"I've Got a Golden Ticket!"

So I am working on a video test project.  And I haven’t paid much attention to analytics as that isn’t the purpose of the project. But last night I was reading Eric Ries (Lean Start Ups) guest blog post on Tim Ferriss’s blog (Four Four Work Week) about “Vanity Metrics vs Actionable Metrics”

He emphasized how vital it is to not only observe the page views per month and what users are doing on your site, (as we all have become accustomed to doing) BUT rather first pay special attention to the discovery process that brought them to your site.

So I went into YouTube and was absolutely SHOCKED when on a recent test video out of 41 views 37! were from a mobile device.  The numbers are small but it is definitely something I am taking note of to pay attention to moving forward.

Eric Ries: How To Build Your Company WITH Your Users on Mixergy

This is success. A clear and defined plan with specific (timeline and financial) measurable goals to track success. Hallelujah

Mr. Lütke determined before the competition that it would have to inspire at least 600 new accounts to be successful. New customers, he figured, would spend a minimum of $24 a month for six months to compete, translating to at least $86,400 in revenue for Shopify…So far, Shopify has signed up more than 1,000 new Web stores, already exceeding the expectations of Mr. Lütke, who expects 50 to 100 more participants to sign up by May 1.

Courtesy of NY Times

While chatting with my friend Jason  this week he said “…by the way I’m launching a Twitter Game Show site tomorrow called “Find That Tweet“. I think you’ll like it.”  Just wish I thought of it! How clever. We were talking about how he used to hide cash for twitter users, like Tony Hawk ended up doing with skate decks.  The official launch day was yesterday and I was hooked!!! All I needed to do was find a tweet after watching video clues and I win money. The coolest part is he set it up so when I tweet it out a link is created in my tweet via his system and if someone clicks and starts playing and they win I get some money from them winning too! Crazy sick and so super smart plus a ton of fun.

I get A LOT of emails, tweets, Facebook messages, LinkedIn requests and phone calls looking to connect with me for my resources and/or partnerships. I’m excited to share the wealth and see those around me succeed.  If I believe in you, not just your product, I typically find a mutually beneficial opportunity to connect someone to.  As the years go on the requests are multiplying in order to run my company effectively of course I need to be careful with my time managment.  Jason Fried of 37 Signals blocks out specific weekly phone hours to connect with customers, business education seekers and fans.  So as of late after receiving a request I respond with the questions, “What goal are you looking to achieve….how can I help?” And people seem to not know how to react.  I am not looking or expecting anything in return and that just seems confusing to most.  This is probably why the basic utility of social media seems  so complicated.  It is indeed basic.  You listen to your audience and what their interests are and then you offer resource or insights based on their interest. That’s it.  Pretty simple right? Or am I the one missing something….   I welcome your feedback.

This week I am reading “Getting Real” by 37 Signals AMAZING insights and perspective on how to manage time and build an effective organization. It’s been sitting on my desk for about a year to read. I wish I picked it up sooner. It’s that good.

I just had to blog about this… Tactical Corsets . What else would I wear NYE to protect myself from all the midnight chaos….  I first saw the Lovely Amanda Coolong demonstrating what a Tactical Corset is at Bar Camp LA.  Talk about events  not to have been missed in 2009.  I’ll let the video speak for the fashion statement itself.

Here is footage provided by Sean Percival of Lalawag

Tactical Corset from BarCampLA 2009 from sean percival on Vimeo.