ComTech News

In the latest round of "If You Can't Build It, Buy It", Yahoo has offered three times the amount of the current valuation of Right Media to gain control of the remaining 80% of the company.  Yahoo had already purchased a 20% stake for 40 million dollars last year.

This move comes swiftly in response to Google's acquisition of DoubleClick Just two weeks ago. 

As the search market slows growth of contextual ads more and more acquisitions like this are bound to take place.  It is not enough to reach web users anymore, advertisors want to reach the right user, at the right time and know what type of visitor they are paying for.  DoubleClick and Right Media both offer this type of targeting.  

Of course what drives me CRAZY is that Yahoo has the best demographic data anyone could ask for, between MyWeb2.0, Yahoo Email, etc Yahoo has more visitors then anyone with most using some type of tool or service that idetifies them. If Yahoo could just really tie into this, they could really make a lot of headway against Google.  Yet it is common for Yahoo to sit around waiting for Google to punch them in the face.  I wonder this time will Yahoo make use of this new purchase in a creative way quickly or will they once again wait around for Google to make the most of the Double Click Buy and then try to catch up.

If history is a strong indicator of future results you can guess who I am betting on, it's sad too, at heart I am a Yahoo Fan but they make me feel like a Clippers Fan, loyal but always wondering when is it going to happen for my team.

~ Jack Sprko

Technorati Tags: yahoo, right media group, google, yhoo, goog, seo, sem, marketing, targeted advertising, search marketing

Popularity: 4% [?]

I really tried to be a fan of the Trump Blog, I mean I really did but I have just removed his feed from RSS reader.  It is a shame too, I really admire Trump as a business person, I loved a few of his books like,

• Why We Want You to be Rich
• The Art of the Deal  and
• Think Like a Billionaire

They are great books and belong on the shelf of any would be business owner along with many of his other books.  I enjoyed a few seasons of hit TV show The Apprentice but have not watched the last two seasons, I have just been too busy.

Trump is an arrogant jerk at times, however, I do believe he really wants you and me and anyone that wants to have it all, to take the shot and is happy when someone makes it.  He is a guy that ticks me off at times but he is also one of my real heroes.  So why do I say his blog sucks?  Simply because it SUCKS! 

The question then is why does it suck and what can others learn so that they don't make their blog suck too.   There are several reasons his blog blows, here are the big ones.

1.  The posts are devoid of any real "voice".  They are written by MBAs in "proper English", probably each post is labored over for hours, debated around a table and then finally approved for publication. While some 17 year old blogger is makeing 10K a month with a few crappy sites and blogs, Trumps folks are debating syntax and sentence structure of one line in a post that no one will actually read anyway.

2.  99 times out of 100 every post on the Trump is nothing but a big blantant sales pitch for his business school.   Look people don't mind being sold to a bit on a blog some of that is expected but people read blogs for opinions, unique commentary and ideas.  It is ok to do some selling in a blog but you have to blend it with something unique and different.  When blended with the first reason, well it just gets worse.

3.  Trump does not post enough, most of the posts are by his team.  That is not all bad, Ben Fitts and Mark Barrera both post here at times, but when they do they do with the voice that is lacking on Trumps Blog.  Besides Ben, Mark and I are not big names like Donald. People read this blog to learn about tech and search marketing, they read Trumps to HEAR TRUMP and they seldom do.   In fact on the few occasions when Trump himself posts, it is actually pretty good, and seldom a sales pitch. Like this post on Experience vs. Education. 

There is a lot to learn here as more and more CEOs, Top Executives and Company Presidents, etc. start blogging.  There is such a tendency to have a marketing person ghost write their posts or for them to write what I call brochureology.  Most of these blogs are written like typical sales copy or academic articles with no feeling, no true voice, no passion and that makes them suck and honestly not worth producing.

So how do you make your blog rock?  In the words of my friend and client Val Riazanov, "you are what you are, be what you are".  Be yourself!  That is the key, if you knew me personally, knew what I sound like when I talk you would be able to hear my voice when you read my posts, I simply write like I talk.  That is the key to good blogging, be original and write with you own voice.  I don't care if you are some bigwig, some superstar even to the magnitude of Trump, if you are going to blog, do it right, write your own stuff and write it in your personal voice.

I just love the morons (yes if you spell check my blog you are a moron), that insist on critiquing my spelling on my blog!  They write like an English teacher but no one ever reads it!  Want to see a great example by a rookie blogger, a guy that "got it" the day I set up his blog for him, check out British Entrepreneur Neil Franklin's Blog.  Neil is very successful, has a lot of things "done for him" and has plenty of employees.  I have worked with him to get him up to speed with his blogging but every post is his post in his words.  When I read it I can "hear him" refined British accent and all.

That is the key to be a good blogger, blog, don't write prose or sales copy or brochure style text.  Let people hear you and let them feel who you really are.  

Donald Trump has a lot of things that you would do well to emulate, but his blog is not one of them.  Keep that in mind as you build and post to your blog, the sad thing is Trump's blog does not have to suck, he could kill off his MBA poster, post himself twice a week and it would have a lot more and far more loyal readers.

~ Jack Spirko

Technorati Tags: donald trump, trump blog, blogging, blog, blog voice, sales, marketing, seo, sem, search marketing

P.S. - I actually think Donald Trump has a pretty good blog, despite the issues pointed out in this article.  To be fair I have since posted an article about the positives and the improvements at the Trump Blog.  That post is called,  -  Why Donald Trump Has a Great Blog that is Getting Even Better

Popularity: 16% [?]

I have used this tool in the past but kind of forgot about it until a friend recently reminded me of it.  It is really pretty cool and you may want to check it out at Key Word Map.

 It really can't hold its' own againt things like Key Word Discovery, WordTracker or even the Google Keywords tool for real reasearch and traffic estimation.  What it is though is an excellent brainstorming tool.  It creates a liner map of key words and phrases.  You enter a phrase and it shows a map of related phrases, clicking on a related phrase reorders the map and shows new relationships.

Like I said the tool is excellent for brainstorming and lexical research.  However when I was using it recently once and a while a term when clicked rather then re ordering the map, linked me to a porn like profile!

I don't link to things like that so if you have an interest I will just say start with a term like SEO and keep poking around.  My question is did ownership do this to make money, or is this some sort of hack?  What do you think,

~ Jack Spirko 

Technorati Tags: kwmap, key word map, keyword map, seo, sem, porn hacking, hack, hacking

Popularity: 4% [?]

As a blogger with a technology blog I get a lot of opportunities to review web design firms.  I honestly turn most down because it does not really excite me very much.  Design is design right and lots of companies and individuals are good at it.  Yet a few firms are truly adapting to the new media world.  One I was just asked to look at is an Atlanta web development company called 352 Media Group.

The design of the company's site is very good as is their portifilo of sites but what struck me was the effective use of video and thick media.  Additionaly their site and those they have designed have clear concise calls to action for visitors.  As an SEO and Internet Marketer I have come across countless sites for clients that require that fix before any SEO work or any other method of bringing visitors to the site will have any real value.

If you are looking for a high end design that utilizes thick media and really pops, this is a great firm to take a look at if you are in the Atlanta Georgia area. 

~ Jack Spirko

Technorati Tags: web design, 352 media group, atlanta web design, rich media, online video, internet marketing

Note:  This is a sponsored post 

Popularity: 4% [?]

I am currently involved in a project with Russian Martial Arts Master Val Riazanov.  Val is to say the least an interesting guy, he grew up in the Soviet Union during the height of the cold war.  He was a member of the Russian Olympic team on their Judo Squad and then spent some time in the KGB.

We are currently working on a new DVD and eBook Series called Ballistic Striking.  The series teaches you how to, you guessed it, deliver ballistic strikes.  The technique is amazing and easy to learn.  I actually let Val hit me a few times (light shots he assured me) and the effect is hard to describe.  It feels like well, getting shot, hence the name.  The pain is felt inside you and radiates from with in, it is honestly incapacitating.  It also looks like he is barely striking with any effort.

And that is our challenge.  I now have a product that I know many people would buy if they understood the massive power and the ease in learning it.   Yet we need to show potential customers the power on screen, they can't feel a shot to the stomach through their monitors. 

In other words how to we transfer the belief to the potential customer across the internet?

The solution, take my boss a brilliant British Entrepreneur (Neil Franklin), put him in body armor and film some action shots and upload them to YouTube (note: Neil is highly trained in how to take shots like this).  What you are about to see is all raw, all true with no acting and no enhancements.  Have a look then read on to learn how we are using it as a prelaunch tool.

Notice while basic there is a formula to the video.  It starts out with action and a guy getting hit really hard, we then show case Val's ability with the hand pad strikes.  Following that we show a piece of a monolog by Val.   This was to show the genuine and honest guy that really wants to help people.  Following that we used a scenario that showed how you can be strong and well trained and still end up against a really strong opponent that you can't harm and how ballistic striking is the solution.  Then a little trick I will share with you!  We made the final slide that shows the web address REALLY long because YouTube always goes to a generic screen at the end of the clips.

There is a ton of work to do, the site won't even really be finished until tomorrow or Saturday but I wanted to give our readers kind of an inside look at this process before everything was polished.  If you find out about updates and follow this project visit Val's Site and opt in to his email list and we will update you as new videos come out and the process evolves.  Oh and if you would be so kind as to rate the video on YouTube for us as well we would really appreciate it.  

~ Jack Spirko

Technorati Tags: russian martial arts, youtube, systema, karate, kung fu, judo, seo, video optimization, video search, marketing, product launch, val riazanov, neil franklin

Popularity: 5% [?]