The Laws of Nature Apply To Your Online Communities

Nature is comprised of ecosystems – and your online communities mirror their characteristics. In TJ Smith previous career, in the green industry, I wore many hats, one of them being that of a certified arborist – a tree care professional. This week we are having a heat wave in the Midwest and trees in particular […]

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Start with Listening to Your Customers

Listening is the foundation of all successful relationships. And business has always been about relationships – now more than ever.  So, why are small businesses confused about where to start with social media? My hunch is it is that word marketing.  Traditional marketing is push marketing – something along the lines of buy my stuff […]

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Will Google+ Be an Email Killer?

What happens when you combine the world’s largest search engine and email provider on a red-hot social networking site? Google has already integrated killer search capabilities into Gmail, which accounts for approximately 38% of all email usage worldwide. Now they are inviting you to import your Gmail contacts into Google+.  In addition to that, you […]

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Paid to Speak

If you are creating quality content for your community, you will enhance its value by sharing it in as many forms of communication as possible – both online and offline. One possibility is to speak publicly at events in your industry. While you may be reluctant to present in front of a live audience, the honor […]

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What If You Could Start Fresh with Social Media?

For most of us, our social networking communities were randomly created – they developed organically as we learned new media. Now you have thousands of followers on Twitter and hundreds of “friends” on Facebook that you have never met.  It’s a fact we all know. What if you could apply the learning you have acquired […]

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Small Business Any Way You Like It

If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner you chose that path for several reasons – with freedom being high on your list. Ironically,  that is often one of the first things you sacrifice. Small Business Freedoms There are many types of freedoms associated with running your own business.  If you are not careful, […]

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Google+ and The Power of Interaction

Google+ is Google’s latest attempt to build a social networking site that will rival Facebook – and their initial efforts suggest they are likely to meet with some measure of success. Launched just a week ago, Google+ is still in a limited trial.  Invitations were sent to prominent tech and social media influencers who then […]

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Whole Lotta Sharing Going On

Sharing is a human activity that is driving the social web these days. Thus, it is one that deserves your attention if you expect to be relevant in the communities you engage with and your business serves. Social Sharing and Social Graphs Anytime a link is shared on the social web it creates a node […]

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Wajam is Social Search

Wouldn’t it be amazing to have immediate access to the wisdom and expertise of your friends when you need it the most? Meet Wajam – a new search engine that serves up search results from what is shared among your social networking friends. Ever since Facebook launched the social sharing Like button in April of […]

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How to Prepare Your Business for Social Search

Is your business ready for social search? In this article I’ll reveal what you need to know and what you need to do to prepare for social search. This article (now updated) first appeared in Social Media Examiner where I am a guest blogger.  It’s another great resource for you that like this blog is focused on […]

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