Should Web 2.0 Embrace Localization?

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After reading Bernard Sunn’s blog post, “Re-Localization Opportunities – Local 2.0”  I thought how can Web 2.0 developers incorporate local business owners into their 2.0 business models?  Believe it or not, a world still exists outside of the blogosphere or Twittersphere.  The Internet is mainstream, but there is still a market of millions of people and who prefer to shop local and fellowship in person rather than in cyberspace.

So the question is – How can web 2.0 developers reach those consumers?  By somehow targeting local business owners who cater to this market, developers have access to consumers who would normally be off the radar.

I commented on Bernard’s though-provoking post:

What a great post. I too found it thought provoking. I predict that we will see more and more Web 2.0 applications incorporate GPS (annotated tagging) in a way that will pull consumers out to local stores, shops, etc. For example, how can BrightKite take its annotated, geo-tagging application and localize it? How can they partner with local business owners, and bring value to them via their application and local BrightKite users? It will be interesting to watch this trend develop.

Should web application developers incorporate locailization into their business models?  Or should they continue to focus on the cyberspace for revenue generation?

Re-Localization Opportunities – Local 2.0 – ReadWriteWeb.

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Free Social Media for Publishers Webinar, Featuring Chris Brogan

For those of you who are fane of Christ Brogan, watch him in action on Tuesday December 16th during the O’Reiley webinar: Social Media for Publishers.

Meet with Chris Brogan for a not-too-techy and not-too-light dive into the world of social media from the mindset of a publisher. Learn how he views the tools and how they apply to the work that you have on your plate for 2009. Leave the presentation with at least three things that will give you immediate results.

Update: Here is another webinar that will be hosted by Chris on December 11th: Duct Tape Marketing’s Twitter for Business.  Sign up now!

O’reilly Media, Inc WebEx Enterprise Site.

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What is the Definition of Social Media Marketing?

Confused???! (Image provided by Tom_ka via Flickr)

This week I’m covering marketing basics in my business management class.  The curriculum developed by the college is very general, and I  have a lot of leeway on what marketing topics I cover in class.  With that being said, I normally structure the week that I cover marketing by first discussing  the basics of marketing such as: the 4 P’s, product life cycle, and traditional marketing collateral. But, the world of marketing is has been disrupted by the emergence of social media marketing (SMM) – Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

These “marketing additives” are the center of discussion in many businesses and no definitive answers have eveloed as to adoption and integration into enteprise marketing strategies.  I do feel SMM is too big to gloss over, but I have yet to pinpoint a definitive model of what SMM looks like from an enterprise standpoint.

Peter Kim posted a thought-provoking blog today – Defining Social Media Marketing.  Peter defines SMM it as:

“Interaction between a company and individual via [digital] delivery channels, intended to share commercial content that will lead to a sale and/or be passed along to others.”

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.  What is the definition of Social Media? What should I cover in my class?

ZOHO: Free Suite of Online Applications

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Free is good!  And ZOHO is really, really good!  ZOHO is a free suite of online business, productivity and collaboration applications that you access from the ZOHO website.  ZOHO’s website states, “The applications are free for individuals and some have a subscription fee for organizations. Our vision is to provide our customers (individuals, students, educators, non-profits, small and medium sized businesses) with the most comprehensive set of applications available anywhere (breadth); and for those applications to have enough features (depth) to make your user experience worthwhile.”

Examples of ZOHO productivity and collaboration applications are:

• ZOHO Mail
• ZOHO Writer
• ZOHO WIKI
• ZOHO Share

Examples of ZOHO business applications are:

• ZOHO CRM
• ZOHO Meeting
• ZOHO Projects
• ZOHO People

Chris Brogan has some great thought about Websites like ZOHO and what the future may entail for social networks.  Here is an excerpt from Chris’ blog post:

“I’ve long been a fan of what Zoho does, but with this new Marketplace, I get the feeling that we’re going to inch closer to one of my predictions for the future of social networks: velvet rope social platforms.

By this, I mean to say that Facebook won’t cut it in the near future for professional networks. If you and I are journalists, we’ll want to hang out on a site that has tools that make sense to us, alongside our friending features. If we’re realtors or hoteliers, we’ll want tools specific to our trades. If we’re educators, the same.

Tools like these in the marketplace are a great way for us to move even closer towards that future, as I see them potentially extending into use on various social platforms, if you just squint your eyes a bit.”

Read Chris’ entire blogpost here.

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