An e-book disadvantage ?

The Observer ( 11th April ) includes a supplement from the New York Times, which has a novel angle on e-books ( ouch )

Seeing a book's cover is often the best way of advertising it ( eg on the tube perhaps )

What about e-books however ? Very discreet if you are reading something dodgy, but no good to advertise the fact that you are reading Proust ( in French )

Depends how much you believe in the power of viral advertising perhaps...

Google Search tricks

Take a look at this : it may show you some new tricks!

Google Search Tricks on Prezi

6 ways brands are using social media

This article - 6 ways brands are using social media for real world action is by Daniel Stein, a digital marketing and consumer engagement expert who founded Evolution Bureau in 2000. Daniel has been behind some of the most viral campaigns in Internet history including “ElfYourself” for OfficeMax, “Ms. Dewey” for Microsoft and “Mind Freak” for A&E.

He says :

"Generally speaking, brands are using social networks in a relatively systematic way:

1) Create an account; 2) Run ads; 3) Collect fans; 4) Provide news, offers and promotions; 5) Repeat.

But the lines of the digital world and real world are blurring, and businesses should start thinking about how they can take their social media initiatives to the next level. This means looking at new ways to mobilize your social media audiences to take action in the real world. Here are six great examples of early adopter companies doing just this."

Social media cheat sheet

Want to know which social media sites to use to make an impact? Imagine you are in business....Depends on your goals, your marketing strategy and more. Suppose you consider :

• Customer communication
• Brand exposure
• Driving traffic to your site
• SEO

This little cheat sheet created by CMO.com ranks the most popular/used social media sites (from the biggies like Facebook and Digg to the less talked about Reddit and del.icio.us) as good, okay or bad for the four goals above.