Unveiling the NEW CowlitzToday.com

Let’s jump into this months GeekSpeak. If you’ve been tuning in for long you likely have a professional web site, a blog, a facebook page and you are probably doing a little twitter. Wow you are such a geek. ~:-)

But, are your events listed at CowlitzToday.com?

Is your business listed in the Cowlitz County directory?

We originally created this site to help people connect locally.

CowlitzToday.com is a free, one-stop community calendar and web directory of businesses.

We’ve partnered with many organizations that have events in our area. Every day, more and more events are being listed. If you know of events and don’t see them on the calendar, we invite you to tell the event holder how they can add their events for free! (Or you can add them yourself!)

CowlitzToday also has a helpful directory of local business and organizations. You can find virtually anything from Accountants to Food & Dining to Movies to Real Estate!

With this article we are announcing the launch of the NEW and improved business directory!

We created the new directory to help make more connections:

1. SEO Findability: Our first goal is improving local organizations search engine rankings in the search engines. Having a great web site or business is only great if you can be found. We’ve built the new directory with some new and old school SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tricks, which have skyrocketed viewership.
2. Social Browsing: Our second mission is to help harness the social networks. More specifically – Facebook. You see, Facebook is great at helping you share and even find what you are looking for, but it doesn’t work well like good old fashioned browsing.

We’ve improved the directory to make it easy to browse the directory. Similar to those phonebooks of yesteryear. Our new directory is a great way to learn and link. Listings include helpful info and now links to their websites, facebook & twitter. Facebook “like” buttons are built into every listing. ~:-)

It’s where all the cool kids hang-out.

Want another reason to add your stuff?

CowlitzToday.com is being visited by 20,000 people per month!

By the time you read this we will have nearly 1,000 local listings. You can share a listing on facebook with a click. I invite you to get your organization listed for free today. Cowlitztoday.com. Wherever you work, play or worship can be listed as it’s own entity.

And don’t forget the Cowlitz County Online Event Calendar. We’ve streamlined the adding of events. If you’ve haven’t added an event in awhile (forever is still awhile)

Click on the new “Submit Event” button to learn how to add your event (also for free!!). If your organization has multiple events per/year please consider partnering with Cowlitztoday. If you are eligible we will give you a free calendar that you can post on your site AND then all of your events will appear in the community calendar!!!!!

Our community has posted over 6300 events to date! You simply can’t say there is nothing to do around here!

So what’s next?

I double dog dare you to search CowlitzToday.com for your favorite local business. If you find their listing, I’m sure they love for you to “give Kudos” for them. If they aren’t listed please call, eMail or facebook them the link. They’d appreciate the help and we’d appreciate your helping in spreading the word to help even more people connect.

Smart Phone users there is a new way to visit web sites on your phone. Simply install a free scanner app and start scanning. Think of it as Bar Codes 2.0 Ready? Grab your phone and visit http://m.omoriginals.com We will hook you up to get you started. If you already have a scanner – Scan now. “Tag” is above at top of page, looks like a square ink blot!

Oscar wrote this article on his iPhone. ~:-) Oscar is the owner and operator of omOriginals Marketing in Longview, WA and holds the title of award winning developer for the CowlitzToday.com web site. Questions about geeky stuff, call them @ 360-575-9839

Businesses “Like” Facebook.

Love or Hate Facebook, it is great way for businesses to connect with people.

I’m asked a lot of questions about Facebook. Here is one I asked myself, “How can we put a Facebook Like button on our web sites?” Read more >>

Facebook Unveiled

This month I’d like to give you a peek into Facebook’s user data.. Facebook is doing an amazing job of collecting tons of personal data about it’s users. With over 400 million users the amount of data is mind boggling. First off how are they getting this info?
Read more >>

You missed the Social Media Workshop!

Social Media Workshop
Tuesday, June 15th
Java Joy @ The Treasure House
1252 Commerce Ave, Longview

You missed the Workshop!

But, all is not lost.  Click here to learn about our next Facebook + LinkedIn classes.

Have omOriginals setup your Facebook and/or LinkedIn.
Can’t afford to spend the time doing it yourself? omOriginals offers these services at a very reasonable fee. Complete FaceBook or LinkedIn setup and submission to over 1,000+ locals is only $250. Available for all your online questions and concerns. Call 360.575.9839

Testimonial from Recent Class

If you are looking for someone to help you that mirrors all of the other “run of the mill” providers out there, you will be disappointed. This man screams creativity and thinking outside of the box yet has a strong focus and knowledge on his topic.

I was part of a group of business people at a workshop Oscar was facilitating. We all had laptops and shared a wireless internet connection. He had two topics to cover that night. Prior to attending I was pessimistic as to how anyone could effectively cover the topics in the time frame allotted.

Keep in mind, 15-20 people on their personal laptops! We left that night very knowledgeable on the topics he presented and feeling well served. This man is a pro! He will be my source for future training! Thanks Oscar!

Randy
WESREP

more testimonials

Figuring out ‘LinkedIn’

Thanks for tuning in for this Months GeekSpeak. Let’s dive in to LinkedIn. Maybe you’ve receive an eMail from a contact that says “Join my network on Linked In”.

Let’s start with the basics.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn claims to be the the world’s largest professional network. They have over 65 million users. Not as large as Facebook’s 400 million, but 65 million members is very impressive. We are barely into the article and we are already talking about Facebook!

I thought this article was on LinkedIn…

Facebook has done a tremendous job to humanize technology. They have welcomed millions of people that wouldn’t consider themselves computer people or geeks to connect with others through their site. This is has transformed the way people look at their computers. ~:-)

Both FB and LI are social networking sites. The main difference is the intended audience where FB is aiming to be everything for everyone, LI’s focus is on business professionals. LinkedIn says it, “connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.” It is all networking without the anxiety of social networking.

Joining LinkedIn is easy but making it work for you requires some work and savvy. Here are 4 steps to success that I’ve got for you.

1) Establish your Profile

Take control of your online identity. LinkedIn’s profile is a glorified and modern resume, that includes a summary, specialties, experience and links to blogs and groups. The profile is public to the work and it invites people to add you to their network. Note: since this profile is public the major search engines with allow show this profile on the first page of results when people search for you.

2) Build and Maintain your Network.

As you keep your Profile updated, and people in your network do too, they claim your address book will never be out of date. This is a great tool to keep you current with their latest jobs, projects and contact info.
Build core network with people you know and trust. Note: I have had a number of my connections that I didn’t really know, send me spam. I had to disconnect with them to quit receiving the excessive advertisements. That being said, you can click on Add Connections to start sending out invitations your contacts.

3) Find Experts and Share Knowledge.

LinkedIn has a question and answer section similar to answers at yahoo.com. People post questions, people answer and you can determine who the expert is. This is an interesting place to learn and to share the knowledge that you have with the community. To paraphrase Ivan Misner, founder of Business Network International, ”Gives Gain, if you truly help others you to will reap the benefits.”

4) Recommend Others.

A powerful part of Linked In is the Recommendations. Seek out professionals that are worthy of your praises and write a thoughtful recommendation. Encourage others to do the same for you. Testimonials are invaluable.

How much does it cost? The basic account is free. They have paid upgrades that can allow you to send messages directly to people you don’t yet know, expanded searches & notes. Sound interesting?!

Check out my Profile:
www.linkedin.com/in/oscarmyre4 and get connected!!

~ Oscar & his hot wife Michelle are the Owners of omOriginals Marketing, located in Longview WA! On May 11th they are presenting a workshop teaching about Online Marketing. Don’t miss it. Learn more @ omOriginals.com or call (360)575-9839

Jump into Facebook!

If you still haven’t immersed yourself into Facebook, then this article is for you.

WHO
Facebook.com, FB is the most popular web site on the planet. They claim to have over 400 Million active users! That is up 50 Million from January.

It is crazy how quickly Facebook has grown. There is a strange status attached to being a user. It is understood by people that are connected as well as those that aren’t.  I was recently speaking to a group of professionals and one lady admitted to not being on Facebook. She is an educated and accomplished lady, but she was a little embarrassed that she wasn’t on Facebook yet.

WHAT
Facebook is free web site where people and businesses connect. For a business you can post content about your company/services, interact with current and potential customers and learn valuable info from your fans. Create a plan and execute.

Facebook’s got Game
They also play a bunch of games! Our fearless editor especially enjoys Farmville. A game where you create a virtual farm. Sound like fun? over 80 Million people think so. If you want to learn more about Farmville ask Summer from omOriginals. She is our resident FV expert. I must admit I play my fair share of Texas Hold ‘em at night.

WHY
Everybody uses Facebook. Connect with Everybody, I recently read this in ‘Six Pixels of Separation’, a great book written by Mitch Joel. The bottom line is to be where your customers are and Facebook is THE place to be.

There is some esoteric coolness about being on Facebook. It is a great way to communicate with friends and family through Facebook that we rarely interact with in the real world. Many young <you define young as you wish> people use Facebook as their desired contact method.

Why? because you can interact on your own terms. Read and respond when you have a moment and your friends can do the same.

This works for business too, repeat clients and potential clients check our our FB to learn about what omOriginals is up to. Again on their own terms, people can check a business and it’s culture and engage if and when they wish. Businesses should definitely consider getting their own free FB Page. Businesses should create a basic FB plan and consistently deliver each month to their friends and fans. Check out the Bugler’s Facebook at facebook.com/valleybugler.

It is a nice way to see what is coming up and sometimes get your comments posted in your favorite newspaper!

WHERE
You can sign-up directly at Facebook.com or have a friend send you an invite. If you’d like you can send me an eMail or call my office to get an invite. Just call 360-575-9839 and say please send me a Facebook invite.
We will ask for your eMail address and get you pointed in the right direction.

To get setup with a “Page” for your business you can point your browser to www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages …or call us and we’ll get you hooked up.

FB on the Go
Don’t forget your mobile. Yes, there is an app for that. If you phone is smart you can download an app to take your Facebook with you. Most of my FB time is on my phone.

Hire a Pro
If this sounds good, but you are overwhelmed you might consider hiring a professional. An hour or so of insight and planning with a professional geek can save you time and get you off to a great start.

I hope to see you on Facebook soon!

~:-) God Bless, Oscar Myre IV
omOriginals Marketing! & Valley Bugler Newspaper.
You can reach omOriginals at (360) 575-9839 or online at omoriginals.com

As promised here are amazing stats about FB. Google — eat your heart out.
FACEBOOK Stats as of 3/22/10

• 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• More than 35 million users update their status each day
• More than 60 million status updates posted each day
• More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
• More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
• More than 3.5 million events created each month
• More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
• More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
• More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
• Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans

6 Degrees of Seperation is so LAST century!

The internet has transformed everything.
My theory is that there are now just 6 Pixels of Separation between any two people.
I’d like your help in testing this theory to help me connect with the perfect buyer of my house.

We have a great 2 BD house near the Lake in Longview. I think we’ve done a nice job of modernizing while maintaining its character.

Take a look @ our Longview Washington Home

Want to Test my Theory?
Great, Please re-post this on your wall or re-tweet it.  I invite you to share with anyone you think might be willing to play our game. ~:-)
Tip: If you are on my blog there are share links below.

Did you get your invite to the largest party in the history of the planet? I did.

Social Networking is THE modern day cocktail party. All of the cool people are there! The deal is that everyone is invited and there is no cover charge. For the sake of brevity lets just focus on the most dominate Social Networking site. Facebook just announced that they have 350 Million users. Now that is a big party! Ponder this, there are more people on Facebook than there are in the US! According the the latest census the US population is only 304 Million. Does that mean that everyone one in the US is on Facebook? Well, not yet. Facebook’s users are all over the planet.

Welcome to the new Party!

I invite you to look around and connect. Don’t be a wall flower. Enjoy and connect with friends and friends of friends. You are now your own channel. You can broadcast whatever you want to those around you and those around world. This is truly amazing. Before the internet, the guy down the street would have to stand on his soap box to be heard. Now he can sit in a comfortable chair and connect with hundreds if not thousands of people.

Business Friendly Mixer

It’s also an amazing tool that is changing the way people interact with businesses. People can get updates from a business that they work with or check them out to see if they’d like to work with them in the future. Businesses that have invested in building a good reputations over the years are now having us help them establish and maintain good reputations online. This is crucial to understanding the power of the internet.

But, before you jump in, I feel it is my responsibility to share how this party is different.

1) The Party is HUGE!

First, as we said, there are a lot more people here than your old school party. I have 375 precious FB Friends. ~:-) And they have friends of their own. If they all had just 100 friends each, our party would be over 37,000 strong. Disclaimer: Many of us share the same friends so the numbers are skewed…

2) Social Networking Never Forgets

Now you are partying with elephants. At your typical cocktail party you can complain or brag about something stupid that you did (or would like to do). In the morning, everyone will likely forget about what you said.  There is no “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” When you make a post on a wall it remains forever (at least til Jesus returns). Let’s say that again. What you write on a wall stays online forever.

If you are going drink too much, talk bad about (boss, clients, friends, yo mamma, etc etc), skip work, or tell a lie…. Moral police! Don’t do it, and definitely don’t FB it.

Things like breaking the law hurting people and the like should be common sense to just not do.

3) No one can keep a secret

Some savvy folks might tell me that only their FB friends can read their stuff. Did you hear that FB just updated their privacy policy?! Founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, said, “We have focused on giving you the tools you need to share and control your information.” He is correct they have given us the tools. Those tools can and do change. The more public they make our information, the more profitable it is for their company.

Get a Life & Job

More employers are utilizing social networking sites to screen potential employees. Forty-five percent of employers reported in a recent CareerBuilder survey that they use social networking sites to research job candidates, a big jump from 22 percent in 2008. Another 11 percent plan to start using social networking sites for screening.

Enjoy Life & Network responsibly. ~:-)

God Bless, Oscar Myre IV

Oscar Myre IV is the owner and Creative Director of omOriginals Marketing! If your business has web development, social marketing or internet marketing questions, please stop by or give us a buzz at the studio: 360.575.9839

Say “Hello!” to Social Marketing!

Hello Friends,

It is an exciting time to be in marketing and to be a geek! Internet Marketing has and continues to transform the marketing landscape.  The latest buzz is Social Networking. Sites like facebook and twitter are some of the most talked about sites on the planet. There is lot of talk, but I’d like to offer a little education. Read more >>

To Jailbreak or not to Jailbreak? That is the Question.

As a geek and iPhone user I’ve done a fair amount of reading on how to “Jailbreak” an iPhone. Jailbreaking allows you to do more on the iPhone than currently allowed by Apple. “Jail” refers to file system limitations put in place by Apple on standard iPhones. These limitations restrict iPhone read and write access to just a small part of the media partition. You cannot access system files at all and you cannot use the disk directly as you would with an iPod with disk mode enabled. Read more >>