Viral Map, June 2009
by John R. Sedivy
This article serves as an update to our viral map which I originally provided in January of this year. The viral map provided in this article provides an illustration of our traffic sources for June 2009. This is meant not only to document our traffic source changes, but to assist our readers by showing what they can expect with a blog of their own, or at least provide you with a benchmark to measure your performance against.
The following items are worth noting concerning traffic sources for June when compared to previous months:
1. More traffic sources
2. Traffic sources are more diverse
For more on the concept of viral mapping and viral marketing, refer to my article “Viral Mapping”. For the May 2009 viral map, refer to “Viral Map Update”.
CCBbuzz Viral Map
The updated CCBbuzz viral map below as Figure 1.
Figure 1. CCBbuzz Viral Map
As a refresher, the viral map is a representation of traffic flow to and from the website. In addition to modifying the actual traffic sources, I had streamlined the diagram a bit. Instead of showing each unique traffic source, I have just depicted categories, and will describe the sources in each section. The reason for this is that there are simply too many sources to show on the diagram in a meaningful way. A good problem to have! Each section of this article will address a different category starting from the top and moving clockwise.
Blogs
For the Blogs category we have maintained the same traffic sources when compared to the previous month and have added a couple more. Here is the list of blogs who had provided CCBbuzz with visitors:
1. Cofebuz
2. StartupHustle
3. The Church Of Jesus Christ
4. Web Ink Now
5. Synchronicity
Cofebuz and The Church of Jesus Christ were new during June, when compared to the May traffic sources. We have received occasional traffic from Cofebuz from time-to-time, however CCBbuzz was featured in an articled called “The Best Unknown Websites” which had provided us with a steady stream of traffic throughout the remainder of the month. The Church of Jesus Christ blog had linked back to one of our technical articles which provided us with some new readers from that site. Compared to the previous month, no blog sources have dropped off June’s viral map.
Direct Entry
These our individuals who visit our site by directly entering our web address into their web browser. For the time being, I will include our Subscribers into this category.
Internal
Internal traffic from the main Cape Cod Branding website.
Miscellaneous
Here are a few other sites that we receive traffic from that do not neatly fit into previously defined categories:
1. Alphainventions
2. Chatii
3. Google Translator
4. The Wedding Times
5. WordPress.org
A couple have dropped off the list when compared to last month to include Pragmatic Marketing and Rocklin High School – however we have gained a few more traffic sources to include Chatii, Google Translator, and The Wedding Times. Google Translator is interesting in that this site implies that we are gaining awareness form non-English speaking readers. Our notice from The Wedding Times was a result of Amy’s article announcing her business, “asa boston Wedding Cake Design”. The benefit of writing about different things is that you get noticed by different people – expanding your audience and your horizons!
Search Engines
We seem to be gaining increased awareness from the search engines. In addition to the the normal Google searches we receive, a couple more have been added during the month of June:
1. AOL Search
2. Dogpile
Apparently SEO is paying off – my guess is that as we are around longer and implement more SEO, it will continue to expand awareness.
Social Media
Here are the sources of our social media web traffic:
1. Digg
2. Facebook
3. Technorati
4. Twitter
A couple had dropped off the list from last month to included Linkedin and Sphere – however Digg was added to the list as we had received some traffic during June from that site.
As June was our highest month for web traffic by far, this is also reflected by a wider variety of web traffic sources. As with most anything else diversity in web traffic is desirable as it lessens your risk over time, should one or more of your sources suddenly vanish.
Diversity in web traffic sources greatly reduces your risk!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
Best Blog Reading – 7.27.09
by John R. Sedivy
My favorite blog articles that I read today, Monday, July 27, 2009:
1. 73 Ways To Become A Better Writer by Copyblogger. I am usually a bit put off by long lists, but this article is very much worthwhile. Short, valuable tips on how to become a writer. Check it out!
2. Scout Labs Now Features A Real-Time Focus Group by TechCrunch. Ever wonder if there is a way to automatically consolidate what people are saying about you and your brand online? Apparently there is a tool that will combine what is being said about you and your brand into one snapshot for later analysis. I have not used this tool yet, however it sounds like a cool idea!
3. Four Videos About Noise, Social, and Decency by Seth Godin. Short video clips of Seth Godin and Tom Peters discussing blogging, decency, what people care about, and social media – at Seth Godin’s Blog. I am big fan of Tom Peters (especially Re-Imagine) and have only just discovered Seth Godin whose writing I am really enjoying!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
A Different Kind Of Soldier
by John R. Sedivy
While reading “Horse Soldiers” by Doug Stanton I was intrigued by the nature of Army Special Forces. Throughout the book special forces were described as a different, free-thinking type of soldier, one who can operate independently, but also function as a team. This aspect is unique to the special forces soldier and not a characteristic normally found in the regular military.
A Military Perspective
This is not meant to ding the regular military, quite the contrary, our armed forces are the best in the world. However, the regular military and special forces have different missions and therefore different training and development tracks. The regular military seeks to lessen individualism in order to strengthen the team. Questioning orders, although allowable, is generally discouraged as one is expected to submit to the higher ranks in order to keep the “machine” well oiled with structure and discipline. Regular military, for the most part, are told what to do and how to do it and expected to obey legal orders to the letter.
Special forces have the same structure and discipline as the regular military, however their individualism stands out to a greater extent. Their training emphasizes their individualism and hones their ability to problem solve. They are told of their objective, but not necessarily how to do it – and are expected to problem solve along the way. They push themselves and their equipment to the limit – performing near superhuman feats – they constantly redefine what is achievable for others to follow in their footsteps.
There were many examples in “Horse Soldiers” of the individual mindset and unique problem solving abilities of the special forces soldiers. One interesting story was that of a helicopter pilot accustomed to clearing his own landing zones through densely packed pine trees – when there wasn’t a suitable cleared area – the area was cleared with the landing helicopter. Another fascinating example was that of the helicopter pilots and crew pushing their way to high altitudes, beyond the low cloud ceiling of Afghanistan where the helicopter performance testing had not been accomplished – one instance resulted in the oxygen system breaking and only one crew member could use the oxygen mask, with the remainder of the crew and passengers passing out or being delusional – yet the mission was accomplished – this occurred on multiple occasions.
One last note concerning regular military and special forces. Generally the very thing that makes the special forces soldier good at what they do in the special forces environment makes them ill equipped to serve as a regular soldier. The same can be said for regular soldier in a special forces environment.
A Business Perspective
A similar comparison may be made between the entrepreneur and the employee. Similar to the regular Army soldier, the employee is expected to follow orders, is generally told how to accomplish their objectives, and generally expected to follow directives from superiors to the letter. In general, an employee may question their boss, but it is generally frowned upon – and structure and discipline keep the company machine well oiled.
On the other hand, the entrepreneur is a different kind of soldier. The entrepreneur may be likened to the special forces soldier in that their individualism is their greatest asset. The entrepreneur, in pursuit of their dream pushes themselves and their assets to the limits, sometimes redefining what is possible in the business world. Once defined, other businesses and employees will follow their lead. For more on the importance of individualism and why this is a trait worth cultivating, refer to my article “Individual Importance.”
As with the regular and special forces soldier comparison – the entrepreneur is generally a poor employee. The same can be said for an employee attempting to succeed in an entrepreneurial environment. A shift in thinking and an adaptation to the new environment must occur.
Plan To Problem Solve
One of the many things I had learned from reading “Horse Soldiers” was that it is human nature for things to go wrong. Any time that you involve people and a desired objective, something will go wrong – regardless of how much you plan. So goes it with business. You can plan for everything (or so you think), but something will surprise you. What is important is not necessarily your planning skills and knowledge, but your ability to solve problems. Your ability to successfully overcome the unexpected. As the special forces soldier has to successfully overcome unexpected difficulties, so to must the entrepreneur.
Do you plan on starting a business? If so, drop the plan and get good at problem solving!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
