Your Music on The Radio? It's a Two-Way Street!

This is a message for independent artists on how to get radio airplay (FM, satellite, AM, internet) and how to keep that airplay.

There aren't very many of us DJs on FM or satellite radio left who are given the carte blanche to play what we wish... Corporate radio has taken over.  

Being aired on a powerful metropolitan FM radio station has massive reach. My station in Japan, InterFM897 reaches over 42 million homes in the greater Tokyo and Nagoya areas... It is also streamed On-Demand nationwide.

So, whether it is an FM station or satellite radio or internet radio, when we DJs pick an independent artist for airplay it is a labor of love and a struggle against all odds. 

That being said, if you are that independent artist and we air you, us DJs expect some mutual support. This is a team effort. 

Good morning everybody!

I am writing this post today because I personally know several DJs; FM, satellite and internet radio DJs, who feel exactly the same way I do: (sorry to put it so bluntly, but) If you won't support us, we can't/won't play you... Please read on.

The details? Recently, I did play this indies artist on the FM radio in Japan. I played them two weeks in a row. But, I stopped. Why did I stop? Because I gave up on them. After I stopped playing that artist (it's been a few weeks back that I stopped), they wrote to me and asked me today if I had played them. They wrote: "Did you air any other songs of mine? Reason I ask is, I've received a large spike in Spotify and Apple Music streams all from Japan. Appreciate what you do."

Here's how I responded:

Dear Johnny (not his real name), 

Hi.. 

Let's be frank, positive and discuss business and how we can help each other.... 

Yes, I did play you, twice. I sent you a friend request on Facebook but you didn’t accept so I couldn’t tag you on my posts. Since I couldn't tag you or get any reaction from you, I stopped playing you after the two weeks. 

I stopped playing you, not because I was mad about it or anything, but because I figured it must not be a priority for you, so I gave the airtime to someone else who has great tunes and might be more hungry. 

Some artists I play will do great SMS promotion and really blow my mind. Renato Telles Sbeghen with his song "Late For The Last Waltz" did an amazing job for us. Renato got on social media and got us so many Likes that I actually feel obligated to play him them on air for at least a month.  Doing this cross promotion helps him and it helps us. (And when I say, "us" I mean it. I have staff who have families and mouths to feed too.)

Johnny, it’s a two way- street, my friend. We take risks when we play new artists. We need to show that station management or sponsors or possible sponsors that we have promotional power. We do that through Social Media.

If I can’t coordinate with you on Social Media - that also means you don’t support our radio in return by Liking and Sharing with your friends and asking them to Like us too. 

Now, I am leaving Japan tomorrow and will not be back until end Dec. so the next few shows are recorded and your song is not on the playlist due to the reasons above. 

May I politely suggest that you check your Social Media (no point in having it if you don't check it at least once a day, maybe?) And when DJs air you, you are on the ball and show us real appreciation by promoting our show?

Like I said, I know many DJs personally who feel exactly the same way. In fact, one of the most famous DJs in the world feels exactly the same way.

I don't think I'm being unreasonable to ask (for all of us DJs) that, if we play your indies artist music, you'll reciprocate and make the effort to promote us back.... Like I said, this is a team effort and a two-way street. 

Anyway, I hope you will consider this carefully and that we can move forward in a positive fashion in the next year. 

Best, 

Mike 

...

Let me digress and allow me to brag. My show is extremely popular in Japan, and I have data to prove it. So if I play you, you have access to millions of people. 

There are 45 million monthly Twitter users in Japan, a nation of 130 million people; that means a lot of Japanese people use Twitter. 

My program has Trended Top 3 for all of Japan on Twitter four out of the last five weeks. We climbed to number one last Sunday for the first time. (See last week's Twitter chart for Japan here. My show is "Mike Rogers Show on InterFM 897 so my Twitter handle is: #mrs897.) It is unheard of for a radio show to trend like this. I am proud of my team and myself for achieving this. I thank the listeners the most. My listeners are the best in the entire world! 

I reckon being played on my show (or any show for that matter) is powerful promotion for any indies band. (If you are a major label famous act, like Guns & Roses or Coldplay, if we play you, we don't expect you'll Like our FB page or follow us on Twitter.) But if you are not, well, then...

My favorite DJ programs - Go check them out. Send them tunes. (But read this before you do send them tunes: Musicians! Do Not Send DJ's Spotify, Youtube or Soundcloud Links!  (If link doesn't work, try this: https://modernmarketingjapan.blogspot.jp/2017/11/musicians-do-not-send-djs-spotify.html)

Be smart, "Like" their FB pages, follow them on Twitter and listen in:


Alex Kish at Wassup Rocker Radio: wassuprockerradio.com
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2nHsPXe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WassupRckrRadio

Candice Marshall @ Limehead Radio: http://bit.ly/2y3EgZf
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2BeMjbE
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CAMARSHALLSMC

Gabbie and Chris at Biscuit Boys Radio: www.biscuitboys.co.uk
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2AFE2ud
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Biscuit_Boys

Kayla Marie Williams @ Radio Alchemy: http://bit.ly/2AFyAas
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2kBDG3X
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RadioAlchemyFM

Marc Platt @ Radio Candy: http://www.radiocandy.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RadioCandyIndieShow/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RadioCandyHits

The Mike Rogers Show InterFM 897: http://www.interfm.co.jp/mrs/
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2BTteZt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MRS897

World Famous Rodney Bingenheimer: http://www.siriusxm.com/
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2BKxuK4

Organic Marketing: The Future of Advertising

The old order of marketing and advertising is falling by the wayside. The future of advertising is not tomorrow, it was a few years back. And if your company is not on it now, you are way behind the curve.

There are examples all around us of the new way to advertise. Some big (and fashionable and cool) companies are doing it. They are laying the foundations and showing everyone how it is done... Let me repeat that: They are showing everyone how it is done! Yet 95% of the companies see it but do not copy or follow or, well, maybe they "just don't 'get it.'"

These businesses are like dinosaurs. I reckon that when that huge-a*sed asteroid hit the earth several millions of years ago, the brontosaurus were standing there and, weeks and months, after the temperature had dropped dangerously low, they began to think, "Gee... It's getting awfully cold..."

Do you think the dinosaurs thought, "Maybe I'd better move to where it is warmer?" Nah. They didn't. It may or may not have helped. But certainly standing there and doing nothing, or doing the same thing they had always done, wasn't a good option.

My God! If I had a few dollars for every company I see everyday standing, there doing nothing, or doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, I'd be a millionaire! (Maybe only a million yen because I hate going outside too much, but you get the idea!)

The old way of advertising:

Talk to people in suits and give them money. They run a full-page advert in a newspaper. It says, "That's a great place to eat steak. It is soooo delicious!" Cost of this advertising: $5000.00 or more.

Joe Happoshu sees the ad. You see the ad. Do you go there? Nope. Why? No one believes this sort of advertising anymore. 

The new way of advertising: 

Your friend at the office says to you one day, "Say! Have you tried that new steakhouse on the corner? It's really good." Do you go there? Yes. you do. Why? Because you believe your friend. Cost of this advertising: Zero.

There's an old saying: "Credibility is very hard to get. It is even harder to buy."

So why does your company continually try to buy credibility?

The new way of marketing is to build a reputation by using organic methods to spread the word of mouth. Organic means that we use Social Media and blogs and we tie up other (cool) companies and make a mutually beneficial marketing programs that are very low cost and gets the word of mouth buzzing. It must be organic; it must make sense to the public... People interested in one aspect of the marketing will be drawn to another if we fit the pieces of the puzzle together correctly. And bloggers (that people like your friend in the office read) write about you.

Sure, sure... Your company and staff (and your advertising agency) pay lip service to blogging and Web 2.0 and 3.0, but if you were to actually sit them down and explain to you a concept like Web 3.0 I'd wager a donut that they can't do it and I'd wager a year's worth of donuts that they DON'T do it. 

The problem with most Japanese companies is their advertising people are so stuck with the old way of doing things, they just can't get their head around concepts like Web 3.0... Web 3.0!? You kidding me? Look at most company Internet web pages and you'll see that they are stuck with Web 1.0 concepts. Concepts that are nearly ten years old!!!

As a funny aside, I was mentioning to someone how it is a waste of money to buy advertising on the Internet to have a paid ad at the top of the page for results for a Google search. The guy told me that they were spending ¥2 million yen (about $25,737 USD) per month on that.* Inside, I cringed. I told him that he could do the same thing for free (it requires effort though) and he told me that he "had a good engineer." I told him that there is a big difference between an engineer and a blogger...

Stop for a second and think about that logically! Thinking that an engineer could be good at advertising and marketing is just laughable if you stop and consider it... If you are running a big company and spending a big budget on SEO or banners ads for top results on Google searches, then I ask that you do, STOP RIGHT NOW and think about that for a few seconds!

You have an engineer running your advertising and marketing promotions for the Internet? Quick questions? Do they blog? Do they Facebook, Twitter or do any other Social Media? And, the killer question; This person is in charge of your company public image and face on the Internet; would you be comfortable with that person speaking in front of a crowd of, say, 1,500 people? No? Then why in the hell do you believe this person carte blanche for the Internet where there are 500 million people?

Sounds pretty dumb, doesn't it? You'd be surprised at how often I see this everyday. In fact, this is not the exception, it is the rule. Any questions why business is down?

The new way requires ideas, creativity and effort. It doesn't require geeks who have poor social skills or huge sums of money to be thrown to wonks with stale ideas or your own company marketing people sucking a lot of air through their teeth. 

They require ideas and creativity. Here's one I arranged last year:

A major pizza chain wanted to promote their New York pizza and their new online ordering system. They've asked me for ideas. I have given them many so far. This was the idea I gave them this time:

Order a pizza online and get the chance to win a vacation for two, business class to New York for 5 nights in a 5-star hotel.

Simple. 

The pizza chain got a great 2-month campaign and visibility and buzz at no cost to them (I was paid a small coordination fee). The airlines? The hotel? They got their name, photos and advertising on 17.5 million flyers delivered to people's homes; 7.8 million menus inserted into newspapers; 3.8 million direct mailing to subscribers of the pizza chain; 250,000 flyers on boxtops delivered with pizzas to customers homes; top page visibility on the pizza chain web page which receives over 12 million unique views per month. And write-ups in major Japanese magazines as well as a huge buzz campaign on Twitter and Facebook. 

Cost to airlines and the hotel? Zero. Simply the cost of providing the gifts.

Not only did all three of these entities enjoy a great promotion that was organic (Makes sense, right? Everything is New York related) This campaign ran for two months. If you do an Internet search for this campaign in Japanese you'll will find over 606,000 results. Those results are almost all bloggers and mentions on Social Media about the campaign.

If any these entities arranged this promotion through Dentsu or Hakuhodo, it would have cost them at least $100,000. I arranged it for about 1/20th that price.

This campaign did not require any email registration or any actions by the end users at all. They didn't even need to order a pizza! All they needed to do was go to the website and become a member of the online ordering service that the pizza chain has started. No purchase necessary.

In spite of the fact that nothing was necessary to join the contest, purchase or enroll, the pizza company had over 16,000 direct email inquires from end users. Throw that in with the word of mouth promotion from innumerable bloggers and Tweets and you have a killer promotion. That is an awesome result!

Am I bragging? Well, thank you. Yes, I am. 

Is your company missing the boat? If you are in Japan, I'd wager that you are. It is funny that Japan is so technologically advanced yet we find that so many companies do not take advantage of all the tools available.

Is is laziness, fear or the hesitation to take responsibility? I'm not sure but some people are really blowing it for their employers. Don't believe me? Here's a recent article that talks about how a whopping 40% of Japanese companies don't even use Twitter. Of course, Twitter is a small part of the puzzle (and, actually, a very minor piece of a bigger puzzle) but the fact remains that such a high profile FREE media is not being utilized by Japanese companies shows that this is just the tip of the iceberg of a bigger problem.

Are you going to do something about it? Or is sucking air through teeth the best way to get the job done?


* = Advertising strategies do need to change with the times. Internet click ads had a click through rate of 3% when the idea was fresh and new in the 90's... By 2003 it was down to .28% ... Today? Last I saw, about two years ago, it was something like 0.07%.... And yet, it is still one of the most expensive methods to advertise. Go figure. 

Got the Newest Model of TV? You Have No Privacy Anymore! Your Data is Being Sent to Third Parties With Your Permission!

Been telling people for years to trash their TV sets. Few listen. First wrote about it in Lew Rockwell in an article entitled: "The Plug-in Drug."

My favorite dig at parents who, they themselves say they think TV is bad (but do nothing about it):

"People always say that they love their children and that they will do anything for them. But, for the most part, and from what I’ve seen, it’s not true. There is one thing that they will not do for their children: They haven’t the courage to throw the TV out."

Yep! Parents, often more than children, need the TV because they use it as a baby-sitter or - even though they won't admit it - they are hooked themselves (sports, etc.)

Now, today, here's something I picked up from Karl Denninger (I've paraphrased it for you):

"....I just bought a new TV.  

I am now the owner of a new “smart” TV, which delivers streaming, games, apps, social media, and Internet browsing. Oh, and TV too.

The only problem is that I’m afraid to use it. You would be too — if you read through the 46-page privacy policy.

The amount of data this thing collects is staggering. It logs and records everything you do with the unit. It can even turn on while the set is off and record what's going on in your living room.

The unit comes with a warning: “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party.” 

Got that? Don’t say personal or sensitive stuff in front of the TV."

I don't have a TV in my home and have no intention of ever allowing one in the home... 

Ever wonder why digital TV was/is touted to be such a great thing? 

1) They can sell you more crap you don't need (to watch the very same crap that was on your analogue TV; 

2) You can be tracked and spied upon.

And, no, this isn't illegal. A third party can turn on your microphone and record you from outside. Why? Because it is stated in the Users Agreement and the moment you turned on the set, you approved of it. You approved of this invasion of your privacy, so it isn't illegal.

Whose fault is it if you didn't read the Users Agreement? 

Enjoying your time at home now, in front of the TV?

I sure hope so.

Folks! Your precious photos on Facebook are not safe! Social Media is a Loser for Storing Online Photos. Can't Beat Grandma's old-fashioned Photo Album.

Yep. Social Media platforms such as Myspace, Facebook, etc. are losers for storing your photos and precious memories. If you think those precious photos of your child's graduation or your vacation, or the party or the wedding are safe on a Social Media platform's photo album space are safe, well then, guess again!

Thank god I did move many photos to "Photo Dump of Rock Stars I've Met"... But still, there are a hundred more (at least) gone forever.... I'm kicking myself. Folks! Your precious photos on Facebook are not safe! (If the link above doesn't work: http://modernmarketingjapan.blogspot.jp/2012/04/photo-dump-of-rock-stars-ive-met-in.html)

I produced a very popular FM radio show in Tokyo called "Good Morning Garage" on 76.1 InterFM and we had many famous guests on the show over the years. The list is quite long. I had put p the photos of us and those guests on Myspace so that the fans could enjoy them too. Guess what? They're gone!

Myspace went and deleted all the photos we had on our Myspace Good Morning Garage Fanpage (photos since 2006).... Hundreds of photos of us and artists and fans etc.... All gone. They didn't even send us a notice warning us they were going to do that. 

I hate Myspace.

Check it out. Poof! And like the South Park episode at the bank, "...and it's gone!" 

Don't believe me. Check it yourself: https://myspace.com/goodmorninggarage/photos... 

We had hundreds of photos there. Many, now, are lost forever. 

The photo with Jean Jacques of the Stranglers (by the way), Jimmy Page, Joey Ramone are some of the many that are lost forever.... Seriously, hundreds of photos.... 

It's my fault though, I guess it'll be the same on Facebook later on when that crappy service goes bankrupt too. 

We need a better way to take care of our old photos. 

In a way, this kind of reminds me of owning paper gold versus physical gold; if it's not in your hands, then you don't own it....

I guess it's pretty darn hard to beat the old fashioned photo album (that grandma likes so much) for not losing photos. 

Get a Top-Quality Professional Logo for Yourself or Your Company for $200 (USD)

People who read this blog often (thank you) will know that I am a member of many online communities. I do that because it is a good place to see what people are writing about SNS, Social Media, and Social Media Marketing (SMM). It is also a good place to see what the old school people are doing to try to make themselves look as if they are up on the Internet and the new media.

Guess how much this logo cost? A total of $200 (USD) Incredible? Read on.

It is pretty easy to pick the people out who are still stuck in the old ways at these "Marketing Online Professionals" communities. They write things like,

For this reason , I am convinced that SM works ONLY when being integrated inside a marketing plan, together with media placement, PR, promo, direct marketing and CRM. 

It is painfully obvious that the guy who wrote this is an old-school advertising guy posing as an "Internet and Social Media" expert. He laments the fact that his Social Media Marketing (SMM) plans fail consistently. He is trying to convince us - but more likely he is trying to convince himself - that the old way is vital.

In some ways he's right. The old media is vital if my product is targeted to to the 45 ~ 70-year-old crowd or if my product or service is for everyone in the family from the smallest kids to grandpa and grandma (think Disneyland, etc.) But when your product /service is for the under 40 crowd, I think you'd have to consider long and hard about spending a cent on old media... In many cases you would not be doing your client any favors to recommend spending huge budgets on TV or radio. I wrote about that in detail here and here.

Earlier today, I went to a different online professionals community and was so surprised to find people saying things like "First things, first! You must hire a professional to do your company logo!"

Of course a good logo is a must... But coughing up a few thousand dollars to hire a professional? And this advice coming from a community that calls itself, "Online Professionals"? Hmmm... Why would the people who are supposedly sold on online business be pushing the old-school ways?

Perhaps hiring a big-bucks professional will be necessary down the line, but I think us Internet types should try to use our creativity and brains before we just throw money at the problem like people used to do....

As I suspected many times, these online communities are often places where old-school advertising agents try to gain credibility as "Internet" and "online experts"... But they actually don't really do either (always ask any self-proclaimed "Internet" and "Social Media Marketer" for a list of their blog URL's and Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, U-Stream, Mixi (in Japan), etc, accounts. That's an easy way to pick out the frauds).

Click here and read at bottom for tips on how to pick out the poseurs.

I know many a small to medium business owner who has hired a professional and spent a few thousand dollars only to wind up with a handful of designs and they didn't like any of them. Foolish especially considering the fact that new businesses must watch out for every single penny and paper clip!

Well, now my friends, there is a solution! It is a company called Logomyway.

Logomyway is a new service that started in April 2009. At Logomyway you make a logo design contest and get 1,000's of artists to compete for your business... You pay nothing excepting to the winning submission. The cost can be as low as $200 (USD). You decide the winner's prize fee.

My company, "Universal Vision" logo... $200! Excellent!

Hiring a professional designer right off the bat is old school. It is also the easy way to do things for salaried employees who have no problem spending the company money... They wouldn't recommend this is it were out of their pocket. The people people who were so quick to recommend throwing away $1,000 ~ $2,000 were from an online professionals group! I'm surprised that anyone would suggest the old way without investigating the new and exciting things going on online. Try Logomyway.

http://www.logomyway.com/

I have no investment nor business relationship with Logomyway whatsoever but have used it twice  and recommended to three other people who have used it. Everyone has been more than thrilled with the results... One friend was so happy because the professional that he had hired before - and paid well - gave him designs that weren't that good... He was worried that he was going to be out another $1,000 when I introduced him to Logomyway... The result? He spent $200 and got a killer logo.

And, if you don't like any of the logos... You don't pay!

All hail the Internet!!!!

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Keywords:
Logo, Logomyway, SNS, Social Media, SMM, old media, Japan, Mixi, Internet, Facebook, Twitter, blog, online professionals, Marketing Online Professionals, YouTube, Online Marketing, Universal Vision, Mike Rogers, Marketing Japan, U-Stream, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, 

Write Down Your Goals to Achieve Them!...

"Life is difficult as it is so let us be good to each other." - C.S. Lewis

Today, I'd like to take a moment to highly recommend a book that has helped me greatly since the first time I read it and that is Brian Tracy's Goals!

I write down my top 10 goals everyday! Inspired by the author of Goals! Brian Tracy (I also recommend another Tracy book, Focal Point)

In Goals! Tracy talks about how, if you are to succeed in life that you need to write down your goals in order to be able to achieve them. "Sure!" Everyone thinks this but I know few who actually do write them down. Trust that writing them down does help your sub-conscious to actually remember and activate your  brain to achieve the goals you set forth for yourself.

I write down my goals everyday in the morning when I wake up and, not only does doing so help me to achieve them, it also helps me to relax and stay much more focused. Who doesn't want to stay more focused in this day and age when our "in-box" includes, for most people, several e-mails accounts that are constantly filling up as the day goes by and consistently altering our priorities? Or an Internet world filled with Social Media like Facebook, Mixi (in Japan) and Linkedin accounts (among others) to attend? Twitter and Pick, are no longer for just sending messages to your friends, but they too, have been co-opted into the business world and your boss orders you to use them, or blogs and SNS, to get the company message out...

How in the world can anyone get ahead of the pile in the "in-box"?

The book promises that you will "Get everything you want, faster than you ever dreamed." Sounds like grandiose claims but let me point out that writing down your goals and purposes is like having a sort of road map to where you want to go. When you write them down, they enter your subconsciousness, they cause your inner brain to focus upon the Law of Attraction. If you do not write down where you want to go - if you do not have a map - then how will you know where you are going?

The publishers write:

Why do some people achieve all their goals while others simply dream of having a better life? Bestselling author Brian Tracy shows that the path from frustration to fulfillment has already been discovered. Hundreds of thousands--even millions--of men and women have started with nothing and achieved great success. Here Tracy presents the essential principles you need to know to make your dreams come true.

Tracy presents a simple, powerful, and effective system for setting and achieving goals--a method that has been used by more than one million people to achieve extraordinary things. In this revised and expanded second edition he has added three new chapters addressing areas in which goals can be most rewarding but also the toughest to set and keep: finances, family, and health.

Using the twenty-one strategies Tracy outlines, you'll be able to accomplish any goals you set for yourself--no matter how big. You'll discover how to determine your own strengths, what you truly value in life, and what you really want to accomplish in the years ahead. Tracy shows how to build your self-esteem and self-confidence, approach every problem or obstacle effectively, overcome difficulties, respond to challenges, and continue forward toward your goals, no matter what happens. Most importantly, you'll learn a system for achievement that you will use for the rest of your life.

One of my goals are to become a multi-millionaire. Laughable? Maybe. But at least I have a road map and I am consciously working on that everyday... 

And I really do have proof! I have evidence that Tracy's philosophy and ideas in Goals! work.  I have shown myself that actually writing down goals are critical to achieving them. And my proof stands in something that, for me, is much more important than the Rat Race and making money: it's being the best dad I can be. 

It used to be my #1 priority was, "To make $15,000 a month..." then, one day, when I got a flash of irritation at something my son did - then thought about that flash later on - I realized that the most important thing for me was not money. By far the most important thing for me was to be a great dad. 

Now my #1 priority goal that I write everyday is; "I am a kind, loving and patient father and husband today and everyday" (with today's date added).

Folks, trust me. This really works! Since starting this habit, I have caught myself several times with a flash of irritation at my son - that  before would have caused me to get angry or upset and maybe raise my voice - but since I started writing down everyday my goal of  being patient and kind, my mind recalls that goal immediately and has killed that flash of anger instantly its tracks. 

Why ruin what could be a good learning opportunity and great memory with an out burst of irritability? What for? Life is too short to be getting upset at the small stuff all the time. 

As the great writer C.S. Lewis wrote in Chronicles of Narnia, "Life is difficult as it is so let us be good to each other."

Try reading Brian Tracy's Goals! Write down your goals everyday. You'll be glad you did. 

(This article was inspired by a meeting I had with a most interesting fellow named Roger Marshall. Thank you, Roger!) 


Also read: 

Pocket Notebooks: The Secret of Millionaires and People Won't Listen! 


One Easy Step To Becoming a Better Parent and More Successful at Life 

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keywords: Pick, C.S. Lewis, Twitter, SNS, e-mail, Goals!, Blogs, blogging, Youtube, U-stream, Brian Tracy, Narnia, Facebook, Mixi, Linkedin, Japan, SNS, Internet, business, Japanese, priority, Social Media

Never Post Vacation Pictures on Facebook or Anywhere Else on the Internet...

People like to post pictures of themselves while on vacation on Facebook or on the Internet... That has got to be one of the dumbest things you could possibly do.... Why? It's an invitation to unscrupulous people and thieves.


When you place photos of yourself on vacation on the Internet (Facebook or any other Social Media site or even on your own web page or blog) you are saying,


"I'm not home. No one is home. That makes my home an easy target for burglary. There's probably jewelry and credit cards laying around. Come and get it."


Think.

Here's a photo of us getting ready to eat shrimp at a shrimp farm in Hawaii... Two years ago!!!

Go back to the days before the Internet; when your family went on vacation, what did you do? (Choose one):


a) Leave some lights on in the house. Ask the neighbors to pick up your mail so it looks like someone is home. If you were gone for a longer period, you might ask the neighbors to go into your house, feed the fish, water the plants, turn on different lights in different parts of the house to give your house the look of "someone home."


b) Put a giant sign on top of the roof of your house that says, "We're on vacation!"


You did "a," right? Of course.


Now, in the Internet age, when hundreds of thousands of complete strangers can see what you post, why in the world would you broadcast that you are not home and your house will be empty for a few days, just ripe to be broken into and robbed?


That's completely lacking in common sense.


It doesn't really matter if you have an alarm system. The average burglar spends 8 to 12 minutes in your home before they are long gone.


Think your alarm system is going to stop that when they can just rip the unit from the wall and the security service (that is listed on the Internet) will voluntarily tell anyone how long it takes for them to react to an alarm (most cases 35 ~ 45 minutes)?


There's absolutely nothing wrong with posting vacation pictures on the Internet... But be smart... Is it wise to do that while on vacation or after you've returned?


You don't put a sign on your door when you are on vacation that says "Gone to Hawaii".... Don't put up one on the Internet.

Why Facebook Will Go Bankrupt?

I getting a lot of feedback from Japanese friends that they are getting "burned out" on Facebook and that they are beginning to think it is a waste of time and boring (that was fast!) 

Many are complaining about boring posts from friends like photos of what people had for lunch or their desserts... Or pictures of their kids...

It gets tiring. Like I said, I'm sensing a loss of excitement in Japan over Facebook. When the average Joe-Suzuki loses interest so fast, then that spells problems in Japan.

Besides that, Facebook can't make any money on their website. Their big plan to save the company rests solely upon the notion that their mobile platform will generate enough revenues to pay of the party.

Sorry, folks. No way. No one has figured out a way to make mobile advertising work. Facebook isn't going to be able to do so, either.

Facebook finishes the week down (and another drop after hours)

I don't really mind ads on my PC or Facebook (I never click them, either) but, on my iPhone, with the small screen, the last thing I want on there is advertising. Space is a premium on a mobile phone screen and I can't imagine that anyone wants to see advertising on that small space cluttering up the view.

It's hard enough to see what's on the screen as it is without pop up ads and more noise.

Facebook is not going to be able to figure out how to make mobile advertising work... I doubt that anyone will for a long time, if ever.

Nevertheless, people are still hoping for better results from Facebook.

From Motley Fool: A Fool Looks Back:

Despite the chatter that the social-networking website is fading in popularity, having a whopping 955 million monthly active users is a 29% increase over the past year. And despite concerns about mobile and monetization in general, revenue growth at a 32% clip shows that the company is making more money per user.

Right! Never mind the fact that research shows 40% of all Facebook users are Spammers. From 40% of Facebook's Supposed 900 Million Users Don't Exist:

“Social spam can be a lot more effective than e-mail spam,” says Mark Risher, chief executive officer of Impermium, which sells anti-spam software. “The bad guys are taking to this with great abandon.”

Spammers create as many as 40 percent of the accounts on social-media sites, according to Risher. About 8 percent of messages sent via social pages are spam, approximately twice the volume of six months ago, he says. Spammers use the sharing features on social sites to spread their messages. Click on a spammer’s link on Facebook, and it may ask you to “like” or “share” a page, or to allow an app to gain access to your profile."

I also added:

"Woo-boy! Did I say "Facebook shares in the mid-20s by December?" I did. Good. But I was wrong. Look for the mid-10s!" 

OK. I was wrong. I said mid-20s by December. It's not even August yet and they are in the low-20s. Mid 10s? Quite possibly. I like this prediction for 2012.

Facebook since IPO: Down 38% in three months. Down 47% since IPO.

But what about Facebook's other success stories, you say? OK. How about Zynga, the Facebook game that many said was one of the high points for Facebook? Yeah. That's a Cinderella story. From Reuters:


Zynga shares have fallen 70% since its December 2011 Initial Public Offering. The investigation stems from concerns that Zynga misrepresented and/or failed to disclose materially adverse facts about its business and financial condition. Furthermore, certain Zynga executive officers sold a combined 43 million shares of Company stock during the second quarter of 2012, shortly before Zynga reported poor financial results. 

As Karl Denninger says about Facebook: 

"As for my price target on the company I will simply note that there is very strong technical support at $0."


For 2013 and beyond, look for Facebook to drop out of existence (or do their best Myspace imitation) by 2015.

Useful Protest: Firefighters in Spain Demonstrate Naked! (Use Social Media!)

I'e complained a lot about protests and demonstration that are useless and really have no meaning but to capitalize on other people misery. Please refer to: Why I Don't Go To Protests Anymore - Not Nuclear, Not Anti-War, Not Anything where I complained about big money concerts being held in massive halls (that use a lot of electricity):


Just like the anti-nuclear demonstrations in the 70s in California or the weak anti-Iraq war demonstrations we held in early 2003 (that I helped arrange - so ask why I am disillusioned) or the "Aids Awareness" concerts held in the mid-eighties: Everyone gets together for a few hours, claps their hands and feels good about themselves and feels like they actually did something or learned something.....

The fact is that they did nothing... 

How about some real effort and sacrifice and not just going to a concert and clapping your hands or walking down the street for a few hours only to return to a tall cool beer in time to watch the big game or American Idol on your big screen plasma TV in your most-comfortable air conditioned pad?...


Actually, I don't have problems with demonstrations and protests (I do have a problem with hypocrites who protest and then go home and do zero to change their lifestyle in order to help alleviate the problem)... And I don't have a problem with protests and demonstrations that are used to get the word out in a cost effective manner.

Thanks to Testosterone Pit, I have an interesting video for you about Spanish firefighters demonstrating naked to get the word out about their plight and cuts in pay and services.

I don't know if this will get them what they demand, but it sure gets the message out and it is original.

40% Facebook's supposed 900 million alleged users don't exist?

Another one from the "No way. You've got to be kidding me!" file.

If I hadn't already laid out a litany of reasons to stay away from stocks like Groupon, Facebook and the rest of everything that has any whiff of so-called "Social Media" involved with it, here comes another reason:


"Spammers create as many as 40 percent of the accounts on social-media sites...."


So that means that 40% Facebook's supposed 900 million alleged users don't exist?


Bloomberg reports in: ‘Likejacking’: Spammers Hit Social Media: 

“Social spam can be a lot more effective than e-mail spam,” says Mark Risher, chief executive officer of Impermium, which sells anti-spam software. “The bad guys are taking to this with great abandon.”

Spammers create as many as 40 percent of the accounts on social-media sites, according to Risher. About 8 percent of messages sent via social pages are spam, approximately twice the volume of six months ago, he says. Spammers use the sharing features on social sites to spread their messages. Click on a spammer’s link on Facebook, and it may ask you to “like” or “share” a page, or to allow an app to gain access to your profile.

Woo-boy! Did I say "Facebook shares in the mid-20s by December?" I did. Good. But I was wrong. Look for the mid-10s! 

That's where it's going!

Read more:  ‘Likejacking’: Spammers Hit Social Media

"Houston, we have a problem" Facebook Fizzles! Fails to Liftoff

Some things just make me chuckle... Like I've said a hundred times:


Groupon's business built on SPAM mail is a terrible business model.


Facebook doesn't have a profit model.

Facebook's IPO was a failure: Yahoo reports in Facebook Fizzles

All that hype for a 23-cent gain! Facebook's (FB) first day as a publicly traded company started with a bang and ended in a wimper. FB shares opened on the Nasdaq at 11:30am et, after a 30-minute delay, at $42 each; 11% higher from the IPO price of $38. Within 10 minutes, that gain was cut in half and stock hovered around $40 for most of its shortened trading day, before officially closing at $38.23.

Facebook's Opening Day

While difficult to cut through the hype surrounding this stock, some cautionary signs emerged in just the last two weeks leading up to the IPO. We've discussed them at length here on Breakout. Slowingrevenue growth, General Motors (GM) pulling ad spending, and monetizing mobile usage are strong, but not alarming, reasons to question when to buy, how much to buy, and whether this is the right investment for you.

Earlier today Breakout covered the Facebook open live from our New York studio and the Nasdaq market site. In the attached video tech analyst David Garrity of GVA Research highlights some of the biggest issues to keep in mind if you're thinking about buying Facebook after the IPO honeymoon.

I called Groupon correctly and let me make a guess on Facebook. Facebook will be in the mid $20 range by December.


I have no position of Facebook... Wish I could short the hell out of this company.