January 18, 2008 By Nathania Johnson
Yesterday, I kept getting emails notifying me of new people following me on Twitter. I started to think how wonderful I must be that so many new people want to follow me.
Then a fellow Tweet shared a link explaining why not just I, but so many others were getting new followers. (No, Twitter is not a cult. At least, I don’t think it is.)
@BrianChappell wrote a post on MarketingPilgrim.com listing 75+ Internet Marketing Gurus on Twitter.
And I made the list.
Thanks, Brian! Of course, I’m amongst great company. Some of our favorite blogging friends are on the list as well.
I encourage you to go to the list and follow as many of them as you can. Then, start participating in conversations. When you want to reply to someone directly or reference someone, use the @ symbol followed by their user name.
Pay attention when other people use the @ symbol so you can learn of other interesting Tweets to follow.
This is a tremendous way to network - especially in the Internet Marketing industry.
Have fun! And don’t forget to follow me at http://www.twitter.com/wrtrgrl.
Posted in Social Media 
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January 17, 2008 By Nathania Johnson
Julia Roy reports today about Target and it’s big dis of bloggers.
Apparently, some bloggers have written in to complain about what is seen as a suggestive ad by Target. Amy from ShapingYouth.org wrote to the company to complain. She received a response which included:
“We are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with non-traditional media outlets. This practice is in place to allow us to focus on publications that reach our core guest.”
That’s interesting because…
I (used to) get email marketing campaigns in my inbox. That’s not traditional media.
Last year they had a Facebook group. That’s not traditional media.
They allow customer comments and ratings on their site. That’s not traditional media.
With 100 million people claiming blogs these days, Target can’t afford for bloggers not to be the “core guest” they so eagerly seek to reach.
Their response to Amy is so disingenuous due to the fact that they did, in fact, respond to her (via electronic methods, of course) and that new media is a great way to reach their core guest.
Target was the last company that I thought would be afraid to participate in the conversation about their brand, but they’re clearly more interested in push than pull.
Posted in Social Media, Blogging 1 Comment »
January 4, 2008 By Nathania Johnson
After a 9 day trip to Ohio (to visit the in-laws no less), I’m back.
But I did manage to get some work done while I was there. Plus, I was interviewed by Alka Ketherpal of BloggerInterviews.net. Before me, she interviewed the oh-so-famous blogger Lorelle VanFossen. I can’t believe I’m featured on the same site as her!
I wanted to let you know what to expect in the New Year from the Bold blog. We have so many clients, so the posting frequency might be less, but the quality will still be rockin’. As a result, I’m retiring the weekly “Best Quotes” post. It consumes entirely too much time, and requires that I stay subscribed to way too many RSS feeds. But it was fun while it lasted.
How were your holidays? Are you ready for an awesome 2008?
Posted in Uncategorized 1 Comment »
December 30, 2007 By Nathania Johnson
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“Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners.” - Jimmy Stewart
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“My father used to say, ‘Let them see you and not the suit. That should be secondary.’” - Cary Grant
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“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” - Judy Garland
- “A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at the Ritz.” - Humphrey Bogart
- “People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.” - Audrey Hepburn
- “You must train your intuition - you must trust the small voice inside you which tells you exactly what to say, what to decide” - Ingrid Bergman
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“Seeing a murder on television can help work off one’s antagonisms. And if you haven’t any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.” - Alfred Hitchcock
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“A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.” - Frank Capra
- “An audience is never wrong. An individual member of it may be an imbecile, but a thousand imbeciles together in the dark - that is critical genius.” - Billy Wilder
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“The only reason they come to see me is that I know that life is great, and they know I know it.” - Clark Gable
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“Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work - and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.” - Lucille Ball
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“Part of the joy of dancing is conversation. Trouble is, some men can’t talk and dance at the same time.” - Ginger Rogers
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“I have no desire to prove anything by dancing. I have never used it as an outlet or a means of expressing myself. I just dance. I just put my feet in the air and move them around.” - Fred Astaire
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“Rehearsals and screening rooms are often unreliable because they can’t provide the chemistry between an audience and what appears on the stage or screen.” - Gene Tierney
- “I don’t lecture and I don’t grind any axes. I just want to entertain.” - Gregory Peck
- “Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it.” - Danny Kaye
Posted in Conversation Marketing 2 Comments »
December 29, 2007 By Nathania Johnson
Chris Wilson posed a question at LinkedIn about which companies truly participated in conversation with their companies in 2007. I answered and Chris (with my permission, he’s such a gentleman) posted my reply among others. I’m in such good company!
Check the post about companies and their conversations here.
Posted in Conversation Marketing No Comments »
December 27, 2007 By Nathania Johnson
My husband and I are foodies, so naturally we watch a lot of of Food Network programming. Last night, my husband wanted me to watch a KitchenAid commercial about one of its famous mixers that can accompany attachments such as a pasta maker.
At the end, I noticed that they were directing people to BuyKitchenAid.com. I excitedly typed in the URL because I anticipated a landing page made specifically for this commercial. And that’s what I found. Take a look.
If this URL is only being promoted through TV commercials (better yet, cable TV commercials), it gives the marketing folks at KitchenAid a powerful metric. When they look at how many people come to the site through typing in the URL directly, they know that most of those came from watching the commercial.
Companies have been doing this for years with toll-free numbers. They will use different numbers for different markets where a TV or radio ad is aired. That way they can know which markets are performing and which ones aren’t and adjust products and/or marketing accordingly.
What I like about KitchenAid’s campaign is that they used a simple URL. They could have tried something like kitchenaid.com/artisanmixer - but that would have been more to remember.
So take a page out of the KitchenAid playbook and try out integration marketing campaigns using unique landing pages with simple URLs!
Posted in Analytics No Comments »
December 23, 2007 By Nathania Johnson
As many of you know, StumbleUpon is my favorite social bookmarking tool.
If you have the toolbar installed, you’ll see a “Like It” button with a thumbs up and a thumbs down button. It helps SU know what type of sites you like to see, but it also can be seen by others along with comments about the page (click the comment cloud icon for that feature).
But sometimes I feel like I want 2 more buttons.
The first is an I LOVE IT! button. Of course, I would use this for cute kitties, pictures of Old Hollywood movie stars, Jacqueline Norvogratz’s speech on patient capitalism at this year’s TED conference, and Ryan Karpeles’ amazing guest post over at Conversation Agent.
The second is a This Is Important! button. Sometimes, I come across pages with information I don’t like, but that I find very valuable. One example is the Top 10 Underrated Humanitarian Stories of 2007. You see, I don’t like that there is a crisis in Somalia similar to that in Darfur. I don’t like that there is so much violence in the Central African Republic. I don’t like the volatile situation that remains in Chechnya. And I really don’t like that the media concentrates more on Britney Spears than on these far more important matters. But I do want others to read about these stories. Maybe more so than some of the other stumbles. (I give a thumbs up anyway so that the site reaches more people.)
So those are two buttons I’d like to see on StumbleUpon. What would you like to see?
Posted in Social Media 12 Comments »
December 21, 2007 By Nathania Johnson
Earlier this year, I blogged about how Eric Volz was able to record a podcast using a phone in the Nicaraguan prison he was being held in. But he was being held there after a conviction for a murder and rape for which there was no evidence of his guilt.
This week, the Appellate Court overturned the conviction 2-1. But the law required the original local judge to sign his release. She dodged her responsibilities, but apparently she is not above the law.
I’m not sure of all the details, but Eric Volz was released from prison in Nicaragua earlier today. His whereabouts are unknown, which is completely understandable.
I must say I’m completely floored, in a good way of course. It seemed at times that he might never get released, despite our prayers, hope, and petitioning Congress and the Media. While we watched Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith get unnecessary media coverage, Eric Volz’s case was only broadcast a few brief times.
In the end, there was a greater force at work. I don’t want to piss Adam off with my religious views. Draw your own conclusions. Volz and his family are people of faith if that helps.
Posted in Be Bold 1 Comment »
December 21, 2007 By Nathania Johnson
Recently, I wrote about being introverted in a social media world with a followup post about how that affects transparency.
But that was just one moment in a conversation that has spread across the blogosphere.
Kat Beckham-French wrote about the tension we feel in the strive to be honest and transparent and yet not tactless and overwhelming.
Michele Martin delves into the Myers-Briggs descriptions of Extroverted and Introverted and explores what it means for our online behavior.
Joanna Young reminds bloggers that comments are great for your introverted readers.
Mark Dykeman has an entire blog catering to introverts as they tackle a web 2.0 universe.
Last but not least, a few years ago, Jonathan Rauch wrote an incredible article on introversion which was published in The Atlantic. I especially recommend that Extroverts read this.
Posted in Social Media 1 Comment »
December 19, 2007 By Nathania Johnson
So I was checking my ‘Compare People’ rankings on Facebook. And it’s time to set the record straight on a few things. Here’s my thoughts on where I rank so you can vote accordingly, OK?!?!?!?
1st in “Who is a better singer” Clearly, I need to quit my day job and release an album.
6th in “Who has a better smile” Not bad.
6th in “Who would I rather get stuck in handcuffs with” This is only true if you have a strong and dark sense of humor.
6th in “Who is more generous” Thank you!
6th in “Who is more entertaining” Gratzi again!
6th in “Who more likely to succeed” Oh I hope so. I have big dreams.
7th in “Who is sexier” Ah, I can see my husband has been voting for me. He shall be richly rewarded.
9th in “Who would make a better mother” Well, I’ve only been at it a year. And instead of starting at the age of 0, I started at the ages of 9 and 10. I think I’m doing pretty good.
10th in “Who is a harder worker” Uh yeah. This should be lower. Look at this blog post. I should be working instead.
10th in “Who would I rather sleep with” Just skip this altogether. Only my husband gets to sleep with me. You won’t get any brownie points by voting me up in this category. I’m not that kind of girl!
11th in “Who is more punctual” I’m the LEAST punctual person on this planet. Worse than Bill Clinton. Seriously. I shouldn’t even rank here.
11th in “Who is funnier” Well, this is tough since I have alot of improv people in my friends list. But hopefully I will be higher in the future.
12th in “Who is prettier” I’m a decent-looking broad.
12th in “Who is more attractive” Not bad considering I’ve gained 30 lbs in the past 2 yearsa.
13th in “Who has better hair” I wear it up all the time. I get the most compliments when it’s long. But it was long for so long, I’m giving myself a break.
13th in “Who is cuter” I’m not sure if I’m a cute person, so average in this category is good.
13th in “Who is more cuddly” I’m SO not a cuddly person.
15th in “Who has prettier eyes” I think I have great eyes! This should be higher, people!
17th in “Who is crazier” It depends on how you define crazy.
19th in “Who would i rather take shopping” If you love to shop, you’ll vote me. If you hate to shop, you’ll vote the other person.
21st in “Who would I rather marry” It’s not that horrible, is it honey?!?!?
23rd in “Who is better at science” Science is my worst subject.
26th in “Who is a better public speaker” I used to be a fantastic public speaker. I’m a bit rusty at the moment. This online career doesn’t help!
26th in “Who is more trustworthy” Ouch!
27th in “Who has a better profile picture” yeah, mine could use some work.
29th in “Who is more adventurous” I’m not that adventurous, so this ranking fits the bill.
31st in “Who is more likely to do a favor for me” I’m actually great on favors, just so you know.
32nd in “Who has a better sense of humor” Poop on you people!
32nd in “Who is smarter” Ouch again, peeps! I have above average IQ!
38th in “Who is more tech-savvy” Do you not know me?!??!! What my career is!?!?!?!
Ok, Facebook rant over. Actually, most of my “friends” on Facebook either barely know me or I haven’t seen in years. If you want to friend me, click here. But if you compare me - use the above guide as a reference 
Posted in Social Media No Comments »
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