Private Reply to Michael Lemm

Michael,

Are you on Twitter? If so, I gather you are using third-party apps, not just Twitter alone. What third-party apps do you use and recommend others use?

I recommend the following apps:

1) Mr Tweet - your personal networking assistant. Mr. Tweet tells you who you should be following.

2) Socialtoo - Helps to insure that the folks who follow you will be followed back by you. Socialtoo also has a survey application, but I have yet to use it.

3) Twitwall - Here is your opportunity to have a series of vertically-scrolling theater screens to show pictures and video as well as play podcasts.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Chuck Bartok

Chuck,

It is plain to see that Twitter and Squidoo can work together and make wonderful things happen. Congratulation on the new building contract.

Here is an idea I just launched today. It is really a last-minute idea. I had never given much thought to the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Barak Obama. But, for a lot of folks out here in Northern California, it is a BIG DEAL. I just got an email today encouraging me to come out to the area's biggest resort to watch the inauguration on HDTV. Well, I don't have to travel 50 miles to another town to see something like that. I have an HDTV in my home. But, there is something to be said for being with a group of people during a special event. The SuperBowl Party get-together is a good example. I suppose for many liberals here in Northern California, the inauguration of President-elect Barak Obama is no different.

Anyway, I am helping a local restaurant, which has three large-screen TV's in its lounge entice a large crowd for breakfast on Tuesday morning and watch history happen on TV as America welcomes its first black President into office. Regardless of one's political affiliation, this will no doubt go down as a historic moment in America's history. In honor of this event, this restaurant is willing to deduct 10% off on the cost of the breakfast. It should be interesting to see what kind of a crowd the restaurant ends up having.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Lamar .... It's late here but how do you plan to use Twitter in to your celebration. ... A Twitter logo in their window; Perhaps?

Using Twitter for marketing locally? .... Here's a few ideas to smoothe the journey. ... More..

Bestest.

Teddy Towncrier CPP Towncrier-Media.com Supercharging Your Visions.

Private Reply to Lindy Asimus

Why the 10% discount?

Precisely. ...

One breakfast, one chair for two hours and a discount? .... Dump that marketing director and fast.

I'd be serving a super "Inauguration Breakfast" and charging a premium for it.

Or at least a cover charge to pay for the buckets of coffee consumed.

It'll be a long time before there's a kick at a can this big .... Go for it! ...... Discount? .. Somebody smoking something?

BTW Lamar. ..... What happened to the Sig "Lake County's WiFi Jedi" that was developed in last nights Brain Storm?

Bestest.

Teddy Towncrier CPP Towncrier-Media.com Supercharging Your Visions.

Lindy,

The 10% discount is what the restaurant manager has decided to do. All I decided to do was direct some traffic there on Tuesday. This was not something that was planned way in advance. This is a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. That's not the way I prefer to do things. The restaurant manager is something of a computer and Internet illiterate. The community's IT guy created a website for which the community is paying to maintain, but only 300 out of 6,000 residents have even bothered to join. Why? Because nobody cares. That's a major problem with this area - getting folks to care about the community where they live. And, that is a problem I believer many bedroom communities face. Incidentally, the last time I looked aat the website, it had some problems. Check it out at www.hvla.com.

This county actually has a slogan, "Shop, stay and play" - thanks to the local Chamber of Commerce. Well, if you happen to be a resident of the area, that slogan is rather stupid. You don't need to be told to "stay" if you are already a RESIDENT! Plus, no one who works outside the county is going to wait until they get home to purchase gas and groceries if it is cheaper in the area where they work. Rather than continuing to isolate itself from the outside world - expecting locals to pay more for goods and services (which isn't happening) - this community should reach out to the world via the Net and allow the world to reach back. This is not rocket science. It is common sense. But, common sense is NOT very common in this "Mayberry RFD Land."

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer

Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer

Private Reply to Kathy Buck

Private Reply to Reg Charie

Kathy,

In no way am I the designer of this Tuesday event at this restaurant. I simply received an email that the county's largest entertainment facility was inviting everyone out to its place - a good hour's drive to watch the inauguration en masse on large HDTV's and have breakfast at the same time. Well, just a few blocks away is the Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course/Greenview Restaurant. The restaurant is open every day for breakfast and lunch and several days a week for dinner. Since the area's largest resort plans to capitalize on the inauguration, I simply suggested to the restaurant manager that he might want to as well. He said to me he planned to put up signs that breakfast would be available at a 10% discount that morning in honor of the inauguration. Well, that was on Friday. He should have had a plan for this month's ago and placed an announcement in the monthly community magazine. But no, he did not do that.

The arrogance here is through the roof. People in management here expect local residents to care simply because a pronouncement is made. And, when people do not care regarding the pronouncement, the folks in power just continue on with the same arrogant behavior. After all, whether the restaurant makes money or not, the local residents will pick up the tab in dues. The same is true for the golf course. Everyone who lives in this community pays for maintenance of the golf course - whether you play golf or not. However, if you happen to be member of the Hidden Valley Golf Club, you will receive perks for your membership. But, you are also going to be paying a fee every time you play golf as well. This past year, the golf course has actually had to increase its golf fees due to the lower number of folks willing to play golf. In addition, they have had to hire marshals to patrol the golf course to keep unauthorized people getting on the course and playing golf. What's really odd about that is this gated community actually has its own security force. But, they must be too busy to do something as mundane as patrol a golf course for unauthorized golfers. So, the HVLA board voted to hire state marshals to do the job. That means they are paying MORE money to get this job done than they would have to pay if they simply opted to higher more security guards for the property.

To add insult to injury, late last year this community experienced a union labor lock-out for the first time. From what I have been told this situation has already cost the community $70,000.00 in attorney's fees. And, believe it or not, the attorney is the landlord of the general manager the association hired back at the end of 2007.

You have heard it said that people who do not learn from the mistakes of history are destined to repeat them? I said in a previous post that the county slogan from the Chamber of Commerce is "shop, stay and play." This is an upgrade from the previous slogan, which was "shop local." Well, people aren't doing it. Why? Because the only thing that is a bargain here is the real estate - and the mortgage crisis has drastically changed that situation.

The reason so many small businesses here are having a difficult time is not simply because the economy as a whole is bad, but the way the community is laid out is wrong. For example, you have retail stores located on a state highway will poor parking facilities. Middletown, for example, is actually laid out wrong for motorists to want to stop and shop. Take a look. ShopMiddletown.com. Now, about 20 miles up the same highway is Calistoga. There you have lots of shops. The highway is wider so cars can actually turn into the curb at an angle to park. Calistoga is designed to be successful for willing small business retailers. Middletown is not. That is why retailers are constantly coming and going here. Nobody here knows how to do it right and they are apparently too arrogant to ask for help from outsiders who do know how to do it right.

I was just told yesterday by a friend of mine in nearby Cobb, CA that she cannot even get DSL Internet access - even though AT&T/Yahoo runs fiber cables across her property. It is almost like this county exists in something of a vacuun from the rest of the world.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Reg,

The HVLA site is sanctioned by an association. It is there at the request of the association's board of directors. In no way would they allow me to build a web site that represents their community when they have their own IT person on staff. Supposedly, that site is constructed in the manner they want.

The IT guy may not be very gifted in terms of design. But, he is not stupid. He's knows what he wants. And, what he wants is to be a good "gatekeeper." He makes sure nothing gets on that site without his knowledge or approval. He reads every post. And, considering there is very little traffic, reading every post rather easy to do. It does not bother him that only 5% of the folks in this community who are paying for the site are actually registered users. It does not bother him that less than 5% of those registered users bother to advertise on the site. What bothers him is me. I have only posted to the site twice. Both times he has kicked me off the site. He did not like the questions I asked. So, he removed the questions and kicked me off the site.

What's needed in this area is a different mind-set. Many store-front small businesses can no longer afford to advertise. So, what should they do? Operate out of their home or go out-of-business? I have seen both happen. But, I have also witnessed something that is very encouraging - mutual collaboration. I saw it with the local shopping center grand opening last October. If small businesses will only be willing to collaborate with one another in special ways, they may be able to turn this bad economic situation around. Wikinomics does work - provided folks are not too proud to work it.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Reg Charie

Reg,

I hear you. While you do not have to be sanctioned to put up a website that features local businesses, what you call that website does matter. If I refer to that website in some manner that could possibly offend the HVLA, I have no doubt they will take action against me. I work for this association. I do not like how they think. But, like it or not, I have to comply with their rules.

Now, I have a SquidVid up called "Lake County, CA Video Showcase." If the Lake County Chamber of Commerce feels my showcase interferes with the new website they created to promote their "shop, stay and play" theme for the county, I would not be the least surprised if they tried to shut my site down.

Look, back in 2007, the Greenview Restaurant hosted a mixer in honor of our area's only western festival. When the folks in charge of the festival discovered what the restaurant was doing to bring honor to this event, they called an emergency meeting that same evening. Why? To prevent their own members from attending an event that was designed to honor them. I have never experienced anything quite like this - people purposefully attempting to sabotage the efforts of others trying to help them.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Kathy Buck

Kathy,

The golf course issue would be a city issue if you lived in a city. However, I live in a rural area. There is no city hall, mayor or alderman. What we have is a county Board of Supervisors, instead.

Hidden Valley Lake is a gated residential community with its own zipcode. It is run by a Board of Directors, who are elected by members of the community. Sometimes this board follows the wishes of the majority. Sometimes it does not. Right now, it looks like those who play golf call all the shots.

Yes, I need to be careful with my verbal chainsaw. I am pleased to see what you are doing in your community is working. I think when people are convinced that working together is better than going solo, they will do more of it. However, I have discovered it is hard to teach "old dogs" to do new tricks. For some strange reason, when a certain process - like a bulk mailing of fliers - does not work, the solution around here seems to be to do more of it.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Kathy Buck

Ubetcha! ... More success stories are emerging daily.

In this article @Pistachio shares with us how J.R. Cohen's Texas coffee house uses Twitter to double his coffee shop business. More ..

The movie is a bit slow starting but worth the wait.

Bestest.

Teddy Towncrier CPP Towncrier-Media.com Supercharging Your Visions.

Kathy,

You asked how Twitter is assisting me locally. Well, I put news out on Twitter about the Greenview Restaurant being a good place to view the Presidential Inauguration on Tuesday morning and also eating breakfast. Since the festivities get under way around noon, that's 9 a.m. on the West Coast - not a bad time to be eating breakfast here. Why not do it at a restaurant that has three large TV screens from which to view the inauguration with other Americans. This is a historical moment. Why watch it at home alone?

I also got this news posted in the county's online newspaper. However, to protect myself, I instructed the publisher to make it appear as if she wrote the article and not use my name. (There are still some hot-heads here who get angry when they see my name as the author on an article.) The publisher agreed. Here's a link to the article - Lake County News.

The manager of the restaurant has finally (after 2 years) started to pay attention to what I have been saying to him. Unfortunately, he has to see evidence of success somewhere else first before he is even willing to take a chance on an idea. When the shopping center grand opening happened last October and many cars parked in his parking lot to walk over the shopping center to enjoy the festivities over there, that got his attention. The restaurant did not get any business from the shopping center grand opening. While they could have been involved, they did not think it would be successful. They were wrong. So, they watched as the public used their parking facilities to have a fun time next door and spend money next door to the restaurant. Make no mistake, the restaurant shot itself in the foot...and they knew it...after the deed was done. As usual, hindsight is 20/20.

My hope is I can get all of the restaurant employees on Twitter and corporately create a buzz for upcoming restaurant events. Thanks to advice from several Ryzers - Bobby Jo Woods, Lindy Asimus and Teddy Towncrier - I have been able to amass more than 800 followers in one Twitter account and more than 300 in another in a relatively short period of time. This really picked up once I started using Mr. Tweet, Socialtoo and Twitwall.

If there was just ONE Twitter tool I could recommend everyone get, it would be the Twitter Toolbar by Dan Hollings. If you could use a one-stop shop resource for Twitter knowledge, that toolbar is the place.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Hey Lamar.

Further to the discussion in the brains trust, recently.

Jack's Twitter background creates a desirable ambiance and sets the tone http://twitter.com/JackBastide

I'm sure with a bit of 'research' you could find something similar.

Bestest.

Teddy Towncrier CPP Towncrier-Media.com Supercharging Your Visions.

Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer

Kurt,

How do you know all that information about Jack? How do you know the guy's growth is linear? What does that even mean? How do you know he had only 27 followers back on Aug. 21st? Where do you get all this information?

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer

Linear or otherwise .... Welcoming 200 to my Friendforce every day, would work for me.

Maybe he has a Rtweeting arrangement or Followers regard Jack's relationship and musings as valuable and support him by ReTweeting. ...

Today; I was asked by an acquaintance with a similar count to mine, to ReSend a previous Retweet. ... I quickly agreed and let them know that I expect the same consideration.

I'll use the TweetLater app to hit the 10 AM "Sweet Spot" in the major markets. ... (My acquaintance has now doubled their influence).

See   Don’t miss out on the magic of Retweeting.  In my blog.

Bestest.

Teddy Towncrier CPP Towncrier-Media.com Supercharging Your Visions.

Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer

Folks,

I am convinced it takes about three months to get my area of California ready for any kind of event. In a prior post I mentioned that I had gotten an article in a local online newspaper about a local restaurant inviting the public to come and see the presidential inauguration on Tuesday. I even put this news out on Twitter hoping that some Twitter users in the area might see it. If there are no Twitter users in this area (besides me), it would not come as a shock. Anyway, the turnout at the restaurant for the presidential inauguration was terrible...absolutely terrible. I saw on TV people gathered in cities around the world viewing the event on giant screens. Yet, the restaurant I was in reminded me something of a ghost town. It seemed so weird to have three large TV screens playing and only a few people in attendance bothering to watch American history in the making.

Yes, I do believe Twitter can help build a business. But, just like a presidential inauguration, if the crowd does not care, it is really hard to make the "magic" happen.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Lindy Asimus

Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer

Lindy,

When I say "people don't care," I am obviously voicing my opinion. However, that opinion is backed up by personal tesimony from individuals I have either met or read about.

Take the price of gasoline in Middletown. There is only one gas station in the whole town. But, there have been letters published in the local newspaper complaining about its high price. Rather than buy gas in the town, people choose to either travel 45 minutes to the north or south on Hwy. 29 and buy the gas at a cheaper rate. They will even do the same for buying groceries. People, by their own actions, have proven they are not interested in helping their neighbor so much as they are feeding their own self-interest.

You may recall I closed out a discussion on your TeamCircle network. The discussion got turned upside down from its original intent because one individual refused to see possibilities. Suddenly, I found myself defending an idea rather than being able to show people how to implement it. Indeed, one person on a network can exercise tremendous power - either to build up an idea or to tear down.

I am personally convinced people will not take action on something unless they CARE about it. And, more often than not, the way many people end up caring about something is buy seeing that their involvement is actually in their best interest. The old "what's in it for me" mantra still applies.

The reason I believe Twitter works so well is similar to Squidoo. People have experienced a benefit from working both systems. And, because the systems really do work, people continue to work them. Both are something of self-fulfilling prophecies.

Do you want to build a following for your business on Twitter? Okay, your first step is to learn how to become an audience from someone else...first.

Do you want to have a Squidoo lens that creates a lot of buzz? Learn from those who have already done it and do what they did. They will gladly help you because they realize the synergy behind Squidoo. Put another way, it is in their best interest to help you succeed. That is why Squidoo has its own volunteer-run university (forum) called "SquidU."

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Kurt,

Thanks for the Twitter search information. Both Hidden Valley Lake, CA Twitter sites - lamarjmorgan and clustering - are me. Both of those sites have Twitwalls. My lamarjmorgan site is approaching 1,000 members. My clustering site is approaching 800 members. What's more, I have three Ryzers to thank for this - Teddy Towncrier, Lindy Asimus and Bobbi Jo Woods. (Yes, the "mutual uplift" is alive and well.) I have not been doing much in the way of "retweeting." However, this is a strategy I plan to pursue more vigorously. I believe retweeting can do more to increase an audience than any other service provided by any third-party Twitter application. I could be wrong about that. And, if I am mistaken, please somebody tell me what strategy works better.

In my particular case, it does not matter that Lake County has a small number of Twitter users. For what I do - marketing Wi-Fi and related technologies - the whole world is a possible client. So long as I can cost-effectively reach the world, I have no reason to be depressed.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Kathy Buck

Private Reply to Lindy Asimus

Private Reply to Kathy Buck

Kathy and Lindy,

What you suggest is very interesting - "I have found it is useful to have an idea bought by the audience, before showing people how to implement it." If you had created something, it just makes since to me that you - not your audience - should be the first to explain it. Otherwise, what you have is the "tail wagging the dog" kind of situation.

When I go to the auto repair shop to have my car worked on I do ask questions. But, I don't tell the mechanic how to do his job. When I go to H&R Block to have my taxes done, I provide information to help the tax expert help me. I don't tell the tax preparer how to do his job.

I created a discussion group on TeamCircle for the purpose of discussing an idea I created. The whole point of the group was to discuss my idea. If people did not want to discuss my idea they should not have bothered to join the group. Look, who do you think should control a network discussion group - the mob or the moderator? I cast my vote for the moderator.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Lindy Asimus

Lindy,

I agree if nobody's buying, you have nothing to sell. I also believe if you go to the grocery store and do not see what you want, you don't make a big scene in the store. You simply leave...quietly. You don't get into an argument with the cashier and make a scene that gets the attention of other folks. Why? Because that turns the grocery store into an arena for conflict. That is counter-productive for everyone. And, that is why I closed the discussion group. The whole purpose of the group had been destroyed due to the complaint of a single person.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
707-709-8605
Attract more customers!

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Lindy Asimus

Private Reply to Kathy Buck