Facebook to Open The Gates

This is a excellent article from CNetNews.com on May 9, 2008

“Facebook to open the gates with ‘Facebook Connect’ by Caroline McCarthy”

“Social network Facebook announced Friday the debut of Facebook Connect, a new technology for members to connect their profile data and authentication credentials to external Web sites. It makes the company the latest major Web site to embrace the concept of data portability.

The formal announcement was made through a post on Facebook’s developer blog by senior platform manager Dave Morin, who has been one of the company’s most visible evangelists in the developer community over the past year. Facebook Connect will launch within the next few weeks.” Read more about this.

Let me know what you like about this by leaving a comment.

The “CEO of You” Step by Step Part 2

What makes “You” different?

Start today you’re going to think of yourself differently! You’re not an employee, staffer, worker, or a manager. You don’t belong to any company for life, and your chief affiliation isn’t to any particular job function. You’re not defined a job title and you’re not confined by your job description.

Starting today you are a brand.

You’re every bit as much a brand as Nike, Pepsi, Ford or the local Body Shop where you live. To start thinking like your own favorite brand manager, ask yourself the same question the brand managers at Nike, Coke, Ford, or the Body Shop ask themselves: What is it that my product or service does that makes it different? Give yourself the traditional 20 words or less challenge. Take the time to write down your answer. And then take the time to read it. Ten times, and really think about it. WHAT ARE YOU DIFFERENT?

If your answer wouldn’t light up the eyes of a prospective client or command a vote of confidence from a satisfied past client, or worst of all, it doesn’t grab your attention, then you’ve got a big problem. It’s time to give some serious thought and even more serious effort to imagining and developing yourself as a brand.

Start by identifying the qualities or characteristics that make you distinctive from your competitors or your colleagues. What have you done lately, this week, to make yourself stand out in the crowd? What would your friends, colleagues or your customers say is your greatest and clearest strength? Your most worthy personal trait or what do you think creates the buzz about you.

Now commit to yourself that you will re-write it. What makes you different, unique, from the rest. This is one of the most important parts of your brand.

Your comments and back links are appreciated. Thanks for your time and make sure to come back to continue this series of blog post on the “CEO of YOU”.

Thank you for your time,

Jim Cobb – Google Me

Google Me The Movie Jim Killeen

Jim Killeen, World Premiere www.GoogleMeTheMovie.com according to Newport Beach Film Festival 2008 “Jim Killeen, an entrepreneur from Los Angeles, Googled his name one day and found other Jim Killeens online. Jim took the next step by contacting the others by email. Then he gave them a call on the phone. Finally, he decided to go around the world meeting the Jim Killeen found this through his Google search. Each Jim adds his own individual contribution to the “first” Jim’s journey as he discover the power of “Google Me”.

Google Talk Radio Interview is now available for replay at: Google Me Talk Radio

“Google Me The Movie” Record Setting Event on BlogTalkRadio”

According to: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=63844

“Computers are now a focus of our daily lives rather than an addition to the tasks we perform each day. Strictly checking our occasional emails has become a thing of the past. Bringing the computers out of the den and into the main living area of the home for researching information, watching videos and sometimes gathering advice on the many websites available through the world-wide web. GOOGLE has produced the greatest impression and has enabled web users to connect, seek, and ultimately locate each other.

GOOGLE Me The Movie, Jim Killeen, and Blog Talk Radio are merging together for a one night event on GOOGLE Me Talk Radio! Thursday night April 24th at 8pm ET. This will be an exciting evening with the host of GOOGLE Me Talk Radio, Jim Cobb host and The GOOGLE Me Man with the plan, Jim Killeen. Be sure to spend some time at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/googlemetalkradio for the entertaining evening.”

CEO of "YOU Step by Step Part 1

Now we are going to really start digging into branding “You”. So I don’t want to overwhelm you with a 30 page blog post. I would like to take you step by step through understanding more about branding and most of all BRANDING YOU.

Fortune 500 Companies understand the importance of brands. Today, with the emergence of the Google Me Revolution of the Individual, you have now branding “YOU”. Here’s what it takes to be the CEO of “YOU”.

Except is…your mind is branded in today’s world.

That cross-trainer you’re wearing, one look at the distinctive swoosh on the side tells everyone you got branded. That cardboard coffee cup you’re carrying, yea, you’re a Starbucks Venti Caffe’ Americano! Your Tee shirt has a distinctive Champion “C” on the sleeve, the blue jeans you are wearing with the prominent Levi’s rivets, the watch with the Rolex icon on the face and back cover, your laptop computer with the Apple on the on the outer case cover, and when you open what do you see…… the Branding. I could spend the next month doing post to www.askjimcobb.blogspot.com every minute, hour, and day and still not reach all of the “Branding Triggers” that are deeply embedded into your branded mind.

You’re branded, you have been branded, and your mind is branded. Now….

It’s time for us to take a lesson from the big brands, a lesson that’s true for anyone who’s interested in what it takes to stand out and prosper in the new world of “Branding YOU”.

Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of YOU: To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called YOU.

It’s very simple, think about it – - let take a look at your mind branding triggers.

Smell – - A very evocative sense in our memories. Everything has a smell and the mention of that sense in connection with a memory almost always makes connections. Think about when you drive by a bakery or even when you were a child and waking up in the morning and the smell of breakfast coming from the kitchen. How did that make you feel.

Sound – Helps form the background of all the important places where we live and work. Invoking these sounds in the branding process can greatly enhance the minds ability to mentally create an experience using sounds.

Taste - – This one is the easiest. Is much like sound and smell. Now branding the experience of tasting it, the smell of the bacon frying in the kitchen or even the sound of it frying.

Touch – - A full body experience. Beyond the apparent uses of touch you can use the more subtle uses, like when your mother picked you up from sleep or your first hint that the hot water in the shower was running out just as your hair was filled with shampoo.

Sight - – Now this is the powerful one…this one everyone remembers. Look how Television, Radio, Print advertising uses your sight to brand your mind.

Senses can be great fun to use in branding. Experiment with using one or all the senses in branding YOU. Really think about it. Visualize it, now put it to paper.

Now I want to stop so you can focus on this. Really trigger your minds triggers. The more clearly the reader, prospect, customer, client, and person can see where you are, when you are, and who you are within YOU branding, the more clearly they can identified YOU. Now you will create a “Mind Trigger” of YOU.

Your comments and back links are appreciated. Thanks for your time and make sure to come back to continue this series of blog post on the “CEO or YOU”.

Thank you for your time.

Jim Cobb – Google Me

Why Pay it Forward in Todays Business World…

If you don’t give, you most likely will not get very much in return. I know that this is a harsh statement. However, you really have to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself this question. Do I give and pay it forward?

In today’s business world you have to give in order to receive. The more you give the more you will receive. I always present paying it forward in this way. “Give ninety percent of the time and you will receive ten percent back.” So look at it this way. Would you be happy with one million dollars? Of course you would. But what if you take ninety percent of it and just gave it away. At this point you probably think I am a little crazy. But what I am trying to do is open your mind to “Paying it Forward.” Just think of what or who you gave the ninety percent to. How would it help someone else’s life or lives.

See “Paying it Forward” as not about you, but about helping someone else. Not expecting something in return. If you expect a return, then don’t do it. But if you do it with kindness and no expectations then what happens is you will cause a phenomenon to happen and the law of attraction will turn on and things will start to happen in your life.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This is what we know as the golden rule. In today’s society, it seems to have been altered just a tad – “Do unto other’s before they do unto you.” Albeit a negative connotation, it can be turned one hundred eighty degrees into a positive thought and gesture. The movie Pay It Forward does just that. This movie tells the story of a social studies teacher who gives an assignment to his junior high school class to think of an idea to change the world for the better, and then put it into action.

Now it is time for you to put it into action. What can you do to make a change and make something better?

Today I woke up filled with emotion that really inspired me to do something for others. I have been in the business world for over 30 years and have always given back to others. But when I woke up my mind was filled with stepping my “Pay it Forward” up. I wanted to help more people with success in there off line and online business. Now here is what I have done.

I’ve have created “Friends Pay it Forward” Community. The premise of this program is the idea of repaying a gifts or kindness, not back to the person who gave it, but forward to someone else (or to many someone else’s), and to keep the idea going by asking them to do the same thing.

How does this work? See Friends always “Pay it Forward” and in most friendships, giving is a way of life. I wanted to give free business information, gifts, tips, tools, and help people help others with success. So I started www.FriendsPayItForward.com a website where this is absolutely no cost to be a member. I like to refer to it as a “Friends Pay it Forward Community and all we ask you to do is “Pay It Forward”.

I will provide everything through emails and newsletters to the membership. As the community grows, so will the website. The first step is starting a list of people who really care and share. Then the evolution of the website will begin. One Step, One Person, One Friendship at a time and then “Pay it Forward”.

You are invited to become a part of the evolution of www.FriendsPayItForward.com . I thank you for your time and welcome any comments to my blog post. You are also invited to listen or call in to my Radio Show “Google Me Talk Radio” every Saturday at 3:00pm eastern US time zone. Go to: www.GoogleMeTalkRadio.com.

Remember to Pay It Forward,

Have a Great Day…

Jim Cobb – Google Me

Using Branding to Grow You an Your Business

As an independent professional, and a self employed online small business owner one of the most challenging tasks is marketing “YOU”. You know how to do what it is you do really well, you know you can offer value to people, you just don’t know how to locate people (prospects) and convince them to use your services or products (become customers).

One of the most powerful techniques in marketing is to open your mind to ideal client and brainstorm how they would find your business. This helps you to refine who exactly your target market are and what would be the best marketing methods to communicate your message to them.

I bet right now if you used this technique on your business one of the first things you would think of is the yellow pages. Most people automatically go to the yellow pages because that’s how people find businesses. Coaches, Realtors, plumbers, Mortgage Brokers, financial advisor’s, consultants and any needs can be met by your fingers do the walking on your computer key board.

The Internet Google Me Search Revolution

The Internet is fundamentally changing how people find things. The physical Yellow Pages, the big yellow book, is becoming superseded by the Google me web search. People use websites like Google, Yahoo! and Ask Search to find answers, buy products, and locate professional service providers. Not to be left behind, the Yellow Pages have reacted to the shift and have worked hard to make a web version of their directory available. It’s quite clear that the future is online and you can’t risk being left behind.

Thankfully it’s early days and most small business are reacting slowly or badly, either not bothering to have a web presence at all or not thinking things through. It’s very common for a small business to slap a poorly conceived website online, hoping that somehow people will find it and become new clients. The fact is that one out of ten business on line do nothing with there website and use it for a business card. To be frank if you are not actively changing your website and improving it then all you have is a business card. Today is an opportunity for individuals that take their time and use smart tactics to create a purposeful website focusing on a specific niche.

I would hazard a claim that for many small businesses, including yours, the web could become the only marketing tool needed to acquire more clients than ever before “ more clients than you can handle on your own. Just think about this. 70% of everyone who sees and advertisement on TV, Radio or in print search the internet first before making any kind of a decision to make a purchase or use a service

Why am I so confident? Because right now I use the web to generate all my business and I know of many others that do the same. For example, take a look at my friend an new and up coming Attorney. He uses the Internet to get nearly 100% of his new clients. He focuses on the Columbus, Ohio marketplace and faces almost no online competition. Hence whenever anyone searches for a Columbus Ohio Attorney or Lawyer his website is in the first page of search results. I could tell you a similar story about a realtor’s and a mortgage broker that both dominate a geographic demographic and face little competition online.

It’s Not Too Late to Branding “You” Online Marketing

There is no good excuse for not initiating some form of branding “YOU” online marketing. Even simply having a website listing your contact details is a start and should be leveraged using other marketing methods, such as including your name on business cards, letter heads and brochures followed up with Google Me (example Jim Cobb – Google Me}. The real power comes when you use the worldwide web as a marketing process to help generate a constant stream of eager clients just dying to purchase from you. While this is not a straight forward process the principles behind it are quite easy to follow and merely draw from the skills you already have.

The important thing to understand is that right now is the best time to start building an online marketing system using Google Me. Many online markets are not crowded and it is easy to find a niche you can dominate. I guarantee there are people out there searching the web for “YOU” and what you offer.

The Internet rewards people who maintain a web presence for a long time with regular updates. This means that over time as competitors come into your marketplace you can remain the leader because you have first mover advantage. You established your website first and enjoy the constant flow of traffic that comes from having a long standing Google Me web presence.

Just try it…You will not be sorry…

Jim Cobb – Google Me

Jim Cobb – Are you a Internet Marketers or Real Branded Idea Marketer

In my travels across this World Wide Web, I have come up with another, maybe more explanatory name for Internet Marketers. The Real Branded Idea Marketer is a much more fitting term for the brilliance that comes out of Internet Marketers.

Creation, artistry, and illusion are but a few of the wonders and mystique that surround this fascinating occupation. These listed and the powerful personalities that reflect this awesome fireworks display are the reason for the draw, the curiosity, and the excitement.

Sometimes in my work, I get very amused. Don’t you enjoy watching an interesting situation being played out right in plain view, when the players have forgotten that people see what they are doing? They get so busy maybe that they forget they could be witnessed acting silly, working hard, or trying to keep things secret.

Generally speaking, life on the Internet is sometimes silly, almost always working hard, and try as some may, and nothing is ever a secret for long.

The whole premise of The Real Branded Internet Marketers is to reach out to new and interesting people, see places we can’t get to readily, and to create wonderful, explosive artwork, sites, and ideas. But certainly, not to remain hidden, especially from the team you have developed and have in the palm of your hand.

Internet Marketers by definition are on the Internet, and usually for many hours a day. It can, at times, seem that you work alone. That it is just you in a room with your machine, the personal computer. With every keystroke, website, and photo we post, upload, or submit into the vast reaches of Internet space, those with a pc of their own, then know what you are doing, when you are doing it, and generally have a guess as to how many hours a day you spend doing it.

Underestimation of your peers in any business situation is more than likely an internet marketer choice not a “Real Branded Idea Internet Marketer”. Get involved with your online friends and business partners. Let them know what you are doing, when it is working for you, and share something as you go. Leaving your friends in the dark will only darken your friendships. This is the biggest and most powerful business that by actually helping your team, business partners, and friends with your knowledge will actually end up benefiting you as well.

The days of telling half instructions and leaving out some critical details, non or partial training are over. The quick change of the Internet also means the quick changes in strategy, marketing or otherwise, and without keeping your team, business partners, how about let’s refer to them as what they are, friends informed and on top of their game.

The bottom line here is. If you are not paying it forward then you are not a team you are one. Being one, one person, without a team in today’s internet marketing world will most likely lead you toward a fatal ending in your business.

For the “Real Branded Idea Marketer’s” out there my hat is off to you and your teams. You are paying it forward and seeing results.

If you pay it forward it will come back to you ten times. If you cannot keep your honor and integrity in what you do, then you really need to take a look at who you are and what you are all about.

I want to leave you with these final words…

“Dedicate yourself to your team and they each will be dedicated to you forever. This my Friends is a “Real Branded Idea Marketer”

As always feel free to leave a comments and link back to this post.

Thank you for letting me share,

Google Me Regards,

Jim Cobb – Google Me

What is Your Personal Branding Equity?

In today online business world you have to think about your branding equity. Wikipedia defines “Brand Equity as: to the marketing effects or outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. And, at the root of these marketing effects is consumers’ knowledge. In other words, consumers’ knowledge about a brand makes consumers respond differently to the marketing of the brand. The study of brand equity is increasingly popular as some marketing researchers have concluded that brands are one of the most valuable assets that a company has.”

You can look all over the internet and what do you find? Well the obvious branding that is going on in today’s internet business world is the business. Just search Google and use the terms work from home, what do you find?

First you will find in the Google “Sponsored Links” people, online business and companies are paying for the keyword “work from home” and estimated average cost per click (CPC) of $2.78 per click. Now let’s take a look at some other relevant keywords CPC averages associated with the keyword “work from home”:

work from home programs $3.84
legitimate work from home opportunities $3.69
work from home business opportunity $3.65
work from home opportunity $3.58
work from home opportunities $3.42
work from home business $3.36

Now these average CPC’s don’t necessarily means that this is the cost of getting you on top of the search terms. These are averages, I have seen some search terms in the online business world be as high as $5.00 to $15.00 CPC. See what I am trying to point out is personal branding is actually a brand with a higher brand value. So stand up and look in the mirror what is the greatest brand in the world?……..YOU. So why pay for it?

Why should you branding yourself?

If you don’t brand yourself, you can rest assured that others will brand you. Does letting others brand you make any since at all. Instead, you should have control, as much as you can, in determining your reputation, our image, and the intangibles, the ephemerals, and the perceptions and ideas that other people have about you. Showcasing you is what is branding is all about for the small business person. After all, your branding equity is most important to YOU and your business.

Here are some personal branding suggestions:

Make yourself differentiate from others in similar fields
Paint a picture of yourself clearly in the minds of others
Focus your values, benefits, and your mission
Project credibility and vision
Build loyalty with your branding
Be emotional, and make an intuitive connection
Showcase you

Personal branding is not about self-promotion and marketing tactics at all. Promotion and marketing is a short-term endeavor which produces a short-term result. Branding yourself is more fundamental than that. Branding yourself comes first. Branding is what your identity is built on. The main outcome of personal branding should be a clear, deep, and provide the consumer the understanding of who you are and what you stand for, and what you want to be known for. It is not enough to be known for what you do. You must be different and attract loyalty. You do not merely want to be known as another business to choose from in a category. You want people to believe that you are the solution, perhaps the only answer to their problem. For example, there are plenty of people in the automotive sales business. It’s a huge category. But I have been work with the same automotive dealer for years. And although there may be better deals and offer from other dealers, more conveniently located, cheaper service, my automotive dealer is the only person I will go to. I trust his “brand.” not the manufacture. And when it comes to the category of purchasing a vehicle, this dealer brand promise of “trust” is everything.

The bottom line is TRUST. If you are trustworthy and deliver integrity, then loyalty will always be with you forever. So be loyal to yourself and you will be loyal to your brand and this my friends, will provide for your personal brand equity asset.

I thank you for your time and welcome your comments. Keep watching for the next blog post and feel free to Google Me – Jim Cobb or visit www.askjimcobb.com to view my personal branding.

The Benefits of Branding You

What are the value and benefits of branding and networking? The bottom line it all comes down to this….”You are important and it is you who people want to know first before the company” But too often, you sort yourself. You talk to people, pick up a tidbit or two and then move on, never to contact them again.

That approach is not only somewhat unprofessional, but it also fails to capitalize on the whole branding concept. You’ve given yourself only one brief chance to be remembered by the people you’ve spoken to. Instead, why not say “Google Me Today” and contact them several times over the course of many months? And while you’re at it, why not do something to help them as much as they have helped you? In other words, Google Me Today is positively and memorably. How can you brand yourself among your networking contacts and create a mutually beneficial relationship at the same time? You can use the following strategies:

Do Not Forget….Keep in Touch

Ask them first. I can assure you the almost everyone will say, “Yes,” because they want to help you and know you might be able to return the favor someday. So after you’ve spoken to someone, send a quick thank you note and let then know you will keep in touch. Then, do it. Follow up every month or six weeks with a quick email or phone call. Keep them up to date, and then ask how things are going. At the end of every email or conversation don’t leave out “Have You Google Me Today”.

Pay It Forward…Help

You might think you have nothing to offer your networking contacts, but that’s not the case. We all know people who might be able to help others. Furthermore, we all stumble upon information that might be useful to others. For example, if you see a newspaper article or receive an email that one of your networking contacts would find interesting, forward it along (Pay it Forward). You provide help in return for having received it, plus you once again brand yourself favorably in the person’s mind. I promise they will not forget who you are and what you are all about. Remember, you give and you will get.

Tell Your Contacts “Thanks You”

Thank them again for their help, and offer them your help if they should ever need it. This strategy is not only a touch of class on your part, but also gives you another opportunity to brand yourself in the minds of your new contacts.
Branding yourself and networking takes a little time, it is also a long-term strategy, and branding yourself using networking generally takes a little effort and patience. But you’ll set yourself up very nicely, not just for short-term payoffs, but also for long-term success and stability. Not unlike a certain fast food chain whose golden arches have helped produce customers and profits for many years.

So take action today and commit to branding yourself.

Jim Cobb – Google Me

Focus On Your Branding “Develop your YOU Brand – Part One”

There are three parts you need to focus on when assembling your personal strategy. Let take a look at part one “Develop your YOU Brand”:

During the development of “YOU Brand” you need to ask yourself these basic questions.

What are my values?
What do I love?
What do I dislike?
What do I love to do?
What am I really proud of?
Who would I like to be ?
What is important and valuable to me?
What do I want to be known for?
Who are my mentors?

Yes these are very basic questions. However, sometimes these are the most difficult to answer. You must answer these questions and be true to yourself and your honesty will really show in your brand.

Once you have created your brand, it will serve as the basis for everything that connects people to you and your brand, logically, spiritually and emotionally. Brand is soul deep. Your image is very important, of course, but an image is just a reflection of your brand and your personal core values. Remember: the idea of branding yourself goes far beyond promotion and marketing yourself to others. The bottom line is it come down to YOU.

“The core of branding, beyond telling truth, is to be true to yourself.” as said by Dr. Seamus Phan says in his book, DotZen. This is the most important part of your development stage of your YOU branding. This is where you determine who you are, what you are all about and what you stand for. So look at yourself in a mirror and really take a hard look at yourself, what do you see? This requires a lot of reflection and deep inter thinking about you. But this does not have to be done entirely by you.

Validate yourself. Go to your close friends and ask the how they perceive you. Make sure to ask more than one friend to do this. Then compare this with how you look at yourself. You may find that your friends have very good insights into your character, traits and attributes that you may not have noticed before. Some of the time we are blinded to our own personality characteristics and flaws. We always think we have flaws and we really a false perception of who we are. We may need help from our friends occasionally in our attempts to validate ourselves.

The foundation of a good brand is authenticity, consistency, and clarity. This holds true for your personal brand as well. Use these three parts when building your foundation as your guide when taking a look at your brand. By really taking a look inside yourself during this process and working hard to define who you are, what you stand for, and your brand message will become clear. It will be clear to others because it is clear to you. A clear message is a message people can trust, honor, and will show your integrity. Personal branding can evolve overtime, but will remain essentially consistent to your core foundation.