Published: October 16, 2008 04:00 am         

Internet focus of seminar

PALESTINE — If you don’t know your pod cast from your spin cast, Michael McCulloch’s business lunch seminar on Monday may be a good place to start.

McCulloch, owner of Zoom Advertising and Design and the Web administrator for YourEastTexas.com, will be discussing what he terms “World Wide Web 101 — What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You” during his seminar Monday on “Internet and Podcasting in Your Business” in the Ben E. Keith Community Room, 2019 W. Oak St.

Cost is $5 for the monthly event and includes a meal. The seminars are hosted by the Palestine Area Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Palestine Economic Development Corp.

McCulloch’s topics of discussion are expected to include The Basics — “Navigating the muddy waters of the world wide web;” Marketing Your Website — “If you build it, they may not come;” Terminology — “What the heck is a pixel?;” Pod Casting — “Does this have anything to do with fishing?;” RSS — “Not an acronym for rusty solvent suds;” and Web Design — “The good, the bad & the downright ugly.”

The idea is to break down Internet information into understandable, usable format, McCulloch said.

“The Web 101 seminar is designed for people not familiar with RSS,” he said. “They may have seen an Apple commercial and wondered how to make a pod cast.”

Not everyone knows how to take advantage of the ability of RSS (rich site summary) to deliver regularly changing Web site content on their business’ Web page, he said, or is familiar enough with podcasting (audio or video files available for broadcast on computers or mobile devices for customers to view or listen to) to see the potential benefit for increasing sales traffic.

“If you have a good pod cast and update it frequently, you can drive people to your Web site,” McCulloch said. “That can only help you.”

According to PACC executive director Kathi Masonheimer, McCulloch’s message is very timely for local businesses.

“The Internet market allows your small business to go global,” Masonheimer said. “That’s why it’s such an important topic. It’s a great opportunity for businessees to take advantage of.”

McCulloch’s business background includes hands-on experience with small and large advertising agencies as well as Fortune 500 companies in both business-to-business and retail advertising. His client list has included many well-known companies such as Shell Oil, Loomis/Fargo & Company, Tele-Check and hundreds of regional companies.

He owns Zoom Advertising & Design (www.zoomtexas.us) and manages the operations of YourEastTexas.com, a Palestine-based web portal for “All Things East Texas” and the home of KYYK 98.3 and KNET 1450 AM/95.7 FM. YourEastTexas.com covers news, sports and more in a 26-county region and was launched in August.

McCulloch has more than a decade of experience in advertising and marketing with both print and web-based media, including a degree from The Art Institute of Houston in Marketing Communications.

For more information or to register for the seminar, call the chamber office at 903-729-6066.

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Beth Foley may be contacted via e-mail at bfoley@palestineherald.com

     

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