Welcome to Now

Today I clicked on an ad on from Facebook for Sprint and I got to the new Now Widget which is one of the coolest/strangest things I have ever seen. From this talking widget you can see how many sticky notes are being created, top words being used online, Google searches as they happen and news. This disying aray of content is put together to promote the Sprint Now Network.

I wonder if Sprint will see sales from this site? This site just goes to show you that there are many things left to try with social media and the Internet.

Can Everyone Embrace Social Networking?

Today I was asked if every business uses social networking how will we find any businesses and will there still be any value? This got me thinking….oh no! If every business and nonprofit had a blog, a Facebook page, LinkedIn business profile and so many other others things out there would there be even more junk out on the Internet.

Please forgive me in advance for my indecisiveness. Since I don’t have an answer I am going to give a few plausible answers and try to come to a conclusion.

Because people are pulling information and it is not being pushed on them there cannot be too much information. People will find the information they want and as Internet technology evolves so will search. In the short time it may seem like there is too much, however, over time developers will make this work. Look at cable TV and you will see the same problem and solutions are being developed to manage it.

Since there is so much content people will give up and stop looking for commercial content. Just like we have used TiVo to skip past TV commercials we will find ways to skip Internet commercial information. I don’t think this is viable because so much of the information that users want is commercial in nature.

Facebook and other servers won’t be free forever. Even a low cost of entry will take away people who are not serious about making their business social.
Just putting a page on Facebook and starting a blog is not enough. Businesses will need to make their organization social and to do this right the investment in time is greater than the uncommitted will be willing to do.

New and creative campaigns and uses of social tools will make the right places float to the top of the pile. Better search and better content will make things worth seeing available. Also, since part of the power of social networking is the ability to share things of value. Buttons like the Facebook Like button and tools like Digg will clarify what has value to users like you.

The truth is that some hybrid of these answers will be the end result of social networking. Start thinking about what it means to make your business social (watch for the upcoming book Connect and Contribute: Creating a Social Business) and start paying for attention.

Facebook – Business Tool or Business Toy?

In my article Attention – The New Currency I told readers that I would outline technologies that are available for them to try and get the attention of readers, customers, prospects, supporters, the media and others. I am going to paint with a narrower brush than to just cover social networking and focus this week on Facebook. Next week I will cover LinkedIn, followed by blogging and then Twitter.

As you read through this article you can find definitions for terms about Facebook at the Denver DataMan Facebook Dictionary.

Facebook is designed to be very casual and laid back. Facebook is geared at business to consumer relationships but more and more business to business relationships are being fostered using Facebook. If your business is not compatible with being laid back and having some fun with the work you do Facebook is not the place to be. If you think your business does not have the compatibility you might want to reconsider changing this given that fostering relationships is critical to success and we do businesses with people and firms we like.

Mike Hanbery is Owner & Chief Business Development Officer of Hanbery & Hanbery . Mike uses Facebook for business and helps drive traffic to his company and other social media projects that he does like his blog The Holistic Interconnectedness of All Things.

Hanbery & Hanbery that has a page for theeir accounting and business consulting firm so that they have another channel to reach people who they want to meet. Many of their clients and prospects come through the South Metro Chamber of Commerce who is helping people connected with Facebook and other services. Experience Pros is another SMCC company that is using Facebook to promote their business to business events.

If you are have a storefront then Facebook is another place to put up your hours and drive traffic. Cartridge World of Englewood is doing this well. If you are a restaurant or club build a following and send out specials. If you are an artist, like musician Julie Geller you should have a page to excite your fans and share music samples with them.

Facebook does not lend itself to selling. Social media in general lends itself to the idea that people will see your name and be reminded of you or you will post something that resonates and keeps you top of mind. Hard selling does not work unless you are buying ads (a post for another day). In all things we do with social media we are trying to pull people in not push information to them.

One way to passively remind and inspire is to change your status message to talk about what you are doing or drive people to a new project.

Example:

If you have interesting ideas on using Facebook, post them here and share.

Given that I started using Facebook before I had a business and before business was being done using Facebook it has been very hard for me to transition to using Facebook for business. This is a big challenge for people in their 20’s and early 30’s who have started connecting on social networks for purely social uses and are now being asked to use them for work. All users should be aware that if you would not put something on an I-25 Billboard you should not put it on Facebook or other social networks. If you are wondering if you should post something or not than it is probably best that you not.

Facebook can be a great business tool to stay connected with their supporters. If you like this article become a fan of Denver DataMan on Facebook. Next week I will talk about ways to use LinkedIn to gain attention.

Chase ATMs

I use technology every day, serving my clients, talking on my cell phone, connecting with friend on Facebook and in any number of other ways. I must admit it takes a lot to rely impress me with a new technology. I have recently found a technology that though it has been use in other ways for some time I love its new use.

Chase now scans checks inserted in the ATM making deposits available more quickly and even gives you a print out with copies of the checks you are depositing if you want that. You can also safely deposit cash because it can count cash when making a deposit. Check scanning has been used inside the branches for some time now but this new implementation helps me be more productive which I like.

The thing about technology is it is only great if it works to solve a problem or gives us something fun to do. Technology should not be about the coolest most flashy thing (especially for work) if it does not make us more efficient. This technology though simple compared to others excites me because it will help me be more efficient.