I Have an Opinion About That

During an  update on Facebook I made a remark about not knowing what to do before I had Wifi in public while visiting the hospital during my wife’s recent surgery.  On of the posters said I should read one of last years magazines on the table in the waiting room.  More interestingly though was the thoughts of my favorite designer Alex who had this to say about magazines, “Did Dan say something about a magazine? What are those? Are they anything like a blog, because if I can’t tell the world what I think about what I’m reading, I”m just not interested.”

I had to smile to myself and I must explain that Alex is a twenty something who obviously loves social media.  Alex “gets” social media and uses it as a regular part of his daily life.  He and I often swap ideas about the latest app that comes along that helps up better manage all of out various feeds, lists, and on line persona.

I also had to be a bit sad, as there are a great number of folks who don’t get social media much.  I have a marketing group I am part of and one of our members believes that social media is another channel to broadcast his message, my mom finds social media a waste of time, and others liken it to an evil cult that has brainwashed us into drinking the kool-aid of the worldly masses.

I have really gotten involved pretty heavily and even created a bit of business teaching or as I put it evangelizing the benefits of social media.  I am working to educate people in the various ways social media can improve, influence, empower, and even liberate.  Social media isn’t some passing fad, it is a main stream part of life.  A recent article in the New York Times found a large majority of us are checking email, texting, or on line socially even before we eat or have coffee.  Social media is the best way for many of us to communicate to a broad spectrum of people in an efficient way that was never before possible.

I blog, tweet, post, and text large amounts of information daily and in the midst of all of that touch the lives of at least 500 people.  I have found tools that are easy and I enjoy using.  Think about that for a moment tools that are easy and fun!  I overheard a conversation this weekend from a group of soccer moms that sat behind me at a sporting event.  They were chirping away about their new Black Berries and Smart Phones.  The killer apps that kept them all connected and on track.  How much they loved texting and tweeting from their phones.

Facebook me!  Get with me on LinkedIn.  Give me your value added proposition in 140 characters or less.  This is all on a personal level, I now have the ability to befriend and become a fan of a myriad of businesses I spend money with, I can contact the developer of software I use  or author of the last book I read and tell them how much their work means to me …or not.  And believe me I have and I  must tell you that some of these on line contacts have become off line friendships that would have never happened in the past.  Professionally I have be able to be accessible to my clients in a way that could or would not have happened as little as three years ago.  I love talking to my fans and clients one on one.  My relationships are just as important on screen as they are face to face.

I have an opinion and so do you.  How many times have you said,” I’d love to call that 800 number or I am going to write the owner and tell them off.”  Social media has now placed a great number of companies brands, mine included, squarely in the hands of you the consumer.  And those of us wanting to survive and flourish in the digital age will need to continue to meet you where you are.

Looking forward to serving you tomorrow and every day!

Michael Mock

Improving Your On-Line Image

I have been involved with the 30 Day Challenge presented by Internet Marketing genius Ed Dale.  I am very intrigued by the countless numbers of people who join in every August to participate.  It is a demanding and thought provoking 30 days of information to help you make a single dollar on line.

Now I know some of you are thinking just a buck?  Is that all he is going to help you do is make one measly dollar?  You are going to give up 30 days to get a single George Washington?  That’s crazy talk!  Yeah, I know.  But think about this.  What is always the hardest part of anything?  Doing “it” (fill in the blank here) for the first time.  And after you do “it” (once again fill in the blank) the first time and succeed, you want to do “it” over and over.

That is not the real reason for my post though.  I have seen a large number of posts about pen names and blogs.  I write this blog and use my real name.  I registered for a domain name and had to use my real name.  Some people are very uncomfortable using their real names   because of a number of other people who prey upon other both on line and off.

I have clients that wants to be a voice and a face to other potential businesses and clients.  The problem they experience though is a way to be themselves without revealing their identity.  Let me see if I can clarify this a little better.  We work with a non-profit organization.  The person tasked with the  administration of the website also wants to start doing some social media, but doesn’t want to be “herself”  My co-owner (wife) made a fabulous observation and suggestion.  You don’t have to be, but you have to be.  Huh?  She went on to further explain.  Is there a King in every Burger King?  How about a Wendy in every Wendy’s?  I don’t think so.  But everyone knows the icons of the businesses and relate to these characters as the persona or image.

Our local bakery is a hipster named the Breadhead.  He has a real name, but very few people know it.  His on line persona is an icon of a baker with a paddle holding a round loaf of bread that resembles a peace sign.  You can follow him BTW on twitter @breadheadbakery.  But he is successfully building a brand around that image.  He interacts on Twitter and Facebook.  It also acts as his “gatekeeper”.  To get to him you’ve got to go through the Breadhead.

I recently taught a class on Facebook for Business and we discussed how YOU the consumer are now in charge of a great number of things that I call my business.  My brand is in your hands if I really want to be included as a product.  NASCAR learned this lesson and epitomizes it.  No one is more brand loyal than a NASCAR fan.  My brother in law will only drink Miller Lite because his driver is sponsored by them.  He only drives Chevys because his driver drives one.  It makes me laugh, but NASCAR fans have an image in their minds and support the labels that ride around on the oval.

So to make my brand your brand I have to do certain things.  I need to be transparent.  I need to offer value.  I need to be courteous, kind, funny sometimes, helpful, and honest.  I need to really listen when you talk.  I need to work at being your friend and partner.  Overall I can be an icon or a label, but it has to be one you can trust and embrace as your solution.  You can find a content managed web site builder or a social media instructor pretty easy these days.  I can’t find clients that easy.

So I guess in short, if you want to be the voice of your business as an icon, a picture of a stuffed animal, or an animated movie clip that is fine.  but play by the rules of being a good friend.

• Be helpful
• Be nice
• Be honest
• Be cooperative
• Be constructive

People forget my name pretty quick, but my company name stays stuck in peoples heads. That has something to do with the fact I have made it a priority to be a friend long before I do business.  Sure easier to take help from a friend than someone you just found in the search engines.

Michael Mock

Social Media and the Balance of Power

Today my company (that I co-own with my wife) Technology Workgroup taught a class on Facebook for Business.  We love being social media enthusiasts and evangelists.  We are big believers in the “new” way of sharing information and exchanging ideas.  We also are enjoying sharing the things we have learned and allowing people to achieve better ways to promote their ideas, products, and businesses or organizations.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks I have found for most people though is their belief or misconception that social media will drive business to their door.  They have bought into the freemium model of marketing.  Facebook is free, Twitter is free, LinkedIn is free, YouTube is free, you get the picture.

TANSTAAFL (there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch)!  Social media takes time to become a useful and powerful tool for promotion.  It also takes effort and focus.  As I said yesterday, forget yelling at the crowd, put down the bull horn, pull up a chair and sit at the table and talk to me, smile at me, thank me for being your friend.  Let me learn about the ways you can help me solve a problem.  Tell me a joke, share a little about who you are and what you are.

I also can appreciate the free idea, in this economy who can’t.  I just think that it is unrealistic to believe that putting up an on-line presence and expecting it to solve all of your problems is just naive.  There is no cruise control for social media, it is alive and will flourish,only of it is watered and feed.

During class today I did point out that a Fan page or profile for you business is only part of an effort to reach your clientele or prospective customer.  Facebook is HUGE and getting bigger every day, but just as a good marketing company, it is NOT the only venue.  I recently asked who owns the billboards, newspapers, and the radio and television stations in our area.  Not hard to believe that they are some how related to each other.  Imagine that!  All of these are enticing me to buy or engage.  The radio comments on a newspaper story and in turn the local tv station talks about the radio and newspaper coverage.  Billboards tout the best of all of those.  See the pattern here?

The same is true of using social media, Twitter points to Facebook, which in turn points to blogs and other sites.  LinkedIn and Plaxo get business together in cyberspace to collaborate.  It all brings us around the table.  Think about that and don’t see if like me some of your most fond memories have evolved from dinner time.  We laugh and share at our dinner table.  I have entertained perfect strangers at dinner that became friends and some even clients.

Think of it as a table with four legs, you need all of those legs to keep the table up and level.  Otheriwse it is a lopsided wobbly mess.  Kind of like thinking a Fanpage will save your business or get your message out effectively.

Watch in the next couple of weeks as Technology Workgroup is getting ready to release an eBook by the same title as the post “Social Media and the Balance of Power”.  It will be available both here on the blog and on the website www.technologyworkgroup.com you can also go over to the website and sign up for our newsletter and get on the inside track on how to get the book by helping me proof read  it before release!

Keep spreading the word and see me soon,

-Michael

Do You Have an Audience?

I am a big fan of movies and I even like the old medieval black and whites where the knight or knave requests an audience with the king.  I always found that line so funny, “I would like an audience with the king.”  I guess I just slip into Monty Python mode and start thinking of the Knights that say nee!”

Anyway, the place I am going is I have been blogging, tweeting, and posting for some time now.  I just watched Perry Belchers’  video on YouTube and he made a couple of statements that really hit me.  First if you are getting into social media marketing today for the first time you are screwed.  Secondly Oprah can sell Frito’s and Fords, not a problem.  Do you know why?  She has an audience.  Millions of viewers who just hang on her every word and recommendation.  Used to be Carson, now the endorsement lies with Oprah.

So that being said, I know I have an audience because the analytics tell me so, but I have many clients that want to sink all of their money in a website and then just wait for the leads to come rolling in.  Marketing on the Internet is not a set it and forget it kind of thing.  More than 75% of your efforts are outside of your site.

Working for a point of purchase display manufacturer I know we can make the the coolest display but if the end users doesn’t unpack them, set them up, place product on them and open the doors to the store what good is marketing at retail?  Imagine your web page as a product display and the store is the size of freaking Russia!  Good luck getting noticed pal.  Every firm we make displays for is just a small part of the “total package”.  It take print, radio, television, product placement in the store, and word of mouth.  We have the audience and get the clients product noticed.

All of that being said, think of it as this; Twitter is a news flash, Facebook is your scrapbook (thanks to Perry for the analogy), your blog and web site are the heart and soul of your business.  Kind of like meeting a pretty girl, it starts with a little conversation, a little hand holding, a little flirting, long walks and more conversation and then you move on to bigger and better things like serious life long relations.  But if you are not willing to engage in the conversation then you are standing at the dance along the wall watching all the pretty girls dance with other guys.

If you are little shy, even hesitant about the whole idea of social media, then really look at getting some guidance in getting started.  Drop by my website, sign up for our mailing list and I will send you some free ebooks to get you started!

www.technologyworkgroup.com

-Michael

The Buzz on Social Media

Social media is online content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It’s a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers.  – From Wikipedia

Unlike traditional forms of media such as television, radio, and print; social media is dependent upon the interaction of those engaged in it.  Traditional forms of media messages talk to us not with us.  Social media is a two way conversation.  Social media is all about word of mouth. The things you are trying to say might be different if you are looking for personal or professional recognition. The thing is the conversation is what puts the social in social media. Without it you have just media. Social media is all about two-way communication, never forget this. Being part of the social media community means you must participate, contribute, and when necessary add to conversation.

Social media means becoming a good neighbor.  It should be an objective to share and work with anyone, anywhere to achieve a community online. Your customers and followers could be anyone. Who better to get and give feedback and ideas about your product and services than the ones who are already using it? Looking past that, the social web allows us to work with basically anyone that’s connected to the internet. Collaboration breeds creativity and innovation. It would be crazy not to tap into this. Imagine eliminating expensive research, surveys, and marketing committees. Work with your employees to build your brands. Like your clients, they are the ones who know and work with your product every day.

Imagine you are having conversations and presenting your ideas, products, and services online.  You begin to garner a following.  There is this community formed from conversation you are now having, not the one way shout of you or your company advertising. This is where people are talking. You have begun a group that is bound by interaction.  These communities may vary across all the social networks out there.  You need to be looking to where your current and future customers are talking and make new friends.  Social media is a party, find out where it is happening.   It could be on Twitter, Facebook, Yelp , there are literally more than one hundred social media sites out there.  If your desire is to launch a new product, you should be creating a community around it and for it.  Fan pages, groups, and postings to blogs and forums generate that kind of viral following.  Ask Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore as they now have teamed with Kellogg’s to fight hunger in this country.  All by having a simple conversation on social media web sites.

Let’s now say you are part of a community that is centered on like minded goals and ideas.  You need to be offering your input on the conversations that are going on.  This goes right along with community and conversation. You need to comment on conversations happening in the community spaces. If you have an opinion say it, otherwise you are just lurking in the background. Speak up only when you have something constructive, or positive to add to the conversation. Commenting just for the sake of saying something doesn’t add any real value; it just adds more junk to the conversation. Commenting also is a reflection on you as the individual or brand, so always beware of that fact. Choose your words wisely, think before you speak.

Finally give of yourself.  This means being helpful. No one likes a jerk.  Don’t be mean, even when being honest.  I have a rule that I don’t say things that would upset my mom.  What you give to social media, is what you will in the end get out of it. It’s really that simple. You need to give before you can ask for something back. On Twitter (a micro-blogging platform), re-tweet valuable information from those who follow you.   Add to the conversations going on around you. Every aspect of social media allows you to contribute and participate in some way.  Share your knowledge with others.  Knowledge is power, and by giving knowledge to others, you are equipping people with power. Share quality content whenever and wherever you find it. The knowledge you share either through blogging or news feeds is the rock that social media is built upon, conversation with others.

POP, SocMe, the Hits Keep Coming!

I recently sat down with Mike Lauber, Owner of Tusco Display.  Tusco Display is a permanent point of purchase display manufacturer located in Gnadenhutten, OH.  Primarily they produce the displays that are found in retail locations worldwide but also manufacture original equipment for various industries.  You never see their name, but they in fact represent major products for widely recognized labels.  I had a few questions about how social media has impacted his business.

You can visit them on the web at: www.tuscodisplay.com

MM:  Mike, just how many companies are in the point of purchase display business?

ML:  Broadly defined, there are thousands – from screenprint shops to multi-million-dollar fixture conglomerates – around the world.

MM: How effective is point of purchase?

ML:   Consider that the average shopper makes 70% of purchase decisions in-store and you cannot avoid the fact that it’s essential and effective.  Effectiveness varies by category and brand, of course, and shoppers exhibit differing responses to POP advertising by gender and age but, overall, research time and again points to its power.  That’s why more than $20B is spent on in-store advertising annually just in the US.

MM:  With that being said, would you feel that point of purchase is still an effective medium for marketing at retail?

ML:  If you’re inferring that consumer behavior has changed during the current economic downturn, Michael, the answer is clearly still “yes.”  Part of the issue is that other forms of media have been shown to be less effective.  A TV ad, for instance, may reach 10MM people but a sign in Wal-Mart may be viewed by 100MM people in a week’s time – for a fraction of the cost.

MM:  As Web 2.0 emerges to Web 3.0 and websites offer an even greater functionality and more rich user experience, do you believe we will ever move away from a brick and mortar shopping experience?

ML:  I envision of merging of technology with the in-store experience.  Just look at the use of at-retail interactive technology growth in the last five years.  As the equipment becomes less expensive and more robust, we’re only going to see more because (a) consumers are more comfortable with it, (b) retailers will become more comfortable with it, and (c) it works.

MM:  A recently Google search reveals that malls and “big box” stores are losing ground and main street was gaining.  Do you agree with that assessment?  Will shopping in smaller downtown stores as I remember as a kid make a comeback?

ML:  There’s been a massive consolidation in retailing power to the very largest players over the past several decades.  They have the advantages of scale.  Yet, barriers to entry for someone to open a shop are fairly low.  Niche players and “mom’n’pop” stores won’t be back like you remember them but, those that survive will overcome the big players with extreme customer service and attentiveness.

MM:  Recently Procter and Gamble dove into the social media craze, as well as the fact that, yeah I’ll say it, “Dude they are selling Dells on Twitter.”  Has Tusco Display adopted any social media to promote itself or cultivate new business relationships?

ML:  We are finding success with the social media, sometimes in unexpected ways.

MM:  What kind of results has it yielded?

ML:  From finding a new supplier to reconnecting with a client who has moved twice since we last worked together to digging deeper within an organization to meet people to simply letting people know that Tusco is here, we’re appreciating what SocMe can do for us.

MM:  Given there is no such thing as a free lunch, social media if you manage it yourself cost you time and effort.  How much time do you spend on social media to promote your business, make contacts, and be an active member of the social media community?  Would you recommend “farming” this out to a third party? Why or why not?

ML:  We’re a fairly small company, Michael, so I’m very hands-on and encourage our associates to participate, learn and explore ways in which it can help us.  Though calling on experts to help us can make sense, we stand to benefit from doing much of it ourselves.

MM:  Along with that then, is social media a tool or time waster?

ML:  Yes and yes.  Like wine, a little is good for you but too much is deadly.  You should manage it, not the other way around.

MM:  Mike, finally would you recommend someone wanting to get started on social media to promote ones business, product, or persona enlisting some help or just dive in?  We all know the water is warm, but what are the potential pitfalls and struggles of not having a “swim buddy?”

ML:  There are lots of free or low-cost opportunities to fast-track your fundamental learning.  With a little training, you can ramp up much faster.  We used a training offered through Kent State University Tuscarawas to learn how to walk and we’ve been running ever since.

MM:  Thanks Mike for taking time to answer my  questions.  I am excited to see that social media has been a positive thing and hope that you will continue to build your contacts and foster great relationships that assist you in building your business and professional network.

Mike Lauber has owned Tusco since 1979.  Past chairman of the Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) trade association, Lauber was inducted into the Point of Purchase Industry Hall of Fame in 2008.  Tusco is a leading designers and manufacturers of custom permanent displays and store fixtures in N America serving brands’ at-retail merchandising needs.

Social Media 10 Commandments

I got this sent to me from my boss Mike at Tusco Display.  Great advice from a guy who knows social media and one guy who knows me and my passion of all things digital.  If you are interested in getting this technology up and running for youself or your company or organization contact me at Technology Workgroup go to the contact page and/or join our mailing list.

Powerful rules for powerful tools.

From Lon Safko…As an author of The Social Media Bible, I am often asked, “What do I need to do engage my company, my products, and myself in social media?” The answer is easy: participate. Get out there and get involved. If you aren’t in the game, you can’t win. Here’s your Ten Commandments or things you need to be doing to get in and win with social media.

1.      Thou Shalt Blog (like crazy).

2.      Thou Shalt Create Profiles (everywhere).

3.      Thou Shalt Upload Photos (lots of them).

4.      Thou Shalt Upload Videos (all you can find).

5.      Thou Shalt Podcast (often).

6.      Thou Shalt Set Alerts (immediately).

7.      Thou Shalt Comment (on a multitude of blogs).

8.      Thou Shalt Get Connected (with everyone).

9.      Thou Shalt Explore Social Media (30 minutes per week).

10.  Thou Shalt Be Creative (go forth and create creatively)!

Commandments 1. Thou Shalt Blog (like crazy)
Blog. Please. That’s the first priority. Set up a blog, a personal blog, a business blog. It’s easier than you think. Use an existing blogging site such as Blogger.com or GOingOn.com or install your own branded blogging site right on your own server by using WordPress. And, WordPress is free.

Commandments 2. Thou Shalt Create Profiles (everywhere)
Create your profiles; do it now before someone else takes them. Once they are gone, they are gone forever. That’s called cyber squatting. So get out there. Use Open Social to make filling in your profiles as easy as a click of a button.

Commandments 3. Thou Shalt Upload Photos (lots of them)
Upload photographs. You’ve got them. Don’t upload the one with you with a lampshade on your head…counterproductive; but other photographs? Absolutely. Customers want to see and participate. You want to give people a face to go with your company.

Commandments 4. Thou Shalt Upload Videos (all you can find)
Videos. You all have got videos. I don’t care whether it’s training videos or customer videos, grab your video camera and go interview some of your customers. What’s better than seeing your customer’s smiley face on your Web site? And it doesn’t cost anything.

Commandments 5. Thou Shalt Podcast (often)
Podcast. If you’re too cheap to get a camera, use the free audio software that’s in your computer. That’s what I did. I created 48 audio podcasts. If you take the podcasts I did for my book and played them back-to-back, they run 24 continuous hours of interviews. You can do that. It’s free. It just takes time.

Commandments 6. Thou Shalt Set Alerts (immediately)
Set alerts. People are talking about you. You probably need to know what they are saying and you want to participate.

Commandments 7. Thou Shalt Comment (on a multitude of blogs)
Comment. Commenting is like going to a cocktail party. You wouldn’t walk into a networking event, walk up to a group of people talking, and tell them your name and what you do in your business. That would be rude and unacceptable. Listen first. Read the blogs and add comments. You can be controversial, that’s okay. But participate. Get involved.

Commandments 8. Thou Shalt Get Connected (with everyone)
Get LinkedIn. Put it in your email that you have a LinkedIn account, you have a FaceBook account, and that you have a Twitter account. Make it a part of your heading on your letterhead, because that’s how you propagate. That’s how you sell it.

Commandments 9. Thou Shalt Explore Social Media (30 minutes per week)
Explore social media. Give me thirty minutes a week, that’s all I’m asking. Friday morning grab your coffee, lock yourself in your office, and give me thirty minutes. Just Google something. I promise you within the first 30 days you will be excited. You’ll be as excited as I am. You will get excited because of the ROI.

Commandments 10. Thou Shalt Be Creative (go forth and create creatively)
And the most important commandment is creativity. That’s all. It’s just creativity and having fun. But you know what, that’s what your customers want. They want to see transparency. They want to see authenticity. They want to see you having fun. They want to be able to relate and communicate.

Lon Safko is the co-author of The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies For Business Success. He is also an innovator and professional speaker with over 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, strategic partnering, speaking, training, writing, and e-commerce. He is the founder of eight successful companies, including Paper Models, Inc.

We all seem to be getting a bit gray.

    Well now I have been a technophile since…well for a over thirty years.  Over the last ten I have been a paid IT professional and prior to that I was always one of the first to adopt and embrace new and emerging technology.  My mom, not so much.  She started a book keeping business twenty odd years ago.  I helped her set up her first computer.  And each subsequent machine she has purchased.  I have patched, updated, upgraded, and spent numerous hours on the phone doing support.  I have not always enjoyed it, but she is my mom and I would do anything for her.  She always encouraged me to pursue the things I loved and supported me in some poor decisions that were my own and had the love to not say “I told you so.” when I discovered, she should have said it anyway.

    So while at dinner last night with the spouse and offspring, mom calls her #1 grand daughter and asks, “So what is Twitter?”  Now understand #1 daughter is a teenager and #2 daughter is a tween.  #1 is a techie, and #2 is a self described technological cripple.  So #1 is explaining Twitter to her Nana and not doing very good, so wife the one who does web work and has recently added social networking to her portfolio of  tool for Technology Workgroup takes the phone.  She and my mom spend several minutes getting down the steps (Mom needs to write things down as she goes and puts them in her archive of notes for the computer.) to install Twitter.  I her the wife say, “Yes a tweet is a message” and “Yes you can see out tweets, if you are following us.”  I was amazed to see how enthused the wife was as she was almost animated in her explanations to mom.  Spouse tell mom, “When you get all set we can talk about Face Book and LinkedIn.”

    It was at that moment I recalled an article I recently read about how the internet is going gray. http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1006968 Study shows a comparison of demographics from 2005 and 2008.  Even Facebook Demography has changed dramatically in the last two years.  A large majority of my home personal computer clients are over fifty-five.  I had a “seasoned citizen” referring his Masonic lodge buddies to me for their computer repair work.  I get approached in church by fellow members to answer questions and dish up my opinions on technology.  I laughed out loud at a recent voice mail I received when a retired fellow I know well asked what processor he should choose as he was buying his parts to build his own computer.  He recently got satellite Internet access and was giving me his up and down stream numbers.  He occasionally asks if my dry loop DSL line is that fast.

    Old dogs and new tricks, I am amazed at how the right motivation be it the need to tinker with the components or the desire to follow an expert on a social networking and media platform.  A truly remarkable age in which we live.

Fasting-It isn’t just about skipping meals.

    I put myself on a bit of a technology fast this weekend.  I promised that I would only use myPC and smart phone as needed.  There was to be no Facebook, no Twitter, no LinkedIn, and GASP! no Internet.  I still need to check the email as my servers at work occasionally have some fatal secret to share.  Plus I am supporting a company network so it is always 27/7/365 for me.

    I must admit there were several times over the weekend that I could have just sat down and gave in.  I was glad that I didn’t,  because too many times I miss out on too many real things.  There was yard work, a guitar lesson to teach, kids to hassle about growing up too fast, and a beautiful wife who I recognize since I and she were able to look over the top of the open notebook lid.

    Too much time caught up in social media, networking, repair, and marketing.  Being too busy I discovered this weekend robs all of us of intimacy.  We are forgetting to slow down and reconnect, recreate, and revive ourselves.  I am a HUGE fan of modern technology, my work is varied and rewarding.  I draw deep satisfaction from my job but really am at my best being the person God has called me to be.

    So it is now Monday night and I sit posting this and recounting in my head all of the digital madness that comprised my day, Access reports, ERP data pools, website work, stacks of articles left over from the weekend.  I have a few updates to a website and it will soon be time to sleep.  I am turing in at the same time my grade school daughter does tonight as I am off the fast and onto a fast track to complete my task and already tired.  Tomorrow will be fraught with it’s own worries, but for tonight, I break my fast with a little snack-Facebook, LinkedIn, and tweeting a few tidbits of the day.

The Faster I Run The Behinder I Get

    I had really hoped to get all of the events of the last week in some form of order so there was some fluidity to my story.  Alas as it always is for a one person IT operation I am running out of caffeinated hours in my day to fulfill all of my digital duties.

    So here is last week in a nutshell.  I have had a HUGE amount of success apply the three platforms of social networking.  LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have become staples in my application arsenal.  I also have started this blog which is going to be followed by colleagues, family, friends, and I suspect a few enemies as well.  I have made new friends like Angela at ShinyDoor, got connected with an old friend on Facebook, reacquainted myself with a former client turned mentor on LinkedIn, and got a good business direction and help from what I consider a giant in the industry of web business via Twitter.

    So now I find myself working on extranet for our external clients including out national account managers at Tusco Display, intranet is an ongoing improvement cycle, and building up our web presence @ www.tuscodisplay.com.  This doesn’t include the day to day duties I perform here at work and at our home based business Technology Workgroup.  Needless to say I forgot to mention integration of a new time and attendance system to our ERP software.

    The biggest purpose of this blogging experience was to illustrate and document my evolution of our company web site www.tuscodisplay.com.  I was fortunate enough to get in touch with Bryan Eisenberg via Twitter.  For those of you who are not familiar with Bryan and his brother Jeffery  they have author several book and white papers about successfully selling and converting visitors into clients.  I have heard words like “the bible” or “gold standard” of web marketing to describe their teaching and methodology.

   So now I feel up to speed and further behind as I write this post, as my wife’s words come to mind as I left this morning, “Don’t forget our 8:00 PM with the Trustees of Dover First Moravian Church“.  This is another project Technology Workgroup is taking on as we are members of that church and this is our gift of service we are offering.  So here is my blogging challenge, I will be writing about what I learn in “Call to Action” by Bryan and Jeffery Eisenberg, and inviting all of my readers to follow the changes on both of these site as in some way we will be working to make visitors into converts.