The Marketing Mentor

NEW BLOG PAGE

2010-02-25T22:08:00.000-08:00

Check out my new Blog. I am a abandoning this one for this now look. Hope you like it.

THE NEW BLOG

also check out my

Book Review Podcast Blog

Get More People to Look at Your Blog

2010-02-25T17:13:00.000-08:00

But will they listen?

If you have a blog or plan to start one you should keep one thing in mind. A blog is a product, regardless if it's information based.

There are a lot of blogs out there, so yours better be good. If you want people to read it, then you should start promoting it and when they come to read it they better be blown away or entertained... or whatever you have written will quickly be forgotten and your blog will join the millions of other blogs that no one reads regularly. Here is some great advice from Lauren Hatch who has a great blog that people read.

Consistency
Readers want lots of posts, and "neglected content may inadvertently translate to neglecting your readers too."

Eloquence
Read a lot, write well and proofread. Weinberg's favorite bloggers "always have something insightful to say," and "their content exudes intelligence and occasional wit."

Uniqueness
Channeling Darren Rowse, Weinberg argues that being unique "requires not doing what everyone else does." I.e. don't repeat the news with nothing new to offer.

Specific
Focus on a niche and master it.

Personal
Let readers get to know the person behind the screen. Write "personal stories as it relates to your mission in blogging," Weinberg says.

Analytical
"People love data, and they love knowing how data can be aggregated to make conclusions. They love charts and graphics, and they love the findings that can be made from this data in aggregate," Weinberg says. So give it to them.

Detail
Details take a regurgitated news story and make them your own. The more detail, the better.

Thought-Provoking
Leave your readers thinking about your post long after they click away.

Passion
If you are passionate about your blog, readers will notice.

Instructional
Teach your readers how to do something interesting and useful, and it will be impossible for them not to share.

Networked
Be active in your quest to attract readers. "In order for people to find you," Weinberg says, "you need to be able to market your blog to them. How does one do this? Comment on other bloggers’ posts consistently. Send tweets out to the bloggers with your own commentary."

Does social media actually work? The White Paper Report

2010-02-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

Paper paper everywhere but not a piece to jot...

Michael Stelzner at the WhitePaperSource has produced a pretty in depth report on the social media marketing whitepapersourceindustry. The industry now has enough years on it that this research is becoming more valuable to help make sense of this fast growing and often unwieldy area of the marketing mix.

The report is based on interviews of over 900 social media users of varying degrees. The findings are interesting in some areas and not so surprising in others. Some highlights include:

The Top 10 social media questions that marketers want answered
Experience levels are low with 72% of the marketers questioned having just started or only being involved in social media for a few months
As a surprise to me, owners of 2- to 100-employee businesses were the most experienced (29.3% reporting doing social media marketing for years)
Another startling finding was people aged 60 to 69 were significantly more likely to be just getting started with social media marketing than other age groups. In all honesty, I can’t imagine my parents on Facebook or Twitter!
After only a few months and with as few as 6 hours a week, more than half of marketers have generated qualified leads with social media marketing
The top 4 social media tools were Twitter (81%), blogs (79%), LinkedIn (78%) and Facebook (77%) topping the list of the Top 10. Owners preferred LinkedIn.
The least understood outlet are social bookmarking sites

As it is with all research it is important to see how it measures up to your particular situation. These are interesting bits of data and can be convincing to the many new users that are currently just feeling their way around. It’s probably fair to say that almost everyone is feeling their way around social media though because the rules are being written and rewritten even as you read this.

Food as Art

2010-02-14T01:41:00.000-08:00

Yummy in My Tummy

I had an awesome culinary experience tonight with a couple of special friends from China. The chef from green-t-house created some awesome food and the presentation was breathtaking.

One of the most interesting things about this haute cuisine is that all the dished utilize tea as an ingredient. The Shrimp with wasabi was amazing and the dessert came with tea infused dark and white chocolate slabs... yummy.

Next time you're in Beijing, do yourself a favor and treat your test buds and eyes to an amazing dining experience.

Check out there flash driven website here.

The Power of Persistance

2010-02-12T21:32:00.000-08:00

Reminds me of days at art school

As an art project this is pretty ambitious. Check out what the student says regarding the creation of this great piece of work.

"This is the final piece for my AS art course, a flipbook made entirely out of biro pens. It’s something like 2100 pages long, and about 50 jotter books. I’d say I worked on and off it for roughly 3 weeks."

Google Maps and the Vancouver Olympics

2010-02-12T18:49:00.001-08:00

Where are the bars?

Check out this great map.

Olympic Reporter's 2010 Winter Games

Vancouver Sun 2010 Olympics reporter Jeff Lee's comprehensive listing of Olympic venues, hospitality events, pavilions, sponsor houses, road restrictions, Flag Walk & more for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

MAP ICON KEY
Snowflakes - Official celebration sites
Green tents: Official competition & practice venues
Red dot tags: Canadian official houses
Red tags: Other countries' pavilions
Yellow tags: Sponsor sites & events
Yellow pins: Vancouver Sun offices & house
Pink dot tags: Media centres
Green dot tags: City Halls
Green tags: Special Olympic sites
Blue flags: Official IOC sites
Trains: transit & Amtrak
Ship: SeaBus, ferries, Norwegian Star, RCMP cruise ships
Airplane:YVR, Harbour, Helijet
Blue dot tags: Olympic bus network,
Purple dot tags:free bicycle valet

Google View on Whistler slopes!

2010-02-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

Where are the Mars Bars...

Leave it to Google Maps to take it to the next level. Yep they have done a street view of Whistlers sky runs just in time for the Olympics. Check them out and see where you would like to sky next year when the slopes have less competition.

The Google snowmobile is equipped with a full Street View camera system. In typical scrappy Google fashion, they were able to put it together over the course of a few weekends using extra pieces from Street View cars, some 2x4s, some duct tape, and a lot of extra hard drives (keeping them running properly in the freezing conditions was one of our major concerns).

They got in touch with the folks at Whistler Resort to discuss this slightly crazy idea… amazingly they were just as enthusiastic. In fact, they even suggested photographing the roads and paths of Whistler Village.

FaceBook Fan-page Analysis

2010-02-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

But what about Canada?

With the emergence of several new sources of data this week the lowly analyst is bringing fascinating new insight into the world of Data Mining and social applications like FaceBook. Check out this cool little web-data page to get the lowdown on fan-pages.

Here is part of a fascinating article "The Man Who Looked Into Facebook's Soul"

If what people call Web 2.0 was all about creating new technologies that made it easy for everyday people to publish their thoughts, social connections and activities, then the next stage of innovation online may be services like recommendations, self and group awareness, and other features made possible by software developers building on top of the huge mass of data that Web 2.0 made public. It's a very exciting future, and Warden is about to fire one of the earliest big shots in that direction.

If you think that's interesting you will really enjoy these defining zones in good old USA.

In a nutshell, Warden’s data analysis showed that Facebook users in the U.S. can be roughly segmented into seven regions, which he named facetiously:

Stayathomia: This belt’s defining feature is how near most people are to their friends, implying they don’t move far.

Dixie: Like Stayathomia, Dixie towns tend to have links mostly to other nearby cities rather than spanning the country.

Greater Texas: Unlike Stayathomia, there’s a definite central city to this cluster, otherwise most towns just connect to their immediate neighbors.

Mormonia: The only region that’s completely surrounded by another cluster, Mormonia mostly consists of Utah towns that are highly connected to each other, with an offshoot in Eastern Idaho.

Nomadic West: The defining feature of this area is how likely even small towns are to be strongly connected to distant cities; it looks like the inhabitants have done a lot of moving around the county.

Socalistan: LA is definitely the center of gravity for this cluster. Almost everywhere in California and Nevada has links to both LA and SF, but LA is usually first.

Pacifica: Tightly connected to each other, it doesn’t look like Washingtonians are big travelers compared to the rest of the West, even though a lot of them claim to need a vacation.

G-mail Still the Best

2010-02-05T17:51:00.000-08:00

If only it did the dishes too...

If you didn't already know... Gmail is a free webmail and POP email service provided by Google, known for its abundant storage and advanced interface.

It is known as Google Mail in the United Kingdom and Germany and recently aggregrated Google Talk to its online service as well, providing users with an online chat feature for quickly communication from any computer in the world.

It currently offers 2GB+ of disk storage for emails and attachments and it’s fully integrated with Google Calendar. The account memory increases the longer you have the service.

Now, if you know all that, you might be interested in super charging your g-mail skills using Firefox (don't get me started on how good this browser is) . Check out these 2 great locations. If that's not enough then check out this blog post at lifehacker.com for lots of great posts.

TED Continues to Amaze All

2010-02-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

But now I have to think more!

"There's a flip side to everything," the saying goes, and in 2 minutes, Derek Sivers shows this is true in a few ways you might not expect.

Why you should listen to him:
Derek Sivers (link to his blog) is best known as the founder of CD Baby. A professional musician since 1987, he started CD Baby by accident in 1998 when he was selling his own CD on his website, and friends asked if he could sell theirs, too.

CD Baby was the largest seller of independent music on the web, with over $100M in sales for over 150,000 musician clients.

In 2008, Sivers sold CD Baby to focus on his new ventures to benefit musicians, including his new company, MuckWork, where teams of efficient assistants help musicians do their "uncreative dirty work."

"Derek Sivers is changing the way music is bought and sold. A musicians' savior. One of the last music-business folk heroes."

Esquire Magazine

A Message for All the Thinkers Out There

2010-01-26T16:57:00.000-08:00

This makes me want to try some more...

Who can’t use a little dose of inspiration in the middle of the week? Christian Borstlap recently finished these deliciously simple animated illustrations for Dutch children’s charity, Kinderpostzegels.

Paul Postma did a great job of bringing Christian’s colourful illustrations to life, complimenting them with a playfully restrained animation style to really let their personalities shine.

Auto-Post Tools for Social Medias

2010-01-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

Can you change the concept a bit?

Thanks to Jennifer Stalford for his original blog post.

HootSuite 2.0 allows management of multiple Twitter accounts with tracking capabilities, scheduling features and feeds blogs to Twitter. It now also interacts with LinkedIn, Facebook, Facebook pages, and Pingfm.
Ping.fm - ”Post From Anywhere – To Anywhere”. This can auto-post to 49 different social medias. The biggies included are LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, Delicious, and WordPress. Users can also use this on their SmartPhone.
Posterous is “the dead simple place to post everything”. This is done directly through your email account. In addition to having it auto-post to 10 social medias, users can attach url links, files, photos, video, blogs, and MP3’s. The largest social medias it works with are Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and WordPress.
Twitter Feed - This works with Twitter, has analytics that are viewed on a personal dashboard, rss capabilities, works with blogs, and improvements have been made to the login process.
Friendfeed states that it’s ”the easiest way to share online”. Users can post something on their phone, Facebook or email and it disperses it to their friends.
Facebook allows users to auto-post to Twitter but only works with Facebook pages so it is ideal for businesses.
EzineArticles has a feature that auto-posts a message on Twitter that indicates a user’s article has been published.
WordPress to Twitter rates very well by users, shortens links and is compatible on WordPress blog versions up to 2.8.4.
Twitter Notify is a blog plugin created by Windows Live Writer Microsoft for Live Writer. It posts to Twitter and shortens the link to a blog post.
xPollinate is another free blog plugin for Live Writer. This can auto-post a portion or an entire blog post to multiple social medias including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and more through Ping.fm.
Socialooph is a free social media management site for managing your Twitter account.
Postling is “social media management for businesses”. It allows multiple people to manage multiple accounts. You can create accounts for your team or your clients and control their access, including which brands they can interact with.

La Mime After My Own Heart

2010-01-16T10:47:00.001-08:00

...., .... .., .. ... ..... ...!

This has got to be the best Mime on the planet. La Mime has figured it out how to be a funny mime. He also keeps in the tradition of being a bit creepy with his since of hummer too. This one particularly poignant because of the new laws in BC regarding cell phones and driving.

Be warned you could be watching this guy for hours.

Great Tweeting Tips for 2010

2010-01-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

Tweeting all the way to the Bank

Be more innovative with Twitter this year. Here are 10 useful tips.
Thanks to Andra Picincu for her great blog post.

1. Expand Networks
Using Twitter, you can join topic groups related to your business and career and gain valuable information from scanning others’ tweets. Your company will gain new customers and potential partners. Do a search for keywords related to your product on Twitter Search and then follow the users.

2. Build Credibility
If you hold free workshops, seminars or web meetings; let people know that it’s starting soon, how to participate and join in by tweeting about it.

3. Highlight Your Tweets
Twitter allows you to share the latest news and events related to your business in 140 characters. Set up a Twitter feed for the specific purpose of notifying customers when new products come in.

4. Look For Leads On Twitter
Twitter can be used to direct traffic to your websites. You can share information that is useful for prospective clients or employers to enhance your reputation.

5. Communicate With Employees
Twitter is a great collaboration tool, which can be successfully used to save time and money.

6. Deals & Promotions
Offer incentives to those who follow you on Twitter. You can give them free coupons, discounts, package deals and samples.

7. Customer Complaints and Service
By accepting customer complaints in the open, other consumers can see what kind of company you really are.

8. Interact With Your Competition
You can read the tweets of your competitors daily and stay in touch with them. Although this rarely happens in the real world, Twitter has changed it all.

9. Organize A Local Tweetup
Twitter can help you organize meetups. All you have to do is to send a message announcing the time and place of the meeting. It’s an informal and effective way of planning a meeting.

10. Brand Loyalty
With Twitter, you can always stay in touch with your followers. All these people are potential customers, so you must help them get used to your products and services. Participate actively to conversations and tweet constantly.

Social Marketing is still marketing: know your audience

2010-01-05T12:56:00.000-08:00

Are you talking to me? ...are you taking to me?

Check out this great blog post that takes you through a wonderful example of how to approach your social marketing as part of your overall marketing strategy. The original blog post was written by Heidi Cool and can be found here.

Social Media Marketing is hip. It seems like everyone wants to get involved, call themselves an expert and use the magical powers of social media to triple sales, recruit students, etc. But social media isn't magic. Social media, like advertising, direct mail and telemarketing is but one of many tools in the marketer's toolbox. Like any tool it needs to be used in the proper context—in conjunction with other marketing strategies. As such social media—when used for marketing—still relies on basic marketing principles such as understanding your target audience, the features and benefits of your product or service, brand awareness and so forth.

Taking the time to narrow your audience to an easily defined niche makes marketing more cost effective. People think of social media as being a free alternative to traditional advertising or direct mail, but making successful connections requires time and labor. By targeting your audience you can focus that labor on connecting with the people who matter most to your goals.

Once you've found that audience you need to connect with them on their own terms if you want to achieve any level of success. Study the usage patterns of the social media services/platforms you intend to use. Find out how your audience uses these tools, then follow their lead. If you put as much effort into tailoring your communication methods to your market as you put into developing a product or service that suits their needs you'll have a far better chance of establishing connections than you would with a more generic approach.

It doesn't take magic, just time, research and work.

Time to Get Ready For 2010

2009-12-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

I see great things happening this year...

Time to start your marketing and advertising for 2010 today. Check out the new trends that are being talked about for this coming year. Thanks to Robert Passikoff for this great post. Predictive loyalty metrics measure the direction and velocity of consumer values 12 to 18 months in advance of the marketplace and consumer articulations of category needs and expectations, they identify future trends with uncanny accuracy.

1) Value is the new closing point  
Consumer spending, even on sale items, will continue to be replaced by a reason-to-buy at all. This spells trouble for brands with no authentic meaning, whether high-end or low.

2) Brands a surrogate for "value" 
What makes goods and services valuable will increasingly be what's wrapped up in the brand and what it stands for. So make sure that you aligh yourself with other great brands.

3) Brand differentiation is Brand Value 
The unique meaning of a brand will increase in importance as generic features continue to plague the brand landscape. Awareness as a meaningful market force has long been obsolete, and differentiation will be critical for success meaning sales and profitability.

4) "Because I Said So" is so over
Brand values can be established as a brand identity, but they must believably exist in the mind of the consumer. A brand can't just say it stands for something and make it so. The consumer will decide, making it more important than ever for a brand to have measures of authenticity that will aid in brand differentiation and consumer engagement.

5) Consumer expectations are growing
 Brands are barely keeping up with consumer expectations now. Smarter marketers will identify and capitalize on unmet expectations. Those brands that understand where the strongest expectations exist will be the brands that survive - and prosper.

6) Old tricks don't work work anymore
In case your brand didn't get the memo here it is, consumers are on to brands trying to play their emotions for profit. In the wake of the financial debacle of this past year, people are more aware then ever of the hollowness of bank ads that claim "we're all in this together" when those same banks have rescinded their credit and turned their retirement plan into case studies.

7) They won't need to know you to love you
As the buying space becomes even more online-driven and international, front-end awareness will become less important. A brand with the right street cred can go viral in days, with awareness following, not leading, the conversation.

8) It's not just buzz
Conversation and community is all; ebay thrives based on consumer feedback. If consumers trust the community, they will extend trust to the brand. Not just word of mouth, but the right word of mouth within the community. This means the coming of a new era of customer care.

9) They're talking to each other before talking to the brand 
Social Networking and exchange of information outside of the brand space will increase. Look for more websites using "Facebook Connect" to share information with the friends from those sites. More companies will become members of Linkedin. Twitter users will spend more money on the Internet than those who don't tweet.

10) Engagement is not a fad
Marketers will come to accept that there are four engagement methods including Platform (TV; online), Context (Program; webpage), Message (Ad or Communication), and Experience (Store/Event). But there is only one objective for the future: Brand Engagement. Marketers will continue to realize that attaining real brand engagement is impossible using out-dated attitudinal models.

Santa Gives the Winter Olympics a Pass

2009-12-25T07:44:00.000-08:00

Santa was quoted in Miami earlier today, "Ho Ho Ho.. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to go because I am not an official corporate Olympic sponsor, so my lawyers told me to give it a miss... but I will be back next year!"

The official "West Coast Canada Santa Visit" went to Lolloowet area this year. The Mayor of Vancouver was disappointed that Vancouver was not honored with Santa's presence but he says, "The Value of the Olympics far outweighed the downside...."

NORAD and Santa Team Up

2009-12-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

Can I Open One Now?

If you're like me waiting for Santa to make his way down your chimney and deliver all those cool new toys you need there is a great new tracking tool from Google Maps.

Santa Snacks
Santa takes breaks during his Christmas Eve trip around the world – especially for snacks left by children. Do you put a snack out for Santa? Kids all over the world do. Some even leave carrots for Santa's reindeer. (Carrots are their favorite food.)

Leaving cookies for Santa is a tradition for many families. Imagine eating that many cookies in one night (burp)!

What the Heck is Google Wave

2009-12-16T09:01:00.001-08:00

But can it wash the dishes, answer the phone and get rid of all my spam...
Edited version from Bob Moss blog post.

If you have not checked out Wave (invitation only, since September this year) you are missing out on one of the coolest and probably most innovative collaboration tool available on the market today..

Oh yea... it FREE too!

Wave is a revolutionary new way to keep in contact with people and collaborate on documents and could completely replace email. The theory is that email is beginning to look a little antiquated, especially when we could be using the features of Web 2.0 with 'waves'.

What exactly is 'waves'?
A wave is best compared to a conversation in an instant messenger, but in the case of a wave, you can chat to yourself or to a whole group of people. Each wave contains a subwave called a 'wavelet', which focuses on a particular aspect of the main wave, and can be manipulated in much the same way. This means one wave can branch out into a number of other waves, but keep all the original associations. Each wavelet contains entries, known as 'blips', posted by the various collaborators, extension apps, or even automated robots you converse with. These can contain anything, including text and video, and mean that your wave becomes diverse and dynamic, with content that's constantly updated, either from an external source or your fellow collaborators. A document, in wave terms, contains the content of each blip. You slowly build up and manipulate the various blips to produce in-depth conversations or collaborative papers. You can then embed your wave document into a webpage, so it can act like an interactive and automatically updating wiki. It's also possible to export everything into a final file for printing or sending to your fellow collaborators.

Spell checking that think for you.
You are less likely to suffer from spelling mistakes or grammatical errors than you would with a wiki, thanks to Google's innovative natural language tools. These adapt depending on the context of your writing, and pick the most likely suggestion when it compares against the text that came before. This means you could type "I have bean eating beens" and have this automatically corrected to the sentence you expected as you type, without the need for any further intervention.

Waves have full support for you to drag and drop files, text snippets or any web content. This will automatically be added to your document as a blip. This makes things much more interactive. As expected, you can also embed other Google services such as calendars, YouTube video, Picasa images and so on into your waves. As a document creator, only the people you explicitly specify as collaborators can alter your work. You can remove collaborators at any time and cycle back through the changes they might have made.

Expect lots of great new plug-ins and applets
Google has open-sourced the open-transport layer as well as large swathes of the main code, so developers can build their own extensions using the Wave API. One such extension enables you to embed Twitter feeds into a document, thereby creating a 'twave' and enabling real-time communication over another protocol while still integrating seamlessly into the interface. This can then be extended by programming robots. Developers can program robots that create blips and respond in particular ways to content in other waves and external websites. They can even respond to you sending them messages, which means you can ask your robot for the latest sports scores and be told instantly. To include your robot in any wave, just add it as a collaborator, and off you go.

OK so how do you get a Wave Invitation. Find someone who has a Gmail account and ask them. If they are using their Gmail account properly they already have a Wave account setup and it not then they will thank you when they get all set up in Google Wave.

More great info:
Complete guide Blog on Google wave

Take 2 Asprins and Get Marketing Now

2009-12-16T07:46:00.000-08:00

I have a headake just thinking about these numbers.

One of the few industries that have actually increased their marketing budget (2.457 Billion) over the last several years is "Big Pharma". Even though they are making billions in profit they are aware that in the cut-through industry of pharmaceutical wonder drugs R&D does not guarantee success. One company has increased its advertising budget by 160 percent and most are ramping up their budgets as we exit the recession.

If they see that the only way to get a great product (or idea) to market is to spend more of marketing and cut budgets in other places should send a strong signal to all businesses. If your not aggressively marketing your business than you are fighting a loosing battle against the companies that are.

Now is not the time to go crazy and overspend on ineffective marketing ideas. If you have limited funds in marketing then you should be rearranging your cash flow to get more marketing and advertising campaigns moving sooner are rather than later. If nothing we have learnt that the business that comes out of a recession with a strong well executed marketing plan is often the leader in their segment for years and sometimes decades.

Wow... Check the Next Generation Trailer - Avatar

2009-12-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

Now this look like a good waist of cash...

Just downloaded a new Adobe program to run this trailer for Avatar. You can click on the images to see larger versions.

Lots of very cool "game like" interface design.
A taste of what the internet information programs will be like in the future.
If you have a high-end computer with lots of bandwidth then I recommend you check it out.

The trailer runs then stops at designated people or creatures and you have a choice of watching an in-depth info video on that subject or continuing with the trailer. Very nice interface idea and I can see this being a great new format for interactive news that will once again blow away the TV experience.

Enjoy

How to Roast Bob Garlick

2009-12-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

Just a tad more garlic with my peppered tofu please

How To Roast Garlic on Howcast

Just kidding but if you have every tried "roast garlic" at a restaurant and wanted to try it at home look no further.

Cool New Interactive Screen Technolagy

2009-12-11T12:07:00.001-08:00

Look ma no fingers...

For those of you who would like to see the next step in screen interaction, check out this video from the team that is experimenting with this new technology. For a more detailed description and a lot a technical jargon go to this website.

 The simplest way to explain how the system works, Lanman says, is to imagine that, instead of an LCD, an array of pinholes is placed in front of the sensors. Light passing through each pinhole will strike a small block of sensors, producing a low-resolution image. Since each pinhole image is taken from a slightly different position, all the images together provide a good deal of depth information about whatever lies before the screen.

 An array of liquid crystals could simulate a sheet of pinholes simply by displaying a pattern in which, say, the central pixel in each 19-by-19 block of pixels is white (transparent) while all the others are black.

Great Website's for You and Your Business

2009-12-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Everything is only a click away these days...

I am constantly discovering great new websites and wanted to share with you the ones I find most useful. Here are some I use almost ever day:

www.yousentit.com is a great free FTP service. You can send files up to 100MB to anyone you like and it keeps the file link live for 7 days.

iStock photos is the internet's original member-generated image rental library. Get easy, affordable inspiration with millions of safe, royalty-free photographs, vector illustrations, video footage, audio tracks and Flash files.

Mindmeister.com brings the concept of mind mapping to the web, using its facilities for real-time collaboration to allow truly global brainstorming sessions. Users can create, manage and share mind maps online and access them anytime, from anywhere. In brainstorming mode, fellow MindMeisters from around the world (or just in different rooms) can simultaneously work on the same mind map and see each other's changes as they happen.

Identafont.com the largest independent directory of typefaces on the Internet, with information about fonts from 587 publishers and 158 vendors.

www.lipsum.com is a great resource for fake filler text. Just copy and paste the text into a design you are working. There are also great options for adding this function to other applications like firefox, dreamweaver and ActionScript3.

Welcome to the world of colors where you're sure to find the perfect color combination for your project. This site was built to help web developers quickly select and test website color combinations.

Need a great web templates for free and right now. Open Web Design is a community of designers and site owners sharing free web design templates as well as web design information. Helping to make the internet a prettier place!

DownLoadSquad.com has a link to free music websites. So if you need some music to make a radio or internet video sound great, go no further.

Need to fax someone, look no further for a great free faxing service.

Photobucket will keep all your pics and videos in one place - room for up to 5,000 photos and hours of video! Share with everyone you know by email, IM or mobile phone. Make slideshows with music, special effects, captions, and more. Link to your profile, blog or website.

Ignore Everybody

2009-12-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

I just want people to love the art...

I've been following this guy for years and love his cartoons and wonderful punch-lines. Check out his blog and buy his book for someone who; is, wants or doesn't understand Creativity....

So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years.

Ignore everybody.
The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.
Put the hours in.
If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being “discovered” by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
You are responsible for your own experience.
Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
Keep your day job.
Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside.
Dying young is overrated.
The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.
The world is changing.
Merit can be bought. Passion can’t.
Avoid the Water-cooler Gang.
Sing in your own voice.
The choice of media is irrelevant.
Selling out is harder than it looks.
Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
Worrying about “Commercial vs. Artistic” is a complete waste of time.
Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
You have to find your own schtick.
Write from the heart.
The best way to get approval is not to need it.
Power is never given. Power is taken.
Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.
The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.
Remain frugal.
Allow your work to age with you.
Being Poor Sucks.
Beware of turning hobbies into jobs.
Savor obscurity while it lasts.
Start blogging.
Meaning Scales, People Don’t.

Simple, Powerful and Effective

2009-12-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

Sand in my shoes...

A wonderful performance piece by Kseniya Simonova (born 1985) is a sand animator from Ukraine. She started drawing with sand after her business collapsed due to the early 21st century credit crunch and had been drawing for less than a year when she entered Ukraine's Got Talent.

She became the 2009 Winner of Ukraine's Got Talent, constructing an animation that portrayed life during USSR's Great Patriotic War against the Third Reich in World War II. Simonova won USD $125,000 for her first place in the show. This YouTube video of the performance has received more than 9,444,000 million hits.

Take a Great Train Ride to a Happier Mood

2009-12-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

For all the people who need to smile today.

Great Content from a Friend in High Places

2009-11-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a great read in the afternoon...

I received a wonderful piece of prose from an old friend today and I enjoyed it tremendously. This to me is a fine example of content that works. If you are going to create prose for your website or blog this is a great benchmark to strive for. The piece is informative, provocative and fun to read. When was the last time you got a chance to read something of this caliber on a blog or website?

Remember the golden rule of content:
It has to be well written and it can't be about you... that is, if you want people to come back for some more.

Mediocrity: The Old Enemy
Roger Beaumont
Editor and English Language Consultant, Centre for Bhutanese Studies, Thimphu, Bhutan

JA Smith, professor of moral philosophy at Oxford University, opened a lecture course in 1914, just before the First World War, with:

“Nothing that you will learn in the course of your studies will be of the slightest possible use to you in after life, save only this – if you work hard and intelligently you should be able to detect when a man is talking rubbish. And that, in my view, is the main, if not the sole, purpose of education.”

After the Second World War, Mr Fawcett, my housemaster at Charney Hall prep school in England’s Lake District, might have returned to his fellowship at Oxford, but instead he took the momentous decision to become a school teacher. Having seen so much destruction wreaked upon civilisation, he thought that he could more directly help to rebuild the world by influencing young people in their most formative years.

With his enthusiasm and patience, his care for the individual, his insatiable curiosity, and his breadth of interest and knowledge, he was, like all the best teachers, a walking – often running – advertisement for education. He had the gift of being frequently, in Wordsworth’s phrase, “surprised by joy”. He paid us the intimidating compliment of treating our ideas as equal to his own.

If a pupil turned in a shoddy piece of work, the look of cosmic dismay on Mr Fawcett’s usually benign face made the errant boy feel that his lapse had short-changed not just the tutor or the school, but the whole of civilisation.

Only one thing consoled me about taking exams: they couldn’t possibly ask me everything I didn’t know.

Meanwhile, Hugh Duncan, the headmaster, was a tall, frightening, impressive figure, and not always friendly. He was an old-fashioned disciplinarian and a stickler for courtesy, dress standards and manners. I was often, no, always, shaking with fear before he entered the room, knowing what was to come; my mistakes and his expsoure of them. He taught us maths in a dingy classroom that had the sort of atmosphere that attracts unmanned probes from Nasa. I had enough trouble with figures, so when they started introducing letters with Algebra, I was utterly shipwrecked. I still think Algebra is the most soddingly, useless subject ever devised, and probably invented by a Greek dyslexic bent on revenge.

On the last day of term in our final year, the headmaster amazed us with a lesson we never forgot. It was on “Maths and its Principles”, for which he used a famous anecdote by the writer George Bernard Shaw.

“Would you sleep with me for 20,000 pounds?” Shaw once asked a woman. She thought about it and acknowledged that, theoretically, she would. “Good,” said Shaw, “So, would you sleep with me for sixpence?”

The lady became indignant. “What sort of woman do you think I am?” she exploded. “We’ve established what sort of woman you are,” Shaw pointed out, “we’re merely haggling over the price.”

And we grinned, like the dirty minded little schoolboys we were.

Mr Duncan drove a Rover, in which he proceeded with magisterial slowness. To me, at 12 years old, it symbolised authority, status, dependability, all of which I lacked. The school minibus, an ancient Bedford, struggled with the Lakeland gradients and did not always win. At the wheel would be the serene figure of Mr Fawcett, though it was hard to say if more smoke poured from his pipe or through the Bedford’s floorboards. Going downhill was a different matter. As it picked up speed, we, scrunched up in the back seats, swayed like sea anemones.

Believing that boys should be neither cosseted nor cowed, Duncan ran the school on robust, rural lines. Long walks, cold dormitories and loud hymn-singing were an integral part of our education, along with cricket nets and Latin prose. Despite a brisk code of discipline, he took a laissez-faire approach outside the classroom. Every November 5, (Bonfire Night) the smallest boy in the school was sent to crawl through a tunnel and meet a pile of combustibles to set light the very core of the bonfire. Nobody, so far as anyone can recall, ever failed to crawl out again. Thank fuck my name never came up.

On Sunday mornings the entire school walked to church and back, while in the afternoons the pupils were sent up to the fells (hills) behind the school. Older boys were allowed to roam unsupervised. Few failed to relish the freedom, and many developed a lifelong taste for hill walking. And I have it and love it.

What central heating there was in the school buildings was not always effective, or even switched on. Boys were permitted to capture owls and keep them in the carpenters shop, provided we also caught enough sparrows for them to feed on. Wicked.

A total dweeb (idiot, prat) called Atkinson, cruelly described as “useless as an Abo’s tit”, was given the task of rearing a lamb to which he developed some emotional attachment. The animal – called ''Lottie'' if memory serves – disappeared shortly before the school’s Christmas feast, and Atkinson realised the significance only when he was the first to go up for second helpings.

At that tiny, extraordinay, school it was instilled into us that the more we knew the more we could “bring to the table” and, to never, ever, take power or wealth into consideration when assessing someone’s worth. Some of the most brutal and vicious people this world has ever seen were – and are – powerful and rich. We were advised to stay well clear of anything that diminishes life and robs it of its diversity. Our differences should be “grounds for celebration and new learning, not for mistrust and genocide”.

But the real enemy, we were taught, was mediocrity, because “mediocrity is the hairball coughed up on the carpet of creation” as Tom Robbins so neatly put it. With discipline there was a chance of being creative; without it, there was no chance at all.

It has been written that education is what survives when what was learned has been forgotten. Spot on. These days, people no longer want to learn, they just want to know. But it doesn’t work like that. If people buy into this, they can only immature with age.

We are all formed early, and Atkinson, the prat who fattened the school lamb, is now raising emus outside Darwin and making more money than all of us.

Don't Believe Everything You Google

2009-11-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

But it must be true it's on the Internet

If you write marketing or advertising copy, the words that you use are vitally important.

For example:
Would you rather have a car, or a new car?
Would you rather have a solution or a proven solution?

Do you see the difference?
The key is to use selling words in a way that is natural and not contrived. Even if you don’t write marketing or advertising copy, you may be able to use these words to liven up otherwise dull writing.

Here is a list of twenty-five words to help you sell.
New
Proven
Improved
Guaranteed
Free
Tested
Pure
Best
Fresh
Sure
Secure
Natural
Refreshing
Energizing
Safe
Quality
Dependable
Secure
Advanced
Easy
Convenient
Quick
Instant
Save
Personal

So after doing the above blog post I wondered "what are the top words on the Internet these days". I googled this query and got a list (see link fro PDF). After taking a closer look I started to see some weirdness. So before you slap down some fact into your blog or brochure make sure you aren't being duped.

The Importance of Good Social Media

2009-11-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

It's all about me it's all about me

Why will your video fail. Because it's all about you and no one cares. If you want to have lots of people check out your video it better be entertaining, weird or both. Also when it comes to how may friends you have on Facebook or how many people follow you on Twitter, the numbers are meaningless unless you are willing to go out-of-your-way to help those people.

Check out what Seth says.

Who Loves Great Ads

2009-11-16T14:14:00.000-08:00

Turn the channel please...

Check out this great opportunity to participate in choosing great TV ads.

In December, the editors at AdweekMedia will select the best marketing, media and agency performances of the decade, covering 2000 through 2009, across the 33 categories.

They will choose the best; people, companies, brands, products and creative work that most influenced the industry and came to define the era.

Social Media All The Way To The 2010 Olympics

2009-11-13T20:13:00.001-08:00

Sven is going to the Olympics come hell or high snowbanks. Because he is running his campaign an a shoestring budget he needs to use the free social media resources that are available these days. There's no point raising $30,000 if you have to spend $50,000 to $100,000 placing ads on TV and radio or just in local newspapers. Check out Sven Winters new promotional video and website to see what can be done with little of no budget and a lot of heart.

Check out all his other social media tools to get a better idea of how he is branding himself consistently throughout the internet.
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube
Website
LinkedIn

Internet Ads That Actually Utilize the Format

2009-11-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

Who took my remote control?

It is very rare to see ads that actually use the internet as part of the ad. These links are great examples of what we should be striving for when coming up with ideas that will entertain and inform.

Check this one out for a great example of changing the way a person experiences a YouTube video sample. This one is good too, because it uses references to the internets past and takes a old concept to the next level.

Interesting food for thought, why isn't the advertising on the internet much more interactive and why does it still mimic TV ads?

Very Cool Interactive Jobless Graph

2009-11-07T21:03:00.001-08:00

But I still want a job...

It's not often that you actually get to see great interactive information graphics on the net these days. This one has to be up there as one of my favorites. Entertaining, quick access to information and clean graphics.

Check it out for your self.

Is Social Media a Fad?

2009-11-01T07:19:00.001-08:00

I don't want to be a tool of the social revolution....
Hang on I want to post that to my friends

Check out this great viral video for some staggering facts about social media. If you can read everything on this video in one go, your a faster reader than me. Don't forget to repost this video on your Facebook account, Twitter feed and send it to your Linked in contacts...

How Dangeous is Swine Flu?

2009-10-27T18:52:00.001-07:00

Cough cough attention please...

Click to make bigger

Ok lots of hype for death and the Swine Flu, but lets get it all into a bit of perspective please.

Click to make bigger

Or if your just curious about how you can be killed try this fun graph. Based on this graph I think I better start taking better care of my heart and not worry too much about the flu.

Google Camera Car in Vancouver

2009-10-26T07:20:00.001-07:00

Is that me in Vancouver?

I have been having fun checking out what streets views from the Google Camera Car today. Not all of the streets are mapped out yet and some of the area you would think a "must-have" are missing. Some great time wasting potential is just a click away thanks to our friends at google.

Check out the snooping shots I was able to grab in 15 minutes.

Pigeon Park where all the cool people hang out. An interesting snoop trick is to take a right or left at a corner where there is no action adn see what's happening later in the day or a couple of days later. With Pigeon Park you get the gang hanging out on on e angle and then the gang getting food handouts on the other.

Pigeon park food distribution

Blenz at corner of Cambie and Broadway. If you like loud music and coffee this is the coffee-shop for you.

The Camera reflected on glass

The Steam Clock with no tourists

Take a Break and Cook a Perfect Egg

2009-10-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

But I wanted a fried egg...

Just finished reading an exhaustive article on how to cook a perfect boiled egg. So for all the people out there who have wanted to know the secret here you go.

Start with cold tap water and place eggs in saucepan, bring it up to a bare simmer, then immediately shut off the heat, the water temperature will drop to below 170 degrees just as the central yolk temperature reaches 170 degrees, thereby guaranteeing that my egg will be perfectly cooked every single time.

The water volume should be about 1.5 quarts (6 cups). You may have to tweak the volume a bit to figure out your own perfect volume of water. However when you do you should be able to produce a consistent boiled egg every time.

Have a great breakfast.

Marketing Effectively On The Internet Can Be Expensive

2009-10-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

Can I borrow 10 million to place an ad campaign on the net?

Click for a very big graphic

There’s no secret that different types of websites attract different levels and types of advertisers – but the variance is rarely elaborated upon.

For instance, Facebook’s top 100 advertisers spend $49,045,000 per month, while the top 100 advertisers of IMDB ($7,217,400), CNET ($3,094,000), and NYTimes ($7,128,500) combined spend about 1/3 ($17,740,000) that of Facebook. This of course addresses the levels of ad revenue by popular sites, and is just one of the findings from the most recent Nielsen AdRelevance report. Of special note are AT&T’s spending trends, and the rate at which this brand has invested online, especially in the four sites included in the study.

Check out Shaukat Shamim's site for more great internet marketing insights.

Get Everyone Communicating

2009-10-23T07:50:00.001-07:00

But I thought you had the meeting notes...

There are lots of great free stuff on the net these days and this one has some great tools to help you be a better informed marketer. PC World gave it an editors choice for "Great Fee software" too. Check out this site to see what other things this tool can do for you.

Manage your brand awareness on the Internet
Gather, discuss and share all brand mentions easily with your team, your management and your sales force. Analyze easily how their brand is growing and make changes to campaigns or stop unwarranted brand-based attacks.

Crawl your competitors' heads
Qitera helps marketers to analyze easily competitor's websites, news releases and on-line brand awareness in the media, on consumer-generated blogs and message boards.

Event Management
Share, discuss and update event details with your team members. Gather information on speakers, locations, food and hospitality specialists.

Creative brainstorming with your teams
Group brainstorming can be very effective as it uses the experience and creativity of all members of the group. Gather, share and discuss ideas from all over the web and combine them with your own ideas to prepare future events and marketing plans or campaigns.

What if I could have booked one of the first .coms...

2009-10-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

No way I can't believe that they forgot that one...

With all the hype for the DotTel domain option bubbling away in Vancouver I was reminded of the old days when .com domain names where available to anyone who wanted a cool name. Check out this list and see if you would have chosen one of them or picked a different .com for your business.

The 100 Oldest .COM Domains

Create Date		Domain Name
03/15/1985		SYMBOLICS.COM
04/24/1985		BBN.COM
05/24/1985		THINK.COM
07/11/1985		MCC.COM
09/30/1985		DEC.COM
11/07/1985		NORTHROP.COM
01/09/1986		XEROX.COM
01/17/1986		SRI.COM
03/03/1986		HP.COM
03/05/1986		BELLCORE.COM
03/19/1986		IBM.COM
03/19/1986		SUN.COM
03/25/1986		INTEL.COM
03/25/1986		TI.COM
04/25/1986		ATT.COM
05/08/1986		GMR.COM
05/08/1986		TEK.COM
07/10/1986		FMC.COM
07/10/1986		UB.COM
08/05/1986		BELL-ATL.COM
08/05/1986		GE.COM
08/05/1986		GREBYN.COM
08/05/1986		ISC.COM
08/05/1986		NSC.COM
08/05/1986		STARGATE.COM
09/02/1986		BOEING.COM
09/18/1986		ITCORP.COM
09/29/1986		SIEMENS.COM
10/18/1986		PYRAMID.COM
10/27/1986		ALPHACDC.COM
10/27/1986		BDM.COM
10/27/1986		FLUKE.COM
10/27/1986		INMET.COM
10/27/1986		KESMAI.COM
10/27/1986		MENTOR.COM
10/27/1986		NEC.COM
10/27/1986		RAY.COM
10/27/1986		ROSEMOUNT.COM
10/27/1986		VORTEX.COM
11/05/1986		ALCOA.COM
11/05/1986		GTE.COM
11/17/1986		ADOBE.COM
11/17/1986		AMD.COM
11/17/1986		DAS.COM
11/17/1986		DATA-IO.COM
11/17/1986		OCTOPUS.COM
11/17/1986		PORTAL.COM
11/17/1986		TELTONE.COM
12/11/1986		3COM.COM
12/11/1986		AMDAHL.COM
12/11/1986		CCUR.COM
12/11/1986		CI.COM
12/11/1986		CONVERGENT.COM
12/11/1986		DG.COM
12/11/1986		PEREGRINE.COM
12/11/1986		QUAD.COM
12/11/1986		SQ.COM
12/11/1986		TANDY.COM
12/11/1986		TTI.COM
12/11/1986		UNISYS.COM
01/19/1987		CGI.COM
01/19/1987		CTS.COM
01/19/1987		SPDCC.COM
02/19/1987		APPLE.COM
03/04/1987		NMA.COM
03/04/1987		PRIME.COM
04/04/1987		PHILIPS.COM
04/23/1987		DATACUBE.COM
04/23/1987		KAI.COM
04/23/1987		TIC.COM
04/23/1987		VINE.COM
04/30/1987		NCR.COM
05/14/1987		CISCO.COM
05/14/1987		RDL.COM
05/20/1987		SLB.COM
05/27/1987		PARCPLACE.COM
05/27/1987		UTC.COM
06/26/1987		IDE.COM
07/09/1987		TRW.COM
07/13/1987		UNIPRESS.COM
07/27/1987		DUPONT.COM
07/27/1987		LOCKHEED.COM
07/28/1987		ROSETTA.COM
08/18/1987		TOAD.COM
08/31/1987		QUICK.COM
09/03/1987		ALLIED.COM
09/03/1987		DSC.COM
09/03/1987		SCO.COM
09/22/1987		GENE.COM
09/22/1987		KCCS.COM
09/22/1987		SPECTRA.COM
09/22/1987		WLK.COM
09/30/1987		MENTAT.COM
10/14/1987		WYSE.COM
11/02/1987		CFG.COM
11/09/1987		MARBLE.COM
11/16/1987		CAYMAN.COM
11/16/1987		ENTITY.COM
11/24/1987		KSR.COM
11/30/1987		NYNEXST.COM

How the Internet is Changing New Car Sales

2009-10-13T18:20:00.000-07:00

Click click vroom vroom...

Anyone who has shopped for a new car online has likely been disappointed with the scope of services actually available. You can access a wealth of car data, but very little is available in the way of vehicle availability or discounted prices. You generally still have to go down to the dealership and haggle for hours to get any kind of a deal.

Well, this is finally changing thanks to an Internet new-car buying service called Best Price Express. The Vancouver company is the first in Canada to enable consumers to negotiate new car prices online. Users of the service receive hefty discounts and save substantial amounts of time and hassle. The company is already an approved provider to Vancouver Coastal Health is growing at an impressive rate. Their success lies in a fixed transaction fee of $95-$195 depending on the model, which they say replaces the multi-thousand dollar target of the typical car lot sales team. This, together with high-volume relationships at top dealers through-out Western Canada, is enabling Best Price Express to re-invent the process of buying a new car, for the better. The company’s website features video testimonials that suggest they may have actually improved a traditionally hated process.

Led by Top Producer Systems founder Randy Purcell, the company is currently expanding nationally and aims to be effectively serving the U.S. by the end of 2010. Check them out at www.bestpriceexpress.ca

What are the advantages of a .tel address

2009-10-09T10:51:00.001-07:00

Is that who I think it was...?

Check out this ad from England featuring a well known TV celebrity to get a fun spin on why you should have a .tel account. Or you could use it to pick up new business contacts in a pinch.

All about .tel

2009-10-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

Get your .tel to speak to my .tel and to set up lunch...

If you don't have a.tel account then it's time you got one.

If you do have a .tel account this post should fill you in on any question you may have regarding .tel accounts.

Dot Tel Hosting
Q and A

General

Q: Can I run a commercial directory under a .tel domain?
A: You are absolutely allowed under the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to run a commercial directory-style service under your .tel domain; the restrictions are that you are not allowed to sub-delegate the management of that contact information to a third party.

Q: Can registrants use a .TEL for an email addresses?
A: Yes, it is possible to have an email address using your .TEL (i.e. adam@smith.tel)

Q: I cannot log in.
A: Please make sure your username and password are correct. If you cannot remember the correct password, please click "Forgotten your password?" on the login page and type in the email address that you used to register your .tel domain. The system will send you a message with temporary passwords for all .tel domains associated with that email address.

Q: Can I manage all my .TEL domains from the same control panel?
A: Yes, all your .TEL domains can be managed from the .TEL management console. Select the domain that you wish to switch to in the upper right-hand corner of the panel.

Note: If you bought another domain(s) with another company, it would be editable from a different URL.
If you do not see a .TEL domain that you own, it may not be associated with your user account. You must verify if the domain name is registered with Webnames.ca.

Q: It says "To share your private data, please Activate TelFriends".
A: This is not an error. TelFriends is a free service for managing all your Friends in one place. By default, this feature is not active. To share your private data with friends, you will need to activate this feature by signing up to TelFriends. Please note that it could take up to 30 minutes to receive the confirmation email once you have signed up for TelFriends.

Q: A part of the page disappeared.
A: If you do not see a part of the Dashboard page, you might have accidentally clicked the title of one of the panes, such as Text Header or Contact Information. Your .tel control panel allows you to roll up panes that you are not using to optimize space on your Dashboard. To see the hidden pane, click the heading, and it will roll down.

Q: Can I add a logo to my .TEL page?
A: No. Your ".TEL page" is a page generated by the registry to display all .TEL contacts and you cannot personalize it.

Q: I understand TelHosting is available in 10 languages in addition to English. What are they and how do I access them?
A: Effective July 2, 2009, Telhosting is supported in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. The language shown will be automatically determined from the language settings within your Internet browser, so your Telhosting view will be in French if your browser preferred language is set to French. To change your default language in your browser, under “Tools” go to “Internet Options” and under the “General” tab, click on the “Language” button. Add the language of your preference and move it up to your preferred language. You will instantly see your Telhosting page updated to the appropriate language.

Text Header

Q: How do I add text?
A: In your .TEL management console, double-click the grey area at the top, type in your text and click save. To edit or delete, double-click again.

Q: There is no delete button. How do I remove text?
A: Simply edit the text header to erase everything and click Save.

Q: Why doesn't my text header show in my .tel?
A: The text header you entered may belong to an inactive profile. Make sure that the text you are editing is in the profile with "(active)" in the name.

Contacts

Q: How many items of contact information can be stored in a .tel domain?
A: Technically, there is no limit to the amount of information that can be stored in a .tel domain. However, depending on the size of the contact info you manage, your service provider may charge more. For further details regarding this, please talk to your service provider.

Q: I cannot add a contact.
A: If you enter your contact details but cannot save it, you may have used the wrong format; a red band should appear at the top of the window with instructions on the correct format for labels and the contact information itself. If you're trying to enter a phone number, use international format, e.g. +442074676400 – no letters, spaces or special symbols. Also, the domain name is case sensitive. Only use lower case letters for the domain name.

Q: How do I add extension numbers?
A: If you need to specify your extension number in addition to the main number, type in the extension in the Label field. Your contact value should follow the international format and contain no letters or spaces. This way, you phone number will always be in the 'click-to-call' format.

Q: How do I preview a contact?
A: Once you save your contact, it gets published to the DNS and is instantly available in your .tel. Type in your .tel name in a new browser window to see how others see your page.

Q: Where is the delete button?
A: To remove a contact item, Select the contact you wish to delete, and choose Delete from the Actions drop-down box at the top of the contacts list. Note: deleting the contact record is permanent; consider disabling the contact instead to make it invisible but retained in case you need to show it again. You can delete any contact item, except for the last item of public contact information in your .tel. You must always have at least one public contact item, such as a website link or phone number.

Q: How do I add a link to another .TEL domain?
Create a new contact, website link and add the .TEL domain name there.

Q: My contact does not show in my .tel.
If you added a contact item on your Dashboard, but it does not show up on your .tel page when viewed in a browser, the contact item may be private (viewed only by friends who have logged in your .tel), disabled (added to the Dashboard but not published) or inactive (added to a profile that is not currently active). Edit the contact in the Dashboard to ensure that it’s public and in the active profile.

Q: How do I move a contact around?
A: You can re-order contact items by clicking the arrows icon in the list of contacts and moving the contact up or down. You may wish to change the order for a more user-friendly experience for your visitors.

Q: Can I do bulk data imports, e.g., many telephone numbers at once?
A: No facility is provided in the standard web interface for bulk uploads at the moment, although it may be at later stages.

Q: I entered my postal address, but it does not show up in my page.
A: If you use Location to add your address, it is stored as a Google maps link so that you can click it and see it on the map. If you want to display the address in your .TEL page, use keywords.

Q: How do I remove links to my subfolders from the list of contacts?
A: Currently, the web interface automatically adds links to all sub-folders in your parent folder. You cannot remove those links but you can re-order them to make them look better.

Keywords

Q: Only a part of my keywords list is added.
A: Your free text and hobbies keyword categories are limited to 255 bytes; any text beyond this limit is not published. Please consider using other categories and reducing the message. Keywords are not intended for storing long paragraphs.

Q: I clicked Save but my keywords were lost.
A: When you click add to include keywords in your domain, you see multiple tabs. Clicking save saves the keywords only in the current tab, not all the keywords you entered. Make sure you click save on each tab not to lose any.

Q: The address fields are in the wrong order.
A: If you wish to change the way your keywords are displayed, simply drag-and-drop the fields as needed by using the buttons on the side.

Q: My text (or keywords) doesn't show correctly.
A: Are you trying to add non-ASCII characters? The .TEL supports UTF-8 encoding so you should be fine. Check your web browser encoding settings.

Profiles

Q: Why are some contacts grey?
A: Contacts are not included into the current profile are greyed out on the Dashboard. To add these contacts to the profile, tick the contact and select Add to profile in the Actions box.

Q: I do not need profiles, I just want to add a few contacts.
A: Profiles are optional and are included into .tel for your convenience. When you start, you have a "default" profile, where all your contacts get added. If you do not wish to set up any other profiles, you do not need to.

Location

Q: My location does not show as my address.
A: The Location record is a combination of longitude and latitude displayed as a map entry. If you want to publish a postal address, use the keywords or the text header.

Q: How do I make my location private?
A: Your Location is always public in .tel. If you wish to add a private location, you can use other services, such as BrightKite, and add links to those as private contacts.

Q: What if I want to add more than one address?
A: Normally, you cannot be in more than one place at a time. If you need to enter multiple locations, such as temporary and permanent, consider adding them to the text header in different profiles, and switching between profiles depending on your current location. If you wish to have several locations displayed simultaneously, enter them as keywords and use the Label field to describe each location. Remember that keywords are always public, so don't put your home address in there if you do not want it to be publicly available.

Folders

Q: How do I add a private contact to a sub-folder?
A: All contacts in sub-folders are public and visible to all. If you wish to add private information, please use your main domain folder.

Q: Can I have direct links to my sub-folders?
A: Yes, folders are sub-domains of your domain, so you can enter their names in a browser - the folder name comes before your domain name. For example, if yourname.tel has a folder social, you can go to that folder directly by entering http://social.yourname.tel in a browser.

Q: How do I delete a folder?
A: Hover your mouse beside the folder name in the Folders pane on the left; when you see the Delete button, click it.

Q: How do I delete a link to a folder?
A: When you create a folder, a link to that folder is automatically added to your .tel. Similarly, when you delete the folder, the link is deleted as well.

Q: How do I rename a folder?
A: You cannot change the sub-folder name; to change the folder name, create a new folder, copy all contacts from the old folder to the new one (in the old folder, do 'Select all' and in the Actions drop-down box, select 'move to...'), and then delete the old folder.

Q: Can I move everything to another folder?
A: You can select multiple or all contacts and keywords in a folder and choose move to… in the Actions box to migrate the contacts to another folder. You cannot move/or copy locations, text headers or whole folders.

Friends

Q: Why do I have to log in again in the control panel?
A: After you activate TelFriends and create an account, you need to log into TelFriends once in your .tel control panel, so that it remembers your login and gets friend messages for you.

Q: I returned from vacation and do not see any new friend messages.
A: Your friend message box may overflow if you do not act on your messages. If this happens, people will not be able to send you friend requests. To make space for new friend requests, accept or reject existing messages, and they will be deleted to allow new message requests to be sent.

Q: How do I invite somebody to be a 'friend' of my domain?
A: Currently, you cannot pro-actively invite people to be friends of your domain. However, anybody can request to be added to your friend list by sending a friend request using a form on your .TEL web page. In addition, a .TEL domain owner can send such a request from their .TEL management console, Friends tab, list of messages, send button.

Q: I received the error "Not associated with a TelFriends account."
A: That's normal. This means that you do not have a TelFriends account associated with this domain. You only need to be registered at TelFriends if you plan publishing private information on your .TEL. If you do, click the Sign Up link in the TelFriends login .

Privacy

Q: I cannot add new Friends.
A: You need to have an active TelFriends account to add friends that can see your private data. By default this feature is inactive, and you only see the default Friend groups and yourself on the Privacy tab. For more details on Friending, see Your Guide to .tel. If you have an active TelFriends account, you can accept friend requests to allow people to access your private data. You cannot proactively invite people to be friends of your .tel, because they need to have a TelFriends account first.

Q: I'm in the Privacy tab and cannot add a new contact to the group.
A: To allow friends in the current group see a contact, click Add inside the table Items in Group and select the contact you wish to add from the list of existing public and private contact items. If you wish to add a completely new contact item to this group, follow the instructions in Your Guide to .tel.

Q: Why does the system only show my contacts in Privacy? What about location, text?
A: Currently, the system only supports encryption of contact information, so your text header and location will always be publicly available. If you do not wish to share your current location, consider not publishing it in your .TEL.

Q: How do I create a private contact in a subfolder?
A: At the moment, only your main domain can store private contacts, so all information in sub-folders is always public. If you wish to hide individual contacts in a sub-folder, consider moving the contact to your main domain or not publishing that information in your .TEL.

Q: How do I make a contact visible to my friends only?
A: Several ways to do it:

(a) In the Dashboard, click edit, go to Advanced tab, and select private specifying the friend group(s) you wish to add the private contact to; you can select multiple items at once.

(b) in the Privacy tab, see the group that you wish to show the contact to, and in Items in Group, select Add. You will see the list of records that are not shown to the current group. Select the one(s) you want, and click save.

Note that the Dashboard shows the record as private after you add it to a Friends group.

Happy 10th Birthday Blogger

2009-10-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

Looks like it's that time of yea again.

Just noticed the Blogger icon has changed. Nice little Easter Egg for the day.
The name of the png file is "logo40_bd10" so Blogger must be 10 today.

Happy Birthday Blogger.

Must-Have Bloggers Links

2009-09-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Wow it's that new interactive living room remote.

If you are blogging or just want to know what is required to get your blog up and running, this is your lucky day. On my adventures browsing the web I ran across this little beauty. I was genially impressed to find over 170 links related to Blogging that cover the following topics:

Registrars
Hosts
CMS
Designs
Advertise
RSS
Communication Tools
Resources
Inspiration
Tutorials
Blogs
Making Money
Tools
Other
Social Marketing

Well worth a visit even for a seasoned pro. I spent some time checking out many of these links and there is a ton of great information for anyone interested in creating a blog site that is functional as well as profitable.

So get ready for some serious clicking and remember to make notes of the links that can help you right away. I didn't and ended up traveling through many of the links again just to find a piece of awesome information.

Beware of the Social Media Rock Stars

2009-09-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

I've got blisters from my keyboard...

Check out this post from Axel Schultze. If you like it here's the original post.

The social media rock stars who do a few campaign masterpieces are finding new competition from business process savvy consultants who take social media way beyond the campaign level on the marketing side. Co-creation is the known buzzword, listening to customers and building the right next-generation product the executable part of it.

The social media marketing campaign is only one piece of the cross functional social media puzzle. Even before developing a social media strategy a comprehensive assessment of customers, brand, partners and competitors is typically the starting point. Resource allocation management and funds allocation including ROI calculations are standard elements in a professional social media tool box.

If all you want to do is a cool social media campaign and get a ton of followers you are not much further along than the ones who hope to get 100 Million eye balls through sponsored links. But if you honestly care about your customers and try to develop a profoundly better customer experience, then think beyond the "cool" and start building a holistic cross-functional strategy — so that service, support, product design and sales are a homogeneous force and the customer experience is something your customer recognizes.

So based on these assumptions it is still back to the basics with Social Media if you really want to use it as a tool. I thing there are way to many people out there drowning in too many "Social Media Tools" and not understanding that you don't get new clients by thinking social media is a tool for generating direct sails. Do your research, find out what a large group of people would want and than make a product that meets those needs. Everything after that is PR and informational communication.

8 Collateral Pieces Essential for Any Business

2009-09-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

Can I have some of your promo stuff please...

1. Company fact sheet
Potential investors, employees, analysts, and media people should be able to learn important facts about your business with a quick look at your fact sheet. A company fact sheet should include the following information:
* Date the company was founded
* Location of headquarters and any affiliate offices
* Names and brief backgrounds of founders and upper-level management
* Contact information
* Brief mission statement

2. Product fact sheets
Keep a fact sheet on file for each of your products or services. A product fact sheet should include the following:
* The product's function
* Distinctive features
* Comparison to similar products on the market
* Quality level
* Reliability
* Cost

3. Biographies on founders and senior management
Have a bio on hand for each founding member of the company, every senior manager, and each member of the board of directors. Bios should include:
* The person's education
* Relevant experience
* Awards or honors
* Publications that feature the team member or the team member's work

4. Mission statement
A mission statement can motivate and direct employees; it will also give new hires an idea of how your company works. You can also show the statement to potential investors, lenders, or members of the media.

5. Company background.
Whereas the company fact sheet essentially is just that — a list of facts — this document is written in paragraph form and should include more detail.

6. Current list of clients and partners
This information may be of interest to investors and potential clients.

7. Press kit
When you open your business or launch a new product, consider sending out a press kit. Press kits are also handy to pitch your business at a trade show. Your kit should include the following elements:
* Folder with your company's logo
* Personalized letter pitching your company, product, or service
* Company fact sheet
* Product fact sheet
* Press release
* Articles written about your company
* Business card
* Company background

While you may want to keep a few press kits on hand, don't keep a giant stack of them around. Otherwise, you risk distributing out-of-date materials. Instead, keep each element of the press kit in a computer file, and update as needed.

8. Clip file
Someone in your office should collect and maintain any articles written about your company. Note: If you are thinking about mounting a PR blitz, consider hiring a PR firm to track where press kits were sent, to make sure they are received, and then to monitor the press for mentions of your firm.

13 Reasons You Should Use LinkedIn

2009-09-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

He says he hasn't heard of LinkedIn

Linkedin is great resource for anybody doing any type of business that involves interacting with other people. So basically everyone...

1. LinkedIn is like a 24/7 trade show that every one came to. (41 million users)

2. Conventional networking hubs like trade shows are in decline due to excess supply and low level attendees

3. You can search for references on potential employees, and customers.

4. No other social media platform will enable you to contact VP's Directors and presidents of large B2B style clients.

5. You can get introduced by mutual connections.

6. It is a trust based asset . You can get referred , publicly and permanently, by industry professionals who others will take as a trusted source of information.

7. CV's that are held in public are unlikely to employ artistic license.

8. You can get advice from groups of like minded professionals.

9. You can announce your availability, and see jobs related to your field of expertise without having to subscribe to email alerts !! (One of the many reasons why LinkedIn is going to wipe out job boards )

10. You can purchase the right to contact people. (Even though their email stays hidden from everyone!)

11. The value of a recruiter is dependent upon his ability to build and create a network on LinkedIn that is both deep and broad. (Changing their role from gatekeepers and anonymous holders of your CV, to trusted connections.)

12. You can still maintain your privacy and avoid spam easily.

13. You can contact people who are not presently looking for work . meaning they have no chip on their shoulder and are often not coming from a position where they are disgruntled.

Saving the Planet One Popcan at a Time

2009-09-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

Great Canadian tech...

Cansolair has developed a forced convection solar heating unit called the Model RA 240 SOLAR MAX. A dwelling of 1000 square feet can have a complete air change in 1.5 hours. Working experience indicates that comfortable room temperature can be maintained in a 1000 square foot dwelling with 15 minutes of sunlight per hour.

The price?
$2695.00 + shipping and taxes where applicable

Block Your Cell Phone Today

2009-08-31T14:23:00.000-07:00

Hello... I can't hear you.. what what...

Take 30 seconds and register your Canadian cell number so that telemarketers can't call you! This is easy to do and is worth passing on to your family and friends. Cell phone numbers go public on September 1st 2009. Which means that all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.

Use the "Do Not Call List Canada" web site and register your phone there. Remember it is only on the DNC list for 2 years, you will have to update it. Put a reminder in your computer's calendar.

Summer is Over... Get Some New Clients

2009-08-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

I'm looking, I'm looking...
Click for larger image

You can count on some referrals from your existing clients and people who already know you, but that's a fairly limited number. How do you increase the size of your referrals circle to include more people. In order to refer you business, people want to be sure that you will take good care of the clients they send you. For that, they'd like to be better acquainted than just hearing your name.

How to use this approach effectively:

1. Create a most-wanted list of ten occupational categories whose members are frequently in touch with the type of client you desire. For example, a graphic designer who works with small businesses might choose accountants, attorneys, bankers, business coaches and consultants, business teachers and career counselors.

2. Make the acquaintance of ten people in each occupation. Seek them out, meet with them, and familiarize them with your expertise and the benefits of the service you offer. Find out more about what they do and the type of clients they serve so you can refer business to them as well.

3. When you connect with someone who seems open to sending you business referrals from time to time, you have found a referral partner. Make it a priority to refer potential clients to them so they will be more motivated to send you more referrals.

Now what do I do?

When you have a specific goal like this in mind, your networking can become much more focused. Whenever you meet someone whose occupation matches one on your list, ask, "I think we might be able to refer each other clients. Can we get together and talk about that?"

When you aren't able to make enough connections through networking and your existing contacts, don't be afraid to just look them up. If you approach them as a colleague and express your desire for the two of you to help each other be more successful, you'll find many people willing to get better acquainted.

Regardless of how you first get in touch, some of the people you talk to won't be receptive to getting to know you better or the idea of referring each other business. You only need ten names for each occupation, and there are plenty of people to choose from. Just move on to the next possibility.

One of the most useful elements of this strategy is that it is both simple and systematic. All you have to do is look at your most-wanted list, and you'll know right away what needs to be done next. Do you need to add more occupations, or do you need more new names in any group to reach your total of 100? Once you have 100 names listed, you can change your tactics from getting acquainted to following up. Stay in touch with everyone on your list at least once per quarter.

So now comes the hard part.

Getting started. If you want more business it's time to get started, September is a great time to reinvigorate your networking and referral building initiatives. Start that list today and try and get 3 categories going. Now book a networking event for later this week or at least go for a coffee with an past contact and share with them your plan to build your business using this referral tactic.

The internet is now a game

2009-08-25T19:50:00.001-07:00

Great a new way to waist more time...

We’ve hand-picked the best links on the web and turned them into “cards”.
Collect coins by answering a timed challenge question for each card.
Redeem your coins for prizes and compete with other players for high scores.

2009 Top 10 Small Business Trends

2009-08-24T13:30:00.001-07:00

Sorry we only take VISA...

September is almost here. Time to dust of this years trends and see where we stand in the evolving recovery.

Economic Trends

1. The Recession Drives Small Business Innovation: With the economy mired in a deep recession, small businesses will focus on cash flow, cost containment, customer retention and survival. But economic stress will also lead to a wave of small business innovation. Driven by the need to improve productivity and increase customer value, small businesses will re-evaluate, re-design and refine their products, processes and business models. Despite the adverse economic climate, innovation will create new opportunities for many small businesses.

2. Government Plays an Increasing Role in the Economy: Economic turmoil, corporate malfeasance and regulatory failure are leading to much greater government intervention in the economy. While we believe that the long term, global trend towards market capitalism continues to be strong, governments around the world will take a more active role in managing and regulating their economies. Small businesses will need to be aware of federal, state and local government policy and program changes and their impacts.

3. Global Infrastructure Spend: President-elect Obama and his transition team are preparing a massive, $850 billion economic recovery package. China, Japan, the EU and other countries are also developing large infrastructure spending programs. In the US bridges and roads, alternative energy, transportation, clean tech and education will likely see substantial federal spending increases with the impacts likely being felt in the second half of 2009. Small businesses will benefit directly through government contracting programs targeted at them and indirectly through providing goods and services to larger firms.

4. The Number of Small Businesses Will Increase in 2009: With job losses high and traditional employment options limited, many will turn to self-employment and small business in 2009. The prior three recessions have seen small business formation rates increase. And with it easier and cheaper than ever to start small or personal businesses, we expect a strong year for small business formation – especially personal businesses. Failure rates will also increase, but not enough to offset the number of new small and personal businesses.

5. Small Business Globalization Will Temporarily Slow: While we believe the long- term trend towards small business globalization is still strong, we expect small business globalization to slow in 2009. The primary reasons are the global economic slump, turmoil in currency markets and small businesses focusing on local markets. We expect small business exports to pick up in late 2009 as the global economy starts to recover.

Demographic Trends

6. Baby Boomer Retirement Problems Will Lead to Increased Interest in Small Business: We’ve long forecasted that baby boomers will stay in the workforce past the traditional retirement age. Current economic turmoil makes this trend even stronger. Baby boomer retirement has taken a series of major blows. The value of their homes, retirement savings and inheritances has all declined substantially. Many have lost or will lose their jobs. Boomers will have to extend their working years and small and personal businesses will be their best, and in many cases, only option.

7. Generation Y Will Turn to Small Business: Gen Y will continue to be be more entrepreneurial than youth in recent generations. The economic slump will make this trend stronger as many Gen Yers face limited traditional employment opportunities. With their risks and opportunity costs relatively low, many Gen Yers will choose to start or work for small or personal businesses.

Technology Trends

8. Mobile Computing Continues Strong Growth: On our list last year, mobile computing is entering the US mainstream. Notebooks outsold desktop PC’s in the second half of 2008, smart phones sales continued their rapid growth and millions of netbooks (very small personal computers designed primary for mobile internet access) were sold. Adding the continued rapid growth of navigation systems, location-based services and mobile search results in mobile computing having a major impact on small businesses in 2009.

9. Cloud Computing Continues Strong Growth: Another trend that was on our 2008 key technology trends list. Cloud computing offers too many small business benefits not to continue its strong growth in 2009. In particular cloud computing lowers capital costs and turns fixed costs into variable costs – two powerful attributes that are very attractive in a down economy.

10. Small Businesses Will Expand Their Use of Online Marketing Tools: Despite the economic downturn, we expect the small business sector to increase its use of online marketing tools and methods in 2009. Online marketing is cheaper and often more effective than traditional approaches. And although online marketing can be complex, many tools and methods are accessible to DIY small business marketers. With small businesses focused on customer acquisition and re-defining their business methods, we expect their use of online marketing to grow in 2009.

Selling In The Dog Days Of Summer

2009-08-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for September to come...

Summer is here and for many people that means it's time to "kick-back". Does everyone really go on vacation at the same time? "Yes, many people do take vacation in July and August, but they also take vacation in January and February and selling doesn't stop then!

If you perceive there is nobody around, you are setting yourself up for a negative self-fulfilling prophecy and your production will drop. So, you need to think like a business owner this summer and leverage your talent and make a name for yourself.

Do some research and identify three unique challenges the summer months bring to your prospects and figure out how your products and services can help. While researching, also discover three opportunities that your prospects can take advantage of in the summer months. Then call your prospects and give them the great news.

Be a contrarian this summer and make a conscious decision to go against the grain. Whatever obstacle is put in front of you, respond by saying ‘bring it on!', then figure out a way to turn it around to your benefit and make this the busiest time of the year.

Facing FaceBook Facts

2009-08-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

All I wanted from my relationships was respect...

Check out this report (which has way too much info) that looks at the way people have been effected by Facebook and how it is changing the way we interact in our relationships. I have included an edited version of the abstract found in the report.

Go here for a the full 4 page PDF.
The paper was published by Amy Muise, M.Sc., Emily Christofides, M.Sc., and Serge Desmarais, Ph.D.

Edited Abstract:
Anecdotal evidence, including information described in the popular media, suggests that Facebook may be responsible for creating jealousy and suspicion in romantic relationships. The objectives of the present study were to explore the role of Facebook in the experience of jealousy and to determine if increased Facebook exposure predicts jealousy above and beyond personal and relationship factors.

Three hundred eight undergraduate students completed an online survey that assessed demographic and personality factors and explored respondents’ Facebook use. Our study provides evidence of Facebook’s unique contributions to the experience of jealousy in romantic relationships.

Topics covered include:
• Internet addiction
• Internet in the workplace
• Internet gambling
• Internet advertising and buying habits
• Virtual Reality rehabilitation
• Insight into the minds of hackers

Viral Video Using Censorship

2009-08-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

Could you please take the tape off my eyes now...

The Viral remake of the original concept.

Here is the original Video... which is cool too. This version also has all the people's faces censored. So "there ya go" a viral comedy remake that brought to my attention the original music video idea. The internet at it's promotional best.

Would You Listen To This Man?

2009-08-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

If your this great your hear does not matter.

Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce --- and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.

Check out this great presentation on tomato sauce.

TED the Best Thing On the Web

2009-08-03T08:01:00.001-07:00

Now this is a TV channel worth watching

I think TED is some of the best content available on the web. Here are some links to great ideas and presentations that should inspire you this week. For great new stories check out TEDtwitters.

LINK TO TALK: Daniel Libeskind builds on very big ideas. Here, he shares 17 words that underlie his vision for architecture -- raw, risky, emotional, radical -- and that offer inspiration for any bold creative pursuit.

LINK TO TALK: In his typically candid style, Richard St. John reminds us that success is not a one-way street, but a constant journey. He uses the story of his business' rise and fall to illustrate a valuable lesson -- when we stop trying, we fail.

LINK TO TALK: In this short, optimistic talk from TED2009, Pete Alcorn shares a vision of the world of two centuries from now -- when declining populations and growing opportunity prove Malthus was wrong.

LINK TO TALK: Wingsuit jumping is the leading edge of extreme sports -- an exhilarating feat of almost unbelievable daring, where skydivers soar through canyons at over 100MPH. Ueli Gegenschatz talks about how (and why) he does it, and shows jawdropping film.

LINK TO TALK: In a world of too many options and too little time, our obvious choice is to just ignore the ordinary stuff. Marketing guru Seth Godin spells out why, when it comes to getting our attention, bad or bizarre ideas are more successful than boring ones.

Enjoy the brain expanding feeling as you watch some truly great presentation on marvelous ideas.

Fun Viral Information Video

2009-07-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

I wish I had some honey...

A fun video showing how to deal with a bear encounter. Check it out at SpeedHikers.com and don't forget to share it with a hiking or outdoor friend.

Brand Equity and Your Logo

2009-07-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

I used to be addicted to the Coke Brand when I was a kid.. where you?

Click on image for large view

If you plan to get a logo made for your business get a good one and keep it for as long as you can. There is a thing in the industry called "Brand Equity".

The best way to calculate your brand worth is to add up al the hours you spend on customer service with all your marketing endeavors over the years to get an idea of the real value of your brand. A logo is often an emotional reminder of the experience that a customer has had so the better the experience the stronger the emotional (Brand) value a client has when viewing your logo, color or word mark. For an in-depth look at this formula check out this link to a Stanford Study.

Why is my face on that facebook ad?

2009-07-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

Click, drag, click, drag, save... few

Click on image for large view

Facebook has agreed to let third party advertisers use your posted pictures as a default setting.

To change the setting so they do not use your images for ads please do the following.

Click on "Settings" (up at the top where you see the "Logout" link)
Select "Privacy"
Then select "News Feed and Wall"
Next, select the tab that reads "Facebook Ads"
In the drop down box, select "No One"
Then save your changes

Thanks to Deb D for the tip.

Woops... CrapDomainNames.com

2009-07-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

I would never choose a crappy domain name... ok hang on a second..

These days it's almost impossible to get a short original domain name. To fix this problem a lot of companies are using a string of words to get their domain name.

I ran across this great blog post (original post by: Chief Slurler) regarding names that when read have a different meaning then what the companies had in mind. Here are some. If you would like to see all 100 messed up names then check out the link.

A quick summary of the Slurls "rules":

There’s a website AND
It’s an active website AND
There’s a double meaning AND
It’s not deliberate

1hourscrap.com - Rapid scrapbook making

achildshaven.com - Childcare / children's charity

actionpaintballsac.com - Californian paintball park

americanscrapmetal.com - Scrap metal

amigonefuneralhome.com - Funeral directors

So now that you know better check your domain name to make sure you do not have a built in blupper.

That's My Mug

2009-07-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

Oh no, I left my plug in my other pants!

Great idea for people who want to keep their coffee (or wine) mug to themselves and not have to deal with people using your office mug for there own liquids.

The way it works is you can remove the plug and walk away leaving a nice whole in the side of the mug. The only way around this would be if someone bought a duplicate mug and only took the plug-key to work. But who would work in an office with stuff like that going on...

Get a better brand not a new logo

2009-07-18T09:29:00.001-07:00

We don't need a new logo we need a better receptionist...

Branding, branding, branding!

Just read this blog and thought that it reflected a lot of the things I talked about regarding branding on the radio show I did Yesterday.

Cheers
Bob

Bob on the Radio

2009-07-17T13:35:00.001-07:00

Is the mike on yet?

Had a great time on the show.
Check it out if you would like to know more about marketing and what Bob thinks about it.

Resource Radio

Monday Morning Photo Fun

2009-07-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

The people down below look like ants...

Check out this website that features GigaPans.

Basically massive photos that have been created by stitching hundreds of images together or by using special tripod mounts. You can have lots of fun zooming in and out. If you get a free account you can also do zoomed in screen shots and add comments.

Also check out the Ant it is truly amazing. See if you can find the yellow orange crain with the operator in the window in this fantastic Vancouver scene.

Great Viral Video

2009-07-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

Testing one two three...

Check out this great idea for a music video. Very creative, which is what viral is all about. As of tonight it has over 500,000 views and climbing. How many are there now?

Cheers
Bob

Great Twitter tips

2009-07-09T06:58:00.001-07:00

Twitter or not to Twitter... That is the question

For all of the people who want to jump into twitter or just want to get more from there Twittering. This list of 10 tips should get you well on your way. Thanks Steve for this post.

1. Shrink Your URLs
One of the most common uses of Twitter is sharing links. But you only have 140 characters to work with, so instead of sharing a long URL, use one of several URL-shortening services to shrink that link. Some of our favorites include tinyurl.com, is.gd, ow.ly, and bit.ly.

2. RT = Retweet
If you want to copy and paste someone else’s tweet, that’s totally accepted and appreciated, as long as you give the original tweeter credit for it. Just put “RT @name” in front of their tweet and post it yourself.

3. Direct Messaging
With Twitter’s direct-messaging (DM) function, you can send a private 140-character message to another user, kind of like abbreviated e-mail. However, you can only direct message Twitter users that are following you.

4. Use the @ Sign
To create a reply or to give someone props on Twitter, simply place an @ sign in front of their Twitter name. If it is a reply, the @ sign must be the first character of the tweet. To see replies to your own tweets, click on @Replies from your profile page.

5. Search For Your Friends
Search.twitter.com works well for finding your friends, celebrities, or organizations, or for searching for specific topics you’re interested in.

6. Categorize Your Tweets for Added Visibility
If you’re tweeting about a popular subject (Obama, Lost, etc) putting a # in front of the subject makes it easy for others to find your tweet, and perhaps they will want to follow you. For example, when the plane crashed into the Hudson River in January, #flight1549 became a popular tag and search term.

7. Share Pictures
People love sharing their photos with the world, and some even break news with them, like Janis Krums, who used TwitPic to post one of the first up-close photos of Flight 1549 on his Twitter feed. Services like TwitPic let users easily upload their photos and post them directly to Twitter.

8. Tweet from Your Phone
Twitter allows you to update your status and receive updates via text message. Under Settings, go to the Devices tab and enter your phone number to start sending and receiving mobile tweets. If your incoming tweets/texts are overwhelming you, disable this option by going back to the same panel and following the instructions.

9. Pick a Good Desktop Client
With desktop clients such as TweetDeck, Twhirl, and TwitterFox, you can receive tweets in a much more manageable fashion, especially if you follow a lot of people, respond often, and use direct messages a lot. TweetDeck, for example, allows you to create specific groups, if you want to split your feed into individual columns.

10. Download a Mobile Client
If you have a BlackBerry, an iPhone, or another smartphone with Wi-Fi or 3G access, a mobile client might be a better option than using text messages. Mobile Twitter clients worth checking out include Twitterific, TwitterBerry, PocketTweets, and Twidroid.

30 Brand questions

2009-07-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

I have a few questions

1. We actively investigate what is important to our customers, using research, face to face interviews, questionnaires, suggestion boxes, etc.

2. We understand how our customers feel about our products and services.

3. We judge the effectiveness of our brand in terms of how it looks and feels to our customers – not how it seems to us.

4. We understand the attitudes of our customers and their changing views and needs.

5. We don’t have to discount prices in order to attract and keep our customers.

6. Our customers can state quite clearly and simply what is important about our brand to them, and why they think it is different.

7. Our communication plan includes all the various places and ways in which we interact with our customers.

8. We have aligned our organisational structure, operations and culture with our brand values.

9. Our induction programme includes education on our brand and the role it plays in enhancing our competitiveness.

10. We understand in our own minds what differentiates our brand from our competitors.

11. Everyone in our organisation knows what our brand stands for and can articulate that idea simply and clearly.

12. Everyone in our organisation knows what they have to do to deliver on our brand promise.

13. Included in our performance management systems is an assessment of the contribution each individual makes to growing and enhancing the brand.

14. Our communications, marketing, service delivery, finance and HR functions are all aligned with our brand objectives.

15. Branding is championed throughout our organisation, from the CEO down.

16. We receive regular internal communications detailing what our brand is about.

17. Strengthening and protecting the company’s brand is a fundamental driver behind our organisation’s long-term goals.

18. We have a brand management programme in place that is continually looking for new and more effective ways to protect and enhance our brand throughout the organisation.

19. Our branding strategies are proactively driven. They do not depend on what our competitors are up to.

20. Accounts quantifying the value of our brand to our business are included in our financial systems.

21. Details of our brand and the strategy that drives it are well documented and that information is available to those who need and desire it.

22. All key stakeholders are involved in our brand creation process.

23. Our company has systems in place for carefully monitoring the appropriateness, timeliness, integration and consistency of our branded communications.

24. We view brand as applying to far more than just our visual identity and our marketing communications.

25. Our brand includes not just our core organisation but also our partners and key third party suppliers.

26. We regard our brand agency(ies) as our strategic partner(s) and actively involve them in organisational and communications planning and review sessions.

27. Our marketing and communications team have an integrated understanding of our brand and are in constant communication over brand-related activities and issues.

28. The consistency of our brand is paramount. It reaches way beyond just tactical brand campaigns and it is deeper than even key personnel changes.

29. We review our brand and what it stands for with all our agencies at least once a year.

30. If our brand did not exist, the vast majority of our customers would notice our absence and really miss having us in their lives.

1,000,279 English words and Counting

2009-07-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Yep that's a lot of words

English contains more words than any other language on the planet and added its millionth word early Wednesday, according to the Global Language Monitor, a Web site that uses a math formula to estimate how often words are created. The 1 millionth words is "Web 2.0" and is a great reminder that we are defiantly a society that is influenced by the web.

Global Language Monitor has a methodology by which it measures "new" words entering into English. Though "Web 2.0" has been around for years, GLM's method of counting requires "a minimum of 25,000 citations with the necessary breadth of geographic distribution and depth of citations."

"Web 2.0" met that test this week, as did "n00b" (word 999,998). Both words passed into mainstream usage today, according to GLM. Also on the listed of official new words this week: slumdog, cloud computing, Octomom (seriously, Octomom), sexting, defriend, and recessionista.

If you would like more information on the English language as a growing "live" thing check out this website for way more information than you will ever need.

Viral messaging at it's best

2009-07-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

No not my beloved fast food!

This award-winning series of animated movies spoofs the Matrix films while educating viewers about the problems caused by factory farms. Released in 2003, the original 4-minute Meatrix movie has been viewed by more than 20 million people.

This is a great example of the power or low cost social and viral awareness campaigns. WARNING: This is a very strong message and could mess up you eating habits. Watch all three movies online.

Brand Perspectives Quotes - Part 1

2009-06-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

Wait... don't look at that image... it's not part of my personal brand

Here are some great quotes relating to Brands.

Remember, in the age of social marketing your personal brand needs just as much attention as your business's brand. In today's market people are constantly comparing your personal brand to your business brand to make sure that they are compatible. – Bob Garlick

"Today, brands are everything, and all lines of products and services - from accounting firms to sneaker makers to restaurants are figuring out how to become a brand surrounded by a Tommy Hilfiger-like buzz." – Tom Peters

"Branding adds spirit and a soul to what would otherwise be a robotic, automated, generic price-value proposition. If branding is ultimately about the creation of human meaning, it follows logically that it is the humans who must ultimately provide it" – David Aaker

“Long-term brand equity and growth depends on our ability to successfully integrate and implement all elements of a comprehensive marketing program.” – Timm F. Crull, Chairman & CEO of Nestlé, Retired

“In the ‘intangible revolution’, the brand is not a finished work that is sent out to the world. The role of brand manager is more akin to that of a performance artist whose work can only exist and have any real worth for as long as it has the involvement of a willing audience of people who don’t consume it, but instead participate in it.” – Ian Kirk, Senior Strategist, The Lab

“There is just no way any management with any intelligence and foresight cannot recognize the value of a corporate image. It is the best, single marketable investment that a company can make.” – Malcolm Forbes

“Image is a reality.
It is the result of our actions. If the image is false and our performance is good, it’s our fault for being bad communicators. If the image is true and reflects our bad performance, it’s our fault for being bad managers. Unless we know our image we can neither communicate nor manage.” – David Bernstein

“In a competitive world, organisations are realising that only people can brand products or services effectively – that we are not just selling a branded product but a mass of branded people who support and deliver it.” – Helena Rubinstein, The Lab

“What is the single most important objective of the marketing process? … We believe it’s the process of branding. Marketing is building a brand in the mind of the prospect. If you can build a powerful brand, you will have a powerful marketing program. If you can’t then all the advertising, fancy packaging, sales promotion and public relations in the world won’t help you achieve your objective.” – Al Ries And Laura Ries, “World Class Brands” in Executive Excellence, March 1999

14 Reasons Small Businesses Need Both a Logo and Marketing Materials

2009-06-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

Wow I didn't know you were that big...

If you plan on marketing your business you should consider the points below. Remember that a consistent brand and image will make people think you are bigger and better. This phenomena is true either you have a small one man show or are the Brand manager for a global enterprise.

1. To look "bigger." Home-printed business cards with perforated edges or cards printed with standard designs available through Microsoft software or online business card vendors scream "small-time vendor" to your potential clients -- and that is how they will want to compensate you.

2. To increase your chance of getting venture capital or selling a business. If you present a well-rounded business package, including marketing materials and graphics, your business will look more complete.

3. To attract more clients. Some clients look for a well-defined company, and "look and feel" may be one of their criteria in making a purchasing decision.

4. To brand yourself. If you are a consultant, you need a logo in order to build an image and a brand that is bigger than your individual identity.

5. To convey that you are established. A logo and professionally-printed materials show that you are committed to both your business and your clients.

6. To give clients a sense of stability. You may not have been in business "since 1908," but if you have invested in an identity, you are much less likely to fold in the eyes of your customers. It goes a long way toward building that all-important "trust."

7. To be more memorable. Forty percent of people better remember what they see than what they hear or read. So having graphics associated with your business and having consistent graphics on your business materials make you more likely to come to the forefront of potential clients' minds when they have a need for your goods or services.

8. To explain your company name. If your company name contains a little-known word or an acronym, the logo can give visual clues to its meaning.

9. To endear your company name to your clients. A difficult-to-pronounce or hard-to-remember company name may make it challenging for your clients to hire you. When potential clients have the need for your services, they might not recall who you are. But if you reinforce the name with interesting, compelling graphics, they are more likely to remember you, pick up the phone, and hire you.

10. To explain an unusual line of business. If your business is nontraditional or in a hard-to-explain industry, a logo can help to explain exactly what it is that you do.

11. To show what practices differentiate you from your competition. A well-designed logo can have many subtle meanings and can begin to tell the story of how you do business, including the special practices that make you stand apart from the competition.

12. To stand out in your field. A well-designed logo and an identity system can put you far above the competition, especially if they are paired with a strong marketing program.

13. To comply with expectations. In some industries, a logo is just expected. In the creative services industry especially, having a logo is an industry standard.

14. To show your commitment and for the sense of personal pride it will add to your practice. In other words, do it for yourself.

These benefits will boost your business and your confidence, so start thinking about developing a logo and identity as soon as possible.

Printing is Dead... Long Live Knowledge

2009-06-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

I'm waiting for it to come out in audio...

Is the growing dependence of "free knowledge" driving us away from book stores and making us only consider finding information online? Will flyers, white papers and reports only be published online?

For now I think we are safe, but in the years to come I think the "printed book" may disappear as the primary source of information and anyone with a connection to the internet will discover the knowledge they need on the net.

Check out this information from Jian Ghomeshi's blog on the subject.

THE END: PRINT

Citizen journalism: the blogosphere

One of the biggest threats to print is the sheer volume and variety of writing that can be found online. By starting a 'blog' or web journal, anyone can became a writer and publish their work for others to see at no cost. Markos Moulitsas is a blogger for Daily Kos, a webblog that analyzes U.S. political events from a left wing perspective. "I never would have had this kind of platform in a traditional world. I didn't have money, connections, to become some kind of pundit." Daily Kos is one of the top five blogs in the world and around election time attracts millions of readers a day - more than many traditional media outlets.

"Who in their right mind would give a stay-at-home mom the audience that I have crafted for myself?" wonders Heather B. Armstrong. She was dooced - or fired - from her job as a web designer because she wrote about her work and office-mates on her blog, Dooce.com. And now her blog makes enough money from advertising to support her family. "I do think it's opening up more voices and opportunities for people who wouldn't be published otherwise."

For the full blog please check out this link.

10 Marketing Tools for Home-Based Businesses

2009-06-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Home sweet home...

Owners of home-based businesses sometimes view marketing as an unnecessary expense, but nothing could be further from the truth. Because a home-based business doesn't have a storefront for passers-by to notice and no opportunity to generate walk-in business, home-based businesses need marketing more than other types of businesses, not less.

Not marketing your home-based business will almost certainly doom it to failure. Here are ten ways you can advertise your home business on a budget.

1. Direct mail
With the rise of email marketing, direct mail has fallen out of favor. But it is still a cost-effective way to advertise in many industries. To be successful, your direct-mail piece should look professional and feature well-written copy. Hire a professional copywriter and designer if these skills are beyond you ability. You may even be able to barter for design or writing work.

2. Voice-mail
Even the outgoing message on your answering machine or voicemail system can help promote your business when utilized correctly. Make sure your message provides additional product or service information so that it is working for you, even in the middle of the night.

3. Brochures
Brochures are still an effective way to present your product or service to new customers. They are relatively cheap and easy to print and you can distribute them by mail or by leaving them at locations where they will be noticed. A professional-looking brochure can help convince potential customers that are still “on the fence” about your products.

4. Press releases
The only thing better than cheap publicity is free publicity, and well-timed, professional press releases can result in just that. By timing a product launch or promotion to coincide with a related local or national event, you may be able to get editors to include your release in their media vehicle, be it newspaper, radio, or television.

5. Case studies
Case studies aren't just for scientific applications. Studies of your products in action can help your potential customers learn more and make an educated decision before they buy.

6. Referrals
Referrals are probably the single best way to find new customers. If you do something well, chances are people are going to talk about it. Offering incredible customer service to your clients will ensure that you end up with satisfied customers who are willing to share your information with their friends and colleagues.

7. Radio interviews
If you can speak knowledgeably about your product or service and tie it in well with current events, radio interviews are a great way to reach a wide audience and improve your customer base.

8. Affiliate programs
Online affiliate programs are one of the most cost-effective ways to market your products to a wide range of potential customers. It's like having the benefit of a commission-based sales force, but without any of the hassles of managing actual employees.

9. A well-designed Web site
Your Web site will be the first impression for your company for many of your customers. Make it a good one. Your site should provide information about your product or service in a clear and intuitive format. Many people prefer to do their research online before making a purchase, so make sure your site leaves them with the right impression.

10. Ezines or Newsletters
When you provide interesting and informative content related to the products you sell, you can turn a subscriber list into a frequent buyer list. If you do not have the time to run your own ezine or newsletter, you can submit articles with your information to different publications. When you are perceived as a knowledgeable expert, potential customers know that they can rely on you for quality information and quality products.

The Importance of Great Photographic Ideas

2009-06-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Don't worry I brought my snappy camera...

Click on the images for a larger version

Great ad images are, most often than not, great because of the overall ideas or message that they illustrate.

Creation of a solid idea that can be portrayed in a visual are very hard to come by. The images in this blog are great samples of core brand messages that are easy to comprehend, and that is what makes them brilliant.

Next time you are thinking about an image for your product or service spend time coming up with a strong message that can me illustrated in a cool or innovative photograph.

Remember that Great Photography is created in the following order from most important to least important:
Core (Brand) Message
Concept to illustrate the message
Location and props
Character or fashion models
Lighting and special effects
Tinkering with the light
Stylists (food or clothing)
Pushing the shutter release

So if you have a photographer who you like to work with it is best to have them help you with the core idea as early on in the proses as possible. Being able to work with a photographer and brief them on a preconceived idea that has been approved by the client is a lot tougher than presenting an idea that the photographer has helped craft.

Personal Brand Ideas

2009-06-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

Mirror mirror on the wall...

User generated media, blogs and discussion forums have changed the flow of information about your company forever. A new emphasis on reputation management, even for the tiniest of companies, is essential. The following list of covers a lot of the websites you can use to manage your personal brand.

Manage Your Identity

claimID.com - Works along with openID to verify your identity on multiple websites.

FindMeOn.com - Link all of your networks together and verify your identity so people know it’s your profile.

FreeYourID.com - Uses .name address to sign you up for sites.

Garlik.com - Searches the web looking for mentions of you that might involve identity theft.

MyOpenID.com - Use one username to verify your log in on sites that use OpenID - great for sites where you might otherwise have multiple log ins.

Spyshakers.com - Identity Management System that allows users to access their websites and passwords remotley.

TypeKey.com - Another provider of the OpenID standard.

WordPress.com - Sign up for a free account and use as OpenID

Manage Your Reputation

Naymz.com - Sign-up and invite your invite people to write reviews about you and your work.

Rapleaf.com - Look up your reputation, rate others, and they will be invited to rate you in return.

RepVine - Reference and reputation management combined.

ReputationDefender.com - A service that attempts to help you get things being said online about you removed

TrustPl.us - An online reputation service that ranks based on trust scores.

List of message board tracking services: BoardReader.com, ForumFind.com, Big-Boards.com, BoardTracker.com, iVillage, Yahoo Message Boards, MSN Money

Places to find groups to track: Yahoo Groups, AOL Groups, MSN Groups, Google Groups.

Monitor This allows you to monitor and track keywords over multiple search engines.

Keotag.com A service that allow you to search for tagged blog posts across multiple blog search engines.

Manage Your Online Profiles

Comwat.com - Put your online identities in one place to make it easier to show and find profiles

onXiam.com - This site lets you link all your online identities into one account making it easier for people to find you across the Internet.

OtherEgo.com - Another way to display you online profiles.

ProfileBuilder.com - Very function heavy profile builder that shows off the parts of your profiles you select.

ProfileMat.com - Pull all you profiles together and allow commenting on your profile mat page.

SimplifID.com - One ID for all your online profiles

SocialURL.com - Simple URL to show all your profiles

Venyo.org - Lets you add all of your online activities, including blogs and comments to one page.

Zoolit.com - A landing page to show all your social networks

Fun Friday Video

2009-06-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Kick back and enjoy the weekend..

Better e-mail techniques

2009-06-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

Dear special friend, please give me all your money...

Click for larger image

Here s a great collection of links to great e-mail advice and information. If you use e-mail (I do no 2 people who do not have an e-mail account) this information is critical to your success as a business owner. Don't forget to e-mail me with your apionion.

E-mail for begineers: Email is cheaper and faster than a letter, less intrusive than a phone call, less hassle than a FAX. Using email, differences in location and time zone are less of an obstacle to communication. There is also evidence that email leads to a more egalitarian information structure.

E-mail for "not" beginners: If you want to be a good email citizen and ensure the kind of results you’re looking for, you’ll need to craft messages that are concise and easy to deal with.

E-mail advanced techniques by Guy Kawasaki: Most of the time I am, but I have strong feelings about email etiquette and what it takes to get your email read--and answered. As someone who gets dozens of emails every day and sends a handful of emails every day to get strangers to do things (“digital evangelism”), I offer these insights to help you become a more effective emailer.

E-mail to Clients: I don’t think he even read my email. This type of response could just have easily come immediately from an email auto-responder. But it didn’t. It came from a third-party customer service provider after several days of waiting.

E-mail to clients #2: Being on the receiving end for thousands of support and customer service requests I’ve learned a thing or two about how you should go about putting a customer support request together.

Transactions and e-mails: Email is one of a website's most powerful tools for strengthening customer service and increasing user confidence and trust in both the site and the company.

I hope you have found this information helpfull and that you take up some of this information to make yourselves better communicators.

Why Social Marketing is a Must

2009-05-30T23:25:00.000-07:00

The fact mam just the facts...

77 percent of the US fastest-growing companies use social media

Looks like the social media is coming to the US business world sooner than many had originally anticipated and it is the valuable sign for the European entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations.

The “masternewmedia.org” reports about the staggering results of a study of social media adoption at 500 of the fastest growing companies in the US. The use of blogs, podcasting, wikis, online video and social networking grew in 2008 to nearly double what it was in 2007 – 77% of respondents now report at least some use of a social media tool in their business.

In early 2007 the results of a groundbreaking study into the adoption of social media within the Inc. 500, an elite group of the fastest-growing companies within the United States, were released.

Now, approximately one year later, that same group was studied again in an effort to look at longitudinal change in the adoption of these digital communication tools.

Coming from the conventional marketing world myself and looking back to my first impression of social media, I can appreciate the retailing and B2B marketing establishment’s legitimate skepticism.

My top ten reasons to take social marketing seriously:

1. Social marketing is a logical extension of the multichannel marketing strategy of diversification. Social media sites can extend a company’s web presence far beyond the limits of its e-commerce, lead generation or information sites.

2. Social media builds awareness of products and brands by attraction rather than interruption, and by pulling rather than pushing. Consumers enjoy the discovery process and don’t feel annoyed by it.

3. Social media employs a community and list building paradigm that’s much more comprehensive, natural and intimate than conventional databases and autoresponders.

4. Social media marketers engage customers in dialog. They talk with the customer rather than at the customer as is generally the case with conventional media. Social media can also facilitate post-sale support and dissemination of valuable product tips to customers.

5. Social media used properly can build frequency less expensively than conventional media educating and informing the consumer over time.

6. Social media can help reach target markets that are too difficult or expensive to reach using conventional means.

7. Reach doesn’t determine cost, so social media can target a narrow vertical market while at the same time casting a wide net. Efficiency doesn’t really matter much in the context of social media reach.

8. Search engines like social media, and social marketing leverages free high-quality search exposure which is preferable to paying for low-quality pay-per-click or banner advertising.

9. Social media sites and your e commerce websites are available 24/7 more or less indefinitely. It’s much like having an ad run in every issue of a publication or like having a catalog or sales letter retained until the customer is ready to make a buying decision.

10. Using social networking sites it is often possible to connect directly with B2B decision makers without interference from protective gatekeepers.

Socail Marketing as a Tool

2009-05-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

These things are on my mind

Researching your ever changing market niches is now much more realistic for the small to medium size business compared to a decade ago. Managing a limited strategic selection of social websites will enable you to interact with key or targeted knowledge communities and enable you to discover what the new trends are and who needs them. These days it's not how much money it will cost to implement these strategies but how much time can you afford to invest in them to get returns that will help your business flourish in a recession.

However if strategic marketing is the new paradigm for great marketing it all hinges on the new service provided by the internet. The trick is how to get it to work for you and get it working fast. Social marketing through social support sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter are all great tools.

However you will still need to participate in actual networking events held in your businesses community. Finding relevant events is easy using a service like Meet-up or your local Chamber of Commerce. The new social thinking in sales in not to "always be closing" but to be on the lookout for like minded people and businesses who you can "work with" so you both can benefit.

Bob Garlick has been in the marketing and advertising industry for 30 years. He has worked with small medium and large businesses all over the world. Since returning to Canada 5 years ago he has focused on Social Marketing since it is the new mega-trend in marketing.

Recession Start-Up Snags And Solutions

2009-05-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

Grunt puff puff, are we there yet?

From the original blog post by Melanie Lindner

Launching a business is hard enough--doing it during a recession takes major guts, a heck of a value proposition and a serious threshold for disappointment.

"I have absolutely seen an uptick in the number of people who are attempting to start businesses of their own since the start of this recession," says Janet Siegenthaler, a start-up consultant based in Fairfield, Conn.

Before you liquidate your 401(k), check what these recession-born entrepreneurs many who have not yet posted a profit had to say about starting businesses in the last 18 grueling months.

Becca Brown, 30, and Monica Murphy, 30

Business: SoleMates, Old Greenwich, Conn. Markets and sells the High Heeler, a $12-per-pair rubber stopper device that fits snugly on the stem of women's high-heeled shoes.

Obstacle: While not initially high on their list of priorities, having a working Web site became a crucial--and frustrating--component to getting SoleMates off the ground. "It was extremely difficult to find a Web designer who shared our vision," says Murphy. "We had to delay our launch since we didn't want to have a product on the market without a Web presence."

Advice: "Everything costs twice as much and takes twice as long as you plan for," says Brown. "No one else will be as invested in your business as you are, so don't expect everyone to follow through when they claim they can help you." (For more on smart Web design, check out: "16 Solid Small-Biz Web Design Tips.")
Need help running your small business? Ask our cadre of experts at the Forbes.com Small Business Exchange.

Doron Reuveni, 42

Business: uTest, Southborough, Mass. Provides testing services for software, Internet and mobile application companies. Launched in August 2008 with $2.3 million in funding from venture capital and angel investors; rousted another $5 million in a second venture round in November.

Obstacle: Convincing investors that he had a viable product. "I've had this idea since early 2007," says Reuveni, "but without investors, it was difficult to get off the ground."

Advice: Don't rush the process. "It might take a little longer to get your business going, but be persistent," says Reuveni. "Take small steps."

Charisse McAuliffe, 31

Business: GenGreen, Fort Collins, Colo. Manages a database of more than 45,000 green businesses and organizations in the U.S. Licenses its content to National Geographic and News Corp.'s Web sites. Launched in February 2008 with $250,000 in savings; later landed $750,000 from angel and private equity investors.

Obstacle: Finding the right sources of funding. "It's been harder to find quality investors," says McAuliffe. "Now that we're up and running, I'm getting as many as 10 solicitations per day, but for the most part they're not viable options."

Advice: Use investor networking tools. "I've had great results with Angelsoft.net," says McAuliffe. "They streamline the application process for start-ups looking for funding, and they vet the investors for you."

Philip Foote, 34

Business: Philip Foote Law, New York, N.Y. Law firm, mainly for clients in the construction business. Foote bootstrapped his practice from personal savings in early 2008.

Obstacle: Getting the word out. "Most lawyers don't take [out] ads," says Foote.

Advice: Show your face. "E-mails might seem like a great and easy way to promote your business, but nothing works as well as face-to-face contact," says Foote. "You have to get out there and build real relationships with potential clients." (For more on effective local-advertising tools, check out "How To Get The Word Out Locally.")

David Jones, 48, and Ed Basconi, 55

Business: Edamar, Johnson City, Tenn. Makes, markets and sells the KitBook, which teaches kids (target age: 12) how to build electric circuits and contains all the necessary equipment (price: $40 a kit). Bootstrapped from personal savings amassed as engineers for Siemens.

Obstacle: Tight educational budgets. "One of our sales representatives recently said he hasn't seen such a tough environment for selling education tools in 15 years," says Jones. "We're hopeful that once the stimulus-package money starts flowing, school districts will start picking up our product."

Advice: Be prepared for long hours and little pay. "I'm a marathoner, so I know about hard work," says Jones, "but this is above and beyond."

Taylor Spellman, 25

Business: August Black, New York, N.Y. Interior design shop catering to young professionals, many in the finance industry. Launched in March 2008 on personal savings and credit card debt.

Obstacle: Target clientèle have seen their bonuses go up in smoke. "Many of them lost their jobs, or never got those bonuses, so they're wary of discretionary spending," says Spellman. "I've had to cut my fees from $100 per hour to $50."

Advice: "Be sure to have some money in the bank as a cushion," says Spellman. "If you're not willing to go into debt, this probably isn't the right time to start your own business."

Fun with brands

2009-05-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful morning and time for a cuppa... logo

Check out the original post for more fun. The original post comes from dearjanesample's blog.

This is an amazing idea that looks at how many logos we interact with regarding basic daily functions, like waking up and getting ready for a day of work. If you're like most consumers, you have been the target of intrusive marketing and a constant barrage of irrelevant advertising messages. The average American sees over 3,000 advertising messages a day. If you fill out a warranty card, get divorced, buy a home, get listed in a school directory, enter a sweepstakes, purchase an item from a catalog, file an insurance claim, or perform a myriad of other everyday activities, some company somewhere makes a record of this fact and sells it to marketers for profit.

Also another great idea is that we are on the cusp of a NO LOGO revolution where people will boycote any business with a logo. We are living in interesting time indeed.

101 Great Free Sites and Downloads

2009-05-16T20:53:00.000-07:00

Nothing in life is free... except stuff on the internet

Here is a great link to lots of free programs to help you do more faster.
Original artical can be found here.
By Preston Gralla and Adam Pash, PC World

We've sifted through the Web to find and test 101 of the best free downloads and services out there. We concentrated on utilities and other helpers that can rev up your smartphone's performance, streamline your social networking experience, and tame your PC while bending Windows to your will.

Our also list targets great productivity pumpers, security boosters, PC enhancers, and browser builders. But this list isn't all deadly serious: We also pinpointed the best no-cost ways to find and manage video, and to do much more with your digital photos and music.

We also have a list of the 101 items in this package, and we selected a Best Bet in each of our 11 categories. So take a look at the guide to the right--it's all free!

And for those of you who need a laugh this Friday

2009-05-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

The Old Tractor who could...

Have a great weekend.

PART 7: Use online forums to make new connections

2009-05-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

No!!! not that type of posting...

If you're an Internet user, spend some of your online time on business promotion.

Posting messages in forums (a.k.a. bulletin boards) is a great way to make your business known to people you would otherwise be unable to contact. You can't blatantly advertise your business on most forums, but you can show others that you're a knowledgeable, personable individual and promote your business through your signature file.

Getting people interested in your business and perhaps attracting new customers works best if you choose forums that are business-related or directly related to your business's product or service.

The other caveat with choosing forums to post in is to check their level of activity; posting in a forum that doesn't have much traffic or regular activity isn't going to do much to promote your business.

PART 6: Promote your business through your lesiure activities.

2009-05-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

A hiking I will go a hiking I will go....

One savvy businessman I know relaxes by being part of a rock band. Guess what? Every time his band's gigs are mentioned in the newspaper, the piece also mentions the name of his business! You may not be part of a band yourself, but everyone does something for "fun".

Whether your chosen leisure activity is working on a Spitfire Restoration project, rock-climbing, or shopping, there are all kinds of ways to promote your business while you do what you love to do.

Where's the harm in shopping or rock-climbing wearing a T-shirt that has the name of your business prominently displayed? Or in taking your business cards everywhere you go and clipping your card to the slip when you pay for a purchase by card or cheque?

Get in the habit of doing business promotion wherever you go and you'll be surprised how word-of-mouth builds. If your leisure activity involves a group, you might ask if you can include your business information on all of their out-going paper, or ask if you can at least give everyone a brochure. And with any kind of group activity, there's always the opportunity to promote your business by letting other people know what you do and how it could benefit them.

I go hiking every weekend so I have started a website called and hand out carabiners with my company name and the speedhikers domain on it.

Cartoon Fun

2009-04-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

Hay it's Sunday, give me a break!

Why do cartoonists use Bob as the name for their characters?
Click on cartoon for larger image.

Idea marathon

2009-04-16T06:41:00.001-07:00

I have an idea we could...

Image from his study where he has over 300,000 ideas in these note books.

Went to a very cool Idea Marathon yesterday.

It was presented by the Inventor of the system Mr. Takeo Higuchi.

Basically what you need to to is start putting all your ideas in a book (one book only) that you carry around with you everywhere. Wright done all your ideas and plans into this book and revisit the ideas in the book once a week as a reminder. After a while you will automatically remember all your ideas.

Anyhow keep writing in a chronological order and when the notebook is full put it in your Idea marathon shelf and start a new book. You should get a notebook that you can add pages to. At the end of the year put the book in your shelf and start a new one.

That's it. Easy and if you can stick with putting in one new idea a day for one month you will notice that the quality of your ideas and your brain are much more focused. It is a col idea that is starting to spread around the world. Be the first on your block to be an Idea marathon champion.

It's all about knowing your prouct and service

2009-04-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yummy yummy yummy I've got love in my tummy...

If you have a product or service and you plan to market it then the most important thing is to know why your product or service is special.

Watch the following video and think about all the information and understanding this woman has about her simple and everyday product. After the video you will now look at your jams and preserves with a new light and understanding.

This shift of your understanding of a product is what will drive people to buy it. It's that simple.

Tucked in an anonymous building on a quiet Berkeley, CA street, June Taylor makes small batches of some of the most mouth-watering jams, preserves, syrups and marmalades. In this video, June modestly shares her artisan and old-world techniques, explaining how nature helps dictate exotic flavor combinations like Strawberry and Provençal Lavender and how she takes into consideration even the tiniest of details, such as the shape and size of the pieces of fruit. It's a window into an exceedingly rare level of art and craft.

Tips To Help Your Website Sell

2009-04-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

All the info you will ever need...

Please go to the original post on Smashing Magazine for all the graphics the full story.

As we see more and more businesses move their services online, and even more that begin their life on the Web, a greater need arises for websites that are designed and built to sell. A great-looking website may achieve the goal of shaping and delivering a strong brand, but its good looks alone aren’t enough to sell the products or services on offer. For that, you need to introduce the element of marketing.

1. Subliminal Suggestion
Research shows that objects and images you see around you can prime you for certain behaviors. When choosing images for your website, think carefully about the message you’re trying to send. Don’t put graphics on your website for their own sake. Clichéd and overused imagery and stock photos are also dangerous because it may not send the right message in the given context, so select images that get the effect you’re after.

2. Prevent Choice Paralysis
There is a phenomenon in marketing known as “choice paralysis.” Choice paralysis happens when the user is given too many options. Choice is great, but when your customers are presented with too many options, they may be confused about where to go. Nobody wants buyer’s remorse, so many people spend more time than they should on the selection process: they become paralyzed.

3. Show The Product
When you visit a physical store, perhaps a grocery, you can look at, examine and sometimes even taste the products on sale. You make your purchasing decision based on the information you gather there. Are the tomatoes ripe enough

When you sell services or Web apps online, you should do exactly the same thing: show the product. It’s surprising how many websites that sell software don’t actually show screenshots of their applications. Sure, these are intangible goods, digital goods that you can’t touch or smell, but they’re still goods you can see.

For more great tips visit this blog.

People by Branding and Not the Contents

2009-04-03T08:53:00.001-07:00

But I wanted apple juice...

After its package redesign, sales of the Tropicana Pure Premium line plummeted 20% between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22, costing the brand tens of millions of dollars. On Feb. 23, the company announced it would bow to consumer demand and scrap the new packaging. It had been on the market less than two months.

Understanding Social Media a Bit More

2009-03-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

I'm using Social Marketing to get better tasting dog food on the market.

Is social media a mystery to you? What is all the big fuss over Social media? Isn't it just a bunch of teenagers using multiple internet tools to communicate with each other?

If you've been trying (like me) to figure out the ROI for all these new tools and are still scratching your head then this list should help.

I come from 30 years in this industry, and the last five have been a challenge even for me. It's hard to figure out strategy in these days of tremendous change. The way people can now communicate and develop communities is staggering and it's just going to get more interesting as this new approach to marketing matures.

Follows is a great list from Larry Brauner blog.
Thanks Larry for all you generous insights.

Social marketing is a logical extension of the multichannel marketing strategy of diversification. Social media sites can extend a company’s web presence far beyond the limits of its e-commerce, lead generation or information sites.
Social media builds awareness of products and brands by attraction rather than interruption, and by pulling rather than pushing. Consumers enjoy the discovery process and don’t feel annoyed by it.
Social media employs a community and list building paradigm that’s much more comprehensive, natural and intimate than conventional databases and autoresponders.
Social media marketers engage customers in dialog. They talk with the customer rather than at the customer as is generally the case with conventional media. Social media can also facilitate post-sale support and dissemination of valuable product tips to customers.
Social media used properly can build frequency less expensively than conventional media educating and informing the consumer over time.
Social media can help reach target markets that are too difficult or expensive to reach using conventional means.
Reach doesn’t determine cost, so social media can target a narrow vertical market while at the same time casting a wide net. Efficiency doesn’t really matter much in the context of social media reach.
Search engines like social media, and social marketing leverages free high-quality search exposure which is preferable to paying for low-quality pay-per-click or banner advertising.
Social media sites and your e commerce websites are available 24/7 more or less indefinitely. It’s much like having an ad run in every issue of a publication or like having a catalog or sales letter retained until the customer is ready to make a buying decision.
Using social networking sites it is often possible to connect directly with B2B decision makers without interference from protective gatekeepers.

Remember that social media is a brand new way of communicating and in a lot of cases is diametrically opposite to the way people have done marketing in the past.

My advice is to get into it now... just jump into this river of opportunities, learn how to swim in it and start swimming with the current and stop fighting against a current that goes faster and deeper each day. (that's a bit of poetic license from the bobster)

Twitter Tips Countdown

2009-03-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

A twitting we will go a twitting we will go...

Here is a slimmed down post from Jacqui Cheng Associate Editor
at arstechnica.com for the full unedited story please go to this link.

There are no explicit rules for how to use Twitter, of course, and ultimately, people are going to use it however they see fit; that's the beauty of such a flexible social platform. Still, if you follow these unspoken etiquette rules for being a good Twittizen, you should have no problems gaining followers the old-fashioned way.

Gaining more followers on Twitter
Here are six tips on how to win friends and influence Twitterers.

1) Fill out your bio
It doesn't matter if you're not someone "important"—think of a line or two that describes who you are and what you do and stick it in there. Be clear about it, at least from the casual observer's perspective.

2) Be yourself
Twitter users appreciate it when you simply say the things you want to say, the way you want to say them. Don't waste time trying to think of the funniest possible way to say something and don't try to make yourself sound smarter or wittier than you are. The Twitter community is largely made up of people who just like conversing with others; they want to follow real people, not the shell of the person you might awkwardly be trying to fake.

3) Engage in @ replies, but don't go overboard on @ replies
twitterfollowers.pngTwitter users love to feel like you're noticing what they say and find it compelling enough to engage in a brief back and forth every so often. If you come off as a friendly individual who chit-chats once in a while with followers, more people will feel like you're a welcoming person to follow. This is especially important as you gain more followers.

At the same time, don't @ reply to every single person on the face of the earth. If too much of your Twitter stream is made up of @ replies, new people have little motivation to follow you. Think of it this way: when strangers go to your Twitter page and see an entire page of @ replies about obscure stuff that they couldn't understand unless they followed all of those other people, why would they follow you?

4) Come to think of it, don't go overboard on anything
Tweeting about how your dog scared itself with its own fart is funny the first time, not the 62nd time.

5) If you have nothing to say, don't
No one expects you to force yourself to tweet just for the sake of tweeting if nothing is popping into your head naturally.

6) Don't give yourself an ulcer when followers leave
There are many reasons why someone might "unfollow" you. Sometimes, people realize that you don't talk about the stuff they expected you to talk about, or they thought you were someone else, or they simply feel like they follow too many people and have to start making cuts.

LINK: A couple of other cool twitter links:
6 Unique Twitter Visualizations
Top 10 Twitter Tips for Beginners

PART 5: Freebies as Business Promotion

2009-03-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

My precious my shiny precious

Lets face it, everyone loves to get stuff for free.

I have a campaign going this year where I hand out small carabiners with my website stamped on it. What makes it interesting is I also have a hiking website stamped on it too. I am an avid hiker and so I give them out when I meet people on trails and direct them to the hiking website so they can download maps and info on hikes available in the Vancouver area.

I also give them out when I meet people in networking parties. This is a great conversation starter and these days, if you are networking, you are trying to get to know people and not sell them. Think of an inexpensive gift you can hand out that will help steer the conversation down a different path and introduce them to something you are passionate about (like cooking, sailing, hiking or watching movies).

I like to give away 30 minutes on consulting to clients, It's what I have on the back of my cards. The reason for this is that it is very hard for me to explain the value of what I do. Getting the chance to give a person solutions to a variety of their marketing problems is a great way to show the value of hiring me as a "marketing solutions consultant".

I also do free seminars for my local networking groups and my chamber of commerce. Giving is always a good idea and will make you stand out in a crowd or networkers. So start thinking of the type of offers and gifts you can use to get more business connections at your next chance encounter or networking meeting.

Remember that "Givers Gain".

PART 4: Promote Your Business Inexpensivly

2009-03-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Will you be my marketing buddy?

Use strategic partnership marketing

Cross brand strategic marketing is a way to share the cost of printing or the actual mailing of the campaign.

I have done this a lot of times when the budget would not enable me to have a key element. I have negotiated a cross brand concept where both parties came out on top. See this blog post for details.

Another idea would be to send out marketing material (brochures, leaflet and/or business card) of another business in your mail out package. They would do the same for you when they send out to there mailing list which will gives you the chance to reach a whole new pool of potential customers.

Carry out business promotions with complementary businesses. Her is an example: A pet store and a pet grooming business, for example, might use shared advertising, or run a contest together. This can considerably cut down the cost of business promotion, and allow each business to use promotion techniques that would be too expensive to implement alone.

Take some time to pair up complimentary businesses that you know of and pitch the idea. You might be surprised with the positive reaction you get.

PART 3: Promote Your Business Inexpensivly

2009-03-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

Stop the pressssssssss...

Sending out press releases is another great way to get some free business promotion.

The caveat to using press releases as a business promotion tool, is that your press release has to actually contain information that is newsworthy, and be engaging enough to get people's interest. Try and have a human angle to the story.

When you read the press release ask yourself:
- Has your business recently expanded?
- Do you have a new product?
- Have you been involved in some promotional activity such as sponsoring a charity event?
- Have you or your company recently won an award?

All of these are examples of "news" that you can capitalize on to get some free promotion for your business. While many business people send press releases to newspapers as a matter of course, don't forget about the Internet.

Formating of the document
Always put Press Release in big letters on top of the release.
Then the statement "For immediate release"
Try and keep it to one page if possible

Then the information in the release should include the following:
- Key players names and how they are involved
- Date that this event happened or will happen
- Relevant quote from upper management
- If possible, a quote form industry expert
- Contact information so they know who to contact to get more quotes and info
- A high resolution image in color or links to a selection of images
- At the bottom of the page your businesses positioning statement

See this link for more details.

Drink Away The Art

2009-02-26T20:36:00.000-08:00

I love this art... glug glug glug

Hannes Broecker's
Cool Art Show
Originaly reported by Andrew J Wiener from the thecoolhunter website
Original post can be found here

Forget about wandering through an art gallery and wondering if you’re the only one who has no idea what anything means. Hannes Broecker has brilliantly invited the cultural elite to grab a glass at an exhibition in Dresden, Germany, and drink away the art.

Regardless of what we do or do not understand about art, we can all agree, it stimulates our senses. Broecker has aroused our sense of taste (not to mention eliminated the need of elbowing our way to the bar) by hanging flat, glass containers with a variety of cocktails in the exhibition space. As the night progressed, the levels of the multi-coloured infusions diminished. By the end of the event, the art, itself, ran dry, and empty drinking glasses were returned to where they were originally placed.

PART 2: Promote Your Business Inexpensivly

2009-02-20T10:46:00.000-08:00

Scratch scratch the pens makes the paper speak...

Writing articles on topics related to your business expertise is an excellent business promotion technique.

Articles can provide free advertising and build positive word-of-mouth. If you're a realtor, for instance, you could write a piece on preparing your home to be shown. If you're a Web site designer, you might write a piece about assessing Web site usability. The more specific your topic, the better.

Write a short biographical note, or "blurb" about you and your business to go with the article. As the goal is to promote your business. Realistically, you may have to send it to a publication that accepts unsolicited work from unknown authors Magazines generally have a long lead time, so I would focus my first efforts on the 'Net.

There are an astronomical number of e-zines and sites with newsletters that are hungry for content. One place to look for e-zines to send articles to is The Internet's Best E-Zine Directories. E-zines also provide excellent advertising value; the trick is to find the right e-zine for your target audience.

Freelance writing sites also provide a great deal of information on all kinds of publications that might publish your efforts. Make your research easier by starting with a great site that provides all kinds of lists and information on markets such as About Freelance Writers, or FreelanceWriting.com.

Newspapers are also excellent places to place your business promotion article, as they too have a much shorter lead-time than magazines, and are always looking for material. Try contacting the Business editor of your local paper and pitching your article.

Then again you could always start a Blog to get your thoughts out to the world that way. The "important part" is to be consistent and get a new post out at least once a week if not more. Your blog is an important tool and there are lots of was to leverage the content.

One of the best ways is to use it at a knowledge archive. This way when people ask you questions in an e-mail or even in a networking situation you can say you will e-mail them back saying that you have written about it in your blog couple of month ago and here is the link. This is also a great excuse to ask for there business card and have a good reason to contact them the next day.

Remember to enjoy the writing and research for writing proses and soon it will become part of your weekly Fun-things-to-do-list.