Tri-Cities

Q: Matt, you have been the creator and editor of a site call @U2, about the band with that name. Where do you get your information from and how reliable are your sources? Also please tell us a bit about your new book U2, a Diary.

A: First, Craig, thanks for the chance to chat. I’ve been enjoying the earlier interviews you’ve posted.

The book just came out in November, and was the result of a couple years of research and writing — not to mention the help of fans around the world. When I announced the book was being written, I also launched a blog to share updates about my progress. But it also gave me the chance to put out calls for help, and U2 fans were great at helping out. I’d publish some question or request for a missing piece of information, and without fail I had answers within a matter of days, if not hours. It was a real Web 2.0 writing experience! The end result is a complete history of the band that I tell in a timeline format with diary-style entries. Fan response has been really great since it was published, and I’m super grateful for that.

The web site dates back to October, 1995, and to answer your question … I certainly think our sources are reliable because we always self-police what we report. When you own a popular web site (or blog, or whatever), people start bringing information and tips to you. It almost becomes a self-sustaining thing. Posting juicy news and rumors leads to more juicy news and rumors being shared! At this point, we get fans all over the world emailing information to us. They get it from their local radio, TV, or newspaper. We also have a network of friends around the world who have contacts in the music industry, at record labels, etc. And we’ve developed our own contacts and resources, too, of course. A fair amount of music journalists will email us when they report something U2-related so that we can share it with our readers.

Q: You also are the principal of the SEMMYs, can you tell how this awards idea was developed and how one can qualify as a judge or a recipient? How long have you been involved with it?

A: The 2nd annual SEMMY Awards will happen this month. I started it last year because there were already a few web sites giving out awards to bloggers and writers, but no one was recognizing the actual content.

To me, it was like awarding the actors and directors, but not the movies. So, the SEMMYs are all about content. The judges are fellow marketers whom I know and trust to be familiar with the categories they’re judging, and who volunteer to help out by reviewing nominees and choosing finalists. The best way to become a nominee is to publish great content and get it seen on the social web — via Twitter, Sphinn, StumbleUpon, Delicious, etc. As long as the content is about online marketing, everyone’s eligible!

Q: Our twitter guest question comes from @kevinseoames who asks “When targeting a specific city for local seo is it wise to also target its suburbs or is the main city enough?”

A: The answer to almost every SEO question, including this one, is “it depends.” I think the answer to this one depends on the area you’re talking about and the industry you’re in. I’ll use our hometown as an example: I don’t know for sure, but I doubt many people go to Google and search for “computer repair west richland” or “computer repair benton city.” (Those are two suburbs of the Tri-Cities, for those who don’t know.) So, if I’m a computer repair shop, I’d probably focus on phrases that cover the three main cities and then “tri-cities,” too.

But, I know from having a wife in real estate that people do search for homes in the suburbs. When it comes to picking a place to live, people sometimes have very specific requirements, and their behavior on Google (and Yahoo, MSN, etc.) reflects that. Either way, the best thing to do is start a PPC campaign that targets all the keywords you’re considering and see which ones actually get search traffic. Then do your SEO accordingly.

Q: On the Small Business Search Marketing website, your personal information indicates “I’ve consulted for companies as big as Target.com and as small as a mom and pop selling handcrafted wooden pens from their garage.” Tell us a bit about the Target job, that sounds like an SEO’s dream opportunity!

A: Ha! Not sure I’d describe it that way, because it was my first project after leaving my longtime Tri-Cities job and going to work for a Big Company in Seattle. It was more than a little intimidating, to be frank! Not sure how much I should say, but it was basically an audit of their web site and a consultation at their corporate headquarters in Minneapolis. The trip and presentation was great, and an excellent experience to say the least. The people we met with were good, smart people — but in a tough position, because they were (and still are, I think) using Amazon.com’s e-commerce platform. So, they were at the mercy of a competitor in terms of what changes they could make to their site. That’s a tough situation, as you can imagine. You’re right — it was a great opportunity, but I don’t know how many of our recommendations they were able to implement.

Q: On a personal note, you are also an active photographer and have many of your photos in a Flickr group. I personally use a Nikon D60 which I am still learning quite a bit about. What’s your camera of choice, and what kinds of tips would you give to us about photography and using Flickr?

A: I’m still using a 3-year-old Canon Powershot S3, which came out when DSLRs were still more than $1,000. One of these days I may get around to upgrading, but it’s enough camera for what I do.

Flickr tips should always start with Groups. People tend to think of Flickr as a photo storage service, but the heart of Flickr is the Groups. That’s where you get to meet and chat with people who share interests with you. And if you’re a local business, there’s a Flickr Group for your hometown/area — I guarantee it. So, more than just uploading photos, if you get active in the right groups, you can make connections with people who might be interested in your products or services. It’s social media, so of course you can’t do the hard sell thing. Just hang out and get to know people. And yes, share photos when appropriate. I also like to link from my photos to related blog posts. Then, when someone sees the photo in our group, they might also click through and become a blog reader.

A common question that I still see asked by many people online is, “What exactly is Social Media?” And I’ve seen many answers to this question. I have also read many debates, some very lively, on this topic.

I’ve read lists that go on to describe what people should look for in a Social Media expert. But really, is anybody an expert at Social Media? I think what it boils down to is simply this, people and their communication. Who is an expert? Anybody who chooses to take the time to contribute to this global informational community.

I think anybody who chooses to put themselves out there, share their thoughts, feelings and concerns takes part in this huge pot of information. It takes a lot of guts for people to share with others they don’t know and sometimes more with the people they do. I think it allows those who would normally be much more introverted to share some of their brilliance, and provide a much-needed outlet for the extroverts.

There are tools that encourage social media, and ideas that help mold and define it, ultimately it’s my opinion that there is no hard and fast definition. More likely is the idea that like anything you do in life, there is a learning curve. There are veterans who have been communicating online for many years and they have helped establish some basic guidelines, because they’ve been through many of the challenges that people new to the community will experience on their own.

I’ve seen these people challenged, which has its ups and downs. Those of us new to the game can learn some lessons. This does not mean you need to follow, nothing progresses without fresh input and ideas and a willingness to both invest in them and accept critique.

The most important lesson I’ve learned in social media is nothing more than what you would expect in life! If you expect to get something, you must first give. This is true whether your intentions for social media are strictly for personal enlightenment or more business-oriented. If your expectation is just to throw out information like a fisherman on a boat casting his line hoping for a bite, you may catch a goldfish but you’ll never catch the shark.

It’s really not that difficult folks, everybody wants to know they matter, even those that profess that they don’t care. Communication is the method by which you can help your self and others feel like they matter. If you treat people as if you could care less, you will get nothing more in return. So treat social media like you would treat your friend or your customer if they were standing right in front of you, not as if they were thousands of miles away. Care about the people and the people will make the rest happen.

But that’s just my 2 cents…