© websuccessdiva


Is checking up on your employees a broach of privacy? How about checking in on potential hires? Microsoft recently released a study that says that 70% of HR departments reject applicants for something in their online history.

The upside of this is that a good social media "resume" can lead to positive hires as well. But how sensitive are these HR departments taking a personal account? Are silly things a person did in college still up for consideration when you hire them eight years later?

We all want to know our employees aren't doing anything stupid and social media is a great way to make sure someone looks as good in person as they do on paper. Its a given that most companies check your profile before they hire you. So what about current employees? Is it appropriate to check up on them on a regular basis?

Certainly, social media can help you make sure people do what they're supposed to do. Of course, you might not always do what you're supposed to do either. Is it acceptable to expect your employees to be perfect? But if they post their outside activities online, that makes it fair game, right? Where's the line? That's what you need to discover for yourself. Privacy is a personal issue but your company should decide as an organization how much they want to rely on the social media profiles of their employees.

Have you checked your employee's social media profiles? Have you ever not hired/fired someone because of what they posted?

© Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar


I'm going to share a brilliant idea with you. What I want you to do with this idea is to either take it and try to recreate it for your own business, or you connect with the basic idea of offering what your clients want. The idea I want to share is a mobile app for Netflix.

If you don't know Netflix, it's an American company that ships DVDs directly to your house. You can keep the DVD as long as you want with no late charges. You only pay a monthly fee for how many DVDs you want to have out at one time.

Netflix lets you put all the movies you want to watch into a queue and automatically ships the next one on your list (there's only a 2-3 day turn around). The point of the app would be to be able to access and change your queue from your mobile phone. So if someone is talking about a movie over dinner you can add it to the queue right then. Or you can check to see what is next on your list.

Here's the brilliant bit. Most apps come with a downloading fee. You pay by credit card or have it added to your monthly bill. But the Netflix app could be paid for a different way. The average app in the U. S. costs less than $10. But I would gladly add an additional charge to my monthly bill to get the app, maybe twenty-five, or fifty cents every month. I wouldn't even blink. Netflix could easily bring in far more money having people paying monthly for their app as opposed to having a download charge.

If you offer a monthly service, imagine adding an app fee on top of that? People wouldn't care; they'd think it's fair because you are offering a service they want. So take a minute to think what kind of useful mobile service you could offer your customers.

What do you think of my Netflix idea? Heard of anything similar? How would you make it work for you?

© dpstyles™


Who needs to campaign for mayor when all you takes is a few FourSquare check ins? That's right, the online location based game, FourSquare has really started to get some traction. Which leaves the question: does this new social media fad offer anything useful to business owners?

If you haven't logged on to FourSquare yet, it works as follows. First, you sign up and connect with other people (pulled from your Twitter, Facebook or email friends). Then you download the FourSquare app to your phone. From your phone you can "check in" at different locations. Based on the GPS in the application your phone will tell foursquare where you are at. FourSquare will then give you a list of possible locations in the area. (It's very thorough, it even told me what gate I was standing in at the airport.)

Each check in gets you points and leads to badges. You can turn in badges to help charities (FourSquare says more rewards are in development.) At each location you can see if any of your friends have been there. There's also a place for reviews and suggestions. You can also add places if they don't show up on the map. If you check in at a place more than anyone else you will be named "Mayor".

FourSquare suggests that businesses can offer special deals and services to their Mayor. They can use the number of check ins to learn who comes into your place that is social media savvy. But as a marketing tactic, it looks like it will only be really useful for restaurants. However, as FourSquare evolves there may be other marketing opportunities.

What is your experience with FourSquare?

© Tom T


The war between newspapers and social media journalism has raged on every medium and bombards us daily. It doesn't matter where you get your news from, or even how you feel about the discussion, either way the split in journalism can be a boon for your business.

As traditional journalists become nervous about the future of their careers they will be more likely to jump on a big story (if you can find them). Also, it means that self-proclaimed journalists, or general social media addicts will report on anything they find interesting and make sure it gets spread around. So, if your business offers anything newsworthy, get the word out now.

Use social media and journalists to reach your perfect market. Whole sites dedicate themselves to "hyper-local" news. If you want to reach just your area or perhaps a particular niche, start there. If you want to reach the whole county, national news or well-followed social media gurus might get the word out better. It just depends on who your target audience is.

Check out HARO (Help A Reporter Out), as an addition way to find those down-on-their-luck journalists. They send emails three times a day with different topics that journalists need quotes on, either from consumers or experts. Take advantage of some free PR.

The point is, if you've got a story and it deserves attention, there's no better time than a journalism war to make sure everyone finds out about you.

What do you think about traditional news sources and their futures?

© Search Engine People Blog


The green revolution continues to influence purchasing decisions across the globe. Considering the state of our planet and chipping in the extra for non-harmful products is the expectation of our world today. But do all these companies marketing cleaner, healthier products really bleed green? Or do they put a green wrapping over their products and call it eco-friendly just to raise the sticker price?

A number of companies out there really do try to excel in the area of green business. They put time and resources towards better solutions and truly create a company conscious about the environment. However it's easy to jump on the green bandwagon.

The term is called greenwashing. It means companies try to use green-friendly words in a less than honest way. For example they offer a "green" version of their product which is really the same product, just watered down a bit. The thing here is that words like "eco-friendly", "green", "organic" and "recycled" are not regulated. In other words I can use them and define them however I want.

Green-certified companies aren't much better. Heck, I can say my business is "green" because I don't use any paper and land some kind of certification (especially if I pay a small fee). That doesn't mean all certification or awards are bogus, but it does mean that its worth doing some research on.

Also, really consider what green actually means to you. Is it using less energy? Is it recycled materials? Some companies claim to use recycled boxes to ship their packages, to me, that doesn't make them green, it's just a nice touch. Watch out for companies trying to capitalize on the buzzwords and stick to the ones actually making a difference.

What companies do you think are really making an effort to be green? What are your "green" standards?