Workshop Topic

Wendell,
that sounds like a topic all by itself.....

The only real information that I would look for is to learn how to keep my webpage "current" on search engines.

For instance, does blogging work if you use appropriate key words in your blog? i ahve a "current events" secion on my webpage, and if I make myself blog faithfully to it will that make it more likely to be "found" so lnog as I use words like "land surveying," "Cape Cod," "Barnstable County" etc...

Don

I think that I would pass, it sounds to commercial for me to bother with. I seldom listen to promoters or salesmen any more, they only want to sell something no matter what they say, kind of like the government saying, " I am from the government and I am here to help you". Want info on something I need, I will seek it out from others who have experience from using the product in question.
jud

I have done one a couple of times dealing with "Historical Resources on the Web for Surveyors".

I think what Wendell is proposing is "how to increase your client base using modern tools of communication and commerce". If that interpretation is correct, I think it assumes that the surveyor already has learned about ethics in professional marketing and such.

I can think of some useful short topics such as:

How do I set up my website to get more hits from search engines? I want prospective clients to easily find me.

How do I set up my website to allow credit card transactions and more importantly, which way will realize the least cost to me and the best protection for my clients? I want to get paid but I don't want to get screwed.

How do I set up my website to be friendly to rural clients who may still be using dial up connections? I don't want prospective clients to close or redirect because my page takes too long.

How can I set up my website so that I'm notified if an actual prospective client reaches it? I don't want to have to constantly monitor this thing as I'm too busy already.

How can I set up my website so it is easy to navigate? I don't want to lose hundreds of potential clients due to category frustration.

I could think of more, but I'll await reaction to this post.

Duane

That's pretty much the gist of it, yes.

I'm asking because PLSO (Oregon) asked if I'd be interested in putting on a workshop at the 2011 conference that ties surveying with web technologies. So I'm fishing for popular topics. It may end up being a generalized presentation, but I find myself wondering if I should try to focus on a particular topic, hence my post here.

I don't want it to be a huge advertising campaign. The intent is to help my fellow surveyor better understand what the web has to offer them to improve their business. I actually even wondered if a big Q&A session would be all that is needed.

Hey Wendell
Great idea!
For those of you that don't know it already, I'll let the cat out of the bag. Wendell and his partner will be speaking at the PLSO convention in January so please send him all your ideas and thoughts on the subject to help make this year's convention the best ever.

John

oops now I see that Duane and Wendell already let the cat out of the bag.

Wendell,
I find with most Q and A sessions that most people do not know the right questions to ask, especially if they are not very familiar with the subject. An overview of how and why someone would need to have a webiste or other communication connection, some success stories and then "tips and tricks" would fill your hour easily.

I will be there in January and would attend your session.

You could even get a dinner paid for if you would like to try out a condensed version at a Pioneer Chapter meeting!

Joe

> You could even get a dinner paid for if you would like to try out a condensed version at a Pioneer Chapter meeting!

I might take you up on that. I'm not much of a speaker, but I have someone working with me who is really good at it. We figured we'd operate as a team, with his great people skills and my experience in land surveying. 🙂