The folks over at Flowtown have a great illustration that aggregates information about where small to medium business spent their money in 2009 and where they plan to spend it in the next 5 years.
Where is the Beef?
February 27, 2010
February 16, 2010
Top 10 Traits & Habits of Mixx Users!
The term “psychology” shows more than 73,000,000 results on Google. It is a broad term encompassing various ideas, approaches and definitions.
By psychoanalytik
I have always desired to major in psychology, however, people always advised me otherwise because unless you continue your PHD in psychology, people don’t really take you seriously; especially those seeking to be drugged out of their depression and misery!
Though I ended up majoring in Marketing and Business Administration, I still have a soft spot for psychology which I like to use here at Thoughtpick at several occasions for Twitter use and Facebook’s popularity, combined with my marketing and social media knowledge and experience.
In the Mixx…
Since I began using Mixx, the behavior of Mixx users has always been very intriguing to me and their use of Mixx has been a topic that I wanted to analyze and write about. However, I decided to wait till I knew more and thus understood more. I guess the time is now!
Through many encounters, conversations, shares and comments, I began to finally find my way around the psychology of Mixxers. Here is what I came up with:
1. Mixxers are as proud as Redditers…
And even more! Every single Mixxer is both proud and happy to be using Mixx. Each user takes pride in delivering valuable, fresh and unique information to fellow Mixxers. Each user is excited about each submission he or she adds and shares.
February 9, 2010
Infograph: The State of the Internet Today
Today, the Internet world is more important than ever. Our lives are interwoven with it, both private and corporate.
We plan our outings, keep in contact with friends, and communicate with each other on the Web. Our daily business dealings revolve around email, online resources, and collaborative software like Google Wave. We get our news online, watch our movies on YouTube, and keep-up-to-date with Twitter. More importantly, the Internet, and Social Media in particular, are proving to be very important to the way we advertise and market ourselves, our products, and our ideas.
Keeping up with ThoughtPick’s latest “Learn Social Media By Example“, we believe that to pull off great online campaigns, you need to be familiar with the audience. Not your audience in particular, but the larger Internet audience that might come across your campaign. It is essential to keep the Internet’s demographics in mind when creating any online content.
We will be using parts of our latest favorite infograph, created by Focus, to explore the different facets of online existence.
These illustrations use 100 circles to help visualize a crowd of a 100 people, and how they live in the online ecosystem.
The Basic Information: Gender, Age, and Income
Who uses the Internet
January 18, 2010
5 Uncovered Myths about Getting Retweeted!
Every now and then, someone somewhere decides to fabricate or resurrect a new myth or urban legend which changes the way we see and even do certain things! Like, for example, I would not dare say “Bloody Mary” 3 times in a row in front of my mirror in the dark, no matter what the stakes are and even if it was a bet with great returns!
Busting the Myths about Retweets!
A few days ago, while wandering around in the social media realm, I came across a new fabricated myth molded into a post form called:“5 Secrets To Get Retweets That The Experts Won’t Tell You”.
Having had a great and prosperous Twitter experience so far, it really got on my nerves to read such a post, wondering: Who are those experts? And how would someone make such assumptions? Based on what exactly?
In a nut shell, this myth lessened my Twitter experience and turned it into a joke, which is why I decided to rebel by fighting it back!
Uncovering the Myth about Getting Retweeted…
1. Focus On The Sexually Active.
In this fantasy post I read, the author stressed the importance of focusing on the “sexually active” tweeps, saying that sex always sells! I tend to highly disagree, with a frown! From my humble yet vast experience, I found that most active, valuable tweeps are those who are more business-oriented; those who want to promote a high quality image and promote their designs, inspiration and even quotes that aim towards providing a better quality of life!
January 9, 2010
December 24, 2009
The 10 Commandments of Being a Good Netizen
Be an angel!
Everyone aspires to be a good netizen, but it’s not an easy goal to achieve. To be beatified by the gods of the net, you will need to surf graciously and illuminate every spot on the web where you are present.
To achieve such lustrous status you need to follow the ten commandments of being a good netizen.
1. Thou shall be omnipresent
Having a blog with Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed and Flickr accounts along with some forums and 2-3 email accounts is about the norm these days. To keep all your friends and contacts happy, you will need to keep everything fresh and updated, and that requires a lot of time and effort. To simplify the task you will have to aggregate your accounts and then consolidate your email accounts into one by using mail forwarding.
2. Thou shall not trust others to protect their privacy
Whether its Google, Facebook or any other company they will not be vigilant about protecting your privacy. So the user needs to be responsible for making sure his privacy is protected by reading about any changes, checking the news, or just making sure he has the correct settings to suit their needs.
December 23, 2009
10 Tips on Reinventing Yourself through Social Media!
“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret for the past and fear of the future.” Fulton Oursler
Regret hurts!
How many times did you find yourself wondering what could have happened if only you did something differently or if you had decided not to take that dreadful trip, date that particular guy or even say those words to a friend? I’m sure the times were many and the situations where regret invaded you were many as well!
Therefore, and because I, personally, hate the word regret and its implications, I have found a way to help you get rid of part of your regrets and reinvent yourself. The key is: social media!
A Peak into My Train of Thoughts…
About a year ago, I was able to find a classmate of mine through Facebook. This guy was one of the meanest the school has ever witnessed! I remember when he used to make fun of me at school and how bad it made me feel. Through Facebook, he got my e-mail, added me to msn and contacted me for a job.
I remember than incident clearly, as if it happened yesterday…
When I met this guy, I felt all sorts of negative emotions that one could imagine: fear, pain, anger, rejection and so on. Yet, after a long talk, I was able to see things clearer and erase the bad memory of this bully, which had haunted me for years.
I regretted the years I spent feeling sorry for myself! And here’s where social media comes in…
Not only does social media provide a place for sharing valuable content, it also has the power to heal you and help you reinvent yourself . Here are the top 10 Tips on Reinventing Yourself through Social Media:
1. Expanding Your Horizons:
Through social media, you have the power to expand your horizons through acquiring knowledge about various topics of interest to you and to the world around you. Being exposed to too much information never killed anyone, right?
December 19, 2009
Why is my sister attached to an Alien Green Cow?!
“Why is my sister attached to a green alien cow?” he asked, with an exasperated look on his face.
Farmville's Green Alien Cow
I shrugged, running over in my head the countless times that my own friends and family rushed to the computer after a day out, with an earnestness that puts a die-hard Brangelina fan to shame. “If I don’t harvest my farm right now,” my 13-year-old cousin told me last month, explaining why exactly she needed to use my computer RIGHT AWAY, “my strawberry crops would die.”
Her terribly rendered pixel strawberries, with the shiny strobe effect that would put a dentist to shame. Her hot red strawberries, that smell like nothing and taste like nothing. They would die.
December 17, 2009
Youtube: Unintentionally Marketing Drug Use to Teens!
“Telling a teenager the facts of life is like giving a fish a bath”. ~ Arnold H. Glasow
Teens...
Dealing with teenagers’ emotions, mood swings, habits, behaviors and even their rebellious nature can be really difficult for parents and older siblings for many reasons which hundreds of studies and researches have been trying to uncover for years!
Recently, and based on the above statement, I found myself deeply entrenched into the thought about teens and web marketing, especially after having spent a few hours watching different Youtube clips aiming to warn about certain harmful practices such as drug abuse. All of a sudden, I realized that with no supervision or control, there is a very thin line between warning and motivation for those teenagers!
How Can Web Marketing Confuse Teens?
An old saying I faintly recall goes something like this: “What you don’t know can’t harm you”! And here, for this particular post, I strongly agree!
Although the internet has taken over almost every aspect of our daily lives, through certain random eye opening “awareness” campaigns being advertised over mediums such as Youtube, we are taking a risk of actually being the reason for introducing teens to many practices they might not need to be aware of!
How To: Utilize Social Media for Voicing Worries & Sharing Concerns!
Confusion!
Maybe misery enjoys company, maybe it doesn’t. Either way, the truth of the matter remains to be that whatever an individual maybe going through, regardless of how positive or negative it may be, being able to voice and share concerns, sorrow, anger and worries usually makes the burdens less and more bearable!
Therefore, this post is dedicated to answering the following questions: Could social media really help people in distress? Does it have the ability to reduce stress, anxiety and confusion through its different venues? Is being open and sharing personal feelings and experiences through social media positive?
Speaking from Personal Experience:
Privacy is a very highly valued element in one’s life. That is a given. Yet, sometimes, when your close friends’ advice seems to be scarce or redundant and you have different conflicting thoughts which you, yourself, are unable to resolve or handle, exposing part of yourself through a viral medium, such as social media, might actually bring positive outcomes!
[read full article >>]