Journal

How to Take Social Media into the Mainstream

For anyone reading this blog, it’s a pretty good chance that you’re already social media-savvy. Whether you found it through a Twitter link, a blogroll, Technorati or similar means, I’m guessing that you know about the benefits social media can offer.

(For anyone else that arrived here by mistake – well, I thank your error and hope you’ll stick around!)

And therein lies the problem. If you did use one of the methods I mentioned, you’re already a social media user, which is great. But for each one of us that “gets” social media, there’s another 10 that don’t.

(By the way, this figure hasn’t been scientifically proven – I just like round numbers).

This is the problem that social media needs to overcome if it’s ever to be taken seriously. There are some great people out there helping to spread the word about social media, both for personal and professional use. But there needs to be more to help the medium into the kind of acceptance the Internet now has with everyone.

One of the main issues is that there are just too many social media sites, applications, tools and more that it’s all too easy to get lost when you first jump in. No-one likes to be the guy that made the wrong choice – just ask Betamax video or HD-DVD early adopters.

What’s needed is a standard format for the different tools available. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t want to see a monopoly of social media any more than you do – but figures prove that something is much more likely to enjoy success the easier it is to use.

Instead of having multiple microblogging platforms like Twitter, Pownce or Plurk, etc, have one main platform to work from. Differentiate the users by offering categories, if you like, that helps them find like-minded users more easily.

Have three main social networking sites – Facebook for people, MySpace for music, LinkedIn for business. Integrate some of the better features from other sites like Bebo and FastPitch and make these three sites the one-stop shop for whatever field it covers.

Combine the best of Stumbleupon and Delicious to offer a bookmarking site that truly does drive traffic to your website or blog.

These are just some ideas to bring social media to everyone. The biggest stumbling block for people and businesses is simply confusion as to what social media offers. Having so many platforms doesn’t help. Narrowing all the current options down into a more manageable resource would go a long way into negating this confusion.

I’m not saying it’s the ideal solution – but it’s got to be better than the mish-mash that’s currently out there, no? What do you think – are there too many social media platforms or is all this choice a good thing?

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Discussing Social Media with… Lisa Hoffmann

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 Lisa Hoffmann, Chief Copywriter at PRstore, offering small businesses an invaluable and affordable marketing resource. My sincere thanks to Lisa for taking the time to reply and share her views. To connect with Lisa, or find out more about her, please visit her blog new media lisa.

If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?

Media that allows for two-way conversations. Social – or interactive – media offers everyone the opportunity to contribute. Where our parents and grandparents were merely media consumers, we are media participants. This includes blogs, forums, photo and video sharing, microblogging, virtual reality – all the gadgetry that encourages sharing, interaction and community building. Social media technology makes it possible, social media culture makes it powerful.

What is your reason for using social media?

I became interested in it purely to figure out how it can help clients with their marketing and PR efforts. The more I researched it, the more fascinated I became. The communication potential is enormous. I’m still on the far side of the learning curve and drink up the great conversations centered around social media. It’s so exciting to witness its development, to consider the implications.

Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?

Not even close. It will continue to develop and evolve. On a recent vacation I stayed at a bed and breakfast with a group of American and international business people. Smart, accomplished folks. None of them had any idea what social media is or understood any of its business applications. They all associated it with kids fooling around on MySpace and Facebook.

What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?

My big focus right now is on blogging and Twitter. I’m a big believer in concentrating on one or two tools at a time, so you can test its compatibility and you can become a part of the community. I love blogging because I’m a writer at heart and it gives me the creative and communication outlet I crave. I love Twitter because it opens the door to stimulating, educational and perspective-changing conversation.

I can’t be at all the wonderful conferences that are happening across the country, but I can soak up a lot of what’s coming out of them. And people are so generous with their knowledge and insights. It’s exhilarating – sometimes exhausting – to engage with all these brilliant, forward-thinking people. Many are true visionaries.

Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?

It’s hard for me to see the future, since I’m relatively new to the scene and still trying to get my arms around the whole thing. But I can safely say it will continue to grow and change and find its way into everyone’s living rooms and offices.

Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?

No. Many business people in my small corner of the world aren’t using it at all. They don’t understand it and they don’t realize its benefits. The only Web-related things most of the small business clients I talk to want are static websites and e-mail advertising campaigns. Education is the biggest obstacle to social media truly entering the mainstream as a marketing/PR strategy.

What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?

Best: Community building and information, and idea-sharing capabilities; facilitates quick feedback.

Worst: Too many applications; 24/7 availability and steep learning curve threaten my work/life balance.

You can find more ?Discussing Social Media with?? interviews here.

So What is a Social Media Guru, Exactly?

I’m tired. Not in the physical sense (although I will admit to some late nights recently working on a particularly in-depth client project).

No, I’m tired of all the “social media gurus” that have suddenly appeared from nowhere. Now I don’t want that to be misconstrued, nor do I want it to sound as if I’m disrespecting anyone – that’s not the intention.

Instead, I’m tired of looking at someone’s Twitter profile, or blog bio or similar, and finding the description “social media guru” or “social media expert”. I’m not saying that they’re not a guru or expert – but is that really for someone to decide by themself? And when did they decide that they are a social media guru or expert?

It probably wouldn’t be so obvious (and therefore so visual to me) if social media wasn’t still such a new medium that everyone is still learning about as we go along. There are so many facets to it, so many different windows that we can look through and see a different view each time, that it’s pretty much impossible to class yourself as a social media guru, or expert.

Even in other mediums or industries, can you really class yourself as an expert or guru?

For example, I own a boutique PR agency that specializes in search engine optimized press releases and social media PR. Yet I wouldn’t say I’m a PR or social media expert. I have expertise in these areas, and I’d like to think that I offer an informative outlook on both as well.

Yet that doesn’t mean I’m a guru or expert.

Social media in particular changes so fast that no-one can keep up with everything that’s happening. Even the guys that could truly be classified as social media gurus would struggle to know all the ins and outs of the latest applications, tools and similar.

And that’s the difference – they don’t proclaim themselves as social media gurus. Take a look at Chris Brogan, or Brian Solis. Both leaders in the field of social media and PR respectively, and sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience with anyone that wishes it. Yet neither of them describe themselves as a guru, or expert. And that’s why I respect and acknowledge them as the most accurate description of “gurus”.

To me, a guru or expert becomes one from people’s views of them. Recommendations to go to a person because of the help and knowledge that will be forthcoming. After all, you wouldn’t recommend your friend to someone whose view you didn’t respect, right? Or who couldn’t offer your friend something valuable?

As I said, I’m not meaning this post to be in any way disrespectful. I just feel that to be known as a guru, you need to prove it. And earn it. Self-classification doesn’t quite count.

Do You Know What’s Being Said About You Online?

If there?s one area where the Internet has made a huge difference in our everyday lives, it?s with the amount of information that is now freely available to and about us. Just type some keyword phrases into Google and you can be privy to almost everything that?s ever been written about a person or company.

Yet this isn?t always a good thing, as a friend of mine recently found out.

Typing her name into Google, she found herself on the Rip Off Report website, under a list of false accusations about her. What makes it worse with the Rip Off Report website is that the owner protects the names of the accusers yet will quite happily publish any story or complaint without checking the facts.

Instead, the accused can issue a rebuttal but that?s it – the complaint (false or otherwise) stays on the site for the whole world to see.

This seems morally and ethically wrong to me. Unfortunately, it also seems fairly common when it comes to your online reputation. If anyone can go online and post lies about you or your business, the results can obviously be extremely damaging. While you can certainly take out a lengthy and potentially costly lawsuit, the damage has been done.

This is why it?s so important to keep tabs on what?s being said about you online. Although you may not be able to prevent something from being written, you can react to it a lot quicker. Some of the best methods of monitoring your online presence include:

Google Alerts. Still in Beta, Google Alerts allow you to type in a certain keyword or phrase and whenever that?s referred to online, you?ll be alerted.

Social Mention. Excellent tool that searches the web for any mention of you, your business or brand. Can take its time to find all the results but the information it retrieves makes the wait worthwhile.

Technorati. The ?blog bible?, this site allows you to type in keywords, URL?s or tags and any posts that make a mention of these words will show up.

These are just some of the free methods you can use to keep track of what?s being said about you online. There are various professional business services available as well, if you need a more corporate-led approach.

Whichever one you choose to use, make sure you use it regularly. Otherwise you may find yourself in the same situation as my friend currently does – and a reputation can be a hard thing to rebuild once tarnished.

Lessons from Darfur – Why It’s Not All About the Money

While I tend not to let my personal views on the world and politics in general come into this blog, sometimes things need to be said. My apologies in advance, then, to anyone offended by this post.

As a business owner, the current financial state the world economy finds itself in is obviously one that concerns me. My business helps to feed my family, pay the rent and bills, and generally lets me live a reasonable life. Not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, but reasonable.

Yet despite this, I can’t let it monopolize my thoughts when there is so much more wrong with the world. Nor should you. Have we really come to the point where all we care about is the fast buck and how quickly we can make it? Are we so blinded by greed that the color green is the only one that matters?

According to the CRS Report for Congress, The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11, the US Congress has approved $864 billion for military operations. $864 billion. What do we have to show for it?

A world more dangerous than ever before. A global economy that has been ripped to shreds by false wars over oil, not terrorism. Poor leadership from the people that decide our lifestyles. Millions of people losing their life savings when mega-corporations go under, while the CEO’s of these businesses disappear into the sunset with bulging bank balances. Is this the world we want? A world driven by the love of money?

Thankfully there are people who care and want to make a difference. People who continue to bring the plight of others to the world while others so easily forget. Plights like the ongoing crisis in Darfur.

While the Western world was trying to convince itself that Bush was right and Iraq was a threat, a genocide on a massive scale was about to begin. Now entering its sixth year, it’s believed that as many as 400,000 people have died in Darfur since the crisis began, with more than 2.5 million forced to flee their homes to escape the terror.

Think about that. While we’re happily throwing more billions into a war we can never win, our governments are cutting funding for the aid packages that Darfur desperately needs. In fact, in the first three months of this year, the World Food Program’s Humanitarian Air Service received no funding at all. The result – more than 100,000 deaths in each of these months.

While recent news about Darfur is encouraging – the Senate has passed a resolution to continue to look at ways to end the conflict – it’s possibly too little, too late. Particularly with the way the current administration places a value on things.

After all, while Congress is happy to allow $864 billion to be spent on broken promises and lies, only 6% of that amount has been set aside for aid packages to rebuild the countries we’ve destroyed. Even worse, less than 1% of this amount will go towards the veterans of the wars.

Do you really think an administration that places more value on the war machine over the destruction it leaves and the crippled it creates cares about a third-world country?

Do you really think that an administration that wants homeowners and taxpayers to get it out of the financial black hole it created – the very same homeowners and taxpayers it’s making homeless due to rising foreclosure rates – will give a sh*t about a conflict that has no relevance to them because there’s no oil at stake?

So yes, there’s an economic meltdown at the minute, and the Western world could be in for a very bumpy ride ahead. But you know what? It’s happened before, and it’ll probably happen again. And while it’s soul-destroying at the time, people that have lost their businesses have started again and made an even bigger success of themselves.

The people of Darfur won’t get a second chance. Not while we continue to be lost in the non-importance of our own little world, worrying because we only made so many thousands of dollars last month. Life is so hard, huh?

So forgive me if I don’t become too concerned with the state of our economy at the moment. Forgive me if I’m not driven by pushing my business one more rung up the corporate recognition ladder.

Yes, I want my business to be a success. Yes, I want to look after my family, friends and loved ones. But just how much money do I need to be really happy? And honestly, can I really be happy while another child dies in a country that no-one cares about? Can you?

To learn more about Darfur and how you can help, visit Save Darfur.

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