August 30, 2010 written by MJ
There have been many changes for the National Football League (NFL) during the offseason. While many think of the rule changes and shuffling of players and coaches as the big news, there have been plenty of changes with regard to the Internet, as well. The biggest one is a revamping of the official league website, NFL.com.
Home Page
Most notably, it has a new home page to woo both fans and those interested in Internet advertising on NFL.com. Potential advertisers can choose from different new packages to place ads on the redesigned page for maximum exposure. There are still links to each of the teams, and scheduled live chats with NFL experts and insiders. Video is now available from nearly any page on the website.
Internet Advertising
The NFL is also using well-placed advertising on its official website for several of its other ventures. The NFL Network schedule is one of its features, for example, so fans will know when to tune in to what.
There is new prime banner ad placement to promote other things, like its NFL Extra Points credit card. “Be a True Fan.” With its relaunch Sept. 1, there is a countdown ticker in the box on a page that offers rewards for official NFL merchandise and gift cards, exclusive offers and a card with your favorite team’s official logo on it.
Another top placed banner ad promotes Game Rewind so that fans can “relive every NFL game again and again.” Fans can click on the ad and sign up right away with a discount to boot.
Mobile
One click on the NFL Mobile tab reveals a very simple, mobile-friendly layout with the most important elements on it, a stats bar at the top with all of the scores, a schedule, headlines, control over fantasy football accounts and – yes, plenty of clean and simple mobile-friendly advertising for companies trying to reach the football fan on the go.
Social Media
Aside from its website, the NFL is giving full attention to Internet advertising and social media marketing in a variety of ways. Commissioner Roger Goodell has his own Twitter account which he uses regularly. Most teams have official Twitter accounts, while others have resorted to Twackle.com feeds to create regular updates.
The NFL made a decision last August to allow players to participate on social sites such as Twitter and Facebook, as long as certain rules were followed.
Its social media policy created a public relations controversy last week when Cincinnati Bengal Chad Ochocinco was fined $25,000 for making posts on Twitter.com during the time frame restricted by league rules. Players are not allowed to make social media posts from 90 minutes prior to a game until the post-game interviews are complete.
August 23, 2010 written by MJ
The City of Philadelphia is once again testing its nickname as “The City of Brotherly Love.” Freelancers who live in the fair city and enable advertising on their websites are now required to register as a business and pay $50 per year for a Privilege License. If you go with the lifetime plan, it’s only $300. Ouch. Count in bloggers and freelance writers who get paid per article or blog click, as the City has, and you’ve got a whole lotta love going to the Philadelphia Department of Revenue. Cha-ching.
Consider the fact that many of these bloggers are reportedly using free blog hosting sites to publish their content and make little to no profit on their blogs. They just want to write. As a result of reporting any income whatsoever from their blogs and articles on last year’s taxes, these writers are now being forced to not only buy a business license, but pay a back tax on their meager income as well.
Case in point, Sean Barry. The Philadelphia resident describes his blog, Circle of Fits, as a music-based “labor of love” that has netted a whopping $11 since September 2008 through a handful of banner ads that appear at will. Add in the $50 Privilege License fee and the pending City tax, and he’s paying them for the privilege to write his blog.
While blogs can be used as a means of profit for some, for others it is clearly a means of communication with the outside world or a way to add exposure and content to a site. According to City Paper in Philadelphia, members of City Council are considering introducing a bill in September that would restructure taxes on small businesses. This would hopefully include the bloggers and freelance writers.
August 16, 2010 written by MJ
Customer Magnetism Review is a monthly blog feature. We review various events, websites and products that you might want to check out – or not. It’s our way of keeping you up to date on the Internet’s latest.
Twitter.com has always promoted the idea that it’s good to be social online. About two weeks ago, Twitter rolled out a new feature designed to enhance the user’s experience on the social media website. It suggest other uses for your to “follow,” or receive their posted updates. The “Who to Follow” feature has advantages and disadvantages, depending on your point of view.
Each time you log on to your Twitter account, you are shown, among other things, 2 more accounts to follow. It also tells you who else you know on Twitter that is following them. In other words, it’s suggesting if your followers like these updates, you will too.
For those who are like children on Christmas Eve and want to see the suggestions all at once instead of 2 at a time, you can do that too, by clicking on a link for the whole list.
The idea is based on the premise, if you like what this person has to offer, you’ll probably like what their acquaintances have to offer. It includes accounts that that update several times per hour and those that have been dormant for several months. It’s up to you whether or not to click the “follow” button. The choice of how much or how little to participate on social media websites is up to you.
Wait, there’s more…
By clicking on a link of an account you follow, you can now see who you both follow and else you know that follows them too. It might be nice to see what you have in common with your Twitter acquaintances. Then again, it might not. For those presently in a Twitter comfort zone, this could be viewed as an invasion of privacy. Think of it this way: Imagine you’re sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch and the person sitting with you takes your food tray and shows it to his friends at the next table. Granted, anyone walking by your table could see your tray if they wanted to, but does it need to be announced? Well, maybe on Twitter.
August 9, 2010 written by MJ
There is a new bandwagon to jump on – a new cause growing in popularity. “Save Google Wave.” It has its own website. It has a Twitter account with a healthy following that has grown to more than 500 supporters. There are even buttons and T-shirts for those who want to jump on the bandwagon to reverse the impending doom of Google Wave.
Google recently announced the end of Google Wave, a service that has been around since last May and has failed to put up big numbers on the usage charts. It will no longer be available as a single product, but may be integrated in part into other upcoming projects. Google Wave is supposed to be out of commission by the end of the year, provided Google goes along with its original decision.
Google Wave’s user groups may be small in numbers, but they are a vocal lot. Their biggest concern seems to be the pending loss of real-time team collaboration by members scattered in many different locations. Google Wave allows musicians, scientists, authors and others the opportunity to download creative additions to a single group project that has restricted access to its members only. They can make comments and see suggestions and changes made by others in their group, but it is not viewable to the public.
One reason many believe Google has pulled the plug is because the Wave cannot compete with social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Apparently, the Save Google Wave enthusiasts are not looking for a new social media site, they are hoping to hang on to a unique service that shares few features with any other.
The Save the Wave movement may not actually save the Wave, but at the very least it has given it some much needed publicity and a little bit of love from its very tiny user community.
August 2, 2010 written by MJ
According to nielsenwire.com, Americans are spending 22.7% of their time online using social networks. Online games came in second with 10.2% of the share. The results of a poll taken last month were released today. Compared to the same poll a year ago, social networking (which includes blogs) has jumped a whopping 43%. Games overtook email for second place in popularity, with a 10% climb from last June. Email dropped 28%. Instant messaging dropped 15%.
With the additional amount of time people spend keeping up with their friends and coworkers through social media accounts, the trend is not surprising. It may be faster and easier for many people to access photos, links and short messages through social sites than through their email or instant messaging.
When they are not playing games, social networking or emailing, Nielsen says the time is divided among information portals, IMs, searches, videos and movies, multi-category entertainment, classifieds and “other.”
July 26, 2010 written by MJ
One of the most common questions new clients ask us about website content is how to improve or increase it. One answer is to create a blog. It adds fresh content to a website for the search engines to crawl and generates both inbound and outbound links. A blog also gives people genuinely interested in the industry in general or company in particular a chance to keep up with what is happening. It can serve as an interactive funnel of news and information.
Unfortunately, a common problem many companies face is that they already have a blog set up and it has been neglected. It has often existed for several months or – no! – since the website went live without any attention. The question is what to do with a dormant blog. If it stays, it needs to be revived and kept up; otherwise, it needs to go.
Resuscitate
Break out the jumper cables and revitalize your woebegone blog. Decide if there is any worthwhile information that can be added to it on a regular basis. If there is – and there really should be for any viable business – start by making a list of blog topic ideas. The posts don’t have to be long and involved, just worth reading.
Designate
Determine whether it will be a monthly, weekly or more frequent occurrence, then stick with the plan. Start small; you can always expand. Decide who will take on the blogging duties. This is probably the hardest part because it involves a lot of responsibility. Consider why the blog went dormant before and make a change in that plan. There is a reason why it didn’t work. Figure out what it is and change it.
Motivate
Blogs can be time consuming and this is usually the biggest stumbling block to making it successful. Someone who can barely keep up with their present workload is not the right person to take it over. On the other hand, someone who enjoys writing will be more likely to keep up with it. Sharing blog duty among a handful of people works well if everyone does their part. If you have a list of people to keep up your company blog posts, create a calendar.
Time
If there are no likely bloggers in your midst, go to Plan B. Keep in mind that Customer Magnetism can do it for you. It is one of the services we offer our clients. We have revived many a dormant blog and can keep it going without neglect. We can either handle all of the blogging duties or share it with someone on your staff. You decide.
Action
When it’s time to break out the jumper cables and revitalize your website’s blog, make a list of some possible topics. Pick one. Make it interesting. After the first few, it will hopefully become a habit. Ask people for ideas when you run out. If you feel yourself on the verge of neglecting it, ask someone to do a guest post. Give people a reason to keep coming back to your website for more.
July 19, 2010 written by MJ
The Washington Post has unveiled a project two years in the making. The new website made its debut this week amid much controversy. It is called Top Secret America: A Washington Post Investigation. The maps, photos and stories divulge a number of top secret facilities and programs ded
icated to intelligence, homeland security and counterterrorism in the United States under a “Fourth Branch” of the federal government. It reveals the existence of an underground web of 2,100 facilities coast to coast handling what is deemed top secret information. The locations of many of these buildings are shown on a map. Although an editor’s note on the website explains that the zoom level for anyone looking at them is limited, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out their general vicinities. Some of the buildings are even named.
According to the website, the existence of what they have dubbed a “Top Secret America” was very limited until the events of 9/11. Since then, the number of projects and programs has escalated. The buildings involved combined take up about 17 million square feet of space and host 850,000 people with top secret security clearance. The Post reporters believe the underworld has grown out of control with little knowledge among government officials as to who is really doing what and how much it is costing the taxpayers; hence, the website all about their investigation. From what they state in an opening video, the reporters apparently believe everyone should know everything. This is their attempt at full disclosure.
Is this too much information? The Internet has become a place where everything is revealed whether you like it or not. This is eerily similar to the recent controversies on Facebook and Google Buzz, where all of your personal information is shared with people you know and people you don’t without your permission. They were later given security filters and opt-out buttons to quell the outcry from unsuspecting users. Evidently, the subjects of Top Secret America did not get the opportunity to check an opt-out button on this investigation, either. It fills up an entire sub-domain of The Washington Post.
The amazing thing is that the website made quite a splash in the national news this morning and is still up for all to see. Judging from comments on a variety of sites today, some people feel it is too revealing; others think the public has a right to know everything. In comparison, it didn’t take long for Facebook and Google Buzz to put filters on their websites at the request of their unsuspecting users. Now that the information is out there and the controversy has begun, you have to wonder whether The Post will leave it untouched in all its transparent glory, or put in some filters and share a little less information.
