I Was Palgarized!

Oh, the horror!

Today is a day that will live in infamous infamy.

On my new blog (that I encourage all of you to go to it right now and subscribe to it immediately) I posted about a bold American Idol prediction. I was so jazzed that I went on my MySpace page and sent it out as a bulletin.

But lo and behold...

...45 minutes later I get a bulletin with the EXACT SAME TITLE. And when I read it, it had the exact same content with a couple of word changes and , of course, the thief's name as author.

It gets better.

When I confronted my "friend", he told me in a matter of words, "it's not copyrighted or anything. Besides I'm not a marketer, so it's not like I'm stepping on your toes."

Well...I informed him that my internet posts are, in fact, copyrighted the minute I put them up and they may not be redistributed without attribution. And I also gave him a crash course in ethics (as if he had any). Lastly, I demanded he remove the bulletin.

His response is priceless.

He deleted me as his friend. Not that I care, but as he probably knows, now I can't see if the plagiarizer took it down or not.

I just don't get it. In this world of Web 2.0 and sharing, you'd think this kind of thing wouldn't happen. But I guess some people are just desperate for original thoughts.

Of course, if he doesn't respond to me anymore, I just might point all of you to his profile so you can "have a word with him" about stealing other people's intellectual property.

Success always,
Carlon
www.BraveNewMarketing.com

Top Mistakes in Web 2.0 Marketing Part 1

NOTICE: This blog is going through some changes. I want to welcome all of you to check out my new blog at my home page at www.BraveNewMarketing.com. All material from this blog was ported over there, but the new blog will focus on marketing through Web 2.0 and how Web 2.0 has changed and continues to change the way we marketing online. This current blog will continue but the focus may shift to something more specific like copywriting or marketing for independent professionals (haven't decided yet).

So, without further ado...

Top Mistakes in Web 2.0 Marketing Part 1

SPAM. That’s was easy. End of post. Seriously…

…now that that’s out of the way, we can get to all the other mistakes people use when using social media (Web 2.0) to market. But know this: I am telling you these things because I have made these mistakes and in this series, I will humiliate myself for your benefit.

Mistake #1 No Focal Point

Many people go to different social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. The only problem is that those sites are best for driving traffic to your main web site. This is important for 2 reasons:

1. If you try to sell products on these sites, they will shut you down. Recently MySpace rightfully deleted SPAM profiles and the profiles of those who use automated bots to add friends and maker comments. Good for MySpace!

2. Social networking is about building community, not about selling. You may find this an odd statement coming from me since this blog is about using social networking to market yourself (well…you may not know what this blog is about if you are new because I failed to port my more recent posts from my other now-defunct blog and am now having to manually put them back…but I’ll leave that mistake to another post in this series.) But think about this: when you become part of a community and establish yourself as an expert, people will seek you out elsewhere…and isn’t it convenient that there is a link to your web site or blog (I prefer linking to a blog) on your profile! You made it so simple.

By not having a focal point to send people to, you are not maximizing your social networking. In fact, you might end up spreading yourself out so thin that all of your social network marketing is rendered useless.

Tune in for another top mistake and discover how I systematically destroyed my own blog before I realized I had a system for destroying it. It’ll make you laugh. It’ll make you cry. It’s a must see!!!!

To your success,

Carlon Haas

www.carlonhaas.com

Want to "Make Money Online?"...Read This first

I'd like to first thank all of you who commented on the post about my wife. It seems to have brought a bunch of you out and only confirms my theory that putting up pictures of women on my blog appeals to my male audience :-)

Here's another post from my new blog (the new blog deals with marketing on social media or Web 2.0). but I did import this blog to it so that people who don't know this blog could get the information without having to subscribe to 2 blog.

anyway..on with the show..

I’m in DC for Yanik silver’s Underground Online Seminar III.

This is one cool event. I’ve heard about it for years, but this is the first time I’ve been able to attend. I’m hoping to learn cutting-edge internet marketing and internet business tactics.

I stress business here because a lot of people who have e-mailed me think that I want to teach them “how to make money on the internet”. But that’s not what I do.

I want to teach people how to grow a business online. When I talk about marketing on Web 2.0, it is a way of doing business that stresses the person behind the company rather than the company itself.

People buy form people they like and trust. And the internet has made it much easier to get to know and trust others. Just go to my MySpace page, and you’ll learn all about me. Or look at my bookmarks to see what interests me. Soon, I’ll be uploading videos to YouTube (I know…some of you are e-mailing me about my lack of videos…but in all fairness, I’ve had some technical issues on the videos which I will fix next week…but wait I have a great video of my daughter singing Frosty the snowman…priceless).

Yes, I could be lying on all those pages. But then again the internet doesn’t let you hide very well. So, I don’t recommend it. But the point is all “internet tactics” should be about growing a business whether it’s all online or an offline business you are promoting online.

Anyway…I’ll post about these issues individually. But take this nugget from today’s post:

You are in business first and online second. By using social media (Web 2.0) to connect with others individually, your chances of marketing that business successfully will go up. And when your business is successful, then and only then will you make money on the internet.

To Your Success,

Carlon Haas

www.carlonhaas.com

Is My Wife Withholding "Model Money" From Me?

Note: This first appeared on my new blog @ www.BraveNewMarketing.com

OK. This isn’t about marketing or social media…but I was looking at the cover of the Wall Street Journal yesterday when lo and behold I saw my wife! I had no idea she was a model for Jil Sander. Or is she?

I was pretty upset because I have not seen a dime of that “model money” coming into the company coffers. She (of course) proclaims her innocence.

You be the judge. One is from the journal, the other my wife’s passport picture (yes…it’s from her passport). Tell me if I shouldn't be expecting some extra "model money" this year?

SXSW: Firsthand Account of A Stupid Criminal Story

The story you re about to read is true. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Cue music: bum-bum-bum-bum

It was a night like any other at SXSW. Carlon Haas & Steve Harper were out, looking for the next party. The party that would get them free booze. But instead they found rain.

Lots and lots of rain.

But there was hope. Shelter. A calm amid the torrent. A shelter that included the much sought after free booze.

The tent. They thought of it as a second home, as they had hit it every day it was open. With booze, it sure felt like home.

But this time, it was different. A strange aura filled the tent. As they strode in, Haas again explained why he forgot his drink card, but emphatically pointed out that he was an important panelist and should be let in.

He was let in. But just then someone was walking out. A police officer—one of Austin’s finest—noted, “Hey, did that guy who just walked out of here work for you?”

“No,” door lady replied.

“Well, he took your laptop.”

The laptop. An old clunker of a laptop. More akin to a paperweight but useful nonetheless. Haas and Harper used it the day before to sign up for free accounts. F-R-E-E.

The criminal, now apprehended about 3 footsteps away from the tent came in with laptop in bright fluorescent bag. Haas and Harper stood ready to assist the police in case this alleged hardened criminal decided to bolt (yet gingerly held their cups of beer so as not to spill any).

The alleged criminal sat there, accepting defeat. Then, he strung together a heartwrenching string of incoherent sentences about why he did it. Confusion and compassion prevailed.

A SXSW official was called to the scene. And alas, the alleged criminal would feel the wrath of SXSW.

The official’s anger was palatable (Haas and Harper, innocent as they were, were even afraid and so went back to the comfort of the beer stand).

It seems this criminal mastermind had been kicked out of SXSW twice in the last 3 years. And now his $500 badge would be revoked all for a laptop that he could have bought for $10 on eBay.

They stripped the alleged criminal of his badge and all the cool buttons he had collected. He was left badge-less, and escorted out in handcuffs by Austin's finest.

Banned from SXSW!

As well it should be. Haas and Harper wanted to tell the alleged criminal to get into a new line of work. But they didn’t get the chance. They were off in search of free food.

SXSW continues…

Brought to you by:

Carlon Haas of

http://carlonhaas.com

Editor's note: This story was first published on Carlon's new Brave New Marketing blog at http://carlonhaas.com

SXSW: The Ideal Client

Well, yesterday my friends and fellow marketers Steve Harper and Jen Blackert conducted our panel “How to Easily Attract Your IDEAL Client.”

The panel was great and I enjoyed spreading the word about direct response marketing and Web 2.0. I even mentioned the pioneer of marketing by selflessness Paris Hilton.

I’m not so sure that everyone got it…but readers of my blog get it. And if you don’t you should read my post about Paris Hilton and her pre-Web 2.0 marketing genius.

At some point in the future SXSW will podcast the panel, and I’ll let all of you know when they do so you can listen to it.

Celebrity sightings: So far, I’ve managed to see the following celebrities at SXSW: Elisha Cuthbert, Neil Young, the guy from “Boiler Room”, Jenna Jameson (sort of), and some more celebrities that I can’t remember because I have had one too many “beverages” provided to me by my good friends at DMX.

Stay tuned as I will blog about some useful technologies I’ve discovered for internet marketing at SXSW.

To your success,

Carlon Haas

www.carlonhaas.com

SXSW Update: The Brave New Marketing World of Web 2.0

As some of you know, I am speaking tomorrow at South by Southwest (SXSW).

And let me tell you…

…I am loving this event so far. Given my love of Web 2.0 marketing, I am planning to try to meet some of the people behind many of my favorite Web 2.0 siteslike the guys from Upcoming,org, Digg.com, and a whole lot more. I’ll be hitting the FireFox event later for sure (if you don’t have FireFox, I suggest you download it immediately).

If you see me on the streets of Austin, give me a shout out.

And please come to my panel tomorrow if you are attending.

You can check out all my upcoming events on the sidebar.

I’ll be updating it daily during this whole week at SXSW.

To your success,

Carlon Haas

P.S. You can take a sneak peek at my new web site. It'll eventually replace this blog as I have now fully embraced the "Web 2.0" way.

http://www.carlonhaas.com