FriendFeed vs. Twitter - Is That Really The Point?

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Man what a day!!! Over the past 12 hours i’ve read a dozen posts on “Twitter vs Friendfeed” and “Everyone is leaving Twitter” blah blah blah.

FriendFeed enables you to keep up-to-date on the web pages, photos, videos and music that your friends and family are sharing. It offers a unique way to discover and discuss information among friends.

It’s interesting cause a lot of people have been chatting about Friendfeed over the last week. Michael Arrington from Techcrunch wrote about it, iJustine who is the Internet wrote about it, TechTicker wrote about it, & several other posts & “influencers” in the Social Media world have talked about it. Jeremiah Owyang who is a Sr. Analyst at Forrester Research also wrote about that actually inspired me to write this post & do the Video below (more about his post below).

Techcrunch talks about how much more interesting the conversations are on FriendFeed vs Twitter (which to me are a HUGE part of Social Media), iJustine is talking about “who will go mainstream first - Twitter or Friendfeed” and “asks does it really matter”, and a few others are chiming in.

Check out my thoughts on this 8 Minute video on FriendFeed:

Its very interesting because with Social Media, things change so fast so you can’t focus on the “Social Technologies” but focus on the “Social Touch” side of things, the people, the conversations, the relationships, then figure out which technologies would best fit you.

There’s so many technologies out there and guess what, you don’t have to be on all of them to succeed in Social Media Marketing. I promise.

Listen, I LOVE Twitter, it’s really helped my business & I’ve made some tremendous advancements in my business just become of the little tool. This is NOT about who’s better. Twitter sure has been having some issues over the last few weeks & some of the functionality has been taken away for periods of time, etc. That’s inconvenient for the folks that spend 8 hours a day on Twitter. LOL

Not only is FriendFeed a GREAT solution for when Twitter is down, I think the concept and what FriendFeed is up to is pretty outstanding. They just “get it.”

So back to Jeremiah’s post about the “Herding Behavior on FriendFeed.” A couple more folks who are at Forrester (Charlene Lie & Josh Bernoff) wrote a book called “Groundswell - Winning in a transformed by social technologies” that talks about what Jeremiah referred today in his post. He talked about the Social “Technographics” which is a tool to allow people in business to examine and then create strategies based on the groundswell tendencies of any group of people.

The Social Technographics ladder represents a group of consumers more involved in the groundswell than the previous steps. Take a look at the image below:

Jeremiah says that…“aaside from aggregating content (you can see all my tweets, flickr, digg, upcoming, blogs on one stream) you yourself can be a creator, critic, collector, joiner, or spectator.”

It’s too soon to see who will go mainstream first, and if FriendFeed will do what Facebook did to Myspace, or predict any of those type of things, the one thing that is for sure is that FriendFeed’s concept is RIGHT ON. I think this is where social media is going as having all these tools, sites, etc in one place makes it easier to:

• be more productive (not having to login to 20 different sites)
• monitor you or your brand
• research & staying ahead of the pulse

Who’s to say that Twitter or FriendFeed won’t go under tomorrow, that’s irrelevant, the point is that FriendFeed is onto something with their concept and if the influencers are attracted to it, there’s definitely something to say about it.

Over the next week or so I’m going to be playing with it & will write about my thoughts about it.

What are YOUR thoughts about FriendFeed so far?

Please make sure to also leave your FriendFeed URL.

I’ll start http://FriendFeed.com/successfool

You’ll also wanna make sure to add my good buddy Maria Reyes-McDavis the WebSuccessDiva here: http://friendfeed.com/websuccessdiva

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Alejandro Reyes

Image source, Forrester and FriendFeed, screenshot taken by me

Are You Ahead Of The Pulse?

Gary Vaynerchuk Lesson 2: “Getting Ahead of the Pulse”

Last week we talked about the “Hoopla Factor” and how you’ve gotta find that thing that separates you from the rest of the world. That God-given talent that makes YOU who you are.

The 2nd thing that Gary talked about is “Getting Ahead of the Pulse.”

“Reading trends is Death City, USA”

In Internet Business, if you just focus on reading trends, searching for the next best keyword, you’re going to have the same results you currently have. Some of you might get lucky, but the true key to making things happen is to get ahead of the curve & be innovative.

Bill Gates calls it the “First Movers Advantage.” Whoever is first wins. Take a look at him and “Windows.” Take a look at what Steve Jobs did in the Music industry AND in the Cell Phone industry. They were the first to put something out that was extremely innovative and ahead of its time.

Gary was one of the first if not the first Wine retail company to have a website back in 1997. When everyone was enjoying the “fruity” California wine’s, and saw an obvious “segue in pallets” as he calls it, and moved to where wine was more fruiy…Australia & Spain.

He understood these things and was able to get ahead of the pulse because he talked to every customer, he read all the emails that he received every day and was literally in the trenches. If you’re able to get ahead of the pulse in your industry or your niche, you’re able to know what’s coming next. If you know what’s coming next and people see that, it will be only a matter of time before you start to rise up in your community as the leader & authority on the subject.

So what next how do you get ahead of the pluse? Here’s a few places you can start:

1. Twitter: Start connecting with people and becoming aware of what the “conversation” is & you’ll start to see things

2. Facebook: Find out what people are talking about most? Find how who’s on the “Top Friends” section of people’s profile.

3. Forums: Don’t waste too much time here, maybe once a week. Find out what people are selling, what the issues & problems are within your industry

4. Turn the TV On: Watch the Hills…just kidding. What are people talking about in the world today? What are Baby Boomers up to? How’s people handling the current state of America.

Interact with people, be engaging, provide value to them, listen to them, be very aware, and soon you’ll find yourself picking up on things.

I’m working on something that NO ONE is really talking about yet. You got a glimpse of it when I was interviewed by Social Marketing Expert Michelle Macphearson last thursday night when I talked about “Influencing the Social Networking Sites”

Get out there and start touching people, kissing babies, mingling and just have crazy awareness of what’s going on. Good luck!

Influencing Social Networking Sites

Alright check it. I’m about to give you the HOTTEST interview that I’ve ever given out so far. Michelle Macphearson who is one of the top if not THE top Social Marketing experts on the planets. I’ve been following Michelle for some time now but we’ve built a really great friendship in the last month or so because of social networking sites.

Check this out, she asked me a few days ago to do an interview on what I’ve been doing and how I’ve used social media and networking sites to connect with influencer’s, gain tons of traffic to my sites, build strong relationships with top entrepreneurs & make money online.

So I figured there would be anywhere from 30-40 people on this call but I was completely wrong. I started to advertise it on Twitter and because of my connections and relationships, my friends started talking about it and it started to grow virally. Before I know it, over 400 people were registered on the call and over 200 people stayed on the hour long call that we did. I’ve been on a lot of conference calls and for a 20 hour notice, those numbers are unheard off.

Here’s the recording to show you how I dominate the social networking sites using simple yet highly effect strategies!!! This audio runs 81 minutes.

I’d be very interested to what you liked best about the interview and any questions you still might have? Also make sure to follow Michelle @michellem on Twitter. Leave YOUR Twitter ID here as well so we can all connect!

Comment & Enjoy

BIG BIG Things Coming - Interview with Michelle Macphearrson

So check it - I’m going to resume the Gary Vaynerchuk lessons either tomorrow or Monday as I’m working on 2 REALLY exciting things.

The first one one is something that you can actually benefit from TONIGHT!! You see I’ll be interviewed by one of my good friends and MAJOR players in the Social Marketing niche, Michelle Macphaerson! This is the FIRST time that I’ve actually processed my thoughts on how “Alejandro” uses Social Media to make buzz, make friends, & make money. Check it out here. Make sure you register!

http://www.michellemacphearson.com/big-flippin-deal-thurs-8pm-est/

The second thing is I’m working on the hottest powerpoints showing the “How-To’s” of everything I’m up to online…Pretty crazy hott stuff!

Keep an eye out very soon!

Gary Vaynerchuk - You Gotta Find Your Hoopla Factor

Lesson #1: You Gotta Find Your Hoopla Factor

“You have to be excited about what you’re doing, if you have the hoopla factor it’s because you love what you do.”

Have you found your “Hoopla Factor?” Are you passionate about what you’re doing? In business, especially an Internet Business, you have gotta find your hoopla factor. It’s that thing in your business that you can get excited about, that thing that sets you apart in your niche and you just simply love doing it.

Whatever that hoopla factor is for you, make sure that you’re staying true to who you are. I see too many marketers & entrepreneurs that are just super fake! They see someone doing something that is getting attention so they try and become that person for some reason. That is so sad to me because it just shows that people are lacking a ton of confidence in themselves so they try and act like someone else.

You have got to realize that there’s something inside of you that is extremely special that sets you apart from everyone else. There’s an old proverb that says, “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great man.” I believe that thing inside of you, that DNA, that Passion of yours, is the thing that you need to find, that thing you need to tap into, so that you can be totally authentic, real, and transparent! Folks, when that happens, it’s a lot easier to get excited about things.

People are looking for an “Authentic Story.” What’s YOUR authentic story cause that’s your Hoopla Factor. It’s what sets you apart from everyone else. It’s okay to be different. I DARE you to be different and watch what happens. What’s the worse that can happen? People actually like you?

Gary did things different in a MAJOR way. Here’s a couple things he did different then everyone else in his industy.

1. Launching a Website: In 1997 WineLibrary.com was launched and no one was doing that in the Wine Industry.
2. Gary was a bit of a “Freak Show”: When he was 20 years who knew a lot about Burgandy , people would come to see a kid that looked 13 talking about that.
3. Invested Heavily in a Different Product Mix: When everyone else was talking about California wine’s and Gary was pumping out Spain & Australia and getting people really excited about that.

Gary did things different and is still doing things different? What are you doing different that you can get people excited about. People want to get excited and they’re looking out there for someone to get them excited in YOUR niche. Will it be you? I sure hope so.

Here’s what I would do if I were you because I’ve done this myself.:

1. I would take out a piece of paper and write out the things or that thing that you’re most passionate about. That God given gift, talent that you know that if the world just saw this side of me, it would be over! People want to see THAT side of you. Now there can be many things, but try and keep it close to your business as possible. For some of you, you just might not be passionate about what you’re doing and might think to start doing something else?
2. I would call 2 of your closest friends that TOTALLY know the REAL you! Or it can be business advisors. You gotta make sure they’re the friends that you know deep down have your best interest in mind. I would ask them to answer a few simple questions, “What makes ME me?” For me it was, “What makes Alejandro, Alejandro.” What are the good qualities and gifts that you believe separate me from everyone else? What’s ONE word that describes Alejandro.
3. I would take the piece of paper and what your closest friends told you, and start to iron out who you really are and how you can bring that to the table in your business, to your clients, customers, etc.

I want you to take these simple actions and I DARE you to comment below and let me know what YOUR passion & gifts are and how you plan to implement that in your business. Don’t be afraid, we’re all here to help each other out.

I gotta warn ya, you might have to do some soul searching which to some people it isn’t fun. I HAVE to soul search, I HAVE to be in tune with my Passion cause if not, I get bored easy and there’s no excitement for what I do. But keep in mind, if you want that “Hoopla Factor” in your business, you gotta be willing to take the necessary steps.

I look forward to hearing from ya and tomorrow look out for the post entitled: “Get Ahead Of the Pulse.”

I’ll leave you with a quote from Gary:

“You need to create an air of excitement in your business.”

First 30 Days of Successfool - Successfool Stats

Here’s a quick video about my thoughts on the first 30 days of Successfool.com. In this video, I’m to be giving 3 Tips that you can apply today to start driving more traffic to your business that I’m not going to be sharing in this post.

Here’s a some interesting stats for month 1:

Unique Visitors:
4,014 - Averaged 133 uniques a day

Alexa Rank:
330,807
(before April 1st was over 800k)

Top Referring Sites:
1. Stumble Upon
2. Twitter (only started using Twitter in the 2nd week of April)
3. Wikpedia

Top Referring Friend Site:
Alice Seba (thanks Alice!!)

Most Popular Post:
1. What is Twitter?
2. The Most Important Day of My Life

Most Popular Interview:
David Wilkinson (we really found out that he’s REAL )

Top Commentators:
Jason Stanley Marshall
Tony Smith

Most Commented Post:
The Most Important Day of My Life

Favorite Tweets:
http://twitter.com/JPmicek/statuses/790455632
http://twitter.com/Ed_Dale/statuses/793751483

Most Diggs:
http://digg.com/business_finance/The_Most_Important_Day_Of_My_Life

I wanna thank those that help me out in month one of Successfool, you know who you are, and you ROCK!!

Will YOU be on next month’s stats?

Twitter Interview with Book Marketer Warren Whitlock

To wrap up this weeks Twinterviews, I interviewed Book Marketing Genius, Warren Whitlock. Warren has been a very successful marketer for a very long time, so the value you he provides in this interview did not shock me.

Warren really hit it on the nail when he said that Twitter is all about “listening” to the conversations and seeing how you can provide value, an answer or a solution to someone. He was referring to a great post on the “Secret to Twitter” by Robert Scoble found here.

Warren has over 1,200 people following him on Twitter and in this interview he share’s how you can use Twitter to your advantage as well! Him and @CoachDeb are coming up with a Twitter Handbook at the end of May so make sure to check it out!

Follow him here: @WarrenWhitelock

Thanks so much for the great insights to Twitter Warren!

Twitter Interview with Angry Marketer Tony Blake

If you haven’t met Anthony Blake, you must. There’s a lot of marketers out there that “try” to be someone they’re not, try and cause controversy for no apparent reason, but Tony Blake is authentic as they come. He might curse, he might make you mad, call you out, or even make a video about you, but the guy when it comes to marketing, knows what he’s talking about.

In this interview, Tony shares what he’s been using Twitter for and why you need to start paying attention to the “tech” world folks! There’s a lot of good tips in there on marketing as well.

Make sure to check Tony out at The Blake Forum and also on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/tonyblakelive

Thanks Tony!

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Twitter Interview with Remarkablogger Michael Martine

This is a great interview with blog consultant, Remarkablogger Michael Martine.

I love this interview because I learned the importance of being “remarkable” on Twitter, provide value to the conversation, it’s going to pay huge dividends.

There’s too many on Twitter that are trying to take, take take, but not give.  If you are willing to give and set yourself up as someone that is remarkable, then Twitter is for you.  If not, good luck.

Make sure to download Michael’s ‘82′ page ebook on “How to Start a Business Blog” and follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/remarkablogger.

Thanks so much Michael for some awesome information!

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Twitter Interview with Internet Marketing Sweetie Alice Seba

I hope you’re enjoying these Twitter Interviews as much as I am.  There’s a lot of great ideas from folks that have been using it to network, to grow their business, market research etc, but the Internet Marketing Sweetie’s, Alice Seba’s laid back approach is definitely something that you need to hear about.

I think that if more people go on Twitter with a much more casual approach then trying to be the person that wants to get followed by everyone, you’re going to see better results.

Alice Seba has been marketig full time on the internet since 2002 and her “sweet” or nice approach to Internet Marketing has definitely paid of.  Make sure to check out the Internet Marketing Sweetie today with tons of great information and insights of how to do marketing the right way.

Thanks Alice!

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