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Who Are You Connecting with Your Social Network?

by Sean Earley on June 11, 2010 · 6 comments

If you want to be successful in business and in life, the more connected you are, the better. It’s a simple fact.

One of the most powerful aspects of social media is in its ability to connect you with new people. To expand your network and grow your reach.

One even more potentially powerful aspect is its ability for you to help connect other people to each other and to help expand their networks as well.

Sometimes it really amazes me that we have such powerful, free networking tools sitting there at our disposal that allow us to do so much good and have so much potential at just a couple clicks or a Retweet, and yet, so many of us are just sitting there letting it all go to waste watching that stupid timer count down in Mafia Wars, or some other equally useless time sucking activity.

Am I making you feel just a little bit guilty yet? Good.

Ok, so here is my plan. [click to read more…]

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Avoiding the Social Media Overwhelm

by Sean Earley on June 2, 2010 · 2 comments

Before you make the decision to use any social media platform as a marketing tool, you need to evaluate it first and ask yourself how it best serves a specific purpose, otherwise there is the potential to just waste a lot of valuable time, energy and resources without gauging the results.

How, why and even if you use it can and will directly effect the bottom line.

So, before you go tearing into Twitter, or any social platform for that matter, first ask yourself a few, basic, key questions, make some decisions based on these questions and set some goals.

Basically, “how will this tool or platform help me?”

In order to do so, I suggest following the P.O.S.T acronym (originally put out by Forrester)

POST stands for: People, Objectives, Strategy, Technology.

1. People: Who are the people you want to be targeting and how do you identify them? Who is your demographic and where can you find them?

Is Twitter the best place to find them? Is Facebook? Is linkedIn? Or maybe Sprouter, Buzz, Etsy, Ning, Xbiz, Foursquare? Or…

Are there other platforms that might be better? Maybe there is a forum based on your niche that would be much more effective instead? Maybe a group? Does this demographic even use social networks?

2. Objectives: What are your objectives and what are you hoping to achieve?

Are you broadcasting a message or researching and gathering information? Are you trying to build a mailing list, or get more traffic to your website? Is it for education, communication, relationship building, or customer service? Is it a tool to generating leads, or to build upon existing leads?

Do you want to use it for input or output? Or both?

3. Strategy: What is your strategy? What is the ultimate goal of your efforts? How will you be using this tool to achieve your objectives?

How much time can you afford to spend with these tools in order to positively effect your ROI? How much time is too much time? Will you be in charge of this process or will you outsource?

4. Technology: Based on your plans, which platform is best suited to serve up these goals?

Once you decide on a platform, do you have a good understanding of how to use it? Are you comfortable using it or do you need training? Do you need tools or additional software?

So to summarize, Social media can be a powerful marketing tool, but it can also be an incredible time suck. Following this basic process and asking yourself some very important key questions first will ultimately define success or failure.

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I hope that you found this post useful. I’m going to be writing a lot more on the subject and I am even writing a book about it, so if you liked this one, don’t forget to go to the sidebar and sign up to my mailing list to receive all the latest updates and maybe some cool free stuff!

As always, if you have any input or questions, please leave me a comment.

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Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…

by Sean Earley on May 21, 2010 · 4 comments

When was the last time you made a decision?

No, i’m not talking about basic, every day crap like to get out of bed, to mow the lawn, to go get a coffee or to get off the toilet or whatever… I mean a real decision?

Maybe even a “life changing” decision?

The dictionary defines the word decision as:
- a conclusion or resolution reached after consideration
- a formal judgment

It comes from the Latin word decidere: de – ‘off’ + caedere – ‘ to cut.’

This means that a decision is the final word, a commitment. It’s a done deal and there is no turning back. A declaration of the imminent. An “it will be because I say it will be and I want it more than anything and there will be no other alternative” declaration.

It kind of brings the word into a whole new perspective doesn’t it?

So again, when was the last time you made one? Have you ever really made one? Or do you just let things get decided for you?

I bet you’ve made some bad decisions? Sure, we’ve all made plenty of those, but what about an intentional good decision?

Are there things in your life that you would like to change? Maybe you want to quit smoking or drinking or doing drugs, or lose weight or better your financial situation? Maybe you want to become more involved with the community, or plant a tree or better your relationship with a loved one, or quit wasting your life away in front of the TV, or learn something new or to help out another person in need? Maybe to just be a better person, whatever that means to you?

Well, these things require decisions.

Everyone has things they would “like to” do or to change in their lives, but so many of us ultimately don’t change them because we don’t put forth the effort to make a decision to change them.

It’s not that we can’t, it’s just that we don’t. Or maybe we really just don’t want to.

Change doesn’t happen with just thoughts or good intentions. Change means that you make a decision and hold to your convictions. Not a maybe. A decision. Period.

I would like to propose that today, you make a decision that will positively effect your life for the better. A good decision. A life changing decision. A brave decision.

It could be large or small, but regardless of what it is, just make a decision and stick to it. After all, if you don’t stick to it, its not really a decision after all, is it?

Better yet, why stop there? I think that once you finally do make “that” decision (and you all know which one i’m talking about, because everyone has some sort of “that” decision to make in some shape or form) I think you’ll start to find that you will be making even more decisions. Imagine that? Being more decisive? Wouldn’t that be a great decision?

I would even propose you make a public declaration of your decision, either out loud to your friends or family, or via your social network of choice. Hell, why not just spray paint it on your garage door? What better way to secure the outcome of your decision than to be held publicly accountable if you fail to follow through? Just a little motivator. An insurance policy towards something better.

Lets make today, May 21th, a day of global decision making. Decisions to better our lives no matter how small and hold ourselves accountable for them. What do you have to lose? Accept for maybe something that would change your life?

Speaking of decisions, today in 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed in Europe after he made the decision to climb into a tin can full of fuel and began what was to be the world’s first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. That was a life changing decision.

How did he do it and end up making history? I don’t know… he just decided to i guess.

Feel free to post your decisions as a comment on this blog if you’d like. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

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Business Punk Magazine

by Sean Earley on May 19, 2010 · 0 comments

I am always on the lookout for new ideas and niches and magazine stands are one of the BEST places to discover new things.

I love magazines. They are nice little bundles of targeted demographics and are full of even more targeted advertising for products within those niches.

One of my most favorite things to do is go to a magazine stand and browse strange, random publications. Ever since moving to Germany, I realized that I don’t allow myself that little indulgence quite as much as I did back in the “States” plus since English magazines sold here are outrageously priced, I don’t buy too many.

It’s too bad too because they have all KINDS of crazy new stuff to discover here and it turns out one of my new favorite magazines in the world right now was right under my nose all this time in the form of a new German publication called: Business Punk.

I guess targeted to higher income hipster German men who… like to wear Rolexes, make good money, but still skate to work?

I don’t know, but I like it. Kind of a mish-mash of Forbes, Maxim and Wired all munged together in a nice, edgy package with some pretty decent hipster-ish,-businessy articles.

How’s that for a demographic for ya though? Business Punk. Two words I would never have thought to naturally link together until now, but for some reason, doesn’t seem really too far fetched anymore. It got me thinking though, what other kinds of interesting niches are waiting for me in this new, foreign, magazine wonderland?

I’ll have to explore and will share what I come up with.

But back to the magazine though, it’s actually funny because after I picked up my copy, I had it sitting on my desk and a coworker walked by and said “oh yeah, I know that magazine. Weird, you’re kind of like the perfect target demographic for that.”

Strange, considering i’m 40 and never once considered myself a punk (although i was a skater in high school)

My question is: Is this age demographic right? Business Punk claims to be targeted to men aged 25-39, but the punk movement started in the early to mid 70′s so is it actually off?

Or is it more like, old punk new punk?

Or is it so not punk it’s really punk, or is it really not punk, or is it?

I’m confused… but I still like the magazine.

But then again, isn’t to like something really not punk? Or is to admit that you like something these days so rebellious that it’s actually the new punk. Again, i’m confused…

Anyway… you can check out Business Punk for yourself on their website or on their Facebook page.

What are your thoughts on this demographic?
Love it, Hate it?
Leave a comment and let me know.

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All Your Tweets Are Belong to Us

by Sean Earley on April 27, 2010 · 0 comments

I got tweetleaked today.

I made a post on Twitter asking if anyone could recommend a good tool box to buy in Germany, because well…. i need a new tool box… (long story…) and then a few minutes later, I received a strange mention on Twitter saying:

@seanearleyrocks your tweet has been taken away.

Of course I just had to check and see just what the heck that was all about. I come to find out it’s an art project by a guy in Berlin named Jens Wunderling and his site default to public where he takes people’s random tweets, prints them out on sticker paper and posts them in public. HA! Sweet!

Of course I wrote back to say: @tweetleak Neat… next time please use the tweet that says “Please send all your money to @seanearleyrocks to pay for an Aston Martin”

All kidding aside, I thought it was a cool idea. While I of course realize my tweets are public and open for the world to see, somehow it still gives off an invasive feeling by having your info put on display out in public beyond your control. That’s the point of the project after all, I guess.

Really makes you think, though.

P.S. If anyone still wants to send money to the Sean Earley needs an Aston Martin really badly fund, by all means, feel free…

Oh yeah, and can you recommend a good toolbox while you’re at it?

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Augmented Reality Gone Out of Control

by Sean Earley on February 1, 2010 · 0 comments

I don’t normally post other people’s stuff on my blog, but I just had to share this really awesome video by Keiichi Matsuda featuring a scary look into the future of Augmented Reality, what he calls augmented (hyper) reality, only it’s gone completely out of hand.

If we’re not careful, this could easily happen some day. It almost gives me a seizure… ( I like the Farrah Fawcett poster on the wall though. Really nice touch)

It really makes you question what our personal limitations will be and what they will either reject or accept when technology gets to this point.

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Happy 2010

by Sean Earley on January 4, 2010 · 2 comments

I just wanted to take a second and wish everyone a happy new year. Besides the fact the 2010 is a visually pleasing number, I just have a good feeling about it.

On another note, despite all the cold weather, the resulting cabin fever is providing me with a fresh wave of musical inspiration, probably more so than in the last 5 years, so since my main new years resolution was to make more music, this is a good thing. Here’s a video of the new year fireworks in front of my building.

Cheers!

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Going to Hell in a Snow Shovel

by Sean Earley on December 22, 2009 · 3 comments

Yesterday, I came to the conclusion that we are all doomed and the financial world is going to hell, not in a hand basket, but in a snow shovel.

Let me explain…

Last night I had the joyous experience of trudging downtown through 6 inches of dirty, slushy, sloppy snow to finish up my last minute holiday shopping.

Hoping for some relief from the muddy slop when I finally reached a dignified, more trafficked shopping area, i was shocked to find out that there would be no relief.

In the midst of all the Gucci, Prada, iPhones and Starbucks, apparently NONE of the shop keepers managed to shovel any snow outside of their businesses.

Not one!

The result was a once beautiful town square being replaced instead with a sloppy mud pit, filled with hoards of insane holiday shoppers splashing and stampeding through the shops and malls, all the while dragging the slop with them. [click to read more…]

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QR Codes – A Passing Fad or About to Explode?

by Sean Earley on December 12, 2009 · 3 comments

What the heck are QR Codes? A QR Code (or Quick Response code) is a matrix style graphical code similar to a bar code, invented by the Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994, as seen in the example. They can be read using a scanner and most recently by cameras on mobile phones with special software apps.

qrcode_se2
Originally designed to track parts in warehouses, they have since become very popular in Japan in much broader contexts, where they are used for huge mobile advertising campaigns.

Since QR codes can embed all types of data, they are now being used to contain URLs, messages, personal contact data and most recently as hyperlinks to identify objects in the physical world.

QR Codes have been big in Japan due to the fact that the mobile devices there are already equipped to read them. They use them everywhere, on billboards, vending machines, websites, advertising, even popular fashion, but up until now, the west has been slow to adapt due to mobile technology restraints.

All of that is all about to change though. [click to read more…]

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