Yoda's Blogby Yoda Cat
Resident yellow tabby and Web 2.0 extraordinaire with luscious green eyes, soft fur and a liking for the nip.
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NYT Confirms Rumors: Users to Pay for Access Facebook: Hide/Unhide Google Annotationsarchive
Feb 2010 Jan 2010 Dec 2009 Nov 2009 Aug 2009 Jul 2009 May 2009 Apr 2009 Mar 2009 Jan 2009 Dec 2008 Nov 2008 Sep 2008 Aug 2008 Jul 2008 May 2008 Apr 2008 Mar 2008 Feb 2008Why B2B Companies Should Pounce into the Social Media Arena
February 05, 2010 - 1:02 PM
There has been a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. The world of business is progressively moving online and getting more social. What does this mean for B2B companies, and is it in their best interest to look into social media?
Looking for an answer, Forester research group released a report in early 2009 with insight into The Social Technographics of Business Buyers. Forrester analysts report that the survey findings were surprising and drove them to the conclusion that B2B marketers lead in social media marketing.
Forrester research group surveyed more than “1200 buyers throughout America and Europe asking not just how people participate in social technologies, but whether they use them to make buying decisions.”
Here’s a quick overview of the findings and they mean for B2B companies according to Forrester’s Groundswell Blog (http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2009/02/new-research-b2.html), the:
- A majority of B2B decision makers were going online to find information, but only 25-30 percent of marketers were using social media themselves.
- B2B business decision makers actively seek out peers online for advice online.
- B2B buyers exceed all previous benchmarks for social participation
- 91% of these B2B decision-makers are social media spectators, meaning they are reading blogs, watching user generated video, and participating in other social media. Note that 69% of them said they were using this technology for business purposes.
- Only 5% are non-participants (Inactives).
- 55% of these decision-makers were in social networks despite as mature businesspeople and not college students; you'd think they'd be participating a lot less.
- 43% are creating media (blogs, uploading videos or articles, etc.) and 58% are Critics, reacting to content they see in social formats. Again the numbers are very high compared to other groups we've surveyed, and again the level of participation for business purposes is also very high.
So, what does this mean for you?
- There has been a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. The world of business is progressively moving online and getting more social.
- Buyers in the B2B area are one of the most social groups around, based on their activity on social media sites.
- B2B decision makers are going online to find information and they’re searching beyond your Web site
- There is always a consumer on the other end of B2B and he wants to feel engaged
- If you’re a B2B marketer and you’re not using social technologies in your marketing strategy, you’re ignoring a cost efficient method of engaging directly with your audience, which includes current and prospective customers
What’s the point?
Social media tools can keep you ahead of the curve with the rapid changes in communications and how those changes impact your industry.
Chris Brogan said it best on his site (http://www.chrisbrogan.com) allow me to paraphrase - Many B2B companies firms dedicate entire business development teams to the role of “being there” before the sale and dedicate standard CRM practices for “being there” during and after the sale. There is also typically dedicated sales team members who rely on one-on-one interaction to get customers to sign on the dotted line. Through social media, B2B companies have the ability to translate these same practices into an online environment and utilize their online efforts as another way to be there before, during and after the sale.
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NYT Confirms Rumors: Users to Pay for Access
January 20, 2010 - 3:35 PM
Although the news broke over the past weekend, this morning NYT officially confirmed it will start charging for access to its Web site in 2011. Per the short and sweet press release:
"The new approach, referred to as the metered model, will offer users free access to a set number of articles per month and then charge users once they exceed that number. This will enable NYTimes.com to create a second revenue stream and preserve its robust advertising business. It will also provide the necessary flexibility to keep an appropriate ratio between free and paid content and stay connected to a search-driven Web."
Over the past years, print publications have downsized, conducted layoffs, condenced beats, moved towards more online features and some have folded. It's well-known that print newspaper circulation is declining. In fact, the decline in print newspaper circulation began to accelerate in late 2003, and has only grown deeper accoring to the State of the Media (2009).
Poynter Online released the memo NYT execs sent to staff today, providing insight into the situation and how it is being handeled by the head haunchos at NYT.
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January 19, 2010 - 12:00 PM
The hide button on facebook is a wonderful thing. It presents Facebook lovers with a wonderful choice – the option to not see everything that everyone is talking about per status updates.
We all have friends on Facebook from whom we don’t want to receive constant updates– same thing goes for all of those darn applications. But, you don’t want to unfriend people, because that just makes you look bad.
So, we use the hide button. But, what happens when you accidently hide someone when you didn’t mean to, or you want to give someone another chance to impress you with their status updates?
You need to unhide…
- Click on Home
- Scroll to the bottom of the page
- Select Edit Options on the right side of the page
- Unhide people!
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December 29, 2009 - 4:20 PM
This December, Google made our dreams come true with the announcement of Google Annotations.
We’ve been wishing, and hoping, and thinking, and praying, and planning, and dreaming for this day to come, and while it’s not 100% live yet, Google assures us they are rolling it out to users as we speak. The initial roll out will be complete in mid-January of 2010.
What does this mean for you? If you track your site through Google Analytics -- and we think you should-- you may find yourself at a loss when trying to recall exactly which actions caused lulls or spikes in Web site traffic. The days of hassling your colleagues and digging through your e-mails for the answer is over… the answer is Google Annotations.
Through this new feature, users can write notes/details right on the analytical report, such as tracking marketing initiatives, reporting when servers went down, the launch of a new campaign or logging when you posted XYZ blog entry. Simply enter your notes once and they are available to share with everyone who has access to your account. Now, there is no excuse not to remember what happened on a specific day.
This means bigger and better things for your Web site. You’ll save time, money and you’ll have all of the information in one place! Now you’ll be able to focus on other things instead of researching and tracking down what happened a month, a quarter or a year ago.
Don’t have Google Analytics yet? Contact our resident Search Engine Marketing expert, David Hejduk: 816.872.3825 or david@rivercitystudio.com.
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December 22, 2009 - 11:23 AM
The studio human's are talking about the holiday's again, and I've been informed that it's just about Christmas time, which means: PEACE AND QUIET AT THE STUDIO!
The human's say they'll come back twice a day to give me my pills... come on guys, can't a cat get a Christmas break around here? I sure hope they get too busy or forget.
While the studio humans are gone for the holidays, I will enjoy a little quality time with Melia. Just kidding, we don't do that.
Here are our real holiday plans:
Christmas Eve Eve
Everyone leaves the office. I act sad and pathetic to make them think I will miss them. Melia crawls around whining, and I sleep in Becky's chair to avoid her shamless plea for attention.
8 am to 6pm: Sleep
6pm to 11pm: Roam office and mess with stuff
Christmas Eve
9 am: wake up when someone comes to feed me and give me my kitty pills
9:15 am: run away when someone trys to actually give me the pills
9:45 am: eat
9:45 -7 pm: sleep
7 pm: wake up when someone comes to give me my kitty pills
7:15 pm: run away!
7:30-12am: Plan my sneak attack on Santa and fall asleep in the process
Christmas Day
1am to 1:05am: Eat the cookies I left for Santa before Melia gets them
1:05-1:10: Pounce on Santa!
1:05am to 9am: Roll in the nip Santa left for me. maybe fall asleep in it
9am to 9:05am: Explore different places and positions to sleep in the office - Scotty's desk, Becky's chair, window sill... floor
9:05 to 9:06am: Pounce on Melia when she's not looking
9:06 to 9:07am: Get hit by Melia for no reason
9:07 to 11am: Look out the window, maybe fall asleep on the window sill
11am to 2pm: Meow at different objects to see if they are alive, maybe roll in some nip
2pm to 4pm: Feel the Christmas spirit
4pm to 12am: Sleep
This kind of peace and quiet only comes once a year! Enjoy yourselves this holiday season, and MEOWWWWY Christmas from the RCS cats.
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December 17, 2009 - 10:39 AM
Here at River City, we always talk about things being “above” or “below the fold” in a Web site's layout.
Have you ever wondered… what about the right side? Why not “to the right of the fold?” Where exactly is the fold anyway, and what percentage of Web users are actually aware of this? Why do we care so much about the fold?
Loosely translated from Wikipedia: "Above the fold" is a graphic design and Web development concept. The phrase refers to anything that is visible on a Web site without scrolling. Some have suggested that this term is inaccurate as screen sizes vary greatly between users, especially in an era in which Web sites are frequently viewed with mobile devices.
Google launched a really fun tool today that uses an overlay of the data of the screen sizes of the people who visit www.google.com (which, by the way, is a nice, representative sample of nearly everybody out there) to show you what is visible on your own Web site.
For example, we took the opportunity to try it out on one of our client's Web sites, Oncimmune. The tool shows us that the homepage works perfectly well for 90% of Web users, and the secondary pages work perfectly well for 90% of Web users. Good to know!
See if your site makes the grade. Check it out: http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/
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How to Create a Fan Page on Facebook
December 01, 2009 - 9:55 AM
How to Create a Fan Page on Facebook:
Think it's about time to look into a Facebook Fan Page for your company, business or organization?
Before getting started, take a peak at the process and do a little research to see if a Fan Page is right for you.
According to Facebook, here is the official definition: “A Facebook Page is a public profile that enables you to share your business and products with Facebook users.”
Through a Fan Page, you can encourage your customers and audience to interact with your page and show their support as “fans.” The more fans that interact with your page, the more opportunities your business has to generate interesting social stories that can spread virally through Facebook. A Facebook Page thus provides you with powerful ways to generate awareness, connect with your customers and build relationships.
Is a Fan Page Right for You? See What Others Have to Say About the Opportunities:
Getting Started:
- Visit: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
- Select the appropriate category
- Name your page, keeping in mind that this is permanent – so pick wisely. Don’t try to be too creative, if you are creating a page for a restaurant, the name should be the restaurant’s name. People want to follow you because you are you, so be clear and concise.
- Select a profile photo and upload the image. The photo of graphic should represent you or the entity for which you are creating the page.
- Add information: details help people to connect and engage with the fan page efficiently – the more you can provide, the more successful your page will be.
- Applications: there are a variety of applications you can use to make your fan page more efficient. Look around other pages to get an idea of the application you would like to use.
- Engage: Use your page to engage with those in the local community, your audience, targets and customers.
- Update: Update regularly to keep your fans engaged and interacting with the page
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November 24, 2009 - 10:27 AM
'Twas the night before Traffic, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even my mouse.
The code was all working, written with care,
In hopes that a quiet night soon would be here.
The other programmers were all snug in their beds,
While visions of velociraptors danced in their heads.
As my code was compiling itself in a snap,
I settled down for a quick winter's nap,
When out in the stacks there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the servers I flew like a flash,
Tore down the hallways and jumped in the stacks.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a pesky window screaming “Error, Error!”
Boxes were beeping and screens were flashing,
And I knew client sites must be crashing.
More rapid than eagles my curses they came,
And I stomped, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now Linux! Now Ajax! Now Flash and Apache!
On CSS! On Windows! On Flex and PHP!
To the back of the room and the top of the wall,
I swear, I swear I will smash you all!"
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each furry hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the hallway Yoda cat came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And he was all tarnished with ashes and soot.
Shocked, I asked him; “Just where have you been?!”
“Rolling in the nip,” he said with a grin.
He had a mischievous face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was frisky and snarky, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon showed me that I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
Typed like the wind and then turned with a jerk,
And laying his hand on my shoulder, he said;
I’m smarter than you, so go back to bed.”
But I heard him exclaim, as he headed into the night,
"Happy Traffic to all, and to all a good Site!"
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August 01, 2009 - 7:39 AM
I can't tell you how much I've looked forward to this weekend. Typically I much prefer the weekdays, where I am petted, brushed, coddled and generally adored by all who reside and visit the studio. But this week – oh, so much activity!
Deb was doing her usual rushing around the studio, I heard the term "review" repeated daily and the humans would leave by twos for an hour or so, then reappear. "Focus" was also a much repeated word this week. Everyone seemed to be in "focus" with headphones on, determined looks upon their faces and from what I observed, very intent on the business at hand. This "focus time" severely limited the attention I typically receive. The "nip" was not nearly as generous as usual and the brushings were far less.
"What's going on," you ask? Well, it seems we have several large and important projects that involve a blood test for the early detection of lung cancer, DNA testing for law enforcement agencies around the country, a ground-breaking at the Central Baptist Theological Seminary and an art exhibit by some guy named Warhol.
All this activity has completely wore me out. So I'm basking today in the quiet. I know this solitude will end all too soon.
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Not Nap Time, Not Nip Time... It's Business Time
July 16, 2009 - 1:40 PM
Deb keeps waking me up from my early morning, midmorning, noon, afternoon and snack time naps… just to tell me how important it is for businesses to have an active presence online. Today, she even used the phrase “critical to success” Now, I’m not sure what that means – but it sounds serious! So, I got up off of my napping spot on the floor, put down the nip, put on my business hat and put the studio troops into action!
The studio is full of talent and I’m sending them out on a mission to educate. That’s right; I’m putting the experts to work.
07/24/09: 3:00-4:30 p.m. FREE SEO/social media class w/Susan and David*
08/26/09: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Social media class w/Susan**
1:00 - 4:30 p.m. SEO class w/David**
09/14/09: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Free SEO/social media class w/Susan and David*
10/15/09: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. SEO class w/David**
1:00 - 4:30 p.m. Social media class w/Susan**
And now with all that done, I'm taking this business hat off and putting the catnip hat back on.
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