tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37953791923492490012024-03-13T11:43:39.677-06:00Social Media Marketing 101Open discussion on Social media, strategic internet marketing, ways to make money, expert search engine optimization, business strategy, and many more secrets of success. Lets succeed together...J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-63384985722690940402009-02-25T13:15:00.001-07:002009-02-25T13:15:17.718-07:00Social Media Marketing System Costs; pt 5<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:89743832-ffce-43e8-9612-7f50b77823dc" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Social+Media+Marketing+System" rel="tag">Social Media Marketing System</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Brian+Campbell" rel="tag">Brian Campbell</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/John+Chow" rel="tag">John Chow</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/business+strategy" rel="tag">business strategy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hidden+costs" rel="tag">hidden costs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/credibility" rel="tag">credibility</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/niche" rel="tag">niche</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/product" rel="tag">product</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/marketing+strategy" rel="tag">marketing strategy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/spam" rel="tag">spam</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/store+front" rel="tag">store front</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hosting+services" rel="tag">hosting services</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/domain" rel="tag">domain</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/credit+cards" rel="tag">credit cards</a></div> <p><font size="3">Over the past four articles we reviewed Brian Campbell’s path to making $10,000 in just a few weeks, how he created buzz with a review by John Chow, how the buzz grew at virally to unimagined proportions, how the Social Media Marketing System was borne, and now, lets hit the bottom line. How much are the hidden expenses of an online business?</font></p> <p><font size="3"></font></p> <p><font size="3">The answer to that question depends on your business strategy. What do you want to achieve? How fast? How will you go about it? What tools do you need? Lets start with something simple, you need: </font></p> <p><font size="3">a. <strong>Credentials</strong>… </font></p> <p><font size="3">    1. Your credibility depends on what you have being doing up until now. If the     only thing you have on your website, or profile are pictures of last weekend party,     and of you throwing up, you have a hard road ahead of you. We will discus how to     go about fixing your persona on another article. </font></p> <p><font size="3">b. Niche… </font></p> <p><font size="3">    1. You need to specialize in a particular area. Otherwise, you will be a Jack of all     trades and master of none. It is ok to refine your target as you go, but you will     need to know sooner than later if you want to go about creating a site about     education, golf, party, science, archeology, politics, or what. </font></p> <p><font size="3">c. Product… </font></p> <p><font size="3">    1. Will you be selling a service, or a tangible product? Will it be golf clubs,     memberships to a club, information, an e book, coaching… You need to know     this because you should be able to see how much your product cost to produce,     fixed expenses like storage, shipping, postage, handling, etc… </font></p> <p><font size="3">d. Marketing strategy… </font></p> <p><font size="3">    1. Will you use word of mouth? Will you buy advertising? Do you have the know     how to do everything yourself or will you need coaching? How will you create     buzz? Do you want to find a joint venture partner and pay him or her to create the     buzz for you? Will you do radio or TV? Magazine ads perhaps? Do you own a list     of potential customers? Remember that spamming is against the law. My best     suggestion is to get a list of double opt in leads. You will need an auto responder.     I suggest Aweber.com. </font></p> <p><font size="3">e. Store front… </font></p> <p><font size="3">    1. Many Internet Hosting Services will provide you with a store front, and will     help you set up a business account somewhere. As you grow, Pay Pal will not be     enough. You will need to be able to accept credit cards. Your store front can be     your website. Will you have a blog (highly recommended). This cost money. You     will need a domain name or several, be ready to pay at least a year in advance. It     will be cheaper, and you will be able to snatch the domain name that you like right     away. If you don’t, many domain providers will keep the information or the     proposed name and if you do not buy it, next time that you go and check, the     domain will be unavailable unless you pay a hefty premium. </font></p> <p><font size="3">What have I forgotten? Let me know and give us your opinions…  What are your questions?</font></p> <p><font size="3"></font></p> <p><font size="3">Remember to…</font></p> <p>1. Don’t forget to <strong><em>vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business</em></strong>. Just <strong>click on the buttons on the right</strong>. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p> <p>2. Of course, make sure <strong><em>to share this advise</em></strong> with your friends via <strong><em>Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks</em></strong>.</p> <p>3. Do <strong>subscribe</strong> to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.com/subscribepop.aspx"><strong>Newsletter</strong></a>.</p> <p>4. And, remember to <strong>subscribe to our blog’s feed</strong>. </p> <p>5. Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/JoseAColon"><strong>Sta.rtup.biz</strong></a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile"><strong>FaceBook</strong></a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a><strong></strong>, <a href="www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/"><strong>StumbleUpon</strong></a> my articles and profile… </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>6. <strong>Recommend this blog</strong> to your friends…</p> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-85902527548871405862008-12-28T16:41:00.001-07:002008-12-28T16:41:07.398-07:00"Relationships are like a book, in that they are for learning."J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-50898155702431708052008-12-27T10:40:00.001-07:002008-12-27T10:40:25.748-07:00"Savor the wanting as much as the having."J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-34278376601238479162008-12-26T11:47:00.001-07:002008-12-26T11:47:30.246-07:00As we count down to a new year, let's remember the blessings we have received, and continue to keep our faith, and make 2009 our best year ever.J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-38558280263049348872008-12-25T22:48:00.001-07:002008-12-25T22:48:00.161-07:00Social Media Marketing System; pt 4  <div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:aeb298da-2e23-4ed8-8722-eb7274a80d46" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Social+Media+Marketing+System" rel="tag">Social Media Marketing System</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Social+Media+Marketing+101" rel="tag">Social Media Marketing 101</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Social+Media" rel="tag">Social Media</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Brian+Campbell" rel="tag">Brian Campbell</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/marketer" rel="tag">marketer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/military+leadership" rel="tag">military leadership</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/search+and+rescue" rel="tag">search and rescue</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hidden+costs" rel="tag">hidden costs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/buzz" rel="tag">buzz</a></div> <h1><font size="3">Social Media Marketing 101</font></h1> <p><font size="3">Somehow, Brian came up with the Social Media Marketing System, and opened a membership <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVRwAbBkSPI/AAAAAAAAAPs/4ZG8EYlL1l8/s1600-h/Campbell%5B3%5D.jpg"><img title="Campbell" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="96" alt="Campbell" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVRwAusH62I/AAAAAAAAAPw/QxBBGIcHmNg/Campbell_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="104" align="right" border="0" /></a>plan where if you were among the first bunch, you could join in and receive personal training from Brian himself. There were three levels, bronze, silver, and gold. I joined in as a Bronze Member and quickly upgraded to Silver. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Brian’s teachings were eye opening, and I do not regret joining. His group of marketers are at the cutting edge of Social Media Marketing, and his teachings are first rate. </font></p> <p><font size="3"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVRwBLKTRKI/AAAAAAAAAP0/hVDTLI29qAU/s1600-h/action3%5B3%5D.gif"><img title="Take Action Now" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" height="129" alt="Take Action Now" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVRwBrKgA9I/AAAAAAAAAP4/LMjMGYiplxI/action3_thumb%5B1%5D.gif?imgmax=800" width="240" align="left" border="0" /></a> The bottom line is simple, there is no amount of instruction that you can get that will make you successful, if you do not implement those principles. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Ooops, I forgot, Brian had no trouble whatsoever making the $10,000.00. He later on gave them to John Chow in a public ceremony. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Our Social Media Marketing 101 continues to grow and it is a forum to present business opportunities… </font></p> <p><font size="3">I enjoy passing along what I have learned from<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVRwB_jdgOI/AAAAAAAAAP8/7zDdQwLbw00/s1600-h/teaching%5B3%5D.gif"><img title="teaching" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="175" alt="teaching" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVRwCe2naQI/AAAAAAAAAQA/k3u7jadojO0/teaching_thumb%5B1%5D.gif?imgmax=800" width="244" align="right" border="0" /></a> Brian, through 22 years of military leadership and experience, through 8 years of search and rescue experience, and a few other endeavors that have opened my eyes and helped make me successful. </font></p> <p><font size="3">On the first article of this series, I promised that we were going to analyze: </font></p> <p><font size="3">a. Brian’s technique to make $10,000 in a few weeks using FaceBook. We did that. </font></p> <p><font size="3">b. Hidden costs. That will be the topic for the next and last article. </font></p> <p><font size="3"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVRwDEIqnII/AAAAAAAAAQE/MIap4ewZawU/s1600-h/bee%5B3%5D.jpg"><img title="bee" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="208" alt="bee" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVRwDph1CEI/AAAAAAAAAQI/bj-nvTPnLlM/bee_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="left" border="0" /></a> c. Tools. Will be discussed on the next article. </font></p> <p><font size="3">d. Buzz. You read how the buzz spread, starting with John Chow’s Article, and through all of us who followed Brian’s path to success.</font> </p> <p><strong>By now, you know the drill:</strong></p> <p>1. Don’t forget to <strong><em>vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business</em></strong>. Just <strong>click on the buttons on the right</strong>. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p> <p>2. Of course, make sure <strong><em>to share this advise</em></strong> with your friends via <strong><em>Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks</em></strong>.</p> <p>3. Do <strong>subscribe</strong> to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.com/subscribepop.aspx"><strong>Newsletter</strong></a>.</p> <p>4. And, remember to <strong>subscribe to our blog’s feed</strong>. </p> <p>5. Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/JoseAColon"><strong>Sta.rtup.biz</strong></a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile"><strong>FaceBook</strong></a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a><strong></strong>, <a href="www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/"><strong>StumbleUpon</strong></a> my articles and profile… </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>6. <strong>Recommend this blog</strong> to your friends…</p> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-79465290998394250502008-12-23T23:48:00.001-07:002008-12-23T23:48:43.002-07:00"Determine where you are going and how you will get there will become obvious."J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-24587960863436629252008-12-22T19:11:00.001-07:002008-12-22T19:11:03.831-07:00Viral Buzz; pt 3<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:bf8f1049-538d-4067-806e-5a423df21e0d" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/buzz" rel="tag">buzz</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Brian+Campbell's+goal" rel="tag">Brian Campbell's goal</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FaceBook" rel="tag">FaceBook</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/faceBook+profile" rel="tag">faceBook profile</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/john+chow+dot+com" rel="tag">john chow dot com</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Pied+Piper" rel="tag">Pied Piper</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/YouTube+videos" rel="tag">YouTube videos</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/friends" rel="tag">friends</a></div> <p>I started this series of postings with “<a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/12/road-to-25171-in-21-days-part-1.html">The Road to $10,000.00 in 37 days</a>”. And, just yesterday I posted the second part of the series called: “<a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/12/john-chow-review-buzz-pt-2.html">The John Chow Review, Buzz</a>”. Today, we will continue with the “Viral Buzz”.</p> <p><font size="3">What do you think happened when the millions <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVBIqoQeRrI/AAAAAAAAAPU/vlCgjuDlZBI/s1600-h/beanchess3.gif"><img title="chess, lead the charge" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="243" alt="chess, lead the charge" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVBIrNCdZTI/AAAAAAAAAPY/zSHdtblTDu8/beanchess_thumb1.gif?imgmax=800" width="244" align="right" border="0" /></a> of people that read and subscribe to <strong>John Chow dot Com</strong> read John’s review about <strong>Brian Campbell’s goal</strong> of making $10,000 in a few weeks using <strong>FaceBook</strong>? </font></p> <p><font size="3">On the words of John, “when someone says that he is going to make $10,000 in ___ weeks, he either makes it or don’t…” so, the seed of curiosity is planted. The <strong>buzz</strong> has started. John also published Brian’s <strong>FaceBook profile</strong> name so we could add him as our friend… </font></p> <p><font size="3">To be honest, I did not owned a FaceBook account, and really was not that much curious about <strong>Social Media</strong> either. But, I had to see if Brian was going to succeed. </font></p> <p><font size="3"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVBIrnawNRI/AAAAAAAAAPc/DAOaIB6B6EI/s1600-h/seo3.jpg"><img title="Spreading the buzz" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="215" alt="Spreading the buzz" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVBIsai4qQI/AAAAAAAAAPg/VcGieZWSgL0/seo_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="left" border="0" /></a> I started my FaceBook account and added Brian as my friend. He was explaining step by step what he was doing… and was asking us to imitate him… so, what could we loose, I started adding friends too. Quickly, I had a few hundred like minded friends who were watching Brian, and, like the <strong>Pied Piper</strong>, he was leading us. He started the P.R.I.S.M. group, and asked us to join, we did. He started making <strong>YouTube videos</strong>, and we watched. He asked us to post our ideas and opinions on his group wall, and, since we were actually learning by doing, and following his example, we complied. His wall had hundreds of comments, and we were excited that our personal friends number was growing by leaps and bounds. Soon I had 500 friends. </font></p> <p><font size="3">I met great marketers. I made great friends from almost every Nation in the world. All of us with a goal, watch and see if Brian was going to make it. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Brian taught us the value of cultivating <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVBIs0df9tI/AAAAAAAAAPk/FVSvyNZ4Mbk/s1600-h/Earth3.jpg"><img title="Earth" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="184" alt="Earth" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SVBItbbBmNI/AAAAAAAAAPo/3D-r1huD-mg/Earth_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="right" border="0" /></a> friendships. He told us to make sure and we shared our knowledge. He also asked us to start our own groups on FaceBook, while following his example, and he instructed us to pass along the knowledge that he was giving us for free. </font></p> <p><font size="3">By doing this, by creating groups, and by spreading the knowledge that we had recently acquired, we learned even more, and we established our <strong>credibility</strong>. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Brian’s groups promptly multiplied, and he quickly reached the magic number of 5000 friends, the maximum you can get on FaceBook. </font></p> <p><font size="3">He told us to listen when FaceBook displayed it’s dreaded warning labels. And soon, we all were learning not only from Brian, but from each other’s experience. </font></p> <p><font size="3">In a month, I reached over 1000 friends, and my group reached 500, not as exciting as 5000 friends and 1500 group members, but I was learning… </font></p> <p><font size="3">By now, tens of thousands of people were following Brian, watching his videos, and asking for more…</font></p> <p><strong>Please, remember to:</strong></p> <p>1. Don’t forget to <strong><em>vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business</em></strong>. Just <strong>click on the buttons on the right</strong>. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p> <p>2. Of course, make sure <strong><em>to share this advise</em></strong> with your friends via <strong><em>Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks</em></strong>.</p> <p>3. Do <strong>subscribe</strong> to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.com/subscribepop.aspx"><strong>Newsletter</strong></a>.</p> <p>4. And, remember to <strong>subscribe to our blog’s feed</strong>. </p> <p>5. Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/JoseAColon"><strong>Sta.rtup.biz</strong></a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile"><strong>FaceBook</strong></a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a><strong></strong>, <a href="www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/"><strong>StumbleUpon</strong></a> my articles and profile… </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>6. <strong>Recommend this blog</strong> to your friends…</p> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-41039274758378462002008-12-22T16:59:00.001-07:002008-12-22T16:59:58.669-07:00"Your body will produce what your mind believes."J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-79526299775053818342008-12-21T05:31:00.002-07:002008-12-22T17:03:21.536-07:00The John Chow Review, Buzz; pt 2<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:3cc90176-e349-443a-84fe-e0c7d8e778c4" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FLOAT: none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/John+Chow+dot+Coma" rel="tag">John Chow dot Coma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Entrepreneur+Magazine" rel="tag">Entrepreneur Magazine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/niche" rel="tag">niche</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/develop+a+reputation" rel="tag">develop a reputation</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/internet+presence" rel="tag">internet presence</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Brian+Campbell" rel="tag">Brian Campbell's story</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/entrepreneur" rel="tag">entrepreneur</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FaceBook" rel="tag">FaceBook</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/making+money+online" rel="tag">making money online</a></div><p><span style="font-size:100%;">This is part two of the "<a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/12/road-to-25171-in-21-days-part-1.html">Road to $10,000</a>" saga.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">I came across <strong>John Chow dot Com</strong> via <strong>Entrepreneur<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SU43FITLOnI/AAAAAAAAAO8/MX18Y1T_Eh4/s1600-h/entrepreneurmag3.jpg"><span style="color:#333333;"><img title="Entrepreneur Magazine" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px" height="120" alt="Entrepreneur Magazine" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SU43FnAOF7I/AAAAAAAAAPA/O6nfN9YuQ6s/entrepreneurmag_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="right" border="0" /></span></a> Magazine</strong>. John had been in business for a while and started by reviewing gadgets on his <strong>website</strong>. This was in the early days of the <strong>web 2.0</strong> revolution, or the turn of the century. John once wrote that he wanted to have a place where he could just post his rants and opinions, John Chow dot Com was born. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">How does all of this translate so far? </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">a. John became an expert in his field or <strong>niche</strong> (gadgets review). He develop <strong>credibility</strong>. </span></p><p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SU43GUqCBKI/AAAAAAAAAPE/fjMgJYgB9xQ/s1600-h/goldbars4.jpg"><span style="font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><img title="gold bars" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px" height="189" alt="gold bars" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SU43HDpj16I/AAAAAAAAAPI/66YaIzKdQBU/goldbars_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="170" align="left" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:100%;"> b. Because he <strong>developed a reputation</strong>, he develop a following. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">c. He had a website, and an <strong>Internet presence</strong>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">d. He started his <strong>blog</strong>. His audience followed him. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">e. I am not sure if it was here, but he became a millionaire, and became famous. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">f. He published <strong>Brian Campbell’s story</strong>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Who was <strong>Brian Campbell</strong>? </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Brian Campbell was an <strong>entrepreneur</strong> who became successful selling investment information online. By his own admission, he made several million dollars from his previous presence online. Then, he semi retired. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Somehow, he came up with his next <strong>marketing idea</strong>.</span><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SU43HvVIrEI/AAAAAAAAAPM/Dp08uGnkTXE/s1600-h/Chess4.jpg"><span style="font-size:100%;color:#333333;"><img title="Chess" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px" height="118" alt="Chess" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SU43ISXjJBI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/YP8mu3krRiI/Chess_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="171" align="right" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:100%;"> He was going to make $10,000 in a few weeks using <strong>FaceBook</strong>. Let’s dissect this proposition: </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">a. FaceBook has <u>millions of users</u>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">b. The idea of <u><strong>making money online</strong></u> attracts people. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">c. What if you could help lots of people to <strong>make money</strong> at zero or nearly zero cost? ANSWER: You can make a lot of money as a result of <strong>helping others</strong>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">d. How can you achieve this? </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Tomorrow, we will continue the $10,000.00 saga…</span></p><p><strong>Remember to:</strong></p><p>1. Don’t forget to <strong><em>vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business</em></strong>. Just <strong>click on the buttons on the right</strong>. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p><p>2. Of course, make sure <strong><em>to share this advise</em></strong> with your friends via <strong><em>Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks</em></strong>.</p><p>3. Do <strong>subscribe</strong> to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.com/subscribepop.aspx"><strong>Newsletter</strong></a>.</p><p>4. And, remember to <strong>subscribe to our blog’s feed</strong>. </p><p>5. Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/JoseAColon"><strong>Sta.rtup.biz</strong></a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile"><strong>FaceBook</strong></a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a><strong></strong>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/"><strong>StumbleUpon</strong></a> my articles and profile… </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>6. <strong>Recommend this blog</strong> to your friends…</p>J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-43198976502534378582008-12-21T05:12:00.001-07:002008-12-21T05:12:38.350-07:00"Nothing has any power except the power that you give it."J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-1130394032862482282008-12-20T10:01:00.001-07:002008-12-20T10:01:17.617-07:00"Everything begins in thought and the reality is only our interpretation of the situation."J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-64277290597567990352008-12-18T19:45:00.001-07:002008-12-18T19:57:29.648-07:00The road to $10,000.00 in 37 days; part 1<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:1c1b8d06-65df-45b6-b65d-7c24e0b408db" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SEO" rel="tag">SEO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/keywords" rel="tag">keywords</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tags%3a+Recession" rel="tag">tags: Recession</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/meta+tags" rel="tag">meta tags</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/links" rel="tag">links</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pay+per+click" rel="tag">pay per click</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ads" rel="tag">ads</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/link+baiting" rel="tag">link baiting</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/traffic+grneration" rel="tag">traffic grneration</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Black+hat+SEO" rel="tag">Black hat SEO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/White+hat+SEO" rel="tag">White hat SEO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/stuffed+cookies" rel="tag">stuffed cookies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/spider+friendly" rel="tag">spider friendly</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/copywriting" rel="tag">copywriting</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/advertising" rel="tag">advertising</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/marketing+campaign" rel="tag">marketing campaign</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/adsense" rel="tag">adsense</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/adwords" rel="tag">adwords</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/make+money+online" rel="tag">make money online</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/John+Chow" rel="tag">John Chow</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Brian+Campbell" rel="tag">Brian Campbell</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FaceBook" rel="tag">FaceBook</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hidden+costs" rel="tag">hidden costs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Buzz" rel="tag">Buzz</a></div> <h1><font size="4">SEO says:</font> </h1> <p><font size="3">You need: <strong>keywords, tags, meta tags, links coming in, links going out, pay per click, ads, link baiting, traffic generation</strong>, …</font> </p> <h1><font size="3">Black Hat SEO says you need: <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/08/so-you-want-to-make-money-online.html"><img title="The Thinker, Rodin" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="194" alt="The Thinker, Rodin" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUsKwBKWjBI/AAAAAAAAAOo/YdlXGpaIzr4/ThinkerRodin4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="154" align="right" border="0" /></a> </font></h1> <p><font size="3"><strong>Stuffed cookies, blog generating software, ip rotating software</strong>, and a bunch of other junk… </font></p> <p><font size="3">They both say that you should write in a <strong>spider friendly</strong> way, while continuing to write in such a way that your reader understand and is interested in what you are saying. </font></p> <p><font size="3">I have read more e-books on <strong>link baiting, traffic generation, stuffed cookies</strong>, stuffed turkeys, content writing, <strong>copywriting, advertising, pay per click</strong>, <strong>adsense, adworks</strong>, … than I really care to remember. </font></p> <p><font size="3">And after the smoke cleared from between my ears, I can tell you that yes, you can <strong>make money online</strong>, but it will not be easy. </font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUsKwznfDWI/AAAAAAAAAOs/q2SROBXf-EM/s1600-h/johnchowphoto3.jpg"><font color="#333333" size="3"></font></a><a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-top-10-influential-people-on.html"><img title="John Chow photo" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="77" alt="John Chow photo" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUsKxoDplgI/AAAAAAAAAOw/TH8ElFtRM_0/johnchowphoto4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="left" border="0" /></a></a></a><font size="3"> Take for example the great <strong>John Chow</strong>… I read an interview in <strong>Entrepreneur Magazine</strong> that highlighted his multimillion dollar empire based on <strong>blogging</strong>. John is a good guy… he wrote a free e book and tells us how to do succeed. Great advice, I have read his book, twice. </font></p> <p><font size="3">He wrote a column about a guy named <strong>Brian <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUsKyHmKs4I/AAAAAAAAAO0/1ULlD6pjjSg/s1600-h/Campbell4.jpg"><font color="#333333" size="3"></font></a><a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/07/marketing-on-budget.html"><img title="Brian Campbell" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="128" alt="Brian Campbell" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUsKyl-xWPI/AAAAAAAAAO4/uxR-iWkKwcE/Campbell5.jpg?imgmax=800" width="138" align="right" border="0" /></a></a></a>Campbell</strong>. </font><font size="3">Brian was going to prove that he could make $10,000? In a few weeks using <strong>FaceBook</strong>. Well, he did, and gave the $10,000 to John Chow as a gesture of appreciation. He did more than that, he did $25,171 in 21 days.</font></p> <p><font size="3">So, let’s analyze this great example of <strong>marketing genius</strong> here… </font></p> <p><font size="3">By the beginning of next week, we should have covered: </font></p> <p><font size="3">a. Brian’s technique to make $10,000 in a few weeks using FaceBook. </font></p> <p><font size="3">b. Hidden costs. </font></p> <p><font size="3">c. Tools. </font></p> <p><font size="3">d. <strong>Buzz</strong>. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Ready? Let’s do this…</font></p> <p><strong>Don’t forget…</strong></p> <p>1. Don’t forget to <strong><em>vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business</em></strong>. Just <strong>click on the buttons on the right</strong>. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p> <p>2. Of course, make sure <strong><em>to share this advise</em></strong> with your friends via <strong><em>Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks</em></strong>.</p> <p>3. Do <strong>subscribe</strong> to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.com/subscribepop.aspx"><strong>Newsletter</strong></a>.</p> <p>4. And, remember to <strong>subscribe to our blog’s feed</strong>. </p> <p>5. Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/JoseAColon"><strong>Sta.rtup.biz</strong></a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile"><strong>FaceBook</strong></a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a><strong></strong>, <a href="www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/"><strong>StumbleUpon</strong></a> my articles and profile… </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>6. <strong>Recommend this blog</strong> to your friends…</p> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-52074113695412876502008-12-15T15:14:00.002-07:002008-12-15T15:51:17.240-07:00SEO Glossary…<p><div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:9c316449-2ca6-4b5a-b917-c542690a86e3" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FLOAT: none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Absolute+link" rel="tag">Absolute link</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/AdSense" rel="tag">AdSense</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/AdWords" rel="tag">AdWords</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/AJAX" rel="tag">AJAX</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Algorithm" rel="tag">Algorithm</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Alt+Tags" rel="tag">Alt Tags</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Anchor+Text" rel="tag">Anchor Text</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Back+links" rel="tag">Back links</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Black+hat+SEO" rel="tag">Black hat SEO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Blog" rel="tag">Blog</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/click-down+ad" rel="tag">click-down ad</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/click-within+Ad" rel="tag">click-within Ad</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/clickthrough" rel="tag">clickthrough</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cloaking" rel="tag">cloaking</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cookie" rel="tag">cookie</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cost+per+action" rel="tag">cost per action</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/CPA" rel="tag">CPA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cost+per+click" rel="tag">cost per click</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/CPC" rel="tag">CPC</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/CTR" rel="tag">CTR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Click+Through+Rate" rel="tag">Click Through Rate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Key+Phrase" rel="tag">Key Phrase</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Keywords" rel="tag">Keywords</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/keyword+density" rel="tag">keyword density</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/keyword+stuffing" rel="tag">keyword stuffing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/keyword+rich" rel="tag">keyword rich</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/landing+page" rel="tag">landing page</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/link+baiting" rel="tag">link baiting</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/link+building" rel="tag">link building</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/link+farm" rel="tag">link farm</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/link+spam" rel="tag">link spam</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/meta+description" rel="tag">meta description</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/meta+keywords" rel="tag">meta keywords</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/meta+tag+stuffing" rel="tag">meta tag stuffing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/meta+tags" rel="tag">meta tags</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PageRank" rel="tag">PageRank</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PR" rel="tag">PR</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Pay+for+performance" rel="tag">Pay for performance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/pay+per+click" rel="tag">pay per click</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PPC" rel="tag">PPC</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Pay+per+post" rel="tag">Pay per post</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PPP" rel="tag">PPP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SEO" rel="tag">SEO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Search+Engine+Optimization" rel="tag">Search Engine Optimization</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SERP" rel="tag">SERP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Search+Engine+Results+Page" rel="tag">Search Engine Results Page</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SPAM" rel="tag">SPAM</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SPAMGLISH" rel="tag">SPAMGLISH</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Spamming" rel="tag">Spamming</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Spider+friendly" rel="tag">Spider friendly</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Spider" rel="tag">Spider</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Splash+Page" rel="tag">Splash Page</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Syndication" rel="tag">Syndication</a></div><p></p><div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FLOAT: none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Definitions courtesy of: <a href="http://www.seoglossary.com/">http://www.seoglossary.com/</a></div><p> </p><p><span style="color:#ff0000;">Absolute Link</span><br /><a href="http://www.netconcepts.com">www.netconcepts.com</a><br />The above is an example of an Absolute Link.<br />It specifies a<br />- transfer protocol<br />- domain name<br />- and often a file name<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">AdSense</span><br />Google AdSense is a fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant Google ads on their website's content pages and earn money. Because the ads are related to what your visitors are looking for on your site — or matched to the characteristics and interests of the visitors your content attracts — you'll finally have a way to both monetize and enhance your content pages.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">AdWords</span><br />Google's CPC (Cost Per Click) based text advertising. AdWords takes clickthrough rate into consideration in addition to advertiser?s bid to determine the ad?s relative position within the paid search results. Google applies such a weighting factor in order to feature those paid search results that more popular and thus presumably more relevant and useful. Google has also started taking into account the quality of the landing page and applying a quality score to the landing pages.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">AJAX</span><br />Asynchronous JavaScript And XML<br />Allows you to create a more user-friendly web application by working behind the scenes (inside a web browser) by making web pages feel more responsive.<br />In short, it allows JavaScript scripts to send data requests and receive responses without having to reload the entire page.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Algorithm</span><br />An algorithm is an operational programming rule that determine how a search engine indexes content and displays the results to its users.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Alt tags</span><br />Alt tags alternate text associated with a web page graphic that gets displayed when the Internet user hovers the mouse over the graphic. Alt tags should convey what the graphic is for or about and contain good relevant keywords. Alt tags also make web pages more accessible to the disabled. For example, a vision-impaired user may have a web browser that reads aloud the text and alt tags on a page. (For those familiar with HTML, "alt" isn't actually a tag by itself but an attribute to the "img" tag.). Note that the value of Alt tags for SEO have been discounted over time by the search engines to the point that now it is of minimal value.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Anchor text</span><br />Anchor text is the actual text part of a link (usually underlined). Used by search engines as an important ranking factor. Google pays particular attention to the text used in a hyperlink and associates the keywords contained in the anchor text to the page being linked to. Also see "Google bombing."<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Back links</span><br />Back links are inbound links pointing to a web page.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Black Hat SEO</span><br />Black Hat SEO is sometimes called spamdexing (the opposite of White Hat SEO). Black Hat SEO can be any optimization tactics that cause a site to rank more highly than its content would otherwise justify or any changes made specifically for search engines that don’t improve the user’s experience of the site. In other words, Black Hat SEO is optimizations that are against search engine guidelines. If you step too far over the mark, your site may be penalized or even removed from the index.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Blog</span><br />Also known as a "weblog". An online diary with entries made on a regular if not daily basis. Some blogs are maintained by an anonymous author who uses a nickname or handle instead of his or her real name.<br />Click-down Ad or Click-within Ad<br />An ad that allows the user to stay on the same web page, while viewing requested advertising content. Click-downs display another file on the user's screen, normally below or above the initial ad.<br />Click-withins allow the user to drill down for more information within the ad.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Clickthrough</span><br />The action of clicking an ad element and causing a redirect to another web page.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Cloaking</span><br />serving different content to search engine spiders than to human visitors. Cloaking is basically a "bait and switch" tactic, where the web server feeds visiting spiders content that is keyword-rich, thus fooling the search engine into placing that page higher in the search results. Yet when the visitor clicks on the link they are given different content, which may be totally unrelated. Search engines frown upon this practice and some will penalize or ban sites that they catch doing it.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Cookie<br /></span>information placed on a visitor's computer by a web server. While the web site is being accessed, data in the visitor's cookie file can be stored or retrieved. Mostly cookies are used as unique identifiers (i.e. user IDs or session IDs) to isolate a visitor's movements from others' during that visit and subsequent visits. Other data that may get stored in a cookie include an order number, email address, referring advertiser, etc.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Cost Per Action (CPA)</span><br />the cost incurred or price paid for a specific action, such as signing up for an email newsletter, entering a contest, registering on the site, completing a survey, downloading trial software, printing a coupon, etc.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Cost Per Click (CPC)</span><br />the cost incurred or price paid for a clickthrough to your landing page.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">CTR - Click Through Rate</span><br />Click Through Rate is a measure of the number of clicks received from the number of ad impressions delivered.<br />The formula to calculate CTR is:<br />“number of clicks” / “number of ad impressions” x 100<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Key phrase (or keyword phrase)</span><br />a search phrase made up of keywords. See "keyword."<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Keyword</span><br />a word that a search engine user might use to find relevant web page(s). If a keyword doesn't appear anywhere in the text of your web page, it's highly unlikely your page will appear in the search results (unless of course you have bid on that keyword in a pay-per-click search engine).<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Keyword density<br /></span>the number of occurrences that a given keyword appears on a web page. The more times that a given word appears on your page (within reason), the more weight that word is assigned by the search engine when that word matches a keyword search done by a search<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Keyword stuffing</span><br />Placing excessive amounts of keywords into the page copy and the HTML in such a way that it detracts from the readability and usability of a given page for the purpose of boosting the page's rankings in the search engines. This includes hiding keywords on the page by making the text the same color as the background, hiding keywords in comment tags, overfilling alt tags with long strings of keywords, etc. Keyword stuffing is just another shady way of gaming the search engines and, as such, its use should be strongly discouraged.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Keyword-rich</span><br />when a given page or bit of text is chock full of good keywords rather than a bunch of meaningless words (e.g. "welcome", "click here") or irrelevant words (e.g. "solution").<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Landing Page</span><br />The landing page is a web page where people go to once they click on an online advertisement or natural search listing.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Link bait</span><br />Useful or entertaining web content which compels users to link to it.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Link building</span><br />Requesting links from webmasters of other sites for the purpose of increasing your "link popularity" and/or "PageRank."<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Link farm</span><br />A link farm is a group of highly interlinked websites with the purposes of inflating link popularity (or PR). A link farm is a form of spamdexing, spamming the index of a search engine.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Link spam</span><br />Links between pages that are specifically set up to take advantage of link-based ranking algorithms such as Google's PageRank (PR).<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Meta description</span><br />a meta tag hidden in the HTML that describes the page's content. Should be relatively short; around 12 to 20 words is suggested. The meta description provides an opportunity to influence how your Web page is described in the search results, but it will not improve your search rankings. Make sure your meta description reflects the page content or you may be accused of spamming.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Meta keywords</span><br />a meta tag hidden in the HTML that lists keywords relevant to the page's content. Because search engine spammers have abused this tag so much, this tag provides little to no benefit to your search rankings. Of the major search engines, only Yahoo! still pays any attention to the meta keywords tag.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Meta tag stuffing</span><br />Repeating keywords in the meta tags and using meta keywords that are unrelated to the site's content.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Meta tags</span><br />Meta-information (information about information) that is associated with a web page and placed in the HTML but not displayed on the page for the user to see. There are a range of meta tags, only a few of which are relevant to search engine spiders. Two of the most well-known meta tags are the meta description and meta keywords; unfortunately these are ignored by most major search engines, including Google.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">PageRank (PR)</span><br />Google uses a weighted form of link popularity called PageRank™. Not all links are created equal. Google differentiates a link from an important site (such as CNN.com) as being better than a link from Jim-Bob's personal home page. The Google Toolbar (which is a free download from <a href="http://toolbar.google.com)/">http://toolbar.google.com)</a> has a PageRank meter built into it, to see which web pages are considered important by Google and which aren't. PageRank scoring ranges from 0 to 10, 10 being the best. PageRank scores get exponentially harder to achieve the closer to 10 they are. For example, increasing your own homepage's PageRank from a 2 to 3 is easy with not a lot of additional links, jumping from a 7 to an 8 is very difficult to achieve. The higher the PageRank of the page that's linking to you, the more your site's PageRank will benefit. The better your PageRank, the better you'll do in Google, all else being equal.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Pay-for-performance<br /></span>a pricing model based on delivering sales or something else that can be directly attributed to the bottom line. Contrast this with traditional banner advertising which is based on impressions, a chunk of which come from people you have no desire or ability to do business with.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Pay-per-click (PPC)</span><br />a pay-for-performance pricing model where advertising (such as banners or paid search engine listings) is priced based on number of clickthroughs rather than impressions or other criteria. Overture is an example of a search engine which charges advertisers on a pay-per-click basis.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Pay-per-post (PPP)</span><br />A website designed to help content creators such as bloggers find advertisers willing to sponsor specific content.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">SEO</span><br />acronym for "search engine optimization" and/or "search engine optimizer."<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">SERP</span><br />An acronym for Search Engine Results Page.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Spam</span><br />Manipulation techniques that violate search engines.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Spamglish</span><br />keyword-rich gibberish used as search engine fodder instead of thoughtfully written, interesting content. Spamglish often includes meaningless sentences and keyword repetition.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Spamming</span><br />as in "spamming the search engines". Spamming is most commonly associated with the act of sending unsolicited commercial email, but in the context of search engine optimization, spamming refers to using disreputable tactics to achieve high search engine rankings. Such spamming tactics include bulk submitting spamglish-containing doorway pages.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Spider</span><br />Also known as a bot, robot, or crawler. Spiders are programs used by a search engine to explore the World Wide Web in an automated manner and download the HTML content (not including graphics) from web sites, strip out whatever it considers superfluous and redundant out of the HTML, and store the rest in a database (i.e. its index).<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Spider trap</span><br />An infinite loop that a spider may get caught in if it explores a dynamic site where the URLs of pages keep changing. For example, a home page may have a different URL and the search engine may not be able to ascertain that it is the home page that it has already indexed but under another URL. If search engines were to completely index dynamic web sites, they would inevitably have large amounts of redundant content and download millions of pages.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Splash page<br /></span>A home page that is, for the most part, devoid of content. Often times created in Flash. Splash pages usually say something to the effect of "Enter Here" or "Choose our Flash-enabled site or the HTML version". Splash pages are an annoyance to Internet users as they introduce an extra hoop that the user has to jump through before they get to any meaningful content. Splash pages are also damaging to search engine rankings. Consider that your home page is typically considered by search engines as the most important page of your site. If your home page is a content-less splash page, then it's a wasted opportunity.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Static</span><br />As in "static web page." Means that the web page was not created dynamically from a database, but instead previously created and saved as a HTML file.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Syndication</span><br />An option that allows you to extend your reach by distributing ads to additional partner sites. </p>J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-31473598555490393572008-12-14T21:10:00.002-07:002008-12-14T21:11:27.475-07:00Google SEO Page Rank rigged<p>Google admitted that their Page Ranking System is rigged. That tells me that SEO’s attempting to sell expensive services to dominate master Google are mostly full of baloney.</p><p>Here is the original article:</p><p>Original URL: <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/12/googlewashing_revisited/">http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/12/googlewashing_revisited/</a></p><h4>Google cranks up the Consensus Engine</h4><p>Manufacturing isn't dead - it just went to Mountain View</p><p>By <a href="mailto:andrew.orlowski@theregister.co.uk">Andrew Orlowski</a> (andrew.orlowski@theregister.co.uk)</p><p>Posted in <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/music_media/">Music and Media</a>, 12th December 2008 19:38 GMT</p><p><a href="http://whitepapers.theregister.co.uk/paper/view/5326/?td=toptl">Free Download - Comparing Data Center Batteries, Flywheels and Ultracapacitors</a></p><p>Google this week admitted that its staff will pick and choose what appears in its search results. It's a historic statement - and nobody has yet grasped its significance.</p><p>Not so very long ago, Google disclaimed responsibility for its search results by explaining that these were chosen by a computer algorithm. The disclaimer lives on at Google News, where we are assured that:</p><blockquote>The selection and placement of stories on this page were determined automatically by a computer program.</blockquote><p>A few years ago, Google's apparently unimpeachable objectivity got <a href="http://www.internetisshit.org/2.php">some people very excited</a> (http://www.internetisshit.org/2.php), and technology utopians began to herald Google as the conduit for a new form of democracy. Google was only too pleased to encourage this view. It explained that its algorithm "relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. "</p><p>That Google was impartial was one of the articles of faith. For if Google was ever to be found to be applying subjective human judgment directly on the process, it would be akin to the voting machines being rigged.</p><p>For these soothsayers of the Hive Mind, the years ahead looked prosperous. As blog-aware marketing and media consultants, they saw a lucrative future in explaining the New Emergent World Order to the uninitiated. (That part has come true - Web 2.0 "gurus" now advise large media companies).</p><p>It wasn't surprising, then, that when five years ago I described how a small, self-selected number of people could <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/04/03/antiwar_slogan_coined_repurposed/">rig Google's search results</a> (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/04/03/antiwar_slogan_coined_repurposed/), the reaction from the people doing the rigging was violently antagonistic. Who lifted that rock? they cried.</p><p>But what was once Googlewashing by a select few now has Google's active participation.</p><p>This week Marissa Meyer explained that editorial judgments will play a key role in Google searches. It was reported by <em>Tech Crunch</em> proprietor Michael Arrington - who Nick Carr called the "Madam of the Web 2.0 Brothel" - but its significance wasn't noted. The irony flew safely over his head at 30,000 feet. Arrington observed:</p><blockquote>Mayer also talked about Google’s use of user data created by actions on Wiki search to improve search results on Google in general. For now that data is not being used to change overall search results, she said. But in the future it’s likely Google will use the data to at least <em>make obvious changes</em>. An example is if “thousands of people” were to knock a search result off a search page, they’d be likely to make a change.</blockquote><p>Now what, you may be thinking, is an "obvious change"? Is it one that is frivolous? (Thereby introducing a Google Frivolitimeter™ [Beta]). Or is it one that goes against the grain of the consensus? If so, then who decides what the consensus must be? Make no mistake, Google is moving into new territory: not only making arbitrary, editorial choices - really no different to Fox News, say, or any other media organization. It's now in the business of validating and manufacturing consent: not only reporting what people say, but how you should think.</p><p>Who's hand is upon the wheel, here?</p><p>None of this would matter, if it wasn't for one other trend: a paralysing loss of confidence in media companies.</p><hr /><br /><h5>Old media is hooked on the drug that kills it</h5><p>Today, the media organisations look to Google to explain what is really happening in the world. Convinced that they can't lead, the only option left is to follow. So they reflect ourselves - or more accurately, they reflect the unstinting efforts of small self-selecting pockets of activists - back at us. In the absence of editorial confidence, Google - the Monster that threatens to Eat The Media - now defines the purpose of the media. All media companies need do is "tap into the zeitgeist" - Google Zeitgeist™!</p><p>Take this example from a quality British broadsheet.</p><p>One journalist on the paper lamented that:</p><blockquote>...it's becoming all too clear at <em>The Telegraph</em>, whose online business plan seems to be centred on chasing hits through Google by rehashing and rewriting stories that people are already interested in.</blockquote><p>The digital director of the <em>Telegraph</em> recently suggested the newspaper could work even closer with Google... by subsuming its identity into the Ad Giant. Why couldn't <em>The Telegraph</em> run off a telegraph.google.com domain and allow Google to take care of all the technology? he <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2008/sep/18/uk">mused</a> (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2008/sep/18/uk).</p><p>Not all companies have the same suicidal lack of foresight as <em>The Telegraph</em>'s resident guru - but many share the same apocalyptic conclusion.</p><p>Today, Google's cute little explanation of being "uniquely democratic" is no longer present on that page. A subtly different explanation has taken its place - one which acknowledges that in the new democracy of Web 2.0, some votes are more equal than others.</p><blockquote>PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value. We have always taken a pragmatic approach to help improve search quality and create useful products, and our technology uses the collective intelligence of the web to determine a page's importance.</blockquote><p><img title="Google's New Age motto" height="284" alt="Google's New Age motto" src="http://regmedia.co.uk/2006/03/08/google_collective_dumb.jpg" width="372" /></p><p>Picture culled from Google's 2006 analyst presentation</p><p>So you see, it's not rigged! How could Google "rig" a system that only reflects our finest and most noble sentiments back at us - mediated by a technocratic priesthood of unquestionable moral authority?</p><p>Google has taken Googlewashing in house. ®</p>J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-70958562704484008432008-12-13T22:30:00.001-07:002008-12-13T22:30:35.573-07:00Gene Chizik<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:665e2cae-55fe-479d-91ad-dd0246bae7b2" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Gene+Chizik" rel="tag">Gene Chizik</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/football" rel="tag">football</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Auburn" rel="tag">Auburn</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Iowa" rel="tag">Iowa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/opportunity" rel="tag">opportunity</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/winner" rel="tag">winner</a></div> <h1><font size="4">Gene Chizik</font> </h1> <p><font size="3">accepted Auborn’s proposal to become their new football coach. Iowa is hurt since Chizik had only coached for them two seasons. Chizik jumped to the opportunity to coach at Auborn and Jamie Pollard, Iowa State Sports Director and Chizik’s previous boss </font><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUSZchEiRjI/AAAAAAAAAOg/zR96gqNoX_Y/s1600-h/GeneChizik3.jpg"><font color="#333333" size="3"><img title="Gene Chizik" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="174" alt="Gene Chizik" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUSZdF2VBsI/AAAAAAAAAOk/YMl1QhozWRw/GeneChizik_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="right" border="0" /></font></a><font size="3">said </font><font size="3">that this is a dream job for him. Auborn however, has not confirmed the story yet, even though Associated Press put it out about 45 minutes ago. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Chizik’s impressive record of leading the Tiger’s to victory, make him a valuable commodity. </font></p> <p><font size="3">What does this teaches you? </font></p> <p><font size="3">1. Do become indispensable. </font></p> <p><font size="3">2. Keep an eye open for the next opportunity. </font></p> <p><font size="3">3. Plan your strategies and run with what works. </font></p> <p><font size="3">4. Even though we are in a recession, there is plenty of money out there for those who perform. </font></p> <p><font size="3">What else can you learn from this story?</font></p> <p><strong><font size="4">To do next:</font></strong></p> <p>1. Don’t forget to <strong><em>vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business</em></strong>. Just <strong>click on the buttons on the right</strong>. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p> <p>2. Of course, make sure <strong><em>to share this advise</em></strong> with your friends via <strong><em>Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks</em></strong>.</p> <p>3. Do <strong>subscribe</strong> to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.com/subscribepop.aspx"><strong>Newsletter</strong></a>.</p> <p>4. And, remember to <strong>subscribe to our blog’s feed</strong>. </p> <p>5. Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/JoseAColon"><strong>Sta.rtup.biz</strong></a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile"><strong>FaceBook</strong></a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a><strong></strong>, <a href="www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/"><strong>StumbleUpon</strong></a> my articles and profile… </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>6. <strong>Recommend this blog</strong> to your friends…</p> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-24672685894232509322008-12-13T22:27:00.001-07:002008-12-13T22:27:50.940-07:00The Heisman trophy winner is…<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e911de06-9ec5-4d1f-a6d2-31dc0a798a54" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Heisman+Trophy" rel="tag">Heisman Trophy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/quarterback" rel="tag">quarterback</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/strategy" rel="tag">strategy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/business+strategy" rel="tag">business strategy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/winner" rel="tag">winner</a></div> <p><font size="3">And the </font></p> <h1><font size="4">Heisman Trophy </font><font size="3">winner is… Up until now, 6:30  <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUSZTONccEI/AAAAAAAAAOY/U2JXqmVNwcA/s1600-h/HeismanTrophy1.png"><img title="Heisman Trophy" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="244" alt="Heisman Trophy" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUSZVjEagVI/AAAAAAAAAOc/v4IypJE86xw/HeismanTrophy_thumb1.png?imgmax=800" width="232" align="right" border="0" /></a>P.M. nobody knows who the winner will be. There are three outstanding Quarterbacks deserving of the statue. All three have outstanding record, and have proven to be phenomenal athletes. One thing is for sure, at the end of the evening, one young man will go home happy, and two will go home sad. </font></h1> <p><font size="3">I always taught my children that life is not fair, it does not have to be. Life gives you what you put into it. These three young men have put their hearts on the line, but at the end, only one of them can have the trophy. </font></p> <p><font size="3">The other two can have the satisfaction of giving it their best shot, and maybe, next season, they can win it. </font></p> <p><font size="3">In business, you do all you can to succeed. The bottom line is that you have to show the grit, the determination, the smarts, and the capability to draw a winning strategy if you want to come on ahead of the game. Your ability to create a winning business strategy will make the difference between the winners, and the also ran…</font></p> <p><font size="3">Update: Sam Bradford, from the University of OK, received the honor.</font></p> <p><font size="3"></font></p> <p><font size="3">What are your thoughts?</font> </p> <p><strong>To do next:</strong> </p> <p>1. Don’t forget to vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business. Just click on the buttons on the right. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p> <p>2. Of course, make sure to share this advise with your friends via Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks.</p> <p>3. Do subscribe to our Newsletter.</p> <p>4. And, remember to subscribe to our blog’s feed. </p> <p>5. Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, StumbleUpon my articles and profile… </p> <p>6. Recommend this blog to your friends… </p> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-30108565757481334202008-12-11T18:44:00.001-07:002008-12-11T18:44:18.821-07:00Internet Marketing Fundamentals<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:60312420-f34d-4fcc-b8d1-2ffa597de18c" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SEO" rel="tag">SEO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/PPC+advertising" rel="tag">PPC advertising</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/email+marketing" rel="tag">email marketing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/your+blog" rel="tag">your blog</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/and+online+press" rel="tag">and online press</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/social+media+marketing" rel="tag">social media marketing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/marketing" rel="tag">marketing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/internet+marketing" rel="tag">internet marketing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blogs" rel="tag">blogs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/forums" rel="tag">forums</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/brand" rel="tag">brand</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/time+management" rel="tag">time management</a></div> <h1><font size="3">SEO, PPC advertising, email marketing, your blog, and online press releases are the basis of your online  business.. </font></h1> <p><a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/08/so-you-want-to-make-money-online.html"><img title="Daffy Duck in a tuxedo, suave entrepreneur" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="166" alt="Daffy Duck in a tuxedo, suave entrepreneur" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUHB6QDDDDI/AAAAAAAAAOI/K8kBmo9asVE/dodgers6.jpg?imgmax=800" width="126" align="left" border="0" /></a> What is a <a href="http://luisgalarza.blogspot.com/2008/09/4-internet-marketing-fundamentals-that.html">fundamental</a>? Fundamental is defined as an essential part of something. To define <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/07/10-marketing-tips.html">internet marketing</a> fundamentals it is important to know what is the objective of internet marketing. According to the dictionary, marketing is the process of presenting a product or service in a way that makes them desirable. So, internet marketing is the process of representing products or services in a way that makes them desirable to your customers. </p> <p>How do you accomplish that? </p> <p>1. Proper <a href="http://www.salesdnaltd.com/blog/49/">selling techniques</a>. Sales letters, proper web design, relevant information about how the product fulfills the needs of the prospective customer. Adequate copy writing. </p> <p>2. Ensuring that the message is seeing by prospective customers. Websites, blogs, forums, press releases, Advertising networks, <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUHB68X__vI/AAAAAAAAAOM/PQ7bgdQwHiU/s1600-h/225pxBill_Gates__World_Economic_Foru.jpg"><img title="Bill Gates" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="154" alt="Bill Gates" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUHB7WPVBJI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/4XInOJA0O3w/225pxBill_Gates__World_Economic_Foru%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="229" align="right" border="0" /></a> social media, email campaigns, expert search engine optimization… </p> <p>3. Your brand. </p> <p>4. <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/10/herding-cats-easier-than-getting.html">Time management.</a> </p> <p>The main problem of many internet <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/08/five-not-so-secret-keys-to-marketing.html">marketers</a> is twofold. </p> <p>First, they spend too much time hanging around social media sites. This, thus becomes a full time job, and soon becomes unbearable. You get bored, and becomes a chore rather than a pleasant task. I personally dislike phones. I do because in one of my previous assignments, I was required to make two hours of phone calls 6 days a week. Cold calling, “hot leads”, tips, you name it.  I did that for 3 and a half years. It became so boring to me, that I rather go to the dentist than picking up a phone. If you call my house, I will not pick up the phone. </p> <p><a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/08/good-managers-and-lousy-ones-too.html"><img title="someone is wrong on the internet" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="244" alt="someone is wrong on the internet" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SUHB8V3SyuI/AAAAAAAAAOU/CYCcLBsSj04/writinginternet4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="223" align="left" border="0" /></a> When you spend your time in social media sites trying to push your product, unless you are a disciplined individual, you will eventually get bored, and will dread doing it. Anything fun in excess becomes tedious. </p> <p>And second, since you get sidetracked by your social media extracurricular activities, you neglect the meat and potatoes of the process, which is to provide decent content, and put it in front of potential customers eyes. That, in other words, is expert search engine optimization. </p> <p>Lack of discipline, lack of proper time management skills, will sink your ship before you have time to get out of the bay.</p> <p>How do you tackle your <a href="http://luisgalarza.blogspot.com/2008/03/internet-marketing-plan-for-beginners.html">internet Marketing</a> Fundamentals?</p> <p><strong><em><u><font size="4">Six more things to do now</font>:</u></em></strong></p> <p>1. Don’t forget to <strong><em>vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business</em></strong>. Just <strong>click on the buttons on the right</strong>. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p> <p>2. Of course, make sure <strong><em>to share this advise</em></strong> with your friends via <strong><em>Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks</em></strong>.</p> <p>3. Do <strong>subscribe</strong> to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.com/subscribepop.aspx"><strong>Newsletter</strong></a>.</p> <p>4. And, remember to <strong>subscribe to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">blog’s feed</a></strong>. </p> <p>5. Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/JoseAColon"><strong>Sta.rtup.biz</strong></a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile"><strong>FaceBook</strong></a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a><strong></strong>, <a href="www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/"><strong>StumbleUpon</strong></a> my articles and profile… </p> <p>6. Visit our sponsors.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>7. <strong>Recommend this blog</strong> to your friends…</p> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-1037392357746871002008-12-08T18:52:00.001-07:002008-12-08T18:52:59.122-07:00Merry Christmas, Make Money Now, SEO<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:26fd9b48-6def-42fe-a4e9-fc25e748259c" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tags%3a+Recession" rel="tag">Tags: Recession</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/holiday+season" rel="tag">holiday season</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/economic+crisis" rel="tag">economic crisis</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/economic+meltdown" rel="tag">economic meltdown</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bailout" rel="tag">bailout</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/auto+industry" rel="tag">auto industry</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UAW" rel="tag">UAW</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Senate" rel="tag">Senate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Congress" rel="tag">Congress</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Make+Money+Now" rel="tag">Make Money Now</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/lay+away+(in+all+its+varieties)" rel="tag">lay away (in all its varieties)</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gifts" rel="tag">gifts</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bargains" rel="tag">bargains</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sales" rel="tag">sales</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/electronics" rel="tag">electronics</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/birth+certificate" rel="tag">birth certificate</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Constitution" rel="tag">Constitution</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Christmas" rel="tag">Christmas</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hanukah" rel="tag">Hanukah</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/traditions" rel="tag">traditions</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Merry+Christmas" rel="tag">Merry Christmas</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Happy+New+Year" rel="tag">Happy New Year</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/loose+weight" rel="tag">loose weight</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/expert+search+engine+optimization" rel="tag">expert search engine optimization</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blog" rel="tag">blog</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/website" rel="tag">website</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Muslim" rel="tag">Muslim</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SEO" rel="tag">SEO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/store" rel="tag">store</a></div> <h1><font size="3">Recession, holiday season, Make Money Now, <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/ST3PZVBKq4I/AAAAAAAAANk/aT7ACGD9tZk/s1600-h/GarmantreeWyland6.jpg"><img title="Michael Garman sculpture, Wyland paintings, Christmas Tree" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="184" alt="Michael Garman sculpture, Wyland paintings, Christmas Tree" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/ST3PaEqa_TI/AAAAAAAAANo/4tz4hzXCZOw/GarmantreeWyland_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="left" border="0" /></a> financial crisis</font><font size="3">, economic crisis, economic meltdown, bailout, auto industry, UAW, Senate, Congress, </font><font size="3">lay away (in all its varieties), </font><a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/09/free-search-engine-optimization-tip-of.html"><font size="3">expert search engine optimization</font></a><font size="3">,  gifts, bargains, sales, electronics, birth certificate, Constitution, Christmas, Hanukah, traditions, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, loose weight, </font><a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/08/social-media-marketing-and-how-to-waste.html"><font size="3">SEO</font></a><font size="3">, etc… </font></h1> <p><font size="3">What do all of those words have in common? They all have being on the news lately. It is Christmas time, and for the most part, a lot of people celebrate Christmas. </font></p> <p><font size="3">I had a conversation with my wife last night, and she has been instructed by her Company to use the politically correct term “happy holidays” That expression, for many of her customers, and for me in particular, is annoying beyond belief. Think about it. Whether you believe in Christmas, Hanukah, are a Buddhist, or a Muslim, or believe</font><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/ST3Pa2TU2_I/AAAAAAAAANs/BOOSmQra3Qg/s1600-h/050814N5027S1787.jpg"><font size="3"><img title="Statue City of Dohuk in Iraq" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="244" alt="Statue City of Dohuk in Iraq" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/ST3Pb5frgMI/AAAAAAAAANw/0rl0gO6qqZc/050814N5027S178_thumb5.jpg?imgmax=800" width="175" align="right" border="0" /></font></a><font size="3"> in Wicca, or are an Agnostic, if I wish you Merry Christmas, I am wishing you happiness during the particular Season. I am not asking you to celebrate it with me, nor am I trying to make you a Christian, I am just expressing my wish for you to be happy. The logical answer to someone wishing you Merry Christmas, whether you believe in Christmas or not, would be a quick and polite “Thank you”, since they are wishing you happiness, unless you really want to be miserable, in which case, you are on your own… </font></p> <p><font size="3">Why did I start this article with  that bunch of apparently unrelated words, and my tirade about saying “thank you” when someone Wishes you “Merry Christmas”? </font></p> <p><font size="3">You want visitors to come to your business, whether it is a physical business with tangible products, doors, walls, etc. or whether it is an online store selling services or products. </font></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/ST3Pch6zRgI/AAAAAAAAAN0/GEs5K_YiwSs/s1600-h/moneycogsTH3.jpg"><font size="3"><img title="Time - Money" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="183" alt="Time - Money" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/ST3PdWkCQQI/AAAAAAAAAN8/ozQldRTjlgI/moneycogsTH_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="183" align="left" border="0" /></font></a><font size="3"> A lot of people pay millions of dollars to have someone tell them what to write, how to write it, where to place it on the internet, and how to advertise it. That is fine, I do think that if you provide a great product or service that others value, at a reasonable price, advertise it properly, and develop your brand, you will eventually succeed. Expert Search Engine Optimization is not rocket science, nor it is something that you can do the same way, following the same rules, over and over, year after year, attaining the same results. </font></p> <p><font size="3">What use to work two years ago, do not work today. What works today, might not work next year. </font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/ST3Pd-7d1ZI/AAAAAAAAAOA/G0VUTQFtbUc/s1600-h/DSC011369.jpg"><font size="3"><img title="Christmas 05 in a tent, Tal'Afar, Iraq" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="164" alt="Christmas 05 in a tent, Tal'Afar, Iraq" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/ST3PeZDdjEI/AAAAAAAAAOE/Hsey3xzBJ2M/DSC01136_thumb7.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="right" border="0" /></font></a><font size="3">There is one thing that usually works in a consistent basis: common sense. </font></p> <p><font size="3">The common thread in all of those words is that they are relevant to today. Those words and many more related to them are being Goggled as we speak. So, if you use those words, and can foresee what people will be searching for in the near future, you can make money, since the search engines will present your website or blog to those who are searching for those terms that you just thought of. So, here is the bottom line: </font></p> <p><font size="3">a. Think of the words that people will be looking for on their search engines. <br />b. Make sure that you write blog posts targeting those topics. Make sure that you are teaching something of value, or that your opinion provides valuable information. </font></p> <p><font size="3">c. Make sure that your website, or blog, use those buzz words, and that your tags, meta tags, titles, and posts, are properly coded to reflect the words that are in the public arena now, and the ones that will be popular next week, next month, etc. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Think ahead, and you will succeed.</font></p> <p><font size="3"><strong>Bonus nugget</strong>: I came across a website while doing my research. The good people at “<a href="http://www.oneprojectcloser.com">One Project Closer</a>” are doing a great job at promoting sales, coupons, money saving ideas, and all together providing value to their visitors. They were even giving a $100.00 <a href="http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/giveaways/giveaway-home-depot-gift-cards-holiday-season-contest/">Home Depot Gift Card</a>. So, after you finish visiting my sponsors, go visit them and take advantage of their wealth of information.</font></p> <p><font size="3">What other nuggets of wisdom can you share with us? Join the conversation…</font></p> <p><strong><em><u><font size="4">Six more things to do now</font>:</u></em></strong></p> <p>1. Don’t forget to <strong><em>vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business</em></strong>. Just <strong>click on the buttons on the right</strong>. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p> <p>2. Of course, make sure <strong><em>to share this advise</em></strong> with your friends via <strong><em>Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks</em></strong>.</p> <p>3. Do <strong>subscribe</strong> to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.com/subscribepop.aspx"><strong>Newsletter</strong></a>.</p> <p>4. And, remember to <strong>subscribe to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">blog’s feed</a></strong>. </p> <p>5. Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/JoseAColon"><strong>Sta.rtup.biz</strong></a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile"><strong>FaceBook</strong></a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a><strong></strong>, <a href="www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/"><strong>StumbleUpon</strong></a> my articles and profile… </p> <p>6. Visit our sponsors.</p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>7. <strong>Recommend this blog</strong> to your friends…</p> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-30247210425838972152008-12-07T05:39:00.001-07:002008-12-07T05:39:48.526-07:00It is early Sunday morning, time to start writing more content for blogs and groups.J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-59922462772015640562008-12-04T22:33:00.001-07:002008-12-04T22:33:53.367-07:00Financial Crisis, Get ready Now…<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:f6b9fc01-8e50-4d13-b2d4-d65ab2a41c9d" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Financial+Crisis" rel="tag">Financial Crisis</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Economic+Crisis" rel="tag">Economic Crisis</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/entrepreneur" rel="tag">entrepreneur</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/FDIC" rel="tag">FDIC</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Budget" rel="tag">Budget</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/emergency+fund" rel="tag">emergency fund</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Satellite+TV" rel="tag">Satellite TV</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/alcohol" rel="tag">alcohol</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cigarettes" rel="tag">cigarettes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/medical+emergencies" rel="tag">medical emergencies</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Stock+Market" rel="tag">Stock Market</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/investing+in+gold" rel="tag">investing in gold</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gold" rel="tag">gold</a></div> <p><font size="3"></font></p> <p><font size="3">Many people all over the world are being affected by the current  </font><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9HC_nL1I/AAAAAAAAAMs/hnqehTNBbIo/s1600-h/dollarsignincoins5.jpg"><font color="#333333" size="3"><img title="coins" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="184" alt="coins" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9H8e8_oI/AAAAAAAAAMw/lZtZDORCKk8/dollarsignincoins_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="145" align="right" border="0" /></font></a><font size="3"><strong>economic </strong>or<strong> financial crisis</strong>. Today, I want to talk a bit about how to prepare. Yes, I know, for some, it is late. That is why I wrote the previous set of articles. Today, I am talking to you, the entrepreneur that because of his or her work ethics and foresight, have been able to keep afloat, and maybe prosper in these difficult times. But I do not want to forget those who read my previous posts, and are just threading water, since this situation will come to pass, and you will see better days. When those better days get here, make sure that you don’t forget the lessons of today.</font> </p> <p><font size="4"><strong>Here is a list of a few things that we need to do now</strong></font>: </p> <p><font size="3">1. Create an <strong>emergency fund</strong>. Set aside, if possible, the amount of money needed to pay our bills, and survive, for several months. Survive means: eat, dress modestly, and pay the mortgage and utilities. You might be called upon reducing your utilities bill. This might be done by reducing your Satellite TV account, or by using skype instead of regular home phone. So called experts will want you to believe that you need to have access to the amount of money needed to live without an income for six months. Consider this: if you loose your job, unless you have being proactive, you might not get another one, similar to what you were doing, for several years. But you might be living from </font><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9I4fmOiI/AAAAAAAAAM0/Pa2UKuy82GY/s1600-h/calculator35.png"><font color="#333333" size="3"></font><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9I4fmOiI/AAAAAAAAAM4/zuN3MtPf7lg/s1600-h/calculator3.png"><img title="calculator" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="229" alt="calculator" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9K8K2yHI/AAAAAAAAAM8/_8RnBuiT8A0/calculator_thumb2.png?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" border="0" /></a></a></a><font size="3"> pay check to pay check, so you will need to start by streamlining your expenses, tell your kids that the cell phone privileges will be postpone to a later date, and that the $100 sneakers will have to wait. <strong>Trim down your budget</strong>, and that extra money, put it aside until you meet your goal. Let’s face it, we have lived as well as we possibly could for years, now is time to tighten our belts, and make do with what we have. If you are not in a pinch, congratulations, remember to be grateful, and help those who have less. </font></p> <p><font size="3">2. The <strong>Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)</strong> was created here in the United States, in the first part of the twentieth century, and up until recently, used to insure up to $100,000.00 deposits. What this means is that if you have less than $100,000.00 in the bank, you will not loose your money, as long as your financial institution is insured. If you have more than $100K, consider branching out and place your money in several different financial institutions. I am not talking about having $100K in the Denver Branch of the First National Bank, and another $100K in the Colorado Springs Branch. What I am saying is to have your money in  more than one different Banks; not branches of the same Bank. </font></p> <p><font size="3">3. Establish a <strong>budget</strong>. If you can live without it, you  <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9LuSJprI/AAAAAAAAANA/UePwxwn-RXA/s1600-h/budgeting3.jpg"><img title="budgeting" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="161" alt="budgeting" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9MBwbI-I/AAAAAAAAANE/IXUnsCKabMQ/budgeting_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="right" border="0" /></a>don’t need it. No, Starbucks is not a necessity, pack your lunch at home. You will be healthier, and save a lot of money. </font></p> <p><font size="3">4. Stop dinning out. </font></p> <p><font size="3">5. Stop pedicures and manicures. You really don’t need to go to the beauty shop or the nail salon if you can do it yourself. There is no need to go out with friends on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night. <strong>Alcohol</strong> is not one of the basic food groups, and neither are <strong>cigarettes</strong>.</font></p> <p><font size="3">6. Trade your expensive car for a smaller, pre owned, and fuel </font><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9M_uhXeI/AAAAAAAAANI/cOwIqPeqW_0/s1600-h/DSC0083314.jpg"><font color="#333333" size="3"></font><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9M_uhXeI/AAAAAAAAANM/Eb5AqRuDvNM/s1600-h/DSC008331.jpg"><img title="My dream car, BMW Icetta!" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="157" alt="My dream car, BMW Icetta!" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9OE_YisI/AAAAAAAAANQ/ZTcQ2bNAkE8/DSC00833_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="230" align="left" border="0" /></a></a></a><font size="3"> efficient. I know, oil is about $55.00 per barrel; but that price is this week. If the oil cartels have their way, we will be paying a lot more for gas soon. Remember the days of $125.00 per barrel? OH, yeah, it was just a few months ago… By doing this, you can drop a few hundred dollars of your monthly bills. If you just finished paying your car, do not buy another for a few years unless you really have to. Remember: want is not the same as need. </font></p> <p><font size="3">7. Lock up the credit cards. If you cannot pay cash for it, you don’t need it. <strong>Medical emergencies</strong> are an exception. </font></p> <p><font size="3">8. Keep the amount of money that you will need within the next seven to ten years out of the <strong>stock market</strong>. </font></p> <p><font size="3">9. I would consider <strong>investing in gold</strong>. Big nations are dropping their gold because they also need to pay their bills, so there is a lot of <strong>gold</strong> out awaiting to be bought. </font></p> <p><font size="3">10. Make sure that you <strong>become the company’s best <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9OUKjR2I/AAAAAAAAANU/0tj0Deicrjg/s1600-h/masteroftheuniverse3.jpg"><img title="master of the universe" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="244" alt="master of the universe" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9PERwOnI/AAAAAAAAANY/s6XCp2zidvg/masteroftheuniverse_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="182" align="right" border="0" /></a> asset</strong>. There will be cuts, and downsizing, just make sure that you have cross trained and can perform your job and several others too, that will put the odds in your favor, and make you valuable, the more valuable, the less possibilities of a lay off. Just because you belong to the local union does not mean that you have a steady permanent job. If your employer goes bankrupt, the union’s contract, and negotiated agreements will need to be renegotiated. Unfortunately, many union bosses are way too greedy, and are killing the Golden Geese. By forcing the hand of the employers to agree to excessive demands, they are condemning the business to bankruptcy. Yes, the company can always streamline operations, but that also means cutting down in the personnel department.  Employers and Employees are in a symbiotic relationship. The one needs the other for survival, when demands are unreasonable and beyond what the employer can actually agree to, the situation becomes a parasitical relationship, and the host will end up dead. If the employees force the employer out of business, they in turn will become unemployed. </font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9PqmxW_I/AAAAAAAAANc/XiiY62Ooj1g/s1600-h/stretchmoney3.jpg"><font color="#333333" size="3"><img title="stretch your money" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="204" alt="stretch your money" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STi9QDPay_I/AAAAAAAAANg/i-PfFBoGTCY/stretchmoney_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="left" border="0" /></font></a><font size="3">These ten suggestions can help you maintain your current status quo. However, that does not mean that you can become complacent. It means that you have the opportunity to prosper. As you do prosper, remember to make sure that you maintain a “what if” fund, and that you extend your hand to others that need help. </font></p> <p><font size="3">What did I forget? How are you preparing to navigate through this financial maelstrom? Make sure to add your comments to our blog.</font></p> <p><font size="3">*</font><font size="2"><em> <strong>Disclaimer</strong>: I am not a financial advisor, nor do I dispense investment advise. These are ideas that have worked for me. Before you decide to invest, or not invest, or to pull your money out of the market, make sure that you get advise from a properly credited investment professional or financial advisor.</em></font></p> <p><font size="3"></font></p> <p><strong><em><u><font size="4">Six more things to do now</font>:</u></em></strong></p> <p>1. Don’t forget to <strong><em>vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business</em></strong>. Just <strong>click on the buttons on the right</strong>. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p> <p>2. Of course, make sure <strong><em>to share this advise</em></strong> with your friends via <strong><em>Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks</em></strong>.</p> <p>3. Do <strong>subscribe</strong> to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.com/subscribepop.aspx"><strong>Newsletter</strong></a>.</p> <p>4. And, remember to <strong>subscribe to our blog’s feed</strong>. </p> <p>5. Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/JoseAColon"><strong>Sta.rtup.biz</strong></a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile"><strong>FaceBook</strong></a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a><strong></strong>, <a href="www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/"><strong>StumbleUpon</strong></a> my articles and profile… </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>6. <strong>Recommend this blog</strong> to your friends…</p> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-72421487920767172892008-12-01T17:11:00.000-07:002008-12-01T18:42:06.048-07:00Word Press vs. Blogger, my thoughts!<div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:3c551769-fffe-412b-982f-02aba671692a" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Blogger" rel="tag">Blogger</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Word+Press" rel="tag">Word Press</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/University+of+Puerto+Rico" rel="tag">University of Puerto Rico</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Seth+Godin" rel="tag">Seth Godin</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Darren+Rowse" rel="tag">Darren Rowse</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mike+Glaspie" rel="tag">Mike Glaspie</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/John+Chow" rel="tag">John Chow</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Blogging" rel="tag">Blogging</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Social+Media" rel="tag">Social Media</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/SEO" rel="tag">SEO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Business+Strategy" rel="tag">Business Strategy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Marketing" rel="tag">Marketing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/COBOL" rel="tag">COBOL</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Fortran" rel="tag">Fortran</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/payroll" rel="tag">payroll</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/entrepreneur" rel="tag">entrepreneur</a></div> <p><font size="3"><strong><font size="4">A respected friend</font></strong>, and esteemed <strong>entrepreneur</strong> ask <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STSSWQ83VbI/AAAAAAAAAME/mtU5TMrokfQ/s1600-h/bloggerlogo5B15D6.jpg"><img title="blogger logo" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="155" alt="blogger logo" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STSSXCTOy-I/AAAAAAAAAMI/dGxP8yaKOXo/bloggerlogo5B15D_thumb4.jpg?imgmax=800" width="173" align="right" border="0" /></a> me why I keep my blog on the <strong>Blogger platform</strong> and not on <strong>Word Press</strong>. I have to admit, that I have asked myself the same question, specially after reading so many derogatory articles by fellow <strong>bloggers</strong> and <strong>entrepreneurs</strong>. </font></p> <p><font size="3">The common wisdom is that serious <strong>entrepreneurs</strong> will not give you the time of day if you host your website or your blog on a free platform, because they think that you might not be serious or are small potatoes. </font></p> <p><font size="3"><font size="4">Here are my reasons for using <strong>Blogger</strong> and MSN <strong>Office Live</strong>:</font> </font></p> <p><font size="3"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STSSXgzjOXI/AAAAAAAAAMM/nuT_y0DuF0Q/s1600-h/godin5.gif"><img title="Seth Godin" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="159" alt="Seth Godin" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STSSX6dxITI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/EtUlaup1OoM/godin_thumb3.gif?imgmax=800" width="119" align="left" border="0" /></a> 1. Well, I am small potatoes when compared to <strong>Seth Godin, Darren Rowse, Mike Glaspie, John Chow</strong>, </font><font size="3">and the likes. I am still in the process of making my fist few millions of dollars, so, I cut expenses, while at the same time producing the best product I possibly can. </font></p> <p><font size="3">2. I have always liked to challenge the system. Back in 1977, my old Fortran teacher told us that you could not create a Payroll in Fortran. When <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STSSYR4Xc-I/AAAAAAAAAMU/Tq57LmUYPtQ/s1600-h/porticoUniversityofPRMayaguezCampus4.gif"><img title="portico University of PR Mayaguez Campus" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="159" alt="portico University of PR Mayaguez Campus" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STSSY6ZmWFI/AAAAAAAAAMY/JmVm7LvRahw/porticoUniversityofPRMayaguezCampus_.gif?imgmax=800" width="158" align="right" border="0" /></a> asked by my Special Projects teacher at the <strong>University of Puerto Rico</strong> to program something different, I did just that, I created Payroll in Fortran. It gave me a headache, but, what the heck, I proved my teachers wrong and got an “A” for originality. </font></p> <p><font size="3">3. If at least one person has being able to do something, and succeeded, that means that someone else, with determination and smarts, can do exactly the same thing. </font></p> <p><font size="3">4. Of the five platforms that I tried, three free and two paid, I like Blogger better (call it personal preference). I would like to change a few things on my blog, but right now I am way too busy, so I enjoy the ease of use. </font></p> <p><font size="3"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STSSZCFDobI/AAAAAAAAAMc/c5vH2xAAwyQ/s1600-h/seo4.jpg"><img title="seo" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="163" alt="seo" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STSSZ-7bHoI/AAAAAAAAAMg/eExKpJImovc/seo_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" align="left" border="0" /></a> 5. I am sharing my experience free of charge. I do not do private consulting (yet), and even though I keep a few ads on my site, I make my living from my other day jobs. So, if someone does not want to read my blog because I am on <strong>Blogger</strong>, it really does not affect my bottom line. </font></p> <p><font size="3">I have read many really awful blogs in English and Spanish. I’m talking about orthographical, and grammatical mistakes galore. Yes, I still make some of those. And, in some blogs, the writer’s train of thought and logic is hard to follow, but I have found some <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STSSaVmUauI/AAAAAAAAAMk/9cN3kRfK8YA/s1600-h/snake3.jpg"><img title="snake, symbol of wisdom" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="244" alt="snake, symbol of wisdom" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STSSbJNQYOI/AAAAAAAAAMo/omR94dif5mU/snake_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="199" align="right" border="0" /></a> incredible nuggets of wisdom here and there. Whether it is on <strong>SEO,</strong> or <strong>Business Strategy</strong>, or <strong>Social Media</strong>, or <strong>Marketing</strong>, or <strong>Blogging</strong>, I read almost every blog I can find, and learn from all of them. In my opinion, those who refuse to read a blog because it is published on a free platform, are denying hemselves valuable information. So, I will continue to use blogger, and most likely will continue to use MSN Office Live to host my sites. <strong>Word Press</strong> has more plugins, but I still like <strong>Blogger</strong>. </font></p> <p><font size="3">Remember to let me know what you think, and what other topics you would like me to cover in our blog…</font></p> <p><font size="3"></font></p> <p><strong><em><u><font size="4">Six more things to do now</font>:</u></em></strong></p> <p>1. Don’t forget to <strong><em>vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business</em></strong>. Just <strong>click on the buttons on the right</strong>. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category. </p> <p>2. Of course, make sure <strong><em>to share this advise</em></strong> with your friends via <strong><em>Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks</em></strong>.</p> <p>3. Do <strong>subscribe</strong> to our <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.com/subscribepop.aspx">Newsletter</a><strong></strong>.</p> <p>4. And, remember to <strong>subscribe to our blog’s feed</strong>. </p> <p>5. Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/JoseAColon"><strong>Sta.rtup.biz</strong></a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/profile.php?id=1609555967&v=info&viewas=1609555967">FaceBook</a><strong></strong>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a><strong></strong>, <a href="www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon"><strong>Twitter</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/"><strong>StumbleUpon</strong></a> my articles and profile… </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>6. <strong>Recommend this blog</strong> to your friends…</p> <p><font size="3"></font></p> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-62253699787094814492008-11-28T10:41:00.002-07:002008-11-28T10:49:02.976-07:00Business Strategy, A Square Tire<p>Monday, I introduced this series of articles in which I was to come up <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtQvu4MgI/AAAAAAAAALE/612nI7ADJvE/s1600-h/square%20tire%5B14%5D.jpg"><img title="square tire on the floor by brochure stand" style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" height="164" alt="square tire on the floor by brochure stand" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtREB1oII/AAAAAAAAALI/znyaLiqPfqo/square%20tire_thumb%5B12%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="left" border="0" /></a>with a way to get out of debt fast, show you how to fix your personal finances, and show you how to succeed in business. My first article was <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/11/get-out-of-debt-now-parents-rant.html"><strong>“Get out of debt fast, a parent’s rant”.</strong></a> On the second article, <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/11/self-responsibility-lets-stop-mooching.html"><strong>“Self Responsibility, let’s stop the mooching”</strong></a> I probably touched some reader’s nerves, since I did not pulled too many punches. I also promised you that I was going to show you a square tire, and here is the picture. I found that tire in a back alley shop in Kuwait <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtRov7TsI/AAAAAAAAALM/7NtPzDoP9Eo/s1600-h/Kuwait%20City%5B9%5D.jpg"><img title="Kuwait City" style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" height="165" alt="Kuwait City" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtSMp-ZgI/AAAAAAAAALQ/ifBlcvb_XgE/Kuwait%20City_thumb%5B7%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="right" border="0" /></a>City (and yes, that is in Kuwait). Along the way, I am supposed to make these series of articles so interesting, that you will want nothing more than to bookmark my blog, and recommend it to your friends. So, let’s see… </p><p>What can you do with a square tire? Other that using it as a fairly big paperweight, or exhibit it as a curiosity, it is worthless. Now, imagine how many people would buy a square tire. A few would, since you can sell almost anything to most people. Soon, however, the novelty would wear out, and you will no longer be able to sell square tires. What is the problem with that <strong>business model or business strategy</strong>? You spend money buying raw materials, pay employees, pay benefits for your employees, and produce something of little value. As time goes by, revenue diminishes, raw materials probably increase in value, fix expenses remain there, and suddenly, you realize that you are on the road to bankruptcy. </p><p>What am I trying to say here? I will probably hurt some sensibilities yet again, and that is ok by me if I can get you to think outside the box. Someone once said that the only people that like changes are “babies with wet diapers”. So, here it goes: </p><p>First thing first: Lets check out the reason the Economy of the United States tanked, and see if we can learn something from it. </p><p>Early in the twentieth century, the American Dollar was king, and the<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtSUdl5iI/AAAAAAAAALU/PgYQ3VJVh4Y/s1600-h/gold%20bars%5B4%5D.jpg"><img title="gold bars" style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" height="244" alt="gold bars" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtTMMKJnI/AAAAAAAAALY/5NEuQQZH-0A/gold%20bars_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="219" align="left" border="0" /></a> reason for it was that the Dollar was backed by gold. Money being printed, actually had an intrinsic value, since it was to be readily converted to gold. Later on, someone came up with the great idea that the United States, the great industrial Nation that introduced the so many advancements to the world, including the assembly line, could still guarantee the dollar, and the currencies of the world were to be measured against the U.S. Dollar, which was supposed to be converted to gold. As you can see, there is really no big problem, since we still had gold to back our monetary system. This was an international compact called Bretton Woods Agreement. </p><p>Somewhere along the way, the United States continue to prosper, sure, we had our rough patches. Who can forget the <strong>Great Depression</strong> in the late twenties and thirties caused by protectionist laws, and lost confidence in the economic future of our Nation. With an average jobless rate of 25% and most able to workers having their hours cut, in addition, we had a President that ruled for four terms <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtTvS1exI/AAAAAAAAALc/55Otp1eBIaA/s1600-h/FDRhorse%5B6%5D.jpg"><img title="FDRhorse" style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" height="133" alt="FDRhorse" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtUVBRXWI/AAAAAAAAALg/trNBtd-CAvw/FDRhorse_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="155" align="right" border="0" /></a> (FDR) and yes, I am using what I believe is the right term, since he ruled for four terms. Thanks God the Constitution was amended to prevent further Presidents from Governing more than two terms.<br />Unemployment during the Carter years, was over 10%. And interest rates were over 20%. Just imagine if you had an Adjusted Rate Mortgage in those years. Compare that to a more or less 6% unemployment rate today, our economy is in bad shape, but it is still better than on the Carter years. The claim that we are in a depression equal to the Great Depression, is a severe exaggeration. Are we going to get there? Who knows. Also, Iceland, Russia, Venezuela, and many other Nations are just in as bad a position as we are. </p><p>But, I see some alarming trends. An out of control government is <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtVLDZAlI/AAAAAAAAALk/Xpe0yQ5dxCk/s1600-h/Depression%20in%20the%2030s%5B4%5D.gif"><img title="Depression in the 30s" style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" height="244" alt="Depression in the 30s" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtVkYF78I/AAAAAAAAALo/7-r_KAl9AQE/Depression%20in%20the%2030s_thumb%5B2%5D.gif?imgmax=800" width="198" align="left" border="0" /></a> one, the mistake that we as a Nation made to go from a production Nation to a purely consumerist society, is another. </p><p>Now, I am not an economist, and even though I have tortured myself with <strong>marketing</strong>, macroeconomics, microeconomics, managerial accounting, and a few more of those… I have over 195 college credit hours, I do not claim to be an expert. However, I have made plenty of economic mistakes, and I have seeing first hand how not to run a business. </p><p>Let me ask you a simple question… if you have no assets, and your debt is twice as much as what you make, can you survive? In your private business, if your debt is twice as much of your assets, you are not producing anything of great value, will you be able to get a loan? I do not think so. </p><p>Right now, according to the to The Bureau of Economic Analysis (<a href="http://www.bea.gov/national/index.htm#gdp)">http://www.bea.gov/national/index.htm#gdp)</a>, the Gross Domestic Product for 2007 in the United States was about $3.4 Trillions. The latest estimates of the financial bailout of the United States is in the <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtWKKedxI/AAAAAAAAALs/r-Dy-934J5s/s1600-h/hammer%20small%5B5%5D.jpg"><img title="hammer small" style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" height="120" alt="hammer small" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtWTa-CvI/AAAAAAAAALw/P0WOMZBRLz0/hammer%20small_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="162" align="right" border="0" /></a> $7 Trillion Dollars. You know as much as I do that when the Government gives you cost estimates, they are usually wrong; these are the people that paid about $700 for a hammer, for goodness sake, and the same people who cannot run their own Cafeteria without tax payers subsidies. </p><p>What does that tell you? Our primary lender has several Trillion Dollars of our debt in their possession, and if they decide to cash in, how are we going to pay that debt? </p><p>What does the United States produce? Other than debt? Our auto industry is destined to fail. Their business model does not work, remember the square tire? They cannot compete with the foreign auto industry, and if they get a bail out, we are only prolonging the patient’s death. The auto industry can be revived but it needs to be allowed to go bankrupt, so their debt, and contracts can be renegotiated, their business model can be streamlined, and it can go back to be a world class industry. Remember the square tire? If I give you more money to continue producing square tires, I am wasting my money, and eventually, you will want to get more money from me, since I just slowed down the rate of which you go bankrupt. Next time, I will have no more money, because I will be the bankrupted one. </p><p>I declared bankruptcy once, it was not easy. But I can say that I learned my lesson, how about the big executives of the many businesses that are too big to fail, have they truly learned from their mistakes? Our </p><p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtWjbofuI/AAAAAAAAAL0/wk_ChABkOOk/s1600-h/FannieMae%5B6%5D.jpg"><img title="Fannie Mae" style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" height="108" alt="Fannie Mae" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtXDJVinI/AAAAAAAAAL4/X4XFKr-yqBA/FannieMae_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="155" align="left" border="0" /></a>politicians are still receiving counsel from the likes of failed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae who cooked the books in order to receive bigger bonuses, one of such received over $90 million dollars in salary. The ones who are screaming the loudest in Congress are the ones who were saying that there was no problem in the United States Housing Industry. The politicians come up with a new bailout scam almost every other day, and use the money for whatever else, other than what they say it is. </p><p>The United States deficit is in the Trillions of Dollars, and Government has not specified one government program that they are going to cut, or reduce. They keep increasing the size of Government, and by the looks of it, nobody has a clue of how to fix the problem. </p><p>When a Nation stops producing, taxes their businesses, and overtaxes the higher earners, it slows down the economy, since it is those people and businesses that create jobs, thus stimulating the economy (Economics 101). The top 10% of earners in the United States pay he highest capital gains taxes in the Planet (<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/422013187855">http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/422013187855</a>, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris). </p><p>So, the bottom line: </p><p>1. When you get advice from someone, don’t imitate Congress, do your research and make sure that you understand what you are getting yourself into. </p><p>2. Fire those who are not producing, lie to you (like politicians do), and if they have no clue what they are doing, and cannot be trained, fire them also. </p><p>3. When your operating expenses are close to matching your own revenue, it is time to streamline your operation, reduce personnel, and decide whether is time to close shop or start a new paradigm. </p><p>4. Do not get so in debt, that you cannot fulfill your obligations. </p><p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtXnx1GWI/AAAAAAAAAL8/xFW1ohDGkWM/s1600-h/Thinker%20Rodin%5B12%5D.jpg"><img title="Rodin's Thinker " style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" height="226" alt="Rodin's Thinker " src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/STAtX1dDigI/AAAAAAAAAMA/Eq2EuAqs69o/Thinker%20Rodin_thumb%5B10%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="196" align="right" border="0" /></a> 5. And last, but not least, learn to “Fail Forward Fast”… If your project is not working, scrap it, and do something different. Make sure that you do your homework. </p><p>6. Make sure that you are producing something of real value for your customers.</p><p>This is just common sense, if what you are doing is not working, what makes you believe that it will work? </p><p>Learn to be flexible, and be smart about it. </p><p>I am not an economist, but, like someone likes to say, “I am a thinker”. Follow your gut instinct, take action, and use common sense.</p><p>As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. I encourage you to post your best business strategies; and, since I am not a historian, you are welcome to expand in the history of the topics expressed here. </p><p>Let me know what topics you would like me to cover or rant about. Let’s make this blog your blog.</p><p>Don’t forget to Digg this story or Thumb it on Stumble Upon. </p><p>There are two buttons on the right side of this post, they are there so you can <u><strong><em>vote for this blog as the best business or marketing blog</em></strong></u>. You can use the same buttons to go and check out other outstanding blogs in your areas of interest.</p><p> </p><p>Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/profile/JoseAColon">Sta.rtup.biz</a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile">FaceBook</a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a>, <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon">LinkedIn</a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/">StumbleUpon</a> my articles and profile…</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:13cfc3e4-32cf-4151-bc00-5d50e4854cda" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FLOAT: none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Get+out+of+debt+fast" rel="tag">Get out of debt fast</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/self+responsibility" rel="tag">self responsibility</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kuwait+City" rel="tag">Kuwait City</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Business+model" rel="tag">Business model</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/business+strategy" rel="tag">business strategy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/economy+of+the+United+States" rel="tag">economy of the United States</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/American+Dollar" rel="tag">American Dollar</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/great+depression" rel="tag">great depression</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/auto+industry" rel="tag">auto industry</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/marketing" rel="tag">marketing</a></div>J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-60125168240120721312008-11-26T18:05:00.002-07:002008-11-26T18:14:48.924-07:00Self responsibility, let’s stop the mooching<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS30bGp78ZI/AAAAAAAAAK8/rhXmmuFJW7I/s1600-h/bean+chess.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273139485200871826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS30bGp78ZI/AAAAAAAAAK8/rhXmmuFJW7I/s200/bean+chess.gif" border="0" /></a> In my <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/11/get-out-of-debt-now-parents-rant.html">previous post</a>, I introduced the topic of getting out of debt, and pointed out the need of our society to change the focus, from one of entitlement, to one of diligence and self reliance. These two characteristics, together with the one that I will introduce in this post, are the basis of entrepreneurship. Some might believe that this topics have nothing to do with social media marketing, or internet marketing, or business strategy, or SEO, but as Mr. Christensen commented earlier, these are the basis that need to be laid if we want our society to thrive once more.<br /><p>You cannot fix what you do not know is broken. The first step to deal with addictions (alcoholism, drugs, sex, etc.) is to recognize that you have a problem. It took a long time for me to identify my shortcomings, because in my eyes, I couldn’t do anything wrong. It is human nature, and thanks in part to the mental health community (it is your parents fault, or someone else other than you) and the “what’s in it for me” generation, it is the other guy’s fault that I am broke, and cannot succeed. “It’s the man’s fault for keeping me down.” Unless you live under a dictatorship, there is usually a choice.</p><br /><p>Quoting a hated radio talk show host: “It makes blood shoot out of <img title="broken TV" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px" height="204" alt="broken TV" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yMAJI3pI/AAAAAAAAAKM/HVLRJZQNxa8/brokenTV14.gif?imgmax=800" width="215" align="right" border="0" /> my eyes” when I hear the excuses that people use to justify their addictions, their marriage failures, their lack of ambition, their acceptance with the status quo. I wanted to throw a brick at my radio when the radio played a clip of a sobbing woman saying that, and I quote: “I don’t have to worry about my mortgage, or about putting gas on my car now, because…” a particular candidate for President won. </p><br /><p>You might hate my guts for what I am about to say, if I make you think, it is worthy. </p><br /><p>Chances are, if you are reading this blog, you are either en entrepreneur, a thinking person, someone looking for a way out of poverty, or have within you the spark of entrepreneurship. </p><br /><p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yM0c9EII/AAAAAAAAAKQ/vW-IuDPtRHc/s1600-h/no_excuses4.jpg"><img title="no excuses, accept self responsibility" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px" height="133" alt="no excuses, accept self responsibility" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yNa8MjSI/AAAAAAAAAKU/WbAshg_7G5s/no_excuses_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800" width="133" align="left" border="0" /></a> The First Step on the Road to Success, as an entrepreneur, or as a person, is <a href="http://mike0921.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/the-responsibility-we-have-grown-to-lack/trackback/">Self Responsibility</a>. </p><br /><p>Unless you were born a paraplegic, or with any particular condition that prevents you from reasoning and working, have been slaved, are held against your will or are a child, you are where you put yourself. Think about it: </p><br /><p>1. If you do not have a High School diploma, it is because you chose to drop out, or refused to study. We have free schools in this Nation. </p><br /><p>If you say that the schools are not adequate, or that the school system does not have enough money, I beg to differ. Throwing more money to the school system is not going to work. It has not worked, <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yOEIFyVI/AAAAAAAAAKY/NOygjF5xBlk/s1600-h/alcoholic4.gif"><img title="Drunk Not an Alcoholic" style="DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" height="187" alt="Drunk Not an Alcoholic" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yOjH8fSI/AAAAAAAAAKc/ov0JRUIR5Ck/alcoholic_thumb2.gif?imgmax=800" width="188" align="right" border="0" /></a> and will not work. You, as an individual need to decide to make good use of the education that is freely provided to you. My parents did not know how to read or write, my father was an alcoholic, who worked in construction in Puerto Rico, and other than food and basic clothing, everything else that he earned went to alcohol. We never had a vacation, and I cannot remember going to the movies when I was growing up. I learned to do research by myself, and maintained good grades. </p><br /><p>Consider that <a href="http://www.stateuniversity.com/blog/permalink/College-Drop-Out-Rates-Who-s-to-Blame-.html">some of today’s greatest minds in the Nation, do not hold a college</a> degree and they earn millions every year. Our movie stars do not much else than throw their lives away in excess, for the most part have no talent, or useful skills, nor, in my opinion, their reasoning process is anything to write home about.</p><br /><p>2. If you have bills to pay, but have money for alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes, you really have no excuse for those bills. You chose to use cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol; and can choose not to use them. </p><br /><p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yO7JpVeI/AAAAAAAAAKg/vuD0ynNwAM8/s1600-h/jobhunt4.gif"><img title="Find a Job" style="DISPLAY: inline; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" height="138" alt="Find a Job" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yPSkMJSI/AAAAAAAAAKk/k7yxF31pF88/jobhunt_thumb2.gif?imgmax=800" width="210" align="left" border="0" /></a> 3. If you do not have a job because you do not want to work at Burger King, or any other job because is too low for you, you need to quit the whining, and get to work. Two part time jobs are better than no work, and they are hiring. </p><br /><p>Do some introspection. If you are hanging out with people whose idea of a good time is getting drunk or high, or spend the day playing video games, HERE IS A NEWSFLASH: </p><br /><p>“It is not the man who is keeping you down, is you and your so called friends.” Decide to change, and improve yourself. Others have done it, you can too. </p><br /><p>Nobody will pay your the rent for you, nor should they. That is your <a href="http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/blog/2007/12/04/black-entrepreneur-series-1-of-5-chris-gardner-modeling-masters/"><img title="Chris Gardner" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px" height="182" alt="Chris Gardner" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yPjnkKhI/AAAAAAAAAKo/zi0a_rQDZxE/ChrisGardner5.jpg?imgmax=800" width="149" align="right" border="0" /></a> responsibility. Even if you are in dire need, you can lift yourself by the bootstraps. Read the Story of Christopher Gardner, <a href="http://www.chrisgardnermedia.com/book.htm">The Pursuit of Happiness</a><em></em>, he was homeless, and with a son, and became a millionaire. </p><br /><p>Again, the key is self responsibility. </p><br /><p>Here is the key to stabilize your financial situation (you are going to hate my guts even more, but again, I want to make you think). </p><br /><p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yQESnuBI/AAAAAAAAAKs/Gg05XXMjUO4/s1600-h/PyschoactiveDrugs5.jpg"><img title="Pyschoactive Drugs" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px" height="177" alt="Pyschoactive Drugs" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yQflIt5I/AAAAAAAAAKw/51kXaH4Z3mM/PyschoactiveDrugs_thumb3.jpg?imgmax=800" width="153" align="left" border="0" /></a>1. Learn to live below your limits. Eliminate the Starbucks, or the soda (water is better for you anyway). Eliminate the movies, and cable; they only teach you to blame someone else. Eliminate candy and chips. Learn to eat healthy. You will loose weight this way, and improve your health. Eliminate cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. </p><br /><p>2. If this is still not enough, get a part time job. If you have teen age kids, have them get a job. If they want to go to the movies, they can pay for them themselves. If they want a cell phone, they can pay for it themselves also. Cell phones, movies, bowling, hanging out, are not human rights. </p><br /><p>3. If you have able bodies living of you, put them to work. Our society has degenerated into a <a href="http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/12/making-money-consciously/">parasitic society</a>, where young people believe that they can live of their parents until their parents die. That is not fair to their parents. If they are living at home, they need to get in gear, and at least pay rent, groceries, and not take one penny of their parents or grand parents. They should also be looking for a pace of their own. No job? Again, Burger King is hiring. </p><br /><p>4. With all your savings, pay all your debt. If you are smart, you can do it in just about three years; with the exception of probably your car and mortgage. </p><br /><p>5. Contrary to what the politicians want you to believe, owning a house is not a human right. There is nothing wrong with renting until you pay your bills and can afford a house. </p><br /><p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yTv0vvvI/AAAAAAAAAK0/zf5noyJ1p0k/s1600-h/paybills5.png"><img title="pay bills" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px" height="184" alt="pay bills" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SS3yUfeKEKI/AAAAAAAAAK4/IrCRmy8NNIs/paybills_thumb3.png?imgmax=800" width="193" align="left" border="0" /></a> 6. Learn to buy because you really need it to survive, and not because is a nice to have. </p><br /><p>7. Become an entrepreneur. </p><br /><p>Do this, and you will be debt free, and will be a lot happier. Stress tends to disappear when you know that you have a steady flow of income, the kids have moved away from home, and are not leeching their way through life, and you are living within your means. </p><br /><p>There are many ways to pay your debts in about a fourth of what they would usually take. It just requires for you to: </p><br /><p>1. Recognize that you are responsible for your situation. </p><br /><p>2 Recognize that you can do something about it. </p><br /><p>3. And like Nike: “Just Do It”. </p><br /><p>Voice your opinions, and if you find these articles worthy, don’t forget to bookmark them to your favorite social networks.</p><br /><p>Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/profile/JoseAColon">Sta.rtup.biz</a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile">FaceBook</a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon">LinkedIn</a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/">StumbleUpon</a> my articles and profile… </p><br /><div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:b62b8451-4682-4bed-ba45-d159d75f1ede" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FLOAT: none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/social+media+marketing" rel="tag">social media marketing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/internet+marketing" rel="tag">internet marketing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/get+out+of+debt+fast" rel="tag">get out of debt fast</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/expert+search+engine+optimization" rel="tag">expert search engine optimization</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/seo" rel="tag">seo</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/self+reliance" rel="tag">self reliance</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/self+respnsibility" rel="tag">self respnsibility</a></div>J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-29893912227832118322008-11-24T20:47:00.000-07:002008-11-24T21:02:20.642-07:00Get out of debt now, a parent’s rant<p> Our society is in crisis, our economy is quickly going down the drain, <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSt4Xx5gqtI/AAAAAAAAAJg/ilPfO1aZg5Y/s1600-h/no-cell-phone-sign%5B3%5D.jpg"><img title="Turn off the darn cell phone" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="244" alt="Turn off the darn cell phone" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSt4YmSGiwI/AAAAAAAAAJk/C_o1BclRpVw/no-cell-phone-sign_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="183" align="right" border="0" /></a>and heads of households are asking for help. How can I get out of debt now; how can I make money now; as an entrepreneur, how can I succeed? </p> <p>I saw my wife have “a talk” with one of our kids, and made me proud of her. We try to watch our spending, we are not perfect, but we are as responsible as we can. There was $45 extra on the cell phone family plan. Quickly, my wife found out where the glitch was, one of our kids went 17 minutes above what we allocated to him, and the other went over a hundred minutes above. Normally, they are pretty good about staying within their limits, and this is the first time in almost a year that we had that situation. So the conversation went something like this: </p> <p>Momma: “Jerry (name changed to protect the not so innocent), you went over your minutes this month…” </p> <p>Jerry: “My bad…” </p> <p>Momma: “Yes it is. I will collect some money for you to help pay for the bill, and you will stay within the limits.” </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSt4ZNyQsTI/AAAAAAAAAJo/-V_9Pw6wQIQ/s1600-h/brat%5B3%5D.jpg"><img title="spoiled brat" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="244" alt="spoiled brat" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSt4Z-Z7CvI/AAAAAAAAAJs/q9tat1zzbBE/brat_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="left" border="0" /></a>Jerry: “We need more minutes, 200 minutes is not enough, I call my   girlfriend during my break at work…” </p> <p>Momma: “Well, it sucks to be you, I cannot afford a bigger plan, we have bills to pay. You will reduce your minutes use spending and you will help pay this bill.” </p> <p>The extra $45 dollars is not going to kill us, but we do work hard for the money we make. We jumped on our kids when  we overheard them talking about how they threw away nickels and pennies. Our society is so used to abundance, and wasting that they have no concept of the real cost of life. </p> <p>All of Hollywood’s self and immediate gratification marketed to our youth have made our Nation soft, wimpy, … </p> <p>“If my parents don’t get me a Jaguar for my sixteenth birthday, I will harm myself…” was the comment of a young bimbo in a reality show. “If my boyfriend wants me to look sexy at the dance, he will have to buy me the gown…” was the conversation I overheard at the mall. This last one was a girl that could not be more than 12 years old. What in the world a 12 year old needs to be sexy for? <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSt4aV8yT4I/AAAAAAAAAJw/Y-j3NC1a0ac/s1600-h/voting%20iraq%5B3%5D.jpg"><img title="Check point in Iraq" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="164" alt="Check point in Iraq" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSt4a_BuzAI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/ZlXzxPfttfM/voting%20iraq_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="right" border="0" /></a></p> <p>I spent a year in Iraq, and was fortunate to live in an 8 feet by 20  feet metal container. I had a room mate, and for two months we had three people living there. I say that I was fortunate, because some of my friends used to live in buildings where the windows and part of the walls and the roof had been blown to smithereens by bombs; and you have to see the sandstorms that we get over there. </p> <p>We worked hard to help the people of Iraq to obtain potable water, to rebuild their schools, to convince them to allow their daughters and wives to attend school. We help provide medicines, and medical care. We provided security so the husbands could open their markets and work. Most of them are happy to be able to work in order to bring food to their table. Life can be rough over there. </p> <p>In other places in the world, you are lucky if you get one meal per day, and some families go without food for days at a time. I remember help feeding the betrothed right after Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990, in the Middle East. </p> <p> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSt4bdp7SQI/AAAAAAAAAKA/oi8WuCg4iq8/s1600-h/rice_patty%5B3%5D.jpg"><img title="workers at rice patty in Korea" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="165" alt="workers at rice patty in Korea" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSt4bnkVb0I/AAAAAAAAAKE/41J8t0EQOXw/rice_patty_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="left" border="0" /></a>I also remember seeing “adashi” (hangul for man) leave the frail shack at about 4:30 a.m. for the rice paddies, and work well into sunset so he could feed his family. </p> <p>So, when I see our kids wasting money, and behaving like the world owes them a living, or someone wants to take the money away from those who work hard to earn it, I grow increasingly frustrated. </p> <p>I make a decent leaving, and I am grateful to God for it, I dedicate time to volunteer work, and donate money to charity, because I know that there are others out there that are not as fortunate as I am. My bedroom bathroom is bigger and a lot more comfortable than the place where my buddies and me used to live in Iraq. </p> <p>These life experiences make me what I consider a better human being, and I try to pass the experience along to my children and to all who would listen. We work hard… </p> <p>The economy in the world is in shambles. The Russian Government has threatened their media (the press) in such a way that hey will not report their economical crisis, and how their banking industry is no better than ours here in the good old’ U.S.A. </p> <p>Still, we have a lot to be grateful for. You don’t believe me? Answer this then: do you have a roof over your head? If you have being <img title="Sodier helps fix a school in Iraq." style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="186" alt="Sodier helps fix a school in Iraq." src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSt4y6B9zUI/AAAAAAAAAKI/e_eyHXxaA0Y/school%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" align="right" border="0" />foreclosed on, can you rent a place to live? If you go to the emergency room, do you get emergency care? How many television sets are in your house? Do you get cable or satellite TV? Do your kids have cell phones? Do they have a school to go to? Do you get at least one hot meal per day? Do you have easy access to potable water? Do you have easy access to a washing machine (a Laundromat counts for this one)? If you can say yes to most of these questions, you are Blessed. </p> <p>I know that this article has nothing to do with <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/09/13-ways-to-promote-your-blog.html">Social Media Marketing Strategies</a>, nor with <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/09/free-search-engine-optimization-tip-of.html">expert Search Engine Optimization</a>, or with Social Networking, or getting out of debt now, nor with <a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/08/so-you-want-to-make-money-online.html">making money now</a>. My next two articles this week, will deal with the economic crisis. I might make a few of you mad at me. That is fine, as long as I make you think. My next article will deal with family budgeting, getting out of debt, and economic success; while the last of this series, will deal with business economics and the concept of “Failing Forward Fast” and I will show you a “square car tire“. </p> <p>Talk to me… voice your opinions, and if you find these articles worthy, don’t forget to bookmark them to your favorite social networks.</p> <p>Add me as a friend at <a href="http://sta.rtup.biz/profile/JoseAColon">Sta.rtup.biz</a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile">FaceBook</a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a>, <a href="www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon">LinkedIn</a>, follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/joseacolon">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/">StumbleUpon</a> my articles and profile… </p> <p> </p> <div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:4e045bf2-92e1-4510-b8d1-f168645486f3" style="padding-right: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/social+media+marketing" rel="tag">social media marketing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/social+media" rel="tag">social media</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/get+out+of+debt+fast" rel="tag">get out of debt fast</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/expert+search+engine+optimization" rel="tag">expert search engine optimization</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/seo" rel="tag">seo</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gratitude" rel="tag">gratitude</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/selfishness" rel="tag">selfishness</a></div> J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3795379192349249001.post-30540058589277570812008-11-20T21:32:00.013-07:002008-11-26T22:16:18.448-07:00Recession proof yourself NowI think that it was Abraham Lincoln who said that if you had an hour to chop down a tree, you<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSY7JALwTUI/AAAAAAAAAHw/r2Kn1BDf2mE/s1600-h/AbrahamLincolnPortrait.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270965439737908546" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 183px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSY7JALwTUI/AAAAAAAAAHw/r2Kn1BDf2mE/s200/AbrahamLincolnPortrait.jpg" border="0" /></a> should spend the first 45 minutes of your hour, sharpening your axe.<br /><br /><br />I usually am the opinionated kind, and like to do my own writing, but yesterday, I found an article on a blog that impressed me. <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/11/15/growing-your-career-do-at-gut-check/">The author was trying to convey his or her thoughts about how to get ready for the upcoming recession, and use the acronym G. U. T. to convey the message</a>. Grow your Network, Uncomfortable, and Tout your success.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I can relate to the post, because those three tips are things that you should do anyway on a regular basis if you want to remain competitive. Let me explain:<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0671795937?tag=mamoanhafu-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=0671795937&adid=1P1PNBRZAENT8C7WFQF7&"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270966837189932898" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 193px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSY8aWGR92I/AAAAAAAAAH4/Dv1hCXMx_Hk/s320/Rogue+Warrior.jpg" border="0" /></a>As a Soldier, I was brought up to understand that, and now I quote from one of my favorite authors Richard Marcinko, “the more you bleed in training, the less you bleed in combat”. Everything that we do as Soldiers is training. When we take care of our families, is in preparation for combat, for when we are not there and they have to fend for themselves, when we get up at 4:00 a.m. and run like maniacs through the neighborhood, is training, when we go to formal schools is training, when we go “camping” is training… Because when the time comes and we are called to go to combat, there is no time to get ready, it is too late to train or to sharpen the axe.<br /><br /><br />As entrepreneurs, or bloggers, or whatever we call ourselves, is easy to forget that we are making money now, but, what about tomorrow?<br /><br /><br /><br />Growing up in Puerto Rico, one of the major companies in the region used to be the Commonwealth Oil Refining Company <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSZAGK2be5I/AAAAAAAAAIA/9KXpfFI0KaU/s1600-h/CORCO.jpg"></a>(CORCO). We used to hate the stench around it, but we also were <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSZARzh6-KI/AAAAAAAAAII/C_n84soT33U/s1600-h/CORCO.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270971088518183074" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 155px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSZARzh6-KI/AAAAAAAAAII/C_n84soT33U/s200/CORCO.jpg" border="0" /></a>amazed to see the ritzy neighborhoods in the nearby towns. There were no mansions, but the houses looked big and comfortable, and the neighborhoods where pristine. One day, the news hit the island like a ton of bricks, CORCO was closing its doors. A lot of people that worked there, suddenly found themselves with no job. People that were just a few years away from retirement, suddenly found themselves thinking about how they were going to be able to retire, when the source of their retirement income had vanished. It was sad. Decades later, the area economy is still in shambles.<br /><br /><br />Twenty to thirty years ago, the paradigm changed from “you work hard for thirty years for the same company and then retire” to the current 401K or IRA retirement accounts that you drag with you every time you switch jobs.<br /><br /><br />We are now more familiar with the uncertainty of job availability. So, it only makes sense that you will prepare yourself in the event that “change” comes and you are suddenly laid off.<br />The aforementioned blog post starts with growing your network. I agree with that. Social Media Marketing can make you money, and you can use it to market yourself. There is nothing wrong with self promotion. Social Media is a tool that many misuse.<br /><br /><br /><br />Nobody really wants to see the pictures of you acting foolish drunk out of your mind, and neither do your future employers.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSZCjfTSIfI/AAAAAAAAAIY/fr6aovx4OC0/s1600-h/blog+for+food+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270973591348978162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 78px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSZCjfTSIfI/AAAAAAAAAIY/fr6aovx4OC0/s200/blog+for+food+2.jpg" border="0" /></a>“But, but, it is my life, and I have the right to my life”. NEWSFLASH: YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE UNEMPLOYED TOO.<br /><br /><br />Create and maintain tasteful profiles, job scouts, now days, conduct a search for your name on the web to see if you are a suitable candidate to work for them. If your online behavior has being shameful to say the least, chances are, they will hire the other candidate. Don’t believe me? On the job questionnaire required if you want to work for President Elect Obama’s administration, several questions have to do with whether there are any potentially scandalous events in your past, and online… go figure.<br /><br /><br /><br />So, in other words, take down your semi naked pictures, and clean up your online persona. Also, start participating in forums and online groups related to your expertise. Do contribute to the forum, otherwise, you will be considered a spammer, and worst, if you claim to be an expert in your area, your comments will either verify your claims, or expose you as a fraud. The “U” of the acronym, the article expands, relates to “Uncomfortable” or learning to grow.<br /><br /><br />As we grow and settle in our ways, it becomes harder to expand our knowledge base. I am amazed at high school kids graduating and swearing never to touch a book again.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSZDrEunLkI/AAAAAAAAAIg/n2A6hZsGhr8/s1600-h/rappeling1fn8.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270974821166427714" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 102px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSZDrEunLkI/AAAAAAAAAIg/n2A6hZsGhr8/s200/rappeling1fn8.jpg" border="0" /></a> I believe that the moment you quit learning, you start dying. In the Army, we cross train our people, to the point where every member of a section knows how to do the others jobs, and old timers like me, have a certain disdain for those who believe that they can get away with saying that such task is “not their lane”.<br /><br /><br /><br />My personal philosophy is to do something outrageous, or something I have never done before at least once a year.<br /><br /><br /><br />Pushing your comfort zone on a regular basis, prepares you for the unpredictable, and makes you a better asset on the workforce. Finish your degree, get another degree, just do something our of your comfort zone on a regular basis.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSZEQf9TIiI/AAAAAAAAAIo/cLXXD8b1D3k/s1600-h/social+networks.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270975464130945570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0sCCDofn2f4/SSZEQf9TIiI/AAAAAAAAAIo/cLXXD8b1D3k/s200/social+networks.bmp" border="0" /></a><br />And last but not least important, promote yourself. It is hard to maintain a balance between becoming a rambling lunatic, and an expert; but if you can manage, your credibility will grow with your popularity.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Use business Social Networks like Linked In to post your resume and keep it updated. Participate in professional forums, and you will grow. Social media marketing can give you a leg up the competition.<br /><br />All these things are steps that we should be doing on a regular basis. This is the twenty first century. We are living in historic times, and we have the opportunity to make history. We either make history, or we are history.<br /><br />What will it be?<br /><br /><br />Again, think about your previous experiences. Has this article given you new ideas? Share your ideas with us…<br /><br />If you enjoy the article, please add it to Digg, Stumble Upon, or your favorite social media sites so more people can enjoy it, and learn.<br /><br />Read more at:<br /><br /><a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/09/world-in-turmoil-door-of-opportunity.html">The world is in turmoil; Door of Opportunity</a><br /><br /><a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/08/why-do-you-want-to-be-and-etrepreneour.html">Why do you want to be an entrepreneur?</a><br /><br /><a href="http://socialmediamarketing101.blogspot.com/2008/08/so-you-want-to-make-money-online.html">So you want to make money online?</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.personaldevelopment4you.com/blog/wp-trackback.php?p=21">Should you write your goals down?</a><br /><br /><a href="http://mike0921.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/the-responsibility-we-have-grown-to-lack/trackback/">The responsibility we have grown to lack</a><br /><br /><a href="http://danilearning.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/day-6-why-is-it-that-some-people-are-more-successful-than-others-part-1-of-2/trackback/">Why is it that some people are more successful than others?</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354642347&ref=profile">FaceBook</a>, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=401229924">MySpace</a>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon">LinkedIn</a>, follow me on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.linkedin.com/in/joseacolon">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://jacolon.stumbleupon.com/">StumbleUpon</a> my articles and profile…J. A. Colonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782101030856581437noreply@blogger.com3