Forgiveness And Positive Living
By Ton Pascal
"Forgiveness is the key that can unshackle us from a past that will not rest in the grave of things over and done with. As long as our minds are captive to the memory of having been wronged, they are not free to wish for reconciliation with the one who wronged us." Lewis B. Smedes.
For over 20 years I carried a grudge, an anger closer to hatred of my own mother. I felt totally justified and was utterly convinced I had the right to express openly this anger against what I believed was my mother's absence and lack of caring, love or any motherly feelings toward me since the death of my father. In fact I drew my strength from these things to carry on with my life. Only a few close friends knew about it and even when I started doing my relaxation studies I never thought this issue had anything to do with my search for mental harmony and the frustration of not being able to reach it completely.
My incessant moving around this planet from one country to another brought me personal and material satisfaction but left me with an empty feeling. Like a potted tree that hasn't yet found mother earth's ground in which to thrive.
When I decided to come back to Canada five years ago, little did I know that it would be the beginning of a journey which would take me back in time and reunite me with my mother. My sister had arranged for us to meet and although I wasn't too keen to do so, I accepted.
I was tense, arrogant, and disagreeable when we met. As my mother tried to kiss me I pulled back and simply offered my hand for a handshake. Her first words stayed engraved in my mind and heart for the days to come when she said, "All that I want is to ask if you could forgive me for not being the mother I wish I could have been, my son, I am so sorry..."
We met again a few days later and we talked openly about our pains, hurts, sorrows, and expectations. It was the first time I saw my mother as a woman and as a human being; not from a child's point of view.
My father's untimely passing away at thirty two left a beautiful young widow of twenty six years old with four children, the youngest 25 days old to take care of, several cattle ranches and a retail business in a male- oriented society. Having only an aging father and a younger sister in Brazil, she was alone and against all odds, she succeeded in raising her family.
Compassion and understanding gave me the strength not only to forgive her, but to forgive myself for the senseless pain I inflicted myself and the guilt it carries with it. We became very close again, and slowly the whole family seemed to come closer and closer.
I soon found out that forgiveness is a positive energy that spreads much quicker than I thought. I have nephews, nieces, and cousins that are now an integral positive part of my life.
A new route was opening on my path and the writing of Dream Your Life Positively came a year after. A well-documented site on this subject is "A Campaign for Forgiveness Research"* where I found some important examples cited here.
Each time we witness an act of forgiveness, we marvel at its power to heal, to break a seemingly unending cycle of pain. Forgiveness is something virtually all Americans aspire to. In a Gallup poll nationwide survey, 94% said it was important to forgive, but it is not something we frequently offer. (In the same survey, only 48% said they usually tried to forgive others.)
Perhaps this is because forgiveness is something we don't fully understand, or we associate forgiveness with weakness as Friedrich Nietzsche did. Some view forgiveness, as an almost saintly quality that blesses only the very special and most certainly cannot be learned. In fact, the opposite is true. Forgiveness is a sign of strength. Research conducted at the University of Wisconsin in 1997 indicates forgiveness can be taught, with positive results.
I told a friend of mine that if she wanted to find a healthier source of strength after her separation from an abusive husband, she must forgive him before she could find her own way to happiness. "After what I have been through with that bastard? When hell freezes over." was her answer.
I suggested she try the three affirmations below for a few weeks and see if she still felt the same way. - I am good, compassionate and I now have the strength to forgive. - I deserve to be happy and successful. - I am now ready to receive more love, support, and wealth from the vast supply of the universe.
After two weeks of affirmations she told me that the most difficult thing was to think of him and all the bad incidents. The pain, despair, and guilt would come back but she now understood that she wanted to be able to forgive and in her prayers she asked God to help her to forgive.
I knew then she had found her path. Forgiving is not condoning; hurtful actions have consequences. Yet couples that communicate forgiveness may hold the key to stable marriages.
What makes some marriages last a lifetime, while others falter and fall apart? According to Professor Douglas Kelley of Arizona State University West, the key to long-term conjugal bliss may be in how well a couple communicates forgiveness. "These days the notion of equality, an eye for an eye, is prominent," says Kelley. "That makes forgiveness counter-intuitive - but at the same time, a lot of people who don't call themselves religious or spiritual are forgiving one another. Is it because they sense that they will reap the benefits of forgiving for years to come, or is there some other motive?"
In the end, Kelley hopes that embracing and communicating forgiveness can provide a sense of well-being and stability for couples living in an increasingly stressed society.
Forgiving doesn't change what has passed, neither does it justify or make it all right. It allows you to focus on your life from a pain free emotional state. The past no longer makes you cringe, cry or swear.
Forgiveness simply helps you to let go of that negative baggage and makes a place for all the positive things you wish to have. I know a lot of people who after a lover's break up or a friend's betrayal have vowed, "I will never let anyone hurt me like that again."
It is quite justifiable, it is your survival instinct, a protective shield taking over, but be careful that this shield will also prevent you from connecting with new people and eventually making new friends.
This is negative living, and most people are not even aware of it. Forgiveness is letting go of that negative emotional baggage and starting on a new path stronger than before. It is very difficult, I know, to accept the fact that someone you loved and trusted, who has betrayed and stabbed you in the back, deserves your forgiveness.
When I lost a best friend of 25 years to what I thought was petty gossip, I was devastated and questioned the sincerity of her friendship all those years. After forgiving her I can now look back and laugh at the good moments we had together. Sincerity is no longer a question, my love for her is the same, but I no longer need to see, speak or interact with her. Our roads just took different directions, that's all.
Make an assessment of the people in your life, and the ones who are gone. What are your feelings about them? Is there someone you feel "I dislike (or hate) that SOB" either for personal reasons or because of malicious gossip? Or is there someone you distanced from and in your book is unforgivable?
You are carrying some heavy negative emotional baggage. Get rid of it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE if you want the good energy of positive living to reach you.
An important, well documented and proven factor is that your anger, hurt and pain not only will affect the way you communicate with others, but eventually will exclude you from social contact. Your self worth is constantly being questioned and if you don't take action it will eventually break down.
"Forgiveness allows one to overcome a situation that would otherwise be a major source of stress, both mentally and neurobiological. Forgiveness is thought to dramatically change the individual's biological homeostatic equilibrium. He will assess the neurobiological response associated with forgiveness and unforgiving-ness." Study of the Brain Functional Correlates of Forgiveness in Humans -Pietro Pietrini, M.D., Ph.D., Pisa - Italy.
Forgiveness benefits both, but you the most, because you left the negative baggage behind. You are now ready to receive the positive force, energy, love, wealth and success the universe has in store for you. The other person doesn't even need to know, it is irrelevant. Neither do you have to bring that person into your life or closer circle any more.
What matters is your thoughts and therefore your actions. If it is clean, clear, and positive, so will your life, your friends, and your future. "Forgiveness is both a decision and a real change in emotional experience. That change in emotion is related to better mental and physical health." Everett L. Worthington, Jr., Ph.D. Executive Director, A Campaign For Forgiveness Research.
From a decade-old grudge against the third-grade bully to deep-seated rage against a cheating spouse, millions of Americans harbor long-term grievances. Dr. Carl Thoresen, a professor at Stanford University, and his colleague, Dr. Fred Luskin, are exploring whether the unresolved anger that blights many people's lives can be alleviated with the help of an age-old concept: forgiveness.
Together, the pair launched a comprehensive research project: The Stanford Forgiveness Study. Thoresen and Luskin hope the impact of their work will be preventative as well as therapeutic. "It's our hope that family and school violence, including shootings, road rage, gang violence and workplace conflict will be diminished - if not avoided - if more people understand the role that forgiveness can play in interpersonal relations," says Thoresen.
"It takes courage and commitment to act in a more forgiving fashion. It's not at all a sign of weakness but a mark of strength." Dr. Carl Thoresen is a professor of Education, Psychology and Psychiatry at Stanford University. Dr. Fred Luskin is a research associate at the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention.
Have a great journey.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing
The Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing
Any and all forms of Social Media Marketing tactics fall under at least one of these five forms of action. Often the same channel will incorporate two or more of these:
Declaration of Identity
Identity through Association
User-initiated Conversation
Provider-initiated Conversation
In-Person Interaction
Identity-based Interaction is your declaration of your value, who you are, and where you can be found. Your customer happens upon your online identity that you, as a provider, define and declare. This is anything from your About Us pages on your blog or website, to your MySpace profile, to your Naymz profile. Here, there is very little interaction outside of your own declaration, but this becomes critical in defining how you can benefit your marketplace.
There has been a recent outcrop of websites created purely for this function. An expanded business card, if you will. Most also include the opportunity to link to your other forms of presence online, bringing together your presence in one place…well, kind-of. They include:
Naymz
Ziki
ClaimID
SuprGlu
LinkedIn
Association-based Interaction is your customers’ opportunity to associate themselves with you and you with your customers. Most obviously, this is accomplished through things like becoming “Friends” on MySpace, you and your customers’ BlogRoll, or through their social bookmarking. This is your customer wearing your company’s logo proudly - Like Andy wears his Beatles shirts.
The most explicit form of allowing for this ability is through social bookmarking sites. I say this, and not social networking sites, because this is the sole function of these sites. Make it easy for your customers to bookmark your site, blog posts, etc with their favorite tool.
del.icio.us
Furl
blummy
Ma.gnolia
StumbleUpon
BlinkList
User-initiated Conversation is your users’ opportunity to create their own declarations or questions, and your opportunity to respond. This is your opportunity to be there and cater to them. Here, you serve your customers.
Perhaps the most cut-and-dry examples of this lie in messageboards, forums and “groups” sites such as Google Groups, Yahoo! Groups, community sites, etc. So, how do you find these conversations? Andy Beal’s Online Reputation Monitoring Beginner’s Guide. Here, he walks you through, step-by-step, how to find out what conversations are being initiated by others online.
In order to get directly involved with your customers, the most well-known example of this is “GoogleGuy” on the WebmasterWorld forums, is through your users’ forums, and sites such as:
Yahoo Groups
Google Groups
AOL Groups
MSN Groups
Topica EMail Lists
Kaboodle Groups
Eurekster
tribe.net
Ning
Provider-initiated Conversation is your chance to find out what your customers think, feel, love and hate about your product. Ask them. Challenge them. Present yourself to them, but do so respectfully. As much as it’s an opportunity for them to tell you what they love and hate about your product, it’s also their choice whether to do so or not. Be kind. Be respectful. Appreciate their time.
Although it’s not a primarily online company, there is one company that has made this their culture. Seeking feedback and input from its customers 24/7/265. And it is: Current.tv. There’s little-to-no format, except for about half of the content is contributed by its users. If you haven’t seen it or don’t have digital cable, find someone who does and watch it. Do that this week, you won’t regret it.
Social networking strategies for connecting with your customers can certainly be complex, tricky and cumbersome, so I’ll be writing up strategies in the very near future to hopefully assist on those fronts. In the meantime, find your customers and interact with them here:
Myspace
Bebo
Friendster
Consumating
In-Person Interaction is the pinnacle form of interaction with your customers. You’re interacting with them online, why not in person? Does it get better than that? This is where relationships are built and authentic conversation is had with so much more input, feedback, collaboration and communication. I had a seven hour conversation with a good friend last night. It was one of the best conversations I’ve ever had about so many things, and I could have never had that quality of a conversation online. Nothing beats face-to-face.
Get out there. Meet your customers. Let them interact with other customers. Build your community. Go to conferences…better yet, organize your own gatherings.
To help this along, coordinating, managing attendee status, etc, there have been several sites that can help in either finding local events or coordinating your own:
Meetup
BarCamp
Evite
Upcoming
Eventful
Final Thoughts
One thing about social media marketing: It’s complicated for two reasons: no one has created a structure to work from, and there’s so much overlap in functionality of different sites, that it can be quite confusing as to a site’s single purpose because…well…there usually isn’t a single purpose.
Don’t let this hold you back. Get out there. Spend time with these sites. Sign up, Use them, meet your customers, talk to your customers, and LOVE THEM.
Any and all forms of Social Media Marketing tactics fall under at least one of these five forms of action. Often the same channel will incorporate two or more of these:
Declaration of Identity
Identity through Association
User-initiated Conversation
Provider-initiated Conversation
In-Person Interaction
Identity-based Interaction is your declaration of your value, who you are, and where you can be found. Your customer happens upon your online identity that you, as a provider, define and declare. This is anything from your About Us pages on your blog or website, to your MySpace profile, to your Naymz profile. Here, there is very little interaction outside of your own declaration, but this becomes critical in defining how you can benefit your marketplace.
There has been a recent outcrop of websites created purely for this function. An expanded business card, if you will. Most also include the opportunity to link to your other forms of presence online, bringing together your presence in one place…well, kind-of. They include:
Naymz
Ziki
ClaimID
SuprGlu
Association-based Interaction is your customers’ opportunity to associate themselves with you and you with your customers. Most obviously, this is accomplished through things like becoming “Friends” on MySpace, you and your customers’ BlogRoll, or through their social bookmarking. This is your customer wearing your company’s logo proudly - Like Andy wears his Beatles shirts.
The most explicit form of allowing for this ability is through social bookmarking sites. I say this, and not social networking sites, because this is the sole function of these sites. Make it easy for your customers to bookmark your site, blog posts, etc with their favorite tool.
del.icio.us
Furl
blummy
Ma.gnolia
StumbleUpon
BlinkList
User-initiated Conversation is your users’ opportunity to create their own declarations or questions, and your opportunity to respond. This is your opportunity to be there and cater to them. Here, you serve your customers.
Perhaps the most cut-and-dry examples of this lie in messageboards, forums and “groups” sites such as Google Groups, Yahoo! Groups, community sites, etc. So, how do you find these conversations? Andy Beal’s Online Reputation Monitoring Beginner’s Guide. Here, he walks you through, step-by-step, how to find out what conversations are being initiated by others online.
In order to get directly involved with your customers, the most well-known example of this is “GoogleGuy” on the WebmasterWorld forums, is through your users’ forums, and sites such as:
Yahoo Groups
Google Groups
AOL Groups
MSN Groups
Topica EMail Lists
Kaboodle Groups
Eurekster
tribe.net
Ning
Provider-initiated Conversation is your chance to find out what your customers think, feel, love and hate about your product. Ask them. Challenge them. Present yourself to them, but do so respectfully. As much as it’s an opportunity for them to tell you what they love and hate about your product, it’s also their choice whether to do so or not. Be kind. Be respectful. Appreciate their time.
Although it’s not a primarily online company, there is one company that has made this their culture. Seeking feedback and input from its customers 24/7/265. And it is: Current.tv. There’s little-to-no format, except for about half of the content is contributed by its users. If you haven’t seen it or don’t have digital cable, find someone who does and watch it. Do that this week, you won’t regret it.
Social networking strategies for connecting with your customers can certainly be complex, tricky and cumbersome, so I’ll be writing up strategies in the very near future to hopefully assist on those fronts. In the meantime, find your customers and interact with them here:
Myspace
Bebo
Friendster
Consumating
In-Person Interaction is the pinnacle form of interaction with your customers. You’re interacting with them online, why not in person? Does it get better than that? This is where relationships are built and authentic conversation is had with so much more input, feedback, collaboration and communication. I had a seven hour conversation with a good friend last night. It was one of the best conversations I’ve ever had about so many things, and I could have never had that quality of a conversation online. Nothing beats face-to-face.
Get out there. Meet your customers. Let them interact with other customers. Build your community. Go to conferences…better yet, organize your own gatherings.
To help this along, coordinating, managing attendee status, etc, there have been several sites that can help in either finding local events or coordinating your own:
Meetup
BarCamp
Evite
Upcoming
Eventful
Final Thoughts
One thing about social media marketing: It’s complicated for two reasons: no one has created a structure to work from, and there’s so much overlap in functionality of different sites, that it can be quite confusing as to a site’s single purpose because…well…there usually isn’t a single purpose.
Don’t let this hold you back. Get out there. Spend time with these sites. Sign up, Use them, meet your customers, talk to your customers, and LOVE THEM.
Social Media Marketing
What is the hottest social media tool to emerge on the scene this year? It’s ‘Twitter’, and you may get hooked too…
I recently came back from a fully packed conference on social media marketing, the Danny Sullivan SMX show in Long Beach, CA, and all-the-rage was Twitter, a micro-blogging platform that many at first (typically) considered a ‘joke’ or maybe just a temporary fad. They (we) were all wrong, but most agreed that using any tool or technique without a reasonable strategy was a missed opportunity.
But, let’s not be too quick - learn how to research & leverage the social media space with planning and execution along the way.
I’ll show you that micro blogging and the other tools and platforms in this short SMM guide are things you might consider for your important social media marketing.
Furthermore, SMM can provide quality traffic, you can minimize the often laborious time by a little planning and it is possible to market into B2B marketplaces. It’s not just for kids anymore.
What is it?
“Social media marketing (SMM) is a form of internet marketing which seeks to achieve branding and marketing communication goals through the participation in various social media networks”. Social Media is a shorter top level term that describes the space overall, and covers the activities around social interaction, content, videos, images and audio exposure.
Where to start?
Many of us are so excited about the technology and web (hence my somewhat trite opening), that we forget key pieces to success: definition of business goals, objectives and overall process for execution. The old “fail to plan, plan to fail” comes to mind. While you need to create the roadmap for your online business - you must certainly decide on what goals and resulting metrics you want to attain.
Social media marketing can help you increase the activity around these top goals:
Website traffic and user behavior (external and internal tracking)
Conversion and sales tracking
Page views, ad exposure
Growing brand awareness (a softer value, takes longer to build)
Creating a positive brand association and keeping it there (see also reputation management)
Business development and a broader customer reach
How can you create and convert all this activity with social media?
Since the social web allows you to interact with others, create and promote content that can get links and viral attraction, you can - with the right strategy - reach key influencers using this medium. We all know what blogs alone can do, and they are pretty search engine friendly out of the box.
Social media expansion is important because this provides foundations for broader / faster mindshare, along with supporting your search engine marketing objectives. You *can* convert traffic if you target appropriately (research needed), and do not spam. Read each point below to get a deeper understanding.
Tip #1 - Assistance:Limit talking about yourself, at least initially - provide ways to help others instead. This is probably the most important tip in the social media workplace. Say you are building your new del.icio.us profile, make sure to bookmark other useful resources and sprinkle yourself lightly. It’s about “them”, not “you”. Don’t forget this important rule!
Tip #2 - Process:Don’t become a “me too” - establish a process and goals for how to get there. I recommend reading 5 pillars for one, and much like SEO programs that have a process (keyword research, competitive review, content analysis, etc), build out a similar map. Too many companies dive in too fast, with no real plan and they are simply peeing in the pool, and no good results come from that.
Tip #3 - Contribute:Be the one to create (quality) content. While community is Queen in Social Media, quality content is still King, and always will be. Studies show that people are reading much online, but a much smaller group is contributing content. This can mean good opportunities for you.
Tip #4 - Connect:Reach out to the influencers in your niche, be polite, honest, sincere, and you’d be amazed what brand advocates can do for you.
Tip #5 - Position:Position yourself in front of consumers’ passions. It can and will create a powerful outcome for your brand.
Tip #6 - Blog:Make sure you have setup a blog. These numbers are not to be overlooked. I think Technorati is tracking over 110 million blogs now, and growing at a furious pace, even excluding splogs (spam blogs).
Tip #7 - Links:Don’t be afraid to link out to other blogs and websites in general. Links are what search engines and users make good use of - and search engines would not survive without them. Give others the love too.
Tip #8 - Videos:Video consumption is growing fast. Create a “how to…” or “top tips…” videos and submit to YouTube. It has wide reach, and you could have millions of people see it. For even wider distribution, you should try tubemogul.com or vidmetrix.com, tools to help automate. In generating all content, make sure to keep #1 rule in check. It’s fine to brand with a URL at the end of the video, but no direct selling. Humor, controversy and weird stuff works very well, keep that in mind - don’t be afraid to test.
Tip #9 - Technorati:You said you have a blog, right? Claim your blog at Technorati. This will ensure you are indexed in their search engines for blogs and updates are broadcast across the network, along with your own blog network updates. This happens behind the scenes from automatic “pings”.
Tip #10 - Analytics:Open an account from list below, use your brand name as identifier. This will establish your brand or company name, and not let anybody else assume or steal your personality so easily. Then, work with one or two from the list below to start, and don’t go too fast. Look at your web analytics and track referring domains and review traffic movements daily, weekly.
Tip #11 - Feeds/Research:Subscribe to feeds, and use iGoogle, My Yahoo Web or other favorite RSS readers. Watch for changes (use Google.com/alerts also), and be the first to comment and engage in your topic. First commenters often get more visibility and traction.
Tip #12 - MicroCommunities:Locate and join microcommunities - they are social communities that are relevant to your business. Some examples are education.com, nowpublic.com, travbuddy.com, gardenweb.com, shoetube.com, yelp.com and care2.com (non profits). It is much easier to have your voice heard in these and similar markets, than trying a post to Digg that may go nowhere. Those are the perfect places for the “big fish in a small pond” rule. Create highly relevant and linkworthy content, research what others are writing about, and connect with the top players and influencers.
Tip #13 - Submit:Review the resources below, and consider building out profiles over time. If you submit content, make sure it’s useful, unique and that the title of your post stands out. Pick one or two resources to start, and don’t overextend yourself. Some of the top social marketers in the industry spend 10-12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week. This is a lot of manual (social) labor, but you don’t have to go at it that hard. Make sure to ask friends to vote or comment on your postings, befriend others, but no spam. Make intelligent posts and do not have your company employees post from the same location (IP Address). The submission(s) will most likely be rejected, and worst case, your account blocked or suspended.
Tip #14 - Hosting:Have a good hosting provider. If traffic spikes come, and your server instrastructure cannot handle it, you are toast. You don’t want a Digg server melt-down (fun pic). Here’s a first hand story and how to deal with it.
Tip #15 - Monitoring:If you want to save time monitoring across many resources within the social networks, try the new Yahoo Pipes, it’s a social monitoring desktop in a browser.
Tip #16 - Advertising:If you are an advertiser, you might want to check out socialspark.com and socialmedia.com - they both are showing promise from what I can see.
Your Top Social Media Starter Resources (not necessarily in order of importance):
Twitter *See more below - specific for twitter
Facebook (download toolbar)
YouTube (toolbar exists, but have not tried)
Del.icio.us (download toolbar)
StumbleUpon (download toolbar)
LinkedIn (tip: use the Q/A section to gain readership and clients)
Flickr
Digg
Reddit
Technorati
Secondlife (3D)
Meneame (spanish, translate title and synopsis before posting)
Newsvine
Tip: Subscribe (RSS) to Techcrunch!
Twitter bonus: (Thanks GrayWolf)
Web Browser Plugin: twitterfoxDesktop: twhirl, alertthingyBlog Tools: loud twitterEmail: twittermail ((abc…@twittermail) - cool tip: schedule to post when you are not online)Phones: twitterberry (BlackBerry), itweet (iPhone)Other: tweetscan (alerts, keyword, user search)Competitor: Pownce.com - check it out along with friendfeed.com
By Jon Rognerud
I recently came back from a fully packed conference on social media marketing, the Danny Sullivan SMX show in Long Beach, CA, and all-the-rage was Twitter, a micro-blogging platform that many at first (typically) considered a ‘joke’ or maybe just a temporary fad. They (we) were all wrong, but most agreed that using any tool or technique without a reasonable strategy was a missed opportunity.
But, let’s not be too quick - learn how to research & leverage the social media space with planning and execution along the way.
I’ll show you that micro blogging and the other tools and platforms in this short SMM guide are things you might consider for your important social media marketing.
Furthermore, SMM can provide quality traffic, you can minimize the often laborious time by a little planning and it is possible to market into B2B marketplaces. It’s not just for kids anymore.
What is it?
“Social media marketing (SMM) is a form of internet marketing which seeks to achieve branding and marketing communication goals through the participation in various social media networks”. Social Media is a shorter top level term that describes the space overall, and covers the activities around social interaction, content, videos, images and audio exposure.
Where to start?
Many of us are so excited about the technology and web (hence my somewhat trite opening), that we forget key pieces to success: definition of business goals, objectives and overall process for execution. The old “fail to plan, plan to fail” comes to mind. While you need to create the roadmap for your online business - you must certainly decide on what goals and resulting metrics you want to attain.
Social media marketing can help you increase the activity around these top goals:
Website traffic and user behavior (external and internal tracking)
Conversion and sales tracking
Page views, ad exposure
Growing brand awareness (a softer value, takes longer to build)
Creating a positive brand association and keeping it there (see also reputation management)
Business development and a broader customer reach
How can you create and convert all this activity with social media?
Since the social web allows you to interact with others, create and promote content that can get links and viral attraction, you can - with the right strategy - reach key influencers using this medium. We all know what blogs alone can do, and they are pretty search engine friendly out of the box.
Social media expansion is important because this provides foundations for broader / faster mindshare, along with supporting your search engine marketing objectives. You *can* convert traffic if you target appropriately (research needed), and do not spam. Read each point below to get a deeper understanding.
Tip #1 - Assistance:Limit talking about yourself, at least initially - provide ways to help others instead. This is probably the most important tip in the social media workplace. Say you are building your new del.icio.us profile, make sure to bookmark other useful resources and sprinkle yourself lightly. It’s about “them”, not “you”. Don’t forget this important rule!
Tip #2 - Process:Don’t become a “me too” - establish a process and goals for how to get there. I recommend reading 5 pillars for one, and much like SEO programs that have a process (keyword research, competitive review, content analysis, etc), build out a similar map. Too many companies dive in too fast, with no real plan and they are simply peeing in the pool, and no good results come from that.
Tip #3 - Contribute:Be the one to create (quality) content. While community is Queen in Social Media, quality content is still King, and always will be. Studies show that people are reading much online, but a much smaller group is contributing content. This can mean good opportunities for you.
Tip #4 - Connect:Reach out to the influencers in your niche, be polite, honest, sincere, and you’d be amazed what brand advocates can do for you.
Tip #5 - Position:Position yourself in front of consumers’ passions. It can and will create a powerful outcome for your brand.
Tip #6 - Blog:Make sure you have setup a blog. These numbers are not to be overlooked. I think Technorati is tracking over 110 million blogs now, and growing at a furious pace, even excluding splogs (spam blogs).
Tip #7 - Links:Don’t be afraid to link out to other blogs and websites in general. Links are what search engines and users make good use of - and search engines would not survive without them. Give others the love too.
Tip #8 - Videos:Video consumption is growing fast. Create a “how to…” or “top tips…” videos and submit to YouTube. It has wide reach, and you could have millions of people see it. For even wider distribution, you should try tubemogul.com or vidmetrix.com, tools to help automate. In generating all content, make sure to keep #1 rule in check. It’s fine to brand with a URL at the end of the video, but no direct selling. Humor, controversy and weird stuff works very well, keep that in mind - don’t be afraid to test.
Tip #9 - Technorati:You said you have a blog, right? Claim your blog at Technorati. This will ensure you are indexed in their search engines for blogs and updates are broadcast across the network, along with your own blog network updates. This happens behind the scenes from automatic “pings”.
Tip #10 - Analytics:Open an account from list below, use your brand name as identifier. This will establish your brand or company name, and not let anybody else assume or steal your personality so easily. Then, work with one or two from the list below to start, and don’t go too fast. Look at your web analytics and track referring domains and review traffic movements daily, weekly.
Tip #11 - Feeds/Research:Subscribe to feeds, and use iGoogle, My Yahoo Web or other favorite RSS readers. Watch for changes (use Google.com/alerts also), and be the first to comment and engage in your topic. First commenters often get more visibility and traction.
Tip #12 - MicroCommunities:Locate and join microcommunities - they are social communities that are relevant to your business. Some examples are education.com, nowpublic.com, travbuddy.com, gardenweb.com, shoetube.com, yelp.com and care2.com (non profits). It is much easier to have your voice heard in these and similar markets, than trying a post to Digg that may go nowhere. Those are the perfect places for the “big fish in a small pond” rule. Create highly relevant and linkworthy content, research what others are writing about, and connect with the top players and influencers.
Tip #13 - Submit:Review the resources below, and consider building out profiles over time. If you submit content, make sure it’s useful, unique and that the title of your post stands out. Pick one or two resources to start, and don’t overextend yourself. Some of the top social marketers in the industry spend 10-12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week. This is a lot of manual (social) labor, but you don’t have to go at it that hard. Make sure to ask friends to vote or comment on your postings, befriend others, but no spam. Make intelligent posts and do not have your company employees post from the same location (IP Address). The submission(s) will most likely be rejected, and worst case, your account blocked or suspended.
Tip #14 - Hosting:Have a good hosting provider. If traffic spikes come, and your server instrastructure cannot handle it, you are toast. You don’t want a Digg server melt-down (fun pic). Here’s a first hand story and how to deal with it.
Tip #15 - Monitoring:If you want to save time monitoring across many resources within the social networks, try the new Yahoo Pipes, it’s a social monitoring desktop in a browser.
Tip #16 - Advertising:If you are an advertiser, you might want to check out socialspark.com and socialmedia.com - they both are showing promise from what I can see.
Your Top Social Media Starter Resources (not necessarily in order of importance):
Twitter *See more below - specific for twitter
Facebook (download toolbar)
YouTube (toolbar exists, but have not tried)
Del.icio.us (download toolbar)
StumbleUpon (download toolbar)
LinkedIn (tip: use the Q/A section to gain readership and clients)
Flickr
Digg
Technorati
Secondlife (3D)
Meneame (spanish, translate title and synopsis before posting)
Newsvine
Tip: Subscribe (RSS) to Techcrunch!
Twitter bonus: (Thanks GrayWolf)
Web Browser Plugin: twitterfoxDesktop: twhirl, alertthingyBlog Tools: loud twitterEmail: twittermail ((abc…@twittermail) - cool tip: schedule to post when you are not online)Phones: twitterberry (BlackBerry), itweet (iPhone)Other: tweetscan (alerts, keyword, user search)Competitor: Pownce.com - check it out along with friendfeed.com
By Jon Rognerud
Friday, March 20, 2009
See the Trees
I lived in Alabama on a half-acre lot blessed huge oak trees that were 40 feet in diameter. They were HUGE! The house was laid out such that every bedroom faced the backyard. Each bedroom had a large picture window. The view was breathtaking. I enjoyed just looking at the trees. In the fall I would identify a particular leaf that was falling and watched it for what seemed liked 5 minutes before it fell to earth.
One day I invited this married couple over to enjoy the view from the bedroom window. I took them into the bedroom and excitedly pointed to the trees out of the window and exclaimed, "just look"!
One day I invited this married couple over to enjoy the view from the bedroom window. I took them into the bedroom and excitedly pointed to the trees out of the window and exclaimed, "just look"!
I said, "What's wrong". She was reluctant to reply.
I insisted and again said, "What's wrong?"
She relented and said, "Don't you see those fingerprints on the glass?"
I turned and looked and there were what seemed to be fifty or more fingerprints on the glass. I ran for the Windex to clean the glass. The lady "Oh, I didn't mean for you to clean it now."
The morale here is this. That lady never saw the trees. Even when I tried to point them out, She missed it! I didn't see the fingerprints. I was looking through the glass not at it.
When the fingerprints were pointed out to me, I saw them and removed them. The lady never saw the trees. She focused on the fingerprints and she never got passed them.
Life is much like that. There are things in life that are good and things that are bad. You choose which things you want to focus on. I focus on the trees.
What are you focusing on?
By William Lambert
One day I invited this married couple over to enjoy the view from the bedroom window. I took them into the bedroom and excitedly pointed to the trees out of the window and exclaimed, "just look"!
One day I invited this married couple over to enjoy the view from the bedroom window. I took them into the bedroom and excitedly pointed to the trees out of the window and exclaimed, "just look"!
I said, "What's wrong". She was reluctant to reply.
I insisted and again said, "What's wrong?"
She relented and said, "Don't you see those fingerprints on the glass?"
I turned and looked and there were what seemed to be fifty or more fingerprints on the glass. I ran for the Windex to clean the glass. The lady "Oh, I didn't mean for you to clean it now."
The morale here is this. That lady never saw the trees. Even when I tried to point them out, She missed it! I didn't see the fingerprints. I was looking through the glass not at it.
When the fingerprints were pointed out to me, I saw them and removed them. The lady never saw the trees. She focused on the fingerprints and she never got passed them.
Life is much like that. There are things in life that are good and things that are bad. You choose which things you want to focus on. I focus on the trees.
What are you focusing on?
By William Lambert
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Today Is Yesterday's Tomorrow
I think everyone will find this very useful as I did.
The problem with waiting until tomorrow is that when it finally arrives, it is called today. Today is yesterday's tomorrow. The question is what did we do with its opportunity? All too often we will waste tomorrow as we wasted yesterday, and as we are wasting today.
All that could have been accomplished can easily elude us, despite our intentions, until we inevitably discover that the things that might have been have slipped from our embrace a single, unused day at a time.
Each of us must pause frequently to remind ourselves that the clock is ticking. The same clock that began to tick from the moment we drew our first breath will also someday cease.
Time is the great equalizer of all mankind. It has taken away the best and the worst of us without regard for either. Time offers opportunity but demands a sense of urgency.
When the game of life is finally over, there is no second chance to correct our errors. The clock that is ticking away the moments of our lives does not care about winners and losers. It does not care about who succeeds or who fails. It does not care about excuses, fairness or equality. The only essential issue is how we played the game.
Regardless of a person's current age, there is a sense of urgency that should drive them into action now - this very moment. We should be constantly aware of the value of each and every moment of our lives - moments that seem so insignificant that their loss often goes unnoticed.
We still have all the time we need. We still have lots of chances - lots of opportunities - lots of years to show what we can do. For most of us, there will be a tomorrow, a next week, a next month, and a next year. But unless we develop a sense of urgency, those brief windows of time will be sadly wasted, as were the weeks and months and years before them.
There isn't an endless supply!So as you think of your dreams and goals of your future tomorrow, begin today to take those very important first steps to making them all come to life.
Written by Jim Rohn, America's Foremost Business Philosopher
The problem with waiting until tomorrow is that when it finally arrives, it is called today. Today is yesterday's tomorrow. The question is what did we do with its opportunity? All too often we will waste tomorrow as we wasted yesterday, and as we are wasting today.
All that could have been accomplished can easily elude us, despite our intentions, until we inevitably discover that the things that might have been have slipped from our embrace a single, unused day at a time.
Each of us must pause frequently to remind ourselves that the clock is ticking. The same clock that began to tick from the moment we drew our first breath will also someday cease.
Time is the great equalizer of all mankind. It has taken away the best and the worst of us without regard for either. Time offers opportunity but demands a sense of urgency.
When the game of life is finally over, there is no second chance to correct our errors. The clock that is ticking away the moments of our lives does not care about winners and losers. It does not care about who succeeds or who fails. It does not care about excuses, fairness or equality. The only essential issue is how we played the game.
Regardless of a person's current age, there is a sense of urgency that should drive them into action now - this very moment. We should be constantly aware of the value of each and every moment of our lives - moments that seem so insignificant that their loss often goes unnoticed.
We still have all the time we need. We still have lots of chances - lots of opportunities - lots of years to show what we can do. For most of us, there will be a tomorrow, a next week, a next month, and a next year. But unless we develop a sense of urgency, those brief windows of time will be sadly wasted, as were the weeks and months and years before them.
There isn't an endless supply!So as you think of your dreams and goals of your future tomorrow, begin today to take those very important first steps to making them all come to life.
Written by Jim Rohn, America's Foremost Business Philosopher
Monday, March 16, 2009
LIVE A BETTER LIFE
I HAVE STARTED LIVING MY LIFE BY THESE FOUR AGREEMENTS AND EACH DAY IS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER.......I'M SURE WE CAN ALL USE SOME BETTER.
1. Be Impeccable With Your WordSpeak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don't Take Anything PersonallyNothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don't Make AssumptionsFind the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your BestYour best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
1. Be Impeccable With Your WordSpeak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don't Take Anything PersonallyNothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don't Make AssumptionsFind the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your BestYour best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
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