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Warren Whitlock discusses the stages of acceptance of a new technology.  Most people when they get their hands on new technology experience three different stages in adopting the new technology.  The first stage is labeling the new technology as useless.  The second stage is using the new technology as just a sales tool.  And the third stage is wondering how you ever lived without this new technology.  Learn more about social media, Warren Whitlock and how adopting new technologies can help your business grow.

Warren Whitlock is a digital business development strategist.  He wrote the first book on Twitter and mobile marketing and the best-selling “Profitable Social Media: Business Results Without Playing Games.”  He’s the host of Social Media Radio, a speaker on social media and was named one of Forbes’ Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer’s of 2013.  And he is the Producer of Billions Rising.

When Warren was learning how to sell, he learned that business was different that what he was taught.  Warren learned what he learned about business from Zig Ziglar, who taught others to get what they wanted by helping others get what they wanted.

Warren got started in the online world since 1981 and has been working on the Internet ever since.  Warren got started with social media writing blogs which is a two-way conversation.  Mass media is on the decline because people don’t want messages pushed on them.  They want to interact and connect with the businesses or subjects that interests them and social media allows them the opportunity to do that.

When I’ve started to say I don’t have time to keep up with this stuff, but when he’s incorporated new strategies to his business he’s found that his business has run better.

Email is Warren’s favorite tool of communication.  He uses all sorts of tools to reach out to each other and it doesn’t matter what tool he uses to connect with others, but the important thing is establishing genuine connections with each other.

Warren Whitlock wrote the book Twitter Revolution because in early 2008 he saw Twitter as a standout because there weren’t any books on Twitter and so he decided to create the book to discuss the coming Twitter Revolution.

The guys that invented blogging and sold it to Google were ready to go do something else and they started talking about texts that people could all get at the same time.  Most businesses want their discussions to be public because they can demonstrate that they care about the best interests of their customers.

The three stages of Twitter acceptance:  the first stage is what do I care what somebody else had for breakfast, the second stage is how am I going to monetize this and how am I going to blast this out, and the third stage is how did I get along without it.  When you think about phones, computers or any other technology the acceptance of these new technologies have pretty much been the same.

The biggest secret to social media is understanding that it’s a two-way conversation.  People want to do business with people they know, like and trust.

A popular trend right now is to talk about the visual web.  No one would ever ask to put your logo or your face on a business listing.  But business has become a lot more social.  Personal branding is extremely important and putting your picture out to give people an opportunity has really shifted as more and more business owners are realizing its importance.

Somebody said we’ve reached a saturation point with mobile phones and it’s going to continue to change. And technology will keep changing extremely fast.  Database marketing is also going to be critical as most businesses work on developing relationships with their customers.

The Billions Rising Project is about self-reliance.   Being able to take care of yourself and take responsibility for your own self is not a selfish thing.  If you want to be able to help someone you have to be standing on higher ground.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

• Where do you think the future of technology is going?
• What inventions or changes in the way we live are going to impact us the most in the next 5 years.
• What social media tool do you like to use the most?

Links to Great Stuff:

Warren Whitlock – “Warren helps businesses transform to a new way of doing business using social media and online marketing and promotion to attract the right audience from the 2 billion people using the Internet. His breakthrough strategies to integrate mobile marketing, public relations and and lead generation with conversions to return on investment for lifetime value has helped  hundreds businesses achieve rapid and continuing results from their marketing process.”

Twitter Revolution – “Warren is the author of the first book ever written about the social media platform, Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online. The revolution is underway. The power of social media lies with the people who use tools like Twitter.com. You decide how to use your power, and Warren’s book helps you make that decision effectively.”

Profitable Social Media – “Warren’s also the author of Profitable Social Media: Business Results Without Playing Games. Social media can be profitable if you go in with an open mind, a plan, and listen to your audience! It’s the old market cliché, many markets are an inch wide, and a mile deep. Without profits, social media and your business are just a hobby.”

Success Quotes:

• “Failure and success are just data.”
• “We are all people trying to connect with other people and share stories.”
• “What can I do to help someone get ahead and treat them as if they are equal.”
• “If you’re small, this is your time because in the next 5 or 10 years you can create a billion dollar company because these dinosaurs will be going away.”
• “The biggest secret to social media is figuring out this is a two-way conversation and do business with people that they know, like and trust.”
• “The idea of two-way conversations is with us.”
• “If you’re not going to be dead, you need to learn how to use the computer.”
• “More important than the answer to the question is the answering of the question.”
• “Marketing of the future is to find the people you resonate with and doing a lot more with that.”
• “If you can tell the difference between work and play, you’re not doing it right.”
• “All media is becoming social.”

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