"Networking" Isn't Only Good For 78 Points On A Triple Word Score*

I had a couple of interesting coffee meetings with some PR people yesterday, and one of the conversations revolved around networking, something that should be in the Top 3 of any professional's arsenal when trying to win some new business.

The crux of the matter is that sites such as LinkedIn make it ultra-easy to connect with new -- and reconnect with former -- colleagues and clients. You may get some referrals that way, or someone will remember you from the past and ping you for an update.

Networking deals in the currency of reputation, and we talked about never connecting to someone just because you feel that they may be useful down the line. That is totally unethical, and shows a lack of respect. Who wants to be used just for a quick hit? (Coincidentally, one of the women I chatted to remembered me from my Silicon Valley NORTH days, so some of the familiarity was already in place, which helps.)

On the flip side, sometimes relationships don't work out for the best. Maybe the fit wasn't right, or the parties concerned felt that they couldn't move forward on the same path. It happens. Agree to disagree, try and work it out ... or move on. No point ranting and raving and burning bridges.

Back in 1988 (yes, '88 and not '98!) I worked at a stockbroking company in London, U.K., and there was a really cool guy who everyone liked. To cut a long story short, he got let go, so proceeded to pop across the road to a pub, get smashed, and then came back in a drunken rage to berate the rest of the staff. Security had to remove him.

Guess what my last memory is of that hard-working Mr. Nice Guy is? Yep -- even 21 years later the image of his last drunken rage still lives with me, and that's how I remember him now.

We didn't have that new-fangled thing called the Internet back then, so dread to think what his networking prospects would have been. It was a small industry, almost like a Boys' Club then, so word would have got around about Mr. Nice Guy.

Always network in a responsible manner. You never know who knows the people that you treat badly.

[*Disclaimer: Make Johnny Cash has no connection or affiliation with Hasbro, makers of the popular board game Scrabble. We cannot confirm that the word "networking" is actually worth 78 points on a triple word score, and do not want to be held liable if someone tries that in an actual game and loses. We merely made up the number for blatant link bait purposes. Thank you.]

Read Your Blogs Inside Tweetree

Allstate -- Time To Start Listening To Your Non-Customers

1) I do not have, never had -- and now, never will -- a policy with you.
2) My name is not John Lawrence as my e-mail clearly states.
3) I have already previously asked you to unsubscribe me from this e-mail list.
4) Please start listening to what your NON-customers are telling you.
5) Thanks.

Update June 8, 2009. Marcia, the Marketing Manager at Allstate contacted me via Twitter and offered to help me out. That was followed by an e-mail communication from Betty, an Executive Assistant with Allstate's Chairman's Customer Care Team.

I just got off the phone with her, extremely helpful and polite, the issue is being resolved so points to Allstate for resolving my frustration so quickly.

Are You A Social Media Unicorn Or Kitten?

As more people, brands and companies start to wake up, smell the social media coffee brewing in the pot, and proclaim, "Hell yes -- I'll have a cup of that please!" they can either go one of two ways.

Social Media Unicorns
These are the mythical beasts that everyone's heard of, but have never actually seen. Unicorns are the movers and the shakers, working unseen in the background to make sure that their clients look good and are the stars of the show. They may slip up, allow themselves to be glimpsed on occasion, but when you try to find them, all traces have been erased as they cover their tracks.

They know that it's not their place or role to take centre stage in the social media realm. They office advice and help to others, happy and content that their social media wisdom will enable their clients to flourish, engage their target markets and be able to carry on the conversation long after the unicorn has been summoned to help someone else.

Social Media Kittens
Everyone loves these ubiquitous characters and wants to personally engage with them. They are all over the Internet, frolicking in people's blogs and forums, throwing out ideas and inspiration like balls of thread.

Kittens may seem like all they do is spend the day playing around, but follow them closely and you'll see that if you treat them now and again with some of your own value, they'll return the favour big time. They may bat their paws at your ideas -- but, hey -- the kitten has had to rise above the pack to get noticed, and there must be a reason for that. It pays to take heed of their advice and help.

So, there you have it. Two very different kinds of social media beasts can live in perfect harmony. Which one are you?

[Thanks to Adrienne for the inspiration!]

We Are Forever People

Forever people for now and for then
You see we're waiting and I say it is forever, my friend
Because the future is now and forever is here
Within visions of truth imagination is clear

So go forth!
With experimentation
Technology for the future generation
And knowing insights, mystical might
Forever people are still doing it right

~ "Forever People" by The Shamen

Trendwatching.com talks about a concept I find very interesting, and topical: Foreverism. They sum it up as, "Consumers and businesses embracing conversations, lifestyles and products that are 'never done.'"

To me, that is the essence of what social media is all about. A never-ending online chat with people who are interested in the same things you are. It's not just a case of jumping in with a comment and then leaving; it should carry on over time, expand, digress, be organic.

The Trendwatching briefing talks about conversations, relationships and how companies should open themselves up more.

Well worth a read in your next coffee break. Or whenever you want, if you happen to be the boss. (But pass it to your colleagues!)

Greenscroll -- Greening The Web

I'm very excited to announce the launch today of our pre-Alpha sign-up page for Greenscroll, a green non-profit with a social media twist. As Co-Founder and Communications Director, it is my job to get the word out there, build some traction and generally make the coffee when needed too. Whetever needs to be done, I'm in. Can't wait!

I love the Internet. I love surfing. I don't love the environmental cost that these two passions of mine create on the planet. Workstations, server farms, data centres, power grids -- all these are "brown electricity" users that contribute absolutely nothing to the Earth's natural resources.

Greenscroll thinks it's time to put something back into the environment that we are taking out.

Just by me writing this blog post, and you reading it, has damaged the environment in some way, down the line. Time to change that.

We are still working on fine-tuning some aspects of Greenscroll, but it will make you feel good, so please check out the website and sign up for early launch notification. No strings attached, no commitment -- it's simply a way for us to let you know once we get going. Then you can decide for yourself if it's something you'd like to get involved with. We sincerely hope you do!

One other thing ... we're not green experts. This is something the Greenscroll team wants to get off the ground, but rest assured, we'll be asking the green community for ideas, help, advice -- and their input will surely shape this non-profit as we move forward.

To that end -- any thoughts? Please contact me at john@greenscroll.org or the Greenscroll team on Twitter.

Thanks for reading. Hope to chat with you soon ...

Scribnia

Just trying out the Alpha version of Scribnia, where you can rate bloggers and other writers. Will expand this post with a fuller review soon ...

Social Media In 140 Years (Or Less)

I just got back from seeing the new Star Trek film, and although I've never been a Trekkie, I am a sci-fi film fan, and it lived up to the hype -- awesome. There's an element of time travel in a lot of films like this, so I stepped into my iTravelPod, zipped 140 years into the future and saw what social media will bring.

1) We won't be talking about social media;
2) My friend in Australia won't need to upload a video of her pet kangaroo playing with a koala onto Facebook -- she'll jump on a shuttle, pop up into Earth's orbit, wait for Canada to rotate underneath, and drop back down into Toronto, all in a few hours, and we'll have lunch and laugh at the hysterical video together. Then I just might poke her;
3) Twitter will finally give in and start showing ads for vacation resorts on the Moon;
4) Our personal surrogates will attend conferences on our behalf while we chill out, and then we'll download their report into our brains via chips; [side note: I nominate Bruce Willis to play Homer Simpson in a movie]
5) Newspapers will be banned, as we'll need the trees to breathe. We'll get the news in real time, as it happens, via the people it's happening to as we'll all have video cameras and uplinks incorporated on our person somewhere;
6) Google Earth will be renamed Google's Earth, because they bought the planet in 2086;
7) People who use auto-DM on Twitter will be hunted down and destroyed by frickin' robot birds with frickin' laser beams attached to their fickin' beaks.

So, there you have it. The social media landscape of the future 140 years from now, or less.

PR Reader's Choice Blog Awards

Danny Brown mentioned on his blog that he's been nominated for a Most Thought-Provoking Blog award. There's some good candidates in the other categories too.

Go and vote!

Glad It's Just A Parody ... Right? Hello? At The Back? Anyone?

A Celebrity May Stop Using Twitter. Oh, The Humanity

Children are starving to death worldwide. Innocent people are being killed in wars. Jobs are being lost due to a recession. Ashton Kutcher has threatened to stop using Twitter. Global warming shows no signs of slowing.

One of these things is not like the others.

I get kind of annoyed when so much attention is paid to things that don't really matter in the great scheme of things. I'm sure that @aplusk is a very nice guy, he seems friendly and cool -- but do I give a crap that we may never see any more tweets from him in the future? NO!

Is he holding Twitter to ransom by pulling the plug if the micro-blogging service partners on a reality TV show? NO!

"It's all fun and games until somebody gets stalked," Kutcher tweeted on Monday. That is very true. Any malicious behaviour of that type is wrong. But there's been stalking weirdos around long before Twitter -- and the Internet -- came into existence. What has changed all of a sudden?

If I recall, just a month ago, Kutcher willingly challenged CNN in a race to one million followers. He won; great, well done! Loads of free PR and adulation!

Twitter is extremely useful, gives a lot of value and can bring amazing results if used in the right way. It's just a tool, nothing more. As I've said before, people are the killer app. They'll be around a lot longer than the latest social media fad, trust me.

So, Mr. Kutcher, do what you gotta do, but don't make a big deal out of it. There's a lot of other stuff going on that's a lot more important.

Tweetbucks, Affiliate Links In Tweets

Tweetbucks is a service that is currently in closed Alpha testing, but gives you the opportunity to earn money via affiliate links that are automatically inserted into your Tweets. Grey area, dodgy ethics?

In all fairness, the company DOES encourage you to disclose the fact that you may be earning commissions off your friends and followers clicking on your links, if they actually make a purchase.

I think the good part is that you can make some money, with full disclosure. But the bad part is that if this kind of service takes off, we'll see a plethora of tweets plugging this product or that product, in the vain hope that quantity sells, and not quality.

Personally, I like to recommend blogs, sites, people, services and products on Twitter because I think people will like them or find them useful, and not to make a quick buck.

I still believe the only real way to make money in social media is to invest in your reputation -- that will pay dividends over time.

The Connected One

The latest in my series of blogs I like is Dave Forde -- aka The Connected One. And that he is. He runs Profectio, PR In Canada and also founded Toronto Tech Week.

He's a mover and a shaker, knows who's moving where and has his finger on the pulse of Toronto's social media scene.

His main blog is here.

The Waiting Is The Worst

As of today, I am halfway through a Web/social media project (waiting to hear back on next steps), waiting to hear back on two new business pitches, waiting to sign an NDA for some possible new business, waiting to hear back from two people that contacted me in the first place (but now seem to be in a holding pattern), and waiting to launch two new start-ups as side projects.

Waiting ... waiting ... waiting.

Tweeting Too Hard

http://tweetingtoohard.com/top

This Has To Be The BEST Blog Post Ever

As I was doing my daily treadmill fast walk (not quite a run, yet, but getting there!) I mulled over a post that I read this morning by Dave Fleet about social media "experts." I blogged about this very subject recently too, so have to agree with Fleet's sentiments.

Social media advisors, consultants and trainers are wary of labelling themselves as experts. That's like a red flag to a bull, and an open invitation to pick apart why they think they know so much. There should be a few case studies in tow, or some recommendations. Most of the really successful guys and gals are too busy doing the work, to actually write about doing the work. (Yes, I know this is a blog post instead of making a living. But, to me, this 10 minutes is part of making a living. It's to chat to people about the lifestyle of a consultant, and hopefully get some feedback, or criticism. I like both. You put yourself out there, and see what happens.)

So, back to Fleet. He says: "Too many 'experts' have built their egos on the back of their own 'personal brands' ..."

I can see where he's coming from, but I still take the stance that people do have egos. It's what makes them feel good about being successful. Seriously, what would you rather hear -- "That work you just did was a piece of crap," or "That was a great piece of work."

People have to make their brands personal, there's no way around it. If others know that you can do great work, then you'll get referrals. You don't have to be the most prolific blogger out there, or write a thousand tweets a day, it's how others relate to you that counts.

Hanging Out With The Rescue Mediums

You may have heard of the TV show Rescue Mediums -- it features two friends of mine, Jackie Koshnic (above left) and Alison Wynne-Ryder (new to the show). They are British mediums and travel around Canada visiting haunted locations, and helping "trapped" spirits to the other side.

We hung out last night, chatted about ghosts and I got an awesome Reiki healing. It was amazing. They are both extremely intuitive and fun to be around.

So, this is a blatant plug for their show. Seasons 4 and 5 are filming right now, and will be aired in the fall, but you may be able to catch re-runs as they seem to be on quite a bit.

Here's their website for more info, but it needs to be updated.

E-mail? In Those Days We Used To Send Postcards

I lived on a kibbutz in Israel for over two years during the period from 1989-93; best time of my life, made some excellent friends, set up a website about it, wrote a book etc... so I went on Facebook to try and track done some of those people.

On the kibbutz, volunteers (like myself) were assigned a family to be "adopted" by, so they could socialize easier and get to know people. I had a really nice "mum and dad" but lost touch. They had a son who was around one year old at the time. Yesterday, I searched for their names on Facebook -- nothing -- but found the son = now about 18!

So, I contacted him, gave the parents' name and asked if he was their son. Yes, he was. So, now I'm connected again with my adoptive family over in Israel.

And this is why I am passionate about social media, connecting, linking.

In a nice segue on the history theme, my wife works for Heritage Toronto, so I do some free PR for them from time to time. They just announced a great series of free iTours, and you can read the social media release for more info.

Torontonians -- the sun is shining, the city has some great heritage to explore, so get out there!

Pugs Aren't Using LinkedIn To Make Money, But You Can

Unfortunately for pugs, they can't type very well, so haven't been able to join LinkedIn and make some money, find new clients, or land a job. But that's cool -- it's less competition for you to get in there and snap up some of that new business just going begging.

Here's how:

Join!
That sounds too obvious, right? It's been around for around six years now, I believe, and when I chat to friends and business acquaintances -- especially those who know about it and meet interesting contacts every day, but feel they shouldn't add them to their profile -- it amazes me the opportunities they are missing to expand their professional network. For free.

Set Up A Group
I have a zero marketing budget. Actually, that's not entirely true. My marketing budget is around $48 a month for my Internet connection. That's all I need. Heard that Seth Godin was setting up a Triiibes network, e-mailed him to ask if he was OK with me setting up a LinkedIn Triiibes Group, and voila! A nice, growing sub-network of interesting people (166 so far) who are smart, looking for new business opportunities, or just to bounce ideas off each other via the LinkedIn setup.

Answer A Question
Everyone is curious. There is a GOLDMINE of top professionals asking questions on LinkedIn = needing YOUR help = maybe looking to be YOUR future client. Pick a few questions that you know the answer to and don't waste people's time, and then offer some of your hard-earned knowledge. For free. If the recipient likes what they hear, they will follow up. Happened to me once or twice.

Check Out Who Is Checking You Out
You can see who has viewed your profile recently. I love this. Sometimes it's a specific name, or you can narrow it done pretty accurately. Just fire up the old e-mail, contact them: "Hey Mr. Jobs, I noticed you checked out my profile today. Is there anything about my services I can help you with? If not, have a great day and maybe we can connect in the future."

Jobs Are Also Contract Opportunities
Read the jobs section. See a job that fits your skills, but it is in the wrong location, salary range, area of expertise? No problem! Contact the company and see if they are open to outsourcing the job to you as a telecommute position. They save costs, and you obtain a new client. Or, ask if there's a finder's fee for getting the right candidate, and then consult your network to find the perfect fit. Headhunters use LinkedIn all the time ... why shouldn't you get a slice of the action?

Get Referrals
I'm sorry, but people, me included, DO have egos. I like to do great work for people, and them to be appreciative of it. So, ask for a referral or testimonial. If the client is happy with the work you've done for them, they should have no problem with taking 10 minutes to write a paragraph to that effect. It's gold. It's credibility. It's currency.

Connect To Strangers
You go to a business networking event, you see interesting people, you just stand there in the corner and ignore them. NO! You walk up, introduce yourself, chat and see if there's a possible working relationship. Same for LinkedIn. Source those superstars, the people you want to do business with. Add them as a contact. But, don't be lazy and use the LinkedIn default introduction e-mail. Shows a lack of respect. Take 10 minutes to write a personal note about why you want to contact them. It's not spam. You have something to offer that you take pride in, right? They might need it, they might not. 50/50. A polite "no thanks" or a "hey, tell me more." Not sending that connection request is a definite 100% failure to get new business.

So, there you have it. Get in there, use LinkedIn to make some money before the pugs catch on.

Hi, I'm The Government. Nice To Meet You

I applaud the fact that President Obama's administration has created the Office of Public Engagement, and my fellow countrymen have a similar resource. It shows a willingness to listen to the people that put them there a bit more, but, really, they had to right?

Let me just say that I am not a politics junkie by any stretch of the imagination. I've lived in Canada for nine years now, and will only be applying for my citizenship this year. Not to vote -- although I will, probably for the Green Party -- but because the Americans always hold me for an hour in their immigration centre when I drive across the border! It will make things much easier to live here in this great country.

To my mind, there seems to be some form of election taking place here in Canada all the time. Democracy is the ideal, but now it can be taken to the next level with forward-thinking governments claiming their Twitter presence, and allowing citizens to criticize their actions in an open and accessible form.

That's why I love social media -- it can be applied to ANY aspect of life. People in any profession can use it, or those that just love to hang out online with like-minded people. If I wanted to chat with curry fans, I'm sure there's a network or Facebook group somewhere. If not, that's cool ... I will set one up. For free.

There's a big issue going on in Toronto at the moment with the Tamil protests. They stormed the Gardiner Expressway on Sunday, and are at Queen's Park today. Some people are pissed off that this is very disruptive, which the Gardiner blockade certainly was, but these people do have a right to protest as far as I can tell.

Twitter is keeping up, as expected. I foresee more sophisticated methods of using social media in the future to tie in with these types of demonstrations.

The Gold Rush Has Started

A real ad I just spotted:

"Twitter is the hot new way to advertise on-line. I have devised a system to allow me to collect over 50 000 people on Twitter for my Brand, and I can do the same for you. I have spend months figuring out the ins and outs of Twitter and I already have several real powerfull accounts to help spread the word about your brand! Twitter is the hot buzz word of the industry, and if you do not have a twitter expert working for your brand, now might be a good time to emply one!"

Hey, Did Anyone Get The Twitter Password From The Intern Before We Let Her Go?

"Your global social media strategy and brand awareness is safe with our summer intern!"

[Disclaimer: As a freelance consultant, this opinion is totally biased, subjective and aims to further my own personal agenda.]

I regularly scan Craigslist for new business opportunities, especially the Marketing/PR/Ad and Writing/Editing posts of the Toronto section. They're a bit hit and miss, and you soon learn to filter out the scammers -- especially the "submit some writing samples" to a hidden e-mail address -- and other fishers.

It's disheartening to see more ads of the following type: "Summer intern needed to handle our social media strategy. Must know Facebook and love blogs. May lead to a full-time role."

I think this is totally shameful for two reasons:

(1) Clients, companies, brands and people are still learning the art of using social media as a way to engage with their target market. If done well, it works. If mishandled, then the fallout can be catastrophic for a long time. They need to know that their PR team is familiar with the process, get them started and then let them take it from there. How much value can a green summer intern add to that? What happens once the summer -- gasp! -- ends, and the intern moves on? Who takes up the slack and continues to build on that short-term relationship?

(2) "May lead to a full-time role" = "We can try this social media thing out, and see if it is works. Then, if it does, our company gets lots of glory and we can take you on as an underpaid member of the team. But if it fails miserably, it's on your head and don't let the door hit your arse on the way out."

Clients have to know that there is a solid understanding of social media, and that their brand, image and reputation is not going to be left swinging in the wind because of inexperience or a lack of strategy. It's too important for that.

Slogans, Logos And Mantras

As the communications arm of the founding trio for a new green non-profit start-up, I have been tasked with coming up with a catchy slogan that encapsulates what it is we are trying to do. That is much harder than it sounds.

Not the "what we do" part -- that's very easy -- but the "summing it all up in around four words" part. I love to write though, so see this as a very exciting challenge. Once we get this part in place, and the other two guys agree, then it's off to the races.

We are all looking at graphic design concepts for the logo. One of them I REALLY liked, but I was in the minority, and it has to be a consensus, so back to the drawing board.

One thing I do know though is that we have a rough launch date, and definitely won't wait for the *perfect* product before launching. We are throwing a social media element into the mix and will be asking the green community to help us tweak some aspects of the site as we move forward.

I can't wait to see how people will respond! We will be listening ...

Will Apple Buy Twitter? Nah

There's a lot of speculation buzzing around the usual channels that Apple is considering buying Twitter for around $700 million. I gazed off into the distance, frowned and rubbed my chiselled handsome chin for a few seconds while pondering this rumour -- and I think it won't happen.

Here's why.

1) Twitter still has a long way to go yet in its development, and the guys that created it will be kicking themselves in a few years when it's worth at least a few $billion;
2) To sell out now is an admission that, well, Twitter really couldn't make any money after all;
3) Apple likes to control its own apps through the channels it chooses and allows -- I think Twitter is too much of a wild card. It's past the "early adopter" stage now = once Oprah joined, and Mr. Demi Moore [lucky bugger] gained over a million followers, then even more developers are going to start grabbing the API and taking it into a whole world of new directions that might make Apple a tad uncomfortable;
4) I don't see an iTweet device in the near future ... but just in case, I went to buy the domain name and of course, it's already gone;
5) Google would offer more.

Disclaimer: I have no stats, leads, insider contacts or other real research to back up the above statement. But just to prove I'm a good sport, my parrot Herb has agreed to dance for you on my webcam if Apple DOES indeed buy Twitter in 2009.

How To Get Your Name Mentioned A Lot In Social Media

It's not that hard to gain some good exposure in social media these days. Every day tons of new people join the fray, and via services such as Mr. Tweet or WeFollow, they can find you and follow you if they believe you add value.

A lot of these services can be a pretty lazy way to get your name RT'd a million times. Follow Friday is another good example of getting your name in front of new followers, via someone else's recommendation.

Why not organize a Tweetup or an Unconference in your area? You'll meet @yourfriends face to face in a sea of laptops, possibly at a university or pub, and as the organizer, your name will be the HOT TICKET for a while -- until somone hijacks the #hashtag, organizes their own event and steals the limelight. Ah well, social media is a fickle beast.

Or, write a best selling book ... and then you have carte blanche to blog semi-nonsensical social media nuggets of wisdom such as, "Start a network. Be the network. Do it. What's stopping you?" or "If we all just listen, then who's doing the talking?" People lap this up, and it will be linked to a million times.

Give back, but -- HELL NO! -- don't take. Spend all day tweeting, blogging, webcasting, chatting and pinging your help, advice, thoughts, top 10s ... until .. oh s**t! ... it's already 5 p.m. and I haven't done any work! But at least you'll rise in the search engines as a social media guru.

As a last resort, you can always be a consultant and teach people all the above.

Why Social Media Consultants Should Be Scared

I'm discovering that a lot of companies/clients still aren't aware of social media. That's good news (more biz opps for consultants) and bad news (they are missing out on more biz opps for them).

I don't think we've reached the tipping point yet, but I can envisage this conversation:

"Hi there. I'm a consultant. Need some help getting started with social media?"
"Nah, got that covered thanks. What else can you offer?"
"Umm."

Apart from being the shortest new biz pitch in history, that also shows that even though we think this "gravy train" (for want of a better disrespectful phrase) is going to last for ever ... it's not. What other skills do you have? Can you write? That's always handy. Can you do research? That's useful too.

If you concentrate on only one discipline then you are going to get left behind. It will probably be sooner rather than later, actually.

Curveball

I got thrown a bit of a curveball yesterday that sidetracked me for a day, and it's something I may want to discuss in the future -- we'll see.

As of today, I had coffee with my fellow entrepreneur and signed off on some equity in a very cool green start-up that we'll be launching soon. Will blog it once we get closer to the alpha stage.

Totally Biased Heritage Toronto Advert

My wife is the director of communications at Heritage Toronto, an excellent agency that works very hard to make sure old Toronto is given the respect it deserves.

Tomorrow they start their season of FREE walking tours. Check it out.

Yet Another Pointless Post About How To Use Twitter

[Social media "experts" would charge $1,000s for this info, but in the spirit of social media, I am giving it away for free. Please pass it around, and yes, I am appearing in a city near you soon.]

1) Go to http://www.twitter.com/
2) Search for the box that says "Get Started -- Join!"
3) Join.

Deep breath. You're in. Start tweeting to your heart's content.

You'll start to discover a lot of blog posts about which people you should follow? ... should you follow someone if they follow you back? ... is it OK to talk about your brand? ... do a greater amount of followers mean you're popular?

Yes and no on all of the above. The thing about Twitter is you shouldn't follow anyone's specific advice about how to get value from it.

So you only have 10 followers? Are they all loyal customers who buy from you on a regular basis and you like to chat now and again? -- Great! It's working for you!

Do you have BIG FAT ZERO followers, but you follow a load of people? Do you learn something from their tweets about how to make your life, or your business better? -- Great! It's working for you!

"Don't do this." "Don't do that." Blah.

Just do.

The Ten Social Media Commandments

Thou shalt not auto-DM me with free offers when I follow thou;
Thou shalt not kill your brand in 24 hours by offending thy mommy blogging community;
Honor your customers and engage with their needs;
Thou shalt not make of yourself a false avatar;
Thy will not covert your neighbour’s friends on Facebook;
Thou shalt not steal useful tweets without an RT;
Thou shalt nor bear false witness to YouTube comments such as "BigDawg pwned yo mom!";
Remember thy Follow Friday to keep it social;
Thou shalt not take the name of the Fail Whale in vain;
Thy will not blaspheme in blogs on how Twitter can make gold, it is a false prophesy.

Earth Day Canada

Five Reasons Social Media Is Like Curry

1) People are a bit nervous to try it at first;
2) You can start off slowly, get a taste for it and then attempt the stronger stuff;
3) It's good for sharing;
4) You'll get differing opinions on different types of dish;
5) It just won't agree with some people's tastes -- but they'll swallow it anyway.

... and a bonus 6) It's really hard to determine what the "return" on your investment will be.

I Don't Want To Be A Twitzophrenic

So, here's the deal. I have a personal Twitter account @johncarson that I've cultivated and followed/been followed by some very cool people. Use it every day, listen, learn, talk, pass RTs around etc. All good.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I am now involved in two start-ups (actually, one is more of a website) that [fingers crossed] will be launching soon. I grabbed the Twitter names so they're safe.

Now, I am deciding whether to actively start using those separate new accounts when the sites launch -- pros: branding, clarity, transparency / cons: starting from scratch -- or, stick with my personal Twitter account and go into transparency mode whenever I chat about the two new sites. There are some people that I've built relationships with since joining last year, and I'm reluctant to begin all that again.

I look at the great work someone like @RichardatDELL has done, and think that might be the way to go. Then I think, if Richard left Dell, what would he do with that very specifically-named account. Would he keep it for his next role (awkward for, say, HP if they hire him!) or would he start from scratch?

Any advice? Please tweet me or post in the comments for others to read too. Thanks.

Facebook: The Electric Friendship Generator

GreenOunce

Need opinions please. If you heard of a start-up called www.greenounce.com, what do you think it would be about? http://bit.ly/uSsf

Case Study: Private School Learns To Embrace Social Media

I originally wrote the following article for this site: http://www.edsocialmedia.com/2009/04/case-study-upper-canada-college/

Upper Canada College (UCC) is a private boys school founded in 1829 and located in Toronto, Canada. It is widely regarded as one of the premier schools of its kind in North America, with a student population of around 1,040 day boys and 90 boarders.

I worked there on a contract from June 2007 until May 2008 as the College's Acting Communications Manager. It was my job to write and produce the monthly e-newsletter, Connection, and to write and edit the monthly alumni publication, Old Times. I also wrote news for the College's website, press releases, helped the Advancement department with brochures and its fundraising efforts and also liaised with the press as required. It was an excellent experience.

There was one communications strategy missing that I thought UCC definitely had to pursue: social media. After 178 years(!) it was time for the College to embrace Web 2.0. More of UCC's advocates were online, including parents, students and donors, and the Communications and Advancement team thought it was very important to engage with them in this way, alongside the traditional direct mailings and brochures.

The UCC community is made up of many facets, not least the graduates. They are known as "Old Boys" by the College. The Communications and Advancement team has a very comprehensive database to keep in touch with Old Boys, and holds regular reunion events in Canada and around the world.

I am a very big LinkedIn fan -- been using it since it launched -- and knew that creating an Upper Canada College Alumni Group was the first step. It took minutes to set up, a few days for approval from the LinkedIn administrators and the best part? Zero dollars.

We promoted the new group in Connection, Old Times and various other school brochures. That got the membership off to a brisk start, but online word of mouth soon spread too between the alumni, and to date, there are 328 members of this group. It's also been a boon in helping graduates connect with current students using the UCC Common Ties Mentorship Program; the career-focused nature of LinkedIn was a natural fit for this initiative.

The Group has an "invite only" policy, and new members have to be approved by an admin that is familiar with dealing with the Old Boy community.

The next phase was to set up the Upper Canada College Group on Facebook. Again, it took minutes to set up with no cost involved. We promoted it in all the usual channels as mentioned above, but because of the "fun" nature of Facebook and the amount of students that use it, this approach was extremely successful -- there are now 909 members.

The Communications and Advancement team has used this group to great effect, sending out reunion and social event invites, helping Old Boys to reconnect with each other and announcing current news about the College.

As with all Web 2.0 concepts, there were some detractors, and some "unsavoury" Facebook groups had also been set up that mentioned UCC. With social media tracking tools, it was easy to find these and engage with the creators to request that they be toned down, if not closed. Some admins agreed -- some did not ... but at least we knew who was saying what about the College.

For example, when the College announced that it was contemplating ending the boarding program, a tradition that had stretched back to the school's founding, a groundswell of differing opinions erupted on Facebook. We monitored those conversations, directed people to send their opinions to the College's Boarding Task Force via a dedicated e-mail, and collected these as part of the official outreach. In June 2008, the Board of Governors announced that the boarding program would be retained and revitalized; I like to think that the decision was based not wholly on Facebook feedback, but at least in part.

We also created the Upper Canada College video channel on YouTube, and to date, the 11 videos -- ranging from recruitment drives, to student music to fun sketches -- have achieved nearly 15,000 views. Not bad for zero investment; just a passion and commitment to using Web 2.0 as an added strategy to reach the community.

The comments are monitored, and have to be approved by an admin before being published. We didn't see this as censorship, but the simple fact that strangers posing under false names and slurring the College was detrimental to the community feel that we’d worked hard to build.

These initiatives were recognized by our peers, and in 2008 UCC was awarded The Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education’s 2008 PRIX D'EXCELLENCE Bronze Award for Best E-Innovation in University Advancement and also the Council for Advancement and Support of Education 2008 Circle of Excellence Bronze Award.

The Race Is On!

I've decided to throw my name in the hat and join the race to beat @aplusk and @cnnbrk to be the first with a million Twitter followers.

If I can just acquire around 998,789 new followers to @johncarson in the next week, I think I can just squeak in!

Green Is The Word, Is The Word That You Heard, It's Got Groove, It's Got Meaning

I've always been a hippy ... a hug-a-tree kind of person, but haven't really pushed the boat out much as an advocate, apart from selling raffle tickets for an animal protection charity when I was a kid.

So, exciting news. I had a coffee today at my new office in downtown Toronto and met 1/3 of a new, green tech start-up. I say 1/3 because the other 2/3 was off in Europe, and the 3/3 is now me. I have been offered equity in return for handling the PR and communications strategy around this new venture. I hope that social media will play a big part.

I believe it is a very cool concept, and one that is long overdue in this world of Car Company Big Cheeses flying to their bailout hearings in their private jets. People losing their homes and paying taxes to help the big financial institutions.

All I can say is that there will be trees involved. So, get ready to hug a few and make the world more tolerable.

He Blogs ... And He Scores!

I think it's great that Toronto has a mayor who blogs about TFC games on Facebook.

Smak My Pitch Up

Gina Mom pitched me via Twitter about SmakNews, "a social media platform for 'women only,' where you can find the latest scoop on the 'who's who' and 'what's what' of celebrity, fashion and great buys." It launched on April 5, and I am assuming -- and correct me if I'm wrong, Gina -- that the site thrives on people enjoying smackdowns with celebs, hence the name?

It looked interesting; a Digg-style concept of voting for gossip, blogs and user-generated content. I signed up to try it out, and chose the user name johncarson, all well and good, got a confirmation e-mail:

Hello, johncarson. Your account at SMAK News has been successfully set up. Please keep the below information for future reference: Username: johncarson Password: (password choosen when registered)

So, I went back to SmakNews and tried to log in. Wouldn't let me. "Error! Incorrect username and password." Tried again, in case I'd typed it wrong. Same error message.

OK, I thought, give it a chance and use the "Forget Password?" option ... which I hadn't forgotten ... but reset it anyway. Got an e-mail with a new temporary password, and tried to log in again. Wouldn't let me. "Error! Incorrect username and password."

So, I gave up. Smak on the wrist to them!

What Will Replace Social Media?

I do my best musing when I'm stuck in a boring situation and have no choice but to fire up the old brain cells: the treadmill, in the shower, getting my hair cut. So, as I was sitting in the chair around 30 minutes ago getting my monthly buzz cut -- #3 on the top, #2 on the sides -- I thought about the Google Alerts I've been getting for years.

I have quite a few set up, including one for mentions of my favourite band, Pink Floyd. Even though, unfortunately, they won't tour again, I still like to read news and comments about them. The little snippets of info and conversations arrive in my inbox, and I scan them to see what's being said about the band. All cool.

So, my point is, that's been an available service for years. It's social media. I monitor the Internet looking for those mentions of a brand -- oops, I mean band -- and then talk about it with other people, or blog about it, as I am now.

Someone, in the last few years, uttered those immortal words, social media, and a whole new movement was born, encompassing everyone from nervous newspaper barons to excited PR agencies. Now everyone can jump into social media and get involved, if they want to.

But, this is now. It still has a way to go before people start to omit the words "social media" in front of their strategies, job titles, workshops, webinars ... there will be no need to specifically mention it. It will be built in.

So -- and thanks for bearing with me on this theme! -- once people get restless, they will start to label the NEXT BIG MOVEMENT as, let's face it, we all want to be early adopters, or at the cutting edge of communicating with each other.

What will replace social media?

And, on a totally but kinda related FYI, I just downloaded Google Toolbar version 6, and now, when you open a new tab in Internet Explorer 8 (yes, flame me) you get a choice of "most visited sites" similar to Google's Chrome browser. Very useful; saves me at least six seconds of my very, very precious time writing blog posts and getting my hair cut.

Yes, We Can See You

I really liked Mitch Joel's blog post yesterday about the fact that you're probably online, all the time, even if you think you're not. That's a pretty scary thought to some people.

Having worked online in some capacity or another since 1997 when I put myself out there with Kibbutz Volunteer -- yes, had some anti-Jew flames (I'm not, for the record, but why should I need to mention that?) and community forum hack attempts -- I'm pretty comfortable with how I handle myself online. It's the old cliche: would I be upset if anything I've sent into cyberspace appeared on the front page of a newspaper?

Nope.

Of course, there's some Facebook pictures of me dressed up as a giant ketchup bottle on Halloween, or enjoying a pint at my local with some friends giving me "rabbit ears" -- but, c'mon, if that hurts me as a person, or somehow implies that I'm not good at my job, then, well ... you're probably not the right employer or client for me. No offense. John has a personal life, and John has a professional life. Sometimes the lines blur a little, but not to the extent where it's worrying.

Obvious tip #1. Buy your own personal domain name now. Make it your central hub, personally or professionally. Take charge of yourself online. Others may be doing that, intentionally or not, so balance that out and let people understand that you know we can see you. Here you are. Represent yourself, your work, your interests and life (if that suits you).

Obvious tip #2. Realize that what you do online, those forums you flame people in, those e-mails that you send, those tweets that you submit, those photos you upload to Facebook, those dodgy sites that you frequent ... all those bits and bytes are travelling through someone's server. You are being tracked. Your IP address is stored somewhere. There is a permanent record of your online presence. So, make it count -- don't lie awake at night wishing you'd never clicked that publish button.

As I keep banging on, Web Who.0 began a couple of years ago. People are the killer app now. You're the content. Make it count.

PostRank Discovery Engine Beta Test

Carol Leaman, CEO of AideRSS, sent me a beta invite today to test out the PostRank Discovery engine, their new blog discovery site. I know it's beta, but there's some weird glitches that need to be ironed out.

The screenshot above is the top 5 ranking blogs for the search term "social media." I can understand Mashable and ReadWriteWeb being in there, but where's people like Chris Brogan?

So I found his details:

For some reason, his blog is listed as grasshopperfactory(?) and he has an engagement mark of MINUS 28%! We all know that Brogan is known for engaging with people online, so not sure why it reads as a minus number.

So, thought I'd search for someone else in the social media space: Dave Forde.

His name popped up OK, but it wouldn't let me click on it and check out his details, or subscribe to his blog. A one-click option would have been useful. Maybe I'm being too critical, and it was only launched today, but the overall experience seems pretty useful once the bugs are ironed out, and the rankings become more stable.

New Biz From Old Connections

You really never know when new business is going to come from old connections. NEVER burn bridges. Connect connect connect.

Example 1: I have done/am currently working on some promotional copy for Upper Canada College. Via that connection, another private school in Toronto pinged me and asked for some social media advice, so I spent the last few hours putting together a "shopping list" of choices for them. They've already dipped their toes in, but the potential is so much greater, they need more!

Example 2: I knew Ian Kelso from my days as editor of Silicon Valley NORTH back in 1993. Started connecting again last year when I was at GCI, and attended a few Interactive Ontario networking drinks. Got chatting to a Russian tech company about football (soccer to the locals). Anyway, lo and behold, got an e-mail out of the blue last week -- "We're launching a new venture, need some PR, thought of you." Cool. Had a brief Skype call to Russia a few hours ago and chatting more tomorrow.

Example 3. I worked at Beer.com a few years ago, and we featured an interview with an actress from a very famous film, although you wouldn't recognize her under all the special effects! Anyway, lo and behold part 2, I got a LinkedIn message today from her publicist -- she's starring in an upcoming horror series and they need to get the word out. So I am going to suggest some ideas there.

This all goes to show why it pays to make as many connections as you can, even if, at the time, it only seems if the other party is getting something out of it.

Karma baby!

Working On A Personal Project

I've been working with a couple of friends on a new website to launch very soon, hopefully at the end of April. I won't even call it a start-up. So far, we've invested $50 into it.

But, the excitement factor is what appeals to me as to whether there's a need for this site. And whether people will love it or diss it. I think it's better to try it and see what happens, than forever have regrets.

Ninja Follow

You know the story. You go to an unconference, meet a lot of great unmarketers, and then want to connect to them on Twitter. But you have a ton of @social @media @guru @names that you need to follow, and are feeling pretty lazy in entering each one.

Ninja Follow wants to ease the strain. Just enter your Twitter user name and password, add the @names to the text box (comma separated), and -- voila! -- Ninja Follow will follow them for you, or let you know if you already do. Because we forget sometimes, right?

The page is pretty sparse of info, but Whois told me these guys may be the creators.

Where The Fees Are

In recent times I was invited to sit in on a meeting whereby a vendor was unveiling a new advertising campaign. It wasn't that bad, not groundbreaking I thought.

What got me was that it took FOUR people from the vendor to unveil one piece of artwork. I think one was an intern and didn't even say anything. So, factoring in the cab ride from their office, the 30-minute unveil, and their cab ride back, you can bet it was a billable two hours.

I heard that this particular campaign was allegedly costing someone $19,000! That is crazy fees.

I sincerely hope for a future whereby we see an explosion of smaller agencies with a core of around five people that just hire freelancers and consultants, as needed, on a project by project basis. More nimble, faster to react, cheaper for the client, more work for talented people who may not be employed full time with benefits.

And yes, I am biased, as I currently work as a consultant.

Rick Roll You Can't Close Is Great For My Traffic

On April 1, 2008 -- a year ago -- I blogged this about the Rick Roll that you can't close. It was the fad at the time, so I jumped on the bandwagon for SEO reasons. It's not even up any more due to the guy running out of bandwidth.

Anyway, it's now #1 on Google and the reason most people come to my blog. FAIL! Or is it?

OMG! I Actually Made Some Money From Social Media!

I'm shaking with excitement as I write this!

Here's the story: I wasn't happy with the rankings that my website was achieving in the search engines, so this morning at 5 a.m. I tweaked the meta tags and some of the content to include some social media phrases.

I decided to add ones that I thought people would be looking for now, especially as social media is getting extremely popular. Some of these included, "Britney Spears gets on Twitter and it becomes a circus," "How to set up a Fan Page and encourage fans to actually stick around," "Video of the ShamWow guy cursing out a lighting technician who mistakenly walks on set," and "Chris Brogan weeps as he admits using a ghostwriter for the last three years."

Wow! Just wow. I checked my Google AdSense a few minutes ago and my site stats had hit the roof! It's absolutely amazing.

As the fake client in Harold the Jewellery Buyer's video says, "It was so easy -- now I'm ready to shop!"

Don't Be A Social Media Expert. Please. Don't

There are a lot of brain surgeons, calligraphers and armadillo breeders out there who can rightly be called an "expert." They have trained for years, have the experience and impressive credentials to back up their claim.

There are 277,000 Google results for "social media expert" and over 44 MILLION results for social media expert. (I did two searches, as the former is specifically looking for that phrase, especially if it's used in a job title.)

So, a few days ago I threw out the question: Do we need to add the words "social media" to job titles these days? The way things are going, clients who need some PR or communications work, expect the agency to include some social media strategy as a given. I wonder if it gives them some comfort -- or stomach knots -- if the person dealing with their account is a social media "expert"? Why does that person feel the need to add the E-Word?

Unfortunately for the E-Word people, social media is changing constantly. Fortunately for everyone else, social media is changing constantly. So that means, the minute you think you know *everything* about it ... guess what? It just changed! So, how can you be an "expert" now?

Granted there are a LOT of people who understand a LOT about it -- and you all know who they are if you hang around in the social media goldfish bowl long enough -- but these guys are constantly learning from each other, swapping tips and strategies, meeting offline at events and recommending other people to follow.

I honestly can't think of one social media "expert." If anyone can claim that right, feel free to contact me and make an offer for this domain name. I bought it on a whim, but now wonder too if domain names with "social media" in them are stating the obvious?

Man, I love this stuff.

Twitter Replaces "Replies" With "Mentions"

Twitter has now replaced the "Replies" tab with what it calls "Mentions." Now, you can find all references to your Twitter name even if it doesn't appear at the beginning of the tweet.

This is one enhancement I've been waiting for.

Twitter Needs Someone To Be A VIP Concierge

Twitter is looking for a full-time person to engage with celebrities on Twitter, make sure they're happy and also to encourage new ones to start tweeting. Won't pay much (by Twitter's admission) but could be a sweet gig.

Apply here.

HT: TechCrunch.

Welcome To The Isle Of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a small island off the south coast of England. Cold, rainy England.

What To Tell Your Mum About Twitter When She Phones

"Hi mum, yes, believe it or not that funny sleepwalking dog video from Aunt Mabel can screw up your computer. It's called a virus. And no, she probably didn't send it either, that's a spam bot. No, not a spam hotpot.

"OK, where were we? No, mum -- Twitter is not full of twits. So, what is it then? Hmmm. Good question. Put it this way: we're talking on the phone together right now. We're catching up and swapping our latest news. Twitter is exactly the same ... with two differences.

"Firstly, you write your updates instead of talking about them. Secondly, anyone can listen in, and they can respond too if they want. Don't worry mum, if they're like the nosy old guy across the street who talks about his cats all the time, you can block them from seeing your conversation. And you know what else? If you really get to like your neighbours, you can follow them and see what they're talking about. And they won’t mind. Yeah -- I knew you’d like that part!

"OK, I know you're keen to start chatting to people, but slow down a bit. You talked for too long then. There's a word limit on each piece of the conversation. In fact, mum, it's only 140 characters to be exact. Don’t panic, you'll learn to get to the point.

"And you know that gossip you like to pass on over the garden fence to Mrs. Scratchett. Guess what? That's called a ReTweet. It's a great way of spreading some news, and someone else gets the credit. You may even get noticed on Fridays if someone recommends you as a Follow.

"So, mum, do you understand more about what Twitter is now? Great. Now can you please pass me to dad, he wanted to know how to make some beer money off social media.

"Hello? Hello?"

Captain Obvious, Third Office On The Right

Do we need to add the words "social media" to job titles these days? Isn't it a given? Just throwing it out there ...

PitchEngine Gets First Investor

A simple status update on Facebook: "PitchEngine just inked first investor. bootstraps loosened, engine refueled. sky's the limit."

Great news for PitchEngine and its founder, Jason Kintzler. I've been touching base with Jason on and off since last year when I looked at PE for some client needs. He's a decent guy and always responds in a prompt fashion. I'm curious to see what's coming down the line for PE with the extra funds.

That brings me to the issue of mixing my social media contacts. I am linked to Jason (and a few other bloggers, influencers etc.) on Facebook. But there's only about eight people in that "professional friends" group. When I add them, I mention the fact they'll see photos of me with silly hats on and a pint in my hand. If that doesn't scare them off, then they're in my (online) personal life.

I only have professional contacts on LinkedIn and Twitter, with a few exceptions. The friends who aren't on those two networks won't mind me saying that they "don't get it," "see no value in it" or "haven't checked it out yet." That's cool; they are all very successful and happy people in their own careers, and don't really need to be on a social network.

But that doesn't stop me trying to introduce them to that world! I believe once they dip their toes in, it will be like a light dawning and they won't look back at how useful these activities can be.

Until then, I'll see them on Facebook and everyone else on LinkedIn and Twitter.

We Don't Need No Education, We Just Need Some Follows

[Apologies to Pink Floyd for the lame pun attempt above.]

The Guardian reports on a story that British kids "will leave primary school familiar with blogging, podcasts, Wikipedia and Twitter as sources of information and forms of communication." This is an excellent move by all those concerned in drafting the proposals.

Stories abound of students using out of date textbooks and reference works, so by the time they enter the workforce they are already behind. This seems a bold move to introduce the kids to new forms of communication, such as social media, at an early age so they can familiarize themselves as soon as possible.

People Are The Killer App

I just read Jason Baer's interview with Beth Harte, and saw her quote: "@bethharte: It's about the 'who' not the 'what.' People want to connect with ppl."

As I said in the comments section ... "Finally!" I was referring to my post back in December 2006 about Web Who.0. Just now, at 12:17 a.m. (I am a night owl) this thought struck me:

PEOPLE ARE THE KILLER APP. (Yes, caps lock for me shouting in realization.)

Social media is just the software really. It has no life without its users. Sometimes you get a successful reboot, or sometimes the Blue Screen Of Death, but when something really great happens, then people are the one app that will always be needed, no matter what comes along in this exciting wave of transparency, immediacy and community.

Press that On Button and install some People into your daily life.

It's Not The Size Of Your Twitter That Matters

Important stuff first. Had a great meeting this morning at Fran's greasy spoon with a LinkedIn contact. He owns a design company and has a roster of non-profit clients needing some social media help, so I "pitched" my services over a relaxed brunch. I love those types of meetings = informal chat, get to know each other, see where it goes. If nowhere, at least the coffee was great!

Next up, Dave Fleet has a really good list of Canadian government departments using Twitter, some missed opportunities sprinkled in there too. Working with Ontario's Ministry of the Environment at the moment, I like the way things are going. It's time.

Finally, there's no other way to ask this, but how does your Twitter penis measure up to mine?

CP24 Viewers Don't Use Twitter Much

I watched CP24 (Toronto's local news channel) at lunchtime today; they were discussing Twitter, its uses, pros and cons etc. There is a poll on the website that I voted on, but was astounded by the low numbers of CP24 viewers who use Twitter -- only 10%, from (as of writing) 3,567 votes.

That really surprised me as I thought Toronto was one of the social media hubs in North America. I know that Facebook has a large chunk of Torontonians, and that people are still finding their feet with Twitter, but still ...

Or am I too expectant? Anyway, screenshot below and here's the link to the poll.

Senior Vice-President Of Space Invaders

What a cool job title if it was real! (And maybe -- unofficially -- it was for Toshihiro Nishikado, circa 1978, the lucky developer of the game at Taito. Must have been great going to work on the world’s most popular video game at the time.)

So, job titles in this social media day and age. Chief Engagement Officer? Not new, but has a nice ring to it. Social Media Manager? Hmmm, not so good -- no one in social media wants to feel like the conversation is being “managed” or “guided,” however subtle.

More specialists are being sought in this field as companies feel the urge to jump on board, listen to their communities and get involved. What is an apt title though? Social media will be here for a while, but if not, and there’s a new fad on the scene next year, who wants a job title that might be out of date in 12 months? Is it better to be specific when calling yourself a Social Media Specialist to ensure you are relevant for the here and now, or do you play safe and plan ahead, go a bit more generic, say Digital Media Specialist? [My most recent title was picked for me, full disclosure.]

In the past, everyone knew what the CEO, President, Vice-President and intern did -- the titles were in daily use, and everyone got used to the hierarchy. But now, there are more Conversation Analysts, Community Managers and Social Media Strategists around. Can people pick and choose their own, or will the market level out and we all agree on titles?

Be realistic, choose wisely … or you could be yesterday’s Senior Vice-President of Space Invaders.

It’s Hip To Be Square

I’ve been working with Echo Communications for a couple of months on a consulting basis. They are involved with the social media PR for Nissan’s new car, the Cube. I haven’t worked on this account; it’s being handled by Tony Chapman at Capital C.

Jennifer Wells at the Globe and Mail gave it a cool mention today.

I’m giving it a shout out as it’s interesting to see how the landscape is changing as more brands move away from traditional PR, or, at the very least, automatically consider social media as part of their strategy. It’s not the latest fad any more ... it’s here, it’s staying and it’s very exciting.

So guys, if you have your blog monitoring set up as I expect you do: Good luck!

Make Money In Social Media On April Fool’s Day

Toronto, April 1, there are three consultants telling you how to make money in social media, once they’ve charged $25-$35 for tix.

Registration does include one free drink: mine’s a Margarita with a large pinch of salt please!

http://toronto.iabc.com/events/eventDetails.asp?EventID=77

Please Do Not Summon The Fail Whale

Questions, Questions, Give Me No Answers, But To Cut A Long Story Short I’ve ... Started Blogging Again

I was out shopping this morning and an old guy stopped me on the street and asked: “John, why on earth did you stop blogging on a daily basis? Why?” I thanked him for his question and went on my way. It did get me thinking though.

Why did I stop blogging? Actually, I didn’t. I just wasn’t writing so much here; most of my blogging was at GCI Canada’s blog (which has since been taken down, shame) or commenting on other people’s blogs ... which to me is still blogging, as I put as much thought into my comments as I do my own personal posts, otherwise what’s the point, right?

So, today I am back with a vengeance, serving this blog’s readers (hi mum) with the regularity they deserve!

I started Make Johnny Cash back in November 2006 after getting laid off, and used it in two ways: (1) to promote myself and document my job search, and (2) because I started the Beer.com blog (which has since been taken down, shame) and missed writing my thoughts every day.

So, I intend to write about Web 2.0, social media, the Internet, networking, cool people/companies/tech, curries and anything else that takes my fancy.

Today, I am kicking that off with a hat tip to a blog that has flown under the radar for a while, but gives a nice kick in the pants to the social media scene, and all of us that live in that little bubble. Let me introduce The Drama 2.0 Show. No idea who writes it, but there’s humour, insight and some swear words too, so it’s NSFW if you have a text to speech gadget on your computer at work.

This week alone, targets have included Andrew Keen, Michael Arrington and yesterday’s subject, Gary Vaynerchuk. As the writer says on March 12: “This is the shit you won’t find in Mashable.”

How true.

You Left Me, You Really Left Me!

Apologies to Sally Field for today’s title, but it seemed to fit in well with the theme of knowing when to un/follow someone -- not just in Twitter -- but in social media in general. It’s usually the case of full steam ahead in the beginning, adding people left, right and centre, only to find that … hmmm … people start to drop like flies after a while.

I’ve been using Qwitter for quite a while now, and it seems to work very well. It sends an e-mail update when a follower leaves you. And it also mentions the particular tweet that (possibly?) caused them to leave. I had two people depart after I tried to find a sad trombone sound. I mean, who couldn’t use a “Wah Wah Waahh” every now and again?

The upside is that new followers come in and take their place, so in the end the numbers even out. And the great thing is that the whole un/follow process means my Twitter community is constantly refreshing itself organically.

As mentioned before, I find a lot of value in following people that might not be in the social media or PR world. It brings a whole new raft of ideas to the table in learning how they become successful in their respective industries. Too much inward looking into the same fishbowl gets pretty boring and can make you stale.

Steven Hodson looks at the other angle: Could social media implode from too many friends?

He asks the question: “At what point does having all these friends become just ridiculous b******t because we really don’t know who these people are and for the most part we don’t care just as long as they follow us back?”

I can see Hodson’s point, but I thnk he is using “friend” in the wrong context. I have very few friends on Twitter or LinkedIn. I call friends on the phone and be social; I don’t need to see that they are having a coffee in Starbucks in 140 characters or less, or that they’ve updated their profile to say they now work as a director of marketing = I already know! If they really are a good friend then I probably bought them the coffee or provided a reference for them in their job hunt.

People too often mix up friends with colleagues with contacts with acquaintances (the latter is the most appropriate in defining the social media community: a. Knowledge of a person acquired by a relationship less intimate than friendship; b. A relationship based on such knowledge; c. A person whom one knows).

Friendships can take years to cultivate; acquaintances can take minutes.

Two New Clients

It's been an exciting couple of weeks for my freelance biz. I am now working on some projects for Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Silver Recruitment.

TinyURL Permanent Link

I just used the TinyURL custom tag to good effect: http://tinyurl.com/socialmediaconsultant

And The Winner Is ... (No, Not The Oscars)

It's always fun to take a break from work, especially with caption contests, and I got a nice surprise today here:

http://thenextweb.com/2009/02/20/facebook-tos-turnaround-caption-winner/

(All in jest, Facebook!)

Hanging At PodCamp Toronto With Some Cool People, Simple As That

Today I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time some people at PodCamp Toronto who I have been following for quite a while in the social media space: Chris Brogan, Mark Evans and Danny Brown. In particular, Brogan's presentation was very entertaining ... the jokes, chair kicking and free books he gave out to the audience just some of the highlights.

Each presentation was 30 minutes, tops. I actually prefer that format to the longer time slots as it keeps things snappy, the presenters have to get to the point and -- to me -- it seems to fit better with the "here and now" of social media.

People wandered in and out, sat on the floor, good-naturedly heckled and I found it to be a great networking opportunity, more so than mesh actually, although that was that a cool event too.

And the best part, it was all free. It's on tomorrow too.

What Google Says Can Make Or Break Your Career

My former colleague asked if I'd like to be interviewed for Computer World Canada, and here it is. Part 2 and 3.

Is There An Echo In Here?

So, as much as I enjoyed working at UCC, and will always help those guys out, the latest two-month gig ended last Friday, and now I am in a new role as social media / PR consultant for Echo Communications. Just launched our new blog here.

I had a coffee with proprietor Jodi Echakowitz a few weeks ago, liked her plans and ideas, we're on the same page regarding social media -- and this all stemmed from a LinkedIn connection.

There you go, the work IS out there, you just have to go out and find it. Don't let the media's doom and gloom scenarios get you down.