cre8Buzz

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Just plain good!

Yo, ya'll "shout out" time.  I love food, I am awfully skinny, so you wouldn't know it.  So a blog on food is a good thing.  But when you find a blog that is just plain GOOD, for all the right reasons and is about food, what a powerful combination.   

101 Cookbooks is just that combination.  Written by Heidi Swanson 101 Cookbooks has a very inviting element, like a good restaurant.  It is clean, just like a food preparation environment should be.  It is well laid out, things are easy to find; just like all great kitchens.  It is informative, she makes it easy to follow and easy to understand; just like a good recipe.  101 Cookbooks is "chic", ya I said "chic!"  It has a hip, high end element to it.   If Potterybarn were to do a cookbook (maybe they have) it would look and feel a lot like Heidi's blog.  (this is a compliment, Potterybarn does "Home" well).  101 Cookbooks is a refreshing, inviting, elegant site on cooking, recipes, and the wonderful lifestyle of food. 

If your into food, cooking, entertaining, or just want a good recipe to impress a date, 101 Cookbooks is a must.  If you could give a crap about an elegant meal, or the pleasantries of a well prepared supper, go anyway, because her site can teach you a thing or two on how to design a clean, elegant, sophisticated blog. 

Heidi has it going on, give her a little love and throw away your scale.  The food is just too good, so you might as well just stop trying. 

For money or for love?

Hey all, we are gettin close to launching cre8Buzz.   If ya don't know what were about then you gotta be livin in a cave, so check us here! 

Now, as we are gettin closer to launch, we're having a debate and it is gittin heated.  What are we debating?  We are debating whether or not you all blog, join and participate in social networking, for money or for love.  We see ya'll using Adsense, banner ads, paid links, pay for post etc.  It looks like ya'll are looking for the Benjamin's.   But, we also see ya'll doing it for the love; no adds, passionate posts, passionate topics, meeting people, helping out and sharing.  So which is it?  Why do ya'll join the sites you join?   Why do you blog?  How do you decide what social networking sites to join?   What motivates you to play in the online world?  We wanna know!

It's been a fiery debate at cre8Buzz.  People are gittin jumped in the halls for being on the wrong side of the debate.  It's like the Montague's and the Capulet's, the Crip's and the Blood's, the Hatfield's and McCoy's. It's gittin bloody and dangerous for a little Ant. 

So ya'll help me out and give us the 411, tell us your thoughts. 

Is it for MONEY or LOVE?

Emotion vs. Analysis . . . and the winner is?

Emotion!   Ok, boys and girls, getting people to act may have a little science to it.  At least that is what my girl D. Small at the University of Pennsylvania and my boy G. Loewenstein at Carnegie Mellon University are sayin.  Check it, it seems we have an internal response system that makes us more or less responsive to giving, checkin in or supporting. 

It's called emotion!

No big surprise here uh!  Well, I think it is pretty cool.   If you can create an emotional response in folks, you increase the chance they will become customers, readers, supports or partners. 

What makes it really cool is that D. Small and G. Loewenstein have proven it out for us.  In their report they demonstrate statistics make us numb to connecting and that emotions increase our level of  commitment.  They call it statistical victim v. identifiable victim, a little clinical for me, BUT their point give people stats, make them use the analytical part of their brain and you will decrease your chances of getting them to buy your product, read your blog, become a client.  Give em an emotional connection, engage with them by creating or invoking an emotional response and you increase your ability to get em. 

How slammin is this?  They did a study where they got a bunch a folks and gave em some serious analytical reading, you know that SAT type stuff like; calculate if train A leaves the station at 1 heading south traveling 60 miles an hour and train B leaves another station heading north at 2 traveling at 45 miles an hour when do they meet?  Those crazy questions.   They then gave another bunch a folks some questions like, what comes to mind when you think of a baby, you know, emotional type questions. After each was "primed" they then gave them a 5 bucks for answering the questions and an evelope asking if they would like to donate part of the 5 bucks to charity.  You know what is coming dont'cha?  The folks who were primed to think analytically, gave only HALF as much, HALF!  Damn, if they are thinking they ain't giving.  If they are feeling, they ARE givin. 

If you want to get em, turn off the stats, get em thinking about their mom, their sister, shoot I don't know, but get to their emotions.  Enough of the stats, I know this is killing you techie, analytical types.  But, how sweet it is I can say this, the NUMBERS don't lie.

How you are better than Yahoo!

. . . and just about every other big company.  So give your self a hand!  CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, . . .  OK enough now.  But it is well deserved.  You are better than Yahoo because you get it.  As a blogger or reader you participate.  My boy Cord Silverstein put up a tight post talking about how Yahoo didn't respond to his suggestions on improving their mail beta.  They asked for suggestions yet didn't respond.  It kinda reminds me of those old-school suggestion boxes with the little key lock on em.  Remember?  Now, I ain't here to rip on Yahoo.  They actually responded to the post in comments. However; too late, damage done!  This is not a new thing.  The big boys can learn from ya'll.  With all of the resources they have, you would think they get with the program and participate in the discussions.  As my boy Andy Sernovitz says, Jump In and join the conversation.  This is how you work WOM to the max.   I just can't wrap my head around it.  Why they, or any company, can't participate and Jump In, Yahoo especially, mmm.  I guess this is what goes down when you have a market cap of 39 billion. 

Listen, my point is rather simple and straight forward.  It seems to always take the establishment a little longer to get with the program and this one is no different.  You bloggers, your beautiful people! I know most of you have jobs, families, life stuff to contend with YET, ya never fail with the love you give to other bloggers. Ya'll participate, ya'll jump in!

Wouldn't it be nice if the people that take our money would get that.  If you're gonna ask our opinion, acknowledge it.  If ya gonna make a change, ask what we think.  If ya don't like something were doing, let us know politely (see the lactivist ), don't be a bully.  There is no better way and there has never been a better time to get closer to your customers; so do it. 

There is a prize in that there box!  Yahoo!

A little love from Andy Sernovitz

Check it ya’ll something slammin happened to us a little while back.  I have debated on whether or not to share the 411 for fear of looking too self-serving.  Then I thought to myself, I got a microphone, I need to use it for myself once in a while. 

So check it out, we got “sweeeeeeet” props from the Andy Sernovitz, Author of Word of Mouth Marketing and former Founder and CEO of WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association).  He thinks we “get it” when it comes to WOM. 

We want to thank Andy for his kind words, for commenting on the blog, and for givin us a little “Shout out” on his blog.  Much kind love to ya Andy.  Ya made me feel all tingly inside.

If ya wanna get more out of the conversations people are having about you, READ Andy’s book!  It’s good. 

Antman Posts that reference Andy’s book:

1. Get Viral and Grow
2. If it were easy
3. Jump In

The National Pork Board wants newborns to stop breast feeding and EAT PORK!

That is the only conclusion I can come to.  Because these fools, sent a nasty, nasty letter to my girl Jennifer Laycock at The Lactivist threatening to sue her. Why?  Because, she was selling a T-Shirt with the saying "the other white milk".  Do ya remember the old school campaign "the other white meat"?   Well the National Pork Board seems to think this is a violation of their trademark.  I guess they think that pork is a strong alternative to breast milk. Damn boy, I have a 16 month old and to think my wife breast fed when we could have been feeding her a juicy pork chop every 3 hours.  Boy, do I feel like a bad parent!  There is a silver lining.  We are due in April.  My wife is already at Costco loadin up on some phat chops, a few loins and more.  We're not gonna neglect this kid, like we did our last.  Thank god for The National Pork Board! 

While my wife is stockin up on pork for our new one, I got a couple a things to say!  Number 1, the Pork Board screwed the pooch on this one.  Trying to protect their marketing, they hurt it. When are folks gonna learn?   Number 2  times have changed and playin whack-o-mole with the little guy is no longer effective.  The little guy has muscle now.  We "the ants" have megaphones.*  cre8Buzz is all about the little guy and nothing pisses us off more than folks who are still livin in the dark ages, trying to keep down the little guy. 

Use your megaphones all, send a message to the pork people and all the other old school folks who don't get it.  Stomp ya'll stomp! Let's shake the ground.  We gotcha ya back Jenny.  You go girl! 

Oh, yeah, One more thing did I tell you?  Jenny was donating all the money raised to charity!  Damn fools!

Visit the NPB and tell em what ya think.

Update:

The National Pork Board issued an apology to our girl Jenny. You can get the 411 here. If ya don't believe the "Ants have megaphones" now, I don't know what will get ya believin.  There is a shift in the balance of power and WE the citizen marketer, the blogashpere, the ANTS are wielding it and wielding it well.  Congrats Jenny and congrats my fellow Ants!  Ya'll stomped and the ground shook!

                                                                                              *From Chris Andersons: The Longtail

How Canada destroyed social networking!

Ok, I'm exaggerating a little.  I'm sure many of you have seen this.  It is truly funny and it speaks volumes about what we will do to get attention.  When I first saw it, I was rollin . . .

 

then I was irritated. If ya'll didn't know, these girls were frontin.  It was a fake, it wasn't real.  Four chicks from Canada, the great white north, eh?  They thought they were being funny, don'tcha know.  But were they?  I am askin.   

We get it!  People are looking to get exposure, people wanna be famous.  We are building cre8Buzz for this very reason, to get people exposure and make them famous.  However, my question, do ya wanna make half the world look like idiots to do it?   You've heard me talk about this before.  My position hasn't changed, authenticity IS the KEY to good social networking.  If we continue to be duped we will look at user-generated content with skepticism.  Once the connection to authenticity is gone, social networks and user-generated content becomes no different than T.V. or the Movies.  The value is gone! 

I said it before and I'll say it again.  We love user generated content, because it is real and authentic.  Ya girls and their game, although it's gonna get them their 15 minutes, are doing it on the backs of future cats who's content is real. People who are giving us a look at life as it happens.  How many more fakes will you watch before you don't believe anything you see.  Yo, ya'll it ain't right.  I don't want to be the person who has the slamminest REAL funny video that no one believes because everyone has been numbed by the fakes. 

Call me old school, call me naive, call me a punk, but I ain't comin off my position.  User-generated content is supposed to be real and authentic.  When we deviate from that reality and don't disclose we are violating the trust of viewers.  If ya disclose it is all good.  If ya don't your a punk!  Our girls are punks, ya know why?  If they told us it was a fake, it wouldn't have been any good.  The value to it was the belief that someone could actually freak out like that over bad hair.  With out that belief,  IT WOULD NOT BE entertaining.  Thanks girls, you chose to get yours, at our expense.  Ya got me!

Ya know, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  We are one selfish, gimme mine, I don't care about anyone else but me society.

Despite it all, I got give it to em.  It is funny! 

Now, what did I do with MY video camera?

 

Ya want a customer for life . . . piss em off!

That is correct my friends.  The Antman is here with a little unconventional perspective, surprise, surprise.  Now, before I get started, our attorneys said I need to make this disclaimer:  I am not telling or suggesting you go out and hit, disparage, insult, ignore, talk smack or engage in any other type of premeditated stupidity towards your customers.  That would just be flat out dumb! 

What am I spoutin about?  Your best customers, your strongest relationships will be developed and grow from disagreement.  It ain't no thing to work with your customers when everything is runnin' smooth.  There is no challenge there.  Like any good relationship, the true value and commitment is discovered in times of difficulty. 

Look, we all get it.  It is common and straight up OK to make mistakes.  It happens all the time.  It's not the mistakes that send your customers fleeing.  It is how you choose to react.  If ya listen, show a little humility and respond, yes I said respond not REACT, ya just may do the right thing and make your customer smile. 

It works like this.  We all expect to get what we are promised.  So, ya give a little extra customer service, flash a few extra smiles you'll have some good customers.  BUT, I love this part, piss em off,  screw up bad and then go the extra mile to fix it and  in most cases you'll have a customer for life.  In desperate times your customers don't know what you are going to do.  Yo dawg, there hurtin for some love and waitin to see what you are going to do.  This is your chance.  This is where you get to EARN their trust.  The rules are out the door.  This is where you get the greatest return on your money, effort and time. 

The next time a customer is trippin and in your grill about how you screwed up, be happy inside, smile and think to yourself, "yeah boy, I got me a new lifelong customer" and then treat em with love.

They will give ya props for life! 

Health and Heart Update

A quick update on the Health and Heart Shout Out!  RubyRedShoes has not had a cigarette in 4 days.  She is struggling in the mornings , but she is doing well.  Go give her some love.  Our support to date has been hugely helpful.  Go on ya'll you are only a click and a comment away from makin a difference.

GO RUBYREDSHOES!!!!!!!  Just think, no more stinky breath,  ugh!  :)