Remember when domain squatting was a BIG deal? You know, when a person bought a domain with a specific company name and basically holds it for ransom, like the famous case of Madonna, who had to sue to get ownership of Madonna.com.

Well, it’s happening again, but this time on the microblogging site Twitter. Some of the big names that are being squatted include Tim Hortons, Sears and Coca-Cola.

What is really bothersome about this trend is that many squatters can tweet malicious and bad things, basically smearing a company’s reputation.

It happened recently to Exxon-Mobil - and it can happen to you.

The smart start-up or small business would be heading over to every major social media site and grabbing their name, even if they never use the accounts.

And if someone has hijacked your name - and you can’t get it back by going to the socal media provider, monitor it carefully.

Image credit hmvh, on Flickr

As a professional blogger, I get a ton of pitches. (And even welcome them!)

But I recently got a pitch I responded positively too from  PR person over at DittoePR. They seem to be a great firm, but I think this practitioner forgot the basics.

She did the pitch right by sending a specific letter targeted to me and for my audience. I responded positively. She followed up with a request for a phone meeting that day, plus additional info. Perfectly done.

But when I said I couldn’t make a meeting that day, it seemed to fall apart.  I offered other days that I could be available, and mentioned today was a good day for me. I didn’t hear back by days end (which was Friday), and moved on to enjoying my life at home.

She did reply, but after ‘regular’ hours on the East coast. But her reply was more of a demand. She gave me a phone number to call on Monday at a specific time. OK, I thought, a little pushy, but I’m open at that time.

So at the designated hour, I called. No answer. I waited a few minutes and called again. Still no answer.  After a third attempt, I sent this woman an email asking what’s up. I got a response a couple of hours later saying that she called off the meeting because I didn’t confirm.

First, she didn’t ask for a confirmation. She just TOLD me to call. Second, hello there? Even if she did ask me to confirm - and I didn’t, isn’t it her job to find out from me?

So why am I telling you this? Partly to vent… but there is another reason:

PR is about building relationships first. That’s why you don’t always NEED a publicist to help you - because if you’re good at the relationship part, the rest will be easier.

Another issue of Be Heard!, the free weekly ezine, is now available.  Get tips how to blog for business, info on the improved Penny Pinching Publicity, and contacts at Parents magazine..

Check it out here.

In this episode of the Monday Media Marketing Minute, you will learn why reaching out to bloggers can be a great way to get publicity.

It’s all part of this month’s focus on the social media.  Listen in and find out more.

Why every young entrepreneur should start a blog

 by Karl Goldfield

The last time I checked, and it was a while ago, there were over 70 million blogs and that number was growing by a couple of million a month. With that many in existence, the reasons behind starting one are too numerous to count. Here are some of the main ones:

1.      Add content to a corporate site in an effort to market through the blogosphere
2.      Affiliate and internet marketing to make money
3.      Deliver interesting commentary in the area of news
4.      Share ideas and concepts
5.      Write about your passions
6.      Have some fun
7.      Write about your expertise in a field of study

The list goes on, but what is clear is a blog gives people free or inexpensive ways to share their views. So easy is access that filtering through the noise of these billions of pages of content has become a new business in itself (Blog aggregators are popping up left and right). As more and more content goes up, the online community will continue to become less concerned with the blogosphere itself, and filter into the areas that matter most. We are in the early stages of a change in the way people think about information. Experts are being heralded by their message and its acceptance by the online community, not the network or newspaper they work for.

This is why entrepreneurs of the new global economy should care about blogging. For those that want to shake and rattle the cages of normality and reach out to new ideas and concepts, the first new forum of our 21^st century is the blogosphere. My own experience is a perfect example.

Ten years ago, at the height of the internet boom, a young woman I worked with, her husband, and I started www.videogameclub.com. I just clicked on it so you would not have to, and it is now a site for used and cheap games. What we had in mind was the same thing as a young startup named Netflix was thinking of for movies. We were going to charge a monthly fee for videogame rentals. We thought we could build a small customer base and then get some angel funding. We started getting some traction and then the bubble burst in 1999. We could not find an investor with $10 to spare let alone an angel with funds.

Obviously we failed, and every time I see a GameFly.com commercial I cringe. What we did not have then, that we would have today is a forum to find feedback and financing. If we had a blog and shared our ideas in the community our readers would have had things to say. These suggestions would have made the site stronger. If we had a blog and connected with other bloggers, our ideas would have been shared and the marketing monster of the blogosphere would have helped us get those first customers. If we had a blog and developed the customer base, financing might have been paying attention via RSS. Whatever the result, we would have had more of a chance today than ten years ago.

In my current role as a startup sales mentor, I was forced into my position by the blogosphere. In one year of writing, I am connected to over 50 of the best consultants in the world. In one year I am writing original content on over 10 sites. In one year I have signed a book deal. In one year consulting startups is my full time job. I was planning on this happening 3-4 years from now. The blogosphere had other ideas.

If you have ambition and want to see if you have good ideas, everyone in the advice department worldwide says….WRITE YOUR IDEAS DOWN. This should change to, BLOG ABOUT YOUR IDEAS! Now I am not suggesting you give up your intellectual property, or share the great new idea before it is ready. What I am suggesting is that you:

1.      Blog about the concepts and the value that your ideas offer.
2.      Clarify the message in a free environment with no expectations.
3.      Connect with other experts and bloggers for feedback.
4.      Develop a network of trusted advisors.
5.      Learn from the experience.

If you start writing and visualizing who you want to be, what you want to develop, how you want to achieve, and why people should care, you will be amazed what comes into fruition.

–- Karl Goldfield

startup sales mentor

http://salesblog.karlgoldfield.com

A recent survey from SurePayroll says small businesses want to support charities, they feel they can’t afford it due to the economy.

I wonder if it’s really true. Is the economy really causing small businesses to tighten their belts in the charitable giving department?

The “when things get better excuse” doesn’t cut it for me. If the economy is weak, don’t you think nonprofits need even more of our help?

There are ways you can contribute without donating money.  Volunteering is always a good choice (and it gets you networking while doing good).

A SEO colleague, Rebecca Murtagh, and I even help a 1/2 seminar where the proceeds went to a local charity. We got to share our expertise to potential clients while helping a good cause.

And on June 20, I’ll be participating in b5’s The Great Blog Off. As part of this fun event, I’ve enlisted the help of several smart entrpreneurs who will be sharing their advice. You’re going to get 1 post every hour for 24 hours on business topics that can help you!

The Business Channel will be taking charitable pledges (details coming soon). If, for example, you want to donate $1 for every hour that I blog on June 20, you would donate $24. Obviously, flat donations are also appreciated.

You’re donations will be helping Accion International, the channel’s charity for the Great Blog Off. Accion helps small businesses all over the world to become established through small, manageable loans and business advice. This concept of microlending is fabulous and their payback record is impressive. (As a matter of fact, one of my guest posters has used Accion to start her business!)

Stay tuned for more details.

In this week’s Monday Media Marketing Minute, I share how you can start getting noticed online - without having a blog.

In less time than it takes to grab your Starbucks, you’ll learn a great way to get a real buzz.

For more weekly free publicity tips, go to http://www.beheardsolutions.com

Interesting study out at AdWeek.  According to Universal McCann more Americans read and watch social media than actually produce it.

It also appears that Asians produce the most content (that’s obviously made to fill the American appetite.)

The study also showed about 60 percent of Internet users in the US read blogs, but just 26 percent had created one, compared to over 70 percent of Internet users who blog in South Korea and China.

So what does this mean to a startup or entrepreneur?  Create content, and if your target market is Americans, they will eat it up!

 (image courtesy of Shannon Cherry of BeHeardSolutions.com)

I just read an article in the Boston Business Journal that’s saying companies aren’t really blogging anymore.

And company execs say there’s just not enough time to do it. It’s really because they aren’t making it a priority in their marketing efforts.

Here’s where a startup can grab hold of a medium - one that reaches not only to a target market, but the media as well.  (Did you know most journalists are using blogs to find story ideas at least a couple of times a week?)

The key to getting noticed is keeping it up. A blog is like any other marketing tool.  You need to use it consistently to see results.

Blogs are an important tool for journalists, says a recent Marketwatch survey.

In the survey of reporters and editors, 75% of journalists see blogs as a good source for news and story ideas.

In addition, the survey found that more than 20% spend an hour every day reading blogs that cover their beat and more than half check them out at least 2-3 times a week.

So you still don’t think blogging is for you? Well, let me give you a personal example. I was ‘found’ be a journalist from Entrepreneur magazine, all due to my blog.

So without a blog, you might be missing some opportunities to connect with journalists.