RepGuardian » Thoughts

Going On Line for Q & A’s

James — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:10:00 +0000

Have you ever sat through a Q & A session after a movie or play, and realized that you wanted to be anywhere else but there? Q & A sessions are common at conventions, such as Comic Con in San Diego, or after movie screenings sponsored by Variety in Hollywood, and their purpose is to either help the filmmaker understand how the audience sees his or her movie, or to help the audience understand and appreciate the film they just saw. Since actors, writers, and directors, are often the ones present, it also gives the filmmakers a chance to interact with its fans. If you’ve had the chance, you know there’s generally always someone there who asks a question to hear themselves talk, rattling out their own opinion, rather than to receive one from the filmmakers.

It’s at time such as these that it’s good to know there are places online where one can go and have a Q&A where you can pick out the questions you really want to see answered, and/or ask the questions yourself that you really want to know from experts who provide succinct and informative answers. While it may be exciting to see an actor or actress you’ve only seen before on film or television, its perhaps that much more exciting to skip the questions and answers after the show, and head for your computer where you can pick or choose what you want to learn.

Going On Line for Q & A’s is a post from: RepGuardian

Connect to People On and Off Line.

The Power of Being Positive

James — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:10:00 +0000

As a community of people living together it is important to stay positive. However, very few teenagers know how to stay positive. Life is full of drama at that age, and the negativity toward each other just feeds into it. Some people, as they get older will learn how to stay positive even in the worst situations. It however still falls under things that school does not teach you as well as most of the other most important things about life. There are other places and other situations that will help you with these things, and the Southwestern Company is happy to know that they are one of these places that teaches at least some of these things, and one of their common lessons is the power of positive thinking , and how to stay positive even in the worst situations. It is something you have to learn to do when you are on the road selling books. It may even be the one thing that determines the difference between success that summer and failure.

During sales speeches in training school it is common to mention that if you learn nothing else in the summer you spend selling books for the Southwestern Company it should be how to organize yourself, self-discipline, how to stay positive, and when you have learned these things, you will also find that you will make some money that summer. Attitude will take you a long way in a job like that, but it will take you a long way in any job. Being able to shrug off rejection when you try to sell your product, because it is an inevitable part of business. Even in an age when everyone is afraid to open the door to anyone, it turns out that the real key to making sales is a good attitude, and it turns out that if you go on to do business somewhere else this is the only defining factor in how well you do any job.

The Power of Being Positive is a post from: RepGuardian

Psychological Reasons Why You May Be Unsatisfied

James — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:41:56 +0000

We have things pointed in our direction all the time, and yet we are never satisfied with them. In fact we almost seem to take satisfaction in being unsatisfied with our new toys. There is often that feeling of “that was great, but what do I do now that I have it? Why do I care about it now that it is mine?” There is a psychological reason for this, in fact there are a few.

Psychological Reasons Why You May Be Unsatisfied is a post from: RepGuardian

Are You Slowing Yourself Down By Multitasking?

James — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:30:29 +0000

I found this article very interesting. It presented a number of studies that have been done which suggest that multitasking may be slowing you down much more than speeding you up. What do you think about these findings?

Are You Slowing Yourself Down By Multitasking? is a post from: RepGuardian

Titan’s Fans More Worried About Upcoming Season, Than Flooding

Visit Home Reminds Daughter of Vacations

James — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:51:24 +0000

I went back home to visit my parents for a few days and we went through boxes and boxes of photographs. We never got them organized but we sure had a great time talking about past holidays and vacations that we took.

I pulled out several maps from places we drove to or rented a car once we were there. Obviously we did not drive to Italy, but the Italy maps were stained with coffee from grabbing some morning latte and heading out to see the sites. Likewise, our map Florida state was very wrinkled and had several unidentifiable spots on it.

But I think the trip I enjoyed the most was when we went to Hawaii. And our Hawaii map shows just how busy we were. There was a little sand residue on it and water stains from when we got back into the car after a day at the beach. There are so many other spots and wrinkles on it that I think we were so very active there, I’m surprised it felt like a vacation at all. We loved it.

And while I love anytime I get to spend with my family, reliving past memories was great.

Visit Home Reminds Daughter of Vacations is a post from: RepGuardian

Maps Help Provide Teachable Moments

James — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:39:31 +0000

As a geography teacher I am required to teach my students how to read a map. This is a fairly normal task, but my students always break out into a debate about the wars the U.S. has fought in.

When they do a lesson with a map of Vietnam, I hear about the Vietnam War. I stay out of the politics but I always ask them if they know what the Vietnamese call that war. They usually don’t know and for some reason they are surprised when I say, "The American War."

There has been much heated debate recently when it is time to do a lesson with a map of Afghanistan. I of course stay out of this one also especially because it is still going on. My job is to cultivate teachable moments, not to judge my students on their beliefs.

One other thing that gets them excited is when we do a lesson with a map of Cuba. The Bay of Pigs was not a war but it was a battle and my kids like to talk about it.

I can’t complain about any of this, though. Teachable moments don’t happen everyday so when these lessons encourages my students to debate, I let them

Maps Help Provide Teachable Moments is a post from: RepGuardian

City Maps help Elderly

In For The Long Haul

James — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:16:18 +0000

I’ve found that reputation management campaigns can take a long time to bear fruit – especially in the Google SERPs. Matt Siltala looks at this topic in his post ‘The Most Important Part of Business That People Give Up On The Quickest.

In many cases you need to do much of the work and then take a chill pill and wait for results. The problem is how do you communicate this with your clients who are so eager to see immediate changes? I’ve found that setting realistic expectations is probably the most important factor. Another important factor involves giving regular communications showing that things are moving in the right direction. Still if the campaign lasts for a year it can be a challenge. How do you deal with this?

In For The Long Haul is a post from: RepGuardian

Organizational Reputation Overview

James — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:14:20 +0000

Successful organizations are aware of the importance of reputation. A positive reputation brings trust, confidence, and sales, which are ultimately reflected in revenue growth and profitability. A bad reputation can lead to a decrease in consumer confidence, and, in turn, a reduction in revenue and profits.

In this day and age, erroneous rumors, malicious gossip, unfair opinions and other bad news spread fast! The internet has compounded the speed and the geographic distribution of this information. By the time negative news gets out it is often too late and the damage irrevocable.

Online Reputation
Before the development of the web, news was slow moving and organizations could take their time to develop structured responses to problems. Currently, rapid developments in consumer generated media sites mean that the general public can quickly air their views. These views can make or break a brand. Consumers trust these published opinions and base their buying decisions on them. For example, eBay’s success has been based on their system of feedback ratings, which provides consumer opinions of sellers. Any information available to your potential clients affects your reputation and their buying decisions.

Similarly, ex-employees, and brand activists can easily get their personal viewpoints out there. Competitors who can also spread malicious rumors and lies about your company and brand in the hopes of stealing your market share.

These types of unsubstantiated reporting can affect your corporate image. Sites containing these kinds of information are being indexed by search engines and appearing in search results for your brand names. The information can spread to the traditional media, compounding the damage.

A client estimated they were losing $2.5 million in sales annually brought about by reputation attacks on CGM sites and the wrongful use of their trademark in paid advertising.

Online Reputation is Important
Consumers use search engines to gather information. When they undertake a search for your company name or brand, your hope is that your own website is high up on the search results list.

Undertake a search on your favorite search engine for your company name and look at the results. Hopefully, your company web site is at the top of the list. But what about the other results in the top 10? What do they say about your brand?

People searching for your company name will often look at all of these results – not just those pointing to your homepage. When their eyes skim down the list, what stands out about your company? Is it all good, relevant, up-to-date information? Are there any negative listings saying bad things about your brand or your company? Are there sites with outdated information about your brand in the list? What are people saying about you on industry forums and blogs? People looking for your company in the search engine results will scan all this information.

People from all walks of life use search engines to research, and gather information so that they can make informative decisions. If the information they come across during a search relating to your brand is adverse, it can affect the decisions they make. Negative information can ultimately lead to problems in many areas including sales, investor relations, recruitment, financials, image, and reputation. In other words – damage to your brand.

Organizational Reputation Overview is a post from: RepGuardian

The Importance of Linking to a Reputation Management Campaign

James — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:13:19 +0000

Theres a knowledgable article on Advanced Reputation Management With Profiles and Presell Pages by Brett Borders. He speaks a lot of sense and looks at good old-fashioned SEO and linking as reputation management tactics as opposed to the more obvious social media profiles that are kicked around. These types of profiles can be useful. However in many ways its your use of links and optimization that truly make these types of sites useful for reputation management, especially in a competitive arena.

Brett also looks at presell pages as a way to develop a natural and safe linking structure. This type of linking can be extremelly hard work and also time consuming but can yield fantastic results for any SEO campaign. This is a must know SEO tactic.

The Importance of Linking to a Reputation Management Campaign is a post from: RepGuardian

Keep Your Eyes Open

James — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:12:18 +0000

As a search engine marketer involved in online reputation management it is wise to continually keep your eyes open. When you discover an effort that works for an traditional search client your should evaluate its effectiveness for your reputation management clients. Today we were working on a viral campaign for a client and observed a #1 ranking for a search term within 6 hours of submission. An enterprising staff member then took this information and figured out how this can be adapted for reputation management. Although we need to evaluate its effectiveness over a longer time period, this type of day-to-day observation and research is vital to staying on the cutting edge of the field and achieving real results for clients.

Keep Your Eyes Open is a post from: RepGuardian