I have to say I am very impressed with Google+ so far. It has a lot to offer technogeeks like myself. But can it go mainstream like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Before being invited to try Google+ I spent most of my time on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, in that order.  Now the order is more like Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Here is a great visual aide on how to explain Google+

Facebook+ Twitter+ Tumblr = Google+

What I like most about Google+

Something so simple yet so amazingly complex is ones circle of connections to people and to the world. We all have many circles relationships we come across  in our daily lives. Google has made this shape the backbone of its social network. These circles serve as a visible way to organize, share and secure information with only the people you identify. You can create and name as many circles as you like, yet none of those whom you put in these circles knows what circle you have placed them in. They also don’t know that they have been placed in the same  or different circles.  With this concept you don’t have to worry about mistakenly sharing the wrong information with someone who may not like it or may take offense by it. If you really look at it, it’s kinda like Social Segregation at its finest.

What I like least about Google+

There may be 10 million plus using it now but they are still limiting it to invitation only. Google has done this with almost all of it’s services, and I kinda understand it but that does not mean I have to like it. The invites are also currently limited to those who have a gmail account. So if you have anything else you will be forced to create a Google profile that requires you to have a Google gmail account.

What I think still needs some work

Google has taken video conferencing 2 the next level with their new “Hangout” service inside Google+. Creating a Hangout was very easy and made you take notice of how cool it is to get together with some of your friends face to face via the Internet.  The audio was impressive but the video was a little choppy and delayed.  You also only get to speak to 10 people at once. I say this only because 10 is currently the maximum number they have right now and I can’t really fathom video chatting with more than 5 people at one time let alone 10. Can you imaging a video conference session with say more than 20 people?

What I think will make Google+ even more appealing.

Google launched a native Google+ mobile app for all of its Android users right around the same time they launched the service. The app makes Google+ even easier to use and even adds a group chat service called “Huddle” to the mix.  Most smart phones still don’t have a front facing camera so I understand why the “Hangout” service is currently not on the Android app.  Although I do think they will add this feature when they release the mobile app for the iPhone and iPad. Google+ is probably working on integrating their Hangout service with the iOS “FaceTime” feature.  When this happens I think Google’s mobile subscribers to Google+ will skyrocket, taking that 10 million plus number in 10 days to record heights.

Why I think you should try it once you get invited.

Google has put a lot of thought behind this new social network. They have definitely learned from their many mistakes and failures of the past. (see: Why Is Google Not Afraid To Fail?) Google has also seen what has worked successfully for other social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. All of this work by Google has allowed us all to benefit from what Google+ has brought to the table.  Is Google+ a “Facebook Killer”? only time will tell.  I suggest you check it out for yourself and make your own comparisons. Google+ is by no means the perfect social networking site, especially with the current invite limitations. Yet I can’t help but think that some of the ex employees of MySpace who currently work for Twitter or Facebook are secretly thinking, “OH SH**, Not AGAIN!!!;-)

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This is a more up to date but shorter version of the Original video on the Social Media Revolution. I have to say I like the new song but I do think they could have added some of the major events that happened in the middle east as a result to using Facebook. Part of the world’s most watched Social Media video series; “Social Media Revolution” by Erik Qualman.

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Come join us as we give you the insight to all that goes on at this years Lift B2B Social Commerce Summit LIVE!!!

Click here for the full schedule. The first session starts at 8:30am est.

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Do you have a touch screen phone yet? I don’t. I have been debating whether or not I actually need one at this time.  Even with all of the iPhone craze, I still have not been tempted to have a touch screen phone. Well I have finally found a touch phone that I have literally fallen in LOVE with. What makes this lovefest so amazing is this new touch phone is not even on the market here in the USA yet.

The new Motorola CLIQ with MOTOBLUR won’t be available until the first week in November. Why am I raving about this phone, you may ask? Well this touch phone puts Social Media in the forefront of its main functions. MOTOBlUR gives you the ability to see your Social Media updates on the phone without having to log into each individual website. Not only can you see your Facebook and Twitter updates but your can also respond or reply to these updates.

The Motorola CLIQ uses the Google Android platform. If you are not fond of  having  just touch access on your phone the CLIQ also has a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out of the bottom of the phone. I am really excited about the potential of this phone. My only problem is that I would be looking at going back to a 2 year contract with T-Mobile. I currently have a month to month payment plan with my cell phone provider that has worked very well for me up till now.

After taking a look at the above video please give me your thoughts in commenting on this new phone and let me know what made you switch to your current touch screen phone.

All the best

JB

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If you have not seen this video yet you are in for a treat. The creator of the video, Erik Qualman is also the author of the book Socialnomics: How social media transforms our lives and the way we do business.  Now be prepared the video goes at a fast clip and you may need to pause it or watch it more than one time like I did.  Even if  you have to watch it over and over again it is worth it because of the astounding statistics it give on the comparison of social media over traditional media.

The video stars by asking you a simple question. Is Social Media a Fad? It then goes on to inform you of some amazing figures about social media. My personal favorite: If Facebook were a country it would be the worlds 4th largest behind the United States and ahead of countries like Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan.  Facebook’s growth rate in 9 month, more than doubles what the television did in 13 years and  the Internet did in 3 years.

So what does all this mean for Solopreneurs like you and me? Well, for one it means that we can reach more people with a viral Youtube video and a free Twitter account than all of the viewership of last years baseball World Series. By the way I watch more baseball games via the MLB TV channel on the Internet than I have watched my whole adult life as a baseball fan.

I watched today’s Yankees/Rays game and was able to connect with Yankee fans via Twitter who were watching the game and Tweeting at the same time from all over the world.

Baseball may seem boring and not as exciting as some of the other sports like Football and Basketball but they are sure using some of the social media tools in order to bring even more eyeballs to their product. I even met a new friend on Facebook who shares the same passion as I do for my beloved Yankees yet he lives farther from the Bronx than I do.  Nate is a family man with a wife and kids just like myself.  We share the adoration of our Yankees but we also share another passion in using social media and the Internet to promote ourselves and our businesses.

Nate has an online store that sells shoes and accessories for people who have a love for clogging. What is clogging you may ask? Well according to Wikipedia Clogging is a type of folk dance with roots in traditional European dancing from the British Isles, early African-American dance, and traditional Cherokee dance in which the dancer’s footwear is used musically by striking the heel, the toe, or both in unison against a floor or each other to create audible percussive rhythms. Why do I tell you all of this? Its because while Nate and I have only met and known each other through Facebook and Twitter I was fascinated by his use of social media to promote his Clogon.com store.

Nate is a true case study of how one uses and embraces Socialnomics. All Nate did was make a comment on one of my famous Facebook updates saying that the Yankees won again and now I am writing this blog post about him and his business. I currently have over 2800 friends on Facebook but it only took one comment from Nate to get me to his profile that lead me to  his website that then lead me to his blog and to my amazement lead me to the reading and viewing  of more information about clogging.

I don’t know if I will ever meet Nate in person and I am almost sure I will never put on a clogging shoe but our shared love for the Yanks and social media will keep us connected. So if you are still stuck in the rut of traditional economics I suggest you follow Erik Qualman @equalman and Nate @mollermarketing on Twitter and get with this Socialnomics program.

All the best and GO YANKEES..;-)

JB

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I had a great time with the members of the Dekalb Chamber of Commerce last week. We had a packed house and a very eager audience who really wanted to know more about social media. I only had 90 minutes to give them a better understanding on how to use Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin in their businesses. The pressure was on but I was up to the challenge. Here are some of the comments I received after the event.

Jeff,

Great presentation on Social Media Marketing. I thoroughly enjoyed the information you presented and am currently focusing my attention on this area of marketing to provide as a service to my clients. Your presentation helped in making everything more clear for me.

Thanks for everything,
Sharla Bell
Triniti Business Concepts
A Virtual Assistance Company

Jeff,

It was great to meet you at the Dekalb Chamber of Commerce today.

I am already taking some of what you talked about to heart and will apply them to my blog TheSocialSet.blogspot.com.  I’d also love to talk to you about wordpress.

Sincerely,

David

David S. Cohen

Social Media Copywriter

JB

Attended your seminar today — it was FABULOUS!!! Let’s connect

Jennifer Whitaker
Executive Coach and Management Consultant

I want to say a special thank you to all of the staff at the Dekalb Chamber of Commerce for allowing me to speak before their members and the staff of the Dekalb Convention and Visitors Bureau for the use of their great facility. Please go to both their websites to learn more on how both their agencies can help your business.

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I have to give credit where credit is due but this post is a little more personal when it comes to the subject matter. You see I got a call from my sister at about 1 am on January 28, 2009, she was crying and screaming so loud I could hardly understand what she was trying to say to me. At first I thought the worst and feared someone had died or was injured severly.  I then told her to calm down and to please tell me what was wrong.  All she could say at first was that mom is okay.  After reasuring me that our mother was ok she then told me the devistating news that our childhood home in the Bronx went up in flames that night.

After speaking to my mom who reassured me that she was ok and on her way to the hospital, I then took to the Internet to find out any information on how this unfortunate incident could have happened.

I first tried to get the news from several websites of the local television station in New York. I then tried to get a local New York news radio station. Both proved to be very confusing and had no news about what happened to my mother”s house.

I then did a Twitter search on “Bronx Fire” and came up with the below results. All of which gave me more information on what happened to my mother’s house.

These search results not only gave me what I needed in more information but they also gave me up to date video coverage of what happened with the fire.

NYP and they were able to give me more detailed information on the damage of the fire.

As much as I am sad that my childhood home has gone up in flames, I am truely thankful and blessed that my mom was not seriously insured. I am also thankful to those who used Twitter that night and gave me the updates I needed to fill in all the blanks I was getting from traditional media.

The power of Twitter has become very real to me these past couple of days since the fire. I am now using Twitter to find out more on fire insurance and how to deal with public adjusters.

I will keep you all posted on my findings. Stay strong in this economy Solopreneurs.

All the best

JB

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Not to long after our new President of the United States was sworn in change instantly happened to the White House website.

The new Whitehouse.gov website is run by Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House.

http://change.gov/ is now redirected to http://www.whitehouse.gov

There is even a new White House Twitter account @whitehouse_gov

According to TwitterCounter the Whitehouse twitter account added 4,764 followers yesterday and predicts another 7k the next day, with 76k by the end of 3o days.

There is no sign of an official Facebook page for the White House yet but if one does crop up I will keep you posted.
If you see one before me please shoot me an email or send it in a comment on this post.

My favorite part of the website currently is the THE BRIEFING ROOM. President Barack Obama plans to publish a weekly video address every Saturday morning of his presidency and you can find it under this heading. The Briefing Room also has a section for the official White House Blog. I look forward to seeing and reading the many post but I don’t yet see a way one can make comments to the blog.

President Obama did a masterful job using the Internet leading up to his eventful election and will continue to use social media as a way to stay in touch with the many Americans that helped put him into office.  President Obama gave us many lessons on how we as Solopreneurs and Small Business people can use social media to help promote and market out businesses. Please see my blog post Barack 2.0 Will Help Solopreneurs Understand Social Media Marketing to learn more.

If you would like to take a look at the old  George W. White House Website take a look at the link below.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070910183923/http://www.whitehouse.gov/

I, for one look forward to the change our country is headed toward and I am so proud to not just be an African American  like our new President but finally proud to be an American.

All the best

and May God Bless our New First Family

JB

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Happy New Year. I have to apologize first to my many readers for taking so long to post for the new year. I have been trying to determine what I am going to focus on both professionally and personally for 2009 and could not get my act together until now. This post will be short and sweet because I just want to pay homage to just one Web 2.0 application that has really made an impact on me and many millions of others.

Twitter, oh and by the way my Twitter address is @jbrath. If you don’t have a Twitter account yet get one NOW. It is free and will bring you into a whole new world of social media interaction. I got so wrapped up in Twitter I grabbed the domain name Twarketing.com to study the many companies using Twitter as a marketing tool.

There are many books on Twitter but I am personally waiting for the release of Joel Comm’s book Twitter Power to come out next month.

If you are new to Twitter, one of the best blogs to get up to speed is Twitip.com TwiTip is edited by Darren Rowse from ProBlogger

There are even more Twitter application to support your using Twitter. Some of my favorites are Tweetdeck.com, SocialToo.com and Twittercounter.com

You can also use Twitter’s search engine when  you want to do research on something and get real time responses.

So I would have to again say that Twitter made the largest impression on me in 2008 and I am looking forward to what they have in store for 2009.

Have a blessed and prosperous 2009 and please tell me your experience with Twitter Good or Bad.

All the best

JB

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If you have a linkedin.com account you may want to try their new Linkedin Applications section.  Linkedin.com is a Web 2.0 social media website designed to help you with online networking for you or your business business.

The Linkedin Application suite is currently limited to 9 different applications right now. Company Buzz, Box.net Files, Blog Link, Reading List by Amazon, My Travel, SlideShare Presentations, Google Presentation, Huddle Workspaces, and WordPress.

I have tried all the applications but the ones that seem to work the best without any trouble in loading is Reading List by Amazon and SlideShare Presentations. These application are supposed to be similar to the many Facebook application that help you enhance your experience with the website. Unfortunately Linkedin may need a bit more time to get all these applications up to speed.

What’s great about having these applications on is they allow you to optimize your Lnkedin profile page. Given time these application will allow your Linkedin network to follow your blog posts using the Blog Link or WordPress app. Follow your Tweets with the Company Buzz app and follow your uploaded presentations with SlideShare and Google Presentations.

What’s not so great is the lack of support of these applications if they are not working on your profile page. I have been trying to get answers to why I can’t change the URL to the Blog Link app and why the Company Buzz app won’t show up on my profile page at all. All they give you is a feedback form that says your feedback is helpful but will not get a response.

As impressed as I am with Linkedin as a whole I am less than impressed with the roll out of these new applications. I would have thought that the 9 applications currently available would have been tested on multiple profile pages using multiple browsers. I have tried the applications on Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Crome all with the same results.

Even though I can only get 2 of the 9 to work consistently on my profile page, I still have hope that all of the applications will eventually perform to their fullest.  If you would like to see some of the Linkedin Applications in action please take a look at my profile page below and click on the View full Profile button on the bottom of the page. Oh and please leave me comments on your experience with loading and viewing these applications on your Linkedin Profile page

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyalexanderbrathwaite

All the best

JB

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