20FIVE

Wow, they charge for that?

Shawn — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:19:32 +0000

If you only take one thing away from this post, let it be this: shop around and compare prices and services before making a decision.

The social media marketing world is an easy place to get duped. Quite a few companies will view your lack of knowledge about the field as a sign to soak the client. This hosing usually comes in the form of super-inflated prices or questionable service additions that can be done at a lower cost (if not free) on your own.

I'll throw in 340 usernames for an extra $1,500! Whattaya say?

Of course, they wouldn’t tell you that. It’s not good for business.

My personal feeling? It’s a bit hypocritical to spread the mantra of being more “human” and “transparent” while greedily withholding useful information.

For instance, information about services that help you search for and register a certain username on hundreds of social networking sites. One company offers to tack on a $1,500 charge for that same service. Sounds like a lot of work, right? Maybe that’s a legit charge. Until you do a Google search for “check usernames”…

CheckUsernames.com
KnowEm.com
NameChk.com
UserNamez.com

…and find that several services can help you accomplish this task for free.

To add to the ridiculousness, some companies:

charge set-up fees for creating a social networking account. Seriously? For most sites, account creation takes 15 seconds, if that.
overcharge for domain name registration. One year of registration for $35 is robbery. Do it yourself at GoDaddy for $10 or $11.
outsource the work to someone outside their company (and, often times, outside the country). Sites like Elance and oDesk are filled to the brim with “social media agencies” looking to offload the actual marketing work onto someone else for $4-5 an hour.

Socialmediasville is a lot like the Wild West. There are no rules: if an individual or agency is honest, it’s because he or she wants to be… not because it’s law.

Shop around. Compare. Ask questions. Call BS on bunk charges.

And if you have questions, contact me. No charge.

Bringing USENET back

Shawn — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:04:07 +0000

20FIVE has been tapped by NewsgroupDirect.com to rekindle the love interest between techies and USENET newsgroups. We may have all these newfangled Web 2.0 goodies to play with but we have to keep in mind – social media isn’t the only game in town when it comes to discussion and community.

Why not head over to NewsgroupDirect and sign up for a free account? Maybe you’ll stumble onto a group you like.

Is your business Greek?

Shawn — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:21:17 +0000

If you’re a current or former college student, you’re likely familiar with fraternities and sororities. For those who aren’t – imagine clans of young men and women who are tied together by a common trial (pledging), Greek letters and the money they’ve paid to wear them. That’s right – these people pay to be associated with those letters. They are proud of those letters. They wear them everywhere.

Does your product or service inspire people like that? Are people proud to be associated with what you’re offering? If you aren’t working to build a community around your business, you probably have no idea.

Maybe it’s time for your business to go Greek.