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  #11  
Old July 28, 2017, 10:40 AM
Robert J.
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: What do you want....from us?

Where's that "like" button?

Oh, dang it! That's Facebook!
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  #12  
Old July 28, 2017, 10:42 AM
Robert J.
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: What do you want....from us?

Dien, you may be right.

I have never been "fully engaged" in the discussion boards of business, but I had a personal "go to" group of as many as six at one time.

Thinking back, this may be the last one still operating.

Groups are the big thing (well, one of the big things ... FB ads are pretty big, too!) now on FB. Every half-assed guru and special interest group has one, and they are pretty active.

FB provides an instant audience ... potentially, anyway.
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  #13  
Old July 28, 2017, 01:04 PM
Dien Rice Dien Rice is offline
Onwards and upwards!
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,357
Default Re: What do you want....from us?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert J. View Post
Dien, you may be right.

I have never been "fully engaged" in the discussion boards of business, but I had a personal "go to" group of as many as six at one time.

Thinking back, this may be the last one still operating.

Groups are the big thing (well, one of the big things ... FB ads are pretty big, too!) now on FB. Every half-assed guru and special interest group has one, and they are pretty active.

FB provides an instant audience ... potentially, anyway.
Hi Robert,

Yes, forums need to modernize!

One of the "problems" as I see it with Facebook is, you don't really "own" anything... Facebook owns it.

For example, do you "own" people who "Like" your Facebook page? Not really...

It used to be that Facebook showed stuff from your page to most people who "Liked" it. That percentage has been decreasing with each year...

So how do you reach more people who "Liked" your page? Easy - pay Facebook money to advertise to reach them!

That proves that it's really about the money... Facebook "owns" everything, your data, everyone else's data, and they also own your ability to reach anyone, including those who "Liked" your page, etc.

The same goes for any Facebook group... You "own" nothing, even if you started the group. Everything is controlled by Facebook... Facebook changes the rules over time. They'll change it to increase their own profit. So, however it works now, is not how it may work in the future...

To put it in other terms, where is the "toll position"? The answer is with Facebook - it is Facebook who owns the toll position for anything on Facebook!

It means they can "screw" you overnight if you are too dependent on them... And they've proven that they'll do it if it means greater and sustained profits for them...

I believe there is an opportunity to "modernize" things like forum software, to utilize more social media tools... (Maybe someone's done it, I don't know.) I don't have time to do it now... Otherwise it could be a good project...

Best wishes,

Dien
__________________
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  #14  
Old July 29, 2017, 03:02 PM
Cornell
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dien - my biggest complaint about Facebook

Dien:

Facebook can be monetized in the groups by using private group and charging admission...but my biggest problem with Facebook groups is that there is no way to create a knowledge base, and as a result the same questions are asked and have to be answered over and over again as new people join. A knowledge base could be built by the owner of the group (loads of time and effort involved) and then pinned to the top of the group....the problem is that only one item can be pinned to the top and other important items can't be pinned if the knowledge base is pinned....just my biggest complaint and pain in the butt with it.....with forums there is a searchable knowledge base.
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  #15  
Old July 29, 2017, 08:12 PM
Robert J.
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: What do you want....from us?

Well said, Cornell!

You hit the nail on the head a few times.
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  #16  
Old July 31, 2017, 12:13 PM
louise8
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: What do you want....from us?

How about case studies of what marketing or advertising approaches worked?

I don't understand how to advertise on Facebook or if it's even worth it.

I'd like to see one of you put an ad there and report on what worked and didn't.

So much of what I did a few years ago doesn't result in zip now.
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  #17  
Old July 31, 2017, 12:16 PM
Bob B
 
Posts: n/a
Smile Re: What do you want....from us?

Nothing that Gordon shares is "old hat" or "boring" to me - and I've been around awhile - at least as a silent visitor. I truly appreciate the business wisdom shared over the years and can only hope for more of it in the future.

Gordon's chattel book helped me launch a side business on eBay back in the glory days. I stuck with it for years, finally tiring of eBay's constant changes that made it harder on merchants like me. I'd love more training programs like this. Real, in the trenches advice that one can take and run with.

So much of the material that's out there today is vastly overpriced, in my opinion, and wastes a huge amount of time. For example, there's a "course" on SEO that sells for $8,000. It would take literally months to watch all the video training and webinar content to filter it down to the most important essentials. It's the whole idea of just piling on more "content" and making it look like value when it's nothing more than overload that irks me.

Moving forward, I'd love to see more here about selling digital information, whether it's video, training, courses, or short reports. Everybody these days focuses on video products and jacks the price. I much prefer to read great content - and that's one of the advantages of the forum. As for getting the real, A-Z steps to accomplishing specific things - I'm ready to buy more special reports anytime.
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  #18  
Old July 31, 2017, 02:07 PM
haveaClue
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: What do you want....from us? Tool reviews

Hi
I would like to see online or mobile Apps that really save time or help to make money.
maybe provide a example or a link to a short video explaining the example.

This is of course for anyone to chime in.

I rarely use Letgo a mobile app but I use OfferUp a mobile app alot to arbitrage between eBay Amazon and Craigslist.

There is a new App i just learned about but havent used it yet
IFTTT
Among other things it allows you to setup a search alert on craigslist.org

I copied below from Wikipedia.org:

IFTTT (pronounced /ɪft/[4]) is a free web-based service that people use to create chains of simple conditional statements, called applets. An applet is triggered by changes that occur within other web services such as Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.[5] For example, an applet may send an e-mail message if the user tweets using a hashtag, or copy a photo on Facebook to a user's archive if someone tags a user in a photo.[6] IFTTT is an initialism for If This Then That.[7]

In addition to the Web-based application, IFTTT runs on iOS and Android. On February, 2015, IFTTT renamed their original application to IF, and released a new suite of apps called Do which lets users create shortcut applications and actions.[8] As of 2015, IFTTT users created about 20 million "recipes" each day.[9] All of the functionalities of the Do suite of apps have since been integrated into a redesigned IFTTT app.

Best Regards
Jerry
P.S. I Appreciate the time and effort required for this forum to remain a valuable resource, especially keeping out spam. Thank you Dien and Gordon.
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  #19  
Old July 31, 2017, 03:54 PM
Cornell
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: What do you want....from us?

Gordon:

I would think that re-visiting the type of content when SOWpub first evolved is what is still needed and would be welcomed.

While I am not a Facebook aficionado, I do have access to numerous groups and the questions and direction being sought on many of them point right back to the offerings and benefits that SOWpub dealt with in it its infancy...a large market still exists.

True enough, forums such as Tony Blakes's have gone extinct, but referring back to my other post about Facebook and knowledge bases...I believe SOWpub could take excellent advantage of a Facebook group presence for collecting members with a lead back to the SOWpub forum...and both presenting the opportunity for growing membership and also presenting new avenues for income streams for Dien and yourself, not to mention members.

Like most groups or forums the senior members have taken advantage of the beginnings and over time found their niche or calling and moved on..it is time for the newcomers to find what they are seeking and in turn educate others as they gain their own experiences before they, like you and Dien, and myself, get involved in other aspects that diminish time for the forum or group.

Just my 2¢ worth.

Perhaps an example...Bob B posted under this thread about the expensive courses that are over filled with fluff to bounce the price up...that in itself is a business opportunity that I think may have slipped by (either that or a few saw it and didn't post to mention it)...sets up a great basis (without getting into details) for developing a hotsheet business.
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  #20  
Old July 31, 2017, 05:07 PM
GameChanger
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: What do you want....from us?

Hi Gordon - and thanks.

I have read this thread and suspect many of the comments reflect the changing use of forums and the shrinking attention span of Internet users these days.

I notice that a lot of writers (including me) are self confessed lurkers.

If I could have anything from this forum it would be something interactive on opportunity selection, mindset and implementation.

If you lurk too long (in my case at least) you can get locked into a cycle of inactivity.

I can read the greatest idea in the world and not have any idea whether it is a great do-able opportunity or worthless. As a result no idea ends up being judged as worth the tangible investment of time and energy - never mind the paltry $15, or $50 or so for the blueprint.

This can go on for years...

Maybe sections or threads on obstacles could be worth pursuing.

Obstacles for me...

Selling skills
Copy writing
Graphics
Time
Focus and concentration
Guts
Getting started
Tax and accounting
Incorporation in the US (I'm in the UK).
International perspectives - how ideas can or have played out in other locations

Of all the obstacles, getting started is probably the biggest one.

I remember reading "spiders and snakes" a way back in which Gordon recounts as a young 'un collecting and selling flowers from waste ground which people were prepared to pay for because they didn't want the hassle and exposure to spiders and snakes necessary to go and get them for themselves.

That early experience of making sales taught Gordon that making sales was possible and that value was everywhere.

When I was still at school I got a job selling magazine subscriptions door to door. Probably a poor choice.

I didn't sell one and gave up in bitter frustration.

So we have completely different starting points.

I guess from that the most valuable thing I could get from this forum is just a taste of success.

Just to offer something and have someone pay for it. To taste a little success could change my experience and hence my beliefs. Kind of a bootstrap process. Also I guess maybe relevant for many others here.

PS - I'd also love to see Spiders and Snakes finished. That's a book I'd buy!
PPS Maybe a $1 kindle book on entrepreneurial secrets from the legends on SOWPUB might also "kindle" interest from a fresh market? Include links to resources on SOW?
PPPS Maybe migrate to FB group? Kind of throwing in the towel - there is something magic about the forum. Try finding a 10 year old thread on FB. Everything is transient...
PPPPS Apprentice? Must have missed that! Dang...
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