Alberta Business Marketing

When does Social Media stop being viral and start being infectious? It is happening right now.

Over the past year and a bit, many social media professionals have been sharing the importance of having a quality video done by a professional, a great blog or some sort of social media marketing message with an aim to take it viral.  Taking something viral online is not easy, it takes a tremendous amount of time, effort and focus. Most of time we sit back and scratch our heads asking why it didn’t take off?  The video which goes viral is something silly and has no real message behind it – how many dancing babies are shared across the Internet?

There is a shift occurring out there, many services are teaming up or putting in connectors to hook into your LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter accounts looking at farming your existing contacts to connect into their new network.  What is the difference between viral and infectious?  I am beginning to think that many social media services are now looking at ways to become infectious instead of viral.  What do I mean?

My experience with Naymz

I will take my recent experience with Naymz.  Naymz is trying real hard, in my opinion to become the next LinkedIn.  The jury is still out on Namyz as another online social media service to put effort into.   There are just so many of these services out there like Plaxo, Naymz and Biznik to name a few.  My experience with Namyz has been a tad bit embarrassing and the reason for my blog post today.  This is where the infectious mindset sets in and it was totally my fault.

I am starting to see more and more of this behaviour from the upstart social media services and those struggling for attention are heading.  In this example I will focus on my experience with Naymz.  With my approval (insert slap in face here) Namyz went through my entire LinkedIn contact list and emailed every single person asking them to join Naymz.  Wait!  I just did what?

Another area of concern is around “Connect with Facebook” and “Twitter Open Authorization”.  When we grant access using these tools and services infects our online communities, what do we do next?  Is my entire Friends or Follows list now open to this application who used these services to connect?  What happens to my reputation online or my trusted colleagues?

When is enough, enough?

Tags: Community websites, Facebook, Facebook Inc, linkedin, LinkedIn Ltd, media marketing message, media professionals, media service, media services, Naymz, online communities, Online social networking, Plaxo, Social information processing, social media, Technology/Internet, Twitter, Twitter Inc, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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When was the last time you reviewed your company listing on LinkedIn?  Based on what we discovered during our Calgary Social Media Workshop on Thursday April 15…you may want to check more often now knowing what we found out.

First, a little knowledge about how LinkedIn provides your business with the ability to promote your business easily.  LinkedIn provides businesses of all shapes and sizes the ability to create a detailed profile which can be used to bring your employees together under one company umbrella, showcase your corporate blog and provide basic business information such as number of employees, industry, and many more options.

During our Calgary Social Media Course at the Blackfoot Inn we found some serious vulnerabilities and issues around who can access and make changes to your company information on LinkedIn.  During our workshop one of our students was able to make changes to their company information without any approval other than an email address, verification email and a simple re-logon to LinkedIn.  This was an alarming discovery and could be a major issue when it comes to what is being said online about your business.

Does this concern you?  Our students in the Social Media Workshop became very concerned about this potential flaw to their company information.  What is stopping an employee from making any changes they want, perhaps something which questions the firms creditability in the public.  Sure LinkedIn records who made changes however they potential reputation management flaw does leave some business owners a little concerned.

Here is what LinkedIn says about who can edit a company profile.

Can I control who edits my Company Profile?
Any member who has a confirmed a valid company email address can edit your Company Profile. Company Profiles are user content driven.

Thanks to Frank Allen for his comments from our social media course.  Frank provides valuable insight to his clients, his Calgary Weight-loss programs help many Calgarians battle this challenge.

“Stuart and the Ulistic team provided me unbelievable value. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Evident right from the onset, Stuart is a true Go Giver indeed and is always there to be of service. Further to this though he almost always exceeds expectations. Best service provider of the decade in my books.”

Tags: Blackfoot Inn, Business/Finance, collaboration, Community websites, linkedin, LinkedIn Ltd, LinkedIn Open Networker, Online social networking, Social information processing, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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Over the course of the past week I have receive many requests for LinkedIn Recommendations.  Almost like the dam has burst on LinkedIn and everyone got the same idea and same time – I am going to spam my contact list with requests for endorsements.

I totally understand the importance of building a quality list of endorsements on LinkedIn however some people are taking this wonderful service to the extreme.  How so?  Just ask yourself this one question, have I ever received a request for a recommendation from someone I don’t know?

Well, I get them all the time.  Many of my peers and colleagues in the Calgary small business community and through the Small Business Computer Support world have requested recommendations or endorsements and for many of them since we have a working relationship, it isn’t a problem.

Here is where the problem lies.  When you get a recommendation request from someone you really don’t know or maybe it is from someone you know however your working relationship doesn’t expand past, seeing them across the room at your Chamber of Commerce social event.  What do you do?  Do  you or don’t you offer your good name as an endorsement of their product and service?  Have you experienced what they have to offer?  If not, how can you endorse a product or service without experiencing it for yourself?  If you do endorse it without experiencing it, then you are really no different from many of those fakes on commercials who tell us every 10 minutes on TV how great a product is through TV commercials.

This is where I have to put the brakes on and say NO.  I cannot lend my name to something I have no experience with at all.  It is simple business.

Sorry for those who have sent me requests in the past and I haven’t responded, it is not personal, well maybe it is…business is personal these days and my endorsements have to go with those whose work I have experienced first hand.  Once again simple business smarts.  Like something say it, dislike something say it…no knowledge, keep your hands tied behind your back and away from your keyboard.

• In short, if you and I have worked together – No problem
• If we belong to the same network club and you have went beyond the call of duty and did something to enrich the group – No problem
• If you just show up – Well, Houston this is where the problem lies.

Here is a great article on why Jeremy Owyang doesn’t do LinkedIn Recommendations.

Tags: Calgary, collaboration, linkedin, LinkedIn Ltd, Online social networking, social media, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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It is a very proud day today and a wonderful end to a very busy week.  David has been working very hard to get the Ulistic online store up and running for those folks who are interested in registering for the Ulistic Calgary Social Media Workshop on April 15 or our Calgary LinkedIn Workshop on April 28.  The Ulistic storefront provides an easy place for all our clients to sign up for the course of their choice.

Here is our official press release announcing the opening of the Ulistic storefront and registration site.

April 1, 2010 Ulistic Inc., a Calgary Social Media consultancy and search engine optimization service have opened a registration site. The new registration site is where Ulistic will feature upcoming training workshops.

Currently workshops, scheduled and ready for registrations include;

• Search Engine Optimization
• Social Media for Business Owners
• A Social Media Breakfast for Real Estate Agents
• LinkedIn for Business

The Ulistic approach to internet consulting is based on empower the client to take ownership of their online presence through education and support.

A practical “newbie” training…? By Sandy – Mar 30, 2010

I have been privileged to take two of Ulistic’s social media courses and they have helped me overcome my fear in this area. They taught it in an understandable, hands-on method so that when I left, I felt confident that I could do this. Other courses left me feeling overwhelmed, rather than equipped. Though they’re very experienced in this field, they didn’t make me feel that my questions were silly. I felt very comfortable during the course and excited to try it out for my business. Thanks, Ulistic!!?

Tags: April, Business/Finance, Calgary, collaboration, Internet Consulting, linkedin, online presence, registration site, search engine, search engine optimization, search engine optimization service, Social information processing, social media, social media courses, Ulistic Inc., World Wide Web
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“You can’t do that from here in the United States because the market is different in Canada, it’s unique,”

Arvind Rajan, the Vice President of International at LinkedIn is one smart businessperson in my opinion.  Of course the way we do business in Canada is totally different from our colleagues in the south and in my opinion you can not run a Canadian business without having feet on the street.  LinkedIn understands the importance of connecting with the local communities.  LinkedIn now has over 2 million users in Canada according to a recent Financial Post interview with Rajan.  LinkedIn also went on to say that Canada is one of the most active countries online.

Read more about LinkedIn expansion to Canada here.

LinkedIn is also looking to expand into the UK, Netherlands, Australia, Ireland and other countries.

Tags: Australia, canada, Community websites, Company Expansion, Geography, linkedin, LinkedIn Ltd, Netherlands, Online social networking, Republic of Ireland, Social information processing, social media, United Kingdom, United States, web 2.0, World Wide Web
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