Business on the internet , Just for the big boys? Can the little man too?

Well there is no doubt that since the birth of the internet it has become entire new industry. The internet has changed the way we communicate, the way we use entertainment, the way we look up news, the way we shop and the way we do business. So who will run all these changes? The big business or is there room for the little guy. 

When I think of the net i think of the big guys, Google and  Facebook. While they are the leaders in there respected fields, however, neither of them innovated there main services. In the case of Google search engine , many others came before such as Alta Vista, , Ali-web, and Web-crawler. In the case of Facebook there was Myspace and friendster . While both these competitors still exists neither hold a candle to Facebook exposure and users. One interesting note type Facebook and friendster without caps anywhere on blogger . The spell check does not list friendster capitalize while Facebook does. I guess more publicity gives you a spell check option.Anyways the point i am making is its pretty clear a small business cannot compete with these to guys in there specialties. 

I do believe that small business as chance to compete in the online world , particular in retail. Lets look at amazon and ebay . Amazon has built an interesting business model.Along with its own retail business Amazon didn't choose to fight off the market .. It choose to open its own doors and let other business sell there own products on there website. In the case of eBay any person or small business can participate in the retail market. With eBays Success we also notice some big cooperations entering the realm. I noticed  Sears trying to sell some items online  through eBay. I do not know how well its done for Sears but its interesting that they went into the eBay wars. 

Blogging is another way the small man cam compete. It you are a good blogger and you get alot of followers , you can sell ad-space on your blog . Bloggers can also join up with companies like Izea and take part in sponsored blogs.

Buying an ad in the Miami herald could costs a small business over $200 dollars per inch and a Sunday full page could be over $24,000. Only the big guys could afford that . But with the web you can get on a google ad-word campaign for as little as $100 dollars per month. yes a bigger budget would gets you further but any small business can have at least a presence. 

Its it easy for a small internet business? No,  and in an age were big companies (Google ,Facebook) are looking to buy medium companies(Groupon, Living social ) its not going to be easy for the little guy but it never was even before the net. I believe with companies like Facebook and Microsoft doing more copying and a little less innovating, there will be an opportunity for the small guy to come up with a great idea like Groupon , Just when Google offers you 6 billion for your idea just take it.

http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/03/confirmed-the-groupongoogle-deal-is-off/

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-groupon-said-no-to-google-2010-12

www.adwords.google.com

http://izea.com/

New twist- Internet doomed newspapers or saved them?

In case you haven't noticed the newspapers have been using the internet to save there businesses. I thin its ironic  that one industry is using tools from an industry that is putting them out of business, but oh well .The truth is, what most people do not know is that over the past 30 years newspaper readership was at a steady decline. To give you an idea 25 years ago our local newspaper the Miami Herald had over half a million daily newspapers in circulation. Today they struggle to keep 195000 daily issues in circulation  and around 260,000 sunday. I think one major problems (prior to the internet) was the business model. The declines are greater when you factor in that the south Florida population has grown in that time span. For too long the industry relied on a old never changing business model. which is print a paper , sell advertising, and sell the issues. The model has now recently change because of the internet. in 2003 the newspaper industry received 1.2 billion in ad revenue and in 2006 it was up to 2.7 billion. While this may seem as a positive this new model puts them in competition with every single online newspaper not just local ones. It also puts them in competition with every news source, including cspan, cnn, every tv online news out fit, Google , Facebook and twitter , and any individuals blog that collects advertising revenue. Unfortunately for the papers is that they still have the burden of covering the high  costs of ink ,paper and manpower to produce the print version of there news. 

To show you the power of the social media outlets. go to your Facebook or twitter page . Search for any newspaper . Chances are you will find  that the paper has Facebook page and a twitter account.--

Thats right the newspapers are using there competitors media to promote  there business. When was the last time you saw a Facebook ad on a newspaper?  Unfortunately ,the papers will be at a severe disadvantage as long as they continue to absorb the costs of paper ink and man power to physically print and deliver there issues.. But once they move from that old Model , they will be able to survive but not dominate like they once did.

http://mashable.com/2009/03/11/newspaper-industry/

http://gigaom.com/2010/03/28/what-does-the-future-hold-for-newspapers/

Online Identity theft- How Hysteria Creates a Market

You get to the checkout line at the grocery store. After you run your card through the machine with a broken pen, the cashier tells you your card has been declined. "That cant be" you say  as she rolls her eyes knowing she has to restock your entire shopping cart. You then run to the ATM outside. You agree to the $2.99 fee to just check your balance( dam you presto) and there is is - a balance of 0. You are still in denial . So you race home go  online and check your balance its worse, you have a balance of negative 42.99(transaction fee and over the draft fee for the ATM use.  You notice  purchases made in another states. you lose your house the wife leaves you . your doomed. Dont You Wish you had Life Guard online privacy protection. for just 49.99 and 19.99 a year, you can get all the Identity Guard you need.
You may have heard the names of these companies-life-lock, Protect my ID , Identity guard, and Watch Dog. While i believe most of these products do what they claim ,however i wonder do we really need them?
I understand that in this new online world we have can make some people get a little paranoid. I must admit the first time i used MS money i was a little hesitant to provide all this credit card and banking information-even though i never felt that way when i would give my name phone number, address social security number and a copy of my drivers license to a complete stranger at a bank .Today i dont go to the Bank that much anymore
I here more and more about Identity theft so i decided to check some things out (online of course). here is what i found.

• The amount of victims to identity theft in 2003 was 10.1 million in 2007 the amount  dropped   to 8.4 million
• the total amount of money lost to fraud was 55.7 billion in 2006 and it decreased to 49.3 billion in 2007.
• Most thieves still obtain personal Identity info through traditional way rather than the internet. or Almost 70% of the crimes were obtained offline compared to almost 12% online. 
• it is also recommended to receive your banking statement online that by the mail.

How about that its actually safe to receive your bank statement through email then by mail because its easier to steal someones mail. Other more common ways include losing a wallet or purse, giving information over the phone and of course family and friends.

Its also worth noting that you control what info you enter online . Use common sense with the information you post to the world

Alex 

305 555 6792

address 1588 sesame street, fiu fl

social security. 576-67-8656

http://www.privacyrights.org

http://www.identitytheftcreditfraud.com

Marketing and the Hotel Travel Industry.......Today

Marketing in todays business worlds can be challenging at times. Many, if not all industries have changed there advertising approach. Today I am going to blog about one particular type of  industry,the hotel industry.
Prior to the web many businesses had few choices to get attention to there organization. They depended on purchasing expensive advertising  media like TV, Radio, newspapers ,and print magazines or getting a third party ink write up  . In todays internet world its a whole new game , especially for the hotel industry.
Most Hotels no longer rely on the USA TODAY or the  travel magazines. Many rely on our(meaning the public) reviews that we post on the web.One of the biggest fears among General Mangers in the industry is getting a negative review in on any online booking agents. For example, Trip advisor has thousands of reviews for hotels. If a hotel has a poor public reviews there prices and occupancy will suffer.

It is not uncommon for some hotels to have there own social media department.
The internet is not just another Medium . it is a valuable communications tool. Hotels today are better today at  finding out what there guests want. Most hotels have there own website, they have a fan page on   Facebook, are members of  twitter, you tube, and even there own blog.A simple tweet from a friend saying  that they stayed at the Delano hotel in south beach can be seen by thousands of potential guests Utilizing  these tools help them communicate better with potential clients. These tools also help the Delano show who they are. Before when we used travel gents or the phone book very few times we could see the what the property and surrounding area looked like. Today we do not even consider a room at a hotel that does post any pics.


http://www.milestoneinternet.com/html/web2.0-social-media-optimization.asp

http://www.milestoneinternet.com/html/web2.0-social-media-optimization.asp

Why sponsered tweets are not the end of the world

We have all received a tweet that looks like the image above.For the past couple years sponsored tweets and blogs  have been have been a norm on twitter and like services.While they can be undesired and feel like an  annoying Tv./radio commercial or an unwanted piece of junkmail in your mailbox(not inbox)  I have decided to look back at some of the resistance  sponsored tweets had and some of the positives( if any) they offered.

"sponsored Tweets will purposely mislead the public because we wont know whats an ad or real authentic info". While I question all the content my friends tweet about is authentic at times a know non of them " are  on the take" because sites like sponsored tweets required full discloser on all tweets. Refer to the image above (dollar. #ad http).

While I understand that there some reason for concerns I believe the benefits outweigh the negatives. We all follow people on twitter for some reason or another . Some are friends and family,  but other such as celebrities, athletes, and professional/amateur bloggers. Those that we dont know personally give us something through entertainment or information we want or are interested in. Why should they not  be compensated as a spokesperson just like every celebrity who tries to sell me shoes , deodorant, cars, financial service and cel phone through commercials.

I would also like to note its not just major celebrities. Many small bloggers who have built up a good following participate in programs like ad.ly and sponsered tweets.
This form of advertising can also help all businesses not just big business. For about a hundred dollars you can get someone to tweet to 50 thousand people a promotion for your small buisness.

However if these reasons are not good enough and you want no ads on any tweets you receive, you still reserve the right to unfollow that sponsored tweeter...

http://sponsoredtweets.com/about/ethics/

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/05/twitter_bans_sponsored_tweets.html