We think you are going to love the new look and feel to the site, but we also are making some key changes ‘behind the scenes’.  Thus, we need a bit of time to take the site down so we can properly implement these new features.

While we know this means that WOMbeat! will be unavailable for a little while, we think you will agree that these changes are going to be well worth it!

If you want to be on the list to get an early sneak peek to the new and improved WOMbeat!, or to be notified as soon as we relaunch, please visit our temporary home page and give us your email address.  (We promise, no spam!)

Also, we know this means that many of our users will temporarily be unable to access trustworthy recommendations from their friends.  If you are one of our users and need a little emergency help finding a great local business, please email us.  We will do our best to help you out!

LocalShops1 is Tampa Bay’s largest network of locally-owned businesses and locally-minded shoppers, and they have teamed up with WOMbeat!

2 Valuable Services – 1 Great Offer

• Get Maximum Exposure to Locally-Minded Shoppers on LocalShops1 and WOMbeat!
• Get Maximum Exposure Across the Web with WOMbeat!’s Total Web Concierge

With a premium account on LocalShops1, you can get a fully enhanced business listing on LocalShops1.com, higher placement in their online directory, participation in their 1Card shopper program and so much more!

With WOMbeat!’s Total Web Concierge service, you can get a fully enhanced business listing on 100+ websites – giving you maximum exposure online while eliminating the hassle of keeping your business information accurate, complete and consistent no matter where customers may be searching for you across the web!

Google, Yahoo, Bing, MerchantCircle, Superpages, Yellowpages, TomTom, Twitter, etc. – we got you covered!

To learn more, contact localshopper@localshops1.com or call (727) 637-5586.

Now through July 31, 2010, enter to win a $50 gift certificate to your favorite TIBA-member business of your choice every time you add a recommendation for a TIBA member business on WOMbeat! So enter often – it’s free!

It’s free and easy to enter:

1. Sign up/Sign in on www.WOMbeat.com (it’s FREE)
2. Search for your favorite TIBA member businesses (either search by business name or simply search for “TIBA” to find a list of all kinds of great TIBA members businesses throughout Tampa Bay – hint: you might find the list under the Standard Results tab on the search results page)
3. Click the +ADD button by your favorite TIBA business to add a recommendation!

Winner will be announced on August 9, 2010.

What is TIBA and who are these businesses?  TIBA (The Tampa Independent Business Alliance) is a non-profit organization that supports local — local businesses, local community and the local economy.

Did you know that when you shop local up to 3 times more money will stay in the local community?  In other words, supporting locally owned businesses directly benefits your local roads, local schools, local libraries, etc.  And as a proud members of TIBA, we here at WOMbeat! know that our users are far more passionate about supporting great locally-owned businesses than those big-box retailers and national chains, so we put together this fun contest to help spread the word!

You must be a registered user of WOMbeat! in order to add a recommendation and be entered to win, but registration is FREE.  Plus, recommending great local businesses can not only help you win the $50 prize, but you will also be helping some of the area’s great local businesses.  Don’t delay…contest ends July 31, 2010 at midnight!

Good luck!

By talking about her personal experiences, Linda described several challenges she has faced and overcome during the earliest days of WOMbeat! and shares several key lessons learned that can be applied to most startups.  She walked the audience through the four phases of all startups (Idea Generation, Product Building, Business Building and Business Scaling), and described which things an entrepreneur should be focusing on or avoiding in each phase – including business plans, capital raising strategies, recruitment and hiring strategies, advisors, competitive analysis and marketing/PR strategies.

If you have not heard by now, we here at WOMbeat! are passionate supporters of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum (TBTF) Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to encourage and equip the at-risk youth of Tampa Bay to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

Given our knowledge about the power of social media, Linda Olson (our founder and CEO) has been volunteering her time to help setup the TBTF Foundation’s social media strategy including a new Facebook fan page and a Twitter account (@tbtffoundation).

Now you may think this blog is beginning to sound like a shameless plug about WOMbeat!, but I promise this is a really great story about the Foundation with a fabulous demonstration of the power of social media and Twitter.

Olson officially kicked off the Foundation’s Twitter strategy with this tweet on January 27, 2010:

“Want to learn more about the TBTF Foundation and our work with the local Boys & Girls Clubs? Read here: http://bit.ly/cVjtBj.”

In less than 48 hours of this initial tweet, @catnmouse, a computer repair tech and self-toting Geek Girl, sent this reply tweet:

“@tbtffoundation I had NO idea you existed. How do I get involved?”

Olson checked out @catnmouse’s bio and something caught her eye: “Apple Certified.”  Why?  Because of her work with the Foundation, she had recently learned that The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast (representing clubs across Pinellas County, Florida) had received a donation of two dozen Apple computers that were not being fully utilized because the kids and the staff did not have the proper know-how or training materials to fully take advantage of this generous donation.  But after one short phone call to the Boys & Girls Clubs and a couple direct messages with @catnmouse, Olson was able to make a very important connection.

So, within just a few days of the Foundation’s initial tweet, Olson has been able to confirm that @catnmouse of Cat & Mouse Consulting, specializing in on-site setup and technical support of Apple products, is now volunteering twice a week providing lessons on how to effectively use Apple software and introducing these well-deserving children to new technology.

We are simply tickled pink to think that a few short volunteer hours can have such a life-changing result, thanks to the power of social media like Twitter. Got your own great Twitter or other social media success story to share?  Please do…we’ll even tweet about it too (of course!).

]]> http://blog.wombeat.com/2010/03/15/the-power-of-twitter-and-social-media/feed/ 0 lbellotti twitter facebook 1 http://blog.wombeat.com/2010/03/09/wombeat-ceo-talks-about-tampas-innovation-wave/ http://blog.wombeat.com/2010/03/09/wombeat-ceo-talks-about-tampas-innovation-wave/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:31:38 +0000 WOMbeat! http://wombeat.wordpress.com/?p=305 ]]> When you hear the words “tech startup” and “the Bay Area,” does Tampa come to mind?  Maybe not for most people today.  But ask the founder and chief executive officer of WOMbeat, Linda Olson, and she will tell you that someday people may refer to San Francisco as the “other Bay Area.”

Besides founding WOMbeat!, Olson is also the founder of a member-based organized network of web-based entrepreneurs in Central Florida called the Tampa Bay WaVE, which stands for Web Venture Entrepreneurs (with an ‘a’ for good measure).  Started in June 2008, today the Tampa Bay WaVE is made up of 34 members who represent locally-based web ventures of various stages; several have already attained much success and received national media coverage by outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Tech Crunch, DEMO, and The Oprah Winfrey Show, to name a few.

The Gulf Coast Business Review recently published a story about Olson and the Tampa Bay WaVE.  Read the full story here.

This past Saturday, November 21, WOMbeat! came out to celebrate America Unchained! with the Tampa Independent Business Alliance (TIBA).

America Unchained! is a national campaign promoted by the American Independent Business Alliance to urge local communities around the country to “unchain” by doing all shopping, dining out, and other business only with locally-owned independents, in order to add millions of dollars to their own local economy.

Did you know?

Just in the Tampa Bay area, “we would have kept over $23 million dollars more in the local economy” if people had shopped only at locally owned businesses instead of national chain stores during November 2008.  According to Carla Jimenez, co-owner of Inkwood Books and Board member of TIBA and AMIBA. “America Unchained helps everyone quantify the impact of personal spending choices. If you’re spending less these days – and who isn’t? – we offer a way to make it count more.”

Many of WOMbeat!’s most recommended local businesses in Tampa Bay are also TIBA members.  It should be no surprise that our users are passionate about recommending great locally-owned businesses.

For the 2009 celebration, many of the TIBA member businesses are offering special promotions and discounts.  Click here to see them all.

Remember, Shop Local and Get Unchained this holiday season!

During our month-long celebration of local independents, we have learned about the importance of spending locally and how it makes your money count more.

• 3 times as many dollars stay in your local community when you spend locally

• Local businesses give up to 4 times as much to charities

• Up to 5 times the public revenue comes from local spending

If you want to learn more, read the full article here.

And remember, WOMbeat! is a fantastic way to find and support your locally-owned businesses.  Our users are very passionate about recommending their favorite local businesses.

Please help us congratulate Kristi James of Tampa for winning our Recommend TIBA and WIN Challenge.  Kristi’s entry was selected from over 100 entries during the month of July.

As the winner, Kristi will be awarded a $50 gift certificate to the TIBA-member business of her choice.  This morning, she notified WOMbeat! that she has chosen the Kennedy Salon and Day Spa as the selected TIBA member business for her prize.  (And yes, she found them on WOMbeat!)

Congratulations, Kristi James!  And remember to Think Local First!

In celebration of the nation’s independence, the Tampa Independent Business Alliance (TIBA) and Creative Loafing are also celebrating independently-owned local businesses with its Passport To Tampa Indies July Challenge.

• GRAB your Tampa Indies passport here

• VISIT participating TIBA member businesses (like WOMbeat!) and collect stamps for your passport through July 31, 2009

• WIN exciting prizes valued over $500 by collecting the most stamps

You find more details about this exciting promotion on Creative Loafing.

Recommend TIBA & WIN!!!

As a Tampa-based business, WOMbeat! is a proud member of TIBA and has decided to join the fun.  Now through July 31, 2009, any registered user who adds a recommendation for a TIBA member business will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate to the TIBA member business of their choice. The drawing will be held on August 1^st and the winner announced August 5th.

Good News!

To easily find the participating TIBA members on WOMbeat!, use the search term “TIBA Passport“.

And all TIBA member businesses can be easily found on WOMbeat! by using the search term “TIBA“.