Slippery Slide

Trying to combine Business and Social Media can feel like a slippery slide as mixing friendship and business holds some risks: nobody wants to risk a friendship for a crappy product and nobody wants to offend their friends by saying no to them. So: what if we could reduce this risk? What would it take to make this risk into a negligable calculated risk? Basically it all comes down to ballistics:

Calculated Risk

Calculated risk can make you achieve the seemingly impossible: landing in a 6 foot pool two hundred yards from your launching point (as in the video) or even combining Business with Friendship. Social Media can help you combine the latter two more easily then you might think! Here are some ways in which you can use Social Media to further your business goals in a calculated almost risk free way: -Find friends that are interested in doing business just like you. -Represent products and services that are a reasonably priced quality solution to a real problem. -Find Social Media Environments where the two are combined: business minded friends and quality solutions for a reasonable price.

Achieving Your Goals

One way to achieve these goals is to be an active member of The HOB.Biz and/or join our Ambassador program as the three principles mentioned above are what we are all about. Another way is to bring your own quality solution to our network by starting a Business Club, posting a Classified Add or listing your business in the Directory. Whichever you choose: your (business minded) friends are already here!

Viral Marketing

We've all heard of viral marketing. One of it's main characteristics is that content is placed somewhere and distributed not by the author but by people who view it there and that this process can be unpredictably succesfull.So: why not help change your fortunes in the simplest of ways: with a widget!

Widgets

An excellent way to achieve viral distribution is through widgets. On our Widget Page that I've just created you can find some examples: from buttons to click on to Twitterfeeds to video. All kinds of content can go into a widget. These widgets are resizable, customizable and can be put on any social media platform, blog or site (Feel free to do so). With these widgets you could add some of the functionality you are familiar with from our site to your own.

Creating Your Own Widgets

If you would like to create your own widgets like the ones I've just made, I can recommend using http://www.widgetbox.com This is a professional platform where you can create all kinds of widgets and even applications.

Ambassador Program

If you would like to embed any number of banners, text adds etc. to monetize your site, you may want to consider our Ambassador program. You can earn a great commission on sales and choose between text-links, presentations and all kinds of banners.

Free Widgets

If you join our free network The HOB.Biz: Business & Social Media! you can choose from hundreds of widgets to try out on your free Personal Profile: from business news, to Twitter Feeds, games and more. Anything is possible with widgets because they are containers that can be filled with whatever you come up with.

Frictionless Movement

Wouldn't it be great if in whatever you planned or set your mind to, you could overcome all the obstacles you perceive to be blocking your achieving this goal with the greatest ease? Here's someone who doesn't seem to even acknowledge obstacles in his path as such but rather as enablers of a better kind of movement: a frictionless movement no matter what the context...

(No) Obstacles

So let's say that like the bicyclist in this video you want to be able to move through the world like there are no obstacles. So what are the obstacles in a Web 2.0 Social Media environment? These might be perceived as some of them:

-Financial: some Social Media environments are closed of by financial constraints such as admission fees that can be quite high.

-Social: Some networks or groups may be exclusive restricting access by selecting only the lucky few.

-Technological: New, better and sometimes expensive technologies are emerging all the time.

You may not know about them, understand them or have access to them for some other reason.

Flexibility In All Contexts

We aim to offer you flexibility in all (Social Media) contexts:

 -Financial: We offer free services to anyone, allowing you access to hundreds of networks from a single interface. We've done the work for you: your network is already in place. By joining our Ambassador program you could even make an easy additional income.

-Social: We are not an exclusive network but from our infrastructure you can access hundreds of free as well as exclusive environments, giving you an instant network wherever you go.

-Technological: We offer a host of free technologies right on this network from filesharing to a free online shopmanager, from a business directory to classified adds to name but a few. When new technologies emerge you can find information about this in thousands of Social Media bookmarks and news feeds. Where possible we will make them available to you for free. On top of this we offer member discounts on numerous technologies that will enable you to move through web 2.0 like the bicyclist in the video: frictionless!

Micro-Blogging With Google

Google has introduced it's service Buzz to rival the success of Twitter, adding new ways of sharing content online.

Advantages:

Contribute To The Perfect Party Island

Imagine this: an vast empty blue space: the ocean. Suddenly from all directions vessels of all kinds speed towards a seemingly random spot and stop right there. On each vessel are people, each carrying a stone to drop into the water... Each of them throws this stone into the water, until surprisingly... The perfect Party Island is created!

Something from Nothing

If ever there was a great metaphor for Social Media this must be it: we each contribute something to a seemingly random structure of words, thoughts, code, images and before you know it we've created something from nothing: solid ground to stand on and in our case do actual business on.

The point of Social Media then is not to wait for someone to take the lead and take you somewhere but to each take the initiative and act in ways which will ultimately contribute. This is how we feel at The HOB.Biz: Business & Social Media! anyway...

So: if you haven't yet: join us! Or if you have: add a video, blogpost, document or discussion and let's build the Perfect Party Island together!

Don't Want To Pay For Your Network?

Some Alternatives

If you own a network and you fear having to pay for it's infrastructure in the near future, it would be only natural to look for alternatives. But where can you get a quick overview of some popular formats? It just so happens that The HOB.Biz operates and maintains hundreds of free clubs on free network infrastructures that you can visit at the click of a mouse. We also offer software solutions to help you to maintain control of your data. Here are some alternative solutions to assess:

Assesment Option 1:Alternative Social Media

Are you looking for a new free platform? On the right hand side of your screen you'll find the Connect & Share Menu. By pressing any of the buttons a Business Club on a popular alternative site is opened allowing you to quickly assess the possibilities of that particular Social Site's infrastructure.You can do the same from the menu in the My Social Media box on the home page or from the My Social Media Page. In fact the top menu in this section contains hundreds of alternative groups and sites that you can visit.In addition you can find more info on these sites in our Social Media Clubs.

Assesment Option 2:Build and Control Your Own Site

Visit our brand new Store, to assess the possibilities of The HOB eCommerce Manager software to build your own site including memberships, affiliate memberships, social media posting, blogging, custom CSS, storefront and more. When owning your own site, you can never be taken of guard again by policy changes of platform owners.The HOB eCommerce Manager includes an import facility to upload all your existing members.

Assesment option 3: Start a Group on someone elses site

When you visit our Business Club section, you'll find it contains many groups started by members. A proces that can be as short as thirty seconds. Business Club Owners have the added benefit on our site that they are featured. Maintaining a group leaves the network owner i.e. The HOB.Biz to deal with infrastructure policies, so you don't have to worry about it. Start a Business Club Now!

Assesment Option 4: Keep All your Contact and Communication Data in One Place

When a network or it's provider cease to exist, a lot of data is lost to the user. Unless...you have a system in place that contains a record of all your email, and other interactions online as well as detailed contact information, and all your online files in all formats.With The HOB Networker PRO and/or The HOB Office Manager you can have just that: a permanent interlinked record of your communications and contacts as well as ways to make networking more efficient and fun.

Assesment Option 5: Earn Money With Your Site

With our Ambassador Program you get the possibility to earn revenue allowing you some financial space to pay for any price-increases. Our brand new store offers some significant introductory discounts on many relevant solutions. You can sign up here. These are just some of the many solutions to this particular problem, we could help you with.If you want to discuss more options or related problems: add a comment to this post or contact us directly at: info@thehouseofbusiness.com. Job Folbert Team the HOB.Biz

Would you like to catch a really big fish?

The HOB.B

You can participate in it on different levels: as a Premium Networker, as an Ambassador or as a Consultant representing a new technology.All training, materials, and a full infrastructure will be placed at your disposal if you join and qualify for the role of your choice.

Ambassadors

Within the next few weeks we will launch a new Ambassador program that pays really well. The Ambassador program will pay you for each new Premium member that you bring to our website. That's right: we are introducing Premium Membership with added benefits depending on exciting technology that will change the way you network forever!

The technology we are talking about will help you to catch that big fish! Say goodbye to dodgy affiliate programs and choose for a high quality solution!

If you are interested please contact me at: jfolbert@thehob.biz

Consultants, Partners, Dealers

In addition we are also looking for partners and dealers who are interested in selling software solutions concerning CRM, document management and collaboration on their local markets.

If you are a consultant looking for an addition to your services and want to radically improve the way your clients organize their customer interactions and document management amongst other benefits, please contact me at: jfolbert@thehob.biz.

Premium Membership

More details about our Premium Membership and it's amazing new features will follow so: keep an eye out for announcements during the coming weeks, because it's going to be great!

Premium Members will be able to:

- collaborate online from their MS Office applications on the desktop;
- create websites;
- share documents and calenders;
- Use Skype, IM, CRM, Bulk-email, documents, Outlook, Fax, Scan, Navigation Software and all native desktop software to collaborate, network and keep detailed records of their network-partners contact-info etc. etc. etc.

The Science Of The Retweet!

If you're not a scientist and are looking for a quick way to be (re)tweeted about: add a blog post such as this one to The HOB.Biz! It will automatically reach an audience on Twitter and elsewhere.

If you're serious about starting a viral hype using Twitter, consider some of these findings that social scientist Dan Zarella deduced from analyzing millions of tweets and retweets!

Some surprising findings:

-Only one to two percent of Tweets are retweeted
-It matters which URL Shortener you use
-There are words you should and words you shouldn't use (see lists below)
-Retweeted messages tend to contain a link (3:1 ratio compared to non-retweeted)
-Messages sent on mondays and fridays are more likely to be retweeted (time of day also matters)

Yesterday's URL Shorteners

Some URL Shorteners are hot, others are not:

Graph 1: Popularity Of URL Shorteners (in relation to retweets)

Widely used URL shortener TinyURL is much less likely to be contained in a retweeted message then newer services bit.ly and ow.ly

Choose Your Words

Success depends in part on the words you use. Succesful words seem to suggest positivity and content, negative words an words associated with spam or everyday boredom are out:

Graph 2: Popularity of words in Retweets

Presentation:

science-of-retweets.pdf

Information Overload

You’re sitting at your desk in one of those rare moments that you have time to think, pondering THE solution for that one major problem in your company’s distribution chain, or reflecting on that new market-niche you’ve discovered and how to successfully conquer it before the competition when… The phone rings, you realize you have an appointment in fifteen minutes, you can’t find the papers you’ve prepared, and you see your mailbox is flooded with dozens of trivial messages. As you look for that one important e-mail while talking on the phone your eye wonders around the room for those papers. Sound familiar? It should because that’s what the average office day looks like for most of us…or is it?

 Office Facts

 Should this really be what our average working day looks like? Let’s look at the facts:

Fact 1: Many people have great ideas on how to run the perfect business!

Fact 2: Few get around to realizing their vision or even achieving everything they wanted to in the average business day!

Fact 3: Resolving some of these issues would not only save you time and money, but help you and your business get back to your core competence!

Fact 4: These issues can be resolved more easily then you think!

Fact 5: Freeing up your time to concentrate on your core business could help you achieve excellence and increase revenue!

 Read more

Social Media too Time-Consuming?

Lately I have seen messages of people on all kinds of networks saying they can't manage their presence on all those networks anymore and are leaving some of them because they simply can't manage it anymore. Being an avid networker with a presence on many Social Media I can see how it could be too time-consuming to do so. But personally I feel it is not necessary at all to leave all those networks and I will tell you why:

Five Time-Saving Tools

You can save a lot of time networking if you do it a certain way: the easy way! At The HOB.Biz we have spent a lot of time, money and effort to create the simple tools for you to prevent exactly the feeling experienced by networkers who simply give up on their presence on many networks. And we will integrate some powerful new features soon to make it even easier. All the major networks and many lesser known networks can be reached from The HOB.Biz in five important ways that save you time:

1.From the Connect and Share dashboard on the right hand side of your screen

Use the buttons to go to major Social Media and the Share This menu to quickly spread your/our content to different sites on the web.

2.From the My Social Media page (quickly login directly to your accounts on multiple sites)

Use the menu on this page to find and go to hundreds of sites and clubs. You can even login directly to your Ping account for some serious multiposting and use your Seesmic webaccount to organize your Twitteraccounts.

3.From the My Social Media Clubs (follow links and download tools)

From the My Ning Club for example you can navigate to dozens of networks on Ning and from the My Ning page you can login directly to Ning. Or: download a Twitter-Client from the My Twitter Club to save some more time on Twitter by organizing it on your desktop.

4.From the Status Update on your Profile (instantly multipost your message to your Social Media accounts)

If you want to know exactly how: read this discussion

5. From your activity on the site such as blogging and posting video's (instant multipost to several The HOB.Biz Social Media accounts and RSS Feeds)

Simply being an active member of this community spreads the word about your business at great speed!

But there are many more ways to save time:

-Know who you're dealing with helps you to gain background info on network partners with the click of amouse

-Search options including Twitter Search help you to find answers quickly These are just examples from the hundreds of useful pages in The HOB.Biz

So: don't dis-pare over the loss of access and control to/over your presence on many social networks because it simply isn't true if you do it The HOB.Biz way! Just keep doing what you do but make it easy on yourself by using a few simple time-saving tools!