Click here to listen to the podcast.

In today's Brain Storm! Business Podcast, we will discuss widgets, and how you can use them to market your business.

Widgets are the buzz word nowadays - small, inexpensive, customizable programs that e-retailers and online businesses hope that their clients will download and put on their desktops. First the businesses create widgets, then they figure out how to bribe their customers to download the widgets, and finally, they monitor their customers' responses to what they put on the widget.

You can create your own widget with online tools, brand an existing one, or hire a programmer to do it for you.

In today's competitive business market, every advantage you have can make a difference in profit or loss. Investing in these small programs can potentially increase your income. In 45 days, one company had 10,000 downloads of their widget and an increase of $7,500 worth of sales DIRECTLY related to the widget. Now, THAT's impressive.

Widgets resemble podcasts and RSS feeds in their ability to connect with potential clients without them coming to your website.

The trick is creating something entertaining enough, or informational enough for people to want to download it. Tactics have included telling them a new item is for sale 10 minutes before the information is released to everyone else, or offering financial perks for downloading it. You also have to decide what the widget should do that fits your business.

I'd love to hear some brainstorming ideas about how to use widgets, so if anyone wants to do a live brainstorming session, please let me know.

I hope you respond and we can have a great time while coming up with useful marketing ideas. I'm working on creating some online widgets for syndication for the Online Community Magazines software. Until then, have a fabulous week, and remember to DO SOMETHING with all of those ideas in your head!

Penny Haynes, 1st Podcast Publishing & Online Community Magazines

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Today, I'll share and discuss Brain Storm Business Podcast Listener comments from this past week:

Sallie Goetsch (rhymes with sketch ) wrote:
Hi, Penny. Glad to have you back.

I heard Catherine Cook speak at the iMeme conference in San Francisco on July 12th, but I didn't get a chance to interview her. My impression was that whoever had the initial idea, she's got some definite ideas about what works with it now. And I'm totally with you regarding age-appropriate behavior and network membership. See my need their own toys" article for more.

Don Marsh wrote:
Penny,
Thanks a lot! I'll have you know that I am 48 and have a Facebook account. Before than I had a MySpace and a Xanga. I have never tried to "friend" any teenage girls. I used these things to keep up with my son and daughter. I've always subscribed to their blogs, because it was a great way to keep up with what's going on in their heads. One time my daughter tried to put a little distance between us online. She got a new identity. However, I found out right away because I also subscribed to her friends.

She is married now and is still on facebook. I love to read her updates.

We aren't all a bunch of pervs, you know!

Click here to listen to the podcast.

In today's Brain Storm! Business Podcast, we will review another online social networking phenomenon, which was supposedly started by a 15 year old girl 2 years ago, and which now brings in over 1 million visitors a month and millions of dollars.

In an article on Cnet.com, they interviewed Catherine Cook, the 17 year old "owner" of My Yearbook. Of course, it helps to have an older brother who could put $250,000 into the business idea to make it happen, but that's just sour grapes on our part, right? I read a comment on the article that made me laugh, something about "My older brother never gave me $250k, and my friends never gave me great ideas for an online site - what losers!". Hehehehehehe

Sticking with a specific, yet-to-be-catered-to niche is what makes My Yearbook successful.

The 13 - 23 year old demographic is the target market here. Facebook focused first on college students, and now on businesses. My Space isn't meaning to cater to teens. My Yearbook focuses on this marketing niche, and seems to do it very well.

Profiles are not emphasized, rather interaction and self-expression through duels, quizzes, and user-generated content magazines are the focus.

Interaction is the key in this demographic. Catherine commented on the demise of printed magazines for teens, stating that todays teens don't care what Angelina Jolie is doing. She says the key to bringing the teens back is relevant content that is spawned by the participating teens.

We will also dip into an article by a 17 year old Cnet intern who spurned friendship with a married 40 year old man.

She was completely grossed out when a 40 year old married man wanted to be friends with her. Some of the comments on the article were amazing to me, with older people defending their right to be on Facebook and make friends with 17 year olds. Did they not read his personal "slogan" about being sooooo wasted? I think she was right on cue to think this guy was slimy and icky.

So let me know what you think about this addition to the social networking sphere. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Penny Haynes, 1st Podcast Publishing & Online Community Magazines