In Defense of SEO
Monday, May 12th, 2008After a few months of hearing nothing but bad things about search engine optimization (thanks Calacanis, but SEO is NOT bullshit), an article in Slate praising its talents:
http://www.slate.com/id/2190387/
4 Things I Took Away From SXSW (minus my presence in Austin)
Thursday, March 13th, 2008
When it comes to social media I just tell myself, “baby steps, crawl before you walk”. So that’s what I’m doing, I’m crawling around to learn me up some Social Media!
1. A Definition: This was a little challenging but Andrew Hyde, who majored in New Media, claims it’s hard to define social media. I just hope I’m in the ballpark with mine:
Organized chaos that is addictive, informative, humorous, and Read the rest of this entry »
Google aquires Doubleclick. Microhoo on the horizon?
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008As I’ve noticed the large amount of news stories focused on the acquisition of Double-Click by Google, I’d guess that you’re not reading upon this entry with a large amount of surprise. However, something as monumental as the world’s largest search giant acquiring, arguably, the world’s largest online-display giant, is something to take some note of. Not only will the combination of a powerful Search and Display team add to the staggering portfolio that is Google, this acquisition could do much more than simply transform Google into a very powerful online-advertising platform.
It might be just the spark Microsoft needed to make their offer to acquire Yahoo all the more inviting. After all, Yahoo’s always had the edge that they held both a recognized and trusted Search brand along with a strong Display platform and while their market-share in the Search market is second by a large margin to Google, they held a powerful combination for those interested in a one-stop platform for both Search and Display advertising. With someone with the momentum and steam such as Google now fighting in both rings, I wouldn’t be surprised if Yahoo’s stance on Microsoft’s subtle wooing quickly became much more welcoming.
Dive In - The Water is Warm
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
Social media. Social media marketing. Social networking. Social this, social that. I know, you keep hearing it and probably know a little about it, but how do you get started with social media?
For a lot of traditional markets, social media marketing can be a scary thing, but it shouldn’t be. It is just another way of communicating with your customers, which honestly is what pays the bills.
So let’s start simple, with what is social media. According to Wikipedia:
Social Media Marketing is a form of internet marketing which seeks to achieve branding and marketing communication goals through the participation in various social media networks such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, social web applications (webapps) such as reddit, Digg, Stumbleupon, Flickr, Wikipedia, Squidoo, Twitter, ePinions and others as well as within 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life, ActiveWorlds, Moove and There.com. The goals of each program or campaign will differ for every business or organization, however most will involve some form of building an idea or brand awareness, increasing visibility, encouraging brand feedback and dialogue as well as to possibly sell a product or service.
Okay, I personally find it funny that Wikipedia is used in the definition of social media marketing from Wikipedia, but it fits as it is a great example of social media marketing.
So you know what it is, but what is the best way to get started with social media? Read the rest of this entry »
The Gift of a PODS Container
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008Indigio has been working hard over the past few months on the PODS account, from media to client services we all have put in our fair share of rigorous work. Being that PODS has become a bigger part of our work day we tend to talk about it at lunch, at home and for some of us possibly in our dreams. The other day I was going to lunch with Tania and we started day dreaming about PODS and imagined that PODS gave everyone at Indigio a PODS container of their own for all their hard work. We asked each other what we would do with a PODS container if we were given one. We decided to come up with a competition. We will give the person who submits the most creative way to use his/her PODS container an original PODS mug and his/her entry will be posted in the Indigio Blog.
To give you an idea of what I am looking for, Tania said she would conform her PODS container into a PODS Container Poker Lounge. She decided that a PODS container would be a perfect place to play poker. She would decorate as if you were playing poker in a casino in Las Vegas. Dim lighting, smoking allowed, poker dogs, and of course endless beverages.
“The beauty of this PODS Container Poker Lounge”, Tania says, “is that you can transport it anywhere and it would be a great way to bring people together.”
(Side note, Tania knows nothing about playing poker she just thinks it would be a fun place to play poker if she knew how.)
So fellow Indigians, this is your chance to be creative and maybe have a little fun working on PODS. How would you use your PODS container? Submit your entry by Monday February 11th, 2008 and have a chance to win a PODS mug and your entry posted for all to see on the Indigio Blog!
Entries can be submitted to Jhedlund@indigio.com
Twitter: How Do You Find People To Follow?
Monday, January 14th, 2008Okay, I love all things Twitter. I just wish I could get my friends (or dare I say it Dale) more into the social media world, as it would be so much easier to keep touch with each other if they tweeted. I continue to try to lead by example and I read a great post on SocialMediaToday by Dave Fleet about how to find people to follow that I thought I would share. It does a good job of explaining Twitter as more than a micro-blog, but rather more like instant messaging to groups. I like his description and post. As with most social media, we do follow by taking our friends lead, so come on - give Twitter a try. Drink the kool-aid. It is delicious.
Presidential Primaries & Twitter
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008If you are interested in the Presidential Primaries, a very interesting site has popped up called Politweets. It searches the public timeline from Twitter and shows posts containing names of the Presidential Candidates.
It is a very interesting use of social media to gain insight into which candidates are generating the biggest buzz. You can see last night that Clinton & McCain’s wins in New Hampshire generated a lot of tweets with their names. It is a very interesting way to look at how American’s feel about the candidates and how micro-blogging like Twitter is generating a lot of mash-ups.
Ten Common Objections to Social Media Adoption and How You Can Respond
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008I am a reader of blogs mostly through RSS feeds and every so often I come across a posting so good I have to share. This is one of those postings. I think as social media continues to grow there are always people out there that have a hundred and one reasons why it does not work or why it should not work. Social media works. It is working every day and continues to become a major force of the internet and on-line community. This post says it all.
Posted on ReadWriteWeb by Marshall Kirkspatrick
Steve Outing wrote a very good article at Editor and Publisher on Friday about the need for cultural change inside the newpapers around the US (found via the wonderful CyberJournalist.net). That article got me thinking that people in many different industries probably hear many of the same objections to new, social media and online tools. (”It takes too much time, conversations online are insipid” etc.)
I decided to make a list of the Top 10 Objections to New Online Tools and What You Can Say in Response. I surveyed my nearly 1300 friends on Twitter and got all kinds of thoughtful replies.
Below is that list; I hope you’ll find it useful and leave comments helping to extend the conversation further. In my mind I’m thinking of everything from RSS and wikis to Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Online tools that leverage social connections.
Last month we wrote about an initiative called The Working Group where people trying to bring about innovation in big companies. Many readers probably know about Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang’s fantastic blog, where he explains social media in a business context, often in a format you can take directly to the boss. There are lots of different resources available online to help the intrepid early adopter and I hope this list will be one of them.
Ultimately, I’m not yet convinced myself that persuading anyone is the way to go. If you can make time on the side to use new tools and you can perform - perhaps the benefits can best speak for themselves. If that’s not the case inside of a company, I’m sure it is between two companies with different attitudes towards adoption of new social technologies.
ROI is the elephant in the middle of the room, and it’s addressed a bit in item number ten below. It’s a topic I need more people to chime in on; I live and breathe this stuff and can articulate the benefits of it to a great degree, but it just speaks for itself to me too. So if you’re an ROI-head, pipe up. Links, traffic, mindshare, connections between people and early access to actionable information are the things I usually cite without quantifying.
Let’s get into the list though, and please do feel free to add your own thoughts as well.
A List of Objections, Replies and Concessions Regarding Social Media and Tools
1. I suffer from information overload already.
Possible replies:
Try just skimming messages in some fora - you may need to look closely at every email you get but you don’t have to look at every Facebook friend’s update.
The right tools for you will feel helpful in time, not like a burden. Experiment for awhile with new tools and stick with the ones that deliver you the most high-quality information, whether those tools are high-quantity or not. (Thanks to Aaron Hockley and Ruby Sinreich for these thoughts.)
Check out tools like AideRSS and FeedHub - just two examples of services aiming to improve the signal to noise ratio.
Times change and so do information paradigms. Get used to it. The amount of information you had access to 3 years ago was infinitely more than people at any other point in history and we’re in the middle of another huge leap right now.
Concession: If you think consuming all this new information is a challenge, wait until you try to find the time to make sense of it! (Thanks to Nancy White for that thought.) Read the rest of this entry »
Picture day at Indigio!
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
It’s that time of year at Indigio when everyone puts on their Sunday best and hopes to heaven they don’t have a pimple on their nose (again). That’s right, it’s picture day!
I’m sure you remember those yearbook pictures growing up - and how bad they were. This year Media’s very own, Dan Tisser, decided he had enough of those embarrassing memories. He of course chose the “Neon LaZer”© background and what a fantastic decision it was! Just look how it really brings out the color in his eyes.
So I hope everyone takes a lesson from Dan and remembers to brush their hair, whiten those teeth and smile, smile, smile.
Client Services & Media Join Forces
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007
Many light years ago, a small formless being erupted into a large thriving cell of movement and activity. During its early stages of growth and increasing stability it worked alone building itself in strength and solidity. This cell was known as “Media” for its vast array of qualities only found in this single insignificant cell. Once this cell was well grounded it began gathering Media beings from all different planets in hopes of building something beautiful yet magnanimously powerful. The cell grew and eventually found itself in battles beyond its ability to withstand. The leaders and counselors began to ponder the problem at hand.
