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Getting Noticed Online
By Michael Alan Hamlin
December 20, 2004
While the Internet makes it far
easier for every individual to be visible to potential employers,
clients, partners, and others, there are dangers. The most common
is the tendency among novices to simply throw up a site that inadvertently
communicates negative attributes, such as mediocrity. Bad design
and unappealing content quickly eliminates individuals as players,
the opposite effect an online presence is intended to provide.
But simply providing an attractive
online presence and compelling content may not be enough either,
given the explosion of websites whose purpose is to communicate
the unique attributes of the owner. As a result, demonstrating -
rather than merely talking about - the high visibility aspirant's
relevance or appeal to a particular market is critical to achieving
high visibility. Take 19-year-old Jon Gales, for instance.
According to Fred Vogelstein writing
in a recent issue of Fortune, Gales developed and maintains a website,
Mobiletracker.net that provides news and reviews on mobile phones.
The website attracts about 200,000 users a month because other mobile
phone enthusiasts find value in the site. Visitors may be considering
an investment in a new phone, and want fast insight into the latest
models and their features. Or, they may want to find out what's
cool, and why. Or, they may simply want to see what kind of reviews
and attention their own personal favorites are getting, and compare
prices.
Whatever the reason for the 200,000
monthly site visits, Gales has succeeded in setting himself apart
in a meaningful way from hundreds of millions of other teenagers
around the globe. How meaningfully is demonstrated not just by the
site visits, but the advertising revenue Gales' site generates.
According to Vogelstein, Google supplies ads to Gales' site, and
pays him $5,000 or more a month in return.
There are other ways to attain visibility
and generate opportunity aside from personal sites and blogs such
as Gales'. In the advertising industry, for example, social networking
websites are competing with the local watering hole for making new
contacts. One example is AdHoles (www.adholes.com), a site co-founded
by 25-year-old Mary Crosse. Crosse, who works for Euro RSCG, recently
told Wall Street Journal reporter Brian Steinberg that AdHoles provides
anyone an equal chance to communicate their opinions and ideas,
regardless of their seniority in the industry - or their location.
The site is open to anyone working
in the industry - worker bees to creatives to owners - anywhere.
The only requirement for registration is providing the new user's
favorite ad line, which serves as sort of an initial opportunity
to distinguish yourself (I chose "Are these guys for real?,
just so you know, which is actually the subtitle for the Vogelstein
article.). Other ad industry sites include TalentZoo (www.talentzoo.com)
and AdRants (www.adrants.com).
The AdHoles site provides member
profiles which are ranked by most active users, and weblogs, where
users post their opinions and ideas. One recent post by Noelle Weaver
had to do with a study by Jakob Nielsen, apparently a colleague,
which was meant to gauge readers' reactions, ranked negatively,
to online ads. Weaver's post is titled, "The Most Hated Advertising
Techniques." Among the most hated techniques, according to
the study, are "Pop-ups in front of your window" and "Loads
slowly."
Weaver's post mainly served to announce
the study, and draw attention to its author. However, it attracted
130 comments from other users. As the bearer of the news, Weaver
drew attention to herself as well as the study and its author. Because
it quickly attracted so many comments, even though the study was
not Weaver's own, she gained credibility as an individual with access
to important, useful information, which she is willing to share.
Users who responded to the post had the opportunity to distinguish
themselves as well, by competing to provide the most insightful
reaction.
The bottom line is that like everything
in life and work, leveraging the Internet successfully means understanding
the inherent tradeoffs. On one hand, it's a cheap, fast way to get
noticed. In fact, getting noticed on AdHoles requires nothing more
than Internet access. On the other hand, because it is so cheap
and fast, everyone, practically speaking, is using it. And, it's
easier than ever to demonstrate how ordinary you might be, rather
than how extraordinary you want to be.
The Internet is an attractive, effective
communication channel. Using it, unfortunately, doesn't guarantee
that it will work for you. That depends on the substance and creativity
you put into the effort.
(Michael Alan Hamlin is the managing director
of consultancy TeamAsia and the author of three books on Asian economies
and companies. His latest book is Marketing Asian Places,
of which he is a co-author (Wiley, 2001), and he is currently
at work on High Visibility: The Making and Marketing of Asian
Professionals into Celebrities. Write him at mahamlin@teamasia.com.).
Copyright © 2004 Michael Alan Hamlin. All Rights
Reserved.
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