In fact, visitors searching our site for the phrase “content marketing” increased by 85% in 2009 over 2008. In fact, in 1997 when we started our small business magazine in Southwest Florida, few owners had websites, let alone an online marketing strategy. In 2009, most small businesses do have websites and the term, ‘content marketing,’ has gone from obscure to fashionable. And, it’s even harder to be amusing at the same time. But the very best It’s been a very good year for content marketing. Social media certainly loomed larger in the past 12 months but

The theme is "What would you like to see in PowerPoint slide design in 2009?" Let me then revise Olivia's charter (as did others) to focus on what I'd like to see in PowerPoint, or even just what I'd like to see in presentations in 2009. And, You could bombard them (as did Tom Peters in this example) or you could leave PowerPoint completely out of the picture (as Edward Tufte did in the story at the end of this , my favorite YouBlog post).         So that's what I'd like to see from THERE'S AN INTERESTING TOPIC being bandied about by some of us presentation blogger types that you might find valuable.

And, so compellingly that your listener will remember and repeat it to others. Actually, Nick Morgan is even more precise than this. Proving again that our readers like to dig into a variety of topics under the broad content marketing umbrella. The topics range from : how to create effective elevator speech to drive

All presenters lucky enough to be asked to speak at TED are given 18-minute slots maximum (some are for even less time such as 3- and 6-minute slots). Thou Shalt Not Steal the Time of Them that Follow Thee. TEDx Tokyo 2009 In less than two weeks TEDx Tokyo will have its unveiling. In general, I do not recommend reading a speech at such a conference, but if you do read, do it in a way that is engaging as TED has earned a lot of attention over the years for many reasons, including the nature and quality of its short-form conference presentations. Some who present

But what does that mean PowerPoint slides should look like in 2009? I'm no advocate of slides, which tend to serve as projected cue cards even the audience can follow. I'd much prefer to see speakers build their skills to engage audiences with language, gestures, movement and even physical props , rather than as passive narrators of PowerPoint. Olivia Mitchell of the Speaking About Presenting blog sent me this provocative post by Laura Bergells on the Maniactive blog: It notes the backlash against bullet-filled PowerPoint slides, which led to simple art-filled slides. Neither

Knowing that my comments are going to be seen by the presenter or live participants, seems to make me pay more attention. Rachel Happe adds: Twitter allows me to add my perspective to what is being presented and that keeps me more engaged than just sitting and listening - even if no one reads it. Learn more about Twitter for business in our “Wednesdays at 1″ webinar series : Twitter for Business 101 February 25, 2009, 1PM EST Advanced Twitter for Business March 11, 2009, 1PM EST Twitter for Business resources: Twitter for Business reading list Follow

Julian doesn’t even mention my favorite – Tweetchat . A Seat Apart was developed by Allister Klingensmith literally over night at An Event Apart 2009 conference in Boston. Cliff Atkinson has written an excellent book “The Backchannel: How audiences are using Twitter and Social Media and changing presentations forever” which is to be released on 27 November 2009. Presenting while people are tweeting is challenging – but also adds a new dimension to the presentation experience for your audience. Gradually tools are being developed to make it easier for you as the presenter

Click on the "Think like a designer" slide to see the 11 tips in slide format on Slideshare.net — feel free to use them if you like.) These ten are broad and even a bit philosophical. Remember that much of design has an emotional component, sometimes this is even the largest component (though users may be unaware of this). Design — even graphic design — is not about beautification. Most people do not really think about design and designers, let alone think of themselves as designers. But what, if anything, can regular people — teachers, students, business people of

This is a reminder that design is not an accident, even when we are trying to create a natural-feeling environment. Exposing ourselves to traditional Japanese aesthetic ideas — notions that may seem quite foreign to most of us — is a good exercise in lateral thinking, a term coined by Edward de Bono in 1967. "Lateral Lateral Thinking is for changing concepts and perception," says de Bono.

Images are not appropriate for every kind of talk, but even when images are appropriate (such as keynote/ballroom style presentations), people are still making the same common mistakes. 5) Image is of poor quality & contains watermark Even worse is to take a free comp from a photo website and stretch it out. Now the background image has too much salience (even if it did not have watermarks). As digital cameras have become ubiquitous, and cheap (or free) photo websites plentiful, more people than ever are using images in presentations. So here are some things to keep