Content creates opportunities
07 September 2010So it's been a shade over a month since I started Meet My Followers. I've had a ton of support and retweets and all kinds of people wishing the success for the show. I've also had a couple people seriously doubt whether the show should continue. What hurts is that those folks who question it are those who I respect the most. I have to look at the results though: It's a lot of work daily to record, produce, edit, encode and blog. Yet I regularly find that it's the absolute highlight of every day. Some quick stats: Over 2,100 page views by more than 700 unique visitors from 28 countries who downloaded more than 1,000 episodes in the first 30 days of operation I've been introduced to or recommended to follow more than 3 dozen people "off air" in addition to the 2 dozen or so that were mentioned on the show who I already wasn't following I've received compliments from many people regarding my voice including someone who formerly hosted a morning radio show and a top blogger who said I missed my calling by not being in radio. All but 5 episodes have had a sponsor that are helping make the podcast possible. Those ...
Social Media for Small Business is being taught incorrectly
29 August 2010Earlier this week I was approached by an individual who asked me to create a 4 post series for his blog while paying a more than reasonable rate per post. As I sat down to begin writing I had only one thought come to my mind that warranted such a long discourse: social media for small businesses is being taught the wrong way. I've read dozens of books on the subject and every one of them, including several of my friends' books, are teaching social media in the same way. Effectively they preach "Go online and connect with the community there." When you're a small business using the internet in that way I no longer think is the most effective way to use your time and resources. Let's be real here; if you're running a restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida how smart is it for you to buy an ad on Google or Facebook that appears when I do a search. I know that's extreme and that it removes the geolocation targeting features that both platforms currently have for ads. But I question if interacting through social media isn't the same kind of absurd behavior. I am now beginning to believe that it ...
So I failed at August’s 30 in 30
18 August 2010As the title to this post states, I failed. It happens pretty regularly for me in different areas of my life but it always stings a little bit. That stated, I haven't gone completely dark. Most of you who stumble upon this blog already know that on August 5th I launched a daily podcast over at MeetMyFollowers.com. The concept for the show is really simple: Every weekday I release a new episode where I interview one of my actual twitter followers. The typical interview is about 19 minutes and I've had an absolute blast creating the show. The idea is pretty simple but that simplicity allows pretty much anyone to quickly grasp why the show is likely to succeed. The show's premise can easily fit inside a tweet. I've been asked by several people why I started the show. The simple reason is that I wasn't producing enough content that really showcased my skills in creating content. I really pride myself on doing that as a community manager. Going one step further though, it allows me to expose the network of ...
Shared Sundays are the best
08 August 2010About once a month, I get the opportunity to come down to south Chandler and hang with some of my best friends. This is the time I get to let lose and play games with the people who I love the most. It brings me back to my center and makes me more creative as the month goes along. I enjoy this so I hope you each get a time to sit with those people who make you creative this fine Sunday.
Social Media TiVo please
07 August 2010It's pretty amazing the number of "real-time" online tools there are now. Twitter, Facebook Updates, Foursquare, Gowalla, Ustream and hundreds more are all tools to help us communicate with one another right now. It's getting pretty loud and a lot of folks have started to posit that the next wave of online tools will be those to help us filter all this information. This to me looks shockingly like cable television in 1997. Back then there were hundreds of channels all happening in real time and all fighting for an audience. There was no easy way to break out of the "right now" consumption of the content. Then a game changing product was released: TiVo. All of a sudden it was easy and intuitive to record your shows and watch them at your convenience. You could still go out with friends and not be stressed about missing this week's "Survivor" episode. This changed the way most Americans are consumed television. DVR adoption rates are good and only look to be getting even more ubiquitous with television cable and satellite companies. What I'm looking for is the next revolutionary web technology that will have the same kind of effect that TiVo did for ...
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