Archive for August, 2011

Saabs, eBay, Selling and Research

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

By: Colette M. Williamson

Have you ever heard of a Saab? I hadn’t, that is until I married a Saab fanatic. Now I hear about Saabs at least two or three times a day. What is it? It’s a car that was originally made in Sweden and was bought by General Motors in the ‘90s. That about sums it up for me, but definitely not for my husband. (more…)

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Doing Business in Utah, Good or Bad?

Friday, August 5th, 2011

By Adam Ward

Those of us doing business in Utah realize what a great business environment we have here. We’re full of entrepreneurial activity. We have supportive government leaders, universities and other organizations. Businesses are open and collaborate with each other. And I believe we are seeing more and more positive press from outside the state on this issue.

So why don’t more companies locate here? And why is it sometimes hard to recruit talent to this state? Richard Nelson, president of the Utah Technology Council (UTC), believes there are two words that answer that question: Alcohol and Mormonism. And he is quick to point out that those are misconceptions which, if overcome, will go a long way toward convincing the rest of the country what we here in Utah already know: Utah is a great place to live, play, work and build a successful business.

So to help set the record straight, UTC has put out a couple of videos showcasing non-native Utahns debunking the myth that you can’t get a drink here, and that those pesky Mormons will spend all their time trying to convert you.

I’m interested in getting thoughts on these from people who haven’t lived in Utah. What do you think?





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Paying People to Like You

Monday, August 1st, 2011

By Adam Ward

When I was in high school, my neighbor’s dad paid one of my friends to take her to a school dance. I always wondered whether she knew what her dad had done, and if so, whether she enjoyed the date less because of it. They didn’t go on a second date, and I’ve maintained that you can’t genuinely pay for people to like you.  Apparently, the world of social media is proving me wrong.

Fast forward 20 years from my high-school days. Businesses are now trying to figure out how to capitalize on social media. Companies large and small are tripping all over each other trying to get Twitter followers or to get people to “like” them on Facebook. But what is interesting is how businesses are paying for those.

Last week I attended a Utah Technology Council forum where Randy Scott of SnappConner PR showed us a statistic that 75 percent of all Facebook “likes” are a result of paid ads.

And then there are the consultants. In June I attended the Internet Retailer show in San Diego. There was booth after booth of new businesses (some a few months old) that were talking about how, for a fee, they could get people to “like” us on Facebook. It struck me as funny that there were grown people in business attire talking about paying to get people to like you; but they were completely serious. Such is the state of business in the social world. They even had a new word for it: Social Commerce (well, maybe not so new, since it has been attributed to Yahoo! coining it in 2005).

Between the ads, the consultants and the promotions (e.g. “If you get 100 of your Facebook friends to like us, we’ll give you a free iPod Nano!”), it makes you wonder whether people actually are fans of a particular business, or they are just willingly giving away part of their social credibility in hopes of landing some swag.

I’m not saying companies shouldn’t have followers or fans. But given a choice between a thousand fake fans and a hundred actual customers, I’d go with the later. Same as in high school: I’d rather go to the dance with someone who genuinely wants to be there with me.

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