2008/12/22

Virtual Culture

I wonder how many of you are new to the internet explosion. Although the internet has been around for many years, it is new to the average Joe. I know I started playing around with the internet in 1998/1999, so about 10 years for me. Some people I know started a few years before, so maybe 15 or 20 years ago. Welcome to the information age and our virtual home.
The internet has a lot to offer. Today we can earn a degree online. become online business owners and play online. This is a new culture in the making. We are, however; missing a part of that culture and that aspect is where to find employment online. If the virtual world is becoming another home for us than we must learn to get a long in our element. How can we do that when an important element such as work is missing.
What this tells me is that it is okay to shop and spend my money online; I can be an online consumer. I can visit communities online, some with games that have to be paid for. I can hire people from the online community to help me advertise or what have you, but; I cannot find an online job.With all of these people online, taking money from us, where is there a place for us to make money in this online global community?

2008/12/19

Twitter Culture

I am a member of Twitter and quite frankly, I visit daily. Once I log onto my computer each day, I open two tabs immediately. One is to check my e-Mails and the other is to log onto Twitter. I keep the Twitter tab open for the entire day. This way, like the other Tweeps (other members of Twitter) I can find out what is going on with other people in the webunity; I can learn about new things and I can post blurbs all day as I see fit. This means that I can just throw out there what is on my mind throughout the day. This is very therapeutic.

I believe this micro-blogging is therapeutic for every one using the site. Sometimes people just want everyone to know they are running to the store or that they were on the phone with a specific person in the field without ever getting into detail. Most often though, the posts are quite detailed. The challenge is to say in one post what u need to say by using only 140 characters. Of course there will have to be many posts made in order to carry on a conversation.

I visit with marketers and marketing Gurus. They are quite the interesting bunch. They are colorful...sometimes witty and a warm loving bunch. Except for one character, I wouldn't trade them in for another bunch of Tweeps. I was introduced to this bunch by an old friend @danlopez2012

I have learned a bit about eMarketing from them and that is quite helpful for my business. I also took a few courses in eBusiness, eLaw and eMarketing when I was earning my undergraduate's degree. I find that the education and Tweep information as well as the chance to apply all of this knowledge is working rather well. I will be able to measure the results more after I promote my business this week.

To all of you who follow me on Twitter and to those Tweeps I follow, life has changed since I began to tune into you on a daily basis. I want to thank you, whether we have a relationship or not...I am certainly learning from you. Further, for those of you who are not marketers, such as @manifestmmind, I would like to thank you for your beneficial daily affirmations. I am comforted and blessed to be able to read your posts. I don't talk with most of the people, only a few but I consider myself lucky for that.

I would like to add that micro-blogging is not only therapeutic, but Twitter helps us all "get the word." Twitter is a great advertising space! If you are not a member, I recommend that you join as soon as possible. http://www.twitter.com/ How do people learn about your business? The object of the game is to follow people and they may choose to follow you. If not, others will follow you. They will see the biography that you post as well as your website that you share with the public. In this way, Twitter is a fabulous and free advertising tool as it helps drive traffic to your site.

Another great thing about Twitter is that you can become part of a joint venture through the relationships you make fellow Tweeps. The common way to advertise on Twitter is to invite people to your website and have them sign up to receive a newsletter or other type of subscription. As your following grows, more and more people will be able to sign up for a newsletter/subscription and you can grow a list. This is a fantastic way to familiarize people with your business. This is free advertisement, what do you have to lose? You certainly have a lot to gain. You can gain friendship and grow your business.

Ms. P


2008/12/09

Richard Butler (Success Coach) authors "Change Your Attitude"

I am so busy that it has been three months since I last posted here. I have many ventures these days and getting them off the ground requires quite a bit of my time. That is okay, however, I will reap the rewards in the end. You get what you put in, right. Well, that is what I have been taught, have experienced, and what the experts say.

You reap what you sow, right? Yes, this is a true statement. If you give, you get something in return. This is the case with all aspects in life. You give & you get; you take positive action and you receive positive results. According to Richard Butler (2008) also known as successcoach, who authored the new eBook entitled "Change Your Attitude." I was given the opportunity to review the book before its publication and I was pleasantly reminded about the benefits of postive thinking.

Positive thinking just as negative thinking has an effect on everything we do in life, in the universe. If we send out positive vibes, we get back positive resuluts. If we send out negative vibes, we get back negative results. This is called the Law of Attraction. We attract what we send, so it is important that we focus on positive thoughts. In fact Butler explains what "positiveness" is, how to achieve it and maintain it.

Butler explains that positive thinking has to become a habit in order for it to be an effective tool in our lives. This tool can be used for personal as well as business sucess. There is no other option really, because once you become a positive thinker, this energy is said to flow throughout all of your ventures. You become in tune with all that is positive in the universe. Can you imagine?

Can you imagine all that you can be and all that you can have. Can you imagine the new positive friends that you will be surrounded by? Butler maintains that changing your attitude will change your life immediately. He certainly is right...changing your attitude and focusing on positive thinking is definitely life altering.

Do yourselves a favor, if you are feeling stressed, want to try to kick a bad habit, are surrounded by negativity and simply want to have a life altering experience download Butler's book
http://www.richardbutlerthesuccesscoach.com/Change_Your_Attitude.pdf
You won't regret it.

Ms P

2008/10/14

Business Sense: Brand Yourself

Marketing is marketing and that will never change. What is meant by this is that when you market your company you are marketeting yourself. This means that it is important for you to become the new flavor, not the new Levi; you are the new brand. You have to brand yourself and set yourself apart from the rest (Fast Company, 1998). If you do not have characteristics that are distinctive from your competition, you are simply jumping into a pool of sameness. The vocabulary is the same, the tactics are the same, the culture will be the same; therefore you are nothing special...just another company to consider hiring among a multitude of other companies.



Okay, so what do you have to offer? According to Fast Company (1998) the term "feature-benefit" is a standard model used by the corporate biggies to create a brand. This means that you as a company offer a feature that the client benefits from. Today in 2008, the internet has changed the way we conduct business remarkably. Likewise, business has changed the way we use the internet. Again, one thing has not changed...marketing is marketing. We have certainly become advanced in our knowledge about how to market our companies better by using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and by learning to use tools such as Google AdWords and Google Goggles, but none of this will make a difference if you are marketing a company that has not been branded.



Let's face it...if you are going to make pizza like the guy across the street, I will stick with the guy across the street. Or maybe I will use the both of you and you will have to split 50/50 rather than 100%. Why not instead work with the marketing tools rather than against them and become distinctive...brand yourself...create a feature-benefit. Fast Company uses Nordstroms as an example of what a feature benefit is, but I will use Jack in the Box. Jack in the Box teaches their employees to provide Hassle Free Service to all of their customers. The feature is that the representatives of Jack in the Box are taught to go out of their way to please customers by giving them what they ask for, replacing food, and assembling food to order. The customer benefit is feeling that their business counts. They are not just another sale and they know that if they have a problem with the food or the service they will not be hassled for wanting resolution. Whether or not Jack in the Box stands by this model is not for me to say.

"The power of a truly great brand is its ability to beguile us and, in some cases, to define, at least in part, who we are, notes Dayton Fandray in "A Brand New You" in the May 2006 issue of Continental magazine" (Nichols, N.D.).





A few simple ways to make culture are as follows:


  • Always deliver what you say you will deliver

  • Deliver on time

  • Offer a new service for free

  • Create blogs because dialogue is the key to success as it aids in making culture as well as keeps your clients and prospective clients informed.

  • Offer an online course. This is just the beginning. The ideas are endless.

What feature have you created and decided you can deliver?

2008/09/19

Learning the Biz

Marketing Culture: the Thirty Day Challenge


A very old friend of mine (danlopez2012) is teaching me the side of the marketing biz that I have not learned in school and well this was a few weeks ago. He wanted me to give him a concise update for what I was reading, learning and doing. I would rather take things apart and write about them and this is what I came up with on my first night's indoctrination.


The competition between marketers for internet business today must be remarkably incredible. Here we have the booming consumer matrix in one global society where all eyes see everything.

I searched You tube for the 30 day Challenge and began to watch the 30 day challenge, but; it was the 30 day sex challenge. Oops. Well. I watched it in full because the message was interesting. The challenge was interesting and a challenge is a challenge. The main message is to focus on the problems and take it seriously. Focusing is extremely important and I know this all too well. I learned how to focus in college and grad school as it is an essential tool for getting things done.

With a challenge, you certainly want to know how to focus. I then came across a 30 Day Challenge music video. Ah, that was entertaining and here are the words to which I got sucked into this 30 Day Challenge thing. Now I feel like I am a part of the culture, hehehe, because that video was certainly a part of a culture no doubt. Oh, and the singer, he goes by the handle “getautomated”…he’s hired. His real name is Phil Mason and ah, here are the words to the song.

If you wanna’ make some money online
You’d better listen to a mentor friend of mine
Well pretty soon your goanna’ know this song
As well as Dan Raines’ pretty pink thong
Ed Dale is gonna’ teach you some skill
Until you’ve made your first $10 Bill
It’s the only place to be this year
That’s the 30 Day Challenge
That’s the 30 Day Challenge
Online

So, I wanted to see what else this guy does and he sure loves to sing about the 30 day Challenge, that’s for sure. He’s great and I think he performs with his family and well, they are awesome. I have to study this marketing thing so I don’t have time to jot down the words to another 30 Day Challenge song, but I will tell you that it’s better than the first. It was awesome! To keep a personal not to myself Phil’s personal website is http://www.phillmason.com/

Ed Dale also AKA Airhammer sings as well, oh and he plays the guitar and he says thanks…my head is bulging full of knowledge because of you all.

Okay, enough of the entertainment for now. Let’s delve into what the 30 Day Challenge is. Up next I will watch the 30 Day Challenge as seen by Bruce Jones, the creator Maps for Design.com website for Edible Maps for PowerPoint who tried the 30 Day Challenge for this business. Bruce learned about keywords, traffic and conversion and stated that he was given an immense amount of information. Bruce learned different techniques for finding a niche online. The very short video was informative as I learned what the “The Thirty Day Challenge” actually is. The Thirty Day Challenge provides tools and techniques for earning $10 in 30 days (Bruce Jones). The bottom line is that these tools and techniques surpass a 30 day run (Princess Caro), as they actually help you to start and maintain and small business and even help grow a small business to a medium or large sized business (Ed Dale).

Now I am watching a 38 minute video by Ed Dale and who do you think was the opening act? Yep, you’ve got it Phil “getautomated” Mason. Ed encourages people to join a team as later on with the evolution of any growing business, workers or team members come aboard anyway. Ed also passionately discusses the importance of Friend feeds because they are one stop shops where you can promote anything.

References

The 30 Day Sex Challenge. Retrieved August 28, 2008 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOr09AI7Rfk

Dale, Ed (2008). The 30 Day Challenge music video. Retrieved on August 28, 2008 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cajXeztf4Qc&feature=related

Jones, Bruce (2008). The Thirty Day Challenge Video. Retrieved August 28, 2008 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmShMoLh_JI&NR=1

Mason, Phil/You Tube (2008). The 30 Day Challenge. Retrieved August 28, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2UjaCFMSP0&feature=related

Princess Caro. Thirty Day Challenge: How it changed My Life. Retrieved August 29,
2008 from http://youtube.com/watch?v=RjTgflirbc4&NR=1