For our regular readers, I am so sorry we have not posted lately. We have been so busy with all of our travel blogs and we helped 3 clients launch blogs over the last few months.
 
One of my new clients, actually turned me onto this site called  PING.fm

Ping.fm is a simple service that makes updating your social networks a snap. They support over 30 social networks like Flickr, Bebo, Hi5, Plaxo, Plurk and more.




Between their  straight forward posting methods and advanced custom triggers, they make it easy for you to post your messages exactly where you want them to go.

Check it out!  And happy new  year to all!


Web 2.0  Consultants and Strategists 

Derrick Sorles and Michael Snell - We Help "Pull"  New Business To You!
            Your Business MD's - Business Blog Consultants & Internet Marketers

FINDABILITY.  

When I tell someone they need to be on LINKEDIN, FACEBOOK, 43 THINGS, NAYMZ and YOU TUBE....they look at me like I have three heads!

"Why on Earth do I need to be on all of these sites?" they ask.

TO BE FOUND. If you're not there, you can't be found.  The more sites you are on, the more strands in the web 2.0 world that lead people to you, your products and/or services.  Why plant 3 seeds when you can plant 100?

That's the same reason you need a blog. Someone told me other day they just spent $4,000 giving their website a full SEO  makeover for their top 50 keywords.  You know how many keyword  combinations  people used to find this blog in the last 60 days?  2173 keyword combinations! You have no idea of clients search habits and there is  NO WAY to predict how someone is going to find you. Don't assume. BE EVERYWHERE.

Today I was at Inside CRM, digging thru their archives and found 50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence on.  Sure, the usual suspects are here...like those mentioned above. But there are some you might not be aware of.  Like  MIXX,  Sphinn,  Frappr,  NING,  XING, and ZIGGS!  (who comes up with these names?!)

You MUST have an online presence, beyond your website.  The Internet provides powerful networking opportunities that allow users to effectively target their audience by logging on to social media sites.




Web 2.0  Consultants and Strategists 

Derrick Sorles and Michael Snell - We Help "Pull"  New Business To You!
            Your Business MD's - Business Blog Consultants & Internet Marketers

A group called  MOVE ON.org has launched a brilliant example of Web 2.0 marketing and Viral Marketing, to help get people out  to vote (for Barack Obama!).

You can send in a friends name and email, and a customized video is sent to them! "We  all know people who might not vote this year. So we created this funny news video about Obama losing by a single vote. It's a great, fun, scary way to remind everyone you know to vote."


Watch Michael's video or Stop by  MOVE ON.org and send some videos today!



Web 2.0  Consultants and Strategists 

Derrick Sorles and Michael Snell - We Help "Pull"  New Business To You!
            Your Business MD's - Business Blog Consultants & Internet Marketers


viral marketing vote obama election 2008 web 2.0 Turbo Tagger

So I'm sure many of you read the title and thought, "Where is Derrick going to go with this one?"

Okay, I agree it sounds corny, but it is amazing how your mind frames things early on a cold, wet Midwest winter morning walking to the train station (remember, a perfect morning involves staying in my sweats, not leaving the house, working on the computer).

Now granted, I do hope most of us are potty trained better, have a more permanent residence and a sharper mind when it comes to avoiding traffic, but stay with me and read on.

Both bloggers and pigeons are (in my opinion):

1. Vastly colorful and individual. The flock of pigeons that served as my inspiration reminded me of how unique each one was physically. At a glance they may appear similar when you see a flock together as a tapestry, yet, it is remarkable how distinct the markings are to each bird. Just like our blogs; each possesses personal font-image-layout-color preferences, variances and nuances specific to distinguish us.

2. Tend to bobble, hunt and peck. I don't know about you, but I feel I resemble a pigeon as I hunt and peck across the keyboard with my head bobbling most the day! It's crazy too how their always pecking at something they can see on the ground, or think they can see, and I can't see it! Do we do that?

3. Friendly and respectful. Pigeons and bloggers are a genuinely friendly, communal group. Even when pigeons are being fed they are respectful to one another as they go in for their share--unlike seagulls. Granted, every now and then, one in the group gets a little "randy" and starts climbing on the other, but we know the motivation behind that behavior. Overall, they get along tremendously.

4. Very vocal. Ever notice how much cooing goes on-especially when they congregate? I am amazed everyday as I sit with my feed reader at the wealth of intellect and insight shared daily amongst us all! Maybe that's why pigeons huddle too, because they have so much to share with one another!

5. Free to travel. Well, bloggers can travel anywhere Wi-Fi to blog, but isn't that almost the same today as having wings? What a beautiful thing to no longer be bound to a brick and mortar model and be able to blog from the beach (its really funny here in Chicago along lakeshore beaches we have both pigeons and gulls out in the sand!).

6. Helpful. Fellow worldwide bloggers I have been privileged to "meet" are some of the most amazing people I have ever had any fellowship with.

Although most bloggers are willing to lend a hand with information or a project, if they have the time, don't forget that they might have to refuse or even not reply because of time constraints, heavy workloads, set principles, or a simple distaste with your lack of proper etiquette.



You know what I am saying, don't get so consumed with your own needs that you behave or come across disrespectfully to your fellow bloggers. Even pigeons do get ruffled and fly away.

Let me know what you think!

Derrick Sorles

For even more insights check out Jay T.'s bloggershelpingbloggers or the bloggershelpingbloggersalliance. I also really like bloggerforum and bloggeretiquette.

What we learned at the SOBCon07 Conference in Chicago: Were Not Bloggers, Were Pizza Makers!
(Original Publish Date 5/16/07)  

What didn't we learn? GOSH, we came back with so much knowledge, so many notes and so many new friends. We shared new tools we discovered like VIDEO STICKY and THE Z LIST and THE GOOD BLOGS, as well as interesting blogs and bloggers we spent time with like Phil Gerbyshak of Make It Great, Terry Starbuckers Ramblings and Connie Reece and her wild Blogabillies - Scribblin stories and Livin Large!

We will be talking about ALL of the blogs and bloggers we got to spend time with, in the coming months. Hats off to Jason Alba who blogged the ENTIRE EVENT!

A discussion was held around the word blogger and the fact that it can have a negative meaning to some people. I think of a blogger as someone who decides to launch a weblog, and its true, ANYONE can do that, maybe we do need to separate ourselves somehow. Are they successful? Do they tire out? Is their blog interesting? Are they someone who blogs with no real direction or mission or passion about what they are doing?  Are they blogging in a vacuum?

As a blog starts to take shape, you begin to have a good idea about what you can offer the blogosphere. Is this something you can stick with, is it sticky and are you passionate about it? Can you keep things interesting and attract readers for months to come.

Do you have a desire to grow your blog, share your blog, connect with others and learn?  At SOBCon07, David Armano suggested perhaps PERSONAL PUBLISHER or even ONLINE PRODUCER is a better, more fitting term for us all in the blogosphere as opposed to bloggers.

As a personal publisher or online producer, we treat our blogs with respect and publish online newsletters and magazines and that is the message we need to communicate to people who have negative connatations to the word blogger or may have no clue to what the term blogger may really mean.
 
What we have found is most bloggers (online publishers and producers) handle all their blogs (call them what you need to as to make people want to visit and revisit) with extreme care and commitment.

We put a lot of time, energy, and thought into every single post and its overall look, taste and feel ~ just like one would with pizza. It's a business. It's a resume. It's about relationships. It's about relavance to one's day-to-day.  It's actually a lot like a pizza when you think about it! We could be compared to chef's of many sorts as pizza makers with many different ideas of the ideal pizza pie in mind!

  

Think about the streets of New York City for example. Pizza by the slice is everywhere! But who has the best pizza in New York City???  Ask 10 New Yorkers, you'll probably get 10 different answers. It's all good, it's a subjective question.

Some people like it with a lot of cheese. Some like more sauce. Some like sweet sauce, some like a more salty sauce, some like anchovies, some like green peppers, some black olives and extra cheese...  you get the idea.

But the point is, every pizza maker tries to deliver the "best" pizza possible. They research their ingredients and experiment until they feel they have the right crust/topping combination.

The point is as a producer, and as a personal-online publisher, we try to create something special people will like as well. A lot of love, energy, sweat and tears go into a serious blog and its content. That's just what it takes to make a great pizza pie as well!

We are so thankful and glad we attended the event and can't wait till next year (which SOBCon08 was fantastic - now looking forward to SOBCon09 which kicks off Friday, May 1, 2009 ~ stay tuned!).

But most of all, we are thankful for destiny bringing us together with Liz Strauss of Successful and Outstanding Blogs, for without meeting her, our life of personal publishing/pizza-making would not be going down this road it's currently on now.

THANK YOU Liz ~ BIG HUGS!
Michael and Derrick

WEB 2.0 Consultants &  Strategists - Business Blog Consultants  - Your Business MD's
   Derrick Sorles and Michael Snell - We Help "Pull"  New Business To You Online!

Technorati Tags: SOBCon Blogs Blogging Bloggers Web 2.0 Consultants Business Blog Consulting

 

ARE YOU SICK AND TIRED OF RISING PHONE AND CABLE BILLS?

Just wait, it could get worse. For over  a year I have heard the rumours, and in the last 2 months, this has been in the news.

Bell Canada and TELUS (formerly owned by Verizon) employees officially confirm that by 2012 ISP's all over the globe will reduce Internet access to a TV-like subscription model, only offering access to a small standard amount of commercial sites and require extra fees for every other site you visit. These 'other' sites would then lose all their exposure and eventually shut down, resulting in what could be seen as the end of the Internet.

WATCH THE VIDEO ON NING

Dylan Pattyn  who is currently writing an article for Time Magazine on the issue, has official confirmation from sources within Bell Canada and is interviewing a marketing representative from TELUS who confirms the story and states that TELUS has already started blocking all websites that aren't in the subscription package for mobile Internet access. They could not confirm whether it would happen in 2012 because both stated it may actually happen sooner (as early as 2010). Interviews with these sources, more confirmation from other sources and more in-depth information on the issue is set to be published in Time Magazine soon.

Can you imagine what this would mean? You will have to pay $50 a month extra, to access all of the sites that you currently access for free. Can this really happen?

Internet For Everyone was launched this past summer, believes EVERYONE should have access to affordable, fast and an open Internet.  Since 2001, the United States has fallen from fourth in the world in broadband penetration to 15th in the world today. While American consumers face high prices and few choices, many of our European and Asian counterparts have achieved the goals of universal deployment and competitive markets. Returning to the top of international rankings would translate into millions of new jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in increased economic activity for the United States.

It will be something to keep an eye on, that's for sure!

#4. Blogging takes time – lots of it. Let's even say a CEO is a great writer, who enjoys researching and crafting posts. And let's say he or she will write about what people want to hear about and not just write about what the company wants to say. And they he/she is willing to update a few times a week. All of that takes anywhere from two to four hours a post.

#8. A blog is not a quick fix – the results come in the long term, the same way they do with PR.

Read "10 Reasons Your Company Shouldn't Blog"

Other Excellent Reads By B. L. Ochman and Chris Brogan:
- Chris Brogan - 50 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next Level
- How to Spike Your Blog Traffic
- How to Have a Totally F@#*~ing Amazing Corporate Blog
- 12 Reasons Why UK Companies Don't Blog
- If You Want to Lead, Blog

Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008 report,  is being released in five consecutive daily segments this week .

"Since 2004, our annual study has unearthed and analyzed the trends and themes of blogging, but for the 2008 study, we resolved to go beyond the numbers of the Technorati Index to deliver even deeper insights into the blogging mind. For the first time, we surveyed bloggers directly about the role of blogging in their lives, the tools, time, and resources used to produce their blogs, and how blogging has impacted them personally, professionally, and financially. Our bloggers were generous with their thoughts and insights. Thanks to all of the bloggers who took the time to respond to our survey."

Blogs have given people - and businesses, to be their publisher. MOST websites do not provide a lot of useful information. They are selling toools.  Brochures for a business or person.  In this day of "search", people are online looking for information and answers. 8 times out of 10, a blog can be the source for that information. People are using blogs are marketing tools, some make money with them, some are used to spread news quickly.

We had a client call us the other day who has had a website for 5 years. They had no idea how to access the website, how to post to the website or  where it was even being hosted at. The webmaster has been holding them "hostage".  Making the client come back to him for every change and every update.  THOSE DAYS ARE GOING! The average Joe can be their own webmaster now!

Even though Technorati has indexed 133 million blogs in the last 5 years - only about  1.5 million are posting on a regular basis and only about 100,000 have an  "authority ranking".  -  So it is still a relatively small sandbox we are playing in. And there is still time to jump on the bandwagon!



READ THE TECHNORATI REPORTS!


WEB 2.0 Consultants &  Strategists - Business Blog Consultants  - Your Business MD's
   Derrick Sorles and Michael Snell - We Help "Pull"  New Business To You!

"This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans.
The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November." -

Michael Moore

-  This  is  a Web 2.0 strategy that will surely be successful!

As you may have heard, I've decided to make my new film, "Slacker Uprising," available for free to everyone in the United States and Canada. It is the first time ever that a major feature-length film is debuting as a free download on the internet -- legally. I am doing this for two reasons:

1. Next year it will be 20 years since my first film, "Roger & Me," so I'd like to give those of you who've supported my work over the years a thank you gift in the form of a brand new movie; and

2. I hope the release and wide distribution of this new movie will help to bring out millions of young and new voters on November 4th.

 

"Slacker Uprising" takes place in the wake of "Fahrenheit 9/11," during the run-up to the 2004 election, as I traveled for 42 days across America, visiting 62 cities in a failed attempt to remove George W. Bush from office. My goal was to help turn out a record number of young voters and others who had never voted before. (That part was a success. Young adults voted in greater numbers than in any election since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote. And the youth vote was the only age group that John Kerry won.)

What I encountered during the tour and the filming was both inspiring and frightening, so I thought, hey, this might make for a funny and enlightening movie! Each night, thousands would show up to volunteer in the Slacker Army against Bush. This drove local Republicans nuts. In one state they tried to have me arrested. At two colleges, rich donors offered to donate more money to the college if they would ban me from campus. Nearly a half-dozen universities kept the Slacker Uprising tour off their campuses. But there was no stopping this movement. By the time we got to Florida, 16,000 people a night were showing up.

On Tuesday, September 23rd, you will be able to stream, download, or burn a DVD of "Slacker Uprising," free of charge.

SIGN UP TODAY - FOR YOUR FREE SLACKER UPRISING! 

DUDE!  WHERE'S  MY BLOG?!

Gee, do you think there is money to be made online blogging? Dah, yeah! Why else would Ashton Kutcher be jumping in to get his piece of the pie?!

They're called the Blah Girls and they've got plenty to say about celebrities, most of it cheeky.

The three animated gossip queens -- Tiffany, Brittney and Krystle -- are dedicated to spreading rumor and comment on the Internet on the latest pop culture happenings. And all from what their creators hope is a unique teen perspective.

Launched this past Monday, Ashton Kutcher (and fellow entrepreneur Jason Goldberg) is the brainchild of BLAH GIRLS.

Using southern California "Valley Girl" lingo sprinkled with "like", "totally" and "OMG!", the three animated teens riff in their first Webisode on celebrity baby adoptions, their love of Vitaminwater (the pink kind) and "Pineapple Express" actor Seth Rogen's qualifications to be a dad.

Ashton sez Blah girls were partly inspired by his own three step-daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Willis -- the children of Bruce Willis and Kutcher's actress wife Demi Moore.

"I'm somewhat inspired by driving teenage girls to school in the morning and hearing the conversation in the back seat...eventually it just become blah blah blah.

Kutcher said the Blah girls were not trying to compete with the crowded world of celebrity bloggers nor to make fun of famous people. Instead the aim is for the site to act in collaboration with other celebrity Web sites and provide new content for them.

technorati ashton kutcher blah girls Turbo Tagger