During the debt ceiling showdown politicians demonstrated how bad the global economy really is. After all the back and forth debates where did America end up? Democrats and Republicans signed a deal that no one liked and raised the debt ceiling. Well no kidding raise the debt ceiling that’s what U.S house of cards has been built on for the past 100 years. Considering 90 % of U.S wealth is controlled by less than 10 % of the entire population who is really on the hook for the debt crisis. I say its you the people.  Regular employees pay 40% of their salary to the government while small and big businesses pay next to nothing in taxes with the agreement profits will re-invested into new employment opportunities. Its strange unemployment is still hovering just between 9 –  10 %!  

The U.S is not controlled by President Obama but really its controlled by the Fed ala monetary policy. The Federal Reserve is a separate organization created in 1913 by then President Woodrow Wilson, the Fed controls the money supply or simply put the printing of U.S dollars. For every U.S dollar printed the U.S tax payer pays interest.

Debt Ceiling

This brings me back to the debt ceiling crisis; during George Bush’s Presidency he raised the debt ceiling 9 times which included a bailout of corporate banks of America. These corporate banks created bonds refered to as Collaterized Debt Obligations or derivatives that rating agency such as S&P and Moody’s graded AAA. Fast forward to today and the U.S tax payer is now obligated to pay back 14 TR or 46k per person. It shocks me to write this but banks such as Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Bear Sterns created toxic complex derivatives packaged as CDOs sold them to investors or taxpayers than hedged against the derivatives; to make matters worse you the taxpayers than bailed out all these banks to the tune of 14,000,000,000,000. That’s triple dipping!

To make matters worse the S&P decided to downgrade the U.S economy to AA+  due to political uncertainty. I have to admit I agree with the rating but what cost will this affect the economy and could this plunge the global economy into  a double dip recession 2.0.

T.O

All this hype should sound the alarms for seasoned investors. When the dotcom bubble burst in 2000 it didnt just disable the tech funds but the entire global financial system. I believe the tech bubble of 2000 was an evolutionary period and investors with long memories wont make the same mistakes.

Word on the street lies in the technology sector with companies that exploit cloud computing, broadband internet and mobility.  Social media is just another part of the marketing mix of the new tech cycle. That being said I will take a long look when Facebook funds arrive and it wasn’t long ago investors called Google a bubble so lets keep an open mind.

 Timothy C O’Reilly

@timothycoreilly or www.twitter.com/timothycoreilly

http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyoreilly

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

The Leaning Tower of Pisa has 296 steps to reach the top. This blog was viewed about 1,200 times in 2010. If those were steps, it would have climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa 4 times

In 2010, there were 37 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 28 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 2mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was June 28th with 33 views. The most popular post that day was Timothy O’Reilly – Leadership Principles.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were linkedin.com, twitter.com, android-vs-ipad.co.cc, digg.com, and healthfitnesstherapy.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for iamtimothynews, tablets, iamtimothy, blackberry messenger, and aida marketing.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Timothy O’Reilly – Leadership Principles June 2010

Create your own ads through Facebook June 2010
1 Like on WordPress.com,

Blackberry Apps for Entrepreneurs June 2010
1 comment and 1 Like on WordPress.com,

Web Analytics and Database Research July 2010

Marketing Principle that Apply to Social Media (AIDA) October 2010
1 comment

You Don’t get 500 million friends without making a few enemies. After watching the film ”500 million friends” tag line struck a chord with me.  I asked myself it probably makes more sense to call them 500 million customers. Because  we all are essentially operating a Facebook page which does not belong to us nor do we own the information or content  transmitted from the page.

In my opinion Facebook is a global network for people around the world to connect. Furthermore I believe Mark Zuckerberg revolutionized social media, network marketing and the internet as a whole. This film depicts Mark Zuckerberg as somewhat  of an ego manic that created Facebook to become part of Harvard Society ala Harvard Fraternities. But unbenounced to Mark he discovered he had created something much greater then he initially imagined. David Fincher (Director) brought the Harvard experience to life and I applaud him for creating such a masterpiece.  Jesse Einsenberg (Actor)  although he did create an intriguing character I didn’t feel it was an accurate depiction of Mark Zuckerberg.

Staying on topic I felt this film did not receive much notoriety as it deserved. Although Rotten Tomatoes and other critics did stamp an A+ rating on the film. I felt it didn’t have the impact on the box office as predicted. To be honest after watching this film I came to the conclusion that this film will define a generation. That’s  right define a generation.  I encourage everyone who currently operates a Facebook page to watch this film. It may change your thought process towards operating Facebook.

Timothy C O’Reilly

@timothycoreilly or www.twitter.com/timothycoreilly

http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyoreilly

AIDA

AIDA stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action this is a simple formula that relates to Social media marketing. Understanding the flow of tools and tactics will also help you to get your measurements and analytics in line with your goals.

Awareness

Awareness is getting people to know you exist and that you can provide a product, service or solve problem. At this level, conversations, interaction and content are king.

Interest

Bolster reasons why you are better than your competitors. Include features and benefits to help kick browser interest into gear. A few metrics you want to view are CTR (click-through-rate), retweets and specific content surround your brand or products.

Desire

Increase desire through communication and browser engagement, but to convert browsers desire to buy, you need to have a site that is modernized with search optimization. Take the browsers from interest to desire with a efficient calls-to-action, feature rich listings, and functional site. Some of the web metrics to focus on are bounce rate, time on site, pages viewed and refered links.

Action

Calls-to-Action on your site is a key element, and while social media can influence the action through the previous levels, it’s not going to have the same influence here. You need to make it easy and obvious for your customer to complete your desired action (purchase, sign up, lead form, etc.).

AIDA is  not a perfect model, but then nothing is. But keep AIDA in mind as you shape your social marketing strategy. It should help you generate results and prioritize your goals for success.

Timothy O’Reilly

@timothycoreilly or www.twitter.com/timothycoreilly

http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyoreilly

Social media users tend to make groups based on interests, which makes it easier to target the right prospects. Try targetting prospects with the profile you need online and infiltrate and promote directly.

The sale does not end when a customer makes a decision, rather, when he or she finds rational reasons to support the emotional ones. People need some kind of information (e.g. technical, pricing, etc.) that makes the decision justifiable from a rational point of view.

In social media, users tend to insert links to provide relevant content to back statments. In addition customers interact with one another to share experiences of rejoice or displeasure. This provides another avenue of advertisement for product and service.  In conclusion adapt to the way your prospects want to communicate with you – not the other way around.

Timothy C O’Reilly

@timothycoreilly or www.twitter.com/timothycoreilly

http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyoreilly

Yesterday Research in Motion unveiled its new tablet “The Playbook”. RIM has touted the Playbook will utilize OS and QNX. Additionally Playbook will be able to handle Flash content and Adobe Whoaaaa!  Playbook will also allow users to siphon data off of your BlackBerry handset via Bluetooth tethering and display it on your PlayBook. While the PlayBook doesn’t seem to rely on phone content alone, the press release from the company says that users can “use their tablet and smart phone interchangeably without worrying about syncing or duplicating data.” RIM didn’t hand out any solid launch dates beyond “early 2011,” and of course, there was no mention of retail price. In order to gain market share I’m estimating a retail price  between 299.99 – 999.99.

Timothy O’Reilly

@timothycoreilly or www.twitter.com/timothycoreilly

http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyoreilly

We already use our phones for everything: Calling, texting, surfing the web, video chats and updating our social networks. Society, by and large, has grown accustomed to mobile buzz for daily activities. Instant purchasing is the next evolution.

Mobile devices drive social media, and functions like geo-location thus making it easier for users to connect with others in their networks to share consumption habits and recommendations. For example, mobile users socially interact about favorite restaurants, artists stores and others venues. Businesses are beginning to integrate micro-shops to cash in on mobile purchases. Small and Large Businesses need to be prepared for instant purchases.

The real heart of small business mobile payments is the micro-transaction. Paying less is generally better than paying more. People are also more willing to pay frequent small payments rather than throw down a lump sum. Using iTunes as an example, more people would pay $0.99 for a song than shell out $12.99 for an entire album.

Mobile payments enhance merchants ability to collect data. Integrating  mobile payments to your small business can help record customer phone numbers, historical data of purchases. Having additional sources of data history on customers and their purchasing habits will allow your business to build a more structured on-line marketing campaign. 

Timothy O’Reilly

@timothycoreilly or www.twitter.com/timothycoreilly

http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyoreilly

You might be asking for self what is the difference between Cable Television and  Live Internet Stream. Apple TV or Google TV allow users to transition from streaming on-line videos and accessing email, search engines, and social media. Giving the users access to both cable television and internet platforms.   My predictions are the next couple of business life cycles home buyers will not be making the call to local cable providers but rather installing Internet streaming to their  large mentors formally televisions. 

Stay Tuned…….

Timothy C O’Reilly

@timothycoreilly or www.twitter.com/timothycoreilly

http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyoreilly

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Another school year is here students begin journeys through the classrooms overcoming trials and tribulations.  Having been far removed from the education system I reflect on the journey. Most influential lessons happened outside the classrooms. It may involve a love interest, a problematic group assignment, bad roommates, and everyone’s favorite over indulgence in alcohol. 

The school year is challenging and students need fundamental preparation before beginning this difficult journey. With the new advancements in engineering and technology I made a list of 5 tech tools that students can use this upcoming school year. Additionally I wanted pass down some influential advice so I listed 5 career guidelines.

Tech Tools

1. Laptop (Make digital notes that can be sent via email)
2. Data Stick for laptop (internet is accessible anywhere)
3.  Smart Phone with data plan (Mobile internet browsing has endless advantages.)
4. iPod or iPad with  iTunes account (download relevant music, podcasts, and iTunes U lectures)
5.  Seek Out Social media consultant (learn the basic guidelines to achieve a successful social media presence)

Career Advice Guidelines

1. Write down career goals.  (ex: profession, school, sports achievement)
2. Choose an influential role model that has achieved success in your area of interest.
3. Examine role model career path and follow or replicate .
4. Protect your reputation. This will define you long after school is over. (BEWARE OF FACEBOOK!)
5. Take an interest in basic level finance – learn your credit/debit and how this will impact on your life well after highschool/college.

 Timothy C O’Reilly

@timothycoreilly or www.twitter.com/timothycoreilly

http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyoreilly