It seems I have been around the world with this issue with businesses only being interested in managing one Social Network.  As I can see their logic in how the economy is forcing them to quit using the shotgun effect of marketing online I have to wonder if there ever will be a single social network.

I am sure as more and more businesses start evaluating where they are getting the most sales from they will quickly jump to the conclusion they only need to be in that one space. I am sure many in the Digital Strategy industry will disagree with them on focusing on just one space.

However, I see in the near future businesses who advertise heavily on a social network to start pulling out of less productive social spaces because that space is not working and/or they are finding another one is working better. This move of revenue from one site to another will eventually level out the playing field in the social spaces.  This move to a more productive online environment could very quickly sift out to there really only being one place to go to find value these businesses are demanding.

In reality..these social networks..Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter and the multitudes of others..are only out for the money, not the people in the network. They are going to go where the money goes or change to keep the money.

Which network will it be the site of preference?  Can we tell today?  What do the social spaces have to do to keep the businesses who write them the big checks each month? How will the people in the special spaces react?

All these questions are being asked. I wonder if the social networks are listening? I would say they better be.

Have you ever done a Google Search for the phrase..What is social networking?  Really?!?!  Have you? 

Of course you are going to get the site whatissocianetworking.com…duh!  But really if you look further there is not very many attempts to define what social networking really is…or is not!  Outside of me trying of course.

I have been around the block a few times with social networking having created three social networks over the past ten years.  Two online and one offline.  I think I have a pretty good handle on what social networking is and really now have a firm grip on what it is not.  But, for this blog I thought I would just make a brief statement on what Social Networking is with a focus towards the online environment.

Social Networking really is what it says it is…social …networking.   Meaning people…not places or things…socializing in a group…not by themselves or as singularity.  Pretty simple isn’t it?

Now I am sure here would be where a classic Rant on asking why people are not using the social spaces for social networking, but I would rather spend these last few words expanding on what social networking really is in an effort to maybe be of more help to those who see being non-social as being social.

In the daily review I make of the social spaces, that are really social spaces, I am seeing more and more people who obviously do not know how to socialize.  I have concluded in many cases the lack of socialization for many is not because they do not know how to social but is purely driven by global economic temptation of selling or marketing to perceived large numbers of people captured in one place.  This temptation is overwhelming to most.  I see all kinds of attempts to commercialize the space where social media should be used instead. 

I see more unsocial behavior leading me to strongly believe there are a very large number of people split up into two groups..Those who don’t care to be social and those who do not know how to be social online, which is more than likely reflective of them also not knowing how to be social offline.  This results in there being just a dribble of relevant social content being seen over the steady stream of non-social content.

It is clear more and more people are attempting to redefine social media to drop the social and just be commercial media.  

How To Be Social Online

For those who are tired of reading, the bottomline to being social, in any environment, is in the conversation.   No matter how bad the grammar maybe or how misspelled the words are, the conversation…not a sales pitch..with someone is being social.  Now..for clarity..better grammar and spelling and communicating in the person’s native language makes for a Better Conversation. 

And, for those who are still with me..if the conversation is done effectively, and a number of them held over a long period of time, it Will lead to the opportunity to talk shop, aka, do business!

Let’s get social people. Showing others who you really are is what the consumers want to know, not who you represent or what you have to sell.  Let me know how I can help.

As the new year begins the reports start rolling in on how 2011 shaped up for the Golf Economy.  In a recent article posted on USA Today web site titled, As golf declines, life on links ain’t what it used to be, there was reference to a report from the National Golf Foundation reporting a 13% decrease in the number of golfers in the US.  Though this reported number of golfers in the US could be, and probably is, worse it does state a fact that any recover for the golf economy will be very tough to develop. 

There are a number of other factors involved with the sagging golf economy.  A few of them being:

• Affordability
• Playability
• Time Effectiveness

Once changes are made in these areas Golf then may have a chance to return to its luster years.  I am sure you have solutions to offer.  Would enjoy hearing what you have to offer.

Let me know how I can help.

No this is not an update on Hurricane Irene that is spinning around off the the East Coast of the USA like a sharply struck Balata golf ball hitting a very tight green.  This is an update on what is going on here with me and IBGS.

As all you business golf fans probably have noticed I have diversified my blogs sites into the different markets IBGS covers.  You probably have been following the changes being made in the IBGS organization.  If not, well that is what this update is for..to bring you up to speed.

Pull Back of Business Golf

If you have been wondering where Mr Business Golf went, well, he is still here sitting on the bench reviewing the new game plan for 4th quarter 2011.  As we left it, the Mr Business Golf Show had added Krista Hartman and Dave Bisbee as co-hosts  It did not take us long to quickly see from the gracious responses from reviewers we needed to include more mainstream business coaching to what we offered.  This required us to focus on the business economy around us taking away from the production of the Mr Business Golf Show.

The good news is, the Mr Business Golf Show is coming back in October 2011.  The show will be produced a little differently since it will be broadcasted from the newly remodel ‘Bagroom Studio’. More news on the MBG Show will be provided as it develops.

Blogging Rules

The Mr Business Golf, She Kan Golf and the Biz Golf Guru blog sites also are under review for further development.  All of these ‘pull backs’ being made are the result of some very positive energy developing from the responses we were getting from the blogs posted.  The subject of Business Golf is now becoming more mainstream in what business golf can offer businesses and we are preparing to launch a few initiatives to validate business golf’s value to anyone interested in playing business golf.

As we have mentioned a number of times, our mission is to do whatever we can to help the business world..golf industry included..to learn better methods of doing business.

Business Strategy Will Be Needed

As the golf economy starts to bottom out we have been preparing to put on our business suites and step in to offer struggling businesses our cumulative 75 years of mainstream business experience to anyone needing advice or a voice of reason on how to deal with the new economy.  Change is very hard for businesses to make on their own.  The best directions to take usually comes from someone who is outside the companies build during a crumbling economy.

You will here more on what Krista, Dave and I will be offering as it develops.

Standing On the Edge

IBGS’s Broadcast Media division is developing a New Internet Radio Station.   A wide spectrum of formats will be created.  Everything from Talk Shows on Business Issues to Indi Music Bands reviews.  The IBGS BMD  internet radio offers another way to reach more people and create a larger digital footprint.  Advertising and sponsorship programs will be offered.

Getting After 2012

The IBGS team is looking to 2012.  Plans are being made to launch a few more New initiatives to help business in the Golf industry get a better grasp of knowing what the golf consumer is REALLY wanting or needing.  Stay tuned..we will be talking much more about this as we work on the plan for 2012.

Let me know how I can help.

For those of you who are out here working to help people understand what Social Media is and how it should be used, you have more than likely had people say to you..

“If I am not to post promotional content about my business’ product on Twitter as frequently as I want then why am I using Twitter?”

“I am only on the internet to promote my brand not my name.”

“No, I am not really getting anything out of Twitter, I just post there because it is where ‘people’ are.”

“Facebook is just another form of advertising for my business.  Being social is for dweebs or people who have no purpose in life.”

And, I am sure you have received a few dozen more like them..I know I have.  What is really being said is…”I don’t care what people think or do in these social networks, I just want them to buy.”

Wrong Attitude

This bad attitude still exists and in large numbers out in every type of business..even the savvy PR Firms.  Unfortunately, as the economy worsens, more and more of the businesses, who were using social media correctly, are now pulling back to using more aggressive styles of marketing which is getting very close to SPAM.  As a result, more ads are being forced into social threads and , Yes, the Spam is coming in from all directions and in all forms.

Anti-Social Media

What is clearly becoming more visible in the business world today is the high level of adversity millions of business people have with being social.  Not all of their reasons for not being social in their social spaces is caused by uncomfortableness.  Most is based on a lack of interest in feeling there is any need to be social in the marketing of their business’ product or service.

This growing stubbornness is demonstrated in how many businesses use the internet as nothing but a place to billboard their products.

Many of these attitudes toward anti-social media are built around many businesses’ requirement a certain percentage of ROI is generated in each dollar spent.  Many times this ROI percentage is over 100% of the funds appropriated for any campaign involving social media.  Since in most cases obtaining any measurable ROI through a half-ass attempt at using social media is near impossible these businesses set themselves up to fail from the beginning.

Being Social Rules

The bell is starting to ring true for many businesses who understand social media works best as part of a join online and offline social networking effort in their marketing plans.  The success stories are pouring in each day on how someone representing a business online snags a new client that takes their business to a high level of success.

What many businesses do not see…or maybe care to see… is the social media results for these businesses are not made overnight.  And, their success was not made by posting dozens of impersonal posts on Facebook and Twitter.  It was made by placing someone dedicated to managing the company’s online image.  This means someone was monitoring all social spaces 24/7 and reached out to people in their social space to build a solid network of real people…who also are consumers.

Attempting to force social media to being a form of high pressure sales is what many businesses push their marketing departments to create.  It just will not work in today’s socially apt environment.  Consumers are not interested in being pressured into buying.  Consumers have far more tools enabling them to go around the high pressure sales to getting what they need, or want, directly from a manufacturer or off 3rd party ecommerce sites.

The days are numbered for the businesses who feel they do not need to be social to do business.  I hope your business is not one of them.

Let me know how I can help.

Back in May of this year I posted a blog on the aspects of Empire Avenue I really did not know what to expect.  Today, how I feel abut EA is even more important. 

First of all, Empire Avenue is not just a game and it is not a waste of time.  Actually, the more time you spend on EA site the more influential you become.

As far as an evaluation of your influence in the social spaced, Empire avenue does the trick. 

The basics are:

1. Fill out all of your Profile and BIO
2. Connect all your social spaces to Empire avenue
3. Connect to others in EA with common interest.
4. Develop a strategy on who you are going to invest in and post that on the site.
5. Then write a blog about EA and post it.

This will get you started.  Meanwhile, be on the look out for people using Empire Avenue who are producing a hefty dividend.   Don’t get in a hurry..this is a marathon not a sprint.  The more your stock value goes up the more influential you become.  Hang in there and you will see more people investing into you and posting something about you.  Make sure you post your link to your blog.

If you are looking to improving your results from social media you need to invest in Empire Avenue.