If you’re an existing Ping.fm customer you may have received an email recently from Seesmic with the subject line “Ping.fm closing down on July 5th”. For those of you who have been using Ping.fm on a regular basis, this shouldn’t have come as a surprise. We’ve been notified several times in the past that Seesmic purchased Ping.fm and intended to improve the service, close Ping.fm, and ask existing users to make the switch.

The email that was sent today states, in part, the following:

“As previously communicated, we are shutting down Ping.fm.  As of July 5th, you will no longer be able to access Ping.fm.

The new Seesmic Ping, which replaces Ping.fm, is now live, and you can either sign up directly, or between now and July 5th, log into your Ping.fm account and use the wizard we put in place to help you go through the sign up process.”

Unfortunately, in my opinion, the ‘upgrade’ is disappointing. I think Seesmic should reconsider this move and keep Ping.fm open until they improve Seesmic! Here’s where I have issue with closing Ping.fm for the replacement they have available:

• The upgrade process is not an upgrade process! I logged into Ping.fm then clicked the link to “Continue here to upgrade Seesmic Ping.”, expecting to see all of my account details magically transform into a new and improved service. Instead, Seesmic prompted me to create a new, basic Seesmic account and fill out my profile details all over again. None of my Ping.fm account settings were moved over.
• If you want to post at any level of volume you’ll need to upgrade to a paid account. I don’t have a problem paying for a tool as long as it is  useful, but this one misses the mark! See below.
• Even the paid version of Seesmic disappoints when compared to the free version of Ping.fm. There is a fraction of social networks available. The functionality is lacking. The only improvement is the creation of apps, but I’ve always used the web version and the applications aren’t of much value to me. Seesmic is being called an upgrade over Ping.fm but I’m not feeling the love!

Look, I am long-time Ping.fm account holder and have used this service regularly. The bottom line is this, Ping.fm was easily the most powerful service online to take a single status update and blast it to dozens of social media channels all at once. Take a look at the screenshot to the left for an example of the powerful features provided by Ping.fm . This is a partial list of social networks supported by Ping.fm and the ones currently setup through my Ping.fm account:

Ping.fm allows a single status update to be posted automatically to a robust list of social networks, including: Twitter, MySpace, GTalk, Tumblr, LinkedIn, AIM, Indenti.ca, Brightkite, Plurk, FriendFeed, Blogger, Plaxo Pluse, WordPress.com, Delicious, YouTube, Multiply, Yammer, Flickr and even more accounts – many not visible on this list.

When upgrading to Seesmic they give us a total of four accounts: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Tumblr. Really, just four accounts? See the graphic below:

Why do I need Seesmic at all, let alone a paid version? I can automatically link my Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts together easily using other free services being offered. What made Ping.fm really special was the ability to blast dozens of social networks all at once – even those that aren’t necessarily mainstream.

Seesmic should read this blog and consider leaving Ping.fm open until they can make a suitable replacement for it! Ping.fm is an amazing service, there’s nothing like it available right now. I could see myself paying a small monthly fee to use an upgraded version of Ping.fm, one with features such as the ability to post directly to Facebook Groups (not just pages).

Are you a Ping.fm user, have you seen the recent changes? What do you think?

Dear Small Business Owners, here are the details for our special event in May!

The business leaders that comprise Social Network Arizona, www.socialnetworkarizona.com,  look forward to meeting you Thursday, May 17th to help you take your business networking to the NEXT level!

This social media, business networking event & seminar will put you in touch with hundreds of Phoenix and Scottsdale area business leaders… Expand your local network… and increase the online visibility of your company, website, and brand.

To RSVP and learn how you can earn a free Golden Ticket (a $20 value!) visit our event page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/366515473395640/

Hosted by Andre Morris
President and Founder, seenBEST Internet Marketing
www.seenbest.com

Mission: Small Business is a program sponsored by Chase Bank and LivingSocial. These two companies have teamed up and are running a social media contest that will ultimately help up to 12 small businesses across the US. They will be awarding up to 12 grants, valued at $250,000, to selected small businesses who are approved, meet program guidelines, and are selected from the list.

Are you a business owner? Would you like an opportunity to earn a $250,000 grant? It’s easy, all you have to do is visit the official Mission: Small Business website to apply! Click here: http://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/

After your application has been received the Mission: Small Business website informs you that you need to gather 250 votes from around the internet in order for your application to be eligible. Have you already submitted your application and are now looking for a way to get the 250 votes you’ll need? The “how to engage consumers” page offers some good advice to help you round up the 250 votes you’ll need. It says:

• Use social media to build excitement and make your customers aware that they can vote for your business. That’s a great idea! You should post the link on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ streams. If you aren’t sure where to start, seenBEST Web Design can help you create social media accounts. They provide a free Social Media strategy session, visit www.seenbest.com for more information.
• Use email to notify your customers that your business is competing in the program. If you don’t already have an email marketing campaign established seenBEST can help you get it going.

Arizonians: Vote in the latest poll “How often do you make the effort to shop local?”

VOTE NOW http://www.facebook.com/questions/352459668110010/?qa_ref=qd , then make every effort to shop local!. Shop local and post your Facebook business page to the Arizona Business Directory – the premier social directory for Arizona companies: http://www.socialnetworkarizona.com/ariz0na-business-directory/

This is a two-part video series taking you step-by-step through the process to:

1. Add your business to the Arizona Business Directory
2. Edit your profile and company information in the Arizona Business Directory

The Arizona Business Directory is part of Social Network Arizona. The directory provides valuable SEO links for your website and allows you to gain more connections on the social media properties Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Add Your Business to the Arizona Business Directory

Edit Your Company Profile in the Arizona Business Directory

Social Network Arizona takes business to business networking to the NEXT level. Join us for our powerful networking and social media seminar. CONNECT with area business leaders who are ready to learn about you and your company, generate more referrals, increase sales, and expand your network! Our next seminar is being held October 19, 2011. Seating is limited!

RSVP NOW and don’t miss out on all of the great things happening during our October seminar:

• Connect with 100 Arizona businesses owners at The Clarion Hotel
• Learn powerful social marketing strategies for your business
• Guest speaker Dan Creed, Certified Business Coach and Owner of FocalPoint Business Coaching of Arizona
• Hundreds of dollars in prizes will be given away

Become part of this elite online marketing seminar. Be sure to RSVP today to the October seminar via the Facebook events page here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113822728723867

For more information about this event, including directions, visit the Social Network Arizona website link below:

http://www.socialnetworkarizona.com/2011/09/12/social-media-seminar-october-19-2011-rsvp-now/