Stop asking for more followers: try being interesting instead

By Jeff White: May 23, 2012

Filed Under: Jeff, Social Media

Just about once a day, usually more often than that, I see a Twitter post (or a Facebook ‘Like us!’ campaign) that looks something like this:

“We’re almost at x followers! Help us get there by retweeting this!”

At which point, a bunch of their followers retweet this crap and clog up everyone’s stream with what is ultimately, a ridiculous and vain attempt at popularity.

What I’ve often wondered is: what happens at 1,000 or 400 or 3,500 followers? What benefit does that entity receive from the additional followers? Virtually everyone who follows that account is hoping for a follow-back, which in the end is a net-zero contribution to the social media ecosystem. At x follower count, does that Twitter account immediately get pushed into entirely new territory, where the wine tastes better and the projects are more lucrative? Read More »

Content Management Systems Done Right

By Jeff White: May 03, 2012

Filed Under: Development, Jeff

Only a few short years ago, we built as many sites using static HTML and occasionally (gasp!) Flash as we did using a Content Management System (CMS). This was due to several factors. In 2002, there were a lot more sites that were simple brochure-ware, and most companies still weren’t using their web properties as dynamic platforms for selling, conversing with and informing their customers and community.

A decade later, however, and the vast majority of organizations have come around to the web as a primary marketing medium. As such, most sites on the web today use a CMS. There’s plenty of choices when it comes to picking a system, and this post isn’t about the benefits of one CMS over another. No matter which CMS you choose though, it’s important to understand what you’re buying and what it will do for you. Read More »