Could You Use An Extra Helping Of....Time?

Could you use a little more... time?  I've never bumped into a small business owner who said, "My biggest problem is that I have too much leisure time." 

I'm currently reading the book Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud.  It was a kind gift from a friend who thought it might be helpful in my work advising owners of family owned small businesses.  The premise is that we sometimes struggle or just plain get stuck, in life and in business, with "endings" - - stopping or bringing an end to activities, relationships and businesses.  We pursue good things but not the best, try to rehabilitate people and enterprises that are never going to succeed, or try to revive situations that are long, long dead and gone.  Essentially, we waste time in areas that rob us from pursuing our very best.  

How productive and effective could you be if you spent most of your time on the very best things in life, both personally and professionally?  To focus there, you have to decisively choose to bring some things to a necessary end.

One of my all time favorite books, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey explores the principle of "First Things First".  Dr. Covey urges leaders (as well as business owners and all individuals) to focus on the "not urgent and important" things in life.  Don't you sometimes get the feeling that you are spinning your wheels addressing urgent situations throughout the day, only to reflect back in your exhaustion to realize that the things you pursued really weren't that important in the long run?  Stephen Covey would encourage you to spend less and less time on urgent situations, which will allow you more and more time to address important aspects of life and business.

Perhaps the way to "make more time" is to consciously choose to stop doing some of the things you currently do.  Wisdom says to the weary, to those who dream of a 30 hour day, stop doing the urgent and unimportant, bring these things to a necessary end.

Quick quiz:  What will you stop doing TODAY to allow more time for the very best in your life?

Thanks for sharing 117 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Steve Jobs Died This Week; So...

Steve Jobs died this week; so did the parent of three different friends of mine.

Three friends of mine lost a parent this week.  No, the world won't pause to reflect on the lives of my friends' parents.   Others across the planet won't post on Facebook or write a blog about these three.   The public won't share videos and quotes of my friends' parents.

In one video I viewed, Mr. Jobs said: "Those people who think they are crazy enough to think they can change the world, those are the people who actually do."   My friends' parents changed the world, my world, simply by making the lives of my friends possible.

Like George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life, we all leave our imprint on this world.  Yes, when you're gone, "they" will talk about you in the funeral home.  What would you like them to say?  Perhaps this is the most valuable thing the passing of a celebrity like Steve Jobs provides:  it causes us to pause from all our "busyness" to reflect upon the meaning of our lives.

What would you like them to say about you at the funeral home?

For me, it's simple.  I'd like to be remembered as a man who knew God well, because my belief and faith in Jesus Christ is really the most important element of my life.  I heard a sermon about "The Rest of Your Life" last Sunday.  My plan is to spend the rest of my life on that.  I know that I won't change the world, but I'd like to make a difference for a few dear people.

How about you?  I hope you're crazy enough to think you can change the world.  Get busy, the world is waiting for you.

(enjoy the brief video)

Thanks for sharing 77 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Scary or Just Another Trillion Dollar Company?

I ended my post on September 30th with:

I'm running out of time for today, but I wonder how valuable a company would be if they were the major player worldwide in music, movie entertainment, TV, news media and book offerings and distribution. And how influential. One thread of 145 comments that I read about the Facebook changes contained three comments from German individuals. Essentially, they said we witnessed about 80 years ago what can happen when the control of media and information is willingly relinquished to a single source.

Luckily, today we still have a Congress that sits under a Constitution and Bill of Rights that require our government to protect freedom of speech. We do, don't we? Not even a trillion dollar company can change that. Can it?

A trillion dollar company that is the major player worldwide in music, movie entertainment, TV, news media, and book offerings and distribution?  In the video below, the last person interviewed, Co-Founder/CEO of Friend.ly Ed Baker, thinks Facebook "has the best shot at being a trillion dollar market cap company in the next few years".

Clara Shih, Founder of Hearsay Labs who is recorded on the video below prior to Mr. Baker, thinks that the new Timeline Facebook format (not yet available to individuals - yes, there's a ton more changes coming) will be helpful for small businesses.  Small businesses and their owners will "really be able to connect at a much deeper level with their customers" and enjoy "a new level of authenticity and customer loyalty that will result".   

Ed Baker also says that "users always have mixed feelings about change....in the long run people are going to love this a lot more than what they did before".  Facebook users have noticed that the News Feed of information is no longer chronological, and they aren't seeing the information that they used to see.  This is because the artificial intelligence running Facebook, called Graph Rank, is making decisions about content and filtering the information that Facebook users see.  According to Bret Taylor, Facebook's CTO, Graph Rank looks for patterns and its main job is to figure out what's most interesting to the individual user. 

Why would the individuals from Germany be concerned about the influence of a trillion dollar company deeply engaged in the music, film and TV media, print, news, and journalism industries, with control through artificial intelligence over what 800 million people see?  I don't get it, do you?

Thanks for sharing 117 seconds of your day,
Smitty

You May Not Care About Facebook. You Should.

After watching the F8 Developers Conference keynote address by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (total play time an hour and forty minutes) several times, and then slowly reviewing while taking notes, I've come to a conclusion:

We all need to pay attention to what's going on with all the Facebook changes.  Regardless as to whether or not you  personally or professionally use Facebook, or even if you don't use it at all, there's a whole bunch going on here of which you need to take note.

Future Facebook Domination: The Music Industry
Remember the days before Napster and iTunes, when a friend would show you his music album or cd collection and that was how you "shared" music, hand to hand?  Somewhere along the way, with the help of Napster and Apple, the entire music industry was redefined, reinvented, rethought......irreparably changed.  One friend bought the cd, shared it through computers and mp3 players like Apple's iPod, and the music industry and recording artists stood on the sidelines and thought:  how do we make money now?

Facebook is planning to rethink and reinvent the music industry, obviously to their financial advantage.  Collaborating with a dozen partner businesses, the most prominent being Spotify, Facebook plans to share music between friends automatically through Timeline (see Friday September 23 post of this blog).  According to Mark Zuckerberg, the key is to help you discover so many songs that you end up buying even more content than you ever would otherwise.  Cha-ching$$$ !  Want to buy that song your friend is listening to for 79 cents without leaving Facebook rather than logging on to iTunes to buy it for 99 cents?  Cha-ching$$$ !

Facebook users on Spotify listen to more music and a greater variety of music, and according to Spotify CFO and Co-Founder Daniel Ek, Spotify has 400 million playlists to back up that statement.  Question:  where did Spotify get access to 400 million playlists?  Hint:  Facebook has 800 million users and for the first time they reached a milestone of having a half billion individual users log on in a single day.

Didn't realize your personal playlist of songs was so valuable, did you?  Or maybe you didn't know it was being shared?  Do you also not realize that, after you personally log off Facebook, Facebook continues to track every website you visit and every page that you view?  

Future Facebook Domination: Movies, TV, Books, News
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sits on the Facebook Board of Directors.  He was initially uncomfortable with sharing Netflix user info with Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook team.  But after he realized the value of doing so for Netflix users and the company he heads, Facebook is now pioneering movies through social media with Netflix and a dozen other companies.  According to Hastings, Netflix is in 44 out of 45 countries on Facebook.  Hasting explained that there seems to be an outdated privacy law about video disc companies, but luckily the US Congress has a bill today in Congress to update that old privacy law and will allow Netflix to "turn on" in the US through Facebook.

Hmmm.  Even the US Congress is willing to help Mr. Zuckerberg and friends.  

So What?
I'm running out of time for today, but I wonder how valuable a company would be if they were the major player worldwide in music, movie entertainment, TV, news media and book offerings and distribution.  And how influential.  One thread of 145 comments that I read about the Facebook changes contained three comments from German individuals.  Essentially, they said we witnessed about 80 years ago what can happen when the control of media and information is willingly relinquished to a single source. 

Luckily, today we still have a Congress that sits under a Constitution and Bill of Rights that require our government to protect freedom of speech.  We do, don't we?   Not even a trillion dollar company can change that.  Can it?

Thanks for sharing 198 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Facebook Will Never Charge A Subscription Fee

IT IS OFFICIAL. IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON, IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY!!!!!!

Have you seen this announcement on your Facebook News Feed?  Or a similar one?  If you checked the "official" news-breaking story out on Snopes.com, you would see that this is just another hoax about Facebook charging user fees.  There have been a number of similar hoaxes through the past several years. 

The reality is that Facebook would be crazy to charge a user fee.  Like Steve Job and Apple with the music industry beforehand, Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook are well on their way to rethinking and changing entire industries.  Scary truth is, they don't need your subscription fee to participate in Facebook because, in the brave new world of Facebook, you'll willingly pay them to listen to music, view TV and movies, read books and newspapers, etc etc etc.

Just waiting for them to wash and iron my clothes......and chew my food for me.......and...

(there's an unbelievable ton of stuff going on here, pay attention to the impact of social media on your business and life)

Thanks for sharing 68 seconds of your day,
Smitty 

Introducing Timeline From Facebook

Here's one announced change on Facebook - - Timeline. In less than half of a day, the views of this video leapt from 102,193 to 555,456. It will cost you 91 seconds of your day, but it may be worth it. What do you think?

Changes On Facebook

Among other things, two items caught my attention this week:  Facebook made some changes to the way News Feeds function, and eMarketer predicted that Facebook's ad revenue will double this year from $1.86 Billion in 2010 to $3.8 Billion in 2011.  Unrelated information?  Perhaps, and perhaps not. 

All week long there were posts: 

"The Facebook Nazis are at it again!"  
"I hate the Facebook changes!!!" 
"It's time to move to Google+" (which I applaud)

In some ways, this reaction just sounds like a pack of Old Dogs refusing to learn a few New Tricks.  We have all come to embrace the concept that "people hate change" despite the fact that we rejoice in the pleasure of driving a newly purchased car, love to go on vacations and celebrate the birth of a grandchild. 

Embracing new things can be a simple matter of changing one's perspective.  This past spring, I was diagnosed with a gluten allergy.  I can't eat wheat, rye or barley - - no pizza or hot pretzels, and a laundry list of other products you wouldn't believe contain wheat.  Friends express sympathy, but my reaction is:  it isn't so bad.  Compare that to last year when my son was in heart failure prior to his heart transplant and avoided salt like arsenic and could drink one, maybe two, thimbles of liquid a day, or starving individuals around the globe who would beg for food to which they are allergic.  See?  It really is a matter of perspective. 

Back to Facebook

Why the changes in the Facebook News Feed?  I'm certainly not an expert, but let's remember that Facebook is a business, not a charity solely interested in offering a free service.  Some of the changes are genuine improvements for the end user, in part brought on by a response to Facebook's competition, Google's social media platform Google+.  

Controlling the way that people see and absorb information also impacts the effectiveness of businesses using Facebook, and can enhance the attractiveness of investing in paid advertising on Facebook.  Before I stopped checking the astronomical figures, Facebook's valuation as a company grew from $35 Billion in December of 2010 to $70 Billion this past spring.  Stagnating at a couple billion in ad revenue isn't going to help the value of the company to continue to grow, particularly with a viable competitor like Google+ roaming the social media terrain.

Facebook is rapidly moving toward an IPO, an initial public offering of their stock.  They're getting ready to cash in on all their hard work and effort.  Additional ad revenue, and the promise of future growth, will ad to their wealth.  Long after Facebook users cease complaining about changes in the News Feed, those selling their interest in Facebook will still be counting their money.  How long do you think it takes to count $70 Billion?   

The small business owner is keenly aware that there is much beyond his control.  Facebook, or any other social media, can and will make changes that adversely impact their small business.  More on how to deal with that reality in a future post.  Until then, do your best to figure out how to take the greatest advantage possible of the new changes on Facebook.

Thanks for sharing 187 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Choices!

Boy, there seems to be an abundance of choices in life:  choices, choices, choices!  Sometimes it can be overwhelming.  For me, I'm intimidated by the choices in the grocery store........... can there really be 117 different breakfast cereals, in one Giant Eagle grocery store?  I'm the perfect sucker for a SALE! tag or a coupon available right in the aisle at the point of purchase, because I really don't know (and I'm blessed to be married to someone who really does know!).

Perhaps you feel the same way about social media options as I do about grocery store  choices.  The variety of tools and platforms available in social media can be intimidating, making it difficult to begin.  The choices of how to engage and use these tools can be staggering, paralyzing.  As a small business owner, you recognize that you should use social media to your advantage, and engage the incredible opportunity and benefit that is available to you and your business.  It may simply be challenging for you to get started and stay engaged.

I wish that I could remember the creator of the picture above, about Google Plus adapted from a beer ad, because he deserves appropriate credit.  It's amusing and clever, and I really, genuinely like Google+.  It would be great if everyone I know, and hundreds of millions that I could meet, would be active on Google+.  Hands down, it is a superior tool or platform to Facebook.  Yet many continue to live on Facebook.  Is it a choice of familiarity?  A choice of reluctance to change?  And what about Twitter or LinkedIn or a blog?   

Frankly, the most crucial choice is to engage in social media, not which tool to select.  That is the foundational reason for this blog, Old Dogs, New Tricks, to encourage you to take an initial step toward harnessing the power of social media to improve your life and business.  The ability to reap the advantages may require an initial step of choosing to stop doing something else, because of the "busyness" of your life.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  Please, take that initial step.

Thanks for sharing 111 seconds of your day,
Smitty

A Sense Of Wonder

This week a reader of this blog from Qatar emailed me to share a story on the ESPN website about the use of social media by the New York Jets professional football team.  Jim said the article "certainly resonates with the message you've been espousing". 

Please excuse me for a moment as I shake my head in amazement.  I'm still an Old Dog with a sense of wonder when I ponder the impact of social media and the reality of how commonplace it is to be able to share ideas and information from the other side of our planet. 

A situation comes to mind about a college student from our church earlier this year:  While studying abroad through Geneva College, she communicated by Facebook about her escape from Egypt when the government there was collapsing.  If one recalls the broader circumstances surrounding this college student at that time, is there any denying that social media contributed heavily to the abrupt change of the Egyptian government?

Closer to home, I could make a strong case for the use of social media contributing heavily to the election of our current President of the United States (which I did, in fact, do last March in a post at my old blog address: "Does President Obama Owe His Place In History To Social Media?").  The influence of utilizing social media can be staggering.   

Back to Jim's email about the New York Jets

According to the ESPN article that Jim shared, three or four years ago, the Jets website was in the bottom quartile of the teams in the National Football League.  The Jet's executive vice president, Matt Higgins, hired social media consultant Gary Vaynerchuk and implemented a successful social media strategy.  Today, the team is in the top quartile of the league, and Higgins believes that social media has been significantly responsible for growing the fan base during those couple of years.  The Jets have become a league leader in social media.

In a business environment where NFL teams sometimes hover around $1Billion in value, do you have any idea how much social media has increased the value of the New York Jets professional football team?  I remember, as a kid, when Joe Namath signed a contract for $400,000 to quarterback the New York Jets (a huge sum at that time).  I also remember how the Namath-led Jets shocked the sports world by defeating the mighty Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl.  Social media consultant Gary Vaynerchuk would be underpaid if he received the amount of Namath's contract for his contribution to increasing the value of today's Jets. 

How about you?  Sure, I understand that, unless your last name is Rooney, your business probably isn't worth a billion dollars.  But you can surely increase the value of your small business by learning a few New Tricks and implementing a successful social media strategy over the next few years.  Come on Old Dog, if the crummy New York Jets can do it, just imagine what you can do in Steelers country?  

Thanks for sharing 144 seconds of your day,
Smitty

The Overall Plan

The business world, and the world in general, is rapidly transforming due to social media.  Social media is impacting relationships with customers and competitors, as well as providing tremendous opportunity for small businesses.  In the midst of this evolving impact, an owner must also remember that social media, in all its forms, is fundamentally a tool.

So what is the plan or strategy that can best utilize these tools?  In advising a small business owner, I often begin by introducing an overall plan and then use the plan as a guide for decisions and activity in marketing the business.  This is the plan I frequently utilize:

Global Marketing Strategy

1.     Where Have We Been?

Why did you start your business in the first place?  What was the dream?

Paint a clear and defined picture, as you saw it then.

“Talk about dumb mistakes!”, and great decisions.

2.     The Core and Heart of Our Business

Ideally, what specifically do we want to accomplish?

What is the measurement of success?

State the core of our business simply and specifically.

3.     Where Are We Now?

Who is our Target Customer?

       Explore and define everything that we know.

Who and What is our Competition?

       Inside and out, directly and not - - what prevents our success?         

How are we, ourselves, our biggest enemy?

4.     First Things…..First

What are our core values?

What are our greatest priorities?

       Rank them.  Obey them.

5.     Strategic Planning

What is the most effective path to our #1 priority?

What are our biggest obstacles?

       Eliminate or neutralize them.

Are we willing to do what is necessary to accomplish our goals?

6.     Execution

Do we have the will?

Action Steps:  with deadlines and consequences/rewards


What's your plan for marketing success in today's social media world?

Thanks for sharing 92 seconds of your day,
Smitty

What Do You Believe In?

Earlier in the week, I wrote about the winner's secret to success:  mastering the simple aspects of business, or life, and pursuing those simple fundamentals with maximum vigor.  When I first start to work with a small business owner to improve the bottom line, it is critical to understand and have a firm grasp on these simple, basic fundamentals.  No sense passionately pursuing the wrong objectives with maximum vigor, eh?  To be truly successful, you need to accurately understand the core and heart of your business.

Ask yourself questions like:

Why did you start your business in the first place? 

There's one thing you want your grandchildren to know about your earlier days in starting and building your business.  What is it?

What are you most proud of regarding what your business offers?

How do you measure success?

When you're gone, what would you like the legacy of your business to be?

I firmly believe that, in order to successfully progress into the future, one must understand where you have been and what you truly value.  The video from a post earlier this week reveals the values and core beliefs of legendary coach Vince Lombardi.  The narrating voice (boy, I love that voice of NFL Films!) informs us that Lombardi believed in the old fashioned virtues of hard work, second effort, loyalty and love.

What do you believe in?  What are the core values of your business, the things that you believe deeply and will not compromise?  Knowing these things is a guiding compass in a rapidly, ever changing world.

Professionally, I believe in serving God by loving and encouraging others in their daily work, in relationships that are built and based upon trust and respect.  I firmly believe that everything in life is about God, and I am personally a devoted follower of Jesus Christ.  This belief and faith doesn't make me better than others, in fact, I realize how flawed and hopelessly self-centered I genuinely am.  

How about you?  What do you believe in?

Thanks for sharing 93 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Learned Anything New Lately?

This is an Old Dog who definitely needs to learn some New Tricks!

                                                                        

So, You Think Life's Simple?

“That’s been one of my mantras -- focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” 
[BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998] quote by Steve Jobs

"Gentlemen, this is a football......"  Coach Vince Lombardi

Steve Jobs helped to build a "simple" company that revolutionized technology and even the music industry, improving our lives.  Vince Lombardi stressed the "simple" basics and his professional football team won 5 NFL Championships and the first two Super Bowls.  Lombardi continues to inspire many a half century later. 

"Back in the day" when an Apple was a key ingredient in baking a pie and I was certain that my new Keds tennis shoes would make me "run faster and jump higher" (long before any of us knew what a "Nike" was), Coach Lombardi admonished his players to perfect the simple basics, the fundamentals: hit, run, block and tackle.  Nothing fancy, just executing simple plays with maximum effort.  Opponents of Lombardi's Green Bay Packers may have correctly anticipated the next play that the Packers would run and yet they couldn't stop the play from succeeding.  To Lombardi and his team, winning wasn't everything, it was the only thing.

Chris Brogan recently shared a "secret" on his blog:  Complex is usually just a lot of simple things played out in a smart sequence.  Are you able to learn from the apparent success of Steve Jobs, the winning record of Coach Lombardi and the secret revealed by Chris Brogan?

Are you executing the simple basics in your business?  In some ways success in business, as well as in life, depends upon mastering the simple and consistently executing with maximum vigor.  Sounds too simplistic?  Maybe.  But keep in mind that after companies spend $2Million to $3Million on a 30-second Super Bowl commercial, the winning team at the end of the game receives the Lombardi trophy.  Go figure.

Steelers fans, in particular, will enjoy the conclusion of the video below.   

Thanks for sharing 109 seconds of your day,
Smitty

An Old Friend Who Has Been Gone A Long Time

I had a dream about an old friend that woke me up after two hours sleep and caused me to write this blog.  She came into my life over thirty years ago, and she used to ride my wife (then my fiancee) around with her friends when they were nursing students in college.  They used to joke about how another one of my wife's friends who was about six feet tall, Marty, used to put her stockings on in her back seat while they drove at 6AM in the morning to their nursing student clinical at an "old folks" home. 

Believe it or not, she wound up with my brother's ex-sister-in-law's ex-husband.  We tried to call her "Betsy" but often called her "the shrimp boat" (she really was massive).  My life-long best friend and best man at our wedding called her the "deuce and a quAHter" (mimicking my Mom's Boston accent). 

My old friend was a 1971 Buick Electra 225 ("deuce and a quarter"), and she was ten years old when I bought her for my wife, who was still my fiancee at the time.   The Shrimp Boat was the first car I purchased, for $700.  

That Was Then

The world has changed quite a bit since my old friend was a "newborn" in 1971, forty years ago.  The Shrimp Boat didn't have a cd player or a GPS, there were no electronics on the dashboard to tell you your tire was flat, and I don't remember calling gas "leaded" back in those days.  That was forty years ago.  The world, our world - yours and mine, has profoundly changed in the last four years, let alone the last forty.

Are you continuing to change, to grow and adapt, along with the world that surrounds you?  People brag that "our family business is forty (or twenty or sixty, or even ten) years old", failing to see that a strength such as longevity can potentially be a weakness.  A small business owner can become trapped in the nostalgia of a business that still runs on "leaded" gas, and fail to recognize that no one. . . .  else. . . . cares. 

This Is Now

In a past life, when I sold radio ads to small business owners, we had an expression that is quite relevant today:  A business owner is "inside the bottle".  This doesn't mean that small business owners have a drinking problem.  It means that the owner was so close to his business, so wrapped up in it and intimately involved, that the owner can't see the business clearly from an outsider's perspective.  Hence, the owner is so "inside the bottle" that he can't read the label on the outside of the bottle, the label that accurately describes his business to the public.  As such, the small business owner is  the last person who should be authoring the radio commercial.  Due to the owner's limitations, a business coach or advisor can be genuinely helpful in this situation.

We also challenged the weak and ineffective ways that a small business owner pridefully described his business.  Keep in mind that the potential customer or prospect is constantly asking "What's in it for me?" when determining to engage in a business relationship.  Owners often make meaningless stand-alone claims such as, "we've been in business for over forty years" (who cares?), "we provide the best service" (compared to what?), "we're better than our competition" (prove it!).  The owner's intimate familiarity with his business cause these phrases to have value from his perspective, but these words are meaningless to a prospective customer.  Again, external advice can be valuable and effective in such a situation.

My old friend, the 1971 Buick Electra 225, has been gone a long time.  Sadly, the old mindset that hampers today's success and limits the future for experienced small business owners is very much alive.  Usually, it's never too late for an Old Dog to learn New Tricks.  Until it is.

Thanks for sharing 186 seconds of your day,

Smitty   

Sacrifice

What one thing would you like your grandchildren to know about your earlier days when you first started your business?  Those small business owners who live long enough may one day have the opportunity to personally answer that question.  What would you want your grandchildren to know?  A friend of mine, who also happens to be one of my clients, recently answered that question with one word:  "Sacrifice."

When I asked my friend what he meant, he said:  "When I graduated from school and started out on my own, my Mom told me 'You can play and pay later, or pay now and play later'.  I decided to pay now and play later."  He is now on the verge of "play later" and is actually achieving incredible things with his life.

A way of life for small business owners

How about you?  What did it cost you to get started?  I read last week that Steve Jobs sold his Volkswagen micro-bus and Steve Wozniak sold his Hewlett-Packard scientific calculator to start their new company.  Parting with their most valuable personal possessions to raise $1,300 was the beginning of a company called Apple.  You've heard stories like this before, and maybe you have your own story or you're living that story now.

Small business owners are one of the things that make America the incredible country it is - producing a product or a service for the public benefit, offering employment for others to allow them to provide for loved ones, building something that would not exist without their effort, intelligence and perseverance.  I tire of those who criticize small business owners as being "lucky" or "rich" and yet have no understanding of the long hours of sacrifice, the dark days when quitting wasn't an option, the additional time mentally working and worrying even when their bodies weren't on the job.  

Help is on the way

Like the McDonald's tag line "You deserve a break today", I believe that small business owners deserve encouragement, something that will help them achieve their goals.  Although I can't provide relief from the oppressive intrusion of our government at all levels or lift the burden of a challenging economy, I can point the way to a helping hand.

The utilization of Social Media is an opportunity that will benefit any small business, allowing it to survive long into the future, and thrive along the way.  I began exploring Social Media to encourage other Old Dogs like me to learn a few New Tricks to help their businesses and lives.  That's exactly what I'm doing with my friend who listened to his Mom's advice to "pay now and play later".  I'm helping him to continue his success and thrive with the use of Social Media.  His years of sacrifice will be rewarded by achieving his dream.  

What about you?

Thank you for sharing 137 seconds of your day,
Smitty 

Do What You Love

Despite the fact that my life is in a whirl-wind this week (having my Mom get through successful brain surgery - thank you, Lord - and twin sons delivered safely to PITT to start a second successful year, in the same week), I took a few moments on-line to learn about Steve Jobs.   Candidly, I'm not a long-time fan of Mr. Jobs and only have a superficial knowledge of his career.   He is a liver transplant survivor, which interests me because my son had a successful heart transplant last Thanksgiving.   I may take the time to read his biography, which is scheduled for release in November (nothing like timing the marketing of a book for the Christmas season).

The news of Steve Jobs' retirement as CEO of Apple shared headlines this week with an earthquake in Washington, DC.   His retirement created a rumble in the digital business world.  This headline piqued my interest, and my digital exploration uncovered a few "gems".   For example, here's a quote from Jobs:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
[Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

My hope and prayer for you is that you are doing exactly this, that you are truly professionally satisfied by doing what you believe is great work.   We spend the majority of our days working, and life is too short to not be doing what you love.   I have been blessed to discover what I want to do when "when I grow up":   I love to help make the dreams of small business owners come true.   It may sound a little goofy, but that "in a nutshell" gives me tremendous professional satisfaction.

With young adults heading back to school, having hopes of attending a graduation ceremony in the future, I thought that it might be fun to share this commencement address from a Silicon Valley icon. May you be successful as you pursue your dreams in life.

Thanks for sharing 102 seconds of your day (plus 15 minutes),
Smitty

A Struggle Even A Century Ago

"Half the money that I spend on advertising is wasted and the trouble is that I don't know which half."    John Wanamaker (1838-1922)


Do you know which half of your advertising is wasted?  As a small business owner, you’re too busy wearing a dozen hats, fighting your competition, worrying about the economy, and managing employees to spend sufficient time considering the most effective way to market your business.  Even if you had the time, you’re so intimately involved in your business that it’s impossible to objectively see your business from "the outside looking in”, your customer’s viewpoint.  You’re left to rely upon help from salespeople trying to convince you that their media is the best choice for you and your business.  Under these circumstances, you’ve done an incredible job just keeping your doors open and maintaining your sanity.

Consider the conversation about a company's marketing from the video posted on this blog at the end of last week (Are You Wasting Money On The Wrong Things?  August 19. 2011): 

"Do they track the ROI (Return On Investment) of television ads?"   "No"
"Radio?"     "No"
"Outdoor?"    "No"
"Print?"     "No"
"Sports sponsorships?"   "No"

The truth is, many small business owners have no idea as to the effectiveness of their marketing and advertising efforts. 

The conversation in the video continues to describe Social Media as being all about listening to customers and engaging your company with your customers.  Social Media is described as Word-Of-Mouth on digital steroids, and listening and engaging on Social Media will pay off dramatically in the long run.  The return on investment (ROI) of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years.

In over two decades of working with small business owners, I've watched owners struggle to figure out the most intelligent ways to spend their precious dollars on advertising and marketing.  It's not easy, that's for sure.  But if you include Social Media in your marketing efforts, at least you'll still have the opportunity to struggle with marketing decisions five years from now.  Because you'll still have a business.  

Thanks for sharing 111 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Are You Wasting Money On The Wrong Things?

This clever video was created by Erik Qualman, an author and speaker known throughout the globe, and the person responsible for launching me into a passion for social media.  The video revolves around a conversation with a social media intern at a large company, but the message is even more important to small businesses that can't afford to waste money.  The wise owner will heed the message.

Will you?  (We'll know within the next five years)

Enjoy and thanks for sharing 131 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Your Unavoidable Habits

"In the future, people won't telephone a place, they'll dial a person," the salesperson informed me (during a conversation over 20 years ago).  I was contemplating the purchase of a "mobile" telephone, one that would be bolted to the floor of my car.  Then there was also the option of having a phone that I could carry around with me.  This version literally had a power pack about the size of a car battery. 

Although this is hard for my young adult children to conceptualize, I thought these options were terrifically innovative at the time.  I had spent years in sales looking for pay phones to make phone calls while on the road, and had grown up having to talk to a girlfriend on a phone anchored to the kitchen wall (while siblings and parents enjoyed listening in while pretending not to hear).

When was the last time that you paused and reflected upon the miracle of mobile "cell" phone technology?  Typically, we're all in the habit of taking this capability for granted.  Many today walk around with computers in our pockets, without giving it a thought.  The use of advanced telecommunications is a habit.

I remember receiving my first text years ago from a friend of mine who has created one of the fastest growing Apple apps, Swackett.  I looked at my first text and thought, "This is stupid - - it'll never catch on."  Today, millions have developed the habit of being able to walk with heads down and thumbs flying.  They have the habit of using text messages effortlessly, unthinkingly.

In a few short months, you'll think, "I can't believe I used to read a blog called Old Dogs New Tricks.  I'm so accustomed to using Social Media in my life and in my business that I can't believe it was such a big deal to get started."

Social Media will soon be a habit.  Like today's reaction to asking for a date while tethered to the telephone on the kitchen wall, very soon young adults will look at us in amazement when we say, "I remember when this business never used Social Media...."

Thanks for sharing 117 seconds of your day,
Smitty

"Psst, Buddy.... Got Five Bucks?"

I've got this crazy idea.  Despite what you hear on the news and read in the newspaper, there's still a ton of good people today.  After working with and for small business owners for roughly three decades, I also know this:  If you help a small business owner with his business, you're helping him with his life, because his business is wrapped up in his life.  And when you help an owner with his business and life, sometimes he's kind enough to share his dreams with you.  Putting these things together, I came up with a plan:

Allow me to explain.  My friend, who is also a grateful client because I help him and his business to succeed, cares deeply about some of the most forgotten and neglected children in the world.  No, I'm not talking about starving children in Africa (though these precious children are certainly tragically neglected).  My friend cares deeply about the forgotten, neglected children at risk right here in the greater Pittsburgh area.  Children who wake up in frightening conditions, spend the day in violent neighborhoods, and struggle to fall asleep in places that I know you and I wouldn't want to sleep.  My friend is generous, to a fault, in donating money to benefit these children.

My plan?  I created the Facebook page Donate And Smile and the website www.DonateAndSmile.com to help my friend to help these children.  I figure that there are enough good people around with caring hearts and $5 to help my friend with his dream.  The magic is that, if we can encourage enough people to do just a little, we can change our part of the world (and maybe eternity).  My friend, do you have 4 minutes and $5 to visit this site and help prove me right?

Sometimes making a living, feeding your family and helping small businesses succeed isn't enough.  For me, making other people's dreams a reality is what gets my blood pumping.  What works for you?

Thanks for sharing 125 seconds of your day,
Smitty 

    

Because I Had To Change

I can't help my friends succeed anymore, at least not the way I used to help them.

My friends who own small businesses used to pay me to help them to succeed by airing ads that were highly effective on Pittsburgh's Christian radio station.  The audience felt like they personally knew my friends, and everyone enjoyed a relationship built upon trust.  It was the perfect win-win.  We treated the individuals in the audience with respect, as thoughtful, intelligent individuals.  We also got the message right, in an appealing way that touched the emotions and just plain made sense.  Believe it or not, we were more successful in helping small business owners than the nation's oldest radio station, the very first radio station in America. 

Then, the communications world shifted.  Just like newspaper circulation and other forms of broadcast media, radio audiences declined.  My personal inclination is to spend most of my internal thoughts on the future, which served me well in this situation.  Within one year of my departure, the stock of the corporation that owns the radio station for which I once worked declined 90%.  (I worked with a bunch of incredible people when I was there, and I sincerely hope they are doing well)

What About My Friends Who Own Small Businesses?   

In a recent blog (Directions To Paradise, August 4, 2011), I used the term push to describe how traditional media "pushes" people to your small business, rather than the term pull to describe how social media can be used to attract individuals to your small business.  How you treat prospects and customers, even at initial engagement, is vitally important to success in the social media environment.

Who enjoys a heavy handed sales pitch on a commercial that interrupts their favorite TV program?  Virtually no one, and that is why many use a variety of methods to record TV programs and fast-forward through commercials.  Who likes it when "a message from our sponsors" interrupts their music listening?  Again, virtually no one, and that is why people change stations on the radio, or buy music Cd's or an iPod.  These methods of communicating with the public by interrupting their entertainment no longer have the desired impact. 

When I read Permission Marketing  by Seth Godin in 1999, I could see that radio stations and other practitioners of "interruption marketing" that try to "push" people to businesses needed to change their strategy.  Recognizing the obvious, I (and others) had to change.  Successful business owners at the dawn of the social media era began asking people for permission to engage in the communication.   

Change  

Social media is growing at a rate faster than mature bamboo plants in part because people are naturally relational, and they want to control and manage information on their own terms.  They have grown weary of attempts to "push" them into business relationships by interrupting their entertainment.  Individuals among the millions engaged in social media will be attracted to your small business if you respectfully engage them. 

Again, the way that you treat your prospects and customers is vitally important to your success.  The wise small business owner will adhere to the words of The Great Teacher and "do unto others as you want them to do unto you".    

Change.  Change your thinking, change your approach.  Change from "pushing" to "pulling".  Change from what used to work to what is working and will work in the future.  This will require you to change more frequently and quickly than a super model has to change outfits for repetitive appearances at a fashion show, but it will be crucial to your business' survival and success.

Because you, too, have to change.

Thanks for sharing 179 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Directions To Paradise

Think about it.  There are two types of prospects or customers.  Those who are fans of your business, who are open and receptive to your communication.  These individuals trust your "sales pitch", if you will.  The others, well, they take a little convincing.  You need to advertise to them, use third party referrals to verify your claims, maybe even offer a discount or something for free to get them to take a step in your direction.

Those who are open to your communication are attracted to your business and seek you out.  One might describe them as being "pulled" to your business.  Others you have to "push" to get their attention, sometimes with a strenuous effort.  Part of that "pushing" may be expensive, too.  Doesn't it naturally sound easier and more productive to pull people in who are leaning your direction, rather than to have to push them in the door of your business?

Push or Pull?

A number of experts say that traditional advertising can be described as an effort to push prospects to become customers, while the new media of social media tools pull prospects into becoming customers.  There's some truth to this.  Just as important, or maybe even more important, is how you treat your customers and prospects and what you say to them!  

If you use social media properly to engage your prospects and customers in a way that appeals to them as thoughtful, important human beings, while delivering the right message that falls sweetly on their ears, you will pull them into your business.  Prospects who are gently pulled into your business become customers who also share with their friends and loved ones.  This scenario is an absolute paradise for a small business owner  (please see my post: The Referral Engine, May 11, 2011).   

Here's the directions to Small Business Owners Paradise:

Begin at Treating Your Customers The Way You Like To Be Treated
Turn right on Clearly Communicate The Right Message
Travel on the Social Media Path as much as possible

(click here for Google Maps and enter "How to pull great customers into your business")

Thanks for sharing 108 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Green Eggs And Ham

You remember the books for children by Dr Seuss, don't you?  Sure you do.  How about that one titled Green Eggs And Ham ?  Although doing everything possible to avoid trying green eggs and ham, in the end the character in the story likes green eggs and ham once he actually tries them. 

So here I am, plate full of Google+ in hand, begging you to try (green eggs and ham) Google+ because I truly believe you'll like it when you do!

Here's some info about it, click on Google+: The Complete Guide on Mashable.  Email me at sboros@zoominternet.net if you need an invite to connect with Google+ to register your new account.  And don't forget to look me up on Google+ so I can add you to my Circles.  If you do, soon you'll be saying:

"Hey, I do like (green eggs and ham) Google+ !"

Thanks for sharing 39 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Not Quite Like Meeting Roberto Clemente

When I was still too short to ride the "big kid" rides at Kennywood amusement park, my Pop took my brother, my sister and me to a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game at Forbes Field.  Terrific seats (which I didn't fully appreciate at the time) on U.S. Steel Day. 

With clarity, I remember meeting Roberto Clemente...... which was really cool.  Shook The Great One's hand, chatted with him briefly and got his autograph on the scorecard in my hand (which I later traced over and over with a pen when I became bored in the later innings - much to my Pop's dismay!).  A wonderful memory from my boyhood days.

Another Cool Thing

Recently, I immediately downloaded on my Kindle the book Anything You Want by Derek Sivers, when Mitch Joel recommended it on his blog.  I trust Mitch's judgement, and enjoyed this book by the guy who built the company CD Baby from nothing into the largest seller of music by independent artists.  Derek Sivers has some very intriguing ideas about how to succeed in today's economy, and I encourage you to read his book.  It only takes about 60-90 minutes to read, and Sivers knows a thing or two after building CD Baby over less than 10 years and selling it for $22 Million.
 
After reading Anything You Want, I then decided to try something silly.  I emailed Mitch Joel, thanking him for the encouragement over the last half year.  It was about six months ago that I first listened to Mitch Joel speak on TED.com.  I was struck by his intellect and insight, as well as his humility.  Since that time, I've followed him regularly on Mitch Joel's blog, and listen to his podcasts.   He's someone this Old Dog looks up to in the world of social media marketing, and I figured it was time that I thanked Mitch (realizing he wouldn't respond to my email).

I was surprised, and a bit excited, when Mitch Joel personally answered my email.  Hey, it's not quite like meeting Roberto Clemente, but it was pretty cool when Mitch even responded a second time, to my follow up on his original email.  (If you don't understand why I'm excited about communicating directly with Mitch Joel, check out his Google+ profile - - a resume that includes being listed on Canada's top 40 under 40, etc.)  Mitch explained that he reads and responds personally to all the emails that he receives.

The Point?

If Roberto Clemente can take the time to kindly engage a kid in a crew cut who isn't old enough to sign his own name and Mitch Joel can take the time to kindly respond to an Old Dog who may be old enough to be his father, shouldn't you be taking the time  to kindly appreciate your customers through social media?

As I've explained in this blog before, I see the global impact of social media forcing businesses to be Retro.  The ability to spread Word of Mouth information about a company like a cyber wildfire through social media causes businesses to return to their roots. 

When Roberto regularly played right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a small business owner inherently knew that his success depended upon his treating the Customer as King.  The transparency that social media creates requires business owners to believe that "the customer is always right".  As a business owner who takes to heart a Retro mindset, a mindset that believes the customer is always right because the customer ultimately really is king, you and your business can thrive using social media. 

Take the time to learn the New Tricks of social media, before the Pittsburgh Pirates win another pennant.  (Yes, this Old Dog remembers those days, too!)   

Thank you for sharing 166 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Do Your Company A Favor

Still not convinced?

The last frame of this video reads:  "Gradually, social computing will impact almost every role, at every kind of company, in all parts of the world."  The video is a little dated, but this sentence is even more true today.

What about your "kind of company"?  The sooner you utilize social media, the better for your company's bottom line.

Thanks for sharing 124 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Google+, Businesses and Beyond

The engineers at Google have been receiving input and responding to those who have plunged in on Google+.  Thus far, this new platform is limited to individuals as Google continues to improve it and work out the bugs.

Fear not, small business owner:  good things are coming for you to improve your bottom line with the latest social media opportunity!  (enjoy the video)

If you still need an invite to Google+, let me know.  I'd hate for an Old Dog like you to miss the party!

Thanks for sharing 103 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Two Words: "cassette tapes"

Sure, the most recent player in the social media field, Google+ ("Google "Plus"), has over 10 Million active users in a few short weeks.  The truly active users are primarily male engineer types, computer geeks with plenty of schmartz playing with a new toy.   Typical early adopters of new technology.  I'm hearing that this bunch of very intelligent people is excited about G+. 

I just listened to a podcast of Chris Brogan, Mitch Joel (two guys with blogs that I follow regularly) and Hugh McGuire discussing Google+.  Recently, I've been asking the question, "Why would somebody either switch from Facebook to Google+ or add it as a second social network?"  Chris Brogan (an acknowledged social media and G+ expert) would answer that question:  "Two words: cassette tapes".  (meaning, are you still listening to your music on cassette tapes, or have you moved on to something better?) 

He further summarized the hour long podcast by saying that people have been asking him for a year and a half what the next big thing will be, and  "To me, this is the next big thing.  All the different bits that this could tie together if they use it as some kind of a communications plane is HUGE."

Google Places, gmail, Google Maps, Google Profiles, YouTube (owned by Google), Google documents, +1 button........ all tied together by the social media platform Google+ and backed by Google's 10,000 very smart engineers.  How do other social media platforms compete when Google stuffs all its' apps and tools into G+ (like regular cell phone companies trying to compete with the iPhone after Apple stuffed a computer into a mobile phone)?  Once this is all harnessed together, and utilized for commercial purchases, perhaps Amazon rather than Facebook will be in greater danger.

You say you're not interested in companies fighting over billions of dollars?  I can understand that.  Listen to this:  I genuinely like Google+ better than Facebook, and if you tried it I'm betting you would, too.  Be smart, get familiar with Google+ for the future benefit and legacy of your family owned small business. 

Thanks for sharing 110 seconds of your day,
Smitty  

Thumbs Up for Old Dogs Learning New Tricks

I'm delighted that my older brother (he's a real Old Dog!) has taken the plunge and joined me on LinkedIn.  Bill (listed as William Boros on LinkedIn) is an exceptionally gifted corporate/business trainer who may return to Western PA from Florida for the right opportunity (how crazy is that?).

Had lunch last weekend with some good friends from church who left the area a few years ago, and were here for a visit.  My wife spotted our friend within a day or two, as a first-time Facebook user.  Good for you Cammy!

I've also really enjoyed helping others with invites to Google +.

Do you know how excited I get when small business owners make time to use social media to strengthen their business by improving their bottom line, or a brother networks on LinkedIn, or a friend stays in touch on Facebook, or someone connects with me on Google +?

I get as excited as the boy in this video!

Thanks for sharing 100 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Google+ Is Crushing It

Ancestry.com Paul Allen estimates that there are approximately 10 Million Google + users now, and that total could reach 20 Million by this weekend.

What is Google +?  Google + ("plus") is Google's answer to Facebook.   The video below will give you a glimpse of this new social media platform.  If you like what you see, you can jump into this new space at http://plus.google.com.  Google + hasn't been available to the general public, but seems to be opening up a little at a time (a very clever marketing move, I might add).

I think I like Google +, maybe better than Facebook.  My question from my last post still lingers:   "Why would somebody either switch from Facebook to Google + or add it as a second social network?" 

I'm starting to find out, along with 10 to 20 Million others.  I think that Google got it right this time, and I'm excited to see what the future brings.  How about you?

Thanks for sharing 146 seconds of your day,
Smitty

The Next Facebook?

TechCrunch reported that, according to a source close to the company, Facebook now has 750 Million monthly active users.  About half, 350 Million users, log on every day.  Yikes!

750 MILLION users on Facebook!  350 Million daily users!

Is it just me, or do these sound like crazy numbers to you?

At the same time, Mitch Joel's blog mentions reports that the pace of the growth in the number of new users is declining from month to month.  Joel also notes an overall plateau or decline in countries like the US, Canada and the UK.  Interestingly, I don't think that Facebook has officially acknowledged a total user tally since the company announced that there were 500 million Facebook users, some time ago. 

Will there ever be a rival to stand up to Facebook's overwhelming success?

In this blog, I recently wrote:  "....in a dorm room or garage somewhere out there, there is a David looking to take a bite out of Facebook Goliath"  ("My, My, My, My Space"  July 1, 2011).  There is a potential rival for Facebook, with name recognition and a bit more working capital than a college student scraping a few coins together to pay for a pizza delivery:  Google.   I am intrigued by Google's developing new social media platform, Google +.  Chatter around social media circles indicates a growing interest in Google +.  I'm pondering:  "Why would somebody either switch from Facebook to Google + or add it as a second social network?"  There are truckloads of smart people making astoundingly good money working at Google, and I'm sure we'll learn over time their answer to my question. 

Then there's also China's RenRen, in a country where Facebook is forbidden.

Google +, RenRen, the spark of an idea in a college student's brain.......anyone else willing to sling a stone or two at Facebook Goliath?

Thanks for sharing 89 seconds of your day,
Smitty

An Unavoidable Truth

Last summer, I heard Dan Pink make a presentation, and I was fascinated.  I devoured his book on my Amazon Kindle immediately.

This I know for certain:  Owners of family owned small businesses are way too busy.  Realizing this, I was thrilled to come across this creative summary of the book Drive by Daniel H. Pink.  You may be way too busy but,

Are you willing to share 648 seconds of your day?
Smitty

Here's To A Fabulous 2012!

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project:

31% of social media users are on Facebook several times per day
21% additional social media users are on Facebook once per day

Meaning, 52% overall are on Facebook daily

26% of female and 17% of male Facebook users post comments on Facebook daily
60% of social media users are  at least somewhat likely to take action when a friend posted something about a product, service, company or brand

Meaning, daily Facebook comments cause the majority to take action or recommend 

The action 53% of Facebook users take is to either purchase the brand or company's product or recommend the company or product.  Remember this:  I've shared with you several times in the past that 90% of the American public trust the recommendation of someone they know, only 14% trust advertising.

Meaning, most Facebook users who buy or recommend stuff do so because they trust their friends, not advertising  

This study was based upon statistics from November 2010.  With the explosive growth of Facebook, it's hard to imagine what these statistics will look like in November 2011.  Literally millions of people will be trusting their friends' comments to buy or recommend purchases, brands, services and companies at the outset of the Christmas retail season this coming November.

So, where are you going to invest the time and money of your small business to feed your family?

A. TV ads
B. radio ads
C. print ads
D. mailers
E. Social Media, developing a relationship with your customers so they refer their friends

(I hear Jeopardy music in the background....slowly fading away.....)

Thanks for sharing 80 seconds of your day,
Smitty

Today's Generation Gap

As I sat across the table from my friend, his eyes danced.  "I just LOVE social media.  I love everything about it.  It's so immediate.  You can find out anything that you need or want to know.  I really love everything about social media."

He went on to tell me about how he and his young bride find out secrets on blogs, such as building bookshelves from inexpensive materials that look luxurious and expensive.  ("Two hundred and fifty bucks cost, covers the whole living room wall, and looks absolutely incredible.")  How to grow herbs for cooking great meals.  ("It's just SO easy....and it WORKS.")  To finding out information within companies and organizations.  ("You can find out so easy...through Facebook!")

My friend lives on Twitter.  ("I only really follow about 150 people.")  He went on to tell me how he became a committed Apple fan, finally "converting" just two summers ago.  He said he's been waiting for the iPhone 5 or html 5 (and then went on a happy ramble about things I almost thought I understood).

Then it hit me.  My friend, though we enjoy a peer level adult friendship, is half my age.  I could be his father.  He grew up being bathed in social media and portable technology.  This Old Dog is just getting sprinkled by these things, in middle-age.

In the '60's we talked (yelled) about a Generation Gap.  Welcome to today's "Generation Gap":

Those under 30 have been immersed in technology and social media, like a native speaker using their native tongue.  It's second nature.  They don't think about it, they live and breathe it.  By contrast, Old Dogs like me have to think about it, translate it in our heads, and then speak the language.  Rather than being a native speaker, for an Old Dog it's more like learning French in high school from a teacher who never even went to French-speaking Canada, let alone lived in France.

Thank goodness I'm determined to be a part of this new and exciting world of social media.  How about you?

You may want to go to lunch with someone under thirty for inspiration.  Watch the excitement in their eyes.

Thanks for sharing 97 seconds of your day,
Smitty

My, My, My, My Space

Remember when My Space was all the rage?  Kids couldn't get enough of it, parents couldn't get their kids off of it?

In the Wall Street Journal, I see that My Space sold for $35 million.  Six years ago, it was purchased for $580 million.  (Your retirement fund doesn't look so bad after all, does it?)

Half of the 450 person staff was laid off on June 29th.  There were 1400 employees at My Space just two years ago.  (Feeling a little better about your job security?)

The losses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011 were $165 million.  (Ouch!)

Justin Timberlake is involved in the turnaround effort of the newly purchased My Space.  (Something tells me his acting role in the movie "The Social Network" will prove more successful)

Facebook, which was valued at a mere $35 Billion at the end of 2010, is now valued at between $70 Billion to $80 Billion.

What do you think Facebook will be worth six years from now?

This Old Dog thinks that, in a dorm room or garage somewhere out there, there is a David looking to take a bite out of Facebook Goliath. 

What do you think?

Thanks for sharing 46 seconds of your day,
Smitty

The Pope Tweets

"Dear Friends, I just launched News.va  Praise be our Lord Jesus Christ!  With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI"

According to the Associated Press, the Pope sent this tweet on Twitter....... from an iPad.  Hey, the Holy Father is 84 years old.  Out of respect I won't refer to him as an "Old Dog", but he sure has learned some New Tricks at 84 years young.

What's your excuse?

I'm 100% in favor of using any method or platform to talk about the Creator, and I applaud the Pope for doing so.  But there are many benefits to engaging in social media.  Are you using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and other social media to improve your business and your life? 

Consider posting a profile on LinkedIn.  By building your own profile page now, you'll have it when you need it (to attract business, advance your career or find a new job). 

For those who haven't yet utilized LinkedIn, it really is quite easy to get started.  Simply log on to www.linkedin.com and follow the steps to creating your own profile.  This social media platform is for business purposes, and less informal than Facebook.  Give it a try!  You can find me there at www.linkedin.com/in/smittyboros . 


If you visit me on LinkedIn or stop by my Facebook company page, The Boros Company (don't forget to click on "Like" and make me smile), please email me at sboros@zoominternet.com with your candid feedback.  This Old Dog would love to learn a New Trick or two.

Just like Pope Benedictus has done.

Thanks for sharing 79 seconds of your day,
Smitty

So This is How It Works

In a recent post (FACEBOOK: The Reality Show on May 17, 2011), I mentioned that I sought help for a computer problem via Facebook and "in less than 12 minutes a new friend that I have gotten to know through a mutual friend [gave me] the name and number of a professional who repairs computers quickly and inexpensively, for future reference." 

In short, several months ago I had acquired a new friend on Facebook (Stella) by connecting with her through a personal friend (Abby).  Stella worked for years in a near by local Post Office and seems to know about half of Western Civilization, though I previously had not met her.  When my laptop refused to punch in for the work day, my anxiety grew and I sent out an S.O.S. message on Facebook.  Stella responded in less than a quarter hour by recommending Linda Maihle (724.256.8852), who repairs, services and supports computers in southwest Butler County, and the surrounding area. 

Last week, when my laptop went on strike and threatened to never show up for work again, Linda rescued me.  Thankfully, Linda is as good at healing sick computers as Stella recommended.

Watch this closely:

1. I took my laptop, twice, to Best Buy.
2. I received a free evaluation at Best Buy, recommending a service call to my home to work on our wireless router and the laptop.
3. Best Buy spends $Kajillion Dollars on advertising their Geek Squad.
4. I contacted Linda Maihle through a new Facebook friend.

Why?

In last week's videos, you may have noticed info like this:

90% of consumers trust peer recommendations
Only 14% trust advertisements
Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI [Return On Investment]

Like I've been trying to tell you, Social Media is the small business owner's best friend, leveling the playing field against larger businesses with big advertising budgets.

Big Box Business (Best Buy)                    0
Small Business Owner (Linda Maihle)     1

(Now you know who to call when your computer calls in sick - and it ain't Ghost Busters, or Best Buy)

Thanks for sharing 98 seconds of your day,
Smitty