Archive for November, 2009

I’ve just watched this interview with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. These interviews are very interesting as you get an insight into the minds of giants. Its split into many parts so when you have a few hours to watch it make sure you do, its insightful knowledge almost like a time line of past , present and future. The internet hummm where is it all heading, connecting every human, one big database? all very intriguing.

Heres the link to get you started. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Z7eal4uXI

This is amazing. An amazing video, This is what Obama did online that helped him Win The Election. He had, Facebook, Google and Yahoo CEO’s working as his advisors! Lots of brilliant lessons here: Definitely worth watching

When you think of social networking sites, there are some obvious candidates that may immediately come to mind. It may be surprising to know how many different social networking sites are actually out there. Here is a basic list of social networking sites online, but this list is by no means exhaustive.

Blogging – These are social networking sites that either center completely around communicating through blogging, or put a large emphasis on the concept of blogging.

- Blogger, http://www.blogger.com
- Livejournal, http://www.livejournal.com
- Twitter, http://www.twitter.com
- Windows Live Spaces, http://www.spaces.live.com/
- WordPress, http://www.wordpress.com
- Vox, http://www.vox.com
- Xanga, http://www.xanga.com

General Social Networking – These are the core of the social networking concept, with names like MySpace, Flickr, YouTube and Facebook leading the pack.

- ClassMates, http://www.classmates.com
- Bebo, http://www.bebo.com
- Deviant Art, http://www.deviantart.com
- Facebook, http://www.facebook.com
- Flickr, http://www.flickr.com
- LinkedIn, http://www.linkedin.com
- Meetup, http://www.meetup.com
- MySpace, http://www.myspace.com
- YouTube, http://www.youtube.com
- Gather, http://www.gather.com
- imeem, http://www.imeem.com
- Itsmy, http://www.itsmy.com
- My Yearbook, http://www.myyearbook.com
- Webshots, http://www.webshots.com

International Social Networking – These sites are especially popular in international countries, or are intended to cater to residents of a specific country. Friendster, for example, is a worldwide social networking site but it is especially popular in countries other than the United States. Biip, on the other hand, is a social networking site designed for the Norwegian community.

- Friendster, http://www.friendster.com
- Face Party, http://www.faceparty.com
- Friends Reunited, http://www.friendsreunited.co.uk/
- Biip, http://www.biip.no/
- Cloob, http://www.cloob.com/
- Cyworld, http://us.cyworld.com/
- Fotolog, http://www.fotolog.com/
- Fr¸hst¸ckstreff, http://www.fruehstueckstreff.org/
- Grono, http://www.grono.net
- Habbo, http://www.habbo.com
- hi5, http://www.hi5.com
- Hyves, http://www.hyves.nl
- IRC Galleria, http://www.irc-galleria.net/index.php
- iWiW, http://www.iwiw.hu/
- Profile Heaven, http://www.profileheaven.com/

Niche Interests – These are social networking sites that are geared toward certain interests like music lovers, bibliophiles, coffee enthusiasts or pop culture.

- Advogato, http://www.advogato.org/
- Amie Street, http://www.amiestreet.com/
- ANobii, http://www.anobii.com/
- CafeMom, http://www.cafemom.com
- Buzznet, http://www.buzznet.com
- Broadcaster, http://www.broadcaster.com
- Cake Financial, https://www.cakefinancial.com/
- Care2, http://www.care2.com/
- Eons, http://www.eons.com
- TravBuddy, http://www.travbuddy.com/
- Travellerspoint Travel Community, http://www.travellerspoint.com/
- BlackPlanet, http://www.blackplanet.com
- Elftown, http://www.elftown.com
- Flixster, http://www.flixster.com
- Geni, http://www.geni.com
- Goodreads, http://www.goodreads.com
- Gossip Report, http://www.gossipreport.com
- Guild CafÈ, http://www.gamerDNA.com
- Hospitality club, http://www.hospitalityclub.org
- Last.fm, http://www.last.fm
- Library Thing, http://www.librarything.com/
- Lifeknot, http://www.lifeknot.com/
- Live Mocha, http://www.livemocha.com
- One World TV, http://tv.oneworld.net/
- Plaxo, http://www.plaxo.com
- Ravelry, http://www.ravelry.com
- Sci Space, http://www.scispace.net/
- WAYN, http://www.wayn.com/

Social Media – These sites specialize in sharing media and news with other members of the community.

- Digg, http://www.digg.com
- StumbleUpon, http://www.stumbleupon.com
- Del.icio.us, http://del.icio.us
- Reddit, http://www.reddit.com
- Fark, http://www.fark.com

Younger Generation – These are social networking sites that are best suited for younger generations and students.

- College Tonight, http://thequad.com/
- Gaia Online, http://www.gaiaonline.com
- NeoPets, http://www.neopets.com
- Student.com, http://www.student.com
- Reunion, http://www.reunion.com

Each one of these sites can be a good solid way to drive targeted traffic to your articles or your website. Before you ask, yes, you have to be careful not to do and outright sales pitch on your post. But with a little thinking on your part you will be able to make a useful post that is directed to your target market, without coming across as spam.

Some of the sites will not lend themselves to this marketing strategy, unless you are very creative in your post. Consequently you will find yourself being banned and your post being deleted if you violate the terms of service of those and others reflected on this list of social networking sites.

For an online company, internet marketing is important. But even for brick and mortar companies, even those who don’t sell anything online but rather cater to local customers, internet marketing can expand the business and give the company more exposure locally. If you own a small company that relies on local business alone rather than the ability to take orders online from all over the country or all over the world, don’t discount the power of internet marketing.

For a local company, internet marketing that gives you exposure to people thousands of miles away is pretty pointless.  There’s no need to invest in what can be expensive marketing campaigns like pay-per-click or network-wide banner advertising, for instance. You know your target market local people.  So the only promotion and advertising that will do you any good are promotions which target that market specifically.

If you don’t have a website already, get one. If you know enough HTML to get a web presence up then by all means do so. If not, pay someone to do it for you.  What might seem like an unnecessary expense will actually become a very important marketing tool.  You’ll also want to make sure that your website is search engine optimized for your local area, and it’s well worth learning how to do this yourself or paying an expert to do it for you.

When it comes to your company, internet marketing with search engine optimization won’t be like the SEO efforts needed by an online company.  If you run a computer repair shop, for instance, you won’t want to focus your attention and money on very general keywords that might be good for an online business whose customers can come from anywhere.  You’ll want them optimized for your local area.  Computer repair San Antonio, for instance, might be a good keyword for you.

You might be surprised how many local potential customers use the internet to search now instead of the yellow pages or simply by driving by and stopping.  Most people who use the internet at all use it to search for items they want to purchase before they buy.  Someone who needs a computer repaired in your town might very well use that exact keyword search phrase.  Springfield computer repair something similar would be something commonly typed in for someone in that town needing a computer fixes.  For your company, internet marketing efforts that focus on your local area can bring in lots of extra business because people will find you online.

Another advantage is that other small businesses in your field might feel the same way you did, that a website and your company internet marketing was a waste of time.  So if someone from your local area does a search like that above, your site will be the one they see.  And if other business are online and you’ve spent some time and maybe a little  money on your company internet marketing, your site will still probably be the one they see first.

Getting customers in your site should always be ranked as high as the importance of the quality and the excellence of the product and the services you provide. They should go hand in hand in providing your customers the satisfaction they get in exchange for the money they have paid for them. Customer service should as well be as fantastic so that the customers are provided with the same satisfaction.

One of the ways you can combine marketing and customer service is through opt-in marketing. With an opt-in list you get the opportunity to introduce your site and products on a good time basis. Opt-in marketing strategy is a marketing strategy that is virtually low cost and not time consuming. Here, you get the consent of your website visitors to subscribe to your newsletters and other promotional materials such as catalogs and free promotions.

Opt-in marketing uses your list of subscribers to send e-mail to. These e-mails will contain the materials you will send to your subscribers. It is essential that you present your promotional items in a manner that will catch the interest and the eye of your subscribers to keep them wanting for more. The best way to do this is to provide fun, entertaining and informational articles.

Well written articles full of content and useful information will help in building your list as more subscribers will be enticed your list. When they have read the samples of your contents in your sites, they will be intrigued as to what will come next. Subscribing to your newsletter will offer them a glimpse of what you have to offer next.

Many sites and companies have captured the importance of articles and this also aids in search engine optimization. As more people are heading towards the internet for their information needs, serving the right information to them via articles in your site will increase the flow of your website traffic.  With more traffic, the percentage of your sales will grow. More sales turn into more profit.

There have been the rise for the importance of well written, information enriched and keyword packed articles for the content of their site as well as for newsletters. These articles provide the information many are seeking in the internet. If your site has them, more people will be going to your site for information and research.

Well written articles would also boost your sites reputation. If they are filled with many information you will be regarded as well informed and an expert on the subjects that you tackle.  Your articles must be well researched so that the people will trust you. When you have gained their trust, they will always come for you for their needs on that subject.

In connection, you must write articles or commission them to tackle subjects that are closely connected with your type of business. If you have a site for a medicine tackling a certain disease, your articles must be about the diseases. Or if you sell materials for home improvements provide articles with those themes. Most articles searched for are tips, guidelines, methods, manuals and such. If you provide these articles to your customers and you have their trust, they will always go to your site for help and advice as well as for your products.

With the loyalty of these customers, they may subscribe to your opt-in list to receive all the information you have. If you provide them with the answers for that need, they will be happy to be receiving your newsletters as well as other promotional materials to keep them well informed. Others may even forward your newsletters to other people when they find a certain article interesting.

You should provide links in your newsletter so that when other people are reading it and wants to read more, they may click on the link and go to your site. With the articles you have in your site that are good, they may decide to sign up as well for your opt-in list. This will build your list and make it bigger.

Make sure to keep your subscribers happy and interested in your newsletters and promotional materials. Keep on posting and writing good articles for your site and newsletter. If you are not interested in writing them or if you just don;t have the time, there are many available well experienced and knowledgeable writers available to help you out. This is an investment that will pay for itself in time.

Free internet advertising is one very important method for promoting your products and services to thousands of free classified ads.

Most of these free classified ads web sites give you the power to facilitate marketing with features such as classified ads submitter forms. Features like this give free Internet advertising an extremely fast way of getting your products or services on line. It is accessible 24/7 allowing you access anytime, it’s very effective and efficient and most of it comes free. No downloads. No sign-up fees. No hidden charges. No annual or monthly fees. No sales fees. It is absolutely free.

Free internet advertising makes it easy for you to put free ads on several of the premier quality web sites whenever you want, for free. This kind of benefit you get from free internet advertising can only do, to say the least, miracles for your business. Most of these free internet advertising companies give you 3 slots to advertise any product or service for free.

Free internet advertising is the perfect way and best way to make your products or services known to the millions of prospective consumers in the Internet and make your web site start producing money. There is an enormous audience for free internet advertising that is present in the Internet, that the probability of anyone needing your services or wanting to buy your products is very high. There are free services out there that may suit your services, products and web site.  Browse the internet for the best free internet advertising for assessment on their amenities and features how to advertise or join your web site for free internet advertising.

Most web sites promoting free internet advertising have features like classified ads submitter ñ where you can get a enormous exposure with instant results and expand your sales by large volumes over night,  opt-in email lists p non spam bulk emailing program, guaranteed 100% legal. Opt-in email lists are created by people who have volunteered or ‘opted-in’ their email addresses to these lists. These lists are very effective for creating personalized email to prospective clients.

Free internet advertising provides a great technique for building traffic. People constantly search on online free internet advertising ads for specific services or products. Free internet advertising target clients inclined to buying a particular kind of product or service in mind.

And the best reason to advertise in free internet advertising is because it is absolutely free.