What Happened to Chat Rooms?

Whatever happened to the chat room? It seems that chat rooms have been all but locked away from the internet. Instant Messaging, made popular through AOL and Yahoo!, was great in the mid 90's. Yet you couldn't engage multiple friends at a single keyboarding session like you could in one of their chat rooms.

The social site boom of the late 90's early 00's saw sites like Blackplanet, Asian Avenue, Myspace, Mi Gente and Tagged expand on the concept to allow chat rooms and forums to fill up peoples' time.

The sad part is most of us didn't even notice they were gone until.... BAM, it's too late! When I started college AOL and Yahoo! chat were the way you connected but as the internet evolved... chat rooms died.

I know some still exist however, you've got to pay to play so-to-speak. Social sites like Facebook emerged as room-free sites that relied upon a different way of connecting and conversing.

IM'ing, posting, liking and sharing became the way of interaction. Along with blogging and tweeting, this has become the new norm and attributed with being the reason chat rooms are on the back of milk cartons...

by. F. Carlton Peeples

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Social Media Sizzle!

F. Carlton Peeples President/Lead Consultant
Carlton Signature Publishing and PR

There's a popular saying that says you sell the sizzle not the steak. It's an adage that sales professionals use time and again that has some truth in its roots. It may sound silly but the sizzle is where the sweet spot is. That said, social media is probably a gourmet frying pan in the kitchen of a five star restaurant. 

It's the best way to sell the sizzle of your company's products, services, and goods. Social media, in so many ways, actually is the sizzle. Think of it like this, a strong social media outreach can connect to your specific audience and capture the attention of others who may stumble upon your post, tweet, or blog - just as the aroma of a good steak may cause someone to say, "I'll have what she's having!" 

But like a good cut of meat the sizzle will only last for so long. Social media is updated to the very minute - nay, the very second of your life. People who actively engage social networks spend 6.9 hours per month online and engaged. As reported by Mashable.com, social media now accounts for 18% of time spent online, according to a new infographic. More than half (56%) of Americans have at least one social network profile; up from the 24% stat reported in 2008. 

That means the average person will gain and lose interest in a particular subject, post, product, or service within the matter of minutes. That's about how long it takes for the sizzle on a good New York strip to completely die away, right?

Capturing your audience's attention should be a strategic and well-thought-out plan. Action items, tactical plan, metrics, and follow through equal a sure fire plan for success.

Facebook and Twitter are always a good place to start. Your networks are already vested in your company and image as they follow or friend you. This is an audience tuned in to what you have to say. Sharing your professional and tasteful personal perspectives allow them to become even more engaged, as many will interact with you and your company.

Being innovative will also allow you to get a jump on your competition. Finding a way to separate yourself from the herd will position you to do something daring. And who doesn't like a winner?

By F. Carlton Peeples

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