I Love Gano - Enjoy All Kinds of Coffee With Us

some coffee pictures and update

2009-11-11T00:25:00.001Z

As you may have noticed by now, I am using a gadget to blog that means I can blog items of interest as I surf - the current trend I am following is the trend of cleaning up adverts, nobody wants to be lumbered with a mobile subscription they can't switch off except by changing phone number for example - but this is what is happening - so I am following it.

here is some coffee stuff - there are loads of coffee pictures on flickr well over a Million - so we can share :-)

Some random coffee pics:

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

zwinkies and winkies

2009-11-10T20:47:00.001Z

This is a new blog just showing random thrashy adverts I find on networks - the type Techcrunch /Michael Arrington are trying to remove from games like Mafia Wars and farm ville on facebook.

Talking of which - here's a screen grab from a facebook app I joined this evening - complete with a naked man playing with his genitals and a zwinky advert (aimed at kids ? )

Posted via web from Dodgy Stuff on the web

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus: “I Did Every Horrible Thing In The Book Just To Get Revenues”

2009-11-06T23:11:00.001Z

Zara's Note: - here is a story from techcrunch about the latest scam going on within Facebook - note that facebook are usually pretty quick to hit these scams on the head but if they are get 6 Million Dollars off them on a regular basis for advertising - they might not suspend the games - dispite doing this with Slide.com's top friends and a number of the dodgy dating websites back in 2007. Also note I am a facebook fan, and I like the games Zynga make - it will be a real shame if they don't really kick butt and clean up their act - I am boycotting their games by blocking their facebook apps, this might seem hypocritical seeing as I use Yuwie as a place to meet people and blog - BUT at least at Yuwie you know for sure they are in it for greed, whereas Zynga are making out to be some kind of social marketing break through - when they are not

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus said earlier this week that he intends to make sure his company’s games don’t include scammy offers in the future. Our full background on this story is here.

But what he didn’t say in that blog post is that Zynga has been scamming users from the beginning quite intentionally as part of their revenue model. Rather, he pointed much of the blame at middlemen offer companies: “We need to be more aggressive and have revised our service level agreements with these providers requiring them to filter and police offers prior to posting on their networks.”

Last spring, though, he gave a much clearer explanation to an audience at a Startup@Berkeley mixer, admitting that scamming users was part of Zynga’s business model from the start. And it was all caught on video. I think everyone sort of knew that this was exactly Zynga’s gameplan. But to hear it said so directly is just shocking.

The full 30ish minute video is here. We’ve taken the relevant section of the video, roughly starting at around the 10:40 mark, and embed it below. From the video:

I knew that i wanted to control my destiny, so I knew I needed revenues, right, fucking, now. Like I needed revenues now. So I funded the company myself but I did every horrible thing in the book to, just to get revenues right away. I mean we gave our users poker chips if they downloaded this zwinky toolbar which was like, I dont know, I downloaded it once and couldn’t get rid of it. *laughs* We did anything possible just to just get revenues so that we could grow and be a real business…So control your destiny. So that was a big lesson, controlling your business. So by the time we raised money we were profitable.

get widget minimize
CrunchBase Information

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

5 Ways To Boost Coffee Shop Sales: Part 1 – Social Media

2009-11-06T15:48:00.001Z

In this article I am going to break down 5 Ways you can Boost Coffee Shop sales with actual examples on how to go about implementing them. I have broken this article up into 5 parts and included a quick index at the top of every post for easy navigation. All of the examples I give in this article are great ideas but they are really meant to be spring boards to get your own creative juices flowing.

Way #1: Social Media – Twitter and Facebook

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

By now I think most everyone is on board with the idea that social media is an important element in their overall business strategy. But I don’t think most people really grasp that this is not just a peripheral element. It can and ultimately will be one of the biggest factors that the everyday consumer will use in deciding where they are going to spend their hard earned money. If you don’t believe me then just do a twitter search on one of your favorite brands or t.v shows. You will see a stream of real time information about that particular brand and what people are thinking or feeling about it in that moment. I think so many people are making the mistake of writing this off as a “Twitter Thing” when in actuality it will ultimately change the way people search and surf the web forever.

Now I don’t want to limit you’re exposure or thinking to just Twitter and Facebook but right now they are easily the two biggest players in real time Social Media. So if you don’t have an account at both of these sites please STOP reading this article and get one immediately. Now that you have an account on these sites how do you use them? Well this is going to depend on your overall strategy and later I am going to go into more detail of what that might look like for you. The important thing to remember is to stay active, communicate, be available, be genuine, provide valuable information, remain approachable and do not abuse these streams to over sell or as a glorified RSS feed. Below I will walk you through three examples of how to use these tools by interacting with customers at the store level. (Note: There is also a huge use for these streams at the corporate level.)

3 Ideas for Your Store

Idea #1: Facebook Fan Page Giveaway

Let your customers know you have a Facebook Fan Page. Once you have over 100 fans turn your url into a vanity url. (http://www.facebook.com/MyCoffeeShop – If you do not have a fan page Spencer at Tutorial Blog has a simple How To on getting it set up.) Once you have the vanity url it makes it a lot easier to market that page to your customers. Now that you have the fan page let’s get started with the giveaway. On your fan page update your status by saying something like, “Come in to the store for the next 60 minutes and say you saw this message and receive ANY small beverage for FREE!” Even if you don’t have all or any of your fans come in for the giveaway many of them will most assuredly tell their friends or family about it. By the end of the day you will have many more Facebook Fans and loyal customers watching your every move, waiting for the next big surprise!

Idea #2: Twitter Contest

This one is super simple. Tweet out a message that saying something like, “Who is enjoying their YourCompanyHere beverage this morning? Send me a pic and you could win a $20 gift card.” Then when some time has past and you have some pics announce the winner. This will draw people to you on Twitter and ultimate increase your companies visibility on this very important medium.

Idea #3: Coupons on Your Blog

Do a blog post the day before a big sale with a coupon in it. Tell everyone they can get an additional 20% off. Include a field where they can input their email address to receive their coupon. This not only gets you more sales but also increases your base of contacts.

Next Page >>>>> Part Two – Giveaways

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via coffeecupnews.org

These tips are useful for a variety of niches

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

doggie and a coffee maker

2009-11-05T21:14:00.001Z

see more Celeb Look-A-Likes

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

50 FREE Ways To Market Your Business - Ecademy

2009-11-04T00:17:00.002Z

Business : 50 FREE Ways To Market Your Business
by Lilach Bullock
Message

So, who said marketing was expensive? Who said paid marketing was the best way? Below are 50 of my favourite FREE methods to market my business. I try and use them all and have had very successful results with each and every one of them. Which methods will you use? Don't forget to let me know how you get on and which results work well for you.
1. Networking
2. http://www.youtube.com
3. http://www.viddler.com
4. http://www.facebook.com
5. http://www.ecademy.com
6. http://www.linkedn.com
7. http://www.trafficswarm.com
8. http://www.craigslist.org
9. Forums
10. http://www.bttradespace.com/
11. http://www.twitter.com
12. http://hubpages.com/
13. http://www.squidoo.com/
14. http://www.myspace.com
15. Ezines
16. http://www.bebo.com
17. http://www.ezinearticles.com/
18. http://www.wordpress.com
19. http://www.blogger.com
20. http://www.thearticledirectory.org/
21. http://www.digg.com
22. http://www.jumptags.com/
23. http://www.vivastreet.co.uk
24. http://www.ebay.com
25. http://www.usenet.org/
26. http://www.problogger.com
27. http://www.affiliateshowcase.com/
28. http://www.prweb.com/
29. http://www.prleap.com/
30. http://www.clickbank.com
31. http://www.trafficexchangelist.com/
32. http://www.hitvortex.com/
33. Postcards
34. Flyers
35. Back of Car Bumper
36. Testimonials
37. Article Submission Sites
38. Free Classified Ads
39. http://www.socialmarker.com/
40. http://www.uniquearticlewizard.com/
41. http://www.weebly.com/
42. http://www.mybloglog.com/
43. http://www.ping.fm
44. http://www.nrg-networks.com/
45. http://www.business-scene.com/
46. http://betternetworking.co.uk/
47. http://technorati.com/
48. http://www.gumtree.com
49. http://www.onlinemarketingtoday.com/software/link-management-assistant/
50. Network with your family, friends, colleagues and wider circle

I hope the above tips help you. There are many more free places to promote your business, but these are just a few to get you started! It's important to remember that effective marketing doesn't always equal big budget.

www.whoislilachbullock.com
Tel: UK 07590 554292 or US 001 209 251 2906

"If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results." Tony Robbins

via ecademy.com

I belong to most of these sites myself.

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

Cartoons for Publications, Websites and Presentations

2009-11-01T18:49:00.001Z

via cartoono.co.uk

Looking for something different for your website or a gift - how about getting a cartoon ?

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

Zara Lockood (muto33) Profile

2009-11-01T00:09:00.004Z

double posting, excuse me!

Zara Lockood (muto33) Profile

2009-11-01T00:09:00.003Z

Zara Lockwood [Edit]

Date of Birth 01/03/1973

Type

Role Sales, Marketing, Advertising or PR

Member Since 02/11/2007

Primary Website http://www.weston-chatter.com

Status Online and currently viewing Member Profiles

Biography [Edit]

Something which could Transform your Business

Click here for More details about The Million Dollar Challenge.

http://sites.google.com/site/zaralockwood/networks/ybc

oke doke, trying a different way of doing things, waiting for the magic pixies instead...okay okay, stop it Zara you are so silly!

What are you really doing ?

You really wanna know ? - I don't think I believe you :-(

Okay (gawd where did we find this one ?) well can you just tell us where your website is so at least others can have a look, even if you don't want to talk about it ?

hmmm, okay, I suppose.... www.coffee42.info

hey what's that " De-activated during a4uAwards nominations" mean ? man you'd have thought that kind of information was , like PRIVATE, don't want to be in your awards anyhow....

Oh yeah here is my A4U coffee lounge I will probably add it to my Coffee Blog: http://www.affiliates4u.com/forums/groups/zara-s-affiliate-coffee-lounge.html

[Edit]

Specialisms

Verticals

Territories

Job Title

Company Description [Edit]

Contacts

Events marked with a belong to this user.

Whiteboard

4 comments:
Expand All | Collapse All -->

agrees
-->
hello me, hello you! xxx
muto33 a few hours ago

agrees
-->
Hi , It would be great if you will add me to your contatcs list . I saw your websire , may be you shoul try our affiliate program . Babylon pays 40% cut plus 10% of all sales which comes from your sub affiliates . That how you make more then 50 % revenue share ! In addition you can get a special monthly bonuses of $100 to $1,000 for our best performing partners. Have a good day . Regards Daniel
Daniel_Razumov on 26 Apr 2008

agrees
-->
LoL . . . you sound as daft as me . . . . but hey ...give up on the award thingie eh ... I'll claiming it ....so there :)
TheCheekyMillionaire on 17 Apr 2008

via affiliates4u.com

my profile over at A4U - I lurked there briefly in 2003, updated my profile with million dollar challenge info - if you are a Ning Nomad, do come and say hi :-)

If you do want to post somewhere I recommend visiting my social group first to check what is allowed - they are quite picky these days!

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

Check It Twice: Twitter Lists Now Open To All Users

2009-10-31T17:37:00.001Z

via techcrunch.com

Official user wide launch of twitter lists - if you couldn't get them yesterday should be able to now.

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

Bill Gates wants to charge me for using my own photograph on my website - Ecademy

2009-10-31T16:21:00.001Z

via ecademy.com

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

blog 3# subjects Twitter lists and Virtual gifts on Ning

2009-10-30T10:24:00.001Z

Twitter Lists

So, busy yesterday looking at twitter lists. Looks like you can have 20 lists which are like sub accounts - I am using these lists to put twitter contacts into groups - this will take some time, but not that long as I have around 5000 on @lemonknickers and a couple thousand on several other accounts. The list names are changable, I might even merge my accounts as the reason I opened up multiple accounts was to track different subjects - not to spam!

Most of my current lists are private, but I have the directory - of products and services open, and cool people - which are people that have my kudos!

open lists - that are still being sorted - on an ongoing basis:

http://twitter.com/lemonknickers/directory (Products and services)

http://twitter.com/lemonknickers/cool-people (People I give kudos to)

http://twitter.com/lemonknickers/top-cats (People that are known to be head of the pack)

http://twitter.com/lemonknickers/ning-nomads (Ning friends)

http://twitter.com/lemonknickers/local (Weston-super-Mare)

My use of the lists is mainly to organize people by location, UK, USA and by subjects like Coffee - all twitter need to do now is add a status box at the top of these lists so users can message people just in that list (like the message all members of this group function on Ning) maybe that is something they could charge people for ?

The private lists are for my use, I might open them eventually.

Other subject Ning Gifts - idea is good - I still think they need to add a few more free ones, like profile comments or HI5's - so that people can give them out as welcome presents, as I think it takes a while to build up motivation to pay for virtual gifts, it need to be ingrained into the network - like the game of monopoly - who want's the racing car and who wants the old boot ? - answer different people like the different ones like flavours of crisps - i.e you all rush to get the car (or the salt and vinegar crisps in my family) a mystery gift might be good in that it could be opened and a person won't know if they are going to get a generic gift like a heart or a lucky clover - or like the lotto they might get some bling/sport car/luxury gift. The virtual gifts could have collectable themes too, like an eco friendly collection or a love heart collection - reasons to make the person want the whole set - like people that collect thimbles - they get the case free then buy new thimble every month. These kind of ideas could make virtual gifts work - if someone created a coffee collection for example - I'd collect them myself and give out coffee gifts to new members or if they liked rainbows or cats - I might leave them a gift relating to their hobby/niche - a fisherman might collect fishy's - not rocket science is it ?

be interesting to see if they do develop the gifts, as they are it is very basic, not enough to motivate me to spend real cash on them just yet - alot the point prices need to vary - it is dumb to give people 100 points free to start when gifts are 75 each - better to add some at lower points like 25 - so atleast a person can try the gift function twice before having to pay out.

If they aren't going to add freebies other than cancer, aids and army for free (good causes, but not universal in appeal when trying to sell the app to potential new users) they should let a person be able to sent at least 7 gifts free - I use 7, as 7 times is 7x exposure use of the gifting feature - and they say it takes atleast 7 times to 'sell' an item to some people before they buy - these gifts aren't shiny enough for compulsive buyers yet in my opinion - if the price varied - with some lower and some 'expensive' like $5.00 each you might get a complusive buyer or buyers buy them as mini status symbols - as in "I like you and respect you so much I am wiling to buy you this diamond encrusted virtual rose, because money means nothing in comparsion to your beauty!!!" see what I'm saying ? - A person that has alot of shiny gifts have alot of people that care enough to spend on something so trivial. - this would work with charities - if you are socially minded - as 'save the rain forest' could recieve donations via gifts to each other on a network - maybe Ning could offer that function to network owners - to have 25% of the 50% rev share donated to a charity - that way, everyone would have themed gifts that benefit 1. Ning, 2. Charity/social cause 3. Network manager 4. givers 5. recievers who are sharing - how can that kind of win/win deal not work for mutual benefit eh ?

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

Hi All blog 2#

2009-10-28T14:31:00.001Z

Hello This is my new universal blog, posted from posterous it in theory can act like a bigger update than a tweet and also get to some of the blogs I don't get to sometimes - speaking on which I have a godaddy blog that I need to add once I figure out how to add it.

I'm going to try and write something most days (she says) mainly about my current favorite subjects - i.e Coffee, web tools, social networking, on-line life and my dog.

I usually get fed up and forget to blog - but like a diet - I will try to post 5 out of every 7 days - 7 days when ever possible. I will probabley add reminders to myself on here too.

Sooo, what are you up to Zara ?

Well... at the moment I am setting up a place to add profiles - over on www.totallyu.co.uk that site is made using a script I brought via a web script reseller buddy of mine (I have the resell rights myself - once I've got the hang of it I might offer custom installs), I am customizing it at the moment - sign up is quick, what a person can do there is add a profile, add video's from youtube, add photos, I might turn it into a social network for my coffee affiliates actually, people that join either the healthycoffee downline builder , or are coffee fan's from I Love Gano but anyone can add a profile or start a journal/blog there - coffee drinkers / coffee fan's only please!

I have a both free and paid web hosting I use - my coffee venues are like little kiosks - I'll plonk one on most social networks where it is allowed - imagine a franchise like a chinese takeaway or a news agents or a mini version of a starbucks / costa coffee - then imagine - they are all coffee themed places, where you can chat with people about coffee, social media, web tools, blogging, with coffee games and links to coffee websites and coffee experts (I am in the process of looking for coffee experts - I have already found a few good ones in UK and USA) and it's on-line. That's kind of what Zara's Coffee Venues is about - I'm your Barista / cafe owner type person - if you buy a coffee product either directly off me or via an affiliate link, I will earn a commission and that will go towards a wage to make me finacially independent. Once I can earn a profit that can keep me from being homeless - then I can think about hiring others that wish to help out - a bit like Cafe World on Facebook !!!

Posted via web from Zara Lockwood's Posterous Blog

Coffee Games for you play :-)

2009-10-22T12:14:00.005+01:00

A coffee related set of games I found on the Big Fish Network - I will be adding these to my coffee venues, the bonus with these games is they are also a revenue stream - they have other niches - but as this is a coffee blog - well you get coffee stuff.

There are on-line games and trials for PC games - on-line games are the business at facebook - as in they are one of the profit making activities that keep it paying their bills, games are fun, ideal for coffee breaks and appeal to a wide range of people:

Here are six I found:

Healthy Coffee

2009-10-19T05:31:00.007+01:00

Want a healthy Coffee Banner ? - I made this one - you can use it if you want too.

If you are not a member of healthy coffee USA yet, they are worth considering as an option, they are making an impression in the off-line sales presentations - I will add more details at a later date - can't hurt to get a downline started with these guys. ($29.99 a year for the back office or $9.99 per quarter) first month of back office is free so you can get in there and get your affiliate links / URL locked in for free. (the coffee tastes good too!)

www.healthycoffee.com

here's a link to the 728x leader board banner:
http://sites.google.com/site/zaralockwood/home/healthycoffee728.jpg

hi all

2009-10-19T04:53:00.004+01:00

Just another quick update to say hello, year seems to have flown by so quick.

Any how lots of ideas are buzzing about my head again, I'm in the process of setting up a social networking site (using a script - note I am not a script expert so there are more bugs in it at the moment than a bee hive - BUT I'm getting there!) that will most likely be coffee related too but may have another theme twinned with it.

Coffee and cookies, coffee and ? - any suggestions - cookies are a bit unhealthy - coffee as most know is now being heralded as a possible tonic to help prevent Alzheimer's - coffee really is becoming healthier by the day it seems.

It's late - or rather early, so I'll think on it for a bit.

Zara x

PS - I will probably be adding facebook connect and/ or google connect to the healthy coffee downline builder over on http://incomeclubpro.com

-----------------------------------------------

To ME: (yes I subscribe to these updates by e-mail! - another good reason to use feedburner!) remember to add 3cm articles on incomeclubpro!

new follower gadget for your coffee blogs

2009-10-17T06:31:00.002+01:00

This is one of the latest Blogged widgets

Standing by the Coffee Vending Machine Print

2009-10-10T10:58:00.000+01:00

Standing by the Coffee Vending Machine

Art Print

Buy at AllPosters.com

Caffe Espresso Art Print

2009-10-10T10:55:00.000+01:00

Caffe Espresso

Art Print

Buy at AllPosters.com

Coffee Time is Anytime Poster

2009-10-10T10:49:00.000+01:00

Coffee Time Is Anytime

Art Print

Lewis, Kim

Buy at AllPosters.com

"Bull Terrier" Instant Coffee Poster

2009-10-10T10:42:00.002+01:00

Bull Terrier Brand

Art Print

Bailey, Ken

Buy at AllPosters.com

Hi Gano Buddies, an update stock etc

2009-10-02T03:57:00.003+01:00

I've sorted out the problem that occurred as seen in the previous blogs - you have just got a glimpse of an old problem in the marketing industry, that rears it's ugly head newbie or old timer.

Time to move forward now - blinkers on the horse as it has a place to go, no use getting distracted by things either side of the road.

Okay so what am I doing. I've rewritten my profile at the place concerned so it should be clear that permission to use my profile/photo is required before use. Just like the license I give you on blogs that you may reuse.

I've got my local brand coffee - I am still undecided if to give the lot away to a local charity I know that might want it or if to sell it on ebay - I might do a mixture of both - it depends on if they are allowed to accept gifts from strangers - or if this as a gift would be of any use in their fund-raising ?, I'll give them a ring and see how their current efforts are going as if the charity is to close down I might be better off with the eBay plan - maybe 50/50, it would be nice to at least make my money back.

DXN - I soooo wish they had an on-line shopping cart system. My Upline owns an off-line coffee shop so he stocks a certain amount of the product I want to resell - so umming and arring on that still.

Energi Coffee - this is my other favorite in terms of taste - these people are really starting to market their products well off-line in coffee shops - so I am tempted to upgrade to a gold membership on this product line.

More Private Label
back to private label coffee, I am looking at getting some more samples from other wholesalers so I can compare products.

My business cards are on their way, they are mainly to pop in any ebay items I ship out, ebay haven't banned this yet as far as I am aware - if they have I will just have to order packaging with my twitter address all over it instead! (unless they plan of banning packaging too!)

So usual administration hiccups to getting this thing on the road - another good reason some might say to stick to Affiliate products instead - no people, no sticky tape, no red tape... well you still have to find the customers either way, and the top in the game in the States all recommend getting a potential customer on your own list BEFORE you hand them to the affiliate link - so I'm following that advice.

who controls your image or brand ?

2009-09-29T17:11:00.014+01:00

Okay, for anyone that doesn't like fairy tales - we have web 1.0 - which was like the beginning - I will add a link HERE to go into more depth on my history of internet marketing for those that are interested.

Permission wasn't generally asked in 1.0 marketing in the early days (spam and spyware didn't exist as we know it today at the big bang of hotmail - spam came later in the evolution) then at 1.5 a change happened 'permission based marketing' came in it came in after lots of complaints from customers about unwanted e-mail - permission based of marketing still happens today (it's when you agree to accept a newsletter or agree to let a social network use your photos) - then came along web 2.0 which is largely seen as the culture of sharing and trust - Ning, Facebook and Twitter are all example of permission based networks - where the network owners can use your photo for positive reasons.

When photo sharing goes bad (yes not all companies are nice I'm afraid)

An example I can give is in the dating scene - there is a negative practice (well known in marketing circles) of companies taking a persons image from one database and using it without permission on a number of other databases - they tell you it is for your benefit as they have millions of potential people that they can match you up with - Woow! you think - I'm gonna be everywhere.

What they are failing to tell you is that these databases aren't all the type you would like to be associated with (there is another agenda - they own some seedier databases that earn them a lot more money and they know people flock together - so for example if they fill it with pretty girls it attracts male customers)

From a consumer perspective - would you be happy for a widow to find a new love on-line and meet new people ? - I'm sure most people would say that's nice, the power of the Internet used for good things etc. - then how would you feel if you then found out that ladies photograph was going to be used in a way she had no idea of - plastered all over "adult" websites that cater to all kind of twisted fantasies by people of all age groups ?

If you are a person with ethics and follow any code of conduct - you might realize that this is a breach of permission based marketing - you'd not sign up your mother or sister for such a service would you ?. Hard sale marketers might say - they put their image on-line in the knowledge that it might be used (and abused) - hard luck, get over it - view it as a learning experience - move on already.

My argument would be that while celebrities, politician's and successful people are rightly or wrongly still classed as fair game - if you are going to use someone else's face for your own sales campaign and / or in a negative manner - you tell the person in advance that you plan to say something nasty about them, so they don't look like a rabbit that has just hit an electric fence - when they read about it over breakfast!

This is especially important in the 'trusting' medium that web 2.0 is - you are encouraged to share on trust which slightly bend around the 1.0 permission based marketing this doesn't mean you can use it for negative purposes - you are being allowed to handle a persons image in trust that they won't do anything nasty/un cool to it - not nail it to a dart board for people to take shots at it.- The darts might all hit the bulleye and logically make sense - but they don't save the perception (and possible reaction) of the giver if they are not warned that a person is running an ad campaign using their mug!

click on image to enlarge it:

coffee delays and venue changes

2009-09-26T21:38:00.005+01:00

Sooo, what am I doing after two days in bed crying my heart out and feeling a Fail Fail Fail ?

Well I'm out of bed again, and I'm not going to ditch my coffee plans so quick, I haven't chucked my PC out the window in exchange for a TV either - if you know me, you'll know I am emotive and don't like critics.

My first order of local brand coffee is still in the post, I haven't uploaded my coffee stock to Zara's Venues yet as I'm wondering now if to forget the whole UK niche and focus on the USA sales - I could give away my own brand coffee to a local charity or something and focus on the States instead - if the American's don't want me then I might have to look at setting up a coffee stand on the moon instead.

- it's a big world USA does have more competition but they also don't kick a person when they are down - well not quite in quite the same way - imagine if Lauren Luke had been told she looked like a moose by the BBC rather than them supporting her ? - she might never have had the courage to get her make-up range started in New York - I hope she got credit for her brief appearance on YBC! I understand that she got a bit of a social dressing down from a model agency when she was there - I will have to watch that video again to see how she dealt with it.

I've no immediate plans to change my appearance, so if my feather duster and spare room look offends you, best leave now as it ain't changing.

I still like healthycoffee - as it makes me feel better (not look better!) - if you are a healthy coffee drinker - how does it make you feel ? - I shall be looking for videos on youtube to add to coffee venues so if you have a youtube video connected with coffee let me know add I will add it to the venues.

Note I watch a video somewhere else that said it is good to chop and change your strategies - changing venues is a part of that so I might be updating my TOP 28 to reflect my fav. networks

Can 'friendly fire' damage your social contacts network ?

2009-09-26T19:05:00.006+01:00

I never expected to be writing this quite so soon, I was expecting a problem to come from a troll I know would get me -I have reached my first surprise already, but it is worth looking at as I've not had this particular situation before in a "social" environment on-line.

I'm talking about collateral damage - when a friendly person says something bad about you in public I belong to one network of people that are in my contact lists across multiple networks - my contacts network (which are independent from the network I am on at the time) has a range of people from both developing countries and the UK and USA - also from a range of social backgrounds in terms of education,employment and cash to spend - some of them are my up lines in affiliate programs, some are in my downlines, I also have my wholesale and retail suppliers in my social contacts network.

In old skool marketing (where I started 8 years ago) with an American slant I'd call the following scenario a "Two-Pronged attack" - the intent, according to the ethos of this particular network is 'friendly' and I have no reason to doubt this is the case (unless I was nominated by someone that doesn't like me of course), so I'll try and keep this as vague as possible, I belong to loads of networks so hopefully by explaining what the poison might be, you can be prepared for a similar disaster event in your own marketing efforts and take evasive action. - It might be the case that the poison is good for some people and causes an allergic reaction in others. Big companies deal with this all the time, they have the mental resources to fight fire with fire - or rainbow with rainbow (if they are the non violent types)

It is useful for affiliates and marketers to know - that if you put your real photo on a social network you might get someone say something really horrible about it - to do you a favor - this could potentially backfire if it gets into google with your name and your primary niche attached to it - sounds like good old fashioned 1.0 marketing to me, with an insidious twist - it is for your own good - so it's back to battle stations on alert from me - THEY - are still alive and out to get you baby don't let your guard down again!!!

What happens when Cinderella doesn't leave the ball at midnight:

So imagine you are at a fancy dress party, you go with group of friends and you have been going to it for many years. Your costume isn't that great, maybe you are a bit poor and rather then the nice shiny fabrics others are wearing you decided to wear what you have, bottle tops and tin foil and scraps of paper.

You've been wearing this costume for many years and you think that maybe it's time to look at wearing something a bit more flattering but you are unsure if it is the right move. Nobody has ever complained or mentioned your costume, they are friendly hosts and accept people from all backgrounds, but this year you decide to take a new costume anyhow and plan to change into it once you get there, rather than turn up in a new dress and make a grand entrance (a grand entrance is like a prelaunch something that is not my cup of tea (or coffee!).

Now you have invited friends, they are all standing around chatting and talking as usual, you are mingling as usual all seems normal and friendly. Then a good friend of the host comes up to you and your friends - she is well known (as you are about to find out) she designed the costumes of the host, she is well turned out and liked, you have seen her about over the years but haven't particularly watched what she is doing when she mingles with the hosts and their social circle of fine clothed people.

What you didn't know, but came to realize was that this lady judges the costumes every year - you weren't aware that such a thing even existed at the party, what competition you think as she begins to look you up and down ? looking puzzled your friends gather around to listen to what she has to say about your costume...

The judgment goes straight in for the kill - she tells you you personally look terrible (your personal brand sucks prong 1.) and your dress is a heap of bottle tops and paper sown together in a such a bad design that it would put them off associating with you in public in case anyone thought you were actually together at the party (your personal branding is putting people off your product and services prong 2.).

She recommends a couple of fundamental changes you could make to instantly make you more popular and acceptable , that is her job (as you are finding out) - then pulling out the big, fat ZERO card as judgment - she walks off to the next group of people.

Due to being a "lady" you faint - and fail to see just how many of your friends have been influenced by this judgment and left your circle of friends, you have been branded a Zero - so it doesn't seem right in the circumstances to wear your new costume - as friends are of mixed opinion - will make any difference now you think ?

Some of them have clothes only slightly better than your own, some have clothing that equal the quality of the hosts. Some friends defend your honor - and your cheap clothes - reminding people that a person is more than their costume, there is more to this party than the beauty competition right ?

Others wonder why you are confused, you are lucky to be chosen by the hosts dress maker for such a judgment - it is an honor, so you say thank you and go out for some fresh air to try and decide the next course of action, you've actually grown fond of your rags in a strange kind of way as you know that the friends you have are not judging you on your dress, the clothes have kept you warm, your dress would never match up to the quality of the hosts circle in reality, you'd never agree to be judged in such a way in front of friends without warning.

You also know that none of your friends would surely have nominated you, in your cheap dress to be judged in a negative way in public next to the fine costumes... like putting a 3 wheeler next to a Ferrari and expecting people not to take the piss out of the old banger.

Question is - does it matter if you are given a negative review in a highly public place in front of friends ? - Should a person be thankful - or have they effectively been ousted from the circle of influence by proxy ? (we are all equal on the Internet- unless someone of greater influence says you are LESS equal) - Bearing in mind the mantra of social networking is to be liked, does bad press in social networking make you more liked or more ignored ?

Date of Birth	01/03/1973
Type
Role	Sales, Marketing, Advertising or PR
Member Since	02/11/2007
Primary Website	http://www.weston-chatter.com
Status	Online and currently viewing Member Profiles