Maximum Out-of-Pocket Premium Payments Under PPACA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
All the uproar about “Obamacare”, or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is getting so screwed up. If you read the Health Care plan – the only people who will “have” to purchase insurance, are those who can afford it – those who live above the poverty level, and the State is to set-up affordable options in a range of a $100 or so a month. The major portion of this Act’s funding come from a tax on those making over $200k a year – and only at 0.9%!
Anyone who can’t afford it – like the millions of people in our nation who are under employed or unemployed will be offered it by their State. It will also not be taking effect until 2014.
Don’t mean to sound preachy. But after seeing too many people affected by the Ridiculous health care industry in our Country – including my brother who had terminal cancer and was still denied State coverage because he was receiving $800 a month in Unemployment and died with $40k in hospital bills, after selling his car, house, etc. Obama has it right. Something has to be done.
Here we have a simple introduction to the newest of the Social Media services, Google+. Watch this if you’d like a quick introduction to the service. I think it may help. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment. Thanks.
“Do you have profiles on sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn?”
Yes I have all the above – Facebook, which I use more socially, MySpace, which is more used for Music likes and discovery these days. I use Twitter more and more and I keep up a personal, business and two client Twitters. I do have a LinkedIn account and am working on updating it to make it more professional and current.
“Do you have a Google profile?”
Yes, I really like Google! I use Gmail, Google documents, Google Reader and Google Voice. I’m especially loving the new phone options that Google has recently implemented. Anytime I’m on my computer I have my Gmail account open and if someone calls my cell phone or home phone, they are forwarded instantly into Google Phone and I can click and answer and talk to the person right through my computer!
“Are your profiles linked together?” All my business accounts are linked together and my personal accounts are linked together, My blog posts to my Facebook and MySpace and my personal Twitter posts to my Facebook. As do my FourSquare and Yelp location accounts.
“Do you use a consistent name across profiles?”
Yes, I use the same name for each personal account and for each business account the names are consistent, too.
I searched for my name as first name last name, middle name and last name and full name and got a couple things here and there – mostly references to obits or other non-related people around the country. When I searched for my name as “gndearmond” I found a full page of information on myself! I was both pleasantly surprised and shocked. I did some promo items for a local band – unfortunately, they are called the Serial Killers! So, all the links to their items that I’d created showed up. gndearmond…Serial Killers, this and that – several findings listed as such. I’ll leave the site links up until the end of the month, but it will come down ASAP, just to clear up what would have been a great persona, otherwise.
“What do you want your online persona to be?”
I’d like it to be professional, but not too stuffy. To correctly represent myself and my company and to convey just the right amount of information, but nothing unnecessary.
“Given your goals, what services/sites do you think you can use to develop an online persona that will help you build your personal brand?”
I think that both personally and as a Marketer/Web Developer it is currently necessary to have all the “Big 4” services under your belt: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and then your choice of either Yelp or FourSquare (or both). Lately, I’ve been experimenting with GoWalla and other Apps on my Android, too. I love the convenience of having my Android as an extension of my cyber world (just wish the battery would hold up to my power usage!).
It’s amazing how you can link all the above sites, use them to announce an event, post an opinion or link to your companies site or Blog. You can even run campaigns and contests utilizing them – all in hopes of driving your persona or product/service. Give it a try – Here’s a challenge for now, through the coming new year – Try something new, experiment and you may find a new techy/Social Media love.
I’ve been coming across a large number of posts, articles, tweets and links for tips on using Social Media. Everything from, “10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly,” to, “30 Kick-Ass Premium WordPress Plugins and Themes.” In the article about the 10 tips on writing I especially enjoyed some of the author’s humor and candor, “#4. Give yourself time. Many smart people tell themselves pathetic lies like, ‘I do my best work at the last minute.’ Look: It’s not true. No one works better under pressure.” That couldn’t be more true! And I suppose I have to point out that I’m writing this on Monday, the day it’s due.
The article on the 30 WordPress links was largely links to premium plugins and themes, but even on these, I gain knowledge by seeing what’s new and often there are great comments at the end of the article that give me more insight into areas I’ve not previously been aware of. “I really do think the occasional roundup isn’t as bad as you put it. Remember that roundups occurs maybe twice or thrice *a month* here. Our focus is still squarely on in-depth articles and useful tutorials.” This let me know that I might want to either save a bookmark or subscribe to the page’s RSS to keep an eye on future posts that may hold more hints, tips or possible freebies and tutorials.
The next article deals with Twitter and the humorous title grabbed me, “Useful Tips For Network Marketers On How NOT To Become A Total Twitter Twit!” The author goes through 10 tips to keep you from being a Twit and the humor is carried throughout. I enjoyed several of them, but found myself going all the way through tip #10, which was really a list of some must follow people on Twitter. Check it out – if you are into Twitter (which of course you MUST be as a Social Media/Internet Marketer) you’ll enjoy this one. There’s even this great cartoon!
The next post was “Social Media Marketing in 8 Simple Steps.” Right off the opening paragraph grabbed me! “Online social marketing and social networking has been around a long time, but only recently has it been experiencing an explosion in participation and promotion from around the world, in every market imaginable. It has definitely gone ‘mainstream’ and is now even more important as a tool in your internet marketing strategy.” That term “mainstream” means a lot – it means more and more businesses are recognizing the need for and the importance of Social Media.
The article is only attributed to a “guest blogger,” which I found annoying, because I would have liked to read more by this author. They’ve written it as another list of things to do. And the closing grabbed me, just as the opening had, “Begin to learn and implement these strategies so you can see for yourself how an integrated social media marketing initiative will not only increase your web presence but will ensure your continued success on the internet and put this powerful social marketing initiative into play...”
The last post I’d like to bring to your attention is one that covers one of the “heavy hitters” of Social Media, Brian Solis and one of the groups I’ve written about before, Social Media Club. SMC is hosting an event called, “Social Media Masters.” Mr. Solis will be their keynote speaker, giving a speech on, “A Master Workshop for Marketing Professionals from Social Media Club and OMS.” These programs are often streamed live on the web and are certainly worth checking out. Again, I’ll say, if you live in an area with a chapter of Social Media Club you should do yourself a favor and check them out (you can find a list of the local chapters here). I am very much looking forward to what our Detroit Chapter has for us in the coming year.
Thanks for visiting our blog for Guinness Atticus. Guinness Atticus is the name we’ve chosen for our company and the name comes from our Bulldog, Guinness Atticus Buckley Morrissey. His full name was just a little too long for a company name, so we went with the first two. It’s catchy and we’ve begun branding it on Twitter with @guinnessatticus. Often when I meet people that we’ve connected with through Twitter, it takes them a few minutes to remember my real name, Graves De Armond.
Most people often decide to use their real name or a nick name as their Twitter ID, choosing to use the company name was purposeful and as we gain followers and follow others, the name Guinness Atticus is being spread and acknowledged as our Brand!
Guinness Atticus 