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Every week, I try to bring you Open Source software for you social media marketing endeavors that I am able to test out first. That, of course, means it must be simple enough for someone like me to use. This week, I am going to tell you about a program that I am not going to download, but I hope to give you an easy-to-use tutorial that will help you get started with it. Elgg is a powerful Open Source social networking platform. Well, that is what they claim to be, but I am going to take their word for it.

For those who like to read and explore for themselves, here’s what’s in Elgg according to Elgg (that means they wrote it, and I am giving credit to them):

Profiles

Elgg comes with default profile fields that can be extended or completely customized by the site administrator.

Activity Streams

The granular activity stream feature ensures you keep up to date with all site activity.

Blogging / Microblogging

Blogging and microblogging functionality that is both powerful, yet simple to use.

Pages

Create documents collaboratively with full control over read and write access.

RSS / JSON

All content – such as blog posts, activity streams and group discussions – is available in both RSS and JSON formats

Widgets

Add widgets to user profiles.

Video

Search for your favorite videos on services such as Youtube and add them to your Elgg video gallery.

Social bookmarking

Share your web resources with others in your company, group or course.

Groups

Collaborate around specific topics via public, private or hidden groups.

Access controls

Control who can access your content.

Web Services API

Expose functionality through the REST API by building a plugin and either publish the API for other developers to build clients, or provide your own.

Documents

Upload and share documents with the rest of your network.

Photo Gallery

Using the powerful Tidypics plugin, let your users create their own photo galleries.

For those who would like to know more about how they  can use Elgg for their social media marketing, there are plenty of plugins to explore, including plugins for events, photos and images, widgets, games, site and user admin, and more. There is also a forum for those who want to know the latest about what is going on in the world of Elgg. For those who want to download Elgg, it includes bug fixes and security enhancements. For those who want to experience Elgg, but do not want to download it, they can sign up for more information here.  For those who need help uploading it, here is a great video. (Video coding and me ain’t getting along too well this week).

Okay, so that’s it for this week. Enjoy. And please tell me what you like or don’t like about this blog. I’ll try to get a live video on here for all you visual people. Oh yeah, thank you all for your comments.

Erick

Welcome to my final blog about open source for Mac. This week, I am going to look at two of the coolest open source programs for Macs. I am excited about both, and I am sure you will be also. So, let’s dive right in.  The first one (NeoOffice) is a great way for SEO content writers to write and check content at the same time, and DockSpaces will help anyone, including the social media marketer, stay ahead of the game.

NeoOffice

Yes, we started with an Open Source office suite called Open Office, and this week we’re going to end with another open source office suite. For those Avinash Kaushik faithful out there, I am sure you are at least familiar with NeoOffice. And for those of you who aren’t, I am going to give you a brief tutorial.

With NeoOffice users can create Text Documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, databases, formulas, and they can use templates. I’m going to go through each one and give you bullet points of the most significant aspects of each.

Text Documents

1. In the center of the Text Document pane there is an icon of a compass, which is under the word Neo. With that, users don’t have to search for various types of formatting throughout their docs. For example, if you want to find how many hyperlinks there are throughout your doc, just select Hyperlinks and the navigator will find all of the uses for you.
2. File > Preview in Web Browser: If you want to see what your document would look like live on the Internet, NeoOffice allows you to do it in a snap.
3. Tools > Add-ons > Grammar Checker: That’s right. With NeoOffice you can check your grammar, as well as your spelling.
4. NeoOffice Mobile: For some of us, we don’t necessarily care too much about this feature, but for those unable to do that NeoOffice does it for you.

Spreadsheet

1. Tools > Detectives: Okay, so I’m not a spreadsheet guy, but this is pretty cool. With this you can trace or remove precedents or dependents. One of these days, I’ll learn what that means.
2. You can also use NeoOffice mobile with this.

Presentation

1. Insert > Slide: Makes it simple to create a powerpoint type of presentation.
2. Slideshow: There’s plenty of things you can do here after your ready to test out your creation.

Okay, I am going to stop there, mainly because much of it seems redundant, and I don’t want to bore you. The coolest thing about NeoOffice is that it is available for your cell phone. For that, there is an Open Source version, and there is also a paid version.

Now, moving onto what I consider the Grand Finale of Open Source for Mac, presenting . . . wait for it . . . Dock Spaces! This is simply Awesome! Though, to tell you about it wouldn’t do it justice. Let’s just say that it will help you to organize your life. Simply said, Mac users can now have up to 5 docks on one computer to help them organize their days and their lives. With that said, here’s a pretty good vid that explains what Dock Spaces is and how to use it.

Okay, that’s it for my series on Open Source for Mac. I hope you’ve found software or apps you like and can use. For those PC users out there, NeoOffice, and of course Dock Spaces, is only available for Macs. Again, if you have any questions or comments about this or any of my blogs, I would love to hear them.

Erick

Let’s take a look at a couple of mind mapping tools for your Mac: FreeMind and XMind.  These are both great for planning out your Social Media Marketing strategies.  For both of them, I imbedded some links and video tutorials (download flash).  I hope it makes it easier and more pleasurable for you to read my blog.

FreeMind

I am going to let the tutorials do their job, but I wanted to let you know that In the tutorials you’ll hear the word “insert.” On Macs, that’s the Tab button.  Also, be sure to check out the Help section after you download and open FreeMind.  Finally, FreeMind is Java script, so it’ll work with just about any operating system.

Freemind Tutorials:

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Download

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Tutorial_effort

http://potentmind.com/content/freemind_gtd_template

http://www.techmindset.net/?p=60

XMind

You can download it here.  There are Open Source and paid versions, but let’s take a look at the Open Source version.  To find out more, read their Blog.  I also discovered an XMind Google Groups and Ning community.

Other than some videos for the paid version, I didn’t find any videos I liked;  though, here’s the first of a series of short videos:

Okay, that’s it for this week.  Who knows what’s coming next week, but I’ll focus on Open Source software for Macs.  There’s usually going to be a PC version for whatever I blog about during this Mac series; though, throughout the five weeks of this blog series you can be sure that I am focusing on Open Source software for Mac users. For this week, FreeMind is Java script (it will work with almost any operating system), and I gave you the link to find all versions of XMind above.

Oh yeah, thanks for the comments last week.  Welcome to all and thank you for reading.  And to that one person who had nothing intelligent to say other than to post multiple comments with multiple links, do you seriously think I’m going to approve your spam?  For my faithful readers, tell me what kind of Open Source software you’d like me to review.  Do you like my idea of writing blog series, or would you rather me mix it up a little more?  I am also going to try to put in more video tutorials.  I want to make this blog useful to you, so let me know how I can make this blog more useful to your needs.

See you next week,

Erick

I thought about discontinuing my five week series about Mac free and open source software, but I decided to continue on with the series in spite of the dwindling interest.  I made that simple “business decision” for one reason, I am a man of my word.  Or at least I try to be.

So, here we go.  This week, I am going to keep it simple, and tell you about a couple of software programs that anyone can find a use for.  Both of them are simple, so let’s go:

TaskMate

It’s so simple to figure out that there aren’t even any video training tutorials about it.  Well, none that I or Google can find.  TaskMate will not allow you to do many of things iCal will; though, it’s not meant to.  TaskMate is a to-do list on your desktop, which will help you to remember your daily schedule, whether you write Web content, engage in Social Media Marketing, or do something completely different.

Download Instructions

1. Click on this blue link: TaskMate
2. When your default browser opens the TaskMate home page, Click the big, grey “Download Now” button.
3. It should download to your Applications folder, so go there and open it.

Using TaskMate

1. After TaskMate opens, click on the “+” sign to add task, and the “—“ sign to delete them.
2. After you delete items, if you want to review them at a later time, click on the icon of the square with the arrow in the middle.  A slide out folder will appear, revealing those tasks you completed.  You can clear those or keep them.
3. There are some simple preferences you can set either by clicking on the crankshaft icon in the TaskMate window or by going to preferences in the menu bar.  There aren’t many preferences you can set, but I encourage you to take a look at them.

Lumina

Okay, so this is similar to TaskMate, in that it will help you to stay on task, but there is more to iClockr by Lumina than TaskMate.  So, if you want something more than a virtual to-do list, iClockr might be just the thing you need.

Download

1. Click on this blue link: Lumina
2. When your default browser opens the Kedisoft home page, Click the grey “Download” button in the upper right hand corner.
3. It should download to your Applications folder, so go there and open it.

Using iClockr

I think it’s useful when used in conjunction with TaskMate.  Let’s say you have 25 tasks listed on TaskMate, 20 of those are chores that can wait (i.e. I have to wash my dog, who is starting to give me dirty looks because he stinks).  I just stay down wind of him.

Let’s say you are optimizing five websites.  You need to keep them organized.  You need to dedicate a certain amount of time to each task with those projects.  With TaskMate, you can keep a general list.  With iClockr you can organize those tasks within projects.

Setting Projects, Tasks, and Time

1. Projects refer to your clients, cases, or other; tasks refer to those immediate things within your projects you need to get done to complete the project.
2. To set up a project, click on the Project tab.
3. Set up your project by clicking on the “+” sign at the bottom of the window that appears.
4. If you want to keep profile information about your various clients, such as contact information, you can do so by clicking “Open Customers” above the “+” button.
5. After you’re done setting your various projects, click “Done” in the lower, right corner.  If you set multiple projects, you will see one of them appear in your original window.  Next to that one, you will see an Up and a Down arrow indicating that you can switch between the project you had set up.
6. To set up tasks, click on the “Tasks” tab, set them up with the “+” icon, and click “Done” when your done.  Note: whichever project you selected in the main window is the project those tasks you set up will default to.
7. Click back to your main window, select the project you want to work on, select the task within that project you want to get done.
8. Click “Start Timer” to start the timer and “stop Timer” to stop it.  iClockr will record  and add up your time
9. At the bottom of the main window, you will notice the word Today with an Up and Down arrow.  Click that to change to yesterday, last week, etc.  The time on your chosen task will change to reflect how much you spent on the project you selected above.
10. If you forgot to set the timer, or forgot to turn it off, you can also add or delete time.  All of this will help you to not only stay on task, but to charge your clients the right amount at the end of the month.

Okay, that’s it for this week.  Sorry, no vids.  Just download them and go.  Also, just for clarification, there are no PC versions to these two programs.  At least none that I can find.  There may be similar programs out there, but they’re neither TaskMate nor iClockr.  Oh, and yes there’s a Windows download called “TaskMate,” but it’s a different type of program.

See you next week for the finale.

Erick

Rather than focusing on one, or a few, open source program(s) and doing a series, I am going to pay tribute to one of the patriarchs of the open source-iphere.  So, rather than writing a review, I am going to provide you with the URLs to 10 Sourceforge content management systems.  If you are unfamiliar with Sourceforge, it is the open source software upon which open source microblogging software like StatusNet is built.  That’s right!  Much of the social media marketing we do is because of open source platforms.

I won’t do this every week.  To be honest, this is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while.  For now, this is my newest blogging experiment.  I am going to provide you with these links every once in a while, so you can run with the information and research these on your own.  There are so many Sourceforge open source software programs that it would take me forever to research them all myself.  And aside from that, you’d get bored.

On that note, you too can build software for your social networking endeavors using Sourceforge.  If you want to develop software, start by creating an account.

Next week I am going to focus on Open Source software for Macs.  I am not sure how long of a series that will be, but I’ll gather some Mac friendly Open Source software throughout this week and let you know in next week’s blog.

Here are those Source Forge CMS:

1. phpWebSite CMS
2. TYPO3 Content Management Framework (What’s a CMF?  It’s a customizable CMS.)
3. Exponent CMS
4. Alfresco CMS
5. TGS CMS
6. Post Nuke
7. Callisto CMS
8. Magnolia CMS/ECM/WCM
9. Falt4 CMS
10. Lanai CMS

Onto Mac specific OS software next week.

Erick

This is the third blog in my series about blogging and micro-blogging, which is a great way to boost you social media marketing campaign.  Again, this week’s software offers a free version, but it is not open source.  Though, Yammer can provide open source script that runs within firewalls and will sync a LDAP or Active Directory server with Yammer.

Since we are interested in the free version, let’s look at that version of Yammer.  Yammer’s free micro-blogging platform includes the ability to share files and create groups, mailing list integration, SMS integration, desktop/iPhone/Blackberry apps, and of course the ability to suspend former employees.  If you want to know what the silver and gold packages include, read about them here.

Yammer works much like Twitter; though, there are some features Yammer offers that Twitter does not.  Yammer users can set up RSS feeds, set ups those apps, or integrate with SMS.  Honestly, without signing up, I don’t know if Yammer will automatically shorten URL’s; though, there is a paperclip right below the message bog where users can attach files.  I’m also not sure if that’s just for pics or Word and other files.  But it’s there.  Whatever types of files you can attach, it’s much easier than having to go through your list of contacts and finding e-mail addresses.  Oh and just like Twitter users can follow and unfollow people, set up or join groups, view a tag directory, view a file directory, and do so much more.

Okay, so there’s more.  But that more costs a little something.  Since I only blog about free and open source software, I am going to let you review the perks of the silver and gold versions.  Depending on which version you want, it’s only $3 or $5 per user per month, and you can add clients with either of those versions.  All in all, the ROI might be well worth it.

Oh yeah, for anyone who hasn’t noticed that social media marketing is going mobile, here’s a link to Yammer’s apps.  And, of course, you can always be assured that no matter how long a person locks themselves in the lavatory, Yammer always has your security in mind.  And they’ll never charge for extra bags.

This week, let’s talk about the content management system—phpWCMS. It’s not a U.S. company, and I am not sure what the letters stand for; but it works with any system running PHP and MySQL. And you can download it on Google Code.  For those of you who don’t want to try to take the time to learn a new language, they offer an English version.

There are three versions you can download, and various ways to download those versions, so if one doesn’t work try another.  Among the features of phpWCMS, there are templates that allow you to separate content and design, individual workflow management, and many other features.  For those interested in downloading phpWCMS, while open source usually means limited direct technical support, there are forums, an FAQ section, and a very kind staff who ask you to peruse the forum and FAQ sections before e-mailing them.

So, let’s move right along to OpenDocMan, which is a document management system.  It complies with ISO 17025 and OIE standard for document management, which means absolutely nothing to me.  Among the features of OpenDocMan, it supports multiple file types thus allowing you to integrate your company’s current rules into its system.  Also, permissions can be given to certain people, while other people can be restricted from certain areas.  The best feature of OpenDocMan is that they also feature a Document Management hosting service (that one’s not free though).

For those who want to know more, while they didn’t make the page pretty, you can read more here.  You can also create an account and join their forums.  Or contact them for installation assistance.

Okay, so I owe you a blog about another good open source document management system.  I can promise that I’ll blog about it next week.  And I can also promise that I’m going to wear a superman costume and run around San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, while spreading my arms out and making airplane noises.  However, neither of those is going to happen, so I won’t make either of those promises.  I’m over open source dms for a while, but I’m not over telling you about the best open source projects the Internet offers for your SEO content and social media marketing endeavors.

So, come back next week, as it will be the first of a new blog series, and keep your eye on my site for some new things in 2010.

Thanks for reading,

Erick

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