The Daily Bone » Marketing

Mutt Media | the Daily Bone 9.7.09 uSocial services to "buy" your Facebook friends

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:23:01 +0000

Mutt Media disusses stealth marketing using uSocial

Anyone with any sort of message that they want to communicate to a large audience is, at some point – faced with the age-old challenge of how to gain a following to spread the word.

In the current Information Age, this challenge has been met with numerous solutions. Since a growing number of people in all age groups, socio-economic backgrounds, geographic locations, varied sizes, shapes and colors are becoming plugged in to the web, reaching any number of us has become less and less of a challenge.

Social Networking, advertising, marketing, email, file “sharing”, eSurveys and the like are all just variations on the same theme – acquire your personal data, analyze it, organize it and exploit it. If you find yourself in the position of needing to spread a message and want more of an audience (to acquire more Twitter followers or increasing the amount of Facebook “friends” you have) then you may want to take a look at an Australian-based service called uSocial (uSocial.net).

Created by a 24 year old named Leon Hill, uSocial.net is a service that bills themselves as a social bookmarking service, among other things. Here’s a screen grab from their FAQ page wherein they briefly describe their services.

Usocial was just launched but has already caused a stir. Facebook is claiming that uSocial violates its Terms of Service which prohibit users from sharing their passwords with a third party. What does this mean? A user can have their account taken down if an allegation such as this is proven. Mr. Hill has stated publicly that not only is this unlikely, but that

“Unless they actually say anything, unless they make it known to Facebook or Twitter that they’ve actually bought my services, there’s absolutely nothing they (Facebook or Twitter) can do.”…In the end the thing is that I’m not actually ever doing anything against the terms of service — it’s the actual users who purchases my services (who is),” he said.

That means that from their standpoint – uSocial is not the culprit – we are! How much does this service cost? For $177 you can gain 1000 Facebook Fans and for $1177 that number goes up to 10,000. On Facebook, the maximum number of friends one can have is 5000, which is why the Fan Pages are so great – no limits there. But you can buy your friends, too. For $727 you can take your friend count to it’s limit. Too rich for your blood? $200 will get you 1000 friends.

The way uSocial works entails logging into a client’s profile and seeking out people who would be a good fit, sends them a friend request and never mentions that the third party is pulling the strings. In essence, the friend request comes through transparently and uSocial can avoid accountability.

Remember – agreeing to any sites Terms of Service is giving your word that you will adhere to their guidelines.

Not many people actually read the Terms of Service, but if considering a service like uSocial, it is advisable.

According to the Associated Press, Facebook is currently “investigating” uSocial’s practices.

What do you think? Would you use this service? Is it appealing?

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 5.29.09 Top 10 Tips for marketing yourself online. Tip #9: Get them talking!

admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:42:43 +0000

Mutt Media Tip #9

Another Tip from Mutt Media NY

9. While you do want to be stringent about monitoring your social networking sites for undesirable photos and questionable alliances, we should never forget what they are for – networking! By all means, use your contacts. Ask them to post a link about you. Your audience will increase exponentially (see earlier post and the viral networking Faberge illustration).

Provide your friends with a link to your Blog (you should set this up asap as we discussed earlier this month – see Tip #4). There are several sites that are really user-friendly including WordPress and Blogger that make it very easy for you to set this up.

Make sure your posts are relevant and blog often. If people find you interesting, they will come back and voila! You can amass a following and get viral marketing to work for you. Remember, fresh and interesting content is the most important thing! And what’s more interesting than you?

This has been your Daily Bone
© 2009 Mutt Media NY LLC All Rights Reserved

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 5.28.09 Follow up to Craigslist post from 5.11.09

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:27:11 +0000

Talk about online marketing…just wanted to follow up my earlier post from May 11, 2009 where I discussed some questionable after-effects from connections made through the Craigslist.org website.

As a result of lots of backlash, the powers-that-be at Craislist have decided to replace their “Erotic Services” ads with a new category title in an effort to better camouflage would-be prostitutes selling their wares. In this vein, they have doubled the price for a first-time ad from $5 to $10. At first glance the images of the women advertising appear less blatantly sexual but according to a short piece written by Andy Geller for the New York Post, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo predicts these efforts will prove to be “half baked”.

These changes come on the heels of pending lawsuits and various violent crimes committed as a result of connections made on the service. Let’s wait and see, I say.

This has been your Daily Bone
© 2009 Mutt Media NY LLC All Rights Reserved

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 5.27.09 Using Social Media sites for your job search

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:38:47 +0000

Another Mutt Media Tip

Another Tip from Mutt Media NY

Ok….so this was not an original one of our Top 10 Tips but it well could’ve and probably should have been.

Considering the extent to which social media and micro blogging can reach, these mediums can and should be used to let your network of contacts know that you are in the market for work and what you can offer.

Remember that you can be exposed to not only your contacts, but to your contacts’ contacts too, depending upon their account settings. Like a virus, word will spread that you are available for employment or internship. I may not be looking to hire, but think of it like the old Faberge Organic Shampoo (with pure wheat germ oil ‘n honey!) commercials….(yes, I am dating myself) where the girl was so enamored of her shampoo that she told two friends and they told two friends and so on and so on and so on…..take a look if you’d like a stroll down memory lane.

This is a great example of viral marketing in it’s most basic form and the principle can be applied online to your job search efforts. Visibility is key and as you know – once it’s out there, it’s out there. So go ahead, post your unemployed “status” on Facebook or Tweet away to your heart’s content. It can only help.

Oh, and provide an online link to your resume that will contain your contact information…you never know whose virtual desktop it will land on!

This has been your Daily Bone
© 2009 Mutt Media NY LLC All Rights Reserved

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 5.22.09 Marketing Yourself Online Tip #7: Check out the Competiton!

admin — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:34:42 +0000

Another Tip from Mutt Media NY

Mutt Media Tip #7

7. Check out your competition!

Go online and take a look at your competitors. Look at the functionality of their website. Look at their skill-sets and what they have to offer.

Are your skills in line with today’s job market? Never before has there been an opportunity such as we have today to actually know our competition in the job market! Use this to your advantage and acquire the skills necessary to give you that competitive edge and make yourself stand out.

Try to take your skill set to the next level and ensure that you will be able to provide a prospective employer with this added incentive to hire you over the next person, giving them more BANG! for their hiring bucks.

Have a great weekend!

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 5.14.09 10 Tips For Marketing Yourself Online – Tip #2: Create a New Email Account

admin — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:27:09 +0000

Mutt Media Tip #2

Another Tip from Mutt Media NY

2. Create a new email address specifically for your job search. Do away with addresses like Sexygirl222@xxx.com or anything too cutesy or infantile. This is a professional contact address and your email address may reveal a side of you that is not appropriate. This will only work to your disadvantage. Stick to your name, which is unique and will assist in people remembering who you are. If you have a common name like Smith, you may consider selecting something catchy and smart that reflects the business you are in or that will make an impression (consider perfectassistant@xxx.com or greathire@xxx.com).

You can get a new email account for free in a wide variety of places, such as gmail or aol, so what are you waiting for? Start reshaping your online image and put forth the best YOU possible!

Follow Mutt Media on Twitter @muttmediany and become a Fan on Facebook

Feedback? You can just click on “Leave a Reply” below or send your email to feedback@muttmedia.net. Your feedback may appear on this page, so be forewarned!
This has been your Daily Bone
© 2009 Mutt Media NY LLC All Rights Reserved

The Daily Bone » Marketing

Mutt Media | the Daily Bone 9.7.09 uSocial services to "buy" your Facebook friends

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 5.29.09 Top 10 Tips for marketing yourself online. Tip #9: Get them talking!

Mutt Media Tip #9

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 5.28.09 Follow up to Craigslist post from 5.11.09

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 5.27.09 Using Social Media sites for your job search

Another Mutt Media Tip Another Tip from Mutt Media NY

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 5.22.09 Marketing Yourself Online Tip #7: Check out the Competiton!

Mutt Media Tip #7

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 5.14.09 10 Tips For Marketing Yourself Online – Tip #2: Create a New Email Account

Mutt Media Tip #2

Another Mutt Media Tip

Another Tip from Mutt Media NY