DISQUS

When sites ad banners for the first time, they often see a higher initial click-thru-rate than that which they'll see sustained going forward. That's because those ads are new and people click on them to see what's up. If you only added AdSense to your feed for this experiment, you might be seeing a 'novelty' response.

That's a pretty harsh letter. I've gotten them before and they are never fun. I also get them from people when I contact them asking if I can help them promote their business - for free. Odd, that.

Don't worry, Tim. If you're looking for people to mention, feel free to talk about me. I'm all for a good inundating.

When applied to your role in business, I much prefer the term 'trusted advisor'. Your record engenders trust in you, allowing you to act as an effective advisor to your employer.

However, if you use the term 'agent' to connote a more contractual relationship, your current term can be very useful. A 'trust agent' is someone who can use the trust people place in him, based on past experience, to be a more effective advocate for his employer.

In either case, trust is only valuable when maintained. The difference between the 'agent' and 'advisor'? The direction of ones focus. Advisors direct their energy inward, while agents focus outside an organization.

/me can't believe he posted this from an iPhone. Tedious...

I'm most excited about the OpenID integration at iDenti.ca - and while your statement about OAuth may be a digression, to me it is what I'm focusing on most.

I'm hungry for a way to streamline my online presence. For now, that means sticking with LinkedIN, facebook, Twitter and Freindfeed. I only dabble with the other services. The day will come, though, when I can manage my online persona at one location and use it on various platforms. When that happens… *sigh*

If iDenti.ca does nothing more than push development toward data portability, I will be happy.

I'm a firm believer that virtual worlds can be very useful. They can drive business and facilitate relationships - I make a good portion of my income through my Second Life activities.

But nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting in real life. Nothing.

As an example: I have met hundreds of publishers online over the last few years. I've done business with many of them. Online communication has been good to me. But, not nearly as good as going to GTS (GAMA Trade Show) in Vegas this past April. The number and quality of the business contacts I made there made the $1,400 flight from Bulgaria to Nevada worth every penny.

Great post, CP.

More...

A calendar function. I'd like to be able to make notes that tell me to call this person on a certain day, or that that person said to get back to them "In June." If you could integrate this with Google Calendar, or some other calendar servives, that'd be great.

Contact Details: It'd be nice if I could tell people that it's best to contact me during certain hours. Sure, you can do that now, but it'd be nice is the times would adjust based on the time zone that the viewer is in. If I'm in Seattle, my New York contact's 10 AM becomes 7 AM, but if I'm in Bulgaria it becomes 5 PM.

I'd like to be able to make notes about people, so I can remember things about them. Chris likes peanutbutter, while Matt is a Trekkie. Jill and I met at PodCamp Boston, where she introduced me to Jack.

In addition, I'd like events to be added. I'd like to be able to tie people to events, whether they do so or not. Since I met Jack and Jill at PodCamp Boston, I'd like to make note of that - even if they don't note it themselves.

This is great. It also happens to be the way I approach sales.

Sometimes I am tempted to just email spam all my contacts with the latest request for . When you're got thousands of sales contacts, it is sometimes hard to keep on top of them all while also sleeping and eating. The shotgun approach still works, so it has appeal.

But it doesn't work well.

I've found that if I spend time talking with people about their business - learning about the products and services they offer - my sales pitches are better received. This is partly because I'm better informed about the target company, but it's also because my contact and I have a personal relationship. And nothing will ever replace the value of a personal relationship with a business partner or client.

The proof? Oft times I will not have to cold pitch a contact. I can usually ask them, flat out, what their budget is and then create a custom pitch that it tailored to their business needs.

They rarely say no.

I understand the 'what' of FF, but I haven't been able to figure out the 'why' or 'how'. What I mean is, I know what FF does, but not how best to use it.

Twitter is easy. I can connect with others, post questions, get feedback, make contacts, arrange meetings, etc...

I've gone without checking my email for a day. That was a logistical suicide mission. It took my half a week to dig out from under the giga-ton of messages in my Inbox.

One of the people I work with/for recently gave me this recommendation on LinkedIN:

"Ed Healy is a powerhouse. He has consistently produced excellent results in ad sales for my quarterly magazine, and he's proven himself in project management for a Web site launch. He drives for results with amazing energy and focus. Ed works hard, is full of both expertise and creative solutions (while on a limited budget!), and is ludicrously well-connected. An asset to any project, and definitely someone who knows how to get things done."

I was speechless. I have never had someone say such things about me before.

You 'Cons' is what gives me pause. That said, there is a way to host your own OpenID, without using LJ, MySpace, etc. What I'd like to know is whether there is a way to act as your own profile manager, using OAuth, etc.

My first steps in social media? Since I consider IMs and IRC to be social media, I'd have to start there. If you're wondering about the "new" social media, then blogs and MySpace would have to come next (though, I've killed my MySpace account for security reasons - aka, spam).

The first blog I ever followed wasn't even a blog, per se, since the term hadn't been coined yet. Steve Jackson's Daily Illuminator has been running since November 1994, and may just be the longest running, consistently updated, "blog" on the internet. LINK: http://www.sjgames.com/ill/

I got started for work reasons - the need to keep in touch with business partners and potential clients. Most of the work I have gotten over the last decade came directly, or indirectly, from relationships I developed through social media.

My advice would be to realize that each social media tool can be used to support the rest. Don't look at them as individual entities, but as complimentary elements that (can) work together to make a powerful tool-box.

Over the next few months, I'll be working to streamline my online presence. I need to learn more about the newer SM tools, so that I can properly use them. The newer tools have a lot of potential, but only if used properly.

Part of the challenge will be overcoming the inertia that is already in place at these magazines. They may want to do more, but not know how. They may know what they want to do, but not know who to turn to. They may know where to get help, but may not be excited about retooling their online strategies.

I would really like to hear your thoughts on how magazines, not just the Top 10, can best harness the tools that are out there. If you were launching a magazine, how would you build your online presence? What tools would you use, and how would you integrate them from the beginning, so that they are part of the foundation on which a community can develop and thrive?

It seems like an interesting site, though I wish there was a search function. Do you have any idea how much love the site's been getting?

Niche blogging can be powerful. If Yuval blogs in Hebrew, he may alienate non-Hebrew speakers, but he may find it easier to penetrate the audience that do. It really comes down to the scope of his blog.

Is it focused on subjects that those who speak Hebrew would be interested in, but would, by and large, not have a large draw outside that community? If so, Hebrew is a good choice.

Is it focused on subjects that, while of interest to Hebrew speakers are also of great interest outside that community? If so, English is probably best.