Image Credit: c@rljones
The web has fast become the most efficient tool for building interactions and relationships between the world and your business. No matter if you are a national brand or a fresh upstart, using the web successfully is vital to your success. It is the ultimate marketing tool, we know this - however integrating it with your business model itself can prove an even greater opportunity.
This speaks to the importance of having someone on your team, in house that is a web guru and social media evangelist. Let’s go through 14 reasons why this is so vital: Continue reading...
Image Credit: Neville Longmore Abstract Artist
McDonalds is to food as radio is to music
I abhor essentially all music that is played on broadcast radio. Yes, musical taste is subjective, but the trite, banal, watered-down music devoid of personality played on radio in America is an insult to anyone with more than a fleeting interest in the form of art.
The problem I have with it goes deeper than formulaic structure and generic, unoriginal content - although you could easily make the case for either of those - but I’d like to also highlight something you may not realize: most of it is way overproduced. It isn’t authentic and is lacking a key element that makes music special: personality.
I prefer music written by one person in their home studio with just a few pieces of gear, music recorded by an amateur band in their garage, music recorded by a live jazz performance for an intimate group - people creating music because they love it without pretense. It is real, and it’s actually far better than what most big studios put out. Continue reading...
There is no shortage of definitions of social media floating throughout the web. Here are just a few…
Wikipedia defines social media as:
Social media are primarily Internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. The term most often refers to activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and “building” of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories and experiences.
Duct Tape Marketing defines social media as:
Social media is the use of technology combined with social interaction to create or co-create value.
Brian Solis defines social media as:
Social Media is, at its most basic sense, a shift in how people discover, read, and share news and information and content. It’s a fusion of sociology and technology, tranforming monologue (one to many) into dialog (many to many.)
Image Credit: Dion Hinchcliffe
Documenting power users and influencers in social media has been a lot of fun so far, and I am glad to be writing part 3 in this series.
What I am not trying to do is “rank” these people in numbered lists, as that is the antithesis of what I hope you will learn from these posts. Instead, these are people who are using social communications tools in exciting and positive ways - people who you should follow and study to learn how they share ideas and what makes them ultra-successful communicators.
Also, instead of compiling one comprehensive, tremendous list with just a line or two about each person, I am presenting just a few at a time and in greater detail to help introduce them to you in a more useful format.
If you’re new here, please start by reading the first two parts as they provide the full context for this series:
Social Media Power Users And Influencers: Part 1
Social Media Power Users And Influencers: Part 2
Now that you’re caught up, let’s get into part 3: Continue reading...
image credit: today is a good day
Gathering the crowd is only the beginning
Building an audience and creating a following are just the first steps before truly amazing things happen with your ideas and communications on the web. Once you’ve gathered a crowd and built your network, that’s when the real fun starts. That’s when you get the chance to let your creativity shine.
Without creativity and without inspiring people to action, what good is having access to a niche group that has said “yes, I want to hear from you.” Global, multi-directional communication is exciting and empowering, I agree. But, the tools aren’t novel to many of us anymore - the tools themselves have moved into the background (and actually, that’s when they become most interesting). Continue reading...
