#FollowFriday: 03/04/11

Posted on March 4, 2011 by

#FFI’m continuing my Twitter #FF blog post! By taking my “FollowFriday” recommendation in a different direction, my intent is to promote personal/professional branding and make it quick and easy to scan info about each Tweeple I follow and find value in every week. Thank you for your posts!!

Perhaps there’s an SEO benefit for each, too :-)

Automotive Gurus

  1. Adam Boalt
    1. Description: Interactive Strategy, User Experience, Search Marketing, Search Optimization and Social Media enthusiast – large focus on Automotive Dealer industry ~ GOSO.com.
    2. Recent Post: 5 Metrics to Measure Effectiveness of Social Media Customer Service http://ow.ly/47zuQ
    3. Website: http://www.boalt.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @boalt
  2. AutomotiveSEO/ Brian Pasch
    1. Description: Internet Marketing and Social Media for Car Dealers
    2. Recent Post: Take a look at the speakers that are confirmed to participate in the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp – http://goo.gl/bTjx4 #ambc
    3. Website: http://www.dealer-seo.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @AutomotiveSEO
  3. Driving Sales/ Jared Hamilton
    1. Description: 3rd Gen Dealer, Founder DrivingSales.com & Super Dad.
    2. Recent Post: Embracing Automotive Mobile Marketing in Car Dealerships http://bit.ly/fJhbNr
    3. Website: http://www.drivingsales.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @DrivingSales

Fabulous Females

  1. Howell Marketing/ Amy D. Howell
    1. Description: TN Social Media, Howell Marketing Strategies CEO: (PR, Mktg, SM) Memphis SMC; Emerge Bd; Wife, Mom; TN River Rat, Grateful; Listed: Twitter Badass
    2. Recent Post: “@sueyoungmedia: 10 everyday decisions for social media success. bit.ly/hU56cM
    3. Website: http://howell-marketing.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @HowellMarketing
  2. Kendra Ramirez
    1. Description: Passionate about helping businesses leverage social media with proven strategies since 2005.
    2. Recent Post: The Three Most Compelling Questions for Sales: Video Blog: Good salespeople have figured out that the most effec… http://bit.ly/h3NTrw
    3. Website: http://www.acceleratedbr.com
    4. Twitter Profile:  @KendraRamirez
  3. Amber Cadabra / Amber Naslund
    1. Description: VP Social Strategy for @Radian6. Author. Constructive heretic. Pragmatist. Musician. Mom. Intellectual adventurer. Bibliophile. Word nerd. Opinions are my own.
    2. Recent Post: I feel this idea for a book rattling around in my brain. But it’s all blurry. And I am impatient.
    3. Website: http://brasstackthinking.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @AmberCadabra

New Media Dayton

  1. Rob Bunting
    1. Description: The Internet marketing Czar of Cincinnati & Dayton, provide website marketing strategy, PPC, SEO and banner campaign management.
    2. Recent Post: Google CEO: Mobile Growing Faster Than “All Our Predictions” [VIDEO] mashable.com/2011/02/28/sch… via @mashable Great summary of trends.
    3. Website: http://www.calltheczar.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @robbunting
  2. Kevin Gerrior
    1. Description: Technology Evangelist Empowering Individuals, Schools, Companies and Churches
    2. Recent Post: @THiNQEd Exciting Day #ncce2011. Visit booth 601 and learn how #journie can help you engage with today’s digital natives http://ow.ly/47kn7
    3. Website: http://www.kevingerrior.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @KevinGerrior
  3. GoApril/ April Mescher
    1. Description: Organizer of ZipSetGo.com’s Travelers’ Night In(#TNI)Meeting & Event Travel Executive & Enthusiast,  Gardener, Camper
    2. Recent Post: RT @ZipSetAndrea: Travel Habits are hard to break – new blog by @GoApril: Travel Ticks http://shar.es/3AgoR #travel #lp
    3. Website: http://www.ZipSetGo.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @GoApril
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#FollowFriday

Posted on February 25, 2011 by

I’m trying something new for #FF on Twitter and see how it goes. I’m taking the “follow” part in a different direction by leveraging the concept of 3. Not sure if it will work but I’ll never know unless I try, right? So here it goes!


Automotive Gurus

  1. Brent Wees
    1. Description: Senior Account Director at Dashboard/GloveBox, passionate about digital automotive marketing and my client’s best interests. Veg who likes the ska music…
    2. Latest Post: Brent’s Automotive Daily is out! http://bit.ly/g3uVuy ▸ Top stories today via @asianmartin @dpete4 @mr2pritch @toyota_europe @chriscoole
    3. Website: http://brentwees.posterous.com/
    4. Twitter Profile: @brentwees
  2. Eric Miltsch
    1. Description: Shiny beacon of Internet intelligence mixed w/my crap. Smile, its good for you. #LBS Pro. Made @CarZar_app ‘Net guy @AuctionDirect
    2. Latest Post: Coolest Fn People I’ve Met IRL is out! http://bit.ly/fS1VtJ ▸ Top stories today via @markfrisk @jolynnevalerie
    3. Website: http://WhatDidEricSay.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @emiltsch
  3. Velocity Sales/ Ed Brooks
    1. Description: Ed Brooks – Sales Director at vAuto. Specializing in Automotive Internet Marketing. Helping Dealers Sell More Cars with Real Data in Real Time.
    2. Latest Post: Google’s Wizard Of Oz Search Algorithm And The Threat Of Facebook Search via @TechCrunch http://tcrn.ch/eYBSR0
    3. Website: http://www.linkedin.com/in/edbrookscarguy
    4. Twitter Profile: @VelocitySales

Fabulous Females

  1. She’s Next / Hana Kamm
    1. Description: Get inspired. Uncover your passion. Achieve happiness. Unlock mental barriers. Create success as YOU define it. And much much more!
    2. Latest Post: 3 Ways to Be More Confident Every Day via @AlexisWolfer at @ShesNext http://goo.gl/FH1qE
    3. Website: www.ShesNext.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @shesnext
  2. She Speaks Now
    1. Description: Get more grrrl power on #Twitter. Inspiring, fun, cool & controversial quotes by women. You don’t have 2 b famous 2 have wisdom worth sharing. Share yours!
    2. Latest Post: “We’re all operating from a baseline of love or fear. Which will you chose?” ~ @yogahopesue #quote #quotes #SQN
    3. Website: www.amazingwomenrock.com
    4. Twitter Profile:  @shespeaksnow
  3. Suuper G / Gina Stark
    1. Description: Voracious Tweeter & Peace-Monger I ♥ travel dance hiking food causes friends photography +. Freelance blogger. Caution: I make up words! Twitter Badass #BA75
    2. Latest Post: #Environment Clinton: Too much ethanol could spark food riots (AP) http://ow.ly/1buVXj
    3. Website: http://gitanablog.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @SuuperG

New Media Dayton

  1. Scott Sliver
    1. Description: The voice of I Love Dayton! ExecDir of The Hope Foundation of Greater Dayton, pastor at the Vineyard… and New Media Enthusiast with a degree in advertising!
    2. Latest Post: My Thursday morning —> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2YtvL99A4M @Hope4Dayton @ShanaDouglas @carlaweishale @dogwalkblog @hardlynormal
    3. Website: Facebook Video
    4. Twitter Profile: @ScottSliver
  2. Carole Baker
    1. Description: Social Marketing Strategies for Businesses | Founder of New Media Dayton | Do what you love & you’ll never work a day in your life!
    2. Latest Post: @DrGoffe <—– best chiropractor in midwest! Good mornin Dr G.
    3. Website: http://OhSocial.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @Carole_Baker
  3. Rick Cartwright
    1. Description: Executive with a passion for innovation, technology (gadgets), new media, leadership, and family.
    2. Latest Post: 2011 Most Influential Women in Technology | Fast Company – http://ow.ly/42usz
    3. Website: http://www.rickcartwright.com
    4. Twitter Profile: @RickCartwright
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Twitter Group Building Strategy

Posted on February 25, 2011 by

What’s the general rule for creating a Twitter following and building your Twitter group?

Follow someone or a business and they will follow you back. My rule of thumb is a little different. Why? Because I want to follow those of interest, provide value and are consistent (yet fun!). I scan Tweets throughout the day and want to maximize my time reading the contributions of my group so I can learn, think and apply.  So, here it goes!

In building my Twitter group, I consider 5 things before I follow:

  1. Description of the person or business uses
  2. Date of the most recent post
  3. Frequency of posts
  4. Post content
  5. Follow to follower ratio

I also consider the number of posts the person/business has made. If they are new, I’ll also look at their website. Following “newbies” who post valuable content should always be considered: they are new so they may bring different perspectives into the type of content, websites to follow, new hash tags and overall messaging.

With some of my new additions, I tag them to a list: “fabulous females”, “automotive gurus”, “research”, “sm friends”, etc. I want to keep tabs of and learn from these wonderful peeps! I mean, Tweeps :-)

What have you found as your most successful strategy in building your Twitter group?

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Mobile, Tablet or Laptop…Oh my!

Posted on February 17, 2011 by

Did you read about the time when mobile device sales exceeded PC sales?

You may have recently – and it’s true! According to research firm IDC, a new record has been set: mobile devices grew 87% (100.1M) Q4 2010 (compared to Q4 2009) while PCs grew 3% (92.1M). Although PCs, laptops, tablets and mobile devices serve different purposes, it’s truly amazing to see the growth in mobile devices out pace that of PCs.  

I recently purchased a laptop and contemplated a tablet (definitely not a PC – I’m too mobile!!). My current PC and laptop are still functional but allow me to work at about 67% of my capacity at any given time (sometimes less!). I finally decided that, despite the cost, my patience no longer needed to be tested. The slowness and unpredictability of applications shutting down had to be put behind me.

As much as I would love to have a new laptop and a tablet (I’m techy like that), I needed to be more practical. To facilitate my decision making process, below are factors I considered before making any purchase:

  1. Keyboard Frequency
    I like to move fast and maximize my time. Therefore, hardware purchasing decisions should be made based on your need of a keyboard vs. a touch screen. The keyboard on a tablet, especially an iPad, is not ideal for compound daily use. An alternative, however, is the portable keyboard.
  2. Screen Size
    If you’re not interested in starting to wear glasses or increasing an existing prescription, consider how often you’re digitally connected and your “squint rate“. BUT if you find yourself squinting on a smaller screen, imagine what mobile usage for mass computing might do to your vision. Use a larger screen for daily use.
  3. Speed
    Mobile devices certainly are powerful, capable of multi tasking, processing commands quickly. They are also a much scaled down version of the applications and storage needed of a laptop user. Something to consider is as you make the transition from laptop to mobile and hard drive to cloud storage, where your time efficiencies are.  Mobile devices and tablets aren’t yet equipped with the processing speed of laptops.
  4. Storage
    Cloud storage is in the infancy stage, even for early adopters. It has much opportunity to evolve and replace PC and laptop hard drives. I anticipate the Google Docs concept (including images and video!) of “anywhere access” will become the norm within two years. Research cloud options including space, cost and document back up and recovery before deciding hardware to buy or upgrade.

Think about how we use our hardware today: mass computing, design, content creation, video storage. Depending on usage, frequency and discretionary income, research all options before purchasing. These activities are currently cumbersome (and perhaps unlikely) tasks to do on anything but a PC or laptop. As it evolves, the tablet growth will outpace mobile devices. But we have time on that trend.

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Speed Dating with an “Edge” – Farewell!

Posted on February 11, 2011 by

Our Seventh Date…Parting is such sweet sorrow…

My #DriveOne for a week experience has come to an end and was fantabulous! (yes, a real word!)  My encounter started with Jeff Cryder showing me a few things about the car as we drove around the lot and took it for a drive.  A few things because I needed to experience the car on my own, press buttons, test it out and get an understanding of the vehicle in it’s entirety.  And I did!! This time of year in Ohio is probably the BEST time to test drive. I encountered all weather conditions – sunny/dry, rain, icy, snowy conditions. I felt very safe in every situation – LOVE the anti-lock brakes which were needed a few times on the ice. And Safety is my #1 need in any vehicle. The 2011 Ford Edge Limited definitely has it. I had added confidence in any situation with the extra safety features (front and side air bags including those in the back seat), sensors (side mirrors with blind spot indicators) and rear video for backing up. My daughter asked after the first day The Edge was gone “You miss the video showing you where you are going, don’t you?”. My response “Yes, yes I do <big sigh>.”  I had a lot of fun figuring out what the buttons do, how to setup my phone, make calls, command my car to do things (that was extra fun – out of my comfort zone!) and testing out how it handles in different weather conditions.

Before signing off, thank you to Jeff Cryder at Lebanon Ford who was wonderful to work with, made a courtesy call mid-week to check on how I was doing and asked if I had any questions.  As a result of this experience, Lebanon Ford has awarded me VIP status. I know, right? I’m stoked about that title!! What this means is I get free oil changes and car washes (even for my Pacifica) and if I decide to buy a vehicle through them, I will receive $500 off in addition to any other rebates, incentives, etc.  I may need to update my website to include my new VIP status J

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Speed Dating with an “Edge” – Conveniences!

Posted on February 9, 2011 by

Our Sixth Date…Too good to be true?

How “convenient” is your world? Think about when you’re at home or work and how convenient it is to fulfill your needs.  How we’re communicating with people has drastically changed convenience, hasn’t it! You can voice activate a call, request information with a 5-6 digit code, navigate to a website, scan a barcode or text as we go. That’s pretty convenient!!

Pushing all those buttons was Fuuunnnn!

Now think about when you’re driving. How convenient are all the things you need: phone, music, temperature controls, vehicle gauges, comfort. Cars are increasingly being equipped with more conveniences. Admit it, you like to be pampered. Who doesn’t?

I was amazed at how many conveniences there were while driving.

The 2011 Ford Edge Limited took me to a new level. Everything was easy:

  • Heated side mirrors (I should’ve left the Edge in the ice storm and tested to the fullest extent :-) )
  • Playing music (my favorite thing to do in the car) was a touch screen away from my favorite tunes (or a voice command – you choose your convenience!)
  • Making a phone call required pushing a button on the steering wheel then commanding the car to dial someone (I’m not a “commanding” person but it was fun to step out of my comfort zone! Once the call ends, your music resumes – love it!)
  • On our drive to Columbus, apart from the plethora of much needed cup holder choices – and state troopers, I wanted to find out how long before I ran out of gas (I’d pay to have someone put gas in my car – not a fan!). I pushed a different button and voila!
    • I needed to see a Purple Cow on that drive! I-70 from Dayton to Columbus has A LOT of corn fields!  This comment was inspired by my “nearly completed” borrow of Purple Cow from Jeff Cryder. Thanks again, Jeff!

My point? When life gives you convenience, embrace “The Edge”.  It’s not too good to be true.

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Speed Dating with an “Edge” – MyFord Touch™ of Heaven

Posted on February 7, 2011 by

Our Fifth date…MyFord Touch™ of Heaven

Do you like simple? Do you like technology? How about integrating your devices so all are accessible from one place and a voice command away? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you will want to continue reading. Even if you said “no”, read on.  Seriously…it’s OK. You know you want to. :-)

The 2011 Ford Edge Limited is all about innovation, simplicity and sophistication. The technology and how we spend time in our car has been taken to a new level. I’m extremely impressed with the MyFord Touch and SYNC systems because they are all about you. Don’t we like things that way, anyway? Seriously! How we interact in the car is now available through the touch screen technology, voice commands and Bluetooth connectivity. It’s a “wired” car without the wires, if you know what I’m sayin. It’s a little slice of heaven, IMO.

Whether you want to listen to music, answer a call or change the temperature settings, everything you need is a touch screen away. Using the voice command to make and receive calls is a much better way to be productive and safe than trying to navigate your phone. I’ll admit, this tech geek (me) needed a couple tries to figure it out but once I did, phones started ringing!  Any interrupted calls resumed music once the call ended. It was a relax-and-let-the-car-make-your-life-simple kind of moment. I like.

Speaking of music… there are so many options! You can choose from an MP3 player, Sirius, CD, SD Card or AM/FM radio. Feeling fickle today? Use the steering wheel controls and vóila!  Did I mention how simple the touch screen and voice commands are? #justcheckin

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