Twitter users are twice as like to post a comment, 3 times more likely to upload a photo.
This now dated (4 months today is "dated") study shows the fast grow of us sharing online.
Bear in mind these number were before AMPLIFY.. which has taken my sharing to new heights
More from the common sense department... where we learned earlier today that going places you don't want to be seen can be stopped by not going there...
Flash back 25 years when I got a letter in the mail (remember when you opened mail?) that had the make, model and year of my car plastered into a paragraph about my possible insurance needs.
That felt creepy.
Most people don't like companies to tout how much they know about you and soon the practice ended. Not because of legislation, not because of a revolt.. Smart marketing learned IT DOES NOT SELL WELL
We like that computers track what we do and make our experience more interesting. Frankly, I don't want to see the dating ads they show my daughter.. if I am going to use Facebook, I know there will be ads. Might as well make them something that a happily married boomer male might appreciate (nostalgia quizzes and mlm programs according to my screen).
Google reads all my email and most site drop a cookie on my computer. They could be creepy, but if they go that way, I'll delete the cookies or stop visiting their site.
I'm wondering if it's possible that the woman in the story below had those shoes ON HER MIND at least as much as the ads put them there. After all, they are what she asked for.
Retargeting Ads Follow Surfers to Other Sites
The shoes that Julie Matlin recently saw on Zappos.com were kind of cute, or so she thought. But Ms. Matlin wasn’t ready to buy and left the site.
Read more at www.nytimes.com
Then the shoes started to follow her everywhere she went online. An ad for those very shoes showed up on the blog TechCrunch. It popped up again on several other blogs and on Twitpic. It was as if Zappos had unleashed a persistent salesman who wouldn’t take no for an answer.
A popular topic this week is the privacy settings on Foursquare and of course Place (from our favorite privacy whipping boys over at Facebook)
The tips are good, but they left out one that I guess people need to know. If you don't want to be known for going to a place, DON'T GO THERE!
And in the unlikely event that you just have to go someplace that you don't want to share.. the DON'T CHECK IN
I'm a FourSquare fan boy.. I can't explain the draw and yes, I do check in using "off the grid" quite often. At first, it was the game. Then I got bored with that and considered it research or a record of where I went for later datamining experiments.
Let's face it. I like sharing cool stuff and while I was SHOCKED when I first got a comment about an auto post that I was Mayor of the 98 cent dollar store.
But who knew.. there are other husbands dragged to stores and we had a nice chat
It's hardly practical to believe there are "right" and "wrong" ways to employ social networking services like Twitter or Facebook. However, there are "smart" and/or "safe" methods of use, especially for location-based services (LBS) that identify your whereabouts at a given time, like popular social network/LBS Foursquare.
Read more at www.pcworld.com
"Our findings, which provide the first data ever on microbial activity from a deepwater dispersed oil plume, suggest" a great potential for bacteria to help dispose of oil plumes in the deep-sea, Hazen said in a statement.
WASHINGTON — A newly discovered type of oil-eating microbe is suddenly flourishing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Scientists discovered the new microbe while studying the underwater dispersion of millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf following the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.
And the microbe works without significantly depleting oxygen in the water, researchers led by Terry Hazen at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., reported Tuesday in the online journal Sciencexpress.
Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com
Nothing builds popularity and real readers like having a link from another blog or web site.
ProBlogger give 11 great tips. Yes, it does have to be something worthwhile.. and YES YES YES!!!! it IS about relationships
Have you tried all 11?
Following are 11 suggestions for those wanting to email a blogger to ask for a link (whether they be big brands or bloggers):
- Write something worth linking to – this is a no brainer but so many people don’t get it. In the same way you wouldn’t successfully pitch a TV news service or newspaper a story like ‘I’ve got a newly designed website – it’s got videos’ you’re not likely to get much success with a blogger. The best way to get the attention of a blogger is to write something useful, entertaining, controversial, helpful, informative, intriguing…. etc. Check out my series on LinkBaiting for more ideas on this (particularly the post 20 Link Baiting Techniques).
- Suggest a Link to a post not your site – don’t ask for a link to your site – suggest that they check out a link to an individual page or post that you’ve written. A blogger is much more likely to run with a story linking to a post about a specific topic relevant to their topic than adding a link to your site.
Read more at www.problogger.net
- Develop a Relationship – cold calling a blogger that you’ve never interacted with before asking for a link is not the best way to start off a relationship. It’s like in real life – would you walk up to a stranger and immediately start asking them for favors? Get to know the blogger, their blog and let the ‘favors’ emerge out of that.
Google is releasing priority Inbox over the course of the next week..
You will know you have it when you see a new tab in SETTINGs.
I know it's smart to roll things out.. but please.. put me at the top of the list 
Two of my friends made a video. There are some silly questions, some rapport building, and a whole lot of content crammed into a short video.
Michael Port didn't plan a program series. He's not even sure what its called as he's doing it. It's raw and fun.. and it DONE!
Click below to watch.. and think about how you can get something out this week!
Best Selling Authors Add Instant Value
Read more at www.bestsellerauthors.com
I liked the new way Digg was going to be doing things.. but then they launched.
How are they going to survive this?
After a problem-plagued relaunch of the link-sharing site last week, some Digg users seem to have taken matters into their own hands, and have been voting up — or “digging” — links from competitor Reddit.com as a way of showing their displeasure with the new version of the site. By noon on Monday, nine out of the top 10 links for the previous 24 hours came from Reddit (the only one that didn’t was a sponsored link), and most of them had been voted up over 1,000 times. The revolt even spawned a hashtag on Twitter: #diggrevolt.
I don't think it's a trend. Many people selling how to make money are so focus on how THEY can make money that they don't even think about the long term effects of what they do.
Some say it looks like one guy agrees to take his product off the market while the other guy launches.. More likely that since these guys work in false scarcity cycles, they have gaps in their schedules and use those rest periods to hack something else.
I know many of the guys selling "get rich on the net" stuff.. most of them are honestly living in the belief that anyone can play their game and do well.
However, my best friends, and good guys like Michel lists in his post, are telling me that there is MORE money in selling to people who want to improve real businesses, build real relationships with customers, and have a reputation that will sell a product day in and day out for years.
There will always be many "get rich quick" ideas. The market loves to buy the easy fix. Unfortunatly, the same "quick fix" buyers are the ones who don't implement the systems and thus the success rate is low.
I'll opt for sharing products from people I KNOW have quality, do what they say, and are in it for the long haul. I'm proud to offer good stuff and get paid a commission, but the commission is not the primary reason for offering it.
A Disturbing Trend in Internet Marketing
“But if they’re promoting each other regardless of product quality or value for the price, that’s unethical at best. And if they’re agreeing to a pricing scheme or taking products off the market during other peoples’ launch periods to reduce competition, I’d expect the FTC to be breathing down their necks really soon.”
Focus on what they do, not who they are.
Nevertheless, I often want to join in on the conversation myself, but I stop short of doing so because I fear what I say will fall on deaf ears — if not get drowned by a handful of witch-hunting McCarthyists who trawl around for any faint smell of blood.
“Caveat emptor” shouldn’t be used as a loophole to take advantage of the vulnerable.
Read more at www.michelfortin.com
Today's old media farce is the CNN program "On Deadline" begging readers of it's blog to follow them on Twitter to hit 4000.
I've got nothing against people asking for followers to hit a milestone.. but it's really not the point of Twitter unless you have conversations and LISTEN.
I don't know anything about this program and avoid TV news as much as possible (just a few minutes now is torture).. but it's obvious in the stream that they want this profile to be your news source.
So Old Media
Help us reach 4,000 followers on Twitter
Help put us over the top at Twitter.com/ondeadline.
Read more at content.usatoday.com
DVD's are going the way of the dodo
Where will you be buying the latest movies a year from now?
Google’s YouTube video site is in negotiations with Hollywood’s leading movie studios to launch a global pay-per-view video service by the end of 2010, putting it head-to-head with Apple in the race to dominate the digital distribution of film and television content.
Viewers will stream rather than download the films and pay about $5 for newer titles. The movies would be available at the same time as their release on DVD and on Apple’s iTunes store and Amazon.com, meaning Google could count on recent box-office hits to power the service.
Read more at www.ft.com
Here are a few tips that I’ve learned from the (few) vlogs I’ve created:
- Keep it Natural. I try not to be too scripted, although I think about the points I’m trying to make before I actually begin filming!
- Do a Couple Takes. It’s fine to redo your video – once, twice, even twenty times – to get it to the point you’re comfortable putting it online for the world to see!
- Look at the Camera. It may feel awkward, but it will feel more awkward to a viewer who watches you staring out the window while talking!
- Get Creative. Try a fun background, use props, or inject some personality into your video. Use body language and humor to make the video interesting.
Read more at www.blogworld.com
- Keep Your Audience in Mind. Always keep your blog readership in mind, encourage them to join in the discussion, but be careful of your word choices!
Chris will teach you what you need to make your blog post sharable.
I use them all, and more. I like to share great content.. nothing get others to feel compelled to share your great content more than you sharing theres
(hint: this assumes that there is GREAT CONTENT to share)
Make Shareability a Priority
I have three stages to how I encourage sharing of posts on my site. Sharing, I believe, and shareability (not exactly a real word), are important for your blog (for most websites). Here’s my methodology.
Make Shareability a Priority
If you’re hoping to grow your blogging community (and/or distribute ideas beyond your small circle), then shareability is the key factor. It should become part of your formula for how you do everything you do. Back in 2006, I coined this phrase: ” Give your ideas handles.” It’s still just as pertinent.
Oh, and be sure that you’re making good use of Creative Commons as your document licensing of choice. For instance, share your Flickr photos, please.
Read more at www.facebook.com
Michael Arrington just had a pleasant experience on a Virgin Flight. Now all his @TechCruch readers know about it.
Whether you have 10 followers or 10 million, it's good to share the good and the bad. The good helps good companies do better, gives your network the heads up for better experiences themselves and shows the contrast of the bad ones.
I've been working on a few bad ones, some converts, and news in general. I really do try to share good service, people and products (like http://endor.se for sharing endorsements) and had to add this to balance my Amplify
Case in point – I had just boarded the flight with my carry on luggage (the luggage that Delta says is too big, but Virgin seems not to mind). I was just about last on again, and even up in first class the luggage racks were mostly full. A women in coach with a violin came up and asked a flight attendant if she could find space for her instrument. Because the last thing you want to do is put an extremely fragile violin into the vagaries of the mysteriously brutal checked luggage system.
Molly Choma, the flight attendant, managed to coordinate the first class passengers to move their luggage around to accommodate the violin. There was a touchy moment involving the woman across from me and her Gucci bag, but otherwise everything went just fine.
Read more at techcrunch.com
When someone says "What's your nunber?" I cringe.. never knowing when that person might think they can require my attention.
I'm not talking about telemarkers, sales people or the government. I fee that way when a good friend from online, a new hot prospect for business or a vendor I love ask for my cell.
I LOVE talking on the phone.. but do you need my number?
Read more at techcrunch.com
- No control. Anyone can dial your 10 digits, including your ex-girlfriend, a political campaign worker, or a solicitor. Unlisted numbers, Caller ID and do-not-call lists all tried to solve this problem, but these solutions still don’t prevent unwanted calls.
- Phone numbers are tied to a device, not to you. Everyone has multiple numbers, yet your home line is shared, leaving callers guessing the best way to reach you.
- User experience is very limited. The phone was designed as a utility—dial a number, have a conversation. It’s remained this way since its inception. It’s not optimized for other experiences, which is why voicemail and conference calls are tedious, and why checking flight status is worse than a root canal.
We love the serendipity of meeting a neighbor at the store or any event.
Too much work to plan this, not a "must do" on our schedules.. just makes the place you go "happening"
I think this is the essence of why we love to "check in" .. If stores and venues keep this in perspective, helping us find this serendipity, we'll want to go to their locations even more.
When someone says "Let's use FourSquare to put a discount offer to attract traffic" just remember what the good people of Falcon would think if went door to door handing out flyers that asked them "come to Wal*Mart to see your neighbors and get a 10% discount"
The discount might work.. but some of us would say "Why not just go visit my friend?"
Same with a message that says "Julie is here. Come on down now" .. a bit creepy, don't you think.
Marketers are going crazy looking for ways to use social media tools to sell more stuff... if you will just take a breath, listen to what customers are saying and reply with love when they feel it appropriate, there are million of people like Julie who will be endorsing you for free.
I'm a big fan of headlines and Tweet length messages.. Can't help but to pick up that tabloid in the SuperMarket and see what it leads to
Couldn't pass up the "Anti-Facebook" angle here.. but quickly turned to about as much excitement as Brittany's new diet or the elephant boy's real trunk on page 23.
Whatever does beat Facebook (it will happen, someday) will not be announced as "anti-Facebook"
Anti-Facebook: Can Diaspora Social Network Challenge?
How often do we see on the Internet Anti-Facebook? More often than I can remember, sometimes it is about a group whose main aim is to turn people away from the social networking site, and other times it refers to a new social media service set to rival the giant. The latest challenger is Diaspora, but what makes this open source social network so different?
Read more at www.product-reviews.net
I saw the headline "Most Business Books Are Bad For You" and clicked. Worked on me.
I believe you can learn from just about anything. Of course, the trick is to not waste time on "anything" but rather to focus on the best or good and ignore the rest.
This one was NOT tips to find a good business book.. so I responded to AMPLIFY.
Catchy headline. You got me to click to see what sort of nonsense you had written.
Your formula can be applied to most business, most blogs, most conventions and most of what people do in their business days. Insert just about anything and people will feel compelled to click and your advertisers will be happy.
If you'd listed book titles to avoid, or given some background on how you have been tricked into reading all those bad books you refer too, or given us some red flags to watch for, the headline shenanigans would have been well worth the click.
Your thoughts are good and you seem sincere. You'd like to recommend a couple of good books and get us talking. Safe bet to put Atlas Shrugged and you hit a home run for me with Enders Game. (if these books affected you so strongly, why not give Ayn Rand and Orson Scott Card credit?)
I totally reject the idea that most business books are bad. Rather, most READERS have not learned to pick the right books, study with the intent of finding and imagining new and better ideas and committed to applying what they learn. Any "empty space" would be what's inside the head of someone flipping pages without thought.
If I can spend the afternoon with a book and a pad of paper I know I'll come out better for the experience... even from a bad book. I'm reminded or a phrase I heard a speaker use once "A properly motivated individual can learn something from two dogs fighting in the street" ... I would imagine he did not mean that you would learn from anything the dogs SAID
Why not go out on a limb and include a BUSINESS book? Here's a couple that I can recommend to anyone.
"Influence: The Science of Persuasion" by Dr. Robert Cialdini"
- six principles of how people influence each other.. heavily researched, documented and full of case histories that will get you thinking about every business interaction in a new way. Each time I read this book, I find myself putting it down to contemplate how the stories work, what lessons I use in my business, and notes on action steps I will take.
"Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives" by Christakis and Fowler
Science of networks and how people rely on them. I changed my own networking theory when I read this and now explain to every person I meet how powerful our connection can be beyond any immediate transaction
"Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust" by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
I ordered this book by two friends and attempted to read it on a flight so I could say nice things in a blog post. By chapter 3, I had to put down the Kindle, get out a pad of paper and redesign my entire approach to business. It changed the fundamentals of how I look at my own business, our relationships in the market and leverage points I"m using to grow faster than I thought possible.
I read more business books than anyone I know, which is ironic because I can’t stand most of them. That’s not to say I hate all business books — after all, I’ve written one — but 95% go on one of two lists: “if you don’t know this already, you should be working at the DMV” and “if you do these things, your company will become the DMV.”
Business success isn’t a checklist, and that’s the implied message from many business books: do these things and you’ll be the hero. Business success is a dance: with the market, employees, investors, customers, landlords, and creditors — not to mention spouses and kids.
Read more at www.bnet.com
Clear has a lot of smart people. They found my phone number and email address and tried talking to me.
First, a tech called while I was out of town. Wow.. if only they could address their tower near my house so easily.
I put all the Clear equipment away and hooked up another connection.. so have to get back to it to find out if the annoying messages are there.. fairly certain that the speed hasn't been fixed, but that will be a fun weekend project to report on
I've been emailed the direct contact info for Clear executives. I suppose if I weren't so big on showing them that everyone deserves to be heard I could act important and get my situation fixed faster that way. Should I?
THIS JUST IN: A guy emailed me tonight telling me that he'd been told I was interested in Clear's plans to improve their social media. I responded "no I don't want to know the future.. I want to have a conversation"... probably didn't make a friend there.
What these people don't seem to get.. 1) I've lived with a tiny fraction of what I pay for for over a year while trying to be their biggest fan and 2) I've talked to people planning for better social media for Clear before.
Hmm.. #2 will be another post.. fun story to add to the mix
Am I crazy for asking Clear to answer me in public?
Clear Gets Weirder By The Day
1) The problem could be fixed so I don’t get shut down every 12 hours
2) It’s more important to follow policy than to communicate or solve a problem
Read more at laserpage.com
Defy Gravity author Rebel Brown has help small businesses become big, turned around businesses that weren't doing well.. and helped many FLY HIGH.
Join us live on the show at 7p for a CHAT http://budurl.com/btrw
7
@RebelBrown's new book DEFY GRAVITY tell you how to grow your businessfast in any situation. Today, that is enhanced with social media. We'll talk to Rebel about things any business can do now to accelerate growth and how social media is helping businesses grow and profit
Show Name:
Social Media Helps Your Business Defy Gravity
Date / Length:
8/27/2010 7:00 PM - 1 hr
Length:
1 hr
Description:
h:12832 s:1227817
@RebelBrown's new book DEFY GRAVITY tell you how to grow your businessfast in any situation. Today, that is enhanced with social media. We'll talk to Rebel about things any business can do now to accelerate growth and how social media is helping businesses grow and profit
Category:
Business
Tags:
Read more at www.blogtalkradio.com
We had a campaign a couple weeks back to get @coxcable to listen. They had been broadcasting on Twitter, but I could never get a response.
An hour later, @Cox_Will was on the case and has been a friend on the inside ever since. I've now talked to several more Cox people (once the logjam was cleared) and had wonderful encounters.
One Cox employee here in Vegas went out an got a Twitter account to make sure she could talk to me. That's above the call of duty!
Meanwhile, I started up a @Clear campaign. Tried @Clearwire too and added @sprint since @Clear is owned by them.
They found my number, called and left VM while I was traveling and let me know that they don't have conversations in public.
Funny thing though. I do.
I'm the customer. I expect to ask for help on Twitter and Facebook.. to have my blogs post read and responded to. Is that a fair expectation.
Frankly, I don't care... I'm the CUSTOMER.
Brian Solis explains that I'm not the only one expecting to have a conversation. While I'll admit I'm a bit more concerned about the conversation then the outcome.. MOST consumers just want to know they are being heard.
The Clear guy who contacted me seemed to want to help, but so did the 16 other Clear employees I've talked to in the past year while I've endured the problem. I suspect I'll get around to chasing him down, probably have to find the phone message and call his voice mail.. when I do I'll report that here on Amplify and my http://LaserPage.com blog and give updates on our social media radio show http://blogtalkradio.com/warren
But if asked today, I'd say "Clear doesn't get it. Cox does"
Next up.. our project to get attention for @TreyPennington's @USAirways appeal..;. if you know anyone working in any of these companies, or any other large concern.. tell them about Brian's "Engage or Die" message.
If you don't know someone personally.. TELL EVERYONE Let's find the people inside the big companies that do care (I'm convinced they are out there)
If you want to check in from Albertsons (I'm mayor at 3 grocery stores.. that's more a comment on my suburban boredom than news anyone needs), then go right ahead.
If you are FATIGUED from checking in, I have an idea for you. DON'T CHECK IN.
It's OK.. we'll be here next time you drive through McDonald's.
But just in case you feel so compelled (please don't), there is an app to help you overcome your fatigue.
Jim encourages us to get his attention, so I followed his tweet link to this post and thought that a iTvKukral would be just the ticket
Some people are saying that this new device will revolutionize the TV industry. It will probably be connected with Apple iTunes, where people will be able to buy shows on demand and what not.
Anyway my plan would be to put the website up today, start putting some content there about the iTV rumors, and start building some backlinks. Then on September 1st I would follow Apple’s announcement closely, and if the iTV turns out to be the product they are announcing, I would keep building/promoting the site to make it an authority inside its niche.
Read more at www.dailyblogtips.com
Dunbar said 150 and without social media technology, I think there is some validity to that. But let's think about the people we know.
I once thought that someone I had met, then not talked to again for years was a lost connection. How could they possibly rememeber me when I was murky in my memory at best?
But now that I use Twitter (and other social media) I find that those tenuous relationships can be quite powerful. I'll notice a photo that look like someone I met, check the name and link and realize I'd forgot a contact from year ago.
Now, many times at live events, and new client intake interviews, I talk to people who say "we met years ago" or "I saw you at ..."
The 150 barrier was broke from me when I started keeping up with people using 140 characters.
How about you?
Read more at www.readwriteweb.com
Dunbar's Number, the theory that most people can maintain at most 150 stable interpersonal relationships, faces an unusual challenge in the time of social media. You may have more people than that add you as a follower on Twitter every month, week or maybe, every day. Half or more are robots, spammers or robot spammers.
NEW YORK—Costco Wholesale Corp. is taking on the role of mall anchor, moving into spaces once occupied by department stores that for decades reigned as the retail centers' big draws.
The largest U.S. wholesale-style retailer plans to speed up steps that will in essence put its minimall type stores into shopping centers, its co-founder and chairman, Jeff Brotman, saidin an interview.
Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com
whether it's writing a book, adding a line to you business or reorganizing your toy train collection, we all have more project ideas than we can finish.
Ask these questions and you may find that some projects are better left unstarted.
What more could you get done if you focused on what really matters?
1. What are my end goals with the project?
2. What will I have to do to reach those goals?
3. Do I have enough ideas and inspiration?
4. Do I have enough time?
5. Will it impact on my other projects?
Read more at www.skelliewag.org
I hope you aren't waiting to see if this locations stuff is going to take off.
It has.
What are you doing about it?
Read more at www.onedegree.ca
Last week Forrester released a report advising most marketers wait to use location-based social networks (LBSN) as only 4% of the US population is currently using platforms such as Foursquare (the current market leader), and that the networks skew heavily male. They advise that brands that target young males experiment with the services and other brands adopt a “wait and see” approach.
I couldn’t disagree more.
"Treat it as an active process of constructing ideas, rather than a passive process of absorbing information." - Daniel J. Boorstin
"Treat it as an active process of constructing ideas, rather than a passive process of absorbing information." - Daniel J. Boorstin
Read more at radar.oreilly.com
Flavor and scent are beloved for their ability to bring back memories long buried in the sensory deluge, a point made by Proust with his madeleine decades before modern science let us peer into the physiology of flavor. The flavor designers at the Jelly Belly Candy Company make it their business to speak this sensory language, and, through a process alternately technical and zany, to suss out exactly what it is that makes those tastes—and by extension, those memories—jump. "In the flavor industry, we sometimes say one plus one equals three," reflects Lee: mix pear with orange, for example, and what you get is peach.
All Jelly Belly flavors, from toasted marshmallow to cappuccino—there are around 100 on the market at any given point—grow from ideas submitted by company employees, members of the public, retailers, and others, but the execution depends on a four-person team of food scientists, led by head of research and development Ambrose Lee and aided by the company's marketing and executive teams. Read more at www.theatlantic.com
