A New Business Writing Project

By Mark Evans in Main Page, Media 3 Comments Tags: , , ,

A few months ago, I was approached by Globe & Mail editor Noel Hulsman about a new Web site the newspaper was going to launch focused on serving the needs of entrepreneurs and small business owners. The idea was to deliver relevant and valuable content that people could use to operate their businesses better, or successfully launch a business.

After a lot of hard work behind the scenes, “Your Business” launched today. It features three themes – Start, Grow and Exit – as well as extensive contents that includes a team of columnists, including myself.

My column, will appear times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), will focus providing new business owners and entrepreneurs with everything from tips and tools and guidance from experts on how to run your business better.

Given that my business, ME Consulting, is focused on providing strategic and tactical content and social media services to start-ups and fast-growing companies, I’m really excited about writing the column, and sharing my insight and experiences. If there are topics or areas that you would like to me to cover, drop me a line at mark@markevans.ca

Note: Just in case there’s any confusion, this is a freelance gig so I’m still happily running ME Consulting.

Could a Google Backlash Materialize?

By Mark Evans in Google 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

The Globe & Mail’s business section had an interesting feature story yesterday about how Google taking “aim at everything” – a thesis driven home recently with the launch of the Nexus mobile phone.

With Google seemingly everywhere and anywhere, it starts to beg the question about whether trying to all things to all people is too much, and whether, at some point, consumers will push back against Google’s dominance. Sure, Google offers great services – most at no cost – but are we getting sucked in too much into the Google empire.

At one point does being too much of a Google user start to get dangerous? And at what point will consumers start to realize that it’s unhealthy to have too much Google in their lives? If that every happens will the pendulum start to swing back to other players?

In some respects, Google is starting to become a lot like Microsoft in that millions of people use its products and services even though they might want, in theory, to use alternatives. You don’t have to necessarily like Google or Microsoft but that doesn’t stop you from buying or using their products and services.

What do you think? Could a Google backlash materialize given the company’s ultra-aggressive strategic goals?

Foursquare: Square Peg, Round Hole (Part II)

By Mark Evans in Social Media 3 Comments Tags: , , ,

Yesterday, I talked about why I had decided not to jump on the Foursquare bandwagon. The reaction was mixed – some people completely agreed with the fact Foursquare has no appeal, while other said that I was off the mark because Foursquare is all about putting the “geo” in social networking.

Both sides make valid arguments but, for me, it comes down the fact I’m not interested and/or ready for the “geo” side of the house. The way I operate personally and professionally doesn’t lend itself to broadcasting to friends and family where I’m located. Anyone who has to know where I’m at likely has a pretty good idea of my location.

As well, I enjoy the relative anonymity of being “location-less” given it strikes me as the last privacy bastion amid a world where everything is public unless otherwise defined as private.

That said, I can also appreciate why Foursquare appeals to many people. If you’re out and about on a regular basis, and you want to connect with friends and family who are also out and about, then it makes sense to use Foursquare – much like many people use Facebook to provide regular updates on what they’re doing or where they’re going.

In many ways, Foursquare is a lifestyle service as much as it is a technology. For my needs, however, Foursquare is a square peg in a round hole.


I’m Taking a Pass on Foursquare

By Mark Evans in Social Media 16 Comments Tags: , , , ,

foursquare_logo_girl-300x141There’s an awful lot of excitement about Foursquare, a mobile social media service that lets you share and broadcast your location. Based on your activity, you badges and can become the mayor of a particular location (e.g. Starbucks) by visiting it more often than other Foursquare users.

After being scolded by Robert Scoble recently for not getting Foursquare, I decided to try it out. Although my test was fairly brief, it didn’t take long to realize Foursquare isn’t my cup of tea. While I can certainly see the appeal for some people, the idea of broadcasting my location doesn’t feel right. In fact, it makes me think of George Orwell’s
“1984″ as opposed to feeling that I’m on the cutting edge of social media activity.

Hey, we’re living in a world where we’re increasingly sharing more of what we do, think, see and eat but where does it end? For me, Twitter and my blogs are the tools to share things. At the same time, I like the idea of other people not exactly knowing where I’m located and what I’m doing.

Sure, you have to submit your location to Foursquare so it’s not like your mobile device is broadcast beacon. And I get that some (many?) people may like the idea of being able to tell friends where they are and what they’re doing so they can easily connect but there are other ways to do it – Twitter and Facebook.

My lack of interest in Foursquare may be off-base, and I may be overly concerned about my privacy or the amount of information that really needs to be shared with other people, but my spider-sense tingles when it comes to the service.

Is it just me or does Foursquare not resonate with other people? Am I missing something?

More: According to CNet, Foursquare is now available in many places around the world.

Will Toronto’s Race for Mayor be a Social One?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 1 Comment Tags: , , , ,

torontoYesterday, the campaign to become Toronto’s next mayor officially started – a 10-month affair that will cost major candidates at least $1.5-million.

The big question is how much of a role social media will play in a race expected to attract a number of strong candidates. With union and corporate donations recently banned, Toronto’s mayoralty hopefuls must rely on individuals for financial support – something that may prove difficult given the economic conditions and the bitterness still felt by many voters over the garbage strike last summer.

Right now, the candidate with the most social media cred seems to be Rocco Rossi, who has an active Twitter presence and a Facebook Page with 5,101 fans. Of course, Rossi used to be president of Beer.com so you’d expect him to be somewhat Web savvy.

In addition to using social media to raise campaign money, another interesting angle will be if social media can do anything to get more people to vote. Over the past few elections, turnout has been an abysmal 30% to 40% so there’s a major opportunity to leverage social media to get out the vote.

So, let’s see which candidate successfully and effectively embraces social media in the coming months, and whether it will help a long-shot such as Rossi to post a surprising victory.

Not Crushed by Vaynerchuk’s “Crush It”

By Mark Evans in Social Media, Uncategorized 10 Comments Tags: , , , ,

crush itGary Vaynerchuk has emerged as a social media superstar and, in the process, become a popular video-blogger, speaker, social media consultant and author, who snapped up a 10-book contract from Harper Collins.

Vaynerchuk’s first book – actually a novella at 142 pages – is Crush It!. While I admire Vaynerchuk’s energy and passion, Crush It! is, frankly, underwhelming.

It’s not oozing with new or compelling insight or ideas. Crush It!’s biggest shortcoming is its simplistic thesis – the Web is a huge opportunity, and that anyone who has passion, works really hard and generates lots of great content can be successful. It also helps if you spend nearly all your waking hours on the Web. If it was only that easy!

Crush It! strikes me as a pep talk/keynote as opposed to something that offers in-depth perspective or insight.

That said, Crush It! is probably aimed at the mainstream market as opposed to people already immersed in the Web and social media. In addition to the enthusiastic tone, it provides basic information about the tools and how to use them, which is helpful if you’re not particularly Web savvy but, nevertheless, interested in the Web.

Vaynerchuk has lofty ambitions (his ultimate goal is being able to purchase his beloved and playoff-bound New York Jets) so Crush It! could be a good vehicle to move him into the mainstream. For its part, Harper Collins is clearly counting on Vaynerchuk’s popularity and the fact he’s becoming a leading figure in the wine industry – a product that mainstream consumers can easily relate to – to sell a lot of books.

One final thought about Crush It! is how it’s just one of many, many social media books on the market. I’ve got at least six books on my desk from Mitch Joel, Dan Zarella, Darren Barefoot and Dharmsh Shah. Unless you’ve written a book that really does crush it, attracting readers is going to be a huge challenge.

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