From business trends to general technology to social media to search marketing to web analytics to web development, Eric Hamilton's Business & Technology Blog gives you business & technology industry information.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Super Heroes & Tech Startups
This morning I was up early contemplating on what makes a successful technology startup business. I’ve been reading about building a team of people and how the people make the business. I think that’s true but it really boils down to 1 person or 2 people with a vision.
Some of the most successful technology startups were NOT formed by committees but by 1 or 2 people. If you think about our favorite comic book heroes, they are usually NOT a group, they are usually 1 or 2 people.
1 & 2 Person Super Heroes:
Superman
Spiderman
Wonder Woman
Ironman
Batman & Robin
1 & 2 Person Successful Tech Startups:
Apple
Microsoft
Ebay
Amazon
Yahoo!
Hewlett Packard
Many times startups feel that they have to have the perfect business plan and backing from friends, family and a bank before they can get things moving.
As of December of 2010, my organization (The Web Academy) is approaching 2500 all time enrollments. I didn’t form that organization with a consensus vote. It was about me having a vision and putting the pieces together. In the beginning, I was the Executive Director, the Administrative Assistant, the Web Master, the Sales Director, the Marketing Director and the only Instructor.
General Dwight Eisenhower once said plans are worthless but planning is everything. I love that quote. So, have a vision, work hard, don’t be afraid to be solo, and plan for everything imaginable.
So, what do you think?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Social Media, Colliding Galaxies & Holodecks
In about 3 billion years, our galaxy (The Milky Way) will collide with our nearest cousin galaxy (Andromeda). It will be a galactic fireworks display of energy and destruction and some dancing of stars. Dancing of stars? Not "Dancing with the Stars" but "Dancing of Stars". Yes, some stars will be destroyed and some will find a partner in the opposite galaxy. Those stars will conduct an interstellar waltz for eternity or at least until those stars exhaust all of their hydrogen. In any case, both galaxies will be changed forever.
Similarly, the world of social media will collide with the web. One might say this is a bad analogy as social media is a part of the web and the Milky Way and Andromeda are 2 distinct galaxies.
That is true but bear with me.
When this collision of social media and web happens, there will be some destruction as old players die out. In addition, there will be players who dance with partners that they never dreamed of dancing with.
You’re probably asking “What does this mean?”. I will get there soon, but 1st another metaphor.
On the TV series “Star Trek the Next Generation” there was a technology called the “Holodeck”. The Holodeck was a virtual reality simulation that used computers, optics and force fields to simulate any environment. On the Holodeck, you could experience sailing on a 1700 century sailing ship or experience a night club comedy show act or anything and everything. The “people” and things encountered on the Holodeck seemed real. On one particular episode, the cast of characters encountered Professor Moriarty (the fictional character and arch enemy of Sherlock Holmes) on the Holodeck. Professor Moriarty’s personality was controlled by the Holodeck’s computer. In the episode, the artificial intelligence became self aware and Moriarty desired to leave the confines of the Holodeck simulation . Moriarty in turn held members of the Enterprise crew as hostages on the Holodeck.
To defeat Moriarty, the crew of the Enterprise fooled Moriarty into believing that he had left the Holodeck by using transporter technology to beam him to another Holodeck. Moriarty thought that he was in the real world when in actuality he was on another Holodeck.
Now, to the non-Star Trek fans, thank you for your patience.
My point:
Social Media is the Holodeck.
The Web is the Real World.
Soon, you will not be able to distinguish one from the other.
Facebook knows a lot of information about its users. For instance Facebook knows that I like Star Trek, that I’m from Detroit, that I studied Computer Science and that I like Google Android Application Development. This information can be used to change the way I interact with the web. As Facebook expands its reach to publisher networks, visitors will experience the Facebook experience throughout their entire web experience.
Imagine going to Yahoo! News and seeing news on your college buddy’s new business or doing a Google Search and finding information on your co-worker’s bridal shower or seeing a display ad on CNN for your father’s retirement party.
With the help of Facebook, the web will be more personal and more meaningful. The entire social media experience and web experience will be blurred to the extent that the user will not be able to distinguish between the two.
While working at Yahoo! on their social media task force, I tried to help them understand this concept. So, what do you think?
Facebook Numbers Game
So, you may have noticed that several of your friends have random numbers in their status updates such as #74 or #5545 followed by some kind words.
Perhaps you got an email in your Facebook inbox from a friend with a random number and you're thinking "What is this number thing all about?"
It's the newest Facebook Viral Trend unofficially called "The Numbers Game". The goal is simple. Send a number to a friend. This number is specific to you. Next, your friend will create a status update telling the world how they feel about you but only you know because it's your number.
The Numbers Game is meant to be a fun way to tell people how you really feel about them. So, have some fun with it...
As always, what do you think about The Facebook Numbers Game?
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Top NBA Brands Using Wordpress
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web development tools such as Wordpress sometimes are not seen as "real" web development platforms. Wordpress is one of the most flexible and easy to use WYSIWYG tools in existence. Many Fortune 500 companies and top athletes are using Wordpress.
Top NBA and WNBA brands using Wordpress:
So , if Wordpress is good enough for these multi-million dollar athletes, then it is probably good enough for your business.
What do you think?
The Web Academy teaches free Wordpress classes online. Visit the http://thewebacademy.org to enroll.
So , if Wordpress is good enough for these multi-million dollar athletes, then it is probably good enough for your business.
What do you think?
The Web Academy teaches free Wordpress classes online. Visit the http://thewebacademy.org to enroll.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Social Trends for 2011 Workshop in Manhattan
Description: This workshop will discuss with established businesses and arts organizations topics such as: Facebook markup language, Facebook fan page engagement, Twitter for your business and Google web analytics. With a "step by step" explanation of how to create an account and upload videos and pictures by connecting different social media tools, the audience will successfully be immersed and able to start using these tools.
Featuring: Eric Hamilton - Executive Director of the NY Web Academy and author of "Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama."
Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: 110 William Street, 4th Floor Conference Room
New York, NY 10038
RSVP: Call 212-618-8862 or e-mail dmartens@nycbusiness-solutions.com
Featuring: Eric Hamilton - Executive Director of the NY Web Academy and author of "Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama."
Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: 110 William Street, 4th Floor Conference Room
New York, NY 10038
RSVP: Call 212-618-8862 or e-mail dmartens@nycbusiness-solutions.com
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Buzz Aldrin Would Not Be Impressed
I am just about tired of my Blackberry. RIM, your 15 minutes of fame are over! I will be purchasing a Droid phone by this weekend. My frustrations with Blackberry are far and wide but here are a few highlights:
1) Constant resets (reminds me of the old Windows CE devices)
2) The lack of an open development platform
3) Slow synchronization time
Speaking of slow synchronization times. Why does it take 5 minutes to synch 4500 contacts? I can't understand why I have more computing power on my Dell laptop and Blackberry than the entire Apollo 11 mission to the moon yet it takes over 5 minutes to synch 4500 contacts. I could write a simple algorithm that compares the date/time stamp of a contact on the laptop vs date/time stamp of a contact on the Blackberry. If the date/time stamps does not match then overwrite the old with the new! Each comparison would take nanoseconds. Thus, the entire process should take 2 seconds at best. It's just that simple Blackberry! Obviously Blackberry and Microsoft need to be schooled on data structures.
The United States landed men on the moon the year I was born and returned them safely to Earth with less computing power than my laptop and Blackberry yet, RIM can't figure out a way to synchronzie 4500 contacts in less time than it takes to fry an egg. Buzz Aldrin would not be impressed. So, what do you think?
Monday, November 8, 2010
FREE Google Android App Inventor Class
Since its introduction in the smart phone marketplace, The Droid has been chipping away market share from Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry. In 2010, Google released an open development platform called Android App Inventor. This user friendly platform allows non-programmers the ability to create Android applications and these applications run on Droid phone. The Web Academy (a non profit technology organization) will be offering FREE Android App Inventor classes to anyone interested in learning. The classes are FREE however, the course materials cost $69.00.
Space is limited, you may enroll at:
http://thewebacademy.org/registration/google-android-app-inventor-registration/
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
A 2 Fan Wonder
So today is election day. I'm still rather new to Bergen County, NJ thus I am still getting familiar with all of the political players. My Congressman in the 9th District is Steven R Rothman a Democrat. I don't know a lot about Congressman Rothman so I decided read about his stance on immigration, the economy, health care... To my surprise, Congressman Rothman does not have a campaign web site! What? It's 2010, not 1910. Are you serious. I conducted every possible keyword combination search on Google, Yahoo! and Bing... In addition, I did a search on Facebook. I could not find a personal Facebook page nor a sponsored Facebook fan page. However, I did find a community fan page with a grand total of 2 fans. See the image to the upper left. This is laughable. These are the people who represent us. These are the people who we put into office to pass laws on everything including TECHNOLOGY.
If he did not know, Barack Obama and his team mastered the use of social media. The social media blue print to get elected was set between 2006-2008.
What do you think? Should politicians at a minimum have a web site? Should politicians engage in FREE social media to get their message out?
Friday, October 29, 2010
Web Master/Web Blogging Interns for Lady Gaga Web Site
The Web Academy has partnered with Web Asset Partners Inc (WAP) which is a NYC based media publishing platform. Please visit Web Asset Partners Inc (WAP) at http://www.webassetpartners.com for more information. WAP specializes in creating brands and building powerful online entities.
WAP's client portfolio includes The Jonas Brothers and others. In addition, WAP manages the following celebrity themed web destinations:
Lady Gaga
Justin Bieber
Britney Spears
Miley Cyrus
Selena Gomez
Taylor Swift
WAP is looking for Web Master/Web Blogging Interns. These internships are unpaid. However, each intern will get real world experience working with these top brands. If you have successfully mastered the management of maintaining a Wordpress CMS then you may qualify.
Requirements:
PC or Mac with modern web browser
Access to a high speed internet connection
Working knowledge of Wordpress CMS
Writing ability is a must
Working knowledge of DOT NET Nuke CMS (very similar to Wordpress)
Responsibilities:
Manage content
Maintain news information
Post articles using Wordpress and DOT NET NUKE
Upload and manage photos
Upload and manage videos
Add Plugins and Widgets as necessary
Other celebrity web site tasks as related to the pro
Commitment:
Weekly Commitment: 8 hours per week
We are asking for a 6 month commitment.
Location: Telecommute (Work from Home).
If you are interested in working with these top brands as a Web Master/Web Blogging Intern then send an email to info@thewebacademy.org ASAP. This email should include your resume, a writing sample and links to any blogs or web sites that you have created or managed.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
FREE Social Media Workshop in Harlem
FREE Social Media Workshop in Harlem -- Sponsored by Capital One Bank and Seedco Financial
My New Yorkers,
I am doing another FREE Social Media Workshop on Thursday Oct 28th. This workshop is sponsored by Capital One Bank and Seedco Financial. Feel free to send this information to anyone who is interested.
Twitter, Facebook, and Other Social Media
Date: Thursday, October 28, 2010
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Capital One Bank - Harlem
1999 First Avenue
New York, NY 10029
RSVP: E-mail rsvp@harlemaa.org
Description: This workshop will discuss with established businesses and arts organizations topics such as: Facebook markup language, Facebook fan page engagement, Twitter for your business and Google web analytics. With a "step by step" explanation of how to create an account and upload videos and pictures by connecting different social media tools, the audience will successfully be immersed and able to start using these tools.
Featuring: Eric Hamilton - Executive Director of the NY Web Academy and author of "Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama."
Monday, October 25, 2010
Facebook's "Privacy" Test
There has been a lot of talk about Facebook's privacy or lack thereof. Recently, it was revealed that Facebook was accidentally outing gay users to outside firms through targeted ads. See article online article at Mail Online
I wanted to see if this was true so I decided to run a test. In this test, I wanted to see if I could capture the names and emails of gay men on Facebook. I run an organization called The Web Academy which offers free web design classes. I already have ads running on Facebook, so I simply decided to change who the ads targeted and directed those specific clicks to a custom landing page on my organization's web site. This would help me flag the respondents as gay.
Facebook Ad Setup:
Demographics
Age: 18 and up...
*Sex: M
*Interested in: M
Targeting
Location: NYC
Estimated Reach: 26,800
(notice that the ad is targeting men who are interested in men)
User Account Setup:
I setup a test user account and selected the setting "man interested in men" and simply browsed Facebook until I saw my targeted ad. It took about 1 day before the ad was seen.
User Activity:
Once displayed, I clicked on the ad and I arrived at my special landing page for gay respondents. To the casual user, everything would seem normal. I completed the form for free web design classes.
Web Site Owner:
From the web site owner's perspective, the respondent who clicked on the "gay" ad will be flagged as gay in the owner's web site database.
Below is the email confirmation that the web site owner receives after a gay respondent completes the online application.
Good and Evil:
There is some good that can be achieved with Facebook's granular level of demographics targeting. For instance, I may have an ad that promotes a positive event for the gay and lesbian community. As far as the evil, there are too many to mention.
I am a former Yahoo! employee and in 2008, I supported Yahoo's Right Media Ad network. One of my potential clients was a Black hair care company. They wanted to use Yahoo! to target African Americans. In 2008 and currently, ad networks do not track ethnicity for targeting for many reasons. Even though this company would be using the targeting for good, there would be others who would use this information for evil.
So, what do you think about Facebook's ad targeting capabilities and demographics targeting in general?
Saturday, October 23, 2010
New York Urban League and The Web Academy
The Web Academy is committed to providing free online courses. In addition, the Web Academy provides local web training. On Saturday October 23, 2010, the Web Academy visited Harlem Renaissance High School's technology lab to teach a web design class. This facility is open to the community 7 days a week. Check out the video of our session:
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Generation X Slackers That Changed the Technology World
So, in a few days I will reach the grand old age of 41 and it has caused me to think about the last 20 years and the classification of my generation (Generation X) over the past 20 years.
Generation X is a U.S. generational classification for anyone born between 1961 and 1981. As a 20 year old in 1989, Generation X was seen as irresponsible and lazy slackers. I’m not sure if the term Generation X was coined at the time but these negative perceptions were strong. I recall hearing a Baby Boomer at the time state that she thought that society should start over with the next generation because Generation X was a total waste. I replied to her that the World War II Generation said the same thing about the Baby Boomers with their easy living and free love in the 1960s and that the Baby Boomers turned out okay. My reply was met with silence.
Now, let’s think about these lazy Generation X slackers. Some of the greatest technology companies in the history of our country were started by Generation X “Slackers”.
In the early 1990s, I was a Computer Science student at Michigan State University. Meanwhile, about 60 miles away there was another Computer Science student (getting better grades than me) at the University of Michigan. His name was Larry Page. A few years after graduating from the University of Michigan, Larry ended up starting a company called Google. You may have heard of it.
Here’s my short list of technology companies that changed the world founded by Generation X “Slackers”.
Company | Generation X "Slacker" | Birth Month/Year |
Larry Page | March 1973 | |
Yahoo! | Jerry Yang | November 1968 |
Jack Dorsey | November 1976 | |
YouTube | Steven Chen | August 1978 |
Amazon | Jeff Bezos | January 1964 |
Wikipedia | Jimmy Wales | August 1966 |
eBay | Pierre Omidyar | June 1967 |
Blogger | Evan Williams | March 1972 |
Skype | Niklas Zennström | February 1966 |
Reid Hoffman | August 1967 | |
Expedia | Richard Barton | June 1967 |
Here’s my message to all of you old crusty Baby Boomer dinosaurs who want to hate on the younger generations or anyone who wants to hate on future generations. Don’t hate, congratulate! Every generation has its success stories. So, if you are not uplifting the next generation then you probably need to shut up! So, what do you think?
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wubble -- The Word Unscrambling Game
For all of you parents who are looking for a thought provoking game for yourself or for your kids check out "Wubble". Wubble is an anagram word scramble game created by Garth Humphreys of Gizmoko Games. Garth is a Graphics Designer and Web Developer. His areas of focus are Drupal and Flash.
Wubble challenges the gamer with a series of words to unscramble. Wubble is available for easy download and installation via the app store on your iPhone or by visiting the iTunes App Store.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Web Design for Pimps Book Overview
An Overview of the Web Academy's Wordpress and GIMP class and an overview of the book "Web Design for Pimps"
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Social Refrigerator
10 years ago (in the year 2000) while working for the Netscape/Sun Microsystems alliance, I was doing some research on the future of IP addresses. IP addresses are unique numbers assigned to devices on a computer network to allow for communications between those devices. Most computers use version 4 of IP addressing which allows for approximately 4.3 billion (4.3 x 10 9) unique IP addresses. With the proliferation of mobile devices and other internet accessible devices, IP address exhaustion was/is predicted to occur in the next few years. Version 6 of IP addressing was constructed in 1998 and it currently can accommodate more than 3 x 10 38 IP addresses. That is 3 followed by 38 zeros or three thousand trillion trillion trillion IP addresses.
With a number that large, we can assign unique IP addresses to almost anything.
Because of version 6 of IP addressing, every device in your home could have a unique IP address. Currently, your home computer, wireless printer and smart phone are probably the only 3 devices in your home with IP addresses. In the future, your TV, your DVD player, your refrigerator, your washer, your dryer, your fitness equipment, your A/C, your alarm system, your wrist watch, your running shoes will all have IP addresses and will be social.
As people spend less time watching television and more time on the internet and more proportional time on social media sites, advertisers will fight harder to attract your attention. Making consumer devices more social is the next progression.
Your new social electronic devices and home appliances will look and function just as they did in the previous generation accept they will have a social component. After purchasing your device/appliance you will have the ability to opt into its social features. Upon starting you would give the device/appliance your wireless network information and your social media information (ex: Facebook ID, Twitter ID).
Social Refrigerator:
Imagine your refrigerator having internal cameras and knowing when it is full or empty and automatically sending images of its contents to your social media sites. This information would be huge for top consumable brands such as Kraft or Pepsi.
Social Washer/Dryer:
Image your washer/dryer tweeting every time you do your laundry. “Eric just placed a large load clothes on heavy cycle in his Maytag washer”. This would be extra advertising for these brands.
Social Fitness Equipment:
Every guy likes to brag about how much they can do in the weight room. “Eric just benched pressed 160 lbs 25 times in 15 minutes”. And this would not be “bragging” because the equipment is tweeting about my accomplishments.
We are in a new age of openness and connectivity and these are just a few of the foreseeable possibilities. So, what do you think?
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Web Design for Pimps
I’ve been getting a lot of criticism over my choice for my new book title “Web Design for Pimps”. I will attempt to explain my reasoning for selecting such a title.
I am a big fan of the “Dummies” book series. One of the 1st Dummies books that I ever purchased was “HTML for Dummies”. I purchased this book years after being a competent HTML programmer. I loved the book but I hated the title. Why? Because I am not a dummy. I am a guy who happens to want to learn a few new things about HTML. I am a guy who wants to take what I learn and make a few dollars practicing my craft.
So, to the reader of this blog, you are not a dummy. If you are like me, then you are a go-getter, who wants something out of life and will do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals. You work hard and you use resources to the best of your ability. Now, I could have called my book “Web Design for Hard Workers” or “Web Design for People Who Use Resources to the Best of Their Abilities”. Those titles are extremely uninteresting. I wanted a title that would get your attention and remain true to the concepts of the book.
According to wikipedia.com, a pimp is an agent for prostitutes who lives off their earnings… with the pimp using techniques such as psychological intimidation, manipulation and physical force to control the prostitutes he sends out to work. In my world, you, the reader of this blog are the pimp. Web technology is your prostitute. Thus, “Web Design for Pimps” was the title that I selected for the book. In addition to finding technical information on WordPress, HTML and FBML, I will give some basic information on how to earn revenue.
So, if you are offended by this title, I do apologize. When you see it on Amazon or on the shelf at Borders, you can place this book back on the shelf and purchase a Dummies book. For everybody else, let’s figure out how to increase our knowledge and get paid at the same time!
So, what do you think?
The purchase a copy visit Web Design for Pimps - WordPress on Lulu.com
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Atoms vs. Bits
In my ongoing quest to rid the world of this horrible thing called paper, I suddenly realized it’s all about atoms and bits. I know, I know… You are thinking “What the heck is EHAM talking about”.
Let’s start with some simple definitions.
Atom: a basic unit of matter which is the building block of everything in the universe.
Bit: also know as a binary digit. Computers use bits to determine the value of data and instructions.
Byte: is 8 bits. 1 English letter or character equals 1 byte.
Atoms are expensive. Assuming that my calculations are correct, there are about 91 billion trillion atoms in 1 sheet of paper.
Feel free to check my math…
A standard sheet of letter sized paper is 8.5 inches by 11 inches which translates to .2159 meters by .2794 meters. According to answerbag.com, the thickness of a standard sheet of letter sized paper is 0.00003 meters which is 111,111 atoms. With that, we calculate the width of the sheet to be 799,628,830 atoms and the length to be 1,034,813,780 atoms.
The dimensions of a sheet of paper in atoms:
Length = 1,034,813,780 atoms
Width = 799,628,830 atoms
Height = 111,111 atoms
As we all know, volume = length * width * height which gives us a total of 91,940,678,300,260,581,191,400 atoms which is 91 billion trillion atoms.
I hope these calculations are correct. It’s been 25 years since my last high school chemistry class and 23 years since my last college chemistry class. A big shout out to Mr. Keeney from Walled Lake Western High School and Dr. Hammer from Michigan State University. I have not talked to these dudes in over 23 years.
Data Stored as Bits on a Hard Drive:
As of May of 2010 a standard 1 terabyte (1 trillion bytes) hard drive weighs about ½ of a pound which is about 36 trillion trillion atoms.
Data Stored as Atoms on Paper:
We can fit about 40 characters on a single line on a sheet of people. We have about 50 lines total on both sides of a sheet of paper thus we can fit about 2000 text characters on a double sided sheet of paper. A piece of paper weights about 1/100 of a pound. 50 sheets of paper weighs about ½ of a pound and is about 36 trillion trillion atoms. 50 sheets of paper can store 100,000 characters which is 100,000 bytes.
If we have 36 trillion trillion atoms to work with then we come to the following conclusions:
50 sheets of paper at 36 trillion trillion atoms equals 100,000 bytes of storage
1 TB hard drive at 36 trillion trillion atoms equals 1 trillion bytes of storage
Storing data as bits is 1 million times more efficient than storing data as atoms in the traditional method (ie paper).
Bits are cheap and become cheaper every 18 months.
Atoms are expensive and are potentially damaging to the environment to harvest.
In a contest of Atoms vs. Bits, there is no contest. Bits win!
What do you think?
Technology Hate
Many of you know that I recently wrote a book titled "Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama". The book is not political and mainly focuses on social media technology that Barack Obama used to get elected. In addition, I started the Web Academy which offers free web design to anyone interested in learning. I recently got a lot of hate based on the success of my book and the Web Academy. I created this 2 minute video which is based some recent hate that I received. This is a spoof and is not intended to speak negatively about political parties.
Enjoy!
EHAM
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Facebook "Like" Feature
Monday, April 19, 2010
RSS, Zoo Animals and Newspapers
Why are people still reading newspapers? Recently, while at JFK airport waiting for my flight from NYC to San Francisco, I noticed more than a few people reading newspapers made of paper and splotched with ink. People still do that? The people reading these newspapers looked relatively intelligent and college educated, nonetheless, they read their newspapers with passion and enthusiasm. I watched these strange people with amazement like a child watching animals feeding in a zoo for the 1st time.
Many of you are thinking: "EHAM, why are you so harsh? If people want to read newspapers, then you should let them be.". Blah, blah, blah... My question is: "Why are these people paying for a limited, dated, narrow source of information?". Those zoo animals, I mean people could not possibly be interested in everything written in their specific newspapers. As we all should know, it is possible to get information from hundreds of newspapers via an RSS feed in real time with aggregated articles that meet your needs, not the needs of some editor at the New York Post. Maybe those people don't know what they should know. Another interesting topic for a different article.
So, what do you think? Is EHAM too harsh on these newspaper readers?"
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Facebook Fan Page Engagement
One of the most important aspects of social media for business is engagement with clients and potential clients. Having a fan page on Facebook is a great way to engage with your clients. Facebook provides many built in tools to allow for such engagement. In addition, there are add-on applications available (provided by companies such as Involver) that can extend the usefulness of your Facebook fan page.
In “Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama”, I chronicled the plight of Mandy Johnson and Diva Construction. This hypothetical scenario gave advice on many distinct social media tools.
In this blog entry, I have PDF files which give a sneak preview of my newest social media book titled “Social Media Fans in the Age of Obama”. I focus on implementation and give very little history and strategy by design in this preview. In addition, I am not 100% sure that this title will be the actual title, nonetheless, you can learn about fan page implementation and 3rd party add-on applications by downloading the free PDF files.
Enjoy...
Facebook Fan Pages
RSS on Fan Pages
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama
"Optimizing social media is not an exact science. It's about using web analytics data to make informed immediate decisions and to formulate long term strategies". This is a quote from the book "Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama" by Eric Hamilton.
There has been a lot of talk about social media in the past 12 months. 2010 has just arrived and everybody claims to be a social media expert for 2010. If you are in business, then I am sure that you have been approached by a So-Called Social Media Expert. In addition, you probably have been getting a lot of pressure from colleagues, subordinates, managers, friends, news and other sources about embracing social media. News Flash: You don't need to know about the trendy buzz words in Social Media to be effective. Do you know about Digg, Delicious, Plaxo, StumbleUpon or Flickr? No? It doesn't matter if you do or don't.
Here's a tip for all of you business people trying to carve out a social media future.
LEARN THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK...
There are many to ask, but I will give you one to remember.
Here it is:
"How many people from the social media site X are doing Y at my web site and how can I optimize Y?!?!?!?"
I will repeat:
"How many people from the social media site X are doing Y at my web site and how can I optimize Y?!?!?!?"
X = Facebook or X = Twitter or X = any social media web site
Y = "Sign up for newsletter” or Y = "Purchase my widget" or Y = “Any call to act”
If your So-called Social Media Expert cannot answer this question or if they cannot propose a comprehensive solution to solve for this question or if their answer confuses you more, then fire them and pick up a copy of "Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama" by Eric Hamilton http://www.socialmediaobama.com . This guide will show you how to configure, measure and optimize the most popular social media web sites. The guide is an easy read and uses simple language with large screen captured images. It's a must have for anyone planning to do business in 2010.
For more information on Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama visit http://www.socialmediaobama.com .
Eric Hamilton is the author of "Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama" and a Yahoo! Engagement Manager specializing in analytics.
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