JMPR Communication

Archive for October, 2009

Confession:

I am a social media beta tool junkie.  If it’s new (or new to me), I want to try it.

Truth:

Most social media tools are either useless, or they are a re-designed version of something that already exists.

But sometimes…

I find a tool that’s so useful and intuitive it would be a crime not to tell people about it.

Enter Jing- a free software that allows you to add visuals to online conversations.

One of the things I do is to work with companies to develop blogs and communities.  This means that I work closely with Web developers with a focus on achieving corporate vision.

I send a lot of e-mails that say things like:

• Can we move the text over to the left side so it aligns with X.
• Can we put a Twitter/Facebook icon on the right side under the search bar?

You get the idea.  Sometimes the verbal communication gets the job done.  Sometimes these changes require phone calls.  But with Jing, I can copy the screen (which I could do before), and enter my notes to visually send a message pertaining a task in record time.  The best part?  It saves time and reduces confusion between parties.

Here’s a silly little sample I put together to show you how it works:

Jing: Improving Productivity

This week I have used Jing to:

• Communicate changes with Web developers.
• Show clients reports and make notations directly on said screenshots.
• Communicate specific visual concepts that are well done to clients building out their blogs.

I have not tried to “record a video of onscreen action” yet.  It allows you to verbally discuss a screenshot while making notations like the ones I demonstrated above. You can then send that video.  I believe when I finally utilize this feature, I will feel very John Madden-like in a good way.

Do you Jing?  Do you think this kind of application would be useful for you?

When Jen made the decision to go to BlogWorld, I was very excited for her.  But then she told me it was in Vegas, and I was excited for me, too!

I started researching all the Blog World “stuff” that would be going on. I wanted to learn from Jen’s sessions, but since I wasn’t an attendee, I wanted to see if I could participate in some way.  I stumbled upon a charity poker tourney.  I don’t drink (I’m actually allergic to alcohol,) and I am not much of a party person. But like many bloggers (it turns out), I do like to play a little poker.  There is no better place for poker than Las Vegas.  AND the proceeds went to charity. What could be better?

The charity poker tourney would be put on by Blog With Balls, and hosted by Annie Duke (a professional poker player and runner-up in the most recent season of The Apprentice). There would be a number of famous poker players including @andybloch, @jeffmadsenobv, and @devopoker. The buy-in was $60 with $50 rebuys the first hour.  The proceeds would go to the people of Darfur via the Ante up for Africa charity.

I arrived at the event at The Hard Rock and you could immediately see that this event was going to be fun. 100 players showed up- 10 per table, with the top 2 from each table advancing to the final 20. Each table had a professional poker player participating, as well as a couple of well-known blog writers. Adding to the fun, the pros had a bounty on their head. If you knocked one of them out you received a prize.

The bounty prize at my table was a 2009 Nike SQ Driver.   This is a VERY nice golf club and was I excited for the chance to snatch it up. [Author edit (and braincramp): The person that I needed to knock out at my table was Phil from Gunaxin.   This is a must read site for any guy (or any girl that wants to know exactly what guys like).]  Luckily for me, I won it! That was the good news, the bad news was I finished 3rd at the next table, and did not move on. I had a blast though. Great people, tons of fun, and a new golf club for my bag!

I was fortunate to meet a number of very nice people (including Capitan Morgan himself, very funny guy) and I was happy to be a part of this event which ended up raising $10,000 for the people of Darfur. This was a great tournament, and I thank and congratulate the Blogs with Balls gang and Annie Duke for hosting.

It’s nice to give- in any small ways you can.  It was fun playing a tournament knowing the money was going to a charity.  At the same time, I participated in the #beatcancer Twitter campaign that raised over $70,000 dollars for non-profit cancer orgs.  Using social media for good is a great thing.

Did you attend this tourney? Did you contribute to any charitable activities at the show?  Do you use social media for social good?  I’d love to hear about your experiences.

BlogWorld was the muse I needed to push my practices forward.  I want to share everything with you all, but I think you’d fall asleep before I got very far.  I like lists, so I present you with the Ultimate (high-level) Top 10 list of BlogWorld lessons for the non-attendee.

1. Don’t be afraid to be awesome.  You are awesome.  Own it.  Now go do something with your awesomeness.
2. We all know content is king.  It still is.  If you don’t have great content, no one will care about your blog.
3. More than content, a blog should drive your end-user to take some kind of action. Maybe that action is to enter a contest.  Maybe that action is to answer a question.  Perhaps the action is to purchase your product.  But the main thing is that you want to sustain your visitors.  Think about how YOU can do that.
4. We can’t forget that social media is an “us.” Your blog isn’t about you or your company.  Blog to build a community, not an audience.  In fact, if you pay attention, your community will control your content- and this is good.
   1. Speaking of which, go and meet some of “us” face-to-face.  Old fashioned networking is still awesome.
   2. Listen before you sell, and maybe don’t even sell at all: The phrase “you wouldn’t walk into a networking event and yell at the crowd, “HI! Read my book!” came up in almost every session.  You know why?  Because we all really need to learn how to listen better to all of “us.”  Even online.
5. Use social media for good.  This might mean that you work with attendees at a conference to #beatcancer and raise money.  Maybe you introduce two people who have collaboration potential to each other.  Maybe you blog about why someone else/some other company rocks. Whatever you do, help people.
6. Businesses- you get a few bullets.
   1. Let go.  People that are not your top executives may want to blog, and they should.
   2. Stop worrying about negative comments.  People leave negative comments because they care enough to have their problem fixed.  These folks like giving praise when their issues are resolved.  Why hide from this?
   3. Don’t just arm your bloggers with a list of don’ts.  Why not give them some dos?
   4. Don’t assume your end-users will come to you.  Find where they are and talk to them there.
   5. Show your personality.  Mix your business posts with human posts.  People buy products from people.
7. Search is important.  Use keywords to drive people to your site. People might visit your site to solve one problem one time.  That’s ok.  And if you think about it, your search terms are the only thing you really can control when you blog.
8. E-mail marketing is back.  But now, it’s a forum to be personal, build relationships and generate conversation.
9. There are a ton of tools you can use to make your job easier.  (I will post about these tools separately.)
10. PR people:
    1. The journalists don’t care about your press release.  They care about the story you are trying to tell.  Send them the story.  Only the story.
    2. Bloggers don’t care how many people you have been ordered to pitch.  But they REALLY care that you follow their pitch rules and send targeted, concise information.
    3. Build relationships with bloggers before you ask a favor.  Maybe e-mail and say “hi” and thank them for an article they have recently written?

So there you have it.  My top 10 take-aways from BlogWorld 2009. Oh, and it was FUN, too!  Where else can you pose for a picture with Captain Morgan?

JenMitch and Captain Morgan: BlogWorld 2009

Did you attend?  What makes your list of take-aways?

For those that didn’t attend, did any of these resonate with you as something you should be doing better?

Thanks, as always, for stopping by.

BlogWorld 2009

I am headed off to BlogWorld today.  I have been awaiting this day for months, and am so excited to hit the road.  But let’s face it, going to a large conference all by yourself can be extraordinarily intimidating.  I am definitely nervous and I don’t think I am alone.

Instead of focusing on my nerves, I thought I’d create a list of the top 5 reasons I’m excited to go to BlogWorld.

1. I will be attending 20 sessions ranging from “B2B  Social Media” to “How Social Media is Changing the State of News” to the “ROI Smackdown.”  I will have the opportunity to hear about 20 relevant issues for me and my clients, from 20 different perspectives.
2. I will be able to learn… from everyone who attends.  It’s nice to step out of your own box as often as possible.
3. I have the opportunity to sit in on sessions with some of my social media heros like Chris Brogan, Brian Solis, Robert Scoble and more.  I have read books by all three, and it will be enlightening to hear them speak in real-time.
4. I will be making connections, some new, some previously existing on Twitter, all valuable.  Some of these connections will be made at the event itself.  Some will be made at the parties (which are sure to be amazing) wherein I will have the opportunity to connect with folks in a personal way.
5. It’s in Vegas!  Really, being in Vegas alone is reason to be excited.

For all that are going, I look forward to meeting you there.  For all who miss it this year, I look forward to sharing what I learn.

When I was a kid, my grandfather gave me a piece of advice (over and over again):

The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.

It's ok to learn from others

My grandfather was truly brilliant- the most brilliant person I have ever had the opportunity to know.  He had weathered The Great Depression, WWII, and was a (multiple) patent-holding engineer. He was exceptional. And yet, kept telling me he didn’t know anything about anything.

I don’t think I truly understood what he meant until he died.  After the funeral, I went into his room, and on his nightstand was a book about the decision to drop the atomic bomb during WWII.  My Grandfather was one if the men on Tinian- the island used to launch the first atomic bombs.  He was a “radio guy” and was the first on the island to learn the bomb had been dropped. But even though he had been a part of it, he was interested in learning about his experience- from all angles.

Everyone’s (not) an Expert

When it comes to social media, way too many people have anointed themselves “experts.”  All the discussion about people who think they are experts, coming from others who are also NOT experts is totally played out. (So I won’t do that.)

In my mind, there are only 5-10 people that can be considered TRUE social media experts.  We all know the social media landscape can (and does) change every day.  But these “gurus” are the people:

• That crowdsource, and don’t assume they have the right solution all the time
• That filter through the noise by listening, and build relationships of quality over quantity
• That are always striving to learn more, better themselves and share their progress/set-backs with others
• That as a result of treating life as one big university, can infer what trends are going to happen before they do

I’d go as far as to say:

The more these “experts” know, the more they know they don’t know.

Ok, So Everyone Can’t be an Expert… But (Almost) Everyone Offers Value

Want to provide value to yourself?  To your clients?  To others?

Stop looking at life as though there are two sides to every story, look at everything you do from a perspective of infinite possibility.  Even if you are a seasoned professional, be willing to assume there is always a lot that can be learned and work to seek that knowledge everywhere.