AppSumo partners with people who make the coolest apps out there to offer you exclusive price deals on their products. You can access free deals, deals of the day and browse the web app directory.

You can also earn AppSumo dollars by referring friends OR consider becoming a partner to sell your own app.

This is a great resource for anyone that is doing hands on digital applications and want affordable resources.

I was introduced to this great resource through online giveaways for several free offerings including a free iPad and LinkedIn Pro Account for Life.

This site is awesome and you need to check it out. 

Best!
Denice MacDonald

Technology experts and stakeholders say they expect they will ‘live mostly in the cloud’ in 2020 and not on the desktop, working mostly through cyberspace-based applications accessed through networked devices.

Pew said, "the number of cloud users has grown; there are 500 million people sharing friendships 'in the cloud' on Facebook, and many millions are using the cloud every time they access a Hotmail or Gmail account for e-mail, store browser bookmarks online, maintain a blog on WordPress, or store, link to and view videos and photos on YouTube, Hulu and Flickr."¹ 

Cloud Computing Comparison Guide from Focus Research 

Now you can easily choose the best cloud computing solutions for your company with this comparison guide from Focus Research.

Learn the specific differences between eight of the leading cloud-computing vendors and see which will fit your specific business needs.

Download the Cloud Computing Comparison Guide to get side-by-side comparisons of multiple topics including:

• Support Options
• Security Features
• Bandwidth and storage solutions
• Scalability 

Note: You will need to complete a simple form to get this guide – but well worth it.² 

Related Post: Cloud Computing: The Here and Now 

Resources and Excerpts taken directly from:

1.  The Future of Cloud Computing from Pew Internet

2.  Cloud Computing Comparison Guide from Focus Research

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Earned Media is basically free media. Earned Media specifically refers to publicity gained through editorial influence and has become the backbone of many social media initiatives and social content development strategies.

With so much user generated content these days, it would behoove an organization not to take advantage of the magnitude of earned media – integrating an earned media strategy during content conception into execution.

Definition

To get the definitions out of the way, those in the marketing and agency world are privy to the buzzwords “paid,” “earned” and owned.” Traditionally, they stand for the different types of media and can be easily broken down like this:

• Paid: Buying a 30-second Super Bowl spot
• Earned: Coverage on Mashable (aka user word of mouth)
• Owned: Your company’s website

The business case for Earned Media

Don’t forget all content — whether it’s text, a video or a microsite — will be “reduced to a link” for social spheres making Earned Media an easy thing to do. There were 500 billion word-of-mouth impressions made by Americans online according to Forrester. Such volumes of word-of-mouth marketing can spread awareness of a product incredibly quickly, and it’s why earned media has become so important to a marketing campaign.

Understanding its usage

Let’s run through a scenario. Earned Media, for example, is what you get when you develop a connection with someone that’s compelled to write a Yahoo review, a blog post, a comment or a tweet, sharing their thoughts on your brand with their social network. It sounds simple but it does take forethought.

Specifically, you will need to develop a strategy at content conception and then filter everything through its earned potential. That is, did I get the right audience, is the content compelling to share (good or bad) and do we make it easy to ‘syndicate’ the efforts (share tools, icons, other channels and formats) and, most importantly, does it integrate nicely as a natural springboard from traditional paid or owned media?

More on Earned Media:

For Social Media Marketing, Earned Media Rules -- MediaPost

How Social Media is Changing Paid, Earned and Owned Media -- Mashable

Defining Earned, Owned And Paid Media – Forrester Blogs

Best

Denice MacDonald

Had to make this recommendation! CMO.com is an excellent resource for professional marketers with little time on their hands who need access to current trends and digital marketing ideas.

Specifically, CMO.com offers digital marketing insight for chief marketing officers. It has four major sections:

1. News -- Headlines about digital marketing news, trends, announcements, marketing analytics, marketing resources, marketing Web sites, blog marketing, and other information about digital marketing and key players in the digital marketing space
2. Insight -- Articles, reports, surveys, statistics, commentary from industry experts, and other digital marketing resources that have a relatively long "shelf life"
3. Blogs -- Select posts about blog marketing from influential bloggers, other CMOs, and industry publications
4. CMO Perspectives -- Interviews with leading CMOs, findings from surveys of marketing executives, and a listing of industry events for CMOs and their staff.

Easy to Navigate!

Select articles from these sections are shown on the CMO.com home page. Additionally, each section has an "index page" that lists all articles for that section. Drop-down menus allow you to browse articles that cover more than 70 specific digital marketing topics, including: brand marketing strategy, email marketing strategy, mobile marketing strategy, news marketing, search marketing, social marketing, video marketing strategy, Web blogs, and Web site marketing strategy.

I strongly suggest you connect with this great resource!

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Fast and furious - that is how all users want to access AND consume content. QR codes are being used to make that possible.

What is it?

Quick Response code is a type of matrix barcode or two-dimensional code consisting of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background.

When you scan or read a QR code with your iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone, you can link to digital content on the web; activate a number of phone functions including email, IM and SMS; and connect the mobile device to a web browser.

Aligning and integrating lots of cross-channel initiatives:                  

Digital strategists like myself LOVE this new and evolving technology. The ability of QR codes to connect people with each other and to multimedia digital content is very useful for businesses and consumers alike. From locations, to hours to freebies, QR codes can engage all types of buyers readily and without distraction (less friction and more interaction).

Of crucial excitement is the ability to really integrate offline initiatives to measurable online actions. Consider adding QR codes to your print, name tags, event material, advertisements, door signs and more.

Want to create your own QR Code? Simply go to this website http://keremerkan.net/ where you can create any or all of the following code to:

• Browse to a website.

• Bookmark a website.

• Make a phone call.

• Send a short message.

• Send an e-mail.

• Create a vCard (v2.1 or v3.0) with coordinates to add a contact to your device.

• Create a meCard to add a contact to your device.

• Create a vCalendar event to add to your calendar.

• Create Google Maps URLs.

• Create Bing Maps URLs.

• Create raw geological coordinates.

• Create iTunes app and review URLs for iOS devices.

• Create market:// URLs for searching for publishers or packages on Market app for Android.

• Create Foursquare venue URLs.

• Create special youtube:// URLs for YouTube app on iOS.

• Obtain and encode the latest tweet of a Twitter user.

• Overlay a Twitter profile image over the code.

• Create a mobile URL to tweet on Twitter.

• Initiate a chat to a particular Blackberry PIN on Blackberry Messenger.

• Connect to a WIFI network on Android devices.

• Read plain or free formatted text on your device.

As you can see, the ideas are endless. Take advantage of this new technology now and make it a staple in your digital and offline marketing campaigns and initiatives!

Best,

Denice MacDonald

BTW: Here's the MacDonald Consulting Services QR Code:

Many organizations are obsessed with volume – measuring their web metrics strategy by how many web pages that were viewed or by how many people that have visited. In many cases, this type of information is meaningless as it is not directly linked to a web plan or strategy.

Whether its website traffic analysis, search engine optimization or tracking business success metrics, you need to develop a web strategy ‘up front’ to support measurement objectives. This thought process seems so fundamental but rarely exercised.  Take these simple rules:

A strategic plan for evaluating your website will help you:

1. Collect only the data you need to make informed, strategic decisions
2. Identify priority “action areas” for improvement, measure the impact of those actions -- and keep your customers coming back
3. Determine benchmarks and performance goals you should aspire to, and the extent to which you’re achieving them
4. Determine whether you’re getting a return on the investment you’ve made to build, operate and maintain your website(s)
5. Evaluate how well your website is performing relative to competitors, your company's brand, mission statement or hiring criteria

Develop a plan – a strategy – and review and adjust it regularly by asking these questions:

• What do you need to measure
• What are your requirements
• How will you measure it
• What tools will you use
• What methodologies are needed to gather the data you need
• What will you do with the results
• How will the results help meet the goals for your website and your company's mission
• How does the plan fit with your company's overall strategic and performance plan

Once armed with this process and validation, you will find that your ROI exceeds expectations. 

Great Resources:

Coremetrics Web Metrics
Get powerful website metrics with the leading provider.

Web Measurement Data Fast
ClickTracks web measurement shows behavior, conversion, groups, SEO.

WebTrends Analytics
Marketing Intelligence Solutions, leading analytic & metrics software.

Web Analytics
Compare web analytics products and get a free report sample from CMS Watch.

Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics
If you have an interest in measuring the success of your website, then this book is definitely for you!

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Nielson Online called LinkedIn, “The world’s largest audience of affluent, influential professionals.”  In fact, you will find more than 80 million of them from more than 200 countries. LinkedIn’s population is highly educated; more than 80 percent have bachelor or graduate degrees.  

With that being said, LinkedIn provides the greatest opportunity to create business relationships, partnerships and highly refined / qualified leads. Most of the research I’ve done on this topic is fairly straight forward and easy to do.  Here are just a few suggestions - check out the links below for specifics:

1.     Don’t assume your LinkedIn profile should be a quick thirty second sell – this is an opportunity to layout your personal and company information in a way that says ‘let’s create an ongoing dialoque’ --- and  by the way, I’m an expert with information I want to continually share with you…

2.     Have a complete profile - include polls, videos, your blog feed and PowerPoint presentations. Using the new publications application, post your e-books, books, articles and other publications.

3.     Connect via groups – not only sign up but participate on an ongoing basis. Share information and begin creating relationships.

4.     Create a community on LinkedIn – one that is authentic and consistently shares pertinent and relevant information to the group. 

5.  Lastly – don’t forget to optimize your profile – that is, insure that you are using relevant keywords within all rich media links that will get your profile noticed on search.  

To learn more – check out these must-have resources: 

LinkedIn Cheat Sheet by my favorite Hubspot Certified Partner Kuno Creative:
http://www.kunocreative.com/linkedin-cheat-sheet/ 

How to optimize your profile with keywords by Linked Strategies:
http://www.linkedstrategies.com/linkedin-keyword-optimization-video/

View Denice's Linked Profile:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/macdonaldconsultingservices

Good luck!
Denice

[LinkedIn photo image from http://technorati.com/]

Time magazine just released their listing of the 50 best websites for 2011.

According to Time, they honor the scrappy newcomers and established players that make the Web so useful, entertaining and just plain indispensable.

Read more.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

With the social media craze in full action, how do you keep ahead of the pack relative to the best social resources? 

Below you will find my top picks that will help your organization connect social media to business initiatives – including the last resource on building influence while maintaining your brand reputation. Enjoy! 

Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel

This is the first book to integrate digital marketing, social media, personal branding, and entrepreneurship in a clear, entertaining, and instructive manner that everyone can understand and apply. 

Buy it at Amazon

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

Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck

Cash in on your passion! The social media revolution has changed the way we live our lives and conduct our business. Learn how Crush It will give you the tools to take advantage and WIN.  

Buy it at Amazon 

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

Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

Use the web to build influence, improve reputation and earn trust. 

Buy it at Amazon 

Denice MacDonald

Marketers are under constant pressure to measure and demonstrate marketing’s ROI and impact on overall revenue. With compelling graphics and real-life examples of Marketo’s own metrics and tactics, the new Definitive Guide to Marketing Metrics and Analytics offers best practices and techniques for harnessing data to not only prove, but improve ROI.

This 70 page guide will teach you:

1. The right metrics for understanding and interpreting marketing results
2. Why measuring marketing programs is difficult, and how to do it correctly and efficiently
3. Revenue metrics that get the executives' attention and prove marketing ROI
4. The critical elements of a marketing dashboard
5. And much, much more!

Marketo requires some basic information for download - but well worth it!

Best,
Denice MacDonald

[Source: Marketo Website]

With social media on the rise, many marketing professionals are in the midst of explaining, emulating and selling social media to management and/or clients. Why not consider infographics - visual representations of social information, social data or social knowledge?

Specifically, infographics provide statistical relevance, digital integration not to mention future payback that words cannot convey.

The following are great links with various infographics:

35 Great Social Media Infographics by Pat Dyer of Pamorama – 35 great infographics that have been cropped down for viewing – linking to the original graphic.

10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics by Grace Smith of Mashable – Similarly to Pamorama’s collection, this grouping concentrates on both social networking sites and twitter – also linking back to the original graphic.

Social Media Infographics from Slideshare – Tons of infographics – 50 in total.

These social media graphics will help convey your message – quickly.

[Infographic courtesy of Elliance]

Enjoy!

Best

Denice MacDonald

Thanks to my recent client, I have been using a very easy share-filing tool: Dropbox!

The best part about Dropbox is that you can sync your files online and across your computers automatically.

• 2GB of online storage for free, with up to 100GB available to paying customers.
• Sync files of any size or type.
• Sync Windows, Mac, and Linux computers.
• Automatically syncs when new files or changes are detected.

The free Dropbox account comes with 2GB of space that you can use for as long as you like. 

Need more than 2GB of space? They offer Pro plans up to 100GB to meet all your sync and sharing needs.

Want to see what Dropbox can do? Take a tour!

Love it!

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Whether it’s starting a social media campaign, integrating social media into your advertising or simply setting up a Facebook fan page, it is always wise to seek out experts who have proven experience (and metrics) to help guide you in your social media initiatives.  

Here are some great resources you should bookmark or subscribe via RSS: 

Learn How Human Business Works — Beyond Social Media
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/

Web Strategy, Social Media, Web Marketing
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog

Brian Solis
http://www.briansolis.com/

Social Media Strategy Blog and Social Media Consulting — Convince and Convert
http://www.convinceandconvert.com/  

Social Media Explorer — Social Media Consulting, Public Speaking and Education
http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/

Seth Godin’s Blog
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Conversation Agent
http://www.conversationagent.com/

PR-Squared
http://www.pr-squared.com/

Online Marketing Blog
http://www.toprankblog.com/

Social Media Examiner, Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/

Social Media Today
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/

Web Ink Now 
http://www.webinknow.com/

MarketingProfs Daily Fix
http://www.mpdailyfix.com/

Hubspot Internet Marketing Blog
http://blog.hubspot.com/

Search Engine Land — Search Marketing & Search Engines
http://www.searchengineland.com/  

And lastly, Top 100 FREE Social Media Marketing Resources from my LinkedIn group "Social Media Marketing": http://tinyurl.com/6esq5kp 

Best
Denice MacDonald

Internet Explorer 9, or IE 9, features a number of enhancements over the current edition, including support for hardware acceleration, a slimmed-down interface, full compatibility with Web standards like HTML5, and better privacy controls.  

However, is it advisable to dump Internet Explorer 8 before all the kinks are ironed out for IE 9? 

Read on… 

NetworkWorld does a good job of outlining six enticing features of IE 9 but is cautious about Microsoft’s ability to flush out and fix some potential glitches as forseen in the beta version. 

Read the full article here:
6 Things We Like About IE 9 (and six not so much) 
.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     . 

The good news, according to MSN's TechnoLog, is that IE 9 will rekindkle browser wars.  

Read the full article here:
Changes to Internet Explorer 9 May Rekindle Browser Wars 
.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     . 

What am I doing? I’ll continue to more research before downloading. 

Read more here:
Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate: what's new, what's changed?
.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     . 

After participating in several webinars this week, I continue to hear that corporate blogs are still the hub for many social media intiatives. And, anyone who has a vested interest in a corporate blog knows it takes time and effort to produce a great blog - especially if it is the cornerstone for most of your corporation's social media content.

Here are my 'must-haves' for a successful corporate blog:

Blogger shows enthusiasm for his/her blog. If it's written to fill space, I can tell. I’m only interested in blogs that surprise, delight, amuse and inform offering a unique view into your organization.

The blog is well written. I read certain blogs because I not only enjoy reading them, but I’m truly getting information that is important to me – in a style of writing that is more conversational and with the bloggers point of view (good or bad) in mind.

The blog has links to other blogs, newsfeeds or other relevant information. I want to know that this blog is going to get me the next relevant click of information. I love resources, links back to other blogs and creditable information so that I can understand the bloggers opinion or slant.

The blog is updated regularly. There’s nothing worse than finding a great blog only to find out that the blogger blogs on a sporadic basis. I want a blog to be committed to me, the reader, by providing ongoing, updated content – especially if I have subscribed to their feeds. 

The blog embraces comments and feedback. I welcome an opportunity to comment on content and provide my opinion on topics. More sophisticated blogs allows sign in and the ability to post comments making the blog very interactive and viral in nature. Corporations can reply (in kind) - especially to diffuse any negative connotation about the organization or its products and services.

The blog is properly tagged and categorized. Make it easy for me to move around your blog, clicking on other categories or relevant tags.

Great Blogging Resource at Amazon:

The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil

More Great Bloggers:

The Rules Behind Creating a Great Blog by Tom Hung, ProBlogger

27 Tips for Building a Kick-ass Blog by Ahmed Bilal

What Makes a Great Company Blog by Mack Collier

Best

Denice MacDonald

According to Mashable, Google's now making some monumental changes to Google Social Search, and it is announcing three new websites that will appear prominently in social search results.  

The first major change is that Google Social Search results will no longer appear only at the bottom of the page, but will instead be "blended" throughout the page. This is good news for anyone looking to be part of a level playing field relevant to social search results. 

The second update to social search will be results for any content shared by your friends on Quora, Flickr and Twitter. This is not only good for consumers but anyone wanting to increase their social presence within the B2B environment. 

The final update focuses on increasing the control users have over what gets displayed in social search. Google has revamped its options page to give users the ability to both publicly and privately connect their social profiles to their Google accounts. Again, a win/win for both B2B and B2C social strategies. 

One thing this update doesn't include is Facebook "Like" data, a prominent feature of Microsoft Bing. Unlike Google, Bing has access to instant personalization and Facebook user data. 

For more information, continue to follow Mashable – they continually have the ‘in’ to any updates for Google Social Search!

You can also learn more by going directly to Google here. 

More Buzz:

Social Links Get Higher Billing from CNET

Greplin's Social Search Open its Doors to All from TechCrunch

Best

Denice MacDonald

Thanks to my colleague, James Davidson at 7Summits, I have been introduced to an amazing resource called the Social Media Business Council – a community for social leaders at large companies.

There are various resources at their website including: events, blogs and links along with video and featured articles and best-practice toolkits. Although the membership is geared toward large corporations, you still can take advantage of various resources, events and sign up for their newsletter. 

Details here:

Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit.(This is a document that is constantly updated and morphing.)

Blog. (Great topics and commentary on the latest social
media issues and challenges.) 

Events. (Check out 7Summits attending this event in February in Austin, TX!)

Email Newsletter. (Four to chose from: SocialMedia.org's Big List, Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That!, Word Of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! and SmartBrief on Social Media.) 

To get a sense of who participates from large corporations, take a look at the member directory here – along with quantifiable testimonials.  

This is a true social community worth a peek!                                                  Click image for details.

Enjoy!

Denice MacDonald

I have several hundred true blog followers to my website and they have been thirsty for knowledge on social media, search engine optimization and anything metrics – 30,000 page views to be exact.  

Therefore, I feel it necessary to provide the following links that represent the most clicked, viewed and downloaded blogs from my website for 2010 – just in case anyone needs these resources again. 

Top 2010 Blogs (ranked in order by page views) 

Staying Nimble: Social Media 2010 - According to several leading experts, social media has been the number one priority in 2010. Social media will be used by organizations to lift their brand, stay connected to customers while using networks to grow their lead-gen pipelines. To learn how your organization can capitalize on what others are doing, check out these ‘top’ resources, articles and blogs from leading subject matter experts.  

Don’t Miss This One: Connecting Social Media and Email - I find it interesting that most organizations don’t realize that e-mail marketing is the original ‘backbone’ of social interaction and should always be part of the social mix.  Simply adding some ‘integrated’ content will aid in elevating your brand – not to mention ROI for your social campaigns. 

Get it here: Search Engine Optimization Blogs - Great post by Hubspot on a few dozen SEO blogs everyone should read or minimally have in your arsenal.

Social Media Resources You Can’t Live Without - Whether it’s starting a social media campaign, integrating social media into your advertising or simply setting up a Facebook fan page, it is always wise to seek out experts who have proven experience (and metrics) to help guide you in your social media initiatives. 

Social Analytics: The Next Frontier - Let’s face it folks, social analytics is a new frontier – not anything like the analytics and metrics tracking we’ve used for advertising, direct mail or other one-way channel marketing.

Get It Right The First Time: Web Metrics - Many organizations are obsessed with volume – measuring their web metrics strategy by how many web pages that were viewed or by how many people that have visited. In many cases, this type of information is meaningless as it is not directly linked to a web plan or strategy.  

Writing for Social Media - If you want consistent social media success, you have to understand what social media users crave. For social media content, that means understanding the type of content social media users want.

Your Entire Organization Benefits From Web Analytics - You finally launched a much-anticipated Web 2.0+ web site and you can’t wait to hunker down and review your analytics. How do you gauge if your analytics for your site are appropriate, measurable and definable? And most importantly, who in your organization would benefit?    

As we move forward in 2011, it will be fun to watch the exploding world of social media and how it will affect all channels in the marketing mix.  

Happy New Year to all my blog fans and a hearty welcome to all new visitors. 

Best

Denice MacDonald

My favorite web resource, Website Magazine, has just posted the top 20 books for web pro’s for 2011. With a mix of social media, SEO and metrics, the list is quite rich with resources for everyone -- including programmers and web designers. 

A special thank you to Website Magazine for this list and all the other knowledge they share throughout the year! 

Website Magazine's list of 2010's Top 20 Tomes for Web Pro's

Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics (2nd Edition) - Brian Clifton
Search Engine Optimization: Your Visual Blueprint for Effective Internet Marketing - Kristopher B. Jones
Marketing in the Age of Google: Your Online Strategy IS Your Business Strategy - Vanessa Fox
Ultimate Guide to Pay-Per-Click Advertising - Rich Stokes
The Zen of Social Media Marketing - Shama Kabani
The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success - Lon Safko
Advanced Google AdWords - Brad Geddes
Conversion Optimization: The Art and Science of Converting Prospects to Customers - Khalid Saleh
Content Rules - Ann Handley, C.C. Chapman, David Meerman Scott
Data-Driven Marketing: The 15 Metrics Everyone in Marketing Should Know - Mark Jeffery
Social Media Marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Facebook, Twitter & Other Social Media - Liana Evans
Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements - Robbin Phillips, Greg Cordell, Geno Church, Spike Jones
The Web Designer's Idea Book, Vol. 2: -  Patrick McNeil
White Space is Not Your Enemy - Kim Golombisky and Rebecca Hagen
Professional Web Design: Techniques and Templates - Clint Eccher
Dreamweaver CS5: The Missing Manual - David Sawyer McFarland
Simple and Usable Web, Mobile, and Interaction Design (Voices That Matter) - Giles Colborne
Undercover User Experience Design (Voices That Matter) - Cennyd Bowles and James Box
Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content (Voices That Matter) - Colleen Jones
Mobile Marketing: Finding Your Customers No Matter Where They Are - Cindy Krum 

Of course, do remember that the best way to improve your chances of success (this holiday season and beyond) is to request a PRO-level subscription to Website Magazine.  

For a limited time, they're offering a 25% discount on subscriptions (that's 60% off the newsstand price).

Learn more about Website Magazine's Holiday Promotion here.

Best to you this holiday season!
Denice MacDonald

Hot off the press from The Wall Street Journal: Google said it is launching Google eBooks, its long-anticipated digital bookselling enterprise.

The Wall Street Journal commented that the venture, now rolling out across the Web with hundreds of thousands of popular titles for sale and millions more free, will compete for a slice of the digital books business, which is valued at close to $1 billion and is expected to grow in the comming years. 

Google eBooks, formerly called Google Editions, represents another opportunity for the Web giant to go toe-to-toe with two of its powerful rivals, Apple and Amazon and to open up a new stream of revenue outside of online advertising.

How to Find Free Books on Google Books

To begin your search for free eBooks, bookmark Google Books Advanced Book Search. If you have a specific book, author, or topic in mind, you can start at this search page and fine tune your potential results. You do not need to fill in every box on the search page.

More buzz and resources:

From USA Today: Google opens eBook store; competes with Amazon and Apple

From Eweek.com: Google eBook Service Launching to Challenge Amazon, Apple

From Suite101.com: How to Download Free eBooks from Google Books for an Amazon Kindle

Best
Denice MacDonald