I personally have not used Twitter’s own interface (twitter.com) with any regularity in several months. I became a Tweet Deck (a third party application to assist with site management) user because I like the interface and found that it was far more user friendly and allowed me to better manage information, replies, and follows using Tweet Deck’s multi-column desktop application.
I have now integrating what I believe to best the best third-party application available for the Twitter user who manages multiple accounts, marketers on the site, or wants to extend their brand identity through Twitter, which is a very powerful use of the site. It is called “MarketMe Tweet” and it is phenomenal!
I have always said that the Twitter platform is the property of it’s creators and we have the privilege of utilizing the site within their terms of service to use it any way that we see fit. Millions of uses for millions of users – free of charge.
In consideration of this fact, I am fine with Twitter making any changes they see fit and if the platform one day no longer meets my needs, I will graciously move on and be grateful for the time I spent leveraging Twitter. It has transformed many aspects of my business.
It will be interesting to see what these new features are and I am certain that the “O Auth Secure” third party application developers will create new applications based on any new features Twitter introduces. I do not see application developers fading away – unless of course Twitter wants them to do so, but again it is their site.
If you would like to see the third-party client I am switching to, you can visit the developers site here and take a brief video tour of the application: MarketMe Tweet Tour
I am here to help you succeed in your business!
P.S. A review of @al3x Twitter stream would indicate that the cat was let out of the bag or perhaps his tweet was mis-interpreted. Oh those 140 characters!
(c) Copyright 2008-2010 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com
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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.
I had the privilege today to interview author and Ecademy founder Penny Power on the Internet Business Blueprint podcast. In 2010 Ecademy will celebrate their 12th year anniversary as a premium business and social network. To learn more about Ecademy sign up for a free account and see if this community can help you accomplish your objectives: Join Ecademy
I wanted to share a few of my notes from our conversation as Penny Provided some really great insights concerning the social web.
I. The distinction between institutions and networks using two acronyms
1. C.S.C. for Institutions: C = Closed S = Selective C = Controling
2. O.R.S. for Networks: O = Open R = Random S = Supportive
I found this idea very enlightening and as Penny explained the concept in greater detail, it became apparent to me why so many mainstream businesses and organizational institutions such as governments and academic institutions have struggled to bridge onto the social web.
II. Credibility+ Credibility = Profitability
The social web provides a unique opportunity for you to provide your network and potential customers, associates, and friends transparency that empowers them to get to know you, like you, and trust you which is essential in building relationships. Penny provided several key insights on this topic and share the story behind her website KnowMeLikeMeFollowMe.com
III. The guiding idea behind Ecademy is to establish a community of support for business owners and solo-prenuers around the world, a place where people actually develop true friendships and a dynamic support network.
IV. Ecademy is integrating a number of enhancements in the month of February and have actually lowered the entry price of their ‘Power Networker’ membership and for those who are ‘Black Star’ members there are several new benefits on the drawing board.
As always, you can register for Ecademy as a free member and upgrade your membership based on the value you see in the community along with your personal goals.
V. The last point I wanted to share here relates to a bonus that I announced on the show for anyone who signs up as a free or paid member at Ecademy using the link provided on the broadcast and in this post. I am launching my first membership site in March 2010 and I have an extensive social media training series of videos and special reports that will be made available to the membership.
For those of you who join Ecademy using my link, I will provide you with a couple of the key modules from the series as my gift to you for being an action taker! This package is a valued at one hundred dollar and it is yours free.
Once you have joined Ecademy please be sure to send me a personal email message so that I can welcome you and send you the details on how you will access your social media training videos and reports. The email that you will want to use is james@AskJamesHolmes.com
If you would like to better understand how to leverage Ecademy to grow your online business around the world contact me and I will share several strategies that will produce results for you with consistency.
(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com
Note: I am a Affiliate Marketer and it should be assumed that links provided within the content of this blog and individual blog post are affiliate links from which I may be compensated for sales made at the recommended sites. All products and service recommendations are made as a result of my personal experience with the product or service provider.
Penny Power is the Founder of ecademy, a UK based social network for serious entrepreneurs and internet based marketers. On Wednesday February 3rd at 9:00 am EST Penny Power will be my special guest on the Internet Business Blueprint podcast on Blog Talk Radio. This will provide you with a rare interview to speak directly with Penny and benefit from her extraordinary knowledge in the area of entrepreneurship and leadership.
Penny Power created ecademy with her husband Thomas Power and Glenn Watkins to help business people achieve success in their business through online tools, community and through friendship. Penny was born in England in 1964, married Thomas Power in 1990 and has three children. In her own words:
“I think the greatest aspect of Social Networking and the online world for us has been the aspect of working from home a great deal, allowing Thomas and I to be close to the children as they grow up. I am sure that is something that many of Ecademy Members have experienced and it is an enormous benefit of the new online world.”
ecademy is a Social Business Network. Created as a community, it has developed over 12 years into a warm, supportive and creative place. Business people join from all over the world and we encourage an Open, Random and Supportive philosophy.
ecademy is a Social place where business happens. You will experience many conversations that are both business related and social related – the best part from my perspective as that you will find very few ’social spammers’ and no one need apologize for promoting their businesses, it is actually encouraged.
If you have not visited ecademy I would encourage you to do so and then take advantage of their free membership here: Join ecademy Free
This will be an appearance not to miss and there is so much that you can learn from Penny that I am just pleased to host her on my show, I encourage you to join me.
I am here to help you succeed!
PS - Here is the link to the podcast show page: http://JamesHolmesRadio.com
(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com
Note: I am a Affiliate Marketer and it should be assumed that links provided within the content of this blog and individual blog post are affiliate links from which I may be compensated for sales made at the recommended sites. All products and service recommendations are made as a result of my personal experience with the product or service provider.
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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.
As I look back at 2009 and evaluate the impact social media has had on my business it is pretty amazing. I have made new friends, established new business relationships and met some of the most creative and action oriented people online. By virtue of my Internet Business Blueprint podcast, I have been able to interview Gary Vaynerchuk, Perry Belcher, Com Mirza, Rob Hannley and many other entrepreneurs.
One of the aspects I love most is how a small random act can lead to a new friendship, a business idea or the viral distribution of information. I have many personal examples of this and I want to highlight one as an example of how this occurs.
A few weeks ago I was following my weekly ritual of watching ‘Sunday Morning on CBS,” I have done this for years! One of the featured segments was on iPhone apps and I suggested to my wife that they should have included Joel Comm’s iFart.Afew minutes later, there it is prominently featured. Having gotten to know Joel on a personal level this year – that was pretty cool.
So I fired off a quick tweet as illustrated in the screen shot below and just like that Joel and many of Joel’s followers who missed the story became aware of it in an instant and could now log onto the CBS website and watch a video of the segmented. Could this have happened five years ago?
The following is taken from Joel Comm’s blog post November 16, 2009 and illustrates how social media can leverage a message to the point that it takes on a life all it own.
Taken From: JoelComm.com
“Nearly one year after the release of iFart, the app continues to sell like clockwork.
I believe that iFart is also the most-referenced app in iPhone history.
It seems like every week one media outlet or another is referring to it.
Besides the obvious fun and games, here’s what is interesting about the CBS piece.
The 15-second appearance on the CBS Sunday show did more to increase sales of iFart than the four-minute piece on iFart that aired on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show back in July of this year!
Could it be that The Daily Show viewers already owned iFart? Or could it be that a bunch of college-aged slackers don’t have a dime to spend on anything?
Regardless, the CBS piece was very good and it demonstrates just how big the app business is.
By the way, our next app should be BIGGER than iFart. Stay tuned…
I share this story with you to illustrate a simple point. I see so many marketers active on social sites like Twitter, Facebook and others who go out of their way attempting to force their message on the market. Sadly, they are missing the point… If you are engaged and authentic, if you seek to share what you find interesting about your market, your business, your personal interest and the interest of your social friends… your message will be heard in a natural way without you forcing it. Who knows, it may even go viral.
I am here to help you succeed!
(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com
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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.
Today, I was joined by Com Mirza on the Internet Business Blueprint podcast. Com is a Serial Entrepreneur, Author, Consultant, Social Media Addict, Blogger, Networker, Video Addict, And The Lemonade Boy. He can be found on Twitter.com as (@TheLemonadeBoy). For the last 7 years Com Mirza has been actively involved in starting technology companies from scratch, building up the subscriber and revenue bases and selling them off to venture capitalists and companies. With a portfolio of over 20 Internet companies and partnerships with some of the greatest Internet entrepreneurs com is committed to starting, building and selling more companies and spends a majority of his time on his ventures.
Com Mirza
Com is also a part time author and has written 3 books, Mental Steroids, Bitten By Success, and Dreamer Businessman Humanitarian. In his spare time he likes to hang with his family, read like crazy, network with intelligent successful people, inspire people, teach, consult, challenge himself, help change the world, study personal development, peak performance, brain science, psychology, and business like crazy.
We covered a variety of subjects related to entrepreneurship and social media, you can hear the replay at http://www.JamesHolmesRadio.com (it is worth your time invested).
Here are a few notes from our conversation today:
Com on Failure
1. Have a personal support structure
2. Have a firm commitment to what you are pursuing
3. Access your personal support structure to create life balance
Com Recommends there ‘must have” social profiles
1. Twitter
2. Facebook
3. You Tube
4. Linked In
5. MySpace (although losing market share and mind share)
The Internet Business Blueprint podcast is a daily program designed to help anyone interested in Internet based entrepreneurship. Proving coaching, resources, and tools designed to help you establish and grow a thriving Internet based business. Guest and topics will focus on topics relevant to Internet marketers, network marketers, direct sellers and affiliate marketing professionals.
I would love to read your feedback after hearing the interview. Also, Com provides his personal contact information at the end for anyone who would like to learn how to turn lemons into lemonade!
Have a blessed day!
James
(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com
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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.
Internet Marketing Master Ryan Deiss and Social Media Guru Perry Belcher will be hosting a Free 2 Hour Webinar on Wednesday evening July 22, 2009 titled “How to Finally Make Money With Social Media” the presentation is expected to sell out at 5,000 attendees. This is an early registration link.
I have personally listen to dozens of hours of Ryan Deiss and Perry Belcher training on information product creation, social media, and Internet marketing. I highly recommend their materials as I have found them to be relevant, actionable, an of high value.
(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com
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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.
We have a very interesting guest joining us on Monday July 20, 2009 and there could be Late July Fireworks! I began promoting that Social Media Expert and Internet Marketing Guru Perry Belcher would be my special guest for a special one hour edition of the “Internet Business Blueprint” podcast, which I host every weekday. Perry Belcher witll be my guest Monday July 20th at 11:00 AM EST.
The responses I have received on Twitter have been more than interesting and will no doubt add a new twist to Perry appearance on the program.
My intention for inviting Perry on the program was to share my positive experience with others and allow my listeners to call in to ask Perry questions, chat with feedback, and benefit from the knowledge of someone who has produced tremendous results with consistency. There are literally ten of thousands of people trying to figure out how to make social media work, how to leverage it to build their brand and drive sales in their businesses. I felt that having Perry on the show would provide a unique opportunity to benefit a large number of entrepreneurs.
I have learned several profitable Internet strategies related to Google and other online marketing strategies from both Perry Belcher and his business partner Ryan Deiss through two programs: “Get Money From Google” and “Make Money with Your Microphone.” In both cases I found the content to be well researched, very actionable, and valuable when it comes to producing results.
Here is where the story becomes interesting. I have received a few tweets questioning why I would have a convicted felon on my show, someone who was convicted for running a fraudulent Internet marketing campaign and who had over one million dollars in assets seized by the Federal Government. They asked didn’t I know this about Perry Belcher? Fair question and I feel very comfortable with my answer. I did in fact know about Perry Belcher, the Federal Case for which he made restitution and all the details – Perry Belcher told me all about it and even told me where I could go to read all the details for myself. Ironically one of the sites is owned by a person who sent me a tweet.
I RESPECT all of the varied opinions on Perry Belcher, his crimes, his popularity, his authority on social media sites, his successes, and his failures. I can easily agree to disagree with the few who want to prosecute Perry Belcher over and over, I just as easily agree with the hundreds of thousands of people that follow Perry for his authenticity and sage marketing advice. So now you know my bias.I just posted a public comment on Perry’s blog in response to “Perry Belcher Shocking Confession Video” that Perry has posted and tweets out regular.
The comments I posted on Perry’s blog makes clear how I feel about this entire issue. I encourage you to watch it and draw your own conclusions, you can see it here: Perry Belcher’s Succcess Blog
Here is what I said:
“Perry -
I am going to “get real” with you here in response to your “getting real” through this video. I have seen your video a couple of times previously when you linked it to a Twitter post. I have and will continue to Re-Tweet this every time I see it for one simple reason.
My faith is Christian and I love the principles of forgiveness and redemption that are a cornerstone of my faith. Being fallible humans we can all fall short of perfection time and time again – at times some may go beyond making poor choices to consciously commit crimes, or harm another, etc. Does that matter? Absolutely it does!
But here is the reality; the story is not complete until the final chapter is written and only then can the character of a man be judged as final. It sounds like you did indeed cross the line and no doubt you paid a very heavy price and I am sure spend a good deal of your time making apologies for what has been exposed. That being said, you have admitted what has been done, paid your debt to society, and fulfilled your obligations under the law. Both the law and hundreds of thousands of people (friends, piers, associates, clients, customers, members of your list, and social media followers) have indeed proclaimed “your debt is paid in full and you are forgiven.”
Now comes your redemption. I can only judge by my personal experience, anything more is either opinion or an ill advised use stories from others, proof that is neither validated or my own. That type of judgment would lack integrity. I have followed you for the last several months, I have purchased yours and Ryan’s products and listed to hours and hours of your trainings, I have trusted you and with my credit card as a member of your continuity program, and I have benefited greatly from the value I have received.
So being a person of faith, I choose not to judge beyond what I personally know and the law has required. I have witnessed your passion and desire to teach others how to succeed in business, and I believe you have provided a great service to the social media community through your work – teaching others how to be well behaved at the party helps all of us.
Keep changing lives by the power gained through redemptive acts and the anonymous voices will over time fade away, driven into the darkness by the light of truth!
I appreciate you and the work that you and Ryan are producing. Keep adding value, keeping it up front and honest and many will benefit as a result.
Have a blessed day!
James”
In addition to discussing Perry’s life, his Internet marketing strategies, and his rise through social media, we will be discussing his new project with Ryan Deiss called “The Social Media Matrix,” which is being launched this week. If you are interested in the program that I referenced click here for “Get Money From Google” this is a tremendous value at $27.00, which includes five bonus courses.
I personally invite you to log on to the podcast, it should be interesting and I promise you will learn several actionable strategies that will allow you to grow your business, which is after all one of the primary purposes for the podcast. The interview will be live and we will take your questions at: The Internet Business Blueprint
(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com
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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.
The “Definitive Twitter Resource Guide” is a free e-book containing 201 Twitter Tools to empower you to more effectively manage your Twitter stream, followers and those you are following. The guide has been created by Stephen Pierce, author of “Make Real Money on The Internet,” which is said to be the most powerful money making manual for the internet. You can obtain a free copy of Stephen’s book by clicking here: Make Real Money on The Internet
The “Definitive Twitter Resource Guide” is divided by catagories and includes: applications, ad networks, analytics, badges & widgets, Twitter for buiness, follow management, file sharing, finance, media, multi-account management, printing, posting & alerts, search engines, travel, trend and others.
The guide provides a very logical layout that includes hop links for each resoure highlighted and rated in the guide. I was aware of a few of the resources featued and have used a couple such as Tweet Deck; however, the vast majority of these resources were new to me as Twitter is a rapidly evolving tool to leverage social media to become a powerful part of my overall traffic strategy.
(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com
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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.
For the aggressive marketer I simply will say, sorry guys you may have caused the problem and I know you are aware that YouTube is not the bad guy here. This is worth saying again, content aggregation sites like Google, Yahoo, You Tube and others are focused on the customer’s experience. The priority of these companies is to deliver “relevant” content to their end users based on their chosen search criteria. When a marketer games the system by manufacturing search results which do not serve the end user – watch out!
If you are an aggressive marketer or practice “black hat” techniques, you know that it is not a question of if but when the slap will come and you are likely ok taking it. It was a long run, you made your money and now on to the next frontier. If you are like me, you want to be as assertive as the rules allow, but your priority is to deliver value, build your brand on integrity, and create a sustainable business.
Because you guys are the target, the fix for you is a little more complicated and depending on whether or not you have already been flagged, following these suggestions might preserve your presence on You Tube.
1. Based on the feedback I am getting, I would explore the IP address questions previously raised and act accordingly. Really strive to get the correct answers, I have received conflicting opinions offered by I.T. professionals.
2. If you have been a heavy abuser you might consider subscribing to a proxy server provider and shift your marketing to a new IP offered through a third party proxy service.
3. Do not change the email address on your primary account, but do so on the others, it appears that duplicated email addresses draws a flag.
4. Consider consolidating all of your content onto your primary account and close all others.
5. Do not reload the exact same videos without following these steps.
Create an original source file by re-compressing the video from your editing software on your desk top
Provide a new title for the video when uploading to YouTube
Make sure that ALL of your tags are relevant to the content of your video
6. Do not use friend finder or video blaster software to manage content or make connections on YouTube. This is not the same thing as appropriately using a system like Traffic Geyser.
7. If you use video submission software to post your videos, edit “YouTube” out of your posting preferences and manually upload your content to You Tube.
In addition to these suggestions, I would adhere to all of the recommendations offered to new YouTube users listed in my prior post:
(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com
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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.
As an experienced YouTube user you know the value gained by posting relevant content, participating in the community, viewing others videos and posting comments, and have likely grown your following organically as a result of the value you bring. If you are like me you also had no idea that having more than one account could put your entire YouTube strategy at risk.
If you are in this category you may be feeling a little frustrated by a slap that might impact you even though you are playing by the rules. If you follow these tips you will be able to continue doing a great job providing value to your viewers and building your brand.
1. Decide which of your accounts has the broadest reach and impact on your desired market and make that your official home on YouTube.
2. Step back and take a fresh look at your profile and messaging, ask yourself this simple question, “Am I adding value?”
3. Consider closing all secondary accounts especially if the content is duplicated from your primary channel, your videos are simply hyped up sales pitches, your content is not relevant to your titles and tags, or if you built a following predominantly with friend finder software.
4. If you decide to maintain more than one account you may be at greater risk if you use a common email address for multiple accounts. So consider changing the user email for your secondary accounts.
5. There are conflicting opinions about the role of IP addresses when monitoring accounts. Some who have researched this say that maintaining multiple accounts on one IP address will flag your accounts. I am not an I.T. expert, so I am not certain of all of the details related to this issue. One marketer who had his accounts closed suggested that you call your ISP and find out how to obtain a new IP address.
Leverage the explosion in online marketing videos bring massive traffic and unprecedented search engine rankings for all of your videos. Follow this link and sign up for a series of FREE training videos to help you create leverage with your videos.
(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com
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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.
