Chromjuwelen Magazine X Flipboard

Just because we are working hard on the relaunch of chromjuwelen.com doesn't mean we stopped publishing our web finds or selected stories from our Contributing Network. Of course, at the moment we don’t produce lots of Chromjuwelen reportages, but our social branches like Tumblr are busier than ever. Regarding Tumblr (Chromjuwelen, Chromjuwelen Motor Öl) we are looking forward to set a new record soon: 15k followers. Yeah!

Furthermore, we are gaining new experiences with another curation tool: Flipboard. So if you are a user — tell us in the comments what you think! Here's our Chromjuwelen subscription link.

Chromjuwelen.com: WHERE'S THE BEEF?

"Your stories, your international network, your multidimensional brand Chromjuwelen — DUDES, YOU ARE SITTING ON A GOLDMINE!" — that's what Chris and I often have heard since we launched Chromjuwelen.com back in 2005. But as stated in "It’s time to get focussed" we suspect that we buried — faced with so many funky and irresistible interweb opportunities — our Unique Selling Proposition — STORYTELLING. So it’s high time for digging. First of all for our USPs, then for gold.

We decided we'll to do it publicly, with opened visor. In short: We'll use storytelling to hack our broken storytelling. Virtually as a a self-prescribed therapy. To illustrate our mission, we'll borrow Wendy’s famous claim as our battle cry. 'Cause "WHERE'S THE BEEF?" hits the nail on the head. Especially these days, where the media scene seems to explode and everybody affirms he's making millions. We don't believe the hype.

We've got a long list of topics we would like to discuss, including things like money (of course), reach, trendsetters, language and culture — just to name a few. So stay tuned and let us know in the comments what you think. And of course, we still speak Deutsch. So don’t hesitate.

Google+ Communities

"Google+ Communities" is the new kid on the block. And although a lot of people think Google+ is dead, we think it's worth a try. As of shortly Google's tools felt clunky and geeky, but in the meantime that has changed. The web-interface is smart, and the new mobile app is a killer. No more fiddling with different apps, just one intuitive and snappy client.

Beside from that the quality of communications quality on G+ is very high. Which is perfect for our intention, as we aren't interested in just another blinged and artistically-filtered food porn flash in the pan. Our intention is much more to create cultural (Think: Motorkultur!), long-tailed storytelling.

You wanna join the party? Follow this link!

Google+

A few days ago Google rolled out "Google+" and we are honored to be part of it. At the moment it is still a kind of closed beta. "Kind of" because sometimes it seems to be possible to invite other people, but most of the time it fails. 

Due to our concerns for Facebook we are thrilled what this will do to the whole "Social Media" circus. Will it be a game changer? Or a geeky non-starter? It seems Ford (FoMoCo, Ford Europe) tries to find an answer as well.

Be that as it may — our first steps on Google+ feel very good. The whole interface (web/mobile) is excellent designed and fun to use. If you are on Google+ — let's get in touch! 

Social media is not "cool." MAKING MONEY IS COOL.

If you are making your money in the publishing-/marketing- or agency business, you've got to have an idea regarding "Social Media". There's no getting round it, Social Media is the big hype these days. And as there are no instruction manuals how to use Social Media, it is just a big trial and error. So do we, by the way. I post regularly about our defeats and successes.

Today I came across an article from Peter Shankman (Business Insider), which is perfect for all of those, who are just thinking about hiring a so called "Social Media Expert". Read it. And think again.

My favorite quotes (except the borrowed statement which I used as headline):

[...] Being an expert in social media is like being an expert at taking the bread out of the refrigerator. [...]

[...] Social media is just another facet of marketing and customer service. Say it with me. Repeat it until you know it by heart. Bind it as a sign upon your hands and upon thy gates. Social media, by itself, will not help you. [...]

[...] "It’s not about building a website anymore! It’s so much cooler! It’s about Facebook, and fans, and followers, and engagement, and influence, and…" Will you please shut up before you make me vomit on your shoes? [...]

Sure, some statements in Peter Shankman's article may sound radical. But there's some truth in it.

Tumblr Cars: Ranking Position #1 and #9

How weird. I just apologized for my inabilty and stated I still have to learn how to use Tumblr. But something must have went right: Tumblr just ranked two of my blogs in their "#cars" top ten (link only works for logged in users). The Dodge Charger III Concept—source: Amcar Guide—went on first place, the 1970 Pininfarina Modulo, which I found at Flavien Dachet's always inspiring "Karznshit", ended up on position nine.

This is funny. I started using Tumblr as my personal scrapbook and moodboard, used it later as a workaround to collect inspiring sources for our Chromjuwelen Grid, but never checked whether my articles are liked by the Tumblr community. All the more I am surprised to find my articles in Tumblr's "Popular Top Ten".

But to make it clear: It was the Amcar Guide, who wrote the article about the Dodge Charger III Concept. And it was Flavien Dachet, who presented the Pininifarina Modulo. This means: The kudos belong to them!  

I failed at tumblr

I just received an e-mail from one of my best-loved blogs, Just A Car Guy, that I reblog articles without quoting the sources right. I am a loser.

One of the biggest and outrageous blogging mistakes is not naming the sources—blogs, flickr, profiles—where you dig your stuff. I hate it when people are doing this with my stuff. But this is exactly what I did, so it seems.

I use my tumblr to dig articles which inspire me. We import those articles to Chromjuwelen.com as well. I relied on my workaround that everything would be fine. But it is not.

With this post I would like to apologize for my failure.