I just wanted to say thank you to all for stopping by and taking time out your day to see what I have to say. It’s always appreciated and I look forward to sharing more views and discussions with you in 2009.
Have a wonderful Christmas, eat and be merry and stay safe. See you in a few days.
I had a conversation on Twitter last night with a good friend, Lizz Harmon, the basis of it being why Lizz didn’t blog.
She’s one of the smartest PR people around and always has some interesting things to say, so I mentioned that it might be a good idea for her to start blogging in 2009. Lizz responded with reasons why she doesn’t blog (for now) although it may be something she’ll address next year.
We ended the conversation with Lizz agreeing to write a guest post here, so I guess I’m the winner all-round!
It got me thinking, though, that there are probably a great many that don’t blog even though they could potentially blow everyone away with what they have to say. There are numerous reasons – fear of opening up, leaving a comfort zone, there are already too many similar bloggers so where would their voice be positioned, etc. All valid, yet all equally reasons to overcome as well.
I often say that some of the best points made on my blog are through the comments – some of the best conversations I’ve had recently have been discussing the various merits (or lack of) in my posts. It often leaves me wanting to hear more on what that person has to say, but then there’s no link to a blog.
This is a shame.
So here’s what I hope for in 2009. For anyone that isn’t blogging but has either thought about it or kept putting it off, make the decision to start one. Don’t worry about being lost in the wilderness – we’re all in the same boat and we’ll help each other through. If you’re worried what topics to write about, go for what inspires passion in you. The best voices come from passionate beliefs – yours can be one of them.
Ask for help as well. If you’re unsure how to set one up, or how to design your look and feel, look at blogs that you read and which ones catch your eye. And contact the blogger in question and ask if they’d mind offering some guidance. The good ones will be only too happy to help – after all, it should be one big happy blogosphere, right?
If you really don’t want to blog, then fair enough – you shouldn’t be forced. But if you can share great views in the comments of other blogs, maybe these great views can be the basis of your own rockstar blog?
I look forward to reading you in 2009.
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When I was thirteen I got into video games at my local arcade. Games like Centipede and Phoenix were amazing – different and fairly deep (yes, there were strategies, especially on Phoenix with the hidden 200,000 point bonus).
From there, I moved into home videogaming, particularly with the release of the Sega MegaDrive (the European version of the Genesis).
That started an obsession, as I wanted every new system that came out. And, thanks to a paper round and other part-time jobs, I was fortunate enough to get most – Super Nintendo; 3do; Neo-Geo; N64; Sega Saturn; Playstation and more were added to my collection as I turned a geeky obsession into a gaming reality.
Maybe it makes me a nerd (and it certainly shows my age!) but you know what? So be it.
I have no shame or regrets spending so much time collecting gold rings or rescuing princesses or enjoying so many other game cliches. And you know why? Because I firmly believe that video games were the original harbingers of what we view as social media.
Bold claims? False and rose-tinted spectacles at work? Maybe – maybe not. Think about it a little:
Do any of these examples sound familiar?
Today’s world is increasingly online, and video game consoles offer that in spades. Today’s social media world is about conversations and interaction – Xbox Live leads the way for this in the gaming world. Innovation and new approaches are the norm for social media – videogames that differ from the expected are often the most anticipated.
Perhaps just the fact that social media and videogames enjoy a small yet loyal following compared to the mainstream makes the two mediums such surprising bosom buddies?
Either way, the next time you sit down at a game, maybe you’ll compare it to what you’ve been doing in the social media space. After all, isn’t questioning and improving through action what social media is all about?
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A little while back, I sent out a request via Twitter asking if anyone would be interested in being interviewed for a discussion on social media. With the medium meaning so many different things to so many people, as well as how it can be used, I was interested to hear the views of the people I connect with.
My original plan was to run a ?round table? style of blog post – raise the questions and then have a mix of views as the responses. However, the answers I received back were all excellent, and showed why social media is the mix of interesting people and views that it is. So, I decided individual posts would be far more effective in an on-going series of interviews.
Sharing her views today is Beverly Macy, a Managing Partner at Y&M Partners LLC, a strategic advisory firm in Beverly Hills. She also teaches Social Media Marketing at UCLA and is a lecturer at USC. My sincere thanks to Beverly for taking the time to reply and share her views. To connect with Beverly, or find out more about her, please visit her Y&M Partners blog.
If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?
Social media is a set of online tools that enable community, sharing, connectivity, and conversation among people.
For years, marketers have talked about ‘listening’ to the consumer.? At the same time, Web 2.0 began to enable conversations to take place AMONG consumers. That conversation has evolved into video, picture, text, audio file? and it can be shared and passed on.
Blogs, podcasts, YouTube, Twitter, Wikis, Second Life, social networks, etc. are the tools we use to engage in this conversation with one another. Clearly, a fundamental shirt in the way we communicate has occurred.
What is your reason for using social media?
I use social media as a way to connect and share with clients, students, and business associates. I’m also beginning to use it as a personal branding tool. I wrote the course syllabus for the new Social Media Marketing course for the Executive Marketing Program at the UCLA Extension that launched this Fall, so social media has been a good way to communicate with students and demonstrate the power and immediacy of social media.
Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?
Not yet. I saw an article proclaiming that “blogs are dead”. Are they? Or are they evolving into blog 2.0 or 3.0? In? 2005,? most people didn’t know what blogs were. Who remembers Friendster? Is Facebook just Friendster 2.0? And where will Twitter be one year from now? The cycle time is incredibly fast and seems to be getting faster. The great news is that social media and social media tools are designed to keep pace with the increased cycle time. So we’ll see tools come and go and we’ll see new uses. As an educator I can say that business people – and even educators – are just beginning to “get it”.
My classes and seminars are full. We had to limit class size this semester and I’m running a 1 day Social Media for Business seminar in February on campus to help meet the need. I? received an email from an editor and publisher of a widely read magazine who attended the Social Media Marketing class at UCLA this fall. She asked me to give her “Private Twitter Lessons” after the class is over. Clearly, we’re just scratching the surface of social media for most online users. As they come up to speed – and as mainstream brands get in the game – we’ll see new uses for social media evolve.
What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?
I am an avid Twitter user – that’s my favorite right now. Twitter is proving to be incredibly useful – immediate, to the point, and provides a broad reach. I started a blog for the UCLA Class for teaching purposes that is getting wider attention beyond the class. Facebook is useful for some things but I find it a bit annoying.? I have contributed to podcasts and wikis. I have a Linked-In profile but don’t keep it up as I should.
Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?
Teaching a class in social media and working with corporate clients has put me in the catbird seat as far as trend watching.? I’m working with clients in pharma, healthcare, energy and entertainment who are beginning to think differently about the conversations they want to have with their customers. At the very least, these marketing professionals see a place for social media in reputation monitoring as a starting point.
I recently heard that hands-free Twitter may become part of Ford’s Sync offering. I’m seeing a rise in popularity and use of platforms like Ning, Pringo, Kick Apps, for white-labeling social networks around all types of groups. This will continue to grow. Associations, industry groups, sports teams, Girl Scouts, non-profits, mommy-bloggers, daddy-bloggers, teens, pre-teens, kids, baby boomers – anyone can start a network, and will. I’m also intrigued by iPhone and other mobile apps and believe there are terrific opportunities for business with branded apps.
Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?
I’d say that most businesses haven’t even thought about social media as a viable part of their marketing mix yet. The adoption curve reminds me of websites in 1999. Early adopters had sites back then and were well down the path of using the Internet for business. But most businesses didn’t have sites – or useful sites – until 2001/2002. That’s what we’re seeing with Social Media.? It hasn’t hit a tipping point in business yet.
During this semester the Motrin controversy erupted. The mommy bloggers were highly insulted by Motrin’s ad about back aches associated with baby slings. It created an outpouring of negative response. Motrin apologized. We talked about how Motrin may have missed a great opportunity to communicate with those angry moms. Here was a whole group of very vocal consumers who could have become advocates, or a focus group, or Motrin could have launched a contest to create a better ad, etc. Missed opportunity
This semester we looked at a whole host of brands using social media as case studies. I also do this for my clients as they begin to consider social media tools. What’s interesting is establishing metrics for measuring the ROI, and not just from a financial returns standpoint. Brand awareness, conversation, customer engagement, reputation monitoring, are all measurements to judge the effectiveness of social media campaigns. We also looked at where social media fits in with a total Integrated Marketing Plan for a brand and/or company.
But Social Media practioners would be surprised at how far behind these business folks are, though. They’re worried about policy, privacy, lack of control. They are puzzled by the openness and the transparency. Most of them don’t even know what RSS feeds or bookmarking are, let alone blogs or Twitter.
We gave them an assignment to start a blog. That’s been a very enlightening experience both for them and for me. People had trouble with the concept, the idea that somebody would have to maintain a blog, even what ‘linking’ is and why it’s important. On the flip side, we had a full class this semester and had to turn some folks away to keep the class size manageable, so the business community is clearly hungry for the information and tools.
What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?
I’m loving Twitter right now. It’s a great connector, it’s good for business development, and it forces folks to be short and to the point. I think we’ll see new uses for Twitter continue to pop up.
The biggest complaint I hear is it’s hard to keep up with everything. And to maintain multiple profiles. Someone’s going to figure this out, but right now, it can seem like a time-sink.
There’s always an air of expectancy whenever a year end hovers into view. Mistakes that were made in the year just gone can be learned from and improved upon; things that haven’t been done that you wanted to do can be reworked for the year ahead; and new opportunities await in the months to come.
Yet 2009 promises to be a year that could stand apart from many others, both personally and for the world at large.
After the economic despondency of the last few months of 2008 and the numerous misguided decisions that saw the people of our planet grow further apart over the last eight years, next year offers a landmark opportunity for change.
The United States (and, by that token, the rest of the world) sees a new dawn in history and the potential for inspiration when the new President steps into power in January. No matter which political affinity you might have, I think it’s fair to say that Barack Obama has the opportunity to make right all the wrongs the current administration got so very wrong during their tenure. Let’s hope and pray he can and does.
2009 also offers the chance for common sense and redemption for all that’s wrong with corporate greed and mismanagement. The fall of large financial institutions and the need for restructuring in the auto-industry that was the business story of 2008 shouldn’t be ignored. If ever there was a time for CEO’s to take stock and re-evaluate how they do business and treat their employees and shareholders, next year is their chance.
Yet perhaps more than anything, 2009 offers a chance to change the world around us personally. Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, if there’s something that can be done to improve both our own fortunes and those around us, we should grab it. There’s a groundswell of personal belief that I see all around me.
Social media continues to open up new areas and teaches us that greatness and bettering ourselves and our fellow man is infinitely preferable to selfish needs.
On a personal level, I aim to take these teachings and make lives better if I can. As you might be aware, one way I’m doing this is with the 12for12k Challenge and already I’m touched by the outpouring of well-wishes and support for the project. It’s still early days but I have high hopes for making a difference over the next 12 months.
The title of this post is actually derived from a statement Chris Brogan made on Twitter late last night. In it, he mentioned that he was thinking hard about what his three words would be for next year. Picking just three words that would be the guiding principles that shape his decisions and actions in 2009. So the title of this post is my response (although my original one was slightly different).
Every day next year can be a journey into greatness, for everyone. I’d love to meet you along the way.
