Practical Internet Marketing Strategies - 2010

Sometimes you just need to put an old dog down. Check out my new blog on Technology Leadership. 

This past weekend was momentous. It was a fantastic father's day weekend with lakeside and pool side activities all weekend and we received the newest Yellowbook delivered right to our doorstep.

On our way out of the driveway I noticed a yellow bag on our front doorstep. I should have been conditioned to know immediately what it was but we don't have phone service with our local phone company so I was curious why we received one - maybe it was some cool father's day present my wife ordered. Nope, it was definiitely  phone books. And then I sighed. My new yellow pages went straight to the recycle bin and I shed a quick tear for the tree that died to print the book.

Didn't they get my memo? I haven't used the phone book in years. And I'm guessing many others are ditching it as well. In my 20 minutes in the coffee shop this morning, I couldn't find any relevant data for phone book usage this year or even last. One report (from 2008) says that over 95% of homes have a Yellow pages directory and that 77% of US adults say they reference the yellow pages monthly. If by "adult" they mean individuals aged 65 and over then I might believe the numbers.

But I understand. Yellow pages directories sell ad spaced based on distribution, not usage. The actual measurement of usage is some fancy concept left to custom phone numbers and that Internet thingy. Actual usage of the directory is no doubt dwindling, so I guess my question is when will distribution start dropping as well?

In 2001, I paid $144 each month for a small 1inch by 2 inch ad in our local directory. I had to sign a year commitment and in that entire year I received one single phone call that originated from the phone book. And that guy was looking for an Internet service provider - not a web developer. Lesson learned.

My last blog entry was June 12, 2009 - over nine months ago. Wow! Shame on me because I have a lot to write about and a lot to share.

One of the reasons I haven't written much is because I've planned to change the topic of my blog. I want to move from "Practical Internet Marketing Strategies" to something more general about technology leadership. I want to move towards a blog topic that covers the ups and downs of leading a technology company. Not because I am a phenomenal leader (I have a lot of evidence to the contrary) but because I learn a lot and would love it if others could learn from my mistakes. More about that later....

So, here's my new post about Keeping up with the Joneses. A fantastic spectacle to me is the enormous number of  people staying completely in tune with our new Internet-based social infrastructure. Writing blog entries, tweeting, and posting status updates on Facebook and LinkedIn. They are online nearly 24/7 and always have something to say (some of it is even informative!). These people make me feel tired and weary because by day I manage a software company and by night I have an incredible family with whom I love spending as much time as possible. There's just not enough time in the day, right?

Cheers to those who can do it!  And then there are the rest of us....

Recently, Josh Bernoff (co-author of Groundswell) posted that only 24% of online users actually create content. I believe this is up from a couple years ago when I read his book (unfortunately, I can't look that up right now because one of my former colleagues, Colin Clark of tribeswell, still has my book). So 1 of every 4 people create content. That means about 75% of us are simply consumers or readers. That makes me feel a little better, I guess. Yet, I still can't get away from the fact that it's been over nine months since my last post.

A lot has happened in those nine months, though. We went from a company who's outlook was somehwat bland to one who has enormous potential and a very solid, admirable customer base. Since then, we've nearly doubled the number of websites using our web content management system, added new product lines and features, and we've drastically improved the way we serve and support all of our customers - all while retaining over 95% customer retention in a crappy economy! Yet, even with all of that I'm sure I could have written more blog posts. I guess sometimes we want to keep up with the Joneses and sometimes we just need to step back and do a little reading and planning. Consider that my last nine months.

OK, back to the fact that I want to create a new blog about technology leadership and just discuss learning from my mistakes. One of my favorite books, still in my posession and dogeared in just the right places, is Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. There is a scene where the fireman, who no longer puts out fires but burns books instead because they are banned, meets a former librarian. The librarian utters one of my favorite quotes and one by which I live my life every single day:

"Listen. Easy now," said the old man gently. "I know, I know. You're afraid of making mistakes. Don't be. Mistakes can be profited by. Man, when I was younger I shoved my ignorance in people's faces. They beat me with sticks. By the time I was forty my blunt instrument had been honed to a fine cutting point for me. If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you'll never learn. ...."