As you may or may not of known. Digg the popular social news site has sold out to corporations. And now have little influence of what’s on the site. Since the change about one week ago, I have checked the front page everyday and sure enough all the submissions are by corporate sponsors. As the only popular alternative to Digg called Reddit, which has it’s own problems like being known as one of the ugliest sites on the web (which is ironic for a website that you have to read closely) and that it is designed for children and in many ways ran like children.
So does this mean social news is now dead with no alternative? Of course not.
Since the decline of Digg there has been several little wannabees popping up. None have really taken off, but with the fast downward spiral Digg has sent itself into and the dislikes of Reddit from day one. I think it’s only a matter of time before one of these lucky spawns take off.
We have joined them with our social news site PageRanked.com unfortunately have no time to market right now and timing is crucial for the next social news service to come up. If you have time and a desire to compete, we have some tips below of how to start for free.
How to make a social news site for free.
If you want to jump on the bandwagon then best way is with pligg.com , it’s free and works great. Granted the support is terrible and they really don’t care as a company. but free is free, and you can always get your own tech guy to help out when needed.
Once you set up pligg on your new site, you can simple start adding content and start marketing.
It’s toss up who will win, but i can safely say the lost members of Digg are more then enough to keep any site going strong. Just check there website and you will see account closed over and over.
So you’re at a baseball game or the park and you want to ensure that when you return you’ll still have your coveted seat…the answer is simple. Just throw one of these guys in your derrière place and you’ll find the seat still available upon return from the loo or your run to the ice cream truck.
Video may have killed the radio star, but the PC and a host of other seemingly outdated consumer gadgets live on in the face of many attempts to replace them.
Sales of smartphones and tablets are on the rise, pushed by companies like Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) that say the newer devices can displace computers, but PC sales also keep on booming. Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) reported last week that its second quarter was its best ever, boosted by strong PC sales. And analyst group Gartner predicts computer sales will rise 22% this year.
It’s not just PCs. Digital cameras, laptops and MP3 players have become nearly ubiquitous tools for even the Luddites among us, even though smartphones can perform many of the same tasks that their single-function brethren can.
But a confluence of events among device manufacturers and service providers suggests that the end for the desktop computer and other “has-been” devices really is on the horizon. Unconnected gadgets are finally starting to lose their luster and are beginning to be replaced by more multi-functional, connected devices.
“We’ve been talking about this for 10 years, but what’s new is that component costs have come down, the ecosystem of services has become more mature, and these devices are supporting a wider variety of content now than ever before,” said Susan Kevorkian, mobile media and entertainment program director at IDC.
In other words, new gadgets have become cheaper, more functional and offer more bang for the buck than devices like the PC, MP3 player and netbook. High function but low-end smartphones are now available on low-cost wireless carriers like MetroPCS (PCS), Sprint’s (S, Fortune 500) Boost Mobile and Leap Wireless’ (LEAP) Cricket, and devices like e-readers have begun price wars.
Most importantly, newer gadgets offer more than just the devices’ primary functions themselves; many have a multitude of services that come with them. Tablets and e-readers have 3G connectivity, the ability to download a host of apps and access to GPS services, which most music players and laptops can’t handle. Some services like Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon’s (AMZN, Fortune 500) Kindle apps allow users to begin watching a movie or reading a book on one device and finish it on another device.
0:00 /2:16Jam out on your iPhone
“Consumers want content anywhere, on the go, and a seamless experience across multiple devices,” said Dmitriy Molchanov, consumer electronics analyst at Yankee Group. “It’s not just about the device anymore but the service that comes with the gadget.”
As a result, smartphones sales rose nearly 57% in the first quarter over the same period last year, according to IDC. And Apple has already sold 3 million iPads since April. Forrester Research expects tablet computer sales to overtake desktop PC sales in the United States by 2013. The installed base of smart phones worldwide will also overtake all PCs by 2013, according to Gartner.
What’s in, what’s out
Yankee Group recently published a study analyzing gadgets for their ability to connect to tasks that consumers crave like social networks, applications and multimedia content. The analysts then examined those devices’ potential to connect to services like GPS, subscription services and wireless networks.
The study found that smartphones, tablet computers, e-book readers, connected cars and connected televisions had the highest potential to be “transformative” in those important areas, and would become the next ubiquitous and “game changing” devices.
On the other hand, portable navigation devices, MP3 players, digital cameras and desktop PCs had largely already made their mark, and will soon be replaced by the newer devices, Yankee Group predicts.
Some are already getting replaced. Half of consumers have watched video on their MP3 players in their homes, according to a Yankee Group study. Google, for instance, said it experienced a huge spike in mobile searches during this year’s Super Bowl, as searchers opted to go online on their phones rather than laptops or computers.
Still, there will continue to be a market for some “outdated” devices. Smartphone cameras still don’t take photos as well as most digital cameras, and word processing is much easier and richer on a PC than on an iPad. Many are hesitant to put their entire photo album exclusively online without some backup on a PC’s hard drive, said Van Baker, an analyst at Gartner.
And connected gadgets with services may be great, but if more carriers stop offering unlimited data plans — like AT&T (T, Fortune 500) recently did — using connected devices for streaming Netflix movies, browsing the Internet and downloading apps may soon become an expensive enterprise.
“Are these devices going to go away rapidly? No,” said Van Baker. “There will always be some who want a phone just to talk on.”
The “Keep Austin Weird” campaign must have worked, because the Texas capital is among the country’s oddball cities that bucked the downturn.
In fact, Texas cities starred on the new list of recession-proof metro areas, with six of 21 spots, according to MetroMonitor, a quarterly report released by Brookings Institute’s Metropolitan Policy Program.
These 21 large metro areas were singled out by Brookings for keeping their labor and housing markets stable and posting robust economic activity during the past few years.
In fact, all but five of the 21 leading cities have economic output levels that top records set just prior to the recession.
“Most of these cities have some general characteristics in common,” said Howard Weil, author of the report and a fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program. “They didn’t experience huge housing bubbles followed by a crash, and their economies weren’t rooted in the auto industry.”
Weil added that a number of cities are also government centers, like Austin, where job cuts have been limited and spending remains healthy.
Gross metropolitan product, a broad measure economic activity, has surged the most in the nation’s capital. In first quarter of 2010, the economy in Washington D.C. expanded by 6.3% from its pre-recession peak. Austin also touts considerable growth at 5.3%.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in government spending since the start of the recession, and even though it has been spread throughout other parts of the country, some of that extra spending stays in the D.C. metro area,” Weil said. “But if government hawks succeed in cutting spending, we could see the growth in Washington slow down.”
Meanwhile, as unemployment rates climbed higher in every major city across the nation during the recession, the jobless rate in Austin only rose to 7.1% in March 2010 from 3.5% three years earlier. During the same period, the U.S. unemployment rate spiked to 9.7% from 4.4%.
“We have a stable base of employment with the University of Texas, one of the largest universities in the country, and the second largest state government with 65,000 employees,” said Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell.
0:00 /5:20Double-dip fears haunt housing
Similarly, job losses were muted in Austin, as employment in Texas’s capital city dropped by 2.3% from its pre-recession peak through the first quarter of 2010.
Leffingwell said that a decade ago, Austin worked to attract high-tech companies, and while some manufacturing jobs in the sector have since diminished, companies are still expanding their workforce, including Samsung Electronics, which recently announced a $3.6 billion project that boosts the company’s payroll by 500 permanent positions.
Dallas: Fastest growing U.S. city
And during the last two quarters, Austin welcomed job growth, adding nearly 8,000 new jobs during the period and increasing payrolls by more than 1%. Augusta, Ga.; Jackson, Miss.; Dallas; and Honolulu also posted similar gains.
“We’ve worked hard to diversify our economy and are aggressively targeting companies focused on renewable energy, medical technology and digital media,” Leffingwell said.
Earlier this year, Texas invested $1.4 million through its Texas Enterprise Fund to lure Facebook into opening its first office outside of Palo Alto, Calif., in Austin. The social media giant opened the office last month and is actively hiring for its online sales and operations team. Facebook said it plans to hire over 200 employees in Austin over the next four years.
Meanwhile, further south, McAllen, Texas, which also made the top 21, has been boasting job growth for the past four straight quarters, and employment in the city has only declined by a modest 1.1% during the recession.
Houston, another Texas city, is included among the recession-proof metro areas for enjoying the smallest slide in housing prices at just 0.5% through the first quarter of 2010 compared to three years earlier. Austin followed close behind with a 0.6% dip during the same period.
I was just amazed with the various furniture I saw in the video below, for they are space saving, extremely practical and are also really well designed. They are more than a simple folding bed or an expanding table but actual transforming pieces that would be efficient within any apartment, room or home. The maker is explaining throughout about the furniture design, but the video is totally worth watching!
The process, as explained by Resource Furniture, combines a Furniture Designer, a Mechanical Engineer and also a Hardware company to put together amazing sets that could make any room, studio apartment or space a lot more useful and enjoyable.
It’s no secret that social media sites are dramatically changing the way we live and conduct our lives online. But, what this means to, and how this involves women is commonly overlooked. Perhaps surprisingly, women are online and interacting on social sites just as much — if not, more — than their male counterparts. In fact, more than half of all American women participate in social media at least once a week, with, of course, younger women using social sites the most. The following is a graphic that takes a look at what sites women are using, as well as how much and why women are participating in social media.
Here’s the thing: Sometimes we’re selling our ideas, sometimes we’re selling our products and, these days, many of us are selling ourselves as the best candidate for the job.
With this in mind, here’s the proven formula for selling your best self to anybody, anywhere, any time.
First: Yale University did a study of the 12 most persuasive words in the English language. They discovered that the most persuasive word in the English language is “you.” Consequently, I recommend throwing it around a lot: “As I’m sure you know,” “As I’m sure you’ve heard,” “I wanted to talk to you today,” etc.
Second: California-based social psychologist Ellen Langer says one word in the English language increases the possibility of cooperation from 60 to 94 percent. No, that is not a typo. I will repeat: 60 to 94 percent. This word is “because.”
Lastly: The Duncan Hines Cake Mix Marketing Theory. When Duncan Hines began making cake mix, the decision to have cooks at home add the egg was made in the marketing department. Why is this effective? Because they realized that when we add the egg, we feel proud because we contributed; we can say, “I baked!”
Following, then, are three ways you can apply this formula for success:
A job interview scenario
When you are talking to a company about coming to work for them, you need to articulate the unique contribution you can make, so it becomes your shared success.
Too often, however, we spend our interviewing time talking about why we are right for the job. What we need to be talking about is why the job is right for us.
What might this sound like?
“I wanted to talk to you today because your job description/your company’s mission statement/your bestselling product is X, and my skill set/my personal passion/my sales experience is in Y. Applying the full force of my expertise to this job will enable us both to reach our goals.”
Talking to your boss about a brewing situation
The use of the word “situation” here is deliberate. The White House doesn’t have a Crisis Room, it has a Situation Room. Likewise, you don’t have a crisis — you have a situation that needs to be resolved.
So, what would the formula for success sound like here?
“I wanted to bring a potential situation to your attention immediately because it requires expert attention. X has occurred and I have come up with the following two possible solutions. Is there one that you prefer?”
In this instance, the egg is not as much the mention of the expert attention but the opportunity you are giving your boss to apply that expertise to two possible strategies. Having him choose which he prefers (and tell you why it’s far better) not only allows him to add an egg, but to choose the temperature at which the solution is “baked.”
Talking to a potential target at a networking event
Too many networking events are about what others can do for us, rather than what we can do for others. In my experience, however, the most successful networkers aren’t asking, “What can you do for me?” but “What can I do for you?” In this scenario, the formula would likely sound like this:
“Hello, I’m X. I wanted to introduce myself because I know you are the visionary behind X idea/product/company, and I wanted to introduce you to Y/write about you in my newsletter/ask if I could help you organize your next charity event.” (If your target is standing with another person or in a group, introduce yourself to everyone present.)
As you can see, the offer doesn’t need to be huge; the fact that you made it at all is what helps you stand out. Leaving room for another person to add the egg of her choice is what will ensure your successful connection.
While the concept of personal branding has taken off corporate branding seems to go in and out of favor. Economic cycles may have a lot to do with that. With the growth of the Internet and social technology tools, personal branding activity and opportunities have exploded. On the other hand, in some ways, the arc of Web 1.0 to 2.0+ (not to mention this current economy) has seduced many marketers into being focused on tactics at the expense of strategy including branding. Hot media tactics often substitute for the “strategy.”
If you are skeptical that brands still matter in the age of 1-1, millennials and social media, or if you are trying to run a business and make numbers and don’t have the patience for brand consultant-speak or theories, here is a quick, simple refresher on good old fashioned branding that works today, that can help you frame your marketing and other operational tactics…to drive business results.
Your business enterprise and marketing programs will be more successful if they are guided by a cohesive strategy that meets the B.R.A.N.D. criteria.
Your brand strategy must be:
B–Believable (about Belief & Behavior too)
Your brand positioning must be credible both with your customers and employees. Would a Volvo strategy around the idea of “sporty” be believable? (they seem to own “safety” for life). In addition, your organization’s belief in a brand vision and values and execution on that is critical. Many marketers and even some of my clients all too often equate the brand strategy with a logo. The brand is so much bigger. The brand strategy is about what your business stands for. It needs to be championed by the CEO, internalized by all employees and behaved and delivered, employee-to-employee, employee-to-customer. Just ask Zappos. And building this brand foundation internally has to take place before an external launch (ads, trade shows, Web site, social media…), otherwise you risk doing more harm to the brand (if your company is not prepared deliver on its promise).
R–Relevant
You and your colleagues need to be close enough to your customers to develop products and services that truly meet their needs including interacting with them in a meaningful way, through the most relevant media. (see “Nuts About Southwest” blog)
A–Adaptable
While your brand strategy should be relevant for today and specific markets, it also needs to be flexible, broad and viable over the long haul. GE’s “trust in good things” (1970s-80s) and “imagination & innovation” (this decade) brand positionings are enduring platforms from which diverse, effective concepts, campaigns and media strategies develop.
N–Numerically based
How you arrive at the brand strategy as well as measure your business’ alignment with it and marketing effectiveness must be based on objective data and customer and market inputs versus gut. In addition, your brand opportunity should map to business objectives such as market share and profits (numbers!). If a niche positioning results in being a second tier player it is likely not viable.
D–Differentiated
One of the toughest challenges is to create a brand strategy that is unique. Solutions? Quality? Laundry list of commodity features?. Zzzzzzzz. Apple’s brand positioning around playful, innovative simplicity has not been duplicated and is seamlessly expressed across media too numerous to name.
So even if you think the B-word is a bad word, and the SM-word (Social Media) is a good word, you might agree that tying your SM programs to an organizing principle, anchoring tactics in an underlying organizational and market strategy (or B-R-A-N-D strategy) is a good thing.?
