Welcome to 2012, and the first episode of Social Media: Cheap and Easy for the year.
This week, I’m making some predictions. Nine of them, with maybe a bonus one thrown in at the end because “10” sounds so much better than “9.”
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We kick off with an economic prediction for 2012 because business owners are always interested in what the economy is doing, right?
Prediction #2 is about Cause Marketing. We’ll see it rise in 2012, and I give you a couple of
good examples to follow. Plus a key piece of advice for making Cause Marketing work for you.
Prediction #3 – The Rise Of The Machines – or at least digital assistants. You too can have the crazy person look by talking to your technology. But all joking aside, I think programs like Siri are great. Although they’re likely to reduce productivity, and increase the frequency of bathroom conversation.
Prediction #4 – A resurgence of print media. Specifically, I think we’ll see the “zine” come back into vogue. It’s already a popular style among bloggers, and now it’s making a comeback in the streets. Listen in to this week’s show to hear what I mean and how it can help you.
Prediction #5 – This one is easy. It’s hardly a prediction…The convergence of smart phones and laptops. There has been some interesting progress with “ultrabook” laptops, but I think the real progress is coming from motion controlled games like Kinect.
Prediction #6 – Time Wasting is on the Rise. There are more ways to buy smoke and mirrors than ever before. You need to be prepared so you can cut the time wasters out of your business.
Prediction #7 – Micro-Employees Arise – Ever have an emergency and need something done quickly? There’s a service for that. TaskRabbit and Zaarly are just two services that enable you to hook up with a micro-employee to get something done.
Prediction #8 – Online Spending is going up – but not necessarily for you. There’s no question more people are making use of the ability to shop online. I very much enjoy being able to order from Amazon and get free shipping with their Prime service. But online spending is going to merchants that people know and trust, so I have some useful guidance for you to get – and keep getting – those online purchasing dollars.
Prediction #9 – What prediction show is complete without a reference to the Facebook IPO? Regular listeners know I’m less than a fan of Facebook, and I’m not changing my opinion.It’s useful for you to know what’s going to happen, and that Facebook simply can’t avoid it.
Prediction #10 -yes, there really are 10. You know I’d never do 9 and leave you hanging like that! But you do have to listen to find out what #10 is. (Hey, I have to keep you through to the end, right?)
And I’ll give you a heads up about the show length this week. There’s a lot to cover here, and I set aside the 30 minute time limit. This show goes for just over 50 minutes, so download it and listen at your convenience. The shoot me an e-mail at conrad AT theconradhall DOT com to tell me what you think. And you’re always welcome to leave a comment here.
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