virtualDavis

I’ve discovered that the top thought leaders on the web will bend over backwards to help a true fan. Let’s talk about how to become one… (PushingSocial.com)

Despite the goofy Michael Jackson admission/reflection, Stanford’s three tips for how to get your blog noticed and promoted by super influencers is on target:

1. Help influencers create, curate and promote their content
2. Become a “true fan” by learning, following and recruiting
3. Act now; don’t get derailed asking, begging and waiting

As Seth Godin explains: “Change isn’t made by asking permission. Change is made by asking forgiveness later.” Seems germane here, no? You’re hoping to change an influencer’s opinion of you (notice you, respect you, refer you, etc.) and there’s no better way to do this than to contribute your own influence. So long as it’s authentic endorsement. Keep it real! Life’s too short to pose or pander, and your integrity’s all that you’ve got!

WordPress is one of the most popular CMS and blogging platforms around, mainly because it is free and it is 100% customizable… I will showcase 20 of the best WordPress Tutorial Blogs that have written many wonderful and insightful articles with various tips that either helped me optimize my blog for SEO, helped secure my WordPress installation from hackers, to finding the best WordPress themes , or even creating my own WordPress theme for my blog. (Web Design Fan)

I recently helped a friend with her blog, poking around under a WordPress hood for the first time in years. I was impressed. It’s a whole different beast from what I experimented with years ago, and I now understand why it’s the world leader among blog/cms software when ranked by number of users. Impressive! And I’m going to keep exploring in the weeks and months ahead. This posting is a great springboard for new-to-WordPress bloggers. Do you know of any other great WordPress resources?

Your story is the price of admission to the campfire discussion that is happening around your products and services every day. Without a Story – you are just an annoying salesman. ~ PushingSocial.com

We tend to get hung up on the “bells and whistles” when we talk about digital storytelling. Substance? Oh, we’ll get to that later. Later? Why bother telling a story at all if you haven’t covered the basics. It doesn’t matter how spiffy the wrapper if the gift is overlooked. Stanford’s posting is a reminder that you must build a good brand story if you want admission at the digital campfire. He offers three tips:

1. Tell your brand story from your customer’s POV
2. Create mini-stories about the benefits of your product/service
3. Adapt you brand story for use on multiple social media platforms

“Let me tell you a story…” It’s almost always a winner. No doubt you’ve tapped the interest of you listener/reader/viewer, especially if the context/relationship promises relevance. But even when it doesn’t, it’s human nature to be curious, to enjoy storytelling, to make time for a short narrative adventure before plunging back into the quotidian.

Stanford is spot on when he observes, “In our zeal to evangelize Social Media – we forgot to tell you about WHAT you should be talking about!” Bingo. The abundance of powerful digital storytelling tools available today is enchanting. And sometimes we become so enchanted with the “how” that we forget the “what”. Summer marks the much anticipated season of dazzling special effects blockbuster movies, and yet audiences often complain that a movie fell on its face because it had no story. Snazzy visuals, sound effects and superstar actors can’t redeem an ill-crafted story. Thanks for bringing the focus back to the basics!

Read the full posting at PushingSocial.com.

Game changer? It will be interesting to see how this affects the explosion of web video. Google’s Vic Gundotra unveils a new open-source video format called WebM that it’s rolling out in conjunction with Mozilla and Opera.

Unfortunately, today’s “social media” conversation is all too often like the Buddha on the road. Instead of discussing the profound impact the phenomena is having within businesses, society and brands, the conversation is often focused on setting up a Twitter account or the next “viral video” — tempting eye candy that shifts the attention away from the transformative nature of this emerging form of human communication. It can be argued that the term “social media” itself is stunting the potential of the very force it is trying to describe and, hence, has outlived its usefulness.

via imediaconnection.com

Seth Godin (author of Tribes which is captivating me at present) offers an epic list as “a partial answer” to the question, “How can I drive more traffic to my blog?” Here are my “Top 10” favorites from his list:

1. Share your expertise generously so people recognize it and depend on you.
2. Encourage your readers to help you manipulate the technorati top blog list.
3. Tag your posts. Use del.ico.us.
4. Do email interviews with the well-known.
5. Encourage your readers to digg your posts. (and to use furl and reddit). Do it with every post.
6. Post your photos on flickr.
7. Highlight your best posts on your Squidoo lens.
8. Point to useful but little-known resources.
9. Ping technorati. Or have someone smarter than me tell you how to do it automatically.
10. Write stuff that people want to read and share.

Posted by Seth Godin on June 03, 2006 | Permalink

Read the full post here: sethgodin.typepad.com

“Publishers can complain and wistfully wish for the good old days of blog links and Google juice, or they can adapt to the new reality Twitter represents. Getting your content “ReTweeted” on Twitter (i.e. getting people to repeat what you’ve said, usually along with a link) can drive significant quality traffic to your site, which in turn can boost your subscriber numbers… So, how does ReTweeting happen, anyway? Well, here are the 5 factors you need to take into account when trying to get your content to spread virally on Twitter”:

1. Call to Action
2. Timing
3. Links
4. Social Proof
5. Value

Read the post at Copyblogger.

“Brian Murray, the chief executive of HarperCollins, said in December that e-books enhanced with video, author interviews and social-networking applications could command higher retail prices for publishers than current e-books.” (Wall Street Journal)

I’m keeping my eyes on @harperstudio and vook among others…

Posted by virtualDavis via web from virtualDavis’s posterous

This news, via ReadWriteWeb.com, claims that “Twitter grew at a rapid pace, peaking at a growth rate of 13% in March 2009”, but has since declined to 3.5% currently. But “18% of all Twitter users have more than 100 followers… Just six months ago, the average user was just following around 40 accounts.” So, what does all this mean? Saturation? Twitter’s improved their spam control? Existing twitter users are taking better advantage of the service?

Posted by virtualDavis via web from virtualDavis’s posterous