Labor Day, Just A Little History Lesson

Web Full Circle would like to say Happy Labor Day with a little history lesson:

Labor Day is a legal holiday in the U.S.A. It is celebrated the first Monday in September. It is a day for the nation to honor its workers.

Today, Labor Day is a family holiday. It is the last big weekend of summer. Many people pack picnic lunches. They go to the beach, the lake, or the mountains. Others invite friends over for a barbecue. Some towns hold Labor Day parades. Politicians may give speeches.

But the first Labor Day celebration in the United States was not about family or fun. Instead, it was about making life better for America’s working class.

Back then, workers were not always treated well. Hundreds of new immigrants arrived in the country every day. Most spent all their money getting to America. By the time they arrived, they would take any job they could find.

Factory owners often took advantage of the situation. They paid workers little, but expected them to work 12-, 14-, even 16-hour days. What’s more, jobs were often dangerous. Even children worked in situations where a mistake could mean death.

Peter McGuire was 11 years old when he took his first factory job. His father had left home to fight in the Civil War. His mother needed money to support the family. Young Peter did what he could to keep food on the table. But as he grew into an adult, he resolved to improve working conditions in America’s factories.

Peter believed that workers needed to unite. So he became a labor union leader. Along with organizing workers, McQuire called for a celebration honoring the working man. In 1882, the Knights of Labor organized America’s first Labor Day parade. More than 10,000 workers took the day off work. They marched through the streets of New York City. They carried signs calling for shorter working days. They proposed a standard eight-hour day.

In the years that followed, more labor unions sprang up. They called for better pay and safer working conditions. They also asked the government to make Labor Day a national holiday. In 1894, Congress responded, and President Grover Cleveland signed the law giving America's workers their day.

Working conditions have improved over the past century. Child labor has been outlawed. Worker safety is now a priority. Laws restrict how many hours men and women can be required to work. Laws also now specify a minimum wage.

Labor unions still run television and newspaper advertisements around Labor Day. They encourage people to support America’s workers by buying American-made products. But for most of America’s workers, Labor Day is now just a day off work. It’s the final day of a three-day weekend and a time to have fun with friends and loved ones.

Countries the world have labor holidays, but not necessarily on the same day. Aside from the United States, only Canada observes Labor Day the first Monday of September. China, India and many European countries choose to honor worker on May 1, dubbed International Workers' Day. New Zealand celebrates Labor Day on the fourth Monday of October, while Australia allows states and territories to schedule their own observances.

We want to say thank you to the American workers and the hard working men and women here at Web Full Circle. Have a wonderful day

5 Tips for Effective Social Media Marketing

1. Learn the Culture

You will find that each community or Social Media Site has it’s own culture and way of operating. Make an effort to learn this culture and what is and is not acceptable socially within that site, you’ll want to fit in.

2. Manners – Be Socially Acceptable

If you’ve ever heard me speak on the topic you know that I equate Social Media Sites to that of being at a party or a networking event. The bottom line is act accordingly, you wouldn’t come up to me at a party and instantly hard sell me with what you do and what the great sale you have going on this week is.

3. Contribute

If you want your message to be heard and to be appreciated then contribute. You want to create a following and in a sense be popular at this social gathering right? Well if you contribute, as opposed to simply trying to gain something from the site, you will be better received. The more value you provide, the more you will get back from the site, it’s a natural progression.

4. Overkill vs. Too Little

Too many people seem to fall within one end of the extreme or the other. Social Media should be natural, if you don’t do it enough you won’t be visible or a valuable part of the community, and if you do it too much you will over saturate yourself and possibly become a nuisance. Try and maintain a medium level of participation. Back to my party analogy, do you want to be the shy person in the corner, the obnoxious jerk yelling across the room, or the fun average person who just simply fits in and gets along with everyone else.

5. Participate

It’s not just about you. Participate in other conversations and posts. Vote on their posts, click like or dislike, add comments etc. Engage other people and show interest in what other people are speaking about.

Scott Levy – Director of Internet Marketing – Web Full Circle

Can Companies Be Social?

Tuesday, Chris Perry posted an article “Why Social Media Isn’t Living Up to the Hype (Yet)” that takes a stance that companies are not social by nature.

He stated “as social media gains momentum, brand communicators are experimenting en masse with these new technologies and connections to get their jobs done, typically coming at it from an advertising, interactive or PR perspective. “

Agreed. This is what social media, as far as companies go, should be used for. Finally, a way to connect with our clients on a none threaten and common level.

Perry goes on to pose a question “But what if social media and its inherent benefits are so revolutionary, so potentially game-changing, that it takes time for people to figure out how to best use them? More fundamentally, what if organizational silos and constraints limit its potential to address a new brand-building equation?”

Don’t let it happen. If we (Business) embrace this medium, a revolution will begin. Unfortunately it is understood that people do not like what they don’t understand. But, friends, don’t think of Facebook and Twitter as a method to sell, sell, sell. Think of it as a way to gain the trust of the community in an era that trust has fallen by the wayside. We need to understand that the public needs to trust us to do business with us and in today’s climate we need to use every method possible to regain that trust.

The rest of this wonderful article can be found on Ad Age. Tell us what you think

Every One Wants A iPhone, But AT&T Might Not Keep It

Apple's exclusive deal with AT&T to offer the iPhone may end within the year, according to a prediction from financial analyst Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray.

If Munster is correct, opening up the iPhone to other carriers in the U.S. could be a boon for Apple, which would likely see iPhone sales go through the roof. On the flipside, if this prediction were to come true, it would likely mean very bad news for AT&T, which has relied heavily on the iPhone to boost its own wireless sales and revenue.

Munster noted recently in his published research that Apple has been moving away from exclusive deals in other countries, according to AppleInsider. Specifically, in France the company ended an exclusive deal with Orange and opened up the device to multiple carriers. Munster said the change pushed the iPhone's market share upward to about 40 percent in France. In the U.S., where the iPhone is exclusively offered through AT&T, the iPhone has a market share in the teens.

There are several other countries where Apple has a multi-carrier model. In fact, its most recent deal with China Unicom to bring the iPhone to China is also not exclusive. Apple declined to discuss which carriers it might be in talks with, but analyst firms such as Piper Jaffray expect Apple to sell more than 3 million iPhone units in China next year.
Details of Apple's relationship with AT&T have never been made public. But many people have speculated that the exclusivity contract with AT&T would last at most five years from when the first iPhone hit the market in 2007. This would mean that AT&T would have exclusive rights to the iPhone until around 2012.
There have been reports more recently that AT&T has continued its negotiations with Apple to keep the iPhone exclusive through at least 2011.

Still, rumors have circulated that Verizon Wireless is also talking to Apple about getting the iPhone on its network. Verizon executives have hinted that some kind of Apple device will likely operate on its new 4G wireless network, which is expected to launch commercially next year. But what's been less clear is whether or not a 3G iPhone will operate over Verizon's network.

Verizon Wireless is currently the largest wireless operator in the country. And it has consistently won accolades for solid performance on its network. But because its current 3G wireless network is based on CDMA technology rather than GSM, which is what AT&T and most other carriers around the world use, offering the device on Verizon's network would require an additional radio to be added to the device.
The rest of this article can be found on CNN.

Web Full Circle is pointing this out because with the potential for multiple carriers to carry the iPhone more people will feed into the “App” craze and lead to more mobile marketing. Let’s just say that this is a friendly heads up for your future marketing efforts.

Google Makes for Good Video

Ad Age this morning reported that Google is hoping to spruce up plain-text search ads with video. It has been offering what it calls a "video plus box" link below the standard keyword ad to a select group of entertainment advertisers including Miramax, Electronic Arts, Discovery and Travel Channel.

The Ad Age daily news article stated that Google’s intent is to give advertisers another way to get video sampled on the web, now considered by the studios to be a key predictor in the success of a film or TV show. EA bought video search to promote "Need for Speed," and Miramax tried video search ads to promote the trailer for its upcoming comedy with Jason Bateman, "Extract." Google registers a click (and gets paid) when a viewer watches at least 10 seconds of the video or clicks through to the site.

Google started listing videos in search results in 2007, so video ads in some categories would appear to be a natural extension of what Google users have come to expect. Additionally, the belief at Google is that video will help make search more appealing to entertainment, which has thus far not embraced it as a marketing channel, as other industries have.

Only 2.66% of traffic to entertainment-related sites in the past four weeks was the result of paid search links on Google, compared with 14.6% for gaming-related sites, according to analytics firm Hitwise.

"Generally the search-engine results page hasn't appealed much to the entertainment industry or any content producers, whether TV or film," said Kevin Lee, CEO of search-marketing firm Didit.

This brings up a question “why should my small business have a video” well the answer is that it builds a relationship. When someone for whatever reason clicks on your website, a video intro is a very effective way to begin your relationship with them. People get to see who you are. They begin to relate to you. Also a video can be compelling. One gets to prove that not all companies are created equal. If there are misconceptions about your business, what you teach or if you have something exciting to share, video can express that differently than words.

We are not condoning that all websites be made solely from video, we just recommend that you think outside the box.