3 thoughts for the week of February 22, 2010 (hierarchy of needs, why tweet & here we go Sox!)
- When does focusing on the needs of your clients become a bad thing? What about if your focus was so intense that you stopped looking at your own needs? One of the reasons we named our company 3thought is because we knew that planning and looking towards the future would be a key to our success. Part of the frustrations we had at previous jobs was being so overwhelmed with day to day reactions, that long-term goals and decisions were overlooked. How do we narrow our focus so much that problems get ignored? Why is it easy see the bigger picture when you look at other people or companies? Often their flaws seem so obvious and easy to identify. Is this why people are fascinated with shows like Jersey Shore, Dr. Phil and Jerry Springer? Take some time each day to reflect on your own situation. Are you or your company ignoring some obvious flaws? Are you out of balance? Is it because you’re not looking at your own needs? Psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed a theory called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (see chart below). Can you or your business learn something from this? Can you be successful without taking care of your basic needs first? Can you solve problems, be creative, gain the trust of others, or sell your product if you’re not focusing on your own needs first?
- To tweet or not to tweet – that is the question. And it’s a question we get quite often these days by people who are curious about social media. As much as we talk about Twitter and tweet daily, it’s definitely not for everyone. People are always asking us for statistics on ROI and how much do I need to tweet to make X. Here’s some cold hard Twitter statistics using 3thought as an example for all you ROI junkies.
User Name: @3thought
Date Joined: April 10, 2009
Total followers*: 304
Total tweets*: 1431
Total time invested: a lot
Total Traffic*:
Twitter has accounted for 10.59% of all traffic to our website.
Direct (28.15%), Google (22.83%) and Facebook (14.84%) have accounted for over 65% of total traffic.New Visitors*:
Of all that traffic, only 9.45% of new visitors have been referred from twitter.
Direct (35.45%), Google (26.12) and Facebook (10.08) account for over 70% of new traffic to our site.So, how many jobs has Twitter brought us? Though it’s difficult to say, our best estimate is 0. If Twitter isn’t getting us new jobs, and its accounting for less traffic than Direct, Google and Facebook, why do we keep tweeting? Why invest all that time and effort? For one thing, it helps with SEO. When you google 3thought, Twitter is the top result. For startups, being found is essential. Twitter also keeps us up to date with design and business news and trends. If you use twitter as a business tool, instead of stalking Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears, there’s some valuable information from some of the smartest people on the planet being decimated there. For us, Twitter starts conversations and builds relationships. Relationships that never would have existed without it. It’s a way to connect with people around the world and in our own backyard. Twitter is a double secret handshake into a world of like-minded people who know that value and ROI can’t always be measured in website traffic and new jobs alone.
- Full squad practice began in Fort Myers for the Red Sox this week. So what’s everyone’s take on this year’s team? Lackey, Scutaro, Beltre and Cameron are the new guys. Who’s going to be the biggest surprise this season? Will the Sox take the East, or will they spend the season chasing the Yankees or Tampa Bay Devil… I mean Tampa Bay Rays? Be bold, make a few predictions before the season and we’ll see how things shakes out. Here’s a few predictions from Mattstradamus.
2010 Boston Red Sox- Final Record of 92 wins and 70 losses
- 2nd place AL East
- Lackey wins 19 games
- Beltre hits 280 with 25 HR and 90 RBI
- Cameron hits 270, plays great d and steals 20
- Surprise player of the year will be Scutaro (featured below)
- Dice K gets traded at the all-star break
- Ortiz hits 30 HR and 100 RBI
- Ellsbury steals 75
- Youk is league MVP