Google launched realtime search last December, but they have now ‘kicked it up a notch” by giving it its own home page. Basically it is a Google search page that updates in real time. Unlike ‘regular’ Google searches which often have ‘top results’ that are years old, these searches will produce them as they are posted.  While sorting the data based on things like ‘number of people who have clicked on this one’ is believed to be useful based on the assumption that those sites that have been most visited, are more relevant and valuable, that is not always the case.

The world is changing faster than I can type! Some things need to be more current than others. Technology for example. It doesn’t really matter to me if a blog has a gazillion visitors and therefore gets top placement if I am looking for information on facebook for example. Last years ‘how to’ information is likely no longer relevant.  I have been searching for medical information a lot lately and there is another area where I want the very latest [even if it's on a more obscure site] findings, research, etc.

A big part of this real-time search is twitter. Just go look at the results rolling in on the page. That is where a lot of the data is coming from. This again can be very useful! Think about it…

Going back to my medical search. I am searching for the latest greatest content on a condition called Paralytic Ileus.  If by chance, someone happened to be tweeting about that as I was searching, I would be thrilled! Now I have someone that I can reach out to and connect with and learn more from, as opposed to just an article or abstract.

Imagine the person who is thinking of relocating to the area.  Let’s say they are searching Google for family friendly activities in the Raleigh area (where I live) and you happen to post a blog post, or tweet a link about that very thing. Voila! Not only do they get to read whatever you posted, but they get to connect with you!  We all love information, but there is simply something irreplaceable about connecting with PEOPLE.

Now you might be thinking “that only helps me if they search at that exact time”. Perhaps,  depending on the content. People may not be posting new content as quickly as you might think.  But that wasn’t even a possibility before! Your post will still be ‘out there’ in Google land, just as it always would have been. This is just another ‘place’ or ‘way’ that it shows up.

How to use Google Realtime Search?

You can either go to http://www.google.com/realtime

or just type whatever you are searching for into your Google toolbar and then on the results page choose “updates” on the left side!

So, what does it mean to you?

As a business person [or anyone posting content]:

In my opinion, it could mean:

a) it doesn’t affect you in any way because you aren’t contributing anything to the internet pool on a consistent basis, or

b) it can mean that you now a little bit of additional opportunity for people to find you and your content, and a ‘level playing field’ in the land of Google, if even for a brief period of time.

As a ‘consumer’ or person searching for information, it allows you to find up to the minute information and more easily connect with people who are experts in, or interested in the same information that you are looking for.

Of course, like all things new we will have to wait and see how it all pans out.

What do you think? Do you see any other good/bad points that I haven’t mentioned?

(Oh, and you can click here for the Google “how to use Google realtime video”)

Imagine this…

You meet someone online who has the same sense of humor as you, is funny, witty and smart. You begin to think of them as a friend and when the time comes that you are in need of the service that they offer, you know that is who you want, because you really like and trust him (or her). So, you decide to meet in person at a coffee shop. When you arrive, that person has a completely different personality. They don’t have that same sense of humor, and when you start to talk about conversations you’ve had on twitter, you are met with a blank stare. You are confused…Why?

Because that person had an imposter tweeting and facebooking for them!

The person that you ‘knew, liked and trusted’ isn’t the person in front of you. It is someone that they hired to ‘do their social media’.

How do you feel about them now? Do you like and trust them?

Want to do business with them? Probably not!

How would you feel if you met someone that you really liked and they said “I don’t really have time to date you right now, and I don’t want to waste my time until I know that you are worth it. So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to have someone fill in for me OK?”

It’s a common dilemma these days. Everyone wants ‘friends, fans, and followers’ because they want more CUSTOMERS. They “don’t have the time”, or ‘don’t want to’ do it themselves, so they hire someone. Afterall, that is what people have done in business forever right? You hire an assistant, a marketing person, or someone else to do the things that you don’t want to do. So, why not this?

Because it ISN”T ABOUT ADVERTISING! (Yes I yelled that!:)

Keyword = S O C I A L

Think social NETWORKING instead of MEDIA. You NETWORK socially USING social MEDIA (as in mediums). Networking is a verb – it requires action!

It’s about conversations, creating relationships and developing trust.

We used to say “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. Now it’s more like Carrie Wilkerson says “it’s how much people feel like they know you”

People won’t feel like they know you, if there’s a ghost tweeter behind that profile picture.

So, what do you do?

You don’t have time right?

Consider this:

No matter what you do, no matter how techie the world gets, there is STILL a human on the other side of that ‘buy button’.

Consider that there is NOTHING more important in your business than interacting with your customers, clients or patients! Nothing!

Yes, there are other things  that have to be done. The books, the inventory, the this the thats all have to happen. Hire THOSE things out! I am a big fan of outsourcing certain things. Virtual assistants are GREAT for allowing you the time to do what is important – Communicating with those that you serve!  Hire one to post events, even spell check and upload those blog posts, or pictures.***

The voice, and conversation has to be YOU, if you want to reap the reward!

We want to know who we are doing business with. We have MANY choices in who to do business with today. I can go to twitter and find 10 people that do just about anything in a matter of minutes! I will choose the one who engages with me, talks to me and who I feel connected to. Period.

It’s not about quality or price anymore! Quality is virtually the same for most things except service these days, and someone will always be cheaper (and you get what you pay for anyway!).

• Stop focusing there.
• You are the only you! NO one can compete at being you.
• Be you, let it show and show up!
• Talk to us, don’t SELL to us.
• If you want us to make the time for you, make the time for us!
• Connecting with us has to matter to you, or you won’t matter to us!

If you have a larger company than one or two people, consider hiring someone to help you set up your accounts, develop a strategy and create a plan that allows everyone who comes in contact with customers, clients or patients to participate! Have them tweet and post to facebook using their initials. This way you are being authentic in who is ‘talking’, and folks get to know your entire staff! They won’t feel ‘bait and switched”, they will feel like they already know the people that they will be in communication with, and the conversations can be richer and more frequent!

Be authentic and upfront! Remember, to be trusted, you have to be trustworthy!

For more about the importance of ‘voice’ in today’s market click here for

It’s Not Just about Business Facebook Pages or Twitter or Blogs. It’s a Revolution

Social Media is for Conversation, Not a Bulletin Board

*** I personally recommend www.AssistantAngel.com for help with social media, and for many other tasks as well***

Facebook and it’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg haven’t made ‘friends’ very happy lately with recent changes that dramatically changed privacy in the social network.

Facebook has now announced new and improved privacy settings as well as a more user friendly way to monitor and control your information.
Or as it explained in the email that I received from facebook today:

“Starting today, Facebook will:
* Provide an easy-to-use “master” control that enables users to set who can see the content they share through Facebook. This enables users to choose, with just one click, the overall privacy level they’re comfortable with for the content they share on Facebook. Of course, users can still use all of the granular controls we’ve always offered, if they wish.
* Significantly reduce the amount of information that must be visible to everyone on Facebook. Facebook will no longer require that users’ friends and connections are visible to everyone. Only Name, Profile Picture, Networks and Gender must be publicly available. Users can opt to make all other connections private.
* Make it simple to control whether other applications and websites access any user information. While a majority of our users love Facebook apps and Facebook-enhanced websites, some may prefer not to share their information outside of Facebook. Users can now opt out with just one click.
”

Check out the new settings here:

http://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php

Read CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Blog post on this here:

http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=391922327130

Read more about facebook privacy, and MY thoughts on the topic here:

http://heathero.com/2010/05/new-facebook-privacy-changes/

Originally facebook was considered a ‘walled garden’. Information was largely restricted to those you had ‘friended’. Although for many this was a good thing, I personally felt that twitter had an advantage over facebook in that it allowed me to discover new people and make new friends that I never could have connected with via facebook (because I didn’t even know that they existed!).

As facebook made strides to adapt it’s network to its increasing members, and to make it easier to find and share information that was of interest, it opened up new ‘channels’ that allowed people to see more of each other.

As a result, privacy was reduced and for some that caused serious heartburn!

It’s a double-edged sword so to speak. As I often say ‘when you block the bad, you also block the good”.  The opposite of course holds true too.

I personally like the fact that I can see who ‘likes’ what pages and who became friends with whom (even though that was a major point of contention for many at the time of that change).

If I see a friend ‘like’ a page that sounds interesting, I can check it out. If I see that 10 of my friends became friends with someone, I might want to know them too.

The ability to ‘mention’ a friend (creating a link and not just their name) in a post was also a big step in helping people ‘meet new people’ as you can now easily click on the link and find out at least a little bit about them and decide whether you want to connect with them.

Community pages were recently introduced (which I think few people even know about!) and while I won’t go into them here (stay tuned for future post), the ability to find others based on similar interests is great, and this is a great way to find them, but again, most people don’t want their posts being used to populate them (especially since they aren’t aware that they are and don’t realize that they’ve ‘given permission’).

In any case, there are good and bad points in all of this. Ultimately I think we have to remember that the network belongs to facebook and they can choose how it works. Especially since it is free! (although I add that most of the place that I pay for service don’t let me choose either!)

There are many other ways and places that the information on Facebook is ‘shared’. I encourage to be aware of them.

I also encourage you to never consider ANYthing that you put on the internet to be ‘private’, and remember, it is  permanent!

Read about recent changes to facebook privacy settings here

Just when you thought you were NOT confused on facebook…

Here comes ANOTHER change!

Facebook recently announced a ‘confidential’ change to the way people engage with fan pages.

While many are still trying to figure out the difference between a group and a fan page, Facebook is now going to change the verbiage from “become a fan” to “like”.

Not to be confused with liking a post, although you can still do that too! You can like a post, but not the page, or like the page.

Confused yet?

So was I! But it’s ok, we will get through it!

Here’s the ‘what’:

• Fan pages will still be called fan pages.
• You will no longer ‘become a fan’ though!
• You will “like’ the page
• You can ‘like’ JUST the post (as you do now)
• If you like the post, you just like it
• If you like the page, you have subscribed to it (like becoming a fan)
• Once you like the page, you will see that page’s updates in your stream
• (I have no idea whether you will be able to un-like it)

So for those who hated the whole ‘fan thing’, you’ve got your wish!

No more fans.

What will you call your fans?

Facebook suggests that you call them ‘connections’ or ‘people who like us on facebook’ (not quite as catchy as facebook fan is it?)

Why the Language Change?

Well, according to facebook they are changing the language  people are much more likely (twice in fact) to ‘like’ something as click on ‘become a fan’. Since there is huge value for facebook to know what you like (and who, and what you do, etc), they want to make it easier to know what you like!

Contrary to popular belief, facebook is a business! The data that we as users provide them is valuable! So they want to make it easier to collect that data.

Another reason mentioned is that Facebook is adding the ‘like’ concept across the web as a whole and they want to maintain consistency. People are already in the ‘like’ habit, so they see this as an easier thing for people to understand. (See this article for more about that)

(I personally question the incentive of generating more ad revenue…)

So, what does all of this mean?

Well, for business owners it means that:

• you will need to change any marketing materials, etc that say “fan” (you won’t want to appear out of date)
• you may find that you have more ‘fans’ (or likers?) because they will be more inclined to click like than fan
• you won’t be as sure that they are true fans however (in my opinion)
• you may increase your ‘likers’ by the nature of more people clicking that like button means more of their friends see that connection

We won’t really know until it all begins.

For facebook users it means that you can

‘like’ a post on a page, or like the page without calling yourself  ‘a fan’.

It also means that you will be ‘signing up for’ posts from pages when you “like” the page, so you will want to pay attention and be aware of that.

None of us ‘likes’ change!

As frustrating as it might be at times, I try to remember that Facebook is an incredibly powerful tool than gives us tremendous value in many ways! Both personally and professionally! And we don’t pay a dime for it! (We pay only in the information that we provide it). Like everything else in life, when you get stuff for free, you have to take what is provided. “Like it” or not…

So, I will take a deep breath, think about all of the fun, joy and benefit that I value in facebook, and roll with it! Even though right now I dont’ really know if

I’ll LIKE it

What are your thoughts?

The latest news in the social networking and technology worlds is that Google and facebook continue to go ‘head to head’ competing for YOUR time, your eyeballs, and your data.

Word has spread like wildfire about facebook’s "Project Titan", which would bring email to facebook, and Google Buzz which would bring social updates to your Gmail. There’s a lot that I could talk about here, but since this is ‘good soup’, let’s talk about soup.

There are a lot of things that I like in soup. There are things that I like, that others don’t. There are things that I like, and other things that I like, but I don’t want them all together in a soup. Will this be different?

As far as email in facebook…There have been times when I have thought

"I wish I could just get my email here, while I am here."

I have often wished that I could have my Google Calendar there as well (since that is where most of my appointments are made, events found, and invitations received). But, I’m not so sure how I feel about this email thing.

Here are my thoughts:

• I don’t really love my email.
• I love GMail, for it’s ability to filter out spam better than ANY service I have ever seen.
• I need email because I can’t currently get attachments in Fbook mail, etc. I get email because not everyone uses facebook mail I do know people that absolutely don’t want business emails in fbook mail.
• Most of all, I am thinking that I like facebook mail because most of what I get there , I want to receive. With the exception of a few groups that I accepted invites from who abuse the group email feature, I get stuff there from people that I like. I can’t say that about my email.
• Although Gmail does have an amazing spam filter, I still get what I call "spam that I signed up for". I get emails that I really don’t want from people because I signed up for something that they offered. ‘
• As a result, my email is the last place I go when I hop on my laptop. I check twitter, and facebook , then email. I can easily absorb huge mouthfuls of information and updates via twitter and facebook. Email, not so much. It’s cumbersome. Scan through for what is worth reading, open, read, digest, think about the reply, reply, etc. For many however, this would be a convenience, and if I could figure out how to keep the sales pitches and other stuff out, I would probably like it. How all that will work remains to be seen. Facebook is an information aggregator afterall!

Sometimes when you add something bitter to the soup, it makes the soup better. Sometimes it spoils the whole soup! Depending on how it’s done, this is a possibility for facebook.

Now, the buzz on Google buzz.

Adding social data to gmail may just sweeten the soup.

It will certainly liven up email, and make it more interesting and less one-dimensional.

MSN and Yahoo are both quickly rushing to point out that they have had these features for some time (reminds of little playground kids "I had it first!"). But, they didn’t have Gmail.

When my outlook crashed in 2008 and I looked for a way to get email (even though I had a hosted email account) and considered the options. For whatever reason, as I thought about them all, I didn’t have a perception that gmail was for novices, so I opted for Gmail. I discovered that they have an amazing spam filter, and became "hooked’ as a result. (Having seen the email boxes of many people who use yahoo and msn, I can honestly say that GMail has a huge advantage in it’s spam filter). So, whatever the reason is that people choose GMail over the others, the fact is that they didn’t leave GMail to get social updates when MSN and yahoo added them.

Maybe that is because the CORE product is of higher value to most. Whether people will now leave MSN or Yahoo, for GMail just to get updates in their email, remains to be seen, but I doubt it. We like what we are used to.

Think about how much people freak out over facebook simply changing the name of a newsfeed (without even moving a button!).

Now, the mobile part might change that. I recently set up a Microsoft Live account because of my phone. I forward my email to Gmail for spam filtering, but then forwarded it from there to Live because I have a windows mobile phone. Since outlook still doesn’t like me, and that is the windows mobile app for contacts and calendar, I did set up live in the hopes that I would be able to get better mobile access. (It didn’t work and I am looking a Google phones now, by the way).

The point is that I was willing to convert (at least in part) in order to have mobile access, and that is where Google Buzz may very well move some folks. We all seem to want as much info as we can get on our phones these days, and the easier you make it, the better.

Do I think people will leave facebook or twitter? Not a chance.

Might they update both from GMail if that is available? Sure.

Do they want yet another place to update? Hmm..not so much.

I can get and reply to facebook updates via tweetdeck (and sometimes do), but I still go there because it is a richer experience. I don’t go to twitter.com since the experience is richer on tweetdeck. If integration exists, and the experience is richer, then people will surely use the feature. I have friends that read and respond to much of their twitter stream from friendfeed, and spend lots of time there, because of the overall value to them.

Have people been willing to add yelp and foursquare to the places that they update? Yes. Each place has it’s own value and experience.

So far, Google hasn’t had a good track record at creating that in the social space. They do have a tremendous track record for ‘relevant search results’ however, and if their promise to ‘filter out the noise’ can be accomplished, then they will be leveraging what they are good at.

For facebook, adding email really isn’t ‘venturing too far out on a limb in terms of their core talent. The question is do we want it, and will it spoil the experience?

The bottom line is,

some things are good the way that they are. 

Adding other good things don’t always make them better.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

I like soup, and I like cheesecake, but I don’t want cheesecake in my soup!

How do you feel about social stuff in your email, and email in your social space?

New York Post Article

Mashable Article

photo from http://mathewsanders.posterous.com/

Yes, more facebook changes are on the way!

Don’t panic!

It’s all good!

Most of us don’t like change. It annoys us, frustrates us and disrupts our comfort zone.  We love becoming more comfortable, but the change part? Not so much!

Facebook is actually making some good changes this time.

Things will be easier to find and get to. For some people it will appear that there are new features, simply because they never noticed them or knew that they existed before!

It is not uncommon for example, for me to encounter people who are unaware that private emails exist in facebook, that there are notifications that show you the interactions with your posts and comments, etc.  The emails and notifications will be visible via drop down at the top of the screen now.

Friends online and chat move to the left sidebar so they are more visible, as do some other updates.

There will no longer be a live feed and news feed. Top News and Recent News will be what the former streams of updates are now called.

We will have to wait and see how users feel about the changes when they are officially rolled out. My guess is there will be people who will complain.

It appears however, that the changes will make engaging with friends easier as these tools become more prominent. That is a good thing!

Be sure to sign up for RSS or email updates for future posts!

More photos

Mashable Article on Facebook Redesign

Want to learn how to effectively use facebook to grow your business without annoying your friends?

Live Lunch and Learn in Cary NC 2/19/10

Online Webinars (limited to 5 people for optimum Q&A)

Facebook is all the rage. Like many, I can attest to the power of it. It truly is a powerful place! (*currently 96% of my business comes through facebook*)

First let’s talk about reasons for having one. Although many consultants don’t want or need a fan page, I had very specific reasons for creating one.

1. I wanted to be able to post frequent content relevant to what I do, which wouldn’t necessarily be relevant for all of my ‘friends’. I wanted people to be able to ‘optin’ for posts rather than getting them just because we were friends.

2. I wanted people to be able to connect with me without having to ‘do the friend thing’.  For many, the idea of accepting friends on facebook is still considered literally, and many are uncomfortable sending a request to someone that they don’t know.

3. To create a community of people with like-minded interests, and to be able to communicate with them in a ‘space’ uncluttered by farmville, friends and family.

Unfortunately, many people start fan pages for the wrong reasons. The do so simply because they think that because they have a business, they are ‘supposed to’, or they do it to have another place to advertise.

In a poll by Exact Target, 70% of facebook users say that they do not want to be advertised to by businesses that they are fans of.

This confuses many businesses. They don’t understand “why are they fans then?” The answer is, because they are! They became a fan of your page because they like you. They simply ‘raised their hand’ to say ” I am a fan of…” That’s it. They didn’t say ‘hi, I’m a fan, please post your ads on my wall!”

In many cases, they only became a fan because they are your friend! This article is about creating and keeping true fans!

In some cases they may become a fan because they want to know about upcoming events, MAYBE even sales, or specials (that is more common with larger brands, and they are only interested as long as they are in the market for that specific type of product). More often than not, that does not mean that they want you to advertise them the way that you are used to.

Like email, the biggest mistake that businesses make is assuming that because the customer gave them their email address, or connected via facebook or elsewhere, that they can send whatever they want to. They really only want what ‘they want’, not what you want them to want!

The world has changed. In the old days, you could run commercials and people ‘had to watch them’, or at least they did. They only had so many channels to choose from, and not a lot of other home entertainment choices, and so they did. Those who could afford TV advertising won. But then there was cable..and Tivo…and…

I often hear people say “but it works!” with regard to email spamming, and advertising in social media. “Everybody is doing it, so it must work!”  I simply say “ok, then why did people rush to get on the do not call list? why do people have spam filters? why do people use Tivo and other tools to avoid commercials?” Because they don’t want to hear it! Because they don’t trust you anymore!

The good news is, when they connect in social networks, they do so because they like you. As long as you allow them to, and don’t abuse them, they will trust you too.

So, first let’s talk about how to create a useless fan page:

1. Create a page and never come back! Or post randomly when you feel like it.

2. Create a page and have some assistant somewhere or a robot do all of the posting.

3. Only talk about you and your product and what YOU want to sell!

4. Don’t allow fans to post, so it’s all about YOU and what YOU have to say!

5. Use it as a billboard, and don’t engage in conversation.

6. Delete criticisms/complaints rather than respectfully addressing them.

How to create an effective fan page should be somewhat obvious at this point, but let me clarify and add a few, to be sure!

How to create a GREAT Facebook Fan Page that is useful and effective!

1. Be there at least twice a day. Once to post, and again to respond to any comments.

2. Post content of value to your fans – RELEVANT to THEM and their interests. (this may be articles about the upcoming trends, your vendors, suppliers, or strategic partners, or simply stuff that you know that they care about. It doesn’t have to just be about you)

3. Remember it’s not all about you!

4. Engage in conversation! Ask questions, say thank you, and respond to comments.

5. Ask them what they want!

6. Think about who you are talking to! Do you know who they are? what they like?

7. Think of ways to add value offline, and tell them about it online. Some ideas:

Have a fan appreciation party at your office or store

Cold & nasty outside? Tell them you understand and you’ve made fresh hot cider for them if they want to stop by and warm up!

Ask them what they are looking for or need right now & find ways to offer it to them!

Reward them!!! Give them deals, information and ‘perks’ for being your fan! Remember, they publicly raised their hand and said “I like you”! That matters! Let them know that you appreciate them.

8. Be human! Let YOU shine through. The days of corporate identity, and hiding behind logo’s is a thing of the past. We like and trust people, not logos.  Brand your logo, use your logo, but put a face behind it. If it can’t be you, give it to someone in your company that can and will be your face. (You have to let them be real and authentic, and clear about who they are though. They can’t be posing as you!).

9. Be bold! So many businesses are so worried about their image that they don’t even have one! When you try to please everyone, you please no one. The world is noisy, you’ve got to stand out. You don’t have to be overtly outrageous. Just be you! You are unique already (but nobody will know it if you don’t let it show!)

10. Remember, if you want to build your fan base, give them a reason to be there! You wanting a certain number isn’t enough. Let’s face it, they don’t care how many fans you want.  Give them value, be remarkable and be relevant!

When you do, they will bring you more fans.

5 Secrets to Adding Value with Facebook -  Click to View

(for more articles like this, search the keyword ‘facebook’ in the search box above)
You can find my facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/RealHeatherO

Did you miss my guest appearance on blog talk radio discussing how to not be overwhelmed by social media?

Listen here!

HeatherO 2 Pokens

At first glance, a poken is a cutesy simple little gadget, but it is actually deceptively powerful.

This video discusses the following reasons why it is powerful:
1. photo
2. updated
3. social links
4. common bond

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pokens range from $20-$40 and come in ‘cute’ styles as pictured above as well as more conservative memory sticks. Click here to view available types or go to http://bit.ly/getpoken .