CDBurns

I understand your sentiments hen81. I do feel that this is the case as well, but in true Troy fashion, I'm browsing the site and what do I discover: http://aalbc.com/authors/jason-mott.html

An article about a Black author who has recently had his work optioned.  I'm excited and like I said up above, because I see that this is a shoe, I will probably buy the books.

This is the thing though and it shouldn't matter, look at who optioned the book. A white actor... Is this a bad thing? No, not at all, but it once again shows that it always seems that they find more value in us, than us, or is it just they have access that we don't have?

Actually, when my wife and I go to the gym, she takes her Kindle and reads while on the elliptical, so the gym is a great place for reading a book. I think Cynique is speaking towards where I was headed with my discussion on writing a book that crosses over. I am not saying that black writers have to cater to whites, but that the book has to be engaging enough that it "could" crossover, which would mean that the content is something a lot more universal. It's the idea that the Parable series by Butler, should have been made into a Hunger Games styled film... but it has yet to be done (which may have more to do with the religious overtones/perception of the books) while The Road which is a poorly written novel, to me, has been turned into a film. They are similar in concept, but our people in a position to make films based on books, which actually strengthens literature and the purchase of books, rarely make it happen.

I do think there is a fix in this discussion. White screenwriters mine White novels, both obscure and popular, for films. This in turn leads to reprints of out of print novels and increased purchase of novels in print. I honestly can't remember when I've seen a Black film that was based on a novel outside of The Butler and 12 Years, which interestingly enough proves my point about how a books sales increase and brings more people to stores. Zane realizes this and it has made her a very wealthy writer. I remember Tanarive Due was working on a series featuring Blair Underwood as David from the Living Blood series, but it never came to fruition. Had it even made it straight to DVD it would improve the chances of other sci-fi writers getting read.

I guess what I'm saying is, Cynique is right. We are in the digital age and content is readily accessible and distractions are everywhere, but people who don't read are going to bookstores and buying Game of Thrones because it is on television. People stop and read after they see it in film now. Is this the way it should be? Of course not, but it may be that screenwriters need to mine Black literature and work in more of a collaborative effort to help Black art overall.  Will this happen? I'm skeptical because with such small budgets screenwriters would rather make up something than to share the money with a writer which is the crabs in a barrel mentality that prevents Black literature from reaching a larger audience.

The only thing that will change the trend is a book that is a commercial success and crosses over. Something in the genre of Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones. Black writers are going to have to step outside of the comfort zone to write a book like The DaVinci Code. While I know we have classic mystery authors like Mosely, there isn't a contemporary author who has forced readers to really be taken away with the word. I know that I fall victim to the big names in literature and my decision to read a lot of non-fiction fails to help the matter, and also that there may be books out there, but they simply aren't catching fire (pun intended).

When Kwan is your flag bearer in Black literature (no disrespect), readers are not going to break their necks to dive into reading; and you know like I do, it's the people who are new who walk into a bookstore that helps a store meet overhead. You can't survive on the regulars.

Link opens to a book search, but if you scroll down a bit you can find the actual article link: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/61078-african-american-booksellers-look-for-a-turnaround.html

This will be interesting to watch.

I hate doing this, but if the Black, successful writers did something similar, the Black book stores and websites would be in a much better position. They wouldn't have to donate their money, simply their time in their home cities. Just a thought. This is good though.

Honestly, who cares? People are going to call others anything they want, the difference is how one responds. I'm sure President Obama is irritated, but to respond to this idiot is to give it value. All of the President's have been called out of their name. Hell cartoonists even drew President Bush as a monkey scratching his head. This is a non issue brother Harry.

Once again we come back to the same point, how do we reach the reader? I've been writing these updates and articles on marketing and social media for the past 3 years. I even have a whole series on quitting ebay and trying to find a new avenue for small business. All of those articles are basically dead and missing in action. No one really reads them, but if they did would they do the same thing I've done which is to continue pushing along on social media instead of improving traffic to my own site? There is the problem.

Although I did all of this research I still went back and put time into social media because I simply didn't know where else to go. I now realize that it hasn't helped and it has decreased the dollars in my pocket.

Since we've been discussing this, I looked back on CB Publish and found this article. I wrote this in 2011!!!!!!!! and didn't pay attention to my own advice.

...Hello, my name is Chris, and I'm an addict (slaps self upside the head). I said I hadn't written the article yet, that's because I wrote it 3 years ago.

http://www.cbpublish.com/is-facebook-really-good-for-small-biz/

I think the next logical step in removing ourselves from Facebook/diminishing the amount of use in social media, is to begin writing more and more articles explaining the problems with paying for promotion. I think it's time I start sharing these articles. This will be for the sneaker company, because like I said, I haven't really done much with the author's page: http://www.arch-usa.com/blog/arch-footwear-springsummer-sales-report-2013

(in this article you see immediately that using Facebook ads increases likes, but it does not translate into sales. Unfortunately I did not do a thorough investigation but when you read this next article you see that Facebook ads did not really help with sales at all.

http://www.arch-usa.com/blog/arch-to-be-or-not-to-be/ (This is my last report before placing my shoe company on hiatus. By the time I wrote this I had over 900 Facebook fans. 300 of those signed up because I did a giveaway and after the giveaway was over, interaction dropped to nothing!)

I think this article is the most telling of all of the articles I wrote about how and why Facebook doesn't work for small business. It was written in November of 2012 and I still went against my own thoughts and paid for Facebook Ads again as you can see in the above articles. Here is that article:

http://www.arch-usa.com/blog/more-marketing-and-sales-information-on-running-and-casual-shoes/

That article should have been my warning, but I drank the Kool Aid up until we basically started this discussion. For anyone interested I keep an accurate account of sales on the shoe company and I honestly think the information translates to any small business including writers and publishing.

Those people holding that seminar are full of warm, mushy Troy.

Here is a sales total without using any Facebook Ads: http://www.arch-usa.com/blog/final/

I think the fact that you acknowledge that you have submitted to this structure is a telling sign that people are actually aware, but simply lack the ability to change the way things are done. While Troy and I are debating here, we are taking small steps to at least attempt to subvert the structure. These small steps may not get us 1 mile up the road, but if enough people walk an inch they can change things.

I think a lot of people are aware, but they feel powerless to change the situation. Nihilism is debilitating.

It is not for the retired generation to attack the problems we are discussing. It is for the tech savvy, cell phone carrying, notepad device browsing generation to realize that their online browsing habits fosters the continued subservient existence of Black folks. Those in a position to actually sway public opinion will not, because as Cut Man states, "they vie for the approval of the dominant society." They are afraid to really take on the challenge of changing the way people think because they don't want to fall out of favor. I have chosen to take what action I can because I have learned to operate in the grey area. I don't have a "job" where I have to be careful about what I post or share on social media. I don't have a fear of being denied anything because I am saying 'stop shopping at conglomerates and support small business'. Unfortunately, I'm in the minority of people who can be outspoken. At the same time however, I also don't have a big enough voice to create a substantial change. But with my 300+ Facebook followers being shown the banner Troy created, they are now aware of Huria and my own website; when for the longest I directed people away from my site to Facebook and to Amazon.

I don't know if it's good that you are a dying breed... because the person who is aware is the person who begins to change and cause others to change as well. (I get what you are saying though :-)

Okay, I got you. I was about to really shake my head. This is what the author's page looks like now: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherDBurnsMFA

I wrote a description on the picture so when people click on it explains the idea behind it. It's just a start, but a spark is a spark.

I think because I actually run my own sites and I've seen firsthand how ad revenue and monetizing has diminished, your information is reinforcing my actions and my decision to go ahead and do it. I think if you hadn't written and said explicitly that Facebook is not helping me, I would not have paid as close attention to it as I have. What I'm still surprised about is how few authors have taken the time to fight for themselves and comment here. Now that I'm engaged in the discussions, it's become a part of my routine to check my site, and then check aalbc.com. In doing so, I would have to say that I've spent less time on Facebook than I have in the last year. Now, for the sneaker business, I'm going to post and like information, but I have to pay for that interaction. Until I can find a community that is overloaded with youngsters, then I don't have a choice in that. In regard to literature, it only makes sense to help the sites that promote literature FUBU. It's a no brainer.

I think as you develop more of a video platform and begin holding wordpress workshops maybe author's will come around, then again. That may be a stretch. We are the passive people.

In regard to author's not doing the same thing I just did... they think that it will take interest away from their books. That's it. We don't understand the idea of what's good for one, is good for all. it's the same reason I can't keep writers writing on my website. Everyone has a "what's in it for me" attitude and they don't realize that sometimes nothing is in it for you for years.

I'm no longer in the classroom, which is unfortunate. I'm unsure about Lulu's affiliate program. I will look into that, but I'm not even sure that book is still available on Lulu. You need to go and look at that picture on the site from when I tried to tag your name. I'm disturbed about that.

I just completed the republish of my Facebook author's page. When I tried to tag you on my blackout photo I got a message that read, "YOU CANNOT TAG THIS USER" Unless you have specifically decided not to allow people to tag you, Facebook has literally wiped you out of the system as far as being tagged is concerned. Crazy!

Great discussion. Right along the lines of what Amiri Baraka proclaimed a long time ago in regard to the GDP of Black folks and the lack of power we have with such a huge GDP. I actually had my students when I was teaching analyze it and write essays about this problem. These were high school students. If we don't have teachers teaching students how to think like this, then the wheel keeps rolling. Check out this essay: http://www.cbpublish.com/redefining-the-labyrinth-track-3/ and this one: http://www.cbpublish.com/redefining-the-labyrinth-track-13/

The store is actually closed now. They had two locations in two different malls and both stores closed at the same time. The store was actually co owned by Carl Webber ( I think) Urban Bookstores was the name and I think they were on your list.

I got the "digital chunks" statement from a documentary on PBS. Here is a link to an article on that: http://www.convergenceculture.org/weblog/2010/02/killer_paragraphs_and_other_re.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mitcms%2Fc3+%28Convergence+Culture+Consortium+%28C3%40MIT%29%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

I think we both realize that there is a problem in the depth or reading and writing that is occurring. But... back to the topic, should I simply leave the page up on Facebook and post a link to my website? What do you think? Use the picture or use a statement?

Yes traditional houses did assume the responsibility, but for writer's who didn't fit into a certain genre traditional houses did a very poor job of publishing "different" books and even then Black author's had to assume the risk of book tours and setting up their own events. Amazon is definitely gangsta. Nike is gangsta, Facebook is gangsta, but gangstas only exist because we allow them to exist.

Which goes back to all of our original discussions. There should be more people on this thread discussing how to remove the power from Amazon. If Mahogony is a solid distribution network, I should be able to sign up for an affiliate program of some type. I could then add those links right under or in place of the Amazon Ads on my own site. If they don't have that option, then it becomes tougher to be seen. We have enough young coders who could develop an affiliate program for them so the next question is, do they have one?

As I was writing this, I went back up to click on the Mahogany link and discovered that they do have a program. I signed up and I am awaiting approval to carry the ads on CB Publishing. This is the power of sharing information and it allows for us to move away from working for the Gangstas.

Honestly, Troy, maybe your time should be spent developing an advertising program for authors. A program that operates like Google Adsense. I know this is a large project, but hell you pulled together Huria. Huria already has the search element, although not enough people have written articles about it. I did. If when writers and website owners visited Huria and could sign up for Huria Ads, you now have the information needed to sell big marketers on creating that same profit sharing that has made Amazon, Google and Yahoo, what they are. Someone has to become the media mogul for Blacks. There isn't one. I can't think of one Adshare program generated by a Black company.

As of right now, Amazon has simplified the method of publishing and creating content. In the article it talked about how they are looking to literally control the publishing of content as well as selling the content. I can't blame them. That's business, but until someone can offer a different product and get people to buy into it, the conglomerates will roll.

It's like I keep saying about sneakers. When I made my first running shoe I called local mom and pop stores and asked them to carry the shoes. They ignored and basically didn't give me the time of day. You know why? Nike will not allow them to give any shelf space to a competitor. While they can't prevent a store from carrying Adidas or New Balance, if they perceive that the store is carrying too many brands, they will pull their accounts. Nike tends to be the bread and butter for most stores because people have been so thoroughly convinced that Nike is the greatest shoe company on the planet that the non runners (insert non-readers) who are needed to keep a store afloat will not buy any other brands, until after they realize Nike makes their feet hurt. By then the small companies have left the idea of getting into a store alone. We resort to building stores on Amazon since the buyers are there already and are looking for the "best" deal.

It's a difficult thing to approach, but discussion creates ideas. Maybe we are working towards a real answer.

Understood about African Voices. Crowdfunding is an interest animal to approach. I had a cousin call me yesterday. He said that he told another cousin about my project (I'm not very close with this side of the family). Now, what I'm about to say is a generalization, but it is definitely one that can be measured with real stats based on my two Kickstarter campaigns; Black people don't understand crowdfunding. In the same breath I would also say, that this dialogue (about Facebook) the majority of Black folks are not interested in because they don't understand the value of information, they don't understand ad revenue, and they don't understand monetizing websites or how websites earn money.

This cousin told my other cousin that I was looking for a handout. I was speechless, but then I realized he was ignorant. The majority of my Facebook "friends" are completely clueless about how crowdfunding works. This is verifiable in the people who pledged on my first failed Kickstarter and on this current Kickstarter. It can also be seen in the type of people who pledge their support to other campaigns. The only time it seems that Blacks support a Kickstarter or project is when there is a big name attached to it. The same can be said about any form of media.

I don't know if it is for us to focus our energy on Facebook as much as it is for us to focus our energy on explaining to Blacks that they need to begin visiting at least 5 websites a day in their daily web travels. Then we have to focus on having engaging content to keep them coming back. This is a distracted society we are in. They write and think in "Digital Chunks" and always with a form of communication at the ready. Facebook is a simple and easy distraction with multiple streams of information which is why it is engaging people. Our websites literally have to supply the same sort of potential for engagement. Something people can log in and look at pictures, post a comment or read information. It's becoming harder to get click throughs because people are used to scrolling now. This is why Flipboard technology is becoming more popular as well. A swipe of the fingers and new content is exposed.

I agree that authors don't need Facebook, but author's are not earning any money from books which means that they aren't even interested in doing blogs and writing about other things. This is one of the reasons I remained amazed at my lack of success (although I am not seriously promoting my work). If a person discovers my books, they discover my site. I have over a 100 categories on this site with about 90% of the content written by me. The content is all over the place, but gives a solid example of my writing and I know for a fact that I'm a good writer. That's not to brag or gloat, but I've read a lot and still do, and naturally I look at the books and always say to myself, I just don't understand why people haven't at least stumbled across my stuff. I guess this goes back to our original topic of whether Facebook helps.

It doesn't.

While it has allowed me to engage with other people, my page saw little interaction even with over 300 visitors. Those 300+ visitors equaled 2 books sold, both downloads.

Last year a local Black bookstore got me to actually print books. They even set up one book signing. It went well, but all of the women were distracted throughout the event with their phones and they were tired from work. It felt forced and many of them hadn't finished the book at all. This is the world we live in. A distracted world that relies on simple access to entertainment. Thoughtless interaction. This is not the fault of Facebook, it is the continued lack of understanding by us. I'm still not restarting my Facebook page, but honestly until I make a real concerted effort to engage readers, I honestly don't know what to do beyond what we are doing right now.

Oh, on Facebook all of our posts would be too long and people would stop reading.

I'm still not on the article since it is a big sneaker weekend, lol. Gotta get paid. I will work on it because it is necessary and important. I think we have to become the Spike Lee's of the world and support the small biz people worthy of support. But yeah, I pulled my funding although I was going to get a signed print from the script of Mo Betta Blues (my favorite movie) lol.

You have to remember I sell Spizike Jordans and dude is making a killing from his relationship with Nike. He definitely didn't need to run a Kickstarter. It's amazing how many people fall short of doing what they are supposed to do with these crowdfunding events. It's unfortunate that Black Voices hasn't followed through, but Indiegogo is a dangerous platform. Kickstarter won't give you the dough if you don't fund completely. What happens with Indiegogo is you get the dough regardless. So if you say you are doing AB & C for the donations but your donations only total up to 20% of the amount you wanted, you still have to make or do 100% of the project and you are in the red 80%. I think a lot of people don't get crowdfunding. A lot of people do a great job of marketing and selling people on something they can't really accomplish.

I haven't reactivated my page yet and I honestly don't miss it. I'm also starting to not miss my personal page as much since I set up my own social media. I still think that Facebook is an okay tool for marketing and my position has changed a little since the campaign I was running just finished. I was informed by a person who pledged to my Kickstarter that they saw the ad on Facebook. That person pledged 120 dollars. Hmmmmmm

One, that article is not an article it's a book. It's an amazing study of the capitalistic nature of Amazon and how efficient it is as a business. I admire it to the detriment of my own career as a writer. When I first started writing, I had an agent who found it difficult to sell my books because of the sistergirl phenomena and then I was kind of left out because of the "street" lit movement. I didn't necessarily fit in either model so my agent and I parted ways. I started CB Publishing and with with Lightning Source, but I never really promoted the books and got tired of paying for fees while I was coaching basketball and not selling books, so I pulled the books from Lightning Source and the books were out of print.

This article speaks about how Amazon has developed the ability to control the production and the distribution. I know exactly how. When I decided to get back into maybe selling books, I went with Createspace. Amazon carries my books and they are the only platform (I'm also on Lulu) where my book is available. If any other platform wants my books, they have to come from Amazon. I never really thought about that until I read this article.

I can't be upset at someone with a fantastic business model. I tend to think the antiquated way of submission to an agent and then from agent to publisher actually hurts the writer. It was good, but what happened was (and I'm not saying I'm the greatest writer) a lot of really good writers not interested in street or sistagirl lit, were left out in the cold. When a market is already small and difficult to crack, limiting the scope of what is carried in physical locations hurts. Then again, this goes hand in hand with your discussions on the death of the Black book store which is basically why I think my books disappeared. I happen to think that now that I'm actually paying attention to the business, that a Black book store would know how to position my writing.

It's a vicious cycle. Unfortunately I also feel that Amazon is a lifeline for my other interests. I can not get distribution in running shoe stores or footwear stores because the larger accounts freeze out small shoe companies and don't offer shelf space. (Doesn't this sound like books?) The only way I was able to get distribution was by getting a GSN account and UPCs and selling through Amazon. So, I see the value of Amazon because I make a living because of them. It's a difficult discussion.

Very good points. I guess I overlooked Twitter having a public offering...It has never been the beast that Facebook is, but you definitely are right about everything else here.

On the Kickstarter, I am definitely taking it personal. I'm an ex coach who sent over 100 players to college on scholarships and none of those college coaches have even responded to my project. They owe me their jobs in a small way. I deal with other sneaker people through messaging all day when I have Jordans in stock, but they haven't supported it at all. If I simply had the players I coached and coaches I worked with fund 10 bucks, it would have been funded on the first day.

You are right though and I think I've said this before, I'd like to take a look at how many Black projects are funded on Kickstarter. I actually backed the Spike Lee joint, and then I realized... he's Spike Lee! There is nothing wrong with supporting him, but there are so many young film makers who need that type of support and these guys won't even respond to a request for the bigger guys to share their projects. I actually pulled my funding and funded two much smaller projects in different areas. But this is off topic. My page is still unpublished and has 10 days before it is deleted altogether.

I had a lot of sign ups on the site, but it's an intimidating thing to write on a new board and share your thoughts. I guess it's easier to give all of your information to Facebook... people trust Facebook.

Richard gets it, but author's need to get it. The reading community is fading away and is being dominated by larger entities and local bookstores that are independent are white owned and aren't interested in targeting a Black reader since they don't go out buy (but like you've said that is a matter of the materials not being there). This discussion will be here, but I have to write an article about it on my blog that can be shared and then other writer's have to do the same. I worked on the buddypress yesterday and I will try to work on the article today.

I think that is the dilemma. Facebook for many is a means of interacting with a past that they need for validation, or in some cases they need to be nosey. Asking people to leave something that so thoroughly allows people to disappear into nothingness for hours, is like asking a crackhead to put the pipe down. I think Troy is attempting to create a movement amongst writers. Not necessarily getting people to leave altogether.

I used to get a nice little check from Google. I don't have half of the traffic I used to and for my sneaker company, the "friends" I have on Facebook have literally ignored my Kickstarter which is really what pushed me over the edge with this. Since most Kickstarters get their biggest push from those in your immediate circle.

I admit I've never really promoted my writing, but the easiest thing for me to do is remove my author's page and create a social network for anyone interested in interacting with me (which is a very small circle).

I think if any person awakens to the fact that ad revenue and blogs are slowly dying, then Troy has opened eyes and I have given people a better understanding of how important it is to visit websites, not just Facebook.

I think the thing that is going to have to occur to help get people away from Facebook is a list. People are going to have to begin sharing more websites on their walls. I think someone needs to create a meme , since they are passed around faster than anything else in social media. That meme should basically tell people to choose 5 websites a day and favorite those sites and visit those sites to check for updates daily. This will reinvent browsing which is actually dying. People no longer search the web for information, they simply click targets away from Facebook and FB stays open behind whatever page they open waiting on them to come back.

I don't know about that. I kind of think things work in a cycle, but Facebook was the first social media platform to go public in such a dramatic fashion (failed fashion). Since it is a publicly traded entity it is not like Twitter which isn't public yet and has never really worked out how to monetize their information as "well" as FB. I think our conversation is important simply from the standpoint that we are both learning from it. I haven't been this invested in CB Publish in a very long time. But working through these kinks will definitely help you when you decide to create more of a social platform for your blog. All of it is important work and I'm glad we're on it.

Oh, don't worry about the Kickstarter project. If it doesn't fund, it allows me to place all of my energy into CB Publishing for the first time in 14 years. Something dies, something lives... que sera and all that, lol.

I agree with everything you've just written. I'm paid by Amazon and know more about that marketplace than probably any person could imagine. But I've learned how to beat the system as a marketplace store. I can explain that some other time. The perception that Amazon is the best is just that. A search for products is completely necessary to find the best deal, but even I ealized how little i was selling on my site so I moved to Amazon so I wouldn't have to work so hard to find customers. In return I'm sacrificing 15% of my sales which is crazy, but a necessary evil because people don't buy from my site as often. The way I've countered this is by setting up my whole sneaker shop as an Amazon Associates ad. Every Buy Now is an ad instead of an actual purchase. I would still like to sell the same amount through my site, but people trust certain brands.

In regard to the picture, the only reason I am not using it is because I'm removing my author's page completely. What I'm thinking about is leaving it with a link. But this is what's funny, you'll get a kick out of this one:

I'm currently running an ad for my Kickstarter. Since I've been writing that I'm leaving Facebook, interaction on my ad has dropped off the map! I haven't had 1 click through today. This is to Facebook's detriment since they aren't paid if I no one clicks, but I find it odd that my ad is being outbidded all of a sudden.

So I don't have an aversion, I'm just trying to decide whether to leave it up or go with the protest. This is going to be a very difficult protest, but you can't get started without taking a step. This is a start. I updated the video html also.

We are both leaving for very similar reasons and I can postpone deleting the page for 14 days. I will think about that for a moment, before I make my final decision. I just know that all author's are doing exactly what you have just said. We post Facebook and Twitter before mentioning our sites and in many ways we interact with people more on Facebook which waste vital clicks to get to our pages. As you know we all only have about three scrolls/clicks before a person moves on to another website or back to Facebook.

The thing is we all have to generate some type of blogroll and then we have to be sure to begin interacting or at least visiting other websites daily.

This is what writers have to understand, and I'm speaking from sneaker experience which translates to any place where we rely on sales, when you sell through your own site you make more money. I'm sure the problem for most is that they don't have a strong e-mail list and they don't know how to generate enough traffic to get people to their sites.

I've been able to get people to my sneaker site because I have what they want and people still google shoes. We know that googling things will lead to the bigger sites first, so, "how do you get people to your site?" is the million dollar question.

I've made certain now to visit your message board daily to check in. I may not scroll through all of the blogs, but I did click through and buy a pair of Allen Edmonds shoes the other day. How will people see your links to other sites? My link list alphabetized and in widget areas throughout my site. Every author isn't as web savvy so how do we get them up to speed?

I've been compiling articles for a while, so that when people get to the site there is a wealth of info to keep them there. I'm only using Amazon Associates but I've gotten 100 dollar checks (minus that 15 dollar fee... gotta get my direct deposit game right, lol). Writing the reviews and placing the Amazon Ad on the review has led to a lot of people getting the film through the link. It's a great idea. I deleted my author's page this morning. It takes 14 days for it to expire, but I'm not turning back on that. I may consider taking my sneaker site down and using Google to drive traffic and create something to guide traffic there. God knows it hasn't resulted in any Kickstarter pledges and therefore is worthless. This company Three over Seven didn't even have a Facebook page or website and sold 1000 pair of shoes in 5 days due to good old fashion networking and media coverage. Unfortunately my running shoe company can't even get an article locally, go figure; but Facebook isn't helping at all. As far as keeping up with friends it's okay, but even that is lacking somewhat. I've known this for a while and I have statistics to support it on my sneaker blog. You should read those marketing reports: www.arch-usa.com/blog

Branded is a corny movie, but the message is in line with everything we are discussing here. EVERYTHING