|
Training for Book Authors
|
|
|
Other Resources for Book Authors & Publishers
|
|
|
Please Support Our Advertisers
|
|
|
|
|
|
Don't Be A Toxic Twitter Termite
Copyright (c) 2009-2023 Willie Crawford
Two weeks ago, I noticed that termites were eating the wood around my front door. I was concerned, but not alarmed, since my house is bricked all around the exterior.
I called an exterminator who came out and eased my mind even more. He explained that while I did have a termite infestation they were the subterranean termites rather than the feared Formosan Termites.
If you Google the term "Formosan Termites," you'll come across pictures of a creature so veracious that houses infested by them often fell in half. House that are really infested by them often cannot be saved.
So, I felt lucky to have a less serious termite, and simply arranged for the exterminator to send a technician out to treat my house.
When the very polite exterminator came, he explained that he was going to drill holes near the sides of the house, every eight inches wherever there was a concrete slab (such as front porch, back patio, and driveway). He pumped poison into those holes and filled them back in, forming a barrier.
Next he dug a trench, all the way around the house, right against the foundation. He pumped poison into this trench, and filled it in.
Then he asked me to sign a paper, saying that he was finished and that soon my termite problem would be GONE.
He went on to explain that the termites would actually kill each other by being too social. Termites groom each other, and so what happens is that a few termites get the poison on them, and they take it into the colony. Then by grooming each other, they spread it throughout the colony, whereby they eventually wipe out the entire colony.
This is a case where being social is deadly.
I spend time in another world where being social can be deadly, and where you have to watch out for creatures carrying poison. That world is the world of online social networking. Fortunately, if you follow just a few rules, you avoid the poison, most often spread in the form of negativity.
Here are the very simple rules that I follow when interacting on social networking sites and why.
1) Avoid negative people. I control my thoughts and feelings. I don't let people filled with negativity "rub off" on me. When someone that I encounter on a social networking site comes across as overly negative, I simply remove myself from their world. I stop following them.
2) Don't talk religion. My religious beliefs were passed to me by my parents, grandparents, and other elders, while I was still a child. As I grew older, I examined what they taught me, and developed my own belief system, still based largely upon what they taught me. That's how most of us arrive at our current religious beliefs, or lack thereof.
During my 50 trips around the sun, I've noticed that no matter what you say to many people you will never change their religious beliefs to the same as yours... and I personally don't believe that you should try to. I've also noticed something VERY strange about many of us... we naturally assume that other people that we interact with believe the same as we do.
People KILL each other over differences in religion, and it's a topic that I simply choose not to engage in on the social networking sites.
3) Don't talk politics. In American society, and in many other societies, it's actually our civic duty to participate in electing our leaders, and making sure that they serve the will of the people.
The problems with discussing politics are the same as with religion... people assume that you believe the same as they do. Just as in religion, they are so convince that they are right, and they assume that you are a rational, intelligent creature... therefore how could you NOT see the world the same as they do.
As I watched the conversation on Twitter during the most recent presidential elections, one thing was really reinforced. It's very difficult to change a person's point of view. People watched the presidential debates, and their comments on Twitter were basically that their candidate had won...regardless of which candidate they supported.
4) Connect with those interested in the same topics as you are. When you follow, and are followed by those interested in, or even passionate about, the same topics that you are interested in, you'll naturally discuss things interesting to both parties. This makes for a satisfying interaction.
You'll naturally share fact and resources of interest to both you and your followers.
Speaking of sharing resources, be yourself and you'll say the right thing most of the time. When the authentic YOU shines through, networking on the social networking sites is effortless. I often have people who are new to social networking ask me what they should say. My answer is be authentic!
Back to sharing resources, I see no problem with sharing links to useful resources that you feel will be of interest to your followers. That's where connecting with others with like interests becomes important though.
I also don't see anything wrong with sharing affiliate links. When you are recommending something that you really believe in, what's the problem? The "purist" who DO have a problem with your periodically having links in your posts will simply exit your world - they'll unfollow you. That's not a bad thing, since you don't really resonate with them.
You DO need to study the culture of the social networking platforms that you are on. Some are more open to certain types of interactions.
As an example, if your primary purpose in being on the social networking sites is to promote your business (if you are a Type-A personality... all business) then you want to seek out sites where a lot of people like you hang out. Those sites do exist. An excellent example, is the site Sokule, pronounced "So Cool." Sokule was set up by marketers, for marketers. You are actually encouraged to advertise on the site.
Sokule has several levels of memberships, starting at free, but with upgrades that give you more built-in applications at each level. I am a member at the top level (a "Founder") and the tools that I have even allow me to direct message ALL of my followers every three days. That in effect even means that I can consider my Sokule followers, those who choose to connect with me, as being a quasi-list.
You can check out Sokule at http://budurl.com/fjnk
Go ahead and grab a free Sokule account if you market anything online. It's the perfect platform for marketing your business. As you dig into Sokule, you'll discover that within three weeks of my starting to actively promote Sokule, I was in the top THREE all-time referrers, and the NUMBER-1 referrer of upgraded members. So, I'm telling you about a platform that I know like the back of my hand and generate a LOT of business from.
I also know Twitter well. As I rapidly approach 30,000 followers, I am getting the hang of being a good citizen on "Planet Twitter." That's why I felt compelled to share this article with you.
I saw a lot of Twitter users who, like the termites, are unknowingly taking poison back deep within the colony, and spreading it onto the community members that they interact with. Don't you be one of those people poisoning the community. Awareness, is the key to not being a spreader of Twitter toxins.
I'll close with one final reason that you don't want to come across so toxic on ANY social networking platforms, with Twitter being the one garnering all of the buzz right now... when many companies are considering hiring an individual, a routine part of their pre-employment investigation is to see if you are on the social networking sites, and if so, what you are like there.
Companies, potential business partner, etc., understand the importance of NOT bringing those with toxic personalities into their folds. Now hopefully you do too. Now, hopefully you also understand why you absolutely must not be a "Toxic Twitter Termite."
|
Willie Crawford is a 13 year veteran of internet marketing who was voted one of "The 50 Most Powerful and Influential Men In Social Media" in 2008. You'll find Willie on most of the major social media sites using the username WillieCrawford. Willie also shares his thoughts, experiences and internet marketing advice at http://WillieCrawford.com/blog2/
|
VOTE ON THIS ARTICLE
Needs Work >>
0 -
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5
<< Excellent Article
Tell our authors what you think about their article.
|
Top-Level Category: Business Online Articles || Related Categories: Internet Articles
10 Most Recent Articles Written by Willie Crawford
How To Have An Endless Stream Of Highly Qualified Free Leads (Part 2)
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2011-07-26 |
Word Count: 854 |
Page Views: 5266
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
In part-1, I mentioned how to publish on Kindle to create
free leads. Now here's the rest of the strategy to easily
get several books on your topic working for you as lead
generators.
How To Have An Endless Stream Of Highly Qualified Free Leads
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2011-07-24 |
Word Count: 675 |
Page Views: 5220
| Votes: 7 |
Rating: 1.86
Do you dream of having so many customers that you can be
very selective, and can choose only the ideal customers to
work with? Well, it's not a dream... for me and many
friends who have also discovered "the secret!"
Follow The Experts Who Do What They Teach
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-11-02 |
Word Count: 897 |
Page Views: 5532
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.40
As I'm sure that you realize, not all online marketing
experts are the same. Some are only interested in your
money, and they know that the quickest and easiest way to
get it is to sell you "the dream." Many so-called experts
have never done what they teach. They come online, survey
the landscape, and decide that teaching is easier than
doing.
How To Profit From Really Inexpensive Website Traffic
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-10-28 |
Word Count: 1200 |
Page Views: 5028
| Votes: 6 |
Rating: 1.17
All online marketers eventually realize that a steady flow
of targeted traffic is the very life's blood of their
online business. At that point some decide to focus on
generating free traffic via methods such as article
marketing and search engine optimization. That's how I
generated most of my website traffic for many years.
How To Earn An Online Living As A Writer
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-07-27 |
Word Count: 373 |
Page Views: 5022
| Votes: 6 |
Rating: 1.17
Since 1996 I've written over 1600 articles. These articles
have provided me with a decent living in numerous ways. Here
is how I've used the articles that I've written:
Your Internet Marketing Virtual Vending Machine Route
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-04-13 |
Word Count: 1456 |
Page Views: 5195
| Votes: 4 |
Rating: 2.75
When I'm being introduced at seminars and tele-events, the
emcee often points out that I have over 1600 websites. This
usually grabs the attention of audience members who have to
wonder why I have so many websites, and how I manage them.
So, let me enlighten you.
A False Economy I NO LONGER Practice Do You?
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-03-15 |
Word Count: 676 |
Page Views: 4965
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.40
Many of us go out and buy some of the best software and
hardware tools available. We read about some tool that could
easily DOUBLE our business, or TRIPLE our productivity, so
we wisely purchase it. After the purchase is made, the whole
process goes sideways...
My New Top 10 Free Website Traffic Generation Methods - Part 1
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-03-10 |
Word Count: 885 |
Page Views: 5600
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 1.20
In 2008, I wrote an ebook that revealed my most effective
methods of generating free website traffic. As online
conditions and technologies change, I feel it's now time to
update that ebook. However, instead of revealing my new top
10 free website traffic generation methods in ebook format,
I'm going to do it in a 10-part article series.
The End Of Dumb Affiliate Marketing
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-02-09 |
Word Count: 921 |
Page Views: 5068
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 1.20
One of the saddest things that I witness day after day is
affiliate marketers who really struggle to make sales. They
send out email after email, promotion after promotion, yet
often make very few sales. This is not only sad, it's also
needless "practice bleeding." Making affiliate sales is
easy when you know the secret. It's even very scientific
and does have fairly predictable results.
Are Your Websites Secure Or Is The Back Door Wide Open?
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-02-02 |
Word Count: 722 |
Page Views: 4585
| Votes: 2 |
Rating: 0.50
One of the topics that all of us online business people are
aware of but usually don't feel totally on top of is
website security. Coming from a background of having spent
over 20 years in the U.S. military, and having spent four
years as a software tester, I have a greater awareness of
the need for continuous vigilance in this area than your
average marketer.
All of Author's Articles on this site: Willie Crawford Articles
Most Recent "Business Online" Articles
Four Tips For Creating An Effective Authors' Resource Box
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-27 |
Word Count: 1669 |
Page Views: 8015
| Votes: 18 |
Rating: 2.50
In article marketing, there are many factors that will
affect your articles' ability to promote your website in
the most effective manner. In this article, we will briefly
discuss a couple those factors, before we dive into how to
create an effective Authors' Resource Box, also known as
the About The Author Information.
Website Traffic Generation: Winning the Love of the Traffic Fairy
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-24 |
Word Count: 1149 |
Page Views: 8904
| Votes: 14 |
Rating: 1.86
Some people still believe that all they have to do is build
a website and customers will magically appear on their
site... Once they have built their websites, they wait
anxiously for the "Traffic Fairy" to come and sprinkle its
magic dust on their website too, so that they can make lots
of money like other success website owners.
What Kind Of Backlinks Are Best At Helping Your Website In Google?
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-21 |
Word Count: 439 |
Page Views: 9961
| Votes: 23 |
Rating: 2.74
I was in the Warrior Forum, and someone asked what kinds of
Backlinks are worth pursuing. This is my answer to that
query.
Understanding the Mechanics of Effective Article Marketing and Article Syndication
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-01 |
Word Count: 1399 |
Page Views: 6545
| Votes: 10 |
Rating: 1.80
Visit several marketing blogs or marketing forums, and you
will find dozens of people proclaiming the death of article
marketing as an effective marketing tool. Before we start
agreeing with them, consider this...
Top 10 Reasons Why Online Marketers Fail With Article Marketing
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-31 |
Word Count: 1025 |
Page Views: 7803
| Votes: 13 |
Rating: 2.08
If you've been marketing products online for any length of
time, you've likely heard people talk about the power and
promise of article marketing for the promotion of your
online business. Unfortunately, many online marketers have
tried to utilize article marketing to benefit their online
business and failed. In this article, I document the top ten
reasons why people fail to find success with article
marketing... And how to fix your article marketing
campaigns...
Article Marketing Tip: Stop Trying To Sell From Within Your Articles
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-30 |
Word Count: 1229 |
Page Views: 5992
| Votes: 10 |
Rating: 1.40
The basic premise of article marketing is to present people
information that will be important to them, then at the end
of the article, present information "about the author" and
offer to the reader a means to see how the author can help
the reader further. When done well, article marketing
continues to be one of the most effective methods of
promotion that one could employ online.
The Six Degrees of Internet Marketing
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-30 |
Word Count: 991 |
Page Views: 8416
| Votes: 14 |
Rating: 2.43
The theory behind the Six Degrees of Separation is that all
people on earth can be connected together in as little as
six steps. Now, I know what you might be thinking at this
juncture... That sounds fun and interesting, but what does
that have to do with Internet Marketing? That is a great
question that I am going to answer for you in this
article...
How To Win More Eyeballs for Your Offers and Websites
Written by: Bruce Lansing |
Distributed: 2013-07-29 |
Word Count: 1373 |
Page Views: 5910
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 1.45
Most people using search engines on the Internet are looking
for answers to questions and solutions to problems. If you
can give people what the answers they want, you will be able
to position your business as one worth hiring today or
tomorrow.
How To Increase Your Rates and Earnings As a Freelance Writer
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-29 |
Word Count: 1191 |
Page Views: 5932
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 1.55
Freelance writers fill a very important role in today's
business marketplace. They create the on-demand, customized
content that business owners everywhere need to push their
businesses forward. In this article, the author explains
what freelance writers should do to ensure that employers
will pay them well for their services.
Promoting Your Business With Content:: Defining Your Writing Strategy
Written by: Bruce Lansing |
Distributed: 2013-07-25 |
Word Count: 677 |
Page Views: 5635
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 2.00
Many people suggest that you should write articles on the
basis of the benefits that people will get from reading your
articles. I'd like to suggest that there is a better
reason, and that is to write your articles on the basis of
what problem people will be able to solve, as a result of
reading your articles.
Most Viewed "Business Online" Articles
Attracting Readers to your Book
Written by: Alastair Hall |
Distributed: 2006-05-18 |
Word Count: 708 |
Page Views: 46564
| Votes: 17 |
Rating: 2.06
One of the common and obvious ways to market a self-published
book is having your own website. The harder part is how to
attract your target audience and then convert the sale.
How To Make Visitors Bookmark Your Site
Written by: Cheryl Miller |
Distributed: 2006-10-10 |
Word Count: 536 |
Page Views: 38861
| Votes: 21 |
Rating: 2.19
When visitors bookmark your site it is a sign that you have built
a great website and are pleasing them. Visitors think highly
enough of your site to want to return and possibly tell others
about it. You are not only increasing traffic from your existing
clientele you are encouraging new traffic by means of viral
marketing.
Treat Online 'Guests' With Respect
Written by: Rick Sloboda |
Distributed: 2007-07-27 |
Word Count: 472 |
Page Views: 30330
| Votes: 33 |
Rating: 3.33
Does your website show your customers lack of respect? Review the
following checklist to find out.
How I Got 70,000 Useless Visitors To My Site In One Day! (One Internet Marketer's Analysis of Social Bookmark Traffic)
Written by: Titus Hoskins |
Distributed: 2007-11-06 |
Word Count: 1545 |
Page Views: 28351
| Votes: 10 |
Rating: 1.70
Is social bookmark traffic useless? Is it even worth cultivating
for your site? Can it be used from an online marketing
perspective? Read to discover one Internet Marketer's analysis
of social bookmark/media traffic...
Successful Article Marketers Help Readers Solve Problems
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-24 |
Word Count: 816 |
Page Views: 26025
| Votes: 34 |
Rating: 2.79
Every week, I have the opportunity to speak with people about the
benefits and challenges of using article marketing to promote an
online business. Article marketing is about getting your sales
message in front of potential customers and to get links to your
website. Many interpret this to mean that an article should
directly promote a website within the article, but that approach
is wrong and will reduce one's success using this methodology.
Tips For Building Your First Website
Written by: Benny Tsabba |
Distributed: 2007-05-30 |
Word Count: 1511 |
Page Views: 19430
| Votes: 18 |
Rating: 2.11
New people are coming online everyday. And many of those people
desire to turn their spare time into spare cash. So begins their
journey.
The Importance Of Effective Follow-up
Written by: Kate Smalley |
Distributed: 2007-01-15 |
Word Count: 493 |
Page Views: 14363
| Votes: 22 |
Rating: 2.55
Marketing experts say that following up with clients is crucial
to successful selling because most prospects do not buy the first
time, according to Aweber, a leading autoresponder company.
People must encounter a marketing message multiple times before
making a purchasing decision.
Today's Google Bots and What They Do
Written by: Kim Roach |
Distributed: 2006-08-02 |
Word Count: 1061 |
Page Views: 14062
| Votes: 16 |
Rating: 2.63
Google currently indexes over 8 billion web pages. However,
before these pages were placed in the index, they were each
crawled by a special spider known as the GoogleBot. Unfortunately, many web masters do not know about the internal workings of this virtual robot. This article will attempt to
reveal some of the most important Google spiders, their function,
and how they affect you as a web master. We'll start with the
well-known GoogleBot.
Ten Tips For User Friendly Online Registration Forms
Written by: Jim Romanik |
Distributed: 2009-02-24 |
Word Count: 775 |
Page Views: 11913
| Votes: 15 |
Rating: 0.93
Have you ever registered or attempted to register for an event
and spent half an hour trying to figure out what you needed to
do? Or have you used an online registration form that lost your
data or was so complicated that it seemed like more work than
faxing the form?
Successful Forum JVs and How To Get Them
Written by: Diana Barnum |
Distributed: 2006-06-15 |
Word Count: 648 |
Page Views: 11675
| Votes: 19 |
Rating: 2.11
The forming of common alliances, also referred to as a joint
venture (JV), happens nearly every day in the business world.
One of the most popular means of linking people up online of so
that they can work together on their projects is via forums,
where people of all levels of business and expertise post in
common threads.
Highest Ranked "Business Online" Articles
Is Your Business 'Out Of Site'? Employ The Ultimate Marketing Tool
Written by: Rick Sloboda |
Distributed: 2007-01-09 |
Word Count: 445 |
Page Views: 5460
| Votes: 21 |
Rating: 3.76
With the rapid expansion of the digital economy, the web site is
conceivably the most powerful marketing and sales tool you can employ.
Find out what a web site can do for you.
How To Use Your Race To Get Rich
Written by: Herbert Harris |
Distributed: 2009-07-07 |
Word Count: 1407 |
Page Views: 5857
| Votes: 48 |
Rating: 3.71
Amid recent news reports that there continues to be an ongoing
and substantial gap between the net worth of Whites and other
racial groups, it is easy to be distracted and overwhelmed by the
raw data. However, I am immediately reminded of a quote offered
by an economic expert from the past... "There are lies, damned
lies, and statistics!"
Why I'm A 'B-Level Marketer!'
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2007-07-16 |
Word Count: 917 |
Page Views: 6669
| Votes: 26 |
Rating: 3.58
At a recent Internet marketing seminar, I was sitting around the
hotel lobby with approximately 20 other seminar attendees and
speakers. The seminar's host was in attendance, and the
conversation covered a range of internet marketing topics with
extreme frankness. Our proximity to the hotel bar certainly
contributed to our 'conviviality.'
15 fixes for a failing website
Written by: Rick Sloboda |
Distributed: 2007-02-07 |
Word Count: 593 |
Page Views: 3439
| Votes: 25 |
Rating: 3.48
Employ these 15 tactics to improve your search engine rankings,
engage visitors and convert more sales.
The Most Important Ingredient for Info Product Success (is You)
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2008-04-15 |
Word Count: 981 |
Page Views: 5899
| Votes: 15 |
Rating: 3.47
Last week I was attending a conference and mentioned to someone I
help small business owners create information products. The other
person was very friendly until I said "information products."
Then the temperature in the room dropped about 10-degrees
How to Keep Your Article Content Fresh and Interesting
Written by: Craig Ritsema |
Distributed: 2006-08-29 |
Word Count: 699 |
Page Views: 5446
| Votes: 25 |
Rating: 3.44
Webmasters everywhere are constantly on the lookout for fresh and
interesting content for their website. Along with these content
qualities is the requirement that it be unique. Everyone wants
their website to stand out above the others in the search engine
results. So what is the trick for you to keep a steady supply of
this quality content coming your way?
How To Build A Profitable Twitter Profile
Written by: Harold Hemmings |
Distributed: 2009-08-06 |
Word Count: 1357 |
Page Views: 2601
| Votes: 8 |
Rating: 3.38
Online marketers everywhere are finally starting to tap into
the Twitter Marketplace. Marketers are getting involved in
Twitter at awesome rates, but all seem to have one
unanswered question: How do we actually monetize this
marketplace? It is my goal that by the time you have read
this article, you will have a clear idea of exactly how to
monetize your activities in Twitter.
Increasing Productivity In Your Online Business
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2006-06-14 |
Word Count: 1407 |
Page Views: 7290
| Votes: 40 |
Rating: 3.35
Running an online "empire" of approximately 1600 websites and
blogs, selling a variety of products, services and ideas, I
have to be much more productive than the average person in a
"regular job."
Turn A One-Night-Stand With Google Into A Long-Term Relationship
Written by: Diane Metz |
Distributed: 2007-07-10 |
Word Count: 882 |
Page Views: 2604
| Votes: 6 |
Rating: 3.33
Want to win the favor of Google? Then you've got to build a
long-term relationship with her. Many new SEO strategies are
simply recycled old-tricks. And Google is a smart gal who can see
right through them. Position your website for the future by
understanding what Google really likes â€" and what she
really loathes.
Treat Online 'Guests' With Respect
Written by: Rick Sloboda |
Distributed: 2007-07-27 |
Word Count: 472 |
Page Views: 30330
| Votes: 33 |
Rating: 3.33
Does your website show your customers lack of respect? Review the
following checklist to find out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Article Reprint Rights
|
This work is
licensed under a
Creative Commons
License
You are not required to show the creative commons license notice when you reprint this work.
|
|
Article Statistics
|
Word Count: 1358
Total Views: 4326
Article Rating: 0.50 of 5
Votes Cast: 4
More Articles By Author:
Articles On This Website
Last Distribution Date:
2009-12-30 09:15:00
Internal ID: #7178
|
|
|
Home