For complete details goto http://bfmp.kajabi.com/

Or click the image…

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==> 7 Things Highly Productive People Do

Seriously … In my former life as a VP of IT I had to manage multi-million dollar projects and large teams of development, sales and admin staff.

Ack! Now there’s a flashback …

If I couldn’t keep the team on track, or break down my tasks into little, achievable chunks then I was pooched … and the US military and British Governments don’t take kindly to you missing a project deadline

Take 5 and read it.

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The idea behind the Internet of Things is to connect nearly everything. Think of it like Star Trek: the ship’s computer is the Internet and everything else on board are the things. Captain Kirk can ask the computer where Spok is and the computer, looking for Spok’s badget, tells Kirk he’s in the galley. Meanwhile, Spok is asking the galley’s espresso machine to make him a double-cap decaf with extra froth and the machine informs the computer that it’s running low on grinds. At the same time, Scotty asks the computer why his replacement Warp Drive Oscillators haven’t arrived. Both the espresso machine and the shipping/receiving computer check on the status of the delivery craft.

Move that to your house, where your refrigerator and pantry automatically collaborate to make up your grocery list and even deliver it to the store when you tell them you’re going to get groceries. When you arrive, they’re all there at checkout, waiting for you to pay and take them home – or even call for delivery if you decide not to make the trip.

That’s the Internet of Things as envisioned by futurists who are not likely to be far off the mark.

So what does ‘the cloud’ have to do with this?

=== The Cloud and the Internet of Things

It’s almost 100% likely that the Internet of Things will be like a big cloud of computer systems working together through various specialized software and machines to provide all of this connectivity. These connections will require several things:

*scalability
*redundancy
*speed of service
*interconnectivity without centralization

The first is obvious. As more and more people connect to the IoT and more services are added to it, it will have to grow to accommodate. The second is also obvious: as the IoT grows and more people are using it, it will become depended upon more and more and if it fails, it would affect a lot of people – so it will need to be redundant so it will not fail.

Speed of service is another obvious issue. If it’s not fast, reliable, and better than the alternative (manually writing up that grocery list, for instance), no one will use it.

The last one isn’t quite as obvious. The IoT will require that various objects in it be able to talk to one another. A grocery list only from your refrigerator, for instance, is only half as useful. A grocery list from your refrigerator, pantry, and that can be added to through your mobile phone’s scheduler that knows you’ll be cooking a special birthday dinner on Friday for your child.. really useful.

Centralization, however easy it might make the building of the IoT, would also destroy its scalability and redundancy and likely cause speed of service to be slower. So it will have to be spread out, not centralized.

=== So what needs to change?

Mainly, our systems will need to evolve to the point that massive amounts of data are easier to handle. Every piece of equipment, be it a computer, a refrigerator, or a phone, generates data and that data has to be stored in a useful way. Today’s media is finally catching up to that and we’re seeing fewer and fewer platter-based hard drives on these systems and more and more of the more flexible memory-based storage media, for instance.

If that trend continues, then data will become more easily stored in smaller spaces. Next comes accessibility. So far, we’re just keeping up, but the industry is having to evolve fast to do so. Database administration today is very different from what it was a decade ago. A decade hence, it will be more different still.

We’ll see all of these things come together, though, as it always has. Technology has a funny way of keeping pace with itself.

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(1) It takes time

Let’s face it, one of the main reasons this important task doesn’t get done is simply because it takes time. In the case of social media updates, these micro messages (while short) still require time to plan, to write, to consider the overall strategy (more on that later) and time to publish.

Time management and performance studies show an interruption costs us about 15 minutes of lost time before we are able to regain our former productivity. Assuming you had to stop 3 times a day and tweet, and 2 times a day to update your Facebook page, that’s 1 ¼ hrs just there — 17% of your day.

Think about it, add a little buffer to this and you’ll easily spend 20% of your time on this task … that’s easily ONE DAY PER WEEK spent on social media!

(2) It requires skill

I understand we can all write, they teach us this basic skill from a very early age but documenting your required groceries, or penning a letter to Aunt Maggy is not the same as crafting compelling copy for business use.

And being able to perform when required and ‘get creative’ takes practice and training. You’ve likely heard about writer’s block, well it’s a real phenomenon and professional writers have techniques to combat this wasteful problem.

Then there’s the issue that all professional writing is not created equal. I’ll let you in on a secret, within the hallowed halls of writers there exists a snobbery, a class system of sorts. At the risk of having ink spilled on me at the next writers ball, some writers craft content to inform, others to compel. Persuading your prospects and clients to engage and interact with you is key.

Choose wisely.

(3) It requires technical know-how

If all you needed were points 1 and 2 then that would be good, but you don’t. You need to know about the technology too. You need to know how to leverage the various platforms properly and ensure you don’t goof or post to early or too late. You need skills to make these byzantine platforms turn chaos into a symphony of concordant content.

Simply put, you need to know how to use the tools. And to keep things interesting, the programmers behind these tools keep changing the game! Blink and you’ll miss an update or some other neat new function.

(4) It requires an overall integrated marketing strategy

Working in a vacuum sucks – literally.

Creating any marketing messages and syndicating them at random is a recipe for failure. And if you imagine social media is all hip, cool and “off the cuff” then you are dancing with disaster.

Better to think of your marketing messages as sled dogs, they all need to be pulling in the same direction to gain traction and make head way.

(5) It yields results

Shockingly this one is simple. When you outsource the work it gets done on time and as agreed. You get results – guaranteed.

And further to this, the actual efforts yield SEO lift, increased exposure and legitimate back-links to your target URL (a huge value.)

You also get additional results in the SERPS listings – and any time you can secure another top 10 slot, it’s a space your competition cannot (evil chuckle).

*NEWS* It Even Helps You Avoid Google’s Recent Penalty

Google’s mandate has always been to provide the best answer (content) to those searching. Recently Google updated its algorithms once more and began to single out and better reward unique content. So if you thought re-hashed, spun, or scraped content would work … Think again. Here’s the link to Google’s blog:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/finding-more-high-quality-sites-in.html

(6) It costs less

OK we’re biased I admit it. We want you to hire us to do this for you. But let’s look at the numbers for a second. Assuming you create 100 social media updates that will take you about 20 hours.

Then you’ve got to publish and syndicate this content – another couple of hours. Then consider the tasks spread across your month as they interfere with your other productivity – more time spent, let’s say 5 hours. It adds up quickly.

Let’s start by looking at you hiring a freelancer:

Open market rates for freelance writers vary, but $60 an hour is not unusual. 25 x 60 == $1,500. Then there’s the person who would need to upload and manage the publishing – maybe another $50/hr so that’s an extra $100 for a grand total of $1,600.

Let’s look at you hiring a full-time employee:

And if you were to hire someone to create and manage your social media and content marketing then you’d be looking at an average salary of about $55,000 per year ($4,584 per month) plus all the usual hidden costs (taxes, insurance, their desk space etc.)

Admittedly you have more time than you need with this approach, and you can use the employee in other ways, but I’m sure you get the picture. Oh yes, before I forget, you’ll need something in place for when they go on vacation, or get sick or are away on training …

Let’s look at you using us:

$399 every 4 weeks, that’s the current offer. At this price we’re even a better deal than hiring a freelancer – 75% better. And while there is a one-time setup fee to get things analyzed and configured, were still more affordable!

(7) It works … So you don’t have to

Leads generated from social media content marketing are more likely to convert into business. The science behind this is solid and speaks to millions of years of behaviour. Think crowd sourcing, social proof, ‘monkey see, monkey do’ and a myriad of other psychological precepts.

SM content gets found – the first part of a successful online marketing strategy.

SM content gets shared – necessary for your message to move through the market.

SM content works 24/7/365. You pay once for its creation and syndication and it just keeps on working. The same can be said about articles too, the ROI is amazing!

Checkout our Social Media Content Made Easy (™) for more details on how you can get your social media done for you.

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Most have probably tried or seen speech recognition software, which, for the most part, has been stuck in the 1980s with clunky and often mistake-prone engines and hit-and-miss interfaces. The usefulness of speech recognition has been, frankly, nonexistent.

Until now, anyway.

=== Why voice recognition hasn’t worked well so far.

The difference between yesterday’s SR software and that of today is the approach taken to create the recognition itself. Until recently, the field of SR has been dominated by linguists who’ve used the idea that computers can recognize speech if they have enough data about the individual sounds that make up the phonetics of our languages.

The trouble is, these individual sounds have to be mapped by humans and coded for the computer to understand. Any gaps in that mapping (such as the sound difference between an ‘ahh’ and an ‘oahh’ sound) means gaps in recognition. In addition, the more mapping that is done, the larger the software gets – thus it becomes unwieldy fast.

=== Enter the new approach, championed by Google.

The opposite approach, taken by engineers, is to crunch vast amounts of voice data and let the computer index and map those individual sounds. This requires a huge up-front investment in computing time, but once accomplished, means much more seamless voice recognition.

Google, which has more data than anybody, has the resources to accomplish this. Voice recordings from the old Google411 and other systems the company has had in the past provide the base data to begin with. Using this, engineers have been able to parse a gigantic database of language sounds for several languages around the world, but mostly English.

The result? Android Voice and Translate apps that actually work.

You can literally hold your phone at the table in a French restaurant and speak to the waiter, through the phone, without having to know French. You say your phrase, the phone translates it (thanks to the Google cloud) into French for the waiter, and the waiter’s response is likewise given to you in English. Very Stark Trek.

The phone can also take speech queries and turn them into answers or search results. Asking it, in plain English, to calculate simple or even complex equations is as easy as stating the equation. Even asking for directions and getting a Google Maps direction set is as easy as stating an address and letting it use your current GPS location as a starting point.

While the speech recognition isn’t always perfect, especially in languages other than English, the app does do most things well. It’s a first step towards a fully-integrated future where we talk to our computers and each other (through them) without inhibition.

Yet again, reality gets one step closer to Star Trek.

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Basically, if you have multiple social media profiles and you want to know how to keep them updated completely on auto-pilot, or even semi-automatically, check out this short explanation.

For more information visit http://SocialFusionFormula.com

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Outsourcing repetitive tasks, promotional messaging and other “non personal” work – that’s just smart. But when a colleague connects with me “personally” I’m rather bothered when I get a message back from them — or rather from their assistant — saying something like this:

“Hi this is Sally, I’m John’s VA. I’ll pass along your message and let him know you reached out.”

Uh …’Pass along your message and let him know…’ Well woop-dee-doo! And while I suspect Sally is a wonderful person I will no longer communicate privately with my friend on that channel because I believed it was a direct, personal connection with him. Not so.

Call me naive perhaps, but surely I’m not the only one person who manages their personal profiles. Yes I have profiles on networks for business promotion but I’d argue they are obviously “marketing” or “broadcast” based and you can tell that when you see them. But my personal profiles … that’s another thing entirely.

And for those nay-sayers out there who might argue and say I support automation and should expect nothing less from my friends use of technology, I say this: Phhht! Ok, well not really. I say this…

Automation is a tool that can be used to improve process and systems. It should only be used when the elemental component of a task is discrete, repeatable and not subject to the usual vagaries of human interpretation. In other words, use it for some things and not others … like writing to your “real” friends.

Hang on a second… OMG!

Maybe …. just maybe I’m not a real friend to my colleague. Horror of horrors! Oh cruel world, how suddenly you seem darker and less friendly to me now. [Cue dramatic soundtrack]

Until next time, I’m off to offend some “close friends” with a phone call. I know, how 19th Century of me

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Integrated Internet Marketing

Here’s one on my favourite process maps, I originally developed it about 5 years ago for a major project I was working on. Since then I’ve updated it and enhanced it to keep it current and relevant.

Integrated Internet Marketing Process Map

You’ll find this process map an invaluable guide to thinking about your online marketing processes. Remember, internet marketing is NOT the only form of marketing and needs to be part of an integrated marketing approach.

For more advice and other resources I recommend you subscribe to my weekly marketing tips newsletter – the sign up form is on the top right of this page. Enjoy!

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My success with social media comes from systemizing it. Sadly some folks get all ‘upset’ when they hear I use automation to help with the workload, but seriously folks … social media is not manageable if you try and do it all yourself!

That’s the dirty little secret of social media. On your own you can only do so much. It stays small, “friendly”, you can interact with a few hundred people and hey – if that’s all you want then rock and roll, you’re good to go.

However, if you want to make money (rather than friends) with social media then you need systems, strategies and some cool tactics that make it happen. That’s where my Social Fusion Formula comes in.

I suggest you visit the website today and grab the schematic that outlines how I pull off this rather impressive feat of systemization. The download form is on the first page and all I ask in exchange is your email address so I know who’s requesting it.

You might also like to know that I am recording a series of training videos that walk through the stages and steps of successfully implementing your own Social Fusion Formula and those will be along shortly.

Anyway, for now grab the SFF schematic and discover my social media ‘secret weapon’

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