I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and the subject of newsletters came up. I chuckled a bit because I have not been a fan of newsletters even since the days that receiving printed material was a more acceptable practice. Now, of course everything is online and I still get “newsletters” and requests to sign up for them. Honestly, I am still not a fan.
I say this of course when one of the biggest names in the industry, Chris Brogan, does send an e-newsletter for his New Marketing Labs company. It seems a little weird to get it since there is SO much content generated by someone like Chris already that I wonder what else can it tell me? As a result I put reading the newsletter below other forms of communication that Chris and his company produces.
What happens when someone is desperate? They will often hear what they WANT to hear rather than what was actually said. This happens in business all the time. It is happening at an alarming rate as it relates to the SMB (small and medium business) and social media.
What is being said by the people in the marketplace that actually understand social media (not the legions of so-called experts who are just desperate to make a buck) is that the correct use of social media provides opportunity. Notice the use of the word ‘correct’. Not just the use of social media but the CORRECT use of social media. Oh and it provides opportunity, not automatic sales and revenue.
I read a post today over at HubSpot’s blog, which I occasionally contribute to. The blog is intended to cater to the SMB set which are the primary customers for HubSpot’s inbound marketing platform. Today’s post, about Marketing Lessons from MTV’s Jersey Shore is interesting reading but it needs to be read with a degree of caution if you are an SMB that is trying to market to other businesses.
The author makes three points that the show can provide for marketing your business. [click to continue…]
I was walking around my little town on Christmas Eve and this group was just walking around singing carols ‘on demand’. Lucky for them I am experimenting with video!
In all seriousness, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I’ll let these great ‘kids’ tell the rest. Peace.
We are all in a rush. There is the holiday rush. There is the morning rush. There is the lunch rush. Now add to it the social media rush. The social media rush is the act of throwing your company headlong and hell bent into the social media rapids. If you do this without a little forethought (actually make the a lot of forethought) you are asking for trouble.
For all of the social media efforts I have been involved in, watched from a distance or discussed with social media “types” I am seeing a recurring theme. While there is success there is also abject failure and frustration. The “industry” doesn’t like to talk about failure. Truth is that most things fail several times before they become the success that everyone imagines happened “just like that”.
I was speaking with a client of mine today and it became apparent that the value I thought I might bring to his organization was about 3 steps ahead of the reality of the situation. I admit that I can be quick to jump to some form of a social media ‘solution’ for a client without helping them become what is too often assumed about businesses in the age of the social web: aware of social media and its many facets.
You may be scratching your head and wondering what that means. If you are then you are likely in the industry and have long ago forgotten that social media isn’t second nature to about 95% of the world despite our industry’s attitude that “everyone knows the importance of social media!”
I had just dropped my daughter off at school this morning. As I waited at a traffic light a woman was making a left turn heading in my direction. I noticed she rolled down her window despite the rain that was falling. Immediately my mind went to “She’s smoking.” I was right. Next I went to the inevitable “She is going to toss that cigarette butt into the middle of the road” because in her nicotine choked mind that is not littering, She did. She then made the turn toward me and I saw the child in the back seat in a safety seat and I said “Wow, I need to pray for that poor kid.”
You see the whole idea of smoking is filthy to me. I can say this because I once smoked (for about 10 years) so I am not some inexperienced windbag spouting off about this. I know how dirty, disgusting and unattractive the habit is because I have done it. I know it so much so that I can see and predict behaviors of this group of people to the tee just like I did with this lady.
I read a report from Reuters today that really made me think. As a result of this thinking, this frank thinking if you will, I realized that while I am angered by what I read I better make sure that my side of the street is cleaned up before I start ranting and raving.
The article depicts the attitude of a teenage girl about texting while driving despite it being illegal in Phoenix where she lives. This quote from the article will give you the general idea of how seriously she takes the safety of others over her own needs to not be bored. [click to continue…]
The real time revolution that has been shifted into another gear by Google’s announcements regarding real time search and the world’s most important search engine is enticing. It is enticing to think that there will be information available as things happen. We can get news as things are happening. We no longer need to wait for some news outlet to report on what is happening. We can get as it is happening.
Sounds fun right. Whoa there big fella! Just take a look at the ‘information’ that is coming across the ‘real time’ wire about Tiger Woods’ latest issue. Good luck trying to decipher fact from fiction on that one.
I have been working lately on this series of posts helping to recognize different social media activities and habits through the colors of the spectrum. It’s been interesting to touch on these ideas. It has also made me more self aware about my own behaviors in the social media world. This week I fell into the ‘those who can’t do teach’ category which is not where I want to be.
As a week in review session occurred unscheduled in my head I was a little disappointed in myself. For some reason I was a little too edgy and aggressive in my work this week. What I mean is I wrote in a manner that was more in the offensive mode. That has its time and place. I think I did it more for effect than anything else.
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I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and the subject of newsletters came up. I chuckled a bit because I have not been a fan of newsletters even since the days that receiving printed material was a more acceptable practice. Now, of course everything is online and I still get “newsletters” and requests to sign up for them. Honestly, I am still not a fan.
I read a post today over at HubSpot’s blog, which I occasionally contribute to. The blog is intended to cater to the SMB set which are the primary customers for HubSpot’s inbound marketing platform. Today’s post, about 
We are all in a rush. There is the holiday rush. There is the morning rush. There is the lunch rush. Now add to it the social media rush. The social media rush is the act of throwing your company headlong and hell bent into the social media rapids. If you do this without a little forethought (actually make the a lot of forethought) you are asking for trouble.
I was speaking with a client of mine today and it became apparent that the value I thought I might bring to his organization was about 3 steps ahead of the reality of the situation. I admit that I can be quick to jump to some form of a social media ‘solution’ for a client without helping them become what is too often assumed about businesses in the age of the social web: aware of social media and its many facets.
I had just dropped my daughter off at school this morning. As I waited at a traffic light a woman was making a left turn heading in my direction. I noticed she rolled down her window despite the rain that was falling. Immediately my mind went to “She’s smoking.” I was right. Next I went to the inevitable “She is going to toss that cigarette butt into the middle of the road” because in her nicotine choked mind that is not littering, She did. She then made the turn toward me and I saw the child in the back seat in a safety seat and I said “Wow, I need to pray for that poor kid.”
I read a report from Reuters today that really made me think. As a result of this thinking, this frank thinking if you will, I realized that while I am angered by what I read I better make sure that my side of the street is cleaned up before I start ranting and raving.
The real time revolution that has been shifted into another gear by 
I have been working lately on this series of posts helping to recognize different social media activities and habits through the colors of the spectrum. It’s been interesting to touch on these ideas. It has also made me more self aware about my own behaviors in the social media world. This week I fell into the ‘those who can’t do teach’ category which is not where I want to be.
