Let me start by saying that my reasons are mine and mine alone. I don’t pretend to know why others are involved; that isn’t a huge concern of mine. And while I am sure there is a certain level of vanity in it all, that level is very, very low.

For me, it’s all about business; and  while I understand that isn’t some altruistic warm and fuzzy reason (I’m not trying to save the world here) it is my reason.

My company started as a web and brand development business eleven years ago and with the onset of social media we have moved more towards the direction of marketing and PR through social media. Plain and simple, this project allows me to show my clients that I can use my reach to help their company to succeed.

And then, when the bills are paid, I can use that reach for some great causes (here is the warm and fuzzy), like the event that we just did with the Wisconsin Humane Society.

One last thing,  I don’t look at this as a competition, but as a project as Fast Company has so aptly named it. We are all in this together,  and to that end I’m listing the people I know who are involved with the project and would love for you to support them by clicking their links and please feel free to comment with people you know and include their links. Let’s see what we can do when we support each other.

Charles Gartland  – http://fcinf.com/v/abnw

George Kasica – http://fcinf.com/v/b7bq

Eric Sforza – http://fcinf.com/v/awud

Jon Kurozawa – http://bit.ly/aoupAQ

Chad Schomber – http://fcinf.com/v/c5pd

Sarah White – http://fcinf.com/v/ahjx

A. Ryan Thompson – http://fcinf.com/v/djjk

Nate St. Pierre – http://fcinf.com/v/bxch

Susi Schuele – http://fcinf.com/v/dokl

Rebecca Bradley – http://fcinf.com/v/doc3

Mia Kurozawa – http://fcinf.com/v/csvg

Charles Gartland – http://fcinf.com/v/abnw

TweetUp Girls – http://fcinf.com/v/br74

Jeanette Pham – http://fcinf.com/v/b24p

And me – Michelle D’Attilio – http://fcinf.com/v/dxub

This is obviously an oversimplified statement of what we do, but I’m hearing a very interesting (read: disturbing) statement  being made that reminds me of a time 10 years ago, when we where doing mostly website proposals. So let me ask you web developers how many times you heard the statement “I don’t need to pay for a website, I have a 14 son/nephew/neighbor (by the way, it was always a boy) that can build it for my company.”  What kind of ridiculous thought is this for a business owner. Your are going to hire a teenager to design and build one of your most powerful marketing and promotion pieces?

Most people wouldn’t consider doing that now that websites have proven to be such a powerful tool. But guess what I am hearing about social media?????

So what you are saying is that you want a teenager to be the voice of your company to your clients or potential clients? Of course a teenager can set up a Facebook page and might even be able to skin your Twitter & blog (skin means to customize the look and feel to match your company rather than using a template) but will they do it in a professional way that will show your company in a serious light?

I understand that social media is a new and strange creature to a lot of business owners, but think of it as you did websites 10 years ago? There are more uses for it than what is immediately visible and you can learn to manage it just as you have learned to manage your email.

Social media is a powerful business tool and if you hire then right people to get you rolling you will see an investment on your return. However, if you hire the teenager next door you are going to find yourself a step behind your competitors and in a couple of years you’ll find yourself looking to hire someone to “fix” your social media plan, just as you hired someone to “fix” your old website.

I think the only way the kindle survives is if it adds Internet browsing and email. What I do see as a smart move on Amazon’s part is that they are creating the Kindle apps for phones other than the iPhone. So they are still getting people buying the books.  Now, I have to assume that their profits come from books sales as opposed to the hardware sale of the Kindle so this is a good move on their part.

Strange timing though because as I am writing this blog, a commercial comes on for the new Kindle DX. Their selling points: You can read in bright sun. Really. Really?  This is what they are selling? You can see the screen in the sun.  Guess what Amazon, you can see the iPad screen in the sun too.  They have one point that gives them a slight edge: free 3G anywhere in the world.  This is valid, but isn’t going to sell me on spending the $379 for the DX when the wifi low end iPad is only about $100 more.

That being said, it would be nice to have an option for a lower end reader that allows internet and email. These seem like simple additions to make to the Kindle so that they can truly compete.  Hey, I know, kindle and Flash should team up and make a product that supports flash and has all of the books with a cheaper monthly internet browsing plan than AT&T offers. Now we have a winner!!

Harley Davidson has been marketing to women riders since 1920. Can you believe that? Now in 2010, it happens to be their fastest growing demographic. That is with almost 100 years of marketing.  So why is it working now and what can we learn?

I think the reason why it is working now is two-fold. One because I think women are finally ready for it. This to me is a big part.  Women are ready to step into the driver’s seat, and I am thankful to the many generations of women who came before me that have allowed this generation to feel comfortable doing so. Secondly, Harley Davidson stopped marketing to women and actually asked them what they wanted and what their concerns were.  Then they addressed those concerns. Effectively creating a market that may not have been there otherwise.

What I find so interesting is that the biggest concern that Harley Davidson heard from women about owning their own bike was this; “If I am out riding alone, and the bike tips, I can’t pick it up. At 500+ pounds, it is too heavy”.

What I love is that Harley didn’t go back to the shop and create a lighter bike. Instead, they developed  a process to teach  women how to lift the bikes.  (Now maybe they altered the weight of the bike a bit, quite honestly I don’t know but 500+ pounds is a lot.) My point is they opted to empower the woman by developing a plan and then teaching it.

I think what we can learn here is that if we have a market that we are trying to target but for some reason we are not getting the desired response, (even after almost 100 years), maybe we need to step back and talk to that market.  Instead of market to them maybe we should listen to them.  Be willing to hear the feedback and then address the issues. Perhaps then we will see a return from the marketing efforts.

I have to thank Harley Davidson for the chance to meet so many wonderful women who attended the event and for teaching me how to pick up a bike. (Yeah that is me picking up a Harley!) It was very empowering. A wonderful day overall and you can bet that if I ever decide to buy my own bike I’ll be looking at a Harley.

Now, I’ve never been a huge fan  of the scheduled update because I think it takes away from the conversation that Twitter is but, I do like this because I feel that my updates tend to flood the Twitter stream early in the morning. I especially like it when I am RT’ing (Re-Tweeting), I think it is nice to “space the news out” so to speak.  This way when I see something, I don’t forget and can set it up the RT for later in the day.

Another cool thing that the update installed is now you can pull in video from your webcam.  This is a little frightening to me but I think I am going to give it a try (as soon as I get the courage to do so) and maybe do some video tweeting. Yikes!

For instance, one of my clients just told me that when I started talking Twitter to him a year ago he thought I was crazy. He had no confidence that Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media platform was worth his time or effort as far as his business was concerned.  Now, he knows that he has to be involved, not only for fear of missing the social media boat but because his clients are involved; and more importantly, his competition is involved.

Now, I am probably preaching to the choir here because you all are reading a blog that is from a link that you probably saw on Twitter.  But what I am saying to you is that more and more business are finally understanding that there is a need to be involved with social media on whatever platform is right for them. I see this as a huge change in thought from last year when people would look at me like I was crazy when I would go on and on about Twitter.  Now, they are approaching me and asking for my help which I will gladly give them…..for a small fee.

I do love the case though; I was so worried about taking the iPad anywhere for fear it would get damaged but this is a nice sturdy case and it is pretty cool looking.  Plus I like that you can stand the case up like a picture frame.

I also picked up the VGA adapter to use when I travel so that we ca stream Netflix or to use for presentations.   I was disappointed that my Apple store didn’t have the Camera Connection Kit as I see the lack of micro SD slots to be the iPad biggest issue. I guess I’ll have to wait on the one.

What we really need is someone to figure out how to tether the iPhone to the iPad and have it piggyback the 3G – come on you techie geeks I know you can do this!

To find out more about Foursquare you can check my posting “Can I Add My Couch as a Location on Foursquare” -  but for those of you who already understand and use the service I’d like to offer up my opinion.  I’d like to see the point system taken off completely. I know that Foursquare started as  a game for the users to get points and badges and mayorships but it has evolved into so much more. I think the false check ins and fake locations have diminished the current value.  Users are doing fake check ins and fake locations to accumulate points which gives you nothing more than bragging rights.  I make this statement as a guilty party. Although I only once did a drive by check in because I thought I was actually helping in doing so, I have added places to Foursqaure that aren’t really beneficial to Foursquare users (they are however, real locations).

In my opinion, Foursquare’s value is the fact that I can locate my friends when I check into a venue or find out what is around me. Better yet, when I check in at a restaurant I can get discounts on my food and get tips on what is good. I see so many future uses for Foursquare but the point system has to go so that it isn’t a competition for bragging rights, but an actual useful tool for businesses and their customers.

Between wifi on the airplane, the kids watching movies, and me playing around and exploring I’m going to put this thing to the test.

Actual time used in the limo = 55 minutes 

8:30AM We are at the airport and through security.  The battery still says 99%.  The kids watched two half hour shows on the way down.  I haven’t logged on to the wifi here; I am waiting until we are on the plane.

12:00PM The flight was delayed, so the kids watch one more 30 minute video. Weare now onboard the flight. I have wifi and have started playing around: I’ve downloaded a book from the book store and downloaded the flight tracker software. I’ve also checked my email, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. My next move is to try to download some good trashy magazines. Battery power is at 83%.

Actual total time used = 1 hour 35 minutes

1:30PM I checked out the magazines but have yet to download. I’ve done some Twitter work and played on Facebook.  Then a child needed to be entertained…thank you SpongeBob!  Luckily, we had it downloaded on iTunes, because the streaming video from Netflix wasn’t streaming so well on the airplane’s wifi.

We also spent a lot of time on Flight Tracker, which I have to say has calmed the “are we there yet” monster.  It’s calm, but not completely gone. Battery power just dropped to 69%.

Actual total time on = 3 hours 10 minutes

2:30PM We are going to be landing soon.  The kids played on Google Maps for a while and then I read some of the book I downloaded on iBooks. I also have books on the Kindle (I’ll compare those apps in a different blog).  The power so far is impressive. I am still at 55%.  For the record, the iTouch lost power about an hour ago and the laptop just shut down.

On a side note, I’ve had about 5 people coming up to talk to me about the

iPad, they want to touch it and feel how light it is.  They want to see the screen and the apps.  I’ve mentioned that I am blogging about battery life and they ask me where so they can read it (note: Travis, we need business cards).

Total time = 4 hours 10 minutes 

5:55PM We are at our condo. I’ve logged into wifi and checked email, Facebook and Twitter, told the parents that we made it here safely, and I’m about to head to the pool but first, the battery power’s at 48% – Awesome!

Total time = 5 hours 10 minutes

Here we are at 8:30PM. I haven’t been on the iPad much since we arrived but the kids did play with Google Maps.  I did a little work; just checked some emails and texts. The battery is at 44%.

Total usage time = 6 hour 10 minutes

Basically, I’ve used the iPad as much as I would want to during my travels and still have half my battery life. That is amazing!

So, just as an added test, I gave my iPad to a friend in the group told him to see what he could do. He spent about 45 minutes with it playing around checking out videos and all sorts of fun things, and here we are at 10:30PM with 32% battery life.

Total time = 7 hours 15 minutes, with 31% battery life.
Given that they claim 10 hours, I’d say they are right on the mark!

I am really looking forward to finding out all that the iPad has to offer! I am also looking forward to how this will post….let’s see!

Flash forward to 2009 and the break out of social media tools for business like Twitter and Facebook.  There are still a great deal of companies who aren’t quite sure how to fit these into their plan but at least at this point they are starting to understand that they need to figure out how to manage their social media and online presence.

Now, I want to take you one step further. I’m going to make a little prediction here and I think you may see it come true in the next 5 years.  With the impeding delivery date on the iPad being April 3 and considering all of the companies that are working on their own version of a tablet like computer, not to mention the fact that non business users are flocking to stores to upgrade their cells phones to smart phones……I think we are going to be in a situation where the app fills in the gaps that the website has left behind.

I have some ideas on this but am not going to give away the farm here. What I will say is this, take mobile phones/devices combine them with mobile apps and throw in some virtual perimeters and geo location services and you’ve got yourself some serious cross marketing going on.  The beauty of this is that businesses will be marketing to people who want to be marketed to.

My prediction is that in less than 5 years time businesses will view mobile applications in the same light that they view their website.  Developers, get on board now!

With the recent New York Times article on how advertisers are giving special attention to the iPad I am even more tempted. I want to see how it’s all going to come together and find out if there is room for us small potatoes to get in on some iPad advertising action.  Is there some way for my company to capitalize on the release of the iPad? I can’t know unless I have one.  I believe I’ve just found my justification….it’s a business expense.

This got me thinking….why would I have this thought? Why would I Foursquare my couch? (See how I made that a verb?) As you may know, Foursquare is a social media game that helps users connect with friends, and businesses connect with customers. In the Milwaukee area we have ourselves a social media King in AJ Bombers (Joe Sorge… @ajbaombers) Joe has used both Twitter and Foursquare to connect with his customers and has seen huge success from those platforms. So, for those of you who don’t know,  this is what happens; I go to AJ Bombers, I check in with Foursquare and say that I am there, I get points for being there and Foursquare sends out a tweet saying I’m there.  The tweet will also list other Foursquare/Twitter users that are also at AJ Bombers. This way, if I don’t see someone, I can find them. The other perk is that if the business you are visiting is social  media savvy they may offer special discounts for those who check in on Foursquare. At the end of the week all the points you get for all of your stops gets tallied and you get nothing but bragging rights, but that is something!

Ok so  now that you know what I am talking about, let’s get back to my couch. (No can we really just go sit on my couch? No? Ok fine.) Many people are adding their homes and other personal spaces on Foursquare. (I am so so so guilty of this.) My question is..why? Why do we do this? It’s not as if  my couch is going to see more business if I check in on Foursqaure, nor would I want it to. Quite honestly I want the couch all to myself.  Is it just that I want more points for the bragging rights? Well, yeah that doesn’t hurt, but I’m not sure that is reason enough. So I’m going to chalk it up to that fact that we just like to stay connected, even though we don’t want to admit that. We like the feeling of being able to tell someone that we are doing something, whatever it is, and whomever will listen. And if someone replies, then we know we aren’t alone. We know that someone heard us, and that gives us comfort.

So I’m going to go get my “comfort” on and check in on my couch on Foursquare.

That aside, the @anywhere feature is really very cool.  So, the idea is that when you are on a site (not Twitter)  you can follow the people/person that are involved with that site, right from that site. So, if you scroll down you’ll see my bio and instead of clicking through to Twitter and then following me, you could, some day, follow me right from this site. (You know you want to follow me…please follow me J )The other neat part of this is the “Hover Card”, let’s say I am talking about ABC Company and you want to know more about them on Twitter. You could hover over their name and get their Twitter information i.e. website address, Bio, and most recent tweet, plus you can opt to follow that company right from the hover card.

@Anywhere is not going to be available on all sites just yet, they are starting with just a few like Amazon, AdAge,  Bing, The New York Times, and others. It will be easy to implement with just adding a few lines of javascript to your current website, so I am looking forward to when the open this service up to all of us. (@ev, we will all get this service soon, right? Please??)

What is so great about this is its complete simplicity.  When you find someone whom you find interesting you just click and follow. It’s so simple and at the same time, fantastic….just like Twitter!