Creating a remarkable product

Godin uses this time with some software engineers to exhort them to create something remarkable, that is, something that people want to talk about, because “ideas that spread, win.” In fact, if your product is remarkable, people will talk about it, especially if talking about the product (or service) makes it better.

This is something that Godin has been talking about since he released Unleashing the Ideavirus (aff link) as a free, 200+ page PDF.

All of the concepts from Godin’s previous books that applied to businesses and products and services have been leading up to the single most important thing that Linchpin represents…you can and should apply these very same principles to yourself and to the people that you lead.

Personal Development = Business Development

Watch this video (it’s about an hour long) with a pencil and paper handy, and jot down notes for yourself as you watch – keeping in mind that you are looking for ways that you can apply these creativity and marketing principles to your own personal development and the professional development of your team.

This is a great video for anyone who makes anything, software or otherwise.

Please to enjoy Seth Godin at the Business of Software 2008.

BTW, tomorrow we start talking about our Groundhog Day Resolutions.

Mapping My Social Media Empire

As I see it, my blog is the center of my media empire with seven smaller territories or outposts: Twitter, FaceBook, Linkedln, YouTube, Flickr, StumbleUpon, and Email Broadcast.

Cross-media promotion keeps the whole thing humming seamlessly: [Oprah] mentions her magazine on her TV show, her magazine points readers to her website, her website provides details about her satellite radio station, etc.

The next step is where the process becomes intriguing and takes me back to my university courses in Mass Communication – it’s all about cross-media promotion! Think what you will about her, but Oprah is an awesome example of someone who has built a media empire and uses cross-media promotion to keep the whole thing humming seamlessly: she mentions her magazine on her TV show, her magazine points readers to her website, her website provides details about her satellite radio station, etc. Brilliant!

Those of us blogging and using various other social media and networking tools are striving to do the exact same thing, albeit on a much smaller scale (at least, for the majority of us!).

Taking my social media empire diagram from above, I then add red arrows indicating the flow of information, the cross-media promotion efforts. In this diagram (click on it to enlarge) the dotted red arrows indicate a manual effort or action and the solid red arrow indicate an automatic action.

Glenda’s social media empire map

The numbered arrows indicate the following:

1. Manually tweet when I publish a blog post, bringing people to the blog.
2. New blog posts are automatically added to my Facebook Notes and Networked Blogs. (Need to manually hit publish on Networked Blogs, but then it appears twice on my Profile page. A setting somewhere?)
3. Tweets are fed automatically into my Facebook status line.
4. Linkedln profile brings people to the blog, in theory.
5. Videos posted on YouTube bring people to the blog.
6. Manually stumbling posts brings people to the blog.
7. Blog posts are automatically sent to email subscribers.
8. The recently added TweetMeme (currently located in the upper left corner of posts) that enables readers to manually tweet out about that blog post. (I’ve noticed these tweets aren’t appearing in the twitterstream; rather, only the TweetMeme website. Another setting somewhere? Or, would another plugin be better for this? )
9. Currently, the TweetMeme feature is also include in the email broadcast so the email readers easily tweet about the post.

Read the whole thing, the diagrams are essential.

We programmers have a saying: “Garbage In – Garbage Out.” This essentially means you get out what you put in. If you put in chit-chat, don’t be surprised if that’s all you see in return!

Here are nine benefits I’ve personally seen through my couple of years of Twitter usage.

1. Networking connections

Because of my Twitter network, I’ve had real conversations with people I never would have been able to reach otherwise. Also I’ve been able to form deeper connections with people in real life because of our first meeting on Twitter.

I agree with this 100%. Twitter is a quick and easy way to touch base with people in your network, and add more people to your network as well. I have the Twidroid app on my Samsung phone, and I log in from time to time during the day, when I am away from my computer, to catch up on what is happening and to ask or answer questions.

2. Traffic

How much traffic you can generate with Twitter depends on a number of factors, not least how many engaged followers you have. “Engaged” being a key point; they have to want to hear from you, otherwise they might as well not be following.

Indeed. This site gets quite a bit of traffic from Twitter, partially because I tweet about new posts, but also because people that I tweet with or follow visit as part of their research, whether or not to follow back.

3. Leads

Twitter is fast becoming an instant referral system for business leads. Someone will ask if anyone knows a consultant/freelancer/vendor/etc. with a certain skill set or experience, and others will reply with suggestions.

If you build a strong network, you will get a good share of those referrals. I have seen it happen repeatedly, from design and programming through where to stay on vacation!

This has been one of the most profitable ways that I have found to use Twitter. The “Search” function is invaluable for finding people that are looking for help in your field.

I like to find people that are tweeting for help and assist any way that I can. Sometimes it is a referral to one of my other colleagues on Twitter, sometimes it is something easy that I can do quickly and for free, other times it leads to a paying client relationship.

If you do this consistently and transparently, you can turn this network of “People that I have helped” into a Twitter List and have an instant Word-of-Mouth referral & reference resource.

4. Direct sales

Obviously the end result of all those referrals is you get sales, but also sales of products and other services too. Dell is making millions of additional dollars this way.

Keep in mind that if all you do is promote your products, people will stop listening, so keep up the good content too. Make an offer and see what happens.

There are 5 more at SME, read the whole thing – 9 Ways to Get More From Twitter

Well he has a new ebook out that tells you everything you need to know to get quality authority links and a boost in traffic, all through a quick and easy approach to guest blogging.

Right now he is offering it for the crazy low introductory price of only $7! This price is sure to go up within days as the reviews and testimonials start to pour in, so make sure you grab your copy and check out all the bonuses fast.

Check it out here: Guest Posting Workbook

Spigit Blog – Collaborative Networks Produce Better Ideas

A key aspect of what one might term ‘Innovation 2.0′ is the ability to share ideas among a community, and have that community help identify and refine top ideas. It turns out that a University of Chicago professor studied this dynamic in 2003, and found it to be true.

Professor Ronald Burt wrote an academic paper, published in the American Journal of Sociology, entitled Structural Holes and Good Ideas (pdf). “Structural holes” are the gaps that exist within organizations between people and groups of people. Every organization has them. They represent a lack of communication between people, and are a limiting factor on companies’ ability to be agile and responsive to change conditions.

Professor Burt decided to focus on individuals who broker these gaps: being connected among different groups. Such brokerage is the core driver for companies that implement social software, overcoming the inability to make knowledge and perspectives more widely available. In studying this, Professor Burt put forth this hypothesis:

Idea generation at some point involves someone moving knowledge from this group to that, or combining bits of knowledge across groups. Where brokerage is social capital, there should be evidence of brokerage associated with good ideas, and vice versa.

His research shows his hypothesis to be true: better social connections improve ideas.

Read the whole thing, there are some interesting diagrams and stuff.

There is going to be a lot of cool stuff happening, and I will be doing a pretty detailed write-up of what I learn. The only caveat is that the summaries and links and what-ever-else will only be available to those who have registered for the In Context MultiMedia newsletter!

Please register here so you do not miss out!

(If you can’t see the registration box because you are reading this in a feed reader, please click here.)

In case you need to be reminded, the Portsmouth TweetUp at the Gas Light Co. is tomorrow night starting at 6:30! Woo hoo!

I am really excited to see and meet everyone at what will be a great event.

The weather for tomorrow night at this time is still a bit iffy and I choose not to pay attention to any forecasts that say it is going to rain. But the event will happen rain or shine because The Gas Light has made arrangements for us to go to the upstairs club if we cannot go on the outdoor deck, but let’s not think about that. Think only dry thoughts.

Don’t forget that there will be pizza there provided by JitterGram and MicroArts. We have a limited amount of pizza that will be coming out througout the night so hopefully everyone will get some.

We will also be raffling off a $50 GC to Gas Light Co and another $50 gift card to Sullivan Tire. We also have several tour passes for New England Curiosities to raffle off while you are there and some t-shirts I have lying around my house that I am not wearing anymore (ok, maybe not that).

I will be handing out Pokens that were donated by @startpoken to the 5 winners who played along with me on Twitter the other night. http://www.startpoken.com/ – if you are interested in checking out a poken you can see me. I will let you play with my poken

I am looking forward to meeting everyone, and pushing (gently, of course) the Social Media Club – New Hampshire.

Emergency gift kit

Have something ready for the customer in desperate search for a last-minute gift. Up Down Cigar Shop here in Chicago has a ready-made gift kit for holiday shoppers that includes a sample selection of cigars and key accessories like matches and a cutter — all in a nice, pre-wrapped box. Build on this concept by always having several different gift packages on hand and advertising them throughout your store.

The Lesson: Saving the day for a stressed, last-minute shopper is a great way to earn a new fan.

What else can you think of that might create a story or anecdote that your customers will share with their friends and colleagues?

Every year we meet in Chicago to swap strategies and stories of what works for our blogs and our businesses on the Internet and on the ground. Every day we meet via text, telephone, and in person to work together whenever we can.

There’s only one rule: BE NICE.

This year we have some very cool benefits for all attendees:

Take Home Bags

You can add something to the attendee’s SOBCon09 Biz School for Bloggers take home bags. Bring your items with you to the conference.

This can include any swag, brochure, books, etc that you would like to distribute to attendees!

Pre-Conference Steps:

1. Register
2. Tag your Badge
3. Update SOBCon Wiki (under headline “Add Your Info Here”)

Optional Tips:

* Follow other attendees on Twitter. Twitter id’s are in the SOBCon wiki and begin with the @ sign.

* Familiarize yourself with fellow attendees basic information. In most attendees Twitter bio is their name, location, website link, and a mini-bio.

* Checkout other attendee’s websites (Most have links in their Twitter bio). You can get to know someone fairly well by visiting their website, especially if they have an ‘About’ page.

* If you begin following them on Twitter, take an opportunity to introduce yourself (you might also mention your attending SOBCon).

* Checkout the SOBCon website. Familiarize yourself with the complete SOBCon09 Biz School for Bloggers Program Schedule. Note the ‘Show the Sponsors’ Challenge on Sunday morning – sounds so fun! Familiarize yourself with the sponsors name and business beforehand.

* Learn about the presenters. They each have their area of expertise so think about in advance what you may be able to learn from them, write down specific questions in a notebook, and think about how you may be able to apply what you hear to your business or organization.

* Listen to some SOBCon Blog Talk Radio interviews. Interviews conducted by SOBCon’s Michelle Vandepas with guests:

• Chris Brogan,
• Jon Gatrell,
• GeekMommy (Lucretia Pruitt),
• Becky McCray,
• Chris Garrett,
• Richard Reeve,
• Dawud Miracle,
• Easton Ellsworth,
• Denise Wakeman,
• Chris Cree,
• David Bullock,
• Thomas Clifford,
• Liz Strauss,
• John Haydon,
• Terry Starbucker,
• Vicky Hennegan and
• Grant Griffiths.

You can subscribe via iTunes and download directly to your iPod or iPhone! (Use the BTR widget on the right side of the SOBCon BTR website, choose ‘itunes’) RSS is also available. Many thanks to our SOBCon BTR Hostess, Michelle Vandepas!

* Tell others to come, there’s still time to register! This is an essential conference for anyone who wants to learn about Social Media, blogging, and building your business presence online.

Search has become vital to every business interest, from marketing to sales to customer service. Using social media networking tools is one of the best methods for improving the results for your business. In fact, real-time search is the newest concept that marketers and news organizations are looking at:

Real-time Search Results

…take a simple example of how Twitter Search changes everything. Imagine you are in line waiting for coffee and you hear people chattering about a plane landing on the Hudson. You go back to your desk and search Google for plane on the Hudson — today — weeks after the event, Google is replete with results — but the DAY of the incident there was nothing on the topic to be found on Google. Yet at search.twitter.com the conversations are right there in front of you. The same holds for any topical issues — lipstick on pig? — for real time questions, real time branding analysis, tracking a new product launch — on pretty much any subject if you want to know whats happening now, search.twitter.com will come up with a superior result set. [Silicon Valley Insider]

People are talking to each other about your business and you. What does this mean for your business?

3. Improved Search Engine Rankings. When considered within a larger SEO and link building framework, content can be creatively developed and promoted for the purpose of obtaining links from the members of the social news websites.

This means you should primarily target social sites with the highest potential to give you links, instead of smaller-sized communities which only offer interested traffic. While important, your site’s profile need not be entirely relevant to the social media website in question; content can be created specifically to appeal to different audiences. [Dosh Dosh]

Your social media strategy is about creating a connection with other people that leads to a relationship. Building these relationships is the number one thing that you can do to build your business. The internet is a fantastic tool for doing business, but it is only a tool. It is a cheap and easy way to get your name and brand out into the world, but you still have to be there in a very real sense. It is up to you to use the social media networks out there to engage the people that find you online with your friendliness and authority on the topic of your business.

I am not going to dig too deeply into the idea of friendliness, as that is something that you should be pretty familiar with. Essentially it boils down to one concept: Be nice. Authority, on the other hand, can be a little trickier.

How do you showcase your authority?

Give value first, prove your reliability second. It is as simple as that.
Well, there is a little more, but those two points are a good start. Let’s begin with “Giving Value“.

• What value is involved when people meet you?
• What value do you provide with your business?
• What is in it for the people who visit your website?

Take a moment to consider the answers to these questions. While you are at it, think about how you feel when you meet other people. What do you like to get from them? I have found that total strangers generally have at least one thing in common with me, whether it is geography, background, work, skills, hobbies, or interests.

It is your job to find that common ground and plant a seed of interest there. The relationship that grows from that seed will provide the backdrop for many of your future interactions with that person. Even if the relationship begins with something as basic as a common interest in a hobby, you will always have something to talk about before you start talking about business.

Hold the conversations in public

The key to harnessing the power of the social networks is in the fact that these conversations are open to everyone. The topics of these conversations become search results, search results that point back to you or your business!

Mark at M-T Hacks has put together “a Greasemonkey user script that does exactly this. It displays the most recent 5 tweets for the query that you are search for, giving both real-time Twitter search results and Google results on the same page:”

Twitter Google Mashup

Get realtime Twitter results on your Google searches:

1. If you don’t already have it, install the Greasemonkey add-on for Firefox.
2. Click the “Install” button on the “Twitter Search Results on Google” page on userscripts.org.

This is a fantastic tool and I highly recommend that you install it and start using it to guide your social media marketing.