These are my links for March 14th from 12:13 to 17:21:

  • Fans, Friends & Followers: Building an Audience and a Creative Career in the Digital Age – Here's a great time-limited gift: download Scott Kirsner's free e-book 'Fans, Friends and Followers' (132 pages) but ONLY for the duration of the SXSW festival. It's a great idea for how independent creatives can begin to forge careers using online and social marketing tools. And a great example of creating scarcity in the (abundant) digital age – grab it while you can!
  • Strategy Basics: It’s Really all about having a Plan – The smart thinking people at Carsonified, the web design specialists, have a smart view about developing a strategy: "At the heart of it all “strategy” is just about having a plan for the thing you are working on."<br />
    They use the example of creating a useful iPhone content app to meet a client's sales goals.
  • Tories promise fast broadband – The election fight is heating up, and broadband is becoming another leverage of differentiation: Tories say the majority will have 100Mbs fast broadband by next parliament, Labour want universal access at lower levels (2Mb) by 2012 and superfast by 2017. Interesting split and not an unexpected divide: Labour want access for all quickly, Tories want quicker access for some giving industry in cities a competitive advantage globally. Whoever wins the election, we should see the speeding up of networks as a priority.
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These are my links for February 3rd through February 5th:

  • Telegraph to stop chasing unique users – The publishing industry is moving away from chasing numbers of readers (strange as that's their print model) and is looking to create commercial channels that favour engagement rather than quick hit read and leave, common with online news. It's an interesting bent, as it signifies that even readership – the wholly grail of on and offline publication – becomes less significant in the need to upsell. No doubt they are taking the lead from The Times who are rumoured to be introducing specialist, paid channels in niche subjects.
  • Building a hyperlocal website: 5 things hyperlocal can do and be, times 5 – As a founding member of CreativeNottingham.com, I'm speaking at an event in March about local blogging, so this article interviewing some of the biggest names in UK and US in hyperlocal blogging with their thoughts on how local blogging provides an immediate, powerful force against the merging of newspapers is very interesting.
  • App Recommendations from MediaCampLondon – I was at MediaCamp London on Monday, which was a great get together organised by London's social media mafia as an unconference to talk about all things to do with the social web. My highlights were Heather Taylor from Paypal talk on filming video interviews for the web which had some extremely useful advice for my new video content project, and Caron Jane Lyon from PCM Creative getting everyone to talk about their 'Doh-Ray-Me' of their social media journey – how they came to it, why and how it is useful to them. In the extreme tech category, this talk by Jamie Riddell discussing apps (mainly for iPhone but some Twitter and more general web apps) has some extremely useful links for those who are running community or business projects in social media marketing.
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These are my links for January 22nd through January 25th:

  • Your Brain Can’t Handle Your Facebook Friends – Intriguingly most people can only really maintain interaction with about 150 people. This is a common theme looking at sizes of 'tribes' but it seems people don't change much, and it equally applies to Facebook. With 700 friends each on Twitter and Facebook, I've recently started to segment people down to 'essential' (regularly check their posts) and 'other' (check if I have time). How are you handling your social networks nowadays?
  • Artists of the World Unite! – Great review of Seth Godin, the guy who coined the phrase 'conversational marketing', new book "Linchpin" which is all abou thow people in a business need to change their thinking to fit in with the web 2.0 world. Also some useful ideas about not following social media just to feel like you're not missing out. How true.
  • Essential Social Media Tools for the Small Business – Yet another SM guide…this time with some useful links to articles about tools and optimising your presence on Facebook and also Yelp – a new one to me (predominantly US site) which collates reviews and interactiosn around physical presence retail businesses, and is challenging Foursquare by including 'check in' options. Location based digital social marketing, accessed by mobile, will be VERY BIG by the end of 2010.
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These are my links for January 8th through January 9th:

  • Meaningful Digital Strategy e-book – Interesting 12 page e-book on 'marketing with meaning' and the failures of online marketing aping the failing of traditional marketing. Interesting case studies here on digital services that create both social and personal value and strong marketing messages, e.g. a Diabetic diet planning tool by a pharm company, and Kraft's best-selling recipe iphone app.
  • How should we use Twitter at tech events? – This has been appearing in several discussion of late: Twitter is a useful backchannel at conferences and events to get the audience to connect and discuss, and be aware of each other, but frequently sniping, fragmented comments, in-jokes are runing the Twitter back channel and putting off speakers and event organisers. Chris Pirillo 'drive-by' video blog rants on this inappropriateness. I'm tempted to agree: if you're not feedback to your own network, avoid negatives in Twitter back channels, and events organisers should seriously consider either just using the backchannel at key moments, ambiently (e.g. in the foyer, not behind the speaker) or moderating comments.
  • Are You Getting Dangerous Feedback from Your Readers and Prospects? – Interesting article applicable to just about any kind of business, which turns on its head the idea of using feedback channels to make your product or service better. Instead of leaping on all criticism to change, think 'is this customer a good fit for me?', or it's like selling The Blue Man Group to a fan of Siegfied and Roy. Particularly applicable to a small, personality driven business.
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These are my links for January 6th through January 8th:

  • How Social Media and the Web Helped Avatar Make $1 Billion – A detailed description of how James Cameron's latest movie hit Avatar used social media – less personally and more campaign based pre-launch – but allowing people access to trailers, unique content apps, and a live stream red carpet all contributed to big opening weekend box office sales. On an indie film-maker level, there's plenty of tips you can utilise, like Director's video blogging from the shoot (no internet? try Qik from your mobile) and a chatroom or video Q&A.
  • The Rise of Digital Music & The Return of the Record – It appears music sales have slightly increased this year thanks to a growth in digital album sales, and sales of vinyl are (thought in modest numbers overall) soaring.
  • Make your website work PDF – A short (15 page) e-book with Some basic guidelines on improving the design and performance of your e-commerce store with some useful stats on how different actions can increase conversion along the sales process (shockingly allowing buyers to purchase without registration reduces 40% of drop outs).
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