Libraries

Went to the Canton Michigan Public Library this morning with some goals in mind. I wanted to work on homework, go to a meeting of a writers group, and just plain kill some time. I used to go to bookstores but all of them seem to be gone, unless I want to spend time and money getting to one that is many miles away. Lets see what I learned today.
     This library is built well and is used bay many people. I made a comment on twitter days ago that libraries should recreate themselves like bookstores to succeed. This is as close as you can get. There are many areas to use both silently and as a group. Immediately you can see the fundamental difference between this and a bookstore however simply due to government control. There are signs everywhere warning you that you may be both video and audio recorded at any time. I suppose we should be used to it by now, but I don't know if I ever will be. There is a small cafe here that serves beverages and small food items. Would it be possible to lease this space to a company such as Seattle's Best, like the bookstores or is the current business model adequate for what people want? Are libraries able to serve the public as a government subsidized bookstore? I suppose if you seek a way to somewhat segregate a "commercial" side from the quiet side this could work. This library already sells used books in a little side area. Adding new books or other reading material could be easy, but is it even needed. Perhaps Amazon could just add kiosks in libraries and donate a percentage of sales, like the coffee shop. I should draw up a model for what I am thinking.
     So, the meeting. One of the things about libraries is they tend to offer programs for the public to enjoy. If you click on their link above you will see that there were 5 events here today. I like reading a lot and and am one of the many that thought they would write someday. I realize I probably never will, but I thought I might learn something that would help me with even the limited writing a blog provides. I am afraid I probably won't improve my writing a lot, but thanks for reading it anyhow. The group was nice, well organised, and friendly. I may go back again, but no guarantees. I will be back to the library again though and next time maybe the violins will be playing at the front door again, that was nice.

Influence

To a very large extent men and women are a product of how they define themselves. As a result of a combination of innate ideas and the intimate influences of the culture and environment we grow up in, we come to have beliefs about the nature of being human. These beliefs penetrate to a very deep level of our psychosomatic systems, our minds and brains, our nervous systems, our endocrine systems, and even our blood and sinews. We act, speak, and think according to these deeply held beliefs and belief systems. 

-Jeremy W. Hayward 

Tuesday July 24th I attended a  tweetea at Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti. This months topic was influence and what it means. In one way or another everyone has influence over something. We are what we believe. The problem can start when we allow others to influence what it is that we believe. The truth is that we are being influenced through our entire lives. Who and what we are is a combination of all the things that have influenced us in our life time. We call this perspective. Our perspective changes as we grow both intellectually and physically. But how does one influence others?

      Generally our influence comes with knowledge. For many generations it has been common for empirical control to start with limiting the knowledge of the masses. Influence is also why it seems to be easier to screw up your first child more than the others. While you are an influence on them you are doing so from a perspective of ignorance. I know with mine I was allowing people to influence me with what they believed they  knew. The wake up came when I reminded myself that their children were not necessarily how I wanted mine to turn out, and maybe they were not the people I wanted to listen too. In any environment, work, government, school, or home influence can be seen as a control factor. Influencing from the position of authority is much different than the influence we have because of who we are. This is where the line can blur between influence and persuasion. When I have a perspective on something and I share it, you have the option of acting upon it or not. It is when I compel you to act on it with no options that it becomes persuasion. Often persuasion is a physical act as it can be hard to compel someones thoughts. When people are being compelled emotionally it is what we think of as peer pressure or bullying. This does not have to be physical, but can be. So as a leader we want to be aware of how we are with others. Are we influencing or persuading. It can make a difference in how one is followed and how effective they are as a leader.

Networking

Everything we do comes with the caveat of perspective. Going to events and looking for connections with people that can benefit you in some way may be the definition of networking in most peoples minds. This can lead to forgetting that connections can be made at any time and any way that works. I was laying around last week in a hospital bed with my kids visiting me, when one of their acquaintances from long ago came into my room. Turns out he works at the hospital now and was coming to transport me for tests. " How long have you worked here". Otis a simple question but one that opens up the door to inquire about job opportunities that maybe available. My son has been looking for work and managed to get a contact and information on how to apply. Networking is not about the social aspects of the meetings we attend. It is simply about talking to people and asking for an opportunity.

Must Have Profiles

There are several of what are referred to as must have profiles for analytics accounts. Each company should have a Raw Data Profile, Master Profile, Test Profile, and Access-Based Profiles. From  Justin Cutronis' book Google Analytics I have found these four profiles that shhould be used.

Raw Data Profile:
The term raw explains what this profile is exactly. It is the datawith no modifications done to it in any way. We need this profile so that there is always one profile to revert to if anything goes awrywith our other data while we are making modifications to it. When manipulating data we may encounter things which will make it necessary to start over. When this happens we can revert back to this profile and begin anew. Hopefully it will never be needed.
Master Profile:
Set up the master profile and never change it. Start out by filtering the data within this profile as much as possible to get your desired results then when you have what you want, walk away, do not change the profile unless absolutely necessary. If you must make any changes to a master profile, test them first using a test profile.
Test Profile:
This profile is used to test any changes that you may want to be make to another profile. It is here that changes to goal settings, profile settings, and filters are first looked at before installing them to not mess with any other data you may be collecting. It is important because changes made to a profile are forever, you cannot go back and recollect the lost data.
Access-Based Profiles:
These are specific based information that are unique to each company. Data that is given out on an as needed basis is controlled here. If you want only one person or one group to see cetain information you will create those profiles here and set up access to it for those desired people.

Moods

My mood sucks the last few days. I don't feel like I have lived an overly unhealthy life, however health issues seem to find me. Sometimes it really gets me down and makes me not want to try. Nice you say but what does his have to do with marketing or analytical. Well, if you look at marketing efforts today it may become more obvious. Ads are not just made and put out with no targets. Look at the ads out there today and find the ones that have no emotions attached to it. I say they do not exist. As I spend time looking at analytical one of the things that seem so very important is the persona of the targets. When I was first exposed to the concept I did not really understand why it mattered or if it worked. After all most of us think we know what others want as well as ourselves. Putting attributes to a persona gives much more perspective to their search possibilities. Example, when I am down like I have been recently I search for different things than when I feel well I look for things that make me feel better. Seems somewhat vague, but think about yourself as you search next time. Stop as you look at the results and ask yourself if you would look at the same recipes if you felt fit as you would if you felt fat. So you set your ads up to attract a certain persona. Now how does analytical help with this. You can look at some numbers and see what people are looking for. What this sys to me is that Internet marketing, like any marketing is a highly psychological science. I realize that I can look at the numbers better if I can seep rate my personal feelings from what I am seeing. More difficult than it seems, but by allowing my invisible friend to be my proxy, I at least have an opportunity to sepeeare.

More marketing power

While driving around yesterday I was listening to the dDetroit Tigers baseball game on the radio. I have done this for years so what is the big deal, right. Well,I found myself paying attention to things in a different way. I barely even noticed he game as I dissected the marketing info being tossed about as hard as a Verlander fastball. Here is a few things I payed attention to...
Every time a Tiger pitcher throws a strikeout the University of Toledo gets money for scholarships. I questioned why Eastern Michigan or any of the other schools in Michigan are not in on this, knowing the Tigers have a farm team in Toledo, but I digress. A homer money for another group and so on. This went on and on as different plays during the game sent money to places, but more importantly put a name out in the air for all to hear. Now of course the game was being played at Comerica Park and there was no loss of attempts at getting that name out there. There are even more visual ways this is done at the field and on television, but this is another article. Baseball is built for marketing. It may not have started that way but the rules make it easy. Every three outs there is a stop that is long enough to put in several commercials. The main ones that I noticed were the credit card ones. I listen as there are so many ways these companies tell me that they will give me this or that and give me back so much of what I spend. For some reason these commercials bother me a lot, as debt in itself is not a helpful thing, but using it because they are "helping" me is just plain mythical. We all are aware of how prevelant sports marketing is however.
So this brings me to a point. How does anyone know that all of this money is actually an investment and not just entertainment. Someone has to understand that spending money to market their products or the company itself is worth it. They track ROI all the time and aren't to show that there is a quality return on the marketing investment. The computer, and in turn analytics is making it possible to see of these efforts pay off. I imagine someone at say Comerica tracks to see if their website or credit card pages get increased hits and conversions during a baseball game. This seems to make tracking easier and is why an analytics tool is important. It may not be the end all to understanding marketing, but it sure is helping when it comes to understanding its impact. Think of all those companies who were so popular that they no longer advertise like.... Never mind.