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Looking to Get Out of Jury Duty? Be a Social Media Dimwit

posted on February 22, 2011

As is the case in many things in life, just because a lot of people have something it doesn’t mean they know how to use it. Back in the Stone Age of video everyone had a VCR but no one could program the darn thing.

We are now seeing the same happen with social media. There are a lot of people with accounts or profiles or whatever in the social media space but that doesn’t mean they can harness the power of the medium or even understand much beyond updating a status.

One area that is getting more aggressive in its use of social media channels is the law. It is already fairly well known that divorce lawyers are using social media outlets to catch opposing spouses in compromising social media positions. Now lawyers are turning to social media to help clean up the jury pool before they go to trial.

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The New York Times’ Pathetic Case for the Decline of Blogging

posted on February 22, 2011

If you feel that the New York Times has the pulse of the Internet then the answer to our headline would be yes. In fact, the Times article which ran on Sunday is titled “Blogs Wane As Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter”. That’s a pretty heavy statement especially when you are saying even the shortest blog post idea can be just as effectively conveyed in 140 characters or less. Maybe TweetDeck will end up being the “Anti-Twitter” by allowing over 140 characters?

The article is provocative for sure and focuses on younger Internet users (at least initially).

Like any aspiring filmmaker, Michael McDonald, a high school senior, used a blog to show off his videos. But discouraged by how few people bothered to visit, he instead started posting his clips on Facebook, where his friends were sure to see and comment on his editing skills.

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Deals, Discounts and Coupons: The Thrill is Gone

posted on February 21, 2011

It’s President’s Day and you know what that means! Low low prices on mattresses, bedding, jewelry and cars, cars, cars. If George Washington were alive today, he’d be lining up to get a great price on a new Toyota! Honest, says Abe!

Do you remember the days when Washington and Lincoln were respected men of history and not hyperactive, humorous pitch men? Me neither.

But there was a time when people planned for holiday sales because it was the only time of the year you’d get such a great deal. Magazines would publish articles about the best time to buy new sheets or barbeque grills because most of the deep discounts were calendar-based. How does that work now that we get bombarded with great deals every day? From Amazon’s Daily Deals to Groupon’s half price offers, to downloadable and printable coupons for hundreds of products and restaurants, the average person could go broke saving money.

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The ‘AOL Way’ Too Much for Exiting Engadget Editor

posted on February 21, 2011

AOL fights very hard to remain outside of the conversation when it comes to being a content farm at its heart.

The recent purchases of The Huffington Post and TechCrunch are given as continued evidence of AOL’s desire to produce more than just keyword driven drivel that is designed to run vacant eyeballs past ads.

Well, the longest experiment of this kind is AOL’s Engadget blog which has been in the AOL family since 2005. To cut to the chase it appears as if there is something out there called ‘the AOL way’ that is making people who are interested in producing quality content seek something other than the fertilizer rich fields of a content farm.

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Introducing Marketing Pilgrim Channels: Sponsors Welcome!

posted on February 21, 2011

We are excited to provide our Marketing Pilgrim readers and sponsors new opportunities.

For our readers we are going to create content channels that make stories about important subject areas easier to find. These channels will include: SEO (search engine optimization), paid search (PPC), social media, Google, Web Site Analytics, Social Media Analytics, Local Internet Marketing (SMB), Mobile and Internet Law. Of course, with a rapidly changing landscape like the Internet marketing world these could just be the start of the channels we start to track.

For our sponsors and advertisers this a great new opportunity to reach our audience of Internet marketing influencers and decision makers.

We are really excited about this new phase in Marketing Pilgrim’s evolution. If you would like to learn more about sponsor opportunities with Marketing Pilgrim Channels contact Frank Reed ( editor AT MarketingPilgrim dot com).

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How to be a Twitter Guru

posted on February 21, 2011

I had a little “episode” over the weekend.

You see, I finally got sick of seeing the types of tweets that have very little substance, yet seem to be the staple of many so-called “gurus.” Instead of complaining, I decided to have some fun. :-)

In rapid succession, I tweeted what I consider to be the type of tweets that tend to get a lot of attention and elevate someone to guru status. I’m guilty of these now and then, and perhaps you are too, but hopefully you’ll recognize these from some of the people you follow:

Which ones did I miss?

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Cup of Joe: How To Kill A Relationship With 30 Years Of Wheelchairs

posted on February 19, 2011

WheelchairSome of you know that I use an electric wheelchair to get around. In fact I have used a wheelchair my whole life. You can get the whole story elsewhere. For now I just want to talk about my wheelchairs. The first chair I had was red. It had a wooden seat assembly with an aluminum frame. The next chair I got was made of titanium and had custom axis that allowed me to reach the wheels better. When that chair was brand new I remember it moving like a boat through water, smooth and fast.