It has completely and forever altered my perspective of social media online and its role in our society. Indeed, it is not the trendy internet fad I thought it to be. I find myself in AWE of the enabling power of the “MANY.” Truly, it is a Groundswell. And what can stop it?

Hundreds of millions of us throughout the world are online sharing ideas, exchanging tips on where to eat, shop, and visit. We’re warning one another of which retailer’s customer service sucks, whose products flop, and where NOT to go for a good time. It’s a SWARM. WE are a swarm. And just like a swarm, there’s nobody in charge of this billion member machine commonly called web 2.0.

A memorable National Geographic article I read awhile back discussed what’s called “swarm intelligence.” When it comes to ants, for example, “no one’s in charge. No generals command ant warriors. No managers boss ant workers. The queen plays no role except to lay eggs. Even with half a million ants, a colony functions just fine with no management at all—at least none that we would recognize. It relies instead upon countless interactions between individual ants… scientists describe such a system as self-organizing [emphasis added].”

So, it makes me wonder, is the rise of the internet and social media online merely represent an evolution in which we catch up to the swarms of ants and flocks of birds who already have it figured out? A facetious question, yeah probably, but the compelling POWER of the people is making it possible for us to accomplish things never thought conceivable only 15-20 years ago. And FAST (RSS feeds).

No longer is our sole link to the events of the world through the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. Everyone is now his/her own publisher through the blogosphere! Adios to the days in which big business tells US what to think about their brand. Their brand is what WE say it is through website ratings and reviews, blogs, forums, and online communities. There’s a continual conversation going on out there – what’s it saying about YOUR organizaton? Better find out and quick because what “they” are saying out there is what is pushing up or down your bottom line.

And then I could not possibly resist a Hazel the Witch avatar – I’ve always been (still am) a big fan of Looney Tunes with Bugs Bunny and the rest.  Hazel the Witch was always trying to get somebody in her black cooking kettle, took great pride in how ugly she was, and had the GREATEST hackling laugh.  My avatar has that same laugh plus more.  Great find.  

She’s even got the white bloomers.  Details not overlooked.  Found it at Screwball Cartoon Avatars, Kimokeo Cove – L$375.

I found this sweet Starscream Transformers outfit at the Sci-Fi Avatars shop in Second Life.  

And YES, it transforms!  It even makes those cool transforming sound effects, too.  Well worth the L$150 at the Sci-fi Avatars shop.  

I found Coca-Cola’s island on Second Life as well.  After playing a mix-match game I won this sweet little scooter.  What fun.  Killer scooter aside,  I didn’t come upon anything of marketing or business value.  

So, here below, I’ll share a few of the highlights of what Google’s got cookin.’

Google’s Moderator features a set of collaborative ventures in which users take and share money-saving tips such as in the “Tip Jar“…

…or consider hypothetical questions that you would ask any world leader if you could.

Moderator also gives you the opportunity to “ask” Google Engineers questions and suggest “Android Applications.” (?)

Next, if your interest is in politics, then In Quotes is something you’ll want to check out. It generates and compares quotes from political figures and matches them up with one another. Search by topic or popular issue. “Spin” them to see what else they have to say about the same topic.

Next, how ’bout Google’s Audio Indexing in Google Labs! It scans through YouTube videos and pulls out the words, indexes them, and allows users to search them. Currently this only holds indexing on what politicians have to say on YouTube but certainly we can expect to see this grow into the rest of YouTube as well. And won’t that a sweet tool?

Let’s see, what else? Well if you’re one of those code-programming geeks that you’ll probably love Google Code Search. I can’t say I fit into that category so I’m not qualified to comment on this one.

There’s a Google Toolbar 5 for IE and Firefox browser users. Basically, Google has exported some of ingeniuos features of the Chrome browser in their Toolbar 5. My suggestion: drop IE and Firefox altogether. Chrome makes life beautiful.

Also, Google Mars. It’s nowhere near the level of Google Earth, but hey, it’s a good start.

FixYa is an online community of do-it-yourselfers in which members exchange problems and solutions to hundreds of different products.  FixYa fills in the gap left behind from all those manufacturers out there who sell you their product but then leave you out on a limb anytime there’s a problem with it.  Customer support is dismal these days and finding someone who knows what they’re talking about can be a challenge.  However, posing a DIY question to a group of a million other DIY’ers is bound to deliver answers and that is the promise that FixYa delivers.  

The business case for FixYa is attractive.  Targeted advertising is a walk in the park when the users are already making it clear what products and services they’re looking for on FixYa.  Furthermore, it is relatively easy to determine the customer set given the products discussed.  I would expect most of FixYa’s customers to be men since guys tend to engage in DIY projects more so than ladies, generally speaking.  But really, the customer set depends on the product and project.

First thing, however, you need a domain name. There are several domain name registrars which can get you set up with your own domain name. You can go the free route but it will cost you in terms of flexibility and offerings. GoDaddy.com will provide me with rights to www.nckolsen.com for five years at a rate of $9.99/year. Ok now, that’s cheap. But you’ll also need somebody to HOST your website. They have all kinds of options and rates for that, too.

Or you can go to Register.com and for $12.95/MONTH they will provide you with a domain name AND host it for you. These guys are going to hold your hand along the way. This option is valuable to those without the experience and website creation skills but have an idea or business and want to get it up and running as soon as possible.

A great resource to compare and contrast all the various domain name providers and web hosting services is to check out WebHostingChoice.com. This website makes it easy to see what will work best for you.

So, over the course of FIVE years you can expect to spend anywhere between $300-$800 bucks depending on what you want to do with your website. Not bad.

THIS is precisely the sentiment Dove has picked up on with their Campaign for Real Beauty. Why? I can appreciate two good reasons (among many): BRAND management and LISTENING to their customers.

From this campaign, Dove positions their BRAND as one which understands women and their challenges and wants to help – unlike all the “other guys” who just want to make you feel dumpy for not being as beautiful as their fake photoshopped models on billboards and magazines. And through their Campaign for Real Beauty forums, blogs, and sounding boards, they get to LISTEN to what their customers are saying.

Cellfire presents two options: you can find your deals online and save the coupons directly to your Kroger card account OR you can send the coupons to your phone. If using your cell phone, you redeem the coupon by displaying the BAR CODE on your phone to the checkout clerk. Impressive. You can also use your phone to browse for deals on the go.

I would assume that Cellfire must make its money by somehow charging coupon sponsers a small fee to attract customers for them. I’m not sure about that since the website doesn’t go there.

Personally, I don’t have a data plan with my cell phone – I know, out of touch – but for most of you who do, this looks like something to really take a look at.

Jeff, I am 100% with ya!  I say call out the bums that merely treat us like a piece of data or a  figure of annoyance.  Let’s praise those organizations and individuals who treat us with respect and due deference.  

My wife and I were in line at the returns counter of Lowe’s Hardware yesterday.  The clerk was having a hard time ringing something up for the lady in front of us and then got on the phone to call in backup.  Even given my non-verbal expressions of frustration in response to waiting and waiting, the clerk just stood there and stared into space.  Hey, wake up!  Let me introduce myself, my name is Mr. Customer, how ‘bout it?  Think you could help ME while your other customer is on hold?  Don’t treat me like I’m invisible.

I believe that for many, there is a significant disconnect in people’s heads between one’s paycheck and the funding for that paycheck.  It is only by virtue of the CUSTOMER, not the company, that you have a paycheck to cover the mortgage and pay the bills.