PhilSpace

How Yahoo Can Save Itself

Phil Barnhart — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 13:25:44 +0000

When Yahoo decided to utilize Bing’s database, it essentially punted on search technology. Yahoo needs to return to its roots – curating web content. Finding new ways to use social media and editors to identify the best web resources. This is what made Yahoo essential at the beginning – and a service that is sorely missing today. Search Direct fails on that front.

Yahoo has awesome, easy-to-use APIs and a very positive relationship with the web programming and web developer community. Its time for Yahoo to start using this constructively.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

5 Great New Social Media Strategies

Phil Barnhart — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:17:30 +0000

Another incredibly simple *tactic* (lol DTrahan) is what makes Huffpost so interesting – engaging in conversation through blog and news comments. Your local newspapers and local bloggers welcome real, substantial comments and there is often little competition. Coupled with commenting at hyperlocal news sites, you can end up addressing a much larger audience than you could through your own blog – with almost zero maintenance costs. For even extra juice, promote the sites that accept your comments by adding them to your delicious, digg, diigo accounts, twitter account etc.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

How To Deal With Online Critics

Phil Barnhart — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:51:33 +0000

Surprisingly few businesses ask customers for reviews. The best response to a bad review is a good review – and its important for businesses who can be affected by customer reviews to be proactive. Claim and bookmark your pages on Yelp, Citysearch, etc. Register and comment as an owner on Web of Trust and other reputation sites. Consider setting up a feedback function so disgruntled and unhappy customers have someplace to vent and get a response – from you! Create links to your reviews on your site. Finally – ask for reviews. Don’t be in-your-face, and certainly don’t offer bribes, but do simple things like add “Your Review is Important – www.example.com/reviews” to your receipts.

Your critics have no problem finding ways to vent and attack. Make sure you empower your fans as well.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Social Media Monitoring: It Pays to Listen

Phil Barnhart — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:18:02 +0000

There are a lot of small businesses still struggling with basic web site deployment. Unfortunately, Robert uses big-company analogies that simply don’t work for small business. Should a small business really be worrying about their Foursquare presence or Twitter mentions when they haven’t even claimed their Google Local listing?

The typical small business would be wasting their resources – and badly – if they all obsessed with social media. Don’t get me wrong – social media can be vital. Its just your hairdresser/fitness/accounting/donut shop entrepreneur probably should be dealing with live customer service rather than updating Facebook.

Small business thrives on loyalty. Rather than becoming social media experts, these companies need to become ‘customer resource’ experts. The fantastic sweep that cleaned our chimney and dryer vents had heard of Twitter – and knew enough to ask for a review and referrals. If you are a small business, ask your biggest fans for help. If I love your business or your service, I’m happy to tweet/blog/face about you. Tap into your fans – have real live conversations, and ask your best customers to look out for you online. A lot of these examples seem to lose sight of the fact that this is a “social” media – make it about your customers and fans.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Hey Photographers: What Does Your Copyright Protect? | Steven Ayr – JDSupra

Phil Barnhart — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:08:05 +0000

Hey Photographers: What Does Your Copyright Protect? | Steven Ayr – JDSupra.

A recent white paper from an intellectual property attorney who works with photographers just published a paper over at JD Supra (a lawyer forum I follow).

Summary: Once it’s copyrighted, what’s protected, and what can others take for themselves? Since the types of works that are subject to copyright protection are so diverse – from sculptures to songs to dance steps – the protectable elements of each type of work all have their own quirks and nuances. In the end though, it all comes back to originality. For photographers, courts have set up a system to describe the various ways a photograph can be original and therefore the various ways in which it’s protected by copyright.

Writeup

Phil Barnhart — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:20:47 +0000

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Phillip Barnhart <pbarnhart@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 1:19 PM
Subject: Writeup
To: Sandy Allen <allaboutmephotography@gmail.com>, Rae of Light Photography <racheal@raeoflight-photography.com>, Rae Pulver <raeoflightphotography@yahoo.com>

Here is the writeups (yea Central Texas Mom)

http://centraltexasmom.com/?p=1132

http://PressExposure.com/?id=236075

http://www.i-newswire.com/photomaids-wants-you-to-tell-us/89838

http://www.prlog.org/11296304-photomaids-wants-you-to-tell-us-your-love-story.html

http://www.topix.com/city/cedar-park-tx/2011/02/photomaids-wants-you-to-tell-us-your-love-story

Testing Link Group

Phil Barnhart — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 03:22:41 +0000

Eight Sleep Tips for Every Child

Phil Barnhart — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 20:32:07 +0000

article by Elizabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution.

Thinking about networks

Phil Barnhart — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 08:56:30 +0000

And social network software.

nplugging from Maternity Leave

Phil Barnhart — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:11:15 +0000

Comparing Maternty Leave, Unplugged at HuffingtonPost with Off-Ramps and On-Ramps Revisited in HBR.