Diggbar View Counts Are Back (sort of)
Posted on June 30, 2009
Filed Under Digg | 2 Comments
As Digg works to perfect its service and enhance one of it’s latest features, the Diggbar, they have re-added a nice component that was taken down shortly after launch: view counts.
Well, they’ve sort of brought it back. Looks like it’s still in beta or development or something because as of right now, the counts are way off.
A Retweet is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Posted on June 29, 2009
Filed Under Twitter | 6 Comments
Listening to Guy Kawasaki is always a joy. Regardless of whether you agree with what he is saying or not, he is always both thought-provoking and entertaining. The Alltop co-founder is a living legend in the world of social media and startups and is a must-follow on Twitter for budding marketing professionals.
During a recent speaking engagement in San Diego, Kawasaki had his normal flurry of quirky, intuitive pieces of advice that struck home with most in the audience. One thing in particular he noted was that “today, a retweet is the sincerest form of flattery.” While I often take retweets for granted with a relatively large Twitter following for a non-celebrity, this one comment made an impact on me.
Since it was less than 140 characters, I naturally tweeted the statement and was surprised by the response. First, it was retweeted 25+ times - nothing too surprising there. What was surprising was that in watching the accounts that retweeted it. They started retweeting… a lot. Read more
Social Media Strategy: Hire, Outsource, or DIY?
Posted on June 19, 2009
Filed Under Featured, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Strategy | 17 Comments
Social media has officially become a business. Many in the industry would argue that it’s been a business for years, but until recently it has been very hush-hush and hidden in the shadows. If you were to count the number of people claiming to be social media gurus, experts, marketers, or strategists a year ago, it would have probably been in the hundreds.
Today, it’s in the tens of thousands. Scanning Twitter and Facebook alone is evidence of this, and they are only a small part of a true strategy.
As huge corporations, home-office startups, and everyone in between rushes to get into social media, the first question that they must ask themselves is, “Do I do it myself, hire someone to do it at the office, or outsource it to a social media marketing firm?”
It’s a good, simple question. The answer is far from simple.
Twitter and Blogging, Tips and Tools
Posted on June 14, 2009
Filed Under Blogs, Social Freshness, Twitter | 16 Comments
“Every blog should have its own Twitter account.”
WHOA! Slow down. If EVERY blog had a Twitter account, the site would be “over capacity” constantly. Some web hosts claim 99.99% uptime. Twitter would be at 99.99% downtime considering there’s more blogs on the Internet than atoms in the known universe.
With that out of the way, let’s first say that “every” to me clears out spam blogs, boring blogs, worthless blogs, and blogs about bacon or politics. Hopefully, this blog doesn’t fall into any of those categories other than the occasional bacon post. Assuming there are a couple of hundred thousand quality blogs in the world right now, that wouldn’t be too hard for even the Twitter servers to handle.
Where does it all fit in and how can Twitter and blogging work together? We’ll get to that, but first… Read more
The Best Digg Tools, Reality Edition
Posted on June 2, 2009
Filed Under Digg | 11 Comments
One of the best parts about my job is that I get to talk to a lot of the top users over at Digg. This is important because the Digg algorithm is always in a constant state of tweak (a statement that can be construed properly several different ways). It changes as fast as, if not faster than, Google and other search engines. Two questions always pop up with either me asking top users or other users asking me:
“What does it take to get to the front page?”
The answer has two parts: time and tools. We can go into the time issue later, but for now, let’s assume that you have the time. The second question is:
“What are the right tools?”
There are dozens of lists of Digg tools out there. Most of them are nice and quaint, but do top users really use them. Normally, no. Here are the tools that they do use. Some are obviously loose interpretations of the word “tools” but anything that helps to achieve the goal of hitting the front page often should be listed. Read more
Improving your Netbook Life
Posted on May 29, 2009
Filed Under Featured | 8 Comments
Watch any movie made from about 1990 or older that has a business scene in it and you’ll see men in suits carrying large, rectangular briefcases into large boardrooms for meetings. Today’s on the go business people, tech savvy entrepreneurs and active lifestyle people are reducing the amount they carry with them, while having more access to cutting edge technology than ever before. Quietly, the Netbook has become, for lack of a better buzzword, the killer app of 2009.
Automotive Social Media Can Save the Surviving Car Dealers
Posted on May 18, 2009
Filed Under Featured | 3 Comments
1900 down. More expected to fall. For many, it isn’t the best time to be a car dealer.
The silver lining, of course, is that those who have survived cuts by GM and Chrysler are in better position to succeed thanks to less competition. Still, the outlook is well below the glorious prospects around 2004 when dealers truly started embracing Internet marketing as a way to not only increase business, but cut costs and improve ROI of marketing dollars spent.
Websites have improved dramatically. Search engine optimization has become a point of interest over the last year. Secondary web properties are starting to pop up and generate leads for dealers. All of these have been aspects of other verticals for a while. As with most things online, car dealers have finally caught on.
Now automotive social media is starting to become a buzzword and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Between the economic woes causing credit issues across the board and the general attitude of doom and gloom in the industry, dealers who properly embrace social media now will be in position to take advantage of the coming advances in Web 2.0 and the future of Web 3.0.
The important word in that paragraph was “properly’. Read more
Tila Tequila, Tyrese Gibson Hacked on Twitter or are these Real Suicide Threats?
Posted on April 15, 2009
Filed Under Twitter | 18 Comments
Tila Tequila’s Twitter account was hacked on Monday and it was claimed that she and her dog were killed. Now, either her account was hacked again or she is claiming to kill herself if a certain miracle doesn’t happen tomorrow. We would tend to lean towards hacking, but after a test question by actor Tyrese Gibson was confirmed by her response, the threat is either really being posted by her or by someone who knows a lot about her.
The other possibility is that both accounts have been hacked, in which case the hacker is using one celebrity account to make the other’s threat seem more credible.
Tip’d 2.0: Now THAT’s What Social Media Needs
Posted on April 7, 2009
Filed Under Social Freshness, Social Media, Tip'd | 7 Comments
In short, I’m blown away. While most niche social news sites are facing their demise and losing their relevance even within their own arenas, Tip’d has done something that few have been able to accomplish in years.
Officially, Tip’d is now useful, and not just for finding financial news.
Today they released a barrage of improvements to the site that should make them a key resource for any Wallstreet-minded person with access to the Internet. The Social Tickers feature by itself is a tremendous tool that should be bookmarked by anyone who wants to track their stocks or target stocks with in-depth information and up-to-date buzz.
46% of the Digg Front Page is Controlled by 50 Websites
Posted on March 17, 2009
Filed Under Digg | 65 Comments
Recent changes and restrictions made by Digg.com to encourage diversity in the range of users whose submissions reach the front page have had 2 profound results. Newer and less active users have seen their stories reach the front page, but the sources that are able to hit the front page have tightened.
Despite tens of thousands of submissions every week, the last seven days have shown that 46.6% of the Digg front page comes from 50 websites, according to data accumulated on di66.net.
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