Category Archives: Internet

My heart is broken. I’ve lost a good friend, and arguing over blogging isn’t on top of my list of things I’d like to do. However, I’m doing it anyway. Any I’m not even sure why. I’m not even sure what the argument is anymore, but here’s the back story.

A blogger asked a group of bloggers about where to draw the line between pleasing brands and readers. She viewed her readers as ultimately the most important. I agreed, and replied about how my main goal with Reviews by Cole is to be honest and to provide a real service to my readers. In fact, my most commented on posts are reviews of items that I bought myself and gave honest, and usually negative, reviews on. Consumers search out those reviews, and they feel so strongly about the same subject that they are compelled to leave comments. It’s kind of amazing because some of the things I’ve written and have expected to be less popular are the most popular posts on my site.

And, yes, I write for my readers because my review blog is a hobby. Oh, it’s a labor of love, all right, and I bet some people wonder why I do it considering that I don’t get paid for it, and I can understand that. Then again, plenty of people put time and money and labor into hobbies like that. However, I started blogging so many years ago, and monetization wasn’t a word. I mean, we were just trying to figure out HTML and how to add comments. No one was how PR and social media would be in 2013.

It’s been almost five years since I started Reviews by Cole, and I did it for two reasons.

1. I wanted the extra cash from sponsored posts
2. I really wanted to provide a forum for people to have information about products

For about a year, I almost exclusively reviewed things I purchased because it created the content I needed for my blog. Was it getting companies some backlinks? Maybe, but I was writing honest reviews, some good, some bad. The more often I work with companies for reviews and giveaways, the more work I have to do. I’m searching for companies, sending pitches, replying to pitches, posting on social networks, communicating with other bloggers, so on and so forth. So, yes, it’s a lot of work that I don’t get paid for. I understand why people would want to get paid for it, and I even understand that it’s something of a luxury that I have a choice at all.

“Cole,” they say “we have to get paid to blog to pay our bills.” I don’t want to be classist here, but the only thing I can think of in response is “Sucks to be you.” Because these bloggers will never be able to enjoy blogging the way I’ve been able to. But, you see, I don’t want my job to be something that I love doing. I can’t turn into a truly pro blogger because I would hate doing it. I would hate the restrictions that come from working at something I love like that. Perhaps it sounds odd, but I’m just not the type of person who can do that. I would become resentful and eventually come to hate the very thing I’d love. No, if I’m going to have to work for someone else, I’m going to pick a job I’m not crazy about to begin with because I can handle disliking it.

I digress a bit, however. The point isn’t necessarily that I would dislike blogging as a job, but that coming as it as a hobbyist, I cannot help but view some people who see it as a job as less genuine. Because they have to get paid. They have bills. They have to do what brands and companies ask, and they might be doing things they don’t love or fully endorse “because it’s a job.”

This is where my beef comes in, though. Stay with me. As bloggers working with companies, we’re constantly fighting a battle to prove that what we have to offer — backlinks, honest opinions, Tweets and our audiences — are of value. We try to avoid underselling and convince PR reps  that what we have is worth something, and that something is often cold, hard cash. To prove our value, we have to sell ourselves. We put on our best smiles and we try to win people over to our side. We negotiate what is fair and acceptable. Even the FTC has something to say about that, now.

Blogging will never go back to what it once was, and I don’t have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is selling out. Because when you will do anything for a buck, aren’t you essentially saying that you have nothing of value to offer? If you bend over backwards or restrain yourself from telling the truth to your readers in the name of your relationship with a company, are you really helping anyone? Doesn’t the power of “Yes” only stem from the option to say “No”? Hint: yes, that’s exactly where it comes from. So when people sign up for brands and do all their bidding in the name of paying their bills, I understand, but I don’t condone it.  If you have to push aside your values to pay your bills, perhaps you need a different job — honestly.

There’s a difference between professionalism when it comes to brand interaction and being a slave to the brand just like there’s a difference between selling what you have and selling out. In fact, if you’ve only ever made your blog after you figured out that you could make money from it, you probably didn’t have anything to offer in the first place. Sorry. It’s not the same as starting an shop or a restaurant because then you make money directly from customers. You want to please the general public with your products and services, and their needs have to be met if you want to stay in business. Now, most of us aren’t going to have readers pay to read our blogs, but you should still provide some sort of value to your readers. If you don’t, you’re selling out and, yes, polluting the Internet.

And if you’re offended? Maybe you secretly know that you’re in the wrong.

Make Free Calls with GrooveIP

I was so excited when I finally discovered Google Voice. Google is cool in that it does all sort of free things because it’s a free company and it can. I set up my number — the last four digits spell “Cole” — and tested it out. It seemed to work great. That was, until I realized it was only forwarding calls. When you visit Google Voice in your browser, you can call people for free from your computer, but the Android app will default to using your phone’s minutes. I realize some people simply want another number to deal with business or other calls where privacy is a concern, but I was looking for a way to decrease my phone bill.

As soon as I began Googling, the answer became obvious: I would need a third-party app to use VoIP with Google Voice on my phone, and GrooveIP was the one so frequently recommended. Yes, this means you need to authorize yet another service with your Google account, but this will be acceptable for many.

Here’s how:

1. Sign up for Google Voice. I chose the option for a new number and to use my own phone for voicemail since Virgin Mobile isn’t compatible with Google’s voicemail setup.
2. Install GrooveIP Lite to your Android phone. It’s free.
3. Launch GrooveIP and login with your Google account to authorize.
4. Type a phone number on the app’s dial screen. Alternatively, you can select contacts from the “Recent,” “People” or “Favorites” tab.
5. Select a number to call, and you’re on your way.

Obviously, a steady wireless connection will make your calls clearer. Mine weren’t quite as clear as regular calling  and there were a few moments where I could detect interference, but my phone partner understood what I said the entire time and vice versa.  As you can see, you don’t actually need to install the Google Voice app to your phone; although, you can do that, too.

I’m looking forward to downgrading my Internet plan next month!

Although I’ve discussed my Pinterest failures and my Pinterest “meh” experiences, I don’t think I’ve written about any of the successes I’ve had. I recently made a wonderful chocolate, PB oatmeal cookie – and I even took a few liberties. I love recipes that have room for experimentation, er, laziness.

I swapped out crunchy peanut butter for flavored stuff from PB Crave.  I also only had instant oatmeal. The result was quite soft and not as pretty as the pictures in the recipe but tasty. Even Samantha, who claims to hate oatmeal cookies, wanted me to bring more. Mom had a hard time quitting shoving them in her mouth. Pretty good compliment.

I mean, they’re no-bake, but I still slaved away over a hot stove. ;)

If you’re not familiar, that’s the term for Facebook’s algorithm. If you want to show up in a person’s feed, you need a lot of likes, shares and comments. It’s how it works. That’s why some pages disappear from your feeds, while other peoples are always there. I get how it works, but I don’t care. Unless I’m fooling around in a thread with my friends, I don’t want to manipulate it.

Why?

The people who want to see my Facebook page already do. They make a point to find it. They read. They comments. I smile. Happily ever after. The end.

People who have liked my page may not want to see what I have to say all the time, and they may have done so in passing. Maybe engagement isn’t what matters to them. I say this because I am one of those readers. I ignore 99% of what shows up in my feed because I just don’t have time for that shit.

And that’s the second reason why I couldn’t care less about EdgeRank. My blogs are my hobbies. They’re fun. They’re mildly profitable. They’re engaging to some, but they’re not my source of income. They don’t even take priority over my friends and family. I don’t think in blog and, you know what? I do pretty well with that stance. I don’t feel like I have sold myself out. I haven’t forsaken quality for quantity, and that’s important to me.

So, whatever. Concern yourself with EdgeRank. I won’t.

I wrote a lot about how social media is an important factor ofSEO and online marketing, and I fully believe this to be true. Your customers and potential customers are on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  Contacts and future employees are on LinkedIn. Pinterest is great if you have something to sell. Google+ will give you a spectacular traffic boost. It’s the facts of life in the digital age.

But–and this really is a big but–you shouldn’t join every social network, and you sure as hell shouldn’t join one and make yourself look like a fool or, even worse, completely forget about it.

Let’s break this down one by one.

Why You Don’t Need to Join Every Social Network

The social part is important. You should be using these venues to engage with people. Your conversations might be short and superficial, or they might be a little more involved, but conversations need to happen. This means you need to make time for it. If you’re trying to do this all yourself, you need to make time but also set a time limit for social networking. Otherwise, you’ll get lost in the abyss. There’s a limited amount of time and an unlimited number of social networks. Do the math. With that said, if you don’t have time and can’t afford to hire the job out, you might want to consider foregoing social media altogether. It won’t help, but it will do less damage than spreading yourself too thin and being seen as unresponsive.

The second argument for this point is that your target audience isn’t on every website. If you’re not selling something that you can visualize, Pinterest makes little sense. LinkedIn isn’t the site to connect with consumers, and Twitter is full of bloggers and marketers but isn’t saturated with everyday customers. Everyone is on Facebook, but it’s not the place to make business contacts. Pick and choose wisely.

Social Networking Is the Public Face of Your Company

It’s okay to socialize on Google+ or Twitter. In fact, your fans and followers will expect a little bit of it. There’s nothing wrong with chatting casually, but I like to think that you should keep it friendly but not familiar. That was something I was taught at my first job, and I think it helps you remember how to communicate via social media.

I’d like to point out that you should avoid text speak and annoying abbreviations as much as possible. Use proper English, punctuation and keep an eye on your grammar. Most people aren’t sticklers about it — I mean, have you seen my Twitter feed? — but your social communications still represent your brand and your reputation. You don’t want people snickering or shaking their heads because your typing skills are so silly.

I would go so far as to recommend that you not overtly let people know if you’re new to using Twitter or Google+. Instead, hit up the Internet and find some tutorials that explains what @replies, direct messages, circles and video chats are all about. You don’t have to jump in head first. You can dip a toe in the water and get used to the environment. Just remember how you look while you do it. Fake it ’til you make it.

You Have to Be Active on Social Sites

It’s not good enough just to join, you have to post. This is why it’s so important to pick the social networks that are the best fit. You need to ask questions of followers, post polls for fans, offer coupons, talk about the latest news and link to your newest blog post. If you don’t give people a reason to follow you, then they won’t. It’s more than that, though.

People search out brands and businesses on social networks because they want immediate feedback. If you haven’t signed in for weeks or months, it’s bad for branding. Consumers won’t see your profiles as resources, but it could be worse than that. They might not see your company as one that can provide answers, cares about  customers or understands the Internet. In short: they ignore your social and Internet presence. Even if you start posting, consumers may have long ago ignored what you have to say.

Getting people to come back is a lot more difficult than getting them to show up in the first place, and that’s hard enough as it.

Take your time. Do your research. Make time to be active on whichever sites you join. Do it right, and you’ll thank me later.