Social Media Maniac

There's something in that fur...

2011-09-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

This blog was not meant to be a ridiculous tribute to Jack Kane - it just seems to be working out that way!

26 Orchard Street has been home to generations of my family. In fact, just about every Kane has lived in that house at one point of their lives. This past weekend we came together as a family and started to de-clutter the place in order to sell it.

Sad? Sure but Gramps is ready to move on to bigger and better things - like Leisureville in Florida!

You can only imagine all of the treasures we found - after all, so many generations came through without actually cleaning things out.

One of my favorite finds was a box full of old photos - photos that my Mom hadn't even seen! Above is a favorote - Gramp & Gram on Easter morning headed to church... it made me think of my own wedding day last October. I created the image so others could recognize the happiness of both marriages. I know I found the love of my life just as my grandparents had found the love of their lives.

The fur throw worn on my big day was my Gram's --- I think there is a lot of similarities in these photos --- beyond that fur!

Grow Old Along With Me...

2011-08-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

ME & THE DANCER

I love everything about my Gramps; his incredible humor, his astounding intelligence and his endless energy. That’s right; my 88 year young Gramps runs circles around most of my friends, both intellectually and physically. In fact, on October 16 he even earned the title of ‘The Dancer’ at my wedding (mind you, there were 200+ people competing for that title!). This past weekend I spent some time with Gramps. I learned some valuable lessons about power walking, horse racing and living blackberry-free!

The first thing I noticed this weekend was Gramps’ impressive, busy time – at one point he was bored with me and left me at Starbucks while he made his daily rounds walking the mall. I was literally ditched. After 4 rounds of power walking he yanked my Twittering hand from my blackberry and dragged me along. During our trot he told me that I am going to get Arthritis from texting too much and my social skills will be gone by 40 if I keep my nose in my blackberry. This conversation got me thinking… so on the way home from the mall-a-thon, I of course took out my blackberry and Googled “shopping effects on longevity” and boy was I surprised by the results.

The first link I clicked was a news clip that reported a study done on shopping and longevity. Researchers found that elderly who walk the mall everyday have 27% less risk of death than the least frequent “shoppers”. I imagine my Gramps’ daily rounds through JCPenney are keeping around longer because of the physical component that the report stresses is vital to growing old.

The more I researched this topic, the more I got to thinking about how the world of social media and technology will change the way we grow old. Let’s face it, I like to shop but if I can buy something online I am MUCH more likely to click and credit then drive and park. And socially I am much more likely to email or text a friend then pick up a phone like Gramps and chat about the horse races.

As the world learns more about iPhone apps and Twitter feeds, the world may also need to learn more about balancing our lives both physically and socially. It may be important to further our knowledge in the tech world but it may also be just as important to remain active and ditch the crackberry for a power walk every day.

The facts are already there, a poll by the Institute of Medicine and Public Health found that Americans spend on average of 56 hours a week behind a computer being physically inactive. I know that my Gramps is not one of those Americans and if he is spending 8 hours a day doing anything it is cruising around in his Cadi or power walking the mall.

ME & GRAMPS

As leaders in this social media evolution, let’s be sure to value balance as we take on new mediums and let’s not forget the importance of a power walk or a breath of fresh air. Because as we grow older we will never regret the time we took to be healthy. I am going to follow in the footsteps of my Gramps, maybe not literally since his stride is a lot bigger than mine, but figuratively, without a doubt!

Carell Makes General Stores Trendy (that's what she said)

2011-08-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

Steve Carell – just the name makes me laugh. I immediately picture his character from LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE running as fast as he can to hop into that van-on-the-go. Aside from making millions laugh both on the small and the big screens, Carell has a list of unique accomplishments; Carell has made Marshfield MA locals thankful for refurbishing their historical downtown hot stop and he's made the words 'GENERAL STORE' trendy!

My social media metrics post is on the Marshfield Hills General Store and the significance Carell had on the incline of GENERAL STORE mentions since his purchase. I chose this store - located in the heart of Marshfield Hills Village on Boston’s South Shore – because I figured there is nothing more exciting than watching the trending metrics of a historic epicenter in my homestate. No, just kidding! I chose this topic in particular to trace the social metric on the terms GENERAL STORE and MARSHFIELD HILLS GENERAL STORE - I thought there would be interesting buzz on these terms since Carell's recent purchase of the Marshfield Hills General Store in 2009. With a popular funnyman supporting this rock candy and Swedish fish megastore, I knew it would be a sweet project to dig my teeth into!

Marshfield Hills General Store

To my surprise, the term GENERAL STORE was already a quite trendy one (I know, I know, I said I was surprised, too!). With President Obama dropping into a Vineyard General Store and a historical Vermont General Store having issues with arson, general stores do get some chatter on the Web. I was expecting radio silence and admittedly, I was floored to know the term GENERAL STORE is still used today.

My hunch was right though, Carell's purchase of Marshfield Hills General Store did get people talking; according to Google Trends the term GENERAL STORE has significantly gone up in volume since ownership slipped into Carell's hands.

As one can imagine, the peak for the terms GENERAL STORE and MARSHFIELD HILLS GENERAL STORE sank once the buzz of the celebrity purchase was made. There are mentions now and then when Carell pops his head in to grab a snack but the charts show more valleys than mountains. What I learned from researching these terms through social media is the power of celebrity. It is interesting to watch a brand get hype when the right celebrity name is slapped on it. I know the peaks in metrics wouldn't have reached so high if a local no-namer bought the Marshfield Hills General Store. Carell made it cool.

The coolest part of this research was to find out that Carell bought the Marshfield Hills General Store for sentimental reasons. He grew up in that neighborhood, most likely remembers buying Gobstoppers and Pop Rocks, and felt good making it his. Often times a brand/term can peak in social media conversations because it is tied to a celebrity, and unfortuantely the celebrity doesn't believe in the brand like Carell did.

In this case, Carell wasn't out to get buzz in the social media world - it just happened. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to head over to the Hoboken General Store before going to class... maybe Eli Manning owns it.

Intranet users --- Can I get a heck yeah?!

2011-08-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Tracy has come to my rescue as my go-to-gal for all things intranet! Since Ethan was such a great IBM guy, I thought I would stick with the IBM theme for this one...

As an employee at IBM, Tracy uses the intranet every day at her job. I was able to ask her some questions that came from our reading and class discussion on intranets. See below;

Good afternoon, Tracy. Thank you for agreeing to do this and expose your company’s intranet to this blog! I promise that your email inbox will not explode with a furry of intranet questions.

To begin, how big is your company and can you tell us a bit about what you do?
I work at IBM and there are approximately 400k-500k employees. I am currently a financial analyst.

OK, now that we know what you do, what intranet do you use at work?
Its called the IBM intranet to external people who don't work at IBM, but IBMers refer to it as "W3" we can access it directly while in the office or at home by dialing in through AT&T net client.

What is the main purpose of W3 for employees? The main purpose of W3 is to manage your own career (HR, benefits, etc), and to update employees on what is new. It is a great way to know what is happening at IBM.

By "manage your career," what do you mean? Not only do I manage my benefits on W3, I also set my yearly goals, and then have to provide feedback at the end of the year regarding whether or not I achieved what I set out to do -- this measures my bonus potential.

Wow, so does this showcase your growth to management? Yes. My manager is then able to see what I write and evaluate me in writing every 6 months. I am able to see her feedback via IBM's intranet. In addition, my boss does encourage me to use W3 for promotional growth.

How so? On our intranet they exemplify each characteristic you need to master before reaching the next level. You would go on the intranet to find out what internal IBM classes are being offered to help strengthen a certain skill set so that you can master it, and apply then be able to apply for promotional job opportunities which are also listed on our intranet.

Do you like W3? Do the majority of the employees like it? Yes, I can honestly say that I love it! I've never heard anyone complain about it. I think it makes everyone's lives easier because its a hub of all IBM information.

Have you used other intranets in the past? No.

Are videos uploaded to the intranet? Photos? Yes, videos and pictures, as well as blogs are uploaded. It's really an amazing tool.

Does the W3 build community? Yes. Many people take advantage of sharing their perspectives and ideas. Its easy and so accessible that if there is something on your mind nothing you know where to go to share it.

Is there encouragement to check W3 often? Advantages? Yes, our intranet has pertinent information regarding stock price, benefit information etc. Loads of information at a click of a mouse. It is much easier to find the answers to my questions as opposed to always having to pick up the phone to call HR. I also find that I rarely, if ever, email and wait forever for a response - since everyone checks the W3 frequently we all can respond to one another rather fast.

If it was up to you, would you get rid of the intranet? Or is it a useful tool? EXTREMELY useful - I would not want to get rid of it. I cannot imagine work without it!

3 things you like about your intranet?
- Vast amounts of information

- Connecting to other IBMers (great networking tool)

- Manage my benefits and goals

3 things you hate about your intranet?
- Sometimes too much information and it is difficult to find what you need fast enough

- Sometimes I have technical problems when logging on from home

- That's it!

If your intranet was a celebrity, what celebrity would it be? George Clooney

Well, there you have it! Clearly the W3 is functional, favored and fetching - just like GC!

Today’s secret word is… COMEBACK!

2011-07-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

If you’re a child of the 80s then in addition to Fraggle Rock and Alf, you’ll remember turning on Saturday morning television and hearing the distinctive laugh of Pee Wee Herman on his hit show Pee Wee’s Playhouse. The show ran for five seasons and 45 episodes, coming to an end in 1991. Unfortunately those of us who remember the excitement of Pee Wee’s secret word also remember the ill-fated reputation that followed the actor as the show wrapped up. At that time Paul Reuben (who played Pee Wee) was arrested for exposing himself in an adult movie theatre. The show was stopped immediately. No more re-runs. No more Pee Wee. Or so we thought.

Skip ahead 20 years.

Its noon on October 7, 2010 and the West 4^th Street basketball courts in NYC are filled with twenty-somethings that clearly are not here for a slam-dunk contest. The crowd is jumbled in small groups, everyone refreshing their blackberries every four seconds to reread the same Twitter message that gathered them all there in the first place.

All of this was part of the Pee Wee Herman social media strategy aka his “comeback”.

The strategy was for Reuben to directly engage with his fans. His team conducted research to find out where his fans were virtually and where they hung out. Once the data was collected they utilized social media optimization to promote him on social networks like FourSquare, Facebook and Twitter.

To the surprise of MANY - it worked! This is a prime example of the power of social media.

Why did it work?

Reuben understood technology and was organic with his messaging. He posted authentic messages and created hype that made sense to his fans and to his character. He was able to include funny antics that fans appreciated. He also was dependable. When he posted that he’d be at the courts at noon, he was there.

A lot of research was involved. Had this comeback been done without in-depth research on what mediums his fans use and what types of places they hang out, this would have been another flop to add to his record. But fortunately for him, he was exactly where he needed to be and it created a fanfare furry!

As a public, we tend to be forgiving people. And over 20 years the majority of Pee Wee’s fans had forgotten and/or forgave him for his theatre mishap years ago. Sometimes time does heal and for Pee Wee it definitely played in his favor. Had this comeback been staged ten years ago, I am not too sure it would have been a success.

By engaging with the public, Reuben built up his fan base and created the momentum he needed for a comeback. He then exploded on Twitter and his Broadway show, The Pee Wee Herman Show, benefited from all the e-buzz. Reuben’s show has now been nominated for three Emmy Awards .

I’m not sure what is next for Reuben or his hyperactive character after Broadway but what I do know is that Twitter is a great way for him to expose, I mean express, himself!

Leave the tweeting to the birds, Obama!

2011-07-19T08:48:00.001-07:00

Obama is hip. He can talk in full sentences AND hang with Jay-Z. But, did his Twitter Town Hall (TTH) push him into the "uncomfortable zone" and try to make him something he is not? Lots of tweople think so.

Obama’s been credited for harnessing the power of the Web early on in his presidency so the idea behind the TTH worked into Obama's presidential DNA. The tweople of the United States were eager to connect with Obama and excited for him to be the first president to utilize an emerging forum like Twitter. But like most marketed political events the TTH was more hype than anything. The format was fresh but the answers were stale. And oddly, Obama himself seemed out of his comfort zone with Twitter’s format (even though it's been said he tweets himself from the White House) and his hang time with Jack D.

How did something so promising take a nose dive? Well, let's take a look at what has worked...

Back on April 19 Obama joined Mark Zuckerberg for a Facebook Town Hall. During that time Obama seemed extremely comfortable with the host and very familiar with the new medium. Things started off with Obama introducing himself and poking fun at Zuckerberg, “I’m Barack Obama and I am the guy who got Mark to wear a jacket and tie.” He never lost his Obama cool and the town hall was “liked” by most.

So what happened at the Twitter Town Hall to make it #fail in comparison to the Facebook Town Hall?

First, the excitement was not there. The hype was certainly floating through Twitterspace before the event went live but it sizzled within the first few minutes. Twitter’s co-founder who served as the middleman to the President and his tweets nervously spoke like a robot, even needing an index card to say, “Good afternoon and welcome to the White House. I am Jack Dorsey from Twitter.” That set the tone for the event - all charisma was lost.

Dorsey, in his introduction, throws out some impressive stats and inspirational thoughts, “Through more than 200 million tweets per day people use Twitter to instantly connect to what is the most meaningful to them.” He went on to say that everyday people around the world use this medium to engage in spirited debate about the future of their countries. Powerful stuff for sure. But the curtain did not match the rug - this introduction did not equate to what preceded it. With a total of over 170,000 #AskObama tweets, only 17 tweets were answered within the hour. And three of those came from less-than-everyday people; Speaker John Boehner; New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof; and Modeled Behavior, a distinguished economics group blog that was assigned to moderate the tweets.

In addition to a robotic host and the absence of everyday people, Obama mentioned his answers needed to be short yet his first answer stretched for 365 words, totaling 2,313 character, equaling 17 tweets! Another #fail. Long winded answers don't belong in Twitterland.

I believe the TTH was a waste of time. Obama deserves props for taking chances and trying to reach out to us everyday tweople, but this just did not work out. I hope he has told Larry Page that his schedule is full and he is town hall'd out.

Social Media: The Zinger in PR's To Do List

2011-07-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

Social media has had a huge impact on PR and has certainly changed the way we do things.

I remember making my first “blog list” and thinking how incredibly strange it would be to pitch a blogger. At the time I pictured a sluggish-college kid sitting behind his computer, writing about sneakers with hopes that Nike would “gift” him a pair. It took a long while before I embraced the idea that bloggers deserve a PR professional's time, and are very significant to our industry.

A few years after I finally grasped the blog world I was introduced to social media, a world beyond bloggers. I knew better than to hesitate this time. I embraced the digital craze, after all bloggers had become my new best friends, why not add in some Twitter peeps, too?!

Airwalk was my first client to push the social media envelope and flip priorities from print to online placements. This was a huge disruption! All of the sudden my valuable relationships with Antenna and Details editors were invalid. I felt like a freshman in new school that walked into the wrong class - full of seniors. I had to make new friends and find a way to be a relevant cool kid again.

What I quickly found out was that the world of social media opens up endless (virtual) doors. Not only was I harnessing valuable relationships for myself and my clients, I was learning from these people. The sluggish-college kid sitting behind his computer was actually an educated person with a lot to say about things I cared about!

By the end of our first Airwalk viral campaign we reached the brand’s top targets and built relationships that were critical for future successes. Once we launched Airwalk’s campaign we quickly followed suit for brands like Eddie Bauer, First Ascent and K-SWISS.

Each campaign further proved the significance and power of social media. Sales grew. Buzz swirled. And clients were happy.

Social media had definitely thrown a zinger in my “to do” list. We hired an entire social media team to keep up with demands of clients and relationships with social media-ites. The disruption of social media was not a welcomed one (for me) but once I was educated on its value I was its loudest cheerleader.

Since I can only provide insight as a PR professional, I thought it would be interesting to throw this question out to a successful blogger and see what he thinks…

Jay Dolan, founder of The Anti-Social Media, shed some light on whether social media disrupted PR. Known for his social media satire, Jay was quick to answer “yes” and pretend it was that simple. He then went on to explain that, yes, corporations are expected to be "on" and able to answer customers concerns and questions quickly and publicly. PR is no longer confined to just sending out a release, but also reaching out to people on Twitter and independent bloggers. The potential rewards are greater, along with even greater perils. It's an exciting time to live in. And then he cautioned… Just watch what you type.