The Business March 13, 2013: The “Hand or Mouth?” Edition

What!?!  It’s a perfectly valid question!  Our guests this week include one half of the brilliant pair that run Hand to Mouth, which is an excellent monthly show where comedians perform all new material on a specific social, cultural or political issue. One show, one topic.  Juicy stuff like commercialism, technology, gender and conspiracy theories.  Check one out the first Friday of the month at 10.  Until then, bring your hands and mouths to The Business to see Trevor Hill!

 

Trevor’s humor oscillates between deeply personal material about homeless family members and adolescent trauma to absurd vignettes about Bolivian Phil Collins fans and bayou-dwelling pornographers. He has been described as inventive, candid, engrossing and infertile. 

And that’s not all!

 

 “Three goats are playing soccer. Christopher Hitchens, driving an armored car with a huge, blunt lance attached to the front, chases them off the field while chuckling eruditely to himself.” – These are the dreams of Matt Louv.  Find more of his subconscious musings at http://bearswithcigars.blogspot.com/and find him at The Business this week!

 

Plus, a set from Lyall Berhens!  Use your hands to put THAT in your pipe and smoke it with your mouth!

These fabulous guests plus your regulars, Sean “Handyman” Keane, Bucky “The Mouth” Sinister and Caitlin “Talk to the Hand ‘cause the Mouth Ain’t Listenin” Gill.

Just $5!  This whole show is just $5! AND you can bring a friend for free with these nifty coupons! http://thebusinesscomedy.blogspot.com/

BYOBurrito.  Carry it with your mouth and eat it with your hands.  VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE.

Fueling discoverability and engagement with Google+

Cross-posted with the Inside AdWords blog.

Automotive brands were among the first advertisers to adopt Google+ and they’re making it pay off in big ways. Our research has shown that the path to buying a car is becoming more and more social, with consumers relying on information and advice from their social connections and brands to inform their purchase. Millions of consumers are already engaging with the top global auto companies on Google+, and brands are using this opportunity to connect and engage with customers in unique ways, from connecting with auto enthusiasts through G+ Communities to launching new car models via Hangouts.

Today we’re releasing new insights on how Google+ is working to amplify auto brands’ existing marketing campaigns. For example, we found that brands can experience a 91% increase in conversion rate for non-brand terms when running social annotations on search ads.

Please check out our infographic below for additional insights and tips, and visit our Google+ Business site to learn more about Google+.

Click to see full-size infographic

Posted by Gretchen Howard, Director of Global Social Solutions

The Business March 6th, 2013: The “OMG you’re a Pisces too?!?” Edition.

The Business staff Astrologer (full time, executive position) has cautioned us that gathering this many Pisces in one location could be an attempt by the stars to assemble a monstrous VoltronFish that would terrorize the world.  Mainly by being really moody and sensitive, but the world would put up with it cause it would have a creative spirit.  

Warnings of monsterfish from the 12 Sign aside, we are gonna party Business style to celebrate the birthdays of regulars Nato Green and Caitlin Gill, as well our guests, Keith Lowell Jensen and Johnny Taylor!!

Johnny Taylor uses sharp wit, and off-beat sensibilities to communicate his sometimes tragic life experiences in a hilarious way.  He has opened for some of the biggest names in stand-up comedy, including Robin Williams, Bobcat Goldthwait, Brian Posehn, Wayne Federman, and more.  They all wish him a very happy birthday.  

Keith Lowell Jensen has found a very unique niche in comedy. He is the non-pot smoker that performs at pro-marijuana legalization benefits. He is the straight host of The Gay and Lesbian Comedy Show. He is the non-disabled founder and sometimes host of The Comedians With Disabilities Act, and he is the atheist member of the multi-faith comedy show about religion, The Coexist? Comedy Tour. Yes, Keith Lowell Jensen the Non-Pot Smoker, Non-Gay, Non-Religious, Non-Disabled comedian has become a professional token. The one thing he does just like everyone else is get old. 

 

Also a set from Bryce Jones! Bryce sounded like a smart 20 year when he was performing in clubs at 14.  Now that he is a smart (almost) 20 year old, he sounds like THE FUTURE.

All these wonderful guests and your regulars, Nato “Birthday Boy” Green, “Cumpleaños” Gill, Sean “Yo MOMMA’S birthday” Keane, and Bucky “Belated BUT NOT BELEAST” Sinister.

Just $5!  And you can bring a friend for free! http://thebusinesscomedy.blogspot.com/

WE SELL OUT.  GET THERE EARLY IF YOU WANT A SEAT.

BYOBurrito, put a candle in it.  Then put a ring on it. COMMIT ALREADY, YOU’RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER. 

Looking for Ways to Grow Your Business Online? Meet Friday 15

In 15 minutes, you could clip coupons, wash dishes, fold laundry, dance to your favorite song... three times, or you could learn some new tips to help your business succeed on the web. Businesses that are online grow faster.* Make it a habit to grow your business online with Friday 15, a series designed to help small businesses make the most of their online presence.

Friday 15 answers questions small business owners need to know, like: How should I choose the pictures on my website? How can I monitor my business online? What should my website be called? How should I handle a bad review? What information should I include on my website?

If you want to learn more about growing your business online, visit www.gybo.com/friday15 for training videos and tip sheets. You can also tune in to live discussions with industry experts during the Get Your Business Online team’s Friday 15 Google+ Hangouts. Each episode is 15 minutes or less and will provide you with tools, tips, and practical use-cases to help grow and promote your business online. The series is open to everyone. All you need to join us is a computer and an internet connection. The Hangouts air every other Friday on +Google+ Your Business at 11:00a.m. PT/2:00p.m. ET. Watch this Friday, March 8th, for a discussion on optimizing your website.

Friday 15 is brought to you by Get Your Business Online with Google, an initiative to help small businesses get online and succeed online. Visit the Friday 15 page at www.gybo.com/Friday15 for directions on how to watch a Hangout and sign up to receive Friday 15 tips, news, event notifications and more.

*Source: BCG Report, "The Connected World: The $4.2 Trillion Opportunity," March 2012

Posted by Whitney Lemon, Friday 15 Host, Get Your Business Online Team

Just Food For Dogs uses Google Business Photos to show off their state of the art dog kitchen

Just Food For Dogs (JFFD) is a dog food company that produces healthy, whole foods for dogs in a human-grade dog food kitchen. In an effort to attract customers who would appreciate the care and attention they put into their high-quality dog food offerings, JFFD decided to get Google Business Photos: a virtual tour of their business interior with Street View technology.

View Larger Map

Justin Bonatto, marketing coordinator for JFFD states, “We can’t see anything else that provides more value than a customer interacting for thirty seconds with Google Business Photos. It conveys everything we would want to communicate about the value of our company.”

For a more in depth look at JFFD’s success story using Google Business Photos you can read the case study in its entirety here.

If you are a business owner and would like to create and publish a virtual tour of your business, learn more at http://maps.google.com/help/maps/businessphotos

Posted by Zach Bruce, Google Business Photos team

The Business February 27th 2013: The Songs to O’Shea By Edition- Now with 2x the Kevin!

There are Kevins, and there are O’Sheas.  But there is only one Kevin O’Shea.  At least there is only one that we know of.  I mean the odds are good that there is someone else that has both the name “Kevin” and the name “O’Shea”, but that guy (or rather unfortunate girl) would never be the Kevin O’Shea that Kevin O’Shea is.  

This week, we all Kevin to the O’Shea beat.

Established in 1984 following the mergers of Steven and Cathy O’Shea, Kevin O’Shea has been one of San Francisco’s leading manufactures of mirth, laughter, hilarity and all around good times! Kevin has been commonly described as clever, absurd, awkward but in a funny way and too smart for his own good. He has been seen on the Independent Film Chanel and ComedyCentral.com. He is a favorite of comedy festivals such as: The SF Sketch Fest and the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. Go see him now as his 4^thquarter productivity has never been higher!

And more KEVIN! Kevin Camia will join us this week as well. He has been featured on Comedy Central's "Live at Gotham", Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival, AZN's Asia Street Comedy and the San Francisco Sketchfest. His comedy is a mix of dry wit, strange observations and social satire delivered in a "tell it like it is" performance. 

Bringing the beat to Kevin by will be KALX DJ and musical auteur Spencer Owen! Owen arranges all the compositions and performs all of the vocals, instruments and production himself for his home 6-track audio-cassette recordings.  (Which means he does more with his afternoons that I do, but can he say he watched all of House of Cards in 15 hours?  No, I’ll bet he can’t)

You regulars this week are the fearsome foursome, Sean Keane, Nato Green, Caitlin Gill and Bucky Sinister, who is made of steel and one pound Fuddrucker burgers.  

This whole spectacular show is just $5! You can even bring a friend for free!  http://thebusinesscomedy.blogspot.com/

Get there early, we sell out.  

BYOBurrito and we will top it with Business.  Or salsa*, your choice.

*The Business does not have salsa.  They probably gave you some at the taqueria.  Check under your chips. 

The Business February 20th 2013: The Koll into Diamonds Edition

Alex Koll.  Original Business Man.  Air Guitar Demigod. General All Around Incredible Human Being.

San Francisco has been lucky to have him, but it's time to let the Koll Diamond shine somewhere new.  New York!  He's moving to the Big Apple, but not before The Business sends him off in style.

Joining us for the big Bon Voyage will be Sam Tallent.  Out all the way from Denver, Sam has been described as 'the Black Flag of comedy' and a zine in Denmark said 'Sam is the surreal voice of an earnestly silly generation'. Reggie Watts, TJ Miller, Kyle Kinane, Sean Patton and other quality gigglesmiths have worked with Sam and not complained to management.

We are also pleased to announce the return of Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits!  Difficult to categorize, awkward on a flyer, and impossible to forget, the “pretty songs about terrible things” of Bobby Joe Ebola have become the soundtrack of the “Great Recession” & civilization’s “Slow Apocalypse”. Longtime friends to The Business and even longertime friends to Alex Koll, there is no better guest to play Alex' San Francisco swan song.

The Business is gonna miss Alex.  This is gonna be a special show.  You wanna be there.

We sell out.  Arrive early for a seat.

Just $5!  You can even get a coupon to bring a friend for free right here http://thebusinesscomedy.blogspot.com/