Insights

Learning from Cats

: Image by Tjflex2 via Flickr

Cats can teach us a lot. I’ll admit to a slight bias here, having always been a cat man over a dog man (though my wife is trying her best to rectify that and we now have two dogs alongside our three cats). I just think cats offer more than dogs while looking for less in return. But I digress – as I say, they can teach us a lot.

Cats are extremely independent creatures. They will show you love and sit on your lap for hours, but on the same token they will also disappear for hours at a time as well. They offer and receive love but they can also make their own entertainment.

They’re fastidiously clean. Grooming and appearance is important to them and they’ll happily spend hours cleaning and re-cleaning the same spot, making sure they’re at their most attractive. They’ll also ensure they don’t leave a mess behind them when using a litter box.

The majority of the time, they won’t pick a favourite. The odd cat might choose one owner over the other, but generally they share their time with as many people as possible – owners, friends of owners, family members of owners and strangers outside. They’re not fussy, they’ll talk to everyone.

Be A Cat.

Be independent. Offer a view that’s uniquely your own while staying open to those of others. It’s easy to fall into line and just accept what’s being said or done, because it’s always been that way. But who’s to say that way is right? Think for yourself, question the status quo and never accept something for acceptance sake.

Stay clean. Be transparent about all you do and don’t keep secrets that can come back and bite you in a painful way. If you’re doing something that will affect those around you, be they friends and family or employees or bosses at your business, be open and honest. You might need help later on and that can be hard to come by without the trust of your closest allies.

Keep an open mind. Everyone has their favourites – movies, bands, bosses, employees, bloggers and more. Yet staying within that comfort bubble does nothing for your personal growth. Knowledge is power – knowledge gained with wide-scale insight is almost unstoppable. Keep your options open, never close a door completely and converse with everyone – you never know what you might discover.

How will you be a cat?

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Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas

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.

Procrastination Is For Squares

: Image by apesara via Flickr

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.

Disclaimer – I’m not actually calling anyone squares, the title just seemed to fit. 🙂

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Sonic the Hedgehog and Adventures in Social Media

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:

Video games encourage multiplayer. Getting like-minded people around the latest title and enjoying it together.
Video games also encourage you to use your mind and look for solutions to problems and share them with your friends that are stuck in the same section.
Videogames now have fantastic online communities where users meet up to share the latest news on their favourite product, set up challenges that make people better players and encourage others to offer their own take on these challenges.

Do any of these examples sound familiar?

Meeting like-minded people on Twitter and sharing/enjoying the experience? Check.
Have a problem that your social media friends can help with (and do)? Check.
Encouraging greatness through interaction and helping people improve? Check.

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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Discussing Social Media with… Beverly Macy

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.

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