Thoughts on Facebook Timeline

In a few weeks, we will see all the clever cartoons and graphics complaining about Facebook changes yet again. We all know the graphics—the ones begging the service we’ve all grown to know and love (for free) not to change its design and most popular features. Because we fear change and it’s inconvenient.

A few days ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new changes headed our way with Timeline. It’s a photo-heavy page that will replace personal profiles. It’s a drastically different look for Facebook.

The layout really is beautiful and has a lot of potential. There’s a cover picture that takes up the whole top of the page, with your profile pic in the left corner.

I’d encourage everyone to build their Timeline when they get a chance. It’s not public yet, but all you have to do is activate the Facebook developer app, and they’ll invite you to use Timeline. You don’t have to build anything. For specific directions, you can Google “Activate Timeline” and get plenty of how-to’s.

Building the timeline is pretty self explanatory and by the time that it is made completely public, the kinks should be worked out. The only downside to the user is the incredible amount of scrolling that’s involved. These pages by design go on forever.

What does a bright and shiny new interface for Facebook mean for businesses and brands? These photo-centric profiles will certainly have their impact.

Facebook has not yet said what will happen with pages. With the graphically enhanced look of Timeline, it will be increasingly important for businesses to produce engaging content, to compete for user’s attention.

In addition to Timeline, businesses will have to compete with the new open graph features. All media consumption through Spotify, Netflix, and other apps will be visible. Not only that, but people will be able to watch and listen to the same thing as their friends, simply by clicking it.

With more media intake available directly through Facebook, brands will need to work harder to be seen. Video and pictures will be even more crucial.

This is a big deal for Facebook. This is possibly the biggest change in the company’s short history. The privacy debate will surely be rekindled, with the prominent placement of personal information. Once people get used to the new look, I think they’ll be pretty happy. Just learn to like scrolling again.

Go Forth and Google

After a LONG invite only period, Google Plus is finally open to everyone. If you do not have an account yet, you should probably set one up.

The biggest question I hear with Google Plus is what does it offer me that Facebook doesn’t? Right now, Google Plus does more to tie in your entire computing experience.

The network is becoming integrated with the rest of the Google platform. Gmail, reader, calendar and more are all easily available from the site.

Google Plus offers a feature called circles, that allows you to segment the groups you share with. Facebook is still a little bloated and convoluted when it comes to this issue.

There will soon be a stronger presence of business pages. Google Plus also recently announced the integration of Google Docs into the mobile version, giving people an easier way to pass documents back and forth.

All the announcements come in the days before Facebook’s F8 conference later this week, where they are expected to unroll major changes as well. The war between the giants is on.

Enjoy the benefits!

Are You Looking to Market a New Business?

Are you looking at starting a business? Jobs are scarce in this economy, so you’re not alone. Put some good thought into it. Consider where you are going to find your customers. You need to piece together a full out marketing plan.

What is your business goal? What field do you want to be an expert in? Do you want to sell locally, or be a regional or national resource for people to buy your product? How do you get from a nobody to a success?

Once you have these answers, setting up a plan to get there is the next step.

A web site is big. So is setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts. It’s up to you to go beyond that, however. Do a Google search to see if there are any social media platforms specific to your industry. You may be surprised.

You’ll also want to think about how to establish yourself as an authority in your field. A blog is a good way to do that. If you are more comfortable with your camera appearance than your writing skills, maybe a video blog is more your speed. Consider writing an Ebook, or producing a DVD to share your expertise.

Consider sending out press releases online, and to the various publications in your community or industry. These can stir up some publicity and press.

The biggest thing is to think like your customer. Is there a closely related interest they may have? For instance if you operate a fitness organization, they may be interested in nutrition. If you are marketing business to business, what other services do other small businesses need? This can help you find them.

Make sure there is a strong plan in place. Set realistic goals and stay organized and on task, and make it happen.

And Every Day After...

I wasn't going to do a Sept. 11 blog, but going through the memorials seems silly if we don't take anything from it.

Five random things to keep in mind as the world continues to turn. I’m as guilty as the next guy at forgetting, but they seemed important, so I thought I’d write them down and share:

The sacrifices that the first responders made are unbelievable. These are every day heroes. Period.

Remember our armed forces. These men and women show unbelievable bravery in the face of imminent danger. While we may not always agree with the politician that put them somewhere, these soldiers are busy protecting our way of life no matter what. For that they deserve our admiration and gratitude.

Keep the sense of community alive. This unspeakable tragedy made us want to change. It made us want to bring a little good to the world. This is a feeling that should be called on again and again.

For weeks, we were afraid to peel our eyes away from the television news. Something else might happen. The 24 hour cable news channels thrive now because of it. We still owe it to ourselves to pay attention. Stay up with current events.

Live every day like it may be your last. If you need to get somewhere across the country, fly. Travel hard. Go to the major sporting event no matter the threat level. Shop. Add to the economy. Keep our way of life.

Is Your Web Site Findable?

You wouldn’t buy your dream house if you couldn’t afford to furnish it. So why do so many businesses spare no expense with design on a site that is not built to be search engine friendly?

It might be your dream site. It might be the most beautiful spot on the wide, expansive web. It doesn’t matter one bit if no one can find it. Your web site should be part of your sales force. It should generate leads. It should be something with high level visibility.

I see it happen all the time. A nice design, and no meta tags. Maybe these businesses hired a designer with no SEO experience. Maybe they built the site themselves. Whatever the case, the meta tags at the top of the web site are what the search engine uses to asses search value to your web site. If there’s nothing there, it will have a drastic effect on your web site.

Sure there’s other search engine optimization measures that can be taken outside the code, but your site should be built strong on its own merit before you turn to these other measures.

For all you business owners out there, it’s real easy to tell where your web site stands with the search engines. If you hit the “view code” option on your browser, the gobbly-gook html will appear. If you see a line with