Social media is not a fad. It's just the past on steroids.

It all comes down to who you know.

Are you an entrepreneur or an employee?  If you plan on being an employee, you're gonna have to know a lot of people and have a good rep, or you won't be able to get a job.

There's a fascinating story in Thursday's "New York Times" about Eric Lefkofsky.

Who?

Turns out he's worth $750 million.  And he's only 40.  He's an entrepreneur/investor.  You know him best as the bankroller of Groupon.  Which started out as ThePoint.com, which was a failure because it lacked the social experience.

I know, you hate social media.  More people despise Twitter than use it.  You like Facebook, but you're scared of its Big Brother qualities.

Well, you probably don't understand that Twitter is the number one news source for news happening right now.  But if you can't wrap your head around that, maybe you should look into SproutSocial, which is a Lefkofsky company that allows you to track your company in social media.  And if you don't think social media is key to your company's future, you're on the road to extinction.

The problem the record business had is its audience knew too many people, who could connect with each other online.  All the labels knew were radio station employees and retailers.  That's a fraction of the overall consumer base, and technically, they're not even consumers, just middlemen.  Once the consumers started talking to each other not only did they spread the word about Napster, but they also let each other know which records were good and which ones were bad.  Suddenly, a label could no longer jam records down the public's throat.  It's bad enough when albums leak in advance and are dead on arrival due to bad word of mouth, see Lenny Kravitz for example, but even those that make it to release date intact are guaranteed a week's worth of sales at best.  Because by the end of seven days, the target audience knows whether the album is worth owning.

And the target audience is smaller than you think it is.

And if you don't know who your target audience is, you're screwed.

Imagine trying to sell CDs without knowing the name of retailers.

Imagine trying to sell files, to establish an act without knowing consumers' e-mail addresses.  Sure, e-mail may be fading, especially amongst the younger generation, but everybody's got a presence online.  But can you penetrate their personal firewall?  And behind each firewall is not one person, but many.  Everybody's got a network.  Screw one person and you screw many.  Because this one person tells everybody he knows.  Ditto in the reverse.

But the reason I'm writing this is because of the job market.

I hate to frighten you, but all your topless and drunken pictures are gonna work against you in the job market.  Inebriation is not a criterion for employment, not even at Budweiser.  You see you're building your resume every day online.  And whether you can get a job or not is based on this resume and who you know.

People have complained for eons they couldn't get a job in the entertainment industry because they weren't connected.  Hate to tell you, but it just got worse!  No one's gonna hire anyone without a history, who can't be recommended by someone.  The days of placing a blind ad and taking on all comers is history.  That doesn't even work well on Craigslist, and no one advertises for a good job on that site.

If you want to succeed in the future, you've got to know people.  Who can vouch for you.  Ever get called for a reference?  You never lie if you know the caller, its you reputation on the line.   And now that we're all networked, there's always someone who knows you, who if they won't say something negative, certainly won't say something positive.

You think you're just playing online?

That's wrong.

Do you think I'm gonna vouchsafe for the people who e-mail me with attitude?  Think about that.  Unless you're selling attitude, you're screwed.  Because people constantly ask me my opinion on people.  And I talk to a lot of people.

Scary, isn't it?
You see we all live in a social media world.
Read this article.  This guy is on the money.  Social media is not a fad.  It's just the past on steroids.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/business/18sbiz.html?src=busln
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
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Related Links:
-Join more than 282,090 satisfied users --> CLICK HERE The trusted and preferred productivity solution for more than 327,680 Twitter accounts.  Social media is a big part of the marketing world these days.  "Social media is the new word-of-mouth that fuels viral marketing online." Social media marketing is not only where your customers are spending their time but it also provides the #1 most effective way to connect with those prospects..learn more. Social Media List Builders

 

About the Author: Andrea Scafidi is the owner of http://www.Save2YearsOfYourLife.com and reviews popular home business ideas and opportunities. 


> scafidi
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Andrea Scafidi here with something exciting to look at.

I have some exciting information to share with you.
By the way, every member gets their own web site!

The first element is the home business. Just you, your computer, and an Internet connection is all that's required. The members site teaches us some quick and simple ways to get people from all over the world looking at our web sites.

When those people buy the product we earn commissions. It's really straightforward and easy to do.
At first I was a bit hesitant but once I took a closer look and actually tried them I was hooked. I found it very easy to add multiple new income streams to my regular earnings without changing my schedule around. Just an hour here and there is all it takes.

I'll stop here and let my web site explain the rest. Please go to the link below for more information...

> Link Here

Andrea Scafidi


Andrea Scafidi is the owner of http://www.Save2YearsOfYourLife.com and reviews popular home business ideas and opportunities. Andrea's top home business recommendation is the Plug-In Profit Site at: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-27241/freesetup.html where you can get your own money-making website setup in 24 hours!

What's the entire buzz about GVO?

GVO (Global Virtual Opportunities) formerly Kiosk is a company owned by Joel Therien who has a 12 year track of experience in the network marketing and internet marketing industries.
GVO has rapidly created a big buzz in the internet marketing and the MLM , Network marketing arenas due to the fact that it is the only company online that has the knowhow and the expertise to join these two very important business models in a once in a lifetime opportunity.

What makes GVO such an incredible business opportunity?
The answer to this question is twofold:
First of all when you get your hosting package through GVO you will get several services like unlimited autoresponder system, complete video marketing system with easy video producer and video hosting, full audio and video conferencing system, downtime monitoring software, that not only are included but that will also mean significant savings compared to buying all these services separately.
Second, you will have the opportunity to participate in a MLM compensation plan that is much more than a simple affiliate program and makes it an entire business in itself, let me explain:
How do I get compensated?
To motivate you to promote the business, GVO pays you 50% commission on the first month of every person that is directly sponsored by you.
Then we have the 2 x 10 Binary Hybrid Matrix Plan that will pay you 5% per month of up to levels down making this a full matrix of 2,046 people and that alone will earn you $4,600.00 per month!
Wait! It gets even better because you will also get a 20% matching bonus on your personal referrals down to 10 levels.
Once you have a downline of 14 people or more then you earn a new profit position in the matrix that you can also make money off of.

What guarantees that people will stay?
If you have been online for some time and you are serious about building an internet business, you know that in today's market, these are tools that you or any internet marketer can't afford not to have and that you will be using on a daily basis and that is the key that makes the compensation plan a very successful one.
With this business model you will build an organization of avid and constant users who will be using the services everyday to run their businesses and therefore will be happy to keep paying their monthly fee!
How do I join?
At GVO we even give you the opportunity to try us and fall in love with our services before you commit to a longer stay.
Just pay $1.00 today and this will give you full access to all the services and features for a full 14 day trial period.
Hope your find everything you are looking for under one roof with unsurpassed quality, see you inside!

Jesus Pina is an Internet and Network Marketer who owns and runs many websites you can read more of his GVO business at http://www.wwkiosk.com/members/scafidi/team_gvo_invite.php

How Home-Based Business Can Unify Humanity and Balance the Economy

"The Nov/Dec 2010 Issue of Networking Times is Now ONLINE!

Theme: Global Wealth Building
How Home-Based Business Can Unify Humanity and Balance the Economy

Our Nov/Dec 2010 theme is Global Wealth Building. Matt Flannery is the founder of Kiva.org, a micro-lending organization supporting home-based entrepreneurs around the world. Economist Dato’ Vijay Eswaran explains how network marketing provides solutions for rebuilding our global economy.

Three things I think you absolutely must know as an affiliate marketer.
Pay careful attention. If you don't develop a strong grasp on
these points, at best, you will pay for it in lost profits and
time. At worst, your efforts an affiliate marketer will simply
fail; and you'll give up – just as most do.

#1 Avoid Spammy Mediums Like the Plague

As an affiliate marketer, few things are as important as your
reputation. If you develop a reputation as someone who is a) a
spammer or b) really, really desperate, people aren't going to
heed your advice. If, for instance, you recommend a product to
people – either through your list, a free ebook, or something
like that – and the people see you as somewhat of a desperate
spammer, they are far less likely to pay attention to what you
say.

...After all, why should I take your advice on purchasing some
new ebook if you receive your traffic through spam – or if you
receive little traffic at all? Clearly you haven't been
successful with the supposed techniques you've discovered in the
book, so why should I take your advice?

There are other big downsides to using spammy media. Most
importantly – even if publishing in the medium itself isn't
technically spam – it can often be associated with spam or get
you penalized by email clients just the same. And once you've
been penalized by email clients, you can forget running your
business from that email address or any other's on that domain.

With that said, here's a list of some important media to AVOID:

1. FFAs or "free for alls." FFAs are basically forums or
email lists that allow desperate people to hurl garbage at each
other and see if any of it sticks. Think about this one for a
minute: do you really want to receive 50 messages a day from
other desperate affiliate marketers? Do you think you'll buy any
of their products? Obviously not.

By the same token, they don't want to buy your products. They
want to sell products. So avoid these forums and email lists.
The
only people frequenting them are spammers and those who are
desperate to sell something. Very few actual buyers will
voluntarily decide to wade into the trash heaps that are FFAs in
order to purchase something.

2. Safelists. Safe? If you don't mind getting splattered with
spammy garbage on a daily basis. Again, you're basically joining
a list of people who agreed to join a list, so they could send
out their offers. Everyone on the list wants to send out offers.
They don't want to receive offers.

As an affiliate markter, you goal should be to find places where
people want to buy stuff – not where people want to sell
stuff.
A marketplace of all sellers is pretty useless – especially
when all of those sellers have failed virtually every other place.

In sum, keep away from spammy lists of all kinds. Not only are
they a waste of time, but they could be a permanent blackspot on
your credibility. Don't do it.

#2 Develop the "Successful Affiliate's Mindset"

It's funny. People who become successful in all walks of life
tend to talk about mindset the most. And, in general, this is the
piece of information that people who haven't yet experienced that
success want to hear about the least. They want meaty
information, full of facts and exact procedures. They don't want
fluffy mindset stuff that seems more self-glorifying than helpful.

Strangely, though, this information actually is quite important.
If you want to make a lot of money as someone who is
self-employed, you definitely cannot do it without first
accepting full responsibility for your success.

Why is that? Because no one else is responsible for your success
other than you. That's right: the guru you purchased that last
ebook from – he's not responsible for your success. If you come
back to him in 30 days and say "Hey, you jerk! I'm not a
millionare yet, as you said I would..." he'll happily give you
a refund on be on his way. What he wont do is make you money.
That part is entirely up to you.

So how can you do it? By developing the right mindset – by
accepting that no matter what happens, you are responsible. You
no longer have an employer. You no longer can say "I tried
really hard; therefore, I still deserve pay." The only way you
will receive pay as an affiliate marketer is after you have made sales.

So adopt that mindset; and do your best to avoid self-pity and
the temptation to blame others for your failure, no matter how
tempting. One good way to do this is to observe the behavior of
other successful affiliate forums. You can do them by watching
them at forums, such as the following one:http://www.abestweb.com.

#3 Create Your Own Website

Most affiliate marketers start off by making a really bad
decision: they refer all of their PAYING customers to affiliate
links, rather than their own site. This is ALWAYS bad; and
ALWAYS results in diminished selling opportunities in the future.

If you have a prospect who has enough money burning a hole in
his pocket to buy, then get him on one of your lists. Send him to
YOUR website; and get him to sign up for a course you've created.

Only once he's on your email list should you start marketing
affiliate products to him. If you don't yet have a list, you can
create one with the tool at the following 2 highly recommended
companies: http://www.aweber.com and http://www.getresponse.com

I understand that getresponse.com has free option so you can try it out.   

Remember: if you send BUYING customers to your affiliate link,
that product owner benefits more than you do. If you send them
to your website, you will not only get the sale from that one
interaction, but you also get the chance to make future pitches.

You now know the three most important things avoid affiliate
marketing. Heed them and you will do well. Ignore them and they
will poison every opportunity you encounter.