Twitter and Presentations

Presenting with Twitter can be challenging. Olivia Mitchell has written a fantastic free eBook “How to present with Twitter (and other backchannels” to help your speakers avoid the fate. Download a free copy.
Check it out:  http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/wp-content/uploads/Twitter.pdf

Also, check it Olivia's blog for great presentation tips:  http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/

Communication Etiquette for Professionals: Free Webinar

"Please Ignore the Message I Just Sent You!" Communication Etiquette for Professionals"

Speaker: Anna Post, author and spokesperson for The Emily Post Institute
Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Time: 10:00AM Pacific / 1:00PM Eastern
Having strong communication skills - written, verbal and in the use of technology - is one of the keys to business success.

During this webinar, Anna Post, great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post, spokesperson and author for The Emily Post Institute, will highlight how training professionals can better build and strengthen relationships through the use of consideration, respect and honesty when communicating with trainees, colleagues, clients and total strangers.
Check it out:  https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/event/description?instance_id=18391

Training Industry Statistics

Taken from Knapp Notes Blog (http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/)
Here are some interesting statistics from TRAINING (http://www.trainingmag.com/)

• 2009 U.S. Training Expenditures (including payroll and spending on external products and services) was $52.2 billion (a 7% decrease from last year)
• 41% of organizations plan on purchasing online learning tools and systems in the next year.
• Payroll was $32.9 billion, about a $1 billion dollar overall loss from 2008.
• 47% of organizations surveyed reported a decrease in training budgets this year.
• Companies spent $1,036 per learner this year ($1,075 in 2008).
• Small companies (10-999 employees) spent about 33 hours of training per employee in 2009.
• Midsized (1,000 to 9,999 employees) spent about 29 hours of training per employee in 2009.
• Large (10,000 or more employees) spent about 33 hours of training per employee in 2009.
• 1.5% of companies are using social networking or mobile training methods.
• 47% of training hours are delivered by a stand-and-deliver instructor in a classroom setting.
• 18.5% use online or computer-based technologies for their training delivery.
• $306,178 was the average expenditure for training outsourcing

Wild and Wacky Friday: Copper Plating and Etching Altoids Tins

Looking for a unique holiday gift? How about Copper Plating and Etching Altoids Tins? Check out the Sreampunk site for other ideas. Steampunk is the intersection of technology and romance. It’s a genre of fiction, an aesthetic, a musical style, and a burgeoning sub-culture which delights in making things that are a blend of the modern and anachronistic.


Check it out: http://steampunkworkshop.com/altoid-etch.shtml

Microsoft Translator

Check out the new Microsoft Translator - it raises the bar for translating three ways: on the Web, for Office 2007 & 2003, and a unique translation widget for your site. See the links below to get the particular tool you want.


Office Casual: How you can translate better with Microsoft Translator

Update any Office 2007 or Office 2003 product with Microsoft Translator, find instructions for the free download:  http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA103514221033.aspx#6

Microsoft Translator widget:  http://www.microsofttranslator.com/Widget/?ref=MSTWidget
To drop text for translation (or a URL) via Bing:  http://www.microsofttranslator.com/.

Want to dive deeper? Read the Microsoft Translator blog:  http://blogs.msdn.com/translation/default.aspx