Successful Blog

Test Drive OneBigPlanet! It’s a Cool, New World of Internet Commerce

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A More Sensible Way to Buy on the Web

onebigplanet logo

Keep an eye out. A new service is coming to the Internet. You’ll find it as part of your social network, and it will make the way you buy things online easier, faster, and more intelligent. It’s the power of OneBigPlanet, a patent pending Commerce and Loyalty platform that leverages the power of the Internet, an intelligent algorithm, Web 2.0 and your personal preferences. I’ve seen it in action.

Here’s a bit of the history and a little about Eric Aubertin, CEO and founder of One Big Planet.

In 2002, Eric Aubertin founded OneBigPlanet Corp., where he pioneered a patent pending Web and Mobile Commerce and Loyalty Platform for social networks and organizations. He had a vision of changing the way people consume and saw a market opportunity to develop an easy to deploy but comprehensive solution that would empower social networking sites, portals, membership organizations and associations to foster strong and long-term relationships, as well as assist them in monetizing their sites. The members would benefit by gaining access to exclusive deals and advantages as well as useful consumer tools and information that would enable them to save money and time.

Previously, as CEO and Founder of eFundraising.com Corp, Eric Aubertin had invented a patented e-mail and web-based fundraising system that was acquired by Reader’s Digest in 2000 for the sum of $27 million

Last Friday, I enjoyed a meeting and conversation with Mr. Aubertin and OneBigPlanet Marketing Services Director, Sonia Gasparini. They showed me around the platform and showed great patience with my curiosity. I was asking questions and having ideas. It’s quick to see how it makes life easier.

Imagine being able to build your own Internet shopping mall complete with

  • Products and services organized in over 20 drag & drop categories.
  • Instant rewards (discounts) tailored to your preferences and interests (no points/miles to collect)
  • Cool tools: Consumer Calendar· Travel Power Search· Restaurant Reservations that remind you and update when you move locations.
  • Personalized for us. Modular for the network who offers it.
  • Consumer information to make smarter purchasing decisions.

You expected those things, didn’t you? So did I. Think of the real power of bringing all of that information AND US together in one place. Consumers get a new way to lead the conversation.

SOCIAL SHOPPING Is Simply Consumer Driven!

I like the OneBigPlanet term for it — social shopping.

  • Share your preferences with friends. Never buy a lame gift again.
  • Participate in consumer forums.
  • Create your own consumer groups.
  • Meet others with similar consumer profiles.·
  • Refer merchants you like.
  • Give feedback so we can improve your future consumer experiences.

    • It was amazing to see how OneBigPlanet simplifies Internet commerce. It’s a dashboard for all things shopping. I’ve been dreaming of a personal assistant to organize my consumer life. This would take over that burden. I’d join a community just to use it.

    Apparently the U.S. Chamber of Commerce agrees with me.

    First and Only Commerce and Loyalty Platform for USCC Employees and Members

    New York, NY – April 22, 2008 – OneBigPlanet®, the leader in Commerce and Loyalty Platforms for social networks and organizations, will implement a tailored member portal for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce(USCC). Employees and member companies will have access to an abundance of unique benefits, deals and Advantages. National associations, state and local chambers will also be invited to share this “One-Stop Consumer Portal” with their respective members.

    In addition to powering the USCC’s Member Benefits Program, OneBigPlanet will offer their member businesses the possibility to position products and services on its member portal. By providing exclusive deals, the USCC’s member businesses will have access to a multitude of social networks and organizations, translating into millions of potential targeted customers.

    At the end of our conversation, Eric and I talked about the future goals for OneBigPlanet. I was interested in what might be the opportunities for small businesses and online entrepreneurs — clients and readers — to participate by offering their products and services in the future. I’ll say I wasn’t disappointed with answers or the possibilities.

    Until I saw OneBigPlanet, I hadn’t thought about how I shop online. How much time would you save if you could do all of your commerce in one place?

    Tune in and take a test drive April 29th. Sign up for the videocast now!

    No disclaimer. I’m passing on my enthusiasm for a great idea. Great ideas done well deserve attention.

    –ME “Liz” Strauss
    Work with Liz!!
    SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

    Do You Filter What You See? Does that Help You at All?

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    I've been thinking . . .

    about the way we filter information.

    Every photographer knows that a filter or a gel can change the way we view what the camera sees. It color, shade, or shadow our view in some dramatic way.

    At times, we have filters of our own. They’re a product of experience or something we’ve taught. They’re big ideas about behaviors we see.

    rose-colored glasses

    What I’m thinking is that the filters we use are all about us and our emotional state. When we’re joyful and optimistic, we have rose-colored glasses to color the world brilliant and vividly. When we’re feeling invisible and taken for granted, polarized gray lenses make picture more dull and depressing.

    One filter can lead us to put someone on pedestal and days later, another can bring us knock that same person off. It’s wholly not fair. Filtering their behavior that way isn’t fair to anyone. They lose the right to be a complex human being. We lose our humanity and compassion.

    When we’re secure, filters highlight other folks’ best traits. They open doors and connect. Sadly those same filters can leave us blind to people with not the best intentions. When we’re on unsteady ground, our filters can enhance what we find mean, nasty, or wrong. We end up finding good people not worth the effort.

    I’m checking my filters regularly. Dropping what filters I have working makes me a little more able to see people I meet, a little more able to meet them as they truly are.

    Do you filter what you see? Does that help you at all?

    Liz's Signature

    Image source: sxc.hu

    Thanks to Week 131 SOBs

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    muddy teal strip A

    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.

    muddy teal strip A

    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.

    deep purple strip

    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

    10 Advantages of Being A Beginner in a Blogger’s World

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    I Feel So Lucky!

    Girl watching

    We’ve all had the experience of not knowing how to do something. From the first day of school to the first day of work to our first try at almost anything, the experience of a new challenge can be joyful, exciting, and intimidating.

    We like to know things. We like to learn things, but we don’t always like folks watching us learning.

    That’s the special appeal of blogging.

    The Advantages of Being a Beginner in a Blogger’s World

    When I came to my first blog as a beginner, I found an realm of amazing people who made the way easier and more meaningful. They offered their shoulders to stand on as they shared their experience. I can’t help but recognize all I’ve learned in this Blogger’s World.

    Some folks want to be an expert blogger. Me? The longer I’m here, the more I want to stay a beginner, for these and a bunch more reasons.

    1. Bloggers love beginners. We all remember our first blog post.

    2. Bloggers are connectors — link love is the culture. Beginners meet a friend and find a community.

    3. Bloggers are explorers or we wouldn’t be here. Beginners can find help to explore anything.

    4. Bloggers are generous and helpful people. Bloggers love to share their discoveries with beginners.

    5. As a beginner, I can try to blog about almost anything.

    6. The beginner in me can talk to bloggers who are as passionate as I am — even what I’m just trying.

    7. Every blogger knows something I don’t — it’s an endless opportunity for a beginner’s mind.

    8. Blogging is more fun when it’s about what I’m learning, not about what I know.

    9. Beginners get comments from people who see and know more. Every comment connects us and offers a new way to see the world.

    10. Beginners don’t look to be the best of all — today I want to be better than yesterday.

    Thinking, writing, having ideas and talking about them has been a wonder. Making relationships and connections has made my life richer. I’m a better writer, listener and marketer. Most of all being here has made me a better person. I want to stay a beginner. New beginnings are exciting.

    Have you thought about staying a beginner?

    –ME “Liz” Strauss
    Work with Liz!!
    SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

    SOBCon08: Models, Masterminds, and Chicago in May!

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    An Immediately Actionable Plan

    SOBCon08 Logo50

    When people ask me about SOBCon08, it’s hard not to go on and on . . .

    It’s a compelling story. A conference, its audience, and its sponsors all in partnership. All attendees go home with an immediately actionable plan tailored specifically to their business. The plan gets built model by model. Every model is offered by an expert. Attendees in mastermind teams apply each model immediately. All day long it’s model-to-mastermind group and model-to-mastermind group, with insights and support from some fabulous sponsors — who, by the way, now include Jim Beam Global and BuzzLogic!!

    Truth is, though, I can’t wait to see everyone’s response to the tulips in Chicago in May!!

    ‘tulips in Chicago 04-25-08

    Only 7 more days until the boat launches . . . do you have a plan?

    –ME “Liz” Strauss
    Work with Liz!! SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

    Image source: LizStrauss

    SOB Business Cafe 04-25-08

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    SB Cafe

    Welcome to the SOB Cafe

    We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

    The Specials this Week are

    Pick the Brain is talking about deciding for yourself.
    One of the most popular articles I’ve ever written covered the subject of building self confidence. The chief criticism of this article was that you can’t just decide to be confident. You either have confidence or you don’t.

    Flooring the Customer is talking about getting local about being global.
    In preparation for a trip to Mexico, I needed Pesos. I regularly make use of ATMs to obtain foreign currency. But, I also like to have some foreign currency in my pocket as I get off the plane in case I can’t find an ATM at the airport.

    The Copywriter Underground is talking about telling your story.
    I’m talking about targeted pitches, where you pick the clients, projects (or causes) that interest you, and then pitch them. In a rare example of me taking my own advice, that’s exactly what I’ve done.

    WowNDad! is talking about fact and opinion.
    Subjective information lives inside of the mind, it comes from an insider perspective. It is the things that you “know”, for example how you feel about something, or information that is abstract from the things around us. Objective information comes from an outsider perspective, it is the things that multiple people can observe and agree upon.

    Lisa Sabin-Wilson is talking about seeing the light.
    A few months ago, she just disappeared without a word. She didn’t just vanish – – she left, in her wake, seven projects in various stages of completion. Some almost completely done… some only halfway done…. some just started. Seven of them.

    the Art of Non-Conformity is talking about connectedness.
    See, I’ve never used Myspace… or Facebook… and hardware-wise, I don’t have a Blackberry or an expensive MacBook laptop. I just have Gmail, a $3 Skype microphone I bought in Belgrade last year, and a $500 Dell laptop that does everything I need.

    Related ala carte selections include

    The Ripple Effect has started a cliffhanger.
    “My boy almost everyone I meet at a Starbucks is fascinating. They all have a story and so desperately want to tell it and will…all you have to do is ask.”

    Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

    –ME “Liz” Strauss