More new features on LinkedIn

Have you taken the time to update your LinkedIn profile in the last month?  If not, you really should.  One of the best ones is the ability to add video, documents, pictures and websites to a gallery that shows right on your profile!  Even better, you can associate each “item” with a job, which is very helpful in my case, since I run my music and my social media both off my same LinkedIn.

Each image opens up in a new window, and at the bottom it has a scrolling bar linking to all your gallery.  From here you can share to Facebook, Google + and Twitter also if it is a YouTube.  If it is a website, it will show a picture and if you click “READ ORIGINAL” it takes you to the website page.

 

This was just one new trick to hot rod your profile.

 

Its the End Of The World as we know it… and I feel fine

Man, those lyrics (REM) really mean something else this year, don’t they?

The Mayan calendar ends (disputed) later this week on Friday, December 21, 2012.  Regardless of what you believe, I propose that it is an end of the world, as we know it.  With the Internet changing what we hear, read and understand about each other, we are living a time where our communication changes daily.  New computers, phones, tables, ideas,  blogs, texting, videos and so much more, how can one NOT say the world as we know it is over?

I propose for myself to embrace this change and evolve.  History teaches us that when something does not evolve, it becomes extinct, like the Dodo bird or Hostess.  So, in the spirit of the holidays and the Mayan calendar, I have created this list of things to look forward to, starting December 21.  I am not waiting for New Years, it seems to pale this year.

Embrace new ideas
This is simple – listen to what others have to say about something and truly try to see it from THEIR point of view, before you cram your point down their throat

Give a little
Find a charity (organized or not) and help them out. Try something simple like helping a neighbor, volunteer your time at a senior center or give that $10 to that charity you always put off. Remember, your time is actually worth more than $$.  Anything or anyone can be a charity, just don’t gloat about it afterwards.

Make a difference to your community, get involved
Quit bitching about politics and go to a couple of town meetings. One cannot complain about something one does nothing about.

Change your story and be positive
We have all lost income, houses, business, loved ones. I am not downplaying any of these, but the key to life is in living now, not in the past. Ask yourself, “is this really how so and so would have wanted me to live?” or “Do I really need to bring my friends and coworkers down with this baggage?” The choice of how we live is within each and every one of us, from the ex-felon and addicts to the straight and narrow who lost it all. It is easier to help someone who is being positive and trying than it is to hear the person who constantly tells you the same ol’ story over and over again.

I know all this may sound trite or obvious, depending on who you are, but I for one am looking forward to new and exciting changes in the world. The changes I am making are mine, not yours. By the same token, the changes you decide are all you, no one else. Change is good and brings out the best in humans. Stagnation – will lead us all to extinction.

And that is why I say: “Its the end of the world as we know it… and I feel fine.”

The Ever-Changing World of Social Media

Social Media changes faster than a texting teenager.  Every day I figure out something, only to have 10 other things to figure out.  Keeping up is, to say the least, difficult.  Try this new feature, link to that, do the other thing and did you get that update implemented yet?

WHOA!

First of all, always remember that while it is great to be up on technology and use the latest thing, don’t go rushing off on the newest and latest.  Do your research.  Was this app tested?  How will this change benefit your business? Most important to me is “Will it screw up what I already have working?”

In my line of work I am juggling not only my personal career, but also the livelihood of others.  It is all well and grand to screw up you personal hobbies and “presence” but even that can have repercussions with your work or business.  As links and pages intertwine and cross-reference, suddenly you might be faced with a personal idea or post that links back to where you work or your business.  You have got to be careful with your TOTAL internet presence and avoid “rushing in”.

Here is a good part.  Today I learned that LinkedIn was going to remove the WordPress application.  OH NO!  But, this turned out to be a good thing.  There was a link back to WordPress to set up “sharing” from WordPress.  Upon investigation, I discovered that I could “share” my blog right to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Tumblr and Yahoo.  Previously I had to set up my HootSuite to do this.  I did a small test, which some of you may have seen, and it looked like a winner.  Further tests will have to be done in order for me to use it on my clients, but it looks like a time saver and free’s up my HootSuite for other posts.

This blog itself will actually be a test of realtime publication, as I am posting it right away.  The next blog will be posted for a later time and will probably reflect the pro’s and con’s of setting up my WordPress this way.  Quite frankly, I am hoping this works. If it does work the way I think, I will be able to post to different sites from HootSuite – such as choosing Facebook and LinkedIn groups.

All in all, be careful, try tests, be sure what you are using works first.  Even if it works, be aware of changes that it may make on your behalf.  After all, do you want your business account to connect to your personal account which then links to your crazy aunt’s posts?  It could happen.

Social Media – More is going on than you think

For this post, I am going to talk about the overall philosophy I have about social media. This is the direction I believe social media and communication is heading and my personal goal, through this rapidly changing world, is to hang on the the spirit of the philosophy, since rules, procedures, what’s hot and what’s not changes daily.  With that boring preface, I will dig right in.

Being social goes back to the start of civilization.  It is man’s inherent need to communicate with each other that has driven every invention, improvement or philosophy. The caveman undoubtedly communicated with others for hunting, survival, reasoning and even boredom.  This need to share ideas expanded with the printing press, telegraph, radio, telephone, TV and internet.  It is easier today to get in touch with someone than ever before.

With all this in mind, I believe social media has a far greater role in our communication end dare I say it, evolution of our civilization overall.  Ideas cannot be held back and the walls of what can and cannot be known are coming down just like the Berlin Wall.  You cannot reverse, direct or predict where this communication sharing will go.  One can only interpret, participate and hang on.

Wow!  Really Will?  What the heck are you talking about, I just want to keep my business alive, this has nothing to do with me.  WRONG!  Today, instead of selling a product or to use an outdated term, hawking your wares, you need to be talking to your current customers, every day almost.  Everyday?  There was an old cartoon, Andy Capp, and everyone exchanged gossip over their fences.  This really is what social media is.  It is just a real big fence and a lot of people leaning over in in all directions at the same time.  How are you going to be heard?  The answer is, you cant.  Nope.  Don’t even try.  For even if you had the never-ending budget and the economic times were great and peace ruled the world, someone will always trump you.  Look at today’s reality TV, who would have ever thought that Survivor would eventually lead to us watching Honey Boo Boo? So what can you, the everyday businessman do about it?

Listen.  That is all you need to do.  Not just act like you are listening, really listen and hear.  It is OK not to agree.  Be real.  Every salesperson or representative you have working for you needs to be on your side.  Trust me, they are on the internet and if you have a mad employee, you never know what they say and then you lose business.  So what can you do?

Here are a few places to start.

Birthdays.  This is easy, just post on your page a happy birthday  for employees and patrons who participate sharing your page.  A simple happy birthday will get posted on their timeline as well as yours, which is more likely to get comments and shares giving you more visibility

Employee and business milestones.  Yearly employment anniversaries, new baby,  wedding anniversaries  years in business, all these are great to simply congratulate, recognize and get more interaction.

Sales.  Of course you want to do your sales, but also make special discounts and prices for those who are willing to share, re-post  comment and print out coupons.  A Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter special will drive participation and talk, even if your customer does not need your service or product right now, they will tell their friends of your great deal.

Give a bonus to your employees who share.  You have to pay for Facebook to promote, why not spend that money right with your employees  Most will jump at the chance.  At 50 cents per click, why not give 50 cents or a dollar per day to your employees to share on their wall?  Whatever you post daily, whether it is a sale item or milestone, they can share on their wall.  Easy and will only cost you $2.50-$5.00 per day per employee.  Give the deal to anyone bold enough to ask for it, you will get more PR that way than a bunch of rules and exceptions.

Referrals.  The same way you get employees to participate, get your customers involved.  Give incentives to a customer to refer friends and/or share on their social sites.  You can tell them on a certain day you have a special, then if they bring a friend for the special, they get an additional discount.  One insurance customer using this philosophy wrote an additional $10,000 worth of  business simply by giving 50% off their next months insurance premium for a worthy referral.  This cost is worth it in the long run because a referral is worth 2 new connections.  The referred automatically have a higher respect for your business and will be more likely to refer another versus a walk in stranger that you close.

These are just a few ideas, sticking to the philosophy and the spirit of communication is key.  Getting people to participate will grow your business quicker and you will see more results than just blasting out and trying to be heard over all that are clamoring for attention on the net.  After all, don’t you personally want to be heard?  Put yourself in the buyers position and ask, would I listen to this?  Would I share this?  Would I recommend this?  You will find that people on the net will listen, if you listen to them first.

Modern inventions? Not so modern anymore.

Castles. Muskets. Ticker Tape.  White Out.  These are things that are relics of the past.  With our rapidly changing world, I decided to think about what will be gone from our daily lives within the next 5 years.

CD’s/DVD’s.  Like the 8-track and the cassette, the CD/DVD itself will shortly be but a memory.  Programs and applications like Itunes, YouTube, Netflix and Pandora have already replaced the CD’s and DVD’s in most of our devices.  Seriously, when is the last time you actually took out a CD and played it?

 

The desktop computer.  Say goodbye to this relic.  Coming onto the household scene in the mid-80′s, it is being replaced by laptop, tablets, web capable TV’s and smartphones.  Soon, the desktop will be gone just like the monochrome display.

 

 

Fax machines.  These guys are obsolete now.  Send an email, attach to an email, print.  We all saw this one coming!

 

 

The thumb drive or flash drive.  Did not see this one coming.  Yet with newer storage devices like Sandisk able to deliver 32 gigs and super small, these guys are also slated for extinction.

 

 

The cellphone.  The basic cellphone is mainly a prepaid device now.  But with the smartphones coming onto prepaid now, withing 5 years all phones will more than likely be smartphones.  They will probably all have hotspots too, further making them more popular as we cannot live a moment unconnected!

These are just a few items that have been invented, used and become obsolete in my lifetime.  I encourage you to comment with things you think are going to be obsolete within the next 5 years.