Marvin Double

If you write your own copy you should also read this - Marvin Double

Very nice collection of twitter badges - Marvin Double

Try and Try AgainBy Marvin DoubleIf you happen to be reading this post and wonder what the heck it's about here's an explanation.I've had an account with technorati for some time now but somethings been missing. Technorati allows you to claim your blog, which could be through of as registering it, using a special feature.I'm embarrassed to say even though I know the value of technorati, - Marvin Double

Great info on tools to make using Twitter and Social Networking easier and more effective. - Marvin Double

A create article about dealing with marketing on a budget using a Pay Per Sale model instead of Pay Per Click. Nice argument for the use of affiliate marketing. - Marvin Double

Helping to Keep Kids Busy Over EasterBy Marvin DoubleAfter the eggs are decorated, and the chocolate bunny's nibbled, you might want to add a coloring activity to the agenda to help keep kids occupied over the Easter Holiday.  To get your free copy of this 8x10 coloring page got to http://www.twitpic.com/33ouf Simply click on the thumbnail to select the image, then, right click and save as to - Marvin Double

Happy EasterBy Marvin DoubleI recognize that many readers of this post may not be Christian or possibly not religious.  Easter is of course an entirely Christian holiday and for pois Christians the foundation of their faith - but this article isn't about religion.  Oddly there is a parallel between Easter and what has come to be known as social marketing.  Like so many holidays it has been - Marvin Double

How Twitter and Social Media are changing communications and Internet Marketing - Marvin Double

The Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon By Marvin Double In 1952 on the Island of Koshima in Japan, researchers were studying a troupe of Macaque monkeys made a surprising observation. The monkeys liked to eat sweet potatoes but had a problem. It was difficult for them to clean sand off the potatoes before eating. A young female they named Imo solved the problem by washing her sweet potato with water before eating; a behavior which was previous unknown in the troop. Monkeys, Sweet Potatoes Marketing? What the heck you might ask do monkeys washing sweet potatoes have to do with marketing - bear with me. Imo went on to teach first her mother, then other members of the troop how to wash sweet potatoes The behavior created a primate buzz and went viral, in a monkey kind of way. After a few years it was estimated that 99 monkeys in the group were using the new skill. The whole group had benefited from the insight of one of its members. Through cooperation and sharing of information through their... - Marvin Double

Tweeting in Your Sleep By Marvin Double If you read my previous post "Taming The Twitter Monster" You already know what I'm getting on about in this post. If not, here's a quick summary. In that post I cover some basic issues with using Twitter as a marketing platform. In a nutshell the problem is simply that Twitter is a real time network - which is great for real time communications: Not so great if you're using it to promote yourself, a product, service or message. Making Twitter Work For You, can be a real challenge Twitter is a 24 / 7 network. When you log off at night others are just logging on. If you are trying to get your message out to the world, regardless of the what the message is, the issue of communication across time zones becomes problematic. This is especially true for those who need to establish or maintain a web presence. The Monster is Awake Unless you are a serious insomniac with pretty impressive stamina it's nigh on impossible to stay online continuously.... - Marvin Double

Twitter, Good Bad and Ugly By Marvin Double Hold on to your reading glasses, this is a Monster of a post. I apologize in advance for the length. I cover a lot of ground here and, what I feel is an important topic about Twitter and social media. I'm breaking a basic rule of blogging, which is to keep posts short and "bloggy". In this case I feel the subject is to important to short change. If you're one of those folks who thinks the microwave is to slow this isn't the post for you. If You are a regular reader you already know that I'm a fan of Twitter. I've only been on Twitter for a short time compared to others and am still a neophyte. In that short time I've made some great contacts and discovered some really great folks and a ton of new information. Like many others I've also discovered some bad and even ugly things about the network - but I'll get to that. It was those very issues bad ugly issues that stimulated me to create a my latest cartoon. If you like you can get your own... - Marvin Double

Hi Let's get to know each other This is a very exciting time to be online in an huge, dynamic and active social network like Twitter. If you are a new follower please tweet me and say hi. What do you do, what are your interests or goals. If you are not yet on Twitter you can find me at http://twitter/mdouble It's just amazing how much information you can pack into 140 little characters. I love learning new things and hope you do too, there's no shortage of new things to learn on Twitter. In the interest of getting to know each other, here's a little something about me. I'm a blogger and information marketer. I use twitter in combination with this blog to keep my readers informed about topics related to internet marketing. Because I'm a writer, Graphic Artist Photographer and Cartoonist you'll find that my blog posts often contain lots of original material, and cartoons, In fact I do my best to keep abreast of new developments, products and trends in internet marketing. But enough... - Marvin Double

When Seeing is Believing By Marvin Double UFO's have been the subject of much discussion and controversy over the years. Skeptics and believers have squared off on opposite sites of an ongoing debate about their existence. If nothing else it all makes for some interesting copy countless, movies and documentaries. Putting aside the cartoon, let me just state here that, this article isn't about alien space craft real or imagined. It is however about close encounters with UFOs of the marketing variety. Very specifically these UFOs are of the Twitter variety - intrigued? I hope so, please read on. What do UFOs have to do with marketing? Bear with me while I provide a bit of background - it's painless and there's no pop quiz. Marketers everywhere subscribe to several basic marketing principals. One of these is something called a USP. The "USP" (Unique Selling Proposition", sometimes also called a Unique Selling Point). In short the USP is a marketing pitch build around the unique qualities... - Marvin Double

I've Got a Monkey on My Back By Marvin Double The last 2 weeks have been especially brutal, 16 hours a day for 14 days in a row. But, that's the price you pay sometimes for being your own boss. If you read my bio, you'll notice that I wear a number of hats, writer, artist, and internet marketer. Sometimes a bunch of projects just manage to overlap, deadlines loom and the the only solution is nose to the grindstone and get 'em done. I know there are lots of readers out there who can relate to this dilemma. What's with the Cartoon? Well, truthfully, at the end of my work marathon I feel pretty much like the character in the cartoon looks - back hunched from to many hours at the keyboard, eye's swollen closed by excessive time spent staring at my monitor, brain damage from mental exhaustion leading to drooling. Silly me, I picked just this period of time to add Twitter to my list of things to do. Don't get me wrong here, I really like Twitter. If you read through my recent blog posts,... - Marvin Double

The Science and Psychology of Wishing by Marvin Double Just for starters let me declare myself. I'm a pretty practical kind of guy. I like science and the scientific approach to sorting things out. There's an elegant logic in the application of reason to problems. However most of us, me included still hold to a belief that there are forces at work in the universe that can't be explained by science or logic. Take wishing as one simple example. Wishing is perhaps one of the most common irrational acts we do. It is a universal human behavior that cross cultures, ages sexes and beliefs. Wishing comes in different forms and take on different aspects but, not matter how it's done or why, wishing is something of a magical exercise. Magical? Absolutely, wishing is based in part on a belief, either conscious or subconscious that we have the power to change our reality by the mere act of holding a strong desire or projecting our hopes and thoughts into the ether, just in case somehow we'll get... - Marvin Double

Twittering Leprechauns by Marvin Double The theme of today's article, as the headline suggests is a wee bit Irish. As promised to my readers I've also included a new cartoon that draws inspiration from both twitter and Irish legend. I am reputed to have Irish roots, as is my good wife so I have something of an affinity for the Emerald Isle. My Son Eric spent a wonderful summer there in Galway last year and couldn't say enough good things about the place. It's a great city with a vibrant arts community and a real sense of civic pride. So what's all that got to do with twitter and social marketing - more than you might think. Not unlike Galway Ireland Twitter is also a community if perhaps only in the virtual sense. I'm constantly astonished at the creative and inspired content which flows freely across the twitterscape. At the connections that are made between people in different cities, countries and continents. Enter any term you can think of and you'll get a list of folks who are... - Marvin Double

Twitter Gone Wild by Marvin Double When I first subscribed to Twitter I seriously wondered, as I'm sure many have, about it's real value. I'm not alone in this thought notable celebrities have openly said they simply don't get Twitter. For me at least it didn't take long before the power of twitter made itself apparent. My transition from skeptic to convert was a bit of serendipity. A friend of mine alerted me to a website providing live streamed video direct from the African bush. The site http://www.wildearth.tv/home is hosted by a company called WildEarth I checked out the website and was astonished actual real time video of a guide driving through the bush in a game preserve in South Africa. As an avowed nature lover this was simply great stuff to watch. The Twitter Connection After I began watching for only a few minutes I was astonished to see the camera zoom in on a Leopard, emerging from the bush, then slowly stroll along within a few feet of the observers. I found it quite... - Marvin Double

Tweeting Love by Marvin Double Anyone following me on twitter over Valentine's day knows already knows that I'm a sappy romantic. Don't get me wrong I'm not the sort to sit and watch Sleepless in Seattle with a box of tissues. But when it comes to telling my wife I love her, well I'm always looking for creative ways to let her know I still do. I know I'm not the only romantic out there. After all statistically Valentine's day is second only to Christmas so far as dollars spent on gifts. But, Valentine's day is only one day a year and romance is very much alive 24/7. Somewhere right at this very moment there's someone who needs to hear the words, "I Love You". Back in the day sending someone a card, getting them a gift, some chocolates or perhaps flowers were the preferred means of showing your feelings. Calling worked to, especially if you were separated for some reason. Today of course we have email and e-cards and of course the latest greatest way to say in touch Twitter. Ever since... - Marvin Double

The Direct Affect of Social Media By Marvin Double OK I admit it, I'm addicted to twitter. It's a bit embarrassing to be sure but there, I've said it out loud, twitter has me firmly in its grasp. At first I thought twitter was perhaps a bit over rated. I've seen all the hype out there about how cool it is - especially for so called "social marketing". But I've been around the cyber block often enough that hype no longer impresses me. I need substance and something more to hang my hat on than just a bunch of folks blathering on about the coolness of social networking. On the surface the whole idea seems a bit silly, or at least it did to me. I mean really, how much do you really want to know about someone? Is it newsworthy to follow someone through their daily routine breakfast lunch and dinner? Does the fact that they are getting a Starbucks coffee in Las Vegas have any real value aside from a kind of voyeuristic jolly? There's more to this than meets the eye It turns out that twitter... - Marvin Double