The 90-second video intro:

Earth Hour. A 60-minute event that moves from time zone to time zone with people all around the world “volunteering” to participate and “make a difference” by powering down.

But is this event really what it appears to be on the surface?

Is it an innocent “celebration”… or a seductive ritual?

The first time I heard about the Earth Hour initiative I thought to myself; what’s the point? What’s the tangible and lasting benefit to mankind? There’s got to be a goal here. Besides, the name kinda sounds like the Darma initiative from the TV show Lost. And anyone who watches that show knows, they had a goal.

So I did some research. And you know what I found? Well, the Earth Hour organizers themselves have admitted that the event “would have little impact on carbon emissions.”

OK, so no tangible benefit. Onward we go.

There must be a hidden agenda or goal then. You an I are smart enough to know that an event of this scale comes about without some type of end result in mind. So I dug deeper.

At first I thought it was just basic indoctrination through a Tribal ritual to strengthen the faith of the followers. But then i saw the quote from James Leape of WWF International where he said, “We need to harness some of the cooperative spirit we’ve seen with Earth Hour to find a global solution.”

Ahhhh…. OK, the lights turned on for me. It was then I was able to see clearly that it’s an execution of a basic Tribal Seduction strategy. Stir up emotions, link them to an issue, event or person (in this case a natural phenomena positioned as a problem,) then capitalize on that emotional connection.

And this might just be one of the greatest feats of Tribal Seduction ever executed. Mass participation in a global event that has no outcome other than for people feel good about themselves. But that’s up to you to decide.

Remember — Tribal Seduction, like persuasion, the military or any other power, is morally neutral. It can be used to advance any agenda.

If you’re a business person who’s been exposed to the Tribal Seduction doctrine, you know we focus on harnessing the power of Tribal Seduction for good. To fight Marketplace Molesters. To remove barriers to action for your Tribe. And to help them improve their lives with the goods and services that you offer.

But Tribal Seduction can be used for evil too. Hitler and Jim Jones were masters at Tribal Seduction as well.

And it’s up to you to guard your mind. You need to be just as diligent in protecting yourself against Tribal Seduction, as you are dedicated to ethically using it as a marketing formula. And the way to guard your mind is to control your focus.

That begs the question…

Who’s controlling your focus?

Look, one of the guidelines for ethical behavior from the Society of Professional Journalists states that

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Until now, when you posted a video to YouTube, tracking info was limited to how many times your video was viewed or commented on. Now Google has decided to boost YouTube’s tracking power allowing New Media Marketers to analyze video performance more effectively.

The new tools help put the performance of a video into context over time. You can see where your Tribe is coming from and how well your message is connecting to your audience. And… a big plus — you’re now better able to get ideas on how to improve your videos and track how your improvements translate into attention.

What YouTube now tracks for you

To access your new stats, log into to your account then “My account > Videos, Favorites, Playlists > About This Video.” Here’s what you’ll see when you do.

Obviously the wimpish stats that you had before are still available. (above)

The left side of your screen when in the “Views” tab will give you: (above)

• How many countries your video was viewed in any given time period
• An adjustable slider bar to select any time range you want since the video was posted

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“Don’t go into blogging to make a living,” says HDNet chairman Mark Cuban. Philip Kaplan from the online advertising firm AdBrite cautions that “only 3 percent of active sites make more than $1,000 a month from advertising.”

These are two quotes from the NY Times article “So You Want to Be Blogging Star” by Paul Boutin. Quotes obviously meant to entice bloggers into sharing some buzz love. (No love for the NY Times here. Just buzzing for your benefit. )

Don’t expect to get rich blogging

That’s the message right up front in the article.

I say; “No Duh” to that.

If you’re counting on getting rich from ads on your blog, you’ve got an uphill battle on icy ground. AlGore’s got a better chance of getting hit by a rogue iceberg than a blogger making six-figures from ads.

The real profit pulling power of blogging is stardom

Boutin does get it partially right when he says “…amassing a large audience is the goal.” (Though I think that was part of a statement meant more as a backhanded critique than a word of advice.)

“Large” is not necessary to create a nice cash flow. But becoming a star in your niche to attract and gather a tribe of raving fans is a requirement.

A strong personal brand and passion for your niche teamed is what makes a blog a powerful New Media marketing tool. That’s what will build trust, rapport, and reputation equity. Once you have those things, it’s a relatively straight forward process to turn those assets into profit.

Some good points

The article does share some good points, especially for New Media marketers just starting out with a blog.

Some of the better points are:

• Write about what you want to write about, in your own voice
• Fit blogging into the holes in your schedule
• Just post it already!
• Keep a regular rhythm
• Give credit where credit is due
• Place, plug and promote yourself

Book-ended by back stabbing

Ahh… but alas, Boutin bookends the good with a snide implication that blogging is am “unhealthy obsession.”

Maybe for those without a plan that’s true. But if your goal is stardom in your niche — obsession is not only healthy, it’s profitable too.

YouTube is starting to make higher-definition streams available on certain videos. This is a long awaited across-the-board improvement available on all YouTube accounts. It’s definitely not true High Definition, but it’s a step in the right direction. Especially compared to the typical grainy YouTube video.

How do you make your higher quality videos available?

Right now these high quality streams are only available on “certain videos,” as YouTube states on the official YouTube blog. It’s based on the source file you uploaded to YouTube.

How do you watch higher quality videos?

On your Account page you’re now able to choose “always show me higher quality when available.” To change your settings go to your Account Home Page >> Account >> Video Playback Quality.

YouTube suggests that you select “always show me…” only if you have a fast Internet connection, otherwise you might find that videos don’t play as quickly or smoothly as you’re used to. Higher quality videos also have a link right below the video player which will allow you to select between the normal or higher quality settings.

Like all videos on YouTube, higher-definition videos can’t be longer than 10 minutes in length. Max file sizes have been bumped up to 1 GB though.

Go Red…

Oh, and while we’re talking about YouTube — China is blocking YouTube after they posted videos showing the recent protests in Tibet.

Yeah!!! Communism shows it’s true colors again. Killing people, and then shutting down any media source that reveals it. At least they make it clear why red is their color.

Let’s face it, in today’s’ world of politically correct speech most people walk a line that’s so bland, they blend into the white walls they’re standing in front of. Most people are afraid to say anything that they’ve been indoctrinated to believe is “wrong” or “evil” or… God forbid… something that some man, woman, child, (or cross-dresser, molester or red-footed blue-nose field mouse) may take as “offensive.”

The good news is that this makes it really easy for you to stand out from the crowd. And actually, if you stop being a squishy Jello-like person and stand for something — you’ll attract a crowd.

When you speak your mind, unfiltered and unabashed, you’ll be surprised to see you’ve got a Tribe of raving fans who’ve quietly been thinking what you’ve actually had the guts to say.

The Gabby Cabby example

My good friend Wayne Kelly over at On Air Publicity has a great example of this “get-real” approach. It’s a quick radio interview with the Gabby Cabby.

In the 3-minutes of audio that Wayne shares, you’ll see how a strong, straight-shooting Personal Brand transformed a NYC cabby into a internationally known “expert” on the streets of New York City.

Of course, when you decide to be different, to be edgy, you’d better be able to back up what you’re saying.

• Be passionate about your niche, know your stuff, and use facts to reinforce what may “seem” like outrageous comments.
• DON’T rattle off facts or opinion to hammer people over the head with your views.
• DO use facts to make people think and come to a conclusion on their own.

I have a saying that I’ve used for years… “Most people think in screams, and speak in whispers.” In world dominated by brainwashed Jello-minded people, you don’t need to scream to get noticed. (Leave that to the Marketplace Molesters.)

Just speak what your Tribe is thinking and you’ll not only get attention — you’ll be remembered.

When is the last time you spoke without filters? And what happened?

A new application on Facebook, called Market Lodge will pay users a 10% commission on sales made on their recommendations. And vendors can submit products for approval, so long as they’re willing to cough up a 35% commission on each product sale.

Market Lodge is the brainchild of a startup called bSocial Networks. They’re betting that Facebook users will like the idea of helping merchants sell to their friends. I’m betting it’ll open the doors to a flood of fledgling Marketplace Molesters.

Here’s how you can make sure you don’t become one of them.

If you’re going to test Market Lodge, keep two things in mind

Facebook hasn’t been a friendly place for profit since opening it’s door to developers. I’ve never seen more useless widgets for fun and games in one place than what you’ll find after 12-months of “open door development” on Facebook.

And while Market Lodge is a step in the right direction, the way I see it, it’s got two challenges:

1. Facebook tried to capitalize on membership connections last year by introducing a marketing system that allowed friends to broadcast product endorsements to each other.

That’s been a dud. Mostly because Facebook’s users revolted when they realized there was a feature called “Beacon.” That little devil tracked and shared information about their purchases and other actions made on other Web sites. Users’ are now allowed to turn off Beacon, but it’s still a dud.

2. Online social networks as a whole have had trouble generating big profits from advertising. Even powerhouse Google Inc. has admitted that they haven’t found the right marketing mix partnering with News Corp.’s MySpace.com.

In both cases the problem is rooted in an old-school marketing mindset and interruption-style of communication. Understand this, apply the C.H.A.R.M. Formula of Tribal Seduction, and you’ll be ahead of the pack out of the gate.

Market Lodge is a good idea, but…

It actually makes it easier for regular Joe’s and Jane’s to make money making recommendations. But that’s where the danger lies.

“Average” people don’t know how to market or sell without Molesting friends and family. (Doubt me? Just think of a friend who’s all fired up about the new MLM they joined.)

Hell, most people who call themselves marketers or sales professionals don’t know how to do that. Even fewer know how to seduce.

Affiliates — keep it low key

So if you plan on becoming an affiliate with Market Lodge, keep it low key. Treat your recommendations relevant to topical conversations you engage in.

Unless you have a really strong personal brand that attracts a “clean” list of friends — stay away from network-wide promotional messages. And even if you’ve got that highly focused network of friends, take the time to create some good (connection-based) content as a mass message, and strategically inject a relevant recommendation.

Vendors — give it a shot

If you’re a vendor, you can request that bSocial add your product to their line up. The vendor registration process is ridiculously simple (which to me implies that you may not hear back from them if they don’t like your product.) You can learn more about becoming a Market Lodge vendor here.

If you’ve used Market Lodge, share what your experiences have been. And if you give it a try (either as an affiliate or vendor) come back and share your experience.

OK, I finally got two minutes to breathe here, and a question came to mind. How are you using New Media to grow your subscriber list, get more clients, or make more money?

I’ve been dedicating every spare minute to managing our terrific programming team and prepping for the latest upgrade to the BLOGi360 system. And Deb has been managing the production team for the Tribal Seduction course. Deb’s been Twittering and doing some postings at our other blogs, but I’ve chosen to use what little free time I have to Kite Board and go to the gym. (Yeah, yeah… that’s right - priorites.:) )

As I just got ready to sign off and head out to 24-Hour Fitness for a workout, I caught this commercial on my office TV.

And it hit me. We’ve been spending most of our time helping create tools that help others leverage the power of New Media. And systems that make it easy for the average small business owner and entrepreneur to build a business from the inside out, focusing on what they do best.

You know, the things that make them money, instead of the techie-geek stuff or “trial-and-error” strategies for growing a profitable business.

And yes, these New Media tools are making us money by helping other business owners save time, focus on their strengths, and make more money. Pretty obvious, straight forward stuff.

But then I thought about it. How many people out there are leveraging the power of New Media to make more money? I didn’t know the answer. I have no idea how many people are “innovating” and how many are making real gains in their business.

So here’s the big question:

How are you using blogs, podcasts, online video, social networks, or social filters to:

- save time?
- grow your subscriber list?
- get more clients?
- leverage your passions and strengths for more profits?

And if you’re not putting New Media to work, what’s holding you back?

What’s your story? I’d love to read them. More importantly, what you share may inspire another business owner to keep moving forward.

Whether it’s wins or struggles… it’ll help us all.

So let’s hear your stories!