I like to think that Facebook isn’t really that applicable to businesses or organizations. To me, it’s more of a social network that allows me to reunite with old classmates (er look at what they’re up to, without actually talking to them) or discover what a person’s all about before pursuing them as a friend or love interest. Really it exists to ease awkward social interactions by making them virtual instead of actual. Why be bold, when I can obtain the same info meekly?
This thought gets tested on a weekly basis. Last week was a first for me. Last week my opinion on Facebook was tested outside of our Online Marketing class discussions. Shocking, right? It wasn’t just tested once, not twice, but thrice. (Ok, I admit it, I made thrice by including the guest speaker presentation.)
The conversation about the Writers’ Dojo Wednesday was the precursor. This was an insightful discussion, because it clarified that although Facebook business, writer, and book pages aren’t the be all end all to publishing success, they are part of the plan as a whole. The plan being to sell or market yourself as a charming performer, but also keep it real. While I don’t fully understand how to do this, I do understand that selling yourself is a crucial aspect of selling your product. Even when we create personal Facebook profiles we are creating an image of ourselves that we wish to project to our friends, and acquaintances, both old and new.
For this reason alone, Facebook can be a pretty depressing place to visit; it makes me believe that everyone is doing better than me. Everyone seems so successful and happy with about 400 (!) friends. What’s my deal?
Thursday the KBOO radio news director asked me to come in to write a grant for them that is due March 1(!). While writing a grant in a weekend is especially daunting, what added to the drama was that we had to create a program idea to get the grant. Our program idea is to create a show of news stories that listeners post to their Facebook page, website, blog, or text in.
The success of this show depends entirely on the amount of traffic to their website and Facebook! They currently don’t tweet a lot, or get a substantial amount of Facebook comments. The task at hand is to figure out how to get people to post.
The ideas that we came up with were to create a team of news volunteers to post so many comments per day, present the idea to high school and college journalism classes, ask them to participate, and credit the people whose stories we use on air.
If the program gets funded, it will be interesting to see how effective this strategy will be on getting posts generated.
On Friday I had an interview for an Editorial internship. The editor asked me about my classes and I proceeded to talk about social networks, and online marketing. Obviously, a topic that concerns them, they were excited by my interest in this area, as well as all the blogging I had been doing, and I got the internship (!).
So, no social networks aren’t necessarily the key to success, but keep the conversation going because everyone’s looking for a solution, and talking about it creates the illusion that you may just have the answer.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Giver--A Gift That Keeps on Giving
I got really excited when I read the blog topic for the week. My first reaction was--I get to write about a book..YES! I spent a lot of time pondering my favorite books, and discovered that an answer to this question wasn't so easy. While I could argue that they were entertaining and thought-provoking, I couldn't really make a case for life-changing.
Next, I thought back to my elementary school reads such as the Garth Brooks biography or The Anne of Green Gables series. Oddly enough Garth Brooks' life story was a pretty interesting read for me at the time, and The Anne books were a pleasant escape. Life changing? No. I was pretty close to just selecting a book and creating a case for it, then I remembered The Giver!
I went to a small elementary school (100 students, K-8). Our librarian was a collector of bookmarks, had character voices for story hour and still read children and young adult books, not just because she was a librarian, but because she genuinely liked them. Mrs. Portner was the ultimate trusted source for book recommendations.
Every week our class would go to the library, where we would engage in exciting activities such as straightening, card cataloging, but more importantly book check-out. Each week I'd ask Mrs. Portner for her recommendations. On one of these particular days in fourth grade she said, "Have you read The Giver? No? Well, you gotta." And so I did.
I think it might have been the whole concept of "sameness" that got me, growing up my favorite book theme was always: be who you are, it's okay to be different, etc..I read this book at a time where fitting in was pretty important to me and everyone around me. This whole concept of all families being the same in structure was intriguing, so was elimination of emotions through pills. A structure that sounded good in theory, but of course was problematic in reality.
I'd say this book changed me because it made me think about the structure of my current society, withholding emotion, etc. On one hand, it would be great to eliminate pain and heartbreak, but at what cost? love? Last year I found a copy of The Giver in a free box. I reread it and I got to say. it's one of those reads that still ring true to adults just as much, if not more so than to children.
Next, I thought back to my elementary school reads such as the Garth Brooks biography or The Anne of Green Gables series. Oddly enough Garth Brooks' life story was a pretty interesting read for me at the time, and The Anne books were a pleasant escape. Life changing? No. I was pretty close to just selecting a book and creating a case for it, then I remembered The Giver!
I went to a small elementary school (100 students, K-8). Our librarian was a collector of bookmarks, had character voices for story hour and still read children and young adult books, not just because she was a librarian, but because she genuinely liked them. Mrs. Portner was the ultimate trusted source for book recommendations.
Every week our class would go to the library, where we would engage in exciting activities such as straightening, card cataloging, but more importantly book check-out. Each week I'd ask Mrs. Portner for her recommendations. On one of these particular days in fourth grade she said, "Have you read The Giver? No? Well, you gotta." And so I did.
I think it might have been the whole concept of "sameness" that got me, growing up my favorite book theme was always: be who you are, it's okay to be different, etc..I read this book at a time where fitting in was pretty important to me and everyone around me. This whole concept of all families being the same in structure was intriguing, so was elimination of emotions through pills. A structure that sounded good in theory, but of course was problematic in reality.
I'd say this book changed me because it made me think about the structure of my current society, withholding emotion, etc. On one hand, it would be great to eliminate pain and heartbreak, but at what cost? love? Last year I found a copy of The Giver in a free box. I reread it and I got to say. it's one of those reads that still ring true to adults just as much, if not more so than to children.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Clear Cut, Matt Briggs, and Publication Studio
I got interested in Clear Cut Press a few years ago after someone recommended the book Shoot the Buffalo by Matt Briggs to me. The whole concept of this press excited me, validated my taste in books, and I must confess made me feel arty and intellectual. Clear Cut, is subscription-based and run by two ex-indie-music-label execs. The books are all the same size and are sent to subscribers and distributed only to independent booksellers.
Their marketing plan is interesting because it aims at putting books into the hands of people who want it and not to appeal to everyone. In an interview the founders describe how creating the model for the press has self-educated them on how to get books from the warehouse and into the hands of their buyers. There’s something to be said for their readership. We like feeling like part of an elite group, like we’re receiving valuable knowledge and information that the rest of the world is not privy to, and they know it.
I was doing some research for sustainability and I started off at Clear Cut and then linked to the author Matt Briggs’ blog. While on his blog I discovered that his book was recently reprinted by Publication Studio--a new press in Portland, OR.
Well, I had never heard of Publication Studio before. I went to their website and discovered that it begun last February as an experiment. The press prints and binds books on demand. They print books that “both respond to the conversation of the moment and can endure.” The Studio offers fee-based services, ($15/hot glue bind, trim to up to 500 pages at $5/book, etc) Publication Studio is run by one of the co-creators of Clear Cut Press. It started out in The U of O’s White Stag Building with a publishing project with Phil Everum--musician and painter.
This is a really intriguing concept to me because they have a storefront and aren’t internet run. If I were to print on demand with them I could actually go into their space and check out their products before committing. From their business description it almost sounds like they only print work by artists and writers they like, but they also describe themselves as a fee-based service provider.
They occasionally have happy hour discussions where they discuss the future of publishing in The Ace Hotel, in December their topic was bootlegging, pirating and non-exclusive rights. They posed the question should electronic reproduction be controlled and commodified, and. if so how?
Their marketing plan is interesting because it aims at putting books into the hands of people who want it and not to appeal to everyone. In an interview the founders describe how creating the model for the press has self-educated them on how to get books from the warehouse and into the hands of their buyers. There’s something to be said for their readership. We like feeling like part of an elite group, like we’re receiving valuable knowledge and information that the rest of the world is not privy to, and they know it.
I was doing some research for sustainability and I started off at Clear Cut and then linked to the author Matt Briggs’ blog. While on his blog I discovered that his book was recently reprinted by Publication Studio--a new press in Portland, OR.
Well, I had never heard of Publication Studio before. I went to their website and discovered that it begun last February as an experiment. The press prints and binds books on demand. They print books that “both respond to the conversation of the moment and can endure.” The Studio offers fee-based services, ($15/hot glue bind, trim to up to 500 pages at $5/book, etc) Publication Studio is run by one of the co-creators of Clear Cut Press. It started out in The U of O’s White Stag Building with a publishing project with Phil Everum--musician and painter.
This is a really intriguing concept to me because they have a storefront and aren’t internet run. If I were to print on demand with them I could actually go into their space and check out their products before committing. From their business description it almost sounds like they only print work by artists and writers they like, but they also describe themselves as a fee-based service provider.
They occasionally have happy hour discussions where they discuss the future of publishing in The Ace Hotel, in December their topic was bootlegging, pirating and non-exclusive rights. They posed the question should electronic reproduction be controlled and commodified, and. if so how?
Friday, February 19, 2010
Emusic: love and loathe
Okay, so I was one of the email advertising haters during Wednesday's lecture. I even stumbled through an explanation of my proclaimed hatred. The truth is while I do hate email advertising, I have responded to offers, therefore I'm proof that this method actually works.
The standout example would be emusic. I was a member of emusic about four years ago. For those not in the know, emusic is a song downloading program that enables you to download a specific number of songs each month based on the price of your subscription plan. The problem with Emusic is that it does not have every song or artist; it specifically caters to the lesser known. Another issue is if you don't use all your allotted downloads for the month, you lose them. I hadn't been using the program so I deleted it and thought I was no longer a member. I thought this for several months. Well the joke was on me. If I had checked my expenses more regularly I would have noted that I was still a paying member. Apparently, I didn't go through the correct unsubscribing process. After a lengthy conversation with emusic they determined that the error was mine and I'd have to eat the cost.
After this interaction, I swore to never resubscribe. Well, a few years passed. I was unemployed and stll receiving email updates. I had an outstanding library fee that stopped me from checking out cds. I was bored and I wanted music. I received an email from Emusic that said come back to us and receive seventy-five free songs with a trial membership. I opened it and thought: "Kaza, I'll just unsubscribe before the trial runs out and free music will be mine!"
Well, I signed up, downloaded, went through the process of unsubscribing and discovered that all my music would be lost unless I burned it to disc. I didn't have any discs at the time and so I kept the subscription for another month. Well, it's a year later, I still don't have any blank cds, but I do still have the subscription.
I'd say that their email marketing strategy is pretty freaking effective. They lured me with the promise of free stuff, they give me free music per holiday, and they keep me based on fear of music loss and my extreme lack of motivation to buy cds. They know their consumer that's for sure.
The standout example would be emusic. I was a member of emusic about four years ago. For those not in the know, emusic is a song downloading program that enables you to download a specific number of songs each month based on the price of your subscription plan. The problem with Emusic is that it does not have every song or artist; it specifically caters to the lesser known. Another issue is if you don't use all your allotted downloads for the month, you lose them. I hadn't been using the program so I deleted it and thought I was no longer a member. I thought this for several months. Well the joke was on me. If I had checked my expenses more regularly I would have noted that I was still a paying member. Apparently, I didn't go through the correct unsubscribing process. After a lengthy conversation with emusic they determined that the error was mine and I'd have to eat the cost.
After this interaction, I swore to never resubscribe. Well, a few years passed. I was unemployed and stll receiving email updates. I had an outstanding library fee that stopped me from checking out cds. I was bored and I wanted music. I received an email from Emusic that said come back to us and receive seventy-five free songs with a trial membership. I opened it and thought: "Kaza, I'll just unsubscribe before the trial runs out and free music will be mine!"
Well, I signed up, downloaded, went through the process of unsubscribing and discovered that all my music would be lost unless I burned it to disc. I didn't have any discs at the time and so I kept the subscription for another month. Well, it's a year later, I still don't have any blank cds, but I do still have the subscription.
I'd say that their email marketing strategy is pretty freaking effective. They lured me with the promise of free stuff, they give me free music per holiday, and they keep me based on fear of music loss and my extreme lack of motivation to buy cds. They know their consumer that's for sure.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Tale of The Tail blog has begun!
Attention readers and/or classmates:
I did it. I know that as a fellow Online Marketing student, and more importantly friend, you pay close attention to my blogs and therefore recollect a blog about a future blog I planned to create. Well, the wait is over! As of today my blog for my future book The Tale of The Tail exists. thetaleofthetail.blogspot.com Add me..Please! I posted the link to my facebook today and as of this minute I have four followers. Okay, so what if one of the followers includes myself? Nothing wrong with that..
So far I've created an author bio, as well as project and book description. I have also posted one illustration. I'm thinking more pictures of the actual process might be interesting.
I also want to make the blog more interactive by perhaps posing a question to the readers. Another idea I had is to pick a person each week and ask them a question. I will then post both their response and picture on my page. The people posted will be related to either the field or my process. For example, when I make a copy/print of an image, I'll ask an employee of the shop for a suggestion. There is definitely a possibility that this person will be irritated/not interested in participating. I'll just have to keep approaching people until someone concedes. Obviously, if they allow me to take a picture of them and post it on my blog then they're gonna wanna see it. Perhaps their friends will want to check out the blog to see their friend. Perhaps the word of mouth process will create more traffic.
I'm trying to establish my blog a bit before I contact the big guys--magazine blogs. In class Marty made a really good observation about etsy and how the more items you posted and the frequency with which you post them dictates how often you appear in their feed. This got me to thinking about other items I could create and sell through my account. I have several wood blocks that have already been carved. I could make some prints and post these.
The biggest problem is getting people to come to the blog. I don't necessarily want people to come and check out the page now while it's underdeveloped. It hasn't reached its full potential yet, and thus isn't extremely interesting. I don't want people to see it and leave uninterested and never return. Another risk is waiting too late to obtain followers. I could be done with the book and have an interesting blog, but with no followers, or at least none that watched the process as it unfolded. The only solution I can see is work really hard on the book and blog now, while at the same time trying to attract a readership. Attracting a readership is a process that surely doesn't happen overnight.
I did it. I know that as a fellow Online Marketing student, and more importantly friend, you pay close attention to my blogs and therefore recollect a blog about a future blog I planned to create. Well, the wait is over! As of today my blog for my future book The Tale of The Tail exists. thetaleofthetail.blogspot.com Add me..Please! I posted the link to my facebook today and as of this minute I have four followers. Okay, so what if one of the followers includes myself? Nothing wrong with that..
So far I've created an author bio, as well as project and book description. I have also posted one illustration. I'm thinking more pictures of the actual process might be interesting.
I also want to make the blog more interactive by perhaps posing a question to the readers. Another idea I had is to pick a person each week and ask them a question. I will then post both their response and picture on my page. The people posted will be related to either the field or my process. For example, when I make a copy/print of an image, I'll ask an employee of the shop for a suggestion. There is definitely a possibility that this person will be irritated/not interested in participating. I'll just have to keep approaching people until someone concedes. Obviously, if they allow me to take a picture of them and post it on my blog then they're gonna wanna see it. Perhaps their friends will want to check out the blog to see their friend. Perhaps the word of mouth process will create more traffic.
I'm trying to establish my blog a bit before I contact the big guys--magazine blogs. In class Marty made a really good observation about etsy and how the more items you posted and the frequency with which you post them dictates how often you appear in their feed. This got me to thinking about other items I could create and sell through my account. I have several wood blocks that have already been carved. I could make some prints and post these.
The biggest problem is getting people to come to the blog. I don't necessarily want people to come and check out the page now while it's underdeveloped. It hasn't reached its full potential yet, and thus isn't extremely interesting. I don't want people to see it and leave uninterested and never return. Another risk is waiting too late to obtain followers. I could be done with the book and have an interesting blog, but with no followers, or at least none that watched the process as it unfolded. The only solution I can see is work really hard on the book and blog now, while at the same time trying to attract a readership. Attracting a readership is a process that surely doesn't happen overnight.
Friday, February 12, 2010
The Portland Red Guide: Sites and Stories of Our Radical Past
history/historical
radical
Communist
Anarchist
Socialist
Portland has long been coined as radical in terms of thought and lifestyle, without ever really being credited for inciting any historically-radical-movement. So, it was with great interest and curiosity that I perused The Portland Red Guide: Sites and Stories of Our Radical Past. We may not be San Francisco, and we may not be Washington D.C., but we do have a red and radical past..flavored with socialists, communists and gasp anarchists..and..and Allen Ginsberg visited for a bit and got NAKED at PSU! Scandal.
In all seriousness, Portland has a socialist, communist and anarchist history. Color us red. Some of these organizations still meet, specifically the socialists at the Central library downtown. I especially enjoyed reading the radical history behind places that act as backdrop for my world today such as Unthank Park or The White Eagle Saloon--where radical meetings were going down, and of course the appearances made by radical celebs such as Emma Goldman and Woody Guthrie. Radical Woody even lived here for a bit, while writing songs inspired by Bonneville Dam. Previous to this book I would have never pegged Bonneville Dam as a radical site, historical perhaps, but radical no. For most of the famous radicals who stayed in our city, Portland was merely a footnote. To Portland these footnotes were hallmarks and a great source of pride in our history, radical or otherwise.
Perhaps, some of these details don’t really seem so radical. What interests me is the historical aspect of it, or the reminder that the buildings we see and streets we tread all have a history behind them. When put into a historical context it becomes clear that each of these events were indeed a big deal. It’s nice to be reminded of the people who made history here, history that for the time period was radical. Maps and photos provide a window into the world of the radical--the locations and their faces.
radical
Communist
Anarchist
Socialist
Portland has long been coined as radical in terms of thought and lifestyle, without ever really being credited for inciting any historically-radical-movement. So, it was with great interest and curiosity that I perused The Portland Red Guide: Sites and Stories of Our Radical Past. We may not be San Francisco, and we may not be Washington D.C., but we do have a red and radical past..flavored with socialists, communists and gasp anarchists..and..and Allen Ginsberg visited for a bit and got NAKED at PSU! Scandal.
In all seriousness, Portland has a socialist, communist and anarchist history. Color us red. Some of these organizations still meet, specifically the socialists at the Central library downtown. I especially enjoyed reading the radical history behind places that act as backdrop for my world today such as Unthank Park or The White Eagle Saloon--where radical meetings were going down, and of course the appearances made by radical celebs such as Emma Goldman and Woody Guthrie. Radical Woody even lived here for a bit, while writing songs inspired by Bonneville Dam. Previous to this book I would have never pegged Bonneville Dam as a radical site, historical perhaps, but radical no. For most of the famous radicals who stayed in our city, Portland was merely a footnote. To Portland these footnotes were hallmarks and a great source of pride in our history, radical or otherwise.
Perhaps, some of these details don’t really seem so radical. What interests me is the historical aspect of it, or the reminder that the buildings we see and streets we tread all have a history behind them. When put into a historical context it becomes clear that each of these events were indeed a big deal. It’s nice to be reminded of the people who made history here, history that for the time period was radical. Maps and photos provide a window into the world of the radical--the locations and their faces.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
World Domination--Book Style
Amazon clearly has a monopoly over the book publishing industry. Although they finally backed down to Macmillan, their initial refusal proves that they are used to getting what they want. Amazon assumed that Macmillan would surrender, and in this case they were proven wrong.
This means a couple of things for book publishers. Primarily, there is no argument that Amazon is a force to be reckoned with. With its POD/distribution company, e-book platform and retail capabilities, saying no to Amazon is a risk, especially for small publishing houses, whose worth seem trivial in comparison to Amazon’s wealth. Macmillian stepping up to Amazon proves both its company’s power in the publishing realm and also that it is possible to say no to Amazon and survive.
The danger in this can be found in the line “absolute power corrupts.” It does indeed. With Amazon having full control of the industry, they basically have full control of what sells and what doesn’t. Amazon has gained control over book content and monetary value. have the power to censor or play big brother. Everything must meet their approval to be sold on their site. They can also place more emphasis on titles coming from their POD/distribution company and set the price of the market. This also means less work for book distributors because Amazon already has their own. With their finger in every aspect of the process, there will be less work available in the publishing industry.
The benefits for the consumer would be if other stores tried to compete with Amazon’s prices and or shipping charges. Another benefit would be consistency and dependability. Patrons will know what to expect as will publishing companies trying to distribute their books through Amazon. No one will really feel the need to shop around, when they can just go directly to the source.
This means a couple of things for book publishers. Primarily, there is no argument that Amazon is a force to be reckoned with. With its POD/distribution company, e-book platform and retail capabilities, saying no to Amazon is a risk, especially for small publishing houses, whose worth seem trivial in comparison to Amazon’s wealth. Macmillian stepping up to Amazon proves both its company’s power in the publishing realm and also that it is possible to say no to Amazon and survive.
The danger in this can be found in the line “absolute power corrupts.” It does indeed. With Amazon having full control of the industry, they basically have full control of what sells and what doesn’t. Amazon has gained control over book content and monetary value. have the power to censor or play big brother. Everything must meet their approval to be sold on their site. They can also place more emphasis on titles coming from their POD/distribution company and set the price of the market. This also means less work for book distributors because Amazon already has their own. With their finger in every aspect of the process, there will be less work available in the publishing industry.
The benefits for the consumer would be if other stores tried to compete with Amazon’s prices and or shipping charges. Another benefit would be consistency and dependability. Patrons will know what to expect as will publishing companies trying to distribute their books through Amazon. No one will really feel the need to shop around, when they can just go directly to the source.
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Tale of The Tail: Online Marketing Inaction!
A few years ago I wrote a kids' book for a class, but I never illustrated it. I said I would after I was out of school. I graduated, got a job, didn't finish the book. I became unemployed and still didn't finish the book. What's my point, and how does it tie in with Online Marketing? Glad you asked.
In my marketing class we were assigned to market a book that has yet to be published. My fellow classmates all planned on marketing books that either they or a friend had already written. This inspired me to tackle my own book. Not only will I finish illustrating The Tale of The Tale, I plan on completely making it. The Independent Publishing Resource Center just got a Bindfast 5 machine that perfectly binds 20-30 books an hour. I'm taking the class in mid-Feb. Reading Frenzy (an independent bookstore) takes commissions from works created in the IPRC and so my plan is to create the book, get Reading Frenzy to sell it.
As part of my grad project, I'm creating a blog that will document each step of this process. I'm going to create a link on my facebook to the blog, and contact magazines such as Ready Made through their websites. I'll send them both a description and link to my blog. Ready Made has their own blog, or I should say blogs in different areas with topics ranging from cooking, environment, fashion and style and art. If I could get one of the writers to blog about my project and blog that'd be pretty epic. Other magazines with blogs include Juxtapoz. While my work isn't necessarily edgy enough for that magazine, Theo Ellsworth, a Portland illustrator, was featured in the last copy. I want to get my book into Theo's gallery The Pony Club. Not sure how this all relates, but connections, people, connections.. After the book has been created and bound, I will post a link to my etsy account by which people can purchase the book.
Basically, I plan on taking the information I have learned in Online Marketing to promote a book that I will essentially be self-publishing. As I have no source of income, I plan on optimizing social-networks to their full potential. If anyone has any ideas/suggestions/criticisms on this plan please share!
In my marketing class we were assigned to market a book that has yet to be published. My fellow classmates all planned on marketing books that either they or a friend had already written. This inspired me to tackle my own book. Not only will I finish illustrating The Tale of The Tale, I plan on completely making it. The Independent Publishing Resource Center just got a Bindfast 5 machine that perfectly binds 20-30 books an hour. I'm taking the class in mid-Feb. Reading Frenzy (an independent bookstore) takes commissions from works created in the IPRC and so my plan is to create the book, get Reading Frenzy to sell it.
As part of my grad project, I'm creating a blog that will document each step of this process. I'm going to create a link on my facebook to the blog, and contact magazines such as Ready Made through their websites. I'll send them both a description and link to my blog. Ready Made has their own blog, or I should say blogs in different areas with topics ranging from cooking, environment, fashion and style and art. If I could get one of the writers to blog about my project and blog that'd be pretty epic. Other magazines with blogs include Juxtapoz. While my work isn't necessarily edgy enough for that magazine, Theo Ellsworth, a Portland illustrator, was featured in the last copy. I want to get my book into Theo's gallery The Pony Club. Not sure how this all relates, but connections, people, connections.. After the book has been created and bound, I will post a link to my etsy account by which people can purchase the book.
Basically, I plan on taking the information I have learned in Online Marketing to promote a book that I will essentially be self-publishing. As I have no source of income, I plan on optimizing social-networks to their full potential. If anyone has any ideas/suggestions/criticisms on this plan please share!
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