by
0 Comments

Dear Google, Enough With the Google+ Promotion Already!

posted on April 3, 2012

It was Popeye whose famous line was “I’ve had all I can stands and I can’t stands no more!”. It was about that time that he ripped open a big ol’ can of Spinach and started kicking some animated butt because things had gone just too far in his mind.

I think we need a Popeye to like reaction to Google’s ridiculous over-promotion of Google+. If you follow any of the internal Google blogs be it about Adwords, small business or whatever else the subject matter, it appears as if you can count on about 1/3 of the posts being the same post about Google+ that you saw on a different Google blog in the very recent past.

by
0 Comments

Groupon Stock Falls. Are Lawyers Circling As Well?

posted on April 3, 2012

Back in November of 2011 when Groupon was going public there were generally two camps on the subject. One side that felt that the company was a truly hot commodity and would prove detractors wrong by a strong initial public showing and a strengthening business model. The other was one that was skeptical of the long term viability of the deals business model and felt that the whole thing was a well hyped house of cards. I wrote at the time of Groupon’s IPO.

How this looks six months from now will tell the tale of whether Groupon has been what it has claimed all along (worthy of even a much higher valuation with talks at one point placing it at $30 billion) or whether it has indeed been just an elaborate Ponzi scheme that will create one of the most infamous business stories of recent memory.

by
0 Comments

Wealthy More App-t to Be Serious With Their Apps

posted on April 2, 2012

A group has released findings about the wealthy and their approach to social media and the use of apps. It appears that there might be a reason why they are more wealthy than others. Apparently they don’t play idiotic time suck games and they also aren’t very prone to tweet.

Reuters reported on the findings.

Wealthier smartphone users are less likely to play games or tweet and will opt for news, travel or finance apps, according to a new study.

The research by The Luxury Institute focused on app usage among wealthy consumers, who earn an annual income of $150,000 or more. They tend to be older, with a mean age of 52.

by
0 Comments

NYC Maps App Gives Google Local Competition

posted on April 2, 2012

Google Maps seems to have the edge in the maps game worldwide. Granted, there are plenty of competitors and there are many options for Internet users to get directions and business information but many go to Google because they are there anyway so why not?

Now, New York City, the place where Google made a monster real estate investment just a short while ago which will continue to bring more jobs to the city, has put together a way for tourists and NYC residents to not use Google (but thanks very much for the jobs and the tax money!).

NYC & Company has developed an iPhone app mapping New York City and giving lots of local data points that are usually reserved for other local players. If something like this happened in Anywhere, USA this might not be big news. But it is happening in NYC so its big news. Here is a look at the app from iTunes preview from a link on the nycgo.com site.

by
0 Comments

Influence, Popularity and Profits: Which One Begats the Other?

posted on April 2, 2012

It’s good to be popular. It means people like you. They want to hang with you and they’re interested in what you have to say. On Facebook, that means a lot of people want to be your friend. If you’re a brand, they like your page.

Popular means you have a great deal of influence over those that follow you. Or does it?

Brian Solis talks about the difference between popularity and influence in an article on PaidContent.org. He states that influence is a combination of three factors. One is reach. Popular people have that due to the large number of followers on Facebook or Twitter.

Second is Relevance. Justin Bieber has great reach, but that doesn’t mean he’s the best person to Tweet about life insurance or pharmaceuticals.

by
1 Comment

The Art of the Social Referral

posted on April 2, 2012

Word of Mouth marketing has been around since the town crier stood on the street corner hawking the day’s news. But with the dawn of the internet and social media specifically, the concept has expanded. We’ve gone beyond what one housewife tells another during their weekly bridge game. Now, we have one person broadcasting their opinions to hundreds, even thousands with a single Tweet or Facebook post.

These social referrals are extremely valuable to a marketer. So much so, that it’s often worth rewarding customers for spreading the word among their friends. But managing and tracking such a program can be overwhelming so I asked Angela Bandlow, VP of Marketing for Extole to offer some tips for making the most out of social referrals.