Hi Mary,

Here is a little something extra I would like to add to the thoughtful discussions we have already had about thinking outside the box.

At first glance it might seem like it is a little off topic, but I believe it can be very relevant.

I refer to a rather new entity online which was created to be outside the box. Its creator is known as an outside the box thinker.

Your forums here can contain outside the box potential. In addition to that, you might even want to consider outside the traditional forum box. By that I mean that the content in your Celebrate Our Different Cultures forum could be placed online in another location. Not to replace Adland necessarily, but in addition to it. (Always worthwhile to have a extra backup copy of important forums.)

Seth Godin has recently created an entirely new platform online.  Some people think of it as a mix between a website and a blog.  It is called Squidoo and is very search engine friendly. Some would consider it much easier to create and update than either a website or a blog.

I have created a Lens (page) at Squidoo and just tested the Google thing a few minutes ago.  When I put the search terms gospel quartets into Google, google supposedly found 365,000 links for gospel quartets. Needless to say my Squidoo page about Gospel Quartets, did NOT appear within the first 100 results.

Then I put the word Squidoo into google in front of my previous search terms.  Now Squidoo gospel quartets Google search results placed a link to my Squidoo page as Number 1 and Number 2 at Google.

How does that connect to your Celebrate Cultures forum?

Well when I do a google search for something I am interested in, I sometimes am sent to the first page of a forum containing 47 pages, or however many. So I suspect that Google has found it hidden away inside 47 pages, but Google does not tell me which page it is in.

If your Cultures forum becomes quite large with many pages, it too may become more difficult to pinpoint the exact location of a particular theme. So if someone is searching for Australia Founders Day, Republic Day - India, or St. Blasius Day, then Google might point to your forum but not show where to find it.

At Squidoo it is very easy to create one lens for Australia Founders Day and another lens for India and another for St Blasius, etc. Then by searching "Squidoo St Blasius" you can go direct to the link you want without browsing through a lot of other items to find it.

Just a thought outside the traditional forum box.

Here is a link to my quartets page at Squidoo for anyone who is interested is one sample of what a Squidoo page might look like.

http://www.squidoo.com/builder99andgospelquartets


All the best,

Wayne

Hi Mary!  :-)

 

You're on the right track Mary. Any where your signature line can be seen is a free advertisement. That's why folks should be active throughout the community and when creating a forum they should try to be creative.

Folks, if you've seen Mary's and my forums you've seen how we're always coming up with new ideas to draw a crowd. You have to market yourself first and then the business will come eventually.

Make it fun and interesting for folks to come to your forums.

Thanks Mary for bringing up a good point.

 

John Sanchez

 

Taking it to the next level by tapping into the 4th dimension!  JRS

 

For as Man thinks so is He...! (Paraphrased from Prov. 23:7)

 

From the abundance in your mind come the manifestations in your life... JRS ©

 

If you believe in yourself then others will believe in you and it’s then when doors will begin to open for you... JRS ©

 

If I’m not on your friends list please invite me!

Wayne, Thank you. That was very clear. So what you are saying is that this if placed somewhere else will increase our chances of being seen. Now all posters will have doubled their advertising. I think it would be worth returning for every holiday. I will follow your advice and use squinto. That will double my work, but double our results in exposure.

Hi John, Very well put, fun forums will get visits and it shows that the poster is a creative interesting person. Use lots of key words and most of all appropriate responses. Everyone wants to show their best appearance. Speak to the subject, no ads in the message, be appropriate. A day of mourning will not have fireworks and bright gay colors. A festival should show the spirit of the event. We can celebrate our unique customs and our unique responses.

Hello Mary,

   When we take the time to learn about other cultures, we learn to appreciate the differences. We can communicate better with people from other parts of the world. 
    Show people you truly care about them. Then when it is time, to talk business they will want to listen.

Rose