Social Media Advisors

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Archives for 2011

Have You Found My iPad?

Social Media Advisors

Theft on iPads, iPhones, & iPods are increasing at a rapid rate.  I’ve seen many reports of thefts from cars, bags, and even on airplanes.  I personally had my iPod stolen a few months back out of my vehicle that was parked right in front of the house.  What if there was a way to track your device if it was stolen from your possession? Application to Find My iPadOr, maybe you are on a flight and accidentally leave it in the back pouch of the seat in front of you.

Well, Find My iPad gives you the ability to track your device, lock it up so nobody else can use it and also erase any private data that you have stored on it.  In addition, you can send messages directly to the device saying whatever you wish.  It’s also accompanied by an annoying beep to pester the thief.  Find My iPad uses GPS tracking to locate your device and will show you exactly where it is located through your MobileMe account.  From the tests I have done, the GPS is very accurate, so if it is stolen, you can find out pretty quickly where it is and who was the perpetrator of the crime.

Here’s a short video demonstrating some of the functions of Find My iPad:

Is Facebook Affecting the Economy?

Facebook, Facebook For Business, SEO, Social Media Advisors

Recently on this blog, I talked about how people sometimes misunderstand the nature of certain websites in this post.  Facebook and Google are sort of like apples and oranges: there is no way to directly compare them.  Now, it seems some people are even willing to blame Facebook for the downturn in the economy.  Sounds funny, but read on:

“While Facebook has been taking off and Zuckerberg has been banking billions, however, a lot of other things have been going wrong. So I created a few charts comparing Facebook’s growth to the unemployment rate, the median price of a home, and the S&P 500 stock index. If you’re a conspiracy theorist, you’ll be very, very suspicious.”

In this article (quoted above), the author notices the correlation between unemployment, low real estate prices, and the stock market on one hand, and the extreme success of Facebook on the other.  Why, he asks, does Facebook seem to do well whenever the economy gets worse?  Is Facebook hurting the economy?

This is one of those cases where my wife, who questions everything, would likely tap this guy on the shoulder and say, in a sort of academic tone, “correlation does not establish causation.” In other words, just because two things happen together all the time, it’s not always easy to tell if one causes the other or the other way around.

For example, when my son was a baby, there was an article in one of our parenting magazines about how children who had night lights in their rooms were more likely to have glasses when they grew up.  Oh no, everyone said!  We can’t use night lights, because they cause nearsightedness!

A year or two later, the recommendation to go without nightlights was rescinded.  Can you guess why?  You may have already figured it out:  Nightlights are purchased by parents who have trouble seeing in their children’s rooms at night, and parents with poor vision tend to have…?  Children who grow up to need glasses (just like their parents do).

So, using that principle, I think it’s far more reasonable to conclude that the relationship between bad economy and Facebook is pretty intuitive.  Facebook is not harming the economy; far from it.  It’s even created some new jobs and new career paths.  The reason that Facebook does killer business when the economy is down is that unemployed people are bored, and bored people love Facebook!

Hence, the economy is influencing Facebook.  It’s not rocket science.

Did You Know Google Docs Could Do All This?

Social Media Advisors

I’ve shared before about the power of Google Docs, but not until I saw this video below did I even think half of this stuff was possible.  While I consider myself an avid user of Google Docs, it appears there is so much more I can do with it that I have not yet even scratched the surface of.

Cloud computing and being able to share/store things on a server instead of just a single computer is growing daily and will continue to become the way of the future.  The ability to share documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings and more on a server with anyone else is probably my absolute favorite reason I almost solely use Google Docs anymore for projects.  If you aren’t yet convinced that you should try it out, watch the video below. I find simply brilliant.  Thanks Google Demo Slam!

ALERT: Google and Facebook are NOT locked in epic death battle!

Facebook, Facebook For Business, Online Consulting, SEO, Social Media Advisors

Sorry for the dramatic headline, but I figured it might not hurt to use the same tactic that I’ve seen others employ with regard to my email inbox.

I guess I’m just a little bit tired of hearing self-proclaimed gurus and experts say things like, “SEO is dead” or “Facebook KO’d Google” or anything similar. The fact that YouTube receives more searches than Google, or Facebook has more traffic than Google, doesn’t mean that Google is harmed by this or going away anytime soon.  Google actually owns YouTube, in case you didn’t already know that part.

Yes, I agree that our time online has undergone a shift from old-school surfing and searching to using the internet as a primary source of entertainment and socializing, too.  This is revolutionary and terrific, and I use these new tools as much as anyone (and probably a whole lot more, in some cases).  That being said, there is not a death knell ringing for traditional SEO efforts.

I welcome any disagreement or proof to the contrary – I have an open mind on this.  Here’s a quick question for you:  If you want to find a book, or movie times, or an address, or find out about homes in another area of the country, would you visit Facebook? If you’re halfway normal, the answer is no.  You would probably start with Google.  If you’re heavily involved in social media, you might ask your friends/followers for recommendations for a good local plumber or electrician, but if you’re in a hurry, I bet you would go to Google or another search engine for this.

My point here is to be wary of those who proclaim any prevalent technology to be dead, unless of course they’re talking about digital laser discs or 8-track tapes, neither of which will make a comeback.

If someone is going against the grain, it doesn’t always mean that they’re innovative or ahead of the curve. Sometimes, they are just trying to sell you something (“Buy my new system”, “Listen to me talk”, etc.), or they just plain don’t understand the internet very well.  I see way too many emails and pitches about video being the “next big thing”.  I’ve been hearing this every year since 2007 or so.  I promise that video is important, but it’s not even a trend anymore – it’s just plain here.

I’ve been online since 1994 or 1995, and I’ve seen a lot of changes.  I started my first website in 1998 for my business, and I started blogging in 2004.  Even though I feel like I understand this stuff pretty well, I don’t consider myself to be a full-blown expert, other than in certain specialized niches.  I am not selling anything with this post, either.  🙂

A few thoughts I want to share with you:

  • Google and Facebook really aren’t competitors at this point, and I don’t see that changing.
  • Facebook, Twitter and blogging are all important and useful in your marketing mix, but don’t overlook SEO.
  • YouTube may get a lot of searches, but most people aren’t going there to buy anything.  If you manage to get leads from your videos, I bet they found the video…..on Google’s organic search results.

The bottom line is that not everyone is as knowledgeable as he/she may indicate.  Sometimes, those who are respected as teachers and consultants for internet marketing and social media are simply those who are speaking loudest, or in the right place at the right time.

There are a bunch of people I respect in social media, people who “walk the talk” and whom I admire. I won’t even attempt to name them here, because I know that I will leave out someone important.  Many of them have written books on these subjects and they deserve their accolades.  Unfortunately, however, I’ve also seen a growing group of people who are proclaiming their importance and tech knowledge to anyone who will pay attention.

Just some food for thought.  Sorry if this one came across is negative.  I just really hate to see anyone being led astray.

Thanks for reading!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/span112/3682335659/

Business Lessons from “Undercover Boss”

Social Media Advisors

One of the newer shows that has captured my attention this past year is “Undercover Boss”, which airs on CBS Sunday nights at 9 Eastern.  The premise is simple: CEO’s and company Presidents go undercover as potential employees at their own companies.  They work in starter jobs in various locations and departments in order to get a pulse on what conditions are really like, and what the employees really think of their jobs.

Although I always thought the idea was intriguing, I was surprised to find the show to be both sincere and captivating.  My sole complaint is that it’s a little formulaic, but the stories and the payoff are so emotional that I can overlook that part. 

At the end of each episode, the CEO calls in a few of the employees that they worked alongside and has a big “reveal” (“I’m actually in charge of the whole company”), which is typically accompanied by a reward for each employee.  As an example, last night’s episode featured the CEO of UniFirst, who gave one employee a $5000 bonus and offered to pay her rent and utilities for one year.  Amazing stuff, and I’m pretty certain that he has a supremely loyal worker now.

On a related note, I’m in the middle of reading a book called “Predictably Irrational” by Dan Ariely.  In one chapter, Ariely discusses the difference between social and market norms, and how they dictate behavior.  He talks about how market norms shouldn’t really enter social situations (e.g. “I will pay you $300 for this Thanksgiving dinner, mom.”).  Conversely, he talks about how businesses that market their social side have to be consistent in this, rather than bringing in market issues.  If your bank is all about being warm and fuzzy, providing cookies and coffee, and remembering your name, they can also drop the ball if they suddenly hit you with a weird unknown fee and won’t resolve it.  This causes cognitive dissonance, in my opinion. 

With that in mind, I think there’s a big lesson to be found in “Undercover Boss”, namely, that companies that demonstrate their authentic care for their workers have an opportunity to use social norms and develop long-term relationships, similar to real family members.  Based on what I’ve seen and read, Tony Hsieh at Zappos strikes me as someone that has done a very effective job of creating a fun (family) atmosphere. 

Obviously, the companies profiled on this particular show are probably willing to hold themselves to a different standard, merely by putting themselves through the experiment in the first place. 

“Undercover Boss” is one of the few “reality” shows that gives me hope every time I watch it. 

If you’re interested in watching some recent full episodes of this program, you can find them here on CBS’ website: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/undercover_boss/.