Digitally Demented

SEO Today

2009-06-10T10:28:00.000-05:00

Rebecca over at Infomedia.com wrote a great piece about SEO in today's marketing and branding environment.

Here's an excerpt:

"A few years ago, an Internet search via Google might return a few pages of results. The number of websites on all topics has exploded over the last 5 or 6 years and one of the main results of this is an increase in the amount of content on the Internet for all topics. So much content is being written for the web that it is diluting the web and creating more competition. A search can turn up millions of results. "

Go visit the full post over at Infomedia.com

What Green Day Can Teach Us About Social Media

2009-06-09T09:39:00.002-05:00

My friend Jason over at SocialMediaExplorer.com wrote a great article about Green Day teaching us about social media. Head on over and have a read. Here's an excerpt:

"As Green Day began to find its sound — driving punk riffs with Billy Joe Armstrong’s forceful, yet melodic overtones — it began to collect quite a following. Kerplunk, the band’s second full-length album, sold around 50,000 copies in the U.S. That’s almost enough to be eschewed by the punk underground as being too successful.

Coincidentally, forums and message boards about companies and brands, even some rudimentary blogs about them, began to pop up around the Internet. While the companies, in general, had no clue there was a social groundswell happening online, and were, thus, not participating in the conversations, several individuals at companies were. Online conversations about products and services was happening."

Jason Falls thinks about the Internet and communications, most often for Doe-Anderson, a brand-building agency in Louisville, Ky. A public relations professional by trade and writer by craft, Falls is president and co-founder of the Social Media Club Louisville. This blog is his own, contains his opinions and observations and does not necessarily reflect those of Doe-Anderson or its clients. For more email him at jason-at-jasonfalls.com.

Social Media and Business: Does it work and can it work for me?

2009-06-05T08:00:00.005-05:00

Date: Thursday, June 25th from 2:30 to 5:30pm
Location: Homewood Public Library, Room 110

This workshop was born out of the recent panel discussion at Samford University in which it became very clear to me that businesses are looking for some kind of education on social media. Yes, most have heard about Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Myspace, blogging, and other social networks. But many are clueless about what they actually do and how they work.

This workshop has a two-fold purpose. First, it will serve to provide a basic education in some of the main social networking sites and concepts. Second, there will be a round-table discussion to talk about concerns about social media and using it in business.

About the instructor:
Daniel Walters is a social media consultant in the greater Birmingham area with a background in marketing, PR and psychology. As an early adopter, Daniel has been working with social media for years and has a firm grasp of the tools and concepts that accompany the tools. Owner and lead blogger at SocialMediaBirmingham.com, Daniel continues to document the evolution of social media in the greater Birmingham area.

Sign Up Today!
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/359899469

Download the Flyer here!

Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneurial Training Series Wed. June 10th

2009-06-04T10:28:00.000-05:00

I'm looking at going... Anyone else?

Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Birmingham Chamber of Commerce - Entrepreneurial Training Series (ETS)
Topic: Using Your Advertising Dollars to Market on the Internet
Presenter: David Gibson, CEO

Linkage

Free Samford panel: ‘Social Media: So Who Needs it Anyway?’

2009-06-02T13:17:00.000-05:00

Wade from over at Birmingham Blogging Academy is moderating this free social media panel. Everyone should come out and see "Who Needs it Anyway?"

Panelists:
Kara Kennedy, director of external affairs, Brock School of Business, Samford University (@karakennedy)
Ike Pigott, Positive Position Media Consulting (@ikepigott)
Libby Sexton, PR account executive, Big Communications (@libbysexton)

Details:
Samford Business Network Birmingham Source Meeting
When: Thursday (June 4), 7-8:30 a.m.
Where: Brock Forum, Dwight Beeson Hall, Samford University [map: to Samford | Bldg. No. 34 on campus]
Tickets: free, but reservations required
For more info: E-mail business@samford.edu or call (205) 726-2364

CityStages '09 - Setting yourself up...

2009-03-30T17:50:00.001-05:00

I was all looking forward to getting up at 7am and seeing the City Stages lineup announce on Fox 6 sunday morning. I woke up, iPod Touch in hand, ready to tweet at a moments notice. The news started promptly at 7am.

I was out cold by 7:03.

Needless to say, I ran late getting to work. And, needless to say, I was late getting this post up. The only saving grace is that, to be frank, the lineup announce (so far) stinks. Of the 20 or so "big names" I recognize two as something I would go see. Five others I know the names. And the rest? Well, let's just say unless I win free VIP tickets, I won't be putting up with the crowds at City Stages this year.

As a casual fan, there's just not anyone that grabs at me. Sure, Young Jeezy is a great grab for the rap-lovers in Bham. And Jane's Addiction/Guster is my kinda music. But I look down the list of acts and I see a bad "Now that's what I call music, '90's edition" CD. Here's to hoping that next year they decide to pull some bigger name(s) to the Magic City. Else the Crawfish Boil will eventually overtake...

CORRECTION: I just looked at the schedule for The Schaeffer Crawfish Boil in May. Whoever is in charge of booking for theCrawfish Boil should be kidnaped by the City Stages people. Just look at their lineup: Crawfish Boil Lineup

Yea, I'll be taking the wife to the Crawfish Boil (crazy schedules permitting) waaay before we head out to CityStages. No offense to @CityStages, But I just feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck at The Boil.

Random Friend Quotes

2009-02-27T09:59:00.001-06:00

"You know it's going to snow on Sunday..."

"yea, look at the jetstream! Sarah Palin must have sneezed!"

Random Friend Quotes

2009-02-26T19:36:00.001-06:00

"My MacBook has solved a lot of my problems but not all of them. Solution? Buy more Apple products!"

--Zack

Birminghama hosting Social Media Strategist David Griner

2009-02-25T02:35:00.001-06:00

Wish I had caught this in enough time to go. More details on bhamama.org

Can Social Media Boom in a Bust Economy?

As Social Media Strategist for Birmingham-based Luckie & Co., David Griner helps businesses and nonprofits of all sizes embrace today's rapidly evolving communication tools.

He writes about social media issues on his blog, TheSocialPath.com, and is a regular contributor to Adweek's daily blog, AdFreak.com. Two of his agency's social-powered projects, The Year of Alabama Arts and The Five Day Weekend campaign for Asheville, N.C., were recently honored with several of the national tourism industry's highest awards

Rare Sportsmanship

2009-02-19T22:35:00.000-06:00

Amid the grieving, a rare act of sportsmanship

Best Friend Quotes: #2

2009-02-19T22:03:00.000-06:00

Pre-text: Read Andy Ihnatko's Chicago-Sun Times column: Microsoft's new chain of retail stores isn't necessarily a blue screen candidate

WOW! What are their mascots going to be? Three [mentally challenge people] standing outside in blue sweaters called "Control" "Alt" and "Delete"?

Best Friend Quotes: #1

2009-02-19T21:35:00.000-06:00

Nothing says hamster like Ginsu.

I'm in an A Cappella mood...

2008-11-07T02:31:00.000-06:00

This just goes to show that Apple will sell anything...

2008-09-11T14:11:00.001-05:00

I was just talking to a girl who purchased iPeriod... yes, there is an app that will track all your feminine fucntions...

Twitter= loss of spare cycles

2008-06-20T09:07:00.000-05:00

So Ross (rossthe8oss) intro'ed me back into Twitter. The lossed time is piling up...

In WOW, I'm at lvl 53 and stuck... in a rut... and I can't get out...

I don't wanna grind out, but it's becoming an option...

Apple's Back-to-School Promo

2008-06-03T08:42:00.000-05:00

It's always a hit!!!

Linkage Here

Humans + Change = Ughly

2008-05-31T08:37:00.000-05:00

Every Saturday for the last *as long as I can rememebr*, I've started out every saturday the exact same way.

Except for today.

Fellow co-worker for the FAIL.

45 minute commute - iPod w/ podcast = Misery or How I almost died. (Well, I didn't almost die, I didn't even get hurt)

2008-05-29T22:08:00.000-05:00

Well, back to the grind @ the store today.

This morning, I forgot to get my iPod outta my wife's new Dodge Caliber. I was off yesterday and on days I'm off, she gets the iPod. I will never make that mistake again.

Most people don't like the mid-shift, yet they know it's a crucial part of retail. Mid-shifters serve as the balance between the morning and the late shift, which are the ideal shifts to have. Why you ask? Well, there's plenty of time to do stuff in the morning before you go to work or in the evening after work. Mid-shift, not so much. Just enough time to get up, go to work and get back home. At least when the commute is 45 minutes, each way.

So at least once a week, I have a mid-shift. That was today. Now, I don't mind it usually. I have my iPod to keep me company. I listen to TWIT on Tuesdays, Wait Wait on Wednesdays, TWIM on Thursdays, Music/Catchup on Friday, and The Instance on Saturday. It's a science.

But when you leave your iPod at home (and don't own an iPhone), you my friend, are SOL. You're left to wonder what your going to think about the next 35-50 miles, as the sound of wind whizzes past your window. What's that car there going to do next? What was the owner thinking when s/he chose to paint that Dodge Charger purple? How many asshole Bama fans are there on the road? What would it take to gett'em loose and into the wall? My personal favorite was how many places on the way home could you crash where it would take more than 4 hours for someone to find you.

I counted 17.

FreewayJim drives through Birmingham

2008-05-27T12:56:00.000-05:00

Happy Memorial Day

2008-05-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Memorial Day = Freedom

Fried Dill Pickles + Ranch = Southern Fried Goodness

2008-05-25T17:56:00.000-05:00

Fried Dill Pickles are a great memorial day treat.

WOW...Keith says it all...

2008-05-25T01:50:00.000-05:00

No one cares about you playing golf.

If you love it, sometimes you got to leave it to let it grow...

2008-02-09T03:10:00.000-06:00

I've never known an old proverb never to ring true. Today is NO exception. After a long night at work, which we won't go into now, I finally made it home to this post on my message board. It's 2am, but I decided to head out anyway just to say hi. It was mostly Delta Sigs, which was fine. But the fire was there. The fire is there. The fire I carried for more than 5 years as a rabid fan. Unfortunately, you can only be a student fan for so long before you have to make the transition to a more adult fan. I've already started to make that turn. But who knows, might have one more appearance in me...

Back in the swing...

2008-02-08T09:50:00.001-06:00

Ok, so I've decided to get back in the swing of blogging.

Let me start by saying that I believe the people who designed Blogger work for Microsoft. I mean, seriously, how hard do you have to make it to upload the template you want and change the font color! I've just spent an hour up here at Panera trying to figure this out. I'm not the best coder out there, nor the dumbest. i'd grade myself at about a 3 outta 10. But I figured it would be just upload the XML and you're good to go. But no, you have to upload the images to a hosting site, hand-edit the code if you want edit the color of the font, and tons of other little things that just make you wanna use the defaults. AHH! Maybe i've been using a Mac for too long. I expect things to be simple and intuitive.

Ok, once I figure out how to add this stuff onto the site, I'll do it, but for now, the email addy is digitallydemented@gmail.com, twitter is /digitaldemented (appearently I'm my name is 2 letters over the limit.) Past that, that's all I've got for now. I'm off to work on my short story for OmegaCon...