Review: Working the Cloud - Birds on the Blog

Our Book Club review this time is Working the Cloud: The ultimate guide to making the Internet work for you and your business by Kate Russell.

Kate Russell is a reporter and journalist. She appears regularly on the BBC?s technology programme, Click, and she also writes for Web User magazine and blogs regularly at workingthecloud.biz.

The aim of Working the Cloud is to teach you how to master online technology, and to harness the power of free online tools and resources in order to evolve your small business and make it more profitable and more productive.

?In this context the term ?cloud? broadly just means the internet. Someone who is working the cloud is accessing documents, files and information through services and applications hosted somewhere on the internet rather than saved on the computer sitting under their desk.?

What did I expect from the book?

I bought this book because knowing how to minimize my costs is important, and I wanted to learn more about the many free online tools and resources that are available for us as small business owners. I?ve been working online for several years so I was a little concerned that the book wouldn?t teach me anything I didn?t already know, but Kate?s background persuaded me to give it a go.

As it turned out, I needn?t have worried. The first three chapters (out of 10) are certainly more suited to those who haven?t yet dipped a toe into the online business world, or those who are just starting out, but I found much in the remaining chapters that will be very useful for my work.

Each chapter also includes an interview with a business leader and inspiring entrepreneur ?each one of whom believes that it is essential for a successful small business to be on the internet?. Interviewees include Theo Paphitis, Emma Jones (founder of EnterpriseNation.com, Paul Gibbons (owner of Leaderboard Golf and founder of AutoTrader), Jean Oelwang (CEO of Virgin Unite and Richard Branson?s right-hand woman), and Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these interviews and found them very interesting.

The book?s content

Chapter 1: Taming the Cloud covers the basics of getting yourself online, why you should be there, and keeping up with the competition. Topics covered include:

• registering on and personalizing Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus
• what to do if someone is using your online identity
• sharing photos and images (how and why)
• helpful communities for entrepreneurs and small businesses

There?s also a nice case study of Seth Casteel of Little Friends Lifestyle Photography, who was struggling to make his business as successful as he wanted until his underwater photos of dogs playing went viral.

Chapter 2: A Social Explosion is all about social media and self-promotion techniques. It includes:

• ways to find and engage with potential customers
• techniques to improve social influence
• SEO
• dealing with negative and malicious comments
• planning the perfect social media campaign

Chapter 3 covers

• building an online community
• the how and why of blogging
• tools and platforms for podcasting, screencasting and video blogging
• building a simple website
• copyright issues
• and web analysis tools

It?s a waste of time to focus on the financial crisis too much, especially if you?re a small business or just starting up. The broader macro-economic picture is highly irrelevant to those companies, and in many ways a recession can work in your favour; it may not be the best time to start out, but you?re likely to build a strong business model and it forces you to focus on the right things.? Duncan Cheatle, Founder of the Prelude Group, in Working the Cloud.

Chapter 4: The Essential Web is ?a belt-and-braces tour of the web if you want a connected business.? It includes:

• office management suites
• productivity tools
• data storage and backup services
• content management tools and tips

Chapter 5: Why Pay Full Price? ? takes you on a very useful and interesting tour of free alternatives to essential business software, including?

• tools for editing photos and graphics
• cloud solutions for digital communications
• free alternatives to essential applications

and also discusses why you can?t afford to ignore the spread of the mobile internet.

Since the recession hit in 2008 I have never known the economic conditions to be so tough, and even though analysts are talking about a recovery in 2014, personally I don?t see it myself. It?s really important that people deal with the stress of running a business by talking about with others who have been through the same experiences. Tony Banks, Founder of Balhousie Care Group, in Working the Cloud.

Chapter 6: The Money Cloud is a comprehensive chapter full of ways to save money and, amongst other things, it covers:

• setting up a home office
• cost-cutting money management tools
• free phone calls and IM services
• bartering in a high-tech trade environment

Chapter 7: Your Cloud Assistant discusses:

• virtual assistants
• managing and automating online tasks, including social activity
• productivity tools and time-saving tips

Change is so important in business, but so many people resist it, even though it is often futile to do so. Doug Clark, IBM Cloud Computing Leader, in Working the Cloud.

Chapter 8: Inside my Virtual Briefcase is ?little bits if web brilliance that didn?t fit anywhere else? ? stuff like password security tips and tools; keeping your data safe; making presentations that will really impress; and ?the portable cloud? ? the office in your pocket.

Chapter 9: I?ll Meet You In The Cloud tells you about ?the amazing technology that lets you meet face-to-face in virtual space?, including:

• video conferencing tools
• creative teleconferencing
• screen sharing from 2 to 250 people
• collaboration ? online spaces to throw ideas around
• creative brainstorming and planning tools

Chapter 10: Cash Clouds is about easy ways to make extra money from the time you spend online ? ?ways in which you can start bringing in a trickle of income to supplement your cash flow?, including:

• earning money from advertising revenue
• making money from YouTube videos
• online markets to sell digital art and photography
• independent e-commerce sites
• becoming a citizen journalist
• turning the spaces you own into cash in the bank
• crowd funding

I recommend Working the Cloud if you?re looking for alternatives to expensive commercial products; and effective and professional ways to keep your costs down, whilst still successfully developing and expanding your business ?in the cloud?. The book?s strengths lie in the wealth of online technologies, resources and tools listed and discussed ? it?s a good read, and I think there?s a great deal in there that will be invaluable to anyone running a small business, whether you?re just starting out, or you?ve been in business for a while.

Source: http://www.birdsontheblog.co.uk/review-working-the-cloud/

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