JMPR Communication

In another effort to dominate the world, Google announced their new social media platform yesterday- Google Buzz.  Being the geek I am, I jumped in full steam to see what “all the buzz” was about.  (Yes, I totally went there with the expected cliché.)

Buzz on the Go

I didn’t have access to the Web interface last night, so I did a little digging on my mobile. I found Google Buzz hanging out as a new layer option in my newly updated Google Maps application. (You can also access it on your browser, via a shortcut app, etc.) At first glance the new layer is amazing.  Buzz mobile integrates geo-location status updates that appear as little thought bubbles throughout the map.  I mean, how cool is that?  I can touch a bubble on my phone and see what all these local people I don’t even know are doing.

Did I mention that I don’t know any of these people?

So I posted an update.  For fun.  Because that’s what I do.  As soon as I posted, I regretted my choice.  Right next to my status update was my home address!  Now, I’m a social media over sharer for sure, but something about having my address revealed was very concerning.  Maybe I’m just getting old?

As I believe my parents would, I spent the next 20 minutes or so playing with my privacy settings.  I hid myself.  I opted to manually edit my location.  But every single time, my home address appeared with my updates.

I shouted my concern out into the buzzosphere, and within 5 minutes, I got a reply from someone else having the same problem.

Immediately I could see that Buzz on mobile presented privacy issues. And apparently Google saw this coming:

Google co-founder Sergey Brin told people tuning in to a live presentation and Webcast Tuesday that the company is concerned about privacy and security because the mobile service gives people the ability to share geographic coordinates, but individuals must decide for themselves whether to share and post their location. The Google Buzz privacy policy goes into more details.

But how bad is it when I exercise my options for privacy, and it doesn’t immediately work? It was especially interesting to see that when I woke up this morning, my settings had finally changed as I had requested.  Is there a lag time on the ability for privacy on mobile?

Early Adopters on Mobile

Despite my concerns for my own privacy, I snooped around to see who was buzzing on mobile and what they were saying.  Interestingly, I noticed that the areas surrounding UCSD and Cal State San Marcos had an enormous amount of activity in comparison to other San Diego locations.

Also awesome, most of these folks were sharing useful things.  Like: 8 dollar haircuts here, this sandwich shop closed down this week.  Some of this stuff was really helpful.  More helpful than anything I’ve seen on Foursquare actually. If I were Foursquare, I’d be concerned.

But we all know that the youth haven’t really embraced Twitter.  Could it be that Buzz addresses the needs of college students more than other applications? Interesting to see where that goes.

Buzz on the Web

This morning, as I embarked upon my usual coffee and email ritual, I saw it.  Buzz had arrived to my Gmail account.

You’ve probably heard this, but the stream looks just like FriendFeed.  Not just because of the threaded conversation, the ability to like a status or because the interface resembles it strongly.  But more humorously, the FriendFeed elite seem to have moved over.  (At least for today.)

So in the name of science, I spent half of my day stupidly distracted trying to figure out how Buzz works and to see if there is actually any value. Because I have way too much to say here, how about a list?

• It looks like a wave, sounds like a wave, and probably is Wave. I saw some people today refer to it as “Wave Lite.”
• The interface is easy. If you are already a social media geek.  I think this version will really skip the masses.
• Finding people that are not already in your contacts is almost impossible. And why can’t I import my friends from other social media services?  Do we really need a new place to post status updates? When will all my social media sites be aggregated in one happy place? One of my friends likened it to “starting over” today.
• @replies are worse.  It took me a whole conversation with strangers to figure it out.
  • To send an @reply to a stranger use this formula: “@personidontknow@gmail.com”
• Privacy issues appear on the Web version, too.  Honestly, 12 people I never heard of were pre-added to my “friend” list.  I am programmed to check out my lists.  I don’t think most people are.
• The noise pollution is insane. I commented on a thread today with 200 replies.  For the next 95 replies, I was alerted.  I did not subscribe to this thread.  I did not need or want a play-by-play.  Worse:
  • Subscribing to a thread is not an option
  • You can’t opt-out of the thread once you have commented.
  • When people @reply you, you don’t receive a notification.

• It lives where I live. Buzz lives right in my inbox.  Where I hang out every day.  And frankly this is awesome.

A visual, for those of you who work better with visuals:

Google Buzz

In Conclusion

Aside from the privacy issues and noise pollution, I think Buzz could really be worthy of the hype.  If Google allows me to aggregate my social media activities, import friends and share what I want with who I want (instead of everyone), I could really see myself moving to Buzz.

Do you like Buzz?  I’d love to hear your impressions.

Foursquare is all the rage.  Every time I log onto Twitter, I see someone “checking-in” from wherever they are hanging out.  It’s a simple concept: you download the geo-location application to your phone and “check-in” whenever you go somewhere.  The more you check-in, the more points you earn.  And if you visit a spot more than anyone else, you become “The Mayor.”  It’s social competition at its best.  And from a personal standpoint, it’s pretty fun.

But lately I have been hearing all this talk about Foursquare being the next thing for corporations.

Foursquare IS:

A (social, mobile) way to find out where your friends are hanging out.

• A recommendation-based guide to your city.
• A game.

Foursquare DOES:

• Integrate nicely with Facebook and Twitter, so people can keep up with your travels where they live online.  (Even if they don’t subscribe to Foursquare.)
• Provide free location-based business (crowd-sourced) promotions for local retail joints such as restaurants, salons, etc.
• Offer ad-based campaigns, specifically to promote charities.  See here.

Foursquare for Business:

Local (B2C) businesses clearly benefit from Foursquare.  To me, Foursquare is a “mobile Yelp.”  As a consumer, I take note of those locations where my friends are fighting to be The Mayor.  If my friends love a place, I probably would too, right? And as my friend Natalie pointed out, B2C businesses can utilize Foursquare to bring in customers by rewarding people who earn the Mayor position.  (With badges, free food, discounted services, etc.)

But I’m not sure what the “sell” is for a B2B.  I can only think of two Foursquare uses for a B2B corporation:

• Have employees check in at the start of the work day so management knows they are present. (This would be lame.)
• Connect executives with potential customers and/or media at tradeshows, such as CES. (This would actually be cool.  But can’t you do this on Twitter?)

Too New to Tell…

Foursquare has a few inherent problems:

• They have time restrictions.  You can check-in anytime you want, but you only get points during certain hours.
• Anytime you use a location-based service, you put yourself at risk.  It’s not smart to check-in when no one is home.  (Hello robbers!  Take my stuff!)  And it’s not smart to check-in during the workday if you’ve called in sick.  How long until someone gets fired because of a Foursquare update?

In my opinion, the biggest problem Foursquare has is check-in fraud. (And I’m not the first to ask the question.) They currently run on the honor-system, which means anyone can check in wherever they’d like- there or not.

Yesterday while sitting in my office in San Diego, I tested this out and checked into Madison Square Gardens in New York City.  It worked brilliantly.

Foursquare Honor System

In theory, I could check-in to the bar in town which continually changes Mayorship… from my living room.  How mad would those people be? Am I the only one who thinks Foursquare should limit me to my actual GPS location?

Until some of these issues get ironed out, Foursquare will just be a fun little game I play for pleasure.  It is intriguing, and I plan on participating.  I’m not sold on business value… yet.

I have blogged about celebs and their need to provide the public with REAL apologies a few times.  Look here and here.  This issue really upsets me.  Why do celebs think they can get away with lame apologies that are public-facing?

As I’ve said before, I understand the need to keep information private.  But how hard is it to say: I’m sorry?

Tiger Woods Issues a Real Apology: Image by Keith Allison

In steps the Tiger Woods incident:

For a few days there has been a lot of media speculation as to what happened the night Mr. Woods ran over a fire hydrant and hit a tree.  Did his wife hit him?  Did he cheat? Was he under the influence of a substance?

This morning, Tiger Woods issued a statement on his Website. In my opinion, Tiger shared enough for the public to know and did his part to squash rumors.  Even more shocking- he said he was sorry!

Tiger begins the open letter to the public by saying:

I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.

And then, he actually goes on to apologize. (Applause)

I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.

So wait:

• Accountability?  (check)
• Acknowledgement of how much this stinks for his family? (check)
• A polite request for privacy? (check)
• And an apology? (check)

Well done Tiger.  Very well done.

I don’t think its a secret that I LOVE Elf Yourself.  In fact, I wrote a post about it last year.

It makes me laugh.  And it gets me into the Christmas spirit.  But that’s not all!

There are a few things I adore about Elf Yourself:

1. It’s a fun and self-deprecating application.  (You know, in a good way.)
2. It  can be utilized to showcase some of the most “winning” family images taken throughout the year.
3. In 2007, Elf Yourself generated more traffic than Facebook for the month of December.
4. They add something new and “social-mediay” every single year.

So what did they add this year?

Glad you asked. This year, the elf inside you can choose from two new dances: Hip hop or singing elves.  I have demonstrated the hip-hop dance for you below.  (As you will see, the awesomeness of my dancing can not be contained.)

Additionally, you can easily share your Elf on Facebook and Twitter.  This is a great feature for people like me, who may elf some of my friends as the holidays draw nearer.

And finally, they have made it extremely simple to share your little dance with your friends almost anywhere.  I used an embed code to place my elfed-self on this blog.  And in other cases, all I had to do was login to my account, and the elves placed themselves right where they belonged on my pages.  (In testing the functionality, I tried this with iGoogle, and MySpace.  I don’t think I’d been on MySpace for over a year until today.)

So go ahead!  Elf Yourself!  (And have fun sharing with your friends everywhere this year.)

Changing tides: Image by: BartMaguire

Every new business has tides.  Sometimes the tide is “high.” New clients are filtering in or your client list is at maximum for the staff on-board.  Sometimes the tide is “low.” Contracts are ending and the search for new clients is stronger.  This is a basic concept that in some way is true for all new businesses.  But changes in tides can be a bit uncomfortable, right?

I have been working with JMPR Communication since its inception. I handle the business-side of our work.  I’m the guy that keeps our finances in check, is responsible for contracts and drums up new business.  Its work I really enjoy.  Since I focus on the business side, I give our changing tides some thought- and consider how we can do things better or change our model so we keep growing.

In the last month or so, we have been very fortunate to gain a number of new clients we love.  In one case, an “old client” came back to work with us on some new projects.  At the same time we have concluded a couple of contracts that expired after the work was completed.

So goes the fluidity of business, but why is it so hard to say “goodbye” to a client?

As the business-guy, I see this movement for what it is: changing tides.  And tides can be good for business.  Jennifer understands the tides, but sometimes reacts to them differently than me. For example, after the conclusion of a 3 month contract that lasted 9 months Jennifer put the final touches on the work she was doing.  Thanks and appreciation were exchanged, with the promise of future endeavors hopeful should the need arise.  As all was buttoned up, I realized: Jennifer was bummed. We talked, and I expressed that I didn’t really understand. We had just signed two new clients that week and we were taking the necessary steps to begin work with those clients.

How to embrace the changing of business tides:

1.  Adjust. Each client requires a special approach.  Ending and beginning new contracts requires adjustment.

2.  Embrace your feelings. It’s ok to feel bummed (for a minute) when you end a contract.  Not because of the loss of revenue, but because you will miss the work itself and the people you worked with. In fact, feeling bummed about a great contract ending is good.  It shows you care about your work.

3.  Focus on your accomplishments: When a 3 month contract ends after 9 months, don’t question your efforts.  Focus on what you learned, what you accomplished and how you can benefit other clients with what was learned.

4.  Say hello to goodbye: Saying goodbye is never easy.  But the flow of contracts in marketing/public relations is inevitable.  Embrace your goodbyes.  Even in business, it’s true that when one door shuts, another opens.  Say goodbye and then focus on how to say hello.

Having a new business is about being flexible, working hard, giving everyone your best and being open to changes.  I would argue that you learn most when changes are presented.

Jennifer and I ultimately agreed: Saying hello to goodbye in business is one step in having a successful business.

Do you agree?  What benefits has your business seen saying hello to goodbye?

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.