Online Presence | A Sales Guy

Asset of the Future-Craig Newmark Style

CraigsList founder, Craig Newmark, has a great post up today called Trust and Reputation Systems: Redistributing power and influence.

It’s a great post re-affirming what I’ve been saying on this blog for over a year. I’ve dedicated a page to it. It’s that important. Our online presence will be THE asset of the future.

His quote on the influence of social networking tools is powerful:

People use social networking tools to figure out who they can trust and rely on for decision making. By the end of this decade, power and influence will shift largely to those people with the best reputations and trust networks, from people with money and nominal power. That is, peer networks will confer legitimacy on people emerging from the grassroots.

Our networks are moving online. Our weak-tie networks are expanding. The tools to measure and quantify our networks are readily available. Trust, power, and influence will be at the core of these networks and those with the best networks will be the winners.

Soon it won’t be OK NOT to have a strong online presence. It will be too difficult to compete.

Craig is spot on when he says:

This shift is already happening, gradually creating a new power and influence equilibrium with new checks and balances. It will seem dramatic when its tipping point occurs, even though we’re living through it now.

He’s right!

It will be even more dramatic for those who wait for the tipping point.

Start investing in your online presence and brand NOW! Like any good investment, it’s best to invest early as it takes time grow and have the best returns when you get in in the beginning.

April 7, 2010 | Filed under: Asset of The Future,Enterprise 2.0,Web 2.0/Social Networking | View Comments |

25 Reasons Your Social Graph Will Matter

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know what I think of an online presence. I believe it will be the most critical asset a person owns. It will be the asset of the future. It will be worth more than any other asset you have. If I haven’t convinced you yet, maybe this will get you there.

Your online presence will matter because;

Social media creates social capital. Social capital is a predictor of income and wealth
Gen Y will out number baby boomers by 2010, 96% of Gen Y has joined a social network,
Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the web
There are over 200,000,000 million blogs, at least 100,000,000 million of those bloggers tweet or blog daily
33% of all internet users read blogs,
33 Million Americans have rated a product, service or person using an online rating system
78% of consumers trust peer recommendations – only 14% trust advertisements
80% of employers use social media to find candidates
45% of Employers use social media to screen or vet potential candidates
35% of employers decided NOT to offer a job to a candidate based on information uncovered on social media sites
18% of employers HIRED a candidate BECAUSE of their social presence
25% of college admissions use social networks as part of the admissions process
43% of people in the US Google (doogle) a first date
12.5% of all couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
42% of all adults have said they or someone they know has been helped by following medical advice and health information found online
At lease one person, using social media, avoided highly invasive spinal surgery
Those with lower social capital, have a higher mortality rate -they die earlier
There are over 1 Billion Internet devices
There are 6 billion internet searches on Google a month
1.6 Billion people access the web via their mobile phone – that’s 1.6 billion people a click away from info about you anytime anywhere
The number of text messages sent and received every day exceeds the total population of the planet
355 Million users on Facebook
Avg. time spent on Facebook: 20 minutes a day
19 Million people on Twitter
83 Million people generated some form of social media in the US

BONUS reason- Since 1985 our “core networks”, our offline networks of friends and family have shrunk by 1 person.

Personal networks are moving online. Social capital will be created and leveraged using social media. Social capital correlates heavy to someones overall success. Without social capital, there is little success. Developing and managing their social graph will be the most important thing someone can do

An online presence will be the most valuable asset a person will have, worth even more than their home.

Are you convinced?

UPDATE: Made a mistake on the statistic “50% of employers HIRED a candidate BECAUSE of their social presence” I’ve changed it to 18%. Thanks to Marty for getting me to double check stats.

December 7, 2009 | Filed under: Asset of The Future,Web 2.0/Social Networking | View Comments |

How Has Social Media Affected You?

Many of you know I’m writing a book with co-author Leslie Poston based on a post I wrote a while back; Online Presence – Asset of the Future: Why Your Social Graph Will be Worth as Much as Your Home

The web and social media are fundamentally changing the way we interact and connect as a community. Most notably it is changing how we network. Peoples network has been a valuable component of our lives for years. It has helped us get jobs, get movie recommendations and even set us up on blind dates. As social media grows and our presence online increases, our off-line network is quickly being replaced by an online network. This new online network is going to be far more influencial and life effecting than anything we’ve seen to date. Our online presence is quickly becoming the center of our world and will impact the most important and sensitive aspects of our lives.

Leslie and I have come across some amazing stories of how social media has impacted peoples lives. We have found compelling medical stories where peoples lives were saved and unnecessary surgery was avoided because of social media. There are those we’ve found who have met their soul mate. We’ve found stories where people have gotten their dream job. Then there are the stories of those who used social media to help others in need. We are coming across amazing stories, stories of average, everyday people whose lives have changed because of the power of social media. Some changed in monumental ways, others in small but impacting ways.

We are excited to share with you the powerful story unfolding in social media and the Internet. There are millions of people who are asking why? They are asking why do I care about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogging and the rest. They are skeptical, they are hesitant, they don’t see what many already have and that is social media is changing the way we connect, and the way we network. Social media is quickly moving from being a nice to have to a must have and our book; Online Presence-Asset of the Future: Why Your Social Graph Will be Worth as Much Your Home is going to share how and why social media matters in our lives.

Tell us your story. We want to know how social media is changing how you think, work, share and engage. If you have some research you’d like to share or a great story send us an email to onlinepresence@assetofthefutre.com

Don’t be shy, we know there are more good stories out there. We’ve just begun to scratch the surface.

October 25, 2009 | Filed under: Asset of The Future | View Comments |

The Healing Power of Your Social Graph

Sarah Cortes lay on a rock, unable to move and speak. When she hit the water, she knew something was wrong. The sharp pain that ran up her spine, was not a good sign. She felt comfortable she could navigate the 50 foot cliff jump, but once she hit the water confidence quickly turned to fear. Able to slowly swim to shore and drag herself onto a rock, Sara lay there waiting for paramedics.

An hour later she arrived in an enormous trauma center. After several tests, MRI’s, and CAT Scan’s it is determined Sarah has a fracture of V12 and surgery is recommended. Uncomfortable with the recommendation and more importantly, if surgery is the only option Sarah wanted to be in Boston near her home, Sarah requests a transfer. That is when her ordeal accelerates from bad to worse.

In an effort to defend their position and their recommendation the hospital staff begins to feed her inaccurate information, denies her access to Dr’s outside of the hospital and do everything they can to make sure she has surgery at their facility. Fearful, confused and frustrated Sarah turns to her Twitter network for help. With in 1 hour she is able to find an “accepting neurosurgeon” in Boston (the requirement to be transferred) and demands to be released. Despite finding an “accepting neurosurgeon” she still struggles to gain the hospitals support for a release and transfer.

With the help of Twitter and Text Sarah final wins her release. The result, her Boston physician determines surgery is NOT needed. The new treatment; 6 months in a brace with full mobility. Sarah barely averts an operation requiring 6 months of bed rest and total immobility.

Our online presence is an asset. I’ve said this before and will say it again. It will be the most valuable asset we will have, worth even more than our home. It will affect our offline social status, where we work, the jobs we have, the people we date and even the medical treatment we receive.

Like any asset, it is more valuable when you invest in it. Are you investing in your online presence? You should be.

September 26, 2009 | Filed under: Asset of The Future,Personal Brand,Personal Development,Web 2.0/Social Networking | View Comments |

How Much is Chris Brogan’s Online Presence Worth?

Chris Brogan posted this on his blog a month ago –

“The time has come. I have a favor to ask. If you’re interested in our book, if you support all that I’ve given you over the past several years, if you want to buy a friend (or an entire small village) a gift, I’d like to request that you buy Trust Agents from your favorite online source. This request itself is a social media experiment in trust (or I’m just asking you to buy books) . . . Here’s the exact needle we have to move: 768. We need 768 more sales between now and Saturday night. That’s a lot of books, but I’m only asking you to buy one. (Well, if you’re a company, I’m asking you to buy hundreds.)”

By the end of the day, Chris’s book Trust Agents had reached number #55 of ALL books on Amazon.com and by the end of the week Trust Agents had reached the New York Times best seller list.

How much do you think Chris’s Online presence is worth? If we assume he reached his goal of 768 books, then it was worth at least $12,650 dollars on Aug. 17th. If you assume he sold more, a good assumption due to making the NY Times Best Seller list, then it’s worth far more than that. Assume he sold 1500 books that week, his online presence was worth $25,300 dollars that week alone. This is real money, making Chris’s online presence a real asset. Add up all the business it creates for him. Add up the relationships it creates. Add up the information it supplies. Add up the speaking engagements, exposure opportunities, and the powerful brand it has created and the Chris Brogan online property is a very, VERY valuable asset.

Chris Brogan was never a celebrity. Less than 10 years ago he worked in telecommunications. He was an average Joe. He didn’t have some big following when he started blogging over 5 years ago. He wasn’t a household name. Overtime, day by day, person by person he has built a solid, respectful, informative, and engaging online presence. A presence that has substantial value.

In the not too distant future, having an online presence will be the price to play. The person you marry, the job you have, the college you attend, the neighborhood you live in and the friends you have will ALL correlate to the value of your online presence. Your online presence; your social graph will be at the center of your life, impacting every aspect of it.

How much is Chris Brogan’s online presence worth? I have no idea. I wouldn’t even begin to put a number on it. But it’s for sure a valuable property. The better question is what is your online presence worth? Soon our online presence will be our most valuable asset, in many cases more valuable than our home.

Have you started investing in yours? You should!

September 17, 2009 | Filed under: Personal Brand,Web 2.0/Social Networking,What I Think! | View Comments |

SXSW And Your Online Presence

A while back I wrote a post called; Online Presence – Asset of the Future: Why Social Graph Will Be Worth As Much As Your Home. It has been one of my most popular posts.

It’s a powerful post as it identifies the social and cultural change our society is going through and the impact to our personal success and well being. Simply put, in the near future your social graph will play a substantial role in determining your lot in life. Those with strong, well managed social graphs will be the new elite, those without will be at a decided disadvantage. Your social graph will be the most important asset you own, more valuable than your home.

Go Vote For US

This topic has been nominated to be a panel topic for SXSW 2010 in Austin, TX. It’s going to be a killer panel. Online Presence and our Social Graph are completely changing they way work gets done, and how we communicate.

My partner Leslie Poston and I need your to make sure Online Presence – Asset of the Future is a panel at the show. The final panels are chosen by vote; 40% an advisory board 30% staff and 30% BY YOU! We need your vote.

To give us some love and make sure SXSW gets a killer panel, go here and vote and comment. The more noise around this topic the better the chances we are selected.

Thanks for the love and we hope to see you SXSW.

August 27, 2009 | Filed under: Web 2.0/Social Networking | View Comments |