“Most of the time, we deal with the obstacles by persevering. Sometimes we get discouraged and turn to inspirational writing, like stuff from Vince Lombardi: `Quitters never win and winners never quit.’ Bad advice. Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.” Seth Godin.
It’s coming up to a year now since we posted our first post here on the Apollo Media Blog. And we have something special in the works: a completely new blog!
So for the next few weeks, rather than researching and developing new content for the current blog, the Apollo team will be refocusing efforts on our new social media blog. We will be devising a novel strategy, considering a new target market and reinventing our design!
Of course, during this phase we will also be working on web projects for clients so if you own a business and need an effective Internet marketing solution, please feel free to contact us.
If you’re a reader and you’re into everything social media, then hang tight for July 15th as we plan to launch Apollo’s fresh social media blog. And if you have any feedback or suggestions for direction, please share them in the comment section below.
This week we’ve gone over the history of socialmedia and at times used the terms “social media” and “social networks/ing” interchangeably. This has caused some confusion – are they are the same thing? This post is intended to clarify the definition of social media to better understand this new and popular medium.
According to Wikipedia, social media first and foremost “depends on interactions between people as the discussion and integration of words builds shared-meaning, using technology as a conduit.”
In other words, social media is primarily about user-generated content (where the public become publishers) and the conversations that exist within the communities that flourish and thrive around that content, whether it’s video, audio or text.
As social media evolved, websites that focused on media sharing began incorporating social networking features, becoming Social Networking Sites (SNSs) themselves (e.g. Flickr and YouTube). This networking aspect was a major factor to the growth of social media. (Source: Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship).
In Part 1 of the History of Social Media, we covered the origins of this cultural phenomenon and some of its characteristics. In Part 2, we discussed the first social networking site, Friendster, its rise and fall and the website that took its place, MySpace.
This post presents the next major Social Media boom, Facebook. We conclude our history lesson with the significant opportunities that SM offers for brands, marketers and businesses of all sizes through Social Media Marketing (SMM).
The Rise and Fall of Friendster and the expansion of Social Media
After the central characteristics for Social Media were developed, it was only a matter of time until large masses of people began to flock these sites. The first major site to breakthrough to the mainstream was Friendster in 2003. Here are the facts:
Friendster started in 2002
Gained popularity through 3 main groups (Bloggers, the Burning Man arts festival attendees and gay men)
By May 2003 it had 300 000 users all from WOM (Word-of-Mouth)
Media coverage began and number grew exponentially
Social Media Marketing (SMM) is still a very fresh, exciting and risky medium for marketers. It continues to be developed everyday by the internet audience, social media sites and the few brave marketers who have taken the plunge into this promising ocean. At Apollo Media, we thought we’d take a step back for a moment and look into the not-so-distant past, to the origins of Social Media.
Although it appears websites like MySpace and Facebook suddenly cropped up, the Social Media explosion didn’t happen overnight. You might be surprised to know that major networking sites as we know them have been evolving for over a decade.
It all started in 1997 with a social networking site by the name of Six Degrees. This innovative website sought to bring people together online and followed the general principles that have shaped social media: Read the rest of this entry »
More good news has flooded Apollo Media’s offices at 439 King St. West, Toronto, although it has us all standing a little straighter and watching our p’s & q’s. We are excited to work with our new client, leading image consultancy, Corporate Class Inc. and welcome the improved posture.
As one of North America’s leading image and protocol consulting firms, Corporate Class Inc. helps individuals and companies outclass the competition - at home and abroad. Focusing on business etiquette and training seminars, including international business etiquette, Corporate Class teaches clients how to project the image that will allow them to keep ahead of the competition.
Leading the company, Diane Craig is an inspirational woman who has helped hundreds of men and women (including some high profile figures like politicians) realize their professional and personal goals. Her 20 years industry experience and unique background in haute couture and fashion design lends Corporate Class Inc. a singular aspect to their image consultancy services. She is a sought after speaker at national business meetings, regularly gives comprehensive workshops to corporate groups, and offers private consultations on business etiquette, dress and dining.
In response to a successful organic SEO campaign with Apollo Media, we are pleased to announce one of the top cosmetic surgery clinics in Toronto and our esteemed client, LaFontaine Surgery, has decided to enhance their web marketing strategy. We are preparing to launch a Google pay-per-click (PPC) campaign next week in effort to further extend La Fontaine’s reach online.
For over 20 years, La Fontaine has been helping people look as good on the outside as they feel on the inside. They have constantly been at the forefront of the plastic surgery industry specializing in breast augmentation surgery, liposuction surgery, nose surgery, surgical hair transplants, and many more surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
If you’re passionate about blogging, chances are good that you’ve heard of all the conventional blog promotion strategies. You’ve surely been advised to comment on other blogs, submit articles to social media sites, guest blog on other blogs, use blog directories and practice effective link building. All these strategies are essential to a successful blog and can be implemented on a regular basis.
But there are several promotional techniques that seem to be left unexplored in the blogosphere. Here is a small list of unconventional or underrated promotional strategies that just might give your blog to edge it needs. Consider the following:
In our article, Ideas vs. Information, we mentioned that providing context in your post is vital to fleshing out discussions on any topic. To elaborate on this point, we decided to go through some of the defining features that give any piece of writing context, giving the reader the necessary reference points to get through and understand your material.
Without context, your work may just be a string of text that fails to resonate with its intended readers. Not everything you write will be self-explanatory, so give your readers the proper footing they need to get to your message. Read the rest of this entry »
A couple of months ago, we posted a definition of Web 2.0. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of viewing “The Machine is Us/ing Us”. Released January 31, 2007, the first version of this video has over 5.3 million views while the final version has over 600,000 views. This phenomenal digital ethnography was produced by Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University.
If you haven’t yet watched it, here is the final version (4½ minutes):
