The Bloggers Desktop

Social Networking is why Obama will win the race

The Rant

Well, OK that plus the fact that Bush pretty much handed the democrats the presidency three years ago.

But war, economy, secrecy, sketchy leadership and poor decision making aside.  Obama is slaughtering the competition because he understands the importance of web 2.0.

And the Grand Old Party is going to be exactly that unless they catch up!  With social networking what it is today, it is possible to run for president using the internet alone.  A tempting enticement to a power hungry media mogul.

Obama has branded his image and plastered it across every imaginable social network out there.  of course McCain’s people are trying to do the same thing, but frankly, when your guy says he doesn’t understand the internet, well let’s just say if he had shot himself in the foot fifty years ago he wouldn’t have been a POW.

The Illustration

Seriously, we all need to take a lesson from both candidates here.  I am active on the internet and in most social networks.  Because of this I see Obama all the time.  He is in front of me.  This is free advertising, and I am getting his image in my mind.  I can almost see him in my sleep because he is so “present” in the social networking scene.  Keep in mind, I have not added him as a friend in any of these applications.  (If I did I don’t have any recollection of that fact.)

Now lets turn to McCain.  The guy is a relic.  And my generation knows it because he isn’t where he is supposed to be.  He is supposed to be digging, mixxing, and stumbling on stuff.  Instead he is on fox news (NOTE: the previous link is to a better resource than the outdated media empire) being discussed by other guys I don’t have time to watch because I get my information from the internet, which McCain doesn’t understand.

Let this screen shot from facebook illustrate the reality of Obama’s presence as opposed to McCain’s.

The Application

The logical question is which of these do you wish to emulate in your marketing?  Do you want to be seen in as many places as you can, or do you want to be disparaged because you don’t think the internet is worth your while.

What is your brand?  Do people recognize it?  Are you putting yourself in front of your clients, voters, customers?  Or are you allowing your absence to speak for itself?

Overcoming Obstacles when Starting a Blog

When I am counseling a business owner about expanding their influence, I always recommend a blog. In the web 2.0 world of social media and authenticity, your customers want to see a person on the other side of the cyber connection.

I think almost anyone active in today’s marketing environment will recognize the value of this platform. Often there are obstacles to engaging in this medium that many of those new to the game of social media have a difficult time overcoming.

We will tackle a few of those here.

1. But I am not a writer.

I talk with people all the time who tell me they are not writers. They know a lot about their field, but they don’t write well. When they do begin to blog it looks more like a page of classified ads than a blog.

So how do we deal with that? First of all, stop telling yourself that! If you are not a writer, you are right - You STINK at it. But if you have “never been a writer before,” then you can learn.

Second, some people really were not created to write. There is no denying that. If that’s the case, then you still have options.

a. You could pay someone to write your blog. Make sure this person is teachable and knowledgeable about your business. Make sure they have a passion about your market. To be completely honest with you I don’t know how someone with no passion can ever write quality content at the level necessary to write a compelling blog.

b. Learn. This is my favorite. I am a firm believer that anything can be learned. Good writing comes two ways. First by reading, and then by writing. The more you read the better you will write, and the more you write, the more you will improve.

On this note let me say this. When you are writing, you should write like you are talking to someone you care about. English class is over, and it doesn’t matter anymore. Now it’s time for real life. Be authentic, be real, and be yourself! If you are writing about something dear to you, this will come across!

So in summary, if you are not a writer, you need to either hire one or become one. My recommendation? Become one!

2. A blog is NOT an advertisement for your business.

This is a HUGE obstacle because honestly, yes it is, but then again no it isn’t. People unschooled in social media will quickly learn that advertising is a waste of time, money and energy. You must think of your blog not as an advertisement for your business but as an advertisement for yourself. Your readers don’t care what XYZ corporation does. They want to know you.

A great example of this is the blog of Bob Parsons. Frankly, by my standards Bob is a pervert, but as the founder of Godaddy he writes his blog so his customers can know HIM! And he is producing content that his readers enjoy reading. While learning about Bob, they are also learning about his products. They value the blog, not because it is all about Bob, nor because it is all about godaddy, but because there is a name and a face on this corporation.

So when you are writing your blog, don’t try to be some stone faced bluechip executive. Be who you are. Be passionate about what you care about. If you care about your business, terrific! Let your readers know that, but let them know you as well.

3. Provide Quality Content, Not Garbage.

While your readers really do want to to know you, they are far more interested in themselves. If you ramble on and on about yourself and your business, you will lose traffic fast. You need to carefully craft content that is helpful to your target audience.

Let me illustrate, I was talking with someone the other day who had posted a paragraph on a download site they were recommending. This was nothing short of an advertisement. I told them this could be considered spam and I explained that a much better blog post would review various download sites with the pros and cons of each.

This sort of post would provide helpful information to someone looking for the best site to download music and movies from. People would be likely to subscribe and come back later if this is the sort of content you produce. But if you are simply suggesting a product, people are going to hit the back button faster than you can say “lost opportunity.”

There are more, so please dont hesitate to let me know if there are stumbling blocks in your way or some you have seen others struggle with with. I would love to hear your thoughts on these and more!

Post in Many Social Nets From one New Service!

Ping.fm my new friend and time saver! Where have you been all my life!

Friends, Ping.fm is a new service, still in BETA. It allows you to update your status on multiple services all at once. Myspace, blogger, facebook, twitter, pownce, jaiku, linkedin, plurk and MORE!

Finally from one place you can update multiple sites. This will help when twitter goes down, plus it posts in places twitter can’t! (think LinkedIn).

So what are you waiting for? go check it out! It’s FREE - Ping.fm

For now you might need to have a beta code - if so you can use “tastyping.”

Enjoy! And remember, you heard it first at TheBloggersDesktop!

Amen to Darren on the Twitter Post

Lately Twitter has been a bit frustrating.  Up down, up down - making you angry and sick to your stomach - like a bad porn flick.   As a result I have seen a plethora or posts and submissions at a lot of different Social Networking Sites bashing the application.

When I saw something in my feedreader by Darren at Problogger saying something about “twitter is a waste of time” , I felt a bit sad that such a tremendous blogger would fall prey to that nonsensical banter that has been roaming around the internet lately.  On the Contrary!  Darren rose above the fray by suggesting that Twitter (like anything else) can be a waste of time if its not used correctly.

I see all these people using twitter as if it is just a place to chat it up.  Do I chat it up at twitter sometimes?  You betcha I do!  But I do that with a goal.  I am using twitter (and a lot of other social networks) with a goal.  It’s not wasting time if I am achieving my goal.

So let me ask you this.  What is a goal you have?  Can twitter be used to meet that goal?  How can this be measured?  If you cannot answer these questions then either head back to the drawing board, or get the heck away from twitter.

TheBloggersDesktop is on Myspace

I have a confession.  I hate myspace.  Seems like every time I login I see some half naked chica typing on a computer that she can’t wait to meet me.

But for the sake of obnoxious self promotion, I am now a member.  If you use it, feel free to pop on over there and add me as a friend.  I dont know how much I will use it just yet.  If you are an avid myspacer, let me know your thoughts on the advantages of this network and how to use it well.

Perhaps down the road I will become educated enough  to write a post on how to best use MySpace.

If you feel qualified to do so, write me a guest post!  Let me know if you want to do that, and I will tell you how to submit it.

Linkedin Twitter Group

A great way top build you network in two places! If you use twitter and Linkedin you need to join this group. Linked in will protect you from spam, and if you want to build your network, you can make your profile visible in both places.

Join the Group today! Here is the link to join. Simply send your twitter followers to this post - http://tinyurl.com/3g4v82 - to join as well. All requests will be approved daily.

Is Twitter Ruining your life too?

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Twitter invaded my personal life.

As you know if you have been following along. I love social networking websites. If you are building a business online, they are essential tools which MUST be a part of your daily work plan. But none of them have ever come this close to home.

Let me tell you what happened.

The other morning as I was slipping up from the depths of slumber, my wife asked me to check on our two year old. Apparently, he had been calling out, maybe yelling at his brother. To be honest, I don’t know what he was doing because when I am under, I sleep like a rock at the bottom of a deep lake.

All I know is my wife wanted me to actually get up, and go see what he was doing. I was in the land of half dreams when I answered her, “it’s fine, he’s not tweeting anymore.”

She incredulously asked, “what?!?!”

To which I responded, “I am following him, and he hasn’t tweeted.”

True story - on my honor. The real question is, am I in some sort of psychological danger or do I just need to learn to manage my time better?

The Story of the Twitter monster - Web 2.0 Genius

So I use twitter.  I think I have made that clear in some previous posts.  Myself and about 10,000 other people are enamored with this tool…. that’s not to mention the millions of others who use it, but just don’t see its full potential.

A tweeter I follow goes by the name “Patrickcurl.”  Patrick wrote a blog post tonight suggesting a sort of meme where commenters would have to subscribe to one another’s RSS feeds, then follow then on twitter, then post a blog.  Simple enough, but it goes beyond that.  This will work - and don’t miss this because

… Here is the significant thing you must realize…

Twitter has the ability to boost subscriptions and community in minutes not hours! Did you know that news of the last earthquake in China was on Twitter before it was on CNN?  It’s true!  Did you know that it is more profitable to watch twitter than the news if you really want to know whats happening at the next convention?

I was going to put together a political blog - until twitter made that whole concept obsolete!

So what Patrick has demonstrated with this excellent new tool is that using web 2.0 tools in a revolutionary way means employing these with ingenuity! You see, following the crowd makes you - well - a good employee.  Now I know that not very many of you who read this blog really give a rip about being a good employee do you?

You want to be sharp, you want to stay ahead of the game - you want to use the tools you have to create something.  Take an example from Patrick who took something that was there (Twitter) and used it to create something that wasn’t (more subscribers).

Check back.  As soon as I hear how this worked out I will let you know.

Small change with a great plugin

I have been noticing this plugin for wordpress for a while. It is called “share this” by Alex King. This is a great tool you simply must have. I previously had social bookmarking options for my visitors, and this does the same thing, I just think it is a little bit cleaner.

Speaking of wordpress. So many folks have been asking me lately about using wordpress on their own server that I think a technical post is coming soon. I have written a sort of technical book in pdf on that in the past, but it is only a cursory explanation of some things. If you happen to know of something with screenshots that helps folks with this, would you let me know so I can save myself some time? Otherwise you can watch for that here soon.

Subscribe, so you will see when that is posted.

Social Networking 101 - a new Social Networking Site

I realize that a lot of Social Networking websites are centered around web content.  Most of the time these are simply ways of promoting online content and talking about cool online content.

These are not always a good place for information.  In fact, far too often I find that people are confused by them.   So, I thought it might be helpful to create a new social network.  The beauty of social networks are that they are created by the people who use them.  I am giving all readers the chance to be a part of building this social network, using it to find useful content and help develop a list of contacts who can help each other out.

Keeping this in mind I developed a social network especially for online business owners in mind.  Click here to join!

When you join, you will be able to build groups, join groups, post links, and find people with a similar interest.

Have fun!