Posted By Randy Evans on 12 Apr 2010 07:45 PM
Hey Jon....do you use Evernote? Not a social networking thing at all, but I just started with it and I can see how it can really revolutionize how you keep up with stuff.

Quick explanation from a complete non-expert....Evernote keeps information for you online, so that it is accessible through your smart phone, pc, etc. With my iPhone, I can type in a quick note, or take a photo, or record my voice, and upload it to Evernote. If I take a photo, it records my location on a map. If there is text in the photo, it becomes searchable. (So, you meet a potential business associate in his or her office. Take a picture of their business card while there, and you have their information plus their location plotted on a map.) You can record information about a potential customer by speaking into your phone, take a pic of their house to map it, etc. etc.

Hard to explain, but it seems to me like a giant step toward a really seamless way to integrate technology into your life or business.

What is the quality of pictures taken with an IPhone?

It's a 3 megapixel camera, without a flash.  Kind of ordinary for a cell phone camera, I guess.  I just snapped these real quick for you.

The ubiquity of social media, especially for young people, is being demonstrated in my town of Birmingham Alabama by an upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet by a somewhat avant-garde local group of thespians. They will perform the play by delivering the lines as written by Shakespeare, with no additions or deletions or edits. But.....the character "Romeo" and the character "Juliet" have both had Facebook pages for months, and members of the cast will tweet and upload video to Facebook from the stage.

Not directly related to your marketing concerns of today, but I do think it is worth observing that the ranks of consumers are rapidly being filled by people who fully expect to find product and service information in the social media realm.

That's a shame, that is.

Oh, get with it, Grandpa!

You young dufferwhiffers don't see the value of the face time sale. Back when you were wearing dr. denton's we were talking to customers face to face, and they were informed through speaking the great words of wisdom rather than the razzle of the dazzling pixel. We brought them through the door through word of mouth rather than wonder of new age frazmatangle. The word of a friend about how good a job we did meant more than how many times we burped a tweet or booked a face, or linked an in. But those were the days before television, electricity, and these other newfangled poppydoodles you all young scamps are cockamaimying up now!

Okay, I keed, I keed, but seriously, with all the time you spend on facebook or twitter, please don't neglect nursing contacts the old way. A referral kicks the crap out of a tweet. If it takes dozens of postings on facebook to get the power of a mention from a cousin, a neighbor, a co-worker on how good a job they got from you, than you should have a good notion of where and how to spend more of your limitted time.

Tom,

Does this mean you wont be watering his facebook garden? Sorry, I dont do facebook or any of that crap, but I saw a facebbok episode on South Park and asked my daughter about it. She explained, yes there is a garden and signage etc. (Who knew?)

I asked her when she needed a loan, help with her homework or needed help to move how many "facebook friends" show up?  I got that young and dumb mean daughter look in reply. Im still in stitches. hahahahahahahaha.

I very readily defer to your expertise in how to run and market your business, Tom.  I make no pretense at specific knowledge about that.  My gut tells me you're absolutely right about testimonials and referrals having great value.

I do recall early in my visits here that you invited me to visit the website for your business, which was very professional and relatively elaborate.  A Facebook page that made you "findable" in that world, with a link to your very nice website, would be free and consume very little time.  This link is from a site I don't know very well, so I'm not vouching for it.  But what it says rings true in my experience.

Randy, Good gosh, please don't take me too seriously. I have been aware of the potential value of facebook and twitter, etc. for a couple of years now. There is a limited amount of time I have to promote my business, and, until I see an actual line of proof that this or that job was directly because of a facebook, etc. type of networking, I'll reserve my time for other pursuits. I think I have linke'd with anyone who has asked, but I think I will pass on facebook for now.

It is difficult for me to really understand how it all works, even after reading several articles about it. What I do know that works is talking to a customer and showing them that I know whereof I speak and they can have confidence in choosing us as a company for quality work, as opposed to, say, marketing ourselves in cool and different ways.

Maybe it is because I do not know what kind of time and process I need to invest in this new social network stuff that I refuse to embrace the future. So far every thing I hear or read about it is how great it is, but only if you spend the time posting and connecting and socializing. Maybe I do too much here and should do it there instead? (Asks Mr. 6500 posts)

Yeah, John, that's a good example of what I find lacking - and actually a bit disturbing about all this stuff. Hewre's a quote from that article:


"… if you're logged into Facebook and then visit a third party website, that site will be able to access the following:
• your name
• your profile picture
• your gender
• your friends and connections
• your user ID
• any content shared using the "Everyone" privacy setting"

Why do you think this is the case?

Other sites - bing and it's contemporaries are increasingly gathering data that, not too long ago, we would have considered gross and dangerous violations of our privacies, and making determinations about us to any number of entities and groups on the web. We seem not to care who knows what about us as long as our wants get met as fast as possible.

There's far too much "us" out there.

Tom,

I understand what you are saying, but when everyone is doing it, it sometimes makes the sensational, not so. It just becomes ordinary.

Well I'm back from St. Louis without incident.

Of course, my Facebook friends already know that

Ouch. That stung.

Because, you know, that's what I was wondering about all week, you see.

Posted By Jon Olson on 19 Apr 2010 06:58 AM

Perhaps FB friends is not the correct word. More like FB associates.  Good explanation Randy. I feel the only reason to use Social networking is to bring people to your web-site.

 

I don't need social sites  to make friends as Lenny stated ,that's what you do off-line.   All business for me while using the Social sites

Sure Jon. I believe you! Really I do! I hear you say "I don't need social sites to make friends as Lenny stated ,that's what you do off-line. All business for me while using the Social sites " To quote SNL from days gone by.......Yeah, thats the ticket!

Tom,

Too much private info going out on those things! I agree.

I have to agree with Kelsey, social networking sites are evil, no matter how much they market it and say its a good thing. I havent seen anyone make back thier cost from investing the time and money in this crap!