Campbell, the founder, CEO, and editor in chief of Small Business Trends, said in an interview with Abby Johnson that “mixing monetization styles and monetization goals is one of the key things” people get wrong. “Have a clear idea of what it is you’re actually trying to sell or promote with the blog from a business perspective,” she suggested.

Also, don’t try to rush things. Campbell stated, “It takes a while to build up traffic to a blog, it takes a while to build up brand recognition and visibility.” She observed, “People try too early to monetize . . .”

Still, there are things bloggers can do to achieve success sooner rather than (a lot) later, and Campbell suggested getting comfortable with self-promotion. “You have to be comfortable getting out there in social media and reaching out to people and talking,” she said.

Just be careful how you go about drumming up business. Campbell advised, “You have to do it in a way that’s not offensive . . . . a way that actually gives back to the community.”

When most people think about the Army, they think of guns, war, and strict policies. This false perception is just one of the reasons why the Army became involved in social media, according to Lt. Col. Dean. The U.S Army wants its soldiers to tell their own story through social media to let people understand the true life a soldier leads. Through social media, soldiers have the liberty to express their beliefs, interests, hobbies, and more.

Just like any other community, the Army has its own rules for slander, liability, and basic conduct online. In addition, it has Operational Security (OPSEC) guidelines for soldiers. The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that soldiers are aware that the enemy is always listening.

“The way we watch each other’s back is by good Operational Security procedures,” says Lt. Col. Dean.

He went on to say, “Our soldiers apply here because they know it’s dangerous and that’s part of the honor of doing something that could cost you your life because you treasure something that’s worth that balance, which usually is freedom, or the American way of life, or your mom or dad…”

The U.S. Army also believes that social media can help spread the message of all the opportunities it provides. Being a soldier is not just about fighting a war. The Army offers medical, office, management, and many other opportunities for people to serve their country.

Lt. Col. Dean believes that social media is the most effective way to get these messages out. By telling the true story, the Army hopes that it will change how people view it and encourage other people to sign up.

If books continue to be relevant and are delivered on the right platform, she believes they will always have a place in society. While some people have criticized traditional books with the rise of the Kindle and the iPad, Gerstein says these new platforms have done wonders for the publishing industry.

“It’s given us a new medium to reach people,” she adds.

Social media has also impacted the publishing industry in a variety of ways. For starters, publishers have become more specific in regards to the content that is included in a book, since there are so many other outlets for it.

Also, the language that people use in social media and books is very different. Books are traditionally formal, whereas, social media is a more informal environment for conversation.

In terms of advice for bloggers hoping to land a book deal, Gerstein recommends concentrating on what your message is, what community you want to connect with, and what your platform is.

“It’s the people who have the platforms who are out there creating good content and bringing quality information to a community that we’re looking for,” she says.

The real issue is the need for more transparency and disclosure of advertisers and endorsers.  The Commission believes that the general public is not savvy enough to understand that people could be getting paid to blog and tweet, just as they are in mediums such as television and radio.

Although the guides will impact bloggers, the FTC has said it does not intend to go after the small mom and pop businesses. According to Mink, the FTC is more concerned with corporate advertisers.

The government is also making efforts to protect consumers from identity theft and credit card fraud. Surprisingly, Mink says many companies do not even have privacy policies. In other words, consumers may not even know if a company is collecting information and what information it is.

As a result, the government is reportedly taking stricter measures in this area. In the meantime, states are stepping in. Mink tells WebProNews that 40 states have security breach notification statutes. These statutes say that if data is collected and breached, the company has to let its users know.

However, some states are taking a more aggressive approach. Connecticut passed a law that said companies have to have privacy policies when doing business in the state. It also requires that companies tell consumers what type of information they are collecting and how they are doing it. Massachusetts and Nevada both require companies to encrypt information.

Mink expects new recommendations from the government in this area soon.

Are you staying current on these important legal matters to ensure protection for your users?

First of all, social media has been prominent in China since the 1990’s. Although Facebook and Twitter receive a lot of negative press in China, social activity is still alive with local social platforms.

While social networks and blogs are dominant social players in China, online message boards called BBS, are also very popular. Flemming says many conversations about brands take place on these BBS sites. He points out that there are approximately 172 million bloggers in China and over 100 million users on local social networking platforms.

As Flemming explains to WebProNews, the Chinese watch the West and adopt and develop ideas. The West, however, does not do this. Flemming calls this a “missed opportunity” on behalf of the West, since many unique ideas could be applied if they would listen. In addition, companies could have a competitive advantage if they watch and learn from China, Japan, and Korea.

“The fact is social media is more developed in the East… now social media marketing or applications of social media, [it] may be there are more advanced or more developed ideas in the states, but there’s a lot that can be learned both ways.”

How do you value social media activities in Eastern cultures such as China?

Gordon goes on to say that sites like Facebook and Twitter provide an Internet experience that bombards users with information and data. She says this experience is very similar to consumers watching TV. With the Internet however, users can watch and create their own content, which allows them to impact the medium.

Gordon believes blogging is really the only format for saving and storing this type of content. As she tells WebProNews, “[With blogs] you’re kind of keeping that snow on the ground… you’re keeping things visible, you’re keeping them findable, you’re keeping them searchable, and you’re keeping them archival.”

In regards to the future of blogs, Gordon believes it is bright. As Facebook and Twitter continue to get more public, she says blogs will be a place where people have smaller communities. Although Twitter fulfills many user needs since it allows users to publish quick thoughts and ideas, Gordon points out that blogs also fulfill the needs users have to catalog, collect, reflect, and critique.

What are your thoughts on this debate?

First of all, bloggers need to look at their blog long-term.  So often, people think that they can make money instantly, but it could actually take years.

Having a profitable blog also involves finding the right niche.  It needs to be something that you are interested in and have a passion about. In addition, Rowse suggests that you determine how monetizable your niche is. To do this, you could search for your topic in Google and see if it is something advertisers would consider.

To keep visitors coming back to your blog, you must also choose a niche that will keep you writing for a long time. How often should you write? While it depends upon your area of content, Rowse does point out that, “every post you write is a doorway into your site.” For some bloggers, this could mean 365 opportunities if they write a post everyday. However, bloggers should not post for the mere reason of having new content every day. He says the content should always be useful.

On another note, how effective are blogs due to the recent Twitter craze? Although some blogs have shifted to shorter formats, Rowse says there is also a shift that is moving back toward longer content on blogs since people want more than 140 characters.  Emphasizing that blogs and Twitter are valuable tools for each other, he says specifically, “It’s an ideal world for a blogger… people want more and you’re able to give it to them through a viral communication like Twitter.”

Eric Brown of Urbane Apartments realized this back in 2004 and found social media to be so effective that he eventually dropped all print advertising and paid advertising online. As he pointed out, print advertising has a shelf life, but anything put on an outlet such as a blog, does not.

After a business becomes active in social media, Brown said you will find that people are less likely to attack your brand since they know you will respond. Although you cannot control the conversation, you can participate, which largely influences the control factor.

Brown advises other businesses to get involved in social media. He specifically recommended blogs and said they provide the greatest amount of leverage for the lowest amount of investment.

Earlier in the year, Falls predicted that Google would buy Twitter by the end of the year. Although it may not happen within that time frame, he hopes and believes it will happen eventually.

Twitter rose in popularity because people were no longer happy with one-way communication models. They now want the two-way communication that Twitter provides. Falls believes Twitter is evolving back to its original purpose and becoming more of a utility for communications, instead of a platform for marketing. Although Twitter can be used for conversational marketing, Falls said it is more about the actual conversation than it is about marketing a product or service.

On the Twitter home front, it doesn’t appear that the Twitter founders are working to improve the tool and they have yet to find a monetization model. Falls believes they are trying to build a large critical mass in order to sell. He hopes Google will buy it since it is a company that desires to build utilities for people to communicate on.

Do you think Twitter will be acquired? Do you agree with Jason Falls and believe Google will acquire it?

She also lists and discusses various types of social sites and how they can help users increase their ranking and bring visibility. Because it would be impossible to maintain a profile on every social site, Weinberg recommends utilizing the ones that have the most potential in helping you reach your goals.

There are however, some sites that everyone should embrace. They are Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Delicious, Facebook, and Digg, even though it takes a lot of time and effort. Weinberg also believes it is very important to have and maintain a blog.

Looking into the future of social media, she tells WebProNews that she expects to see many more niche social networks. Although many social networks have failed, if someone is truly dedicated to drawing people in and markets effectively, Weinberg believes he or she will succeed.

WebProNews talked with Ted Murphy, the Founder and CEO of IZEA, which is the parent company of PayPerPost.  He explained how his company helps advertisers connect with bloggers and others who create content in social media to promote their products and services. Sporting a shirt that said I Heart FTC, Murphy says he is very much in favor of the guidelines. He believes the revisions were necessary to create a safe marketplace for this form of word-of-mouth marketing.

There are however, many gray areas. One of those areas specifically deals with the form of disclosure. From an advertiser’s perspective, Murphy thinks that a systematic approach is the best solution for structural purposes. If disclosure is not systematic, it could be harder to manage.

One of the biggest questions with the revisions is the issue of enforcement. No one really knows to what extent the FTC will police the Web. As a precaution, IZEA is taking a proactive approach with disclosure to ensure that they are prepared if any issues arise.

Some people view the guidelines as “big government” stepping in. In response, Murphy argues that while the FTC’s primary objective is to protect consumers, it is actually in everyone’s best interest to protect consumers since they are the readers, viewers, and even buyers.

The guides are set to go into effect December 1, 2009. If you would like to read the guides in full, the official documentation can be found here.

The report from 2008 revealed that professional blogging was on the rise. This year’s report further confirmed that trend with 28 percent of bloggers calling themselves professionals and 72 percent classified as hobbyists.

One of the most surprising statistics from this year was that 40 percent of professional bloggers have worked within traditional media. Jalichandra says this stat debunks the theory that bloggers are not trained and educated.

Although bloggers blogged more this year than last, they plan on blogging even more in 2010. In addition, bloggers want to expand their business and extend their brand.

To help bloggers meet their goals, Jalichandra also announced the “new Technorati.” The new features allow bloggers to publish content directly onto Technorati, which will provide more opportunities for smaller bloggers. The company has also “built a blog directory on steroids” that includes categorical authority and allows people discover new blogs.

To learn more about the new Technorati and the 2009 State of the Blogosphere, visit Technorati.

One big thing worth noting is that Blogger recently celebrated its tenth birthday. A host of fresh features were introduced at that time to both expand how people regard the service and thank individuals for continuing to use it. And use it is precisely what they’re doing.

Klau stressed that, with regards to blogs and Blogger, we’re not talking about a static or declining environment. In fact, he stated that 290,000 words are written on Blogger per minute worldwide, which represents an increase of 10 percent versus six months ago.

Klau said that Twitter and blogs “each have their place,” too, as blogging and microblogging aren’t part of a zero-sum game. If conversations are fragmented, that’s fine. That can even be good. Twitter became the second-largest source of traffic (after Google) to Klau’s blog when he implemented software that tweeted about his latest posts. He recommended this sort of service.

Another good idea to explore is using the new “share to Twitter” feature on Blogger.

As for what, precisely, to do with a blog (if you’re new to them or just looking for some expert advice), Klau’s advice was solid: “focus on the content.” Also, don’t imitate what other people have done . . . instead find what you’re passionate about and stick with it.

During his speech in London, Barber said that he is unsure of how newspaper organizations will be charging for content. He stated that charging on an article-by-article basis is an option, as well as charging a monthly subscription fee. Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation made a statement back in May proclaiming that his newspaper websites would likely be charging for content within a year as well, and a survey sent out recently by the New York Times asked subscribers if they would be willing to pay a monthly subscription fee of $5 for access to their news content online.

Another aspect to take into consideration is what charging for content will do to bloggers. Countless bloggers rely on the free news provided by online news organizations for their content. Can bloggers afford to pay the monthly subscription fees? But, more importantly can they really afford not to pay the fees?

A move like this will either make or break the newspaper industry. If a subscription fee is put in place news sites could charge more for online ads because the ads would be reaching a more targeted demographic of subscribers, but would the number of readers drop so significantly that it would not pay off for the newspaper organizations in the long run?

No matter which way you spin it, the newspapers have to do something to compete in the digital age, and maybe charging for content is just the ticket. We will just have to wait and see.

]]> http://videos.webpronews.com/2009/07/how-much-are-you-willing-to-pay-for-news/feed/ 21 http://videos.webpronews.com/2008/10/dash/ http://videos.webpronews.com/2008/10/dash/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:58:22 +0000 admin http://videos.webpronews.com/?p=1225 Six Apart. In this clip, he tells Abby Johnson about how the community has evolved over the past ten or so years, and how it's meshing with what some people consider "old media."]]> A good way to stay interested in blogging – and keep your readers feeling the same way – is to create a sense of community, according to Anil Dash, a vice president at Six Apart.  In this clip, he tells Abby Johnson about how the community has evolved over the past ten or so years, and how it’s meshing with what some people consider “old media.”