Posts Tagged ‘social’

Social media – part of modern life

Social media – part of modern life
NOT that long ago, if we had to be defined, it was by the merits of what we did for a living, where we came from, what our marital status was and other family and work-related roles.

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The Power of Social Linking – Illustrated by Britney Spears

No, this is not a post-modern celebrity childrens book, nor is this a lame Britney Spears linkbait article.

The fact is, Britney Spears fame illustrates the power of social networks and social linking perfectly. Social Linking Defined

Understanding social linking is simple: It’s all about your “presence” in someone else’s mind (and heart). So, on a raw emotional level, it’s about how many people you’ve… distracted, connected with, touched, moved, angered, irritated, teased, humored, etc…

The more emotions you have evoked, the more powerful you’re presence.

-Social Linking Illustrated by Britney Spears-

I don’t think many of you will argue that Britney Spears has tremendous media presence. I also doubt if many reading this post will argue that her notoriety has anything to do with her music – it’s just not that -well, musical.

So, why do we see or hear about her every friggin’ day?

Because, Britney, or more specifically, Britney’s “people” have employed the power of social links to put and keep her on top of the media. Initially, they “linked” to the folks in charge of what we see on the web, what we hear on the radio and what we watch on TV – probably using the oldest and most powerful link builder CASH.

Then, the real social power linking kicked in…

Go back to the list of ways to establish a “presence” in people’s minds and notice that the stories surrounding the famous B.S. evoke each of these emotions.

So, all that her people need to do is make sure there is always a fresh story for the media to chew on. Then, despite her mediocre music, she keeps her presence and continues to make the bucks.

-When Great Content (music) Meets Powerful Social Linking-

So, we need to relate this back to you as a webpreneur.

How can you create a powerful “presence” on the web and drive the kind of traffic that lets you quit your day job?

Well, you could follow the example of Mrs. (or is it Ms.?) Spears and use controversy, shock and shame as your primary social link or you could focus on offering amazing value -content, tools or services- and then promoting emotion-evoking stories related to these.

No judgements here on which path to chose… When it comes to business, there is no ethical dilema in my opinion. If controversy is the best way to sell your product or service, leverage it.

In Britney’s case, her music doesn’t compare to talented singer-songwriters like John Mayer or Corrine Bailey Ray. These people create music that evokes the emotion necessary to create presence and gets the social linking established.

Ultimately, your product or service will determine which path you need to take… it may be a combination of both.

The important thing to remember… It is your job to evoke emotion and establish a “presence” in the mind of your visitors.

You must distract, connect with, touch, move, anger, irritate, tease, humor or otherwise affect anyone you link to.

You do this with the words you write, the images you present and the offers you make to them.

-Social Linking: Where to Start-

Whatever path you choose, social linking has to start somewhere. Fortunately, there are tons of social media outlets on the net which give internet marketers a venue to evoke emotion and establish presence.

At this point, some may argue that social linking is really just about creating “backlinks”, but I disagree.

(Newbie definition – Backlinks: this refers to hyperlinks on someone else’s site that link back to your site increasing your site’s value.)

Yes, backlinks alone will get you some Pagerank and perhaps some pretty good SERP listings but they will NEVER get you the kind of qualified traffic and passionate customers that a carefully established web “presence” campaign can get.

Transvestite contacts in your social life

The UK Community of transvestites and ladyboys may seem very close knit for an outsider but on closer inspection you’ll see that they are more than willing to share their fun lives with you. Once you open your eyes you will realize that trannies are everywhere these days at big social events, charity functions and local adult evenings. It is thus a must that you have transvestite contacts in your social circle.

One fashionista who have climbed onto the transvestite bandwagon is model Heidi Klum who has her very own reality program called “Project Runway”. Heidi got the interns on her show to design fabulous outfits for cross dressers. The drag queen outfits were so magnificent that they were later auctioned off for charity. Victoria Beckham is often described as a shemale and she definitely gets her fashion inspiration from transsexuals. In a recent interview Mrs. Beckham said that there is a gay man inside her trying to get out.

Ladyboys are also the center of attention in the comedy about the fashion industry “Ugly Betty”. In this TV series we see the President/CEO of Meade Publications is none other than transwomen Alexis Meade, formerly known as Alex Meade before going for a sex change. This fictional character shows the world what it feels like to a woman who is trapped inside a man’s body. While most shemales don’t go for surgery to change their sex from male to female, only expressing their true sexuality by having breasts and dressing up like a female, Alexis went all the way.

A few years back it was taboo to even think outside your heterosexual framework. If you showed any interest in the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) UK community, you were considered an outsider. We have the media to thank for changing that image though covering transvestites in magazines, newspapers, blogs, radio shows and movies. Oprah Winfrey invited celebrity lesbian Ellen DeGeneres to star with her on the cover of “O Magazine” after she hosted a show called – “why women are leaving men for other women”. The internet also played a huge part into introducing this lifestyle to the man on the street and giving them adult sites where they can find out about alternative swinging parties and dogging events. Now we have less people in the closet and happier adult who are comfortable with whom they are.

It certainly seems like female musicians aren’t scared to explore other lifestyles. We have Britney Spears who is “seeking Amy” in an raunchy S&M inspired music video that pays tribute to the suburbia housewives of the 60′s who took part in wife swapping. Then we have Katy Perry “who kissed a girl and liked it” in her hit song that lesbians around the world love. The program “The L-word” is about a group of lesbians and how they cope with everyday life and reality hit “Queer eye for the straight guy” gives fashion tips from gays.

Check out transvestites and shemales contacts and our galleries at www.TransgenderFriends.com!