For a long time I have been touting that we all live in a Google world.  We cannot seem to leave our house without first checking directions on Google, or order Chinese food without getting the local menu and number from Google, etc.  Many companies have come to us and asked, "How do we get on page one of Google’s search results?"  That has been the mainstay of my presentations about why companies need to get into blogging and other forms of social media.  I have yet to figure into the mix, Facebook.

Reading the article today that Wired put out about the "Great Wall of Facebook: The Social Network’s Plan to Dominate the Internet — and Keep Google Out", I began to think of living in a Facebook world.  I never really considered these to be rivals in the big scheme of things as Facebook is a social network and Google a search engine, but I see now that there are many players all jockeying for position in world of the Internet. 

I also think there is another small player that might be making things interesting and that of course is the social media darling of the bunch, Twitter.  They can help perform the function of both search and of the social network.  All of it actually has to do with data.  As we begin to see the emergence of what I call 2009 The Year of Listening, more and more companies are concentrating on brand monitoring and reputation monitoring and how they can get into community and infiltrate them with their brand, their message and their mission.  Yes, it is all about the business after all and that is the company that will win.  Which one will provide the best of all worlds?  Right now we are still living in the Google world, but there are some other players in the Internet solar system. 

Tags: Facebook, Google, Twitter, Search Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Networks

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I have been trying to figure a way to work into the mix some of the businesses I visited and met while I was out in the islands and one of the things I thought of for the people at Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut factory was to allow them to talk about the processing of their delicious snack and how it is packaged and sent out to the various parts of the world.  I thought about how they could get a blog to their site to describe each of the seasons of growing, and harvesting, and also more importantly making their already open to the public tour a part of their everyday broadcast to the social media world.

They have a building where they do their packaging and processing and roasting.  As a group we were allowed to check out their assembly line type of roasting, processing and packaging.  I thought it would be a simple way to show the rest of the world this process using a simple web cam and their blog.  A page could be set up and the live stream run on the plant while they prepared and shipped their product. This could also be monitored for questions about the process, or a Q&A about what is being done and how. A few short hours a day could really turn into some sales for them overall.

They are a very retail oriented operation and I was thinking that they could generate a few more sales that would not only pay for their program, but also help with their brand.  The big Island was a wonderful place and this business is only one of them that is doing well on the island. Social media might just get them a little further as time goes on.  Now to see if I can find their Twitter page or if I can find them on Facebook.

Tags: Mauna Loa, Macadamia Nuts, Social Media, Hawaii, So Much More Hawaii Tour, Marketing, e-Commerce

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Just reading over at Profy and Svetlana Gladkova asking the question, "Twitter is a Popular Marketing Tool?".  The analysis is interesting on Svetlana’s piece and I think you should read it.  The thing that caught my eye was less about the written words and more about the graphic she had in the post.

The thing that made me note this graph was the far right three forms of online tools being used, blogs, podcasts and Twitter.  I preach of course that these are the "new media" and that companies should be embracing them, but it is nowhere near the use of direct mail.  I was amazed at the lopsided view of this. Twitter is the new media darling and blogs are making somewhat of a comeback since breaking on the scene at the beginning of the century.  I am curious how the study was conducted and as I understand it it was conducted by WebTrends.  The study appears to address only the European companies but I think that the results can be indicative of what is happening here as well.  As the economy keeps dipping and we go back to the "what works" idea of marketing, I see the testing of social media to be take a backseat to the more measurable results of the past.

Tags: New Media, Twitter, Twitter Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing

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I have been asked that a number of times and I have a specifically crafted response, “I follow everyone that includes social media expert in their bio.” The response has a certain tongue in cheek quality to it but it has more truth than anything else. Yes it is true, like falling out of boat you hit water and like pulling up a Twitter bio you see “social media.” There are experts, gurus, strategists, consultants, wizards, rock stars and many other titles associated with social media people and their listed professions. I often joke about my own title. I have called myself social media consultant as it seems to be the buzz phrase, but I used to be a blog consultant, and my running joke at present is side bar wigetizer expert. You can never tell which way that tide will take you.

My point to all of this is merely to state that it really matters not the number of followers but the quality of those followers. If you sell flowers or if your business is chocolate covered cherries, chances are you can find your own niche on Twitter and any other network. Heck, some of those niches have huge networks. Scrapbooking is a group that comes to mind and knitters. They have a huge niche. You can find like minded people using some of the apps available, I mentioned before using Mr. Tweet, and then there is Twellow, and some of the other apps you can use. The idea is to find people that have your interest.

The important takeaway from this is to make sure you put the information you want people to see in your Twitter bio and profile. If you want people to find you, your bio should be filled with the keywords or phrases that people are looking for or trying to find. A look at Twellow makes my point. Just so happens at the time of this writing there are 3800+ people that have made “social media” a searchable term. Also it just so happens I have just over 4000 people I am following. Actually, it is more a coincidence because I am also following lots of mothers and fathers and other niche’s, but if you want to find a specific person to follow on Twitter, say an underwater basket weaver, I can find one for you (Thanks to @zinkly for allowing this bit of humor, our sole listed Twitterer at the time I put this together).

People talk all the time about search and increasing your search rank and search marketing, are you being found through this source? Ask yourself that question and I hope your answer is yes.

[Photo by Sreejith K]

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I was just reading a recent research article on the idea that nearly 80% of adults have purchased something online [pdf of report] in the last 6 months.  I at first questioned the idea that I was in the group of people they refer to, no not because I am not adult, although that has been questioned on occasion, but because I actually rarely purchase anything that is not right at my fingertips at the local grocery or superstore.  Yes, I am that Walmart, Costco or other stores’ dream.  Then I thought of a recent purchase I made online for a product that I actually went out did some research and finally found.  I too am in that 80% of online consumers.

How did I go about researching and buying the product?  I went to the same place every consumer goes, I went to Google.  Like I have been saying from the beginning and telling all of our clients, “We live in a Google World.”  We don’t research a purchase, find our way across town, or order Chinese food without first consulting Google.

Where are you in the Google world?  If I wanted to find you, are your services or products findable?  If not your business is doomed.  Your company will be on the side of that milk carton and the world will not know where you are.  You will be one of a million other businesses online but nowhere to be found.

Social Media and the use of those tools can make you findable.  It can allow the search engines like Google to seek you out and make you available to their customers, the people typing their queries into that little box hoping to find the perfect widget your company sells or wanting to research and find the company that can provide them with the service that can solve their problem.  My bloggers understand the importance of this concept and if you own a business you should be on top of the notion that unless you are findable, your business is dead.

The product I searched for and purchased?  An on-the-counter stainless steel compost container, with charcoal filters. A $40 purchase.

[Photo via Striatic]

[Research Paper via Nielsen-Online]

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I have been preaching to people as long as I remember that “We live in a Google World.  I happened upon a post today by Owen Thomas (no I’m not a Valleywag reader, I thank Techmeme) about Google and its global market share.  He refers to a chart done by Efficient Frontier Insights showing the market share of the search engines across the globe.

Obviously as the chart shows, Google is enjoying the lion share of search marketing.  Some say it is because they are more targeted with their technology.  Others say it is because they have more advertisers and more publishers.  I think it is because they do search better than any other company.  It will be interesting to see if Microsoft is able to capture a little more piece of the pie and if they can put a dent in the market share owned by Google.  When I hear that Yahoo is thinking of outsourcing  its search to Google, it does not give me much confidence that Microsoft is getting the best in search from Yahoo, and obviously its search engine at MSN is not making much of a race of search in its own right.

UPDATE:  For a deeper analysis check out HipMojo.com

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I can remember the first time I had my name appear in the phone book after I purchased my first home.  Like Steve Martin in the movie “The Jerk”, I danced around and shouted, “I’m somebody now”.  Back then of course, I think computers were something in sci-fi movies, and the Internet had not yet been thought about.  But I can still see that brand new version of the white pages all clean and crisp with my name right there alongside the other 30 people that shared my name.

I was recently watching television when the new Dex advertisement came on and I had a trip down memory lane.  I am still amazed that anyone would be spending much time looking at a Yellow page book in the modern era of finding everything through search.  I think the last time I used a yellow pages directory it was for a booster seat for the kids to reach the table better. 

Then I saw a related article recently put out by eMarketer.com.  The article states that online local advertising will reach 2.9 billion in 2007, which is only 13.4% of the total online advertising market.  The study and article are an interesting look at local advertising.  It made me wonder about the dollars being spent on traditional offline products such as the yellow pages.  I also wondered whether what they were being told about the results they would get as business owners and placing the ads.

I can remember the game back in the day of Yellow page advertising, companies wanted to somehow be listed first in their niche.  If they had a plumbing business, they would call it AAA Plumbing, because then they would be listed as the first alphabetical result listing in the book.  We are not that far off now with the way companies are clamoring for that all important number 1 placement in search results.  Now we are doing it with SEO and other tactics.  The ideal is still the same and that is to be that first listed business under plumbing.  Even though advertising is drastically changing since the old days, in some respects it stays the same.

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As I finished up the three part video series that Robert Scoble produced, I had to chuckle somewhat at what appeared to be the beginning of a battle not too unlike the recent movie 300 regarding the Xerxes battle with King Leonidas. I have been reading the responses throughout the blogosphere and I have a feeling the arrows being sent in his direction will virtually blot out the sun.  As in the movie, I’m sure Robert would reply with the fact that he will just have to fight in the shade.

Why is he so outnumbered in this battle?  He is taking on the almighty dollar, and the master of all things monetary, Google.  I have not had an opportunity to re-watch the videos and take notes, but I wrote a few things down as Robert uncovered his revelation of the death of Google.  What it seems he was getting at was the destruction of paid search.  This of course is the core of Google and how they became King Xerxes, eating up and devouring everything in their path to the search world domination. He preaches of a land of milk and honey that we would all consider “organic search”.  The perfect results of each query, without the “noise” of spam or paid search. 

His champions in the fight seem to be Techmeme, Facebook and Mahalo.  These three fighting side by side may be the answer to his call, but unlikely to be the final answer to the new age of search. 

Techmeme is difficult to understand somewhat as it relates to the search world, but I do tend to get my news in the tech industry from this site.  I do trust its results but don’t always find that it is all-inclusive of the things I might find important.  I have to go outside the realm of Techmeme to get more in depth of what I’m looking for in information.

Facebook is still to young  and too untested for me to really put mush stock in it as a search tool, but we did discuss Facebook at length in our show today.

Mahalo?  This seems to me to be a little too controlled by the man behind the mask in Jason Calacanis.  He discussed the idea of bias at Gnomedex, but until I can filter out the human filter side of things, I really don’t want to have 100 people dictating what I can find on search.  It will take a while for this application to really show promise, but it might be one of the better ways to eliminate the paid search noise discussed by Robert in his video.  The only thing I don’t have an answer to is when will Jason Calacanis throw the switch and create his own noise?

I have some reservations about Human whisper and the Computer noise, but I think we are early in the war.  I like the idea of mashing the above models together for the perfect search tool.  At this point I’ll stand behind Robert and fight the spammers, the sploggers, and the noise he identifies.  Where I don’t stand is next to him when he lumps the likes of Danny Sullivan and the rest of the SEO world into the spam world.  I think there is room for the technology types to help shape the tool he discusses.

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One of the most popular sessions at WordCamp last weekend was Matt Cutts’ presentation Whitehat SEO for Blogs . I covered it in my post on Matt’s post on BlogWorldExpo Blog as did many others:

Bruceclay.com – Search Engine Optimization Tricks for WordPress

Matt offered a lot of great blog optimization tips, but for me, the good thing about WordPress and most other blogging software is that it’s really search engine optimization friendly right out of the box. I’ve played around with a lot of blog software over the years, WP included, and it does a good job of handling most of the technical things for you. All you have to do is provide compelling keyword-rich content in a way that people want to read and link to. That’s not so hard, right?

The number one thing I think that WordPress users can sleep easy knowing is that WP is very SEO friendly out of the box.  Yes, you should change your permalinks (under Options->Permalinks) to use the post title in the link, but the format of that link is great from Google’s perspective (using dashes to separate words).

For things like switching the title order (post title before blog name) and putting in categories as keywords, I like the All in One SEO Pack plugin that I found via John Chow.

Matt is trying to get his presentation up online–I can’t wait because he had some code samples in there for better security and such.

Technorati Tags: SEO, whitehat seo, google, Matt Cutts, WordCamp, WordCamp2007

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At least in our company, we get most of our client’s through Google searches done by companies looking for a blogging consultant or looking to hire a blogger for their company.  I ran through our client list to see the number of companies that have contacted us to provide a professional blogger or to consult them on a social media campaign.  One of the things that struck me was that a large number of them that had reached us or found us as a result of a Google search.

The conversation that prompted me to look at this in this light was a phone call from a prospective client.  We had discussed our services and he was happy with our business model and thought that we would probably do business in the future.  He then told that he had a difficult time finding a service such as ours, but eventually had found it through search.  He explained the roundabout way he happened upon our site, and I recognized a common theme to his search.  Everyone of the other clients had a similar story.

As a small business without a corps of sale people and without a huge marketing budget and a advertising team providing our message, we rely solely upon word of mouth, and being findable.  I preach the same to each of our clients.  In order for your business to be successful, it has to be findable.  It’s nice to see the sermon actually works for me as well.

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This week’s radio show that Tris and I did at Blog Talk Radio had a topic that was dear to our hearts. Content in blogging is king, but it is not the only thing there is to blogging. Many people believe that you can set up a blog start putting content on the blog and suddenly the company is a success. This is just not true. Blogging is more than just words on a web page or words typed into a blog platform. Blogging is so much more than writing cool content.

We discussed this at length today in our podcast. You can listen to the podcast or download it to get our take in what blogging is and what we define as a blogger and their duties.

Blogging is understanding not only how to write really good content, but understanding the back side of the platform, with using analytics, using RSS feeds, and many of the tools out their that will help you produce good content. Blogging is more of a whole concept and job description and a expertise. What expertise does a blogger bring? We think they are Community Managers or Social Media Managers. What do you think a blogger is and what do they bring to the table?

Technorati Tags: Jim Turner, Tris Hussey, Blog Talk Radio, Mediasphere Radio, Blogging, business blogging, podcast, blog platforms, blog content, analytics, blog tools, RSS, web feeds, professional blogging, blog jobs, social media, Community Manager, Social Media Manager

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Tris and I had a great time talking about how a business or individuals can get into blogging. We talk about the very basics and things to think about and tips on how to get your company up and blogging.

You can go and listen to the show!

Tags: Blog Marketing, Bloggers For Hire, Blogging 101, Blogs, Hiring Bloggers, Jim Turner, Mediasphere Radio, One By One Media, Professional Bloggers, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Tris Hussey

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Andy Beard left this awesome comment one the post announcing the show yesterday (if you’d like to listen to the show–listen to Shel Israel really–I have the show archived here):

I caught the end of the show and then listened to the recording.

I would love to know what you guys think of

1. People thanking their advertisers with followable links
2. People frequently tell me I undercharge for the amount of time and effort I put into all my reviews, so that would make any links I supply in a review purely editorial (which is what I firmly believe) – I write my reviews partially as a kind of consultancy, but also to demonstrate that compensated reviews can be high quality, whether compensated by affiliate sales or by a direct payment.
3. Free software which is monetized by the links (many notable Open Source Projects)
4. Providing links to people who pay you a retainer as a consultant. When you get someone like Rand Fishkin mentioning a few of his clients in a blog post and deliberately (that is what it seems to me) not including a link to them, then policies on linking really need to be specifically clarified on a blog that doesn?t have a legal disclaimer
5. Links from charities where you donate
6. Other forms of donations to people who decide to give you a link back

Everything about the discussion was very much “black & white” whereas in fact there are so many shades of grey that are perfectly acceptable, and actually in many ways darker than a comprehensive review written for some kind of compensation.

Does a company like Hewlett Packard or Universal Music Group really need to buy links for SEO, or is it really just for Buzz?

I told Andy in a comment that his comment was worth a post of its own, so without further ado…

Andy is bang on, these issues are not black and white. We covered this complex issue in about 20 minutes and didn’t have alternate points of view on for discussion. Can we do that? You freakin’ bet we can!

This might be a post where Jim and I don’t agree 100% (which is good), but IMHO I don’t have a problem with, and often do, thank advertisers with a link in a post and we (Jim and I) do link to clients. Part of it is SEO, but a lot of it is so you can visit their blog! Same for charities. If I support them, I link to them. Again I’m not thinking about an SEO benefit, I’m thinking about people finding the charity. This is probably why I didn’t even think about PPP posts being Google gaming bait.

I agree Andy, I think the cost to a company for a review is pretty paltry. Heck if I’m given a piece of software for free I’ll review it. A free copy doesn’t buy me or a good review, but I will take the time to give it a good shot. I don’t think a review on one of my blogs is equal, though, to one on yours Andy, so … well maybe I’m priced about right.

I also don’t mind links in free software in lieu of paying. Now, the bigger question is whether or not they work. That I don’t know.

As for large companies…no they don’t need the SEO, buzz, sure, SEO no. Frankly the big companies have the budgets and connections to get stuff in our hands.

I’m sure this post will bring up more questions than it answers, but hey that’s a good thing of course. If we need to do the next radio show on this topic again … so be it.

Update: Lots of great comments on this post (as I had hoped). Connected Internet poses more questions on this topic as well. One thread is why not go direct instead of through TLA or PPP:

I really can’t see the logic of signing up to the scheme. If an advertiser has decided based upon looking at your site that they want to buy a review, then why not just do the deal directly and keep all the money? By all means keep your site listed in the PPP directory so that you don’t miss out on any potential reviews that might come in via that route, but I really think that any advertising sales generated via your site should be done directly. If you’ve generated the sales lead directly, then why pay commission?

Technorati Tags: Social Media, Web 2.0, PPP, PayPerPost, Shel Israel, sponsored posts

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We are proud to announce that a new client of ours, uLocate Communications, recently received an $11 Million round of funding through Venrock, Grand Banks Capital and Kodiak Venture Partners, and they will be using that funding to further their new and exciting mobile platform at Where.com. In addition to the funding, One By One Media and Bloggers For Hire will be providing them a professional blogger to jump into the Where.com application and use it as a consumer and to post about his experiences and thoughts on the application.  Where.com’s platform is very exciting, as is stated from the press release:

WHERE is the first application development platform that addresses the major challenges facing developers and operators in the mobile application landscape. Built on the same framework that powers MapQuestâ„¢ FindMe and Helio’sâ„¢ Buddy Beacon, WHERE delivers the promise of marrying mobile technology with GPS. As a result, consumers have a wealth of content to choose from, effectively personalizing their mobile GPS experience. WHERE helps you find the people, places and things that matter to you.

Walt Doyle, CEO and President of uLocate is also a participating blogger which makes this company a very forward thinking company that I expect great things from them anbd not just because they have chosen our company to assist them in their blogging efforts, that’s was just a bonus.  They understand the power of blogging and want to expose their platform to as many developers and other consumers as possible.  They understand the communication tool that blogging provides and have implemented their online plans to include this powerful tool.  This company is going places, and I’m glad we get to be a part of it.  For further info you can see the full press release.  Follow along and see how Where.com will rock your mobile experience.

Tags: uLocate Communications, Venrock, Grand Banks Capital, Kodiak Venture Partners, Where.com, One By One Media, Bloggers For Hire, MapQuest, FindMe, Helio’s Buddy Beacon, GPS, LBS, Walt Doyle, Corporate Blogging, Social Media, CEO Blogs

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Chris Brogan has written a great blog post today about extending the conversation.  He says that he believes that all of these web 2.0 tools that are available are for helping to extend the conversation.  I have to agree with Chris.  He touches on something that I think is the gist of Shel Israel’s new book about Global Neighborhoods.  Web 2.0 has allowed us to reach out and communicate like never before.  I have experienced it on a personal and business level myself. 

He makes a great point about how we are merely just a somewhat big cocktail party all talking to each other without reaching out to a broader audience.  We reside in a bowl or a bubble and we can only hear ourselves.

We’re all just talking to each other, which is swell, but if we want to be relevant, we’ve gotta climb the slippery, shiny, invisible sides of this big bowl we’re all standing in, and we’ve gotta get out there into the crowd. If I had this graphic, I’d post it. The graphic would be a guy throwing a bowl of shiny goldfish into a busy crowd. Think about that a moment. We’re all just goldfish in a bowl until we get there, into the people’s world.

I love this analogy because some days I feel like I myself am trying to climb the sides of the bowl to get to the outside to get the message to those that I can see through the bowl but they can’t seem to hear me.  I shout and shout and they walk on by like that zoo exhibit of the penguins underwater in Happy Feet (yes, my life is all about animated movies).  If I could only get through the protective glass and grab them and shake them.  Make them hear me.

I have begun to leave the virtual life and the echo chamber to get out into the real world and speak to people about Web 2.0 and the social media.  They have heard about blogs now which is different from this time last year.  The MSM has helped deliver the term and the message.  Of course, they have done this kicking and screaming, as is still shown by Jeff Jarvis as Chris mentions with NBC not allowing the Presidential debates online.  What happened to equal access? The funny thing is, NBC will broadcast it and it will be reported and written about by bloggers long before the MSM can possible publish their thoughts.

Controlling how you reach people is an illusion.  With the new Web 2.0 applications and uses being employed, they will find you whether you intend them to or not.  As Jeremiah Owyang was presenting at his panel at the ad:Tech conference in San Francisco, it became apparent that we as web 2.0 experts cannot agree on this issue.  I agreed with some on the panel and others not.  My style and message was even different than the people involved in Jeremiah’s chat.  It became clear then that we are not all singing from the same song sheet.  This in my opinion is a great thing.  It brings variety and diversity to the message. 

Finally, Chris Brogan asks the questions, "Should we even try to reach out?"  My response is a resounding YES.  Our problem is we are not sure ourselves what message we are reaching out with to be able to sing the chorus as Chris so aptly put it.  I think as we increase the integrity of the Web 2.0 foundation, we will begin to see our message take shape and it will allow us to break free of our "Bubble".  The chorus will get louder and the harmony will be great music.

[Photo taken from Chris Brogan]

Tags: Chris Brogan, Shel Israel, Global Neighbourhoods, Web 2.0, ad Tech,: social media, Web 2.0, NBC, Jeremiah Owyang

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