Resources 02/05

FREECONFERENCE.COM
Freeconference.com offers a web-based teleconferencing service 24 hours a day, providing a secure and private venue available to anyone. the site offers a step-by-step online interface that lets you schedule and manage conference calls from any browser at your convenience, without the assistance of an operator. it allows a maximum of 100 callers and three hours per call.

READY BUSINESS
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with a variety of business organizations, launched Ready Business to help businesses plan for emergencies, such as hurricanes or terrorist attacks. The site covers how to stay in business, talk to employees and protect your investment, and allows visitors to download material via PDF and MP3 for free.

CYMFONY
Cymfony is an online application that monitors the buzz surrounding your business. This service scans all online and offline media, broadcast mentions, message-board postings, blogs and more, capturing what journalists and consumers are saying about your company. Once it collects the data, Cymfony generates intelligence reports that can measure your brand's share of voice, visibility, buzz, impact and media citations. Subscription packages start at $30,000 per year.

OPTIN EMAIL DIRECTORY
This opt-in directory site is an online reference tool for finding vendors across a variety of categories and regions. Visitors can evaluate local vendors for free, and advertisers can benefit from generating self-qualified sales leads and targeted exposure. The opt-in e-mail list allows users to target by subscriber, budget and project.

THE MENORING ADVANTAGE (DEARBORN TRADE)
This book helps you start a successful mentoring program. Author Florence Stone addresses both those who are selecting a mentor and those implementing programs. She teaches readers how to use business mentoring for developmental and strategic purposes as well as how to avoid pitfalls involved with mentorship.

MARKETINGSHERPA
MarketingSherpa.com guides marketers, just as the sherpas of nepal guide climbers up mount everest. well, maybe it's not exactly the same, but MarketingSherpa.com does provide marketers with statistics, case studies and e-mail marketing newsletters.

SPIDER SIMULATOR
Find out how search engine spiders see your website. Spider Simulator grades the optimization of your website based on page description, keywords, page size, image descriptions and more. Each category is given an explanation so the troubled spots on your site can be fixed. Spider Simulator is free--just submit your company name and URL, and see your site through the eyes of other search engines.