Great ways to post documents online
There are many ways to store, share and even let others edit documents that your company produces or content you would like to make available for the public, clients or others. Ranging from basic HTML to the .pdf to newer platforms like Google Docs, sharing documents online is easy and is a far better way to spread information than e-mail or the antiquated fax machine. Here are some of the better sharing tools out there:
HTML. Believe it or not, sometimes it’s just best to use good old HTML right on your website, especially if you’re all sharing is a small amount of text. Quick, easy and it can’t be modified or lost in translation. Users simply copy and paste the information they need.
Adobe .pdf. The venerable .pdf (portable document format) has come a long way since it was introduced by Adobe in 1993. There are many benefits to using a .pdf, the chief being that it’s now ubiquitous. Almost every PC manufactured comes with Adobe’s free Acrobat reader, so having the right software to view the document is almost never a problem. The .pdf can also be edited and manipulated by end users who have Adobe’s full Acrobat software package, unless security settings have been enabled to prevent it. A .pdf is usually a pretty authentic representation of the original document, whether it’s a Word file, a photograph, or other content file. A downside is that Adobe’s reader software has become bloated and annoying, frequently reminding users of the need to upgrade and running a continual update checker in the background that may (along with the dozens of other updaters for iTunes and other software that are probably running on your PC) slow you down.
Scribd. Scribd is a popular, free online document sharing provider introduced in 2006 that not only allows users to view documents, but it opens up both the document contributor and the user to the wider world of social document sharing. Much like YouTube for videos, Scribd invites users to browse documents by subject and displays featured and “popular now” documents. Use Scribd if your audience is wider than the accounting department, a few clients, or the Delhi office, because social, interactive and sharing are the names of the game. The best part about Scribd (and its competitor Docstoc) is that no software is necessary—everything takes place through your browser at scribd.com.
Docstoc. Introduced in 2007, Docstoc is very similar to Scribd, with a few notable differences. It didn’t allow personal accounts (only business) until February of this year, and while its basic service is free, it also offers a paid service to host commercial documents. Which one to use? Try them both and see which one you like best.
Google Docs. More than just an online document sharing service, Google Docs is an entire suite of applications designed to compete with the Microsoft Office suite and also free, open-source competitors like Oracle’s Open Office. Google Docs is a good choice for commercial users who wish to restrict access to specified individuals—sort of the opposite of Scribd and Docstoc. Like Scribd and Docstoc, Google Docs takes place entirely in your browser, so there is no need to download software and update it continuously. Another bonus of using a Google product is that Google does anything and everything these days, so it’s usually easy to integrate your Google files into applications like Google Calendar, Picasa, YouTube, Google Earth, external programs like Microsoft Outlook—you name it, and Google is probably offering a way to integrate with it.
So there you go. There are more services and options out there, but these are the most popular and proven. Just don’t let us catch you posting links to Microsoft Word documents on your website any longer!
New survey reveals women’s Facebook habits
Did you know that Trade Press Services is a women-owned business? As such, we have a special interest in how women select and consume media, especially new social media like Facebook. You can imagine that a recent survey conducted by Lightspeed Research for Oxygen Media on the Facebook habits of women 18-34 caught my eye.
The poll questioned more than 1,600 women about their Facebook use. The results may surprise you:
More than a quarter (26 percent) admit to getting up in the middle of the night to check their Facebook messages and status updates, while 34 percent say that logging in to the FB is the first thing they do in the morning. Nearly four in 10 (39 percent) are self-described “Facebook addicts.”
Watch out, Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone: 44 percent of women surveyed use Facebook for TV and music reviews.
You too, CNN: 48 percent of those polled use Facebook to stay up on the news more than they use traditional media outlets.
Sadly, while 63 percent of those polled use Facebook for business networking, a shocking four in 10 women polled think that it’s okay to post photos of themselves intoxicated. Maybe even more surprising, three in 10 think that photos of themselves making lewd gestures are appropriate.
What does this say about the power of Facebook and social media in general?
First, the grip that social media hold over young women is impressive—that four in 10 describe themselves as “addicts” speaks to the scale of the Facebook phenomenon.
Second, the poll shows the real threat that Facebook and social media pose to traditional and even online news sites like CNN.com. With nearly every news site offering a “share this on Facebook” link with each story, Facebook in many ways becomes a giant news aggregator. And not only that—it’s an aggregator that tailors news to what interests Facebook users and their friends. This means people who use Facebook for news may end up with a biased view based on their own tastes and not what’s truly newsworthy.
All media and publishers need to pay attention to results like this and determine how social media factors into their plans. The warning sign is clear: Ignore Facebook at your own peril!