SoLoMo will be featured at this year’s smAlbany (July 17 UAlbany CNanoSE) and we will have some of the leading experts in the field on hand to discuss this new search trend.

Before I go further, for those who don’t know SoLoMo search stands for, it brings together “Social” and “Local” combined “Mobile” and they represent probably the most exciting trend in the last few years.

SoLoMo is the alignment of these three technologies — local search, social media, mobile devices — to provide local search at virtually any location. Whether you’re looking for a restaurant or coffee, your favorite chain store or a local boutique, it’s now possible to easily locate these destinations on the go, with priority given for local businesses and services. And don’t bother with the GPS, it’s in your phone!

It’s a whole new way to shop, and to to search for local merchants.Goggle’s emphasis on local search began a few years back, in what was called “hyper-local” search. Today, mobile devices have revolutionized local search. We’ll always need regional, nationwide and worldwide search, and that will never go away. But local search is incredible for both consumers and businesses.

Goggle’s Head of Partnership Development and Small Business Engagement & Advocacy Joe DeMike will provide the keynote presentation at the 2012 smAlbany event, and we expect him to discuss the latest in SoLoMo search, among other topics.

In these times of SoLoMo Search, businesses must adjust their web site, blog, Facebook and other marketing channels friendly to local search and mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. As such it is critical that businesses have aps to take full advantage of mobile technologies and that their web sites are mobile compatible.

For help with SoLoMo, contact Liberteks. Or better yet, please share your SoLoMo experiences as either a consumer or a business, and maybe we can share some of these comments and ideas at smAlbany. Thanks!

The first in the Capital District Business Review by Richard A. D’Errico titled “Google and social media to take center stage at upcoming smAlbany event.”

The second story was written by local social media extraordinaire Susan Rock in the Examiner http://t.co/SXW3T3kX.

Please check out both of these stories, and please register and get more information at the www.smalbany.org

TweetDeck is an application that was originally developed to be used in conjunction with Twitter. It was introduced in July 2008 and was later purchased by Twitter in May 2011. The product was renamed TweetDeck by Twitter.

Unfortunately when Twitter purchased TweetDeck, it removed some functionality so I agree with my friend Trish Smith at www.The SiteSmith.com, who informed us at a recent Meet Up meeting that the original product is the better one. I use TweetDeck version 0.37.6, and we can share that version with you, or you can download the latest version of TweetDeck by Twitter.

These are the five key reasons to use TweetDec k:

1. One screen to view all your Social Media — The single screen view provides monitoring and access to all of your social media sites in a single glance. This is provided in an attractive interface (one of the better interfaces available for social media tools), with photos and user profiles included. Other utilities like a url shortener and scheduled tweets/ updates are also available.

2. View Twitter, Facebook, Linked In & More — TweetDeck has developed considerably over the past few years. Originally, it primarily allowed Twitter users to send and receive their tweets, which was important in its early days, when Twitter’s user interface was quite sparse. Today, users can send and receive their status updates and profiles not only on Twitter, but on Facebook, Linked In, MySpace, Four Square and Google Buzz. (And the new Twitter interface update looks like it was modeled on TweetDeck.)

3. Tracking Topics, Issues & Users — The monitoring and tracking tools that make TweetDeck outstanding. By dividing the screen, into a series of columns, users can track topics (by #) and users (by @) across Twitter, and across other social media platforms.

4. Tracking Topic, User By Location — This tracking capability allows the user to listen to all of the various discussions on a topic or their organization or brand, around town, across country or around the world! You can track the topic over the day or the weeks and months. This is a level of functionality that could be of use for businesses all over.

5. Social Media Automation — With that said, TweetDeck is one of the better social media automation tools to recommend to clients. In my opinion, TweetDeck helps manifest many of the promises of social media, or if you will, the New Media, in that one has the capability to monitor and evaluate the conversation on any giving subject in a relatively sophisticated way . One has the ability to track these discussions, whatever their location, background, etc.

As I said, Tweet Deck is a tool that businesses which need to monitor social media sites could use to track social media on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, My Space and more. This single screen tool provides powerful functionality! It’s easy to install and easy to manage and use. Please share your comments, especially any experiences or tips you have with TweetDeck.

Here are the changes I’ve observed with the iPad on the general business landscape (including local firms):

1. it accelerates consumerism in technology, allowing people to choose the specific devise (iPad, laptop, Android) they want to employ — BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

2. it promotes “big data” solutions across the board, with less info on the device and more from “big data” — Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.

3. it consolidates choices to one for a segment of the market: Apple users can now attempt to get all their hardware and information needs from company

4. it motivates discretionary spending on technology… it’s nice to buy an Apple, they look so nice… and I can tell everyone I bought an Apple!

5. it separates “supply chain” from “content delivery” technology, meaning all your information and data needs can be satisfied by your device

6. it raises social media and advertising costs, the proliferation of so many new media sources with result in more media fragmentation, and more spending

7. it insures that information overload will continue throughout 2015, and perhaps sometime people will put down the phone or pad and begin to engage in human activity

8. it forces many licensing contracts to be rewritten for both sides, this will be a vexing issue as we struggle to determine the tolerable costs of communication and data

9. it continues to build the role of CIO within organizations, with the additional speed and functionality, effective information management becomes crucial

10. It increases the likelihood of a notable cyber attack, our increased dependence on technology unfortunately increases our vulnerability

Agree, disagree? Please share your comments.

smAlbany will be held on Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany, please mark the date on your calendars.

The 6th annual smAlbany will feature technology, social media,employment opportunities and much, much more. smAlbany is the Capital Region’s small business expo and its promises to provide new contacts, information and business leads.

To register yourself or your business, to be a sponsor or a vendor, or to participate in the planning, please contact leave a comment, and I will engage in dialogue.

Liberteks Managed Services provides comprehensive service and support for your entire computer network. It provides your business the technology support that’s usually only available to large businesses.

Under Liberteks Managed Services program, we monitor your hardware, software and network system on a 24/7 basis to ensure you are operating at optimal level of efficiency and effectiveness. We also advise you on all aspects of implementing new technology (i.e. programs or equipment) at your business.

We are highly skilled in technology, so you don’t have to be — and you can focus on the management of your business.

The theory behind managed services is simple but very effective and comprehensive:  We are highly skilled in technology and systems management, so you don’t have to be — and you can focus on the management of your business. By constantly monitoring your system, there is less down time. Because we can correct the system before it goes down, there ia more profitability on your part.

In addition, Liberteks technicians stay on top of a variety of industry trends, and can provide consultation on the consideration of new applications or equipment. With our skills in a variety of industry fields, we can advise you on the best products and aps, in these fast moving and innovative times. Many of these repairs and upgrades can be done remotely on-line using Liberteks Instant Support, to save on the costs of on-site repair travel and other downtime.

With Liberteks Managed Services, we monitor your servers, workstations and network 24/7. Alerts are sent whenever something is “out of line”. Any problem flagged by our monitoring software instantly creates a work ticket and assigns it to a technician.

The presentation will include a discussion on how small business owners can increase sales and referrals by using blogs, web site and social media sites.

Trish has extensive experience as a blogger and business owner. She is the author of the blog “Notes from the bunker,” which she began over four years ago. She has over 117,000 tweets on Twitter, and over 5,000 people follow her, making her one of the most influential Tweeters in the Northeast and nationally.

Trish also owns The SiteSmith, a company that specializes in design and development of WordPress websites for small businesses. She uses her years of experience to help small businesses deliver information in a way that helps them build authority while reaching potential customers. This business allows her to put to good use her experience as a small business owner, including a jewelry-making business and Simple Meal Plan, which provided information about planning and preparing healthy meals

Liberteks will sponsor the event. For more information contact Larry Zimbler at 452-0550 x1 or visit www.liberteks.com, or Trish Smith at www.thesitesmith.com.

Liberteks.com celebrating 20 years in information technology

Liberteks.com President Larry Zimbler likes to ask people if they remember when the IBM PC was launched, and he relates stories about working with computer punch cards prior to the historic event.

In the time since that event – 1981 was the year of the PC launch — Zimbler has witnessed firsthand virtually all of the major changes in the IT industry, innovations that have had a profound effect on businesses, consumers and our world today.

At the Liberteks store at 1648 Western Ave. in the Albany, NY suburb of Guilderland, Zimbler tosses about brand names and terminology that has he sold and repaired and worked on since the inception of the PC, including the Commodore 64, Atari, Apple II. AOL. Yahoo. Google. Windows 95, 98, Office, Win 7. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter. Dell & HP. iPod, iPhone, iPad. Blackberry, Droid … you get the idea.

To mark these years, Liberteks will celebrate its 20th anniversary in the technology business on Jan. 26, at the Guilderland store.

Working with technology since the mid-70s, Zimbler possesses an impressive 30+ year work history on the information technology industry, which includes a unique perspective on hardware, software and networks. He also provides a wide range of consulting, particularly in the areas of accounting, marketing and management , with the emphasis incorporating technology into business operations.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Zimbler attended New York City’s prestigious Stuyvesant High School, which specializes in science, mathematics and technology. Following high school he headed upstate University at Albany (SUNY), where he received dual bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and Economics. Then, in what is unique for a technology professional, he then went on to receive a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY.

“I believe my business degrees have served me well in working to provide technology for small business,” Zimbler says. “I have frequently been called on to explain why technology is necessary in terms of profitability for businesses, so my academic background in business has been helpful in being something of technology evangelist for the business community.”

Zimbler has taken that role on seriously over the years, participating in a numerous business membership, development and support organizations. He has counseled various business owners and sponsored a wealth of internship opportunities.

In what has been his most ambitious effort to date, Zimbler created “smAlbany”, which is an annual small business expo and technology conference, now in its 6th years. According to Zimbler, the smAlbany name is a play on Albany’s relatively diminutive size and proximity in relation to New York City. The name is a further play on Albany’s nascent (but increasingly world renowned) nano technology research and development industry, as well as its burgeoning chip manufacturing industry at its ADM facility in nearby Malta, NY.

“We like to give the little guy (and girl) a fighting chance,“ Zimbler says. “We believe that if we equip our businesses with the technology – and it can be provided to them at an affordable price – they can take on the big competitors, the national chains, the big guys, and profitably navigate their businesses. smAlbany gives them the information they need.”

The sixth annual smAlbany event will be held Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University of Albany.

In a similar vein, Zimbler passionately supports buying locally, and he is a backer of the Capital District Local First www.capitaldistrictlocalfirst.org. Liberteks has been a member of the organization for a number of years and Zimbler continues to work with the organization’s members on cooperative efforts. He also provides support for the Regional Food Bank, local Humane Society groups and a variety of churches and synagogues in the area.

While Liberteks serves a large consumer audience, it continues to grow with business audiences whereby Liberteks provides a range of software, hardware and network services. Many business clients receive Managed Services from Liberteks which offers a wide range of comprehensive services, to provide customized service and support that is proactively monitored and managed on a 24/7 basis.

Updates are maintained on a regular service schedule, and consultation and instruction are provided to clients to achieve the highest level of productivity from the computer system. Managed services include desktop instant support (where repairs can be done remotely,) as well as security, back up and disaster recovery programs.

“We are confident we can get their systems working more productively, that we can make them more profitable. Businesses can operate more efficient and effective, which benefits both employees and owners,” Zimbler said.