After nearly six months away, I am back in Big Everyman mode to share links I find interesting and of value. Some of the links may seem a bit dated as we catch up, but hopefully you’ll find that they are still worthy of Everyman reflection.
Influencers. A good reminder in this Outspoken Media post on tracking down influencers that our brand influencers are gold, Jerry! Gold! Anticipate more tools for discovering influencers in the next release of Sueetie Analytics. One important lesson I’ve learned in the last year or so promoting Sueetie is that much more value is placed on what others say about your product than what you say about it.
Community Gaming vs Reputation Systems. Richard Millington writes, “It’s dumb to gamify community activities,” and I think he’s spot on. Rather, he says, communities should focus on reputation systems. On another post he lists different tools to rank members with their associated benefits. Examples: By access level, registration date, the quantity of contributions, quality of contributions, frequency, special distinction, and leaderboards.
ajaxload.info. A list of animated GIFs you can customize and use for longer-running processes. I’m using one of these with the Sueetie Installer.
Alvin, Orson. Orson, Alvin. A five-part video documentary on Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock created in 1972 and narrated by Mr. Cool himself, Orson Welles.
Data-centric Jobs. Great list of future data-centric jobs on GigaOm with implications for data work today. Job titles like Content Monetization Manager, Webmasters to fine-tune every detail for maximized results, Amplification Manager to ensure sharing buttons are in the right places, cross-posting and SEO, Game Mechanics Designer (or rather, Reputation System Designer), Metrics Manager, and Crowd Manager.
8 reasons marketers can't trust Facebook. I still don’t understand why people don’t see the need to own their sites and their data. Here iMedia Connection lists eight reasons why investing in a Facebook presence over your own site is just dumb. (The “just dumb” is mine, not iMedia’s.) Some of those reasons are the loss of control, lack of recourse if your account is terminated, no customer service resources with Facebook, Facebook having the rights to all of your content, the potential loss of content, and ever-changing policies. Just dumb.
Why Your Blog Is Your Social Media Hub. Perfect follow-up to why investing in Facebook over an owned site is just dumb is this free ebook from Debbie Weil titled, "Why Your Blog Is Your Social Media Hub." Experts like Godin, Kawasaki, Meerman Scott and others weigh-in on the importance of having your own blog.
Solar-powered glass roads. The video. “As the sun energizes the solar cells, energy can be transferred to power street signs, nearby homes and roadside businesses. In snowy climates, the collected energy could heat the roadway and melt snow and ice, eliminating the need for large fleets of plows.” Solar-powered glass roads. Bring it!