Thursday Business Giveaway: Social Destiny

About one week ago, when I was thinking about social media and what it might one day become, the word Destiny popped into my head. I scurried on over to GoDaddy.com to check on available domain names using Destiny as part of the word. Behold, SocialDestiny.com was (and still is) available.

Ok, so the domain name is available, but what’s in a name?

There certainly needed to be some substance in a site with a name such as that, but what would it be?

For the last week, I’ve thought about it on and off, trying to frame in exactly what it could be.

I’ve had a few different ideas, but mostly they circled around a central thought of being some type of portal.

Perhaps, in a quirky way, SocialDestiny could actually be a “starting point” for people looking for news, tips, events, and anything centered around the whole social media scene.

It’s all up to you

Sad but true. The only thing that I really have to offer you at this point is the opportunity to chime in here in the comments section. Oh, and the nifty site logo (feel free to grab it if you want it.  Merry Christmas.)

Using Twitter Hashtags

Using Twitter Hashtags effectively requires just a little knowledge.
Here are a few tips and some insight as to why people use #hashtags.

The Basics

• What is a hashtag?

The # symbol, is usually referred to as the pound symbol, however it is also called the “Hash” symbol. A hashtag therefore is any word, phrase, or series of letters and numbers which is preceeded by a #.

A hashtag is merely a keyword, and it is denoted on Twitter like this: #hashtaghere

• Why are hashtags important?

The importance of Hashtags only comes into play when people are searching for what others are saying about a particular subject or event. I’ll show you a portion of two screenshots to illustrate the difference.

I went to http://search.twitter.com (formerly known as Summize.com) and searched for “hashtag” and then “#hashtag”. Here are the results.

Searching for the word Hashtag

Searching for the specific #hashtag

Search Results

As you can hopefully see, the use of the # symbol in the search has yielded different results.

In the first image are the results for people who where just using the word “hashtag” in their tweet, and the second image is the results for people specifically talking about the #hashtag.

Hashtags play a pretty signicant role when people are attending events, conferences, or meetups.

Using search.twitter.com during such events, and searching for the proper #hashtag, allows people to keep up with what people are saying. It also lets you discover new Twitterers who might be talking about the same thing.

Choosing the Hashtag

You might be wondering how you’ll know which word to use as the hashtag. Generally, a word or phrase is just agreed upon ahead of time by a few people and then everyone adopts it. It’s not a perfect system, but it works rather well.

–
This blog post was written by Michael Bailey. Michael became interested in Social Media in the Summer of 2005 and has devoted thousands of hours towards the development of the MobaTalk Conversation Studio. He believes that the Context of Conversational data is quickly lost on the web using the currently available tools.

Thursdays Business Giveaway

As if I’ll be able to keep up a regularly scheduled weekly blog posting, I’ll start by saying that I’d like to give away one business idea each week. Since today is Thursday, we’ll see if I can do it then.

They might all have a common theme, or they could all be different – I have no idea right now, but I do know that I get at least 3 or 4 ideas each day.

Should you decide to use this one, or any of them in the future, please remember me kindly if things work out to your favor.

Today’s Thursday Business Giveaway idea is something called CorporateSlap.

As I write this, CorporateSlap.com is still available, as is the CorporateSlap Twitter name.

The idea itself is quite simple.

CorporateSlap.com would be a site that people use because they are pissed off at a company.

Perhaps it was poor customer service, a bad product, or any number of things.

Your interface would need to be a simple one. The person would choose the company name, either from a drop-down list or by searching. Once selected, the company logo is displayed, along with any customer service contact information.

A reason for slapping them could be shown, perhaps a series of check boxes with a few reasons given, such as “Poor customer service”, “Bad product”, etc.

A text area with enough room for about 4000 characters so that they can really vent if they want to.

Once submitted, the information is email to the company and a notification is sent to Twitter using the CorporateSlap account – something like “Comcast was just slapped because of poor customer service” along with a link to a page showing what the complaint was about.

So, there’s the basic premise of the site – either you like it or you don’t, but I know a number of people who’d use it right away.

If you are thinking long-tail? Well, a year after you launch it, look at how many people might decide to check it out first, before doing business or buying a product from a company  – how many complained (slapped) them already?

Anyhow, enjoy the rest of your Thursday – if you take this ball and run with it, good luck to you. I’d be available as a hired consultant.

Michael

My Cover Letter

Dear Potential Employer, (note: the actual name used here varies 😉

I am a creative thought leader, business owner, and serial entrepreneur with a focus on social media and a passion for interactive networks.  I am currently looking for a position within the Information Technology industry to apply my skills and over 10 years of software and systems development experience.

I own a website design and hosting company that also develops internet applications. In essence, I am a one-man IT department.  When it comes to programming, I am a natural.  I mentally break things down into their most basic elements and then see how they all relate to each other, finding common functions between them. I seem to have a special aptitude for being a programmer and creative problem solver.

As well, my interest in the social media scene has provided me with several opportunities to stretch my skill base and problem-solving abilities. A few years ago I saw a need for an easier way to connect the listening audience of podcasters to the producers of content. After researching all currently available solutions, I decided to design my own audio commenting system, a service called MyChingo, which currently has over 4,300 members.

I'd be a perfect match for this job because of my vast experience with clients across varied industries. I stand out from others because I take real pride in my work, I love to help others, I go above and beyond the typical call of duty, and I am passionate about what I do.

If my experience and skills are attractive to you, please contact me at (816) 517-6487, at any time. Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely,

Michael K. Bailey

Resume of Michael K. Bailey

Michael K. Bailey
Independence, Missouri 64055 USA
mbailey@mobasoft.com

Summary
Creative thought leader, business owner, and serial entrepreneur with a focus on social media and a passion for interactive networks.

You will probably need/want to know this about me

I’ve ran a one-man development shop for the last 6 years building web sites for other people and mostly creating custom, internal applications for medium to large businesses.

My development environment has involved some mixture of ASP, HTML, PHP, JavaScript, VBScript, IIS, SQL Server 6.5 and 2000, Visual Basic 5 and 6, Action Script 2 and 3, Flash, COM, DCOM, Access 95, DOS Batch files. I have also experience with various distributions of Linux, but nothing for use in a production environment other than the current version of MobaTalk Alpha.

I am proficient using

• Notepad
• Dreamweaver
• Flash
• Fireworks
• Microsoft Interdev
• Visual Basic

I have developed applications for use in the following industries

• Commercial property
• Healthcare
• Drug Testing
• Insurance
• Agriculture/Chemical
• Information Technology
• Social Media

I have been labeled as a Senior Web Architect, Senior Visual Basic developer, SQL DBA, Graphic Artist, Implementation Specialist, Training Coordinator, Quality Control Administrator, and Project Leader.

I can install cabling for various network topologies including token-ring, peer-to-peer, 10-Base-T, 10-Base-2, Fiber Optics, Twin-Ax, and Coax.

I can repair computers, install and partition hard drives, install Linux, Windows, and Mac OS’s.

I dream in code and typically think of programming in terms of 3D objects relating to each other, very object oriented.

EDUCATION
Bachelors in Computer Information Systems
DeVry Institute of Technology US-MO-Kansas City
October 1997 – 3.8 GPA

CERTIFICATIONS
Brainbench, Certified Visual Basic 6.0 Programmer, July 2000
Brainbench, Certified Visual Basic 5.0 Programmer, July 2000
Brainbench, Certified Active Server Pages Programmer, August 2000
Brainbench, Certified JavaScript, September 2000
ExpertRating, Active Server Pages Certification, July 2004

RECOMMENDATIONS
“Michael’s software project is best-of-breed for enabling conversations between new media producers and their audiences. His work style is thorough-but-fast, passion-driven but sensible, and with an iterative process that brings innovation to market fast. Mr. Bailey is easy-going and personable. He delivers his passion and fire and energy to the work he does to build the MobaTalk Community Comment system, and in his support of several new media ventures. I look forward to working with Michael many times in the future, and I support his ventures 100%.”

Chris Brogan, Community Developer

“Michael is one of the most talented and gifted programmers I have ever known. The products he has developed for the podcasting community far outshine those of competitors. He is a true innovator and someone that clearly can think outside of the box.”

Rob Walch, CEO/Founder
podCast411.com

“Michael impresses me with his get things done approach. This is exceptionally true with his work at Mobasoft. He not only understands New Media inside out, but has a true entrepreneurial spirit and drive. Results matter, and Michael gets results.”

Ted Demopoulos, Owner
Demopoulos Associates

“Michael, in my opinion, is a pioneer in the podcasting community with the creation of MyChingo. Michael is a born innovator, however, and I know the next iteration of MyChingo/Mobasoft includes additional services suggested by users. This demonstrates two chief attributes of Michael; he has to tinker and improve with his creations, and he listens to his customers versus innovating for innovation’s sake. He truly has a heart to help podcasters of any level (new to expert) and to have his technology positively influence business and the world at large.”

John Havens, Author
About.com Guide to Podcasting

Here is a Word Doc (traditional resume)

Here is a PDF Doc

Being first doesn’t mean that you win

First to market is not always the winner, especially if you burn up all of your resources while trying to figure out where things are heading.

When I created and launched MyChingo.com, the online audio commenting system, it was the first of such services that had a zero barrier to entry.

Click, record, send – it was that simple, and that was April of 2006.
Today, MyChingo is used on 4,352 web sites around the world.

MyChingo could do much more, and I receive emails all of the time requesting new features and from people who thank me for making the service.

Problem?
I’ve spent all my working capital developing the next version of audio and video comments (MobaTalk).
I have the parts all working fine, and I still have the vision for how things will work together, yet unless I can get my hands on $420,000, 2 programmers, some additional servers and misc. equipment, I won’t be able to roll it out the door.

So, in a way, I was first, about a year ahead of the time when people would understand the simplicity and find great uses for my services, but I’m also last, because what I have is a superior video recording system (MP4 right from your web browser) and the best audio recorder (MP3 from your browser, much better than a phone) but I’m not in the market.

What did happen is that other services such as Utterz.com and Seesmic.com came online, one offering dial-in audio comments and the other for online video recording, but both are at a much reduced quality and they are both stand-alone services.

Where did I go wrong?
Well, basically with my focus on both ease of use and quality (which I accomplished) it delayed my time to market.

Yeah? So what? Is it a race?
No, not really, but without the capital required to pull things off, one cannot even afford to sit on the sidelines and watch.

How can I help?
Ahh, I am so glad you asked!
Here’s what I need….an Angel Investor willing to write me a check for $420,000
Who do you know? have them contact me (page here)

Why should they invest?
Because I am confident that I can turn this into a 500 million dollar business.

UPDATE: BTW, SnapVine.com has raised $10 million, so others see the market potential as well.

The Money Tree – have an extra seed?

Proof that $5,000,000 doesn't create a better system all by itself.
No matter how much VC money a startup company may be able to obtain, there still needs to be a programmer who knows how to program in order to make things happen.

 

In this day and age, there are a number of languages which make people think that they are a programmer (Ruby on Rails, included). Unfortunately, people are now able to mock up a site within a few hours, yet it always fails the tried-and-true test when it gains popularity and doesn't scale – then, they have to dip way into their startup money and hire people who actually know what they are doing.

How does one explain how PodShow can burn through $23,000,000 and not have much to show for it? 

A competitor of mine recently received $10,000,000.
Wow, good for them, but I certainly cannot understand what in the hell they are going to need to spend that much money on. I created MyChingo and launched it to gain 10,000 sign-ups in a year – on a budget of about $500.00

You have an extra 10-mill to spend? Send it to me as I have at least 6 more ideas.
I'm not sure what kind of good-ol boy network I need to join to get contacts with that much available free cash, but damn – if you see me out at the PME this weekend, by all friggin' means, introduce yourself – we need to talk!

 

Save YouTube – start another site

Okay, so here's a free business idea for anyone who wants to take the idea and run with it.

 

Since YouTube has quickly risen to the top as the #1 place to share videos online, some people are now actually uploading some pretty high quality content.

Of course, probably 80% or more of it is still video of a bunch of kids doing some pretty wild and sometimes outright stupid stuff.

So, in order to raise the quality level of videos found on YouTube, someone should create another site just for the kids.

Here's one design for a T-Shirt which you might use for your marketing material.

 

Enjoy!! 

Family Vacation

1. House sitters in place. Check.
2. Dogs in the kennel. Check.
3. Website(s) all done. ________
4. Domains renewed. Check.

Okay, 3 out of 4 isn't bad. 😉

I am on family vacation and I'll return to work on July 10th. 

I will not be checking email, answering the phone, or be connected at all.

I'm spending time with my family, and getting to know them.

My son is 7, and my daughter is getting ready to turn 3. My wife is (haha, like I want to get in trouble).

So, enjoy the Inter-woven tubes while I am away. Prepare yourself for a beta-version of Web 3.0, coming at you on July 15th, 2007.

 

Michael Bailey 

Business Opportunity – Coffee Shop 4 Sale

On my walk back from the printing shop yesterday, I ran into an old friend of mine, Karen Moddrell, who owns a local coffee shop, 2 blocks from my office.

She told me that it was now for sale and the first $35,000 would get the entire place, including equipment and furnishings.
So, if you were thinking about being in the coffeeshop business, this is your chance.
The place is located on Main Street, in Independence, Missouri.

Here are a few pictures I took while Karen and I were talking.

I'm not sure what the monthly rent is, or what the utilities cost, but you can give Karen a call at 816.836.COFE (2633) or stop by their web site at mainstreetcoffeehouse.com