Kitteh Chasing Daughter
Posted on January 28, 2012 // Leave a Comment
Four Great January 2012 Blog Posts to Read
Posted on January 26, 2012 // 1 Comment
Playing the role of Internet DJ, here are four great blog posts worth reading.
1.) Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says that social media is a bright spot in the challenged world economy. “This is about growth, jobs and empowering people.” App makers, advertisers, small businesses and civic groups are all using Facebook to promote their work and connect with people. And Facebook is the number two driver of web traffic (guess who’s #1).
2.) Author and friend John Morgan offers 10 reasons we won’t support your business. So much of it seems like common sense, but alas, it is not. See numbers 2, 7 and 10.
3.) Mitch Joel is thinking smarter. He asks us to think about where our learning is taking place. The digital generation (which I just barely squeaked into!) is learning on their iPhones and iPads. As Joel writes, “Every day, new content comes online that can and will make you smarter.” For example, if you want to know how to start a t-shirt company, you can ask me “How did you start your t-shirt company?” Or you can thoroughly research the subject via Google and ask me the very specific left-over questions you have. Technology has made it possible to “set your own curriculum,” Joel says. Do that!
4.) Chris Brogan gives a fantastic list: 97 Ideas for Building a Valuable Platform. I read this from a personal branding perspective. Your personal brand is being more heavily weighted by employers every day. There will come a day (we’re close) when CPA firms will hire junior auditors and consider their social graph when doing so. If I’m hiring, I want to know about your valuable platform and how you plan on using it to help me advance my business agenda. It’s less about being a clock-watching cog in the wheel and more about being a team member. For me, this piece is another “Beethoven’s 9th Symphony” post from Brogan. Read it twice.
Google Plus Has a Problem
Posted on January 20, 2012 // 11 Comments
I like Google+. I think they’ve built a nice service, certainly eons ahead of Buzz. But Google+ has a problem. It’s called “173 > 3.” Not enough people are using it. I think competition is healthy (keep Facebook honest), so I sincerely hope G+ gains a stronger usership. Note that I did not say more “users,” which is a metric social platforms often cite. It is irrelevant how many people have signed up for the service. All of those people with Google+ accounts are currently over on Twitter and Facebook. Larry Page recently said Google+ has 90 million users. Have any of you asked the same question I have when using Google+: Where is everybody? (echo, echo…..)
I was talking with Jason Williams at lunch and told him my litmus test for Google+: I want to be able to say something meaningful on Google+ and get some kind of response within 5 minutes. Either a reply comment or a +1 would do. I can get that on Facebook. I can certainly get that on Twitter. I was getting that on Google+ when it debuted, because we were all on Google+ trying it out. Daily social media users are not sufficiently using Google+.
REALLY AWESOME POSTSCRIPT
After completing my blog post, Marc Brooks brought this doozy to my attention (sorry, ignore the repeat of the image above):
@RizzoTees … that’s nothing… how abut 924K > 794 for the VW Star Wars Invite twitter.com/IDisposable/st…
— Marc Brooks (@IDisposable) January 19, 2012
Yes, as of his screen capture, 924,000 people had Facebook liked the VW Star Wars Super Bowl invite, and 794 had +1’ed it. That’s over 116,000% more Facebook likes than +1’s. Google Hangouts are quite amazing, integration of Google+ in search results is neat, but these numbers are surely causing consternation at Google.
REALLY AWESOME POSTSCRIPT 2
This is bad:
Users spent an avg of 3 mins on Google+ in Jan. Compare that to 89 mins on tumblr and Pinterest, 405 on Facebook. on.wsj.com/xcBEQI
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 28, 2012
RFT 2012 Point+Clique Web Awards Finalists
Posted on January 19, 2012 // Leave a Comment
The Riverfront Times has released their 2012 Point+Clique Web Awards finalists. I am humbled to have been nominated in the category of “Best Use of Twitter to Promote a Personal Brand.”
I am also chuffed that our Save Pratzel’s campaign was nominated for “Best Use of Social Media for a Civic Campaign.” Falk Harrison won a BMA-TAM award for this work, and we’d be thrilled to be honored again.
Congratulations to all the finalists. We are up against some stiff competition. I am hoping and praying that the winners receive supercool circuit board sculptures like last year!
Three of My Favorite Books
Posted on January 16, 2012 // Leave a Comment
And yet I still have not read Hsieh’s book! It’s on my shelf, waiting for me. I suppose I shouldn’t say it’s a favorite of mine then.
Amazon affiliate links to each book:
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
Thank You For The Shoutout Dean Akande
Posted on January 14, 2012 // Leave a Comment
Benjamin Akande, dean of Webster University’s Walker School of Business and Technology, appeared on 104.9 KMJM‘s Sunday morning show. Near the beginning of this podcast (part 3 of his appearance), he gives me a nice shoutout.
I don’t know what else to say, except thank you Dean Akande! I’m humbled and really appreciate your friendship. Let’s keep trying to do great things for our employers Falk Harrison and Webster University, and for the entire St. Louis area.
A Predictable Morning At The Rizzo Household [ VIDEO ]
Posted on January 14, 2012 // Leave a Comment
