For those of you on Facebook, check out the new Fan Page, Master of Towing Vessels Association, started by gCaptain.com Forum Super Moderator, Doug Pine. Become a Fan
The Master of Towing Vessels Association represents the interests of U.S. Coast Guard licensed masters, mates and pilots of towing vessels (Oceans, Near Coastal, Great Lakes/Inland & Western Rivers), with a focus on safety issues.
While you’re there, be sure to check out gCaptain.coms’ Fan Page, gCaptain.com – A Maritime Blog About Ships, and the gCaptain group as well.
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Tags: · facebook, social_networks, tugs and towing
Here at gCaptain, we have relied primarily on search engine optimization (SEO), regularly updating the blog, word-of-mouth and some great partnerships to grow the site. So far, it has worked really well for us. We are now receiving over 100,000 unique visitors monthly and growing at a rapid pace. Furthermore, having done this with little to no marketing budget is something we are very proud of. But most all the low hanging fruit has been picked and now that we are doing this full time, we are ready to take it up a notch…sort of.
We have been exploring and participation in the use of social networking sites (see where to find us below) since they first started appearing on the web. At the same time we feel that we have barely tapped into the true viral marketing potential of many of them. That being said, we are going to start putting a lot of time and energy into using social networking sites to share content, recruit and retain visitors and further build the gCaptain brand.
But before we expend all this energy, we want to know… What are you and your peers using?
[Continue Reading →]
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Tags: · poll, social_networks, Web 2.0
Whether it’s a source for an article, helping a forum member find a job or answering questions from the press, here at gCaptain we spend a considerable amount of time locating and contacting experts within the maritime industry. Sometimes this is difficult. Part of the reason we were able to launch Unofficial Networks, our web building and search engine optimization group, is that we noticed very few maritime companies are easy to find on Google. With the recent popularity of social media we found that sometimes it’s easier to located people on networking sites. Facebook is one option but for locating decision makers in specific companies our first stop is always LinkedIn.
LinkedIn FAQ Video
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The Groups
The best feature of LinkedIn are the groups. While not having nearly as many active participants as our forum, the linkedin groups do contain interesting and well thought discussions. That is if you know which ones to join.
Maritime Executive
The most popular and highest quality group for industry discussion is The Maritime Executive group. Run by the same people who bring us the free MAREX Newsletter, this group is a meeting ground for shipping executives and industry insiders.
Merchant Mariner
More interested in driving ships than sitting behind a desk? Then the Merchant Mariner group should be your first choice. While the discussions are not fresh with the latest content you will still find the occasional rumor and scuttlebutt not to mention jobs not listed on anywhere else on the web. One note… you must have worked aboard a ship to participate.
Super-Yacht Owner
Ok it only has three members but having “Super-Yacht Owner” on your LinkedIn portfolio is a status symbol few people can afford. Join it today just be sure not to hold your breath waiting for acceptance.
Maritime Network/Group
Maybe it’s because this is the first ever guide to the nautical side of Linked In but most people lack imagination and end up joining the group with largest subscriber list. If you are looking for the highest quantity of posts then visit the Maritime Network and Maritime Group.
gCaptain Group
Ok, so we are behind on the stats. Maybe it’s because most of our readers prefer the forum or maybe the reason is we don’t spend enough time there ourselves? Whatever the reason, help promote your favorite site by joining the gCaptain group.
Many More…
If you are still hunting for a group that serves your taste then be sure to visit my profile for a more complete listing. Alternativly you could just perform a group search. Your choice!
Q&A
Another popular feature on LinkedIn is Questions and Answers. The problem we have is that maritime specific questions receive better response when asked within a group. That being said… for general questions, the feature is excellent.
Jobs & Conferences
While we are big fans of LinkedIn, some features leave much to be desired. For upcoming conferences spend your time at MaritimeTradeShows.com and for jobs… well you’re going to need to call a headhunter (try Faststream!) or wait for us to put the final touches on gCaptain’s new job board.
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Tags: · social_networks
Image by roeland.p
This badge shows the latest Twitter’s from all know United States Coast Guard personnel and bloggers, enjoy! The list was taken from our last blog post: The USCG Joins Twitter
[Continue Reading →]
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Tags: · mashups, social_networks, twitter, USCG
Today we noticed a new follower on our Twitter page: uscoastguard
Ok, so many of our readers are asking; What’s Twitter and why doesn’t gCaptain mention it more often? The answer to both questions is; Twitter is the most complicated and simplest to use messaging tool on the net.
What?
gCaptain has been a member of Twitter since May of 2007 and we even promoted it’s use as an emergency beacon back in January (note: can find out profile page HERE ) but this simple to use site is difficult to wrap your head around so we have not been good at marketing (or even updating) or profile page. This all changed recently after we listened to the advice of maritime tweeter Peter Mello and took the following steps:
- Installed a desktop client (our favorite is TweetDeck).
- Jumped into the conversation.
- Visited search.twitter.com and entered a few maritime phrases.
- Friended other maritme tweeters (more info below)
- Viewed the following video: [Continue Reading →]
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Tags: · social_networks, twitter, USCG
gCaptain friend and Head Designer over at Digg.com, Daniel Burka, bumped up our number of friend request for the social networking / messaging site Pownce.com. Invites will go to the first 25 readers who submit comments below.
What is pownce? The New York Times tells us;
JUST now, the hottest startup in Silicon Valley — minutely examined by bloggers, panted after by investors — is Pownce, but only a chosen few can try out its Web site.
Kevin Rose, the co-founder and chief architect of Digg, a hugely popular news site, announced in late June the introduction of Pownce, a social-networking service that combines messaging with file-sharing. Mr. Rose immediately endowed his latest venture with some mystique by declaring that, for the time being, only those with invitations would be permitted to test his new site.
Within days, invitations were selling on eBay for as much as $10. Mr. Rose has declined all requests to be interviewed about the service, including my own. But as a consolation, he sent me a coveted invitation. I enjoyed the rare thrill of cyberhipness — and got to experiment with the site.
You can also send your friends links, invitations to events, or files like photos, music or videos. Of course, you can already do that on a multitude of file-sharing Web sites. It is the combination of private messaging and file-sharing that makes Pownce so novel.
Om Malik, the author of the technology blog GigaOm, is an enthusiast. “I love it and use it constantly, ” he said in a message sent to me on Pownce. “I like it because it lets me share a lot of different things with the networks of people I really care about.”
Read the full NYTimes article titled “A Social-Networking Service With a Velvet Rope” then comment below for your invitation.
Pownce Profiles of Interest:
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Tags: · Community, daniel_burka, digg, exclusive, kevin_rose, Maritime, pownce, share, shipping, Ships, social_networks, Web 2.0, web20
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