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Can Twitter Replace Email?

April 18th, 2012 | Posted by jasmine in blogs | Social media | social technology - (0 Comments)

With the convenience and conciseness of Twitter, e-mail may become the snail-mail of the Web 2.0 world, so suggests Steve Cooper, a blogger for Forbes.com, in his recent post “6 Reasons Twitter is Becoming My New E-Mail.”

While e-mail still has a place in modern communications, Cooper believes it is best reserved for the follow-ups, the deeper conversations that may precede or replace a phone call or face to face meeting. Twitter is his go-to medium for initial contact:

“One of my first breakthroughs on Twitter came after I sent several e-mails to a person to engage in partnership talks. I never got a reply. Within the first week I joined Twitter, this same person began following me and we finally connected. Over the years, I have found this wasn’t an aberration, but a new normal.”

Cooper also likes Twitter’s natural fit for mobile communications, whether you receive Tweets as texts or through your smartphone. Twitter also carries a sense of urgency to respond, something that traditional e-mail is beginning to lose:

Unlike e-mail, where you can step away for two hours (or two weeks) and it will still be there; the conversations on Twitter will have come and gone. Twitter is most effective when you get people while they’re listening.

So much of our media is now engaged on our schedules, rather than its creators’; Twitter brings the message and messenger into real time.

Laura Abrahamsen, April 18, 2012

Does Publishing Have a Future?

April 17th, 2012 | Posted by jasmine in blogs | Books | social technology | Strategy - (0 Comments)

In our digital world the tangible products of the publishing industry (i.e., books, magazines, newspapers) no longer require specialized equipment and knowledge to produce. The core idea of publishing, making an idea public, can be done by anyone with a blog or the willingness to format a novel for e-readers.

Mathew Ingram, writing for Gigaom, shared the thoughts of Clay Shirky (author of Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age), in the article “Publishing is No Longer a Job or an Industry– It’s a Button.” Shirky’s original interview was with Findings.com, a Web 2.0 site that allows members to share highlights from digital media.

Shirky advises that the traditional publishing industry needs to redefine what added value it brings to authors and readers:

“The question is, what are the parent professions needed around writing? Publishing isn’t one of them. Editing, we need, desperately. Fact-checking, we need. For some kinds of long-form texts, we need designers. “

The lessons are twofold for the small-business owner: a digital marketing strategy is essential as traditional media evolves; and, even if you can do it yourself with the push of a button, the advice of a professional editor, fact-checker or designer is still going to make it more effective.

Laura Abrahamsen, April 17, 2012

OpenSearchNewsDelves Deep Into Open Source Search Products and Information

April 16th, 2012 | Posted by admin in Business strategy | News | search | Technology | vertical markets - (0 Comments)

Open source software and cloud-based services continue to propel businesses into the twenty-first century. For the last 25 years or so, the open source community has been thriving. As there are no signs of this movement slowing, ArnoldIT has released a new information service called OpenSearchNews.

Similar to other services offered by ArnoldIT such as Beyond Search, OpenSearchNews tracks the evolution of any industry related news offering critical commentary and pointing readers in the direction of other credible sources of information. The free service publishes Monday through Friday.
Emily Aldridge, the information service’s editor explains in the press release announcing the service :
“Open source search has become a fast-growing segment of the enterprise search and big data markets. The number of companies competing in this segment is growing. The phenomenon is global with solutions available from Canada, the Danish Library, and entrepreneurs in the Russia. We are reporting on the companies, trends, and products which offer an alternative to the seven figure solutions from proprietary enterprise search solutions.”
Business-minded professionals will be sure to benefit from the wealth of information on open source products OpenSearchNews provides. Discerning fact from fiction often proves difficult amid the massive amount of marketing jargon used to pump up products from some vendors. We expect to see this new information service land above such convoluted language.
Megan Feil, April 16, 2012

Bringing Your Blog Back to Life

April 12th, 2012 | Posted by jasmine in blogs | Social media | Strategy - (0 Comments)

For many small-business owners having a blog is an essential part of their marketing strategy. It provides a platform to keep customers informed of new products and services. It’s also a creative outlet for the entrepreneur; it creates brand identity and promotes the vision of the business.

Over time, however, maintaining a compelling blog can become one more chore for the small-business owner. Susan Daffron, The Book Consultant, recently offered a new vision for an old blog in “Case Study: How to Breathe Life into Your Tired Old Blog” for Copyblogger.

Daffron says it comes down to three options:

1. Take down the old blog and start over with something new

2. Sell the old blog to someone who will give it the love and attention you once did.

3. Reposition and revive the old blog

The rest of the article gives an overview of how Daffron implemented option three for her own blog, Computer Companion. By considering what other problems her content solved for readers she found the key to repackaging the still valuable digital legacy and constructing a framework to move the blog into the future.

Maintaining your digital legacy is an important idea. By revamping a blog rather than abandoning it your business gains credibility and stability in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

Laura Abrahamsen, April 12, 2012

 

What Pinterest Can Do for You

April 11th, 2012 | Posted by jasmine in marketing | Social media | social technology | Strategy - (0 Comments)

It seems that everyone is talking about Pinterest, the newest flavor in up-and-coming social media sites. More thematic than Facebook and more visual than Twitter, Pinterest allows the user to collect and organize images and articles into topical virtual bulletin boards by “pinning” the found material.

In small business terms that now means that having your product or service “pinned” is another goal, like getting “like”s on Facebook. But what does that do for your bottom line? Tony Clark, COO of Copyblogger Media, dives into the analytics in his recent post “Is Pinterest Traffic Worthless?”.

Clark explores the effect of pinning on website traffic and visitor flow and finds unique advantages in Pinterest:

“Individual post activity seems to hold a long shelf life when it’s popular on Pinterest. Often, a tweet is lifeless within a day, where a pin can continue pulling traffic for weeks after being published.”

As with any social media strategy the key is what your site offers once the potential client lands there. Clark recommends a call to action on that landing page to direct traffic response. From there it’s up to your website to be compelling enough to convert browsers into customers.

Laura Abrahamsen, April 11, 2012

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