Darian Posts

Attention, all small business owners, now you can put your business on the world map. Google Local Business Center lets you to add a business listing to the Google Maps and when someone is looking for your business via Google Local search, they can find you.

The benefits of putting your business on the world map is enormous. Let me tell you a short story. Once my friend had to send some flowers from Australia to his lover who was residing at a hotel in USA on a Valentine’s day. But, we had a day left to deliver the flowers and we tried many online sites - every one said it would take at least 2 days. We used Google Local search to find a flower shop which was in the same street in the City and placed a direct online order, paid via credit card. BHOOOM. The flowers were delivered within hours. The world is flat, huh?

How does it work?
Start here to add your business. You can place a location mark by zooming in to the Google map or you can enter your address with Street, City and Zipcode details. Provide at least one phone number (must), specify which category your business is in, your business hours, what type of payment do you accept (from customers) and photos if any.

The final step involves Google verifying your business address by phone, SMS or sending a post card (may take 2 weeks). It is wise to choose the verification method by phone - so, your business will be added in 10 minutes.

Which countries are covered by this scheme?
As of now, only for businesses in Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, the United States and the UK.

Do you need to pay for a listing?
No. This is different from a sponsored listing such as adwords. Here, you add your business on the Google Map for free. When a user searches for your business type with Google Local, your business listing will appear on the map.

If you want to combine your existing sponsored ad listing with this Google Local listing, you can do it too.

[link via Kate, Google Latlong blog]
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My TiVo hit the Funny Jackpot this week.  First, there's the ever-reliable 30 Rock.  I don't think I can ever see the following scene too often:  Jack's fiance, Phoebe, refusing to shake Liz Lemon's hand:  "Sorry, I don't shake hands.  I have Avian Bone Syndrome.  Hollow bones."  It's so eminently plausible, and delivered so sincerely, and Tina Fey, who plays Liz, recoils ever so slightly from the Bird Woman.  Priceless!  Then, when Jack thinks he is dying, he looks back over his life, and comes out with this Great Line:  "I should have worked more.  Work is the only thing I'm good at."  Perfectly, un-politically correct and fabulous. 

Note to Alec Baldwin:  I don't care if you are the crappiest father on the planet, you are a fine and funny actor.  Please don't quit this show.  (If you blinked, you missed the title of the doctor's book, the one who was treating Jack.  His book about sex was titled:  "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.")

Ugly Betty came through this week, too.  Whoever wrote this week's episode, "Petra-Gate," understands that this show is a comedy, and not a murder mystery.  Most of the best lines went to Hilda, Betty's big sister, who nags Betty to go back to work.  "A job is not about making friends.  It's about making money, and stealing office supplies."  Later, she gets mad at her father, with whom she lives, along with her 12-year-old son, and Betty.  "I hate this house!" she yells.  "I am so out of here when I'm 40!"  Finally, she's learning to be a hairdresser, and has an upset Betty in her chair, and tells her "You are desperately in need of hair-apy."  Fine line, like fine wine;  gets better the longer it sits.

By the way, Hilda's baby daddy, and old/new boyfriend is Santos, played by Kevin Alejandro, who also stars in Drive, on Fox.  I only watch this ridiculous show because I adore Nathan Fillion, who was the star of the ill-fated Firefly, also on Fox.  I keep hoping that the crew of Serenity, the falling-apart spaceship, will drop in for a landing during one of the ridiculous racing scenes on Drive.  The crew will yell to Fillion, whose name is Mal on their show, and tell him he's been trapped in a terrible alternate universe–of a bad Fox show–and to please get aboard now.  Then, they'll fly off into space, but not before nuking the entire cast of Drive, and taking over the time slot.  If the world were fair, this is definitely what would happen.

DigiSkills is an European Comenius 1.3 / eTwinning project. It’s about developing digital skills for teachers (Comenius) and students (eTwinning). 10 schools in 8 countries are participating and we now have started our 2nd project-year.

We will meet in Realschule Regenstauf (Germany 10-15 october) and teachers and students will be working with ejournals, blogs, the LMS Dokeos (opensource) and the content management system Joomla and Fronter.
We are trying to have the national quality-label for each country, and Germany already has it. Afterwards we are going for the European label. We also try to prepare a Flashmeeting (videoconference) between students.
At this point we are interested in Web 2.0 and some of it’s educational web-applications.

Maybe we will meet you next year in Bruges (Belgium 23.02.2007 - 25.02.2007) for the European eTwinning-meeting. Many teachers are coming….

Contactpersons:
Uschi Schmack (Germany): project-coördinator
Hans Feldmeier (Germany): webdesign
Robert Conings (Belgium): Dokeos webplatform-administrator

Some websites:
Web- en communicationplatform Dokeos
eTwinning-website
DigiSkills eTwinning Blog
DigiSkills ejournal

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