Comments on: Brands in Social Media and Selling Influence

By: TRAACKR’s Tip of the Week #1 | blog.traackr.com

TRAACKR’s Tip of the Week #1 | blog.traackr.com — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:36:20 +0000

[...] For more on this, Karl published a post on the topic a couple of days ago that you can find here. [...]

By: Nestor

Nestor — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:12:25 +0000

What I said, it was a stupid question ;] Thanks a lot!

By: Karl

Karl — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:19:15 +0000

@Nestor – I think there are several ways to find out if someone has RT you, I generally always have a twitter search window open searching on my twitter name http://search.twitter.com/search?q=karllong

By: Nestor

Nestor — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:06:31 +0000

Hello Karl,

Just a stupid question: How do you know someone RT your post? Does that person has to advise you or is there any functionality in Twitter to know that?

Thanks,

Néstor

By: The social challenge for 2009 « IN THE MODE.

The social challenge for 2009 « IN THE MODE. — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:32:05 +0000

[...] will take is a challenge in itself. My bet is that it will be more about an exchange of value between brand and individual than a distinct message as such. Both individual and their broader group will become a part of an [...]

By: Jesse Liebman

Jesse Liebman — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:54:33 +0000

Karl,

I can’t think of a better way to cut through the clutter than the example you just gave us. Samples at Costco, Free Trials, and now Twitter contests. The evolution of product distribution and brand awareness.

By: Walter Schwabe

Walter Schwabe — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:48:54 +0000

Karl,

I think it’s all about balance. If we didn’t talk about our business interests from time to time, none of this would make much sense. When someone who uses SM for entertainment more than business I think they’re more prone to be offended. I too would like to know what “covert ad” means. I know I’ve promoted blog posts and articles I’ve written, or efforts made by my team etc…Having said that, I’ve always tried to ensure I also take an interest in others and their lives too. Like today with you and the gasoline tax/auto industry exchange…

I’m not sure you should lose any sleep over this comment if you don’t feel it’s valid based on your actions…

Cheers,
Walter

By: Karl

Karl — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:16:07 +0000

first of all, thanks, that is very interesting feedback. I’m not sure what covert ads your talking about, examples would be useful. I’ve never been paid by any company for promoting them except for some affiliate fees, in threadless’s case I only earn money to spend on threadless t-shirts which is why I give away gift certificates all the time. I’ve played some games with those GC and sometimes those were marketing experiments. The most important point though is that I look for T-shirts and designers to promote first, and it’s secondary for me to see if they have an affiliate program. Take a look at my blog, if 10% of my 800 t-shirt posts are affiliate based I will be shocked and amazed. And yes I ended up creating my own t-shirt designs, again working with designers I like and want to promote and make them some money as well. If all that pissed you off I’m terribly sorry, but I am out here trying to create value and promote other companies who I like and respect.

By: anonymous coward

anonymous coward — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:41:43 +0000

For what its worth, I used to actually follow your blog and twitters pretty closely, but about six months ago I unsubscribed from your lifestream because too much of what you do is promotion. You may not feel that there is anything wrong with trying to turn the innerweb into an advertising platform, but I have real problems with it. Part it has to do with the lack of transparency and when you only get 140 characters there is no way that these people are disclosing that they’ve been paid to hype these contests. The other part was that your social updates are so heavy on advertising that I just got sick of seeing it. It probably doesn’t mean anything to you to lose one reader and no doubt your strategy is paying off for you, but for the vast majority of us who just want to have fun and interact with real people online, these covert ads are ruining the net. I may sound like an old codger, but I miss the good old days when blogging was new and exciting and people did it for a hobby. Now that big business has taken over, they are diluting the power of the platform because regular people like myself won’t ever build up the same following without doing it fulltime or having a big marketing budget to back us up. You’re free to do what you want on the net which is part of the beauty of it, but by selling out, you’re making it suck for all of us who don’t make our living on the net.

By: Understanding Izea’s Sponsored Blogging Service

Understanding Izea’s Sponsored Blogging Service — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:59:42 +0000

[...] Long: Brands in Social Media and Selling Influence suggests that there are different questions we should all be [...]