How serious should you take Facebook?

This trimmed-down article was worth sharing with all of our readers.

Facebook is big and getting bigger. One day Google may be just another member of the social network. With the arrival of Facebook Places, Facebook is showing (not for the first time) that it has the power to steamroll friends and competitors alike.

People can gripe all they want about privacy concerns, but with half a billion members, Facebook is the only game in town, so leaving comes at pretty huge costs. And people developing new apps and services that might be within Facebook's reach? They should be afraid. Does this all sound familiar? It's not too tough a riddle: Just replace "Facebook" with "Google" and it all holds true.

The question is, how soon until Facebook takes on Google directly?

Places is the latest example of Facebook adding a feature that knocks a would-be competitor out of center stage. It's not a new program that requires a new account and a new set of friends — it's just Facebook, working in real time in real physical space.

Facebook has eaten into others' businesses in the past. Twitter is growing, but not at the rate that Facebook is, in part because the Facebook News Feed is essentially Twitter.

Facebook is already encroaching on Google in some niches. Facebook is the third-largest source of online video , according to comScore, and I verified that this doesn't include any of the YouTube videos that you can see in the Facebook News Feed (videos served by Google and apparently stripped of ads). YouTube is very firmly planted in the No. 1 spot and will be hard to topple. Nevertheless, Facebook is sneaking up on YouTube while using YouTube to its advantage.

News and search are also under fire. In a fascinating twist, Google's machine logic is being supplanted by Facebook's crowd logic. Why build an autonomous artificial intelligence when you can devote the same programming resources to building systems to translate the whims of the masses into usable results? Why stop at music, video or food recommendations, the stuff you see already posted on the walls of your friends? Why not turn the sum total of 500 million people's wall postings into humanly intelligent news blotters and search results?

Despite its size, Google's lost ground on social networking will hurt when it comes to harnessing the masses. A few months ago, after Google launched the poorly received Buzz social news feed, Fortune's Jessi Hempel wrote that "Google still holds users' attention with Gmail, the best free e-mail system available." However, she concluded that Google needs to "find a better way to harness the social aspects of the Web and organize it into an improved search product, before it's too late."

Like Google, Facebook isn't overly concerned about our privacy concerns. Keeping people's information private is not the point, and it never will be. The promise of connecting you to people, or you to information, comes at the cost of sharing some of your own information. That's food for the billion-dollar ad monsters who pay well to feast. Go too private, and Facebook's coolest features — like Places — will leave you behind. Hint: This is why they don't reform when people ask nicely.

Google is fighting a lot of different wars now. Facebook may be the new Google on the Internet, but as mobile platforms go, Google may be the new Apple, or at least the latest hegemon to beat Apple at its own game. And with dominant positions in both search and video, Google has plenty of weapons to fight a war of the online worlds, too.

That being said, Google still needs to watch its back. E-mail is already less of a draw for kids and twenty-somethings. No social effort by Google has taken root. And Facebook has a log-in-required lock on the majority of its audience that Google doesn't really have. Deciding to create a Facebook account is easy, but once you have built that account into your own hall of frenemies, you're not apt to tear it down again. The more connections you've made on Facebook, the harder it is to pull yourself away. And by a tragic turn of circumstance for Google, the very fact that you have a Facebook account makes it about a million times easier to ditch an old e-mail account.

Watch out, Google. You may have become king of the mountain faster than anyone before you, but that only means you've set a record for Facebook to break.

SMC participates in Industry Webinar hosted by Parking Today

On July 12, 2011, SMC Software is scheduled for a webinar hosted by PARKING TODAY, the leading publication serving the diverse needs of today's parking industry. On this date, I will be sharing the truth about Reservations and Multi-Channel Optimization with the parking industry. This leading-edge technology will transform the parking industry.

Why are we announcing this here on our Blog to our clients?

1. Because YOU are OUR valued client. And you are important to the managing partners of SMC. We want to watch you succeed in your respective markets. Period!

2. Because we know many of you do not realize what powerful tool is in your possession. Simply put, your company has access to the most logical reservations technology ever developed for parking industry. As stated, we have a patent pending to protect this logic we refer to as Multi-Channel Optimization. That said, we encourage you to learn more today.

3. Because it remains our hope that each of our clients take this innovation and apply it before this technology falls into your competitors hands.

4. Because this announcement on July 12th will wake up some parking people for sure. Some will take immediate action while others play the wait and see game.

As clients, you are our friends. So, as our friend, please take our advice with this one. Begin to network all around your community; corporations, travel agencies and associations. We will help you set up your partner channels.

Mobile & Tablet

Report: Internet use becoming round-the-clock
Sacramento Business Journal
Date: Thursday, May 12, 2011, 2:18pm PDT

Smartphones are making Internet use more accessible around the clock, with many people getting online in bed to check such social networking Web sites as Facebook and Twitter.

Consumers can’t get enough of the Internet. In fact, many smartphone users are connected even before climbing out of bed, according to a new study.

As many as 35 percent of Android and iPhone users in the U.S. use non-voice applications on their smartphones while still in bed, according to a 2011 Ericsson ConsumerLab Research study. And, among those users, most — 18 percent — opt to sign in to social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter.

Eleven percent of smartphone users check their e-mail or listen to music before starting their morning, while 7 percent utilize instant messaging tools. Fifteen percent say they surf the Internet in the early dawn hours.

As the day continues, use of non-voice applications increases into the 50 percent range, before peaking in the early evening, when 65 percent of smartphone owners use non-voice applications.

Smartphone use shows no signs of declining. Roughly 72.5 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in March 2011, up 15 percent from the preceding three-month period.

And as carriers such as AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications and Sprint Nextel, offer expanded data access, the numbers will likely continue to rise.

Verizon plans to bring its faster 4G network to the Dayton region by the end of 2011. AT&T also plans to expand its 4G coverage across the country, reaching as high as 95 percent of the U.S. population thanks to its pending purchase of T-Mobile USA.

In addition to smartphones, the study shows tablets such as the iPad are almost as popular an item to purchase as laptops. Many executives in the Dayton region are using iPads and smartphones to stay connected out of the office. And upon launch of the new iPad 2, two Dayton-area MacTown stores sold out within 10 minutes, mirroring the same sell-out status at Best Buy Co. stores in the region.

Competition is heating up in the mobile tablet category as Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL) announced that it will produce a tablet with the Microsoft Corp. operating system.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), Samsung and Motorola are reportedly planning a tablet, as well as Research in Motion.

Email Marketing Tips

There is no doubt that HTML emails are more attractive, more eye catching and more visual than text based ones. Just imagine how much more professional your business would look if you can direct people to your Web site via a well designed HTML email. The fact that many big Internet based companies use them points to how popular and well received they are.

So you need to consider how to design your HTML emails so they receive the best possible response. Some rules regarding email communications will apply to any kind of email format, so you should bear these in mind first and start planning accordingly.

Have A Plan

For example, plan the layout and content of your email before you start constructing it. What is the purpose of sending the email, and how are you going to get that purpose across? You may find it helpful to sketch out some ideas on paper before doing anything else.
Balance Images and Text

The most important thing to remember is that not everyone will be able to see your images. Some email programs are set up to block images, so you need to find a balance between images and text to appeal to those who won’t see any images at all.

Create a Strong Call to Action

The most important part of this is your call to action. If the focus of your email is to get people to visit your Web site, you will want that call to action to be visible to everyone. If it is embedded in an image, it could be lost.

Include Text Link to Online Version

One absolute must is to include a text link in your email telling people they can view it online if they cannot see it as an actual email. The place for this is at the very top of the email. This way if the recipient cannot see any of your HTML email at all, they will at least be able to read your message telling them they can see it elsewhere.

Make Conversions Easy

The question of positioning a call to action button should also be considered. You don't need to place it in a particular spot however. All you have to do is position it where it will easily be seen. Experiment with the colors you use for the button too. Which ones will be eye catching and which ones will simply fade into the background?

If you have several items to share in your email, perhaps you are writing a newsletter for example, make sure you add a short summary at the top. This gives your readers a chance to see what the email can offer them and whether to read through it or not.

Experimenting with your ideas and designs is essential to the success of email marketing. Learn all you can about your successes and failures - your website will thank you for it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mac Cassity is a seasoned internet marketer with more than 13 years of experience in making money online. His Web site www.PerfectNetworker.com has allowed Mac to grow and service a client base in the tens of thousands and reach a presence in more than 40 countries.

Congrats to A1 Express Airport Parking

A big congratulations to Del Smith, president of A1 Express Airport Parking, serving Tampa International Airport. We all talk about the importance of customer service. And we all know that "actions are louder than words".

This article was worth sharing with our parking clients. Please click here to read.

Keep up the great work!

It's FREE from iContact - Act Today!

We said it before and it deserves saying again.

EMAIL MARKETING IS A POWERFUL TOOL TO KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS LOYAL TO YOUR BRANDED SERVICES.

Some say that "loyalty to a brand is no longer achievable" while others make the statement "customers only care about price". I simply disagree, and believe those who share their opinions, are lazy thinkers.

No Business Plan + No Internet Marketing Strategy
=

Minimum Sales & Conversion

Everyone in business should have a Business Plan, and it should be shared with management to achieve the ultimate objective - success! With today's growth in e-commerce, an Internet Marketing Strategy is an integral part of the overall plan. A well-defined strategy will help position you to your target and niche market as well as increase conversion.

If you are not using Constant Contact, etc, please take advantage of this NEW & FREE OFFER by iContact. Go to www.icontact.com and sign up.

What does this * mean to a shopper?

There is a well-known cable company in the southeastern U.S. who spends millions of dollars in commercials educating consumers about the asterisk (*). Known as "Asterisk Hunter", Brighthouse Networks points out why their services and guidelines are asterisk-free to simply bury the competition.

Moving over to the parking industry, lets evaluate both coupons shown here:

1. With this coupon pay just $8.95 - so beware - the price is subject to change without notice.

2. For this rate, the coupon must be printed and brought in similar to a grocery store - so beware - mobile and tablet devices are replacing the paper coupon.

3. Rates do not include sales tax (or maybe other hidden fees) - so beware - consumers are educated today and demand to know the full price.

For some, coupons are habit to cut out and carry around for that special discount. For others, in particular the younger generation-ers, "what's a coupon?".

Mobile Coupons are coming, and fast. Retailers such as Target are preparing themselves for a huge e-coupon boom.