Day in - Day out. Like clockwork - tic, tac, tic, tac. Little voices already in your brain whispering "hey......hey.....do not forget to check in....and it has been already 12 minutes that you have had changed your status on Facebook......hey......hey.....and don't forget see that you finally hit the 1000 followers mark on Twitter....hey....." -Okay, when you are reading these lines here and you feel like "hmmm, sounds familiar, and you got by they was sweaty hands and a nervous twitch in your eyes - Houston we have a problem.

It appears to be you are definitive a candidate for the next show intervention, where we are trying to cure your addiction. YOU ARE INDEED ADDICTED TO SOCIAL MEDIA. Because I do not want you to suffer longer and questioning yourself, I have created my first 10 rules which are showing indicators you are in danger being hopelessness addicted to Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and other drugs provided to us at no charge.

This phenomenon discribed above almost appears to be too real, when hearing about a new study out of the University of Maryland. The Center of International Media & Public Agenda asked 200 students of the University to "abstain for just one day" from all media. They were further asked then to describe their experience by blogging.

Outcome:

The students particpating in this study wrote more than 110,000 words right after the experiment. 100,000 words equals an amount of a 400 page novel! The professor [Susan D. Moeller], who conducted the study said: "I was struck by how the short media blackout personally and emotionally affected the students." So I conducted my own "non-reliable" study, just looking left and right (and into myslef) to come to following "VJ's Conclusion":

10 Reasons showing: You are indeed addicted to Social Media, when...

10.) you are flipping through the Cable channels to find the latest episode of "Intervention" and hoping for that the topic is "FACEBOOK" and not Cocaine

9.) your vanity license plate says TWIT FACE

8.) you tell your spouse on your 10th wedding anniversary "I LIKE YOU"

7.) you are coming home and the first thing you do pulling into the drive-way is making sure you are still the "MAYOR" of yor home

6.) you are checking John Walsh's show on Twitter and hope that the authorities of "America Most Wanted" will "FOLLOW" you, too

5.) you "SHARE" the birth of your 5th child from the surgery room via Live Podcast and YouTube stream cast

4.) you believe that Global Warming will indeed shrink the "TWITTERSPHERE" instead the Atmosphere

3.) you are sitting at the airport and scribble down on a napkin you found in your pocket "10 Reasons showing: You are indeed addicted to Social Media"

2.) you are setting "HASHTAGS" (#) in front of each post about your spouse and refer to her or him as "#THE OTHER ONE"

and finally the number one of 10 reasons showing that you are indeed a Social Media addicts is,

1.) telling your psychotherapeut during your session "Doc, I always feel like being followed by strangers and people I don't even know."

Any other suggestion which defintive will reveal you are a Social Media addict as well? Post them as your comments. Thank you for reading.

VJ (a.k.a. Twit Face)

Day in - Day out. Like clockwork - tic, tac, tic, tac. Little voices already in your brain whispering "hey......hey.....do not forget to check in....and it has been already 12 minutes that you have had changed your status on Facebook......hey......hey.....and don't forget see that you finally hit the 1000 followers mark on Twitter....hey....." -Okay, when you are reading these lines here and you feel like "hmmm, sounds familiar, and you got by they was sweaty hands and a nervous twitch in your eyes - Houston we have a problem.

It appears to be you are definitive a candidate for the next show intervention, where we are trying to cure your addiction. YOU ARE INDEED ADDICTED TO SOCIAL MEDIA. Because I do not want you to suffer longer and questioning yourself, I have created my first 10 rules which are showing indicators you are in danger being hopelessness addicted to Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and other drugs provided to us at no charge.

This phenomenon discribed above almost appears to be too real, when hearing about a new study out of the University of Maryland. The Center of International Media & Public Agenda asked 200 students of the University to "abstain for just one day" from all media. They were further asked then to describe their experience by blogging.

Outcome:

The students particpating in this study wrote more than 110,000 words right after the experiment. 100,000 words equals an amount of a 400 page novel! The professor [Susan D. Moeller], who conducted the study said: "I was struck by how the short media blackout personally and emotionally affected the students." So I conducted my own "non-reliable" study, just looking left and right (and into myslef) to come to following "VJ's Conclusion":

10 Reasons showing: You are indeed addicted to Social Media, when...

10.) you are flipping through the Cable channels to find the latest episode of "Intervention" and hoping for that the topic is "FACEBOOK" and not Cocaine

9.) your vanity license plate says TWIT FACE

8.) you tell your spouse on your 10th wedding anniversary "I LIKE YOU"

7.) you are coming home and the first thing you do pulling into the drive-way is making sure you are still the "MAYOR" of yor home

6.) you are checking John Walsh's show on Twitter and hope that the authorities of "America Most Wanted" will "FOLLOW" you, too

5.) you "SHARE" the birth of your 5th child from the surgery room via Live Podcast and YouTube stream cast

4.) you believe that Global Warming will indeed shrink the "TWITTERSPHERE" instead the Atmosphere

3.) you are sitting at the airport and scribble down on a napkin you found in your pocket "10 Reasons showing: You are indeed addicted to Social Media"

2.) you are setting "HASHTAGS" (#) in front of each post about your spouse and refer to her or him as "#THE OTHER ONE"

and finally the number one of 10 reasons showing that you are indeed a Social Media addicts is,

1.) telling your psychotherapeut during your session "Doc, I always feel like being followed by strangers and people I don't even know."

Any other suggestion which defintive will reveal you are a Social Media addict as well? Post them as your comments. Thank you for reading.

VJ (a.k.a. Twit Face)

We, the automotive industry professionals have learned by now that Social Media – The New Media – is becoming more and more a Toddler and is no longer an infant. When in early 2007 a few automotive dealerships started out to put their dealerships on MySpace and later on became friends with Facebook, nobody really had at this time in mind that Social Media will become an essential Marketing Tool, which would create Buzz, WOM and invite potential customers into our Social-Living room also known as “Facebook Dealer Page”.

Even though the economy suffered around the world in 2009, one market showed resistance during the recession: The Online Advertising Market. With a drop in total media advertising spending, the online ad spending increased by 2% which resulted into $55.2 billion. Okay, these numbers are promising – for marketers and ad agencies, but what should you do when you are a recession rattled dealer or dealer group, which is NOT looking to increase marketing dollar spending?

How will you still try to attract “new eyes” for your products? How will you make sure you’ll be found on the Web with all the competition? How are you catching all these “buyer eyes” online, when your store is closed and they actually have questions about your product?

A Digital Marketing Poll of “TopRank” earlier this year showed that six out of ten online marketing tactics were Social Media related complemented by an “energy-boost” of SEM and Email-Marketing. So, my question to you is now “Do you believe that then right ingredients of Content Marketing strategy and the various facets of the Social Media will be the right recipe to win you the title of Cake Boss (analogy: Cut out for you the biggest piece of your DMA pie a.k.a. market-share – bon appetite)?

The current results on the 2011 “TopRank” Digital Marketing Poll (part of the list below; at the point of writing 229 votes were submitted) are showing a trend, and YOU still can influence the outcome and ensure your voice is heard. Just go to “What 3 online marketing channels & tactics will you emphasize in 2011?” and take the survey.

Let me know what your favorites are when commenting on my post. Thank you!  

--VJ

We, the automotive industry professionals have learned by now that Social Media – The New Media – is becoming more and more a Toddler and is no longer an infant. When in early 2007 a few automotive dealerships started out to put their dealerships on MySpace and later on became friends with Facebook, nobody really had at this time in mind that Social Media will become an essential Marketing Tool, which would create Buzz, WOM and invite potential customers into our Social-Living room also known as “Facebook Dealer Page”.

Even though the economy suffered around the world in 2009, one market showed resistance during the recession: The Online Advertising Market. With a drop in total media advertising spending, the online ad spending increased by 2% which resulted into $55.2 billion. Okay, these numbers are promising – for marketers and ad agencies, but what should you do when you are a recession rattled dealer or dealer group, which is NOT looking to increase marketing dollar spending?

How will you still try to attract “new eyes” for your products? How will you make sure you’ll be found on the Web with all the competition? How are you catching all these “buyer eyes” online, when your store is closed and they actually have questions about your product?

A Digital Marketing Poll of “TopRank” earlier this year showed that six out of ten online marketing tactics were Social Media related complemented by an “energy-boost” of SEM and Email-Marketing. So, my question to you is now “Do you believe that then right ingredients of Content Marketing strategy and the various facets of the Social Media will be the right recipe to win you the title of Cake Boss (analogy: Cut out for you the biggest piece of your DMA pie a.k.a. market-share – bon appetite)?

The current results on the 2011 “TopRank” Digital Marketing Poll (part of the list below; at the point of writing 229 votes were submitted) are showing a trend, and YOU still can influence the outcome and ensure your voice is heard. Just go to “What 3 online marketing channels & tactics will you emphasize in 2011?” and take the survey.

Let me know what your favorites are when commenting on my post. Thank you!  

--VJ

Similar to the fairy tale of the Princess and the Frog, there is another phenomenon in the real marketing and advertising world what pretty much reminds me on this tale. You know it is something new out there, you are not really certain what it does, if it works – and most likely you only will find out when you try it. Just like giving the Frog a kiss and see if it turns into a prince.

We all have by now heard (I guess and hope for you) about Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and other social media networking websites and networks. One of the newer kids on the blocks are social hubs like Gowalla, Where, Loopt and Foursquare. These three named social engagement tools are considered Geo-location based services which have only one goal in mind: To lure Users, Advertisers and Investors into their fangs. When in 2009 the Mobile Advertising segment scratched the $320 million mark, according to researchers at BIA/Kelsey, the year 2013 is expected to soar to $3.1 billion in the U.S.

May be I should quick reflect on the purposes of these Geo-location based services and explain what they are actually doing. Geo-location services are being embraced by mobile devices and encourage their owners to shop, communicate and socialize. When the purpose of these applications in the early phases were more likely game playing and seeing where my friends were hanging around, the momentum has now shifted. Capital Venture analysts nail it down: Location is one of the most important tools a merchant and marketer can use today. The opportunity to connect with potential consumers and existing customers of a brand can grow deeper. When you still doubt the success or let’s say upcoming phenomenal success of the last 3 mentioned platforms take this my friend:

• Just a few days ago Foursquare was able to secure $20 million in additional venture funding
• In April Foursquare just passed its first million member mark only to just passed 2 months later the 1.8 million member mark
• With this speed Foursquare is able to maintain a growth rate of approximate 15,000 users/day
• Foursquare has more than 15,000 business partnerships established, including Starbucks and even the news channel CNN
• The company “Where” has so far connections and business relations with more than 20,000 businesses
• Loopt has accumulated already 3 million users and attracted Gap and Burger King to their portfolio of clients
• Gowalla is up to 350,000 users

With the driving force of skyrocketing Smart-phone sales and approximate 11,000+ iPhone apps offering location services – the trend is not reversible. As you possible already know; Google with their location based application “Latitude”, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and numerous other Social Network platforms are adding or have already added Geo-location tagging. This is just the beginning. Further down the road is planned to combine Photos and Content with the locations. Chances for dealerships? Huge!!!

Just think about following scenario I discovered when I was a few weeks back in PA. In the evening hours I went to a restaurant, 4-squared my location to share it with my friend and followers to just say what I am up to and typing the info on the home screen of 4SQ. All this happened mobile (using a Blackberry). With my location (tracked to the smartphones GPS system) I also get a small information icon, placed on the right hand corner of the screen with the message “Check offers nearby”. One of the basic principles in Social Media “create curiosity” hit me up, I clicked and “voila” a Starbucks message shows up to tell me that the store right next to the restaurant offers $1 off any Frappuccino. What a perfect scenario in wanting to settle your nightly meal with a nice cold (or warm) Chocolate Chip Frappuccino.

The follow-up post on this topic will handle "how a dealer can utilize this technology for their advantage". In case you do not want to miss this, just sighn up for my RSS-feed @ SocialMediaBuzzer.com and being notified when the follow-up post will be life.

Similar to the fairy tale of the Princess and the Frog, there is another phenomenon in the real marketing and advertising world what pretty much reminds me on this tale. You know it is something new out there, you are not really certain what it does, if it works – and most likely you only will find out when you try it. Just like giving the Frog a kiss and see if it turns into a prince.

We all have by now heard (I guess and hope for you) about Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and other social media networking websites and networks. One of the newer kids on the blocks are social hubs like Gowalla, Where, Loopt and Foursquare. These three named social engagement tools are considered Geo-location based services which have only one goal in mind: To lure Users, Advertisers and Investors into their fangs. When in 2009 the Mobile Advertising segment scratched the $320 million mark, according to researchers at BIA/Kelsey, the year 2013 is expected to soar to $3.1 billion in the U.S.

May be I should quick reflect on the purposes of these Geo-location based services and explain what they are actually doing. Geo-location services are being embraced by mobile devices and encourage their owners to shop, communicate and socialize. When the purpose of these applications in the early phases were more likely game playing and seeing where my friends were hanging around, the momentum has now shifted. Capital Venture analysts nail it down: Location is one of the most important tools a merchant and marketer can use today. The opportunity to connect with potential consumers and existing customers of a brand can grow deeper. When you still doubt the success or let’s say upcoming phenomenal success of the last 3 mentioned platforms take this my friend:

• Just a few days ago Foursquare was able to secure $20 million in additional venture funding
• In April Foursquare just passed its first million member mark only to just passed 2 months later the 1.8 million member mark
• With this speed Foursquare is able to maintain a growth rate of approximate 15,000 users/day
• Foursquare has more than 15,000 business partnerships established, including Starbucks and even the news channel CNN
• The company “Where” has so far connections and business relations with more than 20,000 businesses
• Loopt has accumulated already 3 million users and attracted Gap and Burger King to their portfolio of clients
• Gowalla is up to 350,000 users

With the driving force of skyrocketing Smart-phone sales and approximate 11,000+ iPhone apps offering location services – the trend is not reversible. As you possible already know; Google with their location based application “Latitude”, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and numerous other Social Network platforms are adding or have already added Geo-location tagging. This is just the beginning. Further down the road is planned to combine Photos and Content with the locations. Chances for dealerships? Huge!!!

Just think about following scenario I discovered when I was a few weeks back in PA. In the evening hours I went to a restaurant, 4-squared my location to share it with my friend and followers to just say what I am up to and typing the info on the home screen of 4SQ. All this happened mobile (using a Blackberry). With my location (tracked to the smartphones GPS system) I also get a small information icon, placed on the right hand corner of the screen with the message “Check offers nearby”. One of the basic principles in Social Media “create curiosity” hit me up, I clicked and “voila” a Starbucks message shows up to tell me that the store right next to the restaurant offers $1 off any Frappuccino. What a perfect scenario in wanting to settle your nightly meal with a nice cold (or warm) Chocolate Chip Frappuccino.

The follow-up post on this topic will handle "how a dealer can utilize this technology for their advantage". In case you do not want to miss this, just sighn up for my RSS-feed @ SocialMediaBuzzer.com and being notified when the follow-up post will be life.