The Tin Shingle Blog

Share

Today Show Describes the Internet in 1994 - Sounds Like a Twitter Description

Katie Hellmuth's picture Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on   |  0 Comments

Earlier this morning, Sabina sent this link to me as a "funny morning link" from dlisted.com. It's a clip from The Today Show circa 1994, with the hosts asking each other "What is the Internet?" At that time, many of us were exploring chat rooms and pondering the crazy horror of never leaving the house again just in case ordering groceries online became a possibility.

What struck me about this clip was the helpless, yet fascinated attempts Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric made at trying to define the Internet, and what the @ symbol means (when used in what is now known as an email address). A producer from behind the camera describes the Internet as a way to communicate, a giant bulletin board. Bryant goes on to explain how the Internet helped people communicate during a recent 1994 CA earthquake, especially after the phone lines went dead.

Sound familiar? Yes. During almost every uprising or revolution that takes place now days, people communicate and coordinate over the Internet, via Twitter. One of the early examples was protests in Iraq in 2009 after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election over opponent Mir Hossein Moussavi, and the people thought the election was rigged.

The Today Show's attempts to understand the Internet and explain it reminded me of my first Twitter for Beginners Class, where business owners came together to learn what Twitter was and how they could use it. At that time, their number one question was: "What is the @ and what is the #"?" Not only that, but when I defined how those symbols were used, a mini revolt happened in the class because half of the class wanted to know technical how-to's, and the other couldn't get past the philosophical "Why" and needed to understand the purpose first.
 
Take a listen to this clip of the definition of the Internet, and see if you don't think it nearly identical to how people describe Twitter today.

Here is CommonCraft.com explaining Twitter in plain English:

Category: 
Website Design

Member Spotlight: Jennifer Dermer

Katie Hellmuth's picture Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on   |  0 Comments

Jennifer Dermer is owner of JKD Communications, a boutique PR company, working with emerging artists and small business entrepreneurs to help brand and position them in today’s market.

Prior to forming JKD Communications, Jennifer worked in New York City at Mirabella Magazine and Calvin Klein. Jennifer was a Coordinator of Public Relations for Calvin Klein and worked closely with international and national press and fashion stylists to promote Calvin Klein, the person and the brand. During her time at Calvin Klein, Jennifer worked on launching the CK line as well as the Men’s Underwear phenomena with Marky Mark (now Mark Wahlberg). Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in fashion marketing and communications from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her strong work ethic, integrity and outgoing personality are what help drive JKD Communications, which translates into a happy clientele. Jennifer lives with the environment in mind and makes a daily conscious effort to help protect our planet.

To learn more about Jennifer and JKD Communications, click here!

To get to know more of our members, visit our Business Directory

Category: 
SmallBizSpotlight

Spark & Hustle Tour with Good Morning America's Tory Johnson Exclusive for Tin Shingle

Submitted by Sabina Hitchen on   |  0 Comments

NOTE ABOUT DISCOUNT: If you are a Tin Shingle member, you'll find your discount code on your Partner Discount page. Get there by clicking on the button on the right side of the screen called "Access Your Dashboard". Not a member? Click here to join now, and get access to this discount, free vendor table, and so much more!

Hello entrepreneurs! We were so excited about this opportunity! If you are seriously committed to making more money in your business and you’re ready to hustle to make big things happen, this is an event for you.  As you may have guessed, we're talking about Tory Johnson’s Spark & Hustle National Tour and YES we have a hook up for you!

You may know Tory from ABC’s Good Morning America, where she’s the workplace contributor.  Or as the New York Times bestselling author of Will Work From Home. Tory started her first business 11 years ago from home and has grown it to a multimillion-dollar venture. She is unstoppable! And she is also a Tin Shingle member, great fan and supporter of Tin Shingle members and our mission, which is to build your brands.

Tory’s conference series—created specifically for current and aspiring small business owners—includes three jam-packed days with a singular focus: arming you with the tools, strategies, and support needed to make more money now.  No fluff, no theory...just tried and true stuff that works. Not BS that doesn't. Quick warning:  Spark & Hustle promises to disappoint those expecting a slick, flashy conference with a focus on glitz and glamour. But it will make fans forever out of those looking for straight-from-the-trenches tactics and strategies designed to grow your bottom-line quickly and consistently. Click here to learn more about what else you WON’T see at Spark & Hustle.

For three days in 8 different cities, Tory will open her playbook and share everything she’s learned about creating real business success, increasing profit, mastering the media, savvy sales strategies, marketing without breaking the bank, and more. Nothing will be held back, sugar coated, or glossed over (which we love). Tory and her hand-picked team of more than 20 speakers per event will be candid and real as they guide your entrepreneurial success.

 
We’ve Negotiated a Special Deal Exclusively for Tin Shingle Members:
If you are not yet a member, you might want to join now.

  • Save $150 on the one-time payment registration fee (see your Tin Shingle Partner Discount Page online for the code or email us at info@tinshingle.com)
  • Receive a complimentary vendor booth during the Friday evening festivities to promote your product or service (a $129 value)
  • Once registered, they’ll fast-track your application to be considered as a speaker at a Spark & Hustle event
  • Be interviewed and featured in the homepage of SparkandHustle.com as a Daring Doer (Editor's note: we made this bold because how great would that be for your buzz?!)


Check out the website – www.sparkandhustle.com -- and pick the location(s) of your choice to get registered today.  If you have questions about the discount you can reach us at info@tinshingle.com. If you're not yet a Tin Shingle member, join today and get this and so many more benefits!

 

How to Get Your Product onto the Today Show with Kathie Lee & Hoda

Submitted by Sabina Hitchen on   |  0 Comments

How do you get your product on the Today Show?  Practice, practice, practice!  And then, replace the word "practice" with the word "pitch," and you should be good to go!

That said, the Today Show fourth hour has become quite a showcase for interesting, unique or must-have products. Nearly daily, Kathie Lee & Hoda place different products from both indie brands to creations from international corporations on their table, and during their hour long segment they periodically pick one up, show it off, talk about what it is and where to buy it.  This, my friends, is often product placement gold!  The Today Show has a large, loyal audience and getting a plug by either of these two women can bring you instant validation (not to mention a spike in sales).

So how do you get your product on the Today Show?  As with everything in public relations, nothing is ever guaranteed.  However, after placing products on the 4th hour myself, as well as talking to the producer of the 4th hour segment, we have a few tips that will make the road to Today Show fame a little less bumpy for you.

Click here to find our insider tips from the pros and the producers!

Category: 
Publicity

Member Spotlight: Jenny Greer and Erin Bickley

Katie Hellmuth's picture Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on   |  0 Comments

The founders of the miracle tight-butt pant, Hold Your Haunches, Jenny Greer and Erin Bickley are two busy stay at home moms in Macon, GA wrestling 3 kids apiece, a gaggle of pets (not including their husbands) all the while trying to fit in hobbies, friends and community.

Their dream started when Erin could barely make it through an exercise class for worrying about her jiggly behind (we're sure it wasn't that bad!). Upon discussing the concern with her close friend Jenny, it was discovered that she, too, had experienced similar distress. When the leggings craze enveloped the nation, both moms were left feeling like two fashion lovers forever sidelined by childbirth, reality tv and margaritas.

But not for long. Mothers tend to solve problems, and that's exactly what these women did, turning themselves into southern mompreneurs. Not ones to be left “behind”, they  designed the perfect pant to make tight-tushes, even if you do have a little jiggle (and hey - isn't a little jiggle a little sexy?). Made of a gorgeous black supplex fabric, this wardrobe staple has the finest of compression garments sewn beautifully and comfortably underneath. So, in these hot pants, you can walk down the street and arrive to your exercise already looking super cute and worked-out! Get some!

Category: 
SmallBizSpotlight

Printed Treatment of Social Networking Buttons Like Facebook and Twitter

Katie Hellmuth's picture Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on   |  1 Comments

Businesses are devoting real estate, both in print and in stores, to their social networking locations, as we spotted in 2009 at WholeFoods, Mandee, and The Burger Joint. The same trend is showing up in print advertising. What is missing is the address. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube logos are showing up in these expensive ad placements, but not the URL, or name of where to go. See this ad below for the new series, Circus, on PBS, where they have included the social icons in the bottom right corner of the page.

Circus on PBS, social networking buttons

Great to know that this TV program is on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but how is one to find Circus on these social networks? Facebook would seem easy enough - you can start typing into the Search box on Facebook. However, the first result does have over 2 million fans, but it's for MTV's Nitro Circus. PBS's Circus does not come up at all in the first 5 results. On Twitter, a search for this program will be hard to find.

The Takeaway: If you are including social networking buttons like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc., in print ads and brochures, include the URL of where to find it, and the Twitter handle. It doesn't take up much more real estate, and could get you more conversions and eyeballs!

Category: 
Twitter
Social Media
Facebook

To the Homepage! Facebook and Twitter Buttons

Katie Hellmuth's picture Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on   |  0 Comments

I was on the phone with social media experts, Social Bees, discussing a client's custom built tab for their Facebook business page. During the call, he visited the client's website and didn't see a Facebook button. Immediately, he assumed they didn't yet have a Facebook business page. However, they do have a Facebook page, the button for which is on every single interior page, but not the home page. I treat this type of situation as a live focus group (on a tiny scale), so that I can witness the behavior of a user on a website, and then address it and fix it, rather than correct the user's behavior.

Several companies get very protective of the aesthetic of their home pages. They don't want to give up the real estate for a brand that is not their own, let alone a link off their website. But as we can see in Techcrunch's April 2010 article on comScore results about Facebook, traffic and legitimate time spent on Facebook and Twitter is serious. It's worth the imprint on your home page. Users are getting more and more impatient and demanding of websites. They want information now. Your customers will look for your Facebook and Twitter buttons on your website. Don't make them hunt, or you might miss their click to follow.

Consider this, from this Techcrunch report:

  • As of April 2010, Facebook's pageviews were up 150% to 220 billion pageviews a month. And that increase is growing.
  • Don't miss this number: Facebook had 220 billion pageviews a month. That means pages viewed by anyone - one person visiting 20 pages, one person visiting one page, and so on.
  • About 7.5% of all time a person spends on the Internet was spent on Facebook. That means you need to be in front of that person as she is checking family photos, and so on.
  • The Twitterverse is pretty huge, but as of April 2010, Facebook's audience grew by 22 million in one month, which Twitter estimates to be its entire US audience.

THE DESIGN OF YOUR SOCIAL BUTTONS
Are you emailing your web team right now to add your social buttons to your home page, or to your site at all if you haven't? There are two routes you could take for the visual design of these buttons:

  • branded to your company, or
  • branded to Facebook or Twitter (or other networks you are active on, like YouTube, LinkedIn, etc).

I could argue for both directions. For faster recognition by your audience, you might stick with the traditional colors and fonts of Facebook and Twitter. However, if you're itching for something more fun, that you think you audience might appreciate, you could custom design buttons that live within the visual personality of your brand. Consider these social button designs:

If you have neat buttons you'd like to show off, let us know in the Comments!

Category: 
Twitter
Facebook
Website Design

Entrepreneurs Give Back to Women's Education Project and Shoe4Africa

Katie Hellmuth's picture Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on   |  0 Comments

Right around the time of Black Friday, in the midst of the shopping rush both online and on sidewalks, Tin Shingle made contributions to two charities affiliated with two of our members: Sidney Small for Women's Education Project, and Toby Tanser of Shoe4Africa. We pledge to donate a portion of membership sales to a non-profit affiliated with one of our members, and are grateful to be able to announce these donations to you:

WOMEN'S EDUCATION PROJECT
Young women of limited means but unlimited potential come to Women’s Education Project’s centers in South India to pursue college and career dreams. With energy, optimism and fortitude, they attend WEP’s college preparatory and personal development programs. WEP operates two centers in South India, “Sudar” (”light” in Tamil) in Madurai, Tamil Nadu and Ushassu (”light” in Telugu) in a village south of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Students come to these centers on the recommendation of their teachers, local NGOs, and often, their friends.

In her own words, Tin Shingle member, Sidney Small, CPA, is on the board because: "I believe in education as a tool to lift women and their families out of poverty.  WEP helps the women of Southern India from the most poverty stricken backgrounds to get a college education. With a very small budget, this nonprofit has created a community of support for these young women.  I love the work they are doing and I love the energy and enthusiasm of Zoe Timms, the director and founder of WEP."

Zoe Timms has informed us that our donation will help approximately five young women go to college and attend the WEP center in South India. For more information on the Women's Education Project, please click here.
How you can directly impact women of Southern India.

Women's Education Project Students Womens Education Project Students

SHOE4AFRICA
Shoe4Africa was started in 1995 with the idea to take something easily discard — used running shoes — and give to people, who through circumstance, were unable to afford their own. Founder and Full Time Volunteer, Toby Tanser, recognized a serious health component resulting from being barefoot: Hookworm. He organized a running team for vitamin/mineral deficiency and found that half of the runners tested positive for the HIV virus. Toby's insight and ability to be so in tune with the people he helps is what guides the Shoe4Africa mission into important areas of projects specializing in Education, Women's Empowerment and Peace, and Health. It started with the gift of a few pairs of shoes, and has grown into the completion of several large and small scale projects, from building a primary school to organizing fundraising marathons, and so much more. Currently, Shoe4Africa is fundraising to build the first children's hospital in Sub Saharan Africa.
Here is how you can click for a brick to help build the hospital.

Shoe4Africa runners Shoe4Africa school

Thanks goes to Tin Shingle members, who by joining Tin Shingle, made these donations possible.

Category: 
Life of Biz Owners

Happy Thanksgiving!

Katie Hellmuth's picture Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on   |  0 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are wishing you a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving this year, a holiday spent giving thanks for your family, your friends and the support groups that are the invisible hands holding you up even if you're feeling uncertain.  During times like these, we are thankful for entrepreneurial minds like yours that think fast on your feet and recognize opportunity, even when it's hiding in a shadow.  We are thankful for the many ways that exist to connect and share information, to strengthen bonds with family and to create exposure for what you have created.  We wish you few moments (or hours) of silence, when you can close your eyes and enjoy the sweet potatoes mixed with cranberry sauce, a bit of turkey, a glob of stuffing and a dip of gravy to bring it all together.  In other words, we're wishing you the ability to enjoy the moment today.

PS: After today, we are promoting our member's special sales for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. Tune in to our Facebook and Twitter @collectivee to find the fabulous deals from amazing businesses.

Category: 
Life of Biz Owners

Pages

Subscribe to The Tin Shingle Blog