Successful Blog

Is Your Strategy About Winning Opportunities?

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Strategy

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I’ve been having conversations about strategy and tactics lately. Projects are launching soon and I’m planning for SOBCon2010 — Strategy and Tactics are going to be a big part of the content. That’s sent me on some blissful research and some not so lovely mind searching — realizing I had some strategic work of my own to be doing.

As strategy became my main topic of conversation, I came to the following realizations:

  • We don’t learn or teach good decision making in schools.
  • Most folks make random decisions.
  • Most folks confuse tactics with strategy — basically thinking they’re the same thing.
  • Few folks think of strategy as opportunity mining.
  • Few folks have a strategy that fully leverages their unique position.

Tactics are interesting. The accomplishments they bring can be thrilling. But the bigger picture that a strategic mission lays out is powerful and amazing thinking.

Is Your Strategy About Finding Opportunities?

Strategy isn’t a plan, a decision, a goal, a destination.
It’s a tool for leveraging who you are, what you know, where you are, the environment, and how people think and respond to each other. Strategy is a system for improving your position.

  1. Have a Mission — set an ultimate philosophical, economical, and / or political purpose
  2. Assess Your Position — Look, listen, measure, test your current situation, climate, resources, opportunities
  3. Move Forward Tactically in Increments — Size, choose, and commit to campaigns that reflect obstacles, goals, and prizes
  4. Celebrate and Record Your Winnings — All progress is good.

Strategy is based on the idea that you have a unique place in the world. All opportunities flow from that position. — Gary Gagliardi

All strategy is discovering, choosing, taking advantage of, and winning opportunities.

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Strategic perspective can light unique and unexpected pathways.

Have you looked at your strategic mission lately?
Is your strategy about winning opportunities?
Are you leveraging your unique position?

I make connections.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to do some strategic thinking?

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

Can bing Help Me Decide?

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What Is This bing Thing?

bing arrived on my radar with an email that said …

In August, Bing shopping and cashback will offer significantly higher rebates from hundreds of retailers to help consumers save on essential back-to-school items. Below please find a press release that highlights the survey [and] information on Bing shopping’s upcoming back-to-school promotion. Also, watch for more information about the promotion on the Bing cashback Facebook page: www.facebook.com/cashback .

I accepted an invitation to talk with Melissa Powell, Senior Product Manager, bing, about the recent research and the the new “decision” engine.

How Does bing Help My Decisions?

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The first thing Melissa said was, “The search interface hasn’t kept up with the explosion of content.” In response to that situation Microsoft wanted to cater to what people are doing online and where they are searching for it.

bing has identified four verticals as important: making a purchase decision, planning a trip, researching a health condition or finding a local business. For example, in travel bing has several interactive tools to help travelers. They include …

  • Price Predictor uses Farecast technology to predict whether the price of a flight is going up or down and offers a “Buy Now” or “Wait” recommendation with a confidence level and expected price increase or decrease over the next seven days.
  • Rate Indicator analyzes historical rate data to determine whether the current price is a good deal.
  • Travel Deals features up-to-the-minute flight and hotel deals for nearly 40 cities around the world and why particular flights are considered deals.

Melissa underscored the bing quest by stating …

Bing helps you make better decisions faster, especially in the key areas of shopping, travel, health and local. One of my favorite features is Bing shopping, which helps you search, shop and save in a snap. With back-to-school just around the corner, you can save on millions of products from hundreds of the nation’s top retailers. Starting August 10 and for a limited time, we’ll offer as much as double the normal cash back from select retailers to help families save on their back-to-school essentials.

Research Before I Decide …

You can’t miss the beautiful design of the homepage the changes daily and becoming a member of bing has perks — open a bing cashback account, get bing news alerts, add bing map collections, and gain full access to the bing Webmaster Center and the bing Developer Center.

I signed up. Well, I started to, but I don’t have an MSN Live address and I’m not sure I want another id … as pretty as bing is, I decided more research was in order.

So I used bing to check bing versus google.
You can check and compare here …

I compared the cost of living between Chicago and Salt Lake City. I think Google got closer to what I might want to know.

Some folks say bing maybe offering information to sway my decision … I tried to find more examples of bias and wasn’t successful. Some folks are more clever than I.

Decide or Decide to Buy? …

From the first hello “every bing” has been about buying. The introductory email pointed to a back-to-school shoppers survey. I learned that:

  • 56% of shoppers won’t be buying Back-to-School supplies online
  • 75% will trade down to get more value for price

At the sign up screen, I was greeted with

bingcashback

and when I hesitated to complete that step … I was received an email reminding me of the opportunity to get cash back on my purchases. It read,

Hello,
Welcome to Bing, the search that pays you back!

What I hear is not “decide,” but “decide to buy.”

Can bing Help Me Decide?

A small sign upper right on the bing home page reads:

Live Search is evolving. Tour Bing …

Can bing help me decide?

I keep remembering my mom saying “if everyone jumped off the bridge …” As Judy Shapiro said,

Maybe I am just too independently minded (and not the primary target), but I resist the notion that Microsoft technology will decide anything for me. What I really want is technology to give me the information I need to make the decision I want.

Have you tried bing? What did you find?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

Thanks to Week 198 SOBs

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Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

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They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

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Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

50 Chicago WordCamp Blue Feather Tweeters

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Sweet WordCamp Chicago

When I attended WordCamp Chicago I spoke on pencil and paper camp …
how we all write code — ABCs …
how we all ARE code — DNA …
during that discussion we shared Twitter names that I promised to compile and post one day.

Unfortunately, time, travel, great clients, and a friend’s passing have slowed my abilitiy to get to this list, but finally I can say …

This is the day I start sharing Blue Feather Tweeters from Chicago Word Camp …

First the speakers and organizers …

  1. Matt Mullenweg, founder of our favorite blog/CMS platform, @photomatt
  2. Jeremy Wright, CEO of one of the largest global new media blog networks, @jeremywright
  3. Jim Turner, business and social media blogging consultant, @genuine
  4. Erin Blaskie, CEO of global internet marketing strategy consultancy, @ErinBlaskie
  5. David Dalka, marketing and digital technology coach, @dalka
  6. Liz Strauss, online social strategist, owner of Successful Blog and Founder of SOBCon @lizstrauss
  7. Micah Baldwin, VP of business development of search-powered web application, Lijit @micah
  8. Tim Frick, who creates design-driven communication solutions with his company, Mightybytes @Mightybytes
  9. Doug Hanna, head honcho of running the day-to-day operations of the WordPress showcase @douglashanna
  10. Kevin Palmer, social media expert consultant and talent behind Social Media Answers @kevinpalmer
  11. Brian Gardner, Chicago WordCamp Organizser, Freelance Web Consultant, and Designer of the WordPress Revolution @bgardner
  12. Lisa Sabin-Wilson, Chicago WordCamp Organizer, Author of WordPress for Dummies, and Awesome designer @LisaSabinWilson

    13. The attendees and their WordCamp taglines

  13. Jeff Melvin, local targeted traffic, @jlmelvin
  14. Susan Hayse, Web Developer / Cycling Gear Editory @susancycles
  15. Troy Christensen, WordPress, Geek @TroyChristensen
  16. Chris Hajer, Love WordPress @ChrisHajer
  17. Sophia Madana, WordPress beginner @smadana
  18. Nancy Loo, evolving journalist @NancyLoo
  19. Mike Paradiso, passionately determined @mikeparadiso
  20. John LiCausi, WordPress is the heart of my businesss! @JohnLiCausi
  21. Marcie Hill, blog addiction @Marcie_Hill
  22. Sharon Kelly, need to know why @sharon_kelly
  23. Elaine Luther, jeweler, artist, writer @ElaineLuther
  24. Amy Ravit Korin, learning and excited @InteractiveAmy
  25. Anne Asher, Body posture @AnneAsherr
  26. Doug Devitre, Real Estate @dougdevitre
  27. Len Mason, bored weekends, @lenmason
  28. Alex Falkenberg, thank you, @AlexFalk
  29. Denise Wiler, likes learning, @dqwiler
  30. Beth McBride, need knowledge, @BethMcB
  31. Kristin Koskinen, still searching @kristinkoskinen
  32. Larry Null, Learn WordPress Better, Don’t Follow Rules @Larry_Null
  33. Joe Besenjak, Pastoral care, @JBesenjak
  34. Brad Williams, hardcore developer @williamsba
  35. Ryan Powszok, Social creativity @RyanPowszok
  36. Josh Feck, new experience @joshfeck
  37. Steve Racine, to learn @Quickshot56
  38. Chris King, build websites @fendmark
  39. Jessica Searles, WordPress Security @techwriterjess
  40. Jacob Santos, take video @JacobSantos
  41. Melissa Feeney, socially connected @Melissa Feeney
  42. Todd Krause, curiously social @toddjob
  43. Deena Mayne, WordPress artiste @Deena_Mayne
  44. Jane Goodwin, muuuust speeeak … @mamacita
  45. David Peralty, to make friends, I’m lonely 🙂 @brandingdavid
  46. Josh Byers, Love creating @joshbyers
  47. Steve Gassner inspire possibilities @stevegassner
  48. Brandon Zeman, Fun people @BrandonZeman
  49. Ryan Villnow, Design and Development @Villnow
  50. Terri Ford, Seeking change @TerriFord

More Blue Feather WordCamp Chicago Tweeters to come next week!!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Raise your influence and income. Be Seen! Be Heard Be Hired!

Provocative vs. Genuine

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sealionI’ve been thinking about the difference between being provocative and being genuine lately.

We all read stories or see ads that are “provocative.” They are fun to read and see from time to time. But I wonder… do you trust a provocative story or would you prefer genuine writing?

There have been a few blog posts going around this week about being provocative in your blogging, marketing or overall strategy. I read that being being provocative has value in challenging people and pushing them to think.

Sure, I can agree with that.

Another blog I read suggested, “Being provocative isn’t about being controversial. It’s about being ahead of your time, solving problems in new and interesting ways, and creating awesome brands and products.”

But what does the word “provocative” really mean, I wondered. Here’s one definition that seems to be generally accepted: “Making people angry or excited: deliberately aimed at exciting or annoying people.”

Being provocative to me means trying to get people to react emotionally, quickly, instead of giving them something to think about, and respond to in time. It can mean prodding someone’s emotions instead of challenging the way they think.

If you were talking to a person face-to-face and you could tell they were being “provocative” or controversial just to get a reaction out of you, how would you feel? Would you feel challenged intellectually, or emotionally annoyed?

Every now and again I catch myself getting incensed by something I read which *I* know is “wrong.” I start a post and am writing away but I stop myself because what I am in fact doing is reactionary. I’m not carefully considering the points put forward and formulating an intelligent response.

That could very well be because in many provocative ads or blog posts there are few ideas to think about, only phrases to react to. I’ve read that writing like this is like the loud person at a party who swears a lot and is “controversial” just because he or she has nothing intelligent to say.

Do you read “provocative” blogs and enjoy “provocative” marketing strategies because you are enriched or learn from them, or do you just enjoy the controversy?

By Kathryn Jennex
www.kathrynjennex.com

25 Words of Social Media Wisdom — Pass It On!

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Can 25 Words Change the World?

The Living Web

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 25 Words of Social Media Wisdom Project. It was another amazing example of the power of writing. It was also another challenge to make this one shine as brightly as the words.

Thank you for your wisdom!

You were inspiring
You reminded us.
You asked and you answered.
You set the bar and touched touched hearts.
You showed our realities and imagined new ones.
Broke the rules and jumped the walls.
Put the people in the center of it all.
In every way you showed the value of every voice online and off.

Here’s what you wrote.

25 Words Of Social Media Wisdom Project

View more presentations from Liz Strauss.

Click “full” to see it on the full screen. Click the single right arrow to move to the next slide. To embed this on your blog or share it with others, just click the “embed” tag on the viewer.

I checked twice to be sure I got everyone’s selection. But if I missed you please let me know and I’ll edit and add you in immediately. The 25-word authors are:
Courtney Chowning
Liz Strauss
Claire Druga
Karin H
Christa Miller
Suzanna Stinnett
MaryS
Liz Hover
Writer-Mommy
Tim Tracey
bobjones.nl
AppFail
Regina Lark
Summer Huggins
ANDI
Anna
Karen Putz
that damn redhead
Tim Bursch
Niro
Tracy Fox
Joseph Crockett
Jen
Lorraine Ball
Ike
Dave Haber
Tre~
Jim Storer
Rebecca E. Parsons
Sheila Scarborough
Jim McGee
Francie
nerdmuffin
Julie
Avil Beckford
Glenda

Thanks to everyone who participated by writing or reading!

If I missed yours please, please, please, let me know.

And if you missed it . . . 25 Words of Work / Life Wisdom — Pass It On!
25 Words that Connect Us — Pass It On!!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!