What is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all times?

The emperor issued a decree throughout his kingdom announcing that whoever could answer the questions would receive a great reward. Many who read the decree made their way to the palace at once, each person with a different answer.

In reply to the first question, one person advised that the emperor make up a thorough time schedule, consecrating every hour, day, month, and year for certain tasks and then follow the schedule to the letter. Only then could he hope to do every task at the right time.

Another person replied that it was impossible to plan in advance and that the emperor should put all vain amusements aside and remain attentive to everything in order to know what to do at what time.

Someone else insisted that, by himself, the emperor could never hope to have all the foresight and competence necessary to decide when to do each and every task and what he really needed was to set up a Council of the Wise and then to act according to their advice.

Someone else said that certain matters required immediate decision and could not wait for consultation, but if he wanted to know in advance what was going to happen he should consult magicians and soothsayers.

The responses to the second question also lacked accord.

One person said that the emperor needed to place all his trust in administrators, another urged reliance on priests and monks, while others recommended physicians. Still others put their faith in warriors.

The third question drew a similar variety of answers. Some said science was the most important pursuit. Others insisted on religion. Yet others claimed the most important thing was military skill.

The emperor was not pleased with any of the answers, and no reward was given.

After several nights of reflection, the emperor resolved to visit a hermit who lived up on the mountain and was said to be an enlightened man. The emperor wished to find the hermit to ask him the three questions, though he knew the hermit never left the mountains and was known to receive only the poor, refusing to have anything to do with persons of wealth or power. So the emperor disguised himself as a simple peasant and ordered his attendants to wait for him at the foot of the mountain while he climbed the slope alone to seek the hermit.

Reaching the holy man’s dwelling place, the emperor found the hermit digging a garden in front of his hut. When the hermit saw the stranger, he nodded his head in greeting and continued to dig. The labor was obviously hard on him. He was an old man, and each time he thrust his spade into the ground to turn the earth, he heaved heavily.

The emperor approached him and said, “I have come here to ask your help with three questions: When is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all times?”

The hermit listened attentively but only patted the emperor on the shoulder and continued digging. The emperor said, “You must be tired. Here, let me give you a hand with that.” The hermit thanked him, handed the emperor the spade, and then sat down on the ground to rest.

After he had dug two rows, the emperor stopped and turned to the hermit and repeated his three questions. The hermit still did not answer, but instead stood up and pointed to the spade and said, “Why don’t you rest now? I can take over again.” But the emperor continued to dig. One hour passed, then two. Finally the sun began to set behind the mountain. The emperor put down the spade and said to the hermit, “I came here to ask if you could answer my three questions. But if you can’t give me any answer, please let me know so that I can get on may way home.”

The hermit lifted his head and asked the emperor, “Do you hear someone running over there?” The emperor turned his head. They both saw a man with a long white beard emerge from the woods. He ran wildly, pressing his hands against a bloody wound in his stomach. The man ran toward the emperor before falling unconscious to the ground, where he lay groaning. Opening the man’s clothing, the emperor and hermit saw that the man had received a deep gash. The emperor cleaned the wound thoroughly and then used his own shirt to bandage it, but the blood completely soaked it within minutes. He rinsed the shirt out and bandaged the wound a second time and continued to do so until the flow of blood had stopped.

At last the wounded man regained consciousness and asked for a drink of water. The emperor ran down to the stream and brought back a jug of fresh water. Meanwhile, the sun had disappeared and the night air had begun to turn cold. The hermit gave the emperor a hand in carrying the man into the hut where they laid him down on the hermit’s bed. The man closed his eyes and lay quietly. The emperor was worn out from the long day of climbing the mountain and digging the garden. Leaning against the doorway, he fell asleep. When he rose, the sun had already risen over the mountain. For a moment he forgot where he was and what he had come here for. He looked over to the bed and saw the wounded man also looking around him in confusion. When he saw the emperor, he stared at him intently and then said in a faint whisper, “Please forgive me.”

“But what have you done that I should forgive you?” the emperor asked.

“You do not know me, your majesty, but I know you. I was your sworn enemy, and I had vowed to take vengeance on you, for during the last war you killed my brother and seized my property. When I learned that you were coming alone to the mountain to meet the hermit, I resolved to surprise you on your way back to kill you. But after waiting a long time there was still no sign of you, and so I left my ambush in order to seek you out. But instead of finding you, I came across your attendants, who recognized me, giving me this wound. Luckily, I escaped and ran here. If I hadn’t met you I would surely be dead by now. I had intended to kill you, but instead you saved my life! I am ashamed and grateful beyond words. If I live, I vow to be your servant for the rest of my life, and I will bid my children and grandchildren to do the same. Please grant me your forgiveness.”

The emperor was overjoyed to see that he was so easily reconciled with a former enemy. He not only forgave the man but promised to return all the man’s property and to send his own physician and servants to wait on the man until he was completely healed. After ordering his attendants to take the man home, the emperor returned to see the hermit. Before returning to the palace the emperor wanted to repeat his three questions one last time. He found the hermit sowing seeds in the earth they had dug the day before.

The hermit stood up and looked at the emperor. “But your questions have already been answered.”

“How’s that?” the emperor asked, puzzled.

“Yesterday, if you had not taken pity on my age and given me a hand with digging these beds, you would have been attacked by that man on your way home. Then you would have deeply regretted not staying with me. Therefore the most important time was the time you were digging in the beds, the most important person was myself, and the most important pursuit was to help me. Later, when the wounded man ran up here, the most important time was the time you spent dressing his wound, for if you had not cared for him he would have died and you would have lost the chance to be reconciled with him. Likewise, he was the most important person, and the most important pursuit was taking care of his wound. Remember that there is only one important time and is Now. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion. The most important person is always the person with whom you are, who is right before you, for who knows if you will have dealings with any other person in the future. The most important pursuit is making that person, the one standing at you side, happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life.”

For example:

iPhone 4 vs. Droid X: A Head-to-Head Comparison – PCWorld

Google’s Nexus One an iPhone “Killer“?

Samsung Captivate vs. iPhone 4 | Android Central

In the end of day, it’s not about Android’s open system versus Apple’s closed system, nor the various advantages or disadvantages each device or platform contain; it’s about brand loyalty.

Apple has an unseen advantage in this department that hasn’t been discussed and that has a huge impact regarding the Android device and platform. A generation of individuals grew up using the ipod nano, ipod touch, and ishuffle for music, videos, and apps. They’re comfortable using Apple products and trust the brand. Think of the generation between the ages of 7-18 who don’t have smart phones, but use ipods, ipod touch, and ishuffle on a religious bases. I work as a substitute teacher at different schools, and one of the first things students ask me is if they can listen to their ipod in class? I had a student on Friday who wanted to show me his three hundred games on his itouch. He’s accepted the Apple app market, uses it, and will most likely continue to as he ages since he had an emotional connection to Apple growing up (Brand Loyalty). Beware, the juggernaut has a silent audience who will be speaking soon.

One needs to look at every opportunity to market their product, or brand. Do thorough research within you niche and look for any possible avenue to create a relationship within your vertical.

Does one forget that Yelp builds its community offline before it grew online? One of the hardest things to do online is to build an online community. Therefore, if you start to establish a offline community  when you launch your startup or site you’re already one step ahead of the game.

Another great example to demonstrate the power of offline is within the sport’s vertical. I run a sport’s blog: FormerTrojans.com and every year during football season my traffic goes thru the roof. Yes, you might say it’s due to the simple fact that football season is in full swing, but one also has to realize that sport’s communities are being build and reestablished between families, friends, and co-workers. These communities talk sports and give them the urge to search google for the keywords: “usc trojan football” or visit my blog organically if they have been to it before.

The success of Kogi and other trucks is due to their offline present. They’re not attempting to create a huge relationship online, but their main market is offline. It’s a different monster and only use the Twitter platform to communicate to their offline community.

In No Particular Order:

1.) Coke and Dr.Pepper- Facebook Campaign

2.) Tourism Queensland-  Best Job in the World

3.) Small Business- Social Media Trends

4.) How Social Media Drives New Businesses

5.) Cold Stone-Social Media Case Study

6.) Papa Johns- Social Media Case Study

7.) Kmart-Social Media Case Study

8.) USA Network-Social Media Case Study

9.) Clorox-Social Media Case Study

10.) LG- Social Media Case Study

11.) Coke’s Twitter Campaign

12.) Old Spice- Social Media Case Study

13.) Haboo- Social Media Case Study

14.) Wildlife Interactive-Social Media Case Study

15.) Burberry-Social Media Case Study

16.) Twitter for Small Businesses

17.) Jet Blue- Social Media Case Study

18.)Boston Celtics-Social Media Case Study

19.) Vitamin Water-Social Media Case Study

20.) Chef  Zov Karamardian-Social Media Case Study

21.) Piper Aircraft- Social Media Case Study

22.) 4Food-Social Media Case Study

23.) 6 Airlines Industry-Social Media Case Studies (pdf)

29.) Inte-Facebook-Social Media Case Study

25.) Ben and Jerry’s-Social Media Case Study

26.) Disney Sorcerer’s Apprentice Twitter Case Study

27.) Xerox-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

28.) Barbie Foursquare-Social Media Case Study

29.) Cisco-Social Media Case Study

30.) GE-Social Media Case Study

31.) Wyham Hotel-Socal Media

32.) Kodak-Social Media Case Study

33.) V-8 Fusion Facebook-Social Media Case Study

34.) Starbucks-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

35.) Dreamfield’s Pasta-SociaL Media Case Study (vimeo)

36.) Lego’s Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

37.) Proctor and Gamble-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

38.) Texas Instrument-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

39.) Domino’s Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

40.) Turbo Tax-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

41.) U.S. Navy- Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

42.) Sharpie- Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

43.) Rubbermaid-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

44.) UPS-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

45.) Home Depot-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

46.) US Coast Guard-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

47.) H.R Block-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

48.) Yoplait-Social Media Case Study (vimeo)

49.) Arcade Fire-Social Media Case Study

50.) European Flooring Twitter-Social Media Case Study

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVWzRdK_G6Q

One always has to wonder how to express themselves online and this is my attempt to express my personality thru an online video. If I could only do it again, I would go on camera and express my personality more as one would be able to my actions and non-verbal communication.

Foursquare is not enough scale for big companies (Carl’s, Hardee’s ) to be on.
Is Foursquare just a trend or is it here to stay?

Result- Carl’s & Hardee’s will create their own app with foursquare integration.

Social Media –> Engage, Engage and Engage the user.

Create an editor calendar.

Use region brands

Specials for certain cities.

Users are always looking for an exchange of value for time.

What are you giving them for their time? –> Make it an emotional connection

Every Social Media campaigns is different.

1.) Problem—> Solution
2.) Tools –> What could you use to make this campaign work?
3.) Customer –> Evangelist

With experience, you can overcome your social media road blocks. Learn to adjust your campaign based on the results.

Key Question: What is the super bowl ad of the digital world?

Social Games- Everyone is playing—> Mom, Grandma, Dad, Teens, etc..

Diverse Age- 18-50 year’s old.

Everybody is on Facebook.

Key

(1.) Invite your friends

(2.) Make the game competitive (Competition amongst friends)

“Game friends”

May it be thru Mobsters or Sorority Girls.

Female > Male in playing social games

Revenue $$$$

Buy items to build best empire.
“Exclusive items”
show-off
limited
customization
bragging rights

New week, new item for sale—> keeps user engaged

5% carry the game

30 minutes a day to conform you

Games needs to appeal to you

couple minutes a day, easy, simple, fun.

lowest common denominator.

Biggest Facebook like group–>Mafia Wars and Poker game.

Spilt between 50% credit cards and 50% CPA

Direct cc from CPA

(1.) Tryout before cc
(2.) Space grows and better payment methods

FB Credits—> Will it land?

(1) Premium items—> FB credits

(2) FB Credits –> Buy
Farmville Bucks–>FB Credits

Key—>Free impressions if you share with friends.
New Items
New Level
New Character

So many ways to engage with users since they’re always on Facebook.

Be on the lookout for Google T.V. in the fall

Success Guide

1. Share & Connect with friends

2. Scale-easy to play and understand

3. Graphics–> Simple

Meetup.com is the next big thing for Social Media Marketing campaigns to hit local cities. It’s the tech version of street team marketing. For example, the World Cup is ten days away and a perfect opportunity for a local soccer shop to promote itself within the soccer community. Within Meetup.com, they should contact the meetup’s organizer for all the local soccer pickup games and leagues within a 25 mile radius and pass World Cup coupons and a World Cup schedule poster for all its members.

What does this do?

1.)  Brand awareness to its target market

2.) Coupons provide an avenue of opportunity for new customers.

3.) The World Cup is thirty days and a great World Cup schedule poster could be looked upon for reference for all thirty days.

Two individuals who will run a Meetup campaign on a global campaign are Zappos’ Tony Hsieh with the launch of his new book, “Delivering Happiness” on June 7, and Jason Calanais’ show “This Week in Startups” on June 8. Tony Hsieh’s campaign has 96 meetups, and Jason Calanais’ show has 163 meetups. Yes, some of these meetups only have 1-2 individuals, but its a start in the right direction.

What do you think? Is there huge potential with Meetup.com for local Social Media campaigns?

The number one question: How big is your market size?

Market –> Adjacent Market

Ex: Cable T.V. —> 70 Billion Market

Is their a path for you to get there?

A way to get a piece of the chunk?

Tell them your goals before raising money and come back with a checklist of the goals you met.

1.) Show Tenacity

Be Scrappy

1.)Establish creditability about team.

Talk about yourself
Sell yourself

2.) Describe market potential and how it can evolve real big.

Rare individuals are called a force of nature. Rockstars

They need to break thru walls.

Is this a learned or developed skill?

It can be both. Steve Job’s DNA.

Passion of the Entrepreneur.

He or she continues to push forward

An Entrepreneur has 15 min to grab the group or not.

If you haven’t heard from a VC in 2-3 days he’s not interested.

Two Thing you never do in a VC’s meeting

1.) Not being prepared.

2.) Don’t ask too many questions about the firm.

And lastly, don’t bring people whom will not speak in the meeting