The Power of Women on the Web

If you market to women and you haven’t stepped up your social media game.. then you’re missing out BIG TIME. A recent study shows 42 million US women participate in social media at least weekly. Blog have been found to be most influential.

Plainly put – more time with social media means less with more traditional formals like newspapers, magazines and TV.
Of course, the flight from traditional media to social media has been reported before but this new study by Blogher, the women’s blog network – digs even deeper into the trend.

Reveal #1: Social Networks Like Facebook Get the Most Usage
More women use social networks like Facebook and MySpace than anything else, with blogs their second choice.

Reveal #2: Blogs Wield the Widest Influence
It’s not just about how much time is spent in an activity, it’s what women do in that activity. Blogs have been found to influence purchases by women.

Reveal #3: Women Look to Blogs for Business, Politics, Cars and Technology
Women are more likely to go to social networks for beauty, entertainment and dating advice. But for the majority of other categories they look to blogs.

Depending on the nature of your business, it might be worth it to focus on Facebook or MySpace. But for most things, such as if you are in a B2B business or selling technology, blogs could give you more influence.

Read the entire survey, which you can download here.

Top Ten Iphone Apps for Neophytes

One million and still counting. Apple’s new Iphone is flying off the shelf just as fast as it can count.

I gave up my Blackberry for the new phone and I’m thrilled with everything my Iphone can do. The first step for me was to weed through the thousands of Iphone Apps and pick the best ones to download.

Here’s a list of the first 10 to call my Iphone home and they’re all FREE!

1. Pandora. Internet radio at its finest! Create your own playlists. Search an artists’ name and Pandora find other artists with similar music.
2. Google Search. Voice activated search.
3. Reqall. It’s a To Do list that is synchronized on every computer you use
4. Twitteriffic. Mobile Twittering.
5. Instapaper. Saves web articles for later perusing
6. Flashlight. Use the light on the screen to illuminate locks at night.
7. i.TV. Mobile Movie, DVD and TV Guide. It will also manage your Netflix list.
8. Evernote. Jot notes that can be synced on your other computers.
9. Wordpress. For blogging on the go.
10. BeamMe. Send your Vcard to anyone’s email or web phone.

Of course you’ll add other apps. And if you’re like me you’ll be up to 7 pages of apps in no time flat. No worries.. Apple will help you get personal with your Iphone. And believe me.. whatever your pleasure, need, desire or slightest whim.. there’s an app for that.

No Social Media RSVP Required.. for now

Social networking has exploded. According to a recent report by Nielsen Online, the time that people in the U.S. spend on social network sites is up 83 percent from a year ago. If the law of supply and demand holds true – is limited access in social media’s future? I’m talking invite only – Not sites you pay for.. ie: subscription services like Classmates.com ~ I’m talking invite only.. pre-screening.. the whole kit and caboodle.

Right now.. it’s mostly No RSVP needed. Not only can you join MySpace, Facebook.. or even Twitter in the blink of an eye.. a good number of users have several accounts. There are no rigid screening procedures. Aside from that computer generated gaggle of letters and/or numbers ~ In just a few moments you’re up and running doing the social network thing.

Social media has opened up a whole new world for businesses and self promoters. But like anything on the Internet, there’s always someone trying to one up.. or put a different spin on something. Enter Members Only Social Networking sites.

A growing number of invite and profession only sites like are popping up on the web. Sites like LawLink for Legal experts, attorneys, and support staff, and Sermo for physicians. It's designed specifically for physicians and lets members discuss medical cases and compare opinions. Sermo doesn't charge the doctors, but it does charge journalists seeking medical answers and companies looking for physician endorsements.

Social Media expert Chris Brogan says it’s called Velvet Roping and predicts that we will see more of these sites in the future. Brogan says “on these sites there’s no chatting and you don’t have to worry about people trying to sell you ebooks.”

So - if you hate to see those folks whisk by you in line.. then prepare yourself for possibly being whisked by online.

Why traditional media will survive the Social Media Age

Traditional media is immersed in a war like none it’s ever known ~ as Social media networking sites expand and flaunt ridiculous user numbers. Sites enjoy a ready made audience at their beck and call,But – it’s not over for traditional media.. not yet.

TV

You won’t hear it from them, but the recession has hit local TV networks hard. Layoffs by the droves, forced unpaid vacations, pooling resources, wage and hiring freezes.. all moves to stay a float in as shaky an economy as an Executive can remember. TV stations know the power of the media.. So you won’t hear their woes and concerns broadcast on their early am or evening shows. No way. Stations will keep on chugging along finding ways to cut the proverbial dollar in half and still look like their spending a buck fifty.

But, despite the troubled economy, most advertisers are not drastically cutting their national TV ad budgets for next season. TV stations are cross promoting online in hopes of reaching out and touching audiences. They hope to get local viewers involved in their newscasts. At the same time driving them to their sites and promising in depth looks "tonight at 5!" TV.. will continue to make its money ~ as long as they can continue to be creative.

RADIO

The radio business has been struggling lately, to say the least. Traditional, terrestrial radio hasn't found a way to successfully box out competition from Sirius XM Satellite, internet streaming radio, iPods, and other sources. Plus fewer people are in their cars driving to work lately, so the ratings numbers are down. Not to mention the monotonous nature of much of today's music. It's no surprise, then, that the radio advertising business recently saw its worst quarter in history. The Radio Advertising Bureau says combined national and local ad spending dropped 26% to $2.8 billion during the last quarter. The one silver lining was digital platforms including online, streaming, and HD Radio, which collectively saw revenue jump 13%.
Traditional radio is all but dead. Too much competition. Recession will kill the radio star but online radio comes to the rescue.

NEWSPAPERS

The fishwraps.. hmmmm. These dudes have been waving the white flag like crazy. Recanting their “woe is me tales” to counterparts – who are all equally eager to share recession tales. Just like TV, Newspapers are pairing down staffing and forcing employees to multitask and taking on greater responsibilities for the same or less pay. The reason why Newspapers devote a good junk of media space to detailing its “fall from glory” is simple: they’re hoping for someone.. anyone to save them from an inevitable demise. Kindle won’t save the newspaper industry. Don’t get me wrong.. The big dogs are in it for the long haul. The little dogs however ~ may need to switch gears. It will simply be difficult to charge readers for something they used to get for free or extremely cheap. When newspapers made the leap online years ago, they neglected to put much effort into developing revenue sources from online content. Not that it’s too late now.. But it won’t be the same.. Especially when the advertising dollar is harder to come by. As I mentioned, the tried and true will find ways to partner with digital media without losing dignity. On a brighter note – a new study shows that print media drives online leads. So - if you're looking to sell advertising... pick up your local paper and get to cold calling!

MAGAZINES

What recession?? Despite drops in subscription rates, new magazines are being launched every other week. But.. the focus is different. As the economy lurches, glossy magazines scramble to downsize a luxury-living message for an anxious readership.. urging subscribers to save money and offering ways to handle the recession. Unlike newspapers – magazines have tried to hold on to its content by offering single articles or short stories online – merely to promote what’s in the mag. But face it… even in more prosperous times, for the vast majority of readers of fashion rags, pawing through pages of pictures of wait-listed handbags and "architectural shoes" has always been pure fantasy, not akin to shopping in a catalog. Look for more Editorial/Advertising pieces as magazines look for ways to sneak attach promote its sponsors.

Bottom line.. nearly anyone can promote a product or even themselves online via social media networking sites. Everyone’s a star. But the credibility comes from TV, Mags and Newspapers. That’s where you stand out. Promoting your business, product, book or yourself on TV or in Magazines is the goal of most entrepreneurs. Twitter is a prime example. With all the juice this site has – your first big advertising thought is to take your show on the road and land on a TV network?? Wow.

Another added plus for TV is that unlike social media IT ACTUALLY IS SOCIAL. Coming together for MNF.. Olympics.. Superbowls.. Boxing matches.. major news events. When's the last time you invited 5 people over to watch you tweet?

Sure there will always be some cross promotion and blurring of the lines, traditional media is here to stay ~ on one site or another.

Social Life meets the After Life

Forget thinking about staying connected in your Social Media Life or even your “Second Life” ~ what about your After Life??

Dozens of new companies are offering services such as virtual cemeteries where guests can visit and e-mail alerts set up by funeral homes to remind relatives of the anniversary of a loved one’s death.

Some companies even offer to e-mail your estranged relatives when your time draws near.. in hopes of a reconciliation before you make it to the Pearly Gates.

This all sounds pretty morbid to me ~ but the popularity of the services show a growing generation of funeral customers who refuse to let death have the last word.

Baby boomers along with the X, Y and Me generation are knee deep in social media.. so why shouldn’t they take their social life to the next life??

John McQueen, owner of the Anderson McQueen funeral home, says "People have a desire to perpetuate not only for themselves, but for their loved ones, the story of their lives, and technology has all these new great ways of doing that."
Technology now means a funeral merely begins a new virtual afterlife. And entrepreneurial companies are right there to make that happen.

Los Angeles-based EternalSpace.com launched its Web site in March, offering a variety of virtual scenic locations online for a person's final resting place: A "Zen Garden," a "Lake View," a "Tropical Valley" and other options.

Sold directly through funeral homes, the service allows a person or relatives to establish a pastoral grave site and add digital amenities such as the image of a park bench or mausoleum.

Once there, visitors can purchase items to leave behind, such as flowers, religious icons and other trinkets symbolically important to the deceased, such as golf clubs, a horse saddle, a piano or trees that can grow over time. Prices for each range from $5 to $35 apiece.

If these afterlife entrepreneurs have anything to do with it.. there's no reason to stop interacting online simply because you're six feet under.

Twitter expands to Network and Cable TV

Even more proof that Twitter has changed the face of social networking, cable execs have been aggressively exploring plans to harvest some Tweet power of their own.

Entertainment network, “E!” will offer up 140 character chunks from a number of celebrities in the news crawl at the bottom of the screen during its programming.

Most networks and local tv stations have been making official announcements via the service and encouraging Anchors and Reporters to tweet.

Celebrity Tweeters, however, have been the ones to give Twitter it’s biggest boost. Analysts say, after media maven Oprah Winfrey sent her first tweet during a live broadcast, Twitter saw its share of U.S. Internet visits increase by a remarkable 24 percent.

Oprah's decision to join the Twitterati follows on the heels of (and may have been inspired by) a well-publicized contest between actor Ashton Kutcher and CNN to see which could be the first to cross the million-follower mark. Much to the chagrin of the media outlet, Kutcher prevailed, but most observers expect Oprah to stay hot on his heels in followers.

E! will also feature a “Celebri-Tweet” widget on its homepage keeping users up to date on what the celebrity Twitterati are tweeting.

Twitter is also being used as a new revenue stream. Networks are creating widgets, on their websites and selling advertising against them, collecting easy cash from user generated content.

All proof positive of how powerful Twitter will become in the world of social networking.

McAfee is on the Cyber Criminal Case

Virus and Internet protector McAfee wants to take its cyberworld security a step further. The company premiered a new campaign designed to increase awareness about Identity theft. The effort includes an episodic Web documentary that chronicles just how pervasive the problem of cybercrime has become.

The film, developed jointly by Omnicom agencies DDB West and Tribal DDB San Francisco, is entitled "H*Commerce. The Business of Hacking You."
The term H*Commerce stands for Hacker Commerce, defined as the business of making money (and comprising personal and business data) through illegal use of technology.

The film follows the personal story of Janella Spears, who lost more than $440,000 in an elaborate email scam, and the effect the cybercrime had on her marriage and life. The film also includes input from experts, former hackers and cyber forensic experts to add context and perspective. (In one sequence in the first episode, cyber forensic expert Chris Roberts shows how he can hack into all sorts of Bluetooth-enabled devices while driving down the freeway.)

Shot by Seth Gordon (who directed the documentary "The King of Kong -- A Fistful of Quarters," the film is broken into six segments, which will be posted every two weeks over a 12-week period at www.StopHCommerce.com.

While the site includes information about McAfee and its suite of protection products, the main goal of the effort is to educate consumers about the issue.

George Gougion, Managing Director of Triball DDB says. "It got to the point where they could continue to put out ads, but they realized they needed to expand the conversation and drive the category," he says. "They're really focused on the big picture. People aren't aware of what could happen."

The site will be promoted through an extensive online and social media campaign that will include banner ads and trailers. The company is also hitting New York and San Francisco with a poster campaign that features artwork similar to the one-sheets created by Saul Bass for Alfred Hitchcock. The out-of-home campaign will contain a mobile code in which people can view trailers and receive updates on their mobile devices.

The online component, will appear on sites such as Hulu, ABC.com, NBC.com, CBS.com, NYTimes.com, Forbes.com and wired.com. Hulu.com will also feature the episodes in its documentary channel.

McAfee's global fight against cybercrime is already underway.. new episodes will appear bi-weekly.