The Nielsen report came out this month and the focus was on social networking's rapid rise throughout the world. Social networks are growing and new behavior patterns are emerging. Cultural resistance to participating in social networks is waning and their influence is growing on a monthly scale.
People once less likely to be public are posting to social forums and flocking to social networks. This change is taking place across the globe. Two observations that struck me from the Neilson Report which can be immediately applied to websites, blogs, and social network accounts are:
SOCIAL MEDIA IS CHANGING THE RULES FOR ADVERTISERS Consumers have a deep distrust for advertising. Social Media offers a transparency and a candor that has created trust. Along with this trust is also a promise that you will not be invaded. Advertising efforts which are not "value adding" or part of the conversation are an intrusion in these social networks and advertisers must learn to play by the rules or risk having their message rejected.
Advertising must be a conversation rather than a push model
Don't advertise, communicate and participate in the community
DON'T ASSUME SOCIAL MEDIA IS FOR THE KIDS The numbers are changing and the demographic of the social networks is not necessarily who you would think. Facebook's greatest demographic shift has been the increase in users between the ages of 35-49. The standing presumption was that social networks were predominantly populated by teenagers and young adults.
Have you seen He's Just Not That Into You? This film opened yesterday and since today is Saturday I thought I would provide a little preview of this romantic comedy. Technically speaking, He's Just Not That Into You, was not on my to-do list for February 6th, so I have not yet seen the movie, but I have seen the previews. I think this is one of those films that I might be able to convince my husband, Dennis, to see. Why? Eye candy! There are enough "big" stars, both men and women, in this film to keep everyone happy for 129 minutes. For your convenience, I have included a trailer for the movie in this post. You will see that the producers feel that the basic interactive groundrules for men and women are established when we are very young children, which is "he says one thing, but means another" and "she hears what she wants to hear". As an aside, I remember my first little boy "friend". In 1954-55 we walked to kindergarten each morning holding hands. His name was Raymond Wood. I think he was always nice to me!
Ok, here is the scoop: He's Just Not That Into You is based on a self-help book that was written by Greg Behrentdt and Liz Tuccillo. No, neither Greg nor Liz is a psychologist. Both were writers for Sex and the City, they based this book on a famous line from the 6th season episode called "Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little" which originally aired July 13, 2003(yes, the episode title is the name of an annoying song from The Music Man). Six years later and with a reported budget of $25,000,000 we now have a romantic comedy that will either make you laugh or help you escape today's crazy technical world for two hours.
Probably the most poignant message in He's Just Not That Into You is this: In today's world, unlike when I was wondering "why doesn't HE call?", a person can't just expect to hear from someone via a landline phone, they need to worry about every known "SOCIAL NETWORK": myspace, facebook, youtube, plurk, plugoo, brightkite, ping, twitter, yammer, and the fatal text messaging via the cell phone. As Mary, played by Drew Barrymore, says: "It's exhausting!"
The fact is love, or what we hope will turn into love, makes us do foolish things. We are all guilty of this, we are human. In 1965 Martha (Reeves) and the Vandellas released "Love Makes Me Do Foolish Things", it never made it to #1, but many of us loved this song, because in 1965 and for a long time after that, our social networks consisted only of a phone and the Friday night mixer (dance). This song made us cry and if we were really lucky that special someone would ask us to dance and we would forget all our troubles. Escape!
So for this Saturday: Dance to this music,take a break and go away with your friend. Go to the movies or rent a movie,love the one you're with, and let me know how this works out for you, write a comment on my blog post.
P.S. For the record, if you are wondering what happened to little Raymond Wood. We continued through grade school together as friends. After that we lost touch. In 2006, my mother passed away. As I stood outside the church waiting for her funeral to begin, I looked across the crowd and there stood Raymond. He walked over to me, put his arms around me and said "I wouldn't miss being with you today." Precious memories, indeed!
Today as the 44th president of the United States is inaugurated we watch this historical moment from a myriad of technology. It does seem fitting and futuristic to see our new president embrace technology and social networks. It is surely an exciting sign of the times.
iPhone Application
Just in time for the inauguration. Watch the 44th Inauguration live from your iPhone. Download Ustream.TV, an application for the iPhone, to watch live and recorded video with a chat function. Use your phone to watch the inaugural events live and chat with others watching.
Inaugrual Photosynth The very moment Obama takes the oath CNN is asking for viewer to email their photo (10 MB size limit) with their name in the message if they want a photo contributor's credit. For more information on "The Moment" click here Inauguration Moment.
Pictures will be downloaded into a new software and the melding of multiple vantage points will combine to create a navigable 3D image.
We are very excited to see the application of the photosynth technology to document this momentous occasion. At Webconsuls we have used this same technology to show the large beautiful views of Kilauea Lakeside Estate and to show the cutting edge medical technology from the Division of Interventional Neuroradiology.
There are only five full days left to shop for Christmas and tomorrow at sundown the first candle of Hanukkah will be lit. In an effort to assist all of my shopping readers, I thought I might suggest to you to think about finding that really special gift on your local craigslist.org site. Yes, I said craigslist.org and Holiday Shopping in the same breath.
I will admit I am not a great shopper and I have for years, and I do mean years, tried to avoid malls and other small shopping venues. It is not that I don't want to remember people that I love, but I find shopping exhausting. Over 30 years ago I started using catalogs for holiday shopping and when the Internet began to allow us to shop all over the world in real time, well, let's just say it made my life easier. Keep in mind for many years I lived in very rural areas and did not have access to the large retailers, so I depended on the Sears' Catalog and J. C. Penney Catalog.
Now back to cragslist.org. My past experience with craigslist.org was in helping a good friend furnish his home office by using craigslist. It was about 18 months ago that my friend and I had tried to find good sturdy office furniture, etc, but the usual suspects were really only selling reconstructed fiberboard. So I said to him, "Let's search on craigslist." We did and what do you know, we found good quality, barely used furniture from a company in Orange County California which was closing down. Within in a few days the home office was complete for about $500, retail valued at about $1700.
You might get the impression that I have had a Craigslist account since its inception. That is not true, in fact, it was only two weeks ago that I set up my account. Why? Like any other "member", I had something of value that I didn't need and I wanted to sell; however, I had not been successful in selling this item in any of the old fashion ways. On December 6th I decided to try selling this item with Craigslist. I set up my account and what do you know, by the next morning I had received an email from "Chris." This was exciting...I answered the email and then I received the dreaded strange reply that looked "just plain nuts." I went back on Craigslist and read the "scams help page." I soon realized this "Chris" was up to no good and I decided to follow Craig's #1 rule: "DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts on craigslist."
I am happy to report that yesterday I received a call from a gentleman in Tucson who wanted to see my item. He came to our home, previewed the item, and said he might be back in touch. At 2:00PM, he called back and asked if we could meet with him to have the item inspected by an expert. 3:00PM we met at a local mall, the item was inspected and given the "green light" and the transaction was completed!! The gentleman was happy as he had found the perfect holiday gift for his girlfriend and I was happy as I no longer had this item that had been gathering dust, but instead put money in my bank account.
Before I close off this morning I want to mention that while Craigslist can help you find housing, employees, jobs, furniture, etc, you can indeed also make interesting connections. After all, the origins of craigslist are based in Craig Newmark simply trying to provide a way for his friends to stay in touch about community events. You can read an interesting article from Business Week about its inception. Craig is often referred to as a "Community Organizer." You remember this term from the 2008 Election. Yes, he has helped to organize many communities and when you sell or buy using Craigslist you can play that old game "six degrees of separation." Take my transaction: I have lived in Tucson for only nine months. I really know very few people here. But when we met my buyer we sat down for a cup of coffee while we wrote out the receipt. Dennis asked the gentleman what he does for a living. To this he replied that he is an artist. We said we only know one artist in Tucson. He asked the name of the artist. We told him and don't you know the artist we know is one of his best friends and I might add this artist is our oldest son's landlord. Guess how our oldest son found his duplex to rent? You got it...Craigslist!
SMO, Social Media, Social Networks...think craigslist.org. Happy Holiday shopping.
Recently I received an Amazon.com gift certificate as a gift. I am an avid reader and an avid kindle reader so I am sure that is what my in-laws had in mind.
I have come to rely on Amazon.com for far more than just books. This particular transaction was representative of how social media is molding the customers' experience for the better and I feel compelled to share the story.
Once people were quite wary of ordering online. Giving their credit card information over the internet to people unseen seemed scary and just not wise. Years later I make most of my purchases online. What is not to love? You can order exactly what you want. There is no trip to the mall. No walking up and down the shopping center corridor looking for that store directory while hoping for one more chance to find the exact brand and model so you can go home.
First it starts with how I select my purchases. I am a review reader and a very specific shopper. I generally know exactly what I want and why I want it. I don't necessarily come up with these answers myself, but I have trusted experts, think of them as "authority sites".
I wanted to get a few items for the kitchen. For cooking and kitchen equipment my two top sources are Alton Brown and America's Test Kitchen. Alton Brown, of Good Eats and Iron Chef America fame, has won me over again and again with his creative and campy show "Good Eats". His advice and elementary scientific explanation of why things work fascinates me and turns the once mundane chore of cooking dinner into a fun and creative thing to do at the end of the day. His show "Good Eats" is a family favorite in our house. I frequent his website for quick recipes and tips. Alton is welcome at our house any day. Here he is with some Thanksgiving tips.
America's Test Kitchen is my other authority. They judiciously test equipment and recipes. They recommend good solid equipment and explain why they favor one model over another. I have their family cookbook and it is where I get all my "Mom answers".
So with "my authorities" suggesting what makes and models are the best purchases I take a cursory look at Amazons' online reviews and as long as I don't see any glaring descrepancies in the reviews I make my purchase.
Amazon follows up and makes sure your purchases arrive on time and there is a link so you can track the delivery right to your door. Not everything is actually purchased directly from Amazon as they are the dealer for other merchants and resellers.
This time my entire order arrived within days, except for the pie dish. I had specifically chosen this pie dish for its deep well, perfect for a really deep apple crisp. It turned out that I was not the only one eying this lovely deep pie dish from the reseller unbeatablesale.com as it was sold out. My account was never charged. A few days later I was asked to review my experience. I couldn't give the transaction 5 stars as I didn't receive my purchase. I did comment that the item was sold out and while I was disappointed it would certainly not prevent me from shopping there again.
A store representative emailed me as a result of my less than 5 star rating and offered a gift certificate to use in their online store worth twice the amount of my initial attempted purchase.
They listened to my review. They care about the ratings. They care about the rating because the ratings from social media are going to affect their future sales. I am going to shop their because it is convenient and I am heard. If I am not satisfied they are going to remedy the situation.
Brightkite, a location based social network, now has it's own iPhone application. One of the unique features of Brightkite as a social network is that it organizes its members according to where they are geographically. After experimenting with the new iPhone application I anticipate there will be an upsurge in Brightkite activity as the application makes this social network not only easy to use but very appropriate to the iPhone's features. Application will require the iPhone 2.1 software.
I have found as a general rule that I prefer the iPhone application interfaces for social networks to their online equivalents. It seems to me that when designers have to flesh an application down to fit on the iPhone improvements and ease of use tend to follow. I will surely be checking in more as the "checking in" procedure is really sleek with the iPhone's GPS built in.
Take a picture and geo-locate it. Find where your friends are nearby. Take a look at Brightkite, it is especially fun when you are traveling as you can search for restaurant reviews and local attractions. It is a great place to ask for restaurant and lodging suggestions and there tends to be a trend among users to photograph and post their meals when dining out.
It's an unlikely tale but I assure you it is all true. It all started when Darin went out and bought this odd contraption to cut his hair. Sunday morning he announced he was going to give it a go out on the patio and cut his hair all on his own. "What do you think?", he asked. "Sure", I grabbed my coffee, shielding it from potential flying hairs and sat up wind to watch the show.
It was actually going quite well. All the tension had left my body and I was resigned to see a normal looking hair cut at the end of this process. Then I heard a click and saw the huge chunk of hair sliced right out of the middle of Darin's head.
It was the point of no return. He had to shave the remaining hair.
We laughed. I said, "You look like Seth Godin." We took his picture. We laughed again. He said, "I should be Seth Godin for Halloween."
Then Darin does what Darin does every time he gets a hold of a goofy picture of himself. He posted it on the internet. Actually, he posted it just once, to ping.fm, titling the post "For Halloween I am going to be Seth Godin". Ping.fm is a new service which will deliver posts to a long and growing list of blogs, microblogs and social sites.
The next day we googled "for Halloween I am going to be Seth Godin". The results are interesting.
"for Halloween I am going to be Seth Godin" with quotations filled the first page with results from his social sites.
for Halloween I am going to be Seth Godin (with no quotations)
Out of 4,190 results 3 of the first page results point to to Darin's social sites.
Our intention was not to rank for these keywords, but what these results illustrate and remind us is that by using the "long tail", optimizing for keyword phrases we can build traffic sources with our blogs and social sites by titling our posts with keyword rich phrases.
For those who would like a little more information on the theory of the long tail and how it applies to SEO here is a video from one of my favorite experts in the field, Avinash Kaushik.
When you are posting to your social media sites and writing blog posts remember the long tail. Your blog titles are important and over time can develop into a key component of your online success.
What is the single question or problem your customer might be posing to Google?
Are you using the language of your customers?
Can you formulate an interesting story around it?
Your social media sites serve as another entry way to your website and by titling your posts with keyword rich phrases you can grow a nice long tail.
I will be waiting for Darin's hair to grow back. For more niche specific advice for how you can grow your long tail with social media contact us at Webconsuls.
"Genuine intellectual curiosity is the attribute established brands need to be successful in the blogosphere."
- Geoffrey Moore
With every second that passes the world changes, something new and exciting is created or an idea is set into motion that will forever alter how human beings live their life and interact with each other. In the past sixty years a flood of, what would seem to most, irrational ideas have been used as stepping stones to create the most rational and useful technologies that we enjoy in our life. Radio started the information age, followed by television, and now the world world-wide-web; but, kindred spirits either join together or they kill each other, leaving yesterday's trend behind.
I believe the biggest complaint about television is the lack of interaction in every respect; both commercial and entertainment aspects of television have a human element missing. Human beings have a drive to be involved in everything they lay their eyes on. Internet has provided the ability for the consumer to have a say in what they see and do, the Internet is a means for people to be a part of a growing network with limitless possibilities. It was hard to see at first with the early Internet, but the possibility has always been there waiting to bloom; for a long time the Internet (WEB 1.0) was like T.V., it was just something to look at with many more channels. WEB 2.0 is a totally different ball game, we the people are the players and the umpires - It's About You!
Social Media is what the Internet is all about, a global village of people sharing ideas, information, and art. Not only individuals, business' (large and small) are working towards going interactive; through blogging and social networks the world is getting smaller and the possibilities are becoming greater. This revolution has forced television to jump on the train or be left behind; the fact is that people can meet their communication and entertainment needs from one central location. The Internet has given everyone a voice and audience to listen, companies can advertise, sell, and interact with the consumer in a way that T.V can't provide.
Today, your computer is a portal for all of your day to day media and communication tools to connect with the web. The time has come to join up with social networks and blog circles, this will increase your presence and network; whether for business or pleasure, I believe it will be worth your time to move with the Internet and not against it. Experience the world in the way that you want, at your desired pace; the Internet is no longer growing with you, transversely you're growing with the Internet. The Internet has already started anticipating your next move and remembers what you are interested in; your computer is no longer an extension of you, rather you are an extension of your computer!
A while back, I read a very interesting book that compared life to a train ride or a series of train rides.
Life is like a train ride it read. We get on, we ride, we get off. We get back on and ride some more. There are accidents and there are delays. At certain stops there are surprises. Some of these will translate into great moments of joy, some will result in profound sorrow.
When we are born we first board the train, we meet people whom we think will be with us for the entire journey. Those people are our parents.
Sadly this is far from the truth, Our parents are with us for as long as we absolutely need them. They too have journeys they must complete . We live on with the memories of their love, affection, friendship, guidance and their ever presence.
There are others who board the train who eventually become very important to us in turn. Those people are our brothers, sisters, friends and acquaintances whom we will learn to love and cherish.
Some people consider their journey like a jaunty tour. They will just go merrily along. Others will encounter many upsets, tears, losses on their journey. Others still, will linger on to offer a helping hand to anyone in need.
Some people on the train will leave an everlasting impression when they get off. Some will get on and get off the train so quickly, they will scarcely leave a sign that they ever traveled along with you or ever crossed your path...
We will sometimes be upset that some passengers whom we love, will choose to sit in another compartment and leave us to travel on our own. Then again, there is nothing that says we cant seek them out anyway. Nevertheless, once sought out and found, we may not even be able to sit next to them because that seat will already be taken.
That's okay everyone's journey will be filled with hopes, dreams, challenges, setbacks and goodbyes.
We must strive to make the best of it no matter what...
We must constantly strive to understand out travel companions and look for the best in everyone.
Remember that at any moment during our journey, any one of our travel companions can have a weak moment and be in need of our help.
We too may vacillate, or hesitate every trip hopefully we can count on someone being there to be supportive and understanding.
The bigger mystery of our journey is that we don't know when our last stop will come. Neither do we know when our travel companions will make their last stop Not even those sitting in the seat next to us.
I know I will be sad to make my final stop. My separation from all those friends and acquaintances I made during the train ride will be painful. Leaving all those I am close to will be a sad thing. But then again, I am certain that one day I will get to the main station only to meet up with everyone else. They will all be carrying baggage…most of which they did not have when the first got on the train.
I will be glad to see them again, I will also be glad to have contributed to their baggage... and to have enriched their lives, just as much as they will have contributed to my baggage and enriched my life.
We are all on this train ride together. Above all, we should all try to strive to make the ride as pleasant and memorable as we can right up until we can make the final stop and the leave the train for the last time...
Before there was Kerouac, There was Paskowitz. But he took his wife and nine children along for the ride. They lived the true surf lifestyle in a 24 foot long camper. While following the seasons and the tides, they answered to no one and became surfings royal family.
1) Diet with lots of fruits and vegetables and little meat, 2) Exercise to burn what you eat 3) Rest eight hours a day 4) Recreation in a kind of play that re-creates you (Surfing!) 5) Positive attitude of mind
"Diet, exercise, rest, recreation and attitude of mind, all working together, can make the young man a superman, and an old man, older." Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz
The Paskowitz Surf Camp is still going strong, Contact my good friend Izzy if you feel the need to paddle out and catch the stoke.
1. Opens up the Lines of Communication between Customer/Clients & Website Owner. You can do this in many ways. Such as Forums or adding a Blog to your Static Website.
2. Let your Customer/Clients know via a Blog about Sales, Promotions, New items, Recalls, etc. Adding a Blog with a RSS feed to your website is a great way to let your customers and readers know about important updates.
3. Adding a Blog to your Website can add new content / web pages to your site. This causes more entrances to your Website for Serps and for Viewers.
4. Add Social Bookmarking buttons to your static pages and let viewers bookmark them. This can add extra traffic to your website when their social bookmarks are shared with others.
5. Using Social Media can let your website compete with other websites/blogs that have larger marketing bank accounts.
6. Using Photo sharing for your Product Images can bring traffic in to your website.
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