New Media - Paul Fleming - Paul Fleming - Flemo: Between Sydney, Philadelphia and the World Wide Web

I consider myself an Internet Marketer. I’ve often thought about what makes up a good Internet Marketer and have always found that those best suited to the work have a built-in curiosity and a liking for the hustle. For me, I’ve been an early tech adopter for as long as I can remember especially when it comes to the Internet. Online progress has always been at such a frenetic pace and it feels like that pace gets faster and faster that it’s hard to keep up. There’s some new startup, a new service we have to try out, a beta invite, a must-have app….I have accounts that I didn’t know I have and others that I know I have that remain dormant. There are a few reason for trying to keep pace…some of it just plain curiosity, partially to check something that someone has put their blood, sweat and tears into or had the insight to create something they reckon people might be into. The other side of that caters to my profession in which I look for opportunities for clients. In Internet Marketing, there is this sense that to be successful, one needs to have, or at least pretend to have some form of Attention Deficit, to bounce from system to system, to constantly be on the go and prove value by doing new things and chasing that next big thing. That level of hustle always seems to serve our clients well. Out of that, a process has begun to emerge and we’ve created a more formal structure (sort of). At the very least, we have learned some lessons.

Here are just a couple of tips:

1. Follow other early adopters – there is no shortage of places to find the next shiny thing. A few choice selections on twitter will help but they can be easily missed so I’d suggest focussing on some key blogs. My favorite these days is TheNextWeb which has a very comprehensive coverage, so too Mashable which tends to crank out info by the second. Techmeme is my favorite aggregator.

2. Keep a master login list – the issue here is not that you should be concerned that your data is out there that you are not looking after but because there are times when you will forget about an account that maybe you didn’t “get” initially that upon a revisit recognize its value. This list (which can also remind you of your login info) can help to jog your memory. Evernote can be a useful tool for storing this list.

3. Really test – put it through it’s paces. Use it as if you want to break it and get to know it pretty well before looking around at reviews to see what others have discovered.

4. Use a persona – Mostly I use my own account for the testing but there is the odd occasion when an incorrect setup may impact your account so I have a few dummy accounts that i will use without fear of reprisal. I think a lot of us made the mistake of setting up Google Analytics accounts under our profiles instead of new accounts when it first came out and then losing that data when you had to move it over. We still come across those every once in a while.

While I’ve forced a move to a more manageable and balanced lifestyle (more away-from-the-computer time), I certainly enjoy that side of the business and it may be a big reason why I got into the Internet Marketing game in the first place. I feel like our clients would and should expect that we are doing this so that they don’t have to (until we decide that they need to).

So what’s my latest signup? I just signed up for an invite at www.so.cl, Microsoft’s own foray into social media…maybe. Also just began playing around with Gentlemint which is a guys version of Pinterest. How about you? Any newbies you want to share?

It’s one of those things. Like downloading music, there was once a sense that you could simply get it for free. Of course you still can but it’s become more apparent that now, with an ever-increasing ability to track and protect these items, the risks are great. There are also more services available that give greater weight to artists over record labels and the RIAA (CD Baby for example) that just the thought of getting one over these idiots is well worth the download fee.

Images have suffered a similar fate, maybe to an even greater extent. The fact is that you don’t know if that image you found on Google Images is copyright protected or not. A watermark is an obvious sign but some are embedded in the pixels proving much harder to detect. We’ve seen a spate of clients come under fire from Getty Images who have been tracking down some of their images and asking for proof of purchase and bullying them into paying compensation even after taking them down. It certainly has the feeling of being a scam and most definitely reeks of unsavory business practices so it’s important that you take the necessary steps in getting yourself into a situation with them breathing down your neck.

How about avoiding Getty Images? Obviously not going to their website is easy but they have extended their reach beyond their own walls, especially with the purchase of the very useful istockphoto.com and my previous favorite sxc.hu. I really used to like that site but now they too have succumbed.

Other websites to add to your list:

1. Flickr.com – not only will you find a lot of personal photos here but professionals also share their wares and they set the copyright rules.

2. MorgueFile.com – I recall when these guys first came out their site was pretty basic. It has improved significantly and is a great resource. Again the rules vary but there are a lot available for free and without attribution.

3. Freemediagoo.com is most definitely free it can just be a little difficult finding what you want.

4. Dreamstime.com – if you like istockphoto, these guys are a solid replacement for cheap downloads. They also have a free section.

5. Public-Domain-Image.com – all images are under public domain and as such are free to use for commercial or personal use

As the Internet continues to mature, it’s becoming more and more obvious that we can no longer be so cavalier about our activities online. Whether companies like Getty Images break certain protocols in dealing with illegal activities is beside the point, and like the RIAA the hope is that their reputation and business will suffer as a result. The fact is that we have options, and good ones too, that allow us to choose alternatives which should be encouraged.

If you own a restaurant or cafe, chances are you probably dislike review websites, even if you achieve great results. Unfortunately it’s mostly because the reviews that stand out aren’t necessarily the glowing referrals praising your every dish and move, but more likely the 1 star complainers who didn’t like the person sitting next to them and decided to slam your store for letting said person in. The Internet has provided a playground for the “masses are assess” mentality where people who are completely unqualified, have been given the power to voice their lack of qualification for others to hear. Still, that’s not to say that all reviews are useless rants of drivel, in fact some can really offer excellent tips that may actually help your business.

Remember the days when people would offer you feedback by coming to your counter and suggesting that your coffee was excellent but the mugs were awkward to use? Well people don’t seem to do that anymore in fact, they are far more likely to go to Yelp and write it out for everyone to see, which is why you need to be looking there as well. Now, I’m not actually suggesting that you listen to all the reviews (in fact I’d probably consider maybe 1%, if that) but in doing so, you may get a sense of what your customers a saying. Maybe you’ll pick up on a trend. If everyone is complaining about the same thing, you may well have an issue to address. That’s why you should be trawling.

So where to go and what to do. Here are some tips:

Yelp – Probably one of the more popular review websites. Many suggest that recent changes are impacting their numbers and there are stats to support it but it still has a huge user base and you should find a number of useful reviews of your place (hopefully).
Chowhound – one of the better review websites. While they have a smaller user base, they tend to be more knowledgeable than other sites.
GAYOT (pronounced guy-OH) – I find the website to be pretty awkward to get around and the ads are a bit much but they have a decent amount of reviews that you may need to check out.
CitySearch – this one always surprises me mostly out of the fact that people actually use it. Generally not a great deal of insight but they do have numbers.
TripAdvisor – a slick site with a huge volume of reviewers. Less about locals and more about travelers.
Urban Spoon – this fairly new player seems to have really benefited from having one of the more interesting iPhone apps and continues to be highly mobile.

Other notables include www.opentable.com, www.menupages.com, www.menuism.com, www.boorah.com, www.frommers.com

Quickly becoming essential tools that help to monitor chatter online is twitter which allows you to add the name of your restaurant as a search and then check regularly to see if people are talking about you. Google Alerts can also provide some info mostly when someone posts a blog about you.
And finally, the latest trends are pointing towards foursquare and gowalla as being new players in this space.

Even if you’re not using Social Media as part of your marketing mix, you really should be paying attention to it as quite often, potential visitors may be swayed by these reviewers, like it or not.

I noticed that Google Maps had an additional feature at the start of the month that I simply shrugged off as an April Fools gag but several days later and it’s still there. The 3D Goggles view shows an icon indicating a figure with and without glasses.

Clicking on the icon gives you the typical blurry appearance with blue/red shadows. Certainly without the 3D glasses, the image looks pretty bad and I haven’t had a pair of 3D glasses to check the view but I can’t really see massive use for this feature and continue to treat it as an extended April Fools gag.

No 3D Goggles

With 3D Googles View Selected