Journal

5 Things You Never Knew About Me

Hopefully the title of this post hasn’t already put you off – it’s not a vanity thing, honest!

Instead, it’s the result of a blogging theme currently doing the rounds. Initiated by Dominick Evans – whose blog is a pretty inspirational and interesting read – it’s meant as a way to share some facts about yourself and then tag other blogs that you read.

While I’m not normally a big fan of lists, I thought this particular one was a great idea. Not only does it let you know a little more about me (which may not be all that interesting – you have been warned!), it also lets me introduce you to some bloggers who you may not be aware of, but are definitely worth reading.

So, without further ado and with thanks to Barb Chamberlain for tagging me in the first place, here we go!

I met my wife Jacki online. Not via the usual online dating sites, but via our mutual appreciation for a band. The band in question is Dashboard Confessional, and we were both members of the fans forum on Dashboard’s website. I had written something about Scottish bands, and with Jacki having Scottish roots in her family, she emailed me asking if I could recommend any more. What started out as innocent email conversations turned into Instant Messaging turned into phone calls turned into love. I flew to Canada to be with her and we got married in May of this year. Fairy tales do still happen.
I can play any tune you want by rapping a pencil against my teeth. Don’t ask me how I found out this little nugget – it just seemed to happen. As long as I know the song in question, I’ll play it. Just don’t ask for the Jonas Brothers!!
James Bond used to deliver milk to my grandma. Before he became the world-famous actor that he is today, Sean Connery was a milkman in Edinburgh and delivered fresh milk daily to customers on his round. My grandmother was one of them. Seemingly he wasn’t quite as dapper at 4.00am as he was in a tuxedo…
I was in the top 1% of my year in the UK for English. Back in 1984, when I took my English “O”-level, I scored an A+, which was given to anyone that scored over 95% in their English exam. Not that this did me any good, mind you – I never did get that dream job as a journalist, nor have I written any best-selling novels. Go figure.
I can’t click my thumb and forefinger together to make that cool snapping sound. It looks easy enough, and my 6-year old nephew can do it – so why can’t I? Maybe I need to pour vinegar on my digits and slow cook them to toughen them up. Anyone else with any tips?

So there you have it. Five things that you may or may not have known about me (or perhaps weren’t even interested in knowing in the first place). As I said, I never promised them to be interesting – but if you ever need a pencil playing entertainer for your parties, I’m your man!

Now, in true tagging fashion, here are 5 blogs that I feel are worth your time checking out. I hope you agree, and thanks for sticking around to the end of this post.

Thoughts and Stories. It’d be amiss of me not to mention my wife’s blog. But far from being a biased shout out, her “What Really Grinds my Gears” rants about everyday life always make me laugh.
Fear and Loathing – The Gonzo Papers. Sometimes irreverent, sometimes provocative, but always entertaining.
What I See Out My Window. Perhaps not a traditional blog as such, this is a great collection of the views that people have out of their window.
The Lovable Rogue. A look at social media from a marketer’s viewpoint – and not always with the results you’d expect. And you have to love that title!
Guhmshoo’s Weblog. Entertaining and humorous look at life through the art of cartoons.

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Mashable Open Web Awards 2008 Preparing for Winners

With over 35,000 nominations already, the 2008 Mashable Open Web Awards are already bypassing the votes from the inaugural awards last year. With only two days to go until the nomination process closes and the voting proper begins, the nominees are taking shape.

With 26 categories this year, there are more chances than ever that the smaller names and players can be recognized. This is the beauty of the Mashable awards – everyone has a chance.

If you haven’t voted yet, the timeline is drawing near for your final nomination:

11.59pm PST on Sunday November 16.
02.59am EST on Monday November 17.
07.59am GMT on Monday November 17.

Once the nomination phase closes, the votes will be tallied and the finalists announced for the first round of voting. If you haven’t nominated your favourite web application, blog or tool, now is the time to do so. You can use the voting form here.

(Of course, if you wish to vote for me, all votes are kindly accepted via the preset voting widget in the sidebar). 😉

Full details of the nominees moving forward into the finalist stages will be announced Tuesday November 18, with voting starting the following day.

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For Those About to Bob – We Salute You

Okay, so sue me for being an AC/DC fan. But hey, what a classic song! Apart from being a slight spin on words of the Aussie rockers’ classic, though, it’s an apt description for all the Bobs in the world. Confused? Here’s why.

I read Chris Brogan’s latest blog post today, which told the story of Bob (not his real name). The basis of the story is that Bob engaged the customers of the company he works for by interacting with them online.

This was via a forum, and Bob found that the customers in question loved the fact he was communicating with them. It was as if the company he worked for really wanted to know what their customers thought.

However, Bob’s company found out about his online conversations and senior managers weren’t happy – despite the fact Bob was putting the company in a hugely positive light. I won’t give you all the details – Chris describes it far better in his own inimitable style, and I’d highly recommend reading it. Suffice to say, it was the example of another company not getting social media.

Why is this? Why do so many companies, small and large, fail so miserably to get what could be one of the best promotional tools they could ever have? Is it because they don’t understand it? Or is it because they just see it as a waste of time because there’s no tangible return on investment (ROI)?

A good friend of mine has an interesting view on ROI in social media. Chris Kelly, a new media marketing expert working at 77Academy, offers his viewpoints from a marketer’s perspective. What makes Chris’s views even more interesting is the fact that, despite being the traditional type of professional for whom ROI is everything, Chris acknowledges that this isn’t the way to go.

In one of Chris’s recent blog posts, he talks of how businesses – and marketer’s in particular – are getting it wrong by approaching social media from an ownership perspective. While it would obviously be simpler for businesses to understand social media if there was a tangible ROI to work from, this won’t happen for the simple fact that social media doesn’t work this way.

It’s about connecting with your customers, and helping them make decisions. Not telling them how to make these decisions, but offering the knowledge and tools that will help them to decide instead.

You want to sell your latest gardening supertool to the masses? Get online, meet your audience, listen to what they’re saying and converse. As a human being. As a person. Not as a corporate entity who reads everything from an autocue.

The companies that get this idea will be the ones that benefit. They’ll be the ones that employ guys like Chris Kelly and listen to consultants like Chris Brogan. The others? They’ll be Bob’s employers – though for how long remains questionable. After all, it’s easier to change companies than it is to change mindsets.

But I’m sure Bob has already figured that one out.

Why Jason Calacanis is the Ultimate Twitter Fail Whale

I don’t like openly criticizing people, but Jason Calacanis is the equivalent of the Twitter fail whale.

Now I’ve mentioned Calacanis in this blog before, and actually stated that while he may not be my cup of tea, I did find his “never-say-die” approach was better than a negative one. However, all that has changed and for the award for the human version of the Twitter fail whale, Jason Calacanis takes first place.

Why? Simple – his recent actions have shown him to be a pretty shallow creature.

Never one to back off from blowing his own horn, Calacanis recently had to let 10% of his employees go due to the current lack of advertising in the online market. Calacanis is the CEO of Mahalo, a “human powered search engine” that needs advertising income.

At the time, Calacanis stated, “It’s my responsibility to make this hard decision and I don’t take it lightly.” He also mentioned, “We’ve got a significant amount of cash on hand… The net result of this effort is we are giving Mahalo another year…”.

Reading that, you may feel that this is the difficult and upsetting decisions that many CEO’s have to make when times are tough – to keep the company going, sometimes people have to be sacrificed. It’s not pleasant, particularly for those let go, but then if the company can survive and then re-employ at a later date, it’s a decision that has to be made.

You would have thought that. Until you learn that Jason Calacanis is picking up a new $109,000 Tesla Roadster this weekend. Until you learn that Jason Calacanis is boasting about picking up his car and asking his Twitter followers if they know any media types that would be interested in going along to record the pick-up.

If Calacanis was really interested in the best interests of his company and his employees, then he wouldn’t be wasting $109,000 on a frivolous purchase. Yes, even in times of difficulty businesses still need to spend money to try and keep the business going. Yet this is normally for new IT systems that can improve performance, or core company-specific needs.

A $109,000 sports car? I don’t think so.

So enjoy your new car, Jason. Enjoy the “fresh from the showroom” smell and the adoring looks in the mirror. For when your company goes through even tougher times and you have to lay off more employees – the people who really make your business – at least you’ll have a nice car to drive to your computer to send out another sob story.

So, congratulations. For the inaugural Twitter Fail Whale Award – Jason Calacanis, come on down.

You Know You’re NOT a Social Media Guru When…

This post comes from Susan Murphy. It’s a nice follow-on from my post about what makes a social media guru.

Like Danny, people who brag about the fact that they are social media ?experts? or ?gurus? often irk me. Calling yourself an expert or a guru does not automatically make you one.

After all, guru status is a lot to live up to. Imagine having to spend every day on the top of a mountain, prophesying about the awesome wonders of social media, keeping your believers continuously captivated, as they hang on your every word.

That’s a lot of pressure!

I thought it might be amusing (well, for me, anyway) to put together a list, in the style of “You Know You’re a Redneck When…” by Jeff Foxworthy. So, Danny has kindly provided me with a forum to do that (Thanks Danny!). Here goes…

You know you’re NOT a social media guru when…

Your Twitter profile description says “Social Media Expert Guy” but your profile picture is of you with no shirt on.

Your blog’s About page would win the Buzzword Bingo jackpot every time.

Your “Areas of Expertise” list is 3 pages long.

You regularly throw flaming Tweets out at anyone and everyone who “Qwits” you.

You think that the best way to “reach out” to your public is to send mass unsolicited emails about your new startup/podcast/e-book/insert-product-here.

Your signal to noise ratio is equivalent to trying to listen to a Norah Jones song on your iPod during a Limp Bizkit concert.

All of your online profiles talk about your expertise in social media but your blog is about the crazy antics of your 12 cats.

Your “10 Things You Must Do to Get Into Social Media” list mentions Facebook, Flickr and Twitter in at least 9 of the steps.

The reality is, those that call themselves gurus ultimately seem less credible in the eyes of others. This often becomes apparent once their followers start to ask them to do real work. Suddenly, they are unable to live up to the high expectations they’ve created. Like not being able to provide any real, tangible value. Or, not being able to back up their claims or expertise.

The point is, these people call themselves experts expecting that the title alone will make them experts. If what they are really after is that elusive “guru” status, they will probably never get it.

However, by engaging with people on a human level, building their audience by making genuine connections and, perhaps most importantly, being open to continuous learning and growth, they will more than likely have other people singing their praises before long (and with much less effort, I might add). In the end, it’s not about being the best at social media; it’s about just being genuinely involved in social media.

It’s when others start to call you an expert and a guru that you’ll know you’re doing something right.

* Susan Murphy is a partner at Jester Creative Inc, a new media production company based in Ottawa, Ontario. She blogs about social media and life in general at Suzemuse. Susan can be found on Twitter as @SuzeMuse.