Just last week, Google launched their newest tool – Google Buzz.

Now you may be wondering why we need another social media tool to latch on to. And yes, that’s exactly what it is – a social media/networking tool. We’ve got Twitter, we’ve got Facebook, and now we’ve got Google Buzz. So what of it?

I find Google Buzz advantageous for one reason over all others -

I’m already logged into Google Gmail every day.

I use it. I’m there. Google Buzz comes to me.

I don’t have to search the entire Internet to find friends and contacts. Google Buzz finds them for me based on what’s in my address book.

I don’t have to learn a new software platform. I don’t have to read every Buzz that comes through, and I don’t have to move from website to website in order to communicate when I do want to talk. I can stay within my web browser and simply move from one application (within Gmail) to the next.

Cool.

Google Buzz isn’t without it’s problems. I can’t customize a profile with my business information. I can’t make my Buzz account completely private (so I will still get requests and followers I don’t even know – like on all the other networks). I can’t use Buzz if I’m not in Gmail.

These are all bugs, though. Bugs I’m sure Google will eventually work out.

So I’d really like to know what you think about Google Buzz. Are you using it yet? Have you found it advantageous, disappointing, or annoying? Let me know what you think. I’d love to know what you plan on doing with it!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker – Sales Expert

There’s a change brewing in the world of the internet!

I’ve taken this posting straight from http://www.britishinformation.com

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is to set to approve the introduction of generic domain names written in non-Latin script for the first time. It is expected that the body will approve this change at its conference in Seoul later this week, with ICANN describing the move as the biggest technical change to the internet in its 40-year history. Should the plans go ahead, it will mean that web addresses will be able to be written in scripts such as Arabic, Cyrillic, Hindi and Japanese.

Rod Beckstrom, ICANN’s president and chief executive officer, stated that this change is being initiated due to the increasingly widespread use of the internet in countries which do not use Latin script. He said: “This change is very much necessary for not only half the world’s internet users today but more than half, probably, of the future users as the internet continues to spread.” The move was endorsed earlier this month by internet registry operator Nominet, which described the need to meet the demand for foreign language domain names as a “priority”.

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Should be interesting how this pans out!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant

Click on the image below to download my controversial free report “The Sales Person’s Crisis”

Summer is officially right around the corner and, if you’re anything like I am, you’re really looking forward taking some time off to relax and hang out with your family or friends.

On the other hand, you may be panicing, wondering exactly how you’re going to keep up your sales goals and take a vacation at the same time. Keep the following three tips in mind as you plan your vacation and you’ll find that your vacation really won’t have a negative impact on your sales for the month.

• Make a plan in advance. Designate another employee to check your email and voicemail and make sure they respond to things that don’t need your specific attention. Make sure you leave a capable employee in charge in case he or she needs to close a sale on your behalf.
• Never leave a message on your voicemail saying that you are on vacation. A customer with an urgent need will panic and go elsewhere. Leave your regular voicemail message in tact and either return the call yourself or have someone else do it for you. Either way, your customer will have some real, human contact.
• Plan blocks of personal time for checking your email and phone messages into your vacation. If you plan an hour here or there you won’t feel as though you’re disrupting your vacation as much as you would if you had to actually interrupt an activity part way through.

Remember this, too – you deserve your vacation. If you hadn’t been working hard throughout the year you wouldn’t have earned enough money to go. Be proud of your accomplishments and – most important – learn to relax!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

Fern Britton Twitter Scam Revealed

So there I was tweeting away last night (on TWITTER!) when I spotted one of my followers chatting to  Fern Britton (Fern is a celebrity in the UK – she’s a daytime TV presenter)

“Cool” I thought. So I followed Fern and she duly followed back. It was obviously Fern’s first time on Twitter and she was making this known to the frenzy of people who started to follow her in their hundreds!

“I’m just off to put some Chilli on”

“Hubby (also a well know TV Celebrity Chef) is at some SKY awards”

It went on and my wife was all over it!

My followers were sending me tweets about how nice she was and my wife was having kittens at home because I knew “Fern”

Well guess what?

About 5 hours it was revealed to be a huge scam to see how many followers (aka suckers) would follow her.

Check out the profile here: http://twitter.com/fernbritton (I hope it’s still up and not banned!)

In terms of buzz this was awesome – it created a frenzy of activity albeit a little underhanded and fake. Ever since the FAKE FERN revealed herself her followers have been dropping like flies although as I write this she’s still got 400 since last night! Just shows how many she did have.

If a different angle was played on this it could creates some stunning PR but I feel it lends itself to another fake identity on the internet story.

Sean

http://www.seanmcpheat.com