If most of you are like me, you rely heavily on Google searches for resources and ready information. Google has just announced a great tool to help with those searches: Google Instant Previews. 

The original Google Instant allowed you to see search results as you type. The new Google Instant Previews goes one step further by letting you actually view snapshots of sites without ever leaving the results page. 

Here’s an example using the search “MacDonald Consulting Services” – there are lots of MacDonald Consulting organizations but which one is the one you really need to hone-in on.  

HOW IT WORKS

Each "instant" preview shows you a current view of the page, complete with text, graphics, and anything else that might be present. If you click on the thumbnail, Google takes you to the site. If you move your mouse anywhere else within the search results, Google starts loading previews for other pages in the list.

To learn more about Google Instant Previews and to do a test run – go here. 

Best
Denice MacDonald 

About a year ago, I did a blog on Wordle -- a java applet that generates a word cloud – a visual depiction of words that appear from a site's source text.  I thought it would be interesting to do a follow-up to see how my blog is transitioning based on keywords - the results are very interesting.

MacDonald Consulting has morphed into to a social media blog with concentration on strategic content strategy.

Here is the original content from that earlier blog - along with the original Word Cloud followed by the Word Cloud created today.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

To get Wordle to work, go to their site and enter a URL with an RSS feed. The result is an amazing visual montage based on prominent or frequently used words. 

The tool offers a variety of effects and fonts which you can randomize or colorize simply by clicking a button.  Moreover, Wordle lets you print out the text montage or visualizations, save them as PDF or to a public gallery for multiple use. 

Creative Commons Requirements

If you use a screen-capture, PDF, or other image representation of a Wordle on this site, you must attribute the image to http://www.wordle.net/.

MacDonald Consulting Services "Wordle" Circa August, 2009

MacDonald Consulting Services "Wordle" Circa August, 2010

Best

Denice MacDonald

I’ve come across a great real-time information advantage when monitoring competitors for clients – it’s called Workstreamer. Workstreamer is a business listening platform that delivers a competitive information advantage to business professionals.  And...it's free!

If you can relate to any of the following – you need Workstreamer:  

1. You want to know when someone is talking about your company in a public forum (online).
2. You want to stay on top of your competitors. Keeping your enemies closer.
3. You want to know when your biggest customers are making moves in the marketplace.
4. You're always looking for new ways to arm your salesforce with competitive information. 

Listen to your competitors (or even your own company/business) so you can be in the know, before anyone else. 

Best,

Denice MacDonald 

[Information and logo courtesy of http://www.workstreamer.com/]

Yep, I took the bait from Microsoft’s “Get the Facts” campaign and upgraded to Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8). The compelling campaign touts significant updates from IE 7 including better phishing and malware protection, InPrivate browsing and InPrivate filtering.  

Features like Accelerators, Web Slices and Visual Search Suggestions make IE 8 even more enticing. 

Accelerators help in the retrieval and manipulation of data on websites. It usually involves selected content on a website first and the accelerator to process the content afterwards. This can range from translation services to drawing a map of the location of a restaurant you just discovered or checking the price of an item on a shopping site. 

A Web Slice enables users to subscribe to content directly within a web page - a separate feed file is not required. Users monitor content changes and view the updated portion of the web page directly from the Favorites bar (the improved Links toolbar) of Internet Explorer. 

IE 8 is partnering with top search providers like Live Search, Wikipedia, Yahoo!, Amazon, and more to deliver Visual Search Suggestions that provide you with immediate answers. For example, typing "Isaac Newt" with Wikipedia visual suggestions will instantly show you a preview of the results directly in the Search Box drop-down. 

Go ahead – take the plunge and get the install here. If it doesn’t work out, you can uninstall IE 8 and get your old IE 7 back!

Great visual metaphor by CNET on YouTube: Internet Explorer 8 Review

Best

Denice MacDonald