A blog about productivity for the Internet entrepreneur.» Social Networking http://www.thinkingserious.com My goal is to help you focus on your passions by reducing or eliminating the time needed to maintain your life. Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:58:26 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 How to Add a Vanity URL to your Facebook Page in Two Minutes http://www.thinkingserious.com/2010/05/29/how-to-add-a-vanity-url-to-your-facebook-page-in-two-minutes/ http://www.thinkingserious.com/2010/05/29/how-to-add-a-vanity-url-to-your-facebook-page-in-two-minutes/#comments Sat, 29 May 2010 19:03:09 +0000 Elmer Thomas http://www.thinkingserious.com/?p=626 After scouring the Edit Page and settings links, then searching through Facebook’s help system, it ultimately took a Google search to figure out how easy it is to do this.  Hopefully I’ll save you the 15 minutes of my life I can no longer recover.

  1. Login to Facebook
  2. Click http://www.facebook.com/username
  3. Click the “Set a username” link
  4. Choose the page that you wish to set a vanity URL for from the drop down (you must be an administrator of that page)
  5. Type in the name you want and click the “Check Availability” button
  6. If the name is available, you’ll get a pop-up asking for you to confirm, read it over and confirm if you ready
  7. ??
  8. Profit

]]> http://www.thinkingserious.com/2010/05/29/how-to-add-a-vanity-url-to-your-facebook-page-in-two-minutes/feed/ 1 Internet Marketing: How-to http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/06/25/internet-marketing-how-to/ http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/06/25/internet-marketing-how-to/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:24:16 +0000 Elmer Thomas http://www.thinkingserious.com/?p=498 This post is both a strategy and practical guide based mainly on my experience and those I’ve worked with for the purpose of allowing anyone to understand how to execute a complete Internet Marketing campaign for any type of business or organization.

The structure of this guide is strategic, in that I look at each component of an Internet Marketing campaign from a high level. But included in each component are resources that will give you the necessary information and tools to execute, whether you want to do it yourself or hire help.

Please feel free to add to this guide in the comments section or at the public Social Media Marketing Wiki. In both cases, I will provide a do-follow link to your website in thanks.

Table of Contents


Getting Started

One of the best ways to avoid project failure is to spend the time up front to clearly define the goals and expected results. These goals should be defined with the following in mind:

  • What specific results are expected and by when?
  • Who is the target demographic and where do they hang out online?
  • What keywords would be used by your target demographic to find what your are offering?
  • Which competitors are going after your same results? How are they doing?
  • What metrics are related to the desired results? How will you track those metrics?
  • How and when will the metrics be reported on?

Be sure to schedule time to review the reports to adjust your strategy and tactics as necessary.

Once you have defined the above, create a first report that measures all of the metrics you will track.

Measurement Tools, Products and Services:

You should always consult your goals and results when executing any of the following suggestions.

Now it’s time to determine your strategy. I suggest that you spend time reviewing case studies that achieved the results you are looking for.

Spend time at Sphinn.com for the latest in strategy and tactics.


Web Site


Your web site is often the first impression of your company and you must make that impression count. I suggest that if it’s possible, you should design your website from the ground up for the purpose of achieving the goals and results you expect from your Internet Marketing efforts. Here are some questions and ideas to consider:

  • Does your home page compel your visitor to want to complete some action that leads to the completion of a desired result?
  • Do you have an easy way for your visitors to tell their friends about your website?
  • Has your website been optimized for your target keywords?
  • Do you have product or service specific landing paged designed for conversion? (see the landing page section under PPC below)
  • Do you have a means to collect data from leads on your website?
  • Is it easy for your users to get customer support from your website?

When choosing the design firm, you may want to hire two different firms. One person or firm to create the look and feel of the website (or you can run a contest) and the other to create the website. The latter should have verified experience with Internet Marketing and SEO.

Once the website is up and running, you will need to regularly adjust the design and SEO based on the analysis of the metrics defined earlier.


Opt-In (Permission) Email Marketing

Seth Godin popularized the concept of Permission Marketing. The main idea is that you can make a more efficient use of your resources by making offers only to those who are interested in your product. The primary way of doing that is to create a database of opt-in emails. Following are some great ideas on how to build your own e-mail database of opt-in subscribers:

Also, remember that customer service inquiries are a powerful way to not only strengthen relationships, but it’s an excellent opportunity to obtain referrals, whom should be directed to a special landing page where you should attempt to get them to opt-in to your email database.

Be sure to make sure that all of your e-mail correspondence conforms to the CAN-SPAM act.

Now that you have that valuable list of e-mails, you want to make sure that you take advantage while not causing too many people to opt-out.

Here are some ideas on how to maintain contact with your opt-in customers:

Here is a 7 step process to help you create your next campaign:

  1. Determine what you want the result of the campaign to be
  2. Put measurements in place to track results
  3. Determine the attributes of those who would be interested in the campaign
  4. Trim your mailing list to those most likely to be interested
  5. Craft copy that marries your objective with your customers needs
  6. Make sure you make it very easy to take action
  7. Analyze the results and apply to your next campaign


Search Engine Marketing (SEM)


Go to Google.com and type in some keywords that you think your customers would type in order to find your business. Whoa … that’s a long list of competitors! So how do you show up on that coveted Google front page? The general consensus is that one of the most important influencers is the number of quality links that link to your web site via the key words you desire. So how do you get people to link to your site?

  • Search for web sites that have a Page Rank of above 4 that are related to your niche
  • Submit your web site to directories
  • Create value packed articles or blogs (posted on your own web site or on another site via guest blogging) and submit them to Social Media Bookmarking sites
  • Create press releases and use online distribution services

Check out these resources to help you get started:

The tips in the SMM section below will also be helpful for building quality links. Social Bookmarking sites are a great way to find popular blogs where you can ask to guest blog.


Social Media Marketing (SMM)


SMM has become the most popular Internet Marketing buzzword since “Multi-Media”. One way to get a crash course on the subject is to study successful social media marketing campaigns.

The main areas that you will want to work on are: Micro Blogging, Blogging, Social Networking, Social Bookmarking, Video Marketing (Webcasts) and Audio Marketing (Podcasts). Following are resources for each facet.

A Blog is a broad tool that can have a fantastic short and long term ROI. There are two aspects to using blogs for marketing. First, there is your company blog which is usually hosted at www.yourcompany.com/blog. Then, there is getting other bloggers to write about your company or guest blogging on blogs relevant to your target audience. It’s not always necessary that you guest blog on a blog specifically targeted to your market, as long as the Google Page Rank is good (greater than 3) and the content in the post relates to your product or service in some way.

Here are resources related to internal blog marketing (blogs posted on your company blog):

Here are resources related to finding blogs to query for a guest blog post or to write about your company (use compete.com, Alexa.com and Google Page Rank to get a rough idea of the popularity of the blog):

While you build confidence, I suggest you spend time commenting on the blogs of others. Most blogs allow you to leave behind a link to your web site. But be aware that most of these links within comments are tagged with “no-follow” so that you don’t get the SEO benefits of the link, although interested people may click through. You can use the “view source” feature of your browser to find out if the comments are “no-follow” tagged.

The following sections have more ideas on how to get people to read and pass your blog post along to others.

Micro Blogging has become popular because of Twitter. If you have not jumped on that band wagon, now is the time.

Social Networking was popularized by MySpace, but now is dominated by FaceBook. For business purposes, you want to be active on FaceBook and LinkedIn at a minimum, then you can either join other niche social networking sites or create your own.

Use these resources to jump start your FaceBook and LinkedIn campaigns:

Here are some resources to help you find niche Social Networks to participate in and engage your potential target market directly. Always remember the golden rule of social media “Give, Provide Value and Give some more”:

If you want to build your own niche Social Networking site, here are some of the more popular platforms:

Social Bookmarking (or Social News) sites are a great way to spread the word about your company through your blog or articles. I recommend you spend at least one month interacting with the community that you want to contribute to, before submitting content.

Here are some strategic and practical resources that will help you get started:

These are the websites and tools that will be useful for executing your strategy:

Forums & Chat Rooms may not be considered New Media, but they share most of the major attributes of Social Networks and are still effective marketing tools. Especially since these venues typically revolve around some sort of niche that may be applicable to your company.

Video Marketing (or Webcasting) is becoming an increasingly vital marketing tool. You need to know how to create the video and then how to distribute it. For distribution you can use the same tools as for the blog (you can embed the video inside a blog post) but you have some additional tools at your disposal.

Here are some resources that will help you produce your own videos:

These tools will help you distribute your videos and leverage your videos for SEO purposes:

Podcasting is similar to video casting, but without the video part >:p


Pay Per Click (PPC)


While you wait to dominate the search engine rankings, you can buy your way to the top. The big players are Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. It may also be worthwhile to target niche ad networks if you are willing to spend some time in research mode. You can also gain valuable data regarding which keywords lead to conversion using tools like Google Analytics.

Here are some resources to help you get started on your own:

Now that you have traffic coming to your website, you must be sure to take full advantage. Here are some resources to help you with compelling landing pages:


Targeted Display Advertising


Banner Ads are one of the earliest forms of Internet Marketing (don’t you remember all those flashing AOL ads?). There are three main components to display advertising; (1) creating the advertisement, (2) placing the ad and (3) measuring and analyzing results. The landing page tips from the PPC section apply here also.

For creating the banner advertisement graphics, you can either hire a graphics designer, use a template, or use a design contest site. I recommend a design contest since you will generally get a wider array of design choices.

Here are some resources to help you get started with a successful banner ad campaign (you may want to get your feet wet by using Google Adwords):

Research web sites where you think your target demographic hangs out, then ask that web site’s owner directly about advertising.


Affiliate Programs


You can either join an existing affiliate network like cj.com or you can create your own affiliate program. I suggest that you do both. Basically, you are providing a monetary incentive for people to virally spread your products and services.

Here are some resources to utilize existing affiliate networks:

These resources will help you build out your own custom affiliate network:


Online Classifieds

Online classifieds like Craigslist to local online classifieds sections can be a valuable tool to spread the word about your product and/or service. The first thing to do is to understand the terms of use of whatever services you decide to use to avoid making avoidable mistakes that incur the wrath of the community.

Here are some classifieds sites you may want to consider:

  • Craigslist.org – Local classifieds and forums for jobs, housing, for sale, personals, services, local community, and events.
  • Kijiji.com – eBay’s entry into the online classifieds market.
  • USFreeAds.com – free classifieds.
  • BackPages.com – free classifieds with photos.
  • Recycler.com – the online version of the popular print magazine.
  • PennySaverUsa.com – another online version of a popular classifieds publication.

Here are some services and tools to help with execution:

  • vFlyer.com – a cookie cutter service for doing a classifieds marketing promotion.
  • Postlets.com – a free service that automatically distributes your ad among several classifieds and social media sites.

Don’t forget to check the local newspaper websites of your target demographic for localized advertising opportunities.


Conclusion


What did I miss or FUBAR? Please add your tips, tricks and advice in the comments or at the public Social Media Marketing Wiki and you will gain fame, fortune and good will (well maybe .. at least you’ll get a do-follow link to your site).

]]> http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/06/25/internet-marketing-how-to/feed/ 8 Are Social Media Networks Right for Your Business? http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/05/14/are-social-media-networks-right-for-your-business/ http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/05/14/are-social-media-networks-right-for-your-business/#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 18:16:16 +0000 Elmer Thomas http://www.thinkingserious.com/?p=463 This was the question explored by David Coleman during a fantastic Webinar yesterday. Enjoy the slides and join in on the conversation.

]]> http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/05/14/are-social-media-networks-right-for-your-business/feed/ 0 Pimp My Twitter Page http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/02/20/pimp-my-twitter-page/ http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/02/20/pimp-my-twitter-page/#comments Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:05:32 +0000 Elmer Thomas http://www.thinkingserious.com/?p=358 Several of my clients recently surprised me by making references to the show Pimp My Ride in context of updating the look and feel of their websites. This idea came to mind again while browsing around Twitter and noticing how cool some people’s profile pages looked, whilst mine… ahem… we’ll let’s just say the shoe maker’s children are always the last to get shoes.

Here are the steps to Pimp Your Twitter page…. we’ll what are you waiting for? Get to pimping!

1. Specifications- What is needed from a technical standpoint?

  • Profile picture – Maximum size of 700k in JPG or PNG format. A square dimension is suggested, because Twitter will automatically crop your pic (for the thumbnail view) with square dimensions.
  • Background image – Maximum size of 800k in JPG or PNG format. If you prefer to use a template, check out this blog post. Here is a post with some advice on what dimensions to use for your background image.
  • Design colors – You can use the provided color picker, or use a hex formatted color code. You will want to match the design colors with the theme of the background image.

2. Format – What should go on my Twitter profile theme?

In short, whatever you think will enhance your image and provide visitors to your profile information that would generally be useful. Here are a few examples of some branding techniques:

3. Execution – Getting it done.

Here is 10 minute video tutorial by Chris Pirillo on how to create a Twitter profile background:

Have you Pimped your Twitter Page? Let’s see, drop a link in the comments. As for me… my children are still making shoes… but you should still follow me.

]]> http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/02/20/pimp-my-twitter-page/feed/ 3 70 Interviews to Help You Build an Outstanding Internet Company http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/01/11/70-interviews-to-help-you-build-an-outstanding-internet-company/ http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/01/11/70-interviews-to-help-you-build-an-outstanding-internet-company/#comments Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:41:56 +0000 Elmer Thomas http://www.thinkingserious.com/?p=318 Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com has put together some incredible interviews with some amazing people with purpose of helping entreprenuers create better Internet companies. Amazingly, all of the interviews are free!

There was one issue I encountered that minimized my joy a tiny fraction at finding this treasure trove; 1) not enough time to listen to them all right now! and 2) no one place to go for an easy short list of all of the interviews (this is undoubtedly because Andrew is busy creating awesome interviews!)

In this post, I have created a list of all the interviews in a easy to browse format that takes you directly to the interview page for your convenience. On that interview page, Andrew has an introductory video, written summary of the interview, streaming audio and download link. Enjoy! I sure am.

The interviews are listed starting from the most recent:

  1. Chris Winfield – How to grow your business with social media and not have it take over your day
  2. James Siminoff – How to get the world excited about your business
  3. Jason Fried – Bootstrapping lessons from 37 signals
  4. Mateo Gutierrez – How to build your online community
  5. Derek Sivers – How a musician built a $22 million dollar business from his home
  6. Brent Csutoras – How to get traffic from social media
  7. Kurt Daradics – how to organize an event for investors, ceos and influencials
  8. Kareem Mayan – How to work while traveling like a business nomad
  9. Tony Adam – Yahoo’s SEO manager teaches you how to get more search engine traffic
  10. Douglas Atkin – What cults can teach you about building community
  11. Adeo Ressi – “Almost everyone i counciled got funding”
  12. Guy Kawasaki – How alltop is growing by following its founder’s advice
  13. Keith and the Girl – 7 secrets for building a community so passionate that they get your tattoo
  14. Jason Kiesel – Myspace app developer teaches how to build a social network application
  15. Sloane Berrent – simple tips for networking into your dream job 
  16. John King – Do you want to be donald trump or steve jobs?
  17. 2 Top Hacker News Members – Why do people join online communities?
  18. Ryan Scott – What he did after he sold his company
  19. Michael Dorausch – How is this guy getting so many hits to his site?
  20. Bob Dunlap – An ebook on birds made $500,000?!
  21. Jason McVearry – Social marketing techniques
  22. Timothy Ferriss – How blogs helped the four hour work week become a best seller
  23. Mark Jeffrey – Real entrepreneurs get back up
  24. Laurence Gonzales – Do you text while driving?
  25. Aj Vaynerchu – Community before cash
  26. Ted Murphy – Tips for successful online marketing
  27. Olivier Chaine – How to increase conversions
  28. Peter Pham – 5 steps to becoming a networking superstar
  29. Justin Premick – How to grow an email mailing list
  30. John “Ol’ Chumbucket” Baur and Mark “Cap’n Slappy” Summers - how “talk like a pirate day” became a sensation
  31. Susan Smith – How domainers profit
  32. Dan Olsen – Why your site isn’t viral
  33. Davy RothBart – “Mario, i f-cking hate you.” how to build community
  34. Chris Bechtel – 5 ways to create good content
  35. Kelly Perdew – 6 business lessons i learned from donald trump’s apprentice winner
  36. Karel Baloun – Why did facebook succeed? an early hire speaks
  37. Devlyn Steele – How to build an online community
  38. Hiten Shah – 7 essential tools of viral marketing
  39. Clinton Swaine – 7 negotiating and sales secrets
  40. Max Alexander – How to organize a master mind group
  41. Revere Strategy Group – Learning from obama, mccain and other politicians
  42. Sean Percival – Get traffic to your site
  43. Frank Warren – How postsecret uses social media to grow its mission
  44. Tony Hsieh – Surprising customers with amazing service
  45. Magento Team – You don’t need outside funding
  46. Eric Stephens – How to develop intuitive user experience
  47. Robert Schoble – How to become internet famous
  48. Matt Mickiewicz – Quickly building and selling sites
  49. Rich Demuro – How to get your startup on the news
  50. Roger Ehrenberg – Launch in phases
  51. Andy Oliver – Do-it-yourself public relations
  52. Rosalind Resnick – Is goal-setting outdated?
  53. Gregory Galant – Everyone is accessible 
  54. Ori Brafman – What sways people
  55. Sarah Lacy – Author of “Once Your Lucky, Twice Your Good”
  56. Jackie Peters – How to market on the social web
  57. Mark Suster – From the mixergy funding forum
  58. Douglas Campbell – LA’s version of the ted conference
  59. Alex Funk – Understanding widgets
  60. Deborah Shadovitz – Learning to organize a conference
  61. Dave Balter – How to build buzz
  62. Tara Hunt – Why & how to build social capital online
  63. Register at Mixergy.com to get an additional interview with Seth Godin.

Also, check out these shorter video business tips:

  1. Timothy Ferriss – Business suggestion
  2. Jeremy Shoemaker –  How to be a successful blogger
  3. Darren Rowse – How to get more traffic
  4. Jesse Stay – How to raise your profile online
  5. Jeremy Shoemaker – How jeremy schoemaker became “internet famous”
  6. John Chow – Why does john chow’s personal site make $30,000+ per month?
  7. Robert Scoble – Building a personal brand

Be sure to subscribe the Mixergy RSS feed  and bookmark his “interview” tag to get new interviews and other fantastic content. Be sure to follow Andrew on Twitter also.

Thanks for all of your great work Andrew, and please keep it going.

]]> http://www.thinkingserious.com/2009/01/11/70-interviews-to-help-you-build-an-outstanding-internet-company/feed/ 0 Enterprise 2.0: Changing Models for Organization http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/10/30/enterprise-20-changing-models-for-organization/ http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/10/30/enterprise-20-changing-models-for-organization/#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:24:27 +0000 Elmer Thomas http://www.thinkingserious.com/?p=257 I had the great pleasure of serving on a panel after a presentation given by PhD candidate and Enterprise 2.0 consultant Agi Horspool at Cal State Fullerton. Following are my notes from Ms. Horspool’s slides and presentation.

What is Web 2.0?

Users create, distribute and control content with the following features:

  • Participatory
  • Added-value with more participation
  • Democratic

Media-rich, user-friendly interfaces.

Phenomenon of “Wisdon of the Crowds” and “Group Think” expressed on the web.

Use of metadata for increased classification through folksonomy and tagging.

Focus on the “long tail” and the data contained within.

Free and open-source software as fundamental infrastructure to Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 Tools

  • Blogs
  • Wikis
  • RSS feeds
  • Social Networks
  • Mash Ups
  • Virtual Worlds
  • Social Bookmarking

Changing Learning Trends

Indian Ocean Tsunami and Wikipedia as an example of knowledge created collaboratively.

ASTD “half-life of knowledge” says that time span from knowledge gained to becoming obsolete and the amount of knowledge in the world doubled the past 10 years.

Current learning trends are that of continual process, informal learning, chaning fields or jogs. the “Know-where” is more important than “know-what”.

References:

Will Richardson: Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms

George Siemens: www.eLearnSpace.org/Articles/connectivism.html

Complex Adaptive Systems

Self-orgainzation

  • Critical mass of individuals ( tipping point )

Emergence

  • Whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Relationships

  • Importance of local context

Feedback

  • Historical system memory
  • Positive and negative damping

Adaptability

  • External environment: openness to new information
  • Information circulation within the system

Non-linearity

  • Small changes in intitial conditions

References:

Andrus, C.D. 92005): The wiki and the blog: Toward a complex adaptive intelligence community

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=755904

Enterprise 2.0

“Use of social technologies and business practices to access collective intelligence… translating to competitive advantage in the form of increased Innovation, Productivity and Agility.”

Is this the  new knowledge management?

References:

discussionleader.hbsp.com/davenport/2008/02/enterprise_20_the_new_new_know_l.html

enterprise2blog.com/2008/10/social-media-vs-knowledge-management-the-reactions

What is the Difference Between  Enterprise 1.0 and 2.0?

Here is a nice comparison chart.

Benchmark Conference Participation Survey

Here are some survey results presented by Ms. Horspool. The data was collected prior to the conference. There were 16 participants in the survey.

Self-reported Industry

  • Aerospace/Defense – 42.8%
  • Automotive – 6.25%
  • Financial Services – 6.25%
  • Higher Education – 12.5%
  • Manufacturing – 25%
  • Other – 6.25%

Size of Organization

  • > 100,000 – 37.5%
  • 50,000 – 99,999 – 6.35%
  • 10,000 – 49,999 – 18.8%
  • 1,000 – 4,999 – 6.25%
  • 500 – 999 – 18.75%
  • 1 – 499 – 12.5%

Identify Most Strongly wiht the Following Generations

  • Generation X – 13.3%
  • Boomer – 86.7%

Type of Web 2.0 Technologies Used to Access Existing Content at Least Once for Personal Reasons

  • Blogs – 64.8%
  • Wikis – 47.1%
  • RSS – 29.4%
  • Tagging – 17.6%
  • Social Networking Site – 47.1%
  • Mashups – 17.6%
  • Virtual Worlds – 29.4%
  • None – 17.4%
  • Other – 11.7%

Type of Web 2.0 Technologies Used to Regularly Access Existing Content for Personal Reasons ( at Least Three Times a Week )

  • Blogs – 25%
  • Wikis – 16.7%
  • Tagging – 8.3%
  • Social Networking Site – 16.7%
  • Mashups – 16.7%
  • Virtual Worlds – 8.3%
  • None – 75%

Type of Web 2.0 Technologies Used to Regulary Access Existing Content for Work-related Reasons

  • Blogs – 20%
  • Wikis – 20%
  • Social Networking Site – 6.7%
  • Virtual Worlds – 20%
  • None – 60%
  • Other – 6.7%

Type of Web 2.0 Technologies I have Contributed Content to at Least Once for Personal Reasons

  • Blogs – 33.3%
  • Wikis – 6.7%
  • Social Networking Site – 40%
  • Mashups – 6.7%
  • None – 46.7%

Type of Web 2.0 Technologies I have Contributed Content to on a Regular Basis for Personal Reasons ( at Least Three Times a Week )

  • Blogs – 16.7%
  • Wikis – 8.3%
  • Social Networking Site – 33.3%
  • None – 66.7%

Type of Web 2.0 Technologies I have Contributed Content to on a Regular Basis for Work-related Reasons

  • Blogs – 21.4%
  • Wikis – 21.4%
  • Social Networking Site – 7.1%
  • Mashups – 7.1%
  • None – 78.6%
  • Other – 7.1%

Have Accessed Web 2.0 Technologies Using a Mobile Device

  • Never – 68.8%
  • Once – 6.3%
  • A Few Times – 25%

Organization has Used Web 2.0 Technologies for Professional Development

  • Yes – 12.5%
  • No – 87.5%

Organization has Used Web 2.0 Technologies for Employee Appraisal

  • Yes – 12.5%
  • No – 87.5%

Organization has Used Web 2.0 Technologies for Recruitment

  • Yes – 25%
  • No – 75%

Would Like Organization to Implement Web 2.0 Technologies for the Following Talent Management Function

  • Recruitment – 56.3%
  • Retention Initiatives – 56.3%
  • Mentoring – 62.5%
  • Leadership Development – 68.8%
  • Performance Appraisal Process – 50%
  • Training/Professional Development – 81.3%
  • None – 12.5%

Enterprise 2.0 Examples

CGU: Claremont Conversation

Wikis for Collobarative Working Groups, PM and KM

CIA: Intellipedia

Eli Lilly: InnoCentive

Executive Leadership Blogs

Recruiting in Second Life: TMP Worldwide

On the Horizon: Web 3.0

Interoperability rather than web silos.

Connectivity such as across mobile devices.

Open technologies such as data that uses the creative commons license or open APIs.

The Semantic Web.

Intelligent applications via Artificial Intelligence (AI)

More information and examples:

]]> http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/10/30/enterprise-20-changing-models-for-organization/feed/ 0 Increase Productivity in Microsoft Windows by Using Virtual Desktops http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/08/14/increase-productivity-in-microsoft-windows-by-using-virtual-desktops/ http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/08/14/increase-productivity-in-microsoft-windows-by-using-virtual-desktops/#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:08:23 +0000 Elmer Thomas http://www.thinkingserious.com/?p=159 One of the productivity features I miss most when leaving my Ubuntu environment for Windows Vista 64-bit is multiple (virtual) desktops. After searching high and low, I finally found a solution that best emulates my beloved Ubuntu desktop.

The magical tool is called virtual dimension and you can download it free here.

I use virtual desktops to help organize and focus my work. Currently I’m using six desktops:

1) Main

This one I keep mostly empty. I navigate over to this desktop when I need to grab a file I’ve placed on the desktop.

2) Social

I usually have two browsers open here (across two monitors) to maintain my social media activities. The one on the left contains sites I need to check periodically while the one on the right are sites I’m currently interacting with.

3) Productivity

On the left monitor I have tabs open for all of my business related items, such as my email, calendar, contacts, project management, customer relationship management, todo list and templates for my systems and procedures.

On the right monitor I have an active checklist for whatever I am working on at the moment.

4) Development

I use this space for hacking and design. So I’ll likely have eclipse and/or Photoshop (or the Gimp) open on these screens.

5) Entertainment

Here is where I’ll have my iTunes application running or a movie playing in a browser from either Netflix or Hulu.com.

6) Communications

Here is where I have my IM stuff and personal email accounts open.

How do you utilize multiple desktops?

]]> http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/08/14/increase-productivity-in-microsoft-windows-by-using-virtual-desktops/feed/ 1 Del.icio.us Design Update http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/07/31/delicious-design-update/ http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/07/31/delicious-design-update/#comments Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:32:59 +0000 Elmer Thomas http://www.thinkingserious.com/?p=148 Del.icio.us is a must have bookmarking tool for me. The main reason I use it primarily for my “real” bookmarks is its simplicity and ease of use. My biggest complaint is that I’ve not yet found a good way to use it on my Windows Mobile 6 based phone.

We’ll, today, it appears that a long awaited design refresh finally happened. Screen shots are after the jump.

I’ve not spent enough time with the new design to form a complete opinion, but at first glance it appears ]functional, which I like. However, I don’t find the design pleasing for the pop-up when you add something to del.icio.us through your toolbar.

What do you think?

]]> http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/07/31/delicious-design-update/feed/ 7 Propeller.com and Rapid Application Development http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/07/23/propellercom-and-rapid-application-development/ http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/07/23/propellercom-and-rapid-application-development/#comments Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:46:24 +0000 Elmer Thomas http://www.thinkingserious.com/?p=132 It appears as though Propeller.com has fallen victim of a bad practice most early web designers have experienced early in their careers.

When you don’t iterate early and often with the input of your stakeholders you are taking a big risk that a majority of your stakeholders will hate your work.

Gone are the days when you hire someone to create a website for you, then dis-engage for a few months, to return to a finished product… take it or leave it.

I understand that when your stakeholders number in the ten of thousands this type of interaction could be very difficult; however, I propose the following solution.

I propose that a core set of stakeholders (ideally an odd number like three or five) make all final decisions. These stakeholders should have an intimate understanding of the community and ideally should contain a few key members of the community.

Then utilize a Digg-like voting mechanism, like CrowdSound.com to get feedback from the users.

Combine this approach with a Rapid Application Development process to help produce a website that fulfills the needs of the community.

Today, sites like LogoBids.com (I have access to the demo) make this type of collaboration for the graphics design much easier and affordable.

Once there is a majority agreement on the design, wire-frames and layout, its then a matter of execution.

While not perfect, I believe using such a method would have yielded much better results. I think it would be exciting to build the next (or upgraded) social networking community using this strategy.

]]> http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/07/23/propellercom-and-rapid-application-development/feed/ 3 Plurk Unleashed! http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/06/07/plurk-unleashed/ http://www.thinkingserious.com/2008/06/07/plurk-unleashed/#comments Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:57:24 +0000 Elmer Thomas http://www.thinkingserious.com/?p=101 Note: Check out this thread at Digg.com to vote on features you would like to see implemented in Plurk.

I have not been sucked into a social networking service like this until I first discovered Digg.com. There is something about Plurk ( Yes, my links to Plurk are invites from me :p ) that has me coming back for more. Following is my review of Plurk along with practical information on how to use Plurk.

And Then There Was Plurk…

According to Enom, the Plurk.com domain name was registered on April 5, 2000 in Canada by Plurk, Inc. It appears as if they launched around four months ago. in a private beta and then launched publicly about a week ago.

VentureBeat says that Plurk has already received funding and is run by a team of seven.

At first glance, the name Plurk is quite strange (ok, it is strange). Judging by this blog post, the name is actually well thought out. And the logo… we’ll… you be the judge.

The Buzz

Plurk has made it’s way around the blogoshpere quite quickly:

… just to name a few. Take a look at the official Plurk press page.

Looking at their Alexa ranking, it looks like Plurk’s popularity is on the rise.

Architecture

The only thing I’ve been able to uncover is that it’s not build on Ruby. At least one of their developers loves Python.

UPDATE: Amix says, “we use python and own libraries and frameworks“.

The Plurk Team

The Plurk development team (AKA the A-Team) can be found on Plurk, of course. I have personally seen one of the developers, amix, interact directly with Plurkers to the delight of users who have been frustrated with lack of response from Twitter developers.

This blog post gives you some great insight into the thinking of the Plurk team.

Getting Started With Plurk

Signing Up

The sign up process is simple and painless. If you feel I deserve some Plurk love, you will sign up using this link ( If enough of you, my dear readers, sign up through my link, I get a shiny new star, which helps me feel special :) … shameless spamming complete ). Otherwise, you will use this link ( strongly discouraged ) to sign up.

After you fill out the brief sign up form, I suggest you read through the brief five part welcome message that is automatically displayed.

Customization

Next, click edit next to the My Profile link at the upper left hand corner of the screen. Update all the information you feel comfortable with sharing on the General tab.

Click the Picture tab and upload your photo or icon ( I love what Dosh Dosh has to say on creating social media profiles ).

Next, click the Customize profile tab and change your theme to best fit your identity or brand. Here you get a hint of why gaining Karma points is so cool.

If you have a blog, you may want to consider embedding the widget located on the Widget tab. This is especially useful if you spend more time updating Plurk than your blog. You may also want to use the RSS feed link (or the URL) under the Fans section at the lower right.

Close out this window and let’s work on having some Plurk fun!

Inviting Your Friends

Plurk is no fun without friends ( plus, if you invite enough friends you get a shiny star, if that does not convince you, I don’t know what will )! So scroll down a bit and click the Friend invitation button.

Use each of the four tools on this page to invite your friends. I suggest that you only invite friends who you know are likely to try out service.

Don’t have any friends? Maybe you can find some here. I suggest that you begin by following a few interesting Plurkers so you can get a good idea of how Plurk works in its full glory.

Unfortunately, the GMail importer was not working at the time of this writing for me.

Make sure to check the Alerts link up at the top left of the timeline periodically to view and accept friend requests.

Close out this window and lets get to Plurking!

Plurking!

Plurk allows you to post Twitter like messages with embeddable media. Other Plurkers can then comment on your message. There is a number to the right of your message which shows you how many Plurkers have commented on your message. Click the number to view and respond to the comments.

Before you get started, it is helpful to review the official Plurk FAQ.

Say hello to the Plurk world by clicking the red Plurk button next to the pre-filled message that says “saying hello to the Plurk world! :) ”. If you want to get fancy with formatting your Plurk messages, check out this resource.

Below the text box is a link that says “How to share YouTube videos and pictures”. Click that link to learn how to embed media into your Plurks.

To the left of the text box is a drop down box which allows you to use different qualifiers. To the right are some emoticons, of which you can gain a larger selection by achieving karma points.

If you want to send a Plurk privately to a friend or keep a Plurk privately to yourself, use the Plurk privacy & options link under the text box to the left. You can also disallow comments through this option.

Note the messages to the lower left of the timeline. These alerts let you know when new Plurks have arrived and when Plurks you are following receive comments. Click on the links to explore.

After you have posted a Plurk, you can edit, delete and create a direct link to that specific Plurk. You can see all these options by clicking on the Plurk in the timeline ( see the delete edit and plurk page links ).

Karma

Improving your karma allows you more profile editing options and new emoticons. While silly and not really practically useful, I find this element adds a bit of fun to Plurking.

Click the how to get more karma? link underneath the Stats section below the timeline for information on how to build up your karma points.

Filters

Once your timeline starts to fill up, you will want to filter the noise. You can filter by:

  • qualifier* – click on the qualifier you want to filter by on the timeline.
  • friend – click on a friends name to go to their profile, then use the drop down menu on the lower right of the profile to view only that friend’s Plurks.
  • yourself – click on the drop down menu on the lower right and choose to see only your Plurks.
  • private Plurks – click on the drop down menu on the lower right and choose to see only private Plurks.

*As of this writing, it looks like this feature may no longer be enabled. I hope this is not the case, as this feature is useful.

Plurk Tools

Following are some tools that you may find useful in your Plurk adventures:

  • Blog Widget – You can find this in your profile settings under the widget tab.
  • Firefox Sidebar – Gives you a Twitter-like interface in a sidebar.
  • Ping.fm – Allows you send updates to Twitter and Plurk simultaneously as well as other social networking services.
  • Karma Trends – This site shows your karma accumulation progress.
  • Mobile Plurk – This is a specially formatted version of Plurk for easy viewing on PDAs.
  • FriendFeed Tab – This GreaseMonkey script adds a Plurk tab to your FriendFeed page.

Plurk vs. Twitter

Personally, I am now favoring Plurk for the following reasons:

  • Interesting interface that makes it easy to hold multiple conversations.
  • Filtering system which allows you to group your Plurks in several different ways.
  • Fast responsiveness of the system and real time updating.
  • The community seems to respond faster and in bigger groups to Plurks.
  • So far, the down time I’ve noticed is minimal and when it does happen, the service snaps back quickly.

What I still love about Twitter:

  • All of the cool applications built on the Twitter API, such as Twhirl and Jott.
  • It’s simplicity.
  • The very large user base of interesting people and powerful influencers.

Here are some interesting thoughts from around the blogosphere:

Ideas for Improvement

I have initiated a Digg.com thread so that we can all vote on what ideas should be implemented. I kicked it off with the ideas I think are most important.

Practical Usage of Plurk

Following are some suggestions on how to use Plurk for a practical benefit:

  • Public or private micro-journal.
  • Ask questions.
  • Keep in touch with your contacts and friends.
  • Find new friends and contacts.
  • Learn from the interesting questions and thoughts from your fellow Plurkers.

What the Plurk? My Thoughts About Plurk

So I was Twittering along one day, when Leo Laporte twitters about this cool new service called Plurk. At first glance, I said “Ack! What a horrible interface!” and quickly ran back to Twitter. But then I started seeing many others sing the praises of Plurk.

That prompted me to take a second look, and then I became hooked. I changed my theme, started delving deeper into the system, and then slowly my Plurk addiction took firm hold. Especially impressive to me was the responsiveness of the community. Now, Twitter just seems boring to me; I guess it’s because I can’t work my way up on Twitter (with Karma) to obtaining a dancing banana emoticon…

Follow Me

If you are already signed up for Plurk, you can follow me here for some Plurkalicious fun! Or you may decide to Plurk your eyes out… YMMV

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