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Showing posts with label Online Communities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Online Communities. Show all posts

Friday, October 22, 2010

Should You Post (or Buy) Ads on Twitter?

twitter ads
Credit: BigStockPhoto.com
I’m going to be up front with you. I’m not a fan of advertising on Twitter. I’m even less of a fan of posting ads to my own Twitter account. So I clearly have some bias. Twitter advertising can be a hot button issue for some though, causing followers to flee or advertisers to come a-calling. Some love it because it’s a way to monetize something they do anyway, or reach a new targeted market. Some hate it because it causes unsolicited clutter and “invades” real relationships. I fall squarely into the latter group.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-advertising in general. And I’m not saying that advertising has no place in social media. But Twitter is an exception for me. Here’s why:
It’s Not What I Signed on For
Twitter is primarily a networking tool. It’s a place for conversations, no matter how abbreviated. For most Twitter is not a tool for simply broadcasting commercial messages. Now I’m not one to say that everyone should or has to use a social media tool in the same way. That would be both ignorant and self-centered. But I will say that everyone has a responsibility to their followers.
twitter broadcast
Are you conversing or just broadcasting? - Credit: BigStockPhoto.com
Twitter can be used in an editorial or conversational way. And yes, it can be used for advertising. But unless you were already regularly advertising via your Twitter account when I agreed to follow you, those ads are 100% unsolicited. If you were already advertising, I could see that up front, and I knew it when I chose to follow you, that’s another story entirely. But in my network on Twitter, that’s rare.
No matter where you’re interacting with your audience, you have a responsibility to respect them and provide what’s reasonably expected to some degree. Behaving in one way to get followers, and then in another way once you have them is misleading at best. I consider Twitter advertising to often show a lack of respect. In my particular network, it’s not the norm. And to litter my stream with ads for (often irrelevant) products and services is a matter of wasting my time. As if there isn’t enough noise on Twitter already.
I’d “forgive” the occasional Twitter ad in general if the person usually shares great tweets or stays personally involved. But I have my limits, as do most. And those limits are fairly low. I won’t hesitate to point out and criticize behaviors that waste my time or show no forethought. I have very little respect for the companies buying these ads knowing they’re intruding on a largely conversational medium of people who have some level of trust for each other (we aren’t talking about blogs here where there are sidebars and headers to tuck ads into separate from the content, or where we have plenty of room for full disclosure). And quite honestly I have less respect for the colleagues who advertise for third parties using their tweets (although I have no objection to them promoting their own books, albums, or sites within reason given that my network is based on primarily professional connections — in a more personal network, that might be a bit different).

The Lame “Just Unfollow” Argument

I know what some of you are thinking — “If Twitter ads bother you so much, just unfollow the person.” I’ve heard that argument a lot. And do you know what? It’s a completely bullshit argument.
angry twitter follower
Are your Twitter followers HAPPY followers? - Credit: BigStockPhoto.com
Unfollowing someone should not be the primary recourse for having unsolicited ads thrown in my face. And I shouldn’t have to eliminate someone from my professional network just because they make occasional poor decisions about what they choose to advertise or how often. As I already mentioned, it’s about respect. And everyone using Twitter or any social media tool has the responsibility to know their audience well enough to know when what they’re doing could be deemed disrespectful.
Remember, just because people aren’t moving in droves to unfollow you, it doesn’t mean they’re okay with your new Twitter ad posting behavior. It just means they like the other things you say enough to stick around (or your ads are buried quickly within other Twitter noise, and they just haven’t seen it yet). But that says nothing about the potential damage you’ve done to your reputation in their eyes. Still subscribing to what you say doesn’t mean they care as much about your opinions. So think about where your “real” money comes from before deciding to make a few bucks on Twitter, and ask yourself whether those income streams could take a hit to your reputation. If they can, by all means, post away.
There’s nothing wrong with diversifying your income streams. I don’t begrudge anyone an income from what they do. Just don’t forget to have some tact. At least a little….
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Sunday, October 17, 2010

20 Things to Blog About (in Any Niche)

blog post ideas
Credit: BigStockPhoto.com
Blogging can be a lot of fun. But what happens when you run out of ideas? Then it can become frustrating and more difficult to want to sit down and write. Don’t worry! No matter how much you’ve already covered in your niche, there’s always something else to say. If you’re feeling stumped for blog post ideas, let this list inspire you. These blog post ideas can be adapted to any niche, so give them a try!
Here are 20 things to blog about (or types of blog posts) that you can use on any blog when you’re out of ideas:
  1. Share news — Search the news engines and see what’s going on in your niche or industry. If there’s news, share it with your readers. You could write a detailed post, or even just link to the news source and write up a brief summary.
  2. Comment on news – If you have an opinion on one of those news stories you found, link readers to the original news, and then write up a blog post sharing your own viewpoint on the issue. It can be a great way to ignite some cross-blog or comment discussions.
  3. Write a review – Every niche has something that’s available to review. Go to your library or bookstore and pick up a book that might be of interest to your readers. Review it. You can also review services, products, or even other websites and blogs!
  4. interview
    Credit: BigStockPhoto.com
    Conduct an interview
    – Just because you don’t have something to say at the moment doesn’t mean others in your niche don’t. Find a credible source, and interview them about a niche or industry issue. Bonus — you’ll get to network with go-to sources in your niche!
  5. Write a “top” list — Some people love them and some people hate them, but top 10 lists (or whatever number you want) can bring in links and traffic. More importantly, they can give you something to blog about when you’re feeling a bit stumped. For example, you could share your top 10 tips for “insert whatever your readers want to learn how to do here.”
  6. Write a resource list – These are usually longer than top ten types of lists. They compile a large number of resources that readers would be interested in all in one place. For example, if you run a blog on blogging, you might list 100 places to find free blog themes. On a PR blog of mine, I created a “big list of free press release distribution sites” because it’s something a particular segment of my audience frequently looked for. Your audience is looking for something too. Help them find it. 
  7. Assemble a round-up post — Another list-style post, round-ups are often done weekly or monthly. Basically you put together a list of links to other blog posts recently posted in your niche. Sure, it’s a bit of a cop out but it keeps your blog fresh, brings your blog to the attention of other bloggers in the niche, and gives readers access to other material they might find interesting. I like these because they’re a way to show readers trends in what bloggers in a certain niche are talking about during a given week.
  8. Answer a reader question — If you get reader questions via email, consider answering them publicly on your blog instead of responding to the email privately. You can remove the reader’s personal information (or share it if they don’t mind). This not only gives you something to write about, but it stops you from having to answer the same questions privately over and over again.
  9. questions
    Credit: BigStockPhoto.com
    Answer a non-reader’s question —
    Don’t get many reader questions of your own? That’s okay! Look at answer sites like Yahoo! Answers or LinkedIn’s Q&As. Also look at comments left on other blogs in your niche. What are people curious about? What do they want to know? Share the answer to common questions on your blog, even if they’re not from your own readers. Chances are that some of your readers have the same questions, and they simply haven’t asked yet.
  10. Update an old post — Do you have an old post that’s a real gem, but it’s so buried in the archives that no one sees it anymore? Consider updating it with fresh relevant information (especially if any details are outdated), and then change the post date so it goes to the front page as a new post again. Note: you might not want to do this if it’ll affect your permalink and incoming links and traffic, and you should probably note that it’s an update so long-time readers know why it seems familiar.
  11. Highlight old posts – If you don’t want to, or can’t, update an older post you can still create a new post that brings it to the attention of newer readers. For example, if you run a business blog and you have a bunch of posts on handling the start-up phase, you might create a new post that serves as a hub linking to all of them (maybe with a summary of each).
  12. Rant. Rant. Rant! — Does some issue in your niche or industry seriously get under your skin? Tell your readers why! Don’t be afraid to rant once in a while. Just know your audience’s tolerances for it before you do so you don’t get too offensive for your readers.
  13. Have a cross-blog discussion — Did another blogger in your niche say something that caught your attention? Why not blog about it? Conversations in the blogosphere aren’t limited to the comment function. If you have a lot to say, link to their post so your readers can see it, and then post your own thoughts. Cross-blog debates can be fun, but it’s okay to share a post you fully agree with too. It shows support for an idea and another blogger.
  14. Take a look at Twitter — Even if there’s no “official” news in your niche at the moment, that doesn’t mean there isn’t buzz about something going around. Do a search on Twitter and see what people in the niche are talking about. Then contribute with a blog post of your own (or highlight some interesting tweets).
  15. Ask a question — We already talked about answering questions that others have. Why not ask your own? Asking a question in a post is a good way to build reader involvement, and you might get some new perspective on an industry issue (which might inspire another post!).
  16. video
    Credit: BigStockPhoto.com
    Get visual —
    Is your blog mostly text-based? Do something different and share a video or a photo that might interest your readers. It doesn’t have to be your own. For example, you might embed a YouTube video. Just make sure you have rights to share something like a photo before you do (a credit link alone doesn’t make it okay — or legal).
  17. Get personal — Why not share a personal story with your readers? I’m not talking about something completely unrelated, but rather your own individual experiences with a situation in the niche. For example, if you blog about Web hosting and you recently went through the process of moving your site from one host to another, that might be an interesting story to share with your readers.
  18. Find out what readers want — Use a tool like the Adwords keyword tool to find out what people are searching for in your niche. You might just find some interesting post ideas in there that you wouldn’t have otherwise considered.
  19. Share a blog update — Write a post that looks back on the history of your blog. Talk about what you’ve done, how it’s evolved, and where you’d like it to go.
  20. Publish a guest post — If you still can’t think of anything to blog about, consider accepting a guest post from someone else in the niche. Generally this means giving them a link back (it’s a marketing tool from their perspective), but you’ll get fresh content for your readers.
There you have it — 20 blog post ideas that can work on virtually any blog! I hope you found something useful. Do you have ideas you’d like to share with other bloggers in addition to this list? Leave a comment and let us know what you do when you can’t think of anything to blog about.

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Top 10 Free Twitter Tools To Manage Your Account

Twitter has been evolved as a fastest communication service for friends, family, and co-workers to stay connected 24*7 through quick transfer of tweets.

Twitter is a famous social networking website which offers micro bogging service which means – Twitter land control to its users to send and read messages which are known as tweets.

Nowadays, Twitter is being used, to improve the traffic to your site. More followers mean you are getting more popularity and approaching more users.

Just 140 characters based text story having enough power to drive more and more visitors to your traffic. That story so called as tweets and  that appears on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers.

Twitter offers very limited number of tools to manage Twitter account which is not able to help to stand out you from the crowd. So, you must be looking for some unique and very appealing tools to spice up your Twitter profile.

Today, we round up a list of amazing “Top 10 Free Twitter Tools To Manage Your Account” that are easy to use.

1. FriendOrFollow

free-twitter-tools-friend-or-follow

 

2. CoTweet

free-twitter-tools-cotweet

 

3. ManageTwitter

free-twitter-tools-managetwitter

 

4. EasyTweets

free-twitter-tools-EasyTweets

 

5. Seesmic Web

free-twitter-tools-seesmic

 

6. HootSuite

free-twitter-tools-hootsuite

 

7. TweetDeck

free-twitter-tools-tweetdeck

 

8. TweetManager

free-twitter-tools-twitter-manager

 

9. Buzzom

free-twitter-tools-top-twitter-tools-buzzom

 

10. TweetScan

free-twitter-tools-tweetscan
  
Back-linkCLICK HERE
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Great Ways To Make Money On Facebook!

Making money with facebook! If you are a facebook user or have been around social networking sites for a while, you probably have heard that. But, is it really possible to make money with facebook? How would you go about making money on facebook?


Well, thanks to some very useful and user friendly applications, today almost anyone who has a facebook page, can make money in verity of ways. With one simple installation, you can be on your way to make money on facebook. Of course like any other methods of making money, specifically making money online, it takes hard work and persistency to be able to make a decent amount of money on facebook. Although these applications make it very easy to get on the path of making money with face book, its the strategy and a well thought out plan, combined with persistency and hard work, that ultimately factors in your success or failure in making money with facebook. Here are some applications you can use to make money on facebook.


1. Radical Buy   This is almost like a facebook made ebay. You can sell anything on your facebook page using this unique app. List an item and have it visible to all facebook users instantly. Now, the cool think is that you can offer commission to others who will sell your items on their facebook page, allowing you to reach more potential buyers. Of course that means, even if you don’t have any item for sale, you can show other peoples item on your facebook page and make money with the commission you get for selling there stuff.

2. My Merch Store   If you have red my 9 Website To Make Money With By Designing & Selling …  article, then you know about zazzle. Well, now zazzel allows you to create and design any product on their site(which is free) and sell them on your face book. Think about the potential buyer base for customized t-shirts and hats and etc, specially if you have a lot of facebook friends. You can also sell product created by other artists and earn a commission on those. So, even if you don’t want to deal with designing, you have a way to make money on face book using zazzle.

3. Cafe Press  It’s the same idea as zazzle, but with a much bigger and well known online store. Cafepress lets you easily sell any product from anti Obama Shirts to pro Obama Shirts, on your facebook and make money, whether it was created by you or someone else.

4. Ether  Ether is a website that you can make money on by giving advice to people over the phone or by chatting. But now, you can use their new application on facebook to make money while giving advice to people over the phone. If you’re good at giving advice, this may be the way for you to make some extra money on facebook. Also if you know a second language, this app makes it easy to teach others and make money. You set the rates and Ether provides a number that individuals can call. The call will then be forwarded to your personal telephone number.

5.  Music Blaster   With MusicBlaster you can put a simple little music store on your facebook, and sell music from BlastMyMusic.com. You earn 5% for each song sold. The cool think about this app is the fact that you can help your favorite band or singer to sell their music while you make money, as well as helping them to gain more exposure.

6. Garage Sale    The name says it all, its the good old Garage Sale, but a “facebooky” Garage Sale. Simply add Garage Sale to your profile page and list every thing you want to sell. When someone buys something, Garage Sale automatically bills the buyer’s credit card and lets you when to ship the item. Your money is deposited directly into your Pay Pal account, or you can request payment by check. However they charge a 5% commission on the total sales price, but that’s all. No other fee for setup or anything like that.

7.  Shopit    Shopit is a free Social Commerce Network that gives users the ability to buy, sell or trade any product or service. Simply add a free store to your facebook and sell anything you like. Another easy way to make money on facebook.

8. FlameTunes    FT was founded in 2007 by an Iranian-American named Nima Khakpour. This app is more for the artists to sell their music. So, if you are an artist, FlameTunes enables you to sell your music on your facebook. You can also use it to sell music on myspace.

9. Lemonade   Remember when you setup your first lemonade stand in your community? Well, this app allows you to use the same concept, combining commerce and community, and have a lemonade stand in a digital (facebook) neighborhood. Basically you add what you want to sell to a lemonade stand, and put it on your Facebook. It’s free and easy.

10. Ebay   Who knew that was coming? Yep, you guessed it. Now you can have your ebay on facebook. This application allows you to add eBay auction listings to your Profile. Sell things to your facebook friends from crafts, jewelry to diary pages, undies and dinner dates or just whatever you’re selling on eBay! You also have the option to add a charity auction that you support, on your facebook profile. I think it’s a very smart way to combine eBay and facebook, and you don’t even need an eBay Account!

11. Lending Club   It’s almost like prosper, where you land money to others and make money with the interest you make from the loan. Not to worry though, lending club has all the detail covered. So, it’s completely safe, and the whole legal and trust issues are taking cared by lending club. If you can use it safley, it can be a good way to make money with your facebook.

12. e3buy Auction   Buy, sell or trade anything. Auction your used or new stuff. With e3buy you can open a customizes store, upload your logo and start selling things. unlike ebay, there is no commission or fee to be paid. it’s completely free to use. It is also fully integrated with paypal, so you can get paid fast.

13.Cash Cliques. This application will pay you to visit or click onto and leave a comment in a certain number of advertisement websites. Other than this pay-per-click scheme, you can also earn by referring or other people to visit the site.

 Facebook is definitely something that is taking the industry by storm. Everyone loves being on facebook and enjoying the different applications available, so why should you miss out on the opportunity as well? With the help of these applications, you can earn money and gain more contacts.
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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

7 Facebook Apps Every Blogger Must Have

Facebook is one of the most popular Social Networks and quickly becoming a an interaction hub for great many people I personally know and work with. What have started as a college students network have grown into one of the most useful tools you can have for communication and for locating new people with similar to you interests.
But while standalone Facebook portal provides you with plenty options – its interactivity and usefulness factor greatly multiplied through the usage of the Apps provided by other developers. In fact as a blogger you have a superb way to promote your content on Facebook and get yourself additional audience…
More Traffic! Could You Use Some?
In this post I’ll discuss 7 Facebook Apps Every Blogger Must Have.

Application chosen for this post are based on my personal view of their usefulness and my personal usage, so be sure to experiment as nothing should be taken for granted!

Notes

Notes is a superb application and one of the absolutely MUST have if you write to a blog or two 8-) And here is the reason why:
  1. It allows you to basically subscribe to your own RSS Feed and will automatically import it to your profile each time a new post was made!
  2. Every time a new post imported as Note – all your friends will get a notification that a new status update is made on your profile – increase your branding!
See image below:
facebook_notes_application

Blog Networks

Blog Networks application allows you to claim your own blog and have it appear within the main Blog Networks interface. But how and where you will appear directly depends on your popularity!
More people subscribe to your blog – more popular it is seen and higher position you can get. Subscribing to blogs is very simple and it ads them to your profile. See image below and if you like my blog - Subscribe To My Blog!
facebook_blog_networks

Blogvote

Blogvote is a very simple application that does one thing – allows people to vote on blogs. Obviously your blog popularity will be determined by the score and probably number of votes. I can’s say for 100% because as you can see in image below – number of votes on my blog is pathetically small. So – do vote, good or bad, either way appreciated!
facebook_blogvote

Twitter

Twitter application is great in one perspective – it ties very popular micro-blog network that is currently all the rage and allows you to post status update directly from Twitter. Basically – every time you make an update in Twitter – it will be imported as your new status in Facebook and also gives you an opportunity to post directly from Facebook to the Twitter.
See images below:
facebook_twitter1
facebook_twitter2

Friend Feed

Friend Feed is a swiss army knife of the the aggregation. Once you have setup your profile under the Friend Feed service properly – you can aggregate your actions and content from multiple sources into one location. And facebook app allows you t import all of that into your Facebook Profile!
Better yet, it allows you to see all the actions of your friends! In one single location, as long as they took the time to configure their profile. This is an app that will become the future of social interaction!
Talk about visibility! See image below:
facebook_friendfeed

Ping.fm

Ping.fm application allows you to do actions such as status update from Ping.fm application. This one is a MUST for every WordPress blogger and I have already explained why and how in my post on social influence and will not be repeating myself.
All I can add here is that by not using this service you are loosing out!
facebook_pingfm

SubmbleUpon

And last but by no means least is StumbleUpon app. Every action you take via Stumble Upon bar is posted to your Facebook profile and shared with your friends! As you can see below – many of my own friends using this tool and falling behind is simply not an option.
StumbleUpon has a potential of generating to your blog massive amounts of traffic when you don’t abuse the system and Facebook app simplifies the process! Feel free to become my friend by clicking the image below:
facebook_stumbleupon

Conclusion

As I have stated in the beginning of this post – it is not mean to be an All Inclusive list of the Facebook Applications but rather those that help you as a blogger to get traffic and recognition and have proven to work for me – in one way or another.
And that reason is what makes them in my opinion 7 Facebook Apps Every Blogger Must Have
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Top 10 Ways To Make Money With Twitter In 2010

#1 Sponsored Tweets Earn $2 Per Tweet - This is an online marketplace that allows you to connect directly with advertisers to engage in sponsored conversations through Twitter. Advertisers compensate you with cash in exchange for a sponsored tweet.

#2 Tweetadder - Find and Engage in Like-Minded Twitter Followers & Automate Twitter Posts! 100% Free download, this is a must have!

#3 Tweetomatic Profiteer Tweetomatic Profiteer - If you don’t already know how to go from zero to 1,000’s of targeted traffic in under 1 week, on 100% autopilot without paying a dime, and convert it into instant profit any time you like…

#4 Tweet Tank Tweet Tank - Eight videos that show you exactly how to start making money using twitter right now. Easy to set up and very little work involved.

#5 Turbo Twitter Cash Turbo Cash Generator - This is a brand new plug-and-play software that creates multiple streams of income using twitter. Once these are set up it's almost a fully automated system sending you money like a machine.

#6 Army of Followers Army of Followers - Build an army of thousands of followers to make money with twitter. They teach you how to turn Twitter into a traffic and cash machine.

#7 Twitter Online System Twitter Online System - Proven Turnkey System That Only Requires You To Set Up It ONCE, Forget About It, And Start Making Money Through Twitter Today!

#8 Twitter Money Tree Twitter Money Tree - Stephen has been featured on Fox News, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, CW, Daystar, ION, MyTV, Daytime and dozens of other shows talking to millions about using Twitter to become celebrities and be able to pick the money off of their own “Twitter Money Trees!”

#9 Paid4TweetN Paid4TweetN - We have watched the rise and fall of other so called "Twitter Programs." Here is the reason why they fail: All of the other programs out there only teach you how to get followers. You do not make money by getting followers.

#10 Paid4TweetN Twitter Rockstar - When you use Twitter to build your brand online, you're not relying on random Google searches. You're not relying on expensive PPC methods that bring lukewarm consumers. You are using Twitter to filter out the tire kickers and bring you the people that want to hear your voice.
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