Got telepresence?

Fascinating to see this the same week I had a Skype/Go2Meeting Call with Africa...

Even though I am in the business of internet technology, even I am amazed at the rate of change and potential connections globally the future holds.

This week, I had a 6am call with someone who is in Africa. Our goal- to help them more effectively use the internet in growing their audience and business, ultimately use the techonology to serve better.

I'm told that already, over 25% of Africans have a cell phone. Seventy percent of Africans are under the age of 30 years old. The group we are working with have as their vision "The Renaissance of Africa: from subjects to citizens."

Amazing how our firm (a virtual team centered here in little Asheville NC) in the USA can reach and touch and ultimately help bring about positive change to a continent that I have yet to visit. However, I will, some day (God willing) either virtual or in the flesh...

Simply an amazing time to be on the planet, isn't it!?! ;-)

in reference to:

"Because telepresence deliver life like video across distances, making telepresence meetings as similar to live meetings as possible when participants can’t get together face to face – and in today’s economic situation companies continue to trim travel budgets and look for economies wherever they can."
- Telepresence is a Trend to Watch in 2011 | Forrester Blogs (view on Google Sidewiki)

What does "Google Instant" search really mean...

Wondering how Google Instant affects our clients=merchants that depend upon them for significant traffic and revenue...

in reference to:

"“We’re actually predicting what query you’re likely to do and we’re giving you results for that,”"
- Google Speeds Queries With 'Instant' Results - NYTimes.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Mobile Commerce is Happening NOW!

Just a little note to a webinar I did a couple weeks back to an International Audience as a part of the New Life Event! Enjoy!

in reference to: The Planet is Going Mobile, 10 Things You Should Know About how to profit from it! Webinar Replay - Matt Ledford, Fast Pivot (view on Google Sidewiki)

Is multitasking really sapping us of our creativity and focus?

Recently at the office we discussed the possibility of moving all meetings to only Tuesday and Thursday to open Monday/Wed/Fri for focused work and project time.

While it may not always be practical working with those outside our organization, I'm thinking it could be a worthy goal for all our internal/team meetings.

What do you think?

in reference to:

"Multitasking has been stressing me, robbing me of my focus, my productivity, and my appreciation of the beauty of the exact moment I’m experiencing right now, and dammit, I want my brain back!"
- Stubbornella » Blog Archive » Multitasking is killing me (and probably you too) (view on Google Sidewiki)

Lookout Google! First Facebook and Now Twitter Going for the Merchant Purse!

There was a time when Google Adwords and Google SEO were the main game in town when it comes to driving traffic to e-commerce websites.

With tongue firmly in cheek, I predict the days of TOTAL Google dominance are numbered. Here is the hipshot, unshod of why and how here at the end of the day and a little advance scoop on the @earlybird ...

Yahoo! and Bing are looking much stronger together than they did apart.

People are spending a huge percentage of their time online on Facebook.

Now comes the Twitter @earlybird !! It seems Twitter finally has a monetization model that looks a lot like Woot! for everyman. (Given Amazon's purchase of Woot! -might not be a bad idea.)

Now, early adopters shouldn't expect the agency dashboard that Google Provides and could be forced to manage ad campaigns awkwardly with their own personal logins a la Facebook BUT reshaping the incoming traffic pipeline so it is a little less dependent upon Google and more diversified should be a goal of all merchants before the end of Q3! (What if Google pulls another November stunt that crashes your organic rankings to the cellar!? How will social search change your traffic pattern-will they like "like"? )

While merchants must still monitor changes to the google bot, diversifying traffic sources is a key survival tactic for our clients in our ecommerce strategy portfolio.

in reference to:

"What is @earlybird?"
- Twitter Help Center (view on Google Sidewiki)

Haiti Six Months Later...Patchy Progress...

Sadly, the infrastructure and property records challenges hamper rebuilding efforts... Praying for a mild storm season...

Today, on twitter, @worldvision is encouraging discussion around the tag #rememberhaiti.

Still haven't gotten an update on the Orphans in the NYT story... Do you have friends at @unicef or other missions working in Haiti? These orphans need them http://nyti.ms/bDffbE -please RT and update!

in reference to: Reuters AlertNet - Progress on quake recovery patchy in Haiti - aid groups (view on Google Sidewiki)

Help me solve a problem in Haiti?

Wednesday at lunch, I was reading a recent NY Times article on the plight of orphans in Haiti, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/world/americas/06haiti.html

I was burdened by what appeared to be the fact that these children were basically appeared to be falling thru the cracks amidst the flood of international aid.

So, you can’t always believe what you read right? Fact checking in Haiti is probably 100x harder than it is in the USA, right?

What can I do? Tweet. Facebook. Recommend via other NYTimes people that we do the same to call attention to their plight.

My family supports World Vision-mentioned in the article so I went there first. I tagged them both of Facebook and Twitter! The responded in less than 24 hrs:
I also made a new friend Kayann who was also concerned after reading the article! Facebook Profile: http://www.facebook.com/kayann.daley -she also got a gracious response from Lindsey on the World Vision (WV) staff.
Then I thought, well-the journalist who wrote the article might have an update since Wednesday-so I wrote her too:

Then I said-”Who are my friends on twitter who might also know people who can help?” First I thought of Shaun King @shaunking a Pastor in ATL who is taking a team to Haiti in a couple weeks and has been providing tents there thru www.ahomeinhaiti.org since the disaster... Then I tweeted @Oprah...



and so...
I find out that today is Seth Godin’s 50th birthday and he has given it to @Charitywater . So I tagged them both too!

To see if there was any mention of the article, I watched the UNICEF update at:
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/haiti_54239.html but nothing there. Tons of other info though...

Then tagged my buddy Matt Shultie who has an awesome ministry for children called CasaViva! His goal is to see 1 million children will be placed in family based care in Latin America.
And
@BarackObama...

Then I remember that it was really the former President Bill Clinton’s job to represent us there... Evidently he was officiating a wedding ceremony... Yup. Clinton. Wedding ceremony. I tweeted him anyhow and requested to be his ‘friend’.


Then I decided to have Breakfast with my wife as she was having lunch at 2:30pm and see who responds...

New OS without the new phone YET! My three points-Pretty cool!

I really didn't realize how limiting the old iPhone OS was until I upgraded to the new iOS4 on my iPhone 3Gs so here is the short scoop:

Love the folders! I didn't realize how many apps I had that I couldn't see because of the 11 page limit.

Didn't love resetting my ATT voicemail password, but fortunately dialing 611 and navigating the menu got me a pretty easy password reset.

Multitasking-still searching for it, but would love not to have my groove harshed by dropping out of Rhapsody or Pandora or my favorite.

More as time allows, have you found any cool new things with your iPhone?

in reference to:

"Apple has just released the iOS 4 update for iPhone and iPod touch owners. The iPhone 4 might not be in stores until Thursday, but existing owners can take advantage of the new software features coming to the new device starting now."
- iOS 4 Update Has Arrived (view on Google Sidewiki)

More mobile, more social, more real time-are e-retailers ready?

We are also seeing amazing change in the online marketing/ internet retail space!

Customers are local, vocal and social. If you don't believe me, just ask any merchant who has been "flamed" on Yelp.com without recourse to defend themselves against unfair, biased or fraudulent (from competitors) reviews.

Smartphone and mobile shopping is growing exponentially. (If you doubt that-check out the recent Morgan Stanley report.)

Integrated multichannel strategies that manage audience, promotion and source but are open to shopper preference and convenience. Protecting a channel is dead. Online contributes to Brick and mortar and vice versa, merchants must not see these channels as exclusive/competition but as complementary.

in reference to: Holiday 2010 Will Be Business As UnUsual (view on Google Sidewiki)

Quick thoughts on developing a Conflict of Interest Policy...

In the age of Enron and bank bailouts and derivatives , some fear ethics in business are dead.

Here are just a few of our core values...

Trust

Mutual respect

Transparency

Mutual Loyalty... in a world that where churn and burn, wham bam thank you maam are far too common.

When an opportunity arises to serve a competitor in a niche we feel our obligation is to our first client -first.

If the request is similar and them market competitive, our first step is to disclose the nature of our relationship and commitment.

If that disqualifies us for the deal, so be it.

in reference to:

"A conflict of interest can only exist if a person or testimony is entrusted with some impartiality; a modicum of trust is necessary to create it. The presence of a conflict of interest is independent from the execution of impropriety. Therefore, a conflict of interest can be discovered and voluntarily defused before any corruption occurs."
- Conflict of interest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (view on Google Sidewiki)

Got Twitter issues? ;-P gapingvoid gallery

gapingvoid gallery

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Yahoo Store Floating Cart-Just released!

Thanks to the Yahoo Team for this great new feature!

Our clients have seen the benefits of custom floating carts with our customizations before, but now it is easier and more accessible for more stores!

Our initial testing is showing some minor issues with IE, but Yahoo is aware of the issues and is working thru them.

For stores with custom templates and those unfamiliar with CSS, contact www.fastpivot.com for help!

in reference to:

"Using Floating Cart Manager, you can now set up and customize a mini-cart and floating cart for your store pages. These features are designed to keep your customers in the shopping flow until they’re ready to complete their order, which helps optimize their shopping experience and encourages increased order values."
- Official Yahoo! Store Blog tips and tricks for ecommerce success » Introducing Floating Cart Manager (view on Google Sidewiki)

Comparing conversion rates chaps my chaps

This recent Marketing Sherpa chart got my hackles up because it reminded me of so many conversations with newbie etail and ebusiness folks who ask "what should my ideal conversion rate be"?

Jen Doyle's post alludes to the fact that conversion rates are so site specific and 'user defined'...

The main issue isn't comparing conversion rates with other sites but:
Having proper site specific unique conversion events defined,Measured and in a
State of continuous improvement FOR YOUR SITE and business!

Your ideal conversion rate should be something better than your current rate, but isn't really productive to spend much time comparing it to others...

Whew. Had to get that off my chest.

in reference to:

"In analytics, a conversion event is what is known as a user-defined event. In other words, it can be anything you want it to be."
- MarketingSherpa: New Chart: How Do Your Search Conversion Rates Compare? (view on Google Sidewiki)

Masters Athletes Goals: All American Anyone?

It seems that through college, many of us found competing easier and benchmarks closer at hand.

Enter jobs, kids and responsibility and athletic pursuits (and often our own health and fitness) take a priority backseat.

After becoming thirty-something, it is great to rediscover the joys of youth again! (Or at least some of the pursuits of youth!)

Enter USA Track and Field (USATF) and their "age graded standards for long distance running"!

What a hoot it would be to see how many of these marks me and my fitness/triathlon training buddies could achieve in the next five years!?! Any takers? Are you an "All-American"? Check it out! I challenge you to begin where you are and go for it!

in reference to: http://runtrails.blogspot.com/2010/01/hey-masters-runner-are-you-all-american.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

How will America respond and lead in helping, will this be our "finest hour"?

Prayin' for Haiti and all the relief workers being rallied around the globe and their leaders. Heartbreaking tragedy...

May God help us in love and action to help Haiti rise from the ashes and rubble to help be a better place in the aftermath...

in reference to: Haitians Confront Devastation of Quake - NYTimes.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Wondering about exercise nutrition? Great NYT article on the basics!

Seems like in the New Year, everyone is starting or restarting an exercise program. Leslie Bonci in one short Q&A style NYT article packs a lot of good sense into a single article. Her advice on drinking during exercise may bear some individual testing (i.e.) gulps, but aside from that solid counsel reminding folks that ultimately food is fuel for your body, not entertainment. ;-)

in reference to:

"No matter what kind of exercise you do – whether it’s a run, gym workout or bike ride – you need food and water to fuel the effort and help you recover. But what’s the best time to eat before and after exercise?"
- Eating to Fuel Exercise - Well Blog - NYTimes.com (view on Google Sidewiki)