Brindle Media

Archive for the ‘Social media’ Category

Either because they’ve chosen to retire or because they’ve been eased out of companies into an involuntary state of unemployment, many members of the Baby Boom generation who still want to pursue productive careers have become entrepreneurs and started their own small businesses.

If you’re one of those Boomers who I’ve just described, I thought that you might find the information below interesting:

If novelty drives attention, perhaps you’ll find an idea here that inspires you http://mashable.com/2011/03/01/video-business-success/

For years, there’s been an adage in the marketing community that older adults are brand loyal and aren’t worth the energy or investment needed to try and persuade them to switch. Of course, many of the people who believe this tend to be in their 20s! It may have been true of preceding generations but I would content that Boomers are a different breed. Although they may not be part of the “early adopter” cohort when it comes to new technology, Boomers aren’t Luddites, either. SmartPhone penetration among Boomers continues to increase so a significant percentage will have access to video on their phones within the next few years and it could become a significant factor for small business as part of the marketing mix.

Similarly, if you have expertise, podcasting (either audio or video) might be a venue to share your knowledge and build your brand. Here are some small business podcasting success stories.
http://mashable.com/2011/02/28/podcast-small-business/

Car & Driver Magazine predicts that internet in-car penetration will hit the 25% mark within the next five years which will make audio podcasts more accessible for drivers. Something to think about as you devise ways to build your brand and “drive traffic”.

Here’s some information that I thought you’d find useful or at least interesting:

BrandSavant, Tom Webster tells us that some radio friends in New Zealand are asking for our help. They’re not looking for monetary donations but are instead asking that we send voice messages of encouragement and support which they can play over the air to help boost the spirits of their countrymen as they cope with the devastation caused by last week’s earthquake.

All you need to do is record a quick MP3 file that gives your name, where you are from, and a short (5-10 seconds) message of hope, to tell the people of New Zealand that we are thinking of them during this very dark time. Please email those .MP3 files to Tom at a special email address he’s set up at : help_nz_audio@fastmail.fm. Tom will make sure he gets them, and that your voices ring out across the Land Of The Long White Cloud.

Skype simplifies cheap overseas calling from any phone.
http://mashable.com/2011/02/25/skype-overseas/

Linkedin Tool Visualizes Profile Updates in Your Network
http://mashable.com/2011/02/24/linkedin-profile-tool/

How music can boost your immune system
http://www.realage.com/tips/how-to-boost-your-immune-system-positive-mental-attitude?eid=1098931007&memberid=22592203

Staying focused is tough especially when you’re a home-based entrepreneur. I never realized how ADHD I was until I left the corporate office world where I had specific work hours , a defined job description and a list of specified daily tasks and responsibilities. Working solo, developing a business from scratch and being based at home leaves everything wide open and undefined. It’s wonderful, exciting and overwhelming. This blog by “Hello, My Name Is Scott” Ginsberg offers some useful advise:

http://www.hellomynameisblog.com/2011/02/how-to-focus-your-face-off.html

Adam Singer writes a digital marketing and PR blog called “Future Buzz”. Although his blog seems targeted at people in the Millenials and GenX’ers, it does contain advice that can be useful to entrepreneurial Boomers. For instance:
http://thefuturebuzz.com/2011/02/22/paid-promotional-tactics/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheFutureBuzz+(The+Future+Buzz)

Boomer Authority is a web-based social network for Baby Boomers. The organization has a website named Boomer StrataGEMS which provides useful information like this:
http://www.boomerstratagems.net/2011/02/how-marketers-can-use-mobile-technology.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+Boomerstratagems+(Boomer|StrataGEMS™)&utm_co

Check them out and let me know what you think about these ideas. I’d also be interested to learn what types of information would be of most interest to you!

Research shows that Baby Boomers who are unemployed are much less likely to be hired than other unemployed persons who are younger. So, even when the economy begins to recover in earnest there’s a strong possibility that Boomers will be sent to the back of the line when new jobs become available.

Many Boomers will sit around, complain about the system being unfair and expect a champion to save them. Others will recognize that it’s time to reevaluate their situation, readjust and move forward. The members of that group might be interested in these entrepreneurial small businesses which have been having some success using Facebook as a tool to connect with customers and sell their products.
http://mashable.com/2011/02/21/facebook-commerce/

Eighteen months ago, I inherited my wife’s old BlackBerry and started using it when I was at a convention. Previously, I’d been using an old Nokia as a cellphone just to check messages and to make or receive an occasional call. I didn’t want the outside world to be able to access me during every moment of every day. However, it dawned on me that it would be much easier checking and sending emails from the Blackberry while at the convention rather than lugging around my laptop and searching for WiFi hotspots.

Now, of course, I’m constantly checking email for business and texting with my family. My Blackberry isn’t particularly adept at connecting me with websites and I don’t have the ability to access apps. It seems like it’s time for me to graduate to a more advanced phone.

Many of my friends seem very happy with their Droid smartphones and it does seem like the Droid is replacing the BlackBerry as the phone most favored by traditional business people. The iPhone is favored by creative types and, let’s face it, Apple has been brilliant at positioning the iPhone as the standard by which all other smartphones are judge and at generating all the industry buzz.

But I don’t like to be cavalier when making these kinds of decisions. We became AT&T wireless customers years ago due to an arrangement made by a former employer. Although we live near an airport and the cellphone service near our house is terrible, we haven’t had many problems with AT&T. I’m not sure that switching to Verizon would make much sense or that Verizon’s much vaunted superior service will continue when all those AT&T customers transfer over and clog up the Verizon network.

It seems like there’s a lot to consider and that’s why I found this recent article by Shelly Palmer useful.
http://www.shellypalmer.com/2011/02/how-to-switch-from-att-to-the-verizon-iphone-4/”>

In late 2009, Augmented Reality was incorporated a book celebrating Michael Jackson’s career. Since then, I’m not aware that there’s been much buzz about AR in the music world. However, today I received this press release:

THE BLACK EYED PEAS DEBUT IN WORLD`S FIRST 360-DEGREE MOBILE MUSIC VIDEO CREATED BY will.i.apps

New “BEP360” App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch Takes Fans Inside “The Time (Dirty Bit)” with 360-Degree Motion Control and Augmented Reality Developed by Peas Front Man will.i.am

LOS ANGELES January 24, 2010 – Music industry pioneer and front man of The Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am, today announced the iTunes App Store launch of BEP360, an iPad, iPhone and iPod touch app that immerses fans in a 360 degree universe of the legendary music group. Featuring the world`s first 360-degree view music video (“The Time 360”), BEP360 features the song “The Time (Dirty Bit),” the first single from new CD, “The Beginning”, now available on Interscope Records.

“will.i.apps and the BEP360 app have been established to help artists tap into the potential of our hyper-connected mobile world and bring fans deeper inside the music far beyond a four minute audio recording. It`s a unique and completely new way to experience 360 degree music immersion that will bring artists and fans closer together,” said will.i.am.

Key Features of BEP360

· Point iPad, iPhone and iPod touch device at the cover artwork of the band`s latest album, The Beginning (Interscope Records) and watch augmented reality take form with BEP avatars dancing to the beat

· Direct a virtual photo session with Fergie, will.i.am, apl.de.ap & Taboo allowing users to capture their own shots and share them.

· Stay up to date on everything about the Peas via an aggregated Twitter feed

· Play an addictive Peas-inspired puzzle game

· View pictures and comments posted by other BEP360 app users on a virtual earth

The BEP360 app is available for $2.99 from the App Store on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, or at: www.bit.ly/bep360app.

Image: As soon as you point your iPhone onto the CD a virtual 3D character appears and the music starts.

A demo of BEP360 app featuring The Black Eyed Peas and the making-of behind the scenes video can be seen at: www.williapps.com.

I’m going to be interested to follow this story over the next few weeks to learn how fans react and how the rest of the music industry responds.

Remember what the social media world looked like three years ago? Probably not because you’re too busy trying to keep up with the new products, devices and services which seem to pop up on your radar screen every day.

XKCD and the marketing firm Flowtown have created “The Map of Online Communities” based on information from sources such as USA Today, Alexa,and Compete which gives some great perspective on how this have changed in the world of social media over the past 36 months.

First, the map of online communities for 2007:

Compare that information with the map for 2010:

Can you find MySpace on the 2010 map? Look southwest of Facebook.
Also, note the growth of Farmville.

How do you think the map will change by 2013?

Thanks to Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media bring the XKCD/Flowtown maps to my attention.

Saturday’s assassination attempt of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords which claimed six lives has some pointing an accusing finger at radio and cable TV hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, claiming they had a role in the incident by provoking an unstable person. But INSIDE RADIO reports that the talkers are pushing back, calling it an unfair attack on conservative hosts.



What do you think?

Update: 1/12/11

To alert people to this blog, I posted links on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. My experience is that my postings on Twitter never receive responses and are rarely retweeted but I view using it as a connection device to be a learning experience. On both Linkedin and Facebook, I don’t know if people actually link to this site to read the entire blog but they usually post their responses on those sites.

Not surprisingly, the responses tended to fall along party lines. Those folks whose politics tend toward the “progressive/liberal” camp seem to believe that the rhetoric heard on talk radio and cable TV in some way influenced the Tuscon tragedy. Those whose politics are more “conservative” seem to believe that liberals are trying to use the tragedy to impose restrictions on their First Amendment rights of free speech. Unfortunately, South Caroline Representative, James Clyburn (a Democrat) is fanning that particular flame by championing a return of the Fairness Doctrine. I’ve written previously about how anachronistic, outdated and absurd that notion is considering 21st Century communications technology.

In any case, the debate on this topic has certainly been lively. Although I have concerns about what sometimes seems like the irresponsible use of inflammatory rhetoric to manipulate audience reaction and ratings, my sense is that it wasn’t much of a factor in the case of the shootings in Arizona. I was especially impressed with these reactions from columnist David Brooks and The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/opinion/11brooks.html?_r=1&ref=davidbrooks

href=’http://www.thedailyshow.com’>The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Arizona Shootings Reaction www.thedailyshow.com

Polls show that 60% of Americans don’t believe that political rhetoric caused Jared Loughner’s assassination attempt on Rep. Giffords. Nevertheless, it seems to me that those who dismiss the impact of inflammatory rhetoric are making a mistake. Research shows that humans, even those of us who relieve that we are reasonable and rational, react emotionally and then rationalize to reinforce their beliefs.

In times of economic instability like we’ve been experiencing for the past decade in the United States, fear, insecurity and distrust become more prevalent as what Seth Godin likes to call our lizard brain takes control. Couple with that the ability that we have with the internet, various cable TV and social media to filter the information we receive. Now, we can choose to avoid all that inconvenient information which doesn’t reinforce our beliefs.

I can recall watching coverage of the 2008 Presidential campaign when a woman in John McCain’s audience started ranting about how Obama was evil and wanted to destroy America. The woman looked like an average grandmother but she was regurgitating this rhetoric and McCain looked stunned and embarrassed. He felt it necessary to reassure her that Barack Obama was a good person and an honorable man, not something that this woman or his supporters wanted to hear.

Another woman waiting in line to enter a McCain/Palin rally told an interviewer that Obama was a socialist who wanted to destroy the country and that he wasn’t an American citizen. She was very matter-of-fact as if these were proven facts rather than unsubstantiated rumors spread through the internet.

Albany Times Union editor, Rex Smith makes some cogent observations in this recent editorial:
http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Words-the-first-step-to-civility-959442.php

Those of us who’ve worked professionally in media know how easy it is to manipulate an audience. It can be a source of childish delight to watch your audience jump through hoops at your whim but it’s also important to take responsibility for your actions and for the results of those actions whether or not they are intended.

Words have consequences.

If you use a smartphone and especially if you’re an iPhone, iPad or Mac user, pay attention. I know, the folks at The Apple Store told you that you really don’t need anti-virus protection because Apple products are virus-proof. But that could soon change. Like squirrels trying to access the food in your bird feeder, hackers are apparently obsessed with cracking the Apple codes.

PC Magazine reports:

McAfee on Tuesday (12/28/10) released its list of threat predictions for 2011 and it highlighted things like URL shorteners, location-based services, Apple products, and Internet TV. McAfee on Tuesday released its list of threat predictions for 2011 and it highlighted things like URL shorteners, location-based services, Apple products, and Internet TV.
What else made McAfee’s threat list?

• Hacktivism: McAfee predicted a rise in the number of politically motivated cyber attacks. “More groups will repeat the WikiLeaks example,” McAfee said, though strategy will become more sophisticated and leverage social networks.

• Friendly Fire: McAfee predicted a rise in the use of malicious content disguised as e-mail from sources you know. “Signed” malware that imitates legitimate files will become more prevalent, and “friendly fire,” in which threats appear to come from your friends but in fact are viruses such as Koobface or VBMania, will continue to grow as an attack of choice by cybercriminals, McAfee said. This could go hand-in-hand with social network attacks, which could eventually overtake e-mail attacks.

• Botnets: McAfee Labs predicts that the recent merger of Zeus with SpyEye will produce more sophisticated bots due to improvements in bypassing security mechanisms and law enforcement monitoring. Additionally, McAfee Labs expects to see a significant botnet activity in the adoption of data-gathering and data-removal functionality, rather than the common use of sending spam.

You can read the entire PC Magazine article here:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2374784,00.asp

At a recent Catholic wedding I attended, the priest spoke to the bride and groom about the difference between a contract and a covenant. He talked about how the union they were undertaking was not a contractual arrangement like a business deal but a sacred promise to each other and, by extension, to God.

This was the first time I can recall hearing this issue addressed during a wedding ceremony. It seemed apt and it got me thinking.

My generation, the Baby Boomers, grew up in the aftermath of World War II. It was the age of nuclear proliferation, a time of major scientific discoveries which helped provide answers to many of our questions about the universe and which (like the birth control pill) provided us with more control over our destinies. We witnessed the coming of age of the feminist movement and experienced the “Summer of Love” along with the era of disillusion and anti-heroism following the Vietnam War which led to the Gordon Gecko “Greed Is Good” 80s.

We went from a generation of idealists to a generation of cynics to a generation of pragmatists. No wonder we started thinking of marriage more like a business agreement and a matter of mutual convenience. Of course, the inevitable result was the burgeoning divorce rate among Boomers which must have created psychological concerns about commitments for our children.

When Googled the question “What is the difference between a contract and a covenant?”, one of the results was this: “The difference is in the attitude of contract versus the attitude of covenant. In contract both parties are hoping to limit liability or maximize profit or otherwise make things better for the self. The contract is then a way of ensuring that things go just as planned and, if necessary, to force the other party to promised action….A covenant relationship is one in which certain terms are set, yes, but the parties make the cause of the other their own cause. In other words, when I make a covenant, the goals and desires of the person with whom I am covenanting become my own.” Sounds about right.

So, have the children of Baby Boomers learned a valuable lesson about marriage and long-term relationships from our mistakes? Or is this just wishful thinking?

Your thoughts?