Building a Custom Roller Coaster

Over the past few months I have been doing some heavy lifting, architecture, project management, hitting hammers, putting out fires and celebrating with my team and every new member that comes along in the process. I thought I was building an Entertainment and Social Media business, instead I am in development of one hell of a roller coaster.

Seems fitting since Orlando is the home of the theme parks and most people thinks that is all we have to offer anyway.

How to deal with the constant ups and downs:

• Have goals. Just as a roller coaster needs a track, so does your project. Before we really hit crunchtime, I was using my phone and an insufficient calendar to manage my operations. Over the weekend I really looked into BaseCamp and it changed my life. Having milestones to accomplish, to-do lists that everyone on the team can see and update, delegating tasks and sending out reminders have all made my days less stressful. Now everyone knows what the end results need to be and I can see them coming along. Now we are on track!
• Remain optimistic. Going up the tracks with that creaking sound is the gut check part of the ride. So is the possibility of uncertainty in running your business. Even when development issues arise, or payments suddenly no longer come to your mailbox, remember that this is an uphill battle and the ride is usually fun (unless you are my little brother blowing chunks when we land - or was that me?)
• The big drop. The product release is somewhat like a free fall. Having all your ducks aligned with marketing, development, finances and so on ca still leave you with that pit feeling in your stomach when people can see you and your product for the first time. Again, enjoy the ride because in a roller coaster, you always go back up.
• It's ok not to know. Like being twisted in a roller coaster or even upside down there are days when I have no answers for anyone. Shoot, half my day is spent on Google researching. Just know that it is ok not to know as long as you have a plan to solve the issue or question.
• Hit the brakes. Every ride has to stop and some point. Give yourself some time to stop, think and plot your next move. Sometimes in a start-up you feel like it is always go-go-go, which is ok, but a little time to sit in a comfy couch and think about what is happening and finding out which ride you want to go on next, well, that can be a very smart move.
• Get an express pass. No one likes waiting in line. No one likes being second. Even with all the movement and distractions around you, listen to the outside world and beat people to the punch. Surprise them when you are a leader and innovator instead of playing catch-up. Listening is the essential key in Social Media and running an Internet Company, essential like having those skip the line passes at Universal.
• Treating the team. You might be the work horse, but there are people around you that are making things tick as well. Treat them great and great work will turn in. Buy beers on a Friday, gas cards for their driving and other little things that will make them proud that they get paid like crap but they have a blast while doing it for the better of the organization. Let them grow and it will in turn let you grow with them.

That sums up my roller coaster ride. What parts of the adventure am I missing? How do you deal with the parts of the coaster?

-Greg Rollett

Why Customer Service Matters

Update:

After talking with a few more folks at AT&T, I understand why I could not do what I wanted to do. There are some great people in the organization who are trying to make it work and I appreciate that. Hopefully everything will get resolved and we will go on with our iPhone enhanced days! I just wish the people helping me could help their call center phone support reps realize that everyone is important. The following post was written out of frustration, without all of the facts. However it still holds merit as to treating your customers right, no matter the business or company. What goes up, well, it usually comes down and how you treat the everyday customer will have long-term effects on your business.

Warning: This post contains language not meant for small children or something like that!

Disclaimer: I love my iPhone, coolest invention ever!

Ok, got that crap out of the way. This post is a customer service post. Last time I checked, customer service provokes a real good value into Word of Mouth Marketing. When your customer service is bad, so is your buzz in the streets.

I had a battle with AT&T today over my wife's phone. No matter the battle, and who is right and wrong, the customer is always right, right? Well according to the highest person in their good old call center, the customer is not right, AT&T is not Burger King and they don't care what other, friendlier, services and carriers do. They have the iPhone and everyone wants one. They want them so bad that the local Sanford store is saying up to 21 days on pre-orders.

Basically my call with said supervisor ended in them saying,

yea go ahead and cancel your subscription, we have a 3 week backlog of people begging to get onto our network.

Ouch!

I posted my initial thoughts on Twitter. I was mad. Then I thought, is anyone else mad. In comes Twitter Search:


And there are pages and pages of others.

Why it matters?
If AT&T is looking to be in this for the long haul they are going to have to look past Steve Jobs and the iPhone. There is a bigger picture. Long term contracts are worth a hell of a lot more than a $199 phone that Apple eats anyway.

I am sure that with their Customer Support team being so efficient they have plenty of time to track Twitter Search and blog bashing. This is sarcasm, but really I bet they don't even care. People are lining up to sign-up to their service, so even though I thought I was in the right today, AT&T lost me as an advocate, all because they couldn't port over a number that we had active for over 10 years now.

When brands don't care
They rise fast and fall faster
They forget about the little man, who is the one who usually forks over the bill.
Short sighted - need money now mentality
Loss of advocates
Gives competition a chance when there should not have been
Short-sighted to product and service improvements
Dell syndrome (at least they finally got it right)

Oh hell, no one cares.
The iPhone is a hit, I love it, my wife will love it (even with a new number) and the millions who are waiting and got nothing in return will love it too. That is why AT&T doesn't care. They don't have to.

-Greg Rollett

Killer Relevancy for Your Ads

You go to store to buy the new Mike Shinoda x DC kicks that you want to wear this weekend.
You read ProBlogger because Darren helps you get better traffic, write better posts, etc.
You eat pizza at the place on the corner because it is close and usually affordable.

I could go on and on on with things that we do everyday. We do them because we know what we want. I want those shiny new shoes, I want to get more readers and I want some pizza. I want them because they are interests that I have and that I know (obviously).

Online ads are clueless.
For how smart computers are, and that good old Google Algorithm that can't be cracked, added to the countless number of VC dollars that are being spent on ad networks and so on, they can not put the fact that my favorite band is Gym Class Heroes and I like pizza.

We are working with an ad network for the Facebook App we are launching at the end of the week and let's just say that, well, it's not looking good. With click through rates around 0.002% on Applications right about now, we are going to need some killer traffic to grab some nickel beers at Cheyanne Saloon on Wednesdays!

iPhone and Relevancy
One reason that I am loving the iPhone is the fact that some App Developers have given me relevancy. Take iWant. It looks for anything from food to bars to shopping and gas all based on my location. That is relevancy.

So, how can ad networks start serving ads that are as relevant as the free information that is available through Google searches or using Apps like iWant?

1. The sites, be it the Social Networks like Myspace and Facebook, need to let the ad platform look at the data in full. Facebook is doing better at this, but Myspace on the other hand keeps wanting me to click on Kottonmouth Kings ringtones. Sorry, already have all 10 albums and I am a music producer, so I can make my own, thank you.
2. We need better advertisers and more inventory of these better advertisers. The reason there are so many ring tone ads are because there is an influx of these companies that want to advertise and not enough quality, name brand advertisers that are available for the common blogger or website owner. With Myspace serving a billion or so page impressions a day, there are just not enough quality ads to go around.
   
3. While I am not opposed to CPC, CPM and CPA, they do NOT work in every situation. For our Facebook App, users are promoting concerts that they have attended or are going to. For someone like Warped Tour to come in and demand CPC is absurd. We can wrap-up our site for the advertiser and create a brand presence within the application. But we can also trigger people to search for their friends that are going to Warped Tour, maybe they already have tickets and they want to "share" it with their friends. Maybe they even buy a ticket from our affiliate partners. So they didn't get the click through, but they got people talking, and talking provokes action.
   

The problem with this method is that there is no direct relation to ROI for the advertisers. While Social Media tools like Radian6 have started to figure out the picture, there is simply no way to calculate how people made their decision and how they got there from Social Media tools and site sponsorships.

I am no algorithm genius, but I do know that if you are going to be showing me ads (Lord knows as this blog grows you will see some, I would like to buy my wife something nice for Christmas), show me something that I might like to action for.

4. Lastly, make better ads! 90% of banner ads suck, they just do. They turn us off visually and usually send us to a landing page that doesn't convert us for shit. Don't mislead me. Give me something worth clicking and I bet you will get more relevant clicks.

Now, I'm off to look for sexy singles in Orlando (watch my AdSense change because of this sentence) and download some sweet hip-pop ringtones. See you this weekend with my new Diploma from the University of Phoenix!

-Greg Rollett

Phone Saber

Not only is it the number 3 downloaded free application on the iPhone platform, it also makes you look like even more of a nerd that you already are. Either way you look at it, it is super fun. Look for plenty of videos of Phone Saber Jedi's on YouTube in the next few days. Someone is bound to become internet famous for playing this application.

Look out Storm Troopers, the iPhone clan is coming for you!

-Greg Rollett

Proof that Pandora is Killing Clear Channel

From AdWeek:

As of July 14, the company had registered 180,000 new users, and more than 200,000 new stations had been created on the iPhone. Pandora executives claim that the company has attracted a new iPhone listener every two seconds since the launch, with most users listening for close to an hour per day.

When is the last time Clear Channel had any excitement like that?

What kind of data is Pandora collecting to make their stations better?
E-Mail
Name
Type of Artists
If songs are liked or disliked
Popular artists and playlists
I'm sure many more

What kind of data is Clear Channel collecting to make their stations better?
Whatever their corporate headquarters and advertisers give them.

Who is going to win long term?
Yes, it is that obvious.

I am picking up my iPhone today at 5, as soon as I get off work and the 1st app being installed will be the last time I make an attempt to listen to a Clear Channel station. Sorry to be so blunt, but they just don't matter anymore.

(BTW - My co-worker, who happens to be 50 said the same thing. She is going to get an iPhone for the sole purpose of getting radio how she wants it and being able to listen to the music she wants, when she wants!)

-Greg Rollett

Can Clear Channel Be Cool?

photo by kevincrumbs

Radio is dying. There is more and more syndication of shows and the localization is going right out the window. Here in Orlando we have CBS Radio and Clear Channel and they both pretty much suck if you want to hear ground breaking music.

Honestly the satellite radios are not any better. The music might be hot and fresh and there are more genres and channels, but still, it's not what we want in an iPod generation.

In order for these Clear Channel, Cox or CBS's to matter again, they need to give the users what they want, when they want it. I am not talking about calling in a request. I mean on-demand.

Here's the big ideas:
The iPhone can pretty much make both traditional radio and XM Radio obsolete. How? Easy, Pandora and 3G. Last.FM and 3G. When iMeem launches their iPhone App, forget about it. Clear Channel needs to be right up their backside developing an application that users can take where they want and listen to the music, news, talk that they want at anytime and any place. All your major shows are syndicated anyway, store em online, throw in a few advertisements and let the user go get em.

Create synergy between the community, your station and the online world. When having your big concerts, get local. EDBD does this with a Battle of the Bands but it does so on a 2nd rate stage in front of the hot dog stands. Get the community involved. Once you have them involved make them be a part of your brand and allow them to share that involvement with their friends, co-workers, etc. Then the idea is to get your online strategy to sync up with the community aspect. In today's world you cannot have one without the other.

Let your advertising sync between everything that you do. It will make the advertiser happy and the message just may get across to the viewer/listener. Create a total advertising package.

I dunno, these were just some thoughts I had today. Tomorrow I hopefully pick up my iPhone and one of the 1st Apps I'm grabbing is Pandora.

What do you think? Can radio even compete with these new cutting edge companies? Can Clear Channel become cool again and break out of their corporate b/s? The more I think about it, the answer is no. They move too slow.

Let the local markets do it themselves. Interesting. Can radio be local again? That's another topic in itself.

Come on, join in the radio conversation. I'd love to hear from ya!

-Greg Rollett

Warped Tour Orlando 2008

Somehow, someone, someway I got to Warped Tour in Orlando this year and not only was I a vendor for Rock For Hunger, but I sneaked my way into a Media Pass as well. Below are some photos. More updates to come about how bands, labels and sponsors did as far as marketing and harnessing the power of cell phones and social media.


Check out the rest of my photos from the Orlando stop of Warped Tour on Flickr.

And for those that are looking for more beyond the band style things from Warped Tour 2008, we are doing an interview series over on SkatterBand, first up is the Briggs.

Oh and I have some video too, I took it with my Flip camera, looks good on the little thing, will put it on the big screen later tonight!

-Greg Rollett
(I'll be praying to get a pair of iPhones tomorrow, a day after all the fun of waiting in lines and sell-outs)

Google Knows Music...Or Do They?

I might have really missed the train on this one, or maybe I am really observant and smart. Either way, this is powerful stuff for musicians and marketers to think about when working within Google and inside of keywords.

First, how I got there: I was writing an article on Girl Talk and Illegal Art Records for SkatterBand when I Google'd Girl Talk. Results below.


What was this I though. So I clicked through.

Wow. What information. Google sorted Girl Talk into their releases.

With the tabs on the left I could then:

1. See all tracks from all albums.
2. Buy "Unstoppable" on Rhapsody.
3. Buy "Secret Diary" on Rhapsody or eMusic (Google is totally using an Affiliate link too)
4. See all websites affiliated with Girl Talk (actually just links back to the initial Google search results)
5. See the latest news on Girl Talk via Google News
6. Get Girl Talk pics from Google Images
   
7. Talk about Girl Talk in already formed Google Groups

Not bad. All this information on an indie artist from an indie label. And this was returned as more relevant than their official website, Myspace page, YouTube videos and so on.

What happens if you look for a "bigger" band?

I chose Blink-182 and Linkin Park for the experiment. Same results. More information. Both Google versions came before official sites that have been online and building deep links for years.


With Blink the initial results page was even divided into 3 sections. One with the Google Blink-182 landing page, the official site, Wikipedia and a YouTube clip, the second featured Blink lyrics, and the 3rd had more search results from that good 'ol Google algorithm. See the image below.


One last observation was the terrible ads these landing pages displayed. Girl Talk had singles ads and Linkin Park had one for the official Lincoln car dealer site.


Google step your ad displaying game up! This comes after I read an article on Google displaying terrible results inside of Myspace.

My initial thoughts:

• They are making money from selling your music through affiliate links - not terrible but read number 2
  
• They are taking clicks away from your website, Myspace page or whatever, where you are serving ads and selling your own products
• They have created these pages with no confirmations from the bands themselves, obviously, but have missed albums from Girl Talk and I'm sure plenty of others
• They are serving disastrous content based ads on these pages

Google, this may be great in theory, but let's work out the kinks before we go further with it.

What are your thoughts, concerns and opinions on Google taking over music search?

-Greg Rollett

Why Do I Have to Eat My Vegetables?

photo by justinhenry

You remember being at the dinner table when you were a child and your parents always said the same thing...

Just try it.

Now that Gen-Y is starting to take a stance in the workplace, we are uttering those same words to our parents and their peers. Millennials have taken the lead in this whole Social Media world, and we get it. We use it. We build with it and think our futures will be bright will more online networking, lifecasting, photo sharing and online life experiences.

In a recent article by Bea Fields on the Millennial Leaders blog, she throws out an analogy that really hit home;

I had a conversation last week with a leader who asked me why he and his company should be on Facebook? I then said “Why do you go to conferences, board meetings and networking events?” His response: “Well, to build relationships!” Relationship building is HUGE, and Gen Y knows this. Networking on Facebook, blogging, podcasting or sending tweets is just a smart move. If you want to be a leader, you have to be willing to use the most current tools and know how to use them to your advantage.

Gen-Y is stepping up to the plate and trying to get the X'ers and the Boomers, who are up the corporate ladder and have the decision making power, to understand that Social Media is not an unnecessary evil, but in fact a tool that can yield results, turn over ROI and increase brand awareness, customer base and future income.

As kids, we didn't want to eat our vegetables because we had a perception that vegetable were supposed to taste bad. Boomers and Gen-X have a preconceived notion that the Internet is bad and everything that comes with it, the YouTubes, Myspaces, Facebooks, Twitters and all the rest of the Community building applications that are considered time wasters by their biased opinions.

Well, now it's my turn. "Just try it."

Those vegetables turned out to be okay after some time and, well, I bet they consume a good part of your diet now. They do in mine. I think they may even be good for your health.

Social Media is in the same boat. Are you ready to swim?

-Greg Rollett
Follow my ramblings on Twitter, sure they don't make sense, but once you join the conversation, it only makes you wiser.

What Does Your Site Do?

I wish everyone could say it like this, in fact, I am going to unroll a new Rollett Marketing site this weekend that will tell it like it is. Here's what Gnip (guh-nip) does:

Title: Gnip: We got $h*t to pop.
Headline: We make data portability suck less.

Sweet, bold and simple. I know what they do and hell, I am even going to give them a try.

Here's some screen shots:



-Greg Rollett

9 Steps to Kick Ass Productivity

image by orangeacid

This week I have really buckled down and got things done. With more start-ups than I can count, new clients, plus a 9-5, it's really time to get down to business. With the holiday weekend coming even closer, I know that I need to get as much done by the end of today, because let's face it, no matter how much of my life is work, I'm still 25 and have a 3- (4ish) day weekend approaching.

So, what has been the key to kicking ass and making things happen?

Glad you asked, here's how I did it.

1. Remember the Milk - a Godsend. If you are not using RTM, at least use some sort of task manager. Recently I have really been taking advantage of noting times for completion and getting sent little Instant Message reminders to my phone when they are creeping up. Also, note the cool color features that help prioritize your tasks and make them stand out amongst the ah-not-supa-important tasks.

2. Not using e-mail like AIM - This has been huge. I was the dude who returned e-mails faster than you could send them. Not anymore. GMail is now checked in the morning, at lunch and 2 times at night. This clears up so many things and my time effectiveness has improved 10-fold.

3. Twhirl. Yea, so I am kinda old school and used Twitter on the web. I don't know why, I guess I was used to it. Now I am using a combination of Flock and Twhirl. I say both, well, because in the world that is Twitter, sometimes things don't work great. This keeps my browser free from having another tab open.

4. Less RSS. I'm still adding 5 or so Feeds a week, but I am also getting rid of sites that don't update or give any value my work. I have chopped out all the lifestyle blogs and even some of the new music blogs. The less time I spend in RSS land sifting through crap, the more time I can give to my clients.

5. Better RSS. Going along with the last point, I am really trying to learn things in my feeds. I want to engage in conversations and get better at what I do. If you can prove to me that you can teach me something, well then, you're good to go.

6. iMeem - Sometimes the iMeem playlists just put me in a groove and I can zone and and GTD. (Even when they are corny pop-punk tracks)

7. Seeing results. Nothing makes you work harder than seeing the results of your hard work. Seeing sites begin to develop, traffic show up for good posts and media attention for some of your clients always makes your day flow better.

8. Having goals. At the end of this week I have goals that I wish to attain, whether they be traffic, new users, new advertisers, pages written in this eBook that is looming over my head, or whatever. I think having an ending to celebrate makes me kick ass in the process.

9. AM Workouts. Over the weekend I was in Miami. I saw my dad for the first time in a few months and one of the first things out of his mouth was, "boy, look at you putting on a little pudge." Man, that sucked. So far, 2 days on the exercise machine and 1 day jogging with Mylie. Results, no pounds shed, but damn am I focused and energized. Even better, no energy drinks or Mountain Dew all week. That alone is kick ass productivity!

Alright, back to work. Before I go, I wanted to get your tips on how you maintain "Kiss Ass Productivity" day-in-day-out? Thanks guys!

(Related jamblr post: My Web Tool Kit)

-Greg Rollett

Live Music in Orlando

In the busy land that is my life, I have somehow been coerced into playing some really cool shows with some really talented folks. First up is this Saturday night, amidst the 4th of July Hangover, I will make a return to the Social, the indie haven of Orlando. I will be playing alongside KG and the Band plus Atlanta recording artist Laura Reed. We are going by the 80's indie hair power pop inspired, 'G-Ro and the Skateboard Sneakers.'


Some great posts on KG and the Band:
KG and the Band | The Backbone of jamblr
Rock For Hunger Artist of the Week

Buy your tickets here or shoot me an email to get them without the surcharge. It's going to be an acoustic hip-pop offering from my alter-ego G-Ro. Listen to his rantings at his Myspace page.

Later in the month we get our hip-hop funk on at Central Station's Rock Bar with Fusebox Funk, Madd Illz and Daylight District.

Lastly, here is a super secret teaser of the logo for our Facebook App that should be done end of this week. If you want to be apart of our BETA testing send an email to rollettmarketing@gmail.com and I will be sure to hook it up.
Thanks guys and a more powerful and insightful Social Media or Gen-Y post will come sometime later!

-Greg Rollett