The latter part of this year has been difficult to keep up with blog writing. As an ongoing care giver for my 90 yr. old father (yes no cane, wheel chair or walker and living by himself) – helping get him back to health – has turned out to be another small business to run! I am sure there are many of you out there that can relate and for me family is always first. As we get closer to our solution of having him get back to his life…I too will be able to focus on providing you with more regular posts of interesting and thought provoking ideas, opinions and happenings in the world of technology and social media.

Search in the world of technology is the main driver and source of revenue for all of us looking to build our visibility online. “As a marketing strategy, SEO is used to increase a site’s relevance. The SEO recognizes how search organics work and what people are searching for. It also initiates efforts to include unique content to a site to ensure that its content is easily indexed by search engine robots, making it more appealing to users.”

As this year winds down it is important to reflect and see what the past year’s successes, failures, tragedy’s and challenges were- in order to help plan and build enthusiasm, goals and growth for the year ahead. I came across this video via Google Zeitgeist 2010 that provides you with a great overview of the top searches in 2010 around the globe. Great way to get the juices flowing as we all plan to search on in 2011.

2010 in Review

Re-live top events and moments from 2010 from around the globe through search, images, and video.

Enjoy!

Best Nicole

The word catalyst is a great definition for social media these days. The dictionary defines catalyst as “something that causes activity between two or more persons or forces without itself being affected.” For the majority of us, there is enough evidence to support the value of social media as a key marketing channel. Most businesses understand and know about the tools most used. But for many, the one aspect of social media that still lacks clarity is the implementation aspect. Many still need guidance on how to go about incorporating social media so that they can reap the benefits and build a community of brand evangelists that understand who and what their brand stands for. With the right implementation, this can ensure that you are speaking to and building your “tribe members” to spread the word.
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Not sure if you heard but Bill Gates joined Twitter and already has 300,000 followers. I have been on Twitter for a year and we have about 1170 followers which is pretty good, as I like to read most of my tweets throughout the day and that is a lot of info to go through and absorb.
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I was attending a new client meeting last Thursday. And as it happens, they have a leg up on many of our customers as they are already trying their hand at social media. Bravo to any business that is taking the leap to engage with their customers in new ways.
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Almost everyone out there in the world has sent or received a postcard at some point. The traditional postcard is 100 years old. That being said, some of the best ideas come when you blend the old with the new. Technology moves so quickly that it’s hard to keep up, difficult to catch on, and by the time many businesses make a decision to hop on the digital band wagon, the idea they finally commit to is old news and something else is now the next big thing.
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As many of you know, this past summer I was confronted with several technological challenges—including the end of the PC that I had come to rely on for everything. After some consideration, I chose to have my technical architect construct a PC from individual component parts—rather than purchase a branded product such as Dell or Hp—with the hopes that if some of the parts died, I could replace them or upgrade them as my needs and business changed. I also decided it was now time to add a lap top to my business tools so that I could be more mobile. I do own and use a Black Berry—which I now cannot live without—but it’s still limited when it comes to handling documents and other things I use for business on a daily basis.
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The definition of strategy is “a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result: a strategy for getting ahead in the world.”
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While I am preparing a sales pitch for some new clients I have earmarked, I came across the most amazing blog. It is called Lady Geek  http://ladygeek.org.uk/. They help businesses sell technology to women and are based in the UK. As a firm that helps businesses “teach men how to sell to women” I was immediately intrigued. We have a division in our business designing and building technology—an  industry that is still very male dominent. There are some great women technical architects out there, but the numbers are still few and far between.
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I talk about and post many of Seth Godin’s blog posts quite regularly as he is truly one of my marketing gurus and teachers. He is very clear and concise about his explanations of how you can maximize technology for marketing success and always has a plethora of case studies of companies who have found success using the tactics of which he speaks.
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I just love today’s post. I love it because I believe that the economic change we are currently living with allows for 2 choices: see the opportunities and make the kind of changes that allow and plan for success now and in the future, or panic and cut back (or out) everything—including potentially beneficial innovations that could make pivotal changes in how you do business and what your branding or messaging is, while allowing you to change direction in what you’re offering and how it will be delivered. Be bold—take steps to use the technology not just from an implementation point but as a resource to get you to think out of the box. Find ways to use what you have but apply it to what will solve the problems and fill the needs of the clients you have now. This will ultimately position you for future growth and longevity, long past this transition we find ourselves in now.
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