Getting to the point
I went through my semi-annual review yesterday and got some very good feedback. I need to learn when pitching concepts to executives to get to the point faster. As some of us that work at larger corporations know, it is nearly impossible to get face time with our high level execs. But these are also the people that hold the power to say Yes or No to our ideas, so when we do get that time, we need to nail it. I always find the challenge with social media concepts is that I tend to pitch the backstory before the actual concept, like my setup for a joke. Not because they dont understand, but because I am trying to give more context to why I am pitching is this way. People must understand the challenges and why before we pitch the “How to”.
The analogy used, which I think is a good one was: think of the time you spend pitching to an exec as a cash register, every minute that passes, money is spent (ching-ching), because their time is so limited that every minute is money not being made somewhere else. (or something to that effect, you get the point). I guess for whatever reason I never really thought of it that way. I get the whole “they are tight for time” thing, but I always thought that when you finally got your time, you used it to the max because you dont get second chances to pitch first ideas. But when you work in a sales environment and those execs are the ones helping close deals, I get it.
This had me thinking, how can I self teach myself better to get to the point faster? Less bullets on a slide (pull out the deets)? Talk faster (speed talking is fun)? Go high level and leave the details for later (whats this idea for again)? … OR reward myself for being rewarded? By that I mean, turn that timer around and give the $$ to myself. Now I know, paying myself out of my own pocket for doing my job doesn’t even begin to make sense, but if I can figure out a reward system for myself, this might work.
I have 5 slides. I start off with $25 and start going backwards. Not sure what a good goal is, but am thinking each solid slide should take me 1 minute. For every minute I go over on each slide I lose $5. So 5 slides in under 5 minutes, for every minute saved, I double the dollar amount (4 mins=$50, 3mins=$75) and put it towards a gift for myself. 5 slides in 5 minutes, it is a wash. Now here is the fun part… 5 slides in 6 minutes means I keep $20 and give $5 to my wife. 5 slides in 8 minutes means I keep $10 and $15 goes to my wife. And to top it off, if I hit 10 minutes (double time) on 5 slides, she gets all $25 and I have learned a valuable lesson: “make sure next time I don’t go over my time anymore.” (maybe I need to start with quarters)
Nike soccer spot for World Cup, best ever?
This may be to best Nike spot I have seen them produce. What is even more impressive to me (aside from the spot being pretty awesome) if the fact the Nike is not the global sponsor of the World Cup, their competitor Adidas is.
The way the video shows how historic moments from the World Cup can have worldwide affects is great. Miss a shot, a country groans together, save a goal, you get knighted! And the clip when Ronaldinho does foot tricks transitioning to YouTube, showing view rates skyrocket, people imitating throughout the world, finishing with Kobe after dropping a shot. The power of social media, integrated closely with the worldwide audience.
From what I have read, the Wieden & Kennedy, Amsterdam spot just became available today for viewing. This piece was directed by Alejandro Inarritu (“21 Grams,” “Babel”) and features soccer stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Landon Donovan and Ronaldinho and Homer Simpson.
What do you think? btw, the video had over 100k views in the time it took me to post this.
Interview with Sandy Carter, VP, IBM
I had the privilege of talking with Sandy Carter, VP, IBM Software Business Partners (@sandy_carter) recently about Social Media at IBM Impact (#ibmimpact) and some of the great things we are doing this year. It is always great to talk with Sandy about social media, not to mention the fact she is a big supporter and active participant.
Read the entire interview post here: http://bit.ly/akiyvq
Thanks to Sandy for the great interview! Maybe I can interview her now for my blog.
Also be sure to check our her latest book, “The new language of marketing 2.0″ – http://www.ibmpressbooks.com/promotions/promotion.asp?promo=136780
Scheduling Tweets can backfire
So I had my first negative experience on scheduling tweets. First off, being able to schedule tweets is a great feature, similar to how scheduling blog posts. But I do caution how far you may want to schedule those tweets out.
I ran into a situation recently where we were promoting something over the course of a couple of weeks, so it was easy to schedule some future tweets with some different teaser text a couple of weeks out. This was not related to an announcement or anything, just one of those fun things/offers you like to share. We were not aware of this, but there was backfire in the community around the topic after those tweets were originally scheduled and even though it did not affect the link itself, it definitely affected how you worded yourself when talking about it. Not knowing, one of our lovely scheduled tweets hits the web the following week and did not go over well.
Lessons learned: 1. even though your tweets are scheduled, peep you head in and check in on them, 2. try and not schedule tweets out further than a week, especially if it is business/industry related at all, you never know what can happen
A Business Agility Menu for Success at #ibmimpact (test)
This is a test post on a new tool I am working on. I will however write a complete post about #ibmimpact and how to stay connected during the event, so stay tuned. 
#ibmimpact
My Twitter Aggregators List
How do we digest all of the tweets and content being shared on any given day? I mean, seriously, how many people do you follow? How much time can you ‘really’ dedicate to following these conversations? We all try really hard but at the end of the day we focus on our efforts on topic areas one at a time. While working on some recent projects and looking for tools to use myself I have compiled a list of Twitter aggregators that I have found useful.
My personal favorites to use:
Twazzup – http://www.twazzup.com
Tweetmeme – http://www.tweetmeme.com
Here are more I have used or come across in no specific order:
Collecta – http://www.collecta.com
Tweet Cloud – http://www.tweetcloud.com
Twopluar – http://www.twopular.com
Twitt(url)y – http://www.twitturly.com
Twitterfall – http://www.twitterfall.com
Retweetist – http://www.retweetist.com
Twistori – http://www.twistori.com
retweetradar – http://www.retweetradar.com
Twitturls – http://www.twitturls.com
Twitlinks – http://www.twitlinks.com
Retailer Twitter Aggregator – http://www.noturnonred.org/twitter
Event/Brand related aggregators:
CES Social Circle – http://social.cesweb.org
PHP Conference – http://www.phpconference.co.uk/aggregator
WOMMA Summit- http://womma.org/summit09
African Media Leadership Conference – http://www.netvibes.com/kasmedia#General
Haiti Relief, Washington Post – http://projects.washingtonpost.com/moderation/twitter/haiti-relief/
There are many many more, and may be some I’ve missed. Please post in the comments section any other Twitter aggregators that yo currently use on a regular basis.
Some more I have since come across or mentioned to me:
Tradeshow Metrics – http://www.tradeshowmetrics.com
Whaaa? How many people use social media?
This video created by the JESS3 team covers just about every stat of what happens on the web everyday. Still hard to believe some of these numbers. And who is the big winner in all of this?? Facebook it seems. And, remember to work our your GEO participation, NA is only one (small) piece of the pie. Hello Asia!
(which leads me to a future blog post, “Why dont people on Facebook like to mix business and personal?” I mean, honestly, how many of you really accept requests from coworkers and accept work event invites on fb? Or do yo push them off and instead ‘link’ into their network on Linkedin instead. The results would be interesting)
Great video again, and be sure to follow their work at @Jess3.
Google Madness in Italy
Came across an article this morning about how Google execs in Italy are being held accountable for videos that users post online…
“Word comes this morning that a jury in Italy has convicted a trio of Google employees over the brief posting of a video that showed four boys bullying another child who has Down’s Syndrome. The employees received suspended six-month sentences.” (source: http://www.thestandard.com/news/2010/02/24/conviction-google-execs-italy-shear-madness)
After reading this article, twice, lots of questions were bouncing around in my noggin. How is it that employees of a company can be held personally liable? They did not create the video. They did not bully the kid. I really don’t think that this verdict will stand for long, don’t see how it can. As more countries and governments work on adjusting to the new ways information is spread and people communicate, for good or bad, slapping verdicts on innocent employees only make it worse in the end. Here is Google’s response from the International Business Times:
“In essence this ruling means that employees of hosting platforms like Google Video are criminally responsible for content that users upload,” said Matt Sucherman, Google’s Deputy General Counsel. “Common sense dictates that only the person who films and uploads a video to a hosting platform could take the steps necessary to protect the privacy and obtain the consent of the people they are filming.” Google said on Wednesday that a ruling against its top Italian executives attacks the “principles of freedom” of the Internet and poses a serious threat to the Web.
Common sense indeed. Shifting blame to a platform is not an answer. To sum it up, the original author said it pretty well:
Lest anyone question my sympathies for the bullied boy, let me note – despite believing it wholly unnecessary under these circumstances – that I am the father of an 8-year-old autistic boy. Were my son bullied in this fashion, I would be incensed and expect consequences for those responsible. The four boys who were responsible in the Italian case were expelled from school. That’s justice.
Google was not any more responsible here than the postal service would be for delivering a ransom note.
Ever hear the term ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’? Interested to see how this plays out.
Resolutions, everyone is doing it
Most common question asked in January, “Whats your new years resolution?”
My question to them is, “Why wait until Jan 1 to create a resolution?”
I like to treat January first more like the renewal of the checklist of items I would like to accomplish over time. Some of my goals have always been on the list, never budging, for example, my quest to stay Awesome. Now, we all know how awesome I am (if you don’t agree, just play along), and s0 is Barney from HIMYM, but it is hard work to stay awesome. And no one person is an expert at being awesome (except Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse).
This is also the case for social media, a lot of people do social media, but no one person is an expert. It is a field in which we are continually learning, weaving from web 2.0 and beyond. And lets talk about all those apps and communities we can use, a list growing daily. I recently read Sandy Carters post on her 10 social media resolutions and instantly thought to myself, “I want to do those 10 things too”. Now, knowing me, 10 may be too many, so here are my 5 professional “checklist items” for 2010:
1. Engage and collaborate more. This consists of many things including blogging, tweeting, commenting and sharing. I find that the more I am engaged, the more I learn not just from reading, but also from experiencing. I think a good benchmark for me will be 1 blog post and share at least 5 great items (posts, articles, toys, whatever) a week.
2. Build my professional relationships. I am going to work on growing out my professional networks (not just on LinkedIn) and be more engaged (see #1) by sharing experiences and learning.
3. Attend more conferences. How many webcasts and virtual events can you attend and really stay focused? We all multi-task, and sometimes it takes over and does not allow us to fully concentrate on what we are wanting to hear. Also, with the way technology is moving, events like SXSW and CES have become a tech-geek’s grand dream. I would much rather see it all in person than rad about it on twitter screens.
4. Get Creative again. Coming from an advertising/design background and now working mainly in marketing and social media, I have become less hands on with the design process. Might have even lost a little of my skills in Photoshop (ha), so it is time to pick it all back up and stay active. Loving all the viral video stuff for IBM recently, lets push the envelope. CSS and CMS may rule the web now, but we can still make it pretty.
5. Develop my ‘Personal Goal Plan’. To be a great professional, you need to have balance, “Work to live, dont live to work” as my dad likes to say. Jeremiah Owyang calls his personal goal “Operation Bluewater“. I have yet to fully define mine (pretty sure it consists of Aruba) but when I do, trust me, you will be notified.
So (raises glass of water), here is to a great year ahead.
Twitter and all of it’s tools (kind of)
Most of us who use Twitter as a day-to-day tool know that there are a gazillion tools out there now. Some of them are cool, some weak, some actually work, some never did.
When I started using Twitter, I used to bookmark every app I came across and test it out, but even that eventually became overwhelming. I get a lot of questions on which ones are my fav’s or most used, so I compiled a list below of apps that I use regularly and how I use them (not limited to, but for the most part).
Most Used:
Twitter (twitter.com) – do I need to explain what this is? if so, please read my funny commercials post instead. Just joking… Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers. (Wikipedia)
Tweetdeck (tweetdeck.com) – I run this app in the background during my days. I have groups and search columns set up to help me monitor specific conversations and topics. Also has an iPhone app that you can sync the profile up with. Most useful when trying to monitor a conversation topic or crisis while out of the office or it is the weekend.
Cotweet (cotweet.com) – use this app the to help me manage multiple twitter accounts simultaneously. Has integration with bitly for url shortening and building lists. Also great for managing multiple people and assigning tweets for responses, i.e. sales related questions. (another good app for this is Hootsuite)
Radian6 (radian6.com) – this is my monster social media monitoring app. Great for both short and long term (120 days history) trend analysis, segment breakdowns (type, region, language), and seeing all mentions of topic areas (keywords, hashtags) across all social communities and blogs. I use this app a lot to help me identify influencers within certain topic areas. Also has great reporting features and charts (all execs love colorful pictures) for me to send for presentations (execs also love to see everything on a PPT slide).
Exec tweets (exectweets.com) - a filter of all executives on Twitter. Cool to see what the big wigs are sayings. Some are very savvy, some as not even close. Great way to learn from mistakes and teach your own execs (because they are all asking… which brings me to a question, has anyone been mentoring an exec on twitter? what works, what doesn’t?)
tweetmeme (tweetmeme.com) – great new twitter aggregator by topics. create your own channels. i see a lot of events starting to do this now.
Some good social media / twitter reading:
Mashable twitter Guidebook (mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/) – the most comprehensive collection of twitter apps, stories, studies, and more
twitip (twitip.com) – all twitter topics, all the time
TwitScoop (twitscoop.com) – search and find what is buzzing on twitter (insightful tagline)
Social Times (socialtimes.com) – all things social
Blippr (blippr.com) – great newer tool for reviews, apps, sharing, etc all through social media communities
Other apps I randomly use or have found useful:
- TwtPoll (twtpoll.com) – simple polling for Twitter
- Twitpic (twitpic.com) – share photos easily. integrates with most mobile apps also. i like this app.
- Tweeteffect (tweeteffect.com) – say something offensive? see how many people left, or maybe funny, how many came back?
- We Follow (wefollow.com) – groups for topics
- Seesmic (seesmic.com) – integration of Twitter, Facebook and everything in between
- Roomatic (roomatic.com) – Twitter chatroom, have seen other apps similar as well on mashable
- Mixero (mixero.com) – handle multiple twitter and facebook accounts. also have filtering.
- TweetVolume (tweetvolume.com) – keyword comparisons, how do you compare?
- Twitterholic (twitterholic.com) – check your rankings, feel important
- Mr. Tweet (mrtweet.com) – your personal people finder, if you are similar. built into seesmic now also.
- Tweepler (tweepler.com) – organize your tweeps, cool or uncool
- Trendistic (trendistic.com) – nice quick view on keyword activity on twitter
Please share with me any others you think are useful.
