they can be.
9. Brand-Yourself.com Blog – Tools, education, and hints to help you build your personal brand online are found here.

Cutting Edge Business Blogs for Effective Communication & Presentation

One of the most important skills anyone can develop is the capability to speak decidedly, persuasively, and aggressively in front of an audience of one or 1,000. Read these blogs for some tips and advice on how to do just that.

1. Communication Nation – This business blog is dedicated to that belief that communication is one of the most important skills anyone can have, in business and life. The blogger thinks we will be happier and more productive if we can improve our ability to communicate.
2. Six Minutes – Public speaking and presentation skills analysis and opinions. Become a more forceful speaker and communicate conclusively.
3. Professionaly Speaking – A community of speakers of all experience levels come together to learn, share, and grow in the understanding of public speaking. They also have great resources such as the rhyming dictionary and movie speeches.
4. Mike Stopforth – Mike is an entrepreneur, communications consultant, and keynote presenter. He is passionate about young individuals profiting in business, e-communication, and how they work together.
5. Robin Good’s Latest News – Everything you need to know from experts in the field about new ideas, tools, and resources to communicate with media technologies.
6. The Accidental Communicator – The blog for improving your presentation and communication skills. There are also some fast tips that can help you in a crunch.
7. Overnight Sensation – Learn how to reach your communication potential faster. Public speaking, personal development, and interpersonal skills are just some of the topics covered.
8. High Stakes Presentations – Sims Wyeth gives people the knowledge and skills they need to become accomplished speakers.
9. Business Communication Headline News – A full range of help and education that you need to achieve all of your communication and presentation needs. Meet your expectations of public speaking through this blog.

Cutting Edge Business Blogs for Sales, Negotiating, and Critical Thinking

Being able to evaluate information, sort the potentially valuable from the trivial, analyze its relevance and meaning, and make a decision based upon it is a crucial skill that can’t be taught in any business class.

1. Negotiating for Profit Includes information on negotiating tips and strategies on all types of situations both business and personal. There is also video training and tutorials available.
2. The Thinker – A blog all about critical thinking, decision making, problem solving, and creativity.
3. The Sales Blog – Written by S. Anthony Iannarino, a sales coach and entrepreneur for over ten years. His commentary offers a fresh, new look at the art of sales and sales management.
4. The Negotiation Board – Jonathan and Jennifer Martin are both graduates from the University of Washington Business School. They hope to use their experiences not learned in school to help anyone learn how to negotiate.
5. Think About It – A business analyst working with Web 2.0 tools and knowledge management. Her focus is on crucial decision processes and critical thinking material.
6. Sales Management Front Line Blog – Discusses key issues currently relevant to the success of sales leaders. Take action and act with that special edge to deal with any challenge.
7. Sales and Sales Management Blog – Discussion of sales and sales management topics with an emphasis on addressing real world issues with legitimate answers. There are articles by a number of to top guest trainers and consultants included.
8. IQ Matrix Blog – Dedicated to helping you improve your human brain potential through a sharp mixture of mind mapping and critical thinking fundamentals.
9. Sales Management 2.0 – Created to share helpful insights and practical knowledge that will help every sales professional increase their income without compromising their values.

Cutting Edge Business Blogs for Writing

Learning to write well involves not just mastery of grammar but the ability to organize one’s thoughts into a coherent form and target it to an audience in the most effective way possible.

1. There Are No Rules – Learn about today’s publishing trends and how authors can survive in all the faced paced changes in technology. Get a closer view of the publishing business and find practical tools for success.
2. Grammar Girl – Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing. Simplify your grammar problems with memory tricks to help you remember use those tedious grammar guidelines.
3. Quips and Tips for Successful Writers – Between fast articles and insightful advice from successful writers, all of your writing questions can be answered and compared between the present and the past.
4. The Book Deal – A blog for writers of all ages. Get a look at a veteran’s take on the weird and ever changing way books are published in the business today.
5. Six Sentences – What can you say in six sentences? Take a try to give your creativity a jump start.
6. The Creative Pen – Outstanding blogger, podcaster, and social media guru, Joanna Penn, offers interviews, hints, and answers for writers with a digital media focus.
7. Query Shark – Literary agent Janet Reid gives her authentic and direct standpoint on query letters. She brutally reviews letters from writers who are brave enough to get thrown into her shark tank.
8. A Newbie’s Guide to Getting Published – Author J.A. Konrath has done it all and gives his weathered advice and writer’s perspective on what it takes to get noticed in the arena of book publishing.
9. Writer Beware – You should definitely add this blog to your list of favorites if writing is your interest. The best site for reports and analysis on the scams and downfalls of publishing.
10. Loudpoet – Publisher, poet, and digital media planner, Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, shows a wide angled view and offers some paired necessary advice for struggling writers and publishers.

Cutting Edge Business Blogs for Finances

Good financial management can make or break a company. It’s not just a matter of having enough money – it’s about having enough money for the right things at the right time. These blogs will help you stay focused on your business and personal budgets.

1. Get Rich Slowly – This business blog is devoted to personal finance, offering tips and advice on saving money, investing wisely, and getting a grip on your investing.
2. The Financial Guru – Receive a holistic approach to money and wealth from Vanessa Summers. She is the CEO of a company dedicated to empowering people to be successful in any economy through entrepreneurship.
3. PFBlogs.com – This network of personal finance blogs will connect you to all kinds of great advice for organizing your money.
4. Wise Bread – Learn how to live “large on a small budget.” This personal finance and frugal living guide is also chock full of clever life hacks.
5. Young Money.com – Trying to change the way young adults earn, manage, invest, and spend money since 1999. This blog is primarily written by student journalists and focuses on money management, entrepreneurship, careers, investing, and technology.
6. Rich by Thirty – If your major goal in life is to make money, then check out this blog. Its content is full of tips for raking in the big bucks.
7. Getting Finances Done – This blog is “your guide to stress-free financial control.” Learn how to organize your bills, stay out of debt, and get a handle on your bank account with these excellent hacks.
8. The Simple Dollar – Access free calculators, personal finance tips, and articles like “Your Money or Your Life: The Money Trap.”
9. The Only Guide to Investing an Entrepreneur Will Ever Need – A guide with a simple premise of investing their savings cautiously. A personal finance guru, Lewis Schiff gives advice on everything from how to invest your money to how to prepare for recession.
10. The Wisdom Journal – This is a blog about life, money, business, and the pursuit of balance. Read posts about personal finance, marketing, management, and links to other great sites.

Graduating from B School can be the most fulfilling thing you’ll do in your lifetime. Just understand that there’s a lot more to it than business plans and target markets. Most of what you learn won’t be taught in Business 101, but left up to you (with a little help from these top 100 cutting-edge business blogs).

Thanks to Samantha Miller, Online University Reviews.

Seesmic for BlackBerry is raising the standards in smart mobile engagement. Always having in mind the infinite number of online social networks, the app introduces Multi-Accounts, Ping.fm component and choosing photo uploading size. Seesmic for BlackBerry also focuses on other features that will make your Twitter experience faster, much more efficient and useful.

Seesmic introduces the possibility to add multiple Twitter accounts. The Seesmic for BlackBerry update, thus, gives you the ability to simultaneously verify the accounts introduced and reach out to your Twitter followers at all times. The app does not only assure connectivity and easiness in sharing beliefs and ideas, but it also guarantees natural and intuitive navigation between multiple accounts.

When posting a new tweet, you can simply select the accounts you want to send from. The app allows you to maintain a default account which will be generated each time you open Seesmic for BlackBerry. Adding up to ten accounts and checking timeline and information provided in each, will surely make the Twitter experience not only a professional one, but fast and attractive.

Seesmic for BlackBerry now introduces the Ping.fm component. Add the Ping.fm account and you can not only engage in social conversations, but also maintain your audience aware at all times and through about 50 social networks. When launching the introduced Ping.fm account, you will see the added networks and posting will occur concurrently in all.

TweetPhoto Service

Smart devices enable you to always stay connected and share the information you consider most important with your Twitter friends. Therefore, Seesmic for BlackBerry and now TweetPhoto is your preferred platform. This service provides online communication and image sharing an advantage of all social media users. Uploading images through TweetPhoto enables continuous social interactions around real-time photo sharing.

You can now select the size of the photos you wish to post. Opting between Small, Medium or Large, you will be able to upload any image and not experience difficulties related to its dimension. Either in your Twitter accounts, in Ping.fm on in both platforms at the same time.

Gartner has revealed its key predictions on the use of social software and collaboration in the enterprise. These predictions focus on offerings ranging from team collaboration to dynamic social networking applications that offer rich profiles and activity streams.

Gartner offers five key predictions for social software:

1) By 2014, social networking services will replace e-mail as the primary vehicle for interpersonal communications for 20 percent of business users.

2) By 2012, over 50 percent of enterprises will use activity streams that include microblogging, but stand-alone enterprise microblogging will have less than 5 percent penetration.

3) Through 2012, over 70 percent of IT-dominated social media initiatives will fail.

4) Within five years, 70 percent of collaboration and communications applications designed on PCs will be modeled after user experience lessons from smart phone collaboration applications.

5) Through 2015, only 25 percent of enterprises will routinely utilize social network analysis to improve performance and productivity.

Let’s say your business is a boutique PR firm called “Starburst PR”. Maybe you’re not getting a lot of traction in the news or on social media yet, but you’re working on it and want to keep track of your progress. You don’t want to be shelling out hundreds or thousands of dollars a month to a software firm, but you do need some way to get organized.

Welcome to the Absolute Beginners Guide to Media Monitoring. This step-by-step tutorial will help you set up email alerts to bring media mentions to you, reducing time spent and helping you keep track of engagement.

Let’s get started!

WHAT TO MONITOR

The first step is to make keyword groups so that your email alerts will be organized. Keywords will change as you gain more experience in how your industry is discussed online. This experience will also tell you how to limit industry keywords that bring too many results. For instance, “starburst” would bring millions of results but (”starburst” AND “public relations”) might be a good targeted search for your business.

Keywords may include:

1. Your company: any brands you use, names of executives or other words that potential clients might use to talk about your company.

2. Your competitors: competitor names, brands and executives.

3. Your industry: to find potential clients, look for ways that people refer to your industry and track those words. This often takes some hours of just reading through the results you already have to identify common words that may be used without a specific company mention.

WHERE TO MONITOR

GOOGLE ALERTS – Blogs, News, Web General

Creating Google Alerts for your keywords will bring you all* mentions of your company in blogs, online news, video sites, web sites and online groups.

Additionally, it is useful to be familiar with other businesses using your name so that you can decide on keyword limiters. Over time, you will be able to determine if there are words that can exclude businesses with the same name without affecting results related to your company (ex: “Starburst” -candy -astronomy).

To set up an alert:

1. Go to news.google.com
2. Type “Starburst –candy -astronomy” into the search field.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page, where it says “Stay up to date on these results” and click on “Create an email alert for Starburst –candy -astronomy”.
4. To the right, you will see a box with options to determine what type of alerts to receive.
5. Add the email of the person who will be doing your media monitoring.
6. Click create alert.
7. Receive and click on confirmation email from Google.

Alert Options:

Decide how often you would like to receive emails with search results. They may be sent at the moment that Google finds the result, every per day or once per week. Select your preference in the “How Often” drop down.

The next decision is whether you would like to receive different types of media results separately or as one email. You may choose “comprehensive” as the alert type to have all of your results sent together. Or you may create separate emails for blog results, news results, web results and others.

If you prefer to receive these separately, you will need to create a separate alert (going through the process above) for each type of alert.

Additional Keywords:

If you would also like to track competitor or industry keywords, you may add these to your email alert by adding a capitalized OR between search terms.

Ex: “Starburst PR” OR CompetitorName OR “industry keyword”

I like to run test searches before creating the search strings to see how many results it might return. This way, you can create separate searches for words that return a lot of results, and combine words that return few results.

SOCIAL MEDIA

There is a plug-in available to bring Twitter results into Google but I don’t recommend it because it is more efficient to deal with Twitter results separately, as they are most likely to require a response.

There are many free programs available to create Twitter email alerts. I like SocialOomph for its ease-of-use.

You may use the same search strings that you created for your Google Alerts.

To set up alerts:

1. Go to socialoomph.com
2. Login or Register (in the upper right corner).
3. In the middle of the page, there are a series of blue boxes. Click on the one that reads “Other Tools”
4. A new blue box will appear below the first row. It will read “Keyword Alert Emails”. Click it.
5. Scroll down past the instructions.
6. Make sure to click the box next to Keyword Digest in order to receive email alerts.
7. Select the frequency of emails, as you did for Google Alerts.
8. Enter your keywords (see “Search String Creation” below).
9. Save.
10. Receive and click on confirmation email from SocialOomph.

Search String creation

SocialOomph’s searches are a bit unique, so if you have simple strings of a few independent words you may add them on separate lines.

Ex:
@starburstpr
“Starburst PR”
competitorname
industrykeyword

If your searches need to be more complicated and have exclusions or inclusions, I recommend using the wizard. Above the search area, click on “Open Power Keyword Wizard” next to the wand icon.

Be sure to add keywords for any Twitter handles of interest by adding @twittername as a keyword.

Not Twitter

For other social media sites, the results may be brought into Google or you may have to do a manual search on a regular basis. I recommend setting up a schedule for sites not covered by Google, such as those with password protection, at a frequency determined by the volume of mentions you see with a preliminary search of each site.

HOW TO RESPOND

Think about how your company responds to people in real life and take that same approach in social media. If you pride yourself on answering every phone call, every email and every visitor, then respond to every inquiry online with the requested information.

You can also take a proactive approach to mentions of your company where the person is not specifically trying to reach you.

Examples:

Mention: I had a horrible experience with the receptionist at Starburst PR.
Reponse: I am the Office Manager at Starburst PR, would you share your experience with me so I can improve our process?

Mention: I am looking for a PR firm. Has anyone used Starburst? What did you think of it?
Response: I am a client manager at Starburst, please let me know if I can set up a visit for you or if you need any additional information.

This is also true for industry mentions where someone is looking for a recommendation. However, it is not appropriate to respond when the request specifically and only asks for information about a competitor.

Appropriate to respond to: I am looking for a public relations firm. Any suggestions?
Appropriate to respond to: I have a proposal from Shout PR. Anyone know of alternatives?
Not appropriate to respond to: Does anyone have information about Shout PR?

ORGANIZE YOUR RESULTS

…in your email.

Once you have all of your alert emails set up, create a new folder called “Media Monitoring” in your email program to organize them. I recommend creating a rule to automatically send these emails to the folder. This avoids being distracted by these emails as they arrive so that you can work with them all at once in the time you have set aside for media monitoring.

…in your schedule.

Like any type of email, media monitoring results can interrupt your work day and waste a lot of time. It is far more efficient to set aside a time each day or a couple of times per day to read through your results and respond where necessary.

…in your archive.

While reading through your monitoring emails, make a record of any mentions that are significant or contain information that you want to track or measure. Also record any reaction that you made as a result of the mention.

This can be done in Microsoft Excel or any worksheet program. I recommend the following fields:

1. Media (blog, twitter, news, etc).
2. Source (url)
3. Date
4. Type of Mention (company, competitor, keyword)
5. Response, if applicable
6. Field(s) for any metrics you are interested in tracking. This can be products mentioned, sentiment of mention, a rating of how important to you the mention is, or any other information you want to record.

You can flag entries for follow up at a later date. You can sort them to keep a count of where, how and by whom you are being mentioned. You can create data reports to share with colleagues to help quickly show them information about your media coverage.

So now you have a complete, yet simple and effective, system for monitoring your online media coverage. This is enough for most individuals and small businesses. Even if your volume of coverage or engagement means that you need to bring in the big guns (media monitoring software), this is a great start to help you understand and organize your needs so you can find a solution that works for you.

If you’ve got all this down, check out our Media Monitoring 101 post for more advanced tips on monitoring and measuring your media coverage.

Thanks to Hannah Del Porto, ImpactWatch.com

Students and professionals involved with studies and practices involving international and transnational businesses have a plethora of wonderful networking and information resource available to them thanks to the internet.

Twitter especially garners praise for its micro-blogging interface, which allows readers to scan brief messages and find the ones they need or want far quicker than a traditional blog. The following list compiles several feeds – some economic, some political, some technical, and everything in between – that may be of particular interest to those conducting business with other nations.

1. Investing in Africa : Follow updates on the stock market and economy in African nations straight from the blog with the same name.

2. Int’l Marketing Pros: This open forum connects marketing professionals all over the world, allowing them to freely discuss trends and theories from their diverse perspectives.

3. ExportGov : The official site of the United States’ export laws provides detailed information on regulation changes for anyone hoping to ship or receive goods from the country.

4. ITA : Another Twitter from the federal government, the International Trade Administration provides updates on imports, exports, and the economic climate for anyone conducting business with Americans.

5. U.S. Trade Rep : Ambassador Ron Kirk and his staff tweet about international business and trade in the United States.

6. westlaw china : westlaw china looks at news and legalities straight from China – one of the world’s largest business centers.

7. WorldTradeLaw.net :  Receive the latest headlines and quick blips about international business and trade, then click on the corresponding links for the stories of interest.

8. WTO Publications : Follow the WTO Publications department as it updates on their writings and analysis. It does not update frequently, but it does make their readers aware of any new publications they may find of use.

9. UK Trade & Investment : UK Trade & Investment is a department run by the British government as a means of helping to stimulate international business interests.

10. BangladeshTrade : This Dhaka-based Twitter feed runs updates on the import and export trade status, business leads, and laws of Bangladesh.

11. Israel Export_EinatG : The Israeli government runs regular updates on the nation’s export and international relations status. Some are in Hebrew, though recently they have begun posting tweets in English.

12. Enterprise 2.0 : International business meets technological innovation at the Enterprise Summit, which blends Web 2.0 experts, academics, and businessmen from all corners of the world together into one creative pool.

13. Mark Lehnardt : Former attorney with the U.S. Department of Commerce Lehnardt reviews the latest developments in countervailing duties and anti-dumping measures specifically catering to the interests of international businesses.

14. World Trade : This international business juggernaut is one of America’s top journals focusing on global supply chains both foreign and domestic.

15. Doug Jacobson : Readers of this Twitter feed receive frequent updated information on almost every aspect of international trade with the United States.

16. The Economist : Official tweets from The Economist magazine – a must-read for any businessperson, regardless of whether or not they focus on the foreign or the domestic.

17. InvestChile : InvestChile posts about the economic and investment opportunities available for foreign businesspeople in the South American nation.

18. Int. Trade Law360 : Tweets at this microblog cover all of the different legalities involved with importing and exporting goods around the world.

19. Rich Kuslan : Attorney Kuslan has blogged about foreign and domestic business trends in China for the past 8 years.

20. US Council Int’l Business : This organization hopes to instill principles of sustainable development, corporate responsibility, open markets, honest competition, and creativity in businesses worldwide.

21. Joshua Lenon : Because international law directly effects business dealings, anyone working outside of a domestic setting would do well to follow this informative Twitter.

22. Martha Harrison : Toronto-based trade lawyer Harrison weighs in on international business restrictions and regulations with a particularly Canadian eye.

23. International Trade : MarketResearch.com posts expert data regarding international trade, economic trends and forecasts, and marketing from around the world.

24. ICC Publications : Direct from Paris, ICC Publications provides users worldwide with the documents and information they need for international business and banking as well as conflict resolution.

25. TDM Journal : Transnational Dispute Management is a journal dealing with regulatory and investment arbitration at an international and intercultural level.

26. World Economic Forum : As the official Twitter feed of WEF, updates involve the latest news and movements in global economics – which directly impact international business dealings.

27. Manufacturing Crunch : This microblog reports on international business as it relates to the manufacturing industry and serves as a community for its participants.

28. ECIPE : ECIPE tweets about the latest news and findings at the European Centre for International Political Economy.

29. Ashoka : An organization that brings together socially-conscious entrepreneurs from around the world and encourages them to brainstorm and band together at a grassroots level to bring out the best in people and communities.

30. worldshippingnews : Men and women working within international industries that require freight shipping and other maritime dealings can follow news and reports following the relevant facets.

31. NYU Reynolds : Like Ashoka, NYU Reynolds hopes to serve as a network for global innovators to band together for the sake of positive social change.

32. Intl Development UEA : University of East Anglia’s School of International Development tweets about research into economic development around the world, with special attention paid to impoverished and war-torn areas.

33. KluwerLawInt’l : Blue chips and arbitration issues comprise the bulk of the tweets from this Netherlands law firm specializing in international business.

34. FICO World : Follow the latest happenings regarding the FICO World Conference, which involves decision management, banking, and insurance on a global scale.

35. ACI Trade : ACI Trade organizes conferences related to international business, trade, regulations, and restrictions involving executives and attorneys.

36. Columbia B-School : Columbia University’s acclaimed business school posts microblog entries on foreign and domestic dealings alike.

37. World Bank News : Tweets at World Bank News discuss the economic ebbs and flows around the world that directly impact all business negotiations.

38. Financial Times : Anyone involved in international business ought to explore all the different specialized Twitters London’s Financial Times has to offer. This one exists as one of their most generalized, updating frequently on business, politics, and economics and how they interact.

39. OECD Centre : Philanthropy and international business blend together with this organization hoping to promote sustainability, equality, and health in developing nations.

40. Offshore Transparent : Washington, DC based Offshoring Transparency dedicates itself to open discussions and full disclosure between businesses, consumers, and marketers regarding maritime transactions.

41. USGLC : Read tweets from the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, which works hard to strengthen bonds and stimulate communication between businesspeople, religious figures, military personnel, and politicians worldwide.

42. Israel-Asia Center : This organization promotes cooperation and harmony between Israel and Asia both culturally and economically, which in turn helps boost business relations as well.

43. The Economist Cafe : Economists all over the world unite and discuss trends, topics, and news relating to their field and undeniably impacting the business world.

44. Pgh G-20 Partnership : Pittsburgh’s own G-20 Partnership summit links economists, businesspeople, academics, scientists, and other respectable researchers together as a means of bettering the world around them.

45. Synergistics : A consulting firm focusing on international business development, Synergistics posts some extremely valuable links to relevant news stories and trends.

46. OPEN Forum : American Express’s OPEN Forum community tweets headlines from around the world that relate to business and technology.

47. Elliot Polak : Culture shock oftentimes hinders productive international business dealings – sometimes domestic ones as well. This enlightening Twitter helps to bridge gaps and promote better personal and financial connections.

48. clusterstock : Though most of the tweets revolve around the American stock market and other related financial matters, clusterstock also posts up headlines and articles regarding international economic and business issues.

49. WITA : Washington International Trade Association’s Twitter proudly refers to it as “Washington’s Premier Trade Forum.”

50. Becky DeStigter : International business consultant DeStigter posts frequent updates containing insightful headlines on any and all issues relevant to her field.

51. Sproxil Inc : This international service provides consumers in developing countries with all the information they need to avoid pharmaceutical scams. They discuss market and consumer trends and research as well. Companies can also use Sproxil as a means of preventing counterfeits of their products.

52. WNS Global Services : WNS Global Services assists over 200 international businesses at 22 different delivery centers with their process outsourcing issues.

53. FTA_Facilitator : The FTA Facilitator blog may be 404ing out, but their regularly updated tweets involve important political and economic trends that directly effect business dealings.

54. Threatpost : Almost every business takes advantage of computers and other technologies to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible. Threatpost tweets about security breaches worldwide and sends out alerts and advice to readers in danger of losing their data.

55. ChinaManufacturing : Daniel R. Feldman microblogs about marketing and manufacturing protocol for businesses hoping to deal with China.

56. Journal of Commerce : Follow this informative Twitter feed for updates on efficient methods of shipping items internationally and any problems with or changes in protocol.

57. Port Strategy : This UK-based resource posts up maritime port information for businesses that ship using boats and other seafaring vessels.

58. Maritime Journal : Maritime Journal devotes itself entirely to businesses in Europe who must ship items over the ocean or through the seas.

59. Lloyd’s List : Any international businessperson involved with the shipping industry ought to pop through this regularly updated Twitter to catch the latest news regarding transportation.

60. Forrester Research : Independent Cambridge, Massachusetts institute Forrester Research is a trusted voice that supplies advice on technology, trends, marketing, and other subjects to businesspeople worldwide.

61. Cara Chacon : Corporate Social Responsibility professional Cara Chacon tweets numerous times a day on a number of business-related issues with a particular eye for international relations.

62. InariMedia : Technology, business, sustainability, and development come together in exciting and creative ways with this highly informative and engaging Twitter feed.

63. Barbara C. Matthews : Matthews works as a policy strategist specializing in financial regulations directly relating to international business.

64. Stock Brokers : This Twitter feed, based in Gibraltar, focuses on online stock trading on an international level.

65. MESH Harvard : Anyone who conducts business in the Middle East should keep track of any changes in relations and policies that may affect their transactions.

66. Economic Policy Institute : Domestic and international economics alike comprise this Twitter’s content, though the emphasis does seem to lean towards the former.

67. Mike Kulej : Spectrum Forex’s Chief Forex Strategist weighs in on currency trading and current exchange rates.

68. boz : For anyone interested in or currently conducting business in Latin America, boz micro-blogs about communication and strategy news, trends, and issues.

69. CopyrightLaw : Though mainly emphasizing copyright laws in the United States, Professor Michael Scott at Southwestern Law School also tweets about international restrictions and regulations as well.

70. Global Arab Network : Read all about the latest news and views affecting the peoples and businesses in the Middle East.

71. IATPiatp : The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy involves the politics and economics of sustainability to nurture more ethical and lasting business systems.

72. Hiram Capital Group : This banking firm tweets about finances and business strategies for anyone involved with international or transnational corporations.

73. Marjorie Florestal : International trade expert and law professor Marjorie Florestal posts enlightening commentary and articles from a largely humanistic perspective.

74. Investment in China : Visitors to this frequently updated Twitter feed can learn about banking, marketing, consumer, investment, and financial trends currently happening in China.

75. DipNote : The United States Department of State’s official Twitter presence looks into relations between Americans and the rest of the world from a broad spectrum of perspectives.

76. John Boscariol : Follow one impressively active Canadian trade lawyer as he discusses almost everything involving the legalities and protocols of international business.

77. WorldCompliance : Industry and intelligence alike can benefit from WorldComplaince’s open source strategies and dedication to protect businesses and consumers from fraud and terrorism.

78. US EXPORT COUNCIL : Most of this Twitter’s content looks at infrastructure, technology, energy, education, environmental concerns, and science as they relate to Middle Eastern and African trade.

79. Policy Innovations : The Carnegie Council set up the Policy Innovations program as a global push towards nurturing creativity and ethical practices in government and the private sector alike.

80. Dian L. Chu : Market analyst and chartered economist Dian L. Chu tweets about the economic forecast and possible strategies for navigating businesses and investments related to energy and commodities.

81. James Emery : Auckland’s James Emery tweets about the ebbs, flows, and machinations of gold and silver markets throughout the world.

82. WTC Delaware : World Trade Center Delaware offers readers numerous links to articles on a very wide variety of subjects related to international business and trade.

83. Gerard Aldridge : Follow the twists and turns of Canada’s bustling Northwest Corridor with this highly informative and enthusiastically updated Twitter feed.

84. Eldis Community : Serving as a free online community and network, Eldis brings together businesspeople and other professionals to discuss international development issues and solutions.

85. News4Trader : This microblog posts business news from around the world and assigns it a rating, helping readers save time when trying to decide what articles to read.

86. India Business News : India Business News acts as a sort of headline aggregator, pulling the most relevant headlines regarding domestic and international stories that impact Indian commerce.

87. Scott F. Gibson : One business lawyer consistently tweets about policies, restrictions, and regulations that impact transnational and international industries worldwide.

88. China Sourcing : This Twitter feed posts nothing but news and trends in marketing, manufacturing, wholesale, trading, and other facets of business as they relate to China’s domestic and foreign dealings.

89. AnthillMagazine : Companies who find themselves growing quickly may want to connect with others in the same situation through this Australian magazine and community.

90. exprodatgis : Businesspeople who work in or with the GIS and oil and gas industries may want to read over this microblog’s tweets involving the latest relevant headlines.

91. APAKS : Shanghai-based APAKS posts a wide variety of tweets regarding sourcing, outsourcing, off-shoring, and similar elements of Chinese business.

92. Ecommerce Headlines : Ecommerce Journal looks into business trends and transactions taking advantage of the internet and other technologies.

93. Diaz Global Advisors : These economic consultants tweet extensively about domestic and global business affairs with a particular taste for strategies.

94. GlobalAtlanta.com : Anyone with international business dealings in or near Atlanta – as well as those otherwise affiliated with the Georgian capital – may want to read about all the latest news on the subject through this Twitter feed.

95. Westerwelle : International business consulting group TransDomo tweets with particular fondness for internet and internet marketing, development, and support in the United States and Europe.

96. Beta Gamma Sigma : Students and alumni of the international Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society can follow and network with their fellow businesspeople.

97. Lance Scoular : An irreverent, intelligent global business strategist tweets and writes about using social networking and the internet as valuable international marketing tools.

98. Jane Ginn : One of the most comprehensive and informative Twitter feeds regarding international business, humanitarian efforts, fair trade, emerging markets, and their intersections.

99. World Fair Trade Org : Any and all businesspeople concerned with the fair trade movement that promotes ethical and sustainable practices must follow this feed for information on the organizations committed to the cause.

100. Fair Trade Federation : Another must-follow Twitter feed emphasizing fair trade in the United States and its relationship to other nations.

Business people today most especially those who must work in conjunction with their contemporaries in other nations; live in far easier times when it comes to all-important communication. The internet allows them to stay connected with one another at all times and conduct more fluid transactions. With these Twitter feeds, they can stay up-to-date on all the news and trends that affect them and never have to skip a beat.

Thanks to Anna Miller, Online Degree.

There is a saying that you are the average of your 5 closest friends. Whether this is completely true or not, it doesn’t really matter, but there certainly is a very high chance that you share a lot of interests with most of the people you know. Since you already have loads of people begging for you to fertilize their farms in Facebook then why not to start using them for your own good for a change.

This post takes a look on how you could profit from Facebook or any other social media site’s friends list. This is not close to a complete list but after reading this you can apply the same strategy in your own specific needs. You may not be aware of it, but you are the owner of a very specific advertising channel which is of a great value to many. So my suggestion is that you take advantage of it.

Your Facebook friends can help you to…

1) Get free access to clubs. A LOT of clubs are already doing this but you can be the one who gets your favorite club to take advantage of social media. If you think about visiting that specific club then most of your friends would go there, too. They just need a push…from YOU. Send an email to whoever deals with the promotion of the place and say that you can help to get their message to a lot of potential clients basically for free, all you want for your trouble is a VIP card. If they have any idea at all on how useful this is, they will give in. Otherwise 600 people (in your town) will start receiving weekly invites from the rivalling club. That should get the message across.

2) Get free access to a training school. Are you interested in MMA or Pilates? If yes, then also a lot of your friends are. Look up the place that teaches it in your town and make them an offer. You will post some cool videos on just how awesome it is to your friends for a while and then start sending out messages on where to learn it and that you have already joined or better yet looking for people to train with, as many people don`t go to training just because they are afraid to go alone. You can do this with most of the popular practices.

3) Get free concert tickets! So, there’s a kick-ass show coming up and you’re short on cash…no worries!Get in touch with the promoter of the concert and for 2 free tickets you will start to spread the word about what an awesome show it will be but there is only a limited amount of tickets to go around, you were lucky enough to get some and if you all hurry up you can probably manage to get one also because this will definitely be sold-out!

4) Get free education! There are all kinds of cool courses and seminars that you’d like to take part in – internet marketing, time management, learning to speak Spanish etc. Half of the people you know would also like to join them. Find out who’s the organizer and offer to help to fill the group. Ask for a small discount you can offer to help you with the promotion and then start preparing the ground. Post a related article on how necessary the knowledge of the specific topic is and what is there to gain. Then post an euphoric note saying that you finally found exactly the place where to study it! You would be very happy if someone would join you in there and if they act now they can take advantage of this discount which makes it really a bargain. Of course you’ll get in for free.

5) Get free coffee or drinks (or even lunch)! Are you a regular in some cafe? If yes then there is no reason why you should pay for your drinks every time. If you like it there then your friends will love it, so keep them updated on all the events and specials and you have probably earned yourself the right to get your daily latte for free from now on. (This one probably will not work when most of your friends live too far from the place.)

PS. You can try this on a larger scale by asking for free food from the place you go to eat when you’re at work. You can spam the office mailing list with daily specials!

This should get you thinking in the right direction. Let us know what else could you get for free by taking advantage of your friends list.

Thanks to Martin Leet, Fr.ee shows you how to get free things in life.

Wadja.com, a unique social networking site that uses labels to create people-to-topic connections, has introduced a re-design of its homepage and logo.

Over the last half a year, Wadja has evolved and grown into a unique Social Network that features streamlined, topic-specific conversations based on labels, and messaging. To reflect Wadja’s progress, the company has decided to re-brand its homepage and logo.

Maria Papathomopoulou PR Manager at Wadja notes, “We are delighted with the introduction of our new logo and the redesign of our homepage. The new homepage depicts label topics that our users have created, as well as ideas for labels that users could create. It also allows newcomers to the site to test the system before they subscribe to Wadja’s free service. It’s pretty neat! Once you’re in of course, you can do more by inviting friends and contacts to follow your label and create a community to discuss that one specific topic you are all interested in.”

The new logo has been designed in the same vein as the homepage, with Wadja’s own font and style, fresh and forward-looking. Both the logo and the homepage symbolize the new look and feel of the site – simple, clear, bold and different – all standards that Wadja aspires to and represents.

Wadja’s homepage is the window to the social network with a difference; one based on the bold new premise of creating forums (labels) that simplify and streamline social content and the ‘noise’ of real-time information flow, with all the advantages of online messaging and SMS.

The value of labels is derived from enabling the creation of communities that come together through their common interests, hobbies and activities. Wadja creates personal, customized, label “tags” and opens up a whole new world of messaging.

Handmark, a leading global developer and distributor of mobile applications and services, launches TweetCaster, the advanced, feature-rich Twitter application available for Android smartphone customers.

TweetCaster makes “tweeting” from Android-based smartphones fast, easy, and fun, delivering a simple, yet comprehensive Twitter experience. In addition to all the standard features needed to enjoy a complete mobile Twitter experience.

TweetCaster offers:

• Multiple Twitter account support
• Integrated retweets
• Integrated Twitter lists
• Push notifications for tweets, mentions and direct messages
• Offline tweet caching
• URL shortening (and previews)
• Photo attachment
• Threaded direct messages
• Font/Theme customization

TweetCaster is immediately available for all Android-based smartphones, including the popular Droid and Nexus One.

A free version of TweetCaster is available in exchange for a “tweet” about the application. TweetCaster Pro, a premium version of application without ads, is also available for $4.99 in Android Market. For customers who download the free version of TweetCaster and wish to upgrade to TweetCaster Pro, an Upgrade Key will also be available in Android Market.

I wanted to let you know, Retrevo has just compared the State of the Union with the iPad launch event to give people an idea of the buzz as it happened on Twitter.

Apple’s iPad announcement achieved high levels on the Retrevo Buzzmeter (peaking at 7,000 tweets per minute) and it might surpass Buzzmeter levels for the State of the Union Address. Buzzmeter readings for Steve Jobs and the iPad came close but didn’t exceed President Obama’s moment in the spotlight. The State of the Union also had a longer sustained chatter after the event completed. The State of the Union chatter on Twitter peaked at just over 9,000 tweets per minute.

Just prior to the event a somewhat elevated activity compared to the much lower “baseline” of the night before the event. As the event gets underway at 10:00 AM and Steve Jobs takes the stage, a low level buzz that builds toward the formal announcement at 10:10. Activity drops off momentarily followed by the highest level of the event measuring 7,000 TPM which coincides with the hardware description at 10:30 AM. Then several smaller bursts associated with more announcements until activity peaks again as the event was winding down.

What is the Tech Buzzmeter? – Retrevo’s Tech Buzzmeter is an automated tool that tracks and quantifies “buzz” surrounding technology related launches, topics, and events as they happen online.

After Apple’s allowed it, fring launches its 3G-friendly VoIP app. With fring on 3G, fring users get unrestricted, mobile communication. Now iPhone fring users can call, video call, chat and more for FREE over 3G and Wi-Fi.

iPhone users can now use fring anywhere directly on their device and enjoy the same always-on freedom millions of other fringsters on other platforms have enjoyed for years.

How do users get the new update?
Current users don’t need to do anything to get this update, just open fring on their iPhone and they are good to go!

If for some reason they continue getting a message saying that “voip calls are not allowed…” – Just click on More > Go offline and open fring again.

In addition to enabling voice and video calls over the internet over 3G and Wi-Fi to other fring users, fring users can call their friends on Skype, GoogleTalk and MSN and all their friends on regular phone lines via Skype-Out and hundreds of popular SIP services.

In addition to the iPhone/iPod touch, fring supports thousands of devices on multiple platforms including Symbian S60, Android, Windows Mobile, J2ME, Linux and Intel’s Moblin devices.