Archive for the ‘Social Bookmarking’ Category
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 |
If you wanted to know how to use Build a Brand Using Social Media
then this session was the one to attend. Jeff
Quipp, Brian Chappell
and Li Evans
were an amazing combo…. Together they were the perfect mixture of How-to,
tips, suggestions, visuals….. absolutely all the facts needed to give you
a good start in Branding.
Jeff Quipp discussed the How-to’s of branding by going into great detail on
what Social Media can do for Branding. Brian Chapell added his thoughts and
tips on monitoring your brand and Li Evans finished off this amazing session
on Building a Brand with video and photo sharing.
All three speakers made sure to cover everything from the most basic to more
complex. They gave us the social media recipe to whip up the best branding dish
for any company…. large or small.
Here how it all went down…
First up was Jeff Quipp
Define Your Brand - How do you want your Brand to stand out?
Many Businesses often wonder what Social Media can do for them. Jeff did a
really great job at explaining this in great detail.
Social Media Helps….
- Create awareness of the Brand
- Communicate the Company’s / Product’s Key Messages
- Instill trust in the brand
- Naturally propagate the crafted message(s)
He goes on to explain the 3 Steps to Branding via Social Media
- List the Key Messages
- Determine the best content formats to convey your messages
(video, audio, text)
- Craft the content - Must support the key messages you wish
to convey…. at least for branding purposes.
Some ways to do this….
- "just in time" blogging
- make the news- do something sensational!
- resource/educational posts
- the message must reflect positively on the company!!!
- Determine the best Social Media to Employ
- Test the Content
- If the Key is in getting others to carry the chosen messages forward….
test it first (if its not news)
- Refine content and retest
- Using the solicited feedback, refine the content. Retest, again soliciting
feedback.
- Network to Promote
- Get involved in the chosen social media
- start befriending others and promoting their GOOD content
- Be sure to promote good content!!!
- Seek out key influencers and particularly support their stuff.
Brian Chappell was up next
Brian immediately reminds us that "You have to make sure you know your
target audience…. otherwise you are wasting your time. Social Media is not
a salt shaker. You can’t apply social media marketing tactic onto regular strategies
to see success. Social media can not be an after thought…. has to be thought
of at the core of marketing initiatives."
You need to be creative…. there is no cookie cutter approach
to Social Media.
Brian urges us to extend our brand off of our site…. secure names elsewhere
so no one tarnishes our brand. He suggests Streko’s site CheckUserNames.com
as a good place to do this.
Must Monitor & Interact in Real time
Social Monitoring Benefits:
- Product Development
- Customer Service
- SEO / Marketing Initiatives
- Monitor your Competition
Don’t forget about SEO
Empower your customers - Let them build the ad, create your
idea and implement new product offerings.
Next up was Li Evans
Building a brand through Social Media - Through Video & Photo Sharing
I love that Li went into using Video & Photo Sharing to build a brand through
Social Media. For someone like me who is very visual I can understand the importance
of branding this way.
Li starts with, "So you have serps and links….now what?
How do you get people to remember you?"
Branding is essential. Even your avatar is important. Li reminds us that our
avatar is who we are…this is how people relate to us.
Tips
- Make sure your avatar is your brand.
- Make sure your pictures are saying things about your brand
- Start your own group and encourage people to share their pictures / videos
and join the group.
- Extend your brand and talk to the people that are part of the group.
- Bring influence of the brand into the picture.
- Don’t forget the Tags!!
- Keep your marketing consistent - ex. icon / logo on videos and photos
- Brand your Channels - w/ consistent colors
- No matter how small your company Branding Matters!!
- Don’t forget about branding even in Local.
- Optimizing is fundamental
- Research where your audience is.
**YouTube - YouTube beats Yahoo for searches. That’s pretty cool. And,
it shows us how important videos can be in Search.**
Li ends with saying that “Branding and Being Social Is Key”
So, as you can see it was another amazing session at IM Spring Break. Follow
the Branding Recipe that Jeff Quipp, Brian Chappell and Li Evans suggested and
I have no doubt you will be off to a great start with using Social Media for
Branding purposes.
Posted in Conferences, SEM, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, StumbleUpon, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 |
This session was amazing. It reminded me a lot like a baseball line-up. Before
you start thinking that I totally lost my mind let me explain a bit why I say
this.
First up to speak was Neal Rodriguez.
And, speak he did!!
In baseball the first player in the line-up is generally a person that is fast.
A player that has a great potential to steal bases. He gets the rest of the
line-up motivated and ready to play their hearts out. And, this is what I feel
Neal did during this session. He motivated the audience and got them ready for
the rest of the game.
Seriously, he could have been talking about cleaning the lint out of my laptop
keys and I would have listened intently to everything he said. He had me wanting
to stand up and cheer with excitement just by listening to his passion and watching
him talk about something he felt strongly about.
Social Media in the Grind ‘09
Neal explains how Social News is directory that’s unbelievable. Social News
are the stories that make you go "WTF!"
Unbelievable is part of the ingredients to the entire recipe. Stories need
to be compelling and controversial.
Assault the reader!!
Make your reader say, "Hell Yeah!"
To Do that:
- Do your homework - Study sites that make the front page
frequently. * Di66.net *
- Reciprocity - Help your fellow socialites. The Key to any
relationship. * Source - DiggStatistics.com
*
Neal reminds us that "The More you do the better your will
get at it."
In baseball the middle of a line-up has the power hitters. These are the baseball
players that have a great chance of getting a home run. These are the players
you can count on for giving you what you came to the baseball park to see. In
this case that is David
Snyder and Todd Malicoat.
David Snyder spoke about "How not to utilize Social News and Bookmarking"
He reminds us that the keyword is "Social". Social
News & Bookmarking exist as a place to center conversations and sharing
around content. And, the end user is the most important part of this process.
How Social News and Bookmarking can be used by marketers….
- Not an end means, but a tool to increase visibility of content, and conversation
around content.
- You get what you give from Social Media
DON’T
- Hire people for pushes where you pay based on the outcome
- "Push" content without first thinking about the community
- Approach social bookmarking as a business looking to engage.
The next power hitter up to bat was Todd Mailicoat
He spoke about "How to sell social media marketing for in house
SEO’s"
- Show a Competitor
- fear
- uncertainty
- doubt
- greed
- Show the Stats
- digg
- delicious
- reddit
- stumble
- buzz propeller
- Introduce the Concept - The plan
- Show the Value
- Explain the Value of the links
- theme value
- power source
- outbound links
- unique linking domains
- placement
- age
- Explain why link baiting and viral marketing
- global link popularity
- sometimes anchor text (based on title)
- Better Rankings
- Links competitors can’t get
- Close the Concept
- Add the Bonus - lots of traffic and branding
So, as you can see this entire session was amazing….. it kept me on my toes
wanting to start the wave.. All three speakers hit the ball out of the park
and kept the audience happy and cheering for more. No doubt in my mind…. A
Win!!
Posted in Conferences, SEM, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Web 2.0 | 2 Comments »
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 |
It is Day 1 of IM Spring Break here in beautiful Deerfield Beach, Florida.
And, Dave Snyder,
Loren Baker
and Jordan Kasteler
have an entertaining and educational day planned out for us. Day 1 of IM Spring
Break is dedicated to Social Media…. which I am totally excited about.
First off was Chris Winfield’s Keynote. Chris is the President and Co-Founder
of 10e20. His Keynote was
absolutely the perfect way to open up Day 1 of IM Spring Break. Chris spoke
about Social Media in Business brilliantly…. I love how passionate and excited
it was to speak about it…. Totally motivating. It was awesome to hear him
speak.
Chris began his keynote by announcing that Social Media Marketing in Business
is way more than just Facebook and Twitter.
Social Media is one big conversation.
Now, this is when Chris gets into the true nitty gritty of Social Media Marketing
in Business. He begins talking about the question that many of us as Social
Media Marketers have heard asked hundreds of times….
Why would a Business Want to get involved in Social Media?
A business should get involved in Social Media for a number of reasons. Such
as,
- achieve recognition with a wider audience
- create/ improve reputation
- enhance credibility
- attract evangelists
- public relations
- link attraction
- traffic
Ok, so now we know why businesses should get involved in Social Media. But then
what? What types of Social Media should Businesses get involved in?
No worries… Chris covered that as well. And, in great detail.
Types of Social Media Businesses should get involved in
- Blogs
- MicroBlogs (Twitter)
- Social Networking
- Myspace
- Facebook - Facebook Ads & Facebook Pages
- Niche Social Networks
- Online Videos (YouTube)
- Forums & Groups
- Photo Sharing - (flickr & photobucket)
- Yahoo Answers
- Online Review
- Wiki’s
- Social News and Bookmarking Sites
Even after going into great detail on all of that Chris then went into making
sure people know who you / your business are.
Let people know where you are
- Have your social links in your email signature
- Include your social networks on mailing lists
- On the business web site make sure you have links to where people can locate
you online…. your other social networks / profiles.
Chris then goes into how to build up a network of people online.
How to build up a network of people
- Check their website - many websites list where you can find them on other
social networks.
- Go to digg & other social sites’ profile page and see if they list their
other social networks there
- on social sites there is usually a way to direct message them
- go to conferences and talk to them and find out how to connect with them.
Chris finishes his keynote by reminding us that, "Social Media is
opportunity for you!!!"
Posted in Conferences, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking | 3 Comments »
Thursday, March 5th, 2009 |
I’ve been kind of out of the loop for a few months. I’ve been dealing with
some family issues and lowered my social media work load a bit so I could
deal with the issues. Things are beginning to get easier and I am beginning
to be able to find some breathing room. Winter was difficult and long, but
happily Spring is on its way and I totally can’t wait for it to arrive.
Spring brings new hope for me and also brings warmer weather, beautiful flowers,
leaves on the trees, fresh air and the sounds of children playing outside. April
brings May flowers. But, there is something else that April will bring to the
Search and Internet Marketing community… A conference that is one of the most
talked about, anticipated and affordable conferences in Search. Not sure what
I’m referring to??? Well, let me spell it out for you….
I - Internet Marketing - Three
days of Internet Marketing focused education and networking in beautiful Florida.
Sounds good to me.
M - Money - This Search
Conference is only $370, but is packed with 3 days of awesome sessions and
great parties. At this cost it’s a steal!!
S - Social Media and SEO Days.
A day will be spent on each. And the Speakers on those days Rock. Speakers include
Kenny Hyder, Greg
Finn, Brent Csutoras,
Reg Saddler, Todd
Mailcoat, Neal Rodriguez,
Li Evans,
Jeff Quipp,
Brian Chappell,
Carolyn Shelby, Wil
Reynolds, Rhea Drysdale,
Steve
Plunkett and Rae Hoffman.
Day 1 Moderator - Jordan
Kasteler and Day 2 Moderator – Loren
Baker. I told you they rocked, didn’t I?!
P - Poker Tournament - There
is a Poker Tournament on the first night. You never know how that will turn
out, but you know it will be a good time!!
R - Rhea Drysdale - She will
be speaking during SEO day and I’m totally looking forward to this. Not just
because I’m hoping that she will appear as SheRa,
but also because I was lucky enough to meet Rhea a few months back and I think she’s wonderful, but have yet to hear her speak. So, I can’t wait for that.
I - Information - You can count
on learning plenty of new and useful information from the speakers who happen
to be some of the best-of-the-best in our industry.
N - Networking - Oh, Yeah!! This
conference will have tons of chances to network with the speakers, monitors
and other colleagues in our field. This conference is small, only a few hundred
attendees, that makes the chances you will be able to spend some time with the
speakers quite likely.
G - Goals - They have two main
Goals with their events. 1. be the best value in Internet Marketing
conferences and events; 2. to provide the best education and
networking mix available in an Internet Marketing conference. Sounds great to
me.
B - Beerlympics - Okay, I’ll
admit it….. I have no idea what this actually is, but I’m dying to find out.
I have no doubt that the Beerlympics will be one of the highlights of the entire
event.
R - Rae Hoffman - I have yet
to have heard Rae Hoffman speak nor have I been fortunate enough to meet her
at any other conference. But, I love her blog and I’m hoping to get to meet
her at this event. Not only is she speaking at this conference she is also doing
the Keynote on day 3.
E - Entire Event - Hello?! Have
you not been paying attention?? Check out what I mentioned thus far….. This
event ROCKS!!
A - Affiliate Marketing Day -
Affiliate Marketing Day is day 3 of this conference and it is sure to be a great
day of sessions!! Check out the speakers…. Michael
Streko, Aaron Chronister,
Rae Hoffman, Frank
Watson, Brandy Eddings,
David Szetela,
Chris Hart , Pamela
Lund and Tony Adam.
Moderator – David
Snyder
C - Community - Many of the attendees
are part of the online communities that you frequent on a daily basis. This
is your chance to network with these members face-to-face. And, meet other members
of the community that you have yet got a chance to get to know online. This
is a great way to build up your friends in the online community…. by meeting
them face-to-face.
K - Keynotes - 3 Amazing Keynotes
by impressive members of the Search and Internet Marketing Community.
I-M S-P-R-I-N-G B-R-E-A-K
So, if you haven’t figured it out already….. I am talking about the
IM Spring Break Conference coming up next Month. It takes place from
April 2-4 in beautiful Boca Raton, Florida. Like I mentioned earlier the cost
is so reasonable at $370 for the entire 3 day conference. And, if you use the
code SEO when booking the hotel it will only cost you $119.00 per night. Totally an awesome
price.
Check out the IM
Spring Break Sessions….. they sound wonderful, don’t they?!
So what are you waiting for? Go buy your tickets now for IM
Spring Break!! Hope to see you there.
Posted in Conferences, Parties, SEM, SEO, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Sphinn, Tips and Tutorials, Web 2.0 | 7 Comments »
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 »
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 »
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 |
I wrote a post regarding my avatar
change on Collective-Thoughts. This post is a continuation of that. The
avatar I had chose at the end of that post didn’t work out. And since my 6 year
old daughter helped me come up with my final choice for an avatar I decided
to write this post in the form of a Child’s Story, "Goldilocks
and the Three Bears".
Image by Super
Dave Chen
TheNanny612 and the Three Avatars
TheNanny612 was a Young Lady who spent much of her days Social Networking.
She
had her own land in her part of the Web 2.0 World.
Normally this Social Media Lady would had been content to go about her usual
Social Networking, but on this day she chose instead to cut off her long curly
hair. Knowing that once she did this she would have to perform the duty of choosing
the right avatar for her part of the Web 2.0 World named Social
Desire.
It was on this day that TheNanny612 Avatar Journey began.
TheNanny612 didn’t think the duty of choosing
an avatar would be a difficult one. After all, what is the big deal, really?
An avatar simply is a picture to help members of Online Communities know who
you are…. is that really such a big deal?
So, TheNanny612 simply had her picture taken a few times with a cell phone.
She chose the best of the batch of pics, cropped it and sized it perfectly.
She made each picture into different sizes to easily accommodate the different
requirements at different Social Networking Communities. The smallest Avatar
size is 50×50 for Sphinn
and StumbleUpon uses
a 475×475 on its About
page.
TheNanny612 Avatar #1
| 475 x 475 |
50 X 50 |
 |
 |
She really liked this picture, but it was so dark. She didn’t realize how dark
until she had it resized to fit Sphinn’s
50×50 Avatar requirement. The size Avatar for Sphinn is so small & so dark
that it is terribly difficult to recognize who the picture is of….. That will
never do.
TheNanny612 sighed as she really thought this was going to be simple. "Oh
well.", she said as she moved on to the next stop.
She took a look at the first picture to see what the problem was and came up
with a few of things.
- To dark.
- Little Contrast. TheNanny612’s dark hair against the dark
chair. There was absolutely no contrast.
- The picture was taken with a Cell phone. The quality of
cell phone pictures aren’t always good enough to work with.
So, TheNanny612 decided that she needed to do things differently. She decided
to do everything completely opposite from what she did last time.
She dressed in a white blouse and sat on a light rug in front of a cherry stained
door. This is how the picture looked in its largest and smallest forms:
TheNanny612 Avatar #2
| 475 x 475 |
50 X 50 |
 |
 |
TheNanny612 was initially happy with this photograph. She likes the black and
white look and the contrast is nice. But, notice how the picture changes when
it is made smaller. The change in size makes it difficult to recognize that
its TheNanny612 at all. She began to think that there will be no
50×50 avatar that will be easy to recognize, but she knew that wasn’t true.
After all, her last 50×50 avatar was easy to recognize.
So, TheNanny612 went back on her search for the Perfect Avatar…. the Avatar
that was "Just Right."
The problems with the 2nd Avatar?? There were a few…
- It’s a lovely shot large, but when made smaller it is difficult
to recognize.
- The picture is simply to light. The black and white look
washes TheNanny612 out. She will not stand out compared to others which is
very important in Social Networking.
- The contrast problem in the 1st photograph caused TheNanny612 to dress
in light colors, but this did nothing for the photograph either.
TheNanny612 was truly frustrated. She asked out loud, "Why is this so
hard?" All of a sudden it came to her…. she needed to figure
out what made her original Avatar Memorable.
What made the Original TheNanny612 Avatar Memorable
- An
Unusual Head shot
- Sepia - I didn’t use Black & White….. Sepia added
a bit of color.
- Side Angle
- Not the entire head
- Nothing much else in the background.
More determined than ever TheNanny612 decided to stick with what seemed to
work with her original avatar. The most important thing to her was that the
avatar needed to look just as good small as it did large. And, up until this
point that had been TheNanny612’s struggle. She needed to stop posing so much
& get back to basics…. get back to what worked for her in the past.
TheNanny612 decided to hand the camera to her 6 year old daughter and allow
her daughter to snap a few random shots. Little did she know the perfect avatar
would be taken by the young child.
TheNanny612 went through all the photographs taken by her daughter that day.
She came across one that she felt would be a perfect fit if cropped just right.
This is what she came up with:
TheNanny612 Avatar #3
| 475 x 475 |
50 X 50 |
 |
 |
The first first Avatar was too dark, The 2nd Avatar was too light, and the
3rd Avatar was just right!!
With each Avatar mistake TheNanny612 learned something and the final Avatar
was the nicest in all the Land.
The Moral of this story…
Sometimes things don’t go well the first time around or even the 2nd.
But, as long as you make each a learning experience then the outcome is usually
good one.
The End.
Posted in Humor, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Sphinn, StumbleUpon, Tips and Tutorials, Uncategorized, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 12 Comments »
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 |
Social Desire will be featuring
Guest Posts for the next few weeks. Today’s Featured Guest Post is
by Mark Dykeman.
Image by Steve
& Jemma Copley
Everyone’s got a Top Ten list, an 8 step guide, or some other how-to post to
succeeding in social media.
This isn’t one of those posts. Not exactly. Not really.
OK, maybe a little bit.
What I’ve done is to take each letter of the alphabet and try to find one or
two words that can be used to describe social media. I’ve tried to cover many
of the important points and aspects of social media that I’ve picked up through
my own activities. I hope you enjoy and find it useful.
The A – Z listing for social media
Ask/Acquire – social media is a place where we can ask
questions and acquire knowledge; there are tons of great resources out there.
Bold – push yourself and test your limits. Try things
that might have scared you in the past, either due to lack of confidence or
experience. Be bold!
Communicate – it’s all about the conversations.
Demonstrate – show people what you know; help educate
them. (note: I was very tempted to use the word "desire" here…
)
Evaluate – absorb everything you can, but keep a critical
eye open. As you meet different people you’ll gradually get a sense of who knows
their stuff and who doesn’t. Don’t accept advice blindly – think it over
and make up your own mind.
Friend – "friend" has become a verb in social
media, where you give or are given permission to share stuff with other people.
It’s a key component of social media, hence the word "social".
Give – contribute to the body of knowledge with your
own thoughts, ideas, tips, tricks, critiques, and others. It’s not valuable
if you keep it to yourself.
Help – as per give, take the time to do favors for other
people. Answer their questions; show examples. You get a lot back from this,
even if it doesn’t happen immediately.
Ideas – social media contains some of the coolest parts
of higher education – the discussion and refinement of ideas.
Join – if you’re going to be social, join groups that
interest you. It’s all about relationships.
Knowledge/Learn – this K and L go together like peanut
butter and jelly; learn stuff, increase your knowledge.
Mentor – help a beginner and you could have a good friend
for life.
Name – names are important, doubly so in social media.
Meet people, remember their names. They’ll do the same for you!
Open – be as transparent as you can. Consider different
points of view, as well. Speak respectfully, but freely.
Passion – that burning sensation isn’t an, um, infection,
it’s the power of love and desire when you discover something that you love
to do.
Question – questions drive social media. Why? Because
we all want to find answers!
Reveal – tell the world about yourself to the extent
that you feel comfortable to do so. People want to know something about their
follow social mediaites!
Share – as with giving, sharing means doing things that
don’t just benefit yourself, they benefit other people as well. Give credit
where credit is due and share the rewards!
Teach – again, show people what you know and we all
benefit.
Understand – this is critical, because language is an
imperfect means of communication. It can be very easy to misinterpret someone
else’s writing, especially if it hits an emotional hot button. Make sure your
reactions are tempered by understanding so that you know what was really meant
within a communication.
Vigor – show some life there, sparky!
World – it’s a big world out there and social media
will expose you to places that you never knew existed.
X-Ray – look inside and see what’s really happening.
Don’t be fooled by exteriors or pretenses. Get the real story.
Yearn – satisfy those self- actual cravings, at least
temporarily, through social media participation. But stay hungry – there’s
always more.
Zen – practice, be mindful, and learn constantly as
a path to enlightenment (of sorts). You might not become a spiritual master,
but these principles can still lead to fulfillment in social media.
Social media from A – Z – there it is. I hope you were paying attention
because there’s a test coming up!
(Of course, the test never ends… )
If you enjoyed this post check out more of Mark Dykeman’s work at Broadcasting
Brain, his blog about communication and social media.
Posted in Blogging, Guest Posts, Humor, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Tips and Tutorials, Uncategorized, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 12 Comments »
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 |
Social Desire will be featuring
Guest Posts for the next few weeks. Today’s Featured Guest Post is by Peter
Newsome of SiteMost.
Image by Lady-bug
Offline Reality Online
When I catch-up with friends we’ll usually talk about the highlights
of our week, we’ll have a whinge about the things that got under our skin
and we will vocalise our opinions some of the current events that we feel strongly
about.
Take away the face-to-face interaction, convert the speech to text (although
not in every case thanks to how easy it is to create and share audio and video
content) and you have a blog.
When I get home from work, I’ll look through the cupboards and fridge
and work-out what I’m going to make for dinner. Once I’ve made a
decision, I’ll usually vocalise this to myself - “Tonight I’m
going to make spaghetti bolognese!” (yes, I know that talking to yourself
is the first sign of insanity and a lot of my friends already think I am a little
insane).
I’ll also continue talking to myself as I prepare the meal “a little
bit of oregano, a dash of wine…” and as the TV is usually on in
the other room, I’ll often make comments about the day’s stories
“Interest rates are up again, there’s still conflict in the Middle
East and Britney Spears did what?!?”
The above examples of small conversations that we have with ourselves everyday
could easily be seen by having a quick skim through Twitter logs.
When you’re at school, the more friends you have, the ‘cooler’
you are – aka MySpace, Facebook
etc. etc.
Take away the cheesy voice-over and Benny Hill music from ‘Funniest Home
Videos’ and I’ve just described at least a third of YouTube’s
content.
My mother sticks little yellow Post-It notes on the side of her computer monitor
listing websites she’s found and wants to remember how to get back to
them – if she understood what I was talking about when I tried to teach
her about del.icio.us
For your daily dose of tabloid news in an online format you don’t need
to look much further than Digg.
And just like you’ll need Amy Winehouse throwing-up on your shoes if you
want your pic in the tabloids, you’ll also need some Social
Media Celebrity Endorsement if you want your articles to appear on the front-page
of Digg.
So as you can see, most online social media has been inspired by something
offline (even if the inspiration was far from the examples above, you still
get the general idea). The only problem is that there is still a very big disconnect
between the real and the virtual worlds.
It’s like comparing reality TV with actual reality. I don’t know
who’s reality it is, but I can’t recall the last time someone locked
me in a house with a bunch of strangers and recorded my every move whilst making
me perform challenges like eating worms or pouring spiders on my head, or watched
me painfully sing karaoke, or become a model, or survive on a desert island
or made me lose half my body weight etc. etc.
Sure, it might be entertaining, but it certainly isn’t what happens to
you and I on a daily basis.
I’ve met bloggers that write well, seem quite entertaining and have hundreds
of subscribers but in person they are very shy and introverted or waaaay over
the top and are incredibly annoying to have a conversation with.
Whereas other bloggers that only have a handful of regular readers have been
charming, interesting and insightful when I’ve met them face-to-face.
There was a guy I went to school with who still lives with his parents, works
for the local government in an accounting role, hasn’t changed one little
bit from the weedy, nerdy, annoying guy from senior school… but his Facebook
page says he has 300+ friends.
Now I’m not trying to say that one’s online persona is inversely
proportional to how popular they are offline… there are some really great
people that I’ve met who are very popular both online and offline.
Although I think that we should observe how the online world has taken most
of its inspiration from the real world and as it continues to do this, there
will become a requirement for social media mavens to genuinely be as interesting
and insightful in reality as they are online. Otherwise they may find that the
virtual reputation they’ve worked so hard to build won’t hold-up
as the two worlds (offline and online) become one.
If you enjoyed this Guest Post you can check out more of Peter’s work at SiteMost.
And, while you are at it subscribe to the SiteMost
Feed.
Posted in Blogging, Guest Posts, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Web 2.0 | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 17th, 2008 |
Image by Miky
Jpeg
I have been a little disappointed in Facebook lately. Well, maybe not Facebook directly, but instead some of the people that I have agreed to Facebook Friendships. And, due to the tactics these people are using on Facebook to pass the word about things they feel strongly about has caused me to not spend as much time on FaceBook in general.
In case you aren’t aware…. it was only a few months back that I was
singing my praises about Facebook. I spent a lot of time there. I was able
to do my social networking in ways that I couldn’t do in other Social Media
arenas. I love Social Networking in all different ways, but what is so cool
about Facebook is some of the very
cool Applications that Facebook has. Some of these applications helped me
interact with fellow marketers and bloggers that I didn’t know too well before facebook,
but due to the fun networking via these applications caused me to take a closer
look at their websites and blogs. But, recently something has started to happen
that has not happened to me in this last year of using Facebook until recently….
"Chain Messages."
I’m not sure if Chain Messages is what this "thing" is actually called.
But, this is what I’m going to call it. Chain Messages reminds me of a chain
mail, but is is done through Facebook Applications. These Chain Messages are
rude, forceful and threatening and I’m more than a little bit irritated that
they have entered my
Facebook space.
Here is an example of a message I received earlier today that has me so upset.
I have removed a couple things from this screen shot. I removed the name of
the person who sent me this FunWall post. I have also removed the name of my
Facebook Friends from the "forward to:" section.
Now, this isn’t the first Chain Message I received, but this one really has
me bothered. I’ll get into the reasons why this particular Chain Message has
me irked, but in the meantime let me list what makes a Chain Letter a Chain
Letter, so we can compare the Old Fashioned Chain Letter to this Chain Letter
2.0.
Wikipedia tells me
that a Chain Letter is…
"A typical chain letter consists of a message that attempts to induce
the recipient to make a number of copies of the letter and then pass them
on to as many recipients as possible… Common methods used in chain letters
include emotionally manipulative stories, get-rich-quick pyramid schemes,
and the exploitation of superstition to threaten the recipient with bad luck
or even physical violence or death if he or she "breaks the chain"
and refuses to adhere to the conditions set out in the letter."
Wow, that definition sounds very much like the FunWall Post I received above.
Let’s check out another. The following is from FraudBureau.com.
Here they explain the Anatomy of a Chain Letter.
"Every chain letter is comprised of three components:
* The hook. The letter will try to grab your attention so
that you will read the rest of it. Some common themes are "Get Rich Quick",
to appeal to our desire to make money or "Virus Alert" to hook us
by arousing our fears.
* The threat. Once you are hooked, the letter arouses your
fears by telling you about the terrible things that will happen if you do
not continue to keep the chain in tact. The threat is usually realistic enough
to get you to continue the chain.
* The request. The request is usually the demand to distribute
the letter to as many individuals as possible. "
Ahhh, so there are three components to every chain Letter. Very interesting.
Well, Let’s see if there are three components to this Facebook Chain Message…
The Hook - "Someone will either call you
or talk to you and tell you that they love you."
Not a get rich scheme, but definitely something that many people are
desperately looking for.
The Threat - "I better not see anyone breaking this one or
see deleted." Well, I know this is not a specific threat,
but it is an empty threat at least. It is playing on the fear of many people
with social networking…. not having other’s support.
The Request - "These are ribbons for Soldiers fighting in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Pass it on to everyone and Pray." Definitely
works on the emotions of many.
Hmmmm…. very interesting. Seems like this FunWall Post has all the makings
of a Chain Letter to me. Dress it up whatever way you want to, but it is what
it is… a chain letter.
What has me so upset about this particular Chain Message is the fact that it
plays on the emotions of many people. We all know and love someone who is helping
fight wars in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. And, this message is using our emotions
to get us to do what they want us to do.
You know what really gets me is that I might have helped passing around the
support ribbons to my Facebook friends had I not felt threatened. But, after
reading the entire FunWall post I didn’t want any part of it. I wonder how many
others who received this same FunWall post felt the same way I did and didn’t
forward the message to their Facebook friends as well.
And, that brings us to another topic which I won’t delve to far into at this
time….. friends made online. Should they have the same qualities of real life
friends? OF COURSE!!! The social skills and etiquette
that your mother and father taught you should still apply online. No parent
in their right mind would teach their children the skills of threatening their
friends. So, if you wouldn’t treat your friends in the real world with
threats then don’t do it online.
You want to be my friend online?? Stop threatening me!!
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, Social Networking, Web 2.0 | 16 Comments »
