Search engines provide a great starting point when you’re searching for comments about your company or products online, but often they’re just not enough. A myriad of social websites have popped up over the past few years to help you track what people are saying about your products. Here’s a list of the top 10 free social tools you can start using today:

1. http://www.blogpulse.com/
A blog search engine that also analyzes and reports on daily activity in the blogosphere.

2. http://www.google.com/alerts
Provides email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

3. http://spy.appspot.com
Spy can listen in on the social media conversations you’re interested in. What do you want to listen for?

4. http://serph.com
Serph is a search engine that you can use to find out what people are saying on the web right now. When you type a query into Serph, it goes out and searches online social media to find the latest buzz. After it gathers the results, they are sorted and organized so the most recent buzz appears first. The buzz is gathered from blog search engines, social media websites, social news websites and social bookmarking websites.

5. http://socialmention.com
Social Mention is a social media search engine that searches user-generated content such as blogs, comments, bookmarks, events, news, videos, and microblogging services. It allows you to easily track what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web’s social media landscape in real time. Search results are aggregated from numerous popular social media sources and remixed as a single stream of information.

6. http://monitter.com
This twitter monitor lets you “monitter” the twitter world for a set of keywords and watch what people are saying.
Just type three words into the three search boxes below (where it says ‘monitter’ now) and within seconds you’ll start seeing relevant tweets streaming live.

7. http://v2.boardtracker.com
BoardTracker.com is an innovative forum search engine, message tracking and instant alerts system designed to provide relevant information quickly and efficiently while ensuring you never miss an important forum thread no matter where or when it is posted.

8. www.filtrbox.com
Filtrbox delivers the information you need, and helps you discover information you didn’t know existed. Filtrbox gives you only the information you want, any way you want it. In today’s hyper-competitive business world, Filtrbox gives your team the relevant market intelligence it needs to be proactive, and to be successful.

9. http://www.google.com/reader
Keep track of your favorite websites. To organize all of the sites that have RSS feeds you need to acquire a feed reader. I personally use Google reader because it’s easy to sort feeds, bookmark/favorite them and share them with your network.

10. http://delicious.com
Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. With emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet.

If you’ve got a great tool you want to share, please let us know.

-Trevor Nolte

A friend recently introduced me to a glorious land. A land where toilet paper and Diet Coke is sold in quantities of no less than 36. Where items are measured in pounds, not ounces. A land of unapologetic abundance called Costco.

During my first trip to Costco, I was dubious. What could a person who lives alone in an 850 square foot apartment possibly need in bulk? So I quietly resisted and refrained from putting any items into the (massive) cart. Other than politely accepting tasty food samples, I was immune to Costco’s wooing.

That all changed 3 visits later (My Costco-committed friend makes bi-weekly visits!) when I innocently tossed a 4 pound block of Parmesan cheese into the cart. From that moment I was hooked. The floodgates had opened; from biscotti to burritos, I had found beauty in bulk. 55 packets of oatmeal later, I now have an apartment filled with bulk purchases, including an arsenal of Splenda packets that would make Caribou jealous.

So, just what is the allure of Costco? As I strolled the aisles last weekend, I observed the Costco clientele. Everyone seemed happy and relaxed, as they methodically walked up and down each aisle. The whole shopping experience is like a treasure hunt; the merchandise is always changing so you never know what you are going to find. This inspires customers to buy quickly, as well as shop regularly. You must be a paid member to get through the doors, which gives the air an elite quality. Also, they have loads of generous food samples that make shopping delicious! But the question remains: Why amidst economic turmoil are so many people paying for the opportunity to buy more than they need?

Overall, it seems that in our current economy, people find comfort in abundance and safety in bulk. The satisfaction is two-fold; you get a great price as well as a copious supply of your favorite things. And, as you unload your purchases at home, feelings of poise and preparedness surround you. One of my favorite visuals in my apartment is the bathroom closet, which currently holds no less than 29 rolls of Kirkland Brand toilet tissue. The neatly stacked columns give me a feeling of satisfaction. No matter what challenges or surprises life tosses my way, I know that, without a doubt, I am prepared and successful when it comes to toilet paper.

Costco also succeeds where other large stores fail. One would believe the check-out to be cumbersome. With every customer buying in bulk, the lines must be maddening, right? In fact, it is just the opposite. Costco employees work with military precision; each cart is unloaded with a deftness that I have not seen since Hy-Vee (Iowa anyone?). And, while you wait, you get to take inventory on other people’s massive purchases, which is intriguing in itself. Typical transcripts of my musings at the check-out: “Wow. That’s a lot of chips and salsa. Somebody must be having a fiesta.” Or, “Twenty cans of tuna and a vat of cottage cheese. Must be doing the low-carb thing.” Or, “Twelve gallons looks like lot of milk. Do you think she bathes in it?!”

So, a trip to Costco is many things: a treasure hunt, a buffet of bite sized morsels, a study in human nature, a private sale reserved just for you. As my Costco friend always says, “You just never know what you’ll walk out with.” Except the obvious: less money than you had on the way in and enough oatmeal to last until August.
*Note: Like Costco, this blog was written in bulk.

-Joy Wagner

Growing up in Iowa I had virtually no experience with public transportation. It wasn’t until I moved to Minnesota that I had to seriously consider how I was going to commute every day from a southwest suburb to downtown Minneapolis. My answer was the SouthWest Station in Eden Prairie.

Created in 1986, SouthWest Transit (SWT) was formed by Chanhassen, Chaska and Eden Prairie to provide the three cities with public transportation. SWT has more than 60 buses and offers service to downtown Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota and Southdale Mall, as well as service between Chanhassen, Chaska and Eden Prairie.

Besides avoiding heavy traffic, offering a comfortable ride in the luxurious Greyhound-esque style buses and being eco-friendly, perhaps the most enjoyable thing about riding SWT are the drivers. Each driver has his or her name plate above the wheel so you always know who is driving. My favorite driver, Al, never ceases to put a smile on my face when I board his bus. While getting his riders to and from their destination in a safe and speedy manner, Al is a cheerful presence. With positive phrases like, “Happy Hump Day” (referring to Wednesday), “It’s almost Friday”, and “You have a wonderful weekend,” Al is a constant source of encouragement.

With a no-hassle, easy riding system, a friendly face like Al’s is just one of the many perks of riding SouthWest Transit for a long commute. I encourage anyone living in the Southwest suburbs to try it—you’ll be glad you did!

-Jamie Shubatt

If you had a tooth ache would you call your optometrist to take care of you? Or if you were told you needed triple bypass surgery would you schedule it with a pediatrician? Of course not.

When it comes to prospecting for new business though many sales and marketing managers opt to have anyone from customer service representatives to receptionists handle this important task. Never mind that they have invested tens of thousands or in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars to build their brand. One phone call made by an untrained or unprepared employee can wipe out every nickel you have invested in your reputation in an instant.

Working with a professional call center has a number of advantages. Most significantly, your sales reps can spend more time in front of qualified prospects and enjoy a higher closing percentage. Here’s what to look for in a call center:

1. Experienced staff that specializes in B2B calling.
2. Staff that receives ongoing skills training specific to outbound lead generation.
3. Automated dialing that ensures a consistently higher volume of calls.
4. Sophisticated contact management system that provides better lead management and reporting capabilities.
5. Ability to quickly fine tune key messages.
6. Data collected from calls can be shared electronically.

-Randy West

We run posts called “Whatever Wednesday’s,” and the title couldn’t be more perfect for what the Vikings are trying to do. Over the past few weeks they’ve been pushing hard for a new stadium. It started with an article in the Star Tribune, where Lester Bagley played hardball on the stadium, stomping his feet and claiming if the State doesn’t fork over $700 million to help build a new stadium we risk losing the Vikings. How do I respond to that? With a roll of my eyes and a big “whatever.”

This week the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission announced that a new stadium would generate $734 million in construction spending, 13,400 jobs during construction and $32.2 million in taxes during the first year after a new stadium opened. According to the Star Tribune article most legislators are still giving the Vikings stadium the cold shoulder.

Trust me; I’m not a Vikings hater. I’ve been a diehard fan my entire life and was a season ticket holder for more than five years. I’ve spent many Sundays watching the sun rise at 7am from the tailgating lot. I’m also not opposed to using public money to finance stadiums. I think having a major league sports team is an incredibly valuable asset that puts Minnesota and the Twin Cities “on the map” across the country. I also understand the Metrodome puts the Vikings in a serious bind, with the team being one of the lowest revenue-generating franchises in the NFL.

But here’s the rub…the state is in a purported $5 billion deficit, which could push $6-8 billion once the final numbers are tallied. I don’t care how myopic the Vikings vision toward a stadium is, how on earth do they think now is the time to generate support for this among legislators and the public? There’s no way this can happen, so they resort to the only card they can play, hinting that the team may be “forced” to leave if nothing is done.

In poker, this strategy is called “going all in.” But everyone can see their cards and will hopefully call their bluff. LA is the only city in the country that is ever mentioned as a destination, and California is virtually bankrupt. In this economy, it’s ridiculous to believe any other city in America is looking to spend hundreds of millions in public money to land a franchise.

Perhaps most damaging in the original article was the mention of a billionaire in LA ready to build an $800 billion privately financed stadium. Bagley attempted to use that as part of his leverage, but it begs the question, “if one billionaire can finance his own stadium, how come our billionaire owner can’t get creative and finance his own stadium?”

Finally, if the Vikings truly wanted to build public support, they should also be forthright in forecasting how much revenue THEY will make from the new stadium. That way, legislators and those in the public on both sides of the issue would be able to determine if using public funds is a fair trade.
Lester Bagley has said, “We have 30 games left at the Metrodome, and the issue isn’t what the Wilfs will or won’t do. It’s that other NFL owners, other potential NFL markets and potential owners will come after this team. If you let the market work, it’s not going to be a favorable outcome for the Twin Cities in terms of the long-term future for the club.”
That’s a pretty empty threat in my estimation. The Vikings aren’t going anywhere and ownership knows it. To their empty threats at this unbelievably bad timing, I say, “Whatever!”

-Jeron Udean

Mable, my incredibly active 92-year-old mother, called this morning to share that her 90-year-old neighbor of 50+ years, Irma, passed away yesterday.

I listened to the details and said with a catch in my throat, “That is really sad news.” “Oh,” she replied, “It’s bound to happen.” And with that we moved onto the subject of filing her taxes.

Bound to happen. Yes, that is true but her response seemed so matter of fact. Maybe from the vantage point of 92 years, death and taxes have equal relevance.

-Pat Henning

For the first time in years, I flew on an airline other than our home-grown Northwest: Delta. Okay, soon they will be as one but for now they remain two distinct cultures. The most notable were a happy crew and a free snack with beverage. Free??? The $5 snack boxes loaded with one item you like and 5 you can’t stand were nowhere to be found. My red-packaged Gourmet Center™ Biscoff was not very tasty but made me feel special. (Delta likes me!) What’s the value to Delta in the enhanced customer relationship? Surely more than the cookie. If given the choice of flying Delta or another carrier, I’ll try to go with Delta. Of course at MSP we don’t have many choices, but if I did I would.

-Pat Henning

While last year certainly included major news stories and events, six newborn Shiba Inu puppies outdid them all. What began as a way for a San Francisco couple to keep tabs on their dog Kika’s litter while they were at work became the largest Web sensation of 2008 – managing more than four million viewers.

Broadcast via Ustream.tv, a live video broadcast platform that enables anyone with a camera and an Internet connection to quickly and easily broadcast to a global audience, audiences followed the puppies’ every feeding, nap, wrestling matches and more (with brief time-outs for nature calls).

While the live Puppy Cam adventure is now over (with all six puppies enjoying life with their new owners) fans of Autumn, Ayumi, Amaya, Aki, Akoni and Ando can take comfort in the fact that Ustream.tv has provided the puppies’ new owners with their own webcams.

So what can online marketers learn from this pup-phenomenon? Perhaps that although the web is a very useful information tool, users still want (and expect) to be entertained. And because we, as advertisers are often uninvited guests, we must provide value and a reward to our audience for “crashing the party” with our messages.

Feline enthusiasts fear not: FoundAnimals.org, a charitable group dedicated to finding homes for animals, just launched the Kitty Cam 2, focused on several playful 7-week-old kittens waiting for homes at the West Los Angeles Animal Care Center. Check it out: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kitty-cam-2

-Jenny Silgen

Have you ever seen the infomercials for those light green bags? The company claims they will make your produce last days longer if you store all fruits and vegetables inside them. Well, my husband and I were very skeptical, but my five-year-old daughter kept insisting we purchase these bags to keep her bananas yellow (she hates it when her bananas turn brownish after just a few days). According to the commercial for Green Bags, your bananas will stay yellow and fresh for at least two weeks.

So as a joke, my husband gave a pack of Green Bags to our daughter for Christmas. She was delighted. She wanted to try them on all the produce we purchased on the next shopping trip. To humor her, I placed everything into separate Green Bags. The bananas also were placed into one of the larger bags and left out on our counter top.

I was pleasantly surprised two weeks later when our bananas stayed perfectly yellow without any brown spots. About two weeks later I came upon the green beans that had fallen to the bottom of the drawer. Expecting slimy, rotting beans, I was shocked to find perfect beans. They looked just as fresh as the day I purchased them.

So now thanks to the persistence of a child, I am a believer. I take the extra time to put all my fresh produce in a Green Bag. It may take a bit longer to rinse and dry all my produce (the produce should be completely dry before placing into the Green Bag) but the payoff is worth it. Crisp, fresh produce for many, many days.

Link to: https://www.greenbags.com/?cid=402572

-Jane Tomassetti

Insights for Search is an extension of the former Google Trends and is designed for more specific keyword tracking. While it is specifically designed for marketers, anyone can use it. In short, the tool has the ability to analyze search results in great detail. It can slice data into categories that would, for example, distinguish between Apple the company and apple the fruit. Insights for Search also has better capabilities for analyzing geographic data – an advertiser can now see how an ad does in Cleveland compared to Columbus. Insights for Search can also be used to forecast certain sectors of the economy. Upon visiting the Insights for Search page and doing a few trial runs, I found the tool very easy to use and understand. Try it for yourself at http://www.google.com/insights/search.

-Jamie Shubatt