2 Web Tools for Small Business

It’s always handy to have a variety of small business resources to help you boost productivity and get more done. Here are two more Web tools for your arsenal. Check them out, and put them to work for you.

Buzz Out Loud

OK, I admit it. I am a little bit of a tech nerd; what can I say? But I love to stay in the know about the latest-and-greatest technology whether it’s cameras, music equipment, something on the Internet, or maybe a new technology.

The folks at CNET offer a fun way to learn about new technology: the Buzz Out Loud podcast (of indeterminate length). These guys are great. As the name indicates, the podcasts vary in length, from a few minutes to more than 30 depending on their topic and mood. You can get a quick story about something that you might want to hear.

The podcasts offer an eclectic, if slightly odd mix of subjects. For example, they’ve talked about Mac OS X Lion, Spotify, Google+, Comic-Con, Net neutrality, and Wi-Fi. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but they also discussed the Playboy iPad app that lets you read Playboy articles online — they don’t have the pictures, just the articles.

Buzz Out Loud is a good place to go just to get a quick take on what’s going on in the tech world. They usually have three or four of their people on there at one time with video and audio. And it’s funny; it made me laugh out loud. These are smart people, and they’re doing a great job. So you might want to sneak over and check out CNET’s Buzz Out Loud podcast. It’s pretty straightforward and simple. Just tune in and take a look.

RITR: Radio-TV Interview Report

One of the biggest challenges in the world of public relations is letting the world know that you have a story to tell.  And frequently, there’s a huge disconnect between the people that want to interview people and those who have the story to tell. 

But take a look at this great site: the Radio-TV Interview Report.  It has a huge circulation.  Normally when we look at Web sites is look at the Alexa rating.  These folks have broken the 200,000 mark — that means they are in the top 200,000 of Web sites in the world.  That’s a remarkable rating, so you can be confident that a lot of people are visiting this site and a lot of things are happening.

So how does it work?  If you have something to promote, it’s a great place to come and tell people what it is that you have to say.  If you produce a radio or TV show and you’re looking for someone to interview, you come here to find a guest. 

If you need to find a guest you can search by a number of categories: actual location by state, and then by a number of different topics such as Health or Fitness. Or you can do a word search,  for, let’s say, “yoga” and you get back a bunch of interview opportunities: “Can prisoners be rehabilitated through use of yoga and meditation?”  “Stress damaging someone you know?  Yoga for stress release.”  So it’s a great place to find somebody to participate in your program.

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