Facebook Home? "Really?"

Okay — the curmudgeon is alive and well this morning. Facebook just released to the press a new initiative to wrap android phones with their own 'home' page experience. It is deeply integrated into the Android environment — to be always 'on' and be the dashboard to your social world. A 'start button' for apps on your Android device.

As they say on Saturday Night Live: "Really?"

I have found my Facebook usage declining precipitously over the past few years. In fact, many people I talk to (even Social Media Czars) say that they are using it less and less too. I even ask kids (14-22) about their usage and they give me a weird look — they never use it.

Why is my Facebook usage declining?

1. There are other better platforms out there. Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Texting, etc. allow me to stay connected with key people in my personal and business life.
2. If I do check Facebook, it's to see if my blog posts are live (confession: I've NEVER closed a client from Facebook) or if I want to wax nostalgic and interact with college friends or hometown photos from years gone by. That's it.
3. I hate any Facebook game, poke, snap-on, program that tries to suck you in (and read your usage).
4. And on usage, I am on high-alert about how Facebook tracks EVERYTHING you do — catalogs it — and sells it to the highest bidder. I've also am very wise to Google — that's why I use Duck Duck Go for my searches.
5. Have you ever seen, clicked-on, or used a Facebook ad? I haven't.
6. And then there's Facebook Envy - read this and this. I get tired of seeing all the 'great' things other people are doing - you know who they are - and they use Facebook to advertise their kids, their travels, and their pets. I'd rather read a good book.
7. They push things ON you — alerts, ads, snap-ons — all the time.
8. It's not an information resource — it's a waste of time. I'd rather use Reddit.

Now back to Facebook Home. Based on the information provided above — why would I want a more expansive, exclusive, and inclusive experience with Facebook? If you eliminate teens, young adults, and professionals, who's really using it?

Housewives/Househusbands, Seniors, and people who are less technologically savvy. Is this a growing market? Housewives/Househusbands are very fickle, the less technologically savvy tend to get more experienced, and seniors die off.

And let's cover their stock opening fiasco, their privacy issues, their ever-changing interface, their bloated code, and wonderful ability to tick anyone off with their presence. Facebook is not a pretty, simple or tight platform to use.

Facebook is doing well right now because there's no direct competition. Google+ is a joke. There is no iOS to Android competition comparison here.

In my opinion, this might be a swing for the fence for Facebook — inculcate themselves into a mobile platform (because their app sucks) to maintain their current pole position.

I don't think it's going to work (let's wait and see if they have to make a de-activate app to wipe it from those phones in the next 6-12 months).

P.S. A confession: I do use the Facebook 'like' app for my posts — I'm trying it out in addition to the basic comment plugin. Not sold on it yet.

"I Can't Find A Job!"

The title of this post is so often repeated in the media — all the way from college students who have just graduated to middle managers who have lost their job to workers in the sunset of their career. "I get up — I check out the job market — I send out a few resumes — and I never get a call back!" "What should I do?"

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE.

It's easier said than done. But the reality is, there are more workers than jobs out there right now. And the premium jobs (management) are disappearing at a rapid pace due to productivity gains, technology, and the current economy. Check out this article.

BUT WHAT CAN I DO?

One option is to start your own business. It's never been easier in the history of people working. To start your own business, you need to clearly understand a number of areas:

• Knowledge of the Marketplace - is this needed?, is there a market for this?, are people willing to pay you for it?
• Drive & Hustle - a 'get off your ass' attitude to make it happen AND a drive to help you through the hard and complex times.
• A Vision - what is the future of this business?, where is it going?, who is your competition?
• A Mission - what are you going to do . . . exactly?
• A Plan - what are the steps, the timing, the resources, - the who, what, where, when, why and how?

Now you might say — "Start a business? How will I make money?" Let me give you an example:

There's a small shop in Kentucky called Gil Hibben Knives. You might have heard about them. Gil makes knives. Really good knives.

In addition to manufacturing his own knives, he runs classes where he teaches people to make their own knives:

• It's only offered once a month.
• The class runs for one week, each day from 9 AM to 5:30 PM.
• He only allows four people in each class. (he can probably run the class by himself)
• The classes are held at his shop in LaGrange, KY. (hotel, travel, food, etc. are your responsibility)
• He charges $995 for each participant.

The classes are FULL for the rest of the year.

Let's do a little broad math here: $1000 X 4 Students X 12 = $48,000/year.

And that's only working one week per month! This model allows him to work on manufacturing and other projects the other three weeks of the month! And let's be honest here — his site is pretty basic — it does the job, but anyone can do the same thing to market their services and wares. What I'm really saying is that it's pretty easy — don't let your mind develop obstacles.

And let me hazard a guess . . . he probably LOVES what he does.

So if the corporation work environment is slowly collapsing/changing — maybe you should strike out on your own and start that business?

It will be hard — it will tax you — but in the end, it will be well worth it.

P.S. I know there will be commenters who will say, "He's a famous knifemaker!" or "He's had his business for years!" or "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah". You may be right, but from my viewpoint, they're just more obstacles you're putting in your way — moving you from success to mediocrity and failure. Get out there and do something!

The Rules Of Job Hunting Have Changed.

Bob Weinstein, a reporter who has interviewed me a number of times on job search, business, and career issues, has hit another home run again yesterday in the Connecticut Post, one of CT's largest newspapers. A whole article about job hunting rules from ME (click image or here to enlarge).

Bottom line:

• Take stock of all social media sites where you have been posting information.
• Step back and view each site with a laser focus — is there anything unprofessional?
• They are looking — especially LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.
• Use these sites to enhance your professional image and stature in the industry. 

A big shout-out to Bob — he's in a rarefied class all by himself - professional, understanding, and informs readers with solid and clear advice.

Social Media Is Ruining Your Life.

How many text messages do you send in a day? How many emails? Tweets? Foursquares? How many quotes/photos/links do you post on Facebook? Pinterest? How many sites do you surf to learn about the world around you?

All of this is GOOD. But it shouldn't be the end-all of what you do to communicate every day.

Do you interact with strangers anymore? Your neighbors? The shopkeeper down the street? The man at Starbucks who makes you that perfect coffee every day?

As we stretch out via the web, we are slowly and subtly closing out many people around us. Not our friends, but those people I call "Strangers". You know, the people you DON'T know and unfortunately, they don't know you either.

As we entwine our lives with more and more social media outlets, it allows us to forgo the opportunity to reach out to people we touch everyday — the waitress, the auto mechanic, the crossing-guard at the school — and have a meaningful conversation with them.

Honestly, we don't even have to talk to them anymore — they are not only strangers, they are 'non-people' in our lives.

You might say — so what? But you might be missing out on your new best friend, your new boss, or your new life partner.

A better title for this post should be "Start A Conversation".

In the next few days, start a conversation with 3-5 strangers whom you wouldn’t normally talk to:

Ask them a question, make them laugh, or give them a compliment (I really like how your arranging those oranges - how do you do that?). You also need to get a response back — and if the opportunity presents itself, have a conversation.

But this is my charge to you — you have to do it this week. Make it happen.

Your Most Successful Social Media Tool.

There's so much written out there on Social Media. There are experts, seminars, books, etc. all on this topic on how to learn it and leverage it for your business. I'd love to find out what works for you. Twitter? LinkedIn? Facebook? GroupOn? Something else?

But here's the catch — What REALLY works? Where do you make money? Where do you get customers?

Let me know - you can either comment on this post or send me an email - socialmedia@richgee.com.

I'd love to hear from you — I will post the responses.

10 Best Sites I Visit Every Day.

A lot of readers and clients have been asking me what are my favorite and most influential sites I visit. The one that get me excited about work and life. I do read a lot on the web during my off hours and find there are certain key sites who do a great job to help me stay up on business issues and personal interests. In no special order:

Popurls

My first stop. This is an aggregator site which brings together many other aggregator sites like Reedit, Digg, Metafilter, Delicious, etc. It delivers the best of the best. Be careful, you can spend HOURS here. (Link)

Wall Street Journal

My business info standby. I can whip through this paper pretty quickly - I don’t get caught up in the opinion - I focus on the facts. Who’s up, who’s down, who’s doing something new - it’s all here (I get this delivered in paper form daily). (Link)

The Economist

Deep, deep analysis of the world from an international viewpoint (I also get this in print form too). (Link)

Cool Tools

My favorite gadget site by Kevin Kelly. A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. (Link)

Twitter

I follow a number of key influencers - Gary Vaynerchuk, Chris Brogan, Robert Scoble, Ivan Misner, Tom Peters, Alyssa Milano (no kidding - she’s great), Michael Hyatt, Soraya Darabi, and Brian Soils. It’s immediate, recent and I can pop in, read, and pop out pretty quickly. It bugs me when people complain about Twitter (I don't have the time!) — it's a tool — use it as a tool, not a TV show.  (Link)

Lifehacker

A great site delivering tips and downloads for getting life and business things done. Unfortunately, they just went through a horrible redesign making their site virtually unusable (owned by Gawker Media - all of their sites have the same architecture and navigation now - I hate it). Still great info. (Link)

Copyblogger & Problogger

Read both of these and your writing will most certainly improve. Brian & Darren bring lots of great ideas, innovative topics and powerful info — stuff I would never think about on my own. (Link) & (Link)

Seth’s Blog

The great Seth Godin — he's a god. Nuff said. (Link)

TED

If you haven’t visited here - you have been missing the best of the web. TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading. All of their speakers and videos are online — I link to them often. (Link)

Inc. & Entrepreneur

Two great magazines who have all of their articles online. Great for the practicing or budding entrepreneur in all of us. (Link) & (Link)

Image provided by OakleyOriginals at Flickr.

Why I Love Twitter.

I've been using Twitter regularly now for exactly one year. And during that year, I have followed lots of friends and colleagues, and have made a lot of important business connections. Looking back, there is one constant that I can attribute to Twitter. It's one of the only avenues of information and connection that I utilize daily. I laugh, I learn, I follow very interesting tweets. I also have a lot of incredible people that I follow. Thank You for all your great tweets this year!

The constant: Twitter makes my life better. Not the NY Times, or the Wall Street Journal. Not the Huffington Post or Talking Points Memo. Twitter.

I find that the more that I surf news-oriented sites, the more I worry, the more I fret, the more depressed I get. I get the feeling that the job of media is to get us to worry, fret and lose hope. Why? So we come back for more.

I have a charge for you. For 30 days, I am asking myself and everyone out there to take a media fast. No more newspapers, News TV, news web sites . . . nothing. To fill that time - I'm just going to Tweet and read Tweets. How about you?

See what happens. Oh yes . . . and let me know.

I Love Michael Hyatt.

Who is Michael Hyatt? Well, let me tell you about a man called Mike in Tennessee. I first 'met' Michael on Twitter. The topics he spoke about and the 'traveling' tweets that he posted immediately appealed to me. There was an innate energy about him and what he was accomplishing.

I then visited his site. Two words: "Blown Away". This man — who not only is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, is an accomplished speaker, leader, and social media guru. He's also a devoted family man — married for over 32 years and has five daughters and four grandchildren.

But what really attracted me to him is his focus on Leadership and Ethics. You see — Michael is rare in today's business world. He actually embraces a strict ethical and moral stance (in business and life) and strikes a decided separation from today's "laissez-faire" attitude of business leaders.

Since I also write about these topics — I was happy to stumble upon a fellow traveler.

So check him out — he just launched a new site — and I love his quote about it:

"My personal philosophy is that if you aren’t continually reinventing yourself, your company, and your brand, it’s only a matter of time before you become obsolete, irrelevant, or go out of business."

Someday, I would like to meet and speak to Michael. I think we have a lot in common.

Will Social Media Be of Any Help to CEOs?

Experts believe social media presents good opportunity for businesses to connect with their customers. By Fayazuddin A. Shirazi at Chief Executive Online.

Although industry analysts are increasingly advocating the usage of social media by companies, CEOs apparently are going easy on the suggestions. As against the increased usage of social media – such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and the fast growing blogs domain - by general public, CEOs are still lagging behind in adopting to such emerging trends and technologies.

Writing for his blog “My Three Cents”, Ken Makovsky, CEO and President Makovsky + Company, a NY based global investor relations company believes, CEOs are losing, what he calls, a powerful opportunity to connect with their customers by ignoring social media.

Commenting on a recent research piece which pronounced most of the CEOs to be social media slackers, Makovsky thinks social media is a rapidly growing community and CEOs should identify and align themselves with these emerging technologies.

The research by UberCEO.com, a blog watch on CEOs, found most of the Fortune 100 CEOs they surveyed were social media hermits. Out of the 100 CEOs analyzed only two had twitter accounts.

Eighty-one percent of chief executives did not have a personal Facebook page. Only 13 had profiles on the professional networking site LinkedIn. Three-quarters of the CEOs did have some kind of Wikipedia entry, but nearly a third of those had limited or outdated information, such as incorrect titles, or failed to provide sources. While some CEOs contribute to other blogs, not one Fortune 100 chief executive had his or her own blog, writes Makovsky.

However, recent research data from Nielsen revealed that people are spending more time on social networking and blog sites than ever before. Nielsen research found the number of minutes spent on social media in the United Sates is doubling over the past year. “Despite an increase (82 percent) in the total number of minutes spent year-over-year and average time per person (67 percent) year-over-years, the CEOs are still staying aloof from the rapidly growing social media community,” wonders Makovsky quoting the Nielsen and UberCEO report.

So why is that CEOs are wary about social media? Experts believe CEOs fear, their open dialogue could spell potential trouble for them as they are closely watched by the law and the governance agencies.

"No doubt regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Reg-FD make CEOs cautious about communicating freely, but they're missing a fabulous opportunity to connect with their target audience and raise their company's visibility," Sharon Barclay, editor UberCEO.com told Reuters, referring to financial reporting regulations aimed at protecting investors.

Experts feel unless CEOs are motivated to use the social media themselves, they really cannot know what it is.

“You (CEOs) can't understand Twitter, Facebook, or blogging by reading an article in a magazine or a report from your CMO. Sure, they can tell you what they are, but you won't be able to truly understand how they could change your business unless you actually use them,” George F. Colony, CEO Forrester Research and the self-proclaimed CEO Guru had observed in his recent blog posting. He says the only way CEOs can understand social technologies is by using them.

“Social is like sex. It's fun to talk about and read about, but you can't truly comprehend unless you do it,” Colony noted in his blog posting at Counter Intuitive CEO.

According to Colony, the CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh, uses social extensively and now has 300 customer service representatives at the company on Twitter. Why? As Tony says..."People don't relate to companies, they relate to people."  “This is important insight. You, the 57 year old CEO may not use social, but that doesn't mean that your customers don't use social. You are not your customer,” Colony points out referring to Tony Hsieh’s view.

Makovsky believes, while not every CEO has the skills, inclination or regulatory freedom to blog, it’s worth remembering that the social media represent a powerful opportunity for a company — or virtually any other entity— to really connect with its most important stakeholders.

“Yes, much of the social technology is a titanic time waster. And yes, much of the technology is crap. But there may be real value here for your company -- something that you can't grasp unless you engage with social,” George F. Colony pointed out.

Grow Your Business Tweet by Tweet.

Entrepreneurs are finding the fast-rising microblogging site to be a useful tool for reaching out to customers. By Jeremy Quittner at Newsweek

Here's what happened when Chris Savage, the chief executive of Wistia.com, searched for the phrase "private video sharing" on Twitter, a social networking site. One post he found read, "A teacher requested a private 'video sharing' Web site so that specialists can observe student behavior—can anyone refer one?"

That got Savage's attention. He e-mailed back: "Still looking for a private video sharing site?"

Minutes later came the reply: "YES! It's the first request for one—thought I'd hit up my tweets before [I] go digging."

Savage: "Cool. You may want to check out Wistia.com. Full disclosure, I'm the CEO; -)"

While this exchange may seem a bit cryptic, Savage is one of a growing number of business owners to whom it makes an awful lot of sense. Savage frequently trolls Twitter looking for sales leads for his five-person, $1 million company, which makes software that facilitates video sharing through a private network. Although Savage has been using Twitter for only a year, it's already helped him find 12 new clients for his Lexington (Mass.) company. "This is a no-cost way of marketing," he says. Because Twitter provides a public forum, each post becomes a form of promotion as other users follow Savage's posts. "You are building a reputation; people can go back and look at your Web site and the quality of your content, and you are becoming part of the community," Savage says. Other business owners are using Twitter for market research and to keep an eye on customer service issues. BREVITY'S BRAWN Twitter distinguishes itself from MySpace (NWS) and Facebook by relying less on picture-laden profiles and more on posts of fewer than 140 characters, referred to as "tweets" or "microblogs." Twitter's simplicity is paired with a powerful search function that allows users to mine others' updates in real time for useful nuggets. "Twitter lets you stay on top of what is happening within your client base," says Chip Lambert, owner of Network2Networth, a business development consultancy in Phoenix. "You can look at conversations and reposition yourself, your products, and your services in a way that appeals to the market you are reaching out to."

An estimated 5 million people use Twitter, according to Cambridge-based Forrester Research. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone says businesses "that are not quite big enough to make an impact on the Web, or to spend resources there," have been some of the earliest users of the site. He says some San Francisco-based coffee shops and bakeries have sent tweets to tell their customers about specials or products they may be out of that day. One Los Angeles taco truck uses Twitter to tell customers where it will be that day. "Businesses use this as a hybrid between marketing and customer service," says Stone. "They use the Twitter Search to track mentions of their products and services and as a way to begin a conversation."

Like any online forum, Twitter may not be for everyone. Its immediacy and conversational nature make it a boon to those whose products and services may take a bit more explaining or back-and-forth. And it can be a time suck. "One of the major drawbacks is that [Twitter] is very addictive," says Savage, who has 800 followers and in turn follows just as many. He uses a popular add-on called Tweet Deck, which lets members organize messages by category.

GETTING STARTED Joining Twitter is easy and free. You create a user name and password, then log onto the site. (You can also sign up to have tweets delivered to your mobile phone.) Once inside, there's a big box at the top labeled "What are you doing?" While you could start by typing something as mundane as "I am drinking my coffee and checking out Twitter," you'll see tabs on the right that say "following," "followers," and "updates," enabling you to follow others whose posts you find interesting. Once you've been posting for a while, people follow you too. A certain viral element takes over, and soon you may wind up in the middle of a Twitter community with common interests.

You'll also find thousands of irrelevant posts. "It is easy to get lost and sidetracked," says Lambert, who suggests entrepreneurs think strategically about how they might use Twitter. A mortgage broker, for example, could follow discussions people are having about new tax credits, learn what advice they're getting and which sites they're linking to, and then compose a suitable message to address them.

The viral component of Twitter has helped Andra Watkins, founder of Positus, a consulting firm based in Charleston, S.C. She joined Twitter about six months ago, and at first found it a bit daunting. "I did not grow up using these tools and it has taken me time to develop the voice and approach," she says. Still, she has built a following of 600 Twitterers—friends, colleagues, bloggers, and potential customers. She in turn follows about 600 other people, including a group from her home state of South Carolina—85% of whom she figures could help bring in business. She also follows influential bloggers and those with large Twitter followings, in hopes of establishing a dialogue with them, and keeps tabs on her competitors. Watkins sometimes sends out tweets that have nothing to do with her business, such as a few complaining about exercise. "It makes me more approachable," Watkins says. In the past six months, she's found 10 new paying clients through Twitter.

Other business owners, like Michael Coffey, chief executive of BlueCotton in Bowling Green, Ky., are using Twitter to enhance customer service. The 25-employee, $4 million company lets customers design their own shirts online. For the past two months, two of Coffey's factory workers have used iPhones to snap pictures of completed shirts, and then to send photo tweets to customers right before shipping. "Customers have some anxiety when they purchase shirts online," Coffey says. The tweets help alleviate those concerns—and have won new customers who spot the designs on Twitter. "Having people follow BlueCotton is a feather in our cap," Coffey says. "It helps create real fans of the company."