I have been investigating inside the web to find other sites like Twitter but which links are "do-follow" (it gives more relevance to the linked pages on search engines like Google).
I found two: Identi.ca and Tuppy.com. Both work in the same way than Twitter and Facebook: create a profile, for free, and start posting public messages which can contain links, files, and so on.
My main concern was to obtain good backlinks for my blogs. With Identi.ca and Tuppy.com I have been able to do that.
A big thank you to everyone who's become a fan on Facebook. If you haven't yet, we invite you to join the group .
The tips we give out aren't paid for or sponsored in any way. We're extremely grateful to have our loyal readers, because as we've mentioned in the past, our mission is to help people all over the world.
However, when you think of Robert J Russell, we hope that you will visit our website first!
Visit us online at http://www.robertjrussell.com or by phone at 972-679-9029. Thanks!
Afterlaunching Buzz last week, Google have continued on the social track by now acquiring social search service Aardvark.
The deal, rumoured to be worth around $50 million, could see Google use the social search engine as an answer to, well, Yahoo! Answers. Through IM, Twitter and e-mail, Aardvark lets you ask full-text questions and then takes your social connections and attempts to identify the best person within your network (or extended network - friends and family) who might be able to assist in giving that answer.
Here is how Wired explains the concept behind Aardvark:
Users who sign up give (Aard)Vark access to one of their social networks - Facebook, LinkedIn or the e-mails in their contact list. Users then say what things they are confident answering questions about (e.g. chess, cooking, country music). Vark then routes future questions - such as what's the best country band out of the south from the 1970s or where's a good sushi restaurant near Santa Monica - to the right person. A series of algorithms keeps tuning the targeting by watching if a user's answers are quick and useful, deciding whether their friends are also experts, and checking if a user is online or has been asked to answer too many questions recently.
The news was confirmed by Aardvark CEO (and ex-Googler) Max Ventilla who emailed TechCrunch with the following: "We can confirm that Google has signed a deal to acquire us but have no further comment."
So I'm afraid that's all the news we have so far folks, but if we hear anything more, we will be sure to let you know.
Many people ask me how I get so much business....and it is a very simple answer but you may not believe it but I have my own Social Network.
Some people use Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace etc - I use the Robert J Russell Social Network
If you would like to join the Robert J Russell Social Network - simply click on this link:
http://robertjrussellsocialnetwork.ning.com/profiles/members/
Come Join us today !!
Robert J Russell - 972-679-9029
Fact: As of Sept. 3, 2009 - we have the Largest Follower group in the Dallas - Fort Worth Area.
Come be a part of this and follow us http://twitter.com/robertjrussell
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This group was created for any members who are interested in receiving free advertising for their business.
We welcome and encourage you to advertise on the Wall any website that you can. We will not allow any sites that are not suitable for children to see - if you post something that is offensive you will be banned from this group. Post any websites in the LINKS section! Thanks for your time and hopefully you find my methods as useful as I have. Share this group with everyone: Group Owner - Robert J Russell - http://www.robertjrussell.com 972-679-9029
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I wanted to share just a little Trivia for you.
FACTS on FACEBOOK:
Facts on Twitter:
So - why not start your own Social Media ? Crazy ? I don't think so....
Here is what mine looks like - Sign up and see what you can do!
http://robertjrussellsocialnetwork.ning.com
So your thinking of logging into Twitter huh ?
Now you can get the latest TWITTER UPDATES from Robert J Russell, REALTOR, International Real Estate Specialist, Insurance Broker and Well Known Public Speaker.
Simply visit http://twitter.com/robertjrussell - You'll be glad you did!
Social Media has become an inexpensive way to reach hundreds, thousands, and in some cases, even millions of people in an instant. This is great when you are broadcasting a new blog post to generate traffic to your website or announcing a new listing.
What happens when someone is dissatisfied or has a gripe about a business or service - or worse yet - about your business or service? It too, can spread quickly across the world wide web.
There have been several examples of this recently, including the disgusting Domino's Pizza video on how not to make pizza that was made as a joke by some employees and posted on YouTube and was broadcast across social media sites to a huge audience, causing quite a headache for the pizza franchise.
In social media, it is possible for a single individual to have a greater reach than even a large established news organization as demonstrated by Ashton Kucher in his race to a million followers on Twitter with CNN. In case you missed that story...Ashton won hitting a million Twitter followers before the CNN. One single person can have a big impact on the brand of a business or an individual - good or bad.
Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff's recent book Groundswell points out that in any social media situation 18% of the participants are creative and contributory while 25% are critical (thus, there will be more critics than contributors).*
So, what can you do to protect your brand and image on social media?
1.) Have a Plan and be prepared to respond quickly to criticism if it appears online.
2.) Monitor what is said about your name and your company name on social media sites. You can set up free alerts through Google and Twitter alerts and should monitor blog comments received to your posts on a regular basis.
3.) Be Transparent - if you are genuine it will come across in your social media efforts. No one likes a phony in real life, or in social media.
5.) Stay on the Battlefield * - If you receive a negative comment on Twitter, respond to it on Twitter.
Guy Kawasaki, a leader in technology recently said that, "Twitter is the best thing to happen to marketing since television, It's cheaper, it's fast and it's free." I believe this statement applies to all of social media, you just also have to be aware that there is another side to that sword.
*Resource: "When Social Media Turns Hostile: A Guide to Brokerage Self Defense" by Jeremy Conaway.
All of us are being bombarded with advice, seminars, etc. about the importance of having a presence on the important social media platforms. Great advice.... not very helpful, though, without also giving some advice about developing a strategy for using your presence on all of these sites!
When I first started posting our team's profile and information on sites like: ACTIVE RAIN, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND MYSPACE... I wasn't quite certain how I was going to use these profiles to market our business and to generate buzz, interest and leads. In hind site... I now realize that developing the STRATEGY is the first step that you should take in this effort... not the last! You must use the strategy that you develop to generate the keywords, titles & the content that you write for your profiles on all of these social media sites. It is much harder to do this in reverse, because you waste a lot of time rewriting and optimizing after the fact if you don't do it right the first time! Here are a 6 questions to ask yourself BEFORE you create profiles or content for any social media site:
Once you've answered these questions... YOU HAVE YOUR STRATEGY! Now... have fun, be creative, & (since this way of communicating with the masses is relatively new) enjoy the rush that you used to get as a child... learning, exploring, experimenting... with fresh & new experiences! Gotta love that!
There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday about Twitter, the darling of the social media world, and the future of the site. Here's a link to the full article, "Twitter Trips on Its Rapid Growth" - I recommend you read it.
No, the article was not a doomsayer, predicting a failing. But it did raise the question of what lies ahead in Twitter's future in terms of their ability to mange growth and their business model.
Twitter is a business. And like any company it has a business model...well, sort of. Like so many start-ups it may be more concept and visionary that a real model The problem for Twitter, and one which the owners/founders must wrestle with in the near term, is financial. Like many start-ups, especially on-line, Twitter has had amazing growth in its first years of existence. I don't know how it compares to some of the other on-line businesses that has sprouted up, but with about 32 million unique users now (per the article), and only 3 years old, the growth rate has been phenomenal. Perhaps that exceeds the growth rate of the Googles of the world.
The problem for Twitter is revenue stream. There is none. Hmmm, reminds me of AR in its earlier days. As we all know that has changed, in ways that I think many feel are positive.
Oh, Twitter has money, having found financing from venture capitalists, a common strategy with start-ups. And the article goes on to say how they are exploring alliances with other companies. But Twitter is not generating income from the site as it currently exists since they don't sell advertising. The investors will, certainly, be looking for some return on their investment
The other growth-related issue is infrastructure. Twitter has employees, but not many considering how rapidly it is growing, and the growing pains - server issues, product development - will likely continue without bringing on more employees to deal with the running of the business itself. And further development, I suspect, will be hindered. According to the article plans are in the works to bring on more staff. The challenge, as I know well from being in an Internet start-up, is finding the folks with the business acumen but who also fit the corporate culture and the vision. That can be a significant challenge for some founders.
Will Twitter continue to exist in its current form?
Unlikely. A revenue stream must happen at some point for Twitter to remain viable, as has happened with other Internet companies, unless they can secure more VC funding. And certainly the question of being sold has arisen - no doubt of interest to the VCs. Time will tell on that issue.
Will Twitter continue to attract users?
Undoubtedly. But how many of its users are, and will continue to be, active? (We know from recent reports that about 8% of AR members are active). And won't new product offerings be necessary to meet the changing needs of devotees? And provide income, in addition to the potential of advertising becoming a part of the Twitter landscape.
The popularity does not seem to be waning, but 2009 should be an interesting year. Would you pay to belong to Twitter? Would you advertise? And are there other product offerings that could provide Twitter with a revenue stream. We'll see.
Some people are predicting that Social Media will soon replace emails.....here is a list of Social Media Websites to check out.....
To learn more about some of the most popular networks that are part of the Internet's second generation, read the blurbs below and then visit these sites. You'll find some easier to use and understand than others, but as you browse, ask yourself: How could our agency benefit by using this network?
• Facebook (www.facebook.com): A free online social media network created by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 while he was at Harvard University. Named for the paper booklets that colleges distribute with names and photos of students, Facebook spread to other universities and now has 150 million subscribers worldwide.
• LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com): A network of 33 million professionals from around the world, representing 170 industries and 200 countries. Launched by five partners in 2003, the network exists to "find, be introduced to and collaborate with qualified professionals you need to work with to accomplish your goals."
• Twitter (www.twitter.com): A privately-funded social media service with offices in San Francisco. Started in March 2006, Twitter has grown into a real time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices. Members post news about themselves by answering, in 140 characters or less, the question: "What are you doing?" Other members respond by offering relevant information that may be useful. According to a source, Twitter had 744,000members as of January 2008.
• Craigslist (www.craigslist.com): A free, online classified advertising space that connects buyers and sellers, whether the item being "sold" is an antique dresser or a position at an insurance firm. The site is categorized by metropolitan area and further divided by suburbs. Ads are automatically deleted after seven days, at which time you may repost.
2) It makes you different, and different = better- One of the marketing theories I have been espousing over many years is how important differentiation is to Realtors. Realtors do what Realtors do. Do you? Don't. Create your own marketing that is different than other Realtors and writing your own original blog sets you apart as well. You need to stand out in a crowd. Blogging will help.
3) Blogs get Read by other Realtors- and they comment. This gives you feedback, often valuable constructive feed back on your ideas. It allows you to wash your ideas through others so by the time you give your VALUED opinion to your clients. it is well thought out, and VALUABLE.
4) Traffic is good….for traffic.- A well read blog will bring more traffic to a Realtor than any "business card" type web site. You know the one. This is who I am (or was when the site was written) and this is why I am the greatest. A well written blog will receive traffic from competitors, clients, co-workers, and prospects. Traffic creates Traffic.
5) It PROVES you are an authority- What is a Realtor? An authority on Real Estate. How do I (as a prospect) know you are an authority? Well, pages and pages of posts and comments on the current market and what is going on in my neighborhood certainly helps show you are an authority.. A canned listing presentation that is pretty much the same as other Realtors? Not so much.
6) It provides third party validation- Prospects are constantly faced with Realtors telling them how good THEY are. But how often does a prospect hear from a third-party how good you are as a Realtor? I well thought out, well written blog post will receive positive comments. These comments give your prospect the "right" to decide you are a great Realtor and he/she should choose you…. because others before him have agreed.
7) It is INSTANT, when your Prospects need it- Real Estate Buyers and Sellers (read: prospects) Love up to the minute information. This type of information is not available on most Realtor (business card) type websites. A blog allows them to subscribe and receive your up to the minute, valuable information. This makes you a valuable resource to your prospects and clients.
Though Facebook started as an online hub for college students, its fastest-growing demographic is the over-25 crowd, which now accounts for more than half of the site's 140 million active members. Why is Facebook catching on among harried parents and professionals? "It makes me feel like I have a grip on my world," says Emily Neill, a 39-year-old single mother of two. Neill isn't a techie, per se - "I'll never have a phone that does anything but make calls," says the fashion consultant in Watertown, Mass. - but stays logged on to Facebook all day at work, and then spends an hour or two, or lately three, at night checking in with old acquaintances, swapping photos with close friends, instant messaging those who fall somewhere in between. "It makes you feel like you're part of something even if you're neglecting people in the flesh," she says.
Retreating behind the digital veil started long before the Internet existed, with the advent of answering machines. "People would call a phone when they knew the other person wasn't available to pick up," says Charles Steinfield, a professor at Michigan State University who co-authored a peer-reviewed study called "The Benefits of Facebook 'Friends'". "It enabled them to convey information without forcing them to interact."
Enter Facebook, which provides a constant flow of information via short updates from everyone a user knows: a distant cousin is glad he skipped the cheeseburger chowder; a colleague has a new book is on sale; a close friend is engaged or newly single. Jenny and I, along with three of our childhood pals from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., learned that a dear old friend had ended her seven-year relationship through a Facebook status change. We expressed dismay, albeit through Facebook's IM feature, that we had to learn such potent information in this impersonal way.
Yet, for many users, Facebook somehow remains distinctly personal. Although social networking sites encourage connections among strangers - as on MySpace, where people converge through common interests, or online dating, where the whole point is greeting new faces - Facebook is more geared toward helping people maintain existing connections. The site serves as a self-updating address book, keeping users connected no matter their geographical shifts. "There are people from my past life that I never would have tracked through 10 job changes and 20 e-mail changes," says Nicole Ellison, an assistant professor at Michigan State and lead author of the Facebook "Friends" study, which focused on undergraduate usage of the site. Facebook offers what she describes as "a seamless way of keeping in touch that doesn't involve all this work."
Perhaps this is the key. Jenny's online sociability and offline silence probably has less to do with digital retreating than time management. Facebook offers e-mail, IM and photo sharing in what Neill calls the "one-stop shopping" of online interaction. "It's not surprising to me that it's replacing other forms of communication," says Steinfield.
It's still surprising to me, however, this combination of Orwell and Wall-E that has humans watching each other through computer screens and socializing in quasi-isolation. Neill says Facebook has brought her closer to her already close friends, those she has little time to see because of kids and work. "I know more about them now than I did when I was in regular contact with them," she says.
I believe her. But I can't help wondering: If Facebook for some reason suddenly ceased to exist, would people like Jenny revert to phone calls or visits, or would they lose touch altogether?
I probably won't find out. Instead, I gave in. Last week, I sent Jenny a note - through Facebook, naturally - requesting a get-together. She accepted. When we met up, it seemed we were closer than I'd thought. I knew about Jenny's son's part in the school play, about her sledding expedition and what she'd cooked for that big birthday dinner - what we'd be sharing if we still lived in the same neighborhood and talked regularly, the inane and intimate details that add up to life. That constant stream of data is some digital form of closeness. "A beautiful blossoming garden of information about your friends," as Neill puts it, adding, "I don't see how that can be a bad thing."
View this article on Time.com
