Marketing Virgin

I wrote an article as a guest blogger for theb2blead.com, a site that specializes in Marketing and Sales tips that is run by Reachforce. You can view it by clicking here.

Thousands of companies leverage social media for positive viral and word-of-mouth marketing. There is, however, negative implications for companies when what is being said is damaging. Google Alerts is a tool that is now being used by organizations who want to track the communication about them on the Internet. A user can simply sign up to receive links to any site that publishes a word or phrase they are interested in. For example, if you’re looking for news on Barack Obama, Google will send you daily links to all sites that publish his name.

This begs the question - can companies manage such communication?

A few months ago, I wrote a post about a bad email I received from a software company. There were three flaws with the email:
1. I received an e-mail  for a class I had already taken through them so I should not have been on their distribution list
2. The e-mail addressed me as “Dear FirstName”
3. This was not the first time that this company has made this mistake

Out of frustration, I decided to exercise my freedom of speech (and press) and write about it. The image of the e-mail that I had included on my website had an embedded code with the name of the company, thus, it showed up on Google Alerts. The entire company was heated over my post. I was even contacted by a representative, asking me to take down the post and telling me how disappointed in me they were in me.

Does a company have the right to make a mistake and then place blame on a blogger for pointing it out? Does a company have the right to restrict what is said about them from independent parties?

There is no such thing as control in social media. Welcome to the game…you better be willing to take a fall if you want to step up and play.

In honor of Randy Pausch who passed away today. We have so much left to learn in life…
Click here for video 

                    
Right brain, Left brain; Boxers, Briefs; Playstation, Wii

I discovered a cool product from a local company while attending the InnoTech eMarketing Summit a while ago.
Mikons are little stickers that you can design yourself (www.mikons.com). They are meant to be used as a networking tool. You know the boring badges you’re given at every event, tradeshow, etc? Once you place these stickers, or Mikons, on your badge you instantly become unique.
We used Mikons at our Symposium in April and they were a hit.
Mark Smith, the founder, showed me their new beta site that makes creating these little masterpieces even easier. Check it out at www.mikonmixers.com.

NetQoS Symposium Mikons

(No, that is not my hairy hand.)

Social networking is the hottest thing in job hunting today. LinkedIn.com, a site that “links” working professionals, has recently raised $53 million from investors, bumping its value to an estimated $1 billion. The site currently has 23 million members and is adding 1.2 million every month.

LinkedIn is a free way to put your resume before thousands of potential employers. Although I am not looking for a new career, I have been contacted by five companies so far this year.

The company has recently added new modules that allow you to see who has looked at your profile, join groups, ask questions to a large audience, and view job postings.

Join today!

I wrote an article for theb2blead.com titled “Top 10 Ways to get Booth Traffic at a Tradeshow.” Check it out by clicking here.

I’m flying out to Germany tomorrow to scout out a few venues for a customer event we’re doing in October. Sweet gig, huh?