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What to Expect from Web 3.0

posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 8:00 AM
Saturday, August 28, 2010

What to Expect from Web 3.0

The buzz is growing about Web 3.0, but as usual you have to
filter out all the hype, self-serving PR, old-fashioned
nonsense, newfangled marketing verbiage and other noise. You
will then find a few facts that you can grab onto and try to
figure out what’s going on. The first thing to remember is that,
like “Web 2.0,” the term Web 3.0 is not an official term of any
sort, does not represent any particular protocol or standard,
belongs to no one – and is used, misused and made nearly
meaningless by everyone. It is, quite simply, just an arbitrary
“version number” that, at most, describes how the Internet is
built and how it delivers services, at least as of the
freeze-framed moment in time that represents the end of 2.0 and
the start of 3.0.

Sometimes it is called the “semantic Web,” but perhaps the
less-used term “everyware” is more descriptive. The new scenario
is one of ubiquitous computing, the advent of cloud computing
where a “thin client” (no- or low-powered PC, or even just a
monitor and mouse) runs cloud-based applications using
cloud-based data and services. The Apple iPhone, iPod and iPad
are all examples of formerly standalone devices that were
integrated into the Web, and connect people in a seamless,
real-time and very simple way with – well, with everything, from
libraries and department stores to other people, anywhere in the
world.

From Read-Only to Interactivity

One of the Web’s true “parents” was Tim Berners-Lee, who had his
own notion of how the technology and the Internet developed. The
first phase of the Web had read-only capabilities. It was
essentially a spectator experience until read-write
functionality came along (sure, call it Web 2.0) that included
services to enable contribution, collaboration, content creation
and interactivity. The next step in Berners-Lee’s version
vision, Web 3.0, is heralded as “new territory,” where users can
assemble and run their own applications, create all sorts of
cooperative and collaborative enterprises, and truly put their
ideas in motion rather than simply uploading stuff to this, that
or the other site.

People with money invested in other, still-useful devices -
phones, PDAs, fax machines, etc. – don’t have to worry about Web
3.0 making them obsolete. In addition to letting users create
their own tools, Web 3.0 is another step in the evolution of
usage and interaction in which the Internet holds multiple
databases and content that will be accessible to many
non-browser-based devices and applications. The obvious uses
will be video that streams from a PC to a TV, picture frames
that receive wireless updates from an online or local photo app,
and phones that display items recommended by your trusted
sources – friends, review sites, experts – when you’re shopping.

From Data to Knowledge

In addition to the foregoing characteristics, Web 3.0 is also
said to encompass other important advances. For one thing, all
sorts of inputs are possible, which means all sorts of new
combinations become possible. Content can be made even more
broadly relevant when it’s related to GPS, so that social
networking, for example, can be enhanced by knowing who is
where and doing what.

More importantly, you will get more and better control of your
data and be able to establish a number of personalization
systems to “wrap” your personal information with different
levels and types of protection – so that you can share it
widely, narrowly or not at all. Over time, the accuracy of
recommendations and trustworthiness of ranking systems will help
us determine which data sources to take seriously and which to
avoid.

From Business Faxes to Online Games

With the rise of “linkable web apps” you will be able to use all
of your different desktop, server and mobile devices and
applications – telephones, fax machines and online fax services,
instant messaging, pagers – and control them from a single
browser window on your desktop, smartphone or handheld device.
All of it will take place in an always-on, always-everywhere
environment, with functionality embedded sometimes in hardware,
sometimes in software, sometimes in both – so that when you need
to take care of business without downloading the capability,
you’ll be able to do so.

Along with more of the visual and voice-based services that are
already starting to proliferate, there will be more lifelike
avatar interactions in the growing virtual social networking
world. This will lead to social shopping trips and virtual
reality gaming far beyond anything currently being done.

In mid-2009, the “Wall Street Journal” ran a story on the
development of Web 3.0 capabilities and the promise of
ever-greater interconnectedness among technologies, products,
services and people. The story even gave us a yardstick by which
to measure the success of Web 3.0, if in fact it does succeed.
If, as the WSJ puts it, “computing could become as integrated
and invisible as electricity and just as important” – and we can
attribute it to the new and improved Web – we’ll know that the
promise has lived up to the hype. Here’s hoping!

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LinkedIn – Best Practices For You and Your Business

posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 8:00 AM
Sunday, August 22, 2010

LinkedIn – Best Practices For You and Your Business

LinkedIn is a professional, business networking tool that is too
easily lumped into the social networking service. Even though
many of the same modes of operation are employed, the focus is
on professionals, professional dialog, professional
opportunities, and companies.

This list of LinkedIn best practices was compiled from my work
with clients, colleagues and friends who are trying to maximize
their professional opportunities. I hope it is also helpful for
you.

Get LinkedIn
If you are working, you need to be LinkedIn. If you are not
working, you really need to be LinkedIn (however, it would have
been better to be LinkedIn when you had a job). If you are a
college student, you need to be LinkedIn. The president of the
United States is LinkedIn… just do it.

Add Your Picture
A photograph not only personalizes your profile, it completes
it. Even though LinkedIn may no longer use a faceless silhouette
like other social sites, as shown here, you must keep in mind
that this profile is about you, put a face on it.

Finish Your Profile
If you are currently using LinkedIn, or at a minimum signed up
for it, finish your profile. Your profile should display 100%
Complete. If not, LinkedIn makes it easy with a profile wizard.
Typically, you can click on anything green and the wizard
recommends ways to increase your profile completeness. It will
suggest things to do like; write a recommendation, request a
recommendation, add more people, add another job, add
educational info, etc. The wizard helps get you to a point of
basic critical mass; displaying your completed profile
(education & job information) and about 20 connections.

Personalize Your LinkedIin URL

Which looks better to you?

Linkedin.com/pub/coco-design/4/74b/8b3

- or -

Linkedin.com/in/CocoDesign

Of course the second one is more marketable, more professional,
and easier to remember. More importantly, you need to get your
personalized LinkedIn URL before someone else, with a similar
name, gets it first.

Now that you have a personalized URL, add it to your business
email signature so that everyone who gets an email from you -

1) knows you are using LinkedIn,
2) can request to connect to you, and
3) learns about your capabilities when they review your profile.

Answer Questions
This is a great way to build credibility and expertise points.
When you answer a question on LinkedIn, the person who asked the
question can mark the best answer. The more “best answers” you
have, the more expertise credit you receive in your profile.
This is also a great way to connect with people of similar
interests or issues.

Asking questions is a good way to receive help from other
industry experts and colleagues. It is also good for informal
polling. Just do not make it a sales promotion. You will chase
people away.

Ask Others if They Use LinkedIn
When you meet someone that you would like to maintain a
professional connection with, ask them if they are using
LinkedIn and if the would mind if you sent a connection request.
This is generally a good question after trading business cards.

Grow Your Connections
Once you have your account to 100% with 20+ connections, you
will have created a little momentum. To help keep that going,
review your connections’ connections. Chances are you will know
a few of those people. Then each time someone connects with you
take a quick look at their connections… you may find one or
two that you have a relationship with as well. Send a link
request.

Important – Do NOT send invites to people you do not truly have
a relationship with. If you receive too many “I don’t know
this person” clicks on your request, you will be required to
know everyone’s email address to request a connection in the
future. Bad juju.

Give and Get Recommendations
LinkedIn is like a living, online professional resume/vita. What
makes LinkedIn better than a resume that says, “References
available upon request”, is that references are displayed for
all to see. These recommendations are written in the words of
the sender, you cannot edit them. If there is a problem with a
recommendation, you can easily request a revision or choose not
to display it. Note: you can only request a recommendation from
someone who is currently using LinkedIn.

Outbound Links
Your profile allows you to have three outbound links with labels
like “My Company”, “My Website”, “My Blog”, etc. I
recommend you change the label to “Other” for all three since
you can add personalized keywords to the label enhancing the SEO
for the target sites. For example, I could link to this article
with the label text “LinkedIn Best Practices Article” to help
with my search engine rankings for that keyword phrase. You can
also use the “Other” label for Facebook & Twitter links.

Join Groups
By joining Industry and interest-related groups you are
connected with a larger group of professionals within that
sector. This makes it easier for you to invite others in the
same group to connect without the need for knowing their email
address. Again, you need to be careful here. Unsolicited
invitations could get you hit with a few “I don’t know this
person” clicks.

Jobs Area
The jobs area is not only for people looking for work. It is
also an excellent place for businesses to list job
opportunities. Our small company does not use Monster, Career
Builder, Ladders, etc.; it would simply be too overwhelming.
When we are looking for someone, we only use LinkedIn Jobs. Not
only can I review the person’s professional profile and
associations, we can get an idea of how closely we are
connected. Job postings can be sent directly to people in your
list of contacts and they usually have good recommendations for
potential candidates.

LinkedIn Company
If you are a business owner add your company to the Company’s
area. If your company is already listed, make sure the
information is accurate and up to date.

Install the Toolbars
LinkedIn has both a browser toolbar and an Outlook toolbar. The
former works well with Gmail, with both IE & Firefox and, of
course, the latter works with Microsoft Outlook. The toolbars add
a LinkedIn icon next to a person’s email addresses in your
mailbox. This enables you to see their profile information and
makes it easier to send an invitation to connect.

Givers Gain
Bottom line, the more you give the more you get back. The more
information you share about yourself, the better the search
feature will return you or your company as a result. The more
recommendations you give, the more likely someone is to give you
one. The more questions you ask or answer the more likely you
are to connect with people of similar interests that you may
never have had the opportunity to meet.

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Dummies Guide to Facebook Marketing

posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 8:00 AM
Saturday, August 14, 2010

Dummies Guide to Facebook Marketing

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 4
years, you know how popular and widely used Facebook
is today.

Just a couple of years ago, you had to relentlessly
encourage your family and friends to join this social
networking website (shortly after others had convinced you
to join). Nowadays, it’s rare to find someone who hasn’t
got a Facebook account.

At last count, there were over 350 million users on
Facebook and this number is continuing to grow. It overtook
MySpace as the number 1 social networking website on the
planet last year and is just behind Google when it comes to
online traffic. You can then understand how important
Facebook marketing has become for websites everywhere.

It’s Not A Pitch Zone

The most important thing to remember about social media is
that it is not a place to blatantly and endlessly pitch
your product or service. If you do this, then you will not
get any favors from social media users, will get
largely ignored and even receive bad reviews.

Social media is actually used for building relationships
with potential clients in the market. There are a number of
ways you can do this:

- you can post helpful information (links) that helps
them solve a problem.

- you can personally chat with them to assist them.

- you can create content addressing the needs of users
and post it.

The bottom line is that you want to be seen as genuine and
helpful. This way, word can get out that you’re the real
deal and before you know it, people will become interested
in what you have to offer in terms of products and services.

Of course, the things you share on social networking sites
such as Facebook shouldn’t be the nitty gritty stuff that
you have to offer. You should share helpful information in
the form of teasers that will interest people enough to ask
and wonder if there’s more. Offering free stuff is great
for getting attention too.

How To Market On Facebook

The great thing about Facebook is that from the outset, it
has encouraged all users to use the website as a means of
sharing information and marketing whatever they please. As
a result, it has developed many ways for users to do this.
You are not obliged to use every single one of them, but a
combination of them can only improve your Facebook
marketing.

Pages

This is probably THE marketing tool out there on Facebook.
On its website Facebook describes Pages as “a public
Profile that enables you to share your business and
products with Facebook users.” It is specifically designed
for promoting a business and everything it has to offer.
People can then become a Fan of your page and when they do
this, they let their friends know that they’ve become a Fan
of your page via their News Feed. The potential for your
Page to gain a lot of popularity in a small period of time
is great.

Of course, it’s all dependent on the content you give out
for people to use. You need to show them a reason to become
a Fan of your Page as well as a reason for staying on.

Events

Create events to be held at a certain date and time.
Depending on your type of business, you can create one for
a local or international audience. It can be any one of the
following:

- seminar: It should be introductory and free but you
could promote a paid one too.

- webinar: A seminar conducted online which anyone in the
world can join.

- product/service launch: If you are about to launch a
product or service, this is a way to gain attention.

The best part about creating an event on Facebook is that
it can go viral, and before you know it, people will be
attending your event in droves.

Advertising

Finally, about a year ago, Facebook introduced an
advertising service where people can put ads promoting
their website or their Facebook Page and they pay per click
(PPC) or impression (CPM). It works in a similar way to
Google Adwords.

You can target your ads to certain geographical locations
but in addition, given the nature of Facebook, you can
attach your ads to social actions. For example, if you were
a wedding photographer and wanted to promote your services,
your ads could be set up to appear only to females between
the ages of 24 and 30 and whose relationship statuses
indicate they are engaged.

It must be noted, however, that Facebook Advertising is
still in beta mode which means that it will only improve
in the near future.

Embrace Facebook

If you want to market your website online, you would be
absolutely nuts not to use Facebook marketing as one of
your key strategies. Just be careful not to get caught up
in it too much because it can become a very time consuming
activity.

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Building Brand Identity – Marketing With Twitter

posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 8:00 AM
Thursday, August 12, 2010

Building Brand Identity – Marketing With Twitter

Twitter, the net’s networking success story, is intriguing and
intimidating because of its message limitations: they can be 140
characters, and no more.

This is to say; each message sent on Twitter can be no larger
than the previous sentence. Not an additional letter, space,
period or dash can be added. These limitations have proven to be
the greatest asset and the greatest challenge for people trying
to use Twitter for any number of purposes.

On the advantageous side, the short messages have created an
entire culture of Twitter-fluent writers. The brevity of the
message stretches creative muscles, making people use every trick
to get the most information into the fewest characters. On the
other hand it creates a severe headache for the marketing minded,
as it doesn’t leave much room to present a case. Thus the vast
majority of Tweets are short little social comments or updates,
and most marketing revolves around calling attention to
particular links.

Of course, there are always ways around limitations, and Twitter
is something that every seriously market-minded organization
needs to embrace in order to see continued success on the web. In
the case of short message services like Twitter, the key lies as
much in the peripheral data that builds up around the message as
in the content itself.

Be SEO Minded

Twitter profiles are now ranked by search engines, Google in
particular. Every SEO technique you’ve learned now has a new,
exciting purpose.

For example, consider the biography you’re able to construct
using Twitter. This is a ripe opportunity to develop some brand
recognition right away. Put the title of the brand you’re
marketing in the bio, and consider including the most relevant
keywords in your profile. As ever, do so in a way that respects
the user’s intelligence, and gives them something worth reading.
Simply stringing together a chain of keywords is not the way to
go.

Include keywords in your Tweets as well, taking care not to be
terribly obvious about it. The first 20-30 characters are the
best place, as later words are of decreased importance in a
Google ranking search.

Identify Your Audience

Each brand rises and falls on the whim of the audience, known in
this case as tweeple.

There are a number of applications available to help you with the
process of identifying the tweeple that you want to cultivate
into an audience. Twitterholic (http://twitaholic.com/) can help
you identify the movers and shakers based on their Twitter
traffic and their location. If you know your field or brand
well, you can use this to locate groups with similar interests
and woo them to your feed. Tweepz (http://www.tweepz.com/) is a
similar tool, focusing on location, and Twitter itself has a
‘near this location’ feature that can be used to identify
tweeple nearby your center of business.

Let’s Give Them Something to Tweet About

Yes, Twitter is an effective way to quickly distribute
information. But its real power is in its ability to create
conversations about something interesting.

In theory you could simply gather up a large user list of tweeple
and start spamming them with links promoting your latest gig.
This is a surefire way to get flagged for abuse or ignored
entirely, and thus is rather counterproductive to good marketing
goals.

Instead, consider using alternative methods to drum up those
conversations that travel like wildfire.

For example, there is the technique of Alternate Reality Gaming.
This is a phenomenon based on the idea of taking ‘real’ events
and building a game out of them. Last Call Poker was an ARG that
intended to drum up sales for an upcoming video game, GUN.

LCP spread out information about gatherings, online incentives,
and other attractions to get people excited about the western
theme of the game. Tokens such as poker chips and other goodies
were given out at these events, and GUN went on to have a very
successful launch. People were invited into the world of the
western, and the chatter eventually included 8 million
participants.

This kind of rogue advertising is tailor-made to work with
Twitter. Locations and dates can easily fall within the 140
character limitation, as can short explanations. Consider
creating an ARG with a short story designed to work within 140
characters, locate an audience with the assorted Twitter tools at
your disposal, and plan some exciting events to promote your
brand. The chance to get involved always gets people talking, and
the more esoteric games can span entire continents.

There are other methods, some more appropriate to each individual
brand. Perhaps a modest bicycling business isn’t suited to
promote a large ARG experience. They could, however, organize a
bicycling flash mob by hopping onto the local bike hobbyist
twitter feed and posting a date and time. The trick is less which
technique you use, and more that you do your best to make it
relevant. As always, strong content and clear presentation will
win out over gimmicks and sales speak.

Also, consider one last thought. The introductory statements of
each section in this article are Twitter compatible, and so is
this one. Good luck and happy Tweeting.

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Top 10 Tips for Using Twitter

posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 8:00 AM
Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Top 10 Tips for Using Twitter

When it comes to social media, no one “gets it” as well
as Twitter. According to Econsultancy, as of Jan 2010,
Twitter has 75 million user accounts, with about 15
million of that total being active users. See
http://tinyurl.com/yetgcru . That’s a lot of people
sending a lot of Tweets. This micro-blogging service
makes it easy for small businesses and entrepreneurs
to stay in touch with those who choose to follow them,
and stay updated on new products, services, special
offers, industry news and more. It’s a win-win for
both the Tweeter, and their followers.

When it comes to using Twitter, there’s a right way and
a wrong way to use it. Your messages must be kept short,
under 140 characters, and they need to be helpful or
informative. Don’t carry on about what you ate for
breakfast, or the fact that you just brushed your teeth.
People will unfollow you faster than they can hit
the button, even if you do have good oral habits.

I’ve been using Twitter for a long time now and here’s
what I’ve found works best when participating in this
close knit community of few words.

1) Regular Postings: Now I’m not saying you need to post
every day, although that would be nice. You do need to
make an appearance on a regular basis. It’s like school -
you need to show up to pass. Be a contributor that your
followers get to really know and look forward to your
Tweets. If you’re the type of person who needs to plan
ahead, you can always use a service that allows you to
schedule tweets in advance, such as

http://www.socialoomph.com/

2) Retweet: If you see Tweets posted by other users that
you think your followers would like, then retweet them. It
only takes one click, and you’ll also be creating goodwill
with other Twitter users at the same time. If you’d like,
you can add a personal thought or comment before sending
it. Also, make it easy for others to retweet your posts
by adding RT buttons to your website or blog. It’s easy
with http://tweetmeme.com/about/retweet_button

3) Be Helpful: Keep in mind Twitter is a form of social
Media, so social interaction is key. It’s not all about
you. Whenever an opportunity arises to answer a question,
participate in a survey, or help solve a problem, do so.
In this way you’re participating in the community. This
also will help your brand and image when others know
they can count on you for support or feedback.

4) Don’t Be A Follow CopyCat: Don’t follow everyone who
follows you. This is probably my biggest pet peeve when
it comes to Twitter. So many people turn this feature on
to auto follow those who follow them. Why would you
want to do this? I’d prefer that those I follow are
people and topics I’ve hand-selected that interest me,
and not a mish-mash of followers who may be ranting
about things I have no interest in. Be selective in
who you follow or your Twitter stream could quickly
fill up with junk or spam. For quality people to
follow, see – http://followontwitterlists.com/

5) What to Tweet: Make sure that the tweets you post
are helpful and/or informative. Late breaking news
pertaining to your industry, as well as any specials or sales
you may have going on are always good topics. If you
find something you think your followers would like,
especially if it’s free or a bargain, share the love.
Plus, if your tweets are good, it will encourage others
to retweet them. For ideas see -

http://www.artbizblog.com/2009/07/what-to-tweet.html

6) Comment: Particpate in the community by commenting
on other people’s tweets. If you can answer a question,
do so. It never hurts and people really will appreciate
it when you take the time to comment on what they  have
to say. It lets them know that others are actually
listening to what they have to say in the “Twitterverse”.

7) Say Thank You: When someone takes the time to retweet
one of your tweets, make sure to reply to them with a
“thank you”. Manners rule online as well as off, and
they’ll like the fact that you noticed the retweet
and took the time to show some gratitude. It may even
inspire them to retweet more of your tweets in the
future.

8) Be Personal: Again, I don’t need to know what you
ate for dinner, but every now and then you should show
your human side with a creative thought, quote, or
other statement. Let people know you’re “real” and
not just a lean mean business machine. You want to
tread lightly in this area. Too personal is overkill,
but a little can help in establishing a connection with
your followers.

9) Post Pictures/Video: Remember, Twitter is not just
for text. It’s easy to post short videos, and pictures
too. It’s nice to mix it up a little and share content
in other formats as well. Here are some resources

http://freenuts.com/video-sharing-websites-for-twitter/

10) Talk About More Than Yourself: It’s not all about
you, so please don’t make all your tweets one big marketing
message, such as only tweeting about your latest press
release, blog posting, or article that was published. No one
will want to follow you if you’re one big commercial. Yes,
some of this is fine in moderation, but you need to walk
a fine line and mix it up with other helpful, interesting
topics.

Now it’s time to start putting these tips into action.
Social media is all about participating and listening
to what others have to say. It’s all about creating and
sharing information and becoming part of the community.
If you approach Twitter in this fashion, you’ll not
only have a lot more fun, but your followers will like
and respect you – and if that doesn’t strengthen your
brand, nothing will.

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Twitter: Followers, Niches, and Myths

posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 8:00 AM
Sunday, August 8, 2010

Twitter: Followers, Niches, and Myths

Twitter has certainly emerged as one of the most popular
social networking/blogging platforms of the past few years.
There are various reasons why Twitter has become so wildly
popular. It is a simple concept where brief messages can be
sent to loyal followers. This is why Twitter is so helpful
to small businesses. It can aid in promoting a business in
the most cost effective manner. Really, this is one of the
very best systems for promoting updates, info, and deals to
the followers of the Twitter account.

The one problem here is that most entrepreneurs look towards
quantity as opposed to quality in their followers. This can
prove to be a huge mistake since you never want to sacrifice
quality when looking to amass Twitter followers.

How do people make such a mistake? Well, they look at
volume as being the secret to their success. The problem
here is that the process is not going to be a very
successful one. Rather, it can prove to be disastrous more
than anything else because your business ends up promoting
itself to those that are really not interested in the
products or services you are offering.

Yes, some people will sign on to be followers of your
Twitter account with no real interest in being customers.
That is why you need to develop a strong niche following
as opposed to a large following.

The bottom line here is you do NOT want a large list of
followers. You want an EFFECTIVE list of followers.

Some may consider this notion to go against the grain in
which a Twitter account should be approached. After all,
Twitter is wildly popular so why not follow the trends? The
average Twitter account has changed dramatically since
July. The number of followers the average account maintains
has jumped from 70 to 300. This has led many accounts to
increase their number of postings. In July, the number was
in the range of 119. Today, it has jumped significantly to
420.

But, is there a great deal of benefit from such increases?
In all honesty, if the followers are not going to purchase,
the numbers do not really mean much. That means all those
increases in updates have less value as well. Again, you
want your efforts to be effective. Promoting volume in your
approach is not the way to achieve any true level of
success.

One problem with a large number of followers is that your
tweets need to be adjusted to handle larger volumes. That
means your tweets need to be clearly understood by all. As
such, you need to promote a generalized approach to the
tweets. This is not always the best method because you are
not providing detailed and specific information in the
tweets. This means those that are serious potential
customers may lose interest in the tweets or cease taking
them seriously. This is not a good thing if you are
seriously trying to sell a product or service.

It becomes a full time job to sort and respond to the real
people who are interested in you. Twittering without
engagement of your audience defeats the entire process of
marketing. I believe many people are using twitter as
“lets throw it out there and see what sticks”. I can tell
you from testing that this approach does not work. No
wonder people are leaving twitter in droves.

This leads to a more potentially serious side effect. If
more members of Twitter venture towards promoting generic,
uninteresting, and uninspiring tweets so as to boost the
volume of people reading, the health of the social network
site will not stay strong for long.

Basically, why would anyone would want to follow Twitter
when the tweets decline in value? This would certainly not
be a positive in terms of the ability for a small business
to procure new customers that are vital to the health of
the business.

Again, exploring options for expanding a business’ success
should center on niche marketing. This approach needs to be
taken with Twitter or else the value of Twitter will
decline. Based on what we are seeing, the decline will be
difficult to avoid in the future based on current actions.

Does this mean that Twitter is decidedly lacking in value
for those seeking to utilize what it has to offer? No, no
one is making such a statement as it would be a decidedly
inaccurate one.

Twitter, in fact, has taken steps to promote niche
marketing. This is evident in the ability to devise
“Twitter lists.” Twitter lists allow you to take certain
members of your massive group of followers and put them in
a particular category. You can then promote your tweets to
individual members of these various lists. So, you can
present wide, generic tweets as well as individualized
tweets to those that may be considered more serious
potential customers.

For example, you can create a group of people that have
already made purchases in the past. Then, you would be free
to issue tweets directly to such individuals as you wish.
This would be an effective form of niche marketing that
would be far more beneficial than putting forth perpetually
generalized tweets. One of the other problems with having
1,000’s of non-niched followers is seeing through the noise
of twitter.

As such, it is best to look towards growing these
individual lists in order to expand the potential to niche
market. Yet, many will seek to put forth the exact opposite
goal. They will look towards greatly expanding their number
of followers into the thousands while never stopping to
examine whether or not such a massive list truly boosts
their success potential. Such a strategy is a flawed one
that will not lead to the empirical success that is sought.

And, if you are not looking to succeed with your business,
then why even bother being in business? Twitter has
tremendous value and it delivers great benefit to those
looking to expand their small business’ promotional
strategies in a cost effective manner.

In conclusion, try not to become hung up on the notion
of greatly expanding your followers’ list. Seek to promote
effective niche marketing strategies instead.

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Can Google Become the Next Facebook?

posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 8:00 AM
Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Can Google Become the Next Facebook?

Is it just me but didn’t Google recently put everything on its
main homepage except for Google Buzz? What’s up with that? For
heaven’s sake, they even put the PacMan game in their logo for
two days running… you would think some of the brightest minds
on the planet would have figured out by now if Google truly
wants to compete on the new memeyouyou web, they simply have to
fully integrate all their programs into one homepage or at least
place Buzz right there along side the Gmail button.

Google Buzz has all the ingredients to finally make Google your
one-stop center on the web. It can be THE place for sharing not
just your conversations but photos, videos, and everything else.
Will it live up to its full potential and become a true Facebook
killer?

The main reason Facebook is such a threat to Google is not
because of the massive amount of users it has, but the amount of
time those users stay on Facebook. If you just look at the Alexa
comparison alone, Facebook users spend over 30 minutes on the
site, which is triple the time users stay on Google. Facebook
also beats Google in the bounce rate and page views per user.
Could all the recent changes to their SERPs be, not only
Google’s answer to the upcoming Bing/Yahoo marriage, but a
strong way of presenting a real challenge to Facebook’s
overwhelming stats.

Web users are lazy and they want a one-stop solution to meet all
their needs. They want to connect with friends and family, they
want to broadcast to the world, they want to search for
something to buy, they want to be entertained… iGoogle should
be that solution/center but I don’t believe it quite passes the
test because there is still no Google Buzz?

The main problem with Google is that it has no well-defined
center which users could call their own. Perhaps I am reading
this wrong, but have Google users fully bonded with iGoogle?
Putting the privacy issues aside, I don’t think they have
embraced it in the same way web users have embraced their
Facebook. What is missing are all the elements that are present
in Google Buzz, but again we seem to have two disjointed
programs rather than one solid rallying point.

For many web users, Facebook is the starting point of their web
day… in many cases, it is probably the only place they go on
the web religiously each day. Why? Because all their
friends/family are on there and they don’t want to miss out on
any news or gossip. Not checking your Facebook page has become
the ultimate faux pas of this new social media etiquette.

No one is going defeat or compete with Facebook you say?

Not so fast! Even empires come and go; a web site is even more
fickle, especially if something more convenient comes along.
Does anyone remember MySpace which is still a very popular site
but no longer has the numbers it once had. Facebook or even
Google could suffer the same fate if something better comes
along.

Google’s main business is online search. It is its bread and
butter, which may have blinded those in charge from seeing the
bigger picture. The bigger payday.

Google owns so many popular sites within the top 20 including
YouTube and Blogger… if only they could better connect all
their interests into one SuperSite or one SuperDevice for those
thinking within the box. Online search can still be the main
course, but you need to corral all of these different users into
one starting point or center with a couple of Billion users
logging in each morning to start their web day. Just imagine the
ad revenue potential that would generate for the big G.

Impossible you say, but not really, all the ingredients are
there to form this SuperSite but it needs one big bang to get it
going, to create a center of the web universe, which will be
Google.

Whenever I think about Google, I am reminded of a class 5
Hurricane with all these popular sites and programs swirling
around it like mad, but there is no eye to this hurricane, at
least not yet. Google needs a solid center to draw everything
into focus and get everyone at the same starting point. Whether
it is the Google search page, Google Buzz, Google Profiles,
Gmail or iGoogle… but it all needs to be pulled together if
Google wants to truly compete with Facebook for all the marbles.

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5 Common Facebook Tactics – That Don’t Work!

posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 8:00 AM
Tuesday, July 27, 2010

5 Common Facebook Tactics – That Don’t Work!

There are about ten common Facebook marketing tactics. (You
can probably think of more, but most are a derivative of
one of these ten.) It may surprise you to learn that five
of these tactics don’t even work — that’s fully half!
Now, no Fire God will suddenly appear to smite you if you
happen to have done one of the following things. They are
definitely mistakes, but they aren’t irreversible. In fact,
they’re really only mistakes in one sense of the word.

My perception of these as “mistakes” isn’t about breaches
of the unwritten Facebook etiquette either – I dance on
those lines myself from time to time.

Rather, I’m calling them mistakes from a perspective of
effectiveness, versus the alternative behavior. Whether
they’re wrong in terms of just coming across as rude or
politically incorrect is another matter altogether.

Having said that, off we go.

Mistake #1 – Posting Signature Links on Profile Walls with
Your Introduction

I asked someone why they did this once, especially since
I’d already been to their site and purchased the item they
were selling on that page.

She said: “I saw someone else do it.”

“How did it make you feel?” I asked.

“I felt kind of used. But I figured if that’s what it takes
to be successful, that’s what I’ll do, even if it doesn’t
seem quite right.”

Now that’s deep.

I understand though, because once I made the vow to become
successful, I also made a vow to do “whatever it takes”. At
the time I thought it meant hard selling and being pushy. I
later found it meant hard work, and doing what’s right even
if there’s a lazier, easier way.

Even if this was at one time effective in terms of getting
clicks from random profile visits, Facebook is now much
more stream-driven than it is profile-driven.

And that’s a huge part of why this is a mistake in terms of
effectiveness.

Not to mention that people who see these postings as rude
or attempts to spam can remove or hide them. They may even
drop you as a connection, which cuts you off not just from
them, but from their network.

You’re not missing out on anything by omitting that
signature link. Your name, hyperlinked to your profile IS
your signature link. If your profile is set up correctly,
prospects will get to your site from there.

Mistake #2 – Pitching

If you want to pitch people on Facebook, buy an ad on
Facebook.

It doesn’t have to be a Facebook ad – buy one in a popular
Facebook application. No matter how good your elevator
pitch is in real life, it doesn’t translate in online
networking. Let me give you a hypothetical example from the
real world.

Imagine you go to an after-work bar. People go there to
relax with work friends, to meet potential mates, on actual
dates, and to get to know other people in the business.

You’re unwinding with colleagues when someone walks up, and
without forewarning, tries to sell you some steak knives.
When you stare blankly, they shrug, and move on to the next
person.

We all may chuckle to ourselves, and wonder what that
person is thinking… but are you ever the knife salesman
when you’re on Facebook?

Honestly, when I first came here, I was tempted to be.

Thank God my better judgement stopped me. I’m telling you
that to say this – if you’ve been the knife salesman don’t
be ashamed, you didn’t know any better. It’s not like they
issue marketing lessons with your incorporation papers.

Just make a vow, right now, to always check yourself before
you post. Ask yourself “Am I Networking or Pitching?”

Mistake #3 – Artificial Bonding

I’d respect a person more who was upfront with me, and said
they were hoping we could work together, or do some
business, than someone who pretended to care about me in
order to get me to have a conversation that they could then
direct to their pitch.

I wouldn’t buy from them, at least not then. But at least
I’d still respect them, which means I could change my mind
in the future.

Pretending to like people until you get the chance to try
to sell to them is really just pitching with a little bad
foreplay first.

Bad foreplay isn’t better than none at all.

Mistake #4 – Favoring Uphill Marketing Over Downhill
Marketing

Again, this is a mistake in terms of how effective it is.
In my own experience, as well as in case studies of
clients, it always works out better when you create a
fantastic marketplace presence and people are drawn to you
in droves, seeking to do business with you, rathere than the
alternative.

The alternative, of course, is when you go out and pursue
customers and clients one by one.

That’s not to say that you should stop advertising, bidding
on projects, or being a go-getter in any way.

It means that while you’re doing that, also create a
situation where customers are flowing towards you, seeking
you out, asking for help.

It’s much less work to get from interest to sale when they
come to you.

Mistake #5 – Fishing on Dry Land

A long, long time ago, I was in a network marketing
company. Now defunct, the products they have greatly
enhanced, possibly even saved, my life. The products were
targeted to people who cared about being healthier and
eco-friendly.

At first, I was so excited about what had happened to me,
that I told every single person who would listen. I would
try and go product by product and explain how great
everything was.

After failing Very Hard for about three months, I narrowed
my focus.

I bought a bottle of the mineral complex, and some sample
sized containers. Then I gave a sample to every single
person I could think of who had a health problem that might
be related. Orders started pouring in.

Ever since that day, I have remembered two things. First,
the one that’s relevant here – proper targeting greatly
increases sales. Secondly, give a free sample of something
needed to those most starving for it, and they’ll be back
to buy more.

A few well-timed, well-placed interactions with the right
profile are the main things you need to do the equivalent
of offline networking on Facebook. A great profile is just
as important as being appropriately dressed at a networking
function offline.

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Size Really Does Matter When it Comes to Twitter

posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 8:00 AM
Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Back in the days when newsletters first hit the Internet, they were usually published in text format because many email clients did not support HTML email just yet. One of the problems many publishers faced was long URL’s being split in half and not being clickable to the reader. To solve this problem, shortening services started to spring up that would take a long URL and cut it down to a reasonable size.

With the popularity of Twitter and the confines of 140 characters, URL (link) shortening services are in high demand once again. When you have such a small amount of space to work with, no one wants a long URL cutting into that precious real estate.

There are a variety of shortening services to choose from, each having their own specific features and benefits. Most of them do work hand in hand with Twitter, allowing you to Tweet the link once it’s been shortened. If you’re an avid Twitter user this is a useful feature to have.

Some only provide a basic shortening service, but many allow you to view stats and metrics on your newly shortened links if you register. If you’re doing any form of social media marketing, it’s nice to be able to see if anyone’s actually clicking on all the links you’re sending out to the “Twitosphere”, or posting on Facebook and other sites. Tracking will give you an indication that you’re being heard and that people are actually paying attention to what you have to say.

Another important thing to look for is whether or not the shortening service uses 301 redirects. This is the most search engine friendly, and forces the search engine to look at the destination URL, not the domain of the shortening service itself. A 301 stands for a permanent move, not temporary. What this means is, you want the links you’re sending out to be given acknowledgment by the search engines, not the shortening service itself. Make sense?

Many allow custom URL’s, which allows you to use your name or company name in the links you create. This is great for branding purposes. Think of it as a vanity license plate. Instead of being just a regular URL it’s your special creation.

Let’s review a few options:

1) http://TweetBurner.com – A bare bones tracking service which allows you to shorten any link and then share it instantly with your Twitter followers or Friendfeed. Basic stat tracking is available so you can see how many people clicked on your link.

2) http://Cli.gs – A shortening service which includes full analytics. You can create links that include your brand in them. Free to use. It’s easy to send your links to Twitter with one click.

3) http://Bit.ly – This is Twitter’s default shortening service and used by Tweetdeck.com. It allows you to track performance of your links in real time. Easy to share generated links on Twitter, Facebook, even Gmail. It also offers many extra tools and plug-ins such as a browser bookmarklet and browser sidebar.

4) http://MyTwitterToolbar.com – Free to download and comes complete with a massive list of URL shorteners as well as over 50 Twitter tools. Also includes 100 Twitter tips.

5) http://www.TwitClicks.com – A fairly simple service that allows you to shorten a URL immediately and tweet it. Can also see complete stats. Detailed stats show percentage of browsers used and locations of those who clicked. Check out a short video on how to use it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1ScPeCd6X4.

6) http://www.ExpandMyUrl.com – This service takes a shortened link and gives you the true URL that it points to. Perfect for the paranoid individual who wants to know where the shortened link will send them.

7) http://www.TwitPwr.com – A short URL service which also includes analytics and stats. Their home page shows the top 25 users with the most TwitPwr and also a “hot URL” list of those URL’s that get the most clicks. Free to use.

8) http://1link.in – A multiple link shortening service. Simply type in a list of links and get one link back for all. If you click on the newly shortened link it goes to a page showing details of what sites that link points to, and asks if you want to open them all. If you answer yes, multiple windows will open for each site.

9) http://Go2.me – A different type of link shortening and discussion service which creates shorter links which also contain a chat window to exchange comments with your readers. It’s also easy to share on Twitter, Facebook or email with one click.

10) http://Tw.itter.me – You can customize the shortened link with your name or company name. From what I saw no stats are available.

11) http://budurl.com – Another popular service which shows you a real time view of your inbound clicks. This free service allows you to track up to 250 Budurl’s. They provide 3 pay levels of service from $4.00 a month to $49.00 a month. There is a 21 day free tríal on any paid service. You can start out free and upgrade your account at any time.

12) http://Tr.Im – Trim those long URL’s and instantly share them on Twitter. If you want stats, you’ll need to register. Offers many different tools and extensions to make for easier sharing, such as a Firefox extension that allows you to view your tr.im stats and tweet your new links quickly.

13) http://short.ie – Keeps all your shortened links in one place. Tracks clicks and allows you to instantly share your list with friends. It can also be connected to your Twitter account for more features. Customization of URL’s also available.

14) http://hootsuite.com – Not really a URL shortening service, but has the ability built-in. Hootsuite is a “Twitter Toolbox” loaded with features which are all free. They use ow.ly as their built in link shortener.

If you haven’t tried a url shortening service, you’ll want to find one that fits your needs and start to really utilize it in your marketing activities. Finding out who’s clicking on your links, time of day, where they’re from and other information will be very valuable in your ongoing efforts as an Internet Marketer.

Remember, when it comes to social media marketing T.M.I (too much information) is a good thing, unlike when your Aunt Ethel wants you to sit with her and go over every detail of her latest vacatíon [grin]. One is helpful, the other just downright painful.

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You Aren’t George Clooney – Get Your Social Networking Act In Gear

posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 8:00 AM
Thursday, April 1, 2010

When George Clooney was recently asked about his take on Facebook at the Toronto Film Festival, his response was short: “I’d rather have a prostate exam than a Facebook page.”

Now, that’s probably understandable when movie studios (his potential clients) have his number on a speed dial, and pesky paparazzi (freebie seekers and unqualified prospects) chase after his every move.

But unless you already have more prospects and high quality clients than you and your business can handle, your approach to Social Networking should be drastically different.

Frankly, a little over a year ago I considered online networking a total waste of time. Fortunately, I was able to recognize how wrong I was. And I wasn’t the only one that had a change of heart on this.

After Dell revealed they generated a cool million dollars in extra sales in 2008, (ahm, make it a cool $3 million by June’09!), many other companies large and small started paying attention to this social networking “fad”!

Just consider a few of these facts:
• Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social networks initially considered online hang-out places for kids and teenagers are now attracting a much more demographically diverse crowd.

• Big brand names, like Ford, WholeFoods, Comcast, IBM, Dell, Southwest Airlines, and many, many more are establishing a strong presence on social networking hubs like Twitter and Facebook.

• Facebook membership has just passed the 300 million mark (that’s nearly the population of USA!) and Twitter is marching towards 18 million users by year’s end! That’s a lot of potential customers!

• Although, started with college kids in mind, over 50% of Facebook’s members now are over 25 years old, over 55% are women (the new buying power), 51% have an annual income of $75K, with 33% claiming to bring home $100K or more.

• Finally, Facebook has become one of the most trusted companies in America, and people spend three times more time there than on Google!
Got your attention now?

Good, let me give you just five basic tips on putting this massive connection power to your advantage.

1. Get Started! Open an account on every social media and social networking platform you come across. Even if you are not actively using all of them, (which you won’t) you should reserve your name, the name of your company, your brand, or your key products, because those are like real estate locations – once the prime spots are gone, they are gone! For example, I have the vanity url facebook.com/adamurbanski – but there are at least six other Adam Urbanskis who won’t ever be able to grab that link! I also have twitter.com/adamurbanski, youtube.com/adamurbanski and many more like this – are you getting the point?

2. Get Involved! Just opening the accounts won’t do anything for you. You must be actively involved. Choose the best three platforms for you – where you can find the largest population of your ideal clients and it’s the easiest to connect with them. Each platform provides search tools that enable you to find people you already know, current customers, as well as hubs where most of your ideal potential clients already hang out, so you can become visible to a lot of them very quickly. And start connecting and talking! But first…

3. Listen, Listen, Listen More The most important thing you must remember is that social networking is NOT ABOUT YOU! It’s ABOUT THEM! So don’t listen twice as much as you talk (I mean “post”), listen 10 times as much! Find out what the current topics are. What people are concerned about, what information and solutions they are looking for. Then make your posts relevant to other people’s needs! Here is a hint – nearly all of the social networking services and tools, at least the basic version of them, is free! So don’t go out there pitching your high-priced wares. Give, give, and give some more first! If your focus is on getting and taking, you will get a big fat NADA from your networking efforts. But if you focus on giving, you’ll be abundantly rewarded in return.

4. Get Attention! Following all the rules is for sissies! So don’t be a social networking pansy – have an opinion (in fact, have lots of opinions on everything!) and voice it loud and often! People admire people with opinions – even if they don’t agree with you, they will stick around to watch what will happen next. Social networking experts are quick to dispense all their “must not break” rules (heck, I’m doing it right now!), but the fact is, this is such a new media that most of the effective approaches are still to be discovered. And the only way to do so is by stepping on some toes and breaking some norms.

If you want a “safe” way to practice this, follow my PET formula: polarize, entertain, teach!

- POLARIZE. Whether you piss people off or make them love you, they will pay attention. If they are indifferent, they will leave!

- ENTERTAIN. People will always choose fun over education. If people laugh w/ you, they like you… Plus, when they laugh – they learn!

- TEACH. Gary Veynerchuk says “give good s#!%.” And he gets how PET works, because that phrase rubs some people the wrong way, it entertains, and it teaches! Peeps love good tips they can use right away – so share some!

5. Automate! The purpose of social networking is to CONNECT WITH PEOPLE on a very personal level. Still there are some tools that can help you impress your fans with your “omnipotent online presence” and get more networking done in less time.

RSS blog feeds, FriendFeed.com, Ping.fm, TwitterFeed.com, SocialOomph.com, TweetBeep.com, and TubeMogul.com are just a few of a plethora of tools and services – most of them free – that will kick your online socializing into high gear!

Here is my final take on it. And I really want you to get it! In April of 2008, from a stage at one of my boot camps, I called people who use Twitter “lazy idiots with no life” (yeah, how is that for polarizing, huh?) But at the same boot camp earlier this year I had my Twitter networking activities to thank for clients from Australia, Singapore, Netherlands, Spain, England, Hungary, and a few other countries. Needless to say, I changed my tune. I’ll leave it to your imagination as to what I now call professionals and entrepreneurs who refuse to recognize the client attracting power of social networking. Better yet – stop wondering, and if you aren’t involved yet – get started now!

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