June 2011 LinkedIn Poll: What Social Media or Social Networking site has performed best for you so far?

For June 2011, I chose this question for my LinkedIn Poll: What Social Media or Social Networking site has performed best for you so far?

For so many businesses figuring out the healthy balance of attention to which Social Media or Social Networking site is almost a roadblock in itself. For some Twitter is amazing lead generating tool. For some it’s a complete waste of time. Same thing goes for Facebook and LinkedIn and other networks. Each Social Media outlet has it’s own personality and followers there within. The culture and behavior between networks varies quite a bit.

The best advice would be to see how people communicate within a certain network. Once you have a better understanding of HOW others communicate in a particular network you can look at your business and figure out how you want to be perceived to each of these outlets. (Note: Just because you blast your information to somewhere doesn’t mean it’s going to be received in the desired way.)

Context and content are always king.

As a Social Media Consultant, it’s paramount for me to understand that balance of attention and performance. We all have finite time to work on something; might as well make it worth it, right?

Byte Back!

Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, linkedin poll, SMM, social, Social Media, social media marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter
Posted in: Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter |

Comments: 947 Comments

Social Media Experiment – Pet Portraits – Portrait of Bailey (Chris Espiritu)

An old high school buddy of mine, Chris Espiritu aka @MrEspiritu, recent told me that he had to make the tough choice to put his beloved dog, Bailey down. It was gut wrenching just to think about that long drive to the vet’s office and say that last goodbye. A little over 2 years ago, (wow!) my parents made the tough choice of putting our beloved dog, whose name happened to be Bailey as well, down. I know that feeling Chris and I’m sorry for your loss.

I truly felt connected to Bailey through this drawing. I can’t explain it in words, but when I do these drawings…I feel like they are sitting right in front of me allowing me to be present to them.

- Social Media Marketing and Social Networking can not only dramatically increase the viability of the bottom line to a small business, but also the visibility as well. The potential to reach an enormous customer base and increase the overall ROI of an Internet Marketing budget is there. You just need to think a bit outside the box.

Check out my other Recent Pet Portraits.

Pet Portraits by Andrew David Baron

Tags: drawing, pet portrait, pet portraits, social, Social Media, social media consultant, social media consulting, social media experimient, social media marketing, Social Media Posts
Posted in: Facebook, LinkedIn, Pet Portraits, Social Media Consulting, Social Media Experiments, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter |

Comments: No Comments

Into_Now (iPhone App Review)

Into_Now, has to be one of the most incredible iPhone apps I have ever used. It works like magic. In a nutshell the application when activated will listen to your television and with seemingly 100% accuracy, tell you what you are watching. You then can let your fellow Into_Now friends, Twitter followers, and/or Facebook friends know what you are watching within seconds!

With an incredible algorithm of past and present airing logs of television shows, Into_Now dynamically changes how we use Social Media. I’m all about geosocial and other types of cool apps, however the nefarious and ironic side of Social Media is that it takes time to checkin to places or type a message. This makes you “THAT ANNOYING GUY WITH THE IPHONE”.

I have to say that with Into_Now, I’m no longer, “THAT GUY”. I can continue interacting with the people around me as I hold the iPhone close to the television. Social Media can be really amazing at times, and yet (sigh) can be the very thing that pulls people away from each other. How many times have you gone to a party or a bar and there are at least 5-10 people with their faces in their iPhone or other SmartPhone device? It’s annoying…and yes admittedly, I used to be one of those people.

Into_Now’s network of users creates a microcosm of like minded people that you can connect to, in less than a heartbeat! At the time of writing this post, I have 135 friends on their network! I’ve only been using the app for a few days now! That is incredible, no matter how you look at it! So many people like to connect because they know that I have something in common with with them, that they love or enjoy watching.

As a Social Media Consultant, I would highly recommend this app to local & national television advertisers to help analyze the real-time data and the impact within various demographics of particular television shows. The best part is that it’s FREE! Enjoy!

Kudos to Into_Now! Download it now! Into_Now

Byte Back!

Tags: iphone, iPhone app, SMM, social, Social Media, social media marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking
Posted in: Facebook, iPhone App Reviews, Social Media Consulting, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter |

Comments: 905 Comments

LinkedIn InMaps visualizes your network!

LinkedIn, the social network for business, has revealed an amazing new application feature from their Labs division, called InMaps. It illustrates your entire LinkedIn business network as a visual cloud.

I’m really impressed on the presentation and the implications of the new InMap for networking professionals and business owners alike. Amazingly, LinkedIn takes your connections and literally creates a web of lines and dots that contain the relationship and contact data of who you are connected to and to each other.

With this new technology, Social Media really is moving into the next phase, Social Visual Media. Everything is becoming visual: with visual phone calls, data, etc. It just seems logical and right to create something like this as another way of understanding relationships and business. As Human beings, we have this innate desire to be understood and feel connected to others. This will show you how you are connected to others. It’s up to you to figure out the context of the relationships and what that means to your business.

You’ll notice that there are groupings of color lines and dots. If/When you do your own InMap from LinkedIn, you can actually label and categorize these groups to help extrapolate how you are integrated into the business world. This is a fantastic concept that truly will change the way LinkedIn will be used and perceived by it’s users. I know as a Social Media Consultant that something like this will help me help my clients understand the true potential and power Social Media has. Kudos to you LinkedIn!

Check out this video put out from LinkedIn Labs and then try it out for yourself.

Byte Back!

Tags: LinkedIn, LinkedIn InMaps, social, Social Media, social media consultant, social media consulting, Social Media Posts, social network, social networking, social visual media
Posted in: LinkedIn, Social Media Consulting, Social Media Posts, social networking |

Comments: 750 Comments

The Fruits of my Social Media labor.

Yesterday, January 20th, 2011 was the 2nd anniversary of putting down Bailey. It was a really rough day for me. No matter what I did, I kept thinking about that beautiful face and happy disposition. Just when I thought the day was going to be a complete downer…I received this incredible letter from one of my customers. This truly, truly, truly made my day and helped mitigate some of the pain of losing Bailey. The Haase Family have to be the sweetest people I have ever met. Ann & Jim are wonderful souls that openly welcomed me into their home a little more than a year ago. Their daughter, Annie-Brigitte, treated my little Murphy as if he was her own. Lovely humble people that lost an important part of their family: Ruby

I love transforming utter sadness to warm memories that fizzle and rejuvenate the soul.

This is why I love doing what I do.

Dear Andrew,

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. She sits on the mantel piece over the fireplace.

I can’t tell you how many times we’ve looked at her and are amazed at how real she looks even down to the little hairs above her ears. You are quite the artist. This is something we will cherish forever. She was very special to us and will always be special. Although the heart ache eases up, the emptiness is there.

We have since got another dog. Her name is “Beaner” she’s a mutt. Rescued her from Paws in Time. She was found on railroad tracks, starving, abused and sick with mange. She’s better now, wild and needs a lot of attention. We still miss Ruby.

Thanks again for your thoughtfulness.-

Till we see you again,

Love The Haases

Ann, Jim + Annie B.

Tags: pet portrait, pet portraits, social, Social Media, social media experimient, Social Media Posts
Posted in: Pet Portraits, Recent Projects, Social Media Experiments, Social Media Posts, social networking |