New speaking topics and activities

 

I have been putting together a series of short screencast how-to video tutorials demonstrating various cutting-edge IT products over at Webinformant.tv. Check them out. 

Here are some of the topics that I have been getting booked lately:

How to save money and time using collaboration technologies

Giving Thanks to Bill Gates: A look back and forward

How businesses can increase profits using social networks and blogs

Five simple tricks to make your email life more productive and less frustrating

Ten things to protect your PC when you travel

How to support telecommuters to increase employee productivity

You can download current slide decks for my speeches here.

Take this short technology quiz

Before you book me for a speech, please take a moment with this short technology quiz to determine the level of familiarity and comfort your audience has with technology:

1. Does your audience believe that a cookie is:

A. Something edible that was prepared in an oven.
B. Term of endearment used by men of a certain age
C. The way Web sites keep track of who you are

2. Most of you think a bug is:

A. An insect that can be dealt with by calling the Orkin Man
B. Something in Jack Bauer’s extensive spy arsenal
C. An unintentional programming problem with computer software

3. A mouse is most often thought of as:

A. A rodent that causes fear in elephants and women
B. One of Walt Disney’s lovable characters
C. A navigational and pointing tool on the computer

4. Most of your audience listens to their music on:

A. What they still refer to as a “stereo set” in their living rooms
B. Their car radios or CDs
C. On their iPods or other portable music players

5. Your audience thinks an icon is most often:

A. A valuable religious object found in eastern Europe
B. Elvis or Brittany, take your pick
C. Something to click on a Web page

6. You can most often catch a virus when:

A. Your kids come home from school during the winter
B. Not washing your hands often enough
C. When you surf questionable Web sites and open emails

Wherever your audience may be on the technical spectrum, from the beginners who don’t know how to type, to nerds who have built and networked their own systems, I can help. My talk will give your audience what they need to solve their techno problems, instill confidence in using computers, and help them understand the online world.

How to have fun choosing the right technology for your business

Wouldn’t it be nice whenever you bought some technology if there were only two choices for everything? Some techie things are easy: Beta or VHS? Apple or Windows? LCD or Plasma TV? Cable or DSL?

But unfortunately, most techie stuff is rarely just either/or. There are endless choices for just about everything, and even techno-wizards can get bogged down in the details and confused about what to buy.

• Don’t you wish you could find a trusted friend that you can ask important questions and get simple answers on your technology gear – and not, “it depends?”
• Don’t you wish you could know the right things to ask a consultant or a technical support person?
• Don’t you wish you could buy the right things to meet your business needs, the right stuff for the right price?
• Would you like to know more about computers than your average teenager? Or at least appear to?
• Don’t you wish you could make choosing the right computer gear more fun?

That’s why there are people like David Strom who seek out new technology and love to try it out, so you don’t have to. After listening to David speak, you won’t have to experiment or worry about buying the wrong gear. You will learn the following five things at the end of his seminar:

• How much will all this stuff really cost me?
• Is this going to meet my needs for the next three years?
• Can I feel comfortable using it?
• Will I be able to protect my critical business information?
• What can I get for free?

Here are some sample topics for David’s seminars, customized to the needs of your audience:

• How to promote your brand over the Internet
• How to pick the right domain name
• Where to host your domain, Web site, and email accounts
• The differences between Yahoo and Gmail email systems
• Should I buy a Mac or Windows?
• How to setup your Windows laptop to protect you when you are on the road
• Five simple tricks to make your email life more useful
• Why you want a blog and how to set it up
• Whether to get a DSL or cable modem
• How to save money on Internet-based faxing

Don’t get bogged down in techno-speak. Spend some time with David today and learn how you can have some fun too

Managing You.com: Maintaining Your Online Brand

It used to be simple: buy a dot com domain name, put up a Web site, send out some press releases. But this is old-school Internet, and today your company needs to be doing more to maintain your brand, promote your products and services, and stay ahead of the competition.

In this practical demonstration, David will show you how to set up a blog, tie together your customers with an email list service, and participate in social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn. We’ll answer such questions as:

• Why a free blogging tool from Typepad, WordPress, or Blogger might be more cost-effective than paying for a costly Web programmer and building a site from scratch
• How search engines can find your content better when you have a blog vs. a static Web site
• How Yahoo Groups can manage your email lists and create buzz for your company
• Why your customers might benefit from conversations inside Facebook
• How Instant Messenger can tie your remote employees together and make them more productive
• The right way to answer your customers’ emails and communicate with them
• How Internet telephones and fax systems can save you money and time

You need to play a more active role in understanding and deploying technologies to promoting You.com, and David will show you how. Best of all, many of his suggestions are free or inexpensive, and can be accomplished without the need of a skilled programmer.