Instead of hanging out at the mall, more people are choosing to hang out on the Internet instead. It really seems like the social media thing is taking off. It’s no longer something that people are wondering about. Rather, major companies are getting into the social media swing. For example, one article that was published not that long ago in BusinessWeek talked about how IBM has been encouraging social networking among its employees with in-house versions of sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

According to the article,

Social networks in the corporate world involve very different dynamics, and scientists at IBM (IBM) Research’s Collaborative User Div. in Cambridge, Mass., are learning all about them. Over the past two years, IBM has been busily launching in-house versions of Web 2.0 hits. “We’re trying to see how things that are hot elsewhere can be fit for business.” says Irene Greif, an IBM Fellow who heads up Collaborative User Experience.

So, social networking as well as social networking sites are just for college kids or people with tons of free time; they’re actually being put to good use by major corporations for the purposes of spreading ideas around, brainstorming and building up company morale. All of this is a good thing. It’s proving to be an effective substitute for face-to-face communication, something which is lacking anyway in major corporations. Just think, you could add the top executive “what’s her name” to your friends list on Facebook. Just make sure you change your settings so that she or he doesn’t know you’re planning on calling out sick tomorrow…

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - No Comments »

Freedom of speech is one of those great perks to living in a country like the United States. You can walk down the street and verbally bash that annoying co-worker of yours without being reprimanded or arrested. But when you then try to do the same thing on the Internet, it’s a whole different ball game.

A recent article, published by the Associated Press on Yahoo News, talked at length about how public online spaces don’t carry speech rights saying,

Companies in charge of seemingly public spaces online wipe out content that’s controversial but otherwise legal. Service providers write their own rules for users worldwide and set foreign policy when they cooperate with regimes like China. They serve as prosecutor, judge and jury in handling disputes behind closed doors.

Awaiting Comments in Moderation

Some might argue that you are not free to speak your mind on the Internet, that things aren’t what they seem. After all, everyone has differing opinions on a wide variety of topics, and someone who has just written an article or blog and wants to promote it is more than likely not going to publish negative comments from other readers. It simply seems to be a fact of life where the Internet is concerned.

There is also the issue of minors having access to TONS of material via web surfing. As hard as parents may try to set up parental controls on their computers, things always leak through. This is something that AP writer, Anick Jesdanun brings up, stating:

While mindful of free speech and other rights, Yahoo and other companies say they must craft and enforce guidelines that go beyond legal requirements to protect their brands and foster safe, enjoyable communities-ones where minors may be roaming.

The thought behind this is that these “guidelines” help to make the Internet experience more positive for everyone. Thinking about it this way, I pose the question,

Do we really have freedom of speech on the World Wide Web?

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 2 Comments »

When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), just like developing good eating habits-organic is the way to go and hits the mark every time. A lot of SEO companies underhanded things such as run fake sites in order to drive traffic to a client or hire people to write poor reviews and/or make negative comments on competitor’s web sites all in an effort to make themselves or their clients look better. And while this may work in the short term, it most certainly will not work forever.

Has “SEO” Taken On A Negative Connotation?

SEO has, over the years, attracted a slew of unwanted, negative meanings. In a lot of cases, it has become a bad thing. But has SEO really slipped into the recesses of becoming just another “4-letter word,” or is there some hope yet? There are some ethical SEO companies out there who aren’t entirely useless, who tend to do things organically and ethically in order to get their clients the kinds of desirable rankings they wish to see on Google. After all, looking up your business and finding it on page one of Google is much like having the New York Times delivered only to discover that you’ve made the front page news (hopefully for a good reason). It’s exciting, and this is what most people and businesses are after, which is why so many go to great lengths to do anything and everything they have to in order to ensure that their sites are indexed and recorded appropriately.

Worth the Wait?

Have we lost sight of what we are hoping to achieve when it comes to search engine optimization? To use a common stereotype (since I’m from New York); like most NYers, people grow impatient once things begin to take too long. Therefore, one could only expect to find that people don’t want to take the time and effort that is required to allow SEO to work properly.

Many SEO companies have changed their names from SEO to something else that is sorta’ related; or they have changed the focus of what they do to an approach that leaves out the word “SEO” all together. In addition, many have found that you can get real results from organic traffic (i.e. people who are predisposed to liking your blog and what you have to say) because of quality content. Tools such as News Feed subscribers, increasing the link love and a little bit of ‘you know what’ (SEO stuff-organic of course) can go a long way to building a healthy, happy blog or web site in addition to creating a loyal following.

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Blogging, Business Building by Janelle - 2 Comments »

Nowadays, it seems like everyone and their mother has a “blog”. And in many ways, these blogs can function like mini-web sites. Almost anyone can get one for no cost at all from blog service providers such as Wordpress, Blogger and Typepad. And most times you can tell who the newbies are from those who are actually using their blogs to try to gain revenue.

Separating the Newbies from the Business People

Typically, the newer the blog user is, the more focused they are on expressing themselves and trying to find their own personality via blogging. Often, these blogs will have personal anecdotes, pictures of family and friends, short stories and links to pages as well as other bloggers they like. These bloggers tend to have more fun with writing, as they feel no restraints in what kinds of topics they can write about.

On the other hand, there are those bloggers who (increasingly so) are out to market themselves in an effort to bring attention to an issue; but more often than not, it is to make some sort of revenue from the blog. These blogs are peppered with AdSense ads, and other nonsensical things, which tend to cloud the reader’s ability to focus on what should be the most important part of the blog: the content. Now, don’t get me wrong; there are some decent, high-quality blogs out there that do a really great job with providing quality content while making some money on the side. However, this brings up the whole notion of self promotion.

There are many schemes for earning revenue for all of the blogging that a person can stand to do in any given week, month or year. A lot of times, bloggers will promote their blogs or other blogs that they are earning revenue off of by promoting it on other sites. This is where the whole “do follow” and anti-spam rules come into play. Recently, for example, I have noticed that there are a lot of people who have been sending me messages on MyBlogLog.com. The thing is, though; they’re not actual personal messages. Instead, they appear to be mass messages sent out to hundreds of viewers simply saying something like, “Please check out my site at www.—-.com and leave a comment”. Would most readers consider this form of self-promotion to be spammy? While it may seem clever to spread the word about your blog (because admittedly, sometimes I will click on a link out of sheer curiosity), more often than not I just find self-promotion annoying half the time.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Blogging, Communication by Janelle - 5 Comments »

Recently, a friend of mine was using the social networking site, StumbleUpon, when she received a nasty message from another StumbleUpon user (whose name and message I will not repeat here). It turned out that this other person didn’t like the fact that she had “thumbed up” a certain web site and thus, had a few choice words for her. As she sat there, perplexed at why someone would trash talk her for no real good reason, I began to doubt the value of social networking. After all, the whole point of “stumbling” is to review sites that you like or dislike and occasionally give a reason or leave a comment as to why you felt that way.

If you can’t express your opinion without having someone else berate you for it, then is social media really doing its job? We’re supposed to be building connections and discovering new things. Now, I’m not saying that we have to all get along; but shouldn’t social networking come with some sort of general protocol that everyone should adhere to? Clearly, cursing at someone or stalking someone on the Internet, leaving disparaging remarks at every presentable opportunity is not the way to build camaraderie while surfing.

If you don’t like a web site or you read someone’s blog and disagree, you should be able to disagree without being shot down. In the same respect, if you really like a web site or a blog, you should be able to leave a remark about it. The key here, I think, is always trying to find a way to channel your emotions. You may not agree with what someone else has to say or with their point of view. In fact, reading what someone has written, whether it be fact or fiction might even make you upset; but you can’t surf around putting down others who don’t share the same point of view as you. The world wide web would be an awfully mundane place if everyone shared the same view point. It is the diversity of information that is available to us at just the click of a mouse or a few keystrokes that keeps Internet readers coming back for more.

In the meantime, what can be done about users, like the one on StumbleUpon, who leave insidious comments? Does simply “reporting” them have any profound effect?

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Business Building by Janelle - 5 Comments »

Matthew Peters writes a great article on the paradox of self-promotion with social media that goes on to talk about the World Wide Web as a social creature stating:

This fundamental change in the mechanics of the dissemination of information has engendered, and is further propelled by, the evolution of social media. Entertainment can now be created by anybody and shared with everybody. The relative worth of a news story can now be voted upon by anyone who wishes to participate. It has never been easier to report on the news to assert one’s opinion, or to spark controversy with unparalleled tools of demagoguery.

In discussing the paradox of self-promotion and social media, Peters points out that there are all sorts of social etiquette that bloggers must follow if they want to improve their credibility as well as increase the traffic to their blog(s). For example, some simple rules include things such as not spamming other bloggers, subscribing to other bloggers first and always staying on top your comments (i.e. responding!).

However, the paradox lay in the fact that one of the major rules of social media is “don’t promote yourself.” But isn’t that the whole reason behind why people engage in social networking? Peters goes on to observe:

Social media generally frowns on self-promotion, in many cases admonishing outright those who practice it. But with the sheer numbers of new videos, posts, sites, pictures, and stories appearing each and every day, self-promotion is a necessity for anyone starting out and hoping to gain any sort of foothold.

Solving the Problem in 5 Steps

1. Don’t Be Selfish: If you belong to a social networking site such as Stumbleupon.com, don’t just stumble the blogs that you write. After all, what fun is that for others who are checking out your stumbles? If you see other sites that interest you, stumble them. Share the love, and it will come back to you ten-fold!
2. Limit the Social Sites: There are zillions of social networking sites out there with more popping up every day, it seems. Rather than create a bunch of different accounts that you will never be able to keep up with, focus instead on a few key ones. Remember quality is better than quantity; keep it simple for starters. Besides this, joining too many social networking sites can make you look desperate, thus negatively affecting your credibility.
3. Don’t Overdo it: Thank goodness for filters. Every time I log into my e-mail account, I receive at least a dozen “shouts” from friends on the social networking site called Digg. Now, I don’t even bother to check the “shouts” anymore. Pick and choose what you are going to send other people!
4. Make Friends: Believe it or not, social networking is about making connections with other people, and you may actually make a friend out of it. For example, I came across a profile that I really liked and ended up contacting the woman about it. As it turned out, she had a lot of really helpful advice when it came to blogging. As a result, I regularly correspond with her if I have questions or need advice.
5. Don’t Fake it: One of the most annoying things that I come across are those people who take self-promotion to the extreme. They create numerous fake names and profiles so that they can promote their sites and boost their rankings. In the world of social media, however, much like lying (which is essentially what it is), creating fake profiles will always come back to bite you, so don’t do it!

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 1 Comment »

When we think about social media, the first thing that often comes to mind are popular social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook. While there are plenty of people who use these social networking sites to connect to people they know, there are also plenty of others who use it to meet new people. But, how do you know who you’re talking to. Even with sites such as mybloglog.com and stumbleupon.com, anyone can throw a profile together real quick with the help of some Google images and a couple of smart sentences.

Things to Be Aware Of

For those of you who are trying to make an honest living by blogging or who simply want to increase exposure to your personal blog or web site, there are plenty of organic ways to increase your popularity. The following are some ways in which people push the ethical limits to increase traffic via social networks as well as things to be aware of:

1. Sex: Unfortunately, there are people out there who think nothing of showing a little skin in order to entice other viewers to take a second look at their page.
2. SEOs: If you’re new to the wonderful world of blogs and other things that relate to the web, and you really want to focus on driving traffic to your site, you may enlist the help of an SEO expert for a small fee.
3. PPC: PPC (aka: pay-per-click) are those Google ads that you see on the sides of web sites sometimes. By paying to have your web site advertised, this can be a great way to direct traffic back to your site.
4. Networking: Networking is perhaps the best way to build up credibility among your peers when it comes to making a name for yourself. Many bloggers will join more than one social networking site with the hopes of meeting more people who share similar interests as them and who can help market their product and/or services. But watch out for those people who cheat the system by inflating their page view numbers as well as those who leave poor quality comments on your message boards.
5. Stat Counter (and similar sites): StatCounter.com is just one example of a way in which you can monitor the type of traffic that is coming to your site. It offers graphs and charts and keyword analyses to let you know how people are searching for you. This is a great (and free) tool that can help you figure out where to direct your efforts when it comes to social media-type stuff.

Paige Filler also offers some great advice and information about Social Media. Check out her site here.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Business Building, Business Networking, Social Media, Social Networking by Janelle - 2 Comments »

According to a recent article, dotMobi (the company behind .mobi Internet address), and AKQA Mobile published the results of a consumer study of mobile Internet usage and attitudes. The results of the survey showed that more consumers are demanding a better mobile web from their phones, stating that instead of basic entertainment and ringtones, they wanted features such as phone-optimized banking and travel planning. Whoah there- why would you want to bring the Internet with you? Talk about nursing an addiction!

Remember when the Internet was brand-spanking new? Now it seems that we can’t get enough of it, bringing it with us wherever we go. While it may be incredibly convenient to be able to talk to your sister long distance while standing on the sidelines at your son’s soccer game only to check your email and bank account status in between whistle blows- it makes me wonder, are we getting out of hand with technology?

The article goes on to state the following;

…Trust in the mobile Web was inherent throughout the results of the study. In demanding access to mobile banking and mobile commerce abilities for basic utilities such as groceries, plane tickets and books, Consumers said they trust the mobile Web to keep their personal information secure, as opposed to the PC-based Internet, where security remains of utmost importance.

While having access to the Internet wherever you go may seem cool initially, it raises ethical questions, the main one being, “Do we really need Internet access everywhere we go?” What did people do before the Internet came out?

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 1 Comment »

You Tube is definitely all about the people, putting demographic feedback to work. For instance, after Weezer posted its music video Pork and Beans, they were able to find out that 65% of the viewers were male. And according to a recent article by the Los Angeles Times,

The data bring a little science to what has been the art of viral marketing, and the potential for big changes in how bands, television shows, movies and consumer products are promoted on the Internet.

Plus- it’s addictive! My boyfriend’s brother recently introduced his parents to You Tube, and ever since they were introduced to this social media phenomenon, they are hooked on looking up everything and anything ranging from old Beatles performances to clips from their favorite movies. It just goes to show you that social media is not only good for marketing and advertising- it can also be entertaining! To further explain, in more simple terms:

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Marketing by Janelle - 1 Comment »

From your career to your business, it is wise to think about the current and future conversation about you on the web. When you have a talk with someone at a networking event, that conversation lasts only as long as you’re speaking and in the memory of the people who were listening. Conversations on the web that may passionately express a strong opinion in the moment may live for years, long after the opinion has faded away.

Right now you are probably on the web in some form whether you planned it or not. My invitation is to participate in the conversation that you want about yourself on the web. Trying to control everything that is said about you on the web is not what I’m talking about (and a poor use of time that would drive you crazy.) Just as speaking without thinking in public can have immediate negative ramifications personally, doing the same thing on the web can have ramifications over a longer period of time. For example, when I first started searching my own name on the web I was shocked to find an upset note complaining about a faulty product associated with my name. When I investigated further, I found out that I had actually posted the note a year ago to the manufacturer, and Google had pulled the note out of context with my name attached. This opened my eyes to the importance of paying attention to what I put on the Internet and the value of spending some time attending to that. I am not talking about falsely representing yourself on the web to look good, but I am talking about insuring that what’s on the Web represents the type of person you are committed to being. So you see, “the conversation of you” on the Web is your permanent virtual showcase, including more than just what you do or your job. It is giving people a sense of the total person, beyond a mere description attached to a job.

Just as in business networking in person, trying to be everywhere all the time does not work well. My advice about business and social networking is to start by picking one to three good networking sources. Work with them and get to know them, — even though every one of your friends may be sending you an invite to other online groups you’ve never heard of . For example, you may want to start with linkedin.com, or a local business group like inside919.com. Allot a set amount of time each week for learning about how to use it, or even go to some training on the topic. From You Tube, to blogs, to the site’s own resources, there are a lot of free educational resources on the web to help you learn to navigate wisely. Watch what others do and notice the effect it has on you, both positive and negative. Remember to use the same social skills you would have in person on the web (sometimes people forget this key point.) Don’t over-dominate one community group with listings of things you are selling. Make sure to lead with value and contribution.

Being part of networking communities on the web is as important to a business owner as it is to someone with a “œcareer job”. The saddest thing I have seen is the hardworking employee doing their best to “take care of their family” by focusing only on doing their job. When someone takes no time to build a conversation about themselves outside the company and is suddenly laid off, it is a lot harder and more costly to market yourself for a job on the web when you are unemployed. It is a good idea to talk to your PR person, marketing person, web developer or career consultant to have these conversations aligned strategically on the web. Even if your name is not unique, you can make it stand out with quality information attached to it. Using a Blog reader or a news aggregator is a great way to keep track of many information sources in one location. Look forward to seeing YOU on the web!

Martin Brossman - Success Coach / Trainer / Author: www.CoachingSupport.com , Martin@CoachingSupport.com , (919) 847-4757

My podcast is: www.inquireonline.info

Tags: Business Networking, General Business Issues, Internet Marketing, Marketing by Martin Brossman - No Comments »