Moon Berthume was launched this month by partners and digital business gurus Sam Moon and Rob Berthume as an offshoot of their digital agency, Epsilon Concepts. Rob Berthume founded Epsilon Concepts in 2000 and Sam Moon joined in 2007. Epsilon Concepts is a profitable digital agency based in downtown Los Angeles, California that provides design, development, and consulting for web, print, mobile, branding, and social media. Through Epsilon Concepts, the partners completed over 250 web production and marketing projects for start-ups, small businesses, and Fortune 500s and they saw the need to build out a separate, focused agency specializing in search engine and social media marketing. Having produced numerous successful web projects in a variety of industries, the partners knew the time was right to create the Moon Berthume brand and put their names on the line with each marketing initiative accepted.

Moon Berthume effectively leverages the economies of scale and talent pool available through Epsilon Concepts. Backed by Sam Moon, Robby Berthume and a group of diligent and experienced marketers including link builders, copywriters, search engine optimizers, social media gurus, bloggers, and PPC managers, Moon Berthume can and has provided quantified results for numerous start-ups.  You can read about the Moon Berthume Paradigm here.

Moon Berthume specializes in search engine marketing, social media marketing, and traffic generation for social media related start-ups as well as established brands and web properties. They can also handle other various aspects of digital marketing. Acting as consultants, if they can’t do it, they probably have an expert within their network and can find the right support for your needs.

Check out Moon Berthume online at http://www.moonberthume.com and subscribe to Moon Berthume Monthly.

Below is the press release we are releasing on behalf of our client, Where To Get Engaged, Inc.

Los Angeles, California, May 12

Join WhereToGetEngaged.com for Free by July 31, 2009 & Automatically be Entered to Win a FREE HONEYMOON GIVEAWAY

WhereToGetEngaged.com (WTGE) is a social network, directory and search engine that will undoubtedly change the “recession-proof” bridal industry forever. Focused on key decision and conversation points like The Ring, The Proposal, and The Wedding, WTGE is a new concept in social networking as well as the bridal industry. By connecting users, vendors, and manufacturers across an easy and intuitive platform, WTGE is a gateway for effortlessly exploring and connecting while sharing life’s most celebrated moments.

Getting engaged can be an overwhelming process for the future groom. Finding the perfect ring and planning a memorable proposal can be tricky at best. WTGE provides a powerful localized search engine to find and interact with vendors crucial to the process, from the ring to the honeymoon to married life. Built for guys just as much as brides, it combines an intuitive directory with the latest in social networking and interactive functionalities. From the guy planning the engagement (perhaps using WTGE’s helpful “stealth mode” feature) to the bride planning the wedding, it connects friends and family around life’s most memorable events while making it easy to find the best local vendors and learn about the top manufacturers and brands in the industry.

WTGE is unique in that users, vendors and manufacturers all get easy-to-setup social profiles packed with features like locations, products, photos, videos, blogs, events, favorites, wishlists, reviews, ratings, social profile URLs, messaging, and more. In fact, the site is growing in features and usability on a daily basis while being pushed and marketed heavily across the United States! Some of the biggest brands in the industry are already on board, including Hearts on Fire, Verragio, Benchmark, A. Jaffe, RITANI, and Saturn Jewels! Best of all, instead of annoying users with ads and spam, WTGE is a social network without “in your face” marketing. WTGE brings together the integral players in the jewelry and bridal industries in a seamless and transparent fashion, making it easier than ever to learn about, interact with, and freely engage with helpful vendors, manufacturers, and users! The name “Where To Get Engaged” wasn’t chosen simply for engaged couples – it stands for engaging in communication, engaging in business and engaging in community.

Where To Get Engaged, Inc. was founded by CEO Christopher Simonetti, who leveraged his decades of experience as a top jeweler to team with Los Angeles digital agency Epsilon Concepts to plan, design, develop and market a unique and compelling website that harnesses social media for local businesses and quality manufacturers around the country. In his words, “Where To Get Engaged began as a ‘catchy’ marketing slogan for my jewelry store; owning a retail jewelry store for over 20 years, I know exactly how relevant this concept is. Men walk in my store everyday knowing that they are ready to propose and knowing it will be something she’ll remember forever, but have no idea how to make it perfect. The deeper we dove into the concept, the more we realized that engagements and weddings touched nearly every business category. My goal is to create a social network that will connect customers with the best local businesses and vendors and helps them find the information and products they are looking for. But we won’t stop there, even connecting vendors with manufacturers and manufacturers with vendors!”

WTGE is free for users and vendors. Premium accounts are available for vendors, with extended features, premium placement and added exposure across a variety of social media channels. WTGE believes social media is the most current and affordable way to reach in-market customers. For far less than a Yellow Pages ad, vendors can reach and engage with more customers than imaginable. Best of all, it’s quick and easy to setup and maintain a compelling profile allowing vendors and manufacturers to show product, keep customers updated on events and build their brands. It’s easy, it’s dynamic, and it’s only going to get better from here!

Key Links:

HOME PAGE: http://www.wheretogetengaged.com
SITE TOUR: http://www.wheretogetengaged.com/tour/
FAQs: http://www.wheretogetengaged.com/pages/frequently-asked-questions.html
HELP: http://www.wheretogetengaged.com/tutorials
BLOG: http://blog.wheretogetengaged.com
FREE HONEYMOON GIVEAWAY: http://www.wheretogetengaged.com/promotions/sign-up-to-win-the-ultimate-vacation-getaway.html

- @epsilonc

This week, I want to continue the discussion by attempting to answer the following question:

Why should I care and how can I use it?

You may not be an early adopter, but the fact of the matter is that you’re sleeping at the wheel.  Even many of the “early majority” has been on Twitter for a few months now.  It’s time to sign up, if only so in conversation or while watching a news report you know what the heck “Twitter” is when you hear about it and don’t sound like an ignorant fool.  I mean, come on people, it’s not that hard of a concept to understand (if you still don’t get it, re-read my first post and/or watch the video at the bottom of this one). If you’re already on Facebook or MySpace, you have no excuse.  It won’t take much extra time and it integrates well.  If you don’t like it, just cease the tweats, simple as that.  Before you spit out the brussels sprout maybe you should let your taste buds decide their opinion first, it might be personally and/or professional healthy and perhaps even enjoyable in the process.  So stop waiting around for a formal invitation, point your browser to Twitter.com and get on it.

Here’s 10 valuable ways you can use Twitter immediately

1. Interact with the media and “the man”
What does CNN’s Rick Sanchez, Barack Obama, the US Congress, Ellen, The Today Show, and The New York Times have in common?  Twitter!  Listen up and talk back, the media and “the man” has never been more accessible.

2. Follow your favorite celebrities, athletes, and brands
There are countless celebs on Twitter, to the point where some are predicting the fall of tabloids due to Twitter.  Brands and wanna-bes have flocked to Twitter in droves as well. From C-list to A-list, from Athletes to Musicians, from JetBlue to Whole Foods Market, Twitter is exploding with fame and hot air.  Twitter provides celebs like 50 Cent, MC Hammer, Ashton Kutcher, and John Mayer with an easy to manage, easy to run platform for fan engagement.  It’s far less hassle than MySpace and a lot easier than Facebook for celebs to use and not screw up.  It’s a simple, portable way of staying engaged with the largest group of people while not creating a management headache and without sacrificing direct content control or paying hefty fees in the process.  Therefore, to Simon Cowell’s dismay, Twitter is tearing it up amongst today’s celebs and you, the user (unless you’re famous) benefits.   Now you can openly stalk your idols.  Maybe instead of the NBA fining Cuban for tweating about the refs they should instead think about paying guys like him and Shaq to keep up the free promotion and for keeping the NBA in the news and in conversations.  After all, any press is good press, right?  Not exactly…

3. Kill your boredom and maybe even learn something in the process
Bored?  Twitter takes web surfing to a whole new level - it’s like moving from surfing to windsurfing.  Suddenty you have a sail and some wind to guide you.  What a difference! Track conversations and content, snag fresh and hidden links, and get a feel for the undercurrent of opinion and rhetoric.   Your eyes my glaze over at some point, but until then you can justify the screen-staring by thinking about the educational value all of those links and ideas are going to provide you with.

4. Arrange local “TweetUps” easily
What’s the easiest way to meet up with peeps?  Call out a TweetUp or announce when you’ve arrived somewhere.  You can leave it vague, invite everyone, or pick and choose.  Either way, no more lonely nights whether it’s a pick-up game or Thirsty Thursday.  Mobile, geo-centric tweats make it easier than ever to prevent solo movie theater nights.

5. Integrate Twitter with your existing social media persona without any substantial extra work
Before you reject Twitter because you’re already on social media overload, hear me out.  Twitter won’t take that much extra work.  Do you change your Facebook status or post links to mySpace or delicious?  Tweat these!  Better yet, connect the platforms and eliminate all manual labor from the equation.  With your tweats hooked up to Facebook, you can update both at the same time.  With your blog hooked up to Twitter, you can post each new blog post as they come, automatically.  You get the idea - Twitter is a screwdriver in your toolbox.  You still need the hammer and nails, but boy does a screwdriver come in handy.

6. Expand or detract relationships
There is a difference between followers and friends.  Some of us reserve “Facebook friend” status for real friends we have an offline connection with.  Others accept and seek out friendships and think of Facebook friendship in much looser terms.  To them, a hobby, group, or friend in common is plenty an introduction.  Many of us open ourselves to lots of friends, but still limit certain sections of our profile, like drunken photos.  Twitter gives you a second option in expanding or detracting relationships.  Think about it.  If you send out frequent tweats, it’s a great way for loved ones to really peer into your life and stay in touch with your thoughts and happenings.  Or maybe it’s a profile you can give out to those you don’t want to be Facebook friends with, like a second skin for the strangers (or customers, you get the idea).

7. Build a personal brand and platform
Why do you need a personal brand?  You may have a job or company now, but you never know when shit might hit the fan (pardon my French).  Whether you’re a nobody, an aspiring author, or maybe a 15 year old musician, Twitter can help you begin to build your personal brand.  Building a personal brand involves creating a story (and it should be authentic or risk flopping) and promoting it.  Building a personal brand has never been easier with the Internet and social media.  Maybe your ideas are lame or you don’t need the book contract or record deal now, but why not leave the door open?  By building a personal brand and platform via Twitter, it’s there when and if you need it.   Twitter is like a megaphone.  Imagine yourself in a large, empty opportunity with an open mic.  Now fill those seats with followers and let it rip, but make it meaningful.  Remember, reputation is build in a lifetime and lost in a tweat-second.

8. Promote your business, broadcast sales, and engage in market research
Twitter is all the rage for businesses.  Whether you’re a small business (like this chiropractor or this restaurant) or a Fortune 500, your peers are either already there or are moving in for the kill.  Become a “vocal point” in your industry.  Post sales, promotions, and events.  Distribute links, reports, and articles.  Be a voice.  Answer questions.  Learn from customers, prospects, and market segments.

9. Stay abreast of your industry in real-time
What’s going on in the bridal industry?  Perhaps if you were following a few hundred voices in the industry you would have a better answer to this question?  Whatever your industry, followers find you based on what you post.  So focus in on your hobbies and market and unite with others who care about the same things.  It’s a great way to keep tabs on the ever shifting sandstorm of professional and public opinion.

10. Stay more closely connected with friends and loved ones
As opposed to weekly or monthly calls where you catch up and skip the details, Twitter allows you to engage and be a part of their day-to-day lives, whether the thought of it peaks your curiosity or irritates your senses.

Other popular uses for Twitter include breaking up a relationship, broadcasting a plane crash (colorfully), and telling the world you broke your hip. Let’s summarize: if you can text it, you can tweat it.  If you can tweat it, others will read it and, if you’re cool enough, perhaps even follow you.

Twitter isn’t all peaches ‘n’ creme, though.  Here’s why, in 3 points

1. Clutter, Spam, Abuse & Misuse
What would Simba be without Scar?  Batman without the Joker?  Everyone needs an enemy.  Spam and clutter, unfortunately, is the enemy of the web.  Whether it’s e-mail, links, social networking, videos, you name it - spam affects it.  Wherever there is freedom, there is abuse.  Where there is a system there is an abuser of a system.  Before getting too deep into philosophy, just take heed.  Not every Twitter profile is legit, not every tweat is meaningful, and not every follower is worth following.  Get Rich Quick schemes aren’t limited to e-mail.

2. The Fat, F’ugly Fail Whale
Twitter gets overloaded every now and then. With its breakneck growth rates and ever-multiplying traffic, it’s not always online to accept your tweats. When it breaks, I introduce you to the “Fail Whale” as it’s known.    While this happens rarely, it still happens more often than all of the other websites I frequent.  It’s a bit annoying sometimes, after all, what if my plane crashes and I’m not able to tweat about it? It’s a problem Twitter is no doubt working hard to address.  Meanwhile, the whale calms me and enrages me at the same time.  Not sure how that works…

3. Stupid Tweets & Tweet Overload

It’s easy to get carried away.  There is a heck of a lot of garbage and downright lame tweats out there in tweat universe.  People spew really boring crap either because they are trying to reel in new followers, are that full of themselves, or are simply boring, dull, and uninspired to begin with.  I don’t want to always know what you are doing, right now 24 hours a day.  I want to hear what you are doing, in general (for more on this, re-read Part 1).  Is that really such a hard concept for people to grasp?   On Twitter, it’s too often quantity over quality and not the other way around.  Keep your twitter-holicism in check, will you?  Didn’t your mom teach you to think before you tweat?

Still hung up on the concept?
I present to you “Twitter in Plan English” courtesy of CommonCraft

- @epsilonc

I admit, I wasn’t the first to join this “microblogging platform.” But I did realize pretty quickly that Twitter wasn’t all hype.  I determined it deserved a place in my social media arsenal months ago after realizing that it wouldn’t really take me much extra time and it would be a valuable tool and resource that could easily be integrated into my existing social media presence.  To me, Twitter + Facebook + Delicious + Blogging is the holy grail of social media.  The best part is that they all work together remarkably well. In my case, instead of changing my “Facebook Status” I tweet my status and it automatically updates my Facebook account.  So it didn’t really create any additional work, but opened up my rants, raves and riffs to a wider audience.  And when I write a good blog post (or at least when I think so), I can tweet it and it broadcasts the link to my Twitter followers and Facebook friends.  And if I run across a helpful link or want to note a blog post I wrote, I add it to my Delicious bookmarks, which automatically shows on my blog (using a WordPress plugin) and Facebook account (Facebook app).  It’s easy to see how these things can work well together. The web is truly like legos at this point, it’s just a matter of putting them together. It all helps expand my sphere of influence and opens myself to feedback and new ideas without creating a management nightmare in the process.

I think Twitter gets made fun of a lot because it famously asks the question “What are you doing” before giving you 140 characters to explain (just see the video below).  It’s important to remember that “tweeting” (posting a message on Twitter) isn’t simply about telling your followers what you’re doing (e.g. getting ready to take a shower, eating M&Ms, listening to Phil Collins, etc…).  I like to think it’s also talking in much more generic, broad terms.  As in, what are you doing with your life, your business, your passions.  What are you thinking, seeing, feeling and finding?  If Twitter was only made up of a bunch of people sharing the mundane factions of their life, I doubt it would be elevating in fame like it is.  It’s not always about sharing for the sake of sharing, it’s about sharing when it’s remarkable, when it’s worth talking about.  Tweeting is like sending a text message to a large group of people, instantly.  And sometimes getting texted back.  But it’s portable (you can tweet from your computer or cell phone and the service can be utilized via various apps, SMS, RSS, etc..), free and provides a platform for a wide audience.  Following people like Shaq, Lance Armstrong, Ryan Seacrest, and 50 Cent is like getting a live feed of text messages from them.  Pretty cool, if you’re a big fan.

Moving on…

So what is it, exactly?

Technically speaking, Twitter is a microblogging platform launched in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams. The service allows anyone who creates an account to write and read 140 character updates, also known as “tweets.”  These tweets are shown on the author’s profile for all to read (unless the user only allows followers to read his tweets) as well as on the home page of the user’s followers.  It allows you to search and follow other Twitter users, send direct private messages and broadcast public replies.  It’s not only about 1 person, it’s about a community, conversation and feedback.   Twitter is often referred to as the “SMS of Internet.”

Why should I care and how can I use it?

We’ll answer this question and more in next week’s post!  Stay tuned!

Below is a recent funny video mocking Twitter. It’s entertaining and brings up some funny points, but keep in mind it’s oversimplifying a lot of things rather than highlighting the complete story around why Twitter is valuable. Obviously, this is because it’s a video mocking Twitter not a documentary explaining value propositions.  There is a reason Twitter is considered to be worth more than a quarter billion dollars at this point and why it’s 3rd behind only Facebook and mySpace in traffic. After reading next week’s post you’ll understand why this video isn’t a reason to stay away from tweeting.  Remember, there is more to Twitter than what you are doing, in the narrow sense of that phrase. And keep in mind this video’s success was no doubt propelled when numerous users spread the link through Twitter.

- @epsilonc

How then will my web page now grow?
Where then should I for SEO go?
CPC, CPM, CRM is Greek.
CSS, CPA, B2C is true Geek.
Blogging and good content I know I must make.
But code validation I am afraid I will break.

I want natural results, so I’m going organic.
Yet I want quicker results since I’m in a panic.
So pay-per-click and banner ads now I will place.
Twitter and Facebook may push my slow pace.
SMM and mobile is now everywhere.
If only I knew how to prepare.

Where should I go for traffic and leads?
How can I make my bounce rate recede?
Affiliates I want and reciprocals I call.
DMOZ and Delicious, I now easily recall.
My hat is now white my <body> code is clean.
I am ready for Google, no longer am I green.

- @epsilonc

I admit it, I love shopping. Clothes, shoes, cars, Apple products, the list goes one.  And oh yeah, I love memorable experiences, too.  You know, visiting family, trying out that new restaurant, watching a movie, hitting up Vegas, hell, take me to Europe if possible.  And of course VIP service.  After all, who wouldn’t?  And just who’s to blame for liking fun products, hip dining, and stellar service?  Not me, I say, not me.  Not that I always get what I want (if only).

But we all know we’re living in a new age of frugality.  We even have a positive savings rate (5% in January, believe you me).  It’s Prius over Beamer, H&M over Gucci, Walmart and Micky D’s over Bloomies and Mr. Chow’s.  Always laying out the cash (or plastic) in this newfound age of financial reason may not be the most “in” thing to do.  It may even cause more anxiety and guilt than pleasure and relief.  What a let down, who’da thought this would happen to us, this prosperous plastic economy of our’s we thought invincible.  The bird’s out of the cage — our individual and collective financial foundation has proven to be weaker than once thought.

So when is spending the money really worth it?  And not just spending money on yourself, but on others and on your business?  Well, business owners (good ones) know that money is a tool (leverage) and that leverage can provide power.  When appropriate capital and sound strategy combine, money can be multiplied.  Entrepreneurs also know that sometimes you have to spend money to make money.  Quality, in-demand people come at a premium.  After all, nothing attracts success like success.  And even when it comes to your personal wardrobe or garage, sometimes labels and brands represent simple mark-up branding strategy and sometimes they represent so much more.  When, then, does it pay to spend?

Is spending the extra $20 on that bottle of wine really worth it?  Is your Lexus LS really a far superior choice than the Hyundai Genesis?  Should you use the big name CPA or the little guy?   The big-boy lawyer or the recently minted one down the street? Will paying $250 an hour for consulting that will save or make you thousands better than paying $100 an hour for average results?  Valid questions, varied and individual answers.

I’ll be answering this question (when it pays to spend) over the next several blog posts:

1. When it Pays to Spend (on Yourself)
2. When it Pays to Spend (on Others)
3. When it Pays to Spend (on Your Business)

So stay tuned and prepare to be enlighted.  Your feedback (comments, complaints, compliments) is always welcome - the more voices, the more fruitful this discussion will be.

- @epsilonc

So what does that mean and why should you care? Awareness and acknowledgment of what drives and distracts you can ensure you are living in and developing the life that you truly want.  In other words, you can more fully maximize your mind and personality while enjoying a more rewarding life through accurately pinpointing your drivers and distracters and making adjustments as necessary.  Here’s an example in a different context: a person who has been diagnosed with ADD or OCD can subsequently learn how to not only manage, but maximize their so called “deficiency” because they become consciously aware of the hidden inner workings of their mind and personality.  This newfound awareness helps them understand who they are as a human being and what makes them tick.  Whether or not they choose to use medication to assist with their deficiencies, just the simple act of acknowledgment can lead to a more productive and rewarding life.  In that same regard, by recognizing and acknowledging what drives you and what distracts you, you can more fully manage and maximize yourself.

To ensure we’re on the same page, I’ll roughly define what these two terms look like:

• An example of a “driver”: You want to be wealthy, so you get up each day and work hard so that one day it will happen.  You want a family, so you work hard to find the “perfect” wife and then work hard to have kids.  You want a great job, so you go to college and put in the time and effort to make it a reality.
• An example of a “distracter”: You feel out of control of certain elements of your life.  So, to make your life more bearable and enjoyable, you subconsciously (most of the time) choose distracting endeavors in order to make you feel more in control or more satisfied.  For instance, people have bought material possessions, had a kid, got married, taken a vacation, taken up a hobby, or read a book all because they simply wanted to be distracted.  They may not have fully realized this, but those distracters eventually take them to a life they thought they wanted before they realize they never wanted it at all, they were simply caving to distractions.

Is it that simple? Are drivers good and distracters bad?  Not necessarily. There isn’t a tangible, concrete line between the two and there isn’t always a crystal clear answer. It takes individual judgment, thought, and meditation to brainstorm and determine which activities and thought patterns are driving you or distracting you.  Awareness and acknowledgment will help you balance yourself and achieve more peace and achieved goals.

There is a funny thing about life.  It’s common knowledge that if you don’t make decisions on your own, someone will make them for you.  It would be a monumental task to compile a list of all of the people who have led their lives simply via inertia.  They build up a particular paradigm of who they should be, what they should do, and how they should feel about it.  It’s almost like there is an invisible list of expectations based on demographics, background, money, etc… that only a select few choose to altogether throw out.

It may seem completely counter-intuitive, but only in a life with no expectations can you fully maximize who you are.  It’s not until you fully peel off the ideology that each of us has been fed since day one and recognize that we are all unique. In fact, not only are we unique, but the epitome of a fulfilling livelihood can be achieved by simply becoming more aware of ourselves, becoming less content to accept the status quo, and by actually choosing for ourselves our drivers and distracters. So many people view the lives of celebrities, athletes, authors, and people living-it-up with fun jobs, happy marriages, and fulfilling family lives and convince themselves that those are just “lucky” people and those results can’t be achieved in their own lives.

In my opinion, elements of your personal life can be compared to the life of a business.  It amazes me sometimes how business people will develop a plan, include controls and contingency plans, and constantly re-evaluate the progress and life of their business to ensure it becomes what they want it to become instead of what it will become simply from the waves of the market.  This is a point worth remembering: whether you’re talking about your business or your life, if you do not consciously choose your drivers and distracters, you could potentially end up living in a life that you never wanted or owning a business that is something far different from what you dreamed about.

Here’s your homework: over the next few days, take a little bit of time to think about what could potentially be driving you and what could potentially be distracting you.  Go ahead and ask your spouse, family, or close friends if you want an outside perspective as well.  Then, ask yourself what you want your life to look like in a year, in five years, in ten years, etc…  Now you must examine what is lacking in your life right now from the life you want to have.  After doing so, you may find you should play a little “musical chairs” with the drivers and distracters in your life.  The goal is to evaluate and potentially reorganize your priorities as you ensure they are in line with your long-term vision for your life.

As a 22 year old tech veteran, having started and led a successful digital agency for going on 9 years now, I am used to a certain kind of reaction when people find out the story behind Epsilon Concepts and my personal adventure in this fast-paced digital world.  In a nutshell, I started Epsilon Concepts at the age of 14 (not including freelance “bitch work”, of course, as that started much earlier) and have simply worked hard since then to continue to grow, personally and professionally. Let me give you some background: when I was 14 I was already very entrepreneurial and I also realized at a young age that though money isn’t everything, it certainly helps and provides freedom and leverage.  I also thoroughly enjoyed working.  I guess I should be more specific: I didn’t really enjoy physical or mental labor in_the_act.  I think saying I relished the actual work all the time would be a lie.  But I did certainly love the way it made me feel and I loved the relationships that good, hard work helped create.  I experienced what it felt like to be able to buy your own things and the sense of freedom and security that money can bring.  I felt pride when I tried really hard on a job well done, and felt gratified when it was a thorough, professional project completed.

I realized early that your reputation, your personal brand, was everything.  It could also be tarnished as easily as an exotic car can be dented by one careless driver (or shopping cart).  I started Epsilon Concepts by learning-on-the-fly and building websites for real estate properties, training elderly people on using the Internet, and building websites for the local car dealerships, photographers, furniture companies, travel agencies, and pretty much the entire small town of Chardon, Ohio after moving on from Redding, California, where I started my work.  I had a knack for sales and marketing and understood business and relationships very well.  I was meticulous about my services and tried to be as fair and and friendly as possible, frequently sending out birthday cards, client gifts, and receiving numerous testimonials, references, and friends in the process.   I built the company website and I started getting very good positions on the search engines and building up a strong lead pipeline.  I have since revamped and relaunched the company website 8 times. I started working with contractors and have expanded ever since over time, even internationally.   I was diligent in approaching everyone I could and following up with people for months and even years, in a polite and personable way, in order to get their business.  I developed a very nice client list over time, met many amazing people, and learned so many lessons along the way.  Not to say I was perfect or didn’t make mistakes.  Far from it, my mistakes were critical to my growth and the growth of Epsilon Concepts and I was fortunate to have started the company in an almost incubator-like environment.

My age also proved to be mostly an advantage.  In the minds of most of those older than me, I “grew up on the Net” and especially social media.  Sure, I’ve been to more than a few meetings since I started where I noticed eye brows raise thanks to their perception of my youth, but 99.9% of the time those looks were erased after they realized that my company and I were just as legitimate as the next guy, even if he was twice my age. I’m 22 now, having run Epsilon Concepts and other businesses for the past 9 years during a very fun ride of a decade for the Internet.  I sold my age to clients by explaining that I had the energy, the passion, and the time to really blow their socks off with my work.  I explained that even though I didn’t have a portfolio (then), because their piece was such a critical piece for me in that moment, it meant the world and they would get the best end-result imaginable.  And, for the most part, many people trusted in me and I know I didn’t let the majority down (you can’t make everyone happy, it’s not possible).  I worked really, really hard, intent on investing in the future personal brand equity I’d have and hoping to watch it and the company snowball.  Over the past years, it’s really paid off as I now have an amazing business partner and we lead a diverse team of twenty specialized web and marketing experts, we’ve completed well over 250 projects, and we have some great brands and compelling examples to our name.  Our project management (the weak point of the web development industry) is now extremely high caliber, our processes highly optimized, and our overhead minimized.  We’ve mobile, connected, and specialized.  We offer a suite of web services from strategic consulting to branding to web development and production to social media marketing.   We are launching shortly our Marketing Agency arm, Moon Berthume.  With this addition and with our existing experience with SEM/SMO, we will offer the full range of services to those start-ups and companies looking to differentiate.  We’re now headquartered in downtown Los Angeles and are well connected with industry press contacts, investors, organizations, events, experience, and human resources.

It wasn’t always easy, though, building the company while being a teenager.  I graduated High School early and prepared to enroll full time as a marketing student.  I thought it was imperative to get my bachelor’s out of the way so that I could grow as an individual and also be able to step into a master’s program easily at some point in my late twenties to continue my studies after building Epsilon Concepts into a large, stable and thriving ship.   I simultaneously started taking more and more projects with Epsilon Concepts and I was extremely busy. I juggled many things, was oft stressed, yet I managed to experience a lot and only sacrificed a bit of sleep in the process.   I had special arrangements with professors who understood my situation and were willing to let me leave class if I had an important conference call or business engagement.  I stayed completely connected regardless of which world I was in, and for the most part everything was pretty smooth.  Of course, there were good projects and bad, but I and my growing team learned from our mistakes pretty well I think. I took all that I could handle and then some and was personally carrying the burden of literally dozens of projects.  It was very overwhelming at times, but in the past five years this stress has been reduced as my team has grown and we now only accept a very limited number of engagements per year.  We’re thriving in a down economy because we’re focusing on quality, ROI, and long term strategy.  It’s not just the web production work we provide, it’s how we provide it.  We work with our clients as strategic partners, being proactive and thinking on our feet.  We know how to make money and we know how to build web apps that rock in terms of usability, user experience, and achieved objectives.  We have a team of amazing people that are extremely talented and have genuine personalities.  I’ve had many lessons, mistakes, and some amazingly pain-in-the-ass clients and employees along the way, but I’ve learned that just like in life, the life of a business is made up of cycles.  It’s a process, a dynamic series of changing events.  Problems arise, but so do opportunities.  Duds are hired and fired, but the more duds you get the more likely you’ll get some gems along the way.  Most things in life aren’t easy, but most things aren’t that hard either.  It’s just a matter of riding the days and weeks as effectively and efficiently as possible, so that you are always improving and as ready as possible for the opportunities that will arise. I am incredibly grateful for the problems and opportunities of my youth.

So I got off on a tangent about my personal background, but the whole reason I wanted to write this post in the first place was because I get asked oftentimes at this point in my life how I was able to become this successful at my age.  Of course, there are many people far more successful than I am, regardless of how you measure it.  On a financial level, guys like Mark Zuckerberg obviously take my cake.  I don’t think I’ve gone the easiest routes to make money for the sake of it (that would probably be porn or oil).  I think a lot of people think maybe I’m pretty smart or maybe I just got lucky or maybe my rich uncle helped me out!  If you ask me, it’s because I’m self-conscious about being lazy.  Laziness isn’t an attractive quality to me, when it comes to the analysis of myself.  I’m truly my own worst critic and I’ve always thought of myself as being a lazy person.  In reality, I’m not sure anyone who knows me or is around me would say that I’m lazy.  I work very hard and typically at least 50-60 hours a week and then some, plus other commitments and personal obligations.  But, this “thought attack” pushes me to work harder and stay focused.  My true secret is simply that I visualize the end result and then pursue it with a focused diligence.

This sounds so easy, right?  In theory, it shouldn’t be.  But in practice, apparently it’s pretty hard.  I’ve really heard a lot jibber-jabber from many people around me about what they can do, what they’re going to do, how they used to rock in a former life.  I for one am tired of the lame excuses and the empty rhetoric. Don’t get me wrong, I truly think most people have excellent intentions.  They just fail miserably to execute and then whine about it.

Being successful, in my opinion, means you can’t be a total dumb ass, but you don’t have to be Einstein either.  The biggest factor affecting your success will be diligence.  You will have to work hard, harder than others.  Hard meaning intensity and/or hours and/or stress.  You will also have to work with focus, with vision.  You will absolutely need to zone in on your goals, on that destination to power your pursuit.  I hate to sound like some self-help article or a smart-ass advice column, but it really comes down to how hard you want it.  If there were five things that I could recommend to someone looking for a secret recipe for success (however you define that), I would say:

1. Get off your fat ass.
2. Visualize the outcome.
3. Get off your fat ass.
4. Do the best you can with what you have (be resourceful).
5. Get off your fat ass.

You get the point.  If you think I’m being a little condescending by telling you what to do, I agree.  So tell you what, I’ll get off my high horse when you get off your fat ass. Until then!

@epsilonc

Inauguration Day didn’t simply usher in the 44th President heralded globally as hope for an Extreme Makeover: USA Edition. Exciting for web heads, the first change this President made, nearly on the dot during the botched oath was The White House official website.  Keep in mind, this is the president who talked about social networking on the campaign trail, embraced Twitter, now posts his weekly address via YouTube, and fought fiercely for his BlackBerry over the last few days.  Needless to stay, we web-heads are eager to hear his choice of national CTO and are thankful for the ways in which President Obama has and continues to embrace the Internet for a more transparent government and a more united America.

The first wired President clearly wasn’t just poking people on Facebook in the days before his Inauguration.  While Change.gov functioned as the transition hub, he also went to work (or should we say put others to work) on a new version of Whitehouse.gov that would be ready for January 20th’s festivities.  In past days, design, usability, social media, blogging, and video weren’t given attention, even in the land of the Internet that Al Gore invented.  Former President George Bush’s site design reflected his presidency in many ways, if you know what I mean.  President Obama appears to have carried over successful design and usability parameters as well as social media integration strategy from his previous sites, BarackObama.com and Change.gov.  Not to mention the online Briefing Room.  What a great concept in government, to use the web in this way!

So while President Obama’s administration is blogging about the year of the ox and his stance towards the Muslim world to try and heal the wounds of yesteryear, I recommend you visit the new WhiteHouse.gov site for yourself, grab his RSS feed, and start watching his weekly addresses on YouTube.  If government is going to be more transparent via the web, it’s up to all of us to keep tabs on it!

The Old Version of WhiteHouse.gov, courtesy George W. Bush:

:: written by @epsilonc ::

Conversations trump campaigns and the word “campaign” has a military undertone I’m not comfortable with. The people you’re supposed to be having a conversation with are not enemies to be raped, pillaged & plundered.

Although I will continue to use the phrase, it would be nice to find a more accurate way of describing how brands initiate conversations with true fans (see also: Seth Godin’s Tribes)

Until that happens, I will continue to use the word campaign because:
1. It’s pretty much a standard phrase when social media is a part of the marketing strategy, which means that:
2. It is the most efficient way of having conversations with other people involved in the social media landscape

I realize I’m deviating from the original reason these words began to be used in this context to begin with; and that is exactly what I’m saying we might need to do.

One conclusion I’ve come to so far is that although the Sun Tzu route may work in a certain context, there’s a need to draw a line somewhere so that that hawkish mindset doesn’t carry over to the conversations brands should be having with their fans.

Otherwise, we would just be paying lip service to the social in “social media”.

I will now proceed to shut up & return to looking for a word to replace “campaign”.

Any suggestions on where to begin?

Here are a few of the posts that have given me food for thought about the “campaign” part of the phrase “social media campaigns”:
Chrome + Art of Story Telling = Google is the web communication Sun Tzu
The Myth of the Social Media Marketer
Sun Tzu and the Art of Social Computing
Marketing warfare strategies (wiki article):
Sun Tzu Marketing (the book)