Marketing Pilgrim Published: “LinkedIn Hits the 100 Million Mark” plus 2 more

Link to Marketing Pilgrim - Internet News & Opinion

LinkedIn Hits the 100 Million Mark
You Like Me! You Really Pretend to Like Me!
Amazon’s Android Appstore Appears And Aggravates Apple

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 12:22 PM PDT

LinkedIn, the social media network for professionals, has reached the 100 million mark. That’s 100 million members, from 200 countries with an additional one million members (on average) joining every week.

What do you think about that? I think, who knew? LinkedIn has been the little engine that could, quietly chugging away while cousins Facebook and Twitter make all the noise. Why is that? And is that a good thing?

While you ponder those questions, here are some bullet points from LinkedIn:

The largest sectors on LinkedIn are Service, Finance and High Tech

They have:

6 million+ sales professionals
4 million+ engineers
4 million+ IT professionals
2.5 million+ finance professionals
1.4 million+ accounting professionals
1.4 million+ creative folks (Hey, I’m one of those.)

They also made a nifty graphic for the visual learners:

Wait? Elvis tribute artists and Martini Whisperer? Proof that it takes all kinds not only to make a world, but to make a social media site.

All kidding aside, LinkedIn is an excellent resource for professional networking and they’ve been working hard to make the site more user-friendly and valuable. If you haven’t checked it out lately, check it out today and become one of the hard working 100 million.

You Like Me! You Really Pretend to Like Me!

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 11:42 AM PDT

It’s been made clear in a hundred different white papers — the majority of people “like” a brand on Facebook in order to get coupons and deals. We all know it’s true and that’s why I nearly fell out of my chair laughing when I went to claim my free sample of MiO on Facebook.

Here’s what I found:

That statement is such a brilliant, breath of fresh air, I wanted to go right out and buy their product.

It was great timing because just yesterday, I was reading a report from IBM Institute for Business Value whic said that there was a perception gap between consumers and brands in social media. The report says that consumers want deals but brands think they want to be a part of the community. Obviously MiO got the memo. They know what people want and they don’t mind pimping themselves out if it means getting a new customer. Kudos to them, because in the end, isn’t that the whole point of social media, getting customers to buy your product. Yes, there’s brand awareness and all of that, but brand awareness doesn’t pay the electric bill. In the end, marketing must lead to the handing over of cash.

So go visit my new friends a MiO and tell them that you like them, you really, truly will pretend to like them.

Amazon’s Android Appstore Appears And Aggravates Apple

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 10:39 AM PDT

Today, Amazon officially opened its Android Appstore. For this Android user it is a welcome sight (or site if you will) because Google's Android market is like a flea market of apps. You are pretty confident that something good is in there but there is just too much junk to wade through so you give up. Amazon aims to clear up some of the confusion, cut through the garbage and help deliver quality Android apps more quickly and efficiently.

All Things Digital's eMoney blog reports

Beginning tonight (March 22, 2011), the Appstore will be accessible online atamazon.com/appstore. Android owners will also be able to download a version of the store to their handset. The store will support hundreds of mobile operators and hardware manufacturers.

Amazon has been recruiting developers since at least January to convince them to get on board with the venture. Initially, users will have access to a catalog of 3,800 applications.

What is starting to happen is that companies are realizing that large numbers of apps aren't really that impressive any more. In fact, it's more confusing and frustrating for the user to try to find what they want from a source that can be trusted for quality. Amazon is looking for quality over quantity and apparently developers are responding. One main reason is that the less cluttered the market the more likely their app will be found.

Amazon will be doing the following to help drive sales of the apps including giving one away free each day and the ability to 'test drive' an app on the website.

Amazon will offer one free app a day to help with promotion.

Amazon will offer a feature called Test Drive, which will allow a customer to try an app out before they buy. The technology is using Amazon's cloud services. Users will be able open and use the app from within their computer browser. The simulation will last for about 30 minutes at which point they'll have to buy it.

Amazon will drive recommendations based on a user's purchase history. If they are someone who purchases cook books and high-end utensils, Amazon may recommend a recipe app.

Amazon is also enabling one-click purchasing for anyone with a credit card on file.

Amazon will be setting the prices and those apps that are given away for free will be guaranteed 20% of their recommended price. It's an interesting model to say the least and I am thrilled because, honestly, the Android Market is a train wreck.

Apple finds this whole thing interesting as well as they are suing Amazon over trademark infringement for the term 'App Store'. Bloomberg reports

Apple Inc. (AAPL) sued Amazon.com Inc., saying the online retailer is using Apple's "App Store" trademark to sell software applications for mobile devices.

Apple, in a March 18 complaint in federal court in northern California, accused Amazon.com of trademark infringement and unfair competition. The company asked for a judge's order to prevent the company from using the "App Store" name and for unspecified damages.

"Amazon has begun improperly using Apple's App Store mark in connection with Amazon's mobile-software developer program," Apple said in the complaint. Amazon also plans to use the name with a mobile-software download service, the complaint states.

Hey, it wouldn't be the Internet without some kind of legal wrangling.

If you are an Android user what's your take on Amazon's new store? And while we're at it let's have a little fun. What would you call Amazon's Android Appstore if Apple got its way regarding its claim to trademark infringement? My suggestion: the 'Anything is Better Than the Android Market Store'. Catchy, huh?