It’s a Matter of Attitude

I admit it I was eavesdropping. I couldn’t help it. They were talking right next to me and they weren’t being very quiet. It was a couple of small business owners. They looked to be in their late thirties or early forties. The woman was talking to the man about the struggle she was having growing her business and he was offering what seemed like helpful suggestions. Now, I’ve already admitted I was listening what I haven’t told you is how hard it was for me not to join in.

Relax, I didn’t chime in, but I wanted to. Why? Well, because the man was offering some sound suggestions about how the woman could take advantage of social media to reach her target market. She was polite, but she wasn’t having any of it. Every tool he suggested she dismissed. “I don’t have time for that.” “What am I going to say?” “That’s a waste of time.” “They’re just kids online anyway.”

Now, this isn’t about age or gender. I’ve heard enough of these conversations where the woman was advocating the new social media platforms or where an older person was engaged with new tools and a younger person was resistant.

No, what this is about is resistance to change. I’ve heard it said that when
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone people thought of it as a novelty. Why would anyone want to talk to someone 100 miles away? You can write them a letter. Seems absurd in our world today where we use mobile phones to talk to people in the same room. Good or bad, the fact is you reach people where you can and if you can’t be bothered to reach out to people where they are you’re unlikely to reach them at all.

The new social mediums are unfamiliar to the majority of people. It’s no different from the early days of radio, TV and for that matter the Internet itself. There will always be a next new thing. That’s just another fact in our ever changing world. That does not alleviate the need on the part of business people to keep abreast of the new media. As business owners we need to build awareness of our goods and services with our target audiences. No awareness, no interest; no interest, no desire; no desire and nobody will do business with us.

Don’t let your lack of familiarity stop you from exploring the new social media. One of the greatest challenges that all business owners face today is remaining relevant to our customers. Overcome your discomfort and investigate Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter, and Delicious, et al. You figured out how to drive a car because you were motivated. You can figure this out, as well. It’s just a matter of deciding you’re going to do it.

A Delicious Idea

The media is a buzz these days about Social media. So, I’m going to try and
offer some guidance about one of the new tools. Seth Godin says one of the prime responsibilities of a leader is to make it easier for followers to communicate with one another; to tighten up the tribe so to speak. Delicious
is a cool tool for allowing people to manage their own information and to share their “library” with one another.

I’ve heard the Internet and the World Wide Web described as many things over the years. The one that has stuck with me is, “The World Wide Web is like the Library of Congress with all of the books thrown onto the lobby floor and no card catalog.”

That’s what makes Delicious, so delicious. Among other things; it’s the missing card catalog.

Delicious is a self-proclaimed “social bookmarking service that allows you to tag, save, manage and share Web pages all in one place. With emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet”.

Delicious has four main components: Bookmarks, People, Tags and Search.

It uses Bookmarks to archive information just like your web browser.

It has a People section, like Facebook. It’s called your Network and it’s a people aggregator. It allows you to see what people you respect feel is important and provides a venue for you to share what you think is important.

It allows you to Tag articles. This is the card catalog feature. You get to attach multiple designations or categories to individual articles.

Then there’s the Search engine which allows you to search the articles you’ve tagged, those tagged by the people in your network as well as those articles tagged by everyone who uses Delicious.

When I decided I wanted to write about this I searched “Delicious” and over 9,000 articles appeared. That wasn’t helpful. So, I added “useful” to my search and the results were narrowed down to just over 2,000 articles. Now I could have continued refining my search, but after a quick scan I found an article that interested me on the first screen.

Now, there is no such thing as a free lunch. It will take a few minutes to set up your account and a little trial and error reading the very helpful Help section, but the payoff is well worth the investment. I’m sure there will be additional big things coming along any day, but in the here and now; Delicious is our flavor de jour. You can find us on Delicious at http://delicious.com/Mindspot or by clicking on the Delicious badge to the right.

Meaningful Work

In Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, Outliers, The Story of Success, he makes a few points I think we’d all benefit from recognizing.

Success is a combination of talent, hard work, and opportunity. There’s an old saying that luck is where preparation meets opportunity and in each of his stories this holds true.

Every one of the stories is about people who had an interest in something and they worked at developing their skills. In the case of the musicians, programmers and athletes; our heroes were passionate about what they were doing. Honing their skills was play.

In every case, the protagonists were doing meaningful work. Whether they were farmers, lawyers or tailors they invested time in getting good at what they did. How much time? 10,000 hours. In all of his examples Gladwell found that his heroes had worked for ten years developing their skills before opportunity knocked.

Ten years? 10,000 hours? What a daunting thought. Surprisingly not when you consider that Bill Gates was just 14 when he started playing around with a computer. What do you enjoy doing? What skills have you developed? Take some time for self reflection and inventory your skills. Pay attention to those things that your interest and hopefully passion have led you to invest your time.

Then take a look at the world today. I call it market research; you might as well, too. Look and see where your skills, those talents you’ve honed, can meet a need or better yet fulfill a desire.

You never know, you may have unconsciously been preparing for today. You may have to invest more time, but when you develop the level of proficiency we’re talking about here, putting those skills to work feels like play.

Success for all of us is within our reach, today. Assess your skills and look for the opportunity to apply them to meaningful work. A good place to start is Gladwell’s new book. Listen to it on your iPod if you can’t find time to read.

There’s meaningful work out there for all of us.

How Does Your Social Media Brand Stack Up?

Do you know what’s being said about your business? Do you know whether people think your latest product launch was a success or a big flat-out fail? If you think you do know what’s being said about you online, if you’re not using social media then think again.

Far from being an Internet fad that only a select few use, social media and its list of tools and applications is fast becoming the most important business tool online. Not only can it let you know what’s being said about you, it can also help you with market research, sales, PR, customer interaction and much more.There are many different sites and tools available to help businesses get the most out of social media, some better than others. But one that is beginning to stand head and shoulders above the rest is micro-blogging site Twitter.

Business in 140 Characters

The beauty of Twitter and its use to businesses and professionals is the simplicity in which it works. Users open a Twitter account, choose a username, set up a profile and that’s it – you’re ready to start communicating.

By only allowing a maximum of 140 characters to converse with at any one time, Twitter also ensures that the majority of its users converse effectively. Yes, there will always be the odd, “My cat’s breath smells of cat food!” moment but you can filter these out. If you want Twitter to be used mostly as a business tool, then you can choose who you follow and who follows you (“follows” are your connections).

For anyone that hasn’t used Twitter yet because they don’t feel it offers any value to businesses, consider this:

• An advertising campaign by pharmaceutical company Motrin (part of the Johnson-Johnson brand) had to be pulled after complaints from the Twitter community that it was demeaning to mothers.
  
  
• Charity fundraisers on Twitter alone raise thousands for good causes like the 12for12K Challenge and Tweetsgiving.
  

When these types of results and other like them happen because people are simply conversing online, that’s the sign of a powerful business tool. Yet like the best tools, there are ways that Twitter should and shouldn’t be used.

DO:
- Converse with your audience.
- Offer quality input and share advice.
- Listen to what’s being said.
- Mix the people you’re following as opposed to just your niche.

DON’T:
- Use Twitter simply to broadcast your own message.
- Add followers by the hundreds at first – take the time to add quality contacts instead.
- Direct Message people with a link to your website or sales product immediately after you’ve connected.
- Forget that everything said on Twitter always has an audience somewhere.

There are many tools that you can then use when you become used to Twitter to enhance tour experience of it, both business and personal. But that’s another blog post. In the meantime, if you’re not using Twitter already it’s probably about time you saw what you are missing.

Obama and the Future of Business

When Barack Obama won the US Election on November 5, it signaled a groundswell change in American history. The first black President and one of the least senior candidates ever, Obama’s victory marked just how much change the citizens of America felt was needed.

Yet while there’s no doubting the significance and historical aspect of Obama’s victory, what does it mean for businesses nationwide? After all, there’s probably never been a situation in the history of the Presidency exactly like the one facing the new incoming leader – two wars, economic meltdown, stock market uncertainty and environmental issues.

The good thing is Obama seems to be creating a solid team behind him as he prepares for office. Additionally, he’s already stated what his goals for businesses will be, and it’s clear that while some areas may be better served than others, the new President looks set to deliver on his promise of making America profitable again.

The businesses that seem set to benefit from Obama the most – at least initially – look to be the ones in construction and technology. This is an ideal mix for Obama to aim for – helping both blue and white-collar workers in one fell swoop, while planning on the next step in the economic recovery.

For example, Obama has said he wants to expand the roads and the bridges across America. This means that companies in the construction and engineering industries will be amongst the first to benefit from the new President.

The effects of this plan on America and her businesses in the months and years ahead are clear. Construction has long been one of America’s core industries and has helped the country become the nation it is today. Millions of families rely on the construction industry as their main source of income. With the announcement of bridge and rail expansion, Obama is sending out a clear message that he sees this industry as important as any other in corporate America.

Additionally, business owners in this industry will at least enjoy some smoother sailing after the many knocks they have taken over the last few years. Bridges and the supporting infrastructure that comes with aren’t built overnight – meaning longer-term contracts and improved outlooks for future business planning.

Of course, once these projects are complete, they will open the doors for other businesses to benefit with easier cross-state business partnerships opening up.

Another industry that Obama will be boosting is the technology one. He’s already made his intentions clear on this with the announcement that his cabinet will include some of the biggest names from the technology and online field.

While it’s early days yet, and things may change when Obama actually gets to the White House and is able to survey what exactly lies in front of him, one thing is clear. Although the US is in a mire at the moment – along with the rest of the developed world – businesses with a tie to construction and technology look set to be the first to start the steps to recovery.

With the changes that this month’s historic election are heralding for the country, at home and abroad, now is the time to look at your own infrastructure. Does it meet your customer and business needs, or does it need investment of its own? We are investing.

Using Blogs to Improve Your Business

One of the many benefits of business blogs is their ability to connect with the readers of them. Whether it’s with customers of a company, potential new clients or simply visitors looking to see what’s happening in that particular industry niche, business blogging is an instant way to connect with your target audience.

Yet this works both ways. While there’s no doubt that business blogging can offer an invaluable way for businesses to connect with their customers, bloggers can also connect with businesses and offer insights into where they’re going wrong.

With the power of a large following that many bloggers now have, they can virtually make or break a new product or service with a scathing review. Once that review or comment is online, it’s instantly available to millions of readers worldwide – a powerful number in anybody’s book. Therefore, knowing what’s being written is just as important as what you’re writing.

One of the best ways to interact with the blogosphere is by reading different blogs by leaders in their field. They don’t necessarily have to be in your particular business niche, either – the best bloggers write about topics that can be transferred into any business model.

For example, the emerging trend online at the moment is social media. While the basics of social media have been around for a few years, it’s only now that the medium is being exploited fully to enhance business use. One of the foremost bloggers in this field is Chris Brogan, who not only writes about social media, he encapsulates all that social media is about with consistently useful advice on how to use it more effectively, both on a personal and professional level.

Another blog similar to Brogan’s but from a marketing perspective is that of Seth Godin. His outspoken manner isn’t always everyone’s cup of tea, yet for out of the box thinking and fresh spin on old ideas, you can’t go far wrong by reading Godin’s blog. His books on marketing are bestsellers, so you know the information will be worthwhile.

Perhaps one of the best and most thought-provoking blogs for any business owner is by Howard Lindzon. A self-made entrepreneur who manages a hedge fund and continues to lead the field in new ventures and innovative thinking, his blog posts are not for the faint-hearted. What they are, though, is a collection of some of the best insights into being both passionate and unafraid to take risks when it comes to succeeding in business.

These are just three particularly strong blogs in an impressive worldwide blogosphere. To truly benefit from all that blogging can offer, however, they are excellent starting points that you can begin to build a varied and knowledgeable reading base. The added benefit is that as well as offering excellent business views and opinions, reading more blogs will invariably improve the quality of your own blog. And that can never be bad.

Why Blogging Isn’t Going Anywhere Soon

Despite recent stories to the contrary both in online and offline publications, the popularity of blogging shows no sign of abating anytime soon. From its early days as an outlet for bedroom writers to share their personal thoughts to the power it holds today as a business tool, blogging’s popularity is, if anything, increasing.

A recent report from Technorati confirms that blogging is growing at a phenomenal rate. Hailed as the Blogger’s Bible, Technorati measures not only how popular blogs are individually, but also how many are currently being written worldwide. In their State of the Blogosphere Report 2008, Technorati shares some impressive figures:

• As of March 2008, there were 184 million blogs worldwide

• Blogs in the US enjoyed 77.7 million unique visitors, compared to 41 million visitors to Facebook and 75.1 million to MySpace

• 77% of all active Internet users read blogs

Apart from confirming that blogging as a pastime continues to find new fans, these figures from Technorati also act as a wake-up call for any businesses yet to have a corporate blog.

The Numbers Game

According to recent statistics, over half of all businesses in North America don’t have a blog, which means that just under half of all businesses do. If your business is in the half that doesn’t have a blog, you’re offering your competitors a major advantage over you – access to your target audience.

One of the reasons that blogs are so popular is that they offer an instant voice, both from the blogger and the reader. A personal blog can share the latest news or pictures of a newborn baby to family and friends in a different part of the world. A business blog works on the same premise.

Working on just some of the figures that Technorati provides, it’s easy to see why blogging should be a part of every business’s marketing or PR strategy:

• 46% of all bloggers are professional bloggers. This may mean that they’re writing a corporate blog, or simply writing about the industry that their company is in, while not necessarily mentioning their company at all.

• This equates to just over 84.5 million bloggers that are, in essence, business bloggers. If your company doesn’t have some kind of blog presence, that’s potentially 84.5 million businesses ahead of you when it comes to reaching your target audience.

• Online sales in 2007 totaled $260 billion. Blogs are known to increase awareness of new products and offers from companies. Less than half are utilizing this, which means that 1 out of 2 companies are losing a large part of $260 billion dollars of online income.

As the economy continues to waver and businesses tighten their belts, not using every tool at your disposal is akin to commercial suicide. The popularity of blogging and blog readers should be seen as one of the most cost-effective and essential business tools available.