On a recent email newsletter I sent I got 148.3% opens, and 95.8% clicks, that's some kind of a record. secret: segmenting.

Want to discuss it?

Technorati Tags: clicks convering email marketing measure opens segmentation email segmentation marketing convering clicks opens measure

I decided to get a step closer to a full-on MOHAWK

Technorati Tags: haircut mohawk style haircut mohawk style

Go ahead and use html when you make a comment, put the link to your site in, using your favoured keywords, and then state in one sentence only, the point of your website. If you have more than one website use additional comment entries.

My website does not use the no follow tag, so you gain Google Juice.

Technorati Tags: analytics data metrics qualitative survey website why website qualitative analytics data survey metrics

Things move rapidly in the big ole Internet and over this bank holiday weekend I checked out Facebook "pages" again and launched the Social Media Mafia "fan" page.

But we have the FB Group, don't we?

Yes, there is a Facebook group which we have used to date to recruit interested parties, but I've noticed that FB pages provide far more useful features, namely:

Facebook Statistics

180 page views on the first day is not mind-blowing by any stretch of the imagination but at least I know how many, as well as other countable features.

Export Facebook Statistics

Pretty neat, handy for dumping into some of your other data.

Facebook Social Advertisement

Note, you'll see another advert I used in the passed right after they launched the service, not a good click-thru rate, but the ad was merely text, and a bad one too.

(very handy for future events, and pulling new people in, don't you think?).

Facebook Targeting

This is an excellent feature, something many of us have used on other platforms for years. As an example for a Social Media Mafia event in Italy only why would I want to send an update to people in China?

Lastly of course this page is public and not stuck behind a "walled garden".

There are other bits 'n' bobs about Facebook Pages which make sense, though with this small example you can see the benefits are numerous and make the FB Group redundant on many levels.

So, now you should pop on over and become a fan right?

Technorati Tags: channel communication conversation facebook fan social media mafia statistics targetting social media mafia facebook fan channel communication conversation statistics targetting

I have a long history of publishing e-newsletters and an even greater belief in the reach-ability of them. When I consider some of my larger e-mail lists and the associated click-through statistics it becomes crystal clear that they work, period.

The thing is about email is that it is still one of the best communication technologies around for broadcasting news, your updates appear into peoples' in-box, there is no effort on the part of the target at all, and let's face it we are lazy, we forgot sites, we often can't be bothered to go chasing up the news.

Some say what about RSS feeds and feed readers? I say that the majority demographic there is for Geeks and Nerds, for people who are like me and work on the Internet. I also say that my sister and the girl next door are not that type of person, in fact the majority of Internet users are not feed readers, and it is the majority I am interested in typically, it is they I predominately wish to reach.

Newsletter systems can also bring about an important personal connection, or personalisation, unlike an RSS feed from let's say a Blog, which is just generic albeit with many Bloggers liking to use the term "YOU", to give a sense of connection. But you can go deeper than than, a newsletter sign-up form can contain personal data which can then be inserted into an authored newsletter, which gives the communication a far more personal flavour.

This personal touch is powerful, in my experience it has proven to aid considerably in building up credibility (which does take time), and it also aids in giving the reader a sense of inclusion, being part of the "club" if you will.

Some people do not like email targeting and selling, and I say to them they are fools basking in a non-existent demographic, in an minute fish-pond of supposed "friends". If you genuinely have something to sell you cannot expect people to come looking for it, you need to push it in front of their noses, and not just once, but repeatedly.

If you'd like to see how I use a few key personalisation matches try the following Social Media Mafia form, you'll be sent an email and asked to "opt-in" and then you'll receive the first instalment which is pre-written, but will contain some of your personal entries. Don't worry I'm not selling things on this particular list ;)

Technorati Tags: blogs communication credibility data email feeds internet newsletters personal reach rss selling social media mafia technology email newsletters personal data reach rss feeds blogs social media mafia internet credibility communication technology s

So we have just under two-weeks left until MediaCampBucks08, I'm getting excited about it all now.

A quick mail then to mention a few things:

This is the second camp we've run at this venue and many of you will know the routine, same building, same kind of format, same places to eat on the day. All pretty straightforward and simple, nothing complex, heaps of wi-fi, tons of rooms, coolio bananio people.

MediaCampBucks08

Things You Can Do:

I'm a great believer in reaching-out to people who are NOT in the know, people who are not swimming in the same small pond as us, people who are not early adopters, and people who probably have never heard of the term social media, or new media, have no idea what a Blog is, have no concept of Web 2.0. These are the people that will benefit most from MediaCamp, not the existing practitioners.

SO, with that in mind, I encourage you to post a Blog about the event asap, send emails to your groups of friends, encourage people to take a look and think about coming. Bring people along who you think may benefit, like the local cafe, the B&B up the road, your CEO friend who needs to come up to speed on communications technology. Your friend at the local paper, the college PR rep, the school governor, you get the picture, talk to people.

Start Tagging:

Start mentioning the camp in your channels and tag it with: mediacampbucks08

Flickr Group:

MediaCampBucks08 Flickr

You can see a bunch of pics from last year's event there, join the group and add further pics.

Audio/Video Promos:

If you fancy making a short audio promo I'll play it on AC Radio this week and next week (include your own links), you can also upload them to the Wiki. Same thing applies for video, some of you are video people so how about making a short talking head video about the event and posting it and tagging it?

There seems to be some interest in virtual attendance, there is a page on the wiki. I'm more than happy for anyone to use my private island in SecondLife. should it be needed as a venue.

Sponsors:

We have enough sponsorship to cover everyone with a t-shirt, cool eh? Eaon is banging away on sourcing the cloth. We should have a size for everyone. However, we can also do with more wonga, maybe the bar bill can be covered, maybe we can get some other goodies, sponsorship is always needed: sponsors

Live Music:

Mikey 12 Casts has organised a complete evening of live music in the student union, pretty coolio bananio that will be, 4 acts or so!

That's about it for now, though be prepared for more communications in the coming days.

Technorati Tags: audio blogs bucks camp event flickr media medicampbucks08 people reach-out sessions venue video vlogs medicampbucks08 media camp bucks blogs reach-out sessions vlogs event people venue flickr audio video

Today the BBC reports Identity 'at risk' on Facebook yeah and that's news?

I hang out on Twitter a lot and it always amazes me how there is such a band wagon "fashion" approach to some of this technology, you know a real sheep follow concept going on.

People have been flabbergasted that GASP you could have details stolen on the internet, OMG shock bloody horror, that is such HUUUUUGE news!

Reality check.

To quote: "Anyone with a basic understanding of web programming can write an application." Uhh duh, so that's not happened in the previous 18 years or so of the public Internet? - It's rife!

Seriously though, phising and various other methods of data-mining have existed forever, where there is data available on the Internet a hacker will always try to retrieve it, that's the job description, am I one? No, I'm not, but I've understood that since day 1, it's so obvious it hurts, is it just me?

I've heard people talking of closing accounts, never using FB again not doing this not doing that, goodness me it's barfable really.

Two key things here:

1. Never put your DOB online
2. Never put YOU information online (I mean official YOU stuff, address, financial stuff)

It's quite simple, if you put personal data online, you can expect to be targeted no matter what the platform, if you put your trust in an online platform you are a fool, they are all crackable.

I'll be continuing to use FB and the Internet, I'll just tread with caution as I always have, and if I were you I would not follow "fashion", that's silly. Do we need a nanny do guide us through these treacherous waters? No, we just need not be fashion victims and be self-responsible, and in most spheres in mind, if you follow fashion you are blind.

Rant over.

P.S. this is not targeted at anyone in particular, just generalised.

Technorati Tags: accounts facebook fashion flock hack job phising privacy sheep twitter facebook privacy accounts fashion twitter sheep flock job hack phising

This is Brett Hurt Founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice whom I met today at Internet World.

Now the interesting thing I thought about Brett is that he knows how to make friends, engage with people, seemed to be open minded, and generally enjoys interaction with new people, he doesn't foolishly judge too quickly, which always gets my interest every time.

To give you an opposite example.

The first exhibitor I walked up to at IW today was an older gentlemen representing a company concerned with CRM, you know, management of customer relationships (cough cough), and as it happens I have had CRM on my mind for a project recently. So picture this, I had a Nikon around my neck, was wearing torn jeans, a t-shirt, slightly unshaven look, and my usual blue glasses, a normal day for me then, (as you can see here) nice eh?.

So, as I say hello to this grumpy old guy, first thing he does is starts to look me up and down and begins asking me questions to validate myself (no shit),

• HIM: "how many employees do you represent then"

• ME: "I'm a web strategist, one of my clients has global representation"
• HIM: "show me a card then"

blah blah (insert longer story here), really boring me already dude.

So it got to the stage where I couldn't give a fuck how good his software may have been, the mere fact he made a judgement call on my appearance along with his decision to try and assert me to validate myself to him (like that's going work), was enough for me to just politely fuck-off in the other direction.

Now, moving on to Brett.

Brett on the other hand, you see, took an interest in a potential conversation with me and found out that I might post some pictures of the IW event onto Flick, the fact that hey this might be a really good moment for a Blog post to come from it, a moment captured where people interact with good outcomes, a memorable exchange.

Brett pulls his shirt open revealing a green t-shirt and says "put Bazaarvoice loves osborne" on it. I have no idea what that means, but it is of little significance. It's a message, it's a reach, it's an enagagement to someone, a client, a prospect who knows?

Job done for me, I couldn't refuse this attitude, it's perfect, and goes to show that if you think you are above your station (the first guy) you might need a reality check. The internet is not all about suites and boots.

Go visit BazaarVoice.

Technorati Tags: bazaarvoice branding communication networking social t-shirt bazaarvoice t-shirt branding communication social networking

Tomorrow evening is the Social Media Mafia "sit down" dinner in NYC.

The event is taking place at the Trattoria Dopo Teatro at 7:30pm, tomorrow (April 24)

125 West 44th Street

Looking forward to seeing you for big eats and some drinks, and plenty of geekery.

Send me an SMS tomorrow if problems: +447824776785 send me one anyway :)

Technorati Tags: dinner friends mafia media sit-down social dinner sit-down social media mafia friends