• Instagram only lets you post photos

    From Ogg@VERT/EOTLBBS to All on Tue Dec 29 14:23:00 2020
    Hello Nightfox!

    ** On Monday 28.12.20 - 15:39, nightfox wrote to Vk3jed:

    I tend not to use Twitter or Instagram much, myself. I don't like that Instagram only lets you post photos (I know that's the main idea)..

    Re Instagram, "You can take, edit, and publish visual content for
    your followers to interact with thorough likes, comments, and
    shares."

    So.. COMMENTS are possible.

    Someone is passionately convinced that my shop should have an
    Instagram account. I can see it as a way to post quick-picks of
    books and show photos at advante-garde angles in my shop. But I
    can do that with Facebook too if I wanted. But I don't see how
    that shit can really boost sales to a significant degree.

    It would seem to be a waste of time to post pics all the time,
    deal with "bad comments", block users, censor, etc.. and not
    really gain much in the end. I already have too few hours in a
    day to accomplish everything on my plate. To add Instagram in
    the mix would feel overwhelming - and for what end? Just to
    satisfy the clicky addiction that people have with Instagam? No
    thanks.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com
  • From Warpslide@VERT/NRBBS to Ogg on Tue Dec 29 15:22:00 2020
    On 29 Dec 2020, Ogg said the following...

    Someone is passionately convinced that my shop should have an
    Instagram account. I can see it as a way to post quick-picks of
    books and show photos at advante-garde angles in my shop. But I
    can do that with Facebook too if I wanted. But I don't see how
    that shit can really boost sales to a significant degree.

    You'd have to hold the book, while arching your back & make duck lips while flashing a peace sign for there to be any real engagement... ;)

    And don't forget #to #use #way #too #many #hashtags along with a cool filter.

    Just to satisfy the clicky addiction that people have with Instagam? No thanks.

    My work now has an outside professional marketing team thanks to being recently acquired by a much larger company. They now have a team of people responding to comments on our Facebook & Instagram pages, along with posting at least once a day. They even hold contests and mail out real prizes for those users who are the most creative with our products.

    Jay

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2020/11/23 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: Northern Realms
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Tue Dec 29 17:36:12 2020
    Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: Ogg to All on Tue Dec 29 2020 09:23 am

    It would seem to be a waste of time to post pics all the time,
    deal with "bad comments", block users, censor, etc.. and not
    really gain much in the end. I already have too few hours in a
    day to accomplish everything on my plate. To add Instagram in
    the mix would feel overwhelming - and for what end? Just to
    satisfy the clicky addiction that people have with Instagam? No
    thanks.


    if you dont want to make money that's on you. some people dont use fb and prefer instagram. you can do the same shit on both. instagram even has a shop.

    on fb you can get a 30 day ban for dumb shit. i said a lady was too ugly to go out anyways when she said she wanted everything closed.

    if i were you, i'd use what people look at. also facebook can hide your content from your followers. it plays all kinds of games. i dont think instagram does that AS much now.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Warpslide on Tue Dec 29 17:38:28 2020
    Re: Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: Warpslide to Ogg on Tue Dec 29 2020 10:22 am

    My work now has an outside professional marketing team thanks to being recently acquired by a much larger company. They now have a team of people responding to comments on our Facebook & Instagram pages, along with posting at least once a day. They even hold contests and mail out real prizes for those users who are the most creative with our products.


    another thing is people are sick of the lack of support. so they expect no support.

    they complain on instagram or facebook and if the company is responsive, that makes a good impression.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to MRO on Wed Dec 30 23:39:03 2020
    Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: MRO to Ogg on Tue Dec 29 2020 12:36 pm

    on fb you can get a 30 day ban for dumb shit. i said a lady was too ugly to go out anyways when she said she wanted everything closed.

    My wife gets banned from Facebook at least once every couple months. Her last one was her and some old friends bitching at each other. She said, "I'm going to smack the shit out of you and you're going to like it." The Facebook Mafia captured it and banned her for 7 days. I, on the other hand, get reported a lot for my "insensitive" memes I post. :)

    Dream Master

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - Coming Soon!
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dream Master on Thu Dec 31 04:40:31 2020
    Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Wed Dec 30 2020 06:39 pm

    Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: MRO to Ogg on Tue Dec 29 2020 12:36 pm

    on fb you can get a 30 day ban for dumb shit. i said a lady was too
    ugly to go out anyways when she said she wanted everything closed.

    My wife gets banned from Facebook at least once every couple months. Her last one was her and some old friends bitching at each other. She said, "I'm going to smack the shit out of you and you're going to like it." The Facebook Mafia captured it and banned her for 7 days. I, on the other hand, get reported a lot for my "insensitive" memes I post. :)



    i just have a bunch of accounts with the same name and i friend the same people. so they ban a few and it doesnt phase me. i should be able to put a swear word on my private page that only my friends can see. that's ridiculious.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to MRO on Thu Dec 31 04:42:22 2020
    Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: MRO to Dream Master on Wed Dec 30 2020 11:40 pm

    i just have a bunch of accounts with the same name and i friend the same people. so they ban a few and it doesnt phase me. i should be able to put a swear word on my private page that only my friends can see. that's ridiculious.

    That's the problem. It's my Facebook page. People who friend me are people that know me and know that I have a very sarcastic sense of humor. If Facebook's censors choose to ban me, the question comes down to "Why?" Overzealous censors or crap AI doesn't solve it where they could be using this to crack down on fringe groups, etc.

    Oh well.

    Life goes on.

    Dream Master

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - Coming Soon!
  • From Ogg@VERT/EOTLBBS to MRO on Thu Dec 31 02:20:00 2020
    Hello MRO!

    ** On Tuesday 29.12.20 - 13:36, mro wrote to Ogg:

    ..Just to satisfy the clicky addiction that people have with
    Instagam? No thanks.

    if you dont want to make money that's on you. some people dont
    use fb and prefer instagram. you can do the same shit on both.
    instagram even has a shop.

    I am not convinced that all the valiant effort to make a pretty
    clicky instagram space would translate to worthwhile $ returns.

    However, I had not heard about the "shop" feature that you
    mention above. I probably could use that for a temporary promo
    or to announce select titles on sale or something - for instant
    purchase.


    on fb you can get a 30 day ban for dumb shit. i said a lady
    was too ugly to go out anyways when she said she wanted
    everything closed.

    30 days for that? Incredible. That's more than just a slap on the
    wrist.

    I am closer to finishing the FB page. I just have to dress it up
    with a profile image/banner and some shots of the store. But it
    would essentially be the same thing that people see with the free
    MyBusiness service that Google provides when people google my
    business listing. So, it seems like there is a lot of
    duplication (twice the maintenance) for the same end.


    if i were you, i'd use what people look at. also facebook can
    hide your content from your followers. it plays all kinds of
    games. i dont think instagram does that AS much now. -+-

    Right now, people are simply googling for the shop, and finding
    the MyBusiness result that Google serves up. I get dozens of
    distint visitors every week. So, I know that is what people are
    looking at. I can even add a shopping basket there if I wanted.

    I need to have the young lady who is convinced that I need an
    instagram page demontrate how Instagram would benefit me. I need
    to see a real-life example. One thing that really bugs me about
    Instagram is that it forces the visitor to have an Instagram
    account if you want to see more than one page of pics. I have
    warmed up to using FB only because it now has a "public" setting
    that allows people without FB accounts to read the page too. I
    don't want people to be forced to sign up with FB if they just
    want to check a post on my FB business page.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/EOTLBBS to Warpslide on Thu Dec 31 02:44:00 2020
    Hello Warpslide!

    ** On Tuesday 29.12.20 - 05:22, warpslide wrote to Ogg:

    Instagram account. I can see it as a way to post quick-
    picks of books and show photos at advante-garde angles in my
    shop. But I can do that with Facebook too if I wanted. But
    I don't see how that shit can really boost sales to a
    significant degree.

    You'd have to hold the book, while arching your back & make
    duck lips while flashing a peace sign for there to be any real
    engagement... ;)

    ROTFL. Luv'd it.


    And don't forget #to #use #way #too #many #hashtags along with
    a cool filter.

    Isn't that the truth. :(


    Just to satisfy the clicky addiction that people have with
    Instagam? No thanks.

    My work now has an outside professional marketing team thanks
    to being recently acquired by a much larger company. They now
    have a team of people responding to comments on our Facebook &
    Instagram pages, along with posting at least once a day. They
    even hold contests and mail out real prizes for those users who
    are the most creative with our products.

    That's the thing.. I see this push by "experts" to businesses to
    have social media accounts as just an excuse to get hired to do
    just that. I cannot see myself piddling about social media
    checking people's posts (good or bad), answering questions, or
    running contests. If I don't answer (right away) it would be
    construed as bad service, thumbs down, no likes, etc.

    There is currently a "Digital Main Street" program that is
    administered by the province that offers up to $2500 grant for
    digitalizing one's business. It is basically a Shopify
    incentivization programme. One shop that I know of is well into 9
    months of if after receiving the grant. But even after all the
    professional advice and design, they have made no online sales at
    all. Meanwhile, the grant money is all used up and now they have
    to decide whether it is worth paying the monthy Shopify fees.

    I have been told that the Digital Main Street training has some
    fine videos on how to build a successful online presence. I
    started into the training myself a couple weeks ago. The deadline
    is Dec 31. I can't finish the training videos because watching
    just a few of them would blow my monthly mobile data quota. The
    videos are not youtube-dl friendly. I am unable to watch them
    and finish the application by tomorrow even if I wanted to. The
    application is a lot of "business plan" verbiage anyway: goals,
    aspirations, schedule, cost, etc.

    What exactly is your work/company?

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Dream Master on Thu Dec 31 18:14:19 2020
    Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Wed Dec 30 2020 11:42 pm

    That's the problem. It's my Facebook page. People who friend me are people that know me and know that I have a very sarcastic sense of humor. If Facebook's censors choose to ban me, the question comes down to "Why?" Overzealous censors or crap AI doesn't solve it where they could be using this to crack down on fringe groups, etc.

    It seems Facebook's censors have become a bit too overly eager. One of my friends on Facebook and a friend of theirs like to jokingly call each other names all in good fun, and they said they got a warning from Facebook about it.

    Nightfox

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Warpslide@VERT/NRBBS to Ogg on Thu Dec 31 21:42:00 2020
    On 30 Dec 2020, Ogg said the following...

    That's the thing.. I see this push by "experts" to businesses to
    have social media accounts as just an excuse to get hired to do
    just that.

    I was surprised when I started at my current job that our marketing department was as big as it was for a (relatively) small company. You had the VP of Marketing, the Director of Marketing & then two managers of various areas of marketing, one of which was responsible for social engagement along with the staff under that.

    About every six months a new student would be hired on (as part of their college or university course) to help manage our online presence. Their official title is "Social Coordinator" - I create their email address and various accounts & then marketing takes care of access to Facebook, Instagram, etc.

    What exactly is your work/company?

    It's a (somewhat) large commercial bakery that makes things that aren't good for you. My last job was also at a (larger) commercial bakery.

    I was a lot skinnier before I started working at these places. I wonder if Weight Watchers needs an IT guy... ;)

    Even though we make junk food, because it's "food" we're still considered "essential". I've been very fortunate this year that I haven't been laid off and even better, because I'm in IT, I can do (most) of my job from home.

    Jay

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2020/11/23 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: Northern Realms
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Thu Dec 31 19:59:20 2020
    Re: Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: Ogg to Warpslide on Wed Dec 30 2020 09:44 pm

    That's the thing.. I see this push by "experts" to businesses to
    have social media accounts as just an excuse to get hired to do
    just that. I cannot see myself piddling about social media
    checking people's posts (good or bad), answering questions, or
    running contests. If I don't answer (right away) it would be
    construed as bad service, thumbs down, no likes, etc.

    There is currently a "Digital Main Street" program that is
    administered by the province that offers up to $2500 grant for
    digitalizing one's business. It is basically a Shopify
    incentivization programme. One shop that I know of is well into 9
    months of if after receiving the grant. But even after all the
    professional advice and design, they have made no online sales at
    all. Meanwhile, the grant money is all used up and now they have
    to decide whether it is worth paying the monthy Shopify fees.

    I also think a lot of marketing experts are just marketing their own services in order
    to have you hire them.

    I got lots of advice from marketing people half of which was "you should hire this or
    do this to the website, we do it for cheap $$$". Turns out I implemented their ideas
    myself and those ideas are turning one or two sales per month tops.

    ie paying 200 bucks to get some chat bot in order to sell two bars of soap per month.
    Not eally worth it - since you also have to take care of the bot heh.

    A lot of the social media craze also makes no sense. Being in Facebook et all does not
    generate customers for you anymore. It is a known stat that organic growth in social
    media is going down hard. User's feeds are so full of junk that they blaze through it
    paying no attention to most posts, which means the chances one of them will read your
    content are slim, and getting slimmer each day.

    Social media helps you interact with customers you already have, but it does not
    generate new customers anymore.

    If you want to have a chance you need this with your online presence:

    1) Offer something nobody else has. Otherwise they will go grab it from Amazon or any
    other big, established website which will be able to sell cheaper than you can. 2) Have an established channel for making customers preferabily one that is not Internet dependant. Specially important, because it turns your online business into
    "Árelor's Website, Árelor being that cool helpful dude who likes horses" instead of
    some faceless, corporate website.

    2 is important because lots of customers are not Facebook prey at all. I have to help
    a lot of customers via phone/contact form because they are incapable of figuring out
    how to pay using credit card or because they barelly know how to use computer. --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dream Master on Thu Dec 31 21:14:19 2020
    Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Wed Dec 30 2020 11:42 pm

    same people. so they ban a few and it doesnt phase me. i should be
    able to put a swear word on my private page that only my friends can
    see. that's ridiculious.

    That's the problem. It's my Facebook page. People who friend me are people that know me and know that I have a very sarcastic sense of humor. If Facebook's censors choose to ban me, the question comes down to "Why?"


    i just got a ban for saying someone is unemployable. she needs a dog with her at all times for her nerves and he went to school for a bunch of dumb stuff that nobody wants. i said 'that's your fault for being unemployable'. so i get a ban for that. jesus christ, fb is so stupid. that's why i shit it up with my presence.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to MRO on Fri Jan 1 04:29:14 2021
    Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: MRO to Dream Master on Thu Dec 31 2020 04:14 pm

    i just got a ban for saying someone is unemployable. she needs a dog with her at all times for her nerves and he went to school for a bunch of dumb stuff that nobody wants. i said 'that's your fault for being unemployable'. so i get a ban for that. jesus christ, fb is so stupid. that's why i shit it up with my presence.

    At this point in time I mostly share memes and read different groups that interest me. I'm tired of the censorship, tired of the bullshit, just annoyed with it in general. There really is no other platform that has everyone I know on it. Instagram is a waste of time (I hate taking pictures), TikTok is annoying, and Snapchat is, well, Snapchat. I get what you are saying but we are all a captive audience with them and they'll never change.

    Dream Master

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - Coming Soon!
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Dream Master on Fri Jan 1 09:48:41 2021
    Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: Dream Master to MRO on Thu Dec 31 2020 11:29 pm

    At this point in time I mostly share memes and read different groups that interest me. I'm tired of the censorship, tired of the bullshit, just annoyed with it in general. There really is no other platform that has everyone I know on it. Instagram is a waste of time (I hate taking pictures), TikTok is annoying, and Snapchat is, well, Snapchat. I get what you are saying but we are all a captive audience with them and they'll


    i use instagram just for finding random videos for entertainment. well it's not random. it monitors what you look at for how long and shows you more when you use the search feature.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/EOTLBBS to Arelor on Sat Jan 2 00:42:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Thursday 31.12.20 - 15:59, arelor wrote to Ogg:

    I got lots of advice from marketing people half of which was
    "you should hire this or do this to the website, we do it for
    cheap $$$". Turns out I implemented their ideas myself and
    those ideas are turning one or two sales per month tops.

    You fool! You probably picked the wrong colour scheme! LOL had
    you hired an expert, your sales would be 500x better. ;)


    ie paying 200 bucks to get some chat bot in order to sell two
    bars of soap per month. Not eally worth it - since you also
    have to take care of the bot heh.

    Tell me about it. The Digital Main Street program is pretty much
    a series of suggestions to implement a variety of social media
    solutions (tools, they call them). It talks about building a
    "community", interacting with people online - yada yada yada.

    I *know* all that. The problem would be maintaining it all or
    look like you've abandonned the public if you just decided take 3
    days off.


    A lot of the social media craze also makes no sense. Being in
    Facebook et all does not generate customers for you anymore. It
    is a known stat that organic growth in social media is going
    down hard.

    I actually like the sound of that information. It confirms my
    suspicion that by and large people are growing tired of FB and
    its uniform look and all the ads thrown at them.

    But were is the stat?


    User's feeds are so full of junk that they blaze through it
    paying no attention to most posts, which means the chances one
    of them will read your content are slim, and getting slimmer
    each day.

    Yeah... they are probably just looking for a funny photo/meme -
    no more than 10 words to read - and move on.


    Social media helps you interact with customers you already
    have, but it does not generate new customers anymore.

    A couple "experts" have come to that conclusion for me too. They
    said that FB would help retain the customers that I currenrtly
    have and foster loyalty.

    The best I would see myself doing is open my FB page, decorate it
    as best I can, and simply announce a disclaimer that the page is
    there for loyals to inter-chat amongst themselves and it is not a
    place to place orders or ask questions expecting me to answer.
    The phone or email would be the best vector for that.


    1) Offer something nobody else has. Otherwise they will go grab
    it from Amazon or any other big, established website which will
    be able to sell cheaper than you can.

    That would be pretty difficult. Amazon also permits listings
    from 3rd party sellers. So.. they've pretty much covered all
    potential products that way.

    To a certain extent, I find that the imposed minimum order to
    qualify for free-shipping at Amazon bothers some buyers. I don't
    impose a minimum and I can even drop it off at someone's doorstep
    if they want too. If someone haggles me about a $40 book that is
    only $20 at Amazon, I tell them, go ahead, but after you factor
    in the minimum $8 shipping fee, the final price is very close to
    what I would offer anyway; I offer discounts between 10% to 50%
    on many titles.


    2) Have an established channel for making customers preferabily
    one that is not Internet dependant. Specially important,
    because it turns your online business into "relor's Website,
    relor being that cool helpful dude who likes horses" instead of
    some faceless, corporate website.

    Sometimes I wish that I *could* be faceless. LOL. I can't escape
    either the scrutiny or the loyalty that people have in this town.

    But give me an example of one those channels. Do you mean
    postcards?


    2 is important because lots of customers are not Facebook prey
    at all. I have to help a lot of customers via phone/contact
    form because they are incapable of figuring out how to pay
    using credit card or because they barelly know how to use
    computer. --

    Sounds like you have a larger 60+ demographic than I do.

    I have people coming in with their phones showing me screen shots
    of the books they are looking for - often it is from an Amazon
    page or similar. Doh! About 10% of buyers use ApplePay with
    their watches or phones on my debit/cc terminal.

    There's been a bit of an uptake on people buying my gift cards
    online.

    Sounds like we have different clientele with different attitudes
    and skills with using techonology.

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com
  • From Vk3jed@VERT/FREEWAY to Dream Master on Sun Jan 3 01:36:00 2021
    On 12-31-20 23:29, Dream Master wrote to MRO <=-

    At this point in time I mostly share memes and read different groups
    that interest me. I'm tired of the censorship, tired of the bullshit,

    I'm in a number of local and special interest groups. FB is handy for that sort of thing.

    just annoyed with it in general. There really is no other platform

    Join the club. Sometimes, FB really pisses me off. Between the inconsistent censorship and their worsening web scripting, as well as some totally stupid and/or annoying UI design, it's becoming more painful to use. But as you say, there's really no viable alternative, because that's where everyone is these days.

    that has everyone I know on it. Instagram is a waste of time (I hate taking pictures), TikTok is annoying, and Snapchat is, well, Snapchat.

    Yeah, I class Instagram and Twitter the same - huge, unstructured feeds, which I hate, especially when you factor network/server lag, as you scroll, there's pregnant pauses for sownloading more data. Never used TikTok - I have no interest from what I've seen. Snapchat is just annoying, and I don't like sending videos and pictures back and forth as the main means of communication - kinda kills the conversation for me. I only recently resurrected my Twitter account so I can open Twitter links that people send (some of those links are actually useful).

    I get what you are saying but we are all a captive audience with them
    and they'll never change.

    Sadly, that's true.


    ... The Fifth Rule: You have taken yourself too seriously.
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.51
    ■ Synchronet ■ Freeway BBS, Bendigo Australia. freeway.apana.org.au
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Sat Jan 2 12:15:05 2021
    Re: Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Fri Jan 01 2021 07:42 pm


    Ok, your mesage was too long for me to quote so I will try to make it quick.

    I can't find the original study regarding organic growth in social media, but this site comes to say the same thing:

    https://www.business2community.com/facebook/6-studies-show-facebook-organic-rea ch-declining-quickly-01564179

    When I talk about offering something that nobody else is providing, I was not talking about products necessarily. A lot of people needs advice, documentation, tight delivery deadlines... try asking Amazon or Alibaba if certain micronutrient is good for this or that and see what happens... if you do that in my website I will just grab a doctor and post his opinion :-)

    When I speak about alternate ways of generating customers, I mean just that... for example, the way I work is to have things that doctors I know recomend to people but people has a hard time finding. Lots of doctors get mad because they recomend Zinc Gluconate 70, the patient goes out there, fails to find it, and gets Zinc Bisglicinate 30 or whatever instead. BY ensuring I have that stuff I know that doctors will tell people "if you can't find this stuff, call this number / go to this website".

    Lots of patients are 80+ years old so yes, they have a big deal of a problem ordering online. I have struck a deal with a bunch of doctors so if somebody is technologically averse, I can deliver the vitamins or whatever to the doctor using the clinic's logistics and the patient can get and pay for the stuff directly in the clinic. Everybody wins: the patient gets the material without having to use complex online stores, the doctor has the patient take the things he is recommending instead of god-knows-what, I make a sale, and delivery costs are zero.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Warpslide on Sat Jan 2 14:40:00 2021
    Warpslide wrote to Ogg <=-

    I was a lot skinnier before I started working at these places. I
    wonder if Weight Watchers needs an IT guy... ;)

    When I was younger, I had my hopes set on a director of IT position
    at Peet's Coffee in Emeryville, a mile from my house.



    ... What is the reality of the situation?
    --- MultiMail/XT v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Arelor on Sat Jan 2 14:44:00 2021
    Arelor wrote to Ogg <=-

    I also think a lot of marketing experts are just marketing their own services in order to have you hire them.

    I listen to a couple of entrepreneurial podcasts, and there's a theme
    of people geting rich on the internet by teaching people how to
    teach other people how to get rich on the internet. It's delightfully
    meta.


    ... What is the reality of the situation?
    --- MultiMail/XT v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Dream Master on Sat Jan 2 14:46:00 2021
    Dream Master wrote to MRO <=-


    At this point in time I mostly share memes and read different groups
    that interest me.

    Yeah, I can't remember the last time I posted personal content on
    Facebook.

    just annoyed with it in general. There really is no other platform
    that has everyone I know on it. Instagram is a waste of time (I hate taking pictures), TikTok is annoying, and Snapchat is, well, Snapchat.

    I'm behind the curve, if I want to get into social media I'll need to
    skip past the current platforms and figure out what's next.



    ... What is the reality of the situation?
    --- MultiMail/XT v0.52
    ■ Synchronet ■ realitycheckBBS -- http://realitycheckBBS.org
  • From Dream Master@VERT/CIAD to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Jan 3 02:23:04 2021
    Re: Re: Instagram only lets you post photos
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Dream Master on Sat Jan 02 2021 09:46 am

    Yeah, I can't remember the last time I posted personal content on
    Facebook.

    I mostly bitch about politics, religion, or the news in general. For example, someone sued King's Hawaiian Bakery for not making their rolls in Hawaii (instead, they are made in California). They are looking for class action status.

    I'm behind the curve, if I want to get into social media I'll need to
    skip past the current platforms and figure out what's next.

    I say we regress and go back to BBSes. :)

    Dream Master

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Caught in a Dream - Coming Soon!
  • From Vk3jed@VERT/FREEWAY to Dream Master on Mon Jan 4 00:14:00 2021
    On 01-02-21 21:23, Dream Master wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    I'm behind the curve, if I want to get into social media I'll need to
    skip past the current platforms and figure out what's next.

    I say we regress and go back to BBSes. :)

    No argument from me. ;)


    ... Ya win some, ya lose some ... Just be sure to win *more*
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.51
    ■ Synchronet ■ Freeway BBS, Bendigo Australia. freeway.apana.org.au
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Ogg on Sun Jan 3 08:55:10 2021
    On 12/30/2020 7:44 PM, Ogg wrote:
    My work now has an outside professional marketing team thanks
    to being recently acquired by a much larger company. They now
    have a team of people responding to comments on our Facebook &
    Instagram pages, along with posting at least once a day. They
    even hold contests and mail out real prizes for those users who
    are the most creative with our products.

    That's the thing.. I see this push by "experts" to businesses to
    have social media accounts as just an excuse to get hired to do
    just that. I cannot see myself piddling about social media
    checking people's posts (good or bad), answering questions, or
    running contests. If I don't answer (right away) it would be
    construed as bad service, thumbs down, no likes, etc.

    I do think that an online presence is important but wouldn't suggest
    devoting much time at all to social media. Spend enough time to make
    sure that your entries on the likes of Google Maps and Yelp are accurate
    and mostly leave it at that.

    Work on offline channels, community outreach etc. as for most businesses
    that is far more effective. There is literally too much online
    competition to ever compete or succeed and most of the services are just
    that, services that will work to their own needs over your own.

    Another thing that I tend to advise lately, don't worry about getting
    foo.com, foo.net... there's too many TLDs, beyond this, don't worry
    about getting YourFullBusinessName.com, get the shortest thing that
    makes sense. yfbn.tech or something else that's friendlier to punch into
    a mobile phone is better (shoot for 12 characters or less, including dot
    and tld). A site that works on a 5yo smart phone on a limited data plan
    with a couple photos of your storefront, a map pin, phone number and a
    link for "directions" will do far more good than a lot of flashy content.

    Make it easier for those offline to reach you online, there's no need to constantly churn and try to keep up.

    For what it's worth, I'm not an online consultant, I build mostly web
    based applications (not the same as web sites), and most of what I do is inappropriate for a business presence online. The advice above is just
    my take from the experience that I do have, and experience as a
    user/consumer that tries to find places that I know exist or discover
    locally. I have never had an instinct to actually "search" social media
    to find a business that does $SERVICE locally. And unless your business
    is a local social gathering spot (bar, restaurant, etc), your time/effort/energy/money are better served elsewhere.

    --
    Michael J. Ryan
    tracker1 +o Roughneck BBS

    ---
    Synchronet Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Tracker1 on Mon Jan 4 23:14:00 2021
    Hello Tracker1!

    ** On Sunday 03.01.21 - 03:55, Tracker1 wrote to Ogg:

    ..I cannot see myself piddling about social media
    checking people's posts (good or bad), answering questions, or
    running contests. If I don't answer (right away) it would be
    construed as bad service, thumbs down, no likes, etc.

    I do think that an online presence is important but wouldn't suggest devoting much time at all to social media. Spend enough time to make
    sure that your entries on the likes of Google Maps and Yelp are accurate and mostly leave it at that.

    Yes.. I thought I would rather build upon google's MyBusiness
    offering. It seems to be basically the same thing as FB and
    Instagram might be.

    But even today, when I asked someone (who works in retail) if
    they thought my shop would benefit from Instagram, they had to
    pause before they said "Sure. A lot of businesses are using it."
    But I am not convinced. Just because that usage is a perceived,
    doesn't mean it is successful or translating to sales.


    Work on offline channels, community outreach etc. as for most businesses that is far more effective..

    Thank you. I was thinking along those lines too. A personal
    outreach seems to go a long way to result in referrals and new
    local customers.


    Another thing that I tend to advise lately, don't worry about getting foo.com, foo.net... there's too many TLDs, beyond this, don't worry
    about getting YourFullBusinessName.com, get the shortest thing that
    makes sense. yfbn.tech or something else that's friendlier to punch..

    No problem there. Mine is only 6 chars no including the .ca at
    the end.

    But even if it were a long one, Google could find it, and all
    anyone needs to do is just click.


    ..A site that works on a 5yo smart phone on a limited data plan
    with a couple photos of your storefront, a map pin, phone number and a
    link for "directions" will do far more good than a lot of flashy content.

    Sometimes it feels that *I* am the last holdout on a limited data
    plan. Everyone else seems to be doing *everything* on their
    phones as if they had unlimited data.

    I have nothing flashy. Infact, it sorely needs a basiv upgrade
    so that it plays nice on mobile devices - I think they call it
    "adaptive".


    ..The advice above is just
    my take from the experience that I do have, and experience as a user/consumer that tries to find places..

    Appreciated your comments!


    ..And unless your business
    is a local social gathering spot (bar, restaurant, etc), your time/effort/energy/money are better served elsewhere.

    That's the thing. My biz is just single-function. No social
    events. I don't need to "build" a social group of fans. They can
    do that themselves with FB (when I finish the site properly)
    ..and even Google's MyBusiness has social-media options.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Ogg on Thu Jan 21 22:45:54 2021
    On 1/4/2021 4:14 PM, Ogg wrote:
    ..A site that works on a 5yo smart phone on a limited data plan
    with a couple photos of your storefront, a map pin, phone number and a
    link for "directions" will do far more good than a lot of flashy
    content.

    Sometimes it feels that *I* am the last holdout on a limited data
    plan. Everyone else seems to be doing *everything* on their
    phones as if they had unlimited data.
    Oh, I have an unlimited plan with Verizon, iirc 20GB at max speed then throttled, but haven't had an issue the couple times I wind up throttled (updates to a laptop while tethered on travel). But given I've been developing web based applications for a VERY long while now, it's still something that concerns me.

    The main app I'm working on has bloated out quite a bit, which likely
    won't be an issue for the target audience, but still bugs me to see over
    1mb compressed payload for a web based app, which is nimble by
    comparison to some apps/sites.

    I have nothing flashy. Infact, it sorely needs a basiv upgrade
    so that it plays nice on mobile devices - I think they call it
    "adaptive".
    Still rocking my Pixel 2XL after over 3 years now... would probably
    still have my Nexus 6p if the battery didn't blow up and catch on fire.

    ..And unless your business
    is a local social gathering spot (bar, restaurant, etc), your
    time/effort/energy/money are better served elsewhere.

    That's the thing. My biz is just single-function. No social
    events. I don't need to "build" a social group of fans. They can
    do that themselves with FB (when I finish the site properly)
    ..and even Google's MyBusiness has social-media options.
    Yeah... I just think that too many businesses exercise too much effort
    into putting more than they really need or should either into a website
    or on their social media interactions. And it can even work against one.

    --
    Michael J. Ryan
    tracker1 +o Roughneck BBS

    ---
    Synchronet Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com