From Examiner.com:
Technological changes offer business opportunities!
“Change affords opportunities, in particular, the rapid changes in Web technology known as Web 2.0.” states Geoff Wilson, CEO of the Web design company 352 Media.
Wilson, who owns several Ben & Jerry’s ice cream stores in addition to running his Web design company, likened Web 2.0 to Ben & Jerry’s “Everything but the…” flavor.
“Web 2.0 has everything,” he explained. “It’s blogging—which is posting thoughts and ideas on your Web site or other people’s Web sites. It is Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn, social-networking sites. It is also Flickr, a photo-sharing Web site; and Twitter, which has become popular in a short period of time. It’s online video—YouTube and Hulu—and user-generated content, like cell phone videos of news events people witness and upload to news sites such as CNN. All of this is part of Web 2.0.”
Social media is about everyone having a voice, said Wilson. “People who are going on Facebook or MySpace or LinkedIn want to have a voice. They want to participate and have a conversation. These people want to form communities and be able to connect with like-minded people who are into the same products or services or who have the same interests.”
In a nutshell—from a business vantage— social media is about engaging customers. “All of these platforms give you as a business owner an opportunity to engage with customers.” The catch? “You can leverage these tools for free, but you have to put in the time to do so.”
So many selections
What is the best Web 2.0 tool—or tools—for a small business owner to use? “It’s not a simple answer,” said Wilson. “The answer depends on the demographic of your customers, because some customers will be “into” one type of social media, such as Twitter or Facebook, than others. He advised:
• Find out where your customers are. Identify their needs—what they are discussing.
• Enter their community. Help customers in ways in which they want to be helped.
• Don’t try to control the message. Just take part in the discussion.
• Don’t hard sell. “You cannot have a hard-sell mentality. You won’t be successful,” admonished Wilson. “Your customers are willing to embrace your business as part of the social interaction, but they don’t want to be sold to.”
• Accept the good along with the bad. If you give customers the opportunity to review your products or services on your Web site, for example, you have to accept the bad along with the good, said Wilson. “Many times, if you are very successful, the positive people will defend your company against the negatives. And they will do the best job of selling for you. That’s ultimately what you are trying to achieve.”
Use Facebook to promote your business
Web 2.0 includes a variety of social media, from blogs to YouTube. Choosing the best for your business depends on your customers and their needs, but one of the most effective of the social media is Facebook, as Geoff Wilson explains.
Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn are all types of social media in which to network. In all of them, users complete a profile and may join groups. They post short status updates and link to friends and acquaintances.
“A few years ago, MySpace was all the buzz,” said Wilson. Facebook, though, has outpaced MySpace and has become a more sophisticated cyber networking tool, he said. He noted that Facebook users generally visit their pages daily (or more often), while LinkedIn users usually only visit their pages weekly. Because Facebook offers more exposure, he recommends using it as a business-building tool.
Tips for using Facebook to promote your business:
• Create a professional profile. “A lot of people use Facebook for social purposes,” he said. “I use it for more professional purposes.” His advice: Don’t post information about your private life on your Facebook page if you want to use Facebook to promote your business.
• Build a large network. Connect to people you know as well as people you meet and ask to be a “friend.”
• Post business-related information. Give updates about your business and your professional status.
• Post events. Facebook has an “events” tab in which you can create a special event and invite people to it. You can also announce the event as a status update on your “wall,” he said.
• Join groups related to your business. These groups are comprised of like-minded individuals.
• Set up fan or company pages. Companies cannot have profiles, but you can set up a special page that gives information on your company.
• Advertise. “Facebook has really good targeted advertising,” said Wilson. “You can target by city, age, gender, level of education—all of these things.” Consequently, your ads only show up on the pages of people who are likely to buy your product or service. And, ads are relatively inexpensive, he added.
Social networking links:
Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn are social networking sites on which you post short status reports, join groups, and link to friends and acquaintances. Twitter is similar to Facebook, except that users can “tweet” on mobile devices. Tweets are limited to 140 characters.
YouTube allows you to post videos, which can also be an effective method to promote your business, according to Wilson. Flickr is a photo-sharing Web site
• Facebook, www.facebook.com
• MySpace, www.myspace.com
• LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com
• YouTube, www.youtube.com
• Flickr, www.flickr.com
• Twitter, www.twitter.com
Confused about social media?
If you are new to using social media as a way to promote your business, go to www.commoncraft.com/socialmedia, where you can watch a three-minute video that explains the basics of Web 2.0 for business promotion.
About Geoff Wilson and 352 Media
Geoff Wilson, CEO of 352 Media, was recognized as one of “America’s Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30” by INC Magazine in July, 2006. He can be contacted at 352-374-9657 or through his Web site at www.352media.com
This article appeared in the “Jacksonville Advantage, the Handbook for Small Business”, after Geoff Wilson told a group who gathered for a meeting of Executive Advantage
(www.theexecadvantage.com), a professional- and business-development group for Jacksonville-area CEOs that provides a forum for growth through coordinated discussion and exposure to expert speakers. It was provided with permission to post to the Examiner from Geoff Wilson.
Frank Eaton, CEO, Frank B2B Communications, a business to business marketing company. www.frankb2b.com
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Web 2.0 and You..... (& Your Business)
CELEBRATE LIFE NOW: How to Enjoy Life to the Fullest By Darcy Keith
I saw this today, liked it a lot and wanted to share it with everyone.
Have an awesome day,
Steve
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As I'm typing my thoughts, I am watching my daughter play outside games with her neighborhood friends. First, they played a made-up game of throwing a ball though hula-hoops. Next, it was bouncing a ball in the middle of the hula-hoop, which had a number point value scribbled with pink sidewalk chalk in the center. How fun it is to watch the girls, aged five to eleven, improvise with the items they have, which were six hula-hoops and five balls of various sizes. I'm amazed at how quickly the girls can switch from game to game, making new rules, and having fun.
Watching their excitement, giggles, and negotiation skills reminds me of some of the aspects of life that we sometimes don't. We don't celebrate life. Each day, we should celebrate life. No, I'm not talking about living irresponsibly, but enjoy every day given to us. For the past week, my daughter asks me what special thing we are going to do that day. Sometimes, she just wants to go outside and play catch or take a family bike ride to the park. Other times, it's just sitting down to watch a movie with hot, buttered popcorn, and a glass of soda.
My husband and I try our best to enjoy every day with her by celebrating life and the time we have together. I remember when our daughter was born. Family and friends visited us to celebrate her birth and see our new family addition. Because in the first year of life she changed physically so much, we celebrated each stage by having her picture taken every month. Videos and pictures were taken at holidays, special events, family gatherings, and various times to capture her innocent, curious, happy personality.
I must admit, however, that sometimes I wish life away. One of the bedtime rituals that I do every night when I put my daughter to bed is that we pray together, I sing a bedtime lullaby that I have sung every night since she was born, we tell each other "I love you", and I start playing her favorite CD as she drifts off to sleep. There are several times that I would have liked to just kiss her goodnight after we prayed and go back to whatever I was doing.
But when I hesitate, I remind myself of the joy I get from celebrating her life and how, when she gets older, I won't be needed as much to tuck her in. I celebrate the moment, right here and now. Though there are things in our life to make it easier, how it is that we are busier than ever? Why do we jam-pack our lives with more activities? What are you doing in your life that will cause you to stop and celebrate it? Is it reading that book for the tenth time to your child so that they can enjoy the story? Is it taking time to read a book that you've put off and say that you'll get to it later? What about that diet that you promised yourself that you would start today?
Here are five thoughts to help you celebrate life now:
1. Start everyday with a positive attitude.
2. Take a moment to notice the vibrant color of flowers, the colorful fall leaves, the glistening white snow, or enjoy the sound of the rain while you doze off to sleep in your warm bed.
3. Reflect on the positive things in your life.
4. Tell that special person you love them.
5. Find joy in the everyday things that we take for granted.
Celebrate life to the fullest...now!
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Begin changing your life, one day at a time. Have what you want in your life: relationships, money, success. This has made it happen for so many, why not you.
Click Here Now - Don't Wait Another Minute
Happy 4th Of July - Have a Safe & Fun Weekend
You'll might want to take a few minutes to watch this short little video, sort of gets you in the mood to celebrate the 4th. It reminds me of how lucky I am to have been born an American - How Grateful I am for what God has given us.
THE LIGHT BULB
By Jose Smitha
My Dad could fix anything, cars, houses, airplanes you name it.
Over the years my Dad's memory started to go and he started doing strange things. Like the time he bought a bunch of boxes of light bulbs because he got a good deal. The strange thing was they were special light bulbs, an indoor flood light bulb that nobody in our family's homes could use.
In the next few years my Dad's memory and behavior got worse and I used a few of the light bulbs in places they did not belong as outdoor flood lights and such. My Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer'' disease and after about five years, one day he forgot how to walk and he was confined to a nursing home.
In the meantime, due to a new job I had to move away. I bought a new house and what do you know, my new house has the indoor floodlights recessed in the ceiling. I finally found a use for the light bulbs. My dad never got to see our new house, although I told him about it when I visited him in the nursing home, I'm not sure if he understood.
After a couple of years in the home my Dad took a turn for the worse and he forgot how to swallow food. Early one September morning my Dad died.
The night after my Dad's funeral, I came home exhausted and when I turned on the lights, one of the bulbs blew out. Needless to say I had plenty of spare bulbs.
A sign from my Dad maybe.
I miss him a lot.
FRIENDSHIP
by Cherri Walston
Friendship is one of the many blessings God has given each one of us. I am so grateful for the lasting friendships I have cultivated through the years. As women, we know that true friendship is a sacred commodity. This is a relationship that is to be cherished and revered for a lifetime. We've experienced friendships that have come and gone because of misunderstandings, differences in lifestyles, spiritual or personal growth. For whatever reasons, they have left a permanent mark on our hearts of what true friendship really is.
I am known to be a very outgoing person and can interact with people from various cultures and backgrounds. I believe this is one of the many gifts God has bestowed upon me. I say this with great humbleness: as a child I was very shy and reserved. During my early years, I longed for friends. I wanted people to accept and like me. Even in high school, I felt like an outcast because I wasn't chosen to be in what I thought was the "In" group.
Consequently, this had a negative affect on my self-esteem. I placed little value on myself. My self-worth was overshadowed by the quantity of relationships versus the quality of true friendships. As I matured, I learned to filter through those relationships that weren't holding me up in the best light. Sometimes that meant I had to light the path on my own.
Self Acceptance our elite, and not so elite, society would have you believe that it is about who you know or who you are connected to. There is nothing wrong with having well-known friends or being in the circle of connected people. However, it becomes a problem when your self-worth is based on whom you know.
Be you - love you! Wherever you think you aren't in life yet, should never be an indication of where you are headed. Accept your shortcomings, mistakes; accept that some people won't like you and some you don't need to be connected to anyway. You can receive all the accolades you can stand, but until you can accept and love yourself, they are only a clanging cymbal.
The Key is Quality Not Quantity Networking is one of the hottest concepts in building relationships in the professional and entrepreneurial world. We are taught to meet and connect with as many individuals as we can. Whether it is to find a new career/job, build your business or build future relationships down the road.
When I was starting my career in training and development and my business as a coach, I was meeting people and collecting a lot of business cards. I would have a handful of cards, but no connections that related to my specific needs. I soon realized that the quantity of cards never measured up to the value of networking. I quickly learned that I needed to position myself where my target audience gathered; a place that supported my vision. Many times that meant a smaller and more intimate gathering.
Isn't it funny how sometimes we enter into relationships the same way? We get sucked into a lot of drama and no substance. Then we scratch our heads trying to figure out how we got ourselves into this situation. You will later realize that sometimes less is more. For me, a quality relationship whether it is personal/professional is one based on character, excellence, and standards I set for my own life. Not perfection, but one of value that adds to not distracts from.
There Is Joy In Being Your Own Best Friend. A true friend is someone who accepts you as you are, feels those fears and anxieties with you, and sees your limitations. A true friend will celebrate you, cry with you, and reason with you for your own good. I can truly say that I have a small, yet valuable set of sister friends who have helped me to be the best I can be. However, I am learning to be my own best friend too.
When I feel like I'm not where I need to be, I smile and remember where I came from. When I fear stepping out of my comfort zone, I feel the fear and say, "go for it girl". And when I am confronted with my limitations, I tell myself to do what I can. A way will be made because God never fails. I find pure joy in laughing at my quirkiness, the silly things I say and do. When you become comfortable with yourself, you'll realize you don't need a crowd to feel good.
Just be YOU!
You are your own best friend!
Hit By An Angel
Have you ever wondered why you are here on this planet? Sounds like a simple enough question almost foolish. Everyday in someway angels bring us messages. You might be thinking I just left Starbucks with my Venti Latte and I did not see or feel any angels hovering about. Look back and think did you put a tip in the tip jar? Giving is living.
For me the more I give the more I get to keep. How about when someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you feel violated and angry? How could they do that to me? Or do you just let it go and realize that this person driving that vehicle is like many in our world just rushing, rushing, and rushing to where? The grave of course. Be grateful that the driver did not hit you and you had the mental faculties and maybe a guardian angel to adapt to the situation and maintain control of your vehicle.
Negative co-workers are angels also. They can knock you flat on your butt if you let them. What can I learn from their actions? How can I heal or help them without them knowing.
Negative co-workers are like angry customers if you run a business. They are gifts from the angels.
Or a better way to say it is these can be tools to improve yourself, your business, or your performance. What we learn from them may enhance our own lives. How I see people is how I treat them and how I treat them is how they become.
As far as Starbucks, I personally have never had a negative experience with them. Maybe that is because I NEVER EXPECTED TO. The last time I left Iraq in 2004 it was all I could do to keep from getting locked up or as they say in L.A. 5150 which means you are nuts.
On the flight out of Kuwait the attendants knew I was a bit stressed and I was talking to one of them and she took me in the back of the aircraft where they all where staying. They nurtured me and never left me alone. Maybe they were afraid, I doubt it, and I think they saw a wounded soul hurting like I had never hurt before. Yes I should've been evacuated to Landstuhl in Germany but I disliked hospitals because they always want to keep me for further evaluation. Besides I was a civilian now and I don't even know how I got on that flight to the U.S. but I did and I resigned as soon as I got home. So no psych ward for me.
What did I learn? There are angels everywhere. We can be angels if we choose to. Life is a gift, a great blessing. There are many stories I could tell about getting hit by angels from Africa, Germany and even my own house.
Have I seen real angels? Yes. I mean really felt the presence of and seen real angels? Yes. Did I think I was out of my mind? Yes.
Do you believe in angels? I have found that I like to have faith in angels. It feels better than no faith at all.
Look for your angels.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Timothy Kendrick is a retired U.S. Army veteran who served in Panama, Somalia, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and various other places in the world. Timothy's first book 'PTSD: Pathways Through the Secret Door' is widely used throughout the Veterans Administration to help returning veterans cope with the emotional scars of war.
Timothy currently lives in Tampa Florida with his wife Brenda. Timothy's new book "Wide Asleep Slumber No More" is available online and bookstores everywhere. Included is an MP3 audio download for free! To find out more about Tim you can reach him at http://www.timothykendrick.org
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Effortlessly Program Your Mind For Success
Click Here: Whatever the Mind Can Conceive It Can Achieve
Be Inspired, Be Inspiring, Be Thankful
What could you do against all odds? Who would you be? Who could you touch?
Watch the video. If it inspires you, pass it on.
Love to hear your comments and feedback.
Wondering How to Use Social Media...
Great video I came across....
Perry explains how to think about Twitter and Social Networking. I finally got what all the buzz was about.
3 Keys To Live Abundantly
Came across this video today and I've been thinking
a LOT about this since the first time I watched it,
especially with all the talk these days of "bailouts"
and rescue plans.
Yeah right. You and I both know the only REAL solution
is the one you give yourself...
A good watch to get your mind tuned up first thing
in your day or week.
3 Keys To Everything ... Living Abundantly In Your
health, finances and relationships. It's about
14 minutes - so have time or open it up and bookmark
it to come back later.
Here is the video link
http://8pecks.com/3keys.htm
I would tell you more but it would do you a disservice.
Have a wonderful day.
