There’s simply no disputing that Facebook’s footprint is now everywhere. The boomer generation is now there. Their kids (and grandkids?!) are there. In some cases, even Grandma and Grandpa! On the heels of a (VERY) successful launch of Facebook Connect, which appeared on blogs and websites everywhere within weeks, (as well as implementation by large social sites such as DIGG ……. …. the news came earlier today that Facebook is acquiring Friendfeed , or as Bret Taylor put it …. in classic Friendfeed style ….” Friendfeed accepted Facebook’s Friend Request “. Most people never really got to know Friendfeed. To some, the latest look and feel made it easier to use. The true magic of Friendfeed and the very high level of innovation, on an ongoing basis, was never realized by many of those discovering the service. There were so many features (many of them not readily visible) that people simply didn’t know how to use or leverage them, or simply didn’t have time to figure it out. Many asked, on a regular basis, why we (yes, I’ll include myself) were so loyal to Friendfeed. Why we continued to post about it. Why we urged people to try it. The answer is simple. You could make Friendfeed just about anything you wanted it to be. The user was in complete control. The uptime was extraordinary and there were NO LIMITS as I recently blogged . Bret’s post tells the story. We don’t know yet what will become of Friendfeed. Certainly, it has changed A LOT since the launch. The Wall Street Journal is reporting a purchase price of just under 50 million (US) dollars in cash and stock making it one of the largest acquisitions between two privately held companies in a long time. The bottom line here is NOT the money although I think looking for a payout for hard work in a rocky economy instead of chasing a way to monetize (at the right price) makes perfect sense. The important thing here is for the Venture Capital people to be watching. The banks, even more importantly, that have all but cut off innovation by stopping lending to small businesses. It can be done . I’m looking forward with anxious anticipation to the next chapter (and not yet combining the two on the right 
. Very sincere congratulations to the entire Friendfeed team. This says a lot more than just a brilliant start-up being acquired. For many, it restores hope in their own start-ups, and hopefully will be recognized by many as an example they can look to. From a personal standpoint, I’ve said it before. Some of my best contacts in the past 2 years were, in fact, made on Friendfeed. I am personally grateful to you guys. As I was just about to take a week or two of from blogging, there was simply no way I wasn’t going to write this piece. It’s just exciting. One thing we now know for sure ….. The real-time web is here …. in a big way …. …… and it’s probably just the beginning.
Archive for category blogging
There’s simply no disputing that Facebook’s footprint is now everywhere. The boomer generation is now there. Their kids (and grandkids?!) are there. In some cases, even Grandma and Grandpa! On the heels of a (VERY) successful launch of Facebook Connect, which appeared on blogs and websites everywhere within weeks, (as well as implementation by large social sites such as DIGG ……. …. the news came earlier today that Facebook is acquiring Friendfeed , or as Bret Taylor put it …. in classic Friendfeed style ….” Friendfeed accepted Facebook’s Friend Request “. Most people never really got to know Friendfeed. To some, the latest look and feel made it easier to use. The true magic of Friendfeed and the very high level of innovation, on an ongoing basis, was never realized by many of those discovering the service. There were so many features (many of them not readily visible) that people simply didn’t know how to use or leverage them, or simply didn’t have time to figure it out. Many asked, on a regular basis, why we (yes, I’ll include myself) were so loyal to Friendfeed. Why we continued to post about it. Why we urged people to try it. The answer is simple. You could make Friendfeed just about anything you wanted it to be. The user was in complete control. The uptime was extraordinary and there were NO LIMITS as I recently blogged . Bret’s post tells the story. We don’t know yet what will become of Friendfeed. Certainly, it has changed A LOT since the launch. The Wall Street Journal is reporting a purchase price of just under 50 million (US) dollars in cash and stock making it one of the largest acquisitions between two privately held companies in a long time. The bottom line here is NOT the money although I think looking for a payout for hard work in a rocky economy instead of chasing a way to monetize (at the right price) makes perfect sense. The important thing here is for the Venture Capital people to be watching. The banks, even more importantly, that have all but cut off innovation by stopping lending to small businesses. It can be done . I’m looking forward with anxious anticipation to the next chapter (and not yet combining the two on the right . Very sincere congratulations to the entire Friendfeed team. This says a lot more than just a brilliant start-up being acquired. For many, it restores hope in their own start-ups, and hopefully will be recognized by many as an example they can look to. From a personal standpoint, I’ve said it before. Some of my best contacts in the past 2 years were, in fact, made on Friendfeed. I am personally grateful to you guys. As I was just about to take a week or two of from blogging, there was simply no way I wasn’t going to write this piece. It’s just exciting. One thing we now know for sure ….. The real-time web is here …. in a big way …. …… and it’s probably just the beginning.
I have reached the conclusion that most organizations have a blog simply because they feel they should. Many marketing departments fail to “get” blogging and have poorly visited blogs with few comments. Because their blog fails to perform, they conclude that blogging is an ineffective marketing tool and either remove it entirely or leave it to languish. However, it does not need to be this way. Corporate blogs can be a powerful communication tool that builds brand awareness and nurtures a sense of engagement. You only need to look at the vibrant community surrounding the 37Signals blog to know that corporate blogging can work. Why are most corporate blogs failing and why do the few succeed? To answer these questions, we need to face a few harsh truths about corporate blogging . We also discuss strategies for effective branding and marketing in our upcoming Smashing Book ($23.99 – available worldwide). Secure your copy today and save 20% off the price! 1. A blog does not magically generate traffic When companies first started launching corporate websites, they perceived them as a marketing channel that would generate leads. They had a “build it and they will come” mentality. Over time they realized that a website is more like a storefront. A few people might wander in off the street, but most of the time you need to advertise to attract trade. Many marketing departments are making a similar mistake with corporate blogs. They perceive them as a way to generate new traffic, when that is not their primary role. Admittedly, the keyword-heavy nature of a blog will help your organic rankings, but that is a secondary benefit. To generate traffic, you need to sincerely commit to your blog, establish a relationship with your readers and engage them in conversations. And, as Rand Fishkin’s article 21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic suggests, you also need to use some strategies to build up the traffic over years. The real goal of a corporate blog is to generate reccuring traffic which is considerably more likely to complete a call to action. A successful blog has a regular readership that is being constantly reminded of your brand and products. And yes, of course, building up a readership takes time. 2. Good corporate blog requires long term commitment Building a readership is a long term commitment. It can take months for users to recognise your blog as a consistent source of useful information. Only then will they start visiting it regularly and recommending it to others. It doesn’t just take time, it also takes commitment. That means posting regularly and to a schedule. Users are more likely to visit your blog if they know you release a post on a certain day each week. Of course, ultimately you want them to subscribe, so they don’t need to continually check your site for new content. 3. Teaser feeds are a wasted opportunity Users can subscribe in a couple of ways. Usually they can either sign up to receive email notifications or subscribe to an RSS feed.
I have reached the conclusion that most organizations have a blog simply because they feel they should. Many marketing departments fail to “get” blogging and have poorly visited blogs with few comments. Because their blog fails to perform, they conclude that blogging is an ineffective marketing tool and either remove it entirely or leave it to languish. However, it does not need to be this way. Corporate blogs can be a powerful communication tool that builds brand awareness and nurtures a sense of engagement. You only need to look at the vibrant community surrounding the 37Signals blog to know that corporate blogging can work. Why are most corporate blogs failing and why do the few succeed? To answer these questions, we need to face a few harsh truths about corporate blogging . We also discuss strategies for effective branding and marketing in our upcoming Smashing Book ($23.99 – available worldwide). Secure your copy today and save 20% off the price! 1. A blog does not magically generate traffic When companies first started launching corporate websites, they perceived them as a marketing channel that would generate leads. They had a “build it and they will come” mentality. Over time they realized that a website is more like a storefront. A few people might wander in off the street, but most of the time you need to advertise to attract trade. Many marketing departments are making a similar mistake with corporate blogs. They perceive them as a way to generate new traffic, when that is not their primary role. Admittedly, the keyword-heavy nature of a blog will help your organic rankings, but that is a secondary benefit. To generate traffic, you need to sincerely commit to your blog, establish a relationship with your readers and engage them in conversations. And, as Rand Fishkin’s article 21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic suggests, you also need to use some strategies to build up the traffic over years. The real goal of a corporate blog is to generate reccuring traffic which is considerably more likely to complete a call to action. A successful blog has a regular readership that is being constantly reminded of your brand and products. And yes, of course, building up a readership takes time. 2. Good corporate blog requires long term commitment Building a readership is a long term commitment. It can take months for users to recognise your blog as a consistent source of useful information. Only then will they start visiting it regularly and recommending it to others. It doesn’t just take time, it also takes commitment. That means posting regularly and to a schedule. Users are more likely to visit your blog if they know you release a post on a certain day each week. Of course, ultimately you want them to subscribe, so they don’t need to continually check your site for new content. 3. Teaser feeds are a wasted opportunity Users can subscribe in a couple of ways. Usually they can either sign up to receive email notifications or subscribe to an RSS feed. This is a crucial step in engaging readers. That is because users are effectively giving you permission to remind them about your site and brand. However, it is remarkable how many organizations fail to grasp this opportunity. Instead of using the chance to push content to users, they only provide a teaser of blog posts. This means users have to click through to view the whole post.
I have reached the conclusion that most organizations have a blog simply because they feel they should. Many marketing departments fail to “get” blogging and have poorly visited blogs with few comments. Because their blog fails to perform, they conclude that blogging is an ineffective marketing tool and either remove it entirely or leave it to languish. However, it does not need to be this way. Corporate blogs can be a powerful communication tool that builds brand awareness and nurtures a sense of engagement. You only need to look at the vibrant community surrounding the 37Signals blog to know that corporate blogging can work. Why are most corporate blogs failing and why do the few succeed? To answer these questions, we need to face a few harsh truths about corporate blogging . We also discuss strategies for effective branding and marketing in our upcoming Smashing Book ($23.99 – available worldwide). Secure your copy today and save 20% off the price! 1. A blog does not magically generate traffic When companies first started launching corporate websites, they perceived them as a marketing channel that would generate leads. They had a “build it and they will come” mentality. Over time they realized that a website is more like a storefront. A few people might wander in off the street, but most of the time you need to advertise to attract trade. Many marketing departments are making a similar mistake with corporate blogs. They perceive them as a way to generate new traffic, when that is not their primary role. Admittedly, the keyword-heavy nature of a blog will help your organic rankings, but that is a secondary benefit. To generate traffic, you need to sincerely commit to your blog, establish a relationship with your readers and engage them in conversations. And, as Rand Fishkin’s article 21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic suggests, you also need to use some strategies to build up the traffic over years. The real goal of a corporate blog is to generate reccuring traffic which is considerably more likely to complete a call to action. A successful blog has a regular readership that is being constantly reminded of your brand and products. And yes, of course, building up a readership takes time. 2. Good corporate blog requires long term commitment Building a readership is a long term commitment. It can take months for users to recognise your blog as a consistent source of useful information. Only then will they start visiting it regularly and recommending it to others. It doesn’t just take time, it also takes commitment. That means posting regularly and to a schedule. Users are more likely to visit your blog if they know you release a post on a certain day each week. Of course, ultimately you want them to subscribe, so they don’t need to continually check your site for new content. 3. Teaser feeds are a wasted opportunity Users can subscribe in a couple of ways. Usually they can either sign up to receive email notifications or subscribe to an RSS feed. This is a crucial step in engaging readers. That is because users are effectively giving you permission to remind them about your site and brand. However, it is remarkable how many organizations fail to grasp this opportunity. Instead of using the chance to push content to users, they only provide a teaser of blog posts. This means users have to click through to view the whole post. This practice is born out of a false belief that users need to see your site.