Webinar Notes: Funeral Homes & the New Internet - Web 2.0

Funeral Home & Cemetery Resources from the June 19, 2007 Webinar.

Helpful Resources:
Funeral Futurist eNewsletter
Death Care Web Tutorials
Upcoming Webinars

Definition of Web 2.0 from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

Time Person of the Year: You
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html

Social Networks:
MySpace
Facebook
LinkedIn
Friendster
Flickr
MeetUp
My Death Space

YouTube Videos:
Viewing the Deceased Video on YouTube
Viewing the Deceased Video with transcript on Funeral Futurist
Viewing the Deceased Video on Your Funeral Chapel
Other Funeral Futurist Videos on YouTube
Jewish Funeral Practices 101

Definition of Blog from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

Sample Blogs:
From The Hep: http://www.fromthehep.com/
Your Funeral Chapel: http://yourfuneralchapel.blogspot.com/
Funeral Words: http://www.funeralwords.com/

Free Blog Site: http://www.blogger.com

Definition of Podcast from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast

Google Tools: http://www.google.com/options/
Google Calendar: http://www.google.com/calendar
Docs & Spreadsheets: http://docs.google.com/
iGoogle: http://www.google.com/ig
Google Alerts: http://www.google.com/alerts


Questions Asked During Webinar:

Q. Are there privacy laws that funeral homes should be aware of when considering uploading video memorials / funeral services to YouTube?

A. I would refer to you YouTube's Policy & Copyright Guidelines:
http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/topic.py?topic=10550
Also consult the provider of your music for your memorial videos and consider consulting your attorney.

Q. Are these Google tools free of charge or are there fees?

A. As of right now (June 19, 2007) all of the tools mentioned are free from Google. Google does have Enterprise solutions (for large companies) that have costs associated with them. Google monetizes many of its offerings with advertising, so in the future you may see ads associated with these tools and ads incorporated with some YouTube videos.

Q. You mentioned that Google then gives you a higher rating on search engines if you have something on their site (or YouTube). So, do you get a better search result even when searching Robin Heppell or just the video title?

A. It is hard to answer that since my name is in many sites, but conducting a search on Google for Robin Heppell today puts the YouTube video in 9th position with a lot of my sites as well as CANA, ICCFA and LinkedIn in the 1 - 8 positions. Regarding the title, when I search the complete title, "Why View Someone who has Died" the YouTube page is 1st and my page is 2nd. I actually prefer this since Google shows the image of the video, I would hazard a guess that if someone was interested in the question, they would probably watch the video for sure and may then look at other results. Then I would have established a greater connection with the person through the video and then they could connect to my site from the YouTube page. The goal is to have my message first, not just having my website first. As a "Search Engine" note, this blog will eventually rank high for the title of the video Why View Someone who has Died since it has been noted and in bold.

Q. Will Google Calendar synchronize with Outlook?

A. Yes, apparently there are some solutions. I am not promoting either one of these as they are for information only. Remote Calendars and Companion Link
This is one of this summer's projects so feel free to contact me to see what I have decided on.