websense

If you have a blog, especially one that is monetized, you may want to pay attention. We all know that municipalities are cash strapped and looking for any way to make some money. Philadelphia is no different. The city is sending bloggers $300 bills, which is the cost of a business privilege license. What amazes me about this is… who is digging around trying to find out who has a blog with monetization? Does the very small amount of money a blogger makes really warrant some city official spending time researching to see from whom they can get 300 bucks? Apparently there is a small number of bloggers who have made a very tiny amount on their blogs and reported it who are now receiving these letters saying they have to pay for this “business privilege license” plus pay taxes on whatever small amount of money they earned.

I get that we are supposed to pay our taxes, I do. However this seems to be extreme. Most bloggers don’t make enough money on their blogs to even consider the paperwork that this would require. If we were talking federal standards, you can make up to $600 before you have to claim it on a return.
Municipalities all have their own rules and tax laws, but this is reaching so far into people’s pockets that it seems just plain money grubbing. And it feels like an invasion of sorts. Big Brother – we knew you were lurking around somewhere – who knew he reads blogs?

As the new taxes roll in in 2011 I think we can expect to see more and more of this nonsense. If you sit on a city council somewhere and have a say, please try to use a little common sense about this kind of thing. If someone makes $15 a year on a blog, I think a business license is a little over the top. I pay my babysitters way more than that. Crap. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that out loud. Now the government it gonna want me to 1099 the 13 year old nieces I pay to watch my kids once in a while so they can send them a tax bill and a request for a purchase of a business license. Sorry, Kenzie and Katie.

Cities, politicians and the federal government have all been trying to find ways to tax the web. Because we are a service based company, we don’t pay a sales tax on what we sell. Instead we have to pay a commercial activity tax. We have all heard how the FTC and FCC would like to try and regulate the web, and I am sure part of the reason is to find ways to tax. Taxing bloggers, right now seems to me to be coming out of the realization that some of them do make money on their blogs. SOME. The vast majority don’t make one thin dime. Some even pay to have their blog up, so then they are operating at a loss. This just doesn’t make sense.

Do you have a blog? Would you continue with it if you knew you would have to buy a business license and pay taxes on it? Does this make any sense to you?

More information about the Philadelphia Blogger Story can be found at the Washington Examiner.

There’s a study out that says something like a third of all online adults have quit using some facet of social media because of other people’s rude comments or behavior on a blog or other social media outlet. About half say they have blocked or defriended someone because of rude behavior. Great article about it over at WebProNews.

This goes back to a topic I’ve discussed on here a time or two in the past. Being respectful online, not bashing others, not making illegitimate claims against a company just because you have a voice on the web. You might think this does not apply to a business blog, but I assure you, some very interesting discussions go down on blogs of every variety. There was a lot of heated discussion on the Chrysler blog when the car manufacturer took government funds to keep it’s doors open. Manufacturers of every type get comments and discussions on their company blogs, especially when there has been a recall or other failure.

If you are using social media to discuss some hot button topics, or simply need to reply to a less than flattering comment on your blog, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind, so you don’t end up driving away readers.

1. When posting about a controversial topic, whether it be politics or what have you, it’s a good idea to ask that any follow discussion be kept respectful. It just reminds folks to remember that the other people reading the discussion are people, not anonymous drones without feeling.
2. Always be respectful yourself. No problem with disagreement, we have to have the ability to openly discuss, just keep it clean, keep it kind. No need to be hurtful or use profanity.
3. When commenting, it’s great to leave your name and url, especially if you have a dissenting argument. It lends credibility. It also leaves a trackback, in most cases, to your own blog or website.
4. Know that whatever you say, you can’t please everyone, so stay true to your company’s mission statement, and do your best to remedy any complaint with a product or service. Knowing what folks are saying about you can go a long way toward maintaining your online reputation and allows you the opportunity to make things right, if possible. Some people are just going to be negative – just do your best to keep the discussion on topic.
5. Deleting comments can be tricky. I don’t recommend you do it unless the comment contains profanity, or is intentionally and personally hurtful (to you or another commenter). Try to keep the discussion open, and if things get dicey, try introducing some levity.
6. When commenting on a blog, or replying, try to react as you would if the person were standing right in front of you. Undoubtedly, this will lead you to be a bit kinder, a bit more reasonable, than you would be with total anonymity.

I recently had a couple of commenters take issue with a post I wrote about the oil leak in the Gulf. Both were very respectful, and I really appreciated the ability to dialogue in a rational manner. This is what is so great about the web. The ability to instantly share ideas makes the web what it is. Unfortunately, this experience is not always the case.

In the early days of The Karcher Group, our website was much like the Cobbler’s child, always last to get new shoes. Because of this, I wrote a lot of the copy on the site myself. We needed something up there, and we weren’t using a marketing team yet. People used to tell me they could see the words on the screen coming straight out of my mouth, because I write like I talk. This has it’s good points and bad points. The bad: grammar is not my strong suit. I am also not a “writer” though I can knock out some copy when need be, and make it sound, well, like me. When it comes to your website, this can actually be a good thing. No, I’m not talking just about your blog, or even the blog on your business site. Your site should have a voice. It’s own unique flavor, if you get what I mean. It should not sound like every other site out there.

I know, I’m going to get comments from grammar purists, school teachers and possibly my mom about what I am about to say: you can write for your site in a different way than you have ever been taught – and really – it’s okay. The grammar police will not shut down your site for a non traditional writing style. So I am going to give you the go ahead, and a couple of tips on making the copy on your site stand out.

Because the copy on your site is often the only “voice” your site will have, you have to brand it. You have to make it unique to your company, or your personality.

1. Write in your own vernacular if it is suitable to your product or business. This makes the copy come alive, and seem more human. Everyone wants to know there are real people behind the site from which they are making a purchase.

2. I wouldn’t say throw grammar and sentence structure out the window, but allow yourself a little leeway. Marketers have always ‘bent the rules’ when it comes to advertising. Structure the copy on your pages to reflect what is being discussed. Adjust sentence length to the subject matter. Two or three word sentences can make a point, or make your copy really pop.

3. Keep the copy short if possible. Use bullets with great phrasing rather than paragraphs and long sentences. People want to be able to scan, rather than read.

4. Create interesting headers, something that will grab the eye and spark some interest. Be sure they reflect your subject matter or product!

5. If there is a character related to your site or product, consider writing as if it were the character speaking. It might sound a little hokey, but it can really give some personality to a site.

6. Use the terminology or lingo people would associate with your products, but expand your descriptions so a newbie can still get the gist.

7. Don’t be afraid to use slang! Especially if it is particularly relevant to the page or product. This gives your copy some character.

8. I would stop short of using any type of profanity, you don’t want to turn potential customers away, and it’s just not cool. Plus you don’t want your site to be blocked by parental control software and whatnot. Keep it clean out there, folks!

A few pretty cool sites that have good examples of some of these techniques are below:
http://www.colbertnation.com/home
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/
http://www.tkg.com (Hey, I might not write all of it anymore, but I do throw my two cents in, and we definitely have found our ‘voice’.)
http://www.thegap.com All the copy on this site makes it clear what site you are on – very, very branded for Gap.

I have read several blog posts lately about Fair Use. Fair Use refers to the use of verbiage, copy, video, music, whatever, without having to ask for the owner’s permission. I think this is an important issue for blog owners, site owners and web users in general.

Wikipedia describes Fair Use as the following: Fair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as for commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching or scholarship. It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author’s work under a four-factor balancing test. The term fair use originated in the United States.

More times than I care to remember we have come across copy on the web taken directly from our site, without permission. Often folks have just copy and pasted our verbiage right onto their site – basically plagiarism. This is an obvious case where people are not employing the fair use practice, but it’s a little bit hard to define. What does fair use really entail?

I think for practical, everyday purposes, such as blog posts, and other social media applications, a simple acknowledgment of where a piece of copy originated is sufficient. For example, I often just mention where I saw an article, idea or piece of news. If I think the original content is really worth a read, I will quite often post a link in the blog post, or at the end. I think this more than makes clear where I got the information, and I think it is appropriate. (Check out my Wikipedia quote above)

If, however, you are writing copy for a website, not a blog, I think any use of others’ verbiage or other created material needs to be clearly cited. This must be done carefully, such as in the MLA or APA style, depending on the type of site. Using quotes from another site is flattering, and can provide a useful link back to the original site, but I think that most of the time original content is the way to go. There are obviously circumstances where it is appropriate, such as academic or political or some such, but if you have an e-commerce site, you really need to create your own content. Just my two cents…

So, what does fair use mean to you? Do you use other people’s copy in other ways than I have described? What is your method of documentation? Do you just mention the original source, or do you provide a link?

For more discussion:
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/06/10/what-is-fair-use-you-tell-us
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/fair-use

I have done the research for you, folks. I have found sound bits of advice, to do lists, and marketing tips just for you. I have scoured the net and brought back to you a wealth of small business marketing information. OK, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but there are some great quick reads below.

1.The first post I have for you includes 9 tips for Small Business Bloggers. Very interesting read:
9 Tips for Creating More Small Business Blogging Ideas

“We all know by now that consistent small business blogging can drastically improve your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and overall web presence. Additionally, a small business blog can increase your opportunities to interact with (and highlight) your customers and provide an additional occasion for you to share your expert knowledge.

Unfortunately, nothing stops a would be small business blogger faster than a perceived lack of time, and the frustration that comes with a lack of ideas to blog about.”… I don’t want to repost the whole thing here, so follow the link I have provided, but you get the gist, the author has some really great ideas for you!

2. You all know that I think LinkedIn is a great marketing tool. This gal has a great post on 5 methods to getting the most out of LinkedIn.
Here’s a tidbit from her post which I have linked to above: “LinkedIn, however, stands apart from the crowd. The roots of popular sites like YouTube and Facebook are founded on the entertainment side of things. But since its creation, LinkedIn has been geared toward the professional business crowd.”

3. The basics of social media marketing: Face book and Blogging. Lee Odden did a great post about this back in September. His post Social Media Marketing Basics: Facebook & Blog Promotion has a lot of relevant information for Fan pages of small businesses. Check it out when you’ve got a few.

4. Here is a great post from over at Mashable – Top 5 Business Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them This post also has a great list of other posts at the bottom that you might want to check out. This is common sense stuff, but it can’t hurt to hear it again.

5. This post is also found on Mashable, I wanted to include it because it lists all the best places to promote your blog. Really a great resource! Top 20 Ways to Share a Great Blog Post

Of course this isn’t all the knowledge of the web, but these bits and how to’s will give you any needed boost for your business blog. It’s a great tool when you know how to use it, so get your studying done! I’ve already done the research!