Cafe Blog Reviews

We all have that special organization that we absolutely cherish and give to through the holiday season. I have a couple which I enjoy: CFI and Make-A-Wish America . I wanted to send out a quick blog that announced a campaign that Make-A-Wish has started called The Greatest Wish. The entire concept of the campaign is to start collecting the top wishes of people all around the world. They would love to hear your greatest wish. If you are Facebook you can visit the cause page at: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/410999 Search the #greatestwish Twitter hashtag: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=greatestwish You can also add a Twibbon to your Twitter profile: http://twibbon.com/cause/The-Greatest-Wish-Campaign Staci Shelton has also asked for people to donate to the cause instead of giving her a birthday present! What is my greatest wish? I have been thinking about that over the past couple of days and have come to a conclusion: My greatest wish is for all people to have fulfilled and happy childhoods. It pains me when an individual was abused or neglected. Spread the word. Share the information. We can only do so much in life and Make-A-Wish is creating better lives for the children of the world.. I am for that.

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Giving a Gift to Fulfill the Greatest Wish

I am in the process of reading Alice Schroeder’s book entitled The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. The book is a massive source of information about the life of Warren Buffett. Needless to say the book is unbelievable! I love to read about the life of people who, in my opinion, have lived a valuable and influential life. At the beginning of the book Alice recounts an event from the Sun Valley Conference in Hailey, Idaho . Allen & Company , a boutique investment firm in Hollywood handles the event inviting such notables as Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Rupert Murdoch. In 1999 Warren Buffett was asked to be the keynote speaker to end the conference. This was a special year because the conference was filled with Internet tycoons ready to embark on billion dollar ventures in the new year. They were invited and were making the most of rubbing shoulders with the richest individuals around the world. The Internet tycoons walked into the conference room that day hoping for a glowing reception and the blessings from one of the greatest investors of our time. What they received was quite the opposite. Warren Buffett practically dismantled the belief in the new Internet startup companies. He likens the Internet Boom to that of the airline industry: “…So I submit to you: I really like to think that if I had been down there at Kitty Hawk, I would have been farsighted enough and public-spirited enough to have shot Orville down, I owed it to future capitalists.” “It’s wonderful to promote new industries, because they are very promotable. It’s very hard to promote investment in a mundane product. It’s much easier to promote an esoteric product, even particularly one with loses, because there’s no quantitative guideline.” Warren Buffett, pg 19. Most of the venture capitalists and entrepreneurs left the meeting slightly chuckling at “old Warren’s mistake.” They found out later that he was exactly right. Web 2.0 companies should listen to Warren Buffett. He has always cautioned the vamping of over-promoted companies and increasing investment in techonolgy companies with no substance. “You can get in way more trouble with a good idea than a bad idea, because you forget that the good idea has limits.” -Warren Buffett, page 21 I have always been a skeptic of increasing investment in social media and web 2.0. I do love the sites and I love the fact that they are free. I have a problem with the valuation of multiple billions of dollars for the site like Twitter. This is a dangerous game we are playing when it comes to the multitude of millions of dollars invested in Internet startups. I am afraid we never learned to begin with. Related articles by Zemanta The ideal startup career path (cdixon.org) Closely Watched Buffett Recalculating His Bets (nytimes.com) Buffett’s Firm Berkshire Hathaway Sees Profits Triple (huffingtonpost.com) Creating Social Capital in India (online.wsj.com)

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Twitter Should Listen to Warren Buffett. He Was Right in 1999.

Telegraph.co.uk Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia top Webby Awards Top 10 Web MomentsLos Angeles Times(2000) The launch of Google AdWords, which, as the Webbys put it, "turned advertising on its head" by opening the marketplace to any business. …Webby Awards' top internet moments of the decadeNew Zealand HeraldWebby Awards name top 10 Internet moments of the decadeAFPThe Top

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Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia top Webby Awards Top 10 Web Moments – Los Angeles Times

Go. Go. Go. Go. Faster… Stronger… Better I have to get it out… if I don’t… I will not be heard! I can’t let it go… I have to get out there! Go. Go. Go. Go. It is exhausting…. and yet somewhat fulfilling. Every business owner can relate to this exhausting form of competitive spirit that overlaps everything from social media marketing to traditional marketing. You have to be first… You have to be the best… You have to be ahead. I was scanning my Twitter feed this morning and Roger Byrne of Social Media Fish had a great post: In your search to be the fastest and most comprehensive news provider on Twitter take a breath and be human (@imrogb) It wasn’t a connection for me in terms of being the “fastest and most comprehensive news provider on Twitter.” I could really care less on how fast a tweet is sent out or how many “lists” I am on. I don’t know about you…. but sometimes I forget about the concept of taking a breath and being human. You get caught up in the race… in the push to be better… you forget about the fundamentals of running a business and your life. Related articles by Zemanta Tips to start your Social Media campaign (opencircle.co.za) “Blogs & Social Media in Business” Workshop: 19th Nov in London (thatcanadiangirl.co.uk) The Questions I Think We Should Ask (chrisbrogan.com) Your Customers STILL Don’t Care About Your Social Media Strategy – But They Do Love a Bargain (siliconangle.net)

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Take A Breath and Be Human

This is the second post about the Razorfish FEED 2009 Report … as promised. I was reading a post from my friend Todd Muffley over at Fat Atom and it got me thinking about the future of online communication. His post is entitled, “ Is Social Media One Big Coupon Book? ” The premise of the post is captured in two sentences: “If Social Media does become one big coupon book, watch out Newspaper, Magazine, Radio, TV and Direct Mail (to name a few). The old school push model of coupon distribution may just go the way of the VCR.” The post is (of course) fueled by the Razorfish study which states that of “ those that follow a brand on Twitter, 44% say that access to deals is the main reason. The same holds true for those that added a brand on Facebook or Myspace, where 37% cite access to exclusive deals or offers as their main reason.” (pg 9) Now, the Razorfish study does not give a voice to all 200 million people using broadband Internet access but it does create a platform for discussing the main draw of social media. I would venture to say that the main reason a user FIRST joins a fanpage or follows a brand on Twitter is because of a contest or promotion. Once the individual becomes a fan the SECOND step is interacting with that fan in order to build some type of trust. Repeat customers are the best customers… nay… repeat customers with friends are the best customers. There is always a conversation buried in the depths of a relationship being built between a customer and a brand. Where that relationship starts? Who knows? The important thing to remember is to have the conversation… which eventually leads to conversion. Of those who follow a brand on Twitter, 44% say access to exclusive deals is the main reason. The same holds true for those who “friended” a brand on Facebook or MySpace, where 37% cite access to exclusive deals or offers as their main reas Related articles by Zemanta Razorfish: the empire strikes back (superhypeblog.com) 19% of Internet users use Twitter or update status site : Up nearly 100% since April (kevin.lexblog.com) Call for Speakers: Social Media Summit – Israel – 6 Dec 09 (pulverblog.pulver.com) Integrate Social Media into Your Marketing Strategy (kylelacy.com)

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Why Do People Follow Brands? Conversation or Deals?

I have been waiting to write this post. I don’t know if it is because I wanted to hear what other social media users thought… or I just didn’t care enough about another feature on Twitter. Needless to say… I have been researching Twitter lists and the inherent value of the lists. Because of that research I have come to three simple conclusions: 1. If you create Twitter lists be very sure you keep them updated and fresh. 2. It is not imperative to create lists. If you need organization… use a trusted source’s list or organize through an application like TweetDeck or Hootsuite . 3. Monitoring lists without following individuals is important to business research on Twitter. For those of you who have not discovered Twitter lists… it is pretty simple. Twitter users have the ability to organize people they are following in topical lists. The organization of users based on lists is not new to the social media world. Facebook also allows you to organize your friends based on lists. To get a better understanding of Twitter lists view this video from BitRebels : Twitter lists can be a powerful business tool as mentioned in point 3 of the “simple conclusions.” You have the ability to follow the updates of a group of people (or brands) without publicly acknowledging that you are following them. This is important for lead generation and competitive analysis. I have setup a Twitter list called Business Leads which help me keep track of individuals or companies I am interested in selling in the near future. If you decide to use a list for business leads… make sure you make them private. We wouldn’t want competition taking advantage of this new tool.. Would we? I haven’t come to a conclusion on what I think about Twitter lists. Honestly, the feature is a little green… to make any rash decisions. Try it out. Make some lists for yourself and try to find some value. If you can’t find any value… move on with your life. There will be a new feature in a month to capture your attention. For more Twitter List Resources: John Jantsch: 5 Reasons to Use Twitter Lists Red Eye: Twitter Lists Making Tweeting Better, Easier Word Sell Inc: How To Use Twitter Lists Social Media Today: The Ugly Side of Twitter Lists

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Why Should I Care About Twitter Lists?

The guest post today is by Shelley Cadamy is currently the Business & Entrepreneurial Services Coordinator for Francis Tuttle Technology Center .  She assists start-up as well as existing small businesses in strategy development and implementation. About a year ago, I fell into being a “social media expert.” I use the quotes, because I’m really not convinced there are all that many actual social media experts out there, and I’m certainly not one of them. As a small business strategist, one of the things I assist my clients with is creating quick and dirty marketing plans. As such, I created a seminar on how my clients could effectively use social media tools in their marketing. It was wildly successful (one client picked up three new customers the first three days they were on Twitter), and the one seminar I expected to do turned into about thirty seminars and counting. Unfortunately, when I get introduced, to my chagrin, it’s as a “social media expert,” which I quickly correct, after much cringing. Having said that, I’m amazed at how many people are more than happy to promote themselves as “social media experts.” Every third twitter follow I get is from some IT guy who may have difficulty with interpersonal communication, but is now a social media expert. Or an HR Director who believes that since he is successful at using social media in his HR position, that he is also qualified to do social media on behalf of other people. Or an accountant who is on Facebook and Twitter 24/7 and thus, must be a social media expert and believes himself completely qualified to do social media on behalf of you or your company. When it comes right down to it, social media is a marketing tactic, and just like old school marketing tactics – direct mail, TV & Radio advertising, print advertising, etc. – lots and lots of difficult homework must be completed before they’re ever employed on behalf of your company. They must be used as part of an overall marketing strategy that makes sense for your company, your market, and your resources. Those marketing plans are not easy to create, and the reason they’re not easy to create is because they take actual marketing knowledge and understanding to craft – something which marketing professionals have plenty of and something of which IT guys, accountants, and HR professionals are generally fresh out. If you’re a small business owner, do you know who your market is and why? Do you know what they want? Do you know what your message to your market should be? Then and only then should you be getting your message out to that market via social media or any other media. If you don’t have the answers to these questions, please find a marketing professional to help you find them and to help you implement the resulting plan. If you choose to hire someone to assist specifically with your social marketing as well, please ensure that he or she is also a marketing professional. You wouldn’t hire a marketing professional to manage your EEO claims – please don’t hire an HR professional to do your marketing. Related articles by Zemanta 8 biggest mistakes made in social media (lansner.freedomblogging.com) Why Are We Failing To Help Small Business Understand Social Media? (thecustomercollective.com) Profit Specialist (slideshare.net) Get ready for lots of small IPOs (vator.tv)

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Integrate Social Media into Your Marketing Strategy