I found a few ways to do it and here I have listed them for you.

Option 1. Using Instatray.

This service offers a 3-day free trial. It's $29/month after that. Yeah, I think the pricing is crazy. I mean c'mon guys, $30.00 per month to chat on Instagram? Give me a break. But it may be worth it to you if you have hundreds of direct messages coming in. You can get access to Instatray here.

Sign up,  and after you confirm your email address, you'll need to enter your username and password for Instagram.

When you submit this information, you'll see an error that says "checkpoint required."

This checkpoint alert means that Instagram will check with you via the mobile app to make sure it was you trying to access your account. You'll need to go to your mobile device and authorize this.

After you authorize the access from the mobile app, go back to Instatray and try the authentication again. This time it should work, and you will now have an inbox where you can send messages from and receive messages. From here on now, it works pretty much as you would expect.

The downsides?

• There seems to be a slight delay on the incoming messages; it's minimal, but if you're going back and forth quickly with somebody, you might end up  "talking over" the other person.
• You can't seem to be able to click on the icon or profile of the person you're chatting with to look at their IG profile directly.

Instatray is so far, the only reliable method I found, without having to mess around with installing programs or modifying stuff on my computer.

In Quora and a couple of other places, you'll find some guy posting about an Instagram chat enabler. But I checked it out, and it seems sketchy. It's not an app, and it's only available for download as a zip file (for Windows only) from a weird file-sharing website. I recommend you don't use that.

Option 2. Using Bluestacks Player

Bluestacks is an Android device emulator; that means it's a program that makes it seem like you have an Android device on your computer. It works for Windows, and they have recently added a version for OSX.

The reason I said the previous method (using Instatray) was the only reliable method is because installing, configuring and using Bluestacks may be a bit too technical for some people. Nonetheless, it works fine if you roll up your sleeves a little bit and get it all setup.

If you want to give it a try, read on!

You'll need to install Bluestacks on your computer, Bluestacks installs just like another app. Just pick the right version for Windows or Mac.

After you install it, an emulated device will start up. You can then search for the Instagram app as if you were using an Android device. Type in Instagram in the search, then click on "search Play for Instagram."

This action will prompt a "one-time setup" screen to connect your Gmail account and to connect to the Google App store. Click continue to Enable the AppStore the Google play store.

Then you'll be prompted to use an existing account or to create a new one. If you have a Gmail account you want to use to access the Google Play store, use that. Else you can create one.

Most people have a Gmail account, so we'll go with that option and click on Existing. Remember, this is just for the Android device simulator, not for Instagram.

You'll be prompted to sign in to the Gmail/Google account.

If you're familiar with Android devices, the next option should be easy. If you're not sure what to do when you're prompted about "Backup & Restore" maybe you should leave it unchecked.

In my case, I left the Backup and Restore option checked because that way I should be able to restore all my apps into this simulator and have a full Android environment available for me if I use it somewhere else.

This part completes the AppStore enable function and the second part of the one-time setup is to allow App Sync. I want it enabled so I clicked on Continue.

This will prompt another authentication with Google services based on the account you put in earlier.

It may seem like you can't log in at this point because your password could be rejected a few times (even if you are sure it's correct).

Then Gmail may prompt you to send an alert to your existing Android device to authorize this. Of course, you'll need to allow that to happen. Then you'll need to enter the password again, and things should continue as planned.

Then enter the password again, and find out it will take a lifetime to complete the next step.

After all that is set up, you can then search for Instagram again and install it. Don't be weirded out that the Instagram title is cut off or anything; Bluestacks is an emulator, and it probably won't be perfect all the time.

Yes, all this just to be able to send direct messages on Instagram from my computer.

The usual permissions pop-up will come up. Sign away your life, accept that the NSA may be looking at, hearing you and pretty much spying on everything you do by using this app, then click on Accept.

For a brief moment, you'll see the app downloading and installing, and then the Open button will become available; click it. Dammit, click it!

Then marvel as your room fills with heavenly light and sound because you can use Instagram "natively" from your desktop.

Yes, that's Instagram in a window, in Bluestacks in my OSX desktop.

Click on Login with Facebook, or at the bottom to use your username and password; then proceed to login to Instagram. On. Your. Desktop.

The result should be both fascinating, and intriguing, but nonetheless functional and you should have the ability to send direct messages from your desktop.

If you go to try to message somebody on Instagram and the app just sends you back to the homepage in Instagram, you need to go into the Bluestacks settings and change the settings to simulate a tablet.

After you change the settings to reflect Tablet, then you'll be able to send direct messages to other Instagram users from the computer.

The display may be a little wider than you expect but typing with all your fingers on your full-sized keyboard beats typing with just two thumbs in a screen that's only 3 inches wide if you ask me.

Conclusion

As an honorable mention, there is also the Pushbullet app which allows for your mobile notifications to show up in your browser so at least you can tell when someone sent you a DM on Instagram. Maybe that's all you need.

I wish that Instagram would just give us direct messaging options from the web version. If they did that then we wouldn't have to jump through all these hoops just to be able to message our friends and contact each other.

Seriously, Instagram? #WTF.

But in any case, these two options worked fine for me. Feel free to give them a try if you want and let me know how they worked out for you.

The post Instagram – How to Send and Receive Direct Messages from Your Computer. appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

The InstaWealth Growth System is part of the Wolfmillionaire offering, and as a matter of disclosure, I did not get paid or compensated to do this review in any way. As with all my reviews, these are my thoughts and opinions on this product. You can find the course at Wolfmillionaire.com

The first chapter didn't do a whole lot for me. I've been using Instagram for a while, and I know the ins and outs of the app, settings and all that stuff.

There were a few tips I picked up along the way but nothing earth-shattering yet. You may find that this is the case for you if you're also experienced with Instagram already. However, this is a comprehensive course so it makes sense that Chapter 1 would be a complete overview of all the basics of setting up your Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BS37gSSheLJ/

Based on this approach, if you're new to Instagram or are ready to dive in seriously, I highly recommend you go through this and take notes.

If you're completely new to Instagram, I would suggest you complete all 12 modules before you do anything on Instagram because some of the modules later in the chapter connect back to some of the first modules.

If you have had an account for a while and have been active, then you should go through Chapter 1 and fill in the gaps as you go to make sure your profile is all tidy and ready for the next sections.

Below are my comments from each module for Chapter 1

Chapter 1 has 12 modules.

Chapter 1 Intro video

Basics, intro, setting up the expectations for the course and quick overview. The introduction covers all the basic stuff from the get-go; this is ideal for anybody that is totally brand new to Instagram or someone that might want to give their profile a "once over" to make sure everything is tidy and ready for growth.

Chapter 1 - module 1

This section covers the differences between the two mobile operating systems: iOS and Android. Good tips that will help power users decide between the two platforms.

Chapter 1 - module 2

Suggests creating a brand new email address to prevent hacking and phishing attacks. Explains why and when you'll need it.

Chapter 1 - module 3 (iOS / Android)

This module covers creating an Instagram account using either iOS or Android. Covers name, username, password and best security practices. Expect a full walkthrough of the account setup process for each platform.

Chapter 1 - module 4

This module covers all the Instagram settings for each version of the app, iOS/Android.

Account verification and configuring all the settings. It's a complete walkthrough of all the fields and options available. It explains why you should use different things for each field. You think you should just use your real name? Think again.
Anthony covers all the icons, menus, notifications, linked accounts, and privacy settings sections.

Simple yet powerful tips for bio design, using the right email address, link and more in your bio. Overall a good chapter to help you get a good foundation for your Instagram account. A good review for existing Instagram users.

Chapter 1 - module 5

I noticed the first "mistake" with a blatant spelling error in the title of this module. Most people would criticize this as being careless or low-quality, but being a content creator myself I can overlook this. So far the content and training videos have been really good, so this doesn’t bother me.

Great chapter to help you protect your account against hackers and thieves. Best practices and tips to help Instagram recover your account for you should you ever have a problem with it. Also, covers how to get in if you lose or forget your password.

Chapter 1 - module 6

This module dives further into the configuration for bio, including picture and details for a better bio. A couple of neat little tricks to make your bio stand out and be more efficient. Some of the differences between using a photo vs. a logo.

Chapter 1 - module 7

This is an interesting module, it’s about 18 minutes of analyzing profiles of over 15 accounts. Covers the good and the bad, and how each profile might be improved upon with small tips and tweaks.

Chapter 1 - module 8

This section covers how to set your link in your bio to maximize its effectiveness. One of the things I disagree with is using a bit.ly link.

I think Bit.ly should be the last option to make a short link. Instead, I would recommend using your blog to create a redirect or use a custom URL shortener with your own short domain using something like Linktrackr.

If you want to link to a social media profile, you can use your own website to create a redirect to make the link look clean like Anthony recommends. I covered that in this blog post before.

Chapter 1 - module 9 & 10 (Android and iOS version)

A module covering some of the apps that Anthony recommends as essential helper apps. The only issue I have with this module is that some of these apps may become popular or die depending on user interaction so they can change with time. I think you can focus on the functionality and maybe find alternatives that you prefer.

The apps are meant to enhance your Instagram experience and to make you more efficient. These apps cover a few things that Instagram lacks and help you with some efficiency and productivity hacks to save you time.

Chapter 1 - module 11

Covers direct messaging, the ins and outs. - This might be the least useful module from chapter 1. At least it was for me, but if you’ve never used Instagram before, you should go through it to understand how the internal Instagram messaging system works.

Chapter 1 - module 12

An overview of the various places where you can find new content, explore, search, places and hashtags. A good overview of these Instagram features. This may be useful if you’ve been using Instagram but never actually ventured into these areas, but a must for anybody new to Instagram.

Covers how to find accounts, content, how to determine which accounts are verified and legitimate, also ties back to picking your name and understanding how your choices affect your discoverability.

Also, covers some of the ideas behind what niches work and how people are making money on Instagram; seems like a good segue to the next sections.

In conclusion to chapter 1, these are my thoughts.

This is a great introductory chapter to the Instagram world. It's good whether you're looking to extend your reach or make money from Instagram. I haven't gotten to the "make money" so when I get to it, I'll let you know what I think.  And you should go through it whether you've been on Instagram for a while or are just about to get started. It is especially important if you're going to really put effort into growing your Instagram following because if you don't have the basics right, not even

You should go through this chapter whether you've been on Instagram for a while or are just about to get started. It is especially important if you're going to really put effort into growing your Instagram following because if you don't have the basics right, not even Social Runner can help you.

For those of you that have gone through this, let me know what you thought about it in the comments, do you agree with my assessment? Chapter 2 is next and I'll probably give you the rundown of that section in a few days. Stay tuned!

The post Instagram Course Review. Wolfmillionaire’s InstaWealth Growth System Chapter 1 appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

So I went to check up on that feature and see if my followers had changed and that's when I found about the new name for Statigram. Iconosquare is an interesting name.

Their blogpost calls for a growth in features and service focus as the reason for the new name. I am not totally in love with the name, but I hope they continue to give us amazing tools.

Update: Later on I found out that Instagram changed their TOS for their API and developers and apps apparently aren't allowed to use "gram" in their name. This makes sense and explains why Statigram and other Instagram apps have changed their name.

Finding out where your Instgram followers come from is one of the things that helps to see if you're attracting the right crowd. At least for business, it is important to try to target the right followers geographically.

Another thing I noticed about Iconosquare in one of their newsletters was this:

I am definitely looking forward to testing out the connection with Hootsuite to see what is available to help manage accounts on Instagram. Currently I only manage 3 accounts but I'm starting to get more and more inquiries about doing Instagram account management. We'll see how that goes.

Besides giving you an idea of where your Instagram followers come from, Iconosquare gives you "snapshots" which are tiny infographics that give you stats about your account.

The infographics that Iconosquare gives you these infographics or snapshots:

Infographic for Profile Stuff

• The most liked picture in your account
• Your most used, or presumably your favorite filter
• The percentage of pictures and video you post with filters
• Total media posted
• How many likes you have given out
• How many followers you have

The Location infographic shows where most of your followers come from and a breakdown of the next four spots along with a map that shows hot-spots. There is one iconographic that shows your favorite Igers and a count of how many likes you've given them.

The last three aim at the achievements part of your Instagram experience by showing you the first post you made on instagram, one graphic that shows your three "firsts": The first post you made, the first Iger that you followed, and the first Iger that followed you. Then there is your most liked post.

Overall, Statigram, er Iconosquare continues to be one of my favorite Instagram app and you should check it out if you want to manage your Instagram account better.

The post Statigram is now Iconosquare appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

But as I hit over 1000 followers, I know that not all of them come from Orange County. But I can guess that they are mostly from the US. Lucky for me, one of my favorite apps has this information.

Here's a little info graphic that Statigram sent me to show me where my Instagram followers come from. As I suspected, most of my followers come from within the United States. The app doesn't tell me exactly what area but it's still fun to see where they come from.

Statigram is free and it has been one of my favorite Instagram apps since I discovered it. You can easily manage your followers, see your posts and the posts of those that you follow, you can also like them, comment and sometimes they even have contests. Check it out at http://statigr.am/

The post Where do your Instagram followers come from? appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

So what is Vine? Vine is a little video app that lets you share video clips with your friends on Twitter, but the video clips are just six seconds long. You'll be surprised how interesting they can be. If you don't believe me, get the app or check out an online viewer for vine it's called Vinepeek.

I've been describing Viddy to friends as Instagram for video. that's the easiest way to explain it. If they don't know what instagram is then you can say that viddy is a quick video trailer maker. Or an app to edit short little videos and give them some effects and a soundtrack.

Viddy's time limit is 15 seconds. But like Instagram, you can pick several effects that get applied to your video. In fact most of the experience is like Instagram's. You pick a video from your gallery, then you select a 15 second segment. After your selection is made, then you can apply an effect. You select a thumbnail to be the representative image for the video and you can also apply a 15 second soundtrack from a preset list of choices.

Once you've setup your video effects and stuff, you can give it a title, description and share it out to your networks. You have built-in sharing abilities for Facebook, Youtube (yes it uploads there too!), Twitter and Tumblr. The only problem I've ran into with Viddy so far is that it doesn't seem to save the authorization for some of these apps. Like I have to grant permission to access Twitter each time.

With that said, check out my Viddy Profile in my Social Networks Page, or enjoy some videos I made over the past couple days with Viddy. Pretty cool stuff.

Just me walking into the Post office. A crappy little video looks more glamorous after you run it through viddy's filters & add soundtracks.

@WaterClaire's friend waking up a bit

@WaterClaire meeting her friend. She has no idea. This one video didn't get a soundtrack, just an effect and the 15 second clip.

You can use videos that are already on your phone. You don't have to use a new video. This one is from when we were still in the hospital with @WaterClaire

This one has a video trailer feel to it because of the music. Just a little video I was doing with her, this one has an effect and soundtrack applied to it.

Here are some screenshots of the app and the process of getting a video Onto Viddy.

2013-01-30 21.25.12 2013-01-30 21.25.44 2013-01-30 21.26.53 2013-01-30 21.27.08 2013-01-30 21.27.29 2013-01-30 21.34.05

The post Viddy, Vine Alternative for Android. How does it stack? appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

ConnectOC is the brainchild of Debbie Miller from Social Hospitality, Neal Shchaffer from Windmill Networking and apparently 10 other members. And it started a few years back as a way to meetup for dinner, lunch, drinks or whatever else and have some face-time. We are all on Twitter, and Facebook and we go to professional networking events and all that kind of stuff but there wasn't anything to "just hang out" and get to know each other at a more personal level.

ConnectOC is making a come-back and they hit a home-run on their latest event. IL Fornaio in Irvine was a super gracious host, providing all drinks and food. And let me tell you that the food at that place is awesome. The only downside to the event really was that it rained a little bit on and off, and the event was held outdoors. It didn't really stop anybody from having a good time and enjoying each other's company.

IL Fornaio provided big patio umbrellas and patio heaters to keep us mostly dry and warm so the rain really wasn't a problem. I would say that it even helped us all get a little closer as we huddled under the cover of the umbrellas to avoid getting wet.

The who is who of Orange County Social Media was here and if you didn't make it for some reason, you definitely missed out. You could have had a chance to meet Bob Watson and his lovely wife Kathy from the amazing SMMOC. Sarah Wefald, music social media rockstar, she handles the likes of Social Distortion and other rockbands. Marcie Taylor aka Suburbanmama and her husband also were there for a much needed outing without kids. And of course, our hosts Debbie Miller and Neal Schaffer.

I also got a chance to catch up with Jim Walery and Carolyn Santaniello after a long time of not seeing them in person. You see, there's only so much you can do on Twitter or Facebook; face to face interactions with the people you like and share daily moments with online are always refreshing and invigorating. We must have more events like this. Take another great example of the power of real life events based on social media interactions. Reggie aka OakleyOC and I've tweeted each other, follow each other on instagram and other various networks, but after 2 or 3 years, this is the FIRST time I meet him in person and we had a blast "catching up".

Of course, I got a chance to meet about a dozen other great people that I would have probably never crossed paths with just by tweeting and staying online. So next time you hear of ConnectOC, make an effort to get your butt out and have a drink with us. Provided I'm not up to my eyeballs with my new baby, I will likely be there and I'd love to meet you too.

Thank you Debbie & Neal for putting this amazing event together and Thank you Il Fornaio for being such a gracious host.

The post ConnectOC The Networking Event from Orange County Makes a Comeback – Day 10 #30DBC appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I've heard this now a few times. Meetup.com Is that the network is the best real "social" network. I see it as connecting real life interests with virtual communities and truly bridging the geographical gaps.

When you realize that there are other people interested in the same things as you are, and you can likely find a group of them meeting on a regular basis, within 10 or 15 miles from your location, that's cool. This has never happened before at this scale. These people are meeting, quickly online and then in real life. And trust me! they're not just tweeting about it, they're not just blogging about it.

Take for example even SMMOC is fueled by meetup.com. Meetup.com is quietly growing and will be shaking things up quite a bit. Connecting people in real life, that's where it all comes down to.

That's powerful. That's a strong network. And my thoughts on #Foursquare is that #Fsq is cool but in comparing the two, Meetup.com vs Foursquare?

They're very different so I wouldn't compare them much. Meetup.com joins you with like-minded individuals in a comfortable group setting. Foursquare in the other hand tells you which places are the happening spots around your current location.

Cheryl Hawley - @CherylAHawley
To find events in your area do you favor @foursquare or @meetup? #smmoc

I thought this was a great topic of discussion. Regarding a choice between the two, well they're really both two different things. Meetup is really good at bridging the digital knowledge and virtual relationshiphs into real in life meetings.

I've met some really great people at different meetups. But like @24x7media said, the people attending all have a common interest.

Foursquare in the other hand is good at telling you what type of places might be good to visit because they are trendy. Or at least trendy within social media circles, scratch that... at least within those that play Foursquare. In the grand scheme of things Foursquare isn't that big. But it's getting there...

Jeff Hester - @jeffhester
RT @DarinRMcClure: Time to lurk the #SMMOC hashtag & enjoy the cutting edge thought on the social space that happens there... Good Morni ...

See!? Everybody does it, so you might as well do it and next time you have to miss #SMMOC just lurk. Use the hashtag (as covered in today's meetup) to follow what people are talking. You can choose to participate or just watch.

William Blumberg - @WilliamBlumberg
Here are some operators for Twitter http://t.co/JuwRRj0T #SMMOC

Not the smooth operator kind, but the Advanced Search Operators. As mentioned in the meeting today, these are called Boolean. You can find more info about Boolean searching with this basic intro to boolean searching on the internet page .

The basics boolean searching is that you can pick a search that has multiple parameters, perhaps joining two different sets of data, or excluding a section of the data by using a filter and excluding certain terms.

Bob (Robert) Watson - @TopBrokerOC
One way to totally irritate your customer #ATT is to throttle back my iPhone data speed. #SMMOC

AT&T... You really don't want to upset @TopBrokerOC... He's got Klout and a room full of people every Saturday morning. Just cut the crap and let people have unlimited data, really. This is just greedy!

This post was curated with: Dashter

The post Meetup.com vs Foursquare at #SMMOC & AT&T Stop being so greedy! appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

One thousand words should fit into this image nicely, but I still give you some annotations, check it out.

1. The link goes to a known website and it is not Gelson's own website where they might sell Heirloom tomatoes. In fact, if you think about it, the whole post almost implies that you can purchase this type of tomatoes at Gelson's. But they don't tell you that, instead they give you the link to a recipe where you can use these tomatoes. Also goes along with Seth Godin's idea of telling stories.
2. Niiiice picture showing the tomatoes. We're visual creatures, feed us!
3. The post was well received by the community.
4. Someone in the community thought it would be good to share this post with their own group of friends, somehwere outside of the Gelson's wall. This is huge for a business because it is an endorsement from your customer to their friends, family or collegues.
5. This is a good sign, the community is supportive of each other. Not everybody leaves comments, some people (the majority) simply read the posts. Other people like the posts and other people's comments to show support, agreement, or acknowledgment of the new post or comment.
6. This is also a good sign, the company is actually available and responsive to people's feedback.

I've told you about the good stuff I see with this post, can you spot any opportunities missed? Let me know in the comments.

The post Example of a Good Facebook Post appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

But at the same time I'm also limited to just what I want to do and places I've been to. I tend to guide myself towards other similar places and maybe I'm missing out on something. When I joined foursquare I found that I would be able to see where other people are checking in. This has helped me find new restaurants, parks and places I didn't know existed. I thought that was pretty cool.

I have close to 1000 checkins now and I'm hoping to have 1000 checkins or more by February 15th. Besides the fun that I'm having in 4sq, I believe that foursquare is a very important tool that businesses can use. I'm having a lot of fun with it personally but there is a lot of benefit to having your face and your name be out there in the community that you serve or that you work for. It's all about how many people see your face and recognize you when they want to do business with you.

For example, if you are the owner of a store at a mall it is to your advantage to be the mayor there because when you're in the store, people will recognize you if they check into foursquare (don't forget to remind them with a sticker!). You can also offer a perk for checking in. A discount is a good incentive, but also, people like checking in when the Mayor is in the house, as they get extra points. So I don't see why a business wouldn't want to join foursquare.

I've set a small challenge for myself; to get up to 2000 chickens by the end of the summer. I think I can do that easily. I also want to become the mayor of 45 places. Currently I am the mayor of 11 places, and I try to check into every one of those at least a couple times a week, daily when I can.

I'm also discovering a lot of applications for foursquare besidse foursquare itself, I'll talk about those in another blogpost. So what are your thoughts on Foursquare?

The post Loving Foursquare, as I Rediscover Irvine, the City I Live in appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Empire Avenue recently introduced Missions. Missions are a cool way to engage with people, and a way to earn more money. The folks at Empire Avenue finally created some really cool videos, and here's one that explains how missions work.

Have you tried missions for yourself, do you think they're worth it?

If you follow me on Empire Avenue, have you had a chance to try some of my missions? If you are interested you can follow me on Empire Avenue, let me know you read this post and I will buy a lot of your stock. If you're not in Empire Avenue, come join me, it's a lot of fun.

The post Empire Avenue Missions, a Video Introduction. appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Never would I have guessed that this little bit of networking would turn into such an awesome journey of discovery, learning and friendship. I met Robert for lunch at Nieuport 17, and we hit it off. He told me about his goals, and essentially hired me as his personal Social Media Guru (a title He bestowed upon me). After a little while, Robert invited me to do a daily segment on his show for a few minutes each day. The topic of course is Social Media and Technology.

I've been doing the segment for a while now, you can listen to it live on AM 1050 in the Inland Empire, that's San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario and the surrounding areas. Sometimes the radio even reaches into Orange County. You can also listen to it online if you visit kcaaradio.com and click on the yellow "listen live" button on the top left.

But that's not all, after months of talking and sharing what I know about Social Networking, techniques, strategies and tools with Robert, we're going to start a more structured segment. The segment will cover A-Z on the major social networking sites: Twitter, Facebook, Google+ & LinkedIn. The focus will be on the strategies, tools and techniques that you need to make your social networking better while maximizing the time you spend doing it.

The difference between my approach and many others you'll find online, is that I will actually tell you how to do it. Lots of advice gets thrown around and regurgitated about the things you should do, but hardly anyone tells you how to actually accomplish this. We'll cover all the basics, then move into more advanced topics and techniques to suit all different types of social networking. Come join me, Series start on Jan 9. For more info, leave a comment here or follow me on Twitter.

The post Social Media on the Radio with Yours Truly appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

William Pitcher even asked me if I thought the potential for EA was really there, I told him, yes. Bigger than FB and Twitter? he asked. I told him... "maybe."

I don't think it will ever be as big as FB or Twitter, or even Linked in. These three are the Three Kings of Social Networks, as I call them, and the reason Empire Avenue will never be as big as any of them, is because EAv actually depends on those sites for its services.

You see, EmpireAvenue is one of many attempts --albeit, one of the successful ones-- at measuring influence online. How much is your content worth? I think that is the real question that gets answered by the site.

The site works in two ways, depending on your opinion of it. One popular view is that it's just a game; the other view, MY preffered view is that it is a super powerful networking and filtering tool. I take it a little more seriously than most, but then again I take a lot of the things I do online more seriously than most people do. After all, I've been making my living with online resources, since 1999.

EA gives you a handle, or rather you pick it, and this becomes your "Stock Ticker" akin to a corporation's stock ticker in the NYSE. After you join, they'll give you a number of Eaves to start with (their own fictitious currency). Mine is (e)OG. You can change it anytime you want... for a price.

Once you start and join, the rest is up to you, you can buy into other people you find interesting, amusing, or simply when you want to show support for their cause. Other people engage in what they call "reciprocity" and I call bullshit. Pardon my french but I stand by my post in reciprocity.

Reciprocity is good only if its genuine, otherwise its just a cheap way to game the system, whatever system that is.

With that mini rant/intro I'll try to get back to the original title of the post. Have we reached a tipping point for EmpireAvenue to become mainstream? And I mean mainstream, only in the circle of social media enthusiasts. For if you really think about it and look up some numbers, Twitter is not really "mainstream" yet, most people (despite what you believe) are NOT on twitter.

Don't believe me? Ask 3 of your neighbors what their twitter handle is? Ask your Tax person who they "follow" on Twitter? Ask your doctor where you can follow his updates... I'd venture to guess that 8 out of 10 people will simply give you a googley-eyed look and wonder WTF are you talking about.

Certainly EA has gone through a tremendous explosion over the past few months. Some big names in the tech world, social networking arena and other fields have joined. And I wonder, why haven't others? Is it really a waste of time like many people say? I don't think so (more on that later).

You can now find people like Chris Pirillo, Darren Rowse, even big name brands like Ford and ATT. But aside from those two brands, do you even know who the other people are? I happen to know of Chris from years back because he's *been* there from the get go, in the tech industry. As I was learning systems administration and computer support for Windows in the early days of my career, his posts would often come up with solutions to various problems.  As for Darren, he is one of, if not *the* most popular blogger in the planet when it comes to monetizing the whole blogging thing. He makes millions blogging.

I would be curious if all the people I invited in the early days are still hesitant to join, do they still think this is a time waster? Do you think that way? I can tell you that I've enjoyed the site quite a bit. People wonder what "business" value I've gotten from it, and I can't pinpoint it, but I've gotten some true value. I'll give you a couple examples, I met Adriel Hampton on there, and eventually he reached out for some website help. He's a happy camper now and I thank him for approaching me for help, and I thank EA for creating this space where I met him. I also humbly help moderate the WordPress group *in* Empire Avenue, where people ask random wordpress related questions. This group gave me a connection to other wordpress professionals that I probably would never have met.

I love EmpireAvenue. Truly, I do.

I've met a few other people on the site and now follow them and interact with them on Twitter. I have found some amazing blogs to read that would probably never have come up in my normal circles of friends or searches.

But EA isn't mainstream, nor do I think it will ever be. I think by the time social networks are really mainstream, it will be something new, something different.

Thanks for reading this rant. And if you end up joining EmpireAvenue, let me know if I can help. After all, helping is what I do.

The post Tipping point for Empire Avenue, incoherent thoughts and ramblings. appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.