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Get It Right When Advertising - Friday Funny
2008-06-06 16:44:00
When considering an ad campaign whether on-line or in the real world, its very important to get it right. Proof read your work and have someone else do it too to make sure the message is right unlike these on Oddee.
More About: Funny , Advertising , Friday

Facebook Declines as Social Media Useage Evolves
2008-06-05 20:16:00
Recent statistics from Nielsen and other forums suggest the Facebook use is declining. After its meteoric growth last year, the social network is beginning to show signs of slower growth. Is it a case that the masses are spending more time on other forums or is it simply that social media is evolving? In April both Facebook and MySpace saw a decline in traffic in the US. I don’t know about you but any time I try to grow my friends on MySpace I discover that the vast majority of users haven’t updated their profile this year (or last in many cases!) - a sure sign that the networking site is less popular. For Facebook the decline is less apparent and in my opinion we are seeing a change in user profile (kids fleeing as grown ups and professionals with less time to play take over). At the same time we see LinkedIn and Ning taking off as more and more professionals recognize the value of virtual networking to grow their business. Both are aimed specifically at business pr...
More About: Social , Media

Reasons To Be Cheerful May 08
2008-06-03 16:20:00
May was so much fun it came and went without our regular new media reasons to be cheerful post. Better late than never, here it is: Tweet Scan - real time Twitter search: who is saying what about you or your company. BrightKite - location based social networking Squidoo - create your own mashup site about something your interested in. Friend Feed - all your friend feeds in one central place. Flock - manage feeds from your favorites in a browser setting.
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Social Media Explained
2008-06-02 19:49:00
I came a across this great video from Common Craft on the Twist Image blog. The clip explains social media in an easy to understand way by putting it into a context the beginners can relate to: ice cream . And if you like that you should also check out their podcasting, Twitter and wiki explanations too.
More About: Social , Media

Out-Smarts Podcast #5 - Crowdsourcing with Monica Hamburg
2008-05-30 20:47:00
The latest Out-Smarts ’ podcast tackles the relatively new concept of crowdsourcing with Monica Hamburg , social media evangelist, writer and comedian. Crowdsourcing is a way of tapping into the online masses and collaborating with them. Here are some of the links Monica mentions in the interview. Monica’s websites: www.monicahamburg.com, Me Like The Interweb Crowdsourcing sites: Sellaband, istockphoto, Crowdsourcing Neat Sites: My Name is Kate, Read Write Web, Problogger My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-405455b2ebaa02e9550208025ef3f134}

Sex and Babies for Sale on Craigslist
2008-05-28 22:30:00
I always encourage clients to consider Craigslist as a forum for free Internet advertising and also a good source of web site traffic but lately I am in two minds with the news that the site is being used to try to sell everything from sex to babies. Yes babies - you read it right. Some unfortunate, mentally challenged parents in Vancouver were recently arrested for advertising their 7 day old baby on Craigslist for $10,000. When police popped in to investigate they claimed it was a hoax but that didn’t prevent their child from being taken into care. Initially I considered this to be one of the problems of the “free” future of business much touted by Chris Anderson of Long Tail and Wired Magazine fame: if everything is free then there’s no money to pay anyone to monitor the service. Then I realized that Chris is right and that this is a perfect example of crowdsourcing - using the people and collective to get things done “free”. Craigslist doesn&r...
More About: For Sale , Babies , Sale

Twitter Tweaks and Tips
2008-05-23 20:40:00
I have it on good authority that the Twitter microblog site is this year’s web 2.0 tool of choice for Net savvy peeps to communicate with their networks (or minions as the case may be). I’ve been on Twitter for over a year now. At the start I was rather skeptical as to the value the medium brought especially from a business perspective: most of the “Tweets” (noun used to describe the statements people make on Twitter) were narcissistic comments made under the assumption that people were actually interested in hearing what others had for breakfast (for example). I have watched Twitter usage evolve and today it’s much more sophisticated. Here’s a few tips for you to use to tweak your Tweets and get more out of your Twitter presence: 1. Add value - don’t just spout off about boring stuff. Nobody is interested in what color shoes you are wearing (maybe your underwear but definitely not your shoes!). 2. Share interesting stuff you’ve found ...
More About: Tips

Blogger Relations At Third Tuesday
2008-05-21 23:30:00
Darren Barefoot is a busy man these days, making the best of his return to Vancouver with numerous presentations sharing his and Capulet’s social media experiences. Last night’s Third Tuesday session was no exception. Similar to last week’s HTCE event (but not quite the same), the presentation took client ThoughtFarmer as a case study: Darren explained their approach to generating blogger buzz for that campaign. I was going to blog about it in depth but Miss 604 did a fine job liveblogging and saved me the trouble, as did some others: Hummingbird604 MapleLeaf 2.0
More About: Blogger , Relations

Out-Smarts Podcast #4 - Media Relations with Ruth Seeley
2008-05-20 20:35:00
The latest Out-Smarts podcasts tackles the issue of Media Relations with Ruth Seeley, writer, photographer and former media maven. Ruth has an alternative approach to PR which she shares during our conversation.
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Facebook Your Business
2008-05-16 07:18:00
The topic of discussion at the International Internet Marketing Association meeting last night was “Facebook Your Business ”.  Three panelist brought their own perspective on Facebook from a business perspective. The first speaker was Maureen McCartney from Citizens Bank of Canada.  She talked about how her organisation used Facebook to advertise during RRSP season.  Citizens Bank was one of the first banks to do so and they were able to generate buzz as a result.  Click through rates for their campaigns however were dismal - the highest being .13% - (which seems to be the norm with Facebook) but given the very small investment in comparison to traditional advertising, the campaign was deemed a success. The second speaker was Michael Ferguson from Kinzin, the company that developed one of Facebook’s most succesful apps “Are you Normal” (incidentally I am 40% normal or slightly abnormal as the case maybe).  His off the wall presentation took a step b...

7 Social Media Pitfalls
2008-05-13 21:07:00
Last night the High Tech Communicator’s Exchange featured a great presentation by Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo of Capulet Communications. They discussed the 7 risks you should be aware of when considering a social media campaign. Here they are in cryptic fashion. For more detail, you’ll just have to buy their ebook (or the soon to be released in paper version) - Getting to First Base. 1. Your efforts are just not interesting enough - so spice it up a little. 2. Blogger backlash - beware the prima donnas and know your blogetiquette. 3. Rejection or backlash - could haunt you forever. 4. Efforts die on the vine - because of improper resource allocation. 5. You have Cluetrain goggles - social media is another tool in your marketing arsenal not the be all and end all. 6. Too self absorbed - always blowing your own horn rather than adding real value to the audience. 7. Be Proactive - do your homework and be prepared. I would add only one thing to this and that is the ri...
More About: Social , Media

Greenwashing Direct Mail
2008-05-12 19:43:00
A recent article in the Canadian Marketing Association blog asks: Can direct mail be environmentally friendly?   Written by a direct marketer, the article claims that proper use of direct marketing is reducing the environmental impact in various ways including: clean mailing lists reduce the amount of undelivered or improperly addressed mail; providing and properly administering opt outs reduces the amount of paper required; house holding and list management can reduce the amount of duplicate mail. Sometimes the best way to reach a prospect is by direct mail and by focusing, as the article points out, on customer data management, the environmental impact of direct mail can be reduced.  However, given the choice e-mail or Internet marketing approaches have much lower impact on the environment and are much more highly targeted. So next time you have a marketing campaign in mind stop and think about the environment and look at ways you can avoid wasting valuable resources before ...
More About: Mail , Direct

Blended Marketing
2008-05-09 19:52:00
These days I see a divide between marketers. There are 2 camps, the traditionalists and the technologists and rarely do the 2 meet, far less collaborate - which is a shame because a marketing project is much more likely to be a success if it blends the best of both to reach the intended audience. Traditionalists tend to be of the opinion that tried and tested approaches to market are best. They eschew the Internet preferring to focus on tangible approaches within their comfort zones. They have been doing things their way for years, it has worked for them so why try anything new. Technologists on the other hand scoff at traditional marketing pointing out that the Internet is more cost effective and highly targeted. They say that times have changed and no-one pays attention to traditional approaches anymore. A good marketer should take a step back and consider who they are trying to reach. They should look at all of the options available to reach that audience and determine whi...
More About: Marketing

10 Reasons to Sell On-Line
2008-05-06 22:14:00
Still not convinced that e-commerce is the way to go? Then consider these: 1. It allows you to instantaneously access a much wider customer base and geographical reach. 2. It makes it easier for your customers to do business with you at their convenience. 3. Makes it easier to partner with affiliate companies who in turn sell your products to their customer base. 4. It means you can be open for business 24×7. 5. Adding an e-commerce site will help build awareness of your offering. 6. It increases traffic to your site. 7. Its ideal for providing product specifications, photos and other details that make the decision making process easier for buyers. 8. Lower cost of sales, distribution and process. 9. Builds customer loyalty. 10. Allows your company to hone in on a highly targeted market niche.
More About: Reasons , Sell , On-line , Line , On Line

Friday Fun
2008-05-02 19:21:00
Having trouble at the office? Try these office pranks as posted by Odee. My favorite is the mouse in jelly - now that just might get me of the Interweb.
More About: Friday

Podcasting - Dead or Alive?
2008-05-01 22:53:00
A recent Information Week article asks the question - Is podcasting dead?. The article cites that “there is no easy way to sample podcasts without an excessive and irretrievable investment of time” as the reason that podcasting hasn’t taken off. Lets look at the numbers to see if podcasting is indeed dying a death. eMarketer estimates that the total US audience for podcasts reached 18.5 million in 2007 and is expected to grow by 251% by 2012. These statistics hardly reflect the death throes of a dying medium but the growth rate isn’t exactly stellar if you compare it to other web 2.0 technologies. The reason for its slow adoption rate is indeed, as Alexander Wolfe of Information Week suggests, a result of podcast complexity. And this doesn’t only apply to users. Creating and publishing a podcast is not as seamless or as simple as it should be either. If you’ve read any of my new experiences in podcasting posts you will know of my own frustrati...
More About: Podcasting , Dead , Alive

Reasons To Be Cheerful - April 2008
2008-04-30 07:30:00
Spring is still threatening to visit us in Vancouver, the birds are chirping and new media moves along at a swift pace. This months reasons to be cheerful also include: Plaxo Pulse - I’ve avoided Plaxo like the plague since using it a few years ago on a client project and having it constantly crash so I was skeptical when a friend invited me to join Pulse. I have to say though it seems that the Plaxo team have been working away to develop a real alternative to professional networks like LinkedIn and to integrate other social media sites. Ever on the search for the right accounting package, I recently met with LedgersOnline a local firm specializing on online bookkeeping solutions. Could this be the one? Goodboog is another local offering that provides an on-line catalogue designed to facilitate the promotion of products and services online in 25 different languages. Send e-mail to the future with Time Machiner. Okay the last one is rather whimsical - it is spring after all.
More About: April , Reasons , 2008

Play Nicely When Negotiating
2008-04-28 19:00:00
The Canadian Women in Communications recently hosted a workshop on negotiation for women. Hosted by Rodger Harding, a former diplomat, the session honed in on difficult issues we have to deal with in the workplace and the tools we can use to effectively negotiate for the best results. Here is a quick recap of some of the tips Rodger recommended: 1. When entering a negotiation situation, always know in advance what you want to get out of it, what your objectives are and ensure that these goals are realistic. 2. Not only should you know what you want to get out of it but you should know in advance what concessions you are willing to make to achieve your goal. Ask yourself, what is the absolute bottom line. 3. Take some time to consider who you are dealing with and any background issues that may come in to play. 4. Prepare a compelling argument as to why the opposition should agree to your proposal. Make it attractive from their perspective. 5. Ask - is it worth it? If the answe...
More About: Play

Personal Branding
2008-04-25 19:23:00
The concept of personal branding is de riguer these days and being the in thing, its getting a lot of coverage. Personal branding is, in essence, a means to self package yourself in such a way as to present a particular image for career purposes. Its the way you market yourself to your peers and prospects. The idea of having a professional image is not a new one - uniforms have been standard for many occupations for centuries. The difference with personal branding is that the concept is not to make you look like one of the crowd rather to make you stand out from it. When considering your Personnal brand you should look at many factors: the way you speak, the way you look, the car your drive, your character but the single most important aspect to consider when building your brand is that it has to be real. It has to reflect the real you. A personnal brand that portrays a false image will be apparent to everyone you come into contact with and will do more harm than good. For ex...
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Business Cards - Get Creative
2008-04-23 19:46:00
Business cards need to stand out in order to get noticed and creativity is key to achieving this. Odee highlights some great examples of unique cards that make a statement and stand out or even “grow” your business. Whilst your at it you might as well check out their hilarious typos too.
More About: Business , Creative , Cards

Collaborative Marketing
2008-04-22 16:38:00
Collaboration is the key mantra these days. It started out with web 2.0 on the Internet and is now spilling over to encompass both advertising and marketing approaches. By engaging your audience and involving them they become more aware of your offering, they are more likely to buy and they return to your site frequently further entrenching your brand loyalty as well as increasing your site traffic. Here are some examples of great interactive viral campaigns. BoConcept, the furniture retailer based in Denmark is currently running a competition called “No More Ugly Furniture”. They ran print ads in local papers to promote the competition which encourages participants to upload pictures of their hideous furniture for a chance to win $7000 towards new Bo Concept furniture. At this time over 1000 photos have been uploaded. Winners will be decided by public vote online. Each person who votes is also entered for a prize. Check it out and while you are at it please vot...
More About: Marketing

On-Line Tax Implications for Business
2008-04-14 23:19:00
Its tax time again and with the deadline looming the online tax tools like QuickTax are getting slower and slower as more people log on to get the inevitable done and filed. What better a time to consider some Canadian on-line tax tips: All income should be recorded and reported even Second Life income - if you sell property or make money on any of the virtual worlds remember to record it To speed up processing, use Netfile and or Corporations Canada online to file your taxes online. All expenses incurred to promote and grow your company on-line should be included in your returns. If your business is solely an online entity, be aware that tax rates are the same in the virtual world as they are in real life. Remember to claim expenses for your home office if applicable. For more information on the tax considerations for e-commerce and the Internet go to CRA and Canada Business and if in doubt contact an accountant.
More About: On-line , Line , On Line , Implications

Twittering For Business
2008-04-10 16:56:00
I’ve been Twittering for a while now and find it interesting to see how the way people use the micro blog has evolved. Here are a few different applications I have seen Twitter used for. 1. To establish expertise. 2. To spread the word about produtc and services offered. 2. To enhance customer service offerings. 3. To drive traffic to a blog post or web site. 4. To illicit feedback for product and market research. 5. To expand or reinforce your brand. 6. To collaborate with remote partners in short blasts. 7. To give product update and enhancement information. 8. To blatantly sell - I wouldn’t advise this but I have seen it done….. 9. To find the applicable business partners. 10. To keep up to date with goings on in your market. Obviously all of these depend on your followers and following but once you have these in place, watch the Tweets and you will see for yourself some of the innovative ways people are using this tool.
More About: Business

New Experiences In Podcasting 3
2008-04-08 16:15:00
I bet you’ve been dying to find out how I finally managed to get the podcast up last week. It was no easy feat let me tell you…. I got several responses to my request for tips. One very intuitive one was to use iTunes to reduce the size of the file. Choose Preferences and Advanced and Importing (click on custom to set the rate) in iTunes should get you there then Advanced and save as to complete the process. Too simple perhaps - alas the file was too gargantuan. The final resolution? I ended up using ftp to post the podcast directly on to the website server and then link to it from there. And I claim to not be a propeller head… Along the way I also learnt that iChat can be very useful for supporting podcasts over the Internet. And received some great tips on how to make the podcast experience better for the user: more juicy stuff for you to look forward to in future New Experiences in Podcasting as I put these suggestions into action (or try to at least).

Newsletter or Blog?
2008-04-07 19:34:00
A recent article by a local Vancouver writer Sheena Daniels, in Blitz Magazine debated the benefits of newsletters versus blogs. A blog and newsletter are two totally distinct tools marketers can use to grow their business. Each should be aimed at an entirely different audience and used for different purposes. The article points out 3 important considerations should you have to choose between the two: 1. Audience you are trying to reach; 2. Internal resources available; 3. Message you are trying to communicate. Unless limited by the 3 above, why choose between the a blog or a newsletter at all? Each can and should be used for distinct purposes to enhance marketing communications and by using both you can hone in on 2 distinct audiences with distinct marketing messages and increase effectiveness of each. A newsletter, unless you’re a spammer, is aimed at adding value to existing contacts, partners and customers (people that have already “touched” you) and should...
More About: Blog , Newsletter

Out-Smarts Podcast - Todd Sieling of Ma.gnolia
2008-04-04 18:22:00
Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Todd Sieling an interaction designer and web strategist with a focus on social web application development, based in Vancouver BC. Todd is perhaps best known as a founder of Ma.gnolia, the popular social bookmarking site. He talks about how Ma.gnolia came to be, ways the technology can be used and has a big announcement about Ma.gnolia. Out-Smarts Podcast - Todd Sieling of Ma.gnolia

New Experiences In Podcasting 2
2008-04-03 00:01:00
Podcasting is not as easy as I had anticipated - as I mentioned in my last post, but there are some gems of simplicity out there that give me hope.   One such gem is Levelator: a tool that adjusts the audio levels within a podcast.  You’d use it if you have a recording of an interview where one person is talking louder than the other - the software (as the name suggests) levels the audio so that both speakers sound the same. Everything should be as simple to use as Levelator.  Simply drag and drop a WAV file to the Levelator window. It sets to work automatically and spits out a new levelated audio file.  I love it. Now on to the frustrating side of my podcasting experience.  I finally have the Garageband application sussed, I know how to use it somewhat effectively.  So much so I was able to edit a 2 hour interview down to 40 minutes in no time.   Now I have a great podcast ready to post, the next simple step should be to upload to the blog and bobs yer uncle.  Not the...
More About: Podcasting , Experiences

Massive Trade Show
2008-04-02 06:56:00
Today was the Massive Show  in Vancouver - a trade show aimed at allowing companies to demonstrate technology for business.  The event seems to get bigger every year, this year companies of all sizes  from Yahoo to start ups were there. In attending these events I always find it interesting to consider the impact of the present organizations marketing message and image.  Here are some tips to make your trade show marketing more effective. Make sure your name and logo stands out on all materials. Don’t try to give people information overload - people can only process so much in one small space. Don’t use overly technical terms - translate the benefits of your offering in to business speak. Keep your message short, with impact. If you are giving out freebies make sure they work (I picked up several dud pens from dud companies methinks). Don’t sit at the booth with your head down picking your nails or worse in a huddle with your booth mates with your back to th...
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Reasons To Be Cheerful Links - March 08
2008-04-01 04:54:00
The sun is shining, the daffodils are blooming and Spring is in full swing.  If these weren’t enough reasons to be cheerful then here are some more on the Internet front. The main reason to be cheerful this month is the release of the latest WordPress blog software - version 2.5.  I only started using it today but so far so great - my spacing problems have been resolved as have my cut and paste issues.I am looking forward to finding out what other goodies version 2.5 brings.   Another discovery this month was the ThoughtFarmer knowledge sharing solution.  Aimed at providing organisations with an Intranet portal that enhances knowledge sharing and collaboration, ThoughtFarmer combines the best of wiki technology with social networking to allow organizations to deploy a unique and highly usable portal. Suitable online invoicing systems are few and far between.  Some are good at handling expenses, others good at tracking time but I haven’t found one that does both w...
More About: Links , Reasons , March

OpenID what it is and why you should know.
2008-03-31 16:35:00
Last summer I blogged about my frustration with social media and in particular the need to remember so many login processes and details. Its all very cumbersome and time consuming - especially if you can’t remember your password. Thankfully the days of having multiple logins are coming to an end. You may have noticed OpenID logins or logos on some of your favourite Internet networking hubs. OpenID is an new approach to Internet identity. Right now you have a different ID for each and every site but by using OpenID you will be able to use one digital identity for many sites you use. OpenID is aimed at making the Internet safer (by making it harder for people to gain access to your personnal details) and easier to use. It should save you time in that you wont have to fill out another endless registration form.  The popular bookmarking site Ma.gnolia is pioneering this by making OpenID a prerequisite for new users in an effort to further eliminate spam and limit fraudulent...