Insights

Dear Santa – A Letter of Hope

I know it’s a bit early to be writing this list. And I know I’m a bit old – okay, a WHOLE LOT old – to be writing to you. But I figure it can’t hurt, right? After all, millions of children can’t be wrong. So, my wish-list for this year is as follows:

An end to world poverty. Yes, this comes up every year by people far more influential than me, but why is nothing happening? For some, it could be relatively easy to make a difference. According to Forbes, the organization that details the world’s richest influencers, there were 946 billionaires in 2007. The average wealth of each of these billionaires was $3.6 billion. Imagine if each one gave $1 million toward ending poverty – that would be $946 million. It costs an average $10,000 to drill a well, yet this can provide a village of 1,000 people with clean water for 20 years. That’s almost 100,000 wells that could be built with the donations of the super-rich alone. Would they really miss it?
A more sharing and caring world. One thing I love about social media is the way everyone seems to genuinely look out for each other. You need help – ask on Twitter and within seconds you could have 100 answers. This kind of social caring needs to come into the real world. I have high hopes with Obama instigating this type of world approach – please live up to them.
An end to bigotry of all creeds – homophobia, racism, sexism and more. We’re all part of the same world, people – our problems and successes are all interconnected one way or another. So why decry someone for the colour of their skin or their sexual preferences?
Stopping the abuse. Whether it’s physical or emotional, there is no place in any civilized society for abuse of any kind. Domestic violence; bullying; mental torture – it all adds up to the same thing. We’re called human beings – let’s start showing it.
Religious tolerance for all. I’ll admit to not being a religious man, but I won’t decry anyone for being religious. Perhaps one of the reasons I’m not religious is that I see it as being the cause of so many wars and conflicts throughout the ages. Surely this can change? We may not agree with another person’s religious views, but they should still be respected, no?

That’s about it. It’d be great if any came true. Better still, if they all came true I’d be a very happy man. But I’m realistic. I know change isn’t going to happen overnight. But the belief that we can and will change is worth hanging onto.

After all, we can only instigate change through belief, and that is something I have tons of.

I’m pretty sure you do too, yes?

(PS – If you can find your way to putting an iPod Touch into my stocking, Santa, that’d be awesome!)

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.

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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