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Jason "Need more business?" Sanders - Business Networking Specialist

TVPG Radio Hits Twitter Top 100 Territory with @BJMendelson

This Week's Guest: Brandon Mendelson (@BJMendelson on Twitter)

TVPG Radio InformationI am brimming with excitement over my next guest on TVPG Radio's Get More Business Show! Please Join me at 11:30am Eastern on Wednesday June 10, 2009 at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/get-more-business/2009/06/10/Get-More-Business-Featuring-Brandon-Mendelson-Charitable-Crusader. I'm going to be interviewing Brandon Mendelson. Brandon is a Charitable Crusader, recently completing a nationwide tour promoting breast health through his Check Early, Check Often campaign. Currently he's very busy with his A Million High Five's initiative.

If you don't know who Brandon Mendelson (@BJMendelson) is, let me tell you. He's a part of the Twitter Top 100, with over 600,000 followers. He's achieved this status mostly in the last 6 months. 600k followers sounds like a lot, but let me give you a little perspective.

If Twitter is a popularity contest, Brandon Mendelson is more popular than:

Yes, I know I'm being a little controversial, but hopefully you'll tune in! There's been a lot of back and forth about the validity of Twitter as a platform to grow and improve your business. Someone with hundred's of thousands and soon to be millions of followers has a unique perspective on that question.

Want to know how @BJMendelson got so many followers? I'll ask him! Want to know what hundreds of thousands or even millions of Twitter followers could do for your business or your charitable cause? Don't miss our show to get Brandon's answers to these and other questions!

(If you miss the live show, you can always listen to the recorded podcast later by clicking on the link above or by using the player below.)

Jason Sanders @ValuePagesGroup
Business Networking Specialist

www.TheValuePagesGroup.com

The One Click

Update On My First Radio Show Experience

It feels like it's been forever since my last blog post, but I'm happy to be back blogging again!

The last time we spoke I was getting ready to run off and do my first Radio Interview. Yes I was really nervous! About 10 mins before the show I was breaking out in a cold sweat and watching my hands shake in the Green Room. But everyone here at AR gave me some great advice and I ended up getting myself calmed down, and I'm happy to report that everything ended up going really, really well.

At the end of the show I found myself being surprised it was over all ready and a little bit disappointed that the allotment of time was up. I could have spent several more hours there and talked my host's ear off without a second thought.

If you're interested in watching the interview, please see the videos below. I had to split it up into 3 sections to meet YouTube's guidelines, but the entire footage is about 18 mins with all 3 videos.


American Dream Radio Video #1

American Dream Radio Video #2

American Dream Radio Video #3

So I have nothing but great things to say about this whole experience. The response has been incredible! I have a bunch of new members in 15 states and now a couple in Australia! I planned on going global, but I didn't expect to be pushed international this quickly.

Along the way, I also had a bit of an epiphany. So many people are putting their blood, sweat, and tears into their businesses right now in an effort to ride out this economic downturn and keep their own heads above water. Some businesses are fairing better than others. Some are actually developing strategies and processes that generate incredible interest, exposure, and profit - despite this economic environment. I began to think: Wouldn't it be great to get some insider tips and perspective from those who are weathering this storm well? What could business owners teach one another that could make a real difference in the bottom lines of small to medium, to even multinational corporations across America? The answers are out there and they could make a huge impact for any business owner looking for a leg up in this economy. Business truths are cross-applicable, and when applied, these truths benefit businesses regardless of their Industry, Profession, or Sector.

With these thoughts in my head I decided to start TVPG Radio and host the Get More Business Show. I'll be interviewing business owners from all professions and all areas of the country to find out what they are doing to find opportunity in this economic environment and what attitudes, tools and strategies they are implementing to not only survive, but thrive!

I've already got my first two shows under my belt. Check them out with the BlogTalkRadio widget in the sidebar of my blog.

So those of you who've missed me and have been wondering where I've been, now know what I've been up to. Look for me to post a transcript of the above interview shortly as well as transcripts of the Get More Business Shows as they progress. I'm looking forward to your feedback on what I've been doing so far and anything you think I could change to bring more value to your business.

Jason Sanders

Business Networking Specialist


Business Networking
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My First Radio Appearance!

Hello Rainers!

I just wanted to announce that I'm doing my first Radio Appearance tomorrow afternoon (Wed, April 29th) at 5pm. It's broadcast out of Glassboro NJ on Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS FM. Feel free to spread the word!

The American Dream Radio ShowThe show is called "The American Dream" and I'm going to be talking about how the American Dream is changing and what it takes in this current economic environment to achieve it.

I'm really excited about this opportunity to expose more people to what I do and the important charitable work that I'm focusing on now for Autism Speaks. Obviously I'm also a little nervous. I've never been on the radio before. Well, I take that back. I won tickets to a concert once and had about 15 seconds, but other than that, I've never been on the radio. I want to thank everyone for the support I've received already from my fellow Rainers on Facebook and Twitter, it means a lot!

If you're local to me in South Jersey, please tune in at 5pm to 89.7 FM. If you want more info about the broadcast, check out the website: http://americandreamradio.wordpress.com/.

If you want more information about the special fundraising work I'm doing for Walk Now For Autism, please see my website, http://www.TheValuePagesGroup.com.

I really want to thank Claudia Krusch of CKTranslations for setting this up for me. Hopefully it will be a launching platform for other media exposure.

Jason Sanders
Business Networking Specialist

www.TheValuePagesGroup.com

The One Click "Tweet This" Button!

Twitter - Should You Protect Your Updates? - The Illusion Of Privacy

@ValuePagesGroup on TwitterI find so many people have gone out and created accounts on social networking platforms, such as Twitter and others, and then they sit back wondering what to do with them. A common concern that people have when getting started is how much information they are putting out there and how it could potentially damage their privacy.

If you're worried that someone could find out where you live or more personal information on the internet than what you're comfortable sharing, you should keep a couple of things in mind.

  • On the internet you have no privacy.
  • There's probably already information about you on the internet that would make you uncomfortable.

The Illusion of PrivacyBetween Google indexing phone records, reverse phone number searches through whitepages and other means, and public tax records your City or Township has posted online, if people want to find you they will. Do a little search on yourself and you'll see what I mean. It's something that those who choose to market themselves online have to realize and accept as a price for their marketing efforts.

Some try to protect their privacy through the privacy settings that Twitter and other platforms offer to their users. Is this effective? In short, no. The reason why is clear when you understand how Twitter aggregates their information. Your Tweets may be private, but not all of your followers will choose to Protect Their Updates. Your followers tweets in response to your tweets will still be visible, and they will contain your user name.

An example of how this could go wrong for you goes as follows. You're tweeting about a situation at work through your Private, Protected Tweet Stream. One of your friends replies, rather snarkily: "You're not the only one with an A$$hole Boss!" If your boss or someone at your company is inclined to search for you on twitter and knows what to look for, they will find that tweet. The part that hurts you is that you may not even have called your boss a name. But without your tweets being visible the impression you make on the reader is obtained from the reactions of your followers on Twitter to your invisible Tweets.

When you combine this prospective problem with the general bad impression that having a privatized account makes on a potential client, it's clear (to me, at-least) that privatizing my twitter account is a bad idea.

What is the solution?

Do You Want To Tell Your Customers: "Do Not Disturb"?Honestly, different people will have different ideas, but let me share with you my approach. I've given up on the idea of having privacy online. Instead of focusing on protecting myself through privacy settings, I focus on protecting myself through content. I double check anything I write to make sure that I'm ok with it being published, recognizing that once I hit that button, its out there for anyone to read who might be interested. I'm very cognizant that my image is tied to my messages, thoughts, comments and writing that I post online, so I have no issue being cautious about what I write.

I've found that this strategy is actually liberating for me, because it allows me to focus on actually building new relationships, which I find is much easier when people can openly find all the information they want on me through my online presences.

Yes I know that people can find my address, and other personal information on me online, but because I'm careful about what I put out there, I know that if they find me, it will only be because they want to do business with me.

Jason Sanders
Business Networking Specialist

www.TheValuePagesGroup.com

The One Click "Tweet This" Button!

Grow Your Baltimore Business - Contest To Win $1,375.00 Towards Your '09 Marketing And Networking Budget

This contest is open to ANY AND ALL businesses or sales people who consider themselves to be SELF EMPLOYED in the Baltimore, MD area.

The Prize: A six month Gold Membership to The Value Pages Group for yourself as well as 10 of your business associates! These memberships are valued at $125.00 each so this package of 11 Memberships carries a total value of $1,375.00!

When was the last time that you were able to give a gift of true value to those businesses that consistently refer business your way, or those businesses that you would like to develop a stronger relationship with? I'm allowing you to do this Today. You can give a powerful gift, that not only carries value, but will also allow the recipient to grow his/her own business through more referrals. You get to take all the credit and I will foot the bill. I consider this my own economic stimulus package.

Rules:

The first 5 business owners to.....

1. Subscribe to this blog

2. Join The Value Pages Groupon LinkedIn

3. Join "The Value Pages Group" Facebook Group

4. Become a fan of TheValuePagesGroup.comon Facebook

5. Follow the primary ValuePagesGroup account on Twitter

6. Subscribe to The Value Pages Group'sYouTube channel

7. Become a friend of The Value Pages Groupon Myspace

8. Email me at Jason@TheValuePagesGroup.com and let me know that you've completed the 6 preceeding tasks and provide me your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn & Myspace Id's so that I can verify

......will win the above described prize package. Yes, I'm only giving away 5 packages!

If you're reading this and you're not from the Baltimore area, feel free to comment and let me know what you think of the idea, and if you would be interested in participating in a similar contest for businesses in your area!

Jason Sanders
Business Networking Specialist

www.TheValuePagesGroup.com

The One Click "Tweet This" Button!