At the start of my presentation last week to the delegates of the OAAS, I mentioned some marketing publisher sources. These are great resources for information about marketing in the web industry. Here are a few of the web marketing and technology sites that I visit on a daily basis. I find them useful, hopefully you will too!

They are a great source of marketing intel. Some of the sites require a membership for the premium content. They all offer some type of free daily content on the subject of marketing for the web. Most of these marketing sources offer newsreader subscription services as well.

I presented a seminar topic on web content to delegates of the annual OAAS convention last Friday. Posted here is a copy of the PowerPoint. (which I will apologize for as it is a little dry).

Content can be the 'Do It Yourself' part of your website. Unlike the other aspects where hiring a professional is recommended, content is very DIY, and therefore less costly than other forms of website development. The real cost of content is the time you have to put into it to be successful.

Over the next few days I'll answer some of the questions which were asked at the seminar. Some relate to web content, other questions are simply general web development issues.

• How much does it cost to have a website built?
• Where are the cheapest hosts?
• What is the relationship between images and text?
• How important is content on the home page?

Cost cutting measures are being considered all throughout any business that is looking to pull through these economic times. Some might be looking at IT as a place to cut costs, but if your critical communications tools like email and telephony, aren't reliable and interrupt your operations, the results can dramatically damage your financial outlook! There is a compelling business need for investment in robust email communication now more than ever. This is not the time to lose focus on the survivability of critical communication gateways. Recession amplifies the cost and consequences of business interruptions - to recover from disaster or an unplanned outage means consuming budget and time that companies can no longer afford.

Keeping the lines of communication open between you and your prospects and customers can make a difference in your future prosperity.

I'll be speaking at the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies annual convention at the Royal York hotel on Friday. My topic is "content and how it is important to your fair or festival".