Internet Marketing

So I have been working on marketing a local tattoo shop online, but here's the catch: the guy in charge is one of those who claims he'll never own  a smartphone. To make matters worse, he had resources scattered about, half finished listings in directories, and almost no login information for any of it.

So my first task was simple, but such a headache that I wound up smoking more. I needed to wrangle all these loose ends online and tie them together.

I began by creating accounts for the shop on the popular social media systems, like Twitted and tumblr. All these were tied to either his personal email, or the shop email I later discovered which the boss knew nothing about.

During this task I also pestered him for login information to everything, and told him to keep copies of this information in a secure place that he could access. I think he did that last part, but I'm storing most of it myself, just in case.

Then I began the fun and exciting task of building a new website that would make it possible for him to post once, then forget about it. That meant connecting all the social media to the website with an automated posting script for photos and news.

With that done, I worked to repair the damage of his neglected online presence. This was where it got really fun, and by fun I mean exasperating.

After correcting the flaws in all the directory listings, revitalizing the Google+ page, and establishing a working and attractive website that was also mobile friendly, I had to show him how easy it all was. At this point I was doubting if this would pay off, he was very reluctant to listen and trust me.

Managing to convince him to invest pocket change in an online advertising campaign through Google, it's a very inexpensive way to advertise to millions, I knew we were finally ready to see results. Ironically, the results were actually better than I had anticipated.

After only working on this campaign for a couple weeks we saw a significant increase in business and much of that was verified to be from social media and Google. So now I am looking at the possibility of getting four solid contracts to do this for other businesses, most without the baggage of neglected online activities.

This experience has encouraged me to offer some advice to brick and mortar shops, so here goes.

* Keep your accounts, while this sounds like common sense many people have created accounts for their business and just stopped caring. They lose the login information and ultimately they lose that account. Keep the records somewhere, even if you don't think the internet presence is helping.

* Do not ignore the power of social media. Billions of people use this medium for recommendations, contacts, information of all sorts, even product searches. If you have an inactive social media presence you will be less likely to gain any new customers than a business that sells junk. Ask any online marketing expert how to gain attention and they'll tell you social media is the best medium.

* Have a super friendly website, this means mobile, desktop, fast loading, visually appealing, and informative. If you want people to call or visit the store for a lot of information then include as much information for how to do that as possible. But remember, the more options for contact the better. Answer questions on social media if you are able, post regular changes in products and services as well, if in doubt, post a silly joke.

* Photos, video, and graphics are you best friend and worst enemy. While you will need a lot of this, do not use super hi-res or hi-def, make it small enough to load quick, big enough to notice. This is why hiring people like me is your best option, even someone with a little less experience than me will be able to give a better idea of what works, just ask for a geek.

* Don't be afraid to offend, Ty still does not get this point yet, but you will offend a lot of people no matter what you do, and many people online are searching for reasons to be offended anyway. You won't get noticed if you don't offend anyone, so be offensive if the opportunity arises. Mainstream media has been using offensiveness as a tool to increase ratings since the caveman, you can ride those waves to gain more attention.

* Brand everything! I cannot stress this enough, don't worry about copyrights online, they don't exist, but branding is more affective because of that. So be the first to use an image or icon, then post it everywhere. People will seek out it's origin, and they will find it.

Become a Troll Slayer

For a person to be a troll slayer online, one must have some very uncommon traits and be in a situation in which the troll cannot find weakness. Of course, we are talking specifically about the nasty troll who wants to bully and abuse simply to elevate their own deflated ego.

The first requirement is no family. Those with their own children should not try to slay trolls, leave it to us who do not have such a target for them. The nasty troll will go after family, even very young children, in ways you cannot foresee or defend against. Protect your kids by not engaging the troll at all.

You must have a career that is immune to rumors. This one is often overlooked until it is too late. If your company is picky about your online life, you should change companies, and not engage a troll until you have done so. No matter how well you avoid the connection, the nasty troll will always find it and make your life worse.

Political ties are fuel for the troll. No matter your political ideology, you must be able to laugh about it. The nasty troll will use this as a weak point if you take your political views too seriously. If you hide your political views they will merely make it up anyway.

You must laugh at all your flaws, and also be willing to make some flaws up. Preempt their mockery by cracking jokes using topics most people would be insulted by. Cracking jokes about how fat your mother is often confuses the nasty troll, it steals their thunder. When they use an insult just use the smile and nod technique, adding in a humorous bit to your reply will destroy their insult completely. Your skin must be made of steel.

Patience is important, remember, the nasty troll is persistent. It may go on for days, but while they are distracted with you they will leave others alone, and that is what makes you a troll slayer. Their brains are not complex or large enough to handle more than one target at a time. You include also incorporate some of your allies, which will make the nasty troll slip up a lot.

As you can see, being a troll slayer is more about the circumstances of your life than about skill. If everyone who can safely engage a troll does so in such a way, they will eventually go extinct, unable to get the reactions they want and always being drawn away from targets they can actually hurt will reduce the damage they do, and frustrate them to a point of exasperation.

Information - Why the Free Information Has Increased It's Value

This era is often called the Information Age, a time when information became free, and at our fingertips. I have spent the last decade reading scientific papers, often donated by scientists who love to see someone fascinated in their area of expertise. I have watched lectures, of varying levels of education, for free on various sites. I have discussed this information with others, scientists in the fields and those studying them. All because I have the most insatiable sense of curiosity.

My primary focus has been on biochemistry, medicine, and neurology. This has brought me into neighboring fields of study to help supplement the information. I finally took a break then looked back on everything I had learned, refreshing my memory, basically. Suddenly it dawned on me, I had just learned enough to earn master's degrees in at least three fields of scientific research, and it didn't cost thousands of dollars. Far from it, most of it was completely free, often just for the asking.

First, what drew me to the fields was my strong background in chemistry, and a fascination with how chemicals interact with each other. When I learned that complex organisms were really walking chemistry labs, my curiosity got the better of me, I dove in head first. Picturing the chemical interactions within the human body became a way to relax, tracing the rout of a single carbon atom through all the chemical reactions while it travels into and out of the various cells. That sense of knowing something set my mind at ease during hard times.

But that's not the meat of this post, what I am illustrating is just how much more valuable information is today than ever before. Sort of the inverse of supply and demand constructs. One would think that the huge influx of free information, with all the excess junk also mixed in, the value of the information would fall to nothing. The junk is, luckily, not the reason for it increasing in value.

The reason it has increased in value is the same reason many lobby groups in the USA are trying to censor and control the flow of information, people can learn more than those who pay for it. This creates a huge imbalance of information in the real world, one which has upset many of those with higher educations to the point of decrying the internet as a whole. The phrase "where'd you hear that? Off the internet" is meant as a slur against those of us not stupid enough to pay for what we can get for free.

When I go to a doctor I have to pretend to be stupid, actually, the moment you betray even a small amount of knowledge in something, the rage that fills their mannerisms is plain to see. They genuinely hate you just for knowing even one thing that they spent thousands of dollars to learn. Professionals cannot tolerate any competition, nor do they like having their elitist clubs threatened by something they cannot control. So in spite of the fact that I know more about what's going on that most doctors, I play like I am ignorant so that I can get what I need from them, a second opinion and the proper medication legally.

I made the mistake of letting my general care doctor learn of just a small amount of what I knew, my diagnosis was accurate, her diagnosis made out of anger was not. Another doctor even said she was wrong, and stated my diagnosis was correct, even though I did not let him know it was my diagnosis. So the information I have learned is more valuable than the information they have learned, only because I learned it out of curiosity, for almost no cost, while they spent thousands in the hopes of making millions for that same information.

This does not mean you should take everything you read online as fact, far from it. You must sift through a lot of junk sometimes, forming connections online with various professionals can help, many of the ones who frequent the internet social sites are always too happy to talk about what they know. Scientists, real ones, who frequent social sites are also very happy to show off the papers they write that have passed peer review, meaning they are as close to factual as you can get at the time. That pesky peer review method, where everyone and their mother tries to destroy your hard work through any means possible, but more papers are withstanding this barrage every day.

That is he key to if a source is valid, the scientific method has produced an explosion of solid information that is often shared freely by those who utilize it. So don't be shy, learn what you can. Open up the links to scientific research, talk to the scientific communities, discuss and ask questions. Seek the lectures shared by universities, for free, on media sites. Most importantly, fuel your curiosity. Start letting the elitists know that they are no longer necessary, they can be replaced if they don't shape up, if they don't start treating everyone right.