Lori Ruff and I have been a part of CouchSurfing.org now for almost a year. In the last 6 months we have ramped up to the point where we had three individual Couchsurfing visitors at ONE time this week.

Couchsurfing.org has a process to certify individuals in the program and it costs a nominal amount to get setup in the system. Check it out!

If you’ve seen the movies “The Big Chill” or “The Breakfast Club”, you know how strangers are not strangers for very long when couped-up with one another. Such is the case here.

You never know who you might have request to “crash at your pad” or where you might stay. Here’s who we’ve met: a Guatemalan diplomat, a German filmmaker, a family from Poland, a National Geographic scale photographer, global travelers, an IT manager, those in town for the Widespread Panic concert, those considering a move to Colorado (a good idea).

It is a bit like a Grateful Dead concert where you don’t actually go in to the show – you just explore “The Village” outside for hours and hours, meeting people every few yards. Lori Ruff and I did just that in 2009. It is a highlight of the concert year for both of us. You meet the darndest people and some you would just NEVER expect (i.e., a high school football coach).

I felt this was such an interesting and powerful series of experiences that I actually put it on my LinkedIn Profile as a current position – Couchsurfing Host & Guest at IA Social Media. A quick LinkedIn search on the Boolean search term “Couchsurfer OR Couchsurfing” yielded over 800 hits just now!

See Mike O’Neil’s LinkedIn Profile with Couchsurfing listed: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoneil

Want to see the AMAZING work of our German Filmmaker friend Chris Dahm ( @crisdahm ) before he completes his documentary-style footage of Lori and I?

.

At Integrated Alliances HQ                                With Lori                                        With Mike

See Cris’ Video Diary as he travels the world – WOW!

www.youtube.com/user/crisdahm or  www.crisdahm.com

One last thing before I leave you today…

We just finished up our second Rock The World Social Media book, Rock The World with Social Media. It’s “The Ultimate Social Media Guide for LinkedIn Users”.

Find out more and pre-order at www.RockTheWorld2.com. $21.95 gets you a Signed First Edition copy.

In my opinion the purpose of an effective website is to convey the information of interest to a specific target market in such a way that the information is easy to read and easy to find on the site.

Thus I was surprised when a cousin of mine, building a website for an upcoming family reunion, emailed me: “I’m building content for it but I want someone to really jazz it up.”

I replied: “Websites should NOT be jazzy — they should be easy to read. NO reverse type except in headlines. And they should be easy to navigate.”

What has happened in recent years for websites is a sea change in what’s considered effective design for engaging a targeted audience.

Now the truth is that, 10 years ago when I worked for a website design company, we spent considerable time on usability factors (including navigation) based on the recommendations of Jakob Nielsen. (See his site at www.useit.com/)

Somehow in the intervening years website design seems to have gotten consumed under the competitive rush to have the best Flash animation on a site regardless of how that Flash animation might interfere with a website user’s experience on the site.

I am assuming that my cousin is personally responding to sites that he likes with “jazzy” features that are most likely Flash animation. But what he should be asking himself is: “What are the most important elements to engage our relatives – some of whom are in their late ‘80s or early ‘90s?”

Fortunately or unfortunately, in our current Internet age we tend to pass judgment on a website usually within a few seconds. Those few seconds of an impression of a website can drastically reflect on the impression of the business being promoted on that website.

My business partner Yael K. Miller and I frequently speak with small business owners who have sites built several years ago. If you go to one of these sites, it is often the same as if you are looking at a fashion designer wearing out-of-fashion clothing. You wonder how “with it” the designer’s business could be based on how the designer himself/herself looks.

In a weak economy, it is even more important to put your best foot forward to attract more clients or customers for your business. As Yael told someone, “Every day that a business still has its old website is another day of potentially losing customers.”

To attract more prospective clients or customers, make sure your website is up-to-date with few if any “jazzy” elements while including many user-friendly and search-engine friendly elements.

Miller Mosaic Power Marketing provides a written review of what older websites are missing in order to be up-to-date in attracting more business. Check out our website review package now.

© 2010 Miller Mosaic, LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the co-founder of the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing, which coaches clients on how to effectively use social media to attract more business.

‘Outside-The-Box Technology, Internet and Startup Pioneer’, Jeff Hoffman will share his wealth of experience with the Colorado Technology and Entrepreneurial Business community on innovation, successful execution, proven techniques for raising capital and more at three events hosted by Startup Guru,

Jeff Hoffman is an accomplished entrepreneur and innovator in the fields of Internet, e-commerce, and media/entertainment. He has been a featured business expert on CNN, NBC, FOX News, Inc., and the Wall Street Journal.  Perhaps best known as a former managing partner and a CEO in the Priceline.com family of companies. Hear a interview with Jeff at: www.W3W3.com

Details on the upcoming events to see Jeff:

Wednesday, May 12, Rocky Ventures Club, Colorado Capital Conference keynote speaker: “The Science and Technology of Innovation”

(Please stop by Startup Guru’s booth in the afternoon to meet Jeff Hoffman)

Wednesday, May 12^th, 6:00pm-8:30pm, Startup and Founder Meet Up

A Free ‘Meet Up’ hosted by StartupGuru

Thursday, May 13^th, 8:00am-12pm, Workshop: ‘From Idea to Execution” in Boulder

Thursday, May 13^th, 1:30pm-5:30pm, Hands-On Mentoring, “Proven Techniques for Raising Capital” Startup Guru Office, Boulder,

Details for both events at www.JeffHoffman.EventBrite.com

Inquires welcome: Contact Jewels Marshon at 720-327-9681 or Jewels@StartupGuru.com

I’ll admit that, no matter how careful we are, there will be mistakes that will slip onto our websites.

Personally, although years and years ago I taught copyediting courses at Temple University in Center City Philadelphia, I’m sure there are a few errors on this website that have gotten past my copyediting. (Plus there are two major schools of thought on commas — and I belong to the less is more school.)

But I try very hard to have accurate copy because I know that typos and other errors can reflect badly on my brand.

WHY DOESN’T EVERYONE WHO HAS A WEBSITE GET THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS?

If you’re not good at spotting errors, or if you know that your English could be improved, hire a copyeditor. The money you invest in your professional image is well worth it.

And this brings me to my second point about what your website says about you:

Does your website say that you care how easy it is for a first-time visitor to navigate your site? Or does your website say that you don’t care?

In other words, have you taken the time to look at your website through the eyes of a person arriving on your site for the first time?

If you had done this, would you really put the login button in very tiny pink type against a black background? (Yes, I just had to hunt all over a home page of such a site to find the login button. Imagine how pleased I was to FINALLY discover the tiny pink button.)

Of course on your own site you know where the login button is. It’s your site!

But why spend time and money on SEO and links and guest blogging and article marketing and everything else if you’re going to lose people’s attention because you haven’t provided a well-thought-out user experience?

I know that most people reading this post who have a website will say to themselves: “It’s not my site she’s talking about. My site is very easy to navigate.”

And I challenge you to go to your home page and truly look at every element:

• Do you have so many navigation choices that a visitor is overwhelmed and can’t figure out what to do so she/he leaves your site?

• Do you have a main headline that has very little to do with what is on offer on your site? (And if you have WELCOME in gigantic letters you’re really wasting prime home page real estate.)

• Do you have a membership site where the login button is very hard to find? (Sure, after the first time or two people might remember where it is — even if it is in tiny pink lettering against a black background. But do you really want to frustrate people when they are deciding whether they want to commit to being active on your site?)

Bottom line? Try to look at every element on your home page through the eyes of a first-time visitor. Then objectively evaluate whether you have made this experience a pleasant one or a frustrating one. The power is in your hands to tip the balance one way or the other.

I hope you choose making the experience a pleasant one. And if you want help identifying elements on your website that could be improved, check out the Miller Mosaic website review. It’s a great way to kick start improving your website’s user experience.

(c) 2010 Miller Mosaic, LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is co-founder of the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic Power Marketing. Get her FREE report “How to Monetize Your Site/Blog Without Ads” at http://www.millermosaicllc.com/monetize-your-site

Our Old Chicago Rock Band night location in Denver is done for a while and we are seeking a new location in or near downtown. Perhaps The Blake St. Tavern. Looking for ideas, open to all nights.

See some of our rock band action on video at Rock the World Facebook Fan Page

For TiE-Rockies’ Members, this is a FREE event. If you’re not a member, it is just $25 and you can pay at the door.

DATE: Tuesday, April 6, 2010, 2-4 pm.

Become a Rock Star on LinkedIn!
Repeat Event—Back by Popular Demand

Mike O’Neil and Lori Ruff, nationally renowned LinkedIn Rock Stars, will share inside guidance on how to extract the very most out of LinkedIn and avoid making costly mistakes along the way. LinkedIn is increasinging recognized as THE tool for business professionals and this event will help you get a real handle on it. This is a FREE event for TiE-Rockies members. $25 for non-members. Pay at the door. Register early – Space is very limited.

Get ready for an afternoon of high energy that, at times, resembles a classic rock concert.

Location:

Sales Productivity Consultants
2727 Bryant Street, Suite 230*
Denver, CO  80211
Phone 303-568-1500

Just West of I-25 near Speer Boulevard–this new facility for our trainings is larger with a more central location.
Parking is available in the main lot and on the street.

Please RSVP to me at RH@RaymondHutchins.com.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Seating for 25 people.

Best regards,

Raymond Hutchins
Chair, TiE-Rockies Mentoring Committee

Why is promoting your Twitter presence outside of Twitter so important for effective online positioning of your brand, book or business?

Because as Twitter, in my opinion, is the easiest social media platform (of the current most popular platforms) on which to create relationships, you should be maximizing the number of people who check out your Twitter presence because of the link you provide.

If someone clicks on your Twitter link and likes what he/she sees, that person can instantly follow you without waiting for you to agree to be friends as on Facebook or connections as on LinkedIn. This is a powerful potential relationship formation strategy with no barriers to entry.

If you understand using the power of Twitter to connect with your target audiences, then thinking of relevant online places to leave your Twitter username/link should be an important element of your online marketing strategy.

Wherever you are interacting online, if appropriate promote your Twitter presence by including your Twitter username/link. And when you see someone else’s Twitter username/link on a blog comment or a website/blog, click on that link to check whether this is someone on Twitter you’d like to follow.

Here’s a “cheat sheet” to help you include your Twitter username in places outside Twitter:

Your email signature:

Do you include your Twitter username on your email signature? Options include a Twitter image that can be clicked through to your account or the URL link in your signature block.

Blog comments:

When you leave a comment on a blog, do you put your Twitter username at the end of your comment?

Blog posts:

Whether you are writing a post on your own blog or a guest blog post, do you include your Twitter username at the end of the post?

Your website/blog:

Of course your Twitter link should be prominent on any website or blog that is yours. Do NOT put the link at the very bottom of a long page. Put the link “above the fold” and on every page.

FYI — Here is the link to get official Twitter buttons — http://twitter.com/goodies/buttons Note that you must be signed into your Twitter account to access these.

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn has recently put a separate field on the profile page for a person’s Twitter username/link. Have you updated your LinkedIn account to take advantage of this new opportunity?

(c) 2010 Miller Mosaic, LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is co-founder of www.MillerMosaicPowerMarketing.com. Her new FREE report is “Twitter, Facebook and Your Website: A Beginning Blueprint for Harnessing the Power of 3 for Your Business” – download the report now from www.millermosaicpowerof3.com

OK, so most people will not be in the same situation I am in I admit.  It is an intersting story either way.  About a year ago, LinkedIn did a REALLY WEIRD thing. They capped the size of one’s LinkedIn network at 30,000. Now, that is a lot I admit.  It affected about 10 us us super networkers immediately and it is affecting another 20-30 of us here in 2010.

Now, I have a lot of people in my that I don’t know and THAT IS GOOD. They bring in prospects, new relationships, make my searches much more meaningful. More on the ‘Open Networking” element that makes our phone ring with business from NEW customers in another post.

At 27,900 connections and growing by 20-30 a day, I have to do something and relatively quick. I have to eliminate people of little or no value to me so there is room for people that have greater business value. How does one do that?

1. Eliminate people with fake profiles, people that don’t exist, spammers in many cases.
2. Eliminate people that cheat the system
3. Eliminate people that are not using LinkedIn, inactive users

I have developed some strategies in each of these areas and I will report back how it is working so you can see the thought process of a LinkedIn Rock Star, in this case, THE LinkedIn Rock Star (myself).  See My Profile.

Side note…

LinkedIn capped the number of groups you can be a member of as well about 2 years ago. In that case it hit a lot of people REALLY HARD. That cap was 50 for primary groups and 50 for subgroups. This did affect each and every one of us. If there were just 500 groups and you got to choose 50, no problem. Make that 500,000 and you get to choose 50 and you get the idea how DEAD WRIONG they were for doing that. More on this in another post.

I have had tremendous success networking at rock concerts recently, especially classic rock concerts – REO Speedwagon, STYX, .38 Special, Poison, Def Leppard, The Dead (Grateful Dead circa 2009), John Mellencamp, Counting Crows, The Police, etc. Best concert ever for networking – Australian Pink Floyd at the Paramount Theater!

Look around the audience and you see “your peers” all around you. They are Tweeting and they are LinkedIn and Facebook users as well.  These folks are having a great time and they love to meet people that share their same interests.  In this case, it is their interest for music and it is EXACTLY the same musical taste as YOU.  How powerful is that?

So, here are some tips for making the most of it:

1. Wear a concert T-Shirt to a concert. I suggest one that is from an artist of the same genre.  I recently wore a Pink Floyd shirt at a Counting Crows concert. A Tie Dye is a must for a Dead show of course.

2. Bring your camera phone and take pictures at the show.  Ask others around you to take pictures with you in them.  Best part – offer to e-mail the pictures to them.  Of course, you will need a business card from them or at least an e-mail address and that is where the networking starts.

3. Get good seats down front. People in decision-making roles do not sit in the back.

Andera sports a Rock the World T-shirt in Rocktail attire!

View the party photo gallery at http://www.DenverHolidayParty.com and check out the band pics here. What a rocking night!

Dress was Cocktail or Rocktail and Winner for best dressed in rocktail attire goes to Andrea Hoffman of Jobing.com!

Check out all the pics and pencil in an early 2010 December date for our party on your calendar now!

Watch the blog for events all around the country as Mike and Lori start the book tour. We’ll rock your town too! All our conferences and events can be found at http://www.integratedalliances.com/conferences.