Creepy Ads Are Nothing New

More from the common sense department... where we learned earlier today that going places you don't want to be seen can be stopped by not going there...

Flash back 25 years when I got a letter in the mail (remember when you opened mail?) that had the make, model and year of my car plastered into a paragraph about my possible insurance needs.

That felt creepy.

Most people don't like companies to tout how much they know about you and soon the practice ended. Not because of legislation, not because of a revolt.. Smart marketing learned IT DOES NOT SELL WELL

We like that computers track what we do and make our experience more interesting. Frankly, I don't want to see the dating ads they show my daughter.. if I am going to use Facebook, I know there will be ads. Might as well make them something that a happily married boomer male might appreciate (nostalgia quizzes and mlm programs according to my screen).

Google reads all my email and most site drop a cookie on my computer. They could be creepy, but if they go that way, I'll delete the cookies or stop visiting their site.

I'm wondering if it's possible that the woman in the story below had those shoes ON HER MIND at least as much as the ads put them there. After all, they are what she asked for.

Amplify’d from www.nytimes.com

Retargeting Ads Follow Surfers to Other Sites

The shoes that Julie Matlin recently saw on Zappos.com were kind of cute, or so she thought. But Ms. Matlin wasn’t ready to buy and left the site.

Then the shoes started to follow her everywhere she went online. An ad for those very shoes showed up on the blog TechCrunch. It popped up again on several other blogs and on Twitpic. It was as if Zappos had unleashed a persistent salesman who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Read more at www.nytimes.com

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Posted via email from Warren Whitlock's Best Seller Book Marketing Posterous

The best way to avoid getting caught on @Foursquare

A popular topic this week is the privacy settings on Foursquare and of course Place (from our favorite privacy whipping boys over at Facebook)

The tips are good, but they left out one that I guess people need to know. If you don't want to be known for going to a place, DON'T GO THERE!

And in the unlikely event that you just have to go someplace that you don't want to share.. the DON'T CHECK IN

I'm a FourSquare fan boy.. I can't explain the draw and yes, I do check in using "off the grid" quite often. At first, it was the game. Then I got bored with that and considered it research or a record of where I went for later datamining experiments.

Let's face it. I like sharing cool stuff and while I was SHOCKED when I first got a comment about an auto post that I was Mayor of the 98 cent dollar store.

But who knew.. there are other husbands dragged to stores and we had a nice chat

Amplify’d from www.pcworld.com

It's hardly practical to believe there are "right" and "wrong" ways to employ social networking services like Twitter or Facebook. However, there are "smart" and/or "safe" methods of use, especially for location-based services (LBS) that identify your whereabouts at a given time, like popular social network/LBS Foursquare. Read more at www.pcworld.com

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The Gulf is begging to heal. Thanks @MrFire and @PatObryan.

"Our findings, which provide the first data ever on microbial activity from a deepwater dispersed oil plume, suggest" a great potential for bacteria to help dispose of oil plumes in the deep-sea, Hazen said in a statement.

Amplify’d from www.huffingtonpost.com

WASHINGTON — A newly discovered type of oil-eating microbe is suddenly flourishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Scientists discovered the new microbe while studying the underwater dispersion of millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf following the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

And the microbe works without significantly depleting oxygen in the water, researchers led by Terry Hazen at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., reported Tuesday in the online journal Sciencexpress. Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com

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Untitled

Have you notice how Gmail's Priority Inbox is using one of the cool features that was suppose to make Wave replace email?

via Ping.fm

Posted via email from Warren Whitlock's Best Seller Book Marketing Posterous

I don't mind waiting for better email.. OK, can I have it NOW?

Google is releasing priority Inbox over the course of the next week..

You will know you have it when you see a new tab in SETTINGs.

I know it's smart to roll things out.. but please.. put me at the top of the list

Amplify’d from techcrunch.com

See more at techcrunch.com

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Sensational Headline? Maybe. But @michelfortin is right

I don't think it's a trend. Many people selling how to make money are so focus on how THEY can make money that they don't even think about the long term effects of what they do.

Some say it looks like one guy agrees to take his product off the market while the other guy launches.. More likely that since these guys work in false scarcity cycles, they have gaps in their schedules and use those rest periods to hack something else.

I know many of the guys selling "get rich on the net" stuff.. most of them are honestly living in the belief that anyone can play their game and do well.

However, my best friends, and good guys like Michel lists in his post, are telling me that there is MORE money in selling to people who want to improve real businesses, build real relationships with customers, and have a reputation that will sell a product day in and day out for years.

There will always be many "get rich quick" ideas. The market loves to buy the easy fix. Unfortunatly, the same "quick fix" buyers are the ones who don't implement the systems and thus the success rate is low.

I'll opt for sharing products from people I KNOW have quality, do what they say, and are in it for the long haul. I'm proud to offer good stuff and get paid a commission, but the commission is not the primary reason for offering it.

Amplify’d from www.michelfortin.com

A Disturbing Trend in Internet Marketing

“But if they’re promoting each other regardless of product quality or value for the price, that’s unethical at best. And if they’re agreeing to a pricing scheme or taking products off the market during other peoples’ launch periods to reduce competition, I’d expect the FTC to be breathing down their necks really soon.”

Focus on what they do, not who they are.

Nevertheless, I often want to join in on the conversation myself, but I stop short of doing so because I fear what I say will fall on deaf ears — if not get drowned by a handful of witch-​​hunting McCarthyists who trawl around for any faint smell of blood.

“Caveat emptor” shouldn’t be used as a loophole to take advantage of the vulnerable. Read more at www.michelfortin.com

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CNN begs for 5 Twitter Followers

Today's old media farce is the CNN program "On Deadline" begging readers of it's blog to follow them on Twitter to hit 4000.

I've got nothing against people asking for followers to hit a milestone.. but it's really not the point of Twitter unless you have conversations and LISTEN.

I don't know anything about this program and avoid TV news as much as possible (just a few minutes now is torture).. but it's obvious in the stream that they want this profile to be your news source.

So Old Media

Amplify’d from content.usatoday.com

Help us reach 4,000 followers on Twitter

Help put us over the top at Twitter.com/ondeadline. Read more at content.usatoday.com

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Someone believe email isn't dead @iContactcorp gets $40 million

Video Blogging Tips from @nikki_blogworld

Amplify’d from www.blogworld.com

Here are a few tips that I’ve learned from the (few) vlogs I’ve created:

Keep it Natural. I try not to be too scripted, although I think about the points I’m trying to make before I actually begin filming!

Do a Couple Takes. It’s fine to redo your video – once, twice, even twenty times – to get it to the point you’re comfortable putting it online for the world to see!

Look at the Camera. It may feel awkward, but it will feel more awkward to a viewer who watches you staring out the window while talking!

Get Creative. Try a fun background, use props, or inject some personality into your video. Use body language and humor to make the video interesting.

Keep Your Audience in Mind. Always keep your blog readership in mind, encourage them to join in the discussion, but be careful of your word choices! Read more at www.blogworld.com

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"Make Shareability a Prioriy" via @ChrisBrogan

Chris will teach you what you need to make your blog post sharable.

I use them all, and more. I like to share great content.. nothing get others to feel compelled to share your great content more than you sharing theres

(hint: this assumes that there is GREAT CONTENT to share)

Amplify’d from www.facebook.com

Make Shareability a Priority

I have three stages to how I encourage sharing of posts on my site. Sharing, I believe, and shareability (not exactly a real word), are important for your blog (for most websites). Here’s my methodology.

Make Shareability a Priority

If you’re hoping to grow your blogging community (and/or distribute ideas beyond your small circle), then shareability is the key factor. It should become part of your formula for how you do everything you do. Back in 2006, I coined this phrase: ” Give your ideas handles.” It’s still just as pertinent.

Oh, and be sure that you’re making good use of Creative Commons as your document licensing of choice. For instance, share your Flickr photos, please. Read more at www.facebook.com

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Great service on @VirginAmerica

Michael Arrington just had a pleasant experience on a Virgin Flight. Now all his @TechCruch readers know about it.

Whether you have 10 followers or 10 million, it's good to share the good and the bad. The good helps good companies do better, gives your network the heads up for better experiences themselves and shows the contrast of the bad ones.

I've been working on a few bad ones, some converts, and news in general. I really do try to share good service, people and products (like http://endor.se for sharing endorsements) and had to add this to balance my Amplify

Amplify’d from techcrunch.com

Case in point – I had just boarded the flight with my carry on luggage (the luggage that Delta says is too big, but Virgin seems not to mind). I was just about last on again, and even up in first class the luggage racks were mostly full. A women in coach with a violin came up and asked a flight attendant if she could find space for her instrument. Because the last thing you want to do is put an extremely fragile violin into the vagaries of the mysteriously brutal checked luggage system.

Molly Choma, the flight attendant, managed to coordinate the first class passengers to move their luggage around to accommodate the violin. There was a touchy moment involving the woman across from me and her Gucci bag, but otherwise everything went just fine. Read more at techcrunch.com

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Death of Phone Number Predicted in 5 years

When someone says "What's your nunber?" I cringe.. never knowing when that person might think they can require my attention.

I'm not talking about telemarkers, sales people or the government. I fee that way when a good friend from online, a new hot prospect for business or a vendor I love ask for my cell.

I LOVE talking on the phone.. but do you need my number?

Amplify’d from techcrunch.com

No control. Anyone can dial your 10 digits, including your ex-girlfriend, a political campaign worker, or a solicitor.  Unlisted numbers, Caller ID and do-not-call lists all tried to solve this problem, but these solutions still don’t prevent unwanted calls. Phone numbers are tied to a device, not to you. Everyone has multiple numbers, yet your home line is shared, leaving callers guessing the best way to reach you. User experience is very limited. The phone was designed as a utility—dial a number, have a conversation. It’s remained this way since its inception.  It’s not optimized for other experiences, which is why voicemail and conference calls are tedious, and why checking flight status is worse than a root canal. Read more at techcrunch.com

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@JulieAbel This is the essence of why location based tech has a bright future

We love the serendipity of meeting a neighbor at the store or any event.

Too much work to plan this, not a "must do" on our schedules.. just makes the place you go "happening"

I think this is the essence of why we love to "check in" .. If stores and venues keep this in perspective, helping us find this serendipity, we'll want to go to their locations even more.

When someone says "Let's use FourSquare to put a discount offer to attract traffic" just remember what the good people of Falcon would think if went door to door handing out flyers that asked them "come to Wal*Mart to see your neighbors and get a 10% discount"

The discount might work.. but some of us would say "Why not just go visit my friend?"

Same with a message that says "Julie is here. Come on down now" .. a bit creepy, don't you think.

Marketers are going crazy looking for ways to use social media tools to sell more stuff... if you will just take a breath, listen to what customers are saying and reply with love when they feel it appropriate, there are million of people like Julie who will be endorsing you for free.

Amplify’d from gianttweet.com

Love it how when I go to Wal-Mart I see all of my neighbors. Falcon, CO Wally-Mart is one happening place today! by @JulieAbel 08~29~2010 Read more at gianttweet.com

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"We're Not Facebook" ... The Business Plan of Failure

I'm a big fan of headlines and Tweet length messages.. Can't help but to pick up that tabloid in the SuperMarket and see what it leads to

Couldn't pass up the "Anti-Facebook" angle here.. but quickly turned to about as much excitement as Brittany's new diet or the elephant boy's real trunk on page 23.

Whatever does beat Facebook (it will happen, someday) will not be announced as "anti-Facebook"

Amplify’d from www.product-reviews.net

Anti-Facebook: Can Diaspora Social Network Challenge?

How often do we see on the Internet Anti-Facebook? More often than I can remember, sometimes it is about a group whose main aim is to turn people away from the social networking site, and other times it refers to a new social media service set to rival the giant. The latest challenger is Diaspora, but what makes this open source social network so different? Read more at www.product-reviews.net

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"Most Business Blogs Are Bad For You"

I saw the headline "Most Business Books Are Bad For You" and clicked. Worked on me.

I believe you can learn from just about anything. Of course, the trick is to not waste time on "anything" but rather to focus on the best or good and ignore the rest.

This one was NOT tips to find a good business book.. so I responded to AMPLIFY.

Catchy headline. You got me to click to see what sort of nonsense you had written.

Your formula can be applied to most business, most blogs, most conventions and most of what people do in their business days. Insert just about anything and people will feel compelled to click and your advertisers will be happy.

If you'd listed book titles to avoid, or given some background on how you have been tricked into reading all those bad books you refer too, or given us some red flags to watch for, the headline shenanigans would have been well worth the click.

Your thoughts are good and you seem sincere. You'd like to recommend a couple of good books and get us talking. Safe bet to put Atlas Shrugged and you hit a home run for me with Enders Game. (if these books affected you so strongly, why not give Ayn Rand and Orson Scott Card credit?)

I totally reject the idea that most business books are bad. Rather, most READERS have not learned to pick the right books, study with the intent of finding and imagining new and better ideas and committed to applying what they learn. Any "empty space" would be what's inside the head of someone flipping pages without thought.

If I can spend the afternoon with a book and a pad of paper I know I'll come out better for the experience... even from a bad book. I'm reminded or a phrase I heard a speaker use once "A properly motivated individual can learn something from two dogs fighting in the street" ... I would imagine he did not mean that you would learn from anything the dogs SAID

Why not go out on a limb and include a BUSINESS book? Here's a couple that I can recommend to anyone.

"Influence: The Science of Persuasion" by Dr. Robert Cialdini"
- six principles of how people influence each other.. heavily researched, documented and full of case histories that will get you thinking about every business interaction in a new way. Each time I read this book, I find myself putting it down to contemplate how the stories work, what lessons I use in my business, and notes on action steps I will take.

"Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives" by Christakis and Fowler
Science of networks and how people rely on them. I changed my own networking theory when I read this and now explain to every person I meet how powerful our connection can be beyond any immediate transaction

"Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust" by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
I ordered this book by two friends and attempted to read it on a flight so I could say nice things in a blog post. By chapter 3, I had to put down the Kindle, get out a pad of paper and redesign my entire approach to business. It changed the fundamentals of how I look at my own business, our relationships in the market and leverage points I"m using to grow faster than I thought possible.

Amplify’d from www.bnet.com

I read more business books than anyone I know, which is ironic because I can’t stand most of them.  That’s not to say I hate all business books — after all, I’ve written one — but 95% go on one of two lists: “if you don’t know this already, you should be working at the DMV” and “if you do these things, your company will become the DMV.”

Business success isn’t a checklist, and that’s the implied message from many business books: do these things and you’ll be the hero. Business success is a dance: with the market, employees, investors, customers, landlords, and creditors — not to mention spouses and kids. Read more at www.bnet.com

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Update on my quest to talk to @Clear

Clear has a lot of smart people. They found my phone number and email address and tried talking to me.

First, a tech called while I was out of town. Wow.. if only they could address their tower near my house so easily.

I put all the Clear equipment away and hooked up another connection.. so have to get back to it to find out if the annoying messages are there.. fairly certain that the speed hasn't been fixed, but that will be a fun weekend project to report on

I've been emailed the direct contact info for Clear executives. I suppose if I weren't so big on showing them that everyone deserves to be heard I could act important and get my situation fixed faster that way. Should I?

THIS JUST IN: A guy emailed me tonight telling me that he'd been told I was interested in Clear's plans to improve their social media. I responded "no I don't want to know the future.. I want to have a conversation"... probably didn't make a friend there.

What these people don't seem to get.. 1) I've lived with a tiny fraction of what I pay for for over a year while trying to be their biggest fan and 2) I've talked to people planning for better social media for Clear before.

Hmm.. #2 will be another post.. fun story to add to the mix

Am I crazy for asking Clear to answer me in public?

Amplify’d from laserpage.com

Clear Gets Weirder By The Day

1) The problem could be fixed so I don’t get shut down every 12 hours

2) It’s more important to follow policy than to communicate or solve a problem Read more at laserpage.com

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Flying High tonight with @RebelBrown

Defy Gravity author Rebel Brown has help small businesses become big, turned around businesses that weren't doing well.. and helped many FLY HIGH.

Join us live on the show at 7p for a CHAT http://budurl.com/btrw

Amplify’d from www.blogtalkradio.com

7 @RebelBrown's new book DEFY GRAVITY tell you how to grow your business fast in any situation. Today, that is enhanced with social media. We'll talk to Rebel about things any business can do now to accelerate growth and how social media is helping businesses grow and profit

Show Name: Social Media Helps Your Business Defy Gravity Date / Length: 8/27/2010 7:00 PM - 1 hr Length: 1 hr Description: h:12832 s:1227817 @RebelBrown's new book DEFY GRAVITY tell you how to grow your business fast in any situation. Today, that is enhanced with social media. We'll talk to Rebel about things any business can do now to accelerate growth and how social media is helping businesses grow and profit expand   Category: Business Tags: business growth strategies rebel brown defy gravity social media business profits Read more at www.blogtalkradio.com

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Like I said to @CoxCable and @Clear... Social Media is not your soapbox

We had a campaign a couple weeks back to get @coxcable to listen. They had been broadcasting on Twitter, but I could never get a response.

An hour later, @Cox_Will was on the case and has been a friend on the inside ever since. I've now talked to several more Cox people (once the logjam was cleared) and had wonderful encounters.

One Cox employee here in Vegas went out an got a Twitter account to make sure she could talk to me. That's above the call of duty!

Meanwhile, I started up a @Clear campaign. Tried @Clearwire too and added @sprint since @Clear is owned by them.

They found my number, called and left VM while I was traveling and let me know that they don't have conversations in public.

Funny thing though. I do.

I'm the customer. I expect to ask for help on Twitter and Facebook.. to have my blogs post read and responded to. Is that a fair expectation.

Frankly, I don't care... I'm the CUSTOMER.

Brian Solis explains that I'm not the only one expecting to have a conversation. While I'll admit I'm a bit more concerned about the conversation then the outcome.. MOST consumers just want to know they are being heard.

The Clear guy who contacted me seemed to want to help, but so did the 16 other Clear employees I've talked to in the past year while I've endured the problem. I suspect I'll get around to chasing him down, probably have to find the phone message and call his voice mail.. when I do I'll report that here on Amplify and my http://LaserPage.com blog and give updates on our social media radio show http://blogtalkradio.com/warren

But if asked today, I'd say "Clear doesn't get it. Cox does"

Next up.. our project to get attention for @TreyPennington's @USAirways appeal..;. if you know anyone working in any of these companies, or any other large concern.. tell them about Brian's "Engage or Die" message.

If you don't know someone personally.. TELL EVERYONE Let's find the people inside the big companies that do care (I'm convinced they are out there)

Amplify’d from www.briansolis.com

In Social Media, Engagement Has Its Rewards

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I'm all for sharing as often as you like.. but "Check-in Fatigue" seems like too much

If you want to check in from Albertsons (I'm mayor at 3 grocery stores.. that's more a comment on my suburban boredom than news anyone needs), then go right ahead.

If you are FATIGUED from checking in, I have an idea for you. DON'T CHECK IN.

It's OK.. we'll be here next time you drive through McDonald's.

But just in case you feel so compelled (please don't), there is an app to help you overcome your fatigue.

Amplify’d from itunes.apple.com

Future Checkin By Tim Sears View More By This Developer Open iTunes to buy and download apps. Read more at itunes.apple.com

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How Many Relationships Can On Person Maintain?

Dunbar said 150 and without social media technology, I think there is some validity to that. But let's think about the people we know.

I once thought that someone I had met, then not talked to again for years was a lost connection. How could they possibly rememeber me when I was murky in my memory at best?

But now that I use Twitter (and other social media) I find that those tenuous relationships can be quite powerful. I'll notice a photo that look like someone I met, check the name and link and realize I'd forgot a contact from year ago.

Now, many times at live events, and new client intake interviews, I talk to people who say "we met years ago" or "I saw you at ..."

The 150 barrier was broke from me when I started keeping up with people using 140 characters.

How about you?

Amplify’d from www.readwriteweb.com

Dunbar's Number, the theory that most people can maintain at most 150 stable interpersonal relationships, faces an unusual challenge in the time of social media. You may have more people than that add you as a follower on Twitter every month, week or maybe, every day. Half or more are robots, spammers or robot spammers. Read more at www.readwriteweb.com

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Sometimes I just want to copy someone else’s status, word for word, and see if they notice.

How could one resist the urge to share such an idea

Amplify’d from blog.nsyght.com

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Costco Targets Mall Space to Expand Its Reach

Amplify’d from www.wallstreetjournal.com

NEW YORK—Costco Wholesale Corp. is taking on the role of mall anchor, moving into spaces once occupied by department stores that for decades reigned as the retail centers' big draws.

The largest U.S. wholesale-style retailer plans to speed up steps that will in essence put its minimall type stores into shopping centers, its co-founder and chairman, Jeff Brotman, saidin an interview. Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com

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5 Questions to Ask Before You Start a Project

whether it's writing a book, adding a line to you business or reorganizing your toy train collection, we all have more project ideas than we can finish.

Ask these questions and you may find that some projects are better left unstarted.

What more could you get done if you focused on what really matters?

Amplify’d from www.skelliewag.org

1. What are my end goals with the project?

2. What will I have to do to reach those goals?

3. Do I have enough ideas and inspiration?

4. Do I have enough time?

5. Will it impact on my other projects? Read more at www.skelliewag.org

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Amazing Twitter Stories

10 stories of people doing incredible things through Twitter

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What is your location marketing strategy?

I hope you aren't waiting to see if this locations stuff is going to take off.

It has.

What are you doing about it?

Amplify’d from www.onedegree.ca

Last week Forrester released a report advising most marketers wait to use location-based social networks (LBSN) as only 4% of the US population is currently using platforms such as Foursquare (the current market leader), and that the networks skew heavily male. They advise that brands that target young males experiment with the services and other brands adopt a “wait and see” approach. I couldn’t disagree more. Read more at www.onedegree.ca

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How Jelly Belly Invents Flavors That Trigger Deep Memories

Amplify’d from www.theatlantic.com

Flavor and scent are beloved for their ability to bring back memories long buried in the sensory deluge, a point made by Proust with his madeleine decades before modern science let us peer into the physiology of flavor. The flavor designers at the Jelly Belly Candy Company make it their business to speak this sensory language, and, through a process alternately technical and zany, to suss out exactly what it is that makes those tastes—and by extension, those memories—jump. "In the flavor industry, we sometimes say one plus one equals three," reflects Lee: mix pear with orange, for example, and what you get is peach. All Jelly Belly flavors, from toasted marshmallow to cappuccino—there are around 100 on the market at any given point—grow from ideas submitted by company employees, members of the public, retailers, and others, but the execution depends on a four-person team of food scientists, led by head of research and development Ambrose Lee and aided by the company's marketing and executive teams. Read more at www.theatlantic.com

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Can Lady Gaga Have a Conversation With You? (thanks @DavidVUK)

It's better to listen than to speak, better to engage than broadcast.. but how does that scale?

The easy answer for a company and their brand would be "figure it out.. when people talk, you need to be listening" ... of course, that is easier said than done. It means that every person in your company has to start listening and switch from saying "it's not my job" to actually engaging. Tough stuff.

@DavidVUK asked about Lady Gaga. Can she engage all 10 million Facebook fans? Does a celebrity need to tweet AND read all the responses.

Well, yes and no...

Yes. every fan that gets a personal response from the celebrity or even their staff will tell you that it feels different that seeing a broadcast message. Wherever it's physically possible and the desire of the celeb, you can't dispute that engagement beats broadcast.

But I think we've been asking the wrong questions.

It's NOT "How many followers?" or even "how many conversations?" that the real influencers need to be asking. It's "how many conversations are people having with each other?"

Sure. A higher number of followers is more than a smaller number. Basic math, right? Answering tweets from followers is better and more of those is bigger than a few... Easy, and for most of us scalable. We just add more time or staff.

But let's look at Lady Gaga conversations.

David used her FB popularity in a tweet to me. I have no idea how involved he is with Lady Gaga, her music, her antics, brand or her fan base. I CAN tell you that this is by far the longest conversation I've ever had about Lady Gaga.

I'm not a fan, but she has David and I talking about her... and now YOU are reading a post from someone who knows very little about Lady Gaga.

Will that make you listen to her music more?

Are you more or less likely to buy Gaga merchandise (my assumption is that there is Lady Gaga merchandise that I've never seen or paid attention to)?

Maybe.. maybe not.

But you might be thinking "that Lady Gaga has some pretty smart marketing if some old guy on Amplify is talking about her"

And that might be just enough to get you to read the next article, notice a cover spread on the magazine rack or ask "Is that Lady Gaga on the radio?"

And so the influence of Lady Gaga grows.

My point. She did not buy an ad. She didn't follow me on Twitter. And as far as I know did not pay David to start this conversation.

She produced content that got our ATTENTION.

@JimKukral, author of "ATTENTION This Book Will Make You Money" was on the last episode of Profitable Social Media Radio (http://budurl.com/btrw) reminded me that getting attention from doing whatever Lady Gaga does besides sing (again, I can't think of one example) works because she is very talented.

All this conversation and ATTENTION stuff will not work in a vacuum. You have to start with something worth talking about.

If YOU have something worth talking about.. make sure it's out there in a form that others can talk about. Put it in a tweetable, bit sized phrase and let people know. a meme (idea) that can be shared by people beyond who you engage.

Buy ads if you can. Broadcast where you have a audience and LISTEN and LOVE (engage in conversation) to share, help and respond.

Do the right thing. Share a good thought.. and KNOW that others will be talking about it.

Amplify’d from pluggio.com

DavidVUK @WarrenWhitlock Lady Gaga has 10 million FB fans but just broadcasts to her fans be better if they engaged as well 4 hours ago . F: 462 . Ratio: 0.71 . web . Giant Tweet Get Full Conversation » Read more at pluggio.com

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Does the Value of a Network Connection Go Down With Time

I just saw another piece quoting Julien Smith's rant about the declining value of followers as a network grows.

This is just plain silly. 100 people in a network makes for a lot ton of connections. 200 people in that same network gets a lot more potential connections. Even if you never add one extra connection, a network that has grown has MORE value per connection, not less.

The number doesn't matter near as much as the RELATIONSHIP. If I have ONE PERSON on a network and he's my next big customer, a though leader with thousands of readers, or a person with a friend that can connect me to another network of people I'd like to hear from.. ONE is FANTASTIC.

Develop relationships. Not numbers.

Amplify’d from webworkerdaily.com

Smith’s post helped explain to me the concept of inflation in a social media following. If you start out on a social network early on and that network grows over time, you can only keep up with that growth for so long because, at some point, the service will experience faster and bigger growth than you. The result is that you end up with less “access” and have to make more effort to be able to reach more people. As Smith puts it, “100 friends yesterday has the same value as 200 today.” This feels to me like a never-ending vicious circle.

Listen. What is being said about you is as important, if not more than, what you are saying about you. Read more at webworkerdaily.com

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@egoldstein thinking about amplify.. I could get more conversations if..

I've done an informal count on how many interactions, likes, comment, etc I get on a post sharing others articles, post and pages.

The AMPLIFY logo on Facebook pretty much kills any conversation.

Don't know why.. it's an attention getter, the primary purpose for a photo on Facebook. But it's also a corporate logo rather than a visual to go with the story.

On my FB feed, there are lots of Amplify logs, and since I've been doing that.. a lot less total interaction on everything I do there. You'd have to factor in what I replaced, my schedule during August, what I'm talking about about and how much I interact on friends posts to get anything to count on.. but my gut say "I don't like all those logos"

I'd like to have my defaul action for FB go to a PAGE. When I tried to turn it off my main stream, I lost the ability to post on a page.

(frankly, my biggest problem is that I don't check the autopost section at all.. when I do, the posting is much better :)

Which brings up my other problem...

I love amplify.com and wanted to make it a primary content creation site for me. But there are severe ligations.

1. (can't find numbered list button) text formating not quite there

2. Photos can't be upladed while writing

3. Limits on where I can post. I'd like YOUR front end to MY blog for some posts

A quick look at my stream will prove I'm not just complaining.. I use Amplify and lot anad will continue to love you guys no matter what.

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Enjoying Paper.Li news from friends

I think the the jury is still out on whether Paper.li will add any value to their users or networks that read it.

But I'd really like if it did.

Cool design, fun to be included on friends pages.. looks great.

Will it help me get for information? Get organized? Save time?

Amplify’d from paper.li

improvement Daily Read more at paper.li

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I Love Blind People, But Never Let Them Drive My Car

My favorite big old media publication Advertising Age has a post up with advice for "brands" (that's ad talk for companies)

Michael Learmonth is has credentials. He's digital lead at Advertising Age (?)

He admits that he doesn't get social media. He then let's us know that he's talked to high profile users by referring to them (but not their advice) and he's quite clear that he doesn't want to talk to anyone he doesn't know.

I look at it a bit different. I'm not trying to draw a crowd so much as I am open to the possibility that there are very cool SMART people out there who I haven't met. That's why I read AdAge.. even when they use staff that doesn't know the world I live in. He might just have some information I can use.. or be a person I'd like to connect with.

AdAge closes with his Twitter ID.

Why would I want to talk to someone who says he doesn't have time to vet new friends?

Amplify’d from adage.com

Some so-called social networks aren't really social at all. On Twitter, for example, the relationships are asynchronous; there is no obligation to follow anyone in return or even monitor who's eavesdropping in the first place. But things are different for other social networks, where the idea is that the user actually has a real professional or personal connection to the people he is "connected" to.

For me, the rules are pretty simple: Facebook is for people I know and might be interested in my vacation pictures; I'm happy to connect to anyone on LinkedIn who I've met or spoken to professionally. Since I'm in the broadcast business, I do what I can to cultivate a Twitter following.

Curious as to why someone would friend someone they don't know, I tried to reach Mr. Slattery of Cohocton, N.Y., who seems like a nice enough fellow. I tried looking him up to no avail in both Cohocton and Rochester, where his Facebook profile indicates he's spent some time. His Facebook profile lists Harvard University, so I had a friend search the alumni network, but nothing there, either. Finally, I sent Mr. Slattery a message on Facebook. Maybe I'll hear back. Or maybe, he's got the same policy I do and doesn't connect to strangers on Facebook. Read more at adage.com

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