11 Things I've Learned - But Really Shouldn't Talk About

1. I learned that sometimes my favourite part of writing a blog is finding the picture to go with it.

2. I learned there is a lot of listening that needs to be done in social media; and about now, that is just fine with me!

3. The backbone of social media is about relationships built on trust and giving, and not about breaking your own backbone to do it.

4. I learned it’s important to identify your audience, find them on-line and communicate with them through platforms they prefer to use. If those platforms aren’t Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or a Blog - chances are they won't be hearing from me just now.

5. Working in social media is NOT about selling, or self-promotion. It’s about becoming a trusted, respected, and valuable member of a community. If they add silliness, I will have a better chance of being one of the “in” crowd.

6. Social media is about transparency, being yourself, and is driven by the “customer”: not you. This blog post is about as natural and transparent as it gets. Tongue in cheek transparency but transparent nevertheless. Chances are my potential customers would prefer to drive.

7. I have accumulated a vast amount of resources in the form of blogs, listening tools, monitoring tools, social media platforms, and efficiency tools. Now if I could only muster some strength to tunnel may way out from under the pile.

8. I realize that personal branding is important no matter who you are or where you work or don’t work. Even though I was told this, I’d hoped it wasn’t true.

9. I learned how to go about building a personal brand online. And in one blog, I’ve completely dismantled it!

10. I know the importance of social media monitoring and measurement. I figure I need to learn how to actually do it.

11. I learned first-hand about blogging, and more importantly I am beginning to find my voice. This voice is not as pleasing to my ear as I had hoped.

The Danger of Making Predictions

The Internet? Bah! Hype alert: Why cyberspace isn't, and will never be, nirvana – Feb. 27, 1995 article in Newsweek by Clifford Stoll

I don’t make predictions.

The other day I was asked how I “imagined” the field of social media changing in the future. Imagined? Did they mean conjure up, presume and prognosticate? Could I claim that my imaginings came to me by divine intervention? There are always problems when making predictions. However, predicting or imagining the future of social media presents a unique set of problems.

Problem #1 - It is next to impossible to make predictions in the face of civilized anarchy. The internet and social media is a wild-west with hardly any rules, policies, common etiquette, legal precedents, or universally accepted paradigms. Some argue this lawlessness is the very nature of social media and any attempt at regulation will lead to its’ mortality. Under these circumstances I cannot predict what will happen in the future. I will however recommend two things. Be nimble. Be quick.

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” — Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), maker of big business mainframe computers, arguing against the PC in 1977.
 

Problem #2: It is one thing to predict how the nuts and bolts of technology may change, but it is another thing entirely to predict the change in human nature. Even those who make a living from attempting to make sense of current social media trends while also staying on top of emerging trends find the pace of change staggering. The exponential growth of technology is not only changing how we communicate, but is also directly connected to social change. Did anyone foresee or predict the recent revolutionary change in Egypt and surrounding countries that happened seemingly overnight?

“The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad.” — The president of the Michigan Savings Bank advising Henry Ford’s lawyer, Horace Rackham, not to invest in the Ford Motor Co., 1903


Problem #3: In social media there is no harbinger of change. Often, predictions are based on previous patterns, business models, and statistical likelihoods. People are able to extract patterns and use that information to make accurate predictions. Even a few years ago it was possible to predict what would happen with technology within two to three years. There were always signs. There were always warnings. There were precedents. Now with technology being driven by both users and software, it is impossible to predict what we might be using and also doing just two years from now.


I do believe I just made a prediction.

“We will never make a 32 bit operating system.” — Bill Gates

How to Organize an Unconference in 7 Steps

I recently learned of an interesting concept called an “unconference”. Essentially an unconference is a participant driven “meeting” that bypasses expensive registration and travel fees often associated with traditional conferences. It’s a way for people who have established online relationships, to connect and share knowledge in the real world.

The format can range from formal to informal meet-up’s at local restaurants. Either way, the main purpose is to share knowledge, as well as build and maintain relationships of trust.

Here are 7 tips on how to organize an unconference in your city:

1. Settle on a topic, date, and venue. You can ask a local company, community centre or school to donate the space.

2. Use every possible channel to connect with influential people, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and industry blogs related to the topic.

3. Ask for volunteers to help organize the event. Alternately, the unconference could be very informal and therefore, self-organizing.

4. Use a tool such as Eventbrite for people to sign-up.

5. Send out a news release/social media news release to get publicity which should increase registration.

6. If you’re so inclined, you can secure sponsorships and offer food and beverages.

7. Ask people to participate by presenting on a topic they feel others would benefit from. Presentations do not have to be formal; it could be a simple PowerPoint presentation or a guided discussion about a couple of speaking points.

If your’re not into organizing an unconference, you can always attend one. You can set up a Google News Alert for the words “unconference and Ottawa” for example.

You will find several online resources detailing how to organize an unconference. One of note is, Kaliya Hamlin’s Unconference Blog.

Rule #5 - Avoid Extended, Unannounced Lapses in Posting

Not a day goes by that I’m not bothered by the fact that until yesterday, my last blog post was three weeks ago. For someone who is a perfectionist with OCD tendencies, this is nothing short of apocalyptic.

When I first started blogging I assumed it would be easy enough to meet the weekly deadlines. In fact at week six I had posted seven blogs and was ahead of the game. It was then that I decided to take a short break and do other things, like renovate my bathroom.

In the meantime, I continued to scan my RSS feeds. I noticed several blogs with tips and tricks on the art of blogging itself. There were blogs on how to stay motivated when blogging, blogs with ideas about what you can blog about, and even a blog titled “Blog Violently”. Although interesting, I didn’t think I was the type of person who needed reminders about staying on top of my commitments.

Week 10 rolls along; the bathroom is a mess, I’ve been overwhelmed completing major assignments for both of my classes, my psyche is fragile, I’m tired all the time, and I still sit at seven blogs!

I’ve learned a valuable lesson. If I make a commitment to do something using social media as part of my personal brand, it’s important to stay on top of demands on your time, plan ahead and always have a contingency plan. I now appreciate how difficult it must be for those who unfailingly post meaningful, well-written and insightful blogs on a daily basis.

Maintaining that level of commitment is not easy.  What do you think?

Letting Go of the Expectation of Online Privacy: A Moral Dilemma or a Generational Divide?

Let’s face it – there is no such thing as anonymity or privacy online. Accept the fact that you can’t hide behind the username “chipmonkgiggles_23”. Your moves are being tracked, sorted, and stored; under your real name.

Individuals are able to identify who is behind these usernames at the same rate privacy settings on Facebook are declining. On top of that, Google has the memory of an elephant and never forgets.

But does it really matter?

Is the digital generation collectively guilty of not thinking ahead, revealing too much and distributing online content considered by some to be scandalous and morally unacceptable? Or is it possible they know exactly what they are doing; don’t have a problem with it, and have no concept of an expectation of privacy?

There's been much speculation about the negative ramifications on the future of the digital generation due to their lax value system and poor judgement. “Older” people (say anyone over the age of 25?) constitute the generational digital divide by assuming the younger generation should uphold certain standards of comportment and morality when online or suffer the consequence of being unemployable. The older generation have always known it’s important to separate their role of a responsible and virtuous employee, from their role as a weekend warrior.

It seems the more adults insist that it’s unacceptable and inappropriate to share personal information and photos online, the more young people will reveal their private lives on the internet. Can one compare the shock and outrage over the posting of “scandalous” pictures from last week’s party to the vulgarity and indecency of Elvis Presley’s sultry lips and swinging hips? Will the outrage over the changing moral values of the digital generation become accepted as common place and the culture shift documented in the annals of popular culture books?

Mitch Joel sums it up in his book Six Pixels of Separation:

“..as more and more people mature and enter the workforce, we won’t be able to judge the person who has those wild party pictures posted on Flickr negatively because everybody will have them – including you (and then who will you hire?).”

6 Tips to Avoid Social Media Burnout

I’ve noticed a disconcerting trend lately; more and more articles about social media burnout.  This isn’t surprising considering the sheer volume of information that speeds toward us at an exponential pace, making it even harder to sort the wheat from the chaff.

People who work in the field of social media remind me of the early pioneers and explorers of the new world.  We are toiling in a field of tweets in order to clear the trees and make the ground fertile for growing a sustainable social media plan. 

No one has come before us.  There is no road to follow.  We are the trailblazers and greenhorns of this new world order. 

The enormity of this task may make us clamp down and try to force order and calmness on this mess.   With social media, that is like taking an aggressive bird of prey like the Accipiter hawk, and trying to put it in a cage.  Often times we find ourselves on the fast-moving train of social media distraction.  Without realizing it, we move further and further away from home base until we can barely see the platform that we started from.

Here are 6 tips to stop our swashbuckling ways:

1.  Apply calm attention versus worried attention to the task at hand.  Realize that it is possible to stay positive, serene and inspired in the midst of chaos.  Do one thing at a time.  Go slow and start small.  Let the hare pass you.

2.  Be mindful of what you consume on-line.  It’s easy to fall into the “I have to learn this, or I should know more about that” trap.  With every good intention, we try to learn everything.  Remember to maintain balance.  None of us are perfect.

3.  Put down books like “Socialnomics” or “Six Pixels of Separation” and pick up a fiction book.  Not only will this clear your mind but it will improve your writing style.

4.  Put away your pride and benchmark.  Don’t re-create the wheel.  Use other people’s knowledge.

5.  Take time to know what you really want and need from social media.  What are your goals?  If you aren’t getting them – move on.  Don’t look back . You are no longer going in that direction.

6.  Be kind to yourself when you need it most.  Working in the field of social media means we are constantly trying to keep up and we are continually propelled into the future.  Be wisely selfish and know when enough is enough.

“Well arranged time is the surest mark of a well arranged mind.” – Sir Isaac Pitman.  Taken from the book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma

Is Facebook Too Big to Fail?

Yet again, Facebook has come under fire about its’ lax, opt-out vs. opt-in privacy policies. Yesterday, the cyber world was buzzing about Facebook’s intention to share a user’s home address and phone number with external sites. Despite a barrage of negative coverage, Facebook meekly issued the following statement to The Huffington Post:

Despite some rumors, there's no way for other websites to access a user's address or phone number from Facebook. For people that may find this option useful in the future, we're considering ways to let them share this information (for example to use an online shopping site without always having to re-type their address). People will always be in control of what Facebook information they share with apps and websites.

Even though Facebook discreetly announced this new policy, it caught the attention of privacy czars and US politicians. Only then, did it back down under the proviso that it would be "re-enabling this improved feature in the next few weeks".

There’s a lot of negative and often justified “ink” surrounding Facebook’s privacy issues. Still, the company forges ahead without apology or excuses. Goldman Sachs recently invested $500 million in the company which led many pundits to predict that Facebook is here to stay. It is too big to fail.

Or is it? Facebook owes its’ success to its' users. The users turned it into the “social media” phenomenon that it is. No amount of investment or money can define the quality of a user’s experience. No company is completely immune to the pull of a crowd. At what point will Facebook users become disillusioned with the product? When will “the crowd” decide enough is enough and move-on? We have all witnessed how fast people discover and use new platforms in this age of social media. A small drip (for example Twitter) can turn into the breaking of the Hoover Dam virtually overnight. 

Surely Facebook hasn’t become so omnipotent that it feels no need to properly inform and protect its’ users. There are times that Mark Zuckerberg appears to be dipped in gold and subsequently makes his own rules. The only problem with being dipped in gold is the unprotected "Achilles’ heel".

If I were him, I would hire someone full-time to do nothing but look over his shoulder.

Mr. Zuckerberg; call me. I'm free.

Does this look infected to you?

I‘ve done a lot of navel gazing while pondering my personal brand.  I’m almost certain that my navel is not infected.

What I’m not certain about is whether or not there is a place for humour in one’s personal online brand.  Is it possible to leave cyber breadcrumbs of playfulness without damaging your professional brand? 

We all know that the cornerstone of social media is building relationships/friendships that are based on honesty, transparency and integrity.  What if you’re the kind of person who uses humour to engage others? 

Personally I find that clean, sometimes self-deprecating humour shows a warm and trusting side.  And no, it is NOT an indication of low self-esteem or major depressive disorder thank you very much Wikipedia!

Depending on your audience, humour can also be used to get a point across.  If any of you are philosophy majors please hold your nose, and forgive me for what follows. Aristotle believed that three things were needed in order to be persuasive; logos (logical appeal), ethos (authority) and pathos (appeal to emo...  

 It’s usually important to be mindful of all three modes of persuasion, however, is this always necessary when establishing your personal brand? I think that we can favour the use pathos /humour to engage and strengthen our relationships.  

Dan Shawbel wrote a blog titled A Sense of Humor is Worth Big Money in the Workplace.   He admits that companies don’t want “goofballs” dealing with upset clients or flying a plane, but a sense of levity isn’t about being silly.  It’s more about lightening up a workplace, a presentation or a relationship to enhance communication.  I firmly believe that humour can also help diffuse a tense situation.

What do you think?  Is it okay to use humour in your personal brand?  Will it affect your chances of getting a job or will it propel you forward as Dan Shawbel states?

One should take good care not to grow too wise for so great a pleasure of life as laughter.Joseph Addison

Machiavelli's Thoughts on Social Media

I am reading a book called “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene. One wonders why it's a national bestseller ( no mention of what nation) with laws like #13 - Pose as a friend, work as a spy, or Law 7 – Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit, and finally who could forget Law 21 -Play a sucker to catch a sucker - seem dumber than your mark. A sane person would not  buy the book after flipping through the table of contents, but it was recommended to me via the Facebook app - “I’m Reading”.

After I got past the baseness of the laws and lurid examples, I realized the content becomes most amusing when taken seriously. Believe it or not there are practical applications and pearls of wisdom in each law.


So what does this have to do with social media? Laws like #45: Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once. Greene used an example of ecclesiastical reforms in the early 1500’s, which of course included pillaring and bloodshed.


Greene astutely points out however, that “Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic and will lead to revolt....make a show of respecting old ways of doing things...which will make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.”


Words of wisdom for those of us in social media who spend a lot of time managing change and making sure our companies understand both the new tools and new relationships.

“It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things” – Niccolo Machiavelli, 1469-1527

Why did you leave me? When did you leave me? Where was I when this happened?

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, let’s talk about break-ups.

Social Media is about building honest, transparent relationships, but in the words of Jay Baer, "Clicking a “like” button one time isn’t exactly a blood oath...We are smothering our very best customers, asking them to hang out with us in every digital clubhouse we can devise. And the reality is, they just aren’t that into us."

We are on the precipice of a social media "revolution" while at the same time incurring the wrath of an audience scorned. Social Media practitioners could be killing their relationships with the very best of intentions. Some of us suffer from tunnel vision and use as many platforms, posts, or tweets as possible to express our feelings to our audience. We simply don’t want them to forget us! We need them to know that we think about them all the time.

How much do I love thee? Let me count the ways. On second thought, no.

 Over posting has been proven to drive Facebook fans away according to a study by ExactTarget and CoTweet. We are lucky if our consumers “unlike” us, as then we have a heads up that all is not well in our relationship. However, as Jay Baer points out, "consumers are cheating behind our backs and committing attention infidelity right under our noses." How? Deleting, ignoring, filtering, or going away all together and leaving behind ghost town accounts. Well, I never...

I for one vow that I will never take my Social Media relationships for granted; to always be honest and respect the fact that my audience does have other relationships and sometimes it's not all about me.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

No more pencils, no more books....

Right now there is a student in New Brunswick who can keyboard 60 words per minute – in Grade 2.  A classmate wrote about a video, 21^st Century Education in New Brunswick that predicts blackboards, desks, grades, textbooks and report cards may be obsolete in 10 years.  They go even further to say “today’s pen and paper have changed”.

True, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Today’s curriculum content will be irrelevant before the child graduates, however it’s not about what they are learning it’s about how they are learning.   I believe that children need to be taught to put a traditional pencil to a traditional piece of lined paper well before introducing a keyboard or SM (Social Media) instructional techniques. I’m not a teacher or a parent.  Societal norms dictate that my cats don’t count. I did however work in public relations at a private school for 10 years.

 At this school there is a time and place for technology and SM, but first and foremost students learn how to write using their cute little hands.  A foreign concept I know. 

The students are taught cursive writing as early as SK. (No this is not a Montessori School).  Why?  It has been scientifically proven to not only assist in eliminating issues such as letter reversals and poor attention, but it teaches them how to learn.   

Young kids are easily distracted.  That is their shtick. They are busy paving the pathways between their left and right brain hemispheres.  This is how information is processed. Using the actual hand and not a keyboard, exercises the neurons that facilitates the travel and speed of information between the two hemispheres.  The right- hand/left-brain connection and vice-versa is physical and visceral. The brain is being trained how to efficiently absorb, make sense of, learn, and eventually retain information.  No wonder they go to bed so early!

Having said all this, the use of computers and SM in the classroom can't be ignored and in my opinion must be part of the curriculum.  I say this as I throw a dash of salt over my left shoulder.  Or is it my right?  Never mind.

Let’s do  the next generation a favour and give them the opportunity to develop healthy and well- defined pathways in their brains before adding keyboarding speed to the grade 1 marking rubric. 

Social Media Revolution

Social Media - Driven to Distraction

Yesterday, I took a quick break from work to check my Facebook account and scan the latest headlines.  It was 10:00. 

A Facebook friend posted a link to an interesting blog on Huffington Post, which led me to a great YouTube video that prompted me to send a Tweet. This reminded me to check for blog updates on Google Reader.  There was a blog of interest that I rated on StumbleUpon and Sidewiki then posted to my LinkedIn page.  I almost forgot to link it back to my Facebook page!  I remember to return some personal e-mails, but before I did that, I got up to get a coffee.  When I got back to my desk it was 11:15.  All that lost productivity. Am I a social media addict?  

  

Interestingly enough, while on this unintended social media sojourn I came across a tool called Freedom.  Freedom bills itself as a productivity application that "frees you from distractions, allowing you time to write, analyze, code, or create".  Basically it disables your ability to go on-line for up to 8 hours.  The good news is that the user controls the program and length of time they put themselves into internet exile.  

In all seriousness, it will be interesting to monitor if social media blocking programs become more prevalent in the workplace.  Crafting social media policies is delving into unknown and untested territory.  If social media specialists hope to reach out to the public, do they need to take their stakeholders corporate protocol into consideration?   It would be a helpful metric to track how much time people participate in social media at work versus at home.  Do you think social media equates to pure socializing and lost productivity?  Is there a happy medium?   Since we are involved in social media as a profession, we are probably not the best people to ask.