In the early days of PDF, most non-PDF people did not understand how much benefit this new technology was going to bring across all verticals in terms of changing how we all use content on a daily basis. And there really still is no way to predict in the next five or ten or twenty years all the new things that are going to emerge from the PDF world.
One might say this is very similar to what is happening currently with social media tools and their usage. Back in the day (which was merely ten years ago) or so the story goes the first official weblog was created. After that came Typepad, Wordpress and Blogger.com (now owned by Google) creating blog platforms, and even they could not have imagined how far and fast blogging would spread as both a marketing tool and a way for millions of people to connect with one another.
It's no longer useful to ask, "Why would we need to know about social media?" Instead, one must ask, "How should we be using social media?"
PDF folks are known for their fortitude and courage when it comes to taking a step outside the crowd and pushing the envelope to create new solutions. Why shouldn't they also be the same people who can tap into the power of social media and use it to empower and bring visibility to all that they are doing for their users and at their companies?
To that end, we at Planet PDF wanted to give you some key things your PDF company can do to reach out on this long tail of Web 2.0 to your users and your community in terms of social media.
The first step is to consider creating your own user friendly and edu-focused content on your company blog. Claim a blog and start writing. Repurpose those white papers and those knowledge portals into dynamic blog posts that people can truly benefit from. Let your PDF freak flag fly using social media as your airplane!
If you want to connect with other tech-focused writers, journalists and tech lovers then create a company profile on Twitter.com and see how you might connect with your PDF friends and competitors on the micro-blogging platform.
If you don't think people are talking about PDFs on Twitter, just take a look at the conversations that come up from the search term "PDF company".
Did you know there are tons of technology journalists utilizing Twitter to keep ahead of all things technology? Check out this link, where you can find a giant list of journalists who Twitter. Why wouldn't you want to be able to reach out to them if you had a newfangled PDF tool that might just be their cup of "coverage" tea? (By the way my TwitterID is Twitter.com/nettiehartsock.
Some of the "twitterers" I love to follow are folks like SteveKayser, GuyKawaski, BestDamn (Sports show) and Zappos and Nitro PDF. You'd be amazed at how quickly you find peers and potential partners on Twitter and build relationships in almost real-time.
With the new year just around the next bend, you might be looking to update your calendars. Thanks to Vertex42.com, users can now download and print a free PDF calendar for 2010. The page lets visitors select from a variety of styles and offers both yearly and monthly calendars.
OK, so you want to stamp your document. Maybe you need to give reviewers some advice about the document's status or sensitivity. This tip from author Ted Padova demonstrates how to add stamps with the Stamp Tool along with related comments.
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