The Negatives People Will Throw At You
Twitter takes up time.
Twitter takes you away from other productive work.
Without a strategy, it’s just typing.
There are other ways to do this.
As Frank hears often, Twitter doesn’t replace customer service (Frank is @comcastcares and is a superhero for what he’s started.)
Twitter is buggy and not enterprise-ready.
Twitter is just for technonerds.
Twitter’s only a few million people. (only)
Twitter doesn’t replace direct email marketing.
Twitter opens the company up to more criticism and griping.
Some Positives to Throw Back
Twitter helps one organize great, instant meetups (tweetups).
Twitter works swell as an opinion poll.
Twitter can help direct people’s attention to good things.
Twitter at events helps people build an instant “backchannel.”
Twitter breaks news faster than other sources, often (especially if the news impacts online denizens).
Twitter gives businesses a glimpse at what status messaging can do for an organization. Remember presence in the 1990s?
Twitter brings great minds together, and gives you daily opportunities to learn (if you look for it, and/or if you follow the right folks).
Twitter gives your critics a forum, but that means you can study them.
Twitter helps with business development, if your prospects are online (mine are).
Twitter can augment customer service. (but see above)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Facts About Twitter-Part Three
Some Sanity For You
1.You don’t have to read every tweet.
2.You don’t have to reply to every @ tweet directed to you (try to reply to some, but don’t feel guilty).
3. Use direct messages for 1-to-1 conversations if you feel there’s no value to Twitter at large to hear the conversation ( got this from @pistachio).
4. Use services like Twitter Search to make sure you see if someone’s talking about you. Try to participate where it makes sense.
5.3rd party clients like Tweetdeck and Twhirl make it a lot easier to manage Twitter.
6.If you tweet all day while your coworkers are busy, you’re going to hear about it.
7.If you’re representing clients and billing hours, and tweeting all the time, you might hear about it.
8.Learn quickly to use the URL shortening tools like TinyURL and all the variants. It helps tidy up your tweets.
9.If someone says you’re using twitter wrong, forget it. It’s an opt out society. They can unfollow if they don’t like how you use it.
10.Commenting on others’ tweets, and retweeting what others have posted is a great way to build community.
1.You don’t have to read every tweet.
2.You don’t have to reply to every @ tweet directed to you (try to reply to some, but don’t feel guilty).
3. Use direct messages for 1-to-1 conversations if you feel there’s no value to Twitter at large to hear the conversation ( got this from @pistachio).
4. Use services like Twitter Search to make sure you see if someone’s talking about you. Try to participate where it makes sense.
5.3rd party clients like Tweetdeck and Twhirl make it a lot easier to manage Twitter.
6.If you tweet all day while your coworkers are busy, you’re going to hear about it.
7.If you’re representing clients and billing hours, and tweeting all the time, you might hear about it.
8.Learn quickly to use the URL shortening tools like TinyURL and all the variants. It helps tidy up your tweets.
9.If someone says you’re using twitter wrong, forget it. It’s an opt out society. They can unfollow if they don’t like how you use it.
10.Commenting on others’ tweets, and retweeting what others have posted is a great way to build community.
Monday, April 6, 2009
To Tweet or Not To Tweet (Part 2)
Ideas about WHAT to Tweet
1. Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”
2. Have more than one twitterer at the company. People can quit. People take vacations. It’s nice to have a variety.
3. When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next, instead of just dumping a link.
4. Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.
5. Follow interesting people. If you find someone who tweets interesting things, see who she follows, and follow her.
6. Tweet about other people’s stuff. Again, doesn’t directly impact your business, but makes us feel like you’re not “that guy.”
7. When you DO talk about your stuff, make it useful. Give advice, blog posts, pictures, etc.
8. Share the human side of your company. If you’re bothering to tweet, it means you believe social media has value for human connections. Point us to pictures and other human things.
9. Don’t toot your own horn too much. (Man, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I do it all the time. - Side note: I’ve gotta stop tooting my own horn).
10. Or, if you do, try to balance it out by promoting the heck out of others, too.
Here's the link to the full article by Chris Brogan:
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/
1. Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”
2. Have more than one twitterer at the company. People can quit. People take vacations. It’s nice to have a variety.
3. When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next, instead of just dumping a link.
4. Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.
5. Follow interesting people. If you find someone who tweets interesting things, see who she follows, and follow her.
6. Tweet about other people’s stuff. Again, doesn’t directly impact your business, but makes us feel like you’re not “that guy.”
7. When you DO talk about your stuff, make it useful. Give advice, blog posts, pictures, etc.
8. Share the human side of your company. If you’re bothering to tweet, it means you believe social media has value for human connections. Point us to pictures and other human things.
9. Don’t toot your own horn too much. (Man, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I do it all the time. - Side note: I’ve gotta stop tooting my own horn).
10. Or, if you do, try to balance it out by promoting the heck out of others, too.
Here's the link to the full article by Chris Brogan:
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/
Thursday, April 2, 2009
In the mood for something "tweet"?
I apologize for being MIA lately...but I've been tackling a lot of new projects lately. One of them is learning about the hottest Twitter Trend that is sweeping the Internet. According to Wikipedia, Twitter is a social networking service that enables users to send and read others' users updates known as 'tweets'. Tweets are text based posts of up to 140 characters. Twitter can be a great marketing tool for entrepreneurs who are testing the social media waters and a fun way to keep in touch with your family and friends.
1.Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor’s names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.)
2, Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you.
3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn’t sell more widgets, but it shows us you’re human.
4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.
5. Share links to neat things in your community. ( @wholefoods does this well).
6. Don’t get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( @jetblue gives travel tips.)
7. Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out.
8. Promote your employees’ outside-of-work stories. ( @TheHomeDepot does it well.)
9. Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc.
10. Talk about non-business, too, like @astrout and @jstorerj from Mzinga.
So, for the next several posts I will be re-blogging a series titled:
50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business
by Chris Brogan
Here's the link to his page:
First Steps
1.Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor’s names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.)
2, Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you.
3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn’t sell more widgets, but it shows us you’re human.
4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.
5. Share links to neat things in your community. ( @wholefoods does this well).
6. Don’t get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( @jetblue gives travel tips.)
7. Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out.
8. Promote your employees’ outside-of-work stories. ( @TheHomeDepot does it well.)
9. Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc.
10. Talk about non-business, too, like @astrout and @jstorerj from Mzinga.
Stay tuned for more helpful tips.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Taking a step back
One of the great things about owning my own company is that I can move at my own pace. I know that if things have to get done, I am the one responsible for making sure it happens. However, sometimes being 'the only' one can work against me. You know, it's like looking through a magnifying glass. You can hyper-focus on something so much that it looks one way to you...but when you back the glass up to take another look..things appear a lot differently. Applying that same logic to my business, I've found that it's best to bounce my ideas off SEVERAL people, to make sure I get clear picture on a pending project or proposal. I prefer to get that diverse feedback from people I know won't always agree with me. I believe that things you may WANT to hear from others may not always be the things you NEED to hear.
So if you are like me or other entrepreneurs I know, take a step back if you find yourself struggling to make progress in a particular area. Who knows where it may lead you. Taking a step back is not always a bad thing. Especially if it takes you closer to your goals.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Barbie Doll turns 50
2009 is turning into an interesting year, full of milestones. One of these milestones is The Barbie Doll will be 50 years old. Ken, Barbie’s long term boyfriend is only 48. Who knew that Barbie liked younger guys?
Actually Barbie and Ken were named after the children of Mattel founder Ruth Handler.
When Ruth and her husband introduced Barbie at the International Toy Show in 1959, toy stores were not excited. Consumers loved Barbie and as they say, the rest is history.
Ruth was 42 when she introduced this controversial doll, a doll with breasts. Another first for Mattel, with Ruth at the helm, was to buy 52 weeks, 1 year of advertising on the TV show, the Mickey Mouse Club. One year of advertising toys directly to the demographic who could not buy them but could make their wishes known had not been done before. TV itself was in its infancy, but Ruth and her husband Elliot saw the potential. They were right again.
Ruth Handler who died in 2002 at age 85 was an admirable business woman. She combined business, Motherhood and being a wife in a time when women were not encouraged to work outside of their homes. What genius to name her doll toys after her children. What PR savvy to partner with her husband but confident enough to be the spokesperson for their toy company. At age 51 Ruth introduced Hot Wheels. This toy’s success rivaled Barbie’s for boys. Menopause in the work place didn’t stop Ruth Handler from success, nor does it appear to stop her creation, the Barbie Doll.
This doll could be called ‘Hot Flash Barbie’ or ‘Menopause Barbie at age 50. Looking at her founder, I think Barbie has a great future ahead of her. She looks great for 50. Fashion designers have clamored to design her clothes. Barbie sports gowns from Dior and Bob Mackie. Now the cosmetic company Stila launched a collection based on Barbie. Mattel, which the Handler family sold in the 70’s, had a bad fourth quarter for 2008. Can the Golden Anniversary Barbie bear the financial pressure for the entire company? Mattel is trying with a big party in Malibu, the home of Malibu Barbie, which is of course Pink!
by Haralee Weintraub
Actually Barbie and Ken were named after the children of Mattel founder Ruth Handler.
When Ruth and her husband introduced Barbie at the International Toy Show in 1959, toy stores were not excited. Consumers loved Barbie and as they say, the rest is history.
Ruth was 42 when she introduced this controversial doll, a doll with breasts. Another first for Mattel, with Ruth at the helm, was to buy 52 weeks, 1 year of advertising on the TV show, the Mickey Mouse Club. One year of advertising toys directly to the demographic who could not buy them but could make their wishes known had not been done before. TV itself was in its infancy, but Ruth and her husband Elliot saw the potential. They were right again.
Ruth Handler who died in 2002 at age 85 was an admirable business woman. She combined business, Motherhood and being a wife in a time when women were not encouraged to work outside of their homes. What genius to name her doll toys after her children. What PR savvy to partner with her husband but confident enough to be the spokesperson for their toy company. At age 51 Ruth introduced Hot Wheels. This toy’s success rivaled Barbie’s for boys. Menopause in the work place didn’t stop Ruth Handler from success, nor does it appear to stop her creation, the Barbie Doll.
This doll could be called ‘Hot Flash Barbie’ or ‘Menopause Barbie at age 50. Looking at her founder, I think Barbie has a great future ahead of her. She looks great for 50. Fashion designers have clamored to design her clothes. Barbie sports gowns from Dior and Bob Mackie. Now the cosmetic company Stila launched a collection based on Barbie. Mattel, which the Handler family sold in the 70’s, had a bad fourth quarter for 2008. Can the Golden Anniversary Barbie bear the financial pressure for the entire company? Mattel is trying with a big party in Malibu, the home of Malibu Barbie, which is of course Pink!
by Haralee Weintraub
Monday, March 9, 2009
IN ANSWER TO JUST SAY NO
YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TELL PEOPLE NO AT ANY GIVEN TIME WITHOUT FEELING BAD ABOUT IT I USED TO FEEL LIKE SHANI, BUT I GREW REALLY FAST WHEN PEOPLE NEED YOU THEY DON'T HESITATE TO ASK BUT IF AND WHEN YOU ARE IN NEED THEY CAN'T HELP YOU SO MY POLICY IS HELP THOSE IF I CAN THAT HAVE HELPED ME AND I 'M NOT GOING TO LET ANYONE GUILT TRIP ME IN ANY FORM OR FASHION. IT IS A NICE WAY TO SAY IT LIKE UNFORTUNATELY I CAN'T NOT DO THAT AT THIS TIME, IF THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT THEN THAT'S ON THEM. IT'S LIKE HALLMARK YOU CARED ENOUGH TO SEND THE VERY BEST.
CHERYL GORHAM
CHERYL GORHAM
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