Social Media

I came across a clip recently on the advantages of marketing through social media and twitter in particular, The clip is very slow with a little too much bla.. bla.. and if one can stay tuned, interesting... but what struck me was the attention to detail by Richard Merritt an artisan of hand crafted fountain pens. I went looking for Richard's web site for some inspiration only to find that his site is no longer, just goes to show that it's a tough world out there.

I think that one can become overawed by the sheer number of talented artists and artisans marketing themselves and their product online through the social media which in itself is growing with many new app's.  The advantage that one gains with the advent of a new marketing medium or even strategy can be quickly lost as people jump on the proverbial band wagon.

The most successful marketing appears to come down to timing more than anything else, this is not to say that strategies and all the other elements are not important but we all know by now that it's not the best quality product or service that wins out. People have so many choices today and these choices are provided by companies attempting to find their niche and actually hoping for more than one. Large companies will attempt to muscle out any competition and even influence legislation to minimise the choices to the public at large.

In Australia the banks (the big four) have this down to a pretty fine art and are becoming a little cocky with their success, to the point that they no longer follow the Reserve Bank's lead or advice and rather than focusing on growth for the overall good of society and a tidy margin for themselves, they focus on profit and profit alone for the sake of profit. I believe that this is very dangerous as I think about world history repeating and some of the revolutions that have taken place when the greed of the wealthy becomes too much for the poor and disadvantaged to bear.

I see on the world news that there are a number of growing groups that are beginning to gain notoriety and with that notoriety comes support which I have no doubt will develop into a global movement against the disparity between the 'have's' and the 'have-not's'. Unfortunately this disparity is not minor or growing at a slow but steady rate, it is spiralling out of control and on the brink of creating a global financial melt down. The sad thing is that only the 'have-not's' will bring it into check because once greed takes hold, nothing but poverty can bring it into check.

You are probably wondering how I have gone from marketing and the social media to global upheaval in five paragraph's. I tend to think about consequences and ramifications an awful lot and even more so now that I have a little life experience under the belt. I'm well aware that some of the decisions that we make in our lifetime are very serious with dire consequences that cannot be changed no matter what and others can only be changed at great expense. 

Now what once was only one social media application with more pro's than con's is now at least ten social media applications with just as many con's as pro's...... It is no longer possible to utilise them all efficiently regardless of the minimal financial cost, there simply are not enough hours in the day so it comes back to making choices. Which of the social media will be most effective and cost efficient (time as well as financial) to meet my needs? Where do I need to position myself in relation to my financial responsibilities and needs moving forward?

I have created a portfolio for myself on Fine Art America's web site because it is at the top of the google (and other's) search engine. Of course the 46,000 artists who are already registered with their own portfolio's, were instrumental in the site's ranking. The first goal is to get into the top 10,000... and always looking at the positive... I'm currently in the top 50,000:)

I'll start off by linking everything back to that portfolio I think and use Facebook along with twitter to help promote and market my art for a start. In the meantime I'm moving from PC to Mac and Coral to Adobe so I've a pretty big learning curve on the go.

Stanford Who's Who

Quite some time ago I applied for inclusion to Stanford Who's Who to better market my professional experience. To my pleasant surprise I recently received a call from them advising that I had been short listed for a telephone interview.

It was a wonderful opportunity and I seized it with both hands. What a great interview to promote my 40 plus years as a security provider, adviser and consultant. When it comes to accreditation I learned a long time ago to dumb it down, people feel threatened by those who have academic achievements and this can make life pretty uncomfortable.

So why try to promote oneself through a 'who's who', especially a world renowned organisation based in the big apple? ...for the networking potential of course. This as an opportunity to network with other like minded successful people and their organisations. One can't buy experience but one can take advantage of the experienced individual's teaching.

I really am tickled pink as I didn't expect a look in let alone inclusion when I advised my interviewer that I am trying to move away from security and focus on my passion - art. This is going to open new doors for me I believe and where it will lead, who know's but it's exciting!

Now I have to see if I can transfer my current studies away from security, counter terrorism and toward graphic art. I hope the Uni is going to be as obliging with me as they have been in the past. Why do I do these courses and studies if I'm not going to advertise them. The answer is simple, I do them for me.... to challenge myself and to keep me motivated. My brother Guy understands this, we tend to set goals for ourselves, tough ones and we get a huge buzz out of achieving them if and when we do ...cut from the same cloth I suppose. Anyway enough about this.

I had a wonderful fathers day. Firstly my daughter invited me to the Nanango  Markets which are held monthly and she was right I had a great time... Thanks for the cap 'Noisie'. Brett wanted us to stay a little longer but I really did need to get back to put my fitness training regime back on track. I tend to let things slide a bit if I get off the regime and have found I'm fine as long as I can measure the results and stick to the timetable, let either slip and I'm in real trouble as my motivation takes a nose dive.

On our way home from Brett and Candice on fathers day my son 'Jay' called, wished me as I did him and invited my Bonnie Ronnie and I to dinner. Well we had a wonderful time with the grandchildren, Nat, Jay and Charlie (Nat's father) at the Warner Tavern. I got to play my favourite character 'tickle monster' for the grand kids and it seems all the kids at the tavern that night... I think a few of the parents were more than a little concerned for their precious bundle's of joy with the level of shrieking that only a child about to vacate their bladder can produce.

The kids must have had a ball cause they tried to drag me back into the play area after I begged off through exhaustion.

I did take some pics but I'm really struggling to get through sorting all the holiday pic's that I'll give them a miss this time. I will make up for it and attach some at a later date.