There have been a number of posts now on jtrigsby.com about the end of the personal computer. My wife and I had a great discussion about this very topic last night. As we continue to shrink the footprint of the devices that enable access to the vast content of the web, the way we browse that content is changing as well. Rapidly vanishing are the days or evenings spent sitting behind the monitor in the corner of the living room or spare bedroom. Today you’re just as likely to be on the bus, waiting in line for lunch, or stopped in traffic. The volume of sources that we scan regularly has grown as well, giving rise to a boon of applications designed to sync our bookmarks or make remembering all those sites easier.

Enter the feed reader

Using an application like Google Reader and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is an awesome way to scan through and quickly read a lot of material. All of your favorite sites and posts are aggregated in one location for easy click-and-read navigation. I have used a Reader for some time now… otherwise there would be no way I could get through all the sites I need / want to read in a day. In fact, even with a reader, its kinda hard.

The big drawback to the feedreader is that your subscribers can now read your content without visiting your site. Fine if you just have thoughts you want to express in the written form. Some feed readers will pull in your graphics as well so you photogs out there can get your pics and artwork seen. But what about the rest of your site?

• No one will see the theme you’ve slaved over to get just right!
• The PERFECT social network icons… ignored!
• Recent posts first or popular posts first! Doesn’t matter!
• Perhaps worst, those ads you fretted with over style, placement and color… NO ONE WILL SEE THEM!

Well, ok… that last one is not entirely true. Maybe they’ll see them, more on that in another post.

All Is Not Lost – The Link Economy To the Rescue

In the past, our understanding of economies, transactions and how the web worked would have led us to worry about the demise of the personal computer. But we have faith in the Link Economy… right!?! (Check this link from Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine.com on Understanding the Link Economy if you’re not quite up to speed on the link economy yet, then come back… I’ll wait, I promise!) The link economy finds the best of the best and raises them to the top.

See, I consider Jeff an authority on the Link Economy and rather than explain it all to you, I sent you over to his site. As he likes to say, “Do what you do best, and link to the rest,” so I did. Even if you’re reading this post in a feed reader, you’ll be sent to BuzzMachine.com, not his feed (although you can subscribe to his feed, I highly recommend it!). He even has ads on his site, from which he may get a click or two from traffic I send his way.

I know, I know… for some of you this would be a travesty! Sending visitors to someone else’s blog without even asking for so much as a “Thank you kindly!” Let me give you two quick and (hopefully) easy to understand reasons why its ok with me.

First, its a pretty good possibility that my reader was reading the post in a feed reader rather than on the site. So in reality, I didn’t send them away… I just pointed them to a solid, authoritative source for information. In fact, most readers will open the link in a new window / browser / tab anyway, keeping the feed reader pointed at my post.

Second, and more importantly, this is how things get done in the Link Economy. Jeff writes great content and I really like his ideas on (most) topics… so I link. If I want links (um, and this applies to you as well) then I need to write good content that people want to link to. When they do, its up to me to monetize that traffic, or maybe just get them to subscribe to View Source, aka the newsletter. Either way, the link giver has done their part, now its up to me (and you).

And Now Its Up To You!

So the ball is in your court. What are you going to do with it? Well, I can give you a few suggestions…

• If you don’t have one, setup your Google Reader account now. Start by subscribing to your own feed. This will give you a sense of what others see when they read your site. Then, subscribe to my feed!
• Browse around the web for some other feeds to check out. Most blogs have a pretty prominent link to the RSS feed near the top of the page. If you need some ideas to get you started, check out my Follow Friday recommendations.
• As you read the content of your newly followed sites, jot down some ideas for blog posts. Then as you write the posts, be sure to link back to the site that gave you the idea. I know they’ll appreciate it.

Those are just a few ideas. Share your ideas with us in the comments! Tell us if you use a reader or if you visit every site every time. What do you think about linking away from your site? Does it scare you? Tell us why?

@jtrigsby

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I’ve long been a proponent of the idea that social media marketing, or trying to make sales through “the social media channel” is a beyond a waste of time… it is driving potential business away, never to return. And for everyone’s sanity, including my own, I still feel that way! This past weekend at BarCamp Memphis, I had the opportunity to have some extended discussions that included this very topic. One blog owner was very concerned about having any advertising on their site saying they had made a huge investment gaining the trust of their readership and didn’t want to risk that by selling ads. At the same time, there has to be a viable revenue model or many sites, including some pretty popular ones, will not be able to continue. Well, maybe there is a way…

While reading my way through the feed reader today, I came across a post at Rod Kirby’s Success Center entitled Has Social Media Marketing Changed the Online Sales Landscape? Rod is pretty good about throwing excellent questions out there and this one is no different. And it was while I was reading this post that a possible answer to the social trust / need for revenue delima came to me.

Don’t Hide It… Flaunt It
The metaphors are flooding in at the moment but lets see if I can get this right anyway. We become so concerned with “what will our audience thing” that we forget a pretty important fact… we can talk to them! One blogger that I know recently shared with his audience that he was struggling with revenue, to which he received several comments saying, “we never knew.”

One of the key elements in trust is transparency, which shows off the good and the bad. We usually try really hard to hid the bad when in fact a little more openness about what’s going on could go a long way! So if you have a revenue need, don’t tip-toe around it… put it out there.

“We’ve resisted selling ad space in the past because we value the trust you’ve put in us and don’t want to risk compromising that. The realities of this site however tell us daily we need income, and short of asking for donations, ads is the best way to create revenue.”

Who knows, your audience may be able to help… if they just know of your need.

Select Advertisers With Your Audience In Mind
When we finally do break down and start looking for advertising, we’ll often take whatever we can get. Instead of throwing up ads (or affiliate links!) for the first advertiser that will let you, be more selective. Be the gatekeeper for your audience.

You’ve obviously spent a great deal of time building the trust of your followers, that’s what got this conversation started. Just because you need revenue doesn’t mean you have to violate that trust. In fact, you should guard it even more closely. Choose ads and affiliate that add value to your audience. If you have a local site, deliver coupons to local retailers. If you’re a foodie, free recipes from advertisers (which feature their products of course) will work well. If you cater to the t-shirt and jeans crowd, hawk Busted Tees or make your own products with Zazzle! Whatever you choose, just be sure to do it with your audience in mind!

So Why Do I Think This Will Work
Well, simple actually. Because you’re not taking advantage of your network. The people who visit, that have put their trust in you do not want to be blindsided by spam email, spam posts, or spammy tweets. They follow your site for a reason and, presumably, they like it. If you’re honest with them and tell them why you take ads, most will understand, maybe even help out. If you honestly try to deliver quality products that fit with your audience, any backlash should be minimal and the revenue should start, maybe slowly, but it will start.

What Do You Think?
Ok, there it is… so tell me… am I full of it? Do you think this will work? As a patron of other blogs and sites, how would you react to this kind of development on your favorite web venue? Join the conversation in the comments below and let us know your perspective!

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As with Social Camp back in September, BarCamp was hosted by the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering (MASE), a charter school in Memphis with lots going for it. You should really check out their website!

In what could best be called a lapse in planning on my part, I showed up Saturday morning bright and early, eager to present the two topics that were in the can. As it turned out, a couple of presenters couldn’t be there Saturday morning so I wound up leading a group for all three morning blocks. I’m pretty sure everything turned out ok… nobody got up and left during any of the three, that’s always a good sign.

After lunch and an… interesting …round of PowerPoint Karaoke, we enjoyed the large group session Igniting the Conversation: Community Blogging Forum featuring the operators of Nashvillest.com, BhamTerminal.com and MemphisConnect.com. They covered a wide variety of topics centering around the local blogging scene and sharing their own experiences in the space. It was Great!

But maybe the best part of the day for me came next. As other BarCampers were headed off to their next sessions, I had the opportunity to sit down with Morgan and Christy from Nashvillest, Elizabeth from MemphisConnect, Andre from bhamTerminal and others that floated in and out to chat. For the next hour and a half we talked about all kinds of things related to blogging, community, monetization… it was awesome! The new Link Economy at its best… and off-line to boot! This is exactly the kind of thing that makes BarCamps such an important event and can be the key to Making the Most from a Barcamp!

Huge thanks is due all the organizers from BarCamp Memphis, especially Dave Barger (@lalunablanca). Great job one and all! I’m already looking forward to the next trip I get to make up to Memphis… and the rumor I heard had something to do with TribeCamp?

Did You Go To BarCamp Memphis?
What was the best part for you? What would you like to see more (or less) of next time? Did you even know BarCamp Memphis was coming up? Lets hear about it in the comments!

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The Old (Current) Web Economy
As the Internet has been maturing, our first forays into business online mimicked those of our off-line exploits. Following the rules of the industrial age, it was based on a scarcity mentality… get our products to market first, be the best, horde all the customers and put everyone else out of business. That approach worked really well when, for instance, you were the only car dealership in town. You had a captive audience. It was great!

But now that geography is no longer a limiting factor, the scarcity approach isn’t working as well. You can go to any number of on-line car dealers, find the car you want, with the features you want, at the price you want and have it delivered to your door. Now, instead of having to get a lock on the local market, business owners now have to lock the world market… a slightly more difficult task!

On-line, the Old Economy is characterized by premium content, pay walls and exclusive distribution agreements. These are all on-line attemps to emulate the off-line practice of cornering the local market.

Enter the New Web Economy
The New Economy is driven by abundance rather than scarcity. Its about finding your niche and being the provider of choice for that niche. Continuing the car dealership example, be the world’s leading authority of 1996 Jeep Cherokee Classics. You can’t corner the world market on cars, even Jeeps, probably not even Jeep Cherokees… but 1996 Jeep Cherokee Classics… that’s possible. For everything else, link out to the world’s leading authority in their respective niche, This is the new Link Economy emerging from Web 2.0.

This transition is being brought about by the transition of the web from a destination based experience to an information based experience. It is the reality of the new, post-industrial, decentralized economy… and it is changing everything. Be the best in your field, and link to everything else. If your visitors find value in the links you offer them, they will associate that value with you, and your credibility grows. Hence, you not only want to be a good link target, you want to ensure that the links you give away are high quality links, not just links to any old Jeep dealership.

What the Changing Web Economy Means to You
For the consumer, this is fantastic! Its crowd sourcing (aka Survival of the Fittest) at its best where the best products at the best prices rise to the top. The best resources spring from nowhere (think Wikipedia) and the laggard thinking scarcity thinkers are quickly pushed aside.

This changes search as well. Google knows this and they’re trying to equip us to take advantage of it, albeit weakly. Why google a source of 1996 Jeep Cherokee parts when I can Tweet, “Where can I get parts for my 1996 Jeep Cherokee Classic” and get 10 replies from trusted sources? They are immediately more valuable and reliable that ANYTHING search can return.

For businesses, the case can be a bit more problematic. Surviving in the new link economy means a compete re-think for what we used to call marketing. Now, instead of standing on the box and shouting, “I have the best deals” to a large group, businesses will now have to engage individuals and build credibility as an authority. This also doesn’t bode well for advertising outlets that sell CPM (or cost per thousand).

Staying In Front of the New Web Economy
Over the next few weeks, I’ll continue to explore the changing web economy and what it means. Ways to take advantage of it, maybe even cash in on it. If you haven’t already, subscribe to the RSS Feed to ensure you don’t miss any of the conversation.

You can also get key concept applications and discussion by subscribing to View Source, a weekly newsletter with exclusive, behind the scenes look at how the web works. Subscribe today to ensure you don’t miss another edition!

@jtrigsby

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