I’m still shocked at how many people out there claim to be internet marketers, but don’t act like it. We launched Sitizens and I noticed complainers saying things like “It’s just a game?” and “What a waste of time!”.
There are some who get it, and I was glad to see that they did. Real marketers will take something like Twitter, Facebook, Empire Ave, Sitizens, etc and find innovative ways to use the new technology to their benefit.
I think that’s why so many people are struggling to make it online. They are stuck in the 2001 methods of marketing. You need to move with the trends and not be afraid of wasting time.
Can you imagine if you were still stuck with MySpace saying that Facebook site isn’t gonna last and was a waste of time?
Look at Second Life, it’s a game where people are making loads of cash playing it. And it’s all within their system. Sitizens is a game about website loyalty and exploring new websites. As an internet marketer how can you not drool over that?
Still think it’s “just a game”?
Any expert uses the tools at hand to do things other people cant – that’s what makes them an expert. 25 years ago a 5 year old Jon or Tim saying to their grandparents or parents “I’m going to make a living using a computer” would have just been laughed at lol but you guys have taken the tools and used them to help yourself and help others and have fun doing it. That is “EXPERTISE” in its purest form. Those that claim that projects like Sitizens are a waste of time were just like the people telling Steve Jobs and Bill Gates they were wasting their time in the 90′s :) Keep up the great work
Cheers
Martin
Thanks man, awesome post and I’m so glad to see people are ‘getting’ our vision for this….It’s not ‘normal’ and we love it lol
Martin,
You’re making me think. In ’87, very few people outside of businesses had PCs. I don’t think there were Macs yet. Screens were black with green or amber lettering. There were still floppy disks and they really were floppy. You’re right, no one would have taken anyone seriously who said they were going to create a living using these “gadgets” as tools.
Marian
Kudos to you, Tim, for telling it like it is!
Roger that! If you don’t keep up with the times and the tools and how to use them you’ll get left behind. Great little post Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I joined Sitizens 19 days ago and have been participating every day since then because I recognized the potential. Unless you can give us the ability to connect with “Friends”, other than the 50 names on the Leader List, some will see little or no benefit.
Yes, an add friend via email and/or search for friends and/or FB friend invite integration is in the works ;-)
Thank You. I look forward to whatever you can do.
I join sites like this to try the games out but it`s hard to stay with it when I don`t see the value in it. Can you tell me exactly what the top benefits are when joining? Other than a profile link back to your site and maybe a person following it to check out your site where you might get a customer by referral or something like that and maybe a social link with a share, a like or a G+ is all I see – If there is more let me know.
I joined as a Beta member and played a lot everyday till the rules changed and I started loosing Kingships and couldn’t get them back because of the new changes. Then anger and frustration came into play so I figured I would give it a break, maybe one day I will play again.
Maybe team Awesomesauce was to good for the Founders so you needed to change the rules to keep us from dominating.
Michael, the additions to the game certainly didn’t help the Founders. Last I checked, team Awesomesauce was in first, followed by Bellas. The Founders were valiantly holding onto 3rd.
Tim, I love watching the game develop day by day. One of the things that I’m waiting for hopefully is in-game communication with more than our guild. (The guild messaging is great.)
We’ve got several sites that our guild controls, but have kings that are unguilded. I’d love to be able to invite them into the League of Roses.
Waiting, watching, and having fun in the process.
Marian
Thanks for this input we’ve been brainstorming the best ways to allow members to communicate. You should see a solution in the near future.
Sitizens is stillbeing developed so I guess we can expect more than a few changes as new features are added and existing ones modified.
Personally I find it fascinating and highly addictive.
The potential for Sitizens for advertising, branding and online gaming are huge and I can’t wait to see how this develops.
Finally as Marian said, the recent changes were certainly not done to help the Founders guild. Right now we have virtually no chance of catching the top site.
P.
It might not be easy to see the value in Sitizens yet but the site is still in it’s infant stages. There is still so much potential and in a year from now, it could become a very effective social tool. These things take time. To dismiss Sitizens as a waste of time, is to see it only as a game. To be a Top Player is time consuming, however, one can be lazy about it but still get something out of it.
Joining a guild and then arriving everyday at one’s own sites, does not take very long. Doing the bare minimum still puts the sites out there. Granted, it is not a very social way of doing things but it is a way to get one’s feet wet as Sitizens evolves. A few extra zens from being in on the ground floor doing hardly anything does not hurt matters either. So, why not?
So far, I like the game. I’m just a little surprised that their is no chat or shoutbox somewhere on the main Sitizens site.
We haven’t come to a decision on the best way to implement this yet. I promise you we will have a solution in the near future. We appreciate your input :)
Tim I think moving with the times is it! This site is going to be big and you and Justin will succeed. You both have so much talent and know what you are doing. Keep up the awesome work! Love and big hugs, plus a boat load of positive energy!
Please, please, don’t insult my intelligence by assuming that I “Don’t get it”.
I get it and I can say Congats to those who have jumped on the band wagon this early…..As for me, and may I assume, many others, things are to a point
where the training in CTP has involved a lot of surfing in the exchanges and taking in (leaning) the valuable lessons being taught.
It would have been nice to join someones group in Sitizens when you first offered, but at that time it was a very private (clicky) type of thing.
Waited for an invite by anyone – never received one……This is an indication that “Clicks” are forming in my opinion.
To wrap this up, please don’t be offended, as you have offended me, by stating that I am “not acting like an internet marketer” just because of your new offering of Sitizens and not taking advantage of…..”I am shocked” !
I’m sorry you were offended – the post is aimed at people who trash talk sites as wastes of time. People say TEs are a waste of time. People say Facebook is a waste of time, Twitter, Adwords, etc. Yet each of those venues there are successful marketers making lots of money ;-)
As for the cliques and such; well it wasn’t intended to form them. We just needed some people to get in there playing that would give us feedback. Now that the doors are open streams of people are coming in, and we’ve gotten many kinks out before then. You can stunt your growth if you launch a site and there are too many problems ;-)
No problem Tim.
I understand all the hard work that you guys put into things that you do.
Maybe I took it a little to heart by you thinking that I and others were not acting like internet marketers.
I even went to the sink to throw some water on my face and when I looked into the mirror my face was “Orange” :-)
Hi Tim and another great post,
While I do not feel everything is for everybody, I do know for a fact that you must try, and learn something new every day as you are either In or Out. There is no success in the middle. You are either moving forward or, you are wasting time and losing ground.
Regards, Ron
Exactly, saying something isn’t working for you can be a sign of a great marketer. Hey, TimTech never used Adwords before this week. But that’s only because it didn’t provide the return we needed to keep using it. Now we’re using it because it works for Sitizens target demographic.
This is not a criticism of Sitizens, nor the thinking behind it.
That said, I am not a member of Sitizens, nor have any intention of joining in the forseeable future.
Why? It is very simple, I do not do ‘social’ networking – I have a twitter account, but I am not into Twitter, anyone looking at my twitter feed would know that. I dont read my feed, or anyone elses, so for me Twitter is not a marketing channel that is going to work.
I have a facebook account, but look at my posts and you will see very clearly it is used for PERSONAL use, I have less than 1% of ‘business’ posts on my timeline. I use facebook to relax with my friends, and play the odd game – it is not about spending time reading other peoples posts (most are marked in my preferences as show Only Important).
Now I hear people saying they are making money from Twitter and Facebook, and if they are, I applaud them, they have the mindset to engage in activities I find intensely boring.
The nay sayers will tell me I am throwing a great opportunity away, maybe I am, maybe I am not, but I am not going to let it bother me either way :)
If Sitizens suits you, use it; If Sitizens does not, then don’t
but either way, make a decision and accept you have the right to make your mind up, and not everyone else will make their up the same way as you :)
good post Tim i agrre with you