Virtualizing a File Server

We are in the middle of a project to replace a new file server and were suggested to virtualise our file server. As you can imagine, this is a large project for us. We have a lot to consider and plan out before moving forward. All in all, it has been an eye-opening endeavour.

One of the biggest challenges is deciding on how the new implementation would look. Our next decision is regarding the server itself. I like the idea of easy portability and hardware independence.

Our current physical server is without warranty and one of the two power supplies has fried. The security in the server is not exactly coherent or structured. We are also out of space and apparently not backing up entirely.

We were curious when asked to consider implementing a virtualised server environment. If I am not wrong, a virtual file server is a system consisting of one of more virtualised devices that store computer files such as documents, sound files, images, audio and video files. The server can be accessed by workstations or application servers through the Fileserver network.

File virtualisation can be limited by scalability, which can involve the number of file systems, files, servers or I/O input/output) performance. The file virtualisation platform must also be interoperable with the current infrastructure so that it can work with existing storage systems and switches.

Brand Reputation and Search Engine – Correlated?

I was reading Advertising Age this afternoon and read an article titled "Search Shifts Means Visibility Must be Earned, Not Paid". Does this infer that brand reputation and search engine optimisation are correlated? If so, this has many ramifications.

I believe marketers should devote more attention to SEO rather than SEM, as the title in Advertising Age suggets. Consumers look to the internet for information and education to help them make a more informed decision. 

In the fase paced interconnected world that we live in today, consumers are going to talk about your company regardless if you have entered the online space. So even your offline campaigns, customer service, product quality with be talked about online. And of course these conversations can make or break your brand reputation.

As part of SEM, one of the variable of getting higher rankings, content needs to be refreshed and of course rich in information can be a very powerful variable in pushing up brand name in Search Engines.

Consumers want to know more about the company/brand and read about reviews and feedbacks from current customers. But hey isn't that a way social marketing? People are searching, people are also perhaps in engaging in long-tail searches on your company and brand. So having good or bad press on search engines may be a deal winner or breaker for you - depends on how it swings.

Somehow this is no longer PUSH marketing but PULL marketing at play. Not new I might say, in the past we have always trusted our friends more than advertisements anyway.

So concluding, I personally feel that brand reputation and search engine are correlated - be it good or bad reputation. Search marketing now is not just about generating leads, it is also a strategy in itself that goes beyong selling a product.

What are your thoughts?

Social Media for Businesses – A Reality Check

For years now I have been trying to introduce the idea of social media to my boss who practices very traditional marketing strategies. I think I am geting closer but there's still a lot of convincing to do.

Here are just some pointers on some social media techniques I put in place:

1. Use tools (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc) to better engage your customers, and these are just tools. Social Media marketing is a strategy in itself.
2. Nothing will replace a face to face meeting – not even Social Media marketing.
3. Markets are getting smarter – you listen to the customers – and there is also alot of unhappy customers out there. You can get an anti-your company blog. But hey which company doesnt want to listen to those unhappy customers. On the contrary these companies give you a chance to better improve yourself.
4. Use Social Media to understand the customer and give it to them better. They use Social Media tools to listen to the conversation about the company in real time.
5. Companies should embrace the opportunities Social Media entails – think beyond the unhappy customers, on the contrary convert those unhappy ones to happy one and they will be your evangelists.
6. Listening is one thing, participating is another. Its very important to listen first and understand first and then response especially in this fast paced world we live in now.
7. Large companies especially cant afford to sit on the sideline, have to get in now before you get left behind especially now that a growing number of customers are spending a fair portion of their time online.
8. Social Media gives you untapped opportunities and allows you to listen in to conversations about your brand and as a result allow to you understand where you stand, how you can improve and as such deliver better value.

Social Media Monitoring Tools

Here are just some of the Social Media Marketing Monitoring tools that I use. Some are retty good and some not but nevertheess still works. 

• Google Alerts
• TweetBeep
• Watchthatpage
• Trendrr
• Trackur.com
• Google Trends
• Blogpulse

Please feel free to add to the list for those I’ve missed out. Thanks!

Authentic Marketing in Social Media – Paying People to Seed Comments – Trust

In media such as prints, TV ads, consumers will understand and recognise that these are all paid advertisement and they are perfectly fine with that. After all, this fact is known from the outset.

However what if this is not known from the outside? A trend that I see, from conversations with friends, clients and agencies is the notion of seeding conversations in Social Media. For example, firms employ (and pay of course) individuals to post comments on blogs, forums and such as to create a favourable image for the product and hope that it will generate more traffic and of course generate leads.

Is this right? I don’t know – Well for me, I hate to read comments that are not genuine especially if I found out later that this was a paid post or comment – some one who is employed by the company in question. I would lose credibility in the site or for that matter the product – trust is built in incremental steps but once lost, it falls exponentially – isn’t trust (and candidness) the bedrock of social media? Trust is one of the antecedents (drivers) of Word of Mouth (WOM).

From a marketer’s stand point, sure WOM is something they wish to achieve i.e. a result, by seeding comments, would one lose that trust if found out?

But I can understand from the agencies’s point of view is that it generates discussion in the comments section. Afterall social media is interaction and its success stems from conversations.

What are your views, I’m keen to hear them out.

Social Media humanizes your brand?

I think so! But do you think firms are more concerned about "negative comments"?

You bet! Of course that really depends on how the interaction is conversed online. Social media gives business the opportunity never befper to access consumers honest and candid feedback

You bet! of course that depends on how you interaction and converse online. Social media gives firms the opportunity never before to access consumer’s candid feedback and of course business are given the opportunity to respond and relate back to the consumers.

The "problem" I see though is that a significant number of companies still treat social media as a channel for sales. Firms should think beyong that and use social media as a means to better interact with their customers and garner feedback.

Though I have heard is that firms seem to be only concern about one major point - what if someone gave us a really bad feedback? Can we delete bad comments?, etc, etc. Fixating on negativity.

If you think about it, businesses should really be asking how they are going to engage with their consumer? Social Media did not invent critisicm. Businesses have always dealth with complaints via phone calls, email, face to face. So how different is this? 

The Ultimate Guide for Top Internet Marketing Products Exposed

The World Wide Web is filled with a lot of things. But as an Internet Marketer, you should be more particular about your competitors. Everybody wants to have a piece of the action. Everyone wants a share of the market. Obviously if you are not competitive enough you won't be earning much.

Like everything in life in order for it to have your online business succeed you have to invest in it. The basics would be a good domain name, web hosting and a marketing strategy. If you choose well in these aspects, your business could reach great heights.

Not all Domains and Hosting Providers are the same. It is necessary that you get the most reliable web host in order to provide continuous service to your customers. When choosing a web hosting service and domain, be sure to go for a server that can handle your security and expected traffic in the long run.

A good Online Marketing Strategy, on the other hand, could take your business to the top of search engine results for optimum target visits. Being on the top position would drive unique visits to your site, which could translate into sales in the immediate future. 

Your choice of Online Advertising Strategy would put your website in key places of the internet for maximum profits. Advertising is a way to reach out to potential customers. If your ads are on the right spot, you'll get an assurance of reaching your sales quota for the day. 

There are many online marketing products and packages available today to help you in promoting your online business. The problem now is in choosing which one would work for you best. But how would you know that if everybody else says that their marketing product or strategy would work like magic on your business? There's only one sure way to go about it - by consulting authentic customer reviews. 

With a portal that can provide first-hand, accurate information about a certain marketing product that's currently circulating over the internet, you would be able to come up with the best choice for your business. This portal is powered by consumers themselves. Customers, users, or subscribers of a certain online marketing, advertising, or hosting package are then encouraged to add their reviews, recommendations, and feedback - both positive and negative - about their experiences in any of the marketing packages and strategies they have availed of. These would then serve as a guide for everyone, including professionals and novice internet marketers. If there is a new online marketing product recently released, consult customer reviews first before buying it for your own use. This way, you would know if the product could really help you or not.