This document summarizes various free and cheap web apps that can power a business. It discusses productivity apps from Google and 37Signals, content management tools like WordPress, hosting photos on Flickr, embedding pre-recorded videos on YouTube and Vimeo, doing live video with UStreamTV and Qik, podcasting with Libsyn and Podcast FM, getting customer feedback with WuFoo and Get Satisfaction, and measuring success with Google Analytics and Mint. The document emphasizes that web apps can improve collaboration, communication, and business management while saving money, and encourages using various sites and apps to engage customers.
2. Before I start
• This presentation is subjective
• There are a lot of great web apps and this
is just a miniscule selection
• The majority we use regularly at
Carsonified
3. Themes
• Why Web Apps - The move from local to centralised
• Productivity - Apps that will make your work life easier
• Content - Tools to help you manage your online content
and it’s delivery
• Customer Interaction - How the web can help you keep
your customers informed
• Measuring Success - The all important metrics
5. Benefits
• Always on and accessible across multiple devices
• Economic sense - free/cheap monthly plans with no tie in
• No infrastructure to worry about
• Constant (you hope) development / auto updating
• Relatively low learning curve
6. Disadvantages
• Need an internet connection (not always)
• It could be argued that there is less functionality than in
desktop software
• Browser issues
• Is our data safe?
• What if the service goes out of business
8. Enter The Google
• GMail for Email
• Google Docs for documents, spreadsheets
and presentations
• Google Calendar for time management
• Google Reader for RSS feeds
• GTalk for chat
http://www.google.com
9. Benefits
• Free :)
• Huge storage
• Can import common formats
• Easy sharing and collaboration for teams
• Available offline with Google Gears
• Mobile/iPhone versions
12. Basecamp Extras
• Invoicing, billing and accounting
• Widgets for Mac & PC
• Time tracking
• Mobile
• Software development tools
http://www.basecamphq.com/extras
16. Words & Pictures
• Wordpress
• .org - Hosted on your own server
• .com - Hosted by Wordpress
• Themes - Easy to customise
• Plugins - Added features
• Bendable - Can be used as a CMS
• New admin interface - Nice and easy
• Free site stats
19. Alternatives?
• Typepad
• Blogger
• Expression Engine (not free but cheap)
• ...and many more open source blogging
tools for PHP, Python, Ruby on Rails etc...
21. Flickr
• Great for hosting your photos
• Easy to embed in your own site
• A great source of imagery for use in your
own work
• Groups, comments, community, feeds and
more
25. Pre Recorded Video
• YouTube
• Hugely popular
• 10 min limit
• Vimeo
• 500mb per week upload limit
• Your own URLs - http://www.vimeo.com/fowd
• Viddler
• 500mb per video limit
• Lovely approach to comments
• Flickr
• Long photos - 90 second limit
30. Our Approach
• YouTube for teasers and exposure
• Vimeo and Viddler for full pieces
• Brand your videos with intro and outro
slides with big web addresses
• Post a comment yourself with a link to the
full version
31. Live Video
• UStreamTV - http://www.ustream.tv
• Live interactive broadcasting
• e.g Boagworld Live
• Qik
• Broadcast from your phone
37. Twitter Add ins
• Twitterfeed - http://twitterfeed.com
• Push your blog posts to your twitter feed
• TwitPic - http://twitpic.com
• Publish photos to your twitter feed via
the web, email or mobile device
52. In Summary
• Web apps will save you lots of money!
• Web apps will improve collaboration, aid communication and help you
manage your business more effectively
• Don’t worry about the service disappearing (Google aren’t going anywhere)
• Use sites like Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo to get your products and ideas on
show
• Get involved - Use tags, join groups and comment, comment, comment
• Encourage your customers to interact with you - Newsletter sign ups,
comment on your videos, interact with your live broadcast
• The more you do the more success you will have