EvoBloggito

Information R/evolution

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Mar 4, 2009; Category: Business, Information Architecture, Video, Zeitgeist; Tags: Change, Future, Information Architecture; No Comments

Another excellent video from Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University, this one describing changes in the way we "find, store, create, critique, and share information."

Evolution of the Web

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Feb 20, 2009; Category: Video, Zeitgeist; Tags: Change, Education, Future, New Rules, Web-based Applications; No Comments

The Machine is Us/ing Us
Found this video on a social media site I belong to; it’s different than an older video I remember with a similar name. It’s a bit melodramatic, but it provides a reasonable overview of how the web has evolved from static content inseparable from format, to database-driven content separate from form.

Lessons from General Custer: Why Should You Have a Business Blog?

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Feb 3, 2009; Category: Business, Marketing, Zeitgeist; Tags: Blogging, Change, Economy, Marketing; 4 Comments

There’s much talk and growing evidence that businesses that blog are realizing business benefits, including increased sales. Most business owners I talk to, however, are hesitant. They’ve heard about the "next big thing" before, so they’re not ready to get excited about blogging, and they have business to tend to. Their lack of excitement often takes hold after I’ve explained that it may take 6-12 months for blogging benefits to accrue to their bottom line if they do it well, which includes an 8-12 hr/week time commitment. If the results aren’t instantaneous, why bother?

I’m reminded of the classic cartoon [apologies to my Native American friends] in which a machine gun salesman is rebuffed by General Custer amid incoming arrows, saying "Can’t you see I’m too busy to talk right now?" What would you expect of a man who wore his hat so that the first wind that came along would send it flying? This is not a guy who focused on what was important.

The marketing landscape is shifting, or has already shifted, depending on who you talk to. Traditional "outbound" marketing—which includes print advertising, telemarketing, radio and television advertising, direct mail, email blasts, and non-interactive websites—are increasingly being ignored by consumers. Outbound marketing can still work if done effectively, but not to the degree it used to. When was the last time you opened a direct mail ad to see what the offer was? Or sat through the 10 minutes of commercials that accompany a 20-minute TV program? Or read a newspaper ad? You may have done some of those things recently, but if you’re like most people, you’re doing them a lot less than you did 5 or 10 years ago.

People have other options for finding information when they’re ready to buy. For an increasing number of people, their first step in a purchase is Google. If they’re looking for a book, which they can buy online, they probably won’t add a city to their search. But if they’re looking for a woodstove, they probably will. If you’re a local merchant who sells woodstoves and your website has a lot of recently added and updated content on woodstoves, you’re going to show up high in the search results. If you’re a local merchant who sells woodstoves and have a website with little useful information that hasn’t been updated since it was launched 5 years ago, or if you don’t have a website at all, you’re not going to have an opportunity to make the sale.

Increasingly, successful local businesses are the ones who are "findable" on the Internet. Becoming more findable on the Internet is sometimes referred to as "inbound" marketing. Blogging and other inbound marketing activities, accompanied by very basic Search Engine Optimization, are a proven way of raising the findability of your business and, by the way, they cost much less than outbound marketing. Let me help you pull that arrow out of your back (hold still!), then we really should talk about your business and how blogging can help it thrive.

Book Review: Stories that Sell by Casey Hibbard

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Jan 25, 2009; Category: Book Review, Marketing; Tags: Business, Case Studies, Change, Marketing; No Comments

I’ve known Casey Hibbard for approximately five years, and have provided web design/development services for her. She has written some case studies, or "success stories" as she prefers, for my company. She’s smart and has a lot of integrity, and I was thrilled when she told me she was writing a book about how to create and use success stories in marketing. The book was recently released, and Casey sent me a copy.

The first thing I’m struck with, in a quick perusal of the book, is its breadth and depth. Virtually no aspect of case studies is left untouched, from planning to getting customer permission, to research, to interviewing, to writing stories that get people’s attention, to how to use the stories in your marketing efforts, and a lot more I’ve left out for the sake of brevity. To call the book a "complete guide" isn’t hype, just a simple statement of fact.

On closer reading, I’m even more impressed at the amount and character of useful information provided. I’m beginning to understand how success stories are a natural outcome of relationship marketing, and how they’re complimentary to social media marketing. A light bulb has been switched on and, for me, that’s the test of a good and useful business book.

Whether you’re a writer looking for ways to incorporate case studies into your bag of tricks or a business owner, this book provides the why, the what, and the how for using stories from satisfied customers to attract new business. And in times like these, that’s really valuable stuff. If you’re a business owner, get the book and read it. If you’re not a writer, hire one and insist they read it before crafting some success stories for you. Or better yet, hire Casey and work with the "Success Stories Guru" herself (my label for her, not hers).

The Pace of Change: What's it Mean?

Author: Ray Gulick; Published: Jan 7, 2009; Category: Video, Zeitgeist; Tags: Change, Education, Future; No Comments

Many of you may have seen this. It’s a 2009, Americanized update of a video from mid-2007, originally produced for a British audience.

What’s it mean? That’s the question left hanging at the end of the video. Share your thoughts.