Thursday, August 28th, 2008
I wrote my first ever guest post over at Hobo
SEO Blog. No, It’s not about SEO….. it’s about my true love, Social Media.
Shaun asked if I would write a post on how
to get involved in Social Media and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I don’t
write about the basics of Social Media often enough. I have a tendency to get
too advanced or talk about special techniques. It was nice to get back to the
basics.
Social Media can be very intimidating for many, so I broke down the process
into four steps making the process a bit easier to handle.
- Figuring out what you want to get out of Social Media
- Creating your Profiles
- Learning the Community
- Becoming an Active Part of the Community
So, check out my guest post and let me know what you thought.
Posted in Blogging, Guest Posts, Mixx, SEO, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Sphinn, StumbleUpon, Tips and Tutorials, Twitter, Vlogging, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 9 Comments »
Friday, August 22nd, 2008
Wow!! I have been nominated for the Hot
Blogger Calendar!!
What is the Hot Blogger Calendar? It’s a real honest to goodness calendar filled
with hot guy
and girl bloggers
from all over the internet.
And get this, the winner will travel to New York City for a Real Shoot Party….
with Photographers, Make-up Artists, Stylists, DJ & everything. Exciting,
right? You bet!!
So, please vote for me (nominate me) here
(will open in a new page).
The more nominations I get the better chance I will have to
move on to the next level…. where the real voting begins.
** Note - when you get to
the voting/nomination page you will need to enter a few bits of info below.
Yay, you all helped me get nominated for Hottest Female Blogger…. now
the real voting begins. Please take a moment to vote for me now that the official
voting has begun. This is the final vote and your vote can help send me to New
York City for a Photo Shoot to include me in the Hot Blogger Calendar. So
please Vote!!
Posted in Misc., Social Media, Websites | 18 Comments »
Friday, August 15th, 2008
This Featured Guest Post is by James Duthie of Online
Marketing Banter.
Image by activeside
How many businesses really ‘get’ the social web?
Rand Fishkin recently wrote a post on SEO Moz about ‘getting
it’. By ‘it’ Rand was talking about the web… and
he guesstimated that just one person in every million truly gets the Internet.
My first thought after reading the article was that based on Rand’s estimations,
there must be a hell of a lot of online marketers out there that don’t
get the web (there’s a scary thought for you…). My second thought
was that if so few people get the web, which has been widely accessible for
over a decade, how many actually get the relatively new phenomenon of social
media/ social networking (clue… not many). And my final thought was if
so few people really understand social media, how many businesses have their
finger on the social media pulse…? The answer it seems, is not many.
When the social web goes wrong…
By now, we can all probably recall the most infamous corporate social media
disasters off the top of our heads. Brands such as Dell & Sony immediately
spring to mind. But above all else, it’s probably Wal-Mart that sticks
out above others as the worst exponent of social initiatives on the web. The
two most documented disasters are:
- Wal-Mart
attempted to create its own social networking site targeted towards school
kids entitled ‘The Hub’ (ala MySpace & Facebook). However,
the project was abandoned just 10 weeks after it was launched due to a lack
of usage.
- Wal-Mart was at it again (along with PR firm Edelman) when they published
a fake Wal-mart blog called
‘Walmarting across America’. The suspiciously pro Wal-Mart sentiment
of the blog set alarms bells off in the blogosphere and it wasn’t long
before the blog was exposed as a fraud.
If it achieved nothing else, Wal-Mart has set a fine example of how not to
adopt social media technologies. However, despite the fact the ‘The Hub’
imploded well over two years ago, it seems fellow marketers refuse to learn
from Wal-Mart’s social networking mistakes. The
Wall St Journal recently painted a somewhat frightening picture of the state
of social networks and communities within the corporate world. The key findings,
which were taken from a research report developed by Deloitte, include:
- 35% of corporate online communities had less than 100 members
- 25% of corporate online communities had less than 1,000 members
- 6% of businesses spent more than one million dollars establishing their
community! Let’s hope these 6% aren’t amongst the 35% of businesses
unable to attract more than 100 members to their community!
So what exactly is the corporate world doing wrong when it comes to social
media…? Why have 60% of corporate social networks failed to attract more
than 1,000 members? The answer is quite simple. They’ve failed to recognise
the fundamental principle of the social web - that it’s not all about
them.
The social web is about people, not brands or technology!
It seems as if the marketers behind many of the corporate social networks/
communities operated on the premise – ‘If you build it, they will
come’… particularly if you make it really shiny. Unfortunately,
many have had to learn the hard way that this simply isn’t the case. The
fact is that unless you’re Apple, people really aren’t that interested
in your products or services. Deal with it. One of the primary features of Wal-Mart’s
social network ‘The Hub’ was the ability to generate shopping lists.
Hmmm… how many teens do you know that are interested in making their very
own shopping list? Not freakin’ many. Wal-Mart made ‘The Hub’
about them. And that’s why it failed.
For the ultimate example of a self-centred social networking initiative, check
out David Hasselhoff’s personal
social network. Sure… everyone loves to have a good laugh at The Hoff,
but does he really think people care enough about him to make his page their
social networking home…? You do know people laugh at you Hoff…right…?
Social initiatives can go old school… if that’s where your
audience is
I recently wrote a social media strategy practically devoid of technology (some
would even say it was positively old school). The strategy was for the Australian
arm of a major global organisation, with a budget stretching into the hundreds
of thousands of dollars. If I wanted to, I could potentially have sold them
on the development of their very own social network. But I didn’t. Because
I know that social media is not about the technological platform… it’s
about the people.
Instead, my first recommendation was to begin monitoring and participating
within existing online forums. Yes… that’s right… forums.
How very 90’s of me. But the fact was that a community of over 60,000
people had already formed to discuss this company and their products within
online forums. Indeed, they were lucky to be one of the very few companies with
a customer base passionate enough about their product to create an online community
around it. So… instead of trying to host the conversation, why not just
simply join it (at least initially)?
My second recommendation was to establish a company blog. Sure… a blog
isn’t as feature laden (or shiny) as a Facebook clone, but communities
can form around blogs just as effectively as they congregate on social networks.
Just look at Tech Crunch. A blog provides a cost effective way for the organisation
to establish a social media presence without spending hundreds of thousands
of dollars on development (thank you Wordpress!). And who knows… if the
blog takes off we may consider implementing some more advanced social networking
capabilities. But that’s the last consideration, not the first. After
all, if the audience are happy in forums, they don’t need all the bells
and whistles yet.
The social web mind shift
The reason most corporations don’t ‘get’ the social web is
quite simple – success requires a shift in marketing methodologies. Traditional
marketing principles just don’t cut it in online communities. Amongst
the most fundamental shifts in thinking, marketers need to recognise that:
- You don’t need to own the traffic, you just need to own the relationship
- You can’t control the conversation, all you can do is listen and respond
- One size does not fit all, and nor does one message
- Actually talking to your customers isn’t such a bad thing. You may
even learn something from them.
Until marketers ‘get’ these principles of the social web, it seems
we’re destined for more corporate social networks built around shopping
lists… or worse… washed up celebrities.
Author Bio
James Duthie is an Australian
online marketing expert. He writes on all things social media, blogging,
SEO & online marketing at his blog - Online Marketing Banter. Subscribe
to hear more of his ramblings.
Posted in Blogging, Guest Posts, Social Media, Social Networking, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 8 Comments »
Thursday, August 7th, 2008
StumbleUpon has plans to finally remove their 200 friend limit. I am so thrilled
as this has been a huge pet peeve for me for months now. I have over 1300 fans,
but I can only make 200 of them my friends…. meaning at this moment I can
only subscribe to 200 of these StumbleUpon member’s Stumble-Reviews. These StumbleUpon
changes will allow me to make Stumbler’s friends with an option to subscribe
or not subscribe to their Stumbles.
The Official StumbleUpon
Blog states…..
"Over the next couple weeks we are going to separate the social &
content aspects of friendship on SU, so you can subscribe to someone’s favorites
without necessarily becoming their friend, and become someone’s friend without
necessarily seeing their stumbles. You’ll also be able to "Subscribe"
to more than 200 stumblers, since we’ve changed the way they are stored in
the database. Mutuals will just be "Friends", fans will become "Subscribers"
and you’ll simply be "Subscribed to" stumblers who rate great content."
This makes me so excited and I am totally looking forward to start seeing these
changes. These new changes will allow me to make new friends with StumbleUpon
members and check out some of their Stumbles…. something I was restricted
on in the past. This restriction caused me to be so selective in the past and
limited me from opening myself up to new StumbleUpon friends…. I just wasn’t
able to. Once a month I would have to do a StumbleUpon House Cleaning where
I would clean house of my StumbleUpon friends that were no longer active
or no longer stumbling things I would be interested in. I hated doing it, but
I had to purge my friends list often. I am sure I will have to clean house occasionally,
but now I won’t have to do it as often and I will be able to put this time in
to something more useful…. like enjoying my new friend’s Stumbles.
So, I look forward to your new changes StumbleUpon…. you know how much I
love you. Our
first year together rocked my world, StumbleUpon!! But, I have a feeling
this next year will be our best yet!!
Posted in Social Networking, StumbleUpon | 17 Comments »
Monday, August 4th, 2008
Happy 1st Anniversary StumbleUpon
July marked my first anniversary being a member of the StumbleUpon Community.
It has been an incredible year for me. I have met some wonderful, wonderful
people. And, I have stumbled across and discovered some truly amazing websites.
Sites that if it wasn’t for StumbleUpon I probably wouldn’t have come across
them in the first place.
I spent this past weekend going through my stumbles over the past year. It was
a lot of fun to see the sites and my reviews over the past year. There were tons
and tons of
Stumble-Reviews to go through…. After all, at the time of me writing
this post I had stumbled 7,357 pages, 27 videos and 876 photos. It truly has
been an amazing year.
I love StumbleUpon. I love it for so many reasons. Here you will find 113 things
I have learned from using StumbleUpon
113 Things I have Learned from using StumbleUpon
- Inspect
all food before you purchase.
- We could learn a lot if we listen to the wisdom
of children.
- That a Nintendo System can be completely
homemade.
- That Business
Strategy Can Be About Love
- Helped me Learn Sign Language
- Learned to Identify where I was Sacrificing
my Freedom
- Multiplication
Songs & Raps to help me teach my Children.
- Mother Nature is AMAZING
& Beautiful!!
- That I can use my Local
Newspapers to Promote my Blog Offline
- That even the Busiest of People will Lend
a Helping Hand to a Newbie
- 100
Painless Ways to Cut Calories
- I can be a Positive
Parent
- You and I can Erase
our Fears.
- I can find awesome recipes
using only what little ingredients I have at home.
- How to Relieve
a Bee Sting in under 30 Seconds.
- I found out what Tarot Card I am. What
Tarot Card are you??
- Found Tips to Immediately Increase
my Confidence.
- There are certain things I
need to remember when launching a new site.
- That it only takes 90
minutes a day to become a better blogger.
- There are special ways to draw
StumbleUpon Users into your blog.
- How to Run a StumbleUpon
Advertising Campaign for my Blog.
- How even Blogging can
make a Difference in the World.
- That a 5-year
old can Deliver a Baby.
- 10
Things You Can Blog About On The Weekends
- Creating
a Sneeze Page can Propel Readers Deep Within my Blog
- There is actually a time when Getting
Lots Of Visitors To Your Website Isn’t Good.
- There are at least 5
essential things you ought to know about StumbleUpon
- PageRank can be explained with a Cool
Graph.
- Why
Top 10 Lists are still the Best
- Found out that there are 7
Easy ways to get more Weekend Traffic to my Website.
- Tons of Fun
Activities that Moms and Dads can do with their kids.
- What it would look like if SEO’s
mated.
- Learned that I need a Seasonal
Search Engine Optimization Strategy.
- Found out that Social
Media has a Direct Influence on Search Engine Ranking.
- A Splash
of Color
can make me Smile
- I learned that even I can open
a Beer with a Lighter. Thanks for that Pat…. I love showing off to men
in the Bar.
- Saw what Google
Search would look like if it was designed in Comic Sans.
- Found Sphinn shortly after
it was born…. another turning point in my professional life.
- Avatar
Optimization - Why Top Sphinners have photo avatars while top Diggers
have graphic ones.
- How I can deal
with Criticism.
- That there are unusual
ways that I can use StumbleUpon.
- I found that I love to learn SEO from Patrick with the Hitchiker’s
Guide to Linkless SEO.
- It
sucks to be on top - the downside of Social Media.
- I learned there are 10
Steps to Building an Online Media Empire
- Muhammad showed me 4
reasons I should be blogging on weekend.
- Found out how to get traffic
& links from Popular Blogs…. thank you Maki.
- Apparently, random
funny pictures are good for my health.
- Brian Wallace taught me taught me the Ode
to StumbleUpon.
- That I can become a Success in Online
Networking.
- 5
StumbleUpon BuzzKills
- That I can get
help for Writer’s Block.
- I even learned How
to Read a Painting.
- I found out that my good friend Brian Wallace thinks my StumbleUpon
reviews are verbose. No worries, Brian…. I still love ya.
- What I already thought was reinforced when I read that a Blogger
can be successful by being nice.
- I learned there is such a thing as Time
Management when it comes to Social Media.
- Learned to Optimize
for Universal Search.
- Kind of Morbid, but I found a web page that tells me how
many people died the day I was born. Approximately 130,755 people died
worldwide on my birthday.
- The difference between SEO
& SMO.
- Pictures can help explain The
Difference Between Marketing, PR, Advertising, and Personal Branding
- I was reminded
what makes for a successful
Blog.
- Logos
can be freaken funny!!
- Which Hook Attracts the Right Fish?….. in regards to Link
Baiting.
- Dosh Dosh has taught me so much about the Importance
of Social Media Marketing.
- I learned that blogging
is a lot like Sex.
- I had no idea until I can across this page that there are 23
types of Social Media Users.
- I learned that People
in the SEO & Marketing
Industries are some of the Funniest People I know.
- Kim of Cre8pc showed me how to build
a better website by writing about her son’s challenges with his sport, football.
Such a loving post…. absolutely unforgettable.
- There are ways to build
traffic that have nothing to do with Google or SEO.
- A Web Page of Words
that Feel Good. Thanks Michael.
- Found that Others
Felt the Same Way about Sphinn that I did.
- Tips
to writing my Best Post Ever.
- Tons of Free SEO Tools
- Found out there was such a thing as "Social
Media Hangovers".
- Darren showed me how my StumbleUpon
Profile put
me on his Radar.
- Learned how to divide
my time for maximum exposure.
- Size
does matter when it comes to blog posts.
- Stumbled across the best explanation of
what it feels like to live with a chronic illness (PDF file).
- A
simple workout for Bloggers.
- Why some pages
don’t get stumbled.
- The Importance of StumbleUpon
categories.
- I learned Do’s
and Don’ts when it comes to babies.
- How to find out if I am a Social
Media Addict.
- I can now say, "I
Love You" in 100 different languages.
- 10
Commandments of Social Media
- Chris Brogan reminds me that I need to recognize when to scale
back…. I don’t need to say "yes" to everybody.
- I found out Why
Guys like Girls.
- I came across a Comprehensive
Guide to Keyword Research for Bloggers
- Finally I learned how to fold
a fitted sheet correctly. Normally I use my arms to wound it up.
- I learned how to Go
with the Flow.
- How
to write a report that a client will "get".
- I learned how to blog
and work-off 600 calories at the same time.
- That photos can say so much more than words. What do you think this
photo is saying??
- I learned that there is a difference between healthy
and toxic love.
- How to simplify
my life with kids.
- Even Digg can play some April
Fool’s Jokes.
- Found out ways
to reduce stress.
- Food can taste
as good as it looks.
- I located a bunch of great
moms on Twitter thanks to Wendy.
- I was shown a bunch of reasons why Twitter is a great
Social Media Tool.
- I was surprised to learn that it wasn’t only MY children
who don’t recognize
when the bathroom door is closed.
- How to make
a dollar stretch during a recession.
- How to bury
negative posts about you or your company.
- Tamar with the help of Weezer
shows me a thing or two about Viral Marketing.
- More ways I came across to say, "I
Love You".
- StumbleUpon gets my mind thinking with a question
that stumps me.
- Little did I know that there was something called, "Blogger
Imposter Syndrome". You can even take a test to see if you suffer
from it.
- How to Find
the Perfect Image for your Blog Post.
- I had no idea that cigarettes
could teach me something about branding.
- Kids
can teach us how to be happy.
- Learned that there are certain techniques that will make
your blog or website sticky.
- I stumbled across a thing or two about Link
Building Optimization.
- That I can actually SEO
my site in less than 60 minutes.
- And, apparently I will stumble
into the happiness of my life.
Posted in Blogging, Humor, Link Love, Parenting, SEM, SEO, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Sphinn, StumbleUpon, Time Management, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 Basics | 21 Comments »
