Insights

Hallowe’en or Social Media?

It’s Hallowe’en weekend. Time to spend with the family and act like kids in a candy store again, with dress-up, neighbourhood wanderings and scary movies.

But did you know that Hallowe’en is one of the earliest pointers for social media as well?

Check it out.

Good Versus Bad

One of the earliest origins of the Hallowe’en celebration is a festival to ward off evil spirits. Before pumpkins became the symbol of Hallowe’en, turnips were carved instead.

This related back to “magic masks” being carved in olden times, to be worn to scare away evil spirits.

Compare that to social media and business practices. Social media allows us to connect with businesses that are doing things well (good spirits), and avoid those that are treating their customers like crap (evil spirits). We can also block people we don’t want to connect with – or, banish evil spirits.

Apple Bobbing for Business

While there are a ton of party games for Hallowe’en, one of the most popular is bobbing for apples. You place a bunch of apples in a tub of water on the floor, kneel on a chair above them with a fork in your mouth, then aim and release the fork. The goal is to pierce a bobbing apple, which is your prize to keep.

Now. Think of social media. Think of the tools available to help you laser target your customers. Think of the information available to let you target your marketing message. Think of how your aim can be true every time. Think of how your business can be the fork and every apple a potential customer.

Community Spirit

If there’s one thing that I love about Hallowe’en (apart from the cool costumes and the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks), it’s the way the local community tends to come together. Kids mingle with other kids, parents from different streets get to know each other, and whole neighbourhoods open up to one another (if only for a night).

Now look at blogging. Look at the communities that can build up around that. Look at Facebook groups, and Twitter chats. Look at the way YouTube brings viewers from across the world to a single page to enjoy the same media. Look at how businesses and customers are connecting. Look at how social media lives up to its first word.

We may think social media is this cool new thing that’s going to change the way we communicate forever.

But haven’t we already been doing that for hundreds of years anyway?

Happy Hallowe’en, everyone!

All Your Blog Redesign Are Belong to Us

Hey guys.

So I’m in a bit of a quandary, and was wondering if you could help?

I’m about to update the look and feel of my blog, as Lisa from SceneStealer Graphics finalizes some design tweaks over at my development area. It’s been a long road for Lisa, as she’s had to work around some of the Headway theme’s quirks and programming.

But it’s almost ready to be switched on.

However…

I’m now toying with the idea of a more minimalist look here (sorry Lisa!). I’ve always liked the uncluttered feel of websites and blogs like Presentation Zen, and Ari Herzog’s recent minimalist redesign struck a chord with me.

I started looking for designs I liked, and came across this one (click on image to expand):

So, my quandary is this. Do I continue with the design as it currently is, with Lisa’s cool enhancements (and they are very cool!) or do I go with the minimalist look?

What’s your take? Share your thoughts below – after all, at the end of the day, you’re the guys who keep coming here to read. So the design needs to be as pleasant for you as possible.

Cheers!

Note: This blog no longer runs on the Headway framework. Instead, it’s a custom WordPress design by Lisa Kalandjian of SceneStealer Graphics.

The Value of Effort

?You miss 100% of the shots you never take.? ??Wayne Gretzky.

Think about that. Take it outside the ice hockey equation that Gretzky used it on and apply it to anywhere ? life, business, relationships, goals. How many are you actually aiming for and how many are you striking out blindly at?

Are you happy with where you are?

Have you reached the plateau that you set for yourself when you took to the playing field? Is your job just satisfying or does it fill your creative needs?

How are you using the tools and the people around you to benefit both parties? Are you playing a team role to attack goal, or are you being selfish with the puck? Do the fans call your name or the team?s? What?s more important?

What are you doing to improve your business? Are you reining it in and hoping that the bad times will pass, or are you thinking of new tactics to confuse the opposition and win new fans? How?s your coach ? is he/she a leader or does the team need better guidance?

Wayne Gretzky was a leader on the ice and continues to be one off it as well. His shots were always 100% with intent.

How?s?your aim?

image: kk+