This past year saw a number of high profile brands attempt to implement fees or raise prices, only to backpedal and grovel after facing a scathing flood of angry and vocal customers.

Great advice from Experience.

How to raise prices and avoid a social media backlash is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!

Trends in technology, media and creativity is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!

No surprise these early adopters are those brands/publishers/individuals that have been active in other social media platforms. Besides news networks such as ABC, National Geographic, NPR, and NBC, fashion brands such as Burberry, Club Monaco, Gucci, KateSpadeNY, Levi’s, and Marc Jacobs are already sharing photos religiously. – Rudi Leung, ClickZ 

5 Instagram tactics for brands is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!

Great infographic from BuySellAds on the elements that make up the perfect banner ads. Give  a copy of this to your designers. It’s your job as a marketers though to make sure the banner is placed in front of the optimal audience. Click for a larger view.

Elements of the perfect banner ad is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!

Google Adwords: How much does it cost to get to the top? is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!

I’m not sure I can put an actual date on when my mood and feelings toward Facebook changed. It used to be all the rage – checking up on friends, sharing photos and getting input on important life decisions from your closest friends.

Today, Facebook feels like a chore – blocking and hiding irritating “friends” who seeming take to Facebook for two reasons – (1) to bitch about the horrible experience they had at {insert store here} or (2) to play {insert annoying game here}. I’m no longer leaning toward my screen, engrossed in the content, but instead covering my eyes and holding my nose from the rancid stench of rotting brains.

Retailers aren’t fairing much better. Lame post after lame post has me nearly comatose. I mean, the only reason I liked you is because you offered me a free chicken sandwich. Why not go clean the restrooms that I complained about on your page last week?

Facebook put themselves in this position. Before they introduced sponsored stories and apps that leaked all your information to third parties, they essentially decided to play both sides of the fence. The site began with only user profiles, but then businesses wanted in. The fan page was created and marketers rejoiced. They could interact and “engage” in conversations with their customer. Facebook liked (see the pun there) this because businesses meant deep pockets and lots of revenues.

See, the thing is, for every change that Facebook makes to their platform (which they have every right to do), they take something away from either the users or the advertisers. Rarely has a change benefited both parties. And since Facebook has plenty of users who are addicted out of their mind, the changes usually benefit the advertisers. It’s like the cigarette industry is behind this or something.

I could get all cliche’ and use the “It’s not you, it’s me” line, but I think it’s actually you (Facebook) this time. I’m not worried that I’m being tracked or what you might do with my data, it’s just that I’ve got too many problems of my own. I no longer want to spend my precious time lining someone else’s pockets and cleaning up the social mess you’ve made. I think I’ll be deleting my Facebook account soon… if that’s even possible.

Update:

The Atlantic Wire has a piece with updated information about the addition of ads in your stream.

The downfall of Facebook is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!

Optimize and improve your landing pages is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!

This got me thinking of similar industries that could take advantage of Groupon or similar deal sites.  Movies are great and you could also do the same with up-and-coming bands trying to fill a venue, newly minted authors, artists or even attendees to a local event or festival.  Heck, I could even see niche Groupon-like sites taking advantage of this idea to market to music and art fans.  This type of model works great for all parties involved.  Venues know what to expect in terms of attendance, the producer of the product gets exposure for their work and the customers get an exclusive deal at a great price.

What other sort of ways do you think they could expand upon the Groupon model? Let me know in the comments below.

In case you were interested in the Ready, Set, Bag! documentary; I’ve attached a preview below.

A New Take On The Groupon Business Model is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!

The widget displays the Foursquare mayor along with their picture. It also shows tips for that venue that Foursquare users leave about what to try, buy, or do at that particular location.

The widget is easy to setup.  Find your Foursquare business location, determine your widget size and the site spits out some Javascript code to paste into your site.  Right now, they only offer skyscraper size banners, but a WordPress plugin is rumored to be coming soon that will allow you to customize your widget.  via TechCrunch

Got A Business? Show Off Your Best Customer With A Foursquare Widget is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!

Digital Marketing Haiku – Always Be Testing is a post from Bob Hazlett, a digital marketer who writes at One Half Amazing!