Shannon's thoughts on marketing, public relations, social technology, entrepreneurship and other things

This video epitomizes what the Internet has become in the last five to seven years. Mateusz Zdziebko, the musician, has taken the ordinary and made it extraordinary by looking at it differently. Where most people see duct tape as an adhesive, he saw a musical instrument. In the same way, social media has taken the notion of community from those you can see to a global spectrum of people you may never meet and who are equally as valuable and important.

It is realm of the possible that makes the new frontier of social technology so exciting. For marketers, public relations professionals and entrepreneurs, now is the time to experiment on what can become viral, what will draw clicks to the site and how far can you push the envelope. Just as television opened up the realm of the possible in the middle of the 20th century, the social Internet has extended the reach.

Sampled Room from Mateusz Zdziebko on Vimeo.

The Interwebs have been abuzz lately with Quora. Quora this and Quora that...Quora, Quora, Quora. See why and imagine the possibilities.

Social technology is fantastic!

It has made ways for you to connect, link, friend, fan, like and follow people, causes, organizations and brands around the world. People who would have otherwise never met have established business and personal relationships via social technology. However, getting to know someone, even a organization or a brand, online is only the beginning. It is "social" technology, meaning you eventually have to come from behind the computer screen.

To that end, meetup.com is a great tool that uses a social platform to facilitate people meeting in real life. There are people, places and things for you to discover and explore, and meetup.com helps you do it in geek-fashion. The first video shows you the "what" and "how" and the second video shows you the "why" of meetup.

This is short, sweet and to the point, let's go:

1. Boost your SEO by spending the little bit of money required to purchase your domain --> once you have it, it's yours


2. Ask open-ended questions and request comments at the end of your blog post --> see the bottom of this post


3. Write about something other than your organization, your products and your services --> remember, it isn't always about you


4. Mix up your type of posts: long posts, shorter posts, lists, videos, interviews, audio, polls, photos, testimonials, reviews, etc. --> mixing the format keeps your readers interested


5. Have your blog posts go to your other online properties --> whether someone reads it on your Facebook page or goes to the URL, they're reading it


6. Bring in guest bloggers and be a guest blogger


7. Participate in other online and IRL social networks: Twitter chats, networking events, blog commemorative days, meetups and tweetups --> constantly work for new readers


8. Have your blog as part of your email signature, most services allow for hyperlinking --> easiest way to increase passive traffic


9. List your blog on your business card, your Facebook page, your LinkedIn profile and your Twitter bio --> let people know where to find you


10. Regularly read and leave valuable comments on other blogs in your niche, such as "nice post, have you considered...," "I disagree because..." or "these are additional resources..." -->conversation, conversation, conversation

What techniques have you used to increase your blog traffic?
What seemed like a good idea to increase your blog traffic, but turned out not to be?

Additional resources:
Blogging Basics 101
Mack Collier

Whether or not you like, enjoy or follow football, Al Pacino's speech rings true for life and business.

Yes, it would be great to land a deal with a Fortune 100 or sign a contract with a Fortune 500. The reality is, most of your work will probably be with small to medium size enterprises, and it is okay, in fact, it's fantastic. It is the small to medium enterprises that keep the economy rolling: buying products & services, providing consumers with choices and living the American dream of self determination. It is the latter which drives entrepreneurs, pushing you during the lean times, prodding you during the so-so times and rewarding you during the good times.

For the small to medium organization, success is in the inches: one more whatchamacallit to sell, one more appointment or service call to schedule and one more appointment or networking event to attend. These are some of the inches you and your families work for everyday; it is the sum of these and the thousands of other behind-the-scene inches that determine your business's success.

What are some of the inches you've had to struggle for?
What are some of the inches you've given up?

Additional resources:
Examining the Defense -- Not Offense -- of Business
Manage your business or it will manage you
Setback to Resilience: 3 lessons from the Unsigned Contract

Video clip from Any Given Sunday, directed by , directed by Oliver Stone, written by Daniel Pyne, John Logan and Oliver Stone, released in 1999.

Gotcha! There is no such thing as the perfect blog post. There are grammatically correct, properly formatted and aesthetically pleasing blog posts, alas no perfect posts. Is butter pecan better than pistachio is better than banana split ice cream? To each his/her own, it's a matter of taste, and so is blogging.

Blogging intimidates a lot of people because they are under the impression that they have to write the perfect post: 3 paragraphs, 7 sentences per and no more than 350-400 words. Hogwash! You've been captivated by 1,200-1,500 words posts and brought to tears by 20 word posts. Some of the most informative, entertaining and poignant blogs are full of images, videos, long posts, short bursts and everything in-between. Mix your content up, have fun and let your creative juices flow.

Consider this short list of different kinds of blog posts:

1. Instructional or How To
2. Informational
3. Reviews
4. Lists
5. Interviews
6. Case Studies
7. Profiles
8. Link Posts
9. Video
10. Story posts
11. Research
12. Projects
13. Rant
14. Photos
15. Collation Posts
16. Prediction
17. Critique Posts
18. Infographic
19. Debate
20. Memes