If twitter will bow down to a government overseas and censor the tweets of their citizens on a country by country basis, then I would believe, eventually, they’ll be fine with a more local censorship, state by state, town by town?

Twitter said it will post a censorship notice whenever a tweet is removed. (SOPA?)

Let’s take the bible belt, if 90% of parents & clergy want to “protect their beliefs” and request that twitter block the tweets of the small percentage of those that do not believe, Twitter has already proven that it can and will do this.

What happens if a president is under attack by those who want him out of office? Will twitter then block the tweets in America and allow the tweets in Britain?

Better yet, a school board chooses to block the tweets of a Rock & Roll band that they feel presents the opportunity to corrupt the young students in their local neighbor hoods? Does twitter bow down and agree?

The Chinese government decides to limit the amount of anti-Chinese sentiment that Americans are speaking about, due to jobs being outsourced overseas … Does twitter agree?

We are about to test the constitution in a manner never before seen, Big Business, Governments and the people they represent all have a voice and twitter controls it’s reach …

Powerful to say the least … one more question I have … a company or even a government chooses to sponsor ads and pay millions to do it, however the ad does not represent the best interests of the American people, does Twitter allow or censor the tweets?

Love to hear your thoughts …

Original Articles:

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Twitter-under-fire-for-censoring-plan-2762135.php

http://lubbockonline.com/technology/2012-01-29/teens-turning-twitter-escape-online-parents#.TyVQ3VyXSZc

McDonald’s took out a sponsored #Hashtag and twitter users beat them up so bad, they had it removed with-in two hours …

In today’s marketing environment and through the use of social media, brands are using the platforms, however, they are not one of them anymore.

You see twitter is a platform that starts locally, it is completely based on actual conversations and relationships. For a brand such as McDonald’s or Walgreen’s to purchase ‘Hashtag‘ time and promote their brand to those that aren’t following them is like attending a party that you know you were not invited to too!

Today’s national and powerful brands are about to learn a very powerful lesson, the #Bashtag. (cc. @kashhill | Kashmir Hill at Forbes)

McDonald’s paid hashtag marketing efforts lasted two hours, Walgreen’s didn’t have to much luck either, but it wasn’t as bad as what we saw this week with the #McDstories & #MeettheFarmers

Very simply put, followers become friends and friends fight for their own. The #meetthefarmers hashtag was hijacked to a degree, with some farmers like @MassaOrganics condeming McDonalds.

I would recommend, as always, join the conversation, not push the information, this will result in true fans, followers and friends. It is in this manner that the major brands will find the performance they expect on the twitter platform.

Original article:

When Twitter bites back: Hashtag hijacking trending among disgruntled tweeters.

However, I would also look at this as a point where a company could use the social communication platforms as a news and most importantly, a customer relations tool, during this crisis.

We would love to hear your opinions on this, what are your thoughts?

Today’s article:

Carnival Cruise Lines takes break from social media | News – Home.

Check out today’s Biscayne Corridor which explains the event in more detail:

Neighborhood networking via Wynwood Wednesdays at Lester’s Cafe – Biscayne Corridor – MiamiHerald.com.

Join Open Media Miami, SocialBuzzTV.com, SocialMedia305.com and many other members of the surrounding Wynwood area for an evening of socializing and networking with those that share an interest in the on going growth of the Wynwood community!

Let’s face it, Town Hall meetings are boring and overly political, we want this to be the opposite! Wind down after a long day with a glass of wine  and meet me some new people who share the same interest as you go regarding Wynwood!

We will have a small interactive discussion to help answer questions and address immediate needs of the Wynwood community and the exciting year ahead of us!!

Contact John@SocialMedia305.com for any additional info

President Barack Obama has stepped in and said he’s NOT supporting the bill. SOPA: The Anti-SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act)

But there IS another bill, Protect IP (the Enforcing and Protecting American Rights Against Sites Intent on Theft and Exploitation Act), that could be a problem for Internet users. The legislation is scheduled to go before the Senate on January 24^th.

Both SOPA and Protect IP attempt to combat online piracy by preventing American search engines like Google and Yahoo from directing users to sites distributing stolen content. Both bills also would allow people & companies to sue if copyright was infringed. The president has come out against both bills, putting pressure on senators for January 24^th.

The full White House response can be read here.

“Any provision covering Internet intermediaries such as online advertising networks, payment processors, or search engines must be transparent and designed to prevent overly broad private rights of action that could encourage unjustified litigation that could discourage #startup businesses” said The White House.

The memo included cost-per-follower (CPF) rates for Promoted Accounts and cost-per-engagement (CPE) for Promoted Tweets.

The CPF runs between $2.50 and $4, while the listed CPE rates come in from $0.75 to $2.50. For CPE, ‘engagement’ refers to clicks, favorites, retweets and ‘@Replies.”

We’ll post more information as it comes …

Remember the days using an Instant Messenger, AOL / Yahoo ?

These were direct communication tools . They were powerful but had yet to be taken advantage of fully, due to the demographics of the users. Granted, ad-bots had a field day and I was personally using it to meet the ladies, half of which, lived thousands of miles away.

However, I never considered recommending financial advice with them.

Then came Myspace.

An amazing tool that enabled me to created a ‘local’ presence for local marketing and a complete bio of my target audience a searchable audience, at least for the ladies. Next, Facebook came along, I created a true personal presence, at first old friends, far away friends, all-in-all a presence for those that mean the most to me.

It wasn’t until 2008, that I applied a professional methodology to Facebook. Using the groups feature – just like LinkedIn. I was able to contact professional traders and those that needed/wanted/begged for additional ‘inside’ knowledge on the movements in the markets. Here is when my first ‘social media’ marketing plan came together. After that, it was off to the races. With-in nine months, I had thousands, yes thousands, of people and managed two personas: one personal and one business.

Twitter was platform at the time that I never even considered, it wasn’t until I read Gary Vee’s book “Crush It” (http://crushitbook.com) that I realized the “local” communication power of the platform. Now today it is my life, Twitter still has less users than Facebook, however, Twitter is becoming the platform to use for business. I personally believe Facebook is an amazing platform. Facebook will not become a Myspace. (Myspace BTW should focus only on music, but I digress).

Just so you know, Mashable reports there are 8,900 tweets per second.

Unlike Facebook, Twitter gives people direct access to each other and taking place on mobile phones. The key to accessing all these users and to actually gain traction is to join in on conversations that are taking place regarding your particular topic. (Why follow Oprah first?)

For iPhone users, a Twitter account is coming your way shortly. The 200 million plus people who own iPhones, will be enticed to share via Twitter, especially, if they have a habit of commonly posting their daily activity IRL. In real life!

Working from a smart phone on twitter is exactly like sending a text message.

The iOS 5 software, released early October, includes Twitter integration. After taking a picture, listening to music or even using any of the iPhone features, a Twitter button is ready to be tapped for instant connection. Most Importantly, with Apple endorsing Twitter, there is no doubt that Twitter’s popularity will dramatically increase.

Have you realized the power of tracking the activity of voters with twitter ?

For businesses, posting content everyday, liking comments, networking profiles will become a chore, just like writing SEO related content. It will become work. While Twitter will become a global networking event, add in LinkedIn profiles, and we have just created a “Qualified Lead”.

This is where we specialize, creating “Qualified Leads” via Twitter & LinkedIn.

As long as we contact the right people at the right time, we are welcomed into conversations with open arms. We are providing the info consumers are requesting during their own social media use. I believe we have an opportunity to generate the “viewers” we are looking for and not suffer from “social media burn-out” amusing the crowd . Which I can speak of first hand!

Cc. @SocialMedia305

#JustSaying.

I have approximately 18 new & REAL LinkedIn connections this week, This resulted in TWO proposal requests for services. This strategy works. I’m looking forward to SHARING!

Why it worked so well ? Because of the “non-sales call” of course!

A few reasons why people have successes in social media is a genuine desire for the topic being discussed. We are speaking to those who already have an interest in OUR topic! After we’ve made contact, created some solid connections ( could be days/weeks ) then we invite this new social media connection from LinkedIn or twitter or your particular community page, either way, direct that conversation to a real-time skype chat or video service of sorts, even a local coffee shop if you can. At the least, you must have already driven the website traffic. (Again, this is local traffic today).

This point we can begin to develop a relationship, A FIRST CLOSE which leads to sales, services, or quite possibly an immediate referral.

These “non-sales calls are the sales calls”.

I personally have been focused locally through 2011 and have had great success and lots of fun! However 2009/10 I also had a valued trust built on FB with hundreds (000′s) of peers, that at-the-least developed into 10-12% direct unsolicited emails from facebook users alone. I had become the “influencer” of my network. This strategy continues to work in all aspects of my life. Work hard, be smart, see results. Our goal working with any client is always to provide value, clients who aren’t happy don’t stay clients. Bad for Business.

My goal today is to support YOUR “social media straight line to sales”.
Educating YOU on the real conversations that are taking place everyday on many different platforms. It works. That’s why your reading this. It just worked. Thank you.

john[]socialmedia305[]com

On a daily basis, I search Twitter for people speaking about local things and follow them. Every day at regular intervals throughout the day I tweeted my thoughts and plans.

I found the best way to search for people is by using just one word; So I started using “publix” then I used “dadeland” This way I could be sure that 80% of my search results were located “someplace” in Florida.

So, on a daily basis I searched twitter using those keywords and many more that are similar, once I found people that ‘looked’ interesting I followed them. I tried to stay smart & funny, OK… maybe at-least “witty” and then they might follow me back. That is how I grew a relevant and valuable following; located in Miami; And they are very cool &b highly educated. Once you have a follower, then two, then three, etc, etc.

You’ll need to NOT annoy them, Just like anyone else in Real-Time; it’s very important to remember that they are REAL people; with goals and a schedule; They are not some techie that hasn’t left the house in a year, even he deserves some marketing respect. You have the opportunity to text message (tweet) with some of the coolest and smartest people in the world ~ So you need to stay cool too!

Otherwise they will unfollow (forget) you & tell a few people why, so whether you are just chatting about the local sports team or you’re looking for customers and clients; be REAL and stay relevant with-out saying the same thing all day, Here’s a few ideas to guide you:

Tweet something funny or informational that you think of yourself ~ Obviously!
Tweet a link to something funny or informational that you found
Tweet a link to something funny or informational that someone else created and give them the credit
If your using twitter for a blog or business; give people NEW reasons to work with you or read your content.
People are smart; You don’t need to remind them 117 times that you have a blog;
If you do ~ They will tell 117 people that you’re a twitter idiot!

Every day, first thing in the morning you might like to share a few of your favorite new websites Or directly ask some people how they are doing today. Be Real. My following has been growing with quality people who are now becoming quality friends and I am creating these new friendships with folks who are into many different aspects of life, which is great for learning about a city, the people, clients and a whole host of new industries.

All the benefits that I’ve seen over this past year have not come by using twitter for a few minutes a day, but you don’t need to tweet for 5 hours either, Here’s some Twitter tips:

In the morning, Find out whats going on & respond to the conversations.
Tweet some new info; even if it’s just general banter; make sure it’s something worthy to share.
Search twitter for new conversations by ‘searching’ what you would like to talk about.
Answer people that send you Tweets, as promptly as you can, check you messages regularly.

At first glance the value of Twitter might not be so apparent. It can seem like a confusing waste of time and unproductive, but if you “communicate” with it. It’s the most powerful telephone ever.
The investment I made during the past year has returned huge benefits – helping me meet awesome people LOCALLY & GLOBALLY to grow business – So put some time in and have some fun…Be Real!

This was an older original post re-posted … john@socialmedia305.com

It does for me. Quite often.

Not mass-marketing. ~ Creating qualified leads ~ a BIG difference. 

I’m speaking about optimizing your social media, increasing special project based services, group class packages for employees.The strategic lead generation strategies for professional social media use applied to your direct marketing & networking work.

These are real strategies, NOT some ‘how-to ‘ or ‘click my product link ‘  The platforms you already know about, the search and approach, you don’t. They are second to none. They’re worth their weight in Gold. It’s actually very simple. When you take certain social media platforms & use them as ‘communication tools’, we create the lead generating factory.

You could email me.  John@SocialMedia305.com  for detailed information.    

 A bit of my history  …. Elements of my professional life | a perfect match …