The Future Of Business – The Staple Of The Internet & Business
You’ve heard the saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. It even sounds weird when you say it out loud. But the truth is, that statement is true, no matter how much we try, we always default to what we know. It comes down to one of the “Gravities” of Human Behavior, we just can’t help ourselves.
Maybe you’ve said this before, I don’t ever want to be just like my Mother, or my Father, depending on what gender you happen to be. I’ve said it, and no matter how hard I try, people always tell me I’m just like my Father, that is those who knew my Father. I even find myself saying the same things he said, it’s so annoying! Yep, my kids get that benefit. My Father never used the Internet, not once, he couldn’t spell the word when he was alive. But he knew how to reach people, he knew how to contact them, and he knew how to get their blood to boil, all without the Internet. In his day, the phone, a letter, and he got in your face, those were his tools, his mode of communicating. I wonder how he would do with FaceBook and all the other Social Networks, probably tick a lot of people off with his style. But he probably would use one tool, one that will remain the staple of the Internet, and business, from today to eternity.
I’m not talking about websites and blogs, I’m talking about E-Mail. The Future of Business will continue to rely on E-Mail, it will remain one of the more effective ways to communicate. Although I expect email won’t improve much, it will stay just like it is, it would be nice if we could hear and discern tone of voice, determine body language, but we will continue to use it regardless of it’s flaws. There are other tools that can fill those needs, but email will be the simplest form, and the fastest way to get a message out.
Email systems like Aweber, MailChimp and the like will always have a place on the Internet, and in your business, we won’t be able to function without it. No matter how advanced mobile gets, Social Media, and VOIP systems, we will always default to Email, because we know it, and we trust it more than FaceBook.
No matter how much we try to use the latest technology, we always fall back on Email messaging, it’s our default way of writing a letter these days. Business owners, Internet Marketers, and Bloggers all find ways to capture your email address, why? To send you an email, to send you a new offer, keep you informed, and promote products and services. Collecting Email addresses is big business, and that’s why it will be here till long after I’m gone, it’s the tool of the future, it will continue to be a revenue generator. As long Email list make money, email will survive, it will be the way to get inside your world.
Don’t believe me? Try doing business without email, for just one day. Try not using it for any length of time, you’ll find yourself struggling to communicate, text messaging, Twitter & FaceBook won’t be private enough for you, and you will always default to email as the solution.
Knowing that Email isn’t going away, all business owners should find ways to leverage the communication tool, otherwise, you’re leaving money on the table.
Related articles
- The Future Of Business – The Missing Link (owengreaves.com)
- 9 Ways to Improve the Impact of Your Email – The Works (chrisbrogan.com)
- The Future Of Business – Will Ad Networks Replace Radio, Television & Newspapers? (owengreaves.com)
- The Future Of Business – Flick The Switch! (owengreaves.com)
A Tribute To The Loss Of A Dear Friend – Tucker Nelson
Tucker & Sandi Nelson
Many years ago, around 1997, I met a man, I mean a real man. His name is Tucker Nelson. Tucker was a real man for many reason’s, but mostly for his courage, strength, and zest for life. You see, back in 1981, Tucker was in a trucking accident, yep, he was a truck driver. Tucker was seriously injured, and was confined to a wheel chair for the rest of his life. But Tucker was the most able person I know, he wouldn’t let the accident and the chair beat him. Sure he had times of frustration and depression, that made him normal to me, but he lived regardless of his situation.
When I met Tucker, he was a broker for the company I worked for, I would call him and he would provide trucking / transportation for our products being shipped all over North America. After many years of calling him, he hired me to help him build his business, business development. A few short years later, Tucker sold the business, and we stayed close friends, and I continued to support his technology needs. I used to drive into Burnaby to fix his computer problems, it made for long days, but he was worth it, and I enjoyed being with Tucker.
Yesterday (Nov 30th, 2012), I got the news from one of his daughter’s, that he had died from a massive heart attack. I have to admit, I am devastated, I have lost my Father, I have lost my Father-In-Law, I’ve lost other close friends, but today I find myself struggling with losing Tucker. I’m not looking for sympathy, that’s not why I write this tribute. I want you to know about Tucker, he was my friend, he was an over comer, a warrior, and he also was very compassionate. I will miss him, I feel bad that I didn’t spend more time with him, but I do have the comfort of knowing one thing. When he called, I always went to him, I never said no…I always said, I’ll be there as quickly as I can, and that was usually immediately. I am truly sad right now.
The picture above was taken a few years ago, around 2002. His wife Sandi passed away to cancer just few short years ago, she looked after and loved Tucker like no one else could, or has in the past. We talked of her often, he was grateful for the years he had with Sandi, and that she no longer suffers.
Thank you for indulging me as I pay tribute to a dear friend, I will miss him.
We are not promised tomorrow, please spend time with those you love and care for, make the world a better place with your kindness and love.
Many Blessings to you all.
Today On My Birthday
Let’s see, I woke up at 8:30AM, that’s unusual by itself as I’m normally up much earlier. I obviously had to clean up because I was about to venture out among the people. I have to admit though, I was dang tired and I didn’t really want to go anywhere, but was very happy I did.
My first stop was at a great little coffee shop, Clayburn Gourmet Gallery, had a London Fog and a nice visit with Kimberly (she owns the business). I then paid a visit to my church, said Hi and visited a short while. From there I made my way to a local restaurant called the Greek Island, I met a long time friend for lunch, Richard Lindfield. He had the lamb and I had schnitzel, well something like it. I had to eat and run, I felt bad because I really wanted to spend more time with Richard, but a funeral was next on my agenda.
Here I am at Central Heights Church for a memorial service, or funeral, for Leslie Buhler. Leslie (a man) spend his youth in the mission fields of India, he was born in 1924. You’re asking yourself how I know him, a story then….
In 1993 Lisa & I moved our family to Abbotsford from Penticton, B.C, we were taken to a church by our Pastor at the time, the church is called Central Heights. One of the very first few people we met were the Buhler’s, Leslie’s oldest son Tim became my very first Bible Study leader. And with all good bible study groups, you get taken in, looked after, and cared for. We were immediately grafted into the Buhler family, we attend all the Buhler family functions, Leslie was a fun man to be around, his stories were amazing. I have met many great men in my life, Leslie I am proud to say is one of the greatest. He was a man if integrity, I can’t say that about many people, but if you look up the word in the dictionary, you’ll see his picture. Oh and he wrote a book of his life in India, can’t wait to read it.
That’s the short version of the story, of we came to know Leslie Buhler. Attending his memorial was more like a family reunion, we knew almost everyone there, the place was packed….it should be, it’s a big family now! The food was interesting, yep….India….everywhere you saw food from India. I’m not huge fan, but there was fruit : )
After visiting with the family and sharing stories, Lisa & I headed home. Once we got home, and it’s normal for us, she goes upstairs and I head to my office : ) After checking mail, voice mail, and so on….there were lots of Happy Birthday wishes for me on all the Social Networks, and I’m grateful. Lisa informed me there is a Birthday present for me on the kitchen table, I was curious and surprised actually. I went upstairs to find a bag filled with the usual stuffing, in it was season 1 & 2 of Downton Abby! First I laughed out loud, then I asked, are sure this is for me? You see, just the night before we were talking about the show and how we could never find on any channel, I suggested we should buy the DVD for Christmas. Obviously a last minute shopper : )
It’s 5PM now, Lisa is teaching piano to 5 or 6 kids, then at 7:30PM we’ll figure out what’s for supper…maybe after supper we’ll watch Downton Abbey : ) We are planning an evening out later in the week to celebrate in a more formal way, but good just lying low at home with my Lisa.
So that’s been my day, one I won’t forget because Leslie Buhler & I are celebrating a day of victory!
The Future Of Business – When Paper Advances Technology – Intellipaper
Recently a Tweet with a link was sent my way, it was from friend, so I checked it out. I love innovation, I really do, I also love it even more when someone does something with a product or commodity that’s been around before I was born. We all know about paper, we all know how valuable it is and has been, but have you considered the possibility of inserting paper into your computer to get information? I know!
Just watch the video:
The Future Of Business – Will Ad Networks Replace Radio, Television & Newspapers?
When considering what a business of the future looks like, I had to wonder what might happen to traditional ways of marketing, branding and advertising. Some of it’s obvious, but some of it not so much. As a business owner, would you know where to look to leverage Ad Networks online? Internet Marketers have had the inside track on them, but that’s another change taking place. Ad Networks are becoming more and more mainstream, can you name a few?
When thinking about these networks, you can’t help wonder the impact they have, or will have, on traditional modes like Radio, Television, and Newspaper. Will it even reach the Direct Mail way of acquiring customers. The short answer is, yes. I’m not suggesting traditional methods will disappear entirely, but the revenue generated will make a shift to the Internet.
One problem with preventing Radio, TV & Print from disappearing entirely is a thing called NET Neutrality, but that’s another problem for another day, I’m merely mentioning it because it will at some point protect media from extinction. Traditional modes will and are moving to digital subscription models to prevent the declining revenues, as a matter of survival. On October 18, 2012, editor Tina Brown announced that Newsweek would cease print publication with the December 31, 2012 issue and transition to an all-digital format, to be called Newsweek Global. These kinds of moves are not new, but they are becoming more and more common place.
If and when this happens on a much bigger scale, what does that mean for advertising? It means, Ad agencies will have to learn a new way of marketing traditional businesses. If 60% of all commerce is moving online, that should tell you one thing…that’s where the people are and you better find a means to connect with them. Why? Because they aren’t watching TV, reading Newspapers, and listening to the Radio the way they used to. They are doing these things online, over 2.4 billion of them as of this writing, and another 3 billion coming!
Marketing, Advertising online do things different, ad networks monitor similar metrics, but they are digital now. Sure there are free ways of advertising, ad networks are digital forms of a traditional method of generating revenue online. Media buys online are not that different than offline, but they are different. How? You don’t need an ad agency to handle it for you for one, it’s actually a simple process. As business owner you can do it yourself, there’s a small learning curve, you will need to learn some of the lingo, maneuver a mouse, and fill in some blanks. I’m over simplifying of course, but you can buy media online yourself.
Keep in mind, these ad networks are setup for you to advertise, or publish, they sound like the same thing, but they are two different trains of thought on the Internet.
To help you get educated on ad networks, I’m going to list a few here for you to investigate, there are hundreds of them online so this is just sampling. Most of these are traffic generators, and we all need traffic, PPC is a digital way of getting access that you couldn’t get out of a traditional ad agency.
1.) ZEDO – www.zedo.com
ZEDO Ad Network is a traffic source for Advertisers and Affiliates who want to reach specific audience segments at the top of the impression chain.
2.) AdMarketplace – www.admarketplace.com
The adMarketplace Pay Per Click advertising platform delivers Search Engine performance across large content networks.
3.) Chitika – www.chitika.com
700 Million monthly search impressions, they have been around for some time.
4.) Adoori – www.adoori.com
Adoori’s network covers more than 250 countries, a massive reach with reasonable rates.
If you haven’t investigated online ad networks, now is the time to start, eventually you will end up using one for your business. Why? Probably because Radio, TV & Newspapers are failing you and your customer base has gone online looking for you, are you there?
This subject matter runs long and deep, and I’m merely poking a stick at it, I couldn’t possibly cover every aspect of it. But if current trends continue, online ad networks will over take traditional modes of advertising. It’s conceivable that one day, they will replace them entirely, but probably not in my life-time : )
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