The Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce (we’re members) and the City of Tukwila are co-sponsoring a seminar entitled “Ecommerce for Southcenter Businesses,” on Thursday, August 4th.

“Some electronic marketing strategies can only be performed on an individual business basis,” reads a press release. “Others can be accomplished collaboratively.”

In this seminar, Southcenter businesses will receive an overview of:

• Free e-marketing opportunities available to businesses in Tukwila’s Southcenter district
• Local examples of collaborative membership based electronic marketing
• Electronic coupon and offer-based marketing such as Groupon, Living Social, Deal Find and Google Offers
• Electronic event reservation marketing
• Social media marketing

Elizabeth Paulson of Cascade e-Commerce Solutions will lead the seminar. It will be targeted to business owners, managers, and marketing and sales professionals who want to bring in more sales and expand their outreach. Participants will learn how to build a community among their customers and fans, attract new customers, move ahead of their competition, and further expand their reach.

This is the second event of the Southcenter Marketing Partnership. Find more information on the Southcenter Marketing Partnership at: www.tukwilawa.gov/SouthcenterMarketingPartnership.html.

Here are the details:

WHAT: “Ecommerce for Southcenter Businesses” Seminar.

WHEN: Thursday, August 4, 2011, 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Courtyard by Marriott/Southcenter, located at 400 Andover Park West, Tukwila.

COST: $15 per person for Chamber members and $20 per person for guests.

REGISTER: Register by calling the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce: (206) 575-1633, or register online here.

INFO: Coffee and pastries will be provided. Sponsored by the City of Tukwila and the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce.

According to its website, as part of the franchise renewal process, the City of Burien is interested in “hearing residents’ opinions about cable television and other services provided by Comcast” – do YOU have an opinion?

If so, click here to take the online survey, which allows you to ‘grade’ Comcast’s performance in a number of area, ranging from prices to customer service and much more.

We know most people don’t have an opinion either way about their TV/internet/phone providers, right?

Uh huh.

The only problem is, it isn’t – Elmer’s is open for business as usual.

Click here to see the live listing, complete with the error, which apparently you can refute by clicking on the link “Not true?” but we know several have and yet the internets still claims it’s closed.

Here’s a screenshot showing the gaffe:

Ed adds:

Elmer’s bartender, a feisty redhead named Flo, was shocked when she received two phone calls asking if they were permanently closed as the website said they were.  Her response was

“Both times I was serving customers. We are open for business and I would like to know who started the rumor…” she said.

Elmer’s Pub, which is OPEN for business, is located at 15027 Ambaum Blvd. SW in Burien; (206) 439-1007 and we hear they serve up a mighty special ‘Irish Car Bomb’ drink there.

Oh, and when you drop in to prove it yourself, tell ‘em the blog sent ya!

UPDATE TUESDAY JAN. 25th 12:25pm: Due to overwhelming demand, Wednesday morning’s “Social Networking for Business” seminar has been MOVED to the 1st Floor Conference room at Burien City Hall, located at 400 SW 152nd.

The seminar is set to run from 9:30am to 10:30am on Wed., Jan. 26th, and there’s good news:

“We can now accommodate more people – so if you would like to attend, just let us know,” said Steve Gilbert, Executive Director of Discover Burien, which will be hosting the event. “But space is limited so please make sure you RSVP to hold your spot.”

If you’d like to attend, you must RSVP ASAP to Steve at executivedirector@discoverburien.com or via phone at (206) 433.2882.

Topics include:

• Strategies about growing your audience through social media (i.e. “Fans” on Facebook, “Followers” on Twitter, etc.).
• Metrics – how businesses can evaluate effectiveness.
• Real-world local examples of social network marketing from Burien-area businesses.
• Other social networking and guerrilla marketing techniques and ideas.
• Live, real-world demonstration of how The B-Town Blog uses social media to increase its audience.

PREVIOUSLY:
We’re happy to announce that this event has been officially “sold out.” If there’s enough response it’s feasible that we’ll do another seminar soon – please email Steve Gilbert at Discover Burien if you’re interested: executivedirector@discoverburien.com.

B-Town Blog Founder/Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer will be hosting a seminar on “Social Networking for Business,” from 9:30am – 10:30am on Wed., Jan. 26th at Cox Financial, located at 112 SW 157th Street in Burien.

The program, sponsored by Discover Burien, is part of an ongoing Business Education series provided as a free service to its members (to join Discover Burien, click here).

Space is limited, so please make sure you RSVP ASAP to hold your spot (see details below), or you’ll be SOL.

WHAT: “Social Networking for Business” with BTB Founder/Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer for Discover Burien members.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 26th, from 9:30am – 10:30am.

WHERE: NEW LOCATION: Burien City Hall, 1t Floor Conference Room, 400 SW 152nd, Burien.

INFO: Topics will include:

• Strategies about growing your audience through social media (i.e. “Fans” on Facebook, “Followers” on Twitter, etc.).
• Metrics – how businesses can evaluate effectiveness.
• Real-world local examples of social network marketing from Burien-area businesses.
• Other social networking and guerrilla marketing techniques and ideas.
• Live, real-world demonstration of how The B-Town Blog uses social media to increase its audience.

RSVP: The new location has opened up several seats, but to attend, you must RSVP to Steve Gilbert, Discover Burien Executive Director at: (206) 433.2882, or via email: executivedirector@discoverburien.com.

We’d like to send a GINORMOUSLY HUGE shout-out to all our Readers, both new and old, who helped make October 2010 The B-Town Blog’s most-visited month ever – over 75,000 Unique Visitors!

According to Sitemeter, a widely-used, independent website tracking service, during October 2010, we had 75,397 Unique Visitors and nearly 128,000 Pageviews; according to Google Analytics, we received 83,605 Uniques and over 138,000 Pageviews– both record highs for us!

Sitemeter’s stats indicate a +43.6% increase in traffic over September, our previous record month (with 52,496 Readers); Google Analytics shows a +31.38% increase.

Here are the most recent stats from Sitemeter:

We’re proud of our success here, because we work hard to serve the Community we live, work, shop and play in.

The B-Town Blog is (far as we know) the only local news website that is absolutely transparent in its website traffic statistics – something you will NOT see on any other competing “local” websites (we use quotation marks because ones produced in downtown Seattle aren’t truly “local” now, are they?).

“Transparent” of course means that, at any time, YOU can click on one of at least three statistics links in the footer of the website (at the bottom of any page), and see what kind of traffic we’re getting right then and there from totally independent, external sources.

We’d also like to remind any potential Advertisers out there to shop around and ask for actual, independent proof of website traffic numbers from other sites before buying, because our philosophy, though simple, is very effective:

LOTS OF LOCAL EYEBALLS
+
EXCELLENT LOCAL REPORTING
+
BLOGVERTORIAL STORIES
=
CUSTOMERS!

Click on a logo below to see our stats (keep in mind that statistics vary with each independent measuring company, something that’s not in our control):

We are active members of Discover Burien as well as the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce, and you’ll see us at various events, festivals, city council meetings and much more.

If you’d like more information on our Advertising solutions, please don’t hesitate to email us (and don’t forget to ask about our effective new Coupons Page!).

Also, if you haven’t already, please join us on:

The Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce, along with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), is sponsoring a seminar called “Limited Visibility!” on Tuesday, June 22nd that is targeted to business owners, managers, and marketing and sales professionals who want to bring in more sales and expand their outreach.

Four lively, fast-paced presentations by local experts will cover how people shop today, and how businesses can use social media and technology effectively and intelligently to accomplish their goal of business growth. Presentations include Dwayne Fricke of All Seattle Web Design, Marshall Macias, Elizabeth Paulsen of Cascade e-Commerce Solutions, and yours truly, Scott Schaefer of The B-Town Blog.

Topics addressed will be:

• Social networking
• Blogging
• Websites
• Search engine optimization

Participants will learn how to build a community among their customers and fans, attract new customers, move ahead of their competition, and further expand their reach. 

The event will be held on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 8:00 am – 10:00 am in Tukwila. Location will be disclosed upon registration.

B-Town Blog Publisher/Editor Scott Schaefer will discuss the power of blogging at the June 22nd seminar.

Cost is $20 per person.

Presented in partnership by the Small Business Development Center at Highline Community College and the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce.

Here’s more info from a flier:

LIMITED VISIBILITY!!
One reason people buy from other companies.

Missing a few good customers? Maybe you’re the one that’s gone missing!

Control your marketing expense and still be more visible to the customers you want and the ones you already have. Hear from four local pros on how to get visible and ring up more sales . . .

• Websites that create sales better than others
• Twitter and Facebook create sales
• A company blog creates sales
• Optimizing your website creates sales

Four savvy local pros demonstrate how the customers you don’t yet have will go searching for you . . . on the Web, Google, Facebook and Twitter, often from their phone,not a computer. This 90-minute event will be held at convenient location in Tukwila close to Southcenter. The date is Tuesday June 22nd at 8:00 -10:00 AM. Sign up now!

Limited Visibility is brought to you by The Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce and The Small Business Development Center for Southwest King County [The SBDC] which is based at Highline Community College. You’ll enjoy four fast-paced 20-minute presentations in a row, each one demonstrating clearly just how people actually shop today

1. Marshall Macias, social networks professional:How customers get info from Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, etc
2. Scott Schaefer, blogging professional: How customers find the info they want from business blogs
3. Dwayne Fricke, website professional: Websites that connect with customers and some that don’t.
4. Elizabeth Paulsen, search engine optimization professional: To Google robots, all websites are not created equal.

The four presenters are good! Learn how to:

• Build a community among your customers and fans
• Attract the customers that you don’t yet have
• Move ahead of your competition
• Spread your reach much further afield

This event is not a how-to for techies! It’s not technical at all. Limited Visibility! is about how customers look for you, for your products and services. [ First Clue: Things aren’t the way the used to be. ]

To reserve your seat, email or call Brenna Arnesen, Marketing and Events Manager, The Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce at staff@swkcc.org or via phone: 206 575-1633.

The fee is $20.00, payable to the Chamber of Commerce. Reservations are required for this event. The event is June 22nd, in Tukwila 8:00–10:00 AM. Brenna Arnesen, the event manager, will provide the location when you reserve your seat.

Web registration link:
 http://swkingcowa.usachamber.com/custom2.asp?pagename=calendar&a=view&eid=55796

On a personal note, we highly recommend not only attending this seminar, but utilizing the free resources of the SBDC, especially with Advisers Rich Shockley and Zev Siegl, who are extremely knowledgeable and helpful about business.

Here’s info on the SBDC from their website:

How is your business doing? The Highline Small Business Development Center (The SBDC) provides 1:1 counseling and business research to business owners and entrepreneurs throughout Southwest King County. During 2008 alone, The SBDC served more than 200 business owners, assisting with connecting with potential customers they do not yet have, bank loan applications, presenting to investors, finding and leasing new locations and forecasting profit one year ahead. Call to schedule your first appointment with advisor Rich Shockley or Zev Siegl — Des Moines office (206) 878-3710, ext 5151. The SBDC. Insights. Solutions. Success.

On Monday (April 12) the Better Business Bureau announced that it had discovered that counterfeit BBB complaint notices are being sent out to businesses across the country from the email address “seatac@bbb.org.”

According to the BBB, several businesses across the U.S. (including law firms, advertising agencies and architecture firms) have reported receiving a suspicious e-mail from this fake email address. The subject line says “BBB Complaint Case #… (Ref #…).” Each one comes with a nine-digit case number and a 21-digit reference number.

The body of the e-mail claims that the company did not respond to a complaint filed by a consumer named Jason Harlow. E-mails contain a link that says “please click here to access the complaint.” Those who hover over the link will find that it goes to ca-bbb.org, a fake BBB Web site page that has been suspended and is currently unavailable.

Here’s a screenshot of the actual e-mail:

Click image to see large version.

Here’s more info from the BBB on this incident:

Both BBB Accredited and non-Accredited businesses have been targeted.

“Part of BBB’s role in the marketplace is to be a trusted third-party, which involves sending correspondence and informing businesses of complaints and compliments from consumers. It’s really unnerving that someone is trying to defraud our system,” said Robert W.G. Andrew, CEO of BBB serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington. “We want business owners to feel like they can trust all communications coming from our organization, which is why we are taking steps to stop unauthorized imitators.”

BBB Of Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington does not:

• Refer to itself as “Seatac BBB.”
• Send complaints to businesses outside of its service area. Based on where they are located, businesses can expect to hear from their local BBB only. For example, your BBB would not send a complaint notice to a company located in any state other than Alaska, Oregon, or Western Washington.
• Send e-mails requesting private information. Do not provide personal details or payment information via unsolicited e-mail.

Businesses that receive suspicious e-mails claiming to be from BBB should take the following steps:

• Do not click on any links or reply to the message.
• Forward it to phishing@council.bbb.org and delete it from your inbox.
• Run a virus scan on your computer.

Businesses are encouraged to verify the legitimacy of BBB e-mails: If you receive an e-mail from Better Business Bureau about a complaint and need assistance in determining if it is legitimate, contact your BBB directly at 206-431-2222 or e-mail info@thebbb.org.

For more advice on how to protect your business from malicious online attacks and data breaches, visit www.bbb.org/data-security.

The former Burien couple that was charged last week with filming themselves raping their 4-year old daughter pleaded “not guilty” Tuesday (Nov. 10th) in King County Superior Court.

Hollie Beston, 31, of Burien, was arrested along with her ex-husband, Brian Beston, 36, of Kent by Seattle Police recently after the FBI learned of the sex crime from the recipient of the photos, a man facing child-molestation charges in Southern California.

Charging papers say the two provided live streaming video of the rape of their child over the internet to the California man, who alerted authorities as part of his therapy. Documents also claim that Brian Beston admitted repeatedly raping the girl, and that Hollie Beston admitted taking photos and videos of the crimes.

According to investigators, Beston was offering the girl online to have sex with the California man and streamed the live abuse to prove the authenticity of the offer.

You can now get free wi-fi at Sea-Tac Airport, courtesy of Google, which announced Tuesday that it is now sponsoring free wireless access at 47 airports around the US.

Sea-Tac’s free offer (along with Burbank Airport), are considered “indefinite,” while the others are scheduled to expire Jan. 15, 2010.

According to the Google Free Wi-Fi website:

When you’re traveling this holiday season, you can enjoy free WiFi at 47 participating airports and on every Virgin America flight. Just bring a WiFi-enabled laptop or mobile device and stay connected to family and friends for free while you travel now through January 15, 2010.

The promotion, in cooperation with three wireless carriers, is clearly a marketing effort to use free Wi-Fi to boost the Google brand.

Just be careful when logging on though – many hackers have set up “Free Wi-Fi” networks in public places, so make sure you’re actually hopping on board the Google one.

Burien’s own Puget Sound Skills Center announced Monday (Oct. 19th) that it is now offering online classes in the hopes of better serving students who want to gain skills for the growing information technology job market.

The IT market is consistently listed in the top three sectors for future job growth.

Students who enroll can earn college credits as well as qualify for nationally recognized industry certifications.

“This is an exciting step for our school,” said Skills Center Director Sue Shields. ‘The online option for information technology opens opportunities for students who have previously not been able to take advantage of all that PSSC has to offer.  Scheduling conflicts simply disappear when a student is able to participate in the program on their own time.”

Computer Network Systems (CNS) instructor Jim McMurchie added: “Distance-learning courses can be completed by students with a relatively current computer and internet access.  All software required is provided by the school.”  He went on to say, “The best part is that PSSC is part of the public school system so, these courses are offered to students at no charge.”

Examples of courses that will be offered online include:

• Computer-Aided Design
• Cisco Networking and Microsoft IT Academies
• Basic computer hardware and software
• Basic networks

A student can elect to complete the course entirely online or in a blended-learning format which involves doing the majority of the coursework online wtih a limited number of sessions at PSSC for hands-on labs and review.

This Computer Network Systems program is the latest addition to PSSC’s online offerings.  Other programs include:

• Digital Media Production
• Engineering Design
• Leadership and Management in Business

Interested students should contact the Skills Center at 206-631-7300 or at their webiste: www.pugetsoundsc.org.

Puget Sound Skills Center is located at 18010 8th Avenue South in Burien, and it serves students from Highline and Federal Way Public Schools, Fife, Tahoma, and Tukwila School Districts and is hosted by Highline Public Schools.