Not more spying, or is it REALLY spying on social media sites? You decide, then let us know your thoughts.
(Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document.
Have your Facebook friends invited you to switch your boring blue Facebook profile to an attractive shade of red, black or shocking pink? Before changing anything read the story behind the scam…..
Did he really say that 99% of the American people (have nots) are envious of the 1% (haves)? Yes he did. He not only stated it last night during the primaries, but he also stated it this morning on the Today show. Mitt Romeny believes the “have nots” (99% of the population who aren’t millionaires) are envious of the “haves” (1% of the population who are millionaires). Wow, has he forgotten his roots? Doesn’t he remember his father telling him about how he grew up in poverty? What are your thoughts? Do you think if Mitt becomes president we will see the 99% suppressed for the sake of the 1%? We’ll see. Also, what is this about some of the Republican candidates purchasing businesses, sellling off the assets for a profit and disolving the business they purchased putting hundreds of people out of work?
If you are alive and can type (or have someone do it for you) I’d love to hear from you about the candidates.
Their may be several factors operating.
1. It offers bypassing clerical personnel, either by shortcutting a wait on the telephone, via telephone triage. It also offers after hours communications.
2. It depersonalizes the initial contact with a non-medical person, who they do not want to know about a personal problem.
3. Some have expressed a brief social media contact with the doctor would alleviate anxiety while waiting for an appointment.
4. Some perceive a professional social media contact as an act of caring and would offer a means of expressing anxiety, which might facilitate an earlier office visit.
5. The acceptance of these forms of communication have been limited by the feds. Ethics have been replaced with law.
6..Google + hangouts it turns out is not a secure platform, nor would an application on top of it be secure.
7.others
Many things make a small business successful. Many of the things that make a small business successful are the same things making large businesses successful. I’ll share with you one of the things that small as well as large businesses have to have to stay competitive and be successful.
As you build your business don’t be willy nilly about it. Develop processes and fine tune them. Processes are the lifeblood of every business. Use the same process over and over and when you find ways to make them more efficient, change them. McDonald’s didn’t become famous for their hamburgers, you can get a better hamburger many other places. They became successful and stayed competitive because they’ve fine tuned their processes to a point that the consumer knows EXACTLY what they will receive when they make a purchase at McDonald’s. McDonald’s processes are defined and documented to the point that they even have pictures of where the pickles go on the bun, exactly how much mustard and ketchup to use and the best temperature for the burger. Processes make businesses successful.
The processes you develop for your business will grow with you as you expand. If you don’t have processes in place you won’t know what you need to change as you expand. In my business, Social Media Marketing, we are constantly changing processes. We don’t change processes for the sake of changing processes, but a clear indicator of when to change a process is when one of my team experience frustration.
Frustration and poor quality are the fastest ways to disintegrate a business. Whenever one of my team shows frustration I look at the process (if there weren’t a process in place I wouldn’t have anything to look at to bound the frustration), see what in the process is causing frustration and develop an alternate to the process or “tidy up” the process. After I’ve introduced the alternative to my team, taken their input into consideration, finalized the change, I’ll implement it into the existing process and monitor it for its effect.
This is an ongoing process and does not stop with one change. There may be numerous iterations, or the process may take on a life of its own and continually change. Social Media Marketing is a good example of constant change. No one really knows where Social Media Marketing is headed nor where it will end up. In most cases there is not a baseline for Social Media Marketing and people are making it up as they go along. One of my clients said he was presented with a social media marketing plan that ended up with “we’re really not sure where this will take us, but we’ll build it as we go along.” Yeah, right. As a business owner do you want to “build it as we go along” or do you want to see the process by which the company is moved from point A to point B? We prefer following a process whereby our clients can use our processes to identify exactly where we are in the process and what, if any, changes need to be made to the process to make them and us successful.
Processes are the lifeblood of any business. Well defined and documented processes will garner a high price for the business should you ever decide to sell the business or offer your business as a franchise.
I don’t doubt the Government will soon be watching me and my posts as I am one of the many people following their covert activities with Social Media Spying (see my 01/04/12 post, “Yes, the Feds Are Spying on Social Media”) . The Governemtn is setting up “aliases” with which they can penetrate the social media world by being someone they’re not. This is all part of the social media surveillance game. Keep in mind, the same thing can happen in business. The following story is a great business model. Read on:
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Last week, the Privacy Impact Assessment for the program was released and contains some fascinating insights into how the government is monitoring the internet. A copy of the Assessment is available from the DHS website. The program is set up to have government agents set up false social media profiles to then gather information about its citizens’ activities on virtually every site on the internet. The report admits as much:
The NOC will use Internet-based platforms that provide a variety of ways to follow activity related to monitoring publicly available online forums, blogs, public websites, and message boards. Through the use of publicly available search engines and content aggregators the NOC will monitor activities on the social media sites listed in Appendix A for information that the NOC can use to provide situational awareness and establish a common operating picture…..The NOC will gather, store, analyze, and disseminate relevant and appropriate de-identified information to federal, state, local, and foreign governments, and private sector partners authorized to receive situational awareness and a common operating picture. [O]PS is permitted to establish user names and passwords to form profiles and follow relevant government, media, and subject matter experts on social media sites listed in Appendix A in order to use search tools under established criteria and search terms such as those listed in Appendix B for monitoring that supports providing situational awareness and establishing a common operating picture.
I recently talked about Rock Solid Business Relationships and 3 things to overcome when initially building the Rock Solid Business Relationship:
1. How to contact the person you want to build the relationship with
2. What medium they are most likely to communicate with
3. When are they most likely to respond or teleconference with you
(for a breakdown of these principles go to http://mikebitter.com/2012/01/05/rock-solid-business-relationships/)
I presented these principles by referencing people who wanted me as an audience and how they were missing the mark and not getting my time. Since then, I’ve had 2 instances that edify my point. One was a business who wanted to talk to me, the other is a new client I’ve been trying to contact on a regular basis. The business that wanted to talk to me realized right away I am hard to contact so he immediately did one of the simplest and most ancient ways to lock down a meeting, he sent me a meeting request. It was so simple, it only took a little bit of his time and now he and I are scheduled to meet this week. On the other hand I am working with a new client that I have to develop my approach using each of the 3 principles of contacting a “target.” Here’s the story…..
My new client is extremely busy during two time periods during the day; 11am-1:30pm and 4p-6p. Knowing the genre of the business, I should have known not to stop by during those times (principle #3), but I did. Although he made an effort to talk to me, I did not have his full attention. I’ve made note of the times he is unavailable and will ensure I do not try to schedule time with him during the aforementioned times. It is a waste of my time and his.
The reason I stopped by his office to talk to him is because of principle #1. My new client is an older gentleman who likes face to face communication. After assessing principle #1; how to contact him, I knew I had to drop by his work to talk to him. He has limited access to the phone and internet so the first thing I needed to work out is the best way to contact him. I soon realized it is best to drop in, talk to him face to face and quickly set an appointment with him. This has worked marvelously. Using this approach he knows when I’m dropping by, we are uninterrupted and our meeting proceeds smoothly.
As you may have already realized, the answer to principle #2 is face to face. My client (the target) likes face to face communications which means I make a trip to his business to talk with him about his account. I don’t see this as a problem, but a solution to what could end up as an irreconcilable relationship. Communicating as much as you can using the target’s how, what and when, is paramount to building Rock Social Business Relationshops.
Using these principles is only the start to building Rock Solid Business Relationships; the most valuable relationships anyone can have. These principles work for all situations from business to politics to friendships.
Business relationships are a great thing to have in your life. Rock Solid business relationships are even better. They are tougher to attain because there’s an initial boundary between you and the person you’re trying to build the relationship with. Wow, I think I even confused myself with that thought. If you follow me, that’s great. If you aren’t following me, hang on. Let me try to explain.
When I initiate the first contact with a “target,” there are only three things to overcome:
1. How to contact them
2. What medium are they most likely to communicate with
3. When are they most liklely to respond or teleconference with you
After you’ve taken care of these three thinge it is time to implement your contact. Knowing these initial three things about your target allows you to start building that Rock Solid relationship. This is how I know this…
First off, I use these three principles in every contact I make.
Secondly, there is a young business man who’s been attempting to contact me. In my opinion, we’ll have a great business relationship, but we have to get past the initial boundary. At this time I am too busy with new clients to break through the boundary and he’s not willing to get the answers to the three principles above. He is persistent, but he has not learned how to work on my time. We have an awesome project coming together and now we HAVE to work together. He still has bit to learn, but he has the potential to be very successful in his career.
Build Rock Solid relationships, but understand the three principles above and how they pertain to the target. Work slow, understand the mechanics.
Land of the free and home of the brave? Whatever happened to serving and protecting (that statement is police jargon)? Whatever happened to free speech and the 5th Ammendment to the Constitution; the same Constitution military people swear to uphold and defend? There are people who fight, and some who give their lives, to protect and proliferate democracy in the world and they come home to this? The following is a very graphic video of a police officer beating an Iraq war veteran so hard that he suffered a ruptured spleen in an apparently unprovoked incident at …
The Social Media Marketing investment is an investment of time rather than an investment of money. For a small business, Social Media Marketing is a great opportunity for the business to spend as much or as little time with as many or as few people as they choose. Social Media has no boundaries, not even for small business. As your business grows, and/or as your following grows, so does your social media, or should I say your internet presence grows. How do you want to spend your time? Talking with one person or talking to 100s of peopls?
Its not a matter of ability; Social Media Marketing is not difficult. Its the invesment of time, a structured, methodical approach to marketing for people who want your product. Those people are there, waiting. Here’s an interesting article by a social marketing company in the UK. Take a look and let me know what you think. The lead in…
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Whilst the biggest challenge faced by businesses is a lack of time, it is, however, encouraging that so many are still committed to social media as a long term investment. Over 50% of those surveyed are now spending 1-3 hours a week on social media activities, 17% are spending 4-6 hours and a surprising 15% are spending over 10 hours.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/511387#ixzz1iV1cGhjc
Wake up. Anyone and everyone has access to social media. Why not the feds too? This article is about awareness. People are watching and they do look into your life through your use of social media. H E L L O. This is S O C I A L.
Social is why social media is the cornucopia of marketing for small business. Anyone and everyone is watching. Tap into it. Here’s the lead-in to an interesting article about how “…the Feds Are Spying on Social Media.” As you read the article look for tips and tricks you can use for your business. By the way, do you think they have a position in the Federal Government called Social Media Spy?
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The DHS has admitted in a public statement that it creates profiles to monitor “publicly available online forums, blogs, public websites, and message boards,” including social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, in what is known as the “Publicly Available Social Media Monitoring and Situational Awareness Initiative.”
The US military is developing software that will allow it to secretly manipulate social media sites by using fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda. A Californian corporation has been awarded a contract with US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US armed operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop an “online persona management service” that will allow one US serviceman or woman to control up to ten separate identities based all over the world. The CENTCOM contract stipulates that each fake online persona must have a convincing background, history and supporting details, and that up to 50 US-based controllers be able to manage false identities from their workstations.
Using social media such as Twitter and Facebook to drive retail sales was a budding trend this year that is expected to grow exponentially in 2012. It is especially meaningful to independent retailers without large advertising budgets.
The first quarter of 2012 is here and what is your marketing strategy? If you haven’t thought about your 2012 strategy, now’s the time to get moving. I’ve talked about strategy before, but now’s the time to lay our your strategy. Everyone is doing it, what about you?
If your business survived 2011, you’ll want it to survive 2012. The coming year will a much easier year than 2011, but you’ll still need to do some planning. Some things to consider:
1. What will you market the first quarter of 2012?
2. Who are your target markets?
3. How much money will you have to spend for 1Q12 marketing?
These are the first questions you need to ask yourself as a business owner. There are many more, but you have to start somewhere.
#1 What is your product and what will you market during 1Q12? Many businesses are not sure when to market certain products. Review past performance during 1Q of years past and decide what product does well during 1Q. If you are in the financial industry the first quarter may be the best time to market annuities or 401k plans. If you are in the services industry this may be the time to market information or knowlege about your product new products for the upcoming year.
If there is a product that sells well in the send quarter, consider introducing it during 1Q and get the “buzz” started. You don’t have to do heavy marketing, just mention it during 1Q. I am working with a high-end clothing retailer who knows that 2Q is when people start making wedding plans. They don’t want to market weddings, but 1Q is when they’ll start mentioning their services. They also know that 1Q is when most job interviews happen, so they are starting their interview suit strategy. The clothing retailed knows their market and have built it around a combination of past performance and future prognotstication. Above all, put your marketing strategy together and go for it.
#2 Your target market. Take a look at your 2010 and 2011 target markets. Have they changed in the last two years? Is there a trend you need to take a closer look at? Does the trend point to a market you may have otherwise missed? For most businesses, the next two weeks will be slower than most weeks and is a good time to get answers to these questions. If you’ve developed your 1Q12 strategy already, review it for possible updates and talk to your teams. Get their input. If your target market is changing, change with it. Unless you want yur business to experience life support in 2012, don’t get stuck in the “this is the way we’ve always done business” syndrome.
#3 Once again, review previous years performance, especially 1Q11. The first quarter of 2011 is probably your best barometer for first quarter of 2012. Review your print media, radio and televeision marketing. Was it successful? Did it hit your target market and how well was your message recveived? If you find a campaign worked, try it again. Dump the campaigns that don’t work. Keep up with the latest news about marketing. Radio, television and print media are having a hard time reaching your target audience. Although you can get great deals on radion, television and print marketing, ask yourself if you are throwing money down a hole. The reason for the great marketing deals is because advertisers can’t sell marketing space because it has a very small ROI. Go where the people are; social media. There is an awesome social media company out of Omaha that is doing a great job for their clients. It is called Affordable Social Media. They are a small company, but have a breadth of experience that is unmatched by other social media companies.
Above all, stay within your marketing budget. If you do you own social media the greatest expense will be your time. Social media has to be attended to and maintained to get the best return on your marketing. If you can’t devote the necessary time to social media, hire someone who has the experience and knows how to “carve out” your area in the internet. If you’re not in social media yet (social media is more than Facebook….sorry Zuckerberg), get into it soon. More businesses will launch social media campaigns in 2012 than ever before. If you are unsure about social media, contact Affordable Social Media and talk to them about their services.
Always be forward looking. Look for trends and be ready to change your stratgey to adapt to new markets. Tap into a market that may have otherwise been untapped. The upcoming year will be awesome. Take advantage of it now.
#3. Social Media Advertising – Savvy small business marketers are increasingly realizing that the opportunity to reach customers extends beyond traditional paid search into the booming social media space. Having surpassed Google as the most visited website for the week ending March 13, 2010 and with over 400 million registered users, Facebook offers a significant audience that shouldn’t be ignored. Social networks like Facebook can provide online marketers hyper-targeted advertising opportunities that can tap into new customer segments and serve as a complement to other paid search programs.
Occupy Wall Street has its own “archives working group,” and one of its members says that while they appreciate the institutions’ interest, it would be preferable for archivists to collaborate with them, instead of just collecting items without input from protesters. But in this fascinating article, The Brooklyn Think reports the archive group’s request for $3,940 to cover storage, transportation and equipment costs was not approved at an Occupy Wall Street budget meeting last month. So the archives working group is considering donating its entire collection of materials to the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University. Meanwhile, the online Occupy Archive site, run by The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, currently has over 2,500 OWS-related items.
The Purple Heart award was established in 1932 and is awarded by the president to anyone wounded or killed while serving in the armed forces. It revived the Badge of Military Merit, created by President George Washington in 1782.
In November, a serviceman on leave went to the A-Z Outlet in Holland, a pawn shop owned by Bryan VandenBosch, and sold one of his two Purple Hearts. He earned them after he was wounded while serving in Afghanistan, the Holland Sentinel reported.
The decision by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to cave in to the Senate came after days of criticism from Obama and Democrats. But perhaps more tellingly, GOP stalwarts like strategist Karl Rove and the Wall St. Journal editorial board warned that if the tax cuts were allowed to expire, Republicans would take a political beating that would harm efforts to unseat Obama next year.
Friday’s House and Senate sessions are remarkable. Both chambers have recessed for the holidays but leaders in both parties are trying to pass the short-term agreement under debate rules that would allow any individual member of Congress to derail the pact, at least for a time.
For marketers, converting messages into transactions is the Holy Grail, but if they don’t quickly materialize through new media outlets, that’s no reason to throw in the towel. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other outlets are constantly evolving and experimentation is necessary to find success.
Once we accept that “social” does not equal “transactional” we’ll all be a lot more adept at using it in 2012.
