Lee Odden - Top Rank Marketing

There are 3 situations in which I perform speaking or training tasks. The first is speaking at conferences like Pubcon, Search Engine Strategies, DMA or PRSA events. Blogging, social networking and speaking at events pretty much makes up the bulk of our marketing efforts. Topics at conferences tend to focus on what will draw attendees and what conferences have come to associate TopRank with: SEO and public relations, blogging, social media and online reputation management.

I also get hired to speak or do training for certain conferences or associations such as the Direct Marketing Association with the Search Engine Marketing Certification program, or the 2-day Social Media Smarts workshop.

The third type of speaking or training event I’m often involved with is when companies want to bring someone in to speak at a company event on up and coming topics and strategic focus for search, PR and social media or to do in-house training of interdepartmental teams.

You have often pointed out the necessity of having good fresh content on your blog. Have you ever had writers block? What options does a blogger have when they just can’t seem to focus?

Writers block rears its ugly head a lot more often than people think. I’ve been actively blogging for over 5 years and sometimes it’s not just writers block, but a time and resource issue. TopRankMarketing.com is a respected company and we’re pretty busy. That makes me busy and sometimes spending the kind of time I would prefer on writing and researching a post simply isn’t available.

The way to get around focus or time issues is to be proactive. I keep 10-20 draft posts in our blog at any given time. Rather than sitting down and writing a 1000 word post in one sitting, which still happens at 3 am from time to time, I add to them over time. That makes it a bit easier from a resource standpoint. We also do regular features which are easier posts to do, but also things people look forward to such as reviewing SEO blogs each week, running Reader Polls, interviews or crowd sourced posts from Twitter and LinkedIn.

We know Search Engines are always changing there dynamics and because of this Web Marketing companies always have to be on there toes. I preach that being interactive online is at least equally as important as SEO. What do you think? And what should we watch for in the SEO future?

Yes, being social online is very important as a standalone marketing activity but also because the byproduct of being social creates content. That content might get passed around, attract links and motivate bloggers and journalists to write about you.

As long as web developers keep making web sites that don’t play well with search engines, there will always be a need for SEO as its traditionally defined. What I think you’ll find after talking to other long time SEO consultants is that keyword expertise and pull marketing insight is invaluable in many other online marketing disciplines ranging from public relations to social media. Anything that can be searched on can be optimized. As long as people can search, there will be a need to SEO.

Future SEO is taking more of a well rounded approach to marketing online rather than focusing exclusively on standard search engine rankings. Everything from Universal search to personalized to social search makes what was previously a 2 or three dimensional discipline a multidimensional expertise.

If I was starting a new e-commerce site today with some SEO friendly features already built in, what software should I be considering?

The answer to that question needs some budget insight first. A 500 product store online has different needs than a store with 5 million SKUs. The fundamental features to look for are: unique and editable title tags & meta description tags, ability to include descriptive text on top level category pages, sub category pages and of course, individual product pages, dynamic population of alt text on images, intuitive URLs, flat site architecture – avoid too many levels deep, ability to export HTML and XML site map files automatically, and many, many others.

Also, no matter what, an ecommerce site can benefit via SEO with a blog. Ecommerce site blogs can present new products, tips on using products, solicit customer generated content, run promotions and offer product support information.

What do you do when you have some spare time to yourself? Any hobbies?

Spare time? What’s that? I spend as much time as I can with my 3 little musketeers plus a bit of travel, cooking, working out, watching movies, games, some sports and gadgets.

An Bui

I use tweetdeck to manage my @replies, direct messages, and grouping people. I try to help as many people as I can on Twitter – if people are looking for something or wanting to know something, I jump in if I think I can help. I want good ideas to spread and to learn new things. This ongoing learning and sharing cycle is a ride I want to stay on.

Tell us where you are from and what you do for a living?

I’m from all over – I grew up in Texas but my time on the East Coast really shaped my thinking and approach to the world. As far as what I do for a living, that’s an interesting question. I’m a consultant – I work with organizations to identify ways they can communicate value, both internally and externally. An engagement may look like connecting a company to its users and potential users by teaching them how to connect using blogging, twitter, and other relevant social media tools. Another engagement may look like helping teams within an organization communicate value to other teams within that same organization. The end result are teams that understand how their work fits in the larger context of the organization, are more collaborative, and are more efficient.

Do you know others who use Social Media tools like Twitter in your area? What would you say about the knowledge of people in your area about Social Media in general?

In Seattle, social media tools (including Twitter) are pretty popular, so you end up seeing a broad range of knowledge. There are people who are aware of social media in general, due to the start up and technology culture of Seattle. Actual deep tissue knowledge may vary, so it depends on background. People from a PR background understand social media differently than those from an entrepreneurial background whose understanding differs from those with an information design background… it really depends on the context.

What gets you really motivated and excited?

I wake up in the morning to help others discover how new technologies can improve their lives, understand how collaboration can enable them to achieve greater things, discover new ideas and how to integrate them in new ways to solve problems.

Give us one crazy fact about yourself you haven’t already shared.

Define crazy ;)

I have bus friends, grocery store friends, coffee shop friends, random sidewalk friends… I tend to make friends everywhere. One of my favorite random friends I met because we sat next to each other on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle. We had such a great time talking about our lives and the lessons we’ve learned from the experiences we’ve had, I was actually disappointed when the plane landed.

Any other tidbits you would like to offer?

One of my favorite books is Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. I read it at a time I was going through personal and professional transitions and found its message highly relevant. Since then, I’ll re-read passages when I want to remind myself how lucky I am to pursue my dreams and fortunate I am to be passionate about the work I do and the clients I work with.

Coelho wrote: “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” The universe has brought me people like you, my family, great friends, (Emily, Daren, Sarah, Taki, Jared, Kirk, Chelle and Blake), amazing professional mentors (Andrew, Jim Benson and Mack Collier) who have contributed, and still contribute, greatly to my life.

I’ll leave you with this thought – “Nothing great in the world was accomplished without passion.” – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Mediaphyter - Jennifer Leggio

Fortinet’s expansive product portfolio includes enterprise firewalls, security solutions for MSSPs and telco carriers, database security and email security appliances in addition to our SMB offering. Therefore I need to spread the love across all of our different market segments and I personally spend a lot of time focusing on enterprise deployment scenarios. Our marcom and product marketing teams, however, do a great job of creating tools (speakers and events, road shows, etc.) and collateral for our channel partners who sell to the SMB. Also, I think it’s important to clarify that digital media is only about 10 percent of my current job. I spend the largest chunks of my time managing global industry analyst relations and working with our threat research teams on their communications.

You are blogging for ZDNet, what topics do you cover there and how do you get the interviews? Are they arranged for you or do you pursue them?

I write about what I like to call “social business.” Which basically means I try to find companies — preferably Fortune 500 or enterprise tech companies — who are doing interesting things and benefiting from implementing some sort of social program. I also write a touch about social media and security as well as public relations challenges in this social media world. I arrange all of my own interviews and develop my own content calendar. Our editors are great. They give us guidance when we need it and might make some suggestions for site-wide story packages, but they trust us to produce the best work we know how.

In an article about your new tattoo, you describe this as somewhat of a personal overture to allow yourself the ability to become more transparent. Specifically to allow your personal and professional lives to be a bit more intertwined. For those fighting the same battle, why choose to do it and how have you benefited?

It’s a personal decision. I wouldn’t recommend to anyone to do or not to do it. I personally find it very natural to just be one person in all places. You can ask anyone I’ve ever worked with or worked for, I march to the beat of my own drum and I embrace my personality no matter where I am. There is no “buttoned up Jen” and “casual Jen.” They are the same person. I found it exhausting to even try to attempt that and doing all of this social media stuff gave me a reason and an avenue for further melding everything together. There are still bumps and hurdles along the way. It can be stressful living so transparently at times. But I’ve also mastered the art of privacy in a world of transparency. Like I said, this is the benefit I experienced, but everyone needs to make this decision for him- or herself. A lot also depends on your company culture, too. If you work for a financial services firm or you’re in a legal profession, you’re going to think more deeply than a marketing girl who also writes about this kind of stuff on a daily basis.

I am a total metal-head, and come to find out, that’s your thing as well. Give us your top 3 favorite bands and what you like about them the most.

I am a metal fan but I am not a total metalhead. My more metal friends would laugh if they saw you call me that. I listen to everything but I do have a soft spot in my heart for metal and nothing — I mean nothing — gets me moving more than a good rock band. I’m taking the liberty of expanding this to metal / rock versus just metal:

TOOL – Have you ever heard that bass line about two-thirds of the way into “Eulogy”? Every time I hear that I am convinced I could die happy. Pun intended.Yet I feel that way about most TOOL songs.

30 Seconds to Mars – This band is a lyrical pleasure for me though I definitely enjoy the music. This is also one of those bands I feel compelled to point out that I loved before they got all popular and eyeliner-ish. If you don’t believe me you can ask my friend Hillary. We drove all the way to Santa Barbara about six years ago just to catch them with a favorite local band of mine called Strata.

System of a Down – I’m a sucker for political / movement rock. I never really got die-hard about Rage Against the Machine but SOAD, especially the “Toxicity” album, gets me in the heart. I can say the same for Serj Tankian’s current solo work. I can’t say the same for Daron Malakian’s Scars on Broadway. I want my SOAD back.

Ties for fourth? As I Lay Dying / Lamb of God/ Killswitch Engage / Static X / Dimmu Borgir / The Booda Velvets (I know you didn’t ask but I feel empty not saying something about them)

What do you find to be the most compelling reasons to personally brand yourself, even if you are working for another brand?

If you make the decision to develop a personal brand, I think it’s necessary to make sure it is removed from your corporate brand to some extent. Why? Because you can take that with you to your next company, of course. Look at Richard Binhammer of Dell as one great example. Everyone knows him as Dell’s “social media guy.” He wears the Dell brand proudly. However, we know him first as Richard and, heaven forbid, if he ever leaves Dell his brand will carry him. If he was merely “Dell Guy” then he’d have to start from scratch in his next gig. I also believe, and it’s been proven, that companies benefit from having a more human element associated with their external corporate culture. The years of a company being identified by merely its assigned spokesperson or executive team are over. Every employee can be a voice for his or her company now — you just have to mind your corporate policies and make sure what you can do and how loudly you can do it.

Note from Craig: If you enjoyed this interview, you might also enjoy an interview I had done previously with Mack Collier! Please leave comments if something moves you, if you have some thoughts, or you have an opinion or question. Thanks for Reading!

Danny Brown - Press Release PR

There are many people that use Twitter for many different reasons, getting to know others, education, sharing information. How do you get the most out of Twitter and what do you hope to accomplish?

I’d say it’s most definitely the connections, and the thought processes that you come across every day. While I don’t see every single tweet made by my connections, just catching the odd one that has an immense depth that blows me away is what makes each connection count. As far as accomplishing goals, basically continue to learn from the people around me, and improve myself because of it.

Tell us where you are from and what you do for a living?

I’m originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, but I now live in Canada just outside Toronto. I own my own boutique PR agency, which combines traditional PR and marketing with social media. This includes business consultancy as well as individual projects.

Do you know others who use Social Media tools like Twitter in your area? What would you say about the knowledge of people in your area about Social Media in general?

If by my immediate area, there are a few, although I’d probably say that Facebook is still a more popular application than Twitter. You’ve got incredibly smart guys like @davefleet and @unmarketing who are both local to me and in my field, so it’s an ideal mix. :) It’s definitely growing, though, and I think 2009 will see Twitter go much more mainstream.

What gets you really motivated and excited?

Knowing that each day is different. I’m lucky to work in an industry I love (despite the best efforts of unethical PR pros giving it a bad name) and that I am my own boss. The charity challenge I’ve put together for 2009 is really motivating me, and seeing all the support for it is always exciting. And learning from great people online every day, who want to encourage others in all that they do? That never fails to amaze me.

Give us one crazy fact about yourself you haven’t already shared.

Hmm… when I was at primary school (I’m guessing grade 6 or 7 across here), I played the Fairy Godmother in the school production of Cinderella. Definitely a crowning moment, and scary how “okay” I looked in a dress… ;-)

Any other tidbits you would like to offer?

Never take no for an answer, and no matter what people might tell you, everyone has greatness inside of them. Don’t be afraid to show yours and encourage others to be great too. :)

Shevonne Polastre at work

I use Twitter for everything, but mainly to connect with interesting Tweeters who can show me a thing or two. It’s great because I have actually found some wonderful people who have taught me about life, parenting, technology, law, fitness, and the list keeps growing. Recently, I have been networking with other business owners and companies, and have even found some freelance work. Twitter is a great tool because you can be anyone interested in anything, and you will find some kind of use for it.

Tell us where you are from and what you do for a living?

I live in Fairfax, VA, which is part of the Washington, DC area. I came here from Panama when I was seven years old with my two sisters and parents. When I was a teenager, I wanted to take a year off college and backpack through Europe. However, my parents were very strict and didn’t allow that to happen. It’s one of only regrets that I have, but I am still young, so I still have time to take that trip. The experience will be better than I imagined because this time I will take my kids with me.

For almost eights years, I have worked as a Technical/Proposal Writer. Since I was a child, I’ve been surrounded by computers. My mother was a Computer Programmer for the Department of Defense and would sometimes bring her work home with her. While my two sisters would watch television or play, I would sit with her for hours helping her debug code. When I was 17, I began working as a Help Desk Technician for Erols’ Internet (remember them? I think they became RCN). For the next seven years, I helped customers with errors, built computers, and setup networks.

After high school, I started working on my Computer Science degree. I learned different programming languages and was trying to achieve my dream of becoming a Video Game Developer. However, I got pregnant with my son and realized that I had to change my path. Programming consumed almost my entire life and with a baby, there was no way that I would be able to dedicate the same amount of time as before. I thought about what I was also passionate about. Writing. I bought a book about what I could do with an English degree and came across “Technical Writer.” As a Technical Writer, I have been able to combine my two loves: Writing and Technology. I am happy that I can honestly say that I love what I do for a living.

Do you know others who use Social Media tools like Twitter in your area? What would you say about the knowledge of people in your area about Social Media in general?

I know there have to be others in DC who are using Social Media, but I only know a few of them. DC is a very political and high tech area, so Social Media is part of their vocabulary. Why? The future of technology, mainly in the Social Media arena, has huge legal, ethical, political, and technical issues, so there are many people in the DC area who are partaking in some aspect of it. When I was in grad school, I took a graduate class that focused on Social Media and another one that discussed the legal issues concerning it. I’ve told people about taking these classes, and they say they have never heard about such classes. It shows that it’s a hot topic in DC.

What gets you really motivated and excited?

Technology. Anything new that comes out, I have to test it out, or I feel like it’s the end of the world. Everyone knows that the way to my heart is getting me the latest gadget. Technology, not diamonds, are a girl’s best friend.

Give us one crazy fact about yourself you haven’t already shared.

I have the habit of singing everywhere I go. My sister use to get embarrassed because I could be in the middle of the grocery store, and I would belt out in song. Therefore, beware if you are ever out in public with me, you might be the next victim of having people stare out you for being with a crazy girl singing off key. You have been warned.

Any other tidbits you would like to offer?

• Think before you speak
• Get familiar with readability statistics to ensure that any piece of document you are presenting to an audience (unless they are experts in the topic you are writing about) is written for someone for 6th – 7th graders, and that readability is higher than 50%.
• When writing a proposal, ensure that you mention your potential client three times more than you mention yourself. Companies have a habit of boasting how great they are instead of what they can do for the client.
• Documentation might be tedious in the short run, but will save you tons of money and time in the long run.
• Writing and Technology are wonderful, but mix the two together, and you get Art

Josh Peters - Shua Consulting

With Twitter the value is all in who you follow and interact with (not who follows you), which gets really hard to manage when you start following over 50 people. To manage that I use TweetDeck, the columns are awesome and groups are crucial to you peace of mind. I read that Twhirl now does tabs so I may have to check that out again. What I hope to accomplish is to make good connections with people online, meet new people in my area, and now that Shua Consulting has launched I’d like to start meeting clients. If I had to quantify it at the end of the day, I’d say I feel accomplished when I talk to someone new or have a great conversation with another twitterer.

Tell us where you are from and what you do for a living?

I’m from Salt Lake City, UT and I’ve “recently” decided to do freelance social media consulting, training, and new media data management for companies.

Do you know others who use Social Media tools like Twitter in your area? What would you say about the knowledge of people in your area about Social Media in general?

I do, SLC has an awesome social media club that just launched and we have our second meeting this FEB. There are a lot of great and knowledgeable people here that are very passionate about social media and what they do for a living. Most of the local businesses are on at least MySpace, and some of the more tech based brands have a presence on FaceBook and a few on Twitter. Several of our newspapers and arms of the government are on Twitter. There’s no doubt they could do more, but it’s a fantastic start and exciting to see.

What gets you really motivated and excited?

New ideas, music, and art. I’m always sharing new art I come across because it really gets my creativity juices going and i always have music on. Seeing people accomplish their own projects and bring their ideas (artistically or technologically) to life really get me motivated to work on my own ideas, dreams, and passions. Twitter is a huge source of motivation and excitement as I watch people talk about their accomplishments, ideas, trials, and triumphs.

Give us one crazy fact about yourself you haven’t already shared.

I want to be a cage fighter.

Any other tidbits you would like to offer?

Prediction: I don’t think that social media will be around within the next 3 years. It’s not going to disappear, we’re just going to call it “The Internet”. The ways we interact with each other and companies online are not going to be unique anymore they are going to be expected. Especially from those who are growing up or entering the work force with it. Education and a willingness to help those who don’t know will be the key to successful mass adoption, and I see that happening everyday from the industry leaders and big names out there so the example is being set.

Advice: Don’t be afraid to participate. The worst thing that can happen is someone telling you you’re doing it wrong. If that happens, learn how to do it “right” and then make it your own.

Tip: Fill out your profiles and put up good pictures of you. If you want people to take you serious and make a good connection they need to see your face and know more about you.

Note from Craig : If you like my interviews, I would like to invite you to read my columns as well, please check out my article on “Social Media – It’s Just People” Thanks for your visit, please post if you have a thought! It does make a difference!

Cheryl Harrison

I’ve benefited tremendously from Twitter by making my online relationships offline relationships when possible, and to more beneficial online relationships when not. I try to post entertaining and informative Tweets everyday and interact with a wide variety of people, but prominently those in Central Ohio, as we have such a vast and diverse Twitter population right here in my backyard.

I’ve already been able to build an inconceivably strong network in such a short time, both personally and professionally. I’ve made friends and business contacts with people I otherwise would never have had access to. I hope to continue to build and foster these relationships, who knows where they could take me! The connections in just the few months I’ve been Tweeting have already gotten me my current job, sent to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration on behalf of a local TV station, a couple of speaking gigs for myself, speakers and entertainment for conferences and events I’ve planned, connection with a potential business partner, my website designed for free, free tickets to Plays and Conferences, you get the picture. Tweet on, friends!

Tell us where you are from and what you do for a living?

I am from Martins Ferry, Ohio, a small Appalachian town across the Ohio River from Wheeling, West Virginia and about 45 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. I moved to Columbus, OH to attend Capital University and don’t plan on leaving for a while. Columbus is very underrated for how fabulous it is. I work for People To My Site an interactive/traditional marketing agency. I work in the marketing department so my job ranges from developing social media tactics to launching public relations capabilities! I’m also @peopletomysite on Twitter, but shhh, that’s top secret! ;-)

Do you know others who use Social Media tools like Twitter in your area? What would you say about the knowledge of people in your area about Social Media in general?

Columbus is an extremely technological region. There are about 1,500 people on Twitter in the area, to my knowledge and more everyday. One of our local television stations has almost all of their anchors and reporters on Twitter, who Tweet while on the air, and they poll Twitter everyday during broadcasts and show the Tweets on the air, which is fueling the expansion of Twitter and making the news fun and interactive. We have at least two major Tweetups a month here, with an upcoming event almost booked to capacity (80 Tweeple.)

What gets you really motivated and excited?

I love to be overly involved and stressed out, no matter how much I complain about it. If I don’t have work, school, five freelance projects, two organizational commitments, four coffee meetings, two lunches and three networking events in a given week, I get bored and lazy.

Give us one crazy fact about yourself you haven’t already shared.

I am distantly related to Presidents Benjamin and William Henry Harrison. The latter died from talking too long during his inaugural address and caught pneumonia – I’ve always assumed I’d follow in his political and long-winded footsteps.

Any other tidbits you would like to offer?

I would love to share some Twitter advice that I’ve recently realized a lot of people aren’t familiar with:

Note from Craig : If you like my interviews, I would like to invite you to read my columns as well, please check out my article on “Educating your customer – Why do it?” Thanks for your visit, please post if you have a thought! It does make a difference!

Q: So you run a company called Virtual Hires, can you tell me about about your companies goals?

A: Our mission is to help small and medium sized web-based businesses grow by providing quality and affordable staffing solutions.

Q: What made you decide to get in this business?

A: I had quite a bit of exposure to outsourcing at my previous job, including outsourcing IT, production, and creative. When I began working for myself, I had hired a virtual assistant and was really impressed with the results I got from her link building and content writing efforts. I found my virtual assistant to be very easy to work with. She spoke English fluently, was web-savvy, polite and was very familiar with American slang and pop culture. She spoke with just a slight accent, and was willing to work on US time which make working with her really easy. Having my virtual assistant do the day-to-day lower value tasks made it possible for me to focus my energy on growing my business. It ultimately has made me more profitable.

As I began sharing my experience with other small business owners, they asked how they too could take advantage of outsourcing. After receiving several of these requests, I decided to open up a full-time business offering web staffing services to other small business. I hired a few employees, began successfully matching clients and employees, and have never looked back.

Q: Tell me how you use or plan to use Social Media in your business pursuits?

A: This is something that we do for our clients all the time, but something we haven’t done too much for ourselves. (Most all of our business comes from word of mouth referrals.)
Here are some of the things we have done for our clients and will be incorporating more for ourselves as time goes on:

• Social Networking Sites – Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. – A great way to share news and to keep in touch with clients. Personal relationships are the crux of any business. We tend to trust people we know well, and these sites offer a degree of transparency and accessibility.
• Bookmarking, Tagging, Blog Commenting, and Participating in Forums – Keeps the conversation going.
• Online Video – Increasingly popular way to share, demonstrate, and educate.
• Blogging – An easy way to build community, and share updated information.
• Microblogging – This is great way to keep promote news and share tips.

Q: Do you attend conferences? Which ones and why?

A: Yes. I love the Affiliate Summit West. Apart from escaping the Cleveland winter for a few days, it is a great place to network and to keep abreast with industry trends. I went to the Search Engine Guide’s Small Business Unleashed Marketing Conference in Columbus for the first time this Fall. I loved this conference for the small, family feel. I made some great connections and will definitely attend again.

Q: I see you enjoy the outdoors. What is your favorite outdoor sport? Tell me a bit about what you get out of it.

A: I do enjoy the outdoors. My favorite outdoor sport? That’s a tough one. I am an avid, year-round hiker.

Hiking provides exercise, and an outlet for my tremendous amount of energy. More than anything, I find a sense of renewal by being outside. It’s hard for me to stop thinking about work. When I step outside, I am able to get outside of my own head. Being outside is an act of cleansing for me. As I take in the sights and sounds around me, and as I am surrounded by the beauty of the natural world, I leave my comfort zone. I relax. I am inspired. I appreciate. Most importantly, I find perspective. I am then able to focus on what matters most to me: relationships.

Other notes: Check out her recent plug in US News & World Report!

A: Liz started as a publisher and teacher and was teaching while still in school. In 8th grade Liz would help with the 1st grade class. She has been teaching all her life in one shape or form. Liz always felt that writing came naturally for her. Her specialty was in educational publishing.

Q: I’ve noticed that Chris Brogan has an assistant, are you a one woman show? If not, who is behind the scenes?

A: Liz wishes she did have an assistant, along the way a couple times she had some guest bloggers and help with “open comment night” on her blog. She would love to have an assistant, but hasn’t figured out quite how to do that.

Q: Ive seen you defined on lizstrauss.com as Connector, Producer and Rainmaker… I would think your ability as a Connector and a Producer cause the Rainmaking effect, the customer loyalty, but what inspires you most and why?

A: Liz is all about people, she likes connecting one person to another, she gets frustrated when ideas and people are not connected and is inspired to make those connections to create a symphonic order. Its about connecting people and you can only do that if your connected yourself!

Q: You have this interesting club called the “SOB’s” which stands for Successful and Outstanding Bloggers. Some I recognize and some I do not. How do you choose a blog for the list? Is there a set of criteria? Do you choose alone?

A: No panel here, she filters blogs, looking for community. The very first week she started blogging, Started Sept of 2005, she wanted to thank 3 people who linked to her website. The concept was to thank her Evangelists! It started with just a couple people talking, not a great marketing scheme.

There was a couple criteria discussed, but of those items the key factor was to pick up the conversation and take it somewhere. Some SOB’s don’t have blogs, they have built great relationships via email. Many are even self nominated. But they have to show relationship and community.

Another criteria, she wont give anyone the badge unless blog is at least 4 months old… she wants to see people break the “90 day trial” syndrome as a blogger and continue at it. She indicated many bloggers stop posting quickly once they don’t see the instantaneous results they had hoped for.

Liz regularly monitors and clears the database if the blog “goes dark” or no longer ads value to the blogosphere. “This ensures the value for those still on this list” she says.

Q: Do you have any new articles or ebooks coming out? A bit of information on them?

A: While she doesn’t want to give away too many details, she is working on an ebook, more useful information for the corporate world, How to get companies online.

Additional Notes from Liz!

She would like you to know that SOBCon09, as she describes it, the “Cirque du Soleil” of Conferences, is moving forward. They are looking for sponsors for this and other events. Please contact Liz for more information.