Real Time Web – The Third Leg of Marketing

What to see more slides on this topic, check out ReadWriteWeb’s article on the topic

The post ReadWriteWeb crowns our Real-Time Marketing presentation ‘Top 10’ in the world appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

Mark Zuckerberg wants to help users connect to “higher quality content”

Facebook set out its stall to unseat Google and be at the heart of the web experience as it becomes more social.

The world’s largest social network unveiled a series of products at its developer conference F8 aimed at helping the company achieve that goal.

These tools will make it easier for users to take their friends with them as they browse the web.

“We are building toward a web where the default is social,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder.

“If you look back a few years ago and even as recently as today, in most cases the web isn’t designed to use your friends. They don’t assume you have a real identity but we are seeing that seep in more and more.

“We want to be one of the things that empowers that and right now most users are using Facebook and we hope we can be a good force in driving that forward,” Mr Zuckerberg told the BBC during a news conference.

 

He added that the “web was at a turning point” and that the way forward was to have friends, or what Mr Zuckerberg called “your social graph”, to guide you online.

“One of the points Mr Zuckerberg was making was that the web has become a lot less anonymous and Facebook is definitely positioning itself as wanting to be the owner of that information,” said Maya Baratz of the Huffington Post.

Personalisation

At the F8 conference in San Francisco, Mr Zuckerberg unveiled a number of products aimed at putting users and their friends at the “centre of the web”.

The most significant was an open graph protocol to let publishers tag their content by type along with a “Like” button that partner sites put on their webpage. This allows users to indicate what they like on a website, be it from photographs to news items and from clothes to music.

 

Facebook says it will serve 1 billion “Likes” on the web in 24 hours

That information will then be stored by Facebook the way it already stores connections between people. At the same time any website will be able to take those individual preferences and use them to tailor a more “personalised online experience” for the user and their friends.

Facebook said this means its members will see a web that caters to their individual tastes.

Crucially all this can only happen when users are logged into Facebook and “makes it easy to make any page (on the internet) a Facebook page,” said Bret Taylor, Facebook’s director of platform.

Business opportunity

Mr Zuckerberg described the features he presented at the conference as “the most transformative thing we’ve ever done for the web”.

Justin Smith, founder of InsideFacebook.com said there are a lot of business upsides to this product.

Facebook has overtaken Google as the most visited US website

“When someone “likes” your page, that is a valuable action because it means you will be able to publish updates directly to them in the future which could be used for a variety of purposes like promoting traffic to your website or advertising anything you want.”

Some of the early adoptees of the “Like” button include CNN, the movie site IMDb.com, ESPN and Levi’s.

Levi’s will integrate the “Like” function on its e-commerce site as well as build a “friend” store where consumers logged into Facebook will be able to see a list of their friend’s favourite products and shop online with them.

“We’re creating a new shopping experience that will change the way people shop online,” said Jodi Bricker, vice president of digital at Levi’s.

‘Audacious and a bit scary’

So what does this mean for Google, the world’s most powerful internet company with billions of users who access the web using hyperlinks?

“People are discovering information not just through links to web pages but also from the people and the things they care about,” Mr Zuckerberg told a conference hall of around 1,500 developers.

Facebook has more than 400 million users who share 25 billion things a month

Om Malik, founder and editor of the technology blog GigaOM.com told BBC news “even a blind man can see this is a Facebook versus Google battle and in many ways if the web is going to be more social then that plays to Facebook’s strengths.”

Damon Cortesi, founder of social media company UntitledStartup, agreed.

“Facebook has won the internet,” he told technology blog ZDnet.com

“Facebook has always been social, but in terms of dominating the web over Google they have made strides today.”

But Mr Malik sounded a note of caution.

“The whole idea to socialise the whole web is fairly impressive, audacious and a bit scary. I am very scared about the privacy issues around this initiative. They haven’t really been very clear as to how consumers will have more control over the things they do on the web.”

The issue of privacy has been something of a thorn in Facebook’s side. It has suffered backlashes in the past over moves to change users privacy settings.

“Nothing we have released changes any of the privacy protections we have,” said Elliot Schrage, the company’s vice president of public policy and communications.

“We’re providing new opportunities for people to have a social experience if they want it.”

via news.bbc.co.uk

My Comments: Some interesting insight into what Zuckerberg is trying to do for his customers and the web in general.

The post Facebook’s bid to rule the web as it goes social appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

Premier douche-bag Mark Zuckerberg [of Facebook] gets a thrashing from Walt of AllThingsD @ their conference.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Privacy [video]

Jason Calacanis had this to say about Mark Zuckerberg, “You can’t trust this guy! He’s avoiding the questions! Look at him sweating! The Golden Boy Emperor has no clothes!”

I have been apparently like Jason for the past year verbalizing similar thoughts. I have told people that Facebook is successful but it is a trainwreck in the making, with a guy at the helm that doesn’t follow my Dad’s famous words of wisdom as I started my first company at 16, ‘hire people smarter than you Roger and then listen to them’.

Mark you have smart people all you have to do is LISTEN to them and if you are and this is the shit you are in, fire them and get new advisors. I am small agency in Calgary and the thing I want most more than clients and more than money is good partners to grow with. Good partners that know better than me about the millions of things I need to do to make my company successful. You Mark do not have this problem, so don’t expect any simpathy from anyone.

Now fix your shit and lets get on with our lives. 

PS. I was number 1434 to join the QuitFacebook movement and although I didn’t follow through on that websites’ timeline I am still watching very very carefully for a chance to leave your site Export button or not for a competitor!

PPS. Did you notice how much the guy babbled and sweated like a lost puppy up there? Sheesh someone throw that guy a bone and some speaking lessons.

The post Mark Suckerberg [aka Zuckerberg] ‘social media guru’ gets a thrashing @ D8 appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

The post Fan-made ad for Palm webOS by ThiesFX appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

via marketingpilgrim.com

The post Are SEOs & SMMs the Same? SEMPO Says Implies Yes appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

Thanks to @nscafe for bringing this video to my attention.

The post A great video about the publishing and the new Generation appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

Today I started using Posterous with any kind of seriousness and I have already found a huge problem and that is their Post.ly service. 

See and download the full gallery on posterous

The post Why oh why do I have to use Posterous’s URL shortener (post.ly)?? appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

The post WIND Mobile helps you leave your current network buy offerin $$s! Wow appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

via feedproxy.google.com

What does this mean from a society perspective, I don’t know. From a marketing perspective this is definitely further evidence that the Internet is becoming the ultimate media channel, overtaking TV, Radio and Newspapers/Magazines as the primary source of information, fashion and communication. What do you think?

The post Young Men Prefer Facebook And Email Over Sex appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

The post Bloom Energy Set to Unveil “Miraculous” Micro Power Plant appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

When Facebook introduced the ability for a user to control the amount of information available to users, there was a category labeled “My networks and friends”. However, because anyone can join any network they want, if you selected this option then anybody could see your content simply by joining any of the networks you were a member of (my friend was a member of the Antarctica network since there was no network in his city). Regional networks were a good idea in theory but since there was really no way to monitor the networks or criteria for people to join them (just rules surrounding how many you were able to join), this made it difficult for a regional network to be anything more than just a label on a profile. If you wanted to know how many people lived in a city, you could attempt to view the network size, but since less than 50% of all Facebook users are members of networks, this was not a representative method. By Facebook removing the regional networks, they will now be changing the access method available in your privacy settings.  The screenshot below shows what will be the expected new format with the networks removed. Given that you will have 3 options for sharing – with your friends only, with friends of friends, or with everyone, your information will have the ability to be more private but there are still some implications with the proposed method.

Say for example that your boss requests to add you as a friend on Facebook, but you don’t want them to have access to your information so you ignore their friendship. But, in your privacy settings, you select “Friends of Friends” and your boss happens to be friends with one of your friends. They will now be able to see any of your content that you allows your “Friends of Friends” to see so be careful about situations such as those. Ultimately, since you are putting content on a website that is not your own, and the information is being hosted on servers which you don’t have access to, you should consider the following tips before posting any content: What happens if you post private pictures/videos/notes and they happen to end up on a public website? Don’t think it can happen? All it takes is one friend, who likes whatever you posted, to share that with their friends, on Twitter, or any other social site. The key here is to pre-screen your content and to not post pictures/videos/notes that you aren’t comfortable with anyone reading:

1. When you do post content, consider who you want to see it, what them seeing it means to your personal brand and what would happen if that content was made public
2. Consider how your friends feel about any content you post that affects them – ask yourself if it’s appropriate to post and if you’re not sure, ask them
3. When you choose the privacy settings, keep in mind that by allowing “Friends of friends” access,  an exponential number of people can see your content (ie if you have 100 friends and they each have 100 friends, that’s 10,000 people)
4. Remember that companies frequently use Facebook to pre-screen for jobs so any content you’re sharing with everyone should be appropriate for a potential employer

At West17Media, we’re aware that while you don’t have complete control over your brand, you do have control over the content you post since that will directly represent your brand. So while you need to be aware of the content you post and consider the implications, you shouldn’t let that stop you from contributing content and running your business.

The post Facebook Announces Changes to Its Privacy Model – What This Means for You appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

In the fight against cancer, every dollar counts

The American Cancer Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. Ensuring their advertising dollars are generating online donations is crucial to their objectives since a large portion of their overall revenue comes from donations. Using Google Analytics, the Society was able to determine that 20% of the traffic on their website was from visitors using the site search tool and so they were able to add content that was more relevant to this group of visitors.

It helps us use our dollars more wisely for our mission… Google Analytics is literally helping in the fight against cancer

Without having analytics tools to help in their decision making, the Society would not have been able to effectively allocate their advertising budget based on how well their online ads were performing. By having Google Analytics as part of their strategy, the Society were able to boost ROI (return on investment) and help treat patients around the country. For the full report, visit the Google Analytics cases site http://www.google.com/analytics/case_study_acs.html. West17Media offers analytics consultation to help your organization get the most out of your online ad spending. To find out how we can help you, contact us today.

The post How the American Cancer Society Used Google Analytics to Boost ROI appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

Priya is a fan of the Nordstrom, Inc. Page. When Nordstrom, Inc. promotes their Facebook Page, they can choose to target ads to Priya’s friends by selecting the “Friends of connection” filter. Priya’s friends will receive the Nordstrom, Inc. ad with the following sentence: “Priya Gupta is a fan of this Page.” Priya’s friends are naturally more interested because Priya’s interaction with Nordstrom, Inc. is showcased directly in the ad (from Facebook Ads newsletter).

For a better idea of how this feature works, see the screenshot of the Facebook ads targeting screen. Using this feature you can see in real-time just how many people your ads will reach. West17Media has experience advertising on Facebook so if you have a page and want to get more fans, more interactions and increase your brand’s visibility, then contact us today to find out how we can help you.

The post Facebook Launches “Friends of Connections” Targeted Ads appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

*This article was sourced in its entirety from Marketo’s blog* Social media can be many things: a place to network with friends, a way to follow market trends and monitor brand sentiment, a customer service tool for identifying unhappy customers. But is it a tool for demand generation? I believe the answer is yes, but that it requires a different mindset for lead generation and measuring ROI. Over a series of posts the next few weeks, I’ll be exploring the topic of B2B social media marketing from a variety of perspectives, including how companies can use social media for lead generation, tips for measuring the ROI of social media in B2B, the relationship between social media and lead nurturing, and a practical guide to getting started with social media in your company. I’ll begin with a short history of B2B marketing trends, including the evolution of social media.

The Changing Buyer and Evolving Marketing Trends

A key tenant of Modern B2B Marketing is that buyers will use search and the ready access to information to take control of the buying process – and as a result do not want to engage with Sales until they are much further along in the cycle. But this was not always true: Before Google (more than 10 years ago)

• Buying behaviors: Information was not readily available and the only way a prospect could get the necessary information way to engage a sales rep from your company. Mistrust ruled the day, and buyers created RFPs and purchasing centers to try to equal the playing field.
• Marketing trends: Marketers focused primarily on brand building and awareness. Most investments focused on hard to measure methods such as mass advertising, tradeshows, and PR with traditional print media. Direct mail and cold calling made up the majority of targeted interactions, and marketers passed all new leads to Sales for follow-up.

Before Social Media (2 to 10 years ago)

• Buying behaviors: Corporate websites were mature and search became the dominant way to find information. Prospects were willing to share their contact information in exchange for the information they wanted.
• Marketing trends: Marketers began to focus on SEO, PPC and email marketing to drive traffic, and created content such as whitepapers and webinars to convert traffic into leads. Marketers reallocated budgets towards highly measurable channels and began to be more accountable for lead generation. The best marketers realized that their leads were often too early to send to sales, and invested in lead scoring and lead nurturing to find the hot leads and develop the rest.

The Age of Social Media (today and future)

• Buying behaviors: More and more information is available off the official corporate website and on social media sites ranging from LinkedIn and Twitter to YouTube and SlideShare. As buyers tire of “marketing speak” and over-aggressive marketing tactics, they search social sites as part of their research, and interact with other prospects to get and share word of mouth recommendations. Prospects are less likely to register for early stage content on the corporate website, and typically contact the company only when they are ready to engage in a sales cycle.
• Marketing trends: Marketers will reallocate investments back to brand, buzz, and awareness – but instead of mass advertising and traditional PR, marketers will invest in smart ways to build brand such as social media, search engine optimization, and content marketing. Lead nurturing will evolve to include building relationships with prospects before they ever give you their name by sharing relevant and useful information across a variety of sites and channels. These changes will have a positive impact on lead generation by increasing the number of highly-qualified inbound leads, but measurement of ROI will be a challenge.

Tomorrow, I’ll explain why these changing trends mean that investment in social media translates into higher quality inbound leads.

The post B2B Social Media Marketing: Branding or Lead Generation? appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

Can you afford to be wrong?

Market research is important so you have a better idea of what your customers want. As well, if you advertise to the wrong market, or the right market but with the wrong message, there are negative implications for your brand. Think of a brand who sends the wrong message to the right market – Motrin did it last year with a huge backlash from moms on Twitter. Word of mouth is a powerful tool which can be either positive or negative for your brand. So you want to make sure you get it right. With market research, you will have confidence in knowing that you’re sending the right message to the right market. The result will be happier consumers and increased revenue.

As more people use social media, the amount of data available increases, and the question isn’t so much “what” (as in what are people doing online) as it is “why” (as in why are they doing that). Once you understand how to answer the why (which isn’t as easy as you might think) then you can become more effective at developing marketing that drives sales and grows your brand awareness.

If you’re curious about how social media has changed market research, then you need to hear Brian Singh talk. He will be the first speaker and will not only discuss in detail how market research has changed but will also talk about the unique characteristics of the Canadian social media market. Buy your tickets today to learn more about how social media is changing the way companies do business.

The post Incorporating Market Research Into Strategic Decision Making appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, GE and Intel

Think about the last time you saw these brands online; chances are that you don’t have to think too far back. And that’s for good reason. Every time these companies do something, whether it’s launching a new product, buying another company or having legal troubles, they let people know about it. Press releases, news conferences, corporate websites, online advertising, Facebook and Twitter…these companies are all over them. They long ago recognized how powerful the internet, and now social media, is for managing their brand.

So what if you don’t want to be one of the top brands?

No worries. Not everyone can. But you can still use social media and PR to keep your customers up to date on your business operations, news and current products. The great thing about incorporating social media into your PR strategy is that you can do as much or as little as you want, all depending on your budget, your goals and your markets.

94% of companies say that they will maintain or increase their social media spending for 2010

There is more and more competition for media attention for your story – on television and radio, in magazines and newspapers. These venues have tremendous power because they are trusted brands and have often developed a powerful reach online. So, if your story is a good fit, do what you can to get published in the right places. However, you can also strategically reach your audience by creating your own media.  By choosing select social media channels (your own combination that may include Twitter, blogging, YouTube, Facebook, FriendFeed, Flickr, SlideShare) along with regular optimized social media releases you can get the targeted attention you desire – from bloggers and websites. Not only that, but you can use social media to improve your search engine ranking on the key words your audience uses to find you. Most of the tools are free or inexpensive, but, all of these initiatives take time. You will want to streamline your efforts as much as possible and measure your results to see if they are working to move towards your objectives. Lyn Cadence of Cadence PR will be speaking at the Social Media Innovation Summit and explain in more detail how PR and social media are connected. Buy your tickets today to learn more about how social media is changing the way companies do business.

The post Your Brand as a Function of PR and Social Media appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

The post Making the Connection Between PR and Social Media appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

Today I will share some tips with you for controlling how your information is shared on Twitter. Twitter does have some privacy settings such as the option to protect your tweets, but ultimately the control is up to you, the user.

Read on for 5 tips to controlling your information.

1. Tweeting The best known use of Twitter is to update your status (known as “tweeting”). When you tweet something, your followers will be notified and anyone will be able to search your tweet. If you only want your followers to view your tweet, you can protect your tweets so they are private. You can also include other people in your tweets but, just like cc’ing someone in an email, only include them if it’s relevant to them, otherwise you may become a nuisance to those people.

2. Retweeting Another method of sharing content is to retweet. When you retweet it’s usually because you like what someone has said and you’d like to pass it on. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, check any links before retweeting so you’re not sending out a dead link. Secondly, you might have to edit when retweeting to keep the character count under 140. When you edit the tweet, try to keep the tone of the original message since you are passing on someone else’s tweet, not your own. And finally, make sure that anything you retweet is appropriate for what your followers would expect.

3. Sending a direct message If you want to send a personal question or have private information (like a phone number) it’s best to do so using a direct message; not a tweet. In order to send a direct message, that person must be following you. To initiate a direct message, you can always ask someone to send you a direct message via a tweet.

4. Adding a Custom Background One of the easiest ways to customize your Twitter profile is by changing your background image. Some people like to add additional information on this image such as their phone number, website, email address and company logo/personal picture. However, be aware that your background picture, unlike your tweets, cannot be protected from the public.

5. Your Profile Twitter allows you to add personal information such as your name, your location and a short bio about yourself. This is an easy way for people who land on your page to get an idea of who you are and why you’re on Twitter. However, you should also be careful about what information you do include. With the popularity of the iPhone and other smart phones, there are more users who include their location coordinates in their Twitter profile. While this sounds useful, revealing your location to the entire internet is going too far. Twitter is a great tool for connecting with and sharing with people all over the world. By being aware of the privacy settings and being mindful of how you’re sharing information on Twitter, the user experience will be better for everyone. Let us know why you tweet and your name will be entered into a draw to win an iTunes gift card!

The post Twitter and Your Personal Information: 5 Tips to Having More Control appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

The post How Is Social Media Changing Market Research? appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.

Today, Randall Stross takes apart Tesla Motors‘ request for a $400m government loan in an illogical, factually incorrect editorial that screams of a “Kill The Affluent!” ethos that spreads every time the market crashes. Putting aside the issue of bailouts–which many of you know I’m against–let’s look at Stross’ reasoning.

According to Stross, Tesla shouldn’t get a *loan* because:

1. According to the title: “Only the Rich Can Afford It.”

2. Battery pack life isn’t moving fast enough: “But 8 percent, compounded, would bring too few benefits, too late to Tesla: it would take nine years to halve the price of its battery pack.”

3. Randy says there is no upside to the loan: “Can you conceive any way that federal dollars could be put at greater risk — and for no equity in return, keep in mind — to benefit fewer people?”

4. Stross says the Tesla isn’t ready for prime time: “its all-electric technology remains woefully immature and don’t-even-ask expensive” and “The Roadster is not much more than a functioning concept car that sells for $109,000.”

These points are all, well, somewhere between short-sighted and outright false, leading me to think that Randy’s big problem with a *loan* to Tesla is that he needs to write a piece that appeals to the short-term sentiment of the country right now (“damn the billionaires!”) rather than one that pursues the actual truth. Car technology needs to advance, and the best place for that to happen in in Silicon Valley. If the government is going to give loans to any car companies, it should be the ones that have the best chance of successfully innovating, not the losers who haven’t competed for decades.

So, let’s take a moment to fisk* Randy’s story:

1. “Only the Rich Can Afford It. Should Taxpayers Back It?”

—————————

Yes Randy, the first version of technology tends to be expensive. Personal computers used to cost $5,000, flat-panel TVs were $10,000 and–gasp–the first decade’s worth of solar panels were not worth the price. You’re a *technology* journalist at the New York Times. You understand all too well that expensive technology becomes commodity technology within 10 to 20 years of its inception.

Personal computers now start at $200. Of course the first version of an all-electric sports car is going to be expensive.

2. Battery pack life isn’t moving fast enough: “eight percent, compounded, would bring too few benefits, too late to Tesla: it would take nine years to halve the price of its battery pack.”

—————————

Really?

If Tesla cuts the cost of the battery pack in half over the next nine years, they will have two choices: take about $20,000 off the price of the car or double the range to 500 miles. You correctly point out that Tesla over-did the battery range, as most folks are commuting way less than 100 miles a day. Ever wonder why they did this? Well, skeptics are obsessed with the limited range, and Tesla must fight the public perception that an electric car is not viable. You’re, of course, exacerbating this problem with your column today–something you should really think long and hard about, since you’re so wrong and you have such a big platform.

You, in fact, could be in the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car Part Two” as one of the contributors to the “It Can’t Be Done” movement.

The fact is that Tesla could–right now–produce a car that is 1/3rd to half the price if they set it to go only 100 miles. In nine years, they will easily be able to produce a $40k car that does this. Is nine years too long to wait for this technology to reach the price point that 80% of the new-car-buying country could afford? I don’t think so.

Your interpretation of the three central facts here–average commute, cost of the car and battery costs–all work about against your argument when you consider them holistically. You say in the same article that:

a) The Tesla is too expensive at $109k.

b) The Tesla’s range is too far, and only needs to be 50 or 60 miles

c) That battery technology doubles in nine years at the slow estimate

Well, that all adds up to a reasonably priced car that goes a reasonable range today (100 miles), a reasonably priced car that goes a very nice range in four years (say 150 miles), or a cheap car that goes an absurd range in less than 10 years (250 miles). Your own data would lead any reasonable person to the conclusion that Tesla is well on it’s way to an affordable electric car.

What’s the problem here exactly? You’re saying that America could have a brand new startup car company that produces an affordable car that goes an absurd range just 10 years from now? The cost is a $400 million dollar loan? You’re problem with this is what?

Also, Tesla has publicly stated that they are pursuing a flagship–or tent pole–release of their cars. This means they start with the sexy, fast and expensive car for affluent folks, then move on to the sexy sedan for middle income folks. Finally, they take all the technological advances from these two models and move them into the affordable car for everyone.

This is, in fact, the best practice for the automotive and technology industries–you, of all people, know this! How do you think it’s possible for cars under $30,000 to include GPS,antilock breaks, and air bags? Those items were once reserved for only the most elite cars, as you well know.

Why is what’s good for Intel, GM, and countless other tech and automotive companies so bad for Tesla in your mind?

3. America has no upside from the $400m loan.

—————————

First, these loans come with a very innovative concept: interest. The country would get *interest* on the loan. Second, the country gets added value from the following:

a) Sustainable, high-paying jobs for potentially thousands of Americans

b) Those employees spending money, buying houses and paying taxes

c) Tesla licensing its technology to other non-US companies (as they are *already* rumored to being doing with Mercedes)

d) Who says Tesla can’t give the country warrants on two percent of their stock as an added bonus?

e) The country would not need to send mountains of cash to the Middle East

f) Smog levels would drop, and with them massive health care costs associated with smog

g) We would be doing our part to slow down global warming (and every bit counts)

That stock kicker in (d) above I just invented. Perhaps all the companies we give loans to should be required to give a two percent preferred share stock bonus to the United States in exchange for originating their loans? That could be an amazing bonus.

4. Tesla isn’t ready for prime time: “its all-electric technology remains woefully immature and don’t-even-ask expensive” and “The Roadster is not much more than a functioning concept car that sells for $109,000.”

—————————

I own the number 16 production car of the Tesla, and I’ve been driving it for two weeks now. Anyone who owns the car can tell you that a) it is not “woefully immature” and b) that it is not a “concept car.”

The Tesla has been through many crash tests. It has air bags and, yes Randy, even a cup holder. It is a thrill to drive, safe and dependable. It gets the range it reports and the early owners have been delighted with the refinement of the car and the lack of problems. You are flat-out wrong when you say it’s “woefully immature” and a “concept car.” It’s a production car and when compared to my two other cars–a Mini Cooper and a Corvette–it blows them away. How Tesla could create a car that competes with two cars that have been in the “Top Ten cars of the year” for the better part of the past 10 years is just mind-blowing. You and the New York Times should really alter these incorrect facts in the article.

Question for Randy: on what basis do you label the car “woefully immature?” Here’s what other publications said (I found these in five seconds on Wikipedia–why didn’t you?):

Road and Track: “The Tesla feels composed and competent at speed with great turn-in and transitioning response.”

Motor Trend: “undeniably, unbelievably efficient” and would be “profoundly humbling to just about any rumbling Ferrari or Porsche that makes the mistake of pulling up next to a silent, 105-mpg Tesla Roadster at a stoplight.”

Slate: “A week ago, I went for a spin in the fastest, most fun car I’ve ever ridden in–and that includes the Aston Martin I tried to buy once. I was so excited, in fact, that I decided to take a few days to calm down before writing about it. Well, my waiting period is over, I’m thinking rationally, and I’m still unbelievably stoked about the Tesla.”

5. Factually Incorrect: Tesla is asking for help producing a rich man’s car. ————————— Yet another factually incorrect statement Randy. Tesla is NOT asking for a loan to build the Roadster. They are asking for a loan to build a second, family-friendly, $60,000 version of the car called the Model S. The Tesla production run and technology is already paid for–Tesla has said this over and over again.

You know this, yet you spun the entire article with the headline “Only the rich can afford it.” Only the rich can afford a $60,000 car? Really? I’m sure you make at least $80 to $120,000 as a New York Times writer, and your book advances have to be well into the six figures. Guess what, you can afford the Model S!

Finally, Tesla isn’t asking for a handout, they are a asking the tiny, tiny piece of an incentive program from 2007 called the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Incentive Program that was designed to give large automakers support in developing more energy efficient vehicles.

How did you miss this basic fact in your article? It’s not a bailout–it’s a loan that is part of an existing program for just this purpose! If we are going to give a loan for advancing vehicle technology shouldn’t we give it to the only company which has actually produced 100% electric cars? How about the company that has over 1,200 orders for those cars? How about the company that has gotten absurd reviews from the press for their extremely capable car–a car you, and only you, call a “woefully immature” kit car.

How could pack so much bias, incorrect facts and absurd conclusions into one article Randy?!

6. Some perspective please!

—————————

Randall says “Can you conceive any way that federal dollars could be put at greater risk — and for no equity in return, keep in mind — to benefit fewer people?”

Sure, how about the Iraq war, which costs around $400m a day–dollars that we have no chance of ever seeing again (as opposed to a loan, which is paid back with interest).

Your editorial should have started with this fact: if we leave Iraq a week early, we can give two billion dollars in loans to *five* electric car companies. That’s your lead right there, Randy. That’s leadership, that’s the truth and that’s your job as a journalist. Not this “damn the billionaires” crap. In fact, the billionaires in this country have done a hell of a lot (see Gates, Buffet, Turner and countless others)…But that’s for another email. Let’s get back on the subject.

You need to put things back in their proper perspective instead of obsessing about the fact that some of the investors in Tesla are really rich, that the first version of the car is slightly more expensive than a luxury car, and that battery power is *only* going to *double* every ten years.

You really should rewrite the editorial and give the public a fair world view instead of one warped by some short-term populist propaganda. Tesla isn’t about rich Silicon Valley guys in sports cars: it’s about extracting ourselves from the environment-killing, human-rights violating, terrorist-supporting regimes in the Middle East. The only reason we deal with countries that suppress women and homosexuals and give money to terrorists who kill based on a religion is because we are dependent on their oil. If we didn’t need their oil, we would treat them like we treat other rogue regimes–isolate them until they got their act together.

Companies like Tesla are the direct path to our independence from such treachery.

In Conclusion

—————————

The reason I bought the Tesla was to help fund the Model S–and because I like things that are fast, sexy and high-tech. I’m a proud sports-car loving technophile American and it gives me great joy that the best sports car money can buy is produced by an American company that is paving the way to independence from dirty, foreign oil.

I’ve already committed to buying the 16th Model S (Tesla lets you get to keep your production slot in future models), and if another company makes a better electric car, I’ll replace my Mini Cooper with that. Supporting American technology companies is one of the most patriotic things you can do–the technology industry is the reason our country has such a high-standard of living and why we can afford to spread the democracy virus around the globe.

You should be proud of Tesla and support them, as well, because if Tesla gets the *loan* (a loan, not a gift), you just might be driving an electric car built in the United States by American workers. That consumer purchase is a vote which, once cast, will help us shift our interactions with the Middle East back to condemning them for violating basic human rights instead of our dual-headed approach of insincere appeasement and inappropriate force. That approach hasn’t been working out to well, has it?

Good luck rewriting the article–which you or another New York Times journalist will wind up doing in another two or three years, I’m sure.

ps – If you’re ever in Santa Monica lets drive the Tesla down to the Promenade and you can see first hand what normal Americans think of the car–they love it.

* Fisking: The act of delivering criticism on a line-by-line basis established by conservative bloggers to check the British journalist Robert Fisk.

The post Jason Calacanis: On Bailouts and Sports Cars appeared first on Online marketing strategy | Social media marketing | sCRM | Professional Public Speaker | Marketing Tips : Tricks.