Viva Nashvegas

Posted on March 27, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment
explore

I’m going to spend a day in Nashville next month, and I’d like to see you there.

I am going to be one of many speakers at Explore Nashville on Friday, April 13 — a traveling roadshow of digital marketing expertise led by the Chief Social Media Explorer himself, Jason Falls.

The lineup is a powerhouse, and I would stack it up against anything:

  • Jason Falls – keynote (link)
  • Amber Naslund - keynote (link)
  • Scott Gulbransen – lunchtime “chat” (link)
  • Nichole Kelly – No Fluff Social Media Measurement (link)
  • Zena Weist – Operationalizing Social Media (link)
  • Mark Schaefer – The Future of Digital Engagement (link)
  • Tom Webster – Drowning in Numbers: Turning Social Data into Insight (link)
  • Courtney Seiter – Break the Rules of Social Media (link)
  • John Morgan – Building Your Brand in a Digital World (link)
  • Dave Delaney – Social Networking in Real Life (link)
  • Tim Hayden – Mobile Marketing: Turning Passive Customers into Advocates (link)
  • Eric Boggs – Addressing Niche Social Networks (link)
  • Kevin McGee – How Can Big Brands Go Local (link)
  • Sam Ford – Creating Spreadable Social Media (link)

…and, amid all those rockstars, I’ll be contributing some thoughts on “How to Make the Unsexy, Sexy.”

The Skinny

So, here’s the deal.

Jason is a Louisville guy, but he left a part of his heart in Birmingham from his time in sports information. He would love nothing more than to create a traffic jam up I-65 for the Explore event.

If we get 25 people from Alabama to come to Explore Nashville, Jason will give $500 to the Red Cross in Alabama. Another 25 after that? Another $500. That simple.

Oh — and be sure to use the promo code IKESEXY. That cuts the price in half.

Speaking of “Cutting in Half,” that’s part of the genius of the Explore format. Each speaker is given just a half hour. Half their usual time. You’re getting concentrated doses of social media expertise without the filler. The extra time will be used for networking with people who came from cities not as cool as yours, but are worth knowing anyway.

See you there.

Filed Under: Marketing

Dacning With the Stras!

Posted on March 19, 2012 Written by 3 Comments
20120319-213419.jpg

There are seven (or eight, depending upon whom you listen to) different types of intelligence. Those who excel at math might look down upon the social prodigies; the spatial geniuses may not have an appreciation for the musical marvels.

And, of course, those blessed with kinesthetic gifts may have little use for language.

There’s no excuse for this, however, pulled from the site for Dancing with the Stars:

20120319-221704.jpg

The problem comes in the lower right corner of that screen capture.

Take the Season 14 Cast Trivia Quiz

  • Which star did stand-up comeday?
  • Who was a beauty pagent winner?
  • Who’s writes children’s books?

20120319-220536.jpg

Yes, I can understand that a professional dancer might not have lifelong career regrets from a failure to master spelling and contractions. But this site wasn’t built by dancers. Apparently, it was built by interns inturns.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged: , ,

How Many Does It Take?

Posted on March 17, 2012 Written by 20 Comments
network shape

Influence, reach, funneling, cross-linking — the web is indeed a web of good intentions with unintended outcomes.

  • You have a great message, but it matters little if no one reads it.
  • You have a huge audience — but why again, exactly?
  • You reach people with great teases, but do you convert them into purchasers?
  • You have all of the above — so why not goose it further with like-minded people?

So what could possibly go wrong, if a bunch of people with similar aims and tastes decided to help each other out? This is what I saw in my Twitter stream tonight: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Marketing

Clout is in the Eye of the Beholder

Posted on October 28, 2011 Written by 22 Comments
klout1

Clout is an important thing to have.
Klout can be a fun thing to have.

Clout is the ability to influence, and get things done.
Klout purports to be a measure of your online influence.

Presumably, the more Clout you have in real life, the more Klout you’ll have online. And just like in real life, it turns out that we’re all influential in different things.

(Post now updated to include video)

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Marketing

On Jobs

Posted on October 6, 2011 Written by Leave a Comment

The following my piece from a larger compilation of thoughts by the authors at Social Media Explorer.

The History of Steve Jobs will forever be clouded by the Mystery of Steve Jobs.

He will go down as an irreplaceable force of creative vision, and years from now, people will still be wondering what would have happened if he’d just been given a few more years. In doing so, they will miss the truth about the man.

  1. His professional achievements were a product of his desire to finish. He knew his health better than anyone, and has known for years that his days were few. He ought to be celebrated for maximizing that time, and bringing so many projects to completion.
  2. His “secret sauce” is not unique. His Mystique was. Steve Jobs the Persona was bulletproof and undefeated, capable of turning imagination into reality like no one since Walt Disney. Steve Jobs the man was just like everyone else, with one exception: a gift for self-actualization — being able to squeeze the most out of the available resources, and not stopping until the cup was filled to overflowing. He made a lot of money through the merchandising of products and services, but what he really sold was The Illusion of Completeness. You bought from Apple because of your belief in him that nothing more could be done, that each parcel was a pinnacle. And next year, with cheaper parts and faster processors, that pinnacle was moving higher and you weren’t Complete until you had upgraded as well.

The biggest irony of his passing is the true vulnerability of Apple. The better he did at inculcating the above qualities in the rest of Apple culture, the more people there looked up to him. Which makes his passing even more acute in perception than it is in reality. “Apple” will be just fine, but it will never be Jobs’ Apple again. (Another pitfall of Personal Branding.)”

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged: , ,

TV Catching Up to Me?

Posted on May 19, 2011 Written by 2 Comments
roomshapecircle

About a year and a half ago, I put forward the novel idea that cable and satellite providers needed to step up their offerings. Shows are increasingly becoming commodities, and there are other ways to access them, in whole or just the good parts.

Now, it looks like DirecTV is taking that first step. A new feature will link the DVR to Facebook and Twitter accounts, allowing you to share what you are watching and recording with your circle of friends.

Not quite the same as uploading clips, social sharing, and the resulting ad revenue generation. But it is a start.

(Given the number of social services starting the develop around the fringe of the viewing experience, like IntoNow and GetGlue, the window for that first step is rapidly closing.)

Expect to see even more convergence.

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Milestones and Slime Trails

Posted on December 27, 2010 Written by 13 Comments
snail

A snail climbs up the inside of a well at a pace of three inches a day, but when it sleeps at night it slides down two inches. How many days will it take to reach the top of a four-foot wall?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Here I am, almost four years after joining Twitter, on the precipice of 6,000 followers… [Read more...]

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