Apr
24
2010
When I first heard about Facebook moving away from the “Become a Fan” option and over to the “I Like” option I didn’t know what to think.
I had conversations with several people within the Internet Marketing community and found multiple opinions on how it would impact the normal Facebook user.
Some people thought it would be detrimental to the value and that it would negatively impact the companies since they’d no longer be able to brag about how many “fans” they had on their “fan page.”
There were others who didn’t think it would have much of an impact, and yet others who thought it was a good thing.
I personally think that beyond giving Facebook an incredible amount of unique profile information of its user base, which is going to make them even more powerful, it’s also going to help businesses numbers increase instead of decrease.
How you ask? Well I think this simple change in terminology lowers the barrier to entry and will make the decision to join much easier.
I’ve historically received many suggestions to become a fan of (insert name of company, interest, or celebrity here) every single day. When I go through the decision making process of whether I want to click either “confirm” or “ignore,” I ask myself whether I truly am a “Fan” of that page. Most of the time I don’t have any idea what it is and simply click “ignore.”
If a page doesn’t fall in the “unknown” category … I then look at the name of the person who sent the request and see if they fall in the category of someone who joins everything and simply suggests that all their friends follow them.
I know I may put too much thought into what I join and what I don’t, but why shouldn’t I?
It’s my news stream and I have the right to keep it full of relevant information that I am interested in. I also feel as though my social networking profiles are valuable and if I am truly being authentic and transparent, why the heck would I profess to my network that I am a “fan” of something when I’m truly not.
Fast forward to Monday, April 19th when Facebook implemented the change.
Now if someone suggests you join a page you simply click a button that says, “I like.”
This simple change in verbiage psychologically makes the decision much easier for me. The word “fan” is short for fanatic. I can certainly “like” something without being a fanatic. 
Beyond lowering the psychological barrier there are a couple other things that Facebook has in store for us.
There is a new tool Facebook has created that will allow you to place a snippet of code on your website, blog, or any other piece of content which will display a “like” button. When someone clicks on that button they’ll become a “liker” of your site.
I think this will drive the numbers on your pages because someone may simply read an article or blog post you’ve created and click the “like” button because you wrote a nice article. This simply action will tie them to you and you to their news stream.
I read an article about this functionality and the author pointed out how there is currently a flaw in the way this works which could potentially allow spammers to exploit it to build large fan counts.
The problem is when you are creating your snippet of code using the Facebook tool, you have the option to enter in the address of what the person is “liking,” and that displays within your stream as you take the action.
If you happened to simply click the button and didn’t pay attention, you may find that although you clicked a “like” button on a Mixed Martial Arts page, you’ve unknowingly said you “liked” the Hanna Montana show.
I am sure there will be other flaws that pop up and even functionality modifications as time goes by, but I believe Facebook has the right people on the job, and they seem to pay attention to the user behavior as they make enhancements.
Facebook is also creating community pages.
This is something which isn’t fully rolled out yet, but from what I can tell, community pages are going to be the answer to people identifying their hobbies and interests like “cooking,” “sleeping,” “walking in the rain,” etc.
They have elevated the prominence of the things you “like” and also the other data in your profile. A perfect example is I noticed that Grand Rapids Michigan, which is the city I live in, has a link to it from my profile to a community page.
The community page has a bunch of information about Grand Rapids which comes directly from Wikipedia, and it also contains status updates which contain “Grand Rapids Michigan” in them. They offer updates that have been posted by my friends, and also globally.
I think it’s too early to tell how community pages are going to develop, but I think it is going to be exciting to watch them morph and see how people begin to use them.
I’d love to hear what you think about the new Facebook like button, or any uses you’ve found in the short time since it’s been implemented onto the Facebook platform. If you’ve got something to say … leave a comment!
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Mar
22
2010
When Google made their announcement 41 days ago that they would be selecting one or more cities for their ultra high speed fiber network, I never would have guessed the significance that announcement would have on me, let alone the amazing city I call home.
First of all I think we all need to commend Google on yet another BRILLIANT marketing move. The buzz they’ve created with this strategic announcement, and the incredible volume of data they’ve received from posting a simple video online is nothing short of pure genius!
I am quite sure Google has been following the results and the buzz just as closely as most people follow March Madness. It’s had to be quite entertaining, from their perspective, to watch cities change their name to Google, watching people jump in ice cold water, or others swim with the sharks. I know I’d be getting quite a kick out of it if I were in their shoes.
Grand Rapids Michigan is an amazing city which possesses an entrepreneurial spirit you just won’t find in most cities. Along with this entrepreneurial spirit comes a deep passion and love for not only the city but the people who are a part of it.
Although Michigan has taken quite a few HUGE hits to our economy in the past few years, Grand Rapids has held it’s ground and continued to make forward progress in our transition from a manufacturing-centric economy, to an economy more focused on life sciences, technology, education, and sustainability. When Google announced they were looking for a place to test their 1gig per second fiber connection, there were many of us proud Grand Rapidians who saw an incredible opportunity to accelerate this transition.
We made a decision to listen intently t0 what Google was telling us they were looking for, and not rely on some cute gimmick to gain their attention.
Google stated their main objective was to make sure they could achieve a quick and efficient implementation of their fiber network. Although this is a fairly general statement, it’s pretty easy to read between the lines.
Google wants to make sure they choose a City where they won’t run into a bunch of red tape.
Knowing this was critical in their decision making process, we decided to draw upon our successful history of public / private partnerships and provide evidence of the incredible level of support they will receive if they choose Grand Rapids. Our steering committee, which had our first formal meeting on March 1st, 2010, set off to gather this evidence through letters of support, video testimonials, and most importantly … through a show of support from the local community.
We’ve gathered dozens of letters of support and an equal number of video testimonials from leaders in government, economic development organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, leaders of educational institutions, and local business leaders. We have a resolution which is being handed down from the state government, and we’ve even had our Governor visit Google in California to help assure Google they won’t run into any issues if they choose our amazing city.
We’ve also helped illustrate our community support by building the largest Google Fiber Facebook Fan page in the country, which has nearly 34,000 fans and is extremely active in discussions and comments. This isn’t simply a cheer leading page where people simply say they are behind it. Fans are constantly visiting the Google nomination page and filling out the form to nominate our incredible city and returning to the page to paste their confirmation number onto the Fan Page.
We held a press conference 9 days after forming our Steering Committee to announce our “Flash Mob” event where we video taped our community wide invitation to Google. We knew we only had 10 days to spread the word, and many potential obstacles that could impede a good turn out to our event. As the event drew nearer we were seeing that everything was aligning! The weather report was awesome, and the buzz we were hearing throughout the community was motivating!
As Todd Ernst so appropriately put it following our press conference, “It is as though we are falling in love with Grand Rapids all over again.”
This initiative which began as an effort to help Grand Rapids accelerate our economic transition by gaining a competitive advantage over almost every other community in the country, had turned into a love affair with our incredible city!
This effort has helped bring together competing companies and helped them work together, side by side, for the good of the community.
It has allowed political leaders to get past partisan politics, and work side by side for the betterment of our community.
We’ve also seen people from very different walks of life come together to have conversations about what Grand Rapids will look like WHEN Google chooses our city.
The “Google Fiber for Grand Rapids Flash Mob” was a HUGE success and provided evidence of the way Grand Rapids has come together as a team, despite all our differences!
We are more sure than ever that Grand Rapids Michigan is the perfect city for Google Fiber, and we truly hope Google sees it the same way.
Throughout the last 21 days we’ve spent our time focusing on what Grand Rapids will gain by Google choosing our city. This is important since Google has stated they are looking to choose a city where there will be significant benefits to it’s residents. We also understand that this is a business decision and Google isn’t simply going to pick a city based solely on how it can help the residents.
We need to spend the final days building our case for Grand Rapids by letting them know what’s in it for them. We have a strong Technology base, world class life sciences segment, a number of colleges and universities, and a number of other industries with extremely talented people who could help create many proofs-of-concept which Google could use elsewhere as they continue to build out their network.
Please help Grand Rapids effort by taking a few minutes to create a blog post or write an article letting Google know what’s in it for them! Whether you are a technology company who has the capabilities of testing their bandwidth by creating a new application which was previously impossible, or if you are a company who has some solid ideas which could decrease the amount of time and energy required to implement their new fiber network.
We can get this done Grand Rapids, we simply need to continue working together as a community to show Google why our city would be an excellent partner!
If you have some benefits Google would receive by choosing our community, please leave a comment. Let’s show them how smart we are and steer clear of comments like …. “Because we are cool.”
Also, if you haven’t done so already … please nominate our city by visiting this Google Fiber for Grand Rapids nomination link.
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Feb
19
2010
I have been consistently referring to myself as, “The least social person in social media” for quite some time. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not some anti-social hermit who stays locked up in their basement ranting and raving online … but I am also not some socialite who jumps around to all the “hot spots” in town either.
I am perfectly content with going to work in the morning, hanging out with the amazing people I work with at Mindscape at Hanon McKendry, and heading home to enjoy my family.
That is until recently….
No … I am not sick of my co-workers or Amanda and the kids. I’ve just recently become intrigued by all the amazing events I’ve been seeing and reading about in our amazing city of Grand Rapids.
Before Facebook and Twitter arrived on the scene I wasn’t aware of the social events that were occurring around town, nor most of the people. Social Media has opened up an entire new world to me and I decided, as the new decade emerged, that I was going to get out and enjoy some of this stuff.
Well I can tell you it has been absolutely amazing and I have an entirely different view of not only this City, but also have realized it is full of some pretty cool people! People who I never would have had the opportunity to connect with had it not been for social media.
It’s quite a fun thing to go from seeing everyone in profile sized image, and then running into them in real life. The beauty of social media is that you can identify what you have in common with someone from simply having conversations on Twitter or Facebook, or by just “creeping” on their profile.
When Facebook and Myspace first arrived on the scene I remember thinking that it could possibly kill the personal aspects of our lives. I actually thought people would climb into their little cocoons at home and never come out. Heck … why would they need to come out. They can keep in touch with anyone they want to right from the comfort of their homes.
I have been pleasantly surprised at how wrong I was! Social Media transcends the online world, and in my opinion, creates stronger, more vibrant connections between people. Since I made the choice to abandon my “less-than-social” lifestyle, I’ve been able to truly FEEL what social media is instead of just being able to carry on a conversation about it.
… and it feels awesome!
I’d love to know what your thoughts and experiences have been with social media. If you find yourself in the position I was in, give it a shot! If you happen to live in Grand Rapids, Michigan … you are lucky and you’ll get the chance to meet some amazing people through your social media participation!
Please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.
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Jan
25
2010
This weekend Amanda ( http://www.thexraychic.com ) and I went and watched the movie, “Extraordinary Measures.” I am personally a HUGE fan of movies and really enjoy those based on true stories the most. There is just something about watching a film about an event which has actually occurred and getting a chance to experience the different points of view of the characters.
Although some movies miss the mark and aren’t very interesting, this movie did an excellent job!
The movie was a story about a father who had two children with Pompe Disease which is very similar to Muscular Dystrophy. The muscles deteriorate due to the inability of the body to break down the sugars. According to the movie the life expectancy of a child with the disease is only about 9 years.
I was on the verge of tears several times as I watched the parents struggle with the fact: two of their children were nearing that magic age of 9, while they were desperately seeking a cure for this horrible disease. The father was constantly doing research just trying to find some hope. He ultimately identified a grumpy old scientist who had a theory which gave him hope.
He quit his high level corporate job and basically gave everything he had to find a cure which would POSSIBLY lengthen the lives of his children. He had an incredible decision to make since, based on what the doctors had told him, and the normal course of the disease, his children had a very short period of time left. His decision was to either spend the last few “days” with his children, or fight like hell to try to find a solution which would not cure them, but could possibly lengthen their lives.
Alright, I am not a movie reviewer, nor do I want to ruin the outcome of the movie for you if you choose to see it.
When I left the theater I couldn’t stop thinking about how I would do the exact same thing he did if I found my children in any type of similar situation. There would be NOTHING that could stop me from turning over every stone to uncover something to possibly save them.
I also began to think about how challenging it is for some people to find the motivation to do even the bare minimum to succeed. I’ve met some incredibly intelligent people who have tremendous skills and talents who seem to not move ahead in life. I used to spend time wondering why and in some cases, I tried to motivate them myself.
The problem is some people simply don’t contain the self motivation necessary to do anything beyond existing.
Although I now accept this as just the way it is, I believe this movie can teach a lesson that it DOESN’T have to be that way. If you find yourself in the position where it is difficult to motivate yourself … You need to find a big enough reason why.
I thank God every day that my children are healthy and happily enjoying life. When I find it difficult to find motivation I simply think about the type of example I am setting for them. If my children see me working hard to become successful, and working just as hard to give them a happy life … I believe that example will perpetuate itself and be passed on to their children, and their children’s children.
I don’t think it should take extraordinary measures to find motivation within yourself. I believe we need to look deep inside ourselves and find something that is important enough to help you make it through the times of difficulty.
I believe that if you get in the habit of finding this reason why, and focus on it consistently, you can prevent yourself from ever being in the position to learn how to motivate yourself when it is simply too late and you are forced to pay the painful price of taking what life has given you.
What is your reason why?
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Jan
4
2010
Here we are again at the time of the year when we’ve spent time reviewing the previous year, and in this case … decade. It’s now time to chart out what you’ll focus on for the coming year.
Have you taken the time to create your New Year’s resolutions?
Are you one of those people who just don’t believe in making resolutions?
Or …
Are you the person who won’t tell anyone because you’re pretty sure you won’t follow them anyhow and don’t want to embarrass yourself.
This year I took special care in setting my resolutions. I used the fact that we transitioning from one decade to another as a reason to spend more time and effort reflecting and planning for the coming year.
I have to admit I’ve typically come up with resolutions like the following ….
“I will lose 20 pounds.”
or
“I won’t eat fast food.”
This year I was determined to come up with resolutions that were far more significant than I’d ever come up with in the past. I decided I wanted to come up with guiding statements that I could use to keep me on course for longer than the 30 days most people stay on course.
I normally keep my resolutions to myself since nobody really cares anyhow. This year, however, I’d like to share them with you for a couple reasons.
First of all, I think they are very solid and I’d love to have you hold me accountable if you see me going astray.
Secondly, I think they might help those of you who are still in the process of setting your resolutions for the coming year.
Well, here they are …
I will enjoy my family
This may seem strange and even something that should come naturally. Well, I can honestly say I DO enjoy my family and really love spending time with them.
The only problem is when things get busy and life “happens,” it’s easy to lose sight of how important my family is, and at times, I allow my crazy schedule to impact my mood and the way I respond to the most important people in my life. This resolution is meant to keep me on track.
When I notice that I am being short with them, or not paying complete attention because I am distracted with something else … I’ll think about this resolution and ask myself. “Am I enjoying my family right now?” I believe this will get me back on track.
I will live healthy
This resolution is something I can use whenever I am faced with making a potentially bad decision. Just this afternoon, for example, I was bringing my daughter to her acting classes and ran through a drive through to get her some food to hold her over. I was faced with the option of ordering some french fries or a nice greasy hamburger. I immediately thought of this resolution and decided against it.
You may say, “Ah … I see. You will live healthy but subject your daughter to being unhealthy.”
Come on. I am 40 and have the metabolism of a sloth. My daughter is a teenager and can handle a happy meal every now and then.
I will learn every day
Knowledge is power and the most successful people on this planet don’t let anything interfere with their learning. I aspire to be one of those people so I don’t have a choice.
Seriously though, I am invigorated by learning and realize the more I learn, the smarter I become and the more value I bring to the marketplace. I don’t care how busy my schedule gets, I can always find 30-60 minutes each day to participate in some active learning … and I will!
I will do it now
I, like a lot of people, have dealt with procrastination for a long time. The horrible thing about procrastination is the amount of mental energy you expend thinking about the tasks you have on your plate.
No matter how big or small, they consume brain power you could be using for something productive. Not only that … at times it can flat out cause you to deal with unnecessary anxiety.
How many times have you found yourself stressed out about a task for a couple weeks, a month, or even years. Once you finally took the time to accomplish the task you found out it only took you a few minutes or an hour to accomplish.
Didn’t you feel stupid for allowing something so insignificant to occupy so much of your life? What if you would have simply addressed it the first time it was on your mind?
From now on I will!
I will be focused
Although I say ADD is my superpower, it is also an excuse I use for non-productivity far too often.
The mind is an incredible tool! I believe it is possible to harness the power and learn how to stay super focused on whatever I am working on at any time. Doing this will ensure I stay as productive as possible and also will help my family realize how important they are to me.
How many times have you found your mind drifting off when your wife or kids were telling you about their day? I can assure you the next time I find that happening I’ll think about this resolution and I’ll get my mind back and focused on the right thing.
I will finish
I’ve had a handwritten note on my desk for the past year which has a simple saying on it. The saying is, “There is no lack of good ideas, only a lack of follow through.”
This is an incredibly strong statement and one I am truly glad I stumbled across. We always tell our children, “You should always finish what you start.”
How can we tell our kids that and not live by the same standards ourselves? Well now I will, and I believe my kids will follow my example much more than they listen to my words.
Well if they know what’s good for them they will.
There you have it folks. Those are the six guiding resolutions that I’ll be highly tuned into for the next decade, and I believe the results will show.
I’d love it if you’d share any resolutions you’ve made which have had a significant impact on the course of your life. If not, your thoughts on this post would be fine.
I wish you the best for the new decade. Whatever you do, approach each day with purpose and don’t let life guide you. If you do, you may not like where it takes you.
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Dec
14
2009
I’ve spent quite a bit of time lately thinking about personal branding and what role it can play in the overall business strategy of a company. Each time I think about it I continue to do so in terms of how it plays a role in sports.
I’m sure that just like me, when you played any type of organized sports when you were young, the coach constantly talked with you about the importance of the TEAM. I’m sure you all heard the saying, “There is no I in team” a million times as you came up through the ranks.
This type of message is predominant even at the college level. I recently read a transcript of a speech given by the University of Michigan football coach, just before a game versus Ohio State many years ago. In that speech Bo Schembechler stated (I’m paraphrasing), “This is the last time you’ll ever truly play for a team. Even if you happen to go on to the NFL you won’t be playing for a team … you’ll be playing for a contract, or you’ll be playing for the longevity of your career.” Continue Reading…
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Nov
5
2009
Can you remember when you decided to start your business? I am sure you felt the same nervous excitement I did!
I remember when I first told my plans to my Mom. She said, “That sounds exciting Pete, but wouldn’t you rather get a job with a big company so you can work hard and have a pension some day?”
My response was, “No Mom, I don’t want to be in a position where I know exactly what my paycheck is going to be each week.” I wanted to know I had the ability to build something that would produce a large income, and perhaps one day I would build it to a point where I could sell it for enough money that I could retire to an island somewhere and drink pina coladas in the sun every day.
That was it. I made up my mind to hang up my shingle and get started.
Wow was I in for a surprise! Continue Reading…
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Nov
2
2009
I work very hard to maintain a positive attitude and a positive outlook on life. The longer I’ve focused on this, sometimes elusive goal, the easier it has become to maintain a positive outlook on my life and the challenges I am faced with.
Although it has gotten easier with time, it can still be difficult.
I used to think people who constantly preached the importance of being a “Positive Thinker,” were strange. I always thought these people needed to wake up and smell the coffee!
It seemed as thought they bought into some “cult-like” belief that if they said, “Everything is great” … that somehow they could trick themselves into some delusional belief that everything was “ok” no matter how much crap they had to deal with.
I’ve finally arrived at the point in my life where I understand the value of maintaining a positive outlook, but I am also a realist. Continue Reading…
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Sep
21
2009
Since I started my experiment I’ve realized that I’m paying much closer attention to my thoughts, my actions, and also my surroundings, and I have to tell you it has modified the way I look at things in a big way.
I’ve been fortunate to do quite a bit of traveling in the past few months and have seen some incredibly beautiful and interesting places. Whether it was the beauty of the amazing people I met while in the Dominican Republic, the majestic mountains of Colorado, the awesome coastline and cliffs of Laguna Beach, or the history and beautiful monuments I visited while in Washington DC.
No matter how diverse and incredible those places were, while focusing on my experiment and developing the new habits through my action focused goal setting, I found that none of those places were any more amazing and beautiful as the place I call home … Grand Rapids, Michigan! Continue Reading…
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Aug
31
2009
If you are at all like me you spend a significant amount of time beating yourself up for NOT doing what you know you should do.
Most of the achievement oriented people I know do this quite a bit. It is as though they are on a quest for perfection and anything less than that is unsatisfying.
Don’t get me wrong … I think it’s a great thing to be on a quest for perfection, and I believe people who are, will ultimately experience a good deal of success because they’ll never feel as though they’ve arrived. There will always be something else to accomplish. Continue Reading…
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