I've Moved to a New On-line Home

After almost 3 wonderful years of blogging on Blogger, I made the move over to WordPress. Same content for the blog, highlights on other projects I'm working on, and a new design. I've ported over all of the posts and comments from here onto the new site so none of the content has been lost. It's a party - come on over and see me at http://www.christainnewyork.com.

My Year of Hopefulness - How to reach a tipping point

This week was a good one in the writing department. I was humming along right at the start of the week, and have been off and running since. It's a long slow climb to remake ourselves, to truly learn a new skill from the inside out. I started writing every day two years ago, after 31 years of just wanting to be a writer.

I didn't know what to do so I just began. First with this blog, then with Examiner.com, and now as a guest blogger on sites like Rypple and small call outs in publications like the Wall Street Journal and DailyWorth. Next week I'm joining a new team blogging effort, details to follow in a later post, and this Fall I'll be writing a blog for the Transport Group on their Fall production of The Boys in the Band.

My friend and mentor, Richard, has been listening to my writing plan for some time now and was the first to say, "at some point, the switch will flip and you'll find a way to make all this investment in your writing pay off." He's talking about a tipping point. Until this week, I didn't realize that the surest way to that tipping point in writing isn't only about hunkering down and pounding out the words on my Mac. It's just as much about connection and kinship with others. To get to a tipping point, we have to let others in and give others the opportunity to invite us in as well.

My writing tipping point may still be a long way off. I'm not there yet, but for the first time in two years, I think I might be getting to that point Richard talks about. At least I see it out there on the horizon. I'm just not sure how far away that horizon is compared to where I am right now. And that's okay. A little light keeps me going.

The photo above can be found at: http://phlogthat.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/img_7592.jpg

Just Begin

I marvel at how much time it takes people (and I am as guilty of this as anyone) to get going on a new idea. Have we done enough research? Have we thought through every possible scenario? Do we have enough money? What if it doesn’t work out? These are only a handful of questions we might ask ourselves as we consider a new venture, relationship, job, or even a hobby. How do I even know where to start? As Mary Poppins said, “Start at the very beginning.”

To this end, I have two things I’d really like to accomplish in my career this year: I’d like to become more familiar with the social entrepreneurship field and I’d like to get my writing out to a wider audience. Today, my first blog post on a site other than this blog is being published. I joined the blogging team at the Literacy ‘n’ Poverty Project, an organization that promotes literacy and adult education as tools to fight poverty and promote social change. I’ll be publishing on their site twice per month and my writing will focus on social change and poverty alleviation efforts.

To get involved, visit the site at http://www.literacyandpovertyproject.com/. The organization also has a group on the Ning social network that you can join: http://literacyandpovertyproject.ning.com.

Is it quantity or quality?

The debate continues about quantity versus quantity in the world of social media. Do you want more Twitter followers or are you more concerned with having followers who are interested in your life, share interesting articles and activities with you, and building dialogue? The same is true of traffic on a website: do you care more about how many people subscribe to your newsletter and blog feed or how many people actually read it rather than tossing it in the recycle bin without even opening it?

The best possible scenario for trying to build web traffic is to have a lot of brand advocates who are passionate about the site. However, if I had to choose between a small group of people who really care about the site and visit it often and a large group of people who stop by once, maybe subscribe to a feed or newsletter, and rarely read my writing, I would absolutely choose the former. It goes back to that time-honored phrase, "take care of your people (in this case, your community members) and they will take care of the brand (in this case, the site)."

Now sites like Facebook are in that rare crossroads of having a lot of followers who are very passionate about the brand. I am one of them - I LOVE Facebook. I'm on there all the time, poking around, updating my status, emailing friends far and near. Most sites will never get that kind of traffic so they usually have to choose: lots of surface conversations or a small group of meaningful conversations?

Let's be realistic - my blog is never going to be Facebook. And that's fine - that's good, actually. I have a small group of readers that I love who read and comment on my writing regularly - some on my blog, some in person when I see them, some in very kind emails that they send me. They are extremely special people to me. I know a little bit, or a lot in some cases, about them and we have a good dialogue and exchange of ideas. If this blog were Facebook, I couldn't devote the time, care, attention, and honesty I do to the fun part - the writing. I'm one person writing about topics and people I care about. And that is a blessing to be able to do.  

Social Media Primer

I spend so much time on-line that I have grown into one of those people who thinks everyone on the planet understands and appreciates the power of social media. I'm deluding myself. Many people are not involved and know next to nothing on social media. So if you're looking to learn a bit more about social media, or know someone who's interested in learning more, here's the contents of my Social Media Primer, hot off the presses:

A Social Media Primer
(This list is by no means comprehensive of all the channels of social media, but it’s a good start)
October 31, 2008

Blog Search Engines:
Dogpile
http://www.dogpile.com/
A search engine that utilizes the power of the top five internet search engines. Also know as “metasearch”.

Technorati
http://technorati.com/
As the leading blog search engine and most comprehensive source of information on the blogosphere, Technorati indexes more than 1.5 million new blog posts in real time and introduces millions of readers to blog and social media content.

BlogCatalog
http://www.Blogcatalog.com
BlogCatalog is a social community for bloggers and one of the largest blog directories on the internet.

Google Blogsearch
http://blogsearch.google.com
Blog Search is Google’s search technology focused on blogs. Blog Search enables you to find out what people are saying on any subject of your choice. Your results include all blogs, not just those published through Blogger. The blog index is continually updated, so you'll always get the most accurate and up-to-date results. You can search not just for blogs written in English, but in French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, Swedish, Malay, Polish, Thai, Indonesian, Tagalog, Turkish, Vietnamese and other languages as well.

IceRocket
http://www.icerocket.com

NBCNY
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/
Just released in BETA this week, this site strives to be a one-stop shop for news on a variety of social media platforms.

Blog Publishers that you can search:
Blogger (owned by Google)
http://www.Blogger.com

Typepad
http://www.typepad.com

Moveable Type
http://www.Moveabletype.com

Twitter
http://www.twitter.com
(micro-blogging)

Wordpress
http://www.wordpress.com

Wikipedia
http://www.wikipedia.com

YouTube (owned by Google)
http://www.youtube.com
(video blogging)

Hulu (owned by NewsCorp. and NBC – being hailed as the new YouTube)
http://www.hulu.com

Helium
http://www.helium.com/
Every day, this diverse community shares information on everything from politics to parenting advice, to pop culture, to the environment and more. You’ll find Helium rich with quality content, different points-of-view, and expert insight.

DailyMotion
www.dailymotion.com
Dailymotion is about finding new ways to see, share and engage your world through the power of online video. You can find - or upload - videos about your interests and hobbies, eyewitness accounts of recent news and distant places, and everything else from the strange to the spectacular.

Metacafe
www.metacafe.com
Metacafe is one of the world's largest video sites, attracting more than 25 million unique viewers each month (according to comScore Media Metrix). They specialize in short-form original content - from new, emerging talents, and established Hollywood heavyweights alike.

Piczo
http://www.piczoinc.com/
Piczo empowers teens worldwide to creatively express themselves, build personal communities, and share ideas and experiences with their friends in a safe online environment. Since its launch less than three years ago, Piczo has grown to roughly 10 million monthly unique visitors and over a billion monthly page views solely through the viral efforts of loyal members. Rave reviews from these members claim that Piczo is unmatched in the control, ease-of-use, and flexibility it offers them when building their websites.

Piczo's customizable content, colorful graphics, glitter text, video, and photo tools spotlight member creativity without requiring technical skills. Members share their life stories with friends by designing their sites with multiple pages featuring photos, graphics, videos, music, comment boards, games, and more. Each site can be linked to other friends' sites and users can interact with them and their friends, and meet new people online. And, the "first of its kind" Piczo Zone allows members to share their customizable content with the rest of the Piczo Community.

Yahoo!video
http://www.video.Yahoo.com

Google video
http://www.video.google.com

Sharing Technologies
Del.icio.us
http://delicious.com/
Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage, and share web pages from a centralized source. With emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious greatly improves how people discover, remember, and share on the Internet.

Digg
http://www.digg.com
Everything on Digg — from news to videos to images — is submitted by the Digg community either directly on the site or by clicking on the Digg icon at the bottom of many news articles. Once something is submitted, other people see it and Digg what they like best. There’s also a conversation that happens around the content.

Reddit
http://www.reddit.com

Stumbleupon
http://www.stumbleupon.com
A relative newcomer to the scene of sharing technologies.

Yahoo!Buzz
Http://www.buzz.yahoo.com

Buzzup
http://www.buzzup.com
Caters mostly to the Tech community

Sphere.com
http://www.sphere.com
Provides a way to pull a thread through a variety of different articles and platforms on a specific topic

Mixx
http://www.mixx.com
Allows you to connect to others with interests similar to yours, or to create your own niche network

Newsvine
http://www.newsvine.com

Blogmarks
http://blogmarks.net/
A mashup of a reader, bookmark bank, and a social network. You store URLs, tag them, and then are able to share them with the network

Social Networks
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com

MySpace
http://www.myspace.com

BlogHer
http://www.BlogHer.com
The largest social network of women bloggers

Gather
http://www.Gather.com

Linked In
http://www.linkedin.com

Blogcatalog
http://www.blogcatalog.com
This is a social network for bloggers

Helium
http://www.helium.com/
This is a social network of self-described “experts” and “thought leaders” in a variety of fields. Largely a community of writers.

Bebo
http://www.bebo.com/
Largest social network in Europe

Hi5
http://www.hi5networks.com
The third largest social network in the U.S. behind Facebook and MySpace. Very young company, though growing quickly. Strong emphasis on Spanish-speaking countries and Hispanic US population. Recently featured in Fortune:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/13/technology/hempel_hifive.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008101512

Ning
http://www.Ning.com
This is a network of social networks where you join niche networks (or start one) based on common interests. Recently featured in Fast Company:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/125/nings-infinite-ambition.html


Reader / Aggregator:
Readers and aggregators allow you to “bookmark” blogs you want to keep up with by subscribing to those blogs’ RSS feeds. The feeds populate your page in the reader and then you log into the reader to read the new posts on the blog you follow.

Bloglines
http://www.bloglines.com

Blinklist
http://www.blinklist.com

Blogmarks.net
http://blogmarks.net/

Make it easy for me to participate

See that blog post just below entitled, Root for Your City? I didn't write it - not a single word of it. A handful of clicks and it was posted for me. American Express ran a program called "Root for Your City". 8 cities across the country are competing for the largest share of 1 million tress to plant in their cities. By using my Amex cards (I am now up to three of them as of yesterday!) at participating stores and restaurants, I am contributing to the effort in my city.

I went to the site after receiving a customer email (1st click) and clicked on the button "RootforNYC.com" (2nd click). After arriving on the home page for the contest and learning a bit about it I clicked on the button "Spread the Word" (3rd click). There was a tab titled "Post to blog" (4th click). I checked the "Blogger" button (since my blog is hosted by Blogger), entered by username and password, clicked "sign-in", and then click "post" (5th, 6th, and 7th clicks). That's it. Done. Posted up to my blog with a link to the contest's site and a pretty picture. A clean, easy to follow, aesthetically-pleasing process. (It was so easy that I felt like I was visiting a site designed by Apple!) Now that is service.

This tiny event was a big lesson for me. In this day and age of messaging and the need for mass participation, the organizers of events, efforts, and campaigns need to make participation easy. Companies need advocates now more than ever. Give a customer a good experience and they're with you for life. This is the age of customer service, when finally customers are given their due as valuable, cherished members of a company. And the companies that will come out ahead when it is all said and done are those that not only call their customers kings and queens, but treat them like that as well.

savvyauntie.com

In my TrendCentral newsletter this morning, I discovered a site that I love! Savvyauntie.com. A community for people just like me - PANKs (Professional Aunt, No Kids). FINALLY someone figured out how awesome it is to be an aunt, figured out that there are other women who love being aunts, and developed a platform to bring them all together.

The site has all kinds of cool features, tips, ways to contribute, advice, and it is stylishly designed. I love the site because it recognizes that there are many women out there who either love kids and don't want any of their own or aren't ready for kids of their own. On occasion I read mom blogs, but a lot of that information doesn't pertain to me as an aunt and many of them love being a mom so much that they don't understand why any women would choose not to have children, or delay the decision to have them. (Even when I was at the BlogHer Conference, which I found incredibly useful from a professional stand-point, I felt outside the circle many times because I wasn't a Mommy blogger.) Melanie Notkin, the site's founder, CEO, and editor, appreciates the p.o.v. of aunts and caters to it.

The other feature that I love about savvyauntie.com is Melanie's willingness to share how she started this business. She's passionate about entrepreneurship and wants to help other people on that journey if they're so inclined. You can read all about her journey to building her own company at http://blog.savvyauntie.com/. With all the recognition and traffic she's getting while the site is still in Beta, savvyauntie.com is going to have a long, happy, and healthy life. And the aunts of the world will be better for it!

Blogging the competition: adver-blogging

On frogblog today, Tim Leberecht discusses a small group of corporate blogs that we are now seeing pop up. Brew blog is one example. It's run by Miller Brewing Company, and rather than promote Miller, the writers spend their time chronicling the fumblings of its biggest rival, Anheuser-Busch. Ick - is this what we're going to do with our new connectivity tools? Use them and spend our time bashing one another? I'd be disappointed in any company who engaged in this kind of activity, and what's more, I'd stop patronizing the brand doing the adver-blogging.

The theory of glass houses applies. I understand wanting to keep tabs on your competition. I understanding wanting to your own horn to drum up business. But just as it does so often with political campaigns, I think the people and companies doing the bashing will ultimately get bashed themselves, with a vengeance.

I hope that we don't see this emerge as a growing trend. I'm much more interested in hearing a company's own stories in their own words. See Tim's original post at http://www.frogdesign.com/frogblog/adversarial-blogging-the-brew-blog-and-co.html

The occupational hazard of blogging and other creative outlets

This week, the New York Times ran a story on three prolific bloggers who, it is believed, blogged themselves to death. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/technology/06sweat.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=media) The stress of the constant need to publish as quickly and as often as humanly possible caused them to fall into poor health. Several friends immediately sent me the article, knowing that I try as best as I can to publish daily on my own blog. I don't always make it, though I am always on the look out for new content and new ideas.

I feel terrible for the families and friends of these writers, the oldest of which was only 60. It is always tragic to see anyone consumed by what they love. I read the article closely, several times, and there are a few things that on the surface I feel may have saved these people. I hope by sharing them with you that they may help other people who feel obsessed with their jobs for whatever reason.

I completely understand insomnia - I've suffered with it for most of my life. I understand anxiety about money - I grew up in a family with very little, and only recently have been able to breath a bit easier about my finances. There were a few huge things in my life that have made a difference in my level of anxiety - I consciously decide to not be a workaholic, and I practice yoga every day, no matter how short an amount of time.

When I worked in DC, some of my office mates would make fun of me because at 5:30, nearly every day, I was out the door. I would feel angry about their teasing sometime, though most of the time I let it go. My mom works herself to the bone. I mean to the absolute brink. It was painful for me, as a kid, to watch her. A year and a half ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and from her recovery bed, she was on her computer. Some call this dedication. There's no denying my mom is a dedicated woman; unfortunately, she is dedicated to a fault. A very large fault, that very easily could cost her, and her children, her life.

Even today, I will come in early, I will work on things at home at night, but I never, and I mean never, allow myself to fall into the habit of staying in the office past 5:30. On occasion, I get it - deadlines pop up, and an occasional late night is necessary. When I went looking for a job after business school, I was adamant about finding one that afforded me a life and time to live it. This is a conscious choice - I ALWAYS have more work, I could always be doing more. I choose to let it lie for the next day. I could very easily become a workaholic; it's in my blood. I fight that temptation every step of the way, and I refuse to back down in the face of my impulse to work "just a little bit more".

Yoga, quite honestly, saved my life. It helped me forgive a lot of sadness and disappointment. It helped me cope during times of extreme stress. It gave me the strength to get up, again and again, with an open heart. It is a discipline. After years of practice, I can sleep, in relative peace. And when I can, where I can, I am out in the world singing yoga's praises, sharing my knowledge about it. Everyone needs a healthy release - yoga is mine.

Anything in the world can get the best of you - food, drugs, gambling, smoking, love, an obsessive hobby, and yes, work, no matter what field you're in. You have more control over you than anyone in the word, whether you realize it or not. At every moment we have a choice. If we are doing something, anything, that harms us, it's easier to blame someone else. Our boss, our romantic partner, our friends. The truth is others control us when we allow them to. Ultimately, our happiness, the very activities that compose our lives, are all choices. And choosing what to do among many options is the hardest, and most important, task we have. I consciously remind myself every morning that my time is the most valuable resource in the world, and I treat it accordingly.

BlogHer Business Conference 2008 Day 2 3:00 - 4:15: Beyond Blogging

Title: Beyond Blogging

Track: Social Media Creation Best Practices 

Synopsis: Can companies leverage apps like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and on and on? Or are they destined to be considered "creepies"? Apps like these hold tremendous promise, but most of us feel like we're flailing about in uncharted waters. We'll talk with a few folks who have managed to catch lightning in a jar and find a way to authentically generate interest, community and even viral buzz...using these social networking and micro-blogging tools. 

Anna Farmery has focused all of her marketing efforts in social media and seen real results. 65% of her 2007 income can be tracked to contacts who found her via her podcast. Moreover her client base used to include zero customers outside the UK, while now 40% of her customers are global. Adding social networks and microblogging to the mix is only amping up her results even further. Anna will be moderating the discussion with these other power-users. 

Connie Reece is one of the women behind the recent Frozen Peas Fund phenomenon on Twitter. This is an amazing story of social media in positive action. Dawn Foster manages Developer Relations for Jive Software and is an active organizer of the thriving Portland tech community. Between those two jobs she finds using Facebook, Twiiter, Blip.TV and other social apps to be instrumental in helping her foster and maintain engaged communities. 

Shay Pausa is a video expert who can speak to best practices on everything from content to technology to distribution. 

Finally Trisha Okubo can answer that all-important question: Is it worth it for your company to create a Facebook application? She has created three in her role at eBay and has a lot of learnings to share. These are real people representing real companies making real things happen via these tools. It's not all playing around!

 

Live Blog Post Begins:

A panel full of web stars!!

Connie – uses Twitter to promote her work.

Dawn is a community specialist. On-line and link to real world communities. 

Trisha – a disruptive innovator. 

Shay – Executive producer of “She Knows TV.” A video expert.

Anna – podcaster and blogger. Founded a company called “The Engaging Brand”.

Shay – really important to know that there is so much user-generated video content out there. Recognize that what is looked and what people virally syndicate is the story itself. Now everyone can be a video producer. 

Anna – The thought of producing a video is daunting. 

Shay – what TV through a different eye – watch what they’re shooting. Any guest is only on for seconds at a time. With a series of pictures, you can put together story. This is as sample as getting some movie software. Add visuals to what you’re already writing. 

Anna – does video suit everyone?

Shay – Watch TV and see what you’ll need to produce on the net. There’s a video component that works for everyone. You just don’t want to be boring. Yes everyone has a book in them, but who wants to read it? It’s an important thing to look at. 

Anna – I know how to press record, now what do I do when I get home. 

Shay – need come software to capture it. Pinnacle is a very inexpensive product. Can download for $29.95 onto computer. And then you drag and drop, and cut and chop, to edit. Very easy to use. 

Shay – good sites to publish video are Voxin, Bright Cove (SEO friendly), You Tube, videos on My Space. The general ones you know are good. I recommend Bright Cove. Distribution is phenomenal. Video bio make people feel like they know you – don’t script it. Make it real. 

Michael Eisner said, “The reason that TV production companies are having a tough time on the internet is because it’s difficult to monetize the internet. Networks need 4 people to do craft services. Internet takes 4 people to do the whole project.”

TV production is too cost prohibitive. On-line video is much cheaper. Shay’s site is Sheknows.com (4^th largest site for women). She owns chikitv.com.

All profiles are on the BlogHer website. 

Trisha – works in eBay’s disruptive innovation group. Has been exploring commerce in Facebook. You can learn form mistakes quickly, easily, and cheap. Created my eBay on Facebook to see what friends on Facebook bought. People go to Facebook to hang out, not shop. Shopping is not the reason for going there. More value in putting social aspect on commerce site. Vice versa doesn’t work so well.  

Dawn – can write code and was a developer once. And now has a social and community aspect as well.  Really know your audience and how to reach them. Give them a chance to participate. Done a lot of work in nonprofit area. Can promote events virally. Bring in as many as 800 people advertising on Twitter and Facebook. Incredible response!

Trisha – metrics for Facebook were how many people joined the community. Comments are more valuable though. Some sellers had a community that buys form them on eBay on their Facebook page. 

Connie – tapped into a community that she knew to tell a personal story through twitter. Frozen Pea Fund. Very active in Twitter. She is a social media consultant. Her business partner, Susan, and she met on-line. They were about to launch a company and Susan learned that she had breast cancer. Very serious. Immediate operation. A lot of pain. And Susan took a picture of herself with frozen peas as an ice pack. She shared it all on-line. Her blog was called Boobsonice.com. Someone else put a pkg of frozen peas as their avatar and then the peas went viral. 

A comedian, Kathleen, suggested that wouldn’t it be great if all women donated the cost of a pack of frozen peas to a breast cancer nonprofit. Built flickr group, built pea-vatars. December 21^st the frozen pea fund launched. $3500 raised in 15 hours from 3 continents. Raised $8000 in the next few months. 

A journalist tracked her down through Twitter to do a story. All done with no organization, no planning. Here’s a compelling story. Everyone knows someone with breast cancer. Especially men come out to meet Susan every time she appears in public. They trust her even though they only know her on-line. It’s like a reunion to meet people on-line. There is a real community out there.

Anna – how can commerce use Twitter?    

Connie – you have to be careful. You have to limit the use of twitter to make sure you don’t wear out your welcome. She never talks about anything she can’t endorse. You only have so much social capital. So be careful how you use it. The community will give you feedback. When forwarding links, make sure to include a headline.

Trisha – recommends a Profile Page over a Facebok page on Facebook. Put a person behind the page, not just the business. Make it human. Gives context. What can you do for the community on Facebook rather than always thinking vice versa. 

Connie – Facebook sometimes isn’t the best place for companies. Explore social networks where your target audience is. All social networks are not created equal. 

Trisha – aspirational brands, brands that don’t belong, brands that people directly relate to. Go to the network that best speaks to the kind of brand you are. 

Dawn – make sure there is conversation that doesn’t necessarily relate to your brand to make the profile authentic.     

Anna – About 70% of my business comes from my blog and podcast. Facebook didn’t work for me. My customers weren’t there. They want to deal directly with me, not all my other customers. 

Connie – lifespan of something on Twitter is very short. Not as effective as it once was. 

Trisha – There will be another Facebook. Friendfeed is great, it centralizes all your data. It allows you to take all of your services across the web and puts them all together. 

Dawn – Friendfeed is an aggregator and fragments the conversation. 

Connie – something beyond Twitter is coming soon. Sesmic just bought up Twirl this week. Utters is great because it’s portable. But threading these conversations and keeping track is tough.   

Dawn – Some of these social networks are generational. Twitter is 30-somethings. Facebook is college and older. I wonder if our next social network will be centered around another generation. It will be fun to see what happens. 

Connie – ConnieReece on Twitter. Everydotconnect.com is the blog. Frozen peapod.com

Dawn - Geekygirldawn, fastwonderblog.com

Trisha – TrishaOkubo.com

Anna – the engagingbrand.com, on Twitter as Engaging Brand.

BlogHer Business Conference 2008 Day 2 1:15 - 2:30: Overcoming Internal Objections 101

1:15-2:30 PM

Break-Out Session #2

 

Title: Overcoming Internal Objections 101

Track: Social Media Creation Best Practices 

Synopsis: As the head of all of Google's internal and external blogging efforts, Karen Wickre has seen and heard it all. Every objection, every concern, every barrier. Karen will moderate a discussion about how to answer the objections and concerns that arise when trying to sell a social media program internally. She'll be joined by experts who have successfully made the case for blogging at companies large and small, bureaucratic and free-wheeling, including: 

Yvonne Divita, who has gotten Purina dipping a toe and then diving right into blogging 

Lena West, an expert on helping companies figure out how to manage their time and resources to enable a social media program. 

Margaret Gurowitz will talk about managing her blog Kilmer House, a company blog at J&J, a company with a policy of no company blogs! 

Social Media Creation Best Practices Track is brought to you by Ogilvy's

Live Blog Post Begins:

Margaret – No blogs policy at J&J. 3 external blogs. 

Yvonne – felt Purina should be blogging. Lawyers wouldn’t let them. Yvonne was allowed to blog “under the radar.” So she did. They are now above the radar. It’s been very successful. 

Lena – Zenomedia.com CEO. “If you’ve heard and objection, I have an answer to it.”

Margaret – Consumer products and pharma side. Enables us to go back to the way we used to talk to people directly 100 years ago. 2006 was the anniversary of the San Fran Earthquake. J&J wanted to blog about the effort they put forward in San Fran. Idea was squashed. Privacy concerns. Legal concerns. Yet they had so much history to tell a great story. So they decided to blog about their history. 

Rather than go through the central authority, they wrote a business case and went to people one by one. “What are your concerns?” And one by one, they answered them. 

Kilmer House launched in the summer of 2006. Massive horrible things didn’t happen. Paved the way for “J&J by the way”. More approval was needed, but it happened. First pharma blog also just launched. 

There is brand value in the information that is put out on the blogs. Corporations love stuff they can measure. Reporters are finding them and their stories through the blog. 

Yvonne – went to interactive media director at Purina and convinced them to let her blog. The majority of pet owners are women. She has a background in veterinary medicine. She created a proposal and Purina sat on it for a while. “I got to be careful of lawyers.” So she went under the radar. And she said, “if you don’t do this, I’ll take it somewhere else.” And that got their attention. 

Clear cut guidelines were established. Some topics were off-limits. And that was fine. Press releases were modified and she talked about the content of what was in the press release. She begged them to let her talk to someone about it. She wanted to put something up on the blog. She couldn’t get someone to give her info from the company. Not a single bad comment was critical of Purina with the recall.                     

The blog has been up for a year and a half. Went to Purina’s interactive marketing summit. Each brand in Purina is its own little company. The success has helped to support other social media efforts. She is not an employee of Purina. 

Also now blogging for the Simon School at University of Rochester. Hugely successful. 

Lena – felt that the site for Women’s e-news needed some revamping. So she offered up her help. July 2007 started talks. Still just starting to move on the suggestions now. Their hesitation was journalistic integrity. Fine with the board and getting legal on board. They wanted to remain journalists. 

To move the social media agenda forward, someone needs to get the guts and get out there. It takes courage. 

Karen – objections are drawn from the worst case scenarios. It’s basically a fast publishing platform. “Speed is life.”

In the session there are a mix of people within companies who work on social media and people who are consulting to companies on social media. 

Karen - Google has about 110 blogs. About half are not in English. Each post is reviewed by someone in PR, though not legal. Legal has embraced blogging from the get-go. Education needed internally on how to create a personal, informal post. 

Lena – we work with multiple blog authors within the company. Anticipate objections and have an answer to them. Sometimes objectors in blogs can smell fear. Don’t give them the space to object. Think of scenarios and have answers. Maneuver in the situation. Fake it ‘til you make it.      

Yvonne – a lot of people want me to blog about them and their pets. Sometimes do – for example with rescue organizations. She did help one woman who wanted some PR for her rescue organization. A few months later the woman was furious that the picture of her pet was up on the site. Turned out the woman was upset because her dog had recently been hit by a car and died. Yvonne stayed open to the anger and discovered the problem, remedied it right away, and now the woman is a friend of hers. Staying level-headed helps. 

Margaret – serial blogs can drive lots of traffic – just like reading a great book. Discovering underlying reasons for objections helps.

Lena – do not get every objector in one room together. Have separate rooms and answer individual concerns. Create a checklist of what everyone wants, check that off, coach the objectors, and at the end you will have a sign-off list. Present copies to every single person in the meeting at the kick-off. Strategize on approach of the pitch as much as you do about the design and content of the blog. 

Karen – domino effect will help. 

Lena – do what you need to do to sell this idea. Whatever it takes. Best defense is a good offense. 

Yvonne – a new blog for Purina is about to launch. “Send me in writing what you are worried about.” 

 

Yvonne – she builds a lot of blogs for small businesses. If there’s no one who is going to be devoted to it on a regular basis, then blogging won’t work. If you’re fighting the company with the objections, then it may be better to just participate with comments on other sites.

Lena – you can be short on time or money, but not both. Lena’ company will coach, help, guide you, but they will not drag you kicking and screaming. 

Karen – start a site internally and see how well it goes. That is a good test.

Lena – won’t work with a company unless they are ready for success. 

Yvonne – here’s a question. “If you started a blog, would you get in trouble? And if so, why? And if you know why, then how could you remedy that?” Show them blogs that are out there. Look at comments, look at blogroll. Phrase it as “you’ve got to keep up. We can do this better than these other folks are doing it.”

Lena – draw up a huge proposal, in the hopes of getting even just a small piece of it. And it becomes the boss’s idea.  

Lena – quantcast.com shows company blog stats from companies. Yes focus on return is fair but drive home the point that what we invest is in direct relation to what we get in return. 

Yvonne – dozen Google alerts on Purina. People are out there talking about Purina, even if not on the company blog. Pet communities comment all the time and ask to link. It is seen as Yvonne’s blog, not necessarily Purina. Dr. Larry writes about pet ailments on the blog. 

Yvonne – feed burner, Google stats, etc. are used to monitor stats. And how many people comment by email. The more valuable part is how many relationships have been built as a result. 

Margaret – having another blog link back to yours is incredibly valued. 

Lena – it’s true that what doesn’t get measured gets forgotten. Figure out what metrics dictate success and how you are going to measure them. This is critical. Have goals in metrics, and an agreed method of what goes into measuring them. Focus on the basics. You can only focus on three things at any one time. A massive spreadsheet is too much. 

Yvonne – Purina occasionally asks about an incident that there is something going on and wants info.

Margaret – J&J’s .com site platform didn’t support blogging software. They went out to an open source platform and it does what we want. Didn’t go through IT. Communications function, not IT. 

Yvonne – use Typepad because it’s point and click. It’s fully-functionality and it is easy to use. Any design can be used for a website. The goal is to turn it all over to the client to manage it. 

Lena – product agnostic. Get the solution that is best for the company. Largely we use Wordpress. Allows other people to run it because open-source is portable and scalable. Open-source vs. home-grown can be a valid argument. Send out an RFP to a few companies, show how much it costs to have a homegrown application, and then show them what it costs for an open-source platform. They’ll change their tune.

Yvonne – blogs are small sound bites on the internet. The pieces need to be short. Journalistically, use proper English. Few acronyms. Personal voice that is written with the same professionalism as with magazines. You have to track-back, link to sources. Make sure you are 100% accurate. Fact checking is important. 

Karen – let the linking do the heavy lifting. Open link in a new window. We have some blogs with comments and some without. 

Lena – it’s called social media. It’s supposed to be social. If you’re wondering if there is any question on fair usage, make sure you give credit. If anything, over-credit your sources. You would want to be quoted, so quote others. You build a brand, and others to. Make sure to give them credit for that.     

Margaret – always attributes. 

Yvonne – Creative Commons is a great resource. 

Lena – software called Copyscape can help you monitor how your comment is being used in other places. 

BlogHer Business Conference 2008 Day 2 10:45 - 12 noon: Moving from Should to Can

10:45-12:00 PM

Break-Out Session #1

 

Title: Moving From "Should" to "Can"

 

Track: Social Media Creation Best Practices

 

Synopsis: You've heard all the reason you're supposed to have a company blog and more. But let's talk about moving from "should" to "can." From technology choices to time management, community policies to common pitfalls, this session is designed to help you figure out what will give your company the greatest comfort level and potential for success when launching a blog, podcast or online community.

 

Technologist and author Susannah Gardner moderates this discussion. Susannah is the author of Blogging for Dummies, 2^nd Edition.

 

Fast Company's Lynne D. Johnson will talk about the why and how behind Fast Company's recent evolution from magazine web site, with blogs, to a more interactive social community.

 

We'll also get insight on how PBS Parents is making the journey from "should" to "can" by talking to the Director of PBS Parents, Jean Crawford, and one of her blogger/consultants, Jen Lemen...someone who is associated with the most authentic and creative aspects of the blogosphere, but is helping organizations tap into their opportunities to be a part of it. Check out her blog at http://www.jenlemen.com.

 

Social Media Creation Best Practices Track is brought to you by Ogilvy's

 

Live Blog Post Begins:

This session talks about the idea of wanting to just try o start moving from an idea to a concept. Pushing through barriers to put ideas into practice. We’ll get at what’s holding us back.

 

Jean – PBS Parents site launched about 3 years ago. And so much has changed in that time on the internet. Blogs and the community have blossomed and that is a hole in the site and in he PBS Corporation. History nurturing dialogue is part of the brand so PBS needs to get into blogs. The challenge is that the brand is incredibly trusted so there is a reluctance to do anything that may damage that reputation. Need to find right voice to mitigate the risk.

 

A curious, empathetic voice is needed. PBS lucked out in finding three trusted voices – Jen Lemen, Chris Hammond, and their third sister. This all started at BlogHer last year when Jean met Chris. The sisters are a great mixture of different personalities. Project started 1 year ago. The new site is launching shortly. Important to make it the sisters’ blog, not PBS blog.

 

An external voice was brought in to draw on the experience of outside bloggers rather than choosing someone from the inside. Jean doesn’t blog, and she wanted to find someone who had a truly authentic voice. These sisters will know how to engage people, who can draw people in. They will be accepted.

 

Collaborative for his blog means that there will be three authors (the sisters), PBS, and structuring I and organizing it in a way that everyone works together to keep the dialogue going.

 

Jen – All credit goes to Chris. Brought her 6 week old baby to BlogHer last year. She was a little magnet for people. She met Jean and got things going and introduced Jean to her. Putting our foot in the water to see if this work. Kids love PBS so this was a natural fit. A little nervous about working with corporations – common for bloggers. Independent writer her whole career. When the meeting happened, she became s much more comfortable because the PBS space is designed well, it’s a comforting place, an inspirational place.  It instantly relaxed me.

 

Jean – I saw Jen staring at the environment and she was mesmerized by the value that were on the wall at PBS. (Brave, inspiration, empathy, to name a few.)

 

Jen – Working with sisters is interesting. Now we have to take this great idea and make it happen. We decided it would make the most sense to have one person to pull together the design. Chris is an attorney and business savvy, so she is dealing with the contract. Patience (the third sister) is pulling together the content. She has blogged for five years and has a wonderful community that follows her blog.

 

Jen laid out how the blog should look, how often they should post. Visualizing the process. Now her role drops back and her sisters drive the process forward.

 

Lynne – started its life as a magazine. Moved from being print product with a website to moving to being a social network for its readers. About 8-10 years ago, Fast Company started “Company of Friends” – special interest groups. Like a fan club once the magazine came out. List serves, calendars, events, etc. That was going strong for a few years and then it fell off.

 

So we started to build up content of website beyond the magazine. Lynne has been there for two years. Podcasts, videos, Fast Company TV, expert bloggers. She brought the expert bloggers across different disciplines. New social network became bigger than any of the experts. Everything you do on the site follows you on your profile that you set up. It becomes sharing your interests based on activity on the site.

 

Magazine subscribers have now fundamentally shifted how they view the company. Print people were wondering if they were trying to be Facebook. Lynne has been a part of social media for over 7 years. That’s why she was brought in. She is a face of what this community represents – she walks the walk and talks the talk.

 

The site has the magazine, but it’s not the main focus anymore. They curate the 9 home pages that have the main points of focus.

 

Stumbling blocks that stop the social media creation process – time to dedicate to the effort, money, age of the person who wants to do the project, learning the language of this new industry, getting out of our comfort zone to learn about the technology, fear internally, and companies being afraid of losing control in the world of social media, being overwhelmed by all of the social media options, lack of understanding on how to drive traffic to a blog, explaining the concept. 

 

Lynne – if you don’t want to start a new on-line initiative, you can start a group around your company on Fast Company, Inc. Biznet (for small businesses), Facebook. Easy ways to share.

 

Jen – there are digital natives and digital immigrants. For the digital immigrants it can be very confusing and difficult. What they need are tour guides. What’s missing in the conversation right now are the guides. There are people in this room who can help you. Women who blog are so willing to share their expertise and knowledge. Utilize them. Connect to one another.

 

Jean – Being part of the conversation was big for PBS. The discussion was happening out there – people engaging, sharing ideas. PBS wanted to share, too. Jean was a digital immigrant, if that. Maybe just on the way on the boat. She relied heavily on Jen and her sisters.

 

Breaking through barriers with mgmt at PBS was not an issue. In their nature, they are about communities and about communication. The money and resource issue was tough. Was eventually able to scrounge up a budget but people power issues was tough.

 

Aligned mission of organization to the mission of a blog. Matched overall principles. Social media is a strategy now of the interactive group.

 

Lynne – some internal conflicts at Fast Company in this shift. From management and from other areas of the company. The people in print were not happy about the blog-look of the pages. That was the point. It doesn’t function like a magazine anymore.

 

Internally, they had a lot of meetings. They did change their minds a lot about how the site should look. As they went through the journey, they found an authentic, functional look.

 

No compromises were made. Some suggestions from the print people were incorporated. They will have a “Great Idea of the Day”. Can come from writers and editors of the magazine. Things like that.

 

Jen – We wanted to be paid the same rate as professional writers. If that level of respect is there, then that is a good sign. Same as a freelancer for a magazine. You aren’t just asking for a post – you are asking for a finely crafted piece. PBS understands that. 

 

An average amount of time would be based on how much each post takes to write. Each sister needs to spend 8-10 hours per week on the blog.  

 

Lynne – Fought to pay expert bloggers. They had to be provocative and publish on a schedule. These are real writers. Now, finally, they are looking for revenue shares for them.

 

Jean – Hiring a community manager. Have been trying to do so for three years. To do this right, they need to be able to support the sisters. The sisters wanted a schedule and some structure imposed by PBS. That will help them in working together.

 

Overarching structure is in child development. It is the topic that PBS is asked about the most. The bloggers will use stories about their children to talk about child development.

 

Audience comments on fear – legal aspects, how to deal with negative comments. You don’t get over the fear, you just take the risk. Sit downs with lawyers are necessary. Moderated comments put some liability on the company in a legal realm. Starting small and getting some small wins will help in selling the concept up the food chain. Numbers speak volumes.

 

March of Dimes created a Spanish-language blog completely under the table. 50 comments every day. 7000 hits in one day. Got called on the carpet for it. And once they saw the success, they then wanted a blog in English. English one is not so great. The Spanish one rocks!

 

Lynne – Only take comments down if they are slanderous, way off-topic. It’s in their terms of service. Fast Company doesn’t dismiss personal, honest opinions. The risk is worth it.

 

Jean – Expert Q&A blog. Disclaimer on the site about language. Otherwise, they leave it. Will delete a comment if it is completely off-topic.

 

Lynne – She sort of has a technology background. For these social media efforts, they sell the marketing aspect first and then put the technology behind it. She does the cross-functional team work to get everyone together on the same page.

 

One big take-away: to move form should to can you need to find the right people, internal or external. Really what it comes down to is someone who takes responsibility and makes it fit for the company. Lynne is the product manager as well as the editor. Jean says showing a passion for the idea is critical. Being on-line requires wearing different hats.

 

Jen – would love it if more business people will appeal to the expertise of bloggers.

 

Jean – don’t give up. Keep at it. Show the benefits. If anyone has a name for the blog, or wants to be in a brainstorming session or participating in the beta, let Jean know.

 

Lynne – you need to sell management and selling the social media community. It’s really important to include people in what you’re doing. You need to respond to inquiries.

 

Susannah – people are the solution, not the technology. Someone needs to own it, nurture it, and someone needs to be there.         

 

 

Live blog from the BlogHer Business Conference 2008 - Day 1 10am - 12noon: 4 Case Studies on Social Media Creation

Synopsis:

Four companies, four social media programs, four examples of best practices in action...including a frank discussion of their metrics of success.

 

Confirmed case studies currently include:

DC Goodwill: Toby Bloomberg interviews Em Hall, the woman behind DC Goodwill's Goodwill Fashionista blog about how the blog and other innovative online programs are helping DC Goodwill broaden their customer base and create unlikely buzz.

 

Hearst Mobile: Fast Company's Lynne D. Johnson interviews Hearst Digital media's director of mobile, Sophia Stuart, about their initiative to take content and community mobile...realizing the promise of mobile ubiquity. Hear how they brainstormed over what content made sense for their mobile platforms from nine magazine properties, and about how they evangelized this new content internally and with surprisingly intimate efforts externally.

 

Kodak: Google blog leader Karen Wickre interviews her counterpart at Kodak, Jenny Cisney about Kodak's award-winning efforts on creating a substantial and substantive corporate presence in the blog world. Jenny cites internal education and morale as one of the key benefits of their blog program, but I'm sure Karen and Jenny will compare a few notes on how it impacts

their companies' stature externally too.

 

Wiggly Wigglers: Yes, you read that company name right. Wiggly Wigglers is a UK-based gardening and farming e-commerce site. Maria Niles interviews Heather Gorringe, Wiggly Wigglers' founder and resident social media convert. Heather ripped up her advertising budget and now relies on social media to promte her company and its products. Using Facebook, a blog and a podcast that now has 40,000 regular listeners Heather has managed to grow her business, no pun intended. Find out how these tools can work for you, even if you're not a deep-pocket big brand with a dedicated team!

 

Blog post begins:

 

DC Goodwill: Vintage Fashion show kicks it off. Advice: “Mix vintage fashion and modern accessories.” Everything that the speaker is wearing will be on the DC Goodwill ebay store this afternoon.

 

“Thrift is fashion” is the mantra of Goodwill of Greater Washington. The interviewee is the retail fashion manager for the organization. The blog is a part of the media marketing strategy. They’ve done a virtual runway show, have an ebay store. Miss M. is the blog’s author and fashionista.

 

Toby: I found Miss M’s blog through a friend who helped put it together. Why did goodwill create a blog.

 

Em: I promote the mission through the blog. We are mission focused, mission driven: Training and employment for people with disadvantages. It’s a complicated mission and message. Stores are the key – great prices, costumes, crazy piece of fashion for a party. Don’t want to spend a lot of money – wear it a couple of times, goes back to Goodwill, and someone buys it a few weeks later. Fashion is the language that draws in people to the blog. And then we tie mission to fashion. Reel them in on an interesting topic and then explain how the Goodwill relates to that.

 

Toby: You’ve used the blog to reposition from a junk store to a vintage store.

 

Em: DC doesn’t have thrift stores like NYC does. DC has a rep for women in dark hose with white tennis shoes. Wanted to let fashionable folks out there know they can come into a goodwill store and find some great clothes there. Find vintage clothes for not vintage prices.

 

Toby: You’re using the clothes in the store as part of the content strategy.

 

Em: Tuesday is about Goodwill. Other days are about fashion. I started and failed at blogging in the past. Not dedicated to it. Our blog is a product: schedule, mission, persona of the fashionista. I blog anonymously – no name and no picture so it will be greater than any actual blogger. We’re creating a legacy. We provide info on contemporary and vintage fashion that readers will enjoy. Monday – fashion finds. Tuesday – goodwill mission. Wed – breather. Thursday – editorial day. Friday – blog the blogger: 5+1 questions to fashion bloggers all over the world and then they email back and I publish the answers.

 

Toby – Are you integrated with other marketing initiatives?

 

Em: Yes. We did an on-line fashion show last year. No budget for live show last year. We had a live show the year before. We marketed the virtual show on the blog. Very low cost, low budget. Fashiongoodwill.org. 22,000 people have viewed the show on-line. Then we had an auction of the items on ebay – almost everything was purchased. We had a Lookbook on the blog. And then we posted on You Tube.  

 

Q&A:

 

Q: Do you encourage swaps?

 

Em: Yes, absolutely. We actually use them to drive brick and mortar stores. We’re doing a clothing swaps with “Green Muslims” – a Muslim group dedicated to protecting the environment. We do boutique trunk shows – our last one raised $525 in three hours. We stage the swaps at store. They help us reach a new audience – events, Meet up, blogs, yahoo groups somewhat. Having the blog allows us to plug in. At invitation-only goodwill clothes event 100 people show up!

 

Toby: And you blur the line between on-line, off-line.

 

Q: How do they target DC community?

 

Em: Content is focused on DC events. No travel budget. Fashion event coverage has to be in DC. I am out in the neighborhoods. I wears local designers’ jewelry, handbags. I support local boutiques. Small fashion blog scene in DC – off and on line. We all know each other and support each other on-line and off.

 

Toby: What are your goals for the blog?

 

Em: We just wanted readers to log in. No one was sure if this would work. Played with brand’s image. We heard a lot of “What a great idea you, weirdos!! This won’t work.” It was risky. We had to talk to the Board, CEO – it was really difficult. Had to explain what a blog is, why it matters. It’s on a computer but it will help stores. ROI can be ephemeral, but you can quantify it. You can measure. Drive traffic to events. Measure year over year sccess. Ebay – giving works program for nonprofits is excellent. And you can support nonprofits that way. Ebay refunds selling costs for nonprofits.

 

Q: Will you expand this strategy to Goodwills in other areas in US?

 

Em: Yes – Canada is interested. San Fran has a great partnership with Joe Boxer. DC is the only fashion blog for Goodwill Industries.

 

Toby: Lessons learned?

 

Em: We bit off more than we can chew. Ebay is a monster. You need to know it inside and out or it eats you alive. We were able to escape a bit. A little rough. I hadn’t been on-line too much before. I had to be on Pounce, Twitter, Linked in, etc. You really need to pick the channels of communities you get into. We grew really fast which was great, but you need to know what areas you really want to get into. Started small and then wham everything exploded. Look at a few main components, and go for it!

 

Toby: How do we find you?

 

Em: DCgoodwillfashion.blogspot.com

 

 

Hearst Mobile:

 

Sophia – We want to meet different needs of women on the go. What do they really need? Horoscopes, cubicle coach, fashion, quizzes, love advice, Dude Decoder.

 

Lynne – Mobile seems like the land of the unknown. Why do you want to be there?

 

S: We are everywhere else where women are: on-line TV, magazines. Be wherever she is – mobile is a logical connection. We have 50 bloggers across the company. We monitor absolutely everything.

 

Lynne – different aspects of mobile?

 

S: want to be really honest. I have a big budget because I work for Hearst. Don’t know how to do mobile on the skinny. Learnings: Cosmo girl was the first mobile project. 1) Women by and large aren’t that interested in the nuts and bolts of the technology. They just want it to work out of the box. Want to use it immediately. 2)Test on 1600 browsers to make sure it always works. Basic level of testing within mobile. Very important. 3) Big distribution deals with the carriers. On all big carriers. Be deeply practical and put pressure on blogging software to develop a mobile version of the software. Creating brands – you need to protect them. Go from the software route, Render blogs on mobile – variety of vendors. Direct xml feed from on-line so it renders correctly on site. Sniffer on server to update it constantly.

 

L– why isn’t it easier?

 

S: technology is evolving. In time, it will get easier.

 

L: what else can you do with blog and content in mobile arenas?

 

S: what doesn’t work well right now is the comments section. Power of mobile blogs is listening in – kitchen table analogy in your phone. Getting info. 5-7pm is the most popular mobile time. Women want some company then – enrich the few moments of downtime that women have. Helps people not feel alone. Our blogger, Constant dieter – makes women feel okay about things they think about when considering their own diets.

 

L: are certain types of content better on mobile than others?

 

S: Fashion. Shopping. Local content works. Practical information that women need on the go – how to get rid of a stain, recipes when in the store. What does she need in a pinch in a quick moment? Travel and tipping. Women are traveling more – and you need traveling etiquette quick!

 

Q&A:

Q: where do you find your bloggers?

 

S: how they came up with mobiles sites – create a scenario. Role playing actively in meetings. Then brainstorm. What assets did we have to meet a need? Bloggers don’t directly go to mobile – we're not big enough just yet. Take some bloggers from the brands like Redbook. They get bloggers via editor-n-chief. Only some work for mobile. “Good grief” – mom of two twin boys that got hit with breast cancer. Readers want to check in with her.

 

Q: Market share?

 

S: helps drive traffic to older publications like GH through mobile. New editor in chief with GH who’s more hip. Full-page ads in print. GH is the fastest growing mobile site after Cosmo. New audiences through carriers. Asked front row fashionistas from publications like Bazaar to blog through their blackberries or palms or iphones. Mobile reaches a non-IT audience that now blogs on their phones that wouldn’t blog through a laptop.

 

Q: Do you create mobile-specific content?

 

S: re-edited everything for mobile – on mobile you don’t want to scroll, scroll, scroll. Quizzes, Q&A, need to have blogs be compelling to scroll. Re-edited to everything that Carmel Snow would tell you – someone you’d love to have as your great-ant. How to apply eyeliner properly, the best foundation to wear, etc.

 

L: What does "re-edited" mean?

 

S: new content mgmt system built from scratch. Had to because nothing has been built yet, “remember dial-up”? We’re in dial-up right now. 4G -  mobile broadband download to your mobile device – will be much faster. Will be automated sometime in the future.

 

Q: 4G – will it be globally standardized?

 

S: standardized across the globe or even the US is tough. Must go meet the individual carriers because of the old telecom industry. Not like the internet. Big businesses – they want to win! Spring, Verizon, AT&T. You need to know a ton about technology to make mobile beautifully seamless behind the scenes.

 

Q: what to do for rural communities?

 

S: not involved in connectivity side so don’t know a lot about the rural areas. I know there has been an enormous amount done by carriers to help rural areas. Some parts of South Africa will not have broadband. Just not worth it. But they are trying to get mobile broadband into those areas. Passionate about health info to teen girls. Cosmo girl has done that - helping young girls in rural areas get critical health information. Need health info from reliable source – not necessarily friends. 

 

L: final thoughts.

 

S: use the site and let me know what you think!

 

L: share info about vendors?

 

S: sure – will be happy to tell you whom not to work with. Save the pain.

 

 

Kodak

Karen – runs the Google blog program – 111 blogs

Jenny – Kodak

 

J – Blog has been up for a year and a half. Effective corporate blog – no hard sell. Stories about photography from employees. Obviously their blog is all about pictures. Lots of passion in the blogs. Incredible pictures – neonatal units outfitted with Kodak cameras so moms can see the baby right away when they are still in treatment. One blogger takes pictures on her mission trips. Incredible outlet for employees to share their lives and what they’re passionate about.

 

K – how do stories about employees get to you?

 

J – advertise for stories on intranet. Hear about stories through other employees and go to them directly. Looking around the company.

 

K – edit the stories?

 

J – haven’t had too much that’s not well written. Sometimes a bit too long. 

 

K – approval process at Kodak?

 

J – fortunate that sponsor in communications dept that got it. One month from time of conception to blog up and running. Lightning speed. I drafted up the blog – wrote sample posts. Fears melted away once there was something to actually look at. Calmed down a little bit.

 

K – grow employee participation?

 

J – big word of mouth because huge portion of hits are internal. Blog is entertaining. Anyone in Kodak can participate all across the globe.

 

K – response of execs?

 

J – very excited – innovation and technology. 1000 words, 1000 nerds. Nerds – one post a week. Words – one every day, which is a lot for a corporate blog.

 

K – how do you handle comments?

 

J – no approval process. Only censored for language and offensive comments. Kodak Printers were on the show The Apprentice – Gene Simmons didn’t win and people from his fan club wrote tons of comments on the Kodak blog that Kodak didn’t know what they were doing not choosing Gene's team to win.

 

K – In responding to comments, do you check with PR?

 

J – no. We have 75 contributors off and on. They must own their posts. Only controversial subjects go to PR.

 

K – What's your title? Web designer?

 

J - “chief blogger”. 20% of time to blogging for the 75 people on the team. I am now full-time blogging.

 

K - Tracking tools?

 

J – we use them. Not driving traffic, but quality comments and content.

 

K – other photo sites?

 

J – only if a post warrants it. Sometimes photo group on flickr for certain kinds of posts.

 

K – Q&A?

 

Q - links between blog and traditional marketing / PR?

 

J – trying to integrate more into mktg plan. Full part of strategy. Marketing needs to be conscious of it.

 

Q - Selling it through, what metrics did you have for success?

 

J – comments that people were getting through. That other blogs were linking to us, see that our name is getting out there.

 

Q - Comments not moderated. How did legal team feel?

 

J – keep very close watch on comments and respond immediately.

 

Q - user-generated content?

 

J – not just yet. Down the line we’d love to do that.

 

Q – guidelines for responding to comments? 

 

J – ask that the person posting s story monitors the comments. I get copied on all comments. Pass on to service and support when necessary. Not every comment gets a response – not unless follow-up is needed.

 

Q – Do you work all the time?

 

J – Yes. Had my own blog for 8 years. I have had the anti-Deuce effect. Kodak appreciated my help.

 

Q – How do you promote to an external audience?

 

J – Going to conferences. Spoke at BlogWorld. PR group is separate – arms length. Lots of hits are people just searching and stumbling upon it.

 

Q – not limited to Kodak product posts?

 

J - Reference flickr. High-end cameras not Kodak. We want to inspire passion for photography.

 

Q – track competitors?

 

J – HP does blog though their mission and content is different. Stories are the focus on Kodak. Other companies focus on their own brand.

 

Q – PR kept separate on purpose?

 

J – keeping PR and blogging separate is intentional. It is not a communications job. It’s not a marketing ploy. Soft sell, but really a branding effort and inspiring the underlying passion for photography.

 

Q – What would you do differently?

 

J – Nothing really. A little more research in blogging platform. Use “Awareness” out of Canada. Shopped around a bit for different platforms, but not much.

 

Q – integrated blog address into Kodak site?

 

J – yes. In footer of the Kodak site. Log links back to product pages.

 

Q – how many contributors?

 

J – 70. They're scheduled. Some just do a one-time story. 50/50 number of men and women. More posts by women. I manage all of the bloggers. They go through training of blog etiquette. Power Point deck that they are waked through – pretty basic.

 

Q – does it helps that Kodak knew it had to change?

 

J – yes, but there are always still people that we had to convince. 60% of Kodak business is BtoB. Not everyone was on board and ready for change, but it’s happening.

 

 

 

Wiggly Wigglers

 

Maria – you are in for a treat. Background?

 

Heather – started in 1990 in the UK. 63 is the population of my town. One product – worm-composting kit. Not the greatest business plan. Struggled along – just me for many years. Selling a few products here and there. Natural gardening selling business to more urban people. Came up with a website in 1995. In 1995 most people didn’t have a website and most people weren’t into recycling. Started training on-line shortly after that. Wasn’t going that well at first. My business manager said to me, “This is business – very easy. You have this much at the start of the year, this much at end of year. It’s not working. Give up.” And I fired him. Wanted to connect with end-users. I was passionate about it.

 

M – so you have the website, you’re selling worms. How do you connect to the wide world of worm lovers?

 

H – there is a wide world of worm lovers! Needed to connect with what we were trying to achieve. Passion is contagious. I am a farmer. Farming is in major decline in the area. And I watched farmers lose their self-respect in that area. I thought, "Gosh, how can I help?" These people know so much and yet, they have no self-value. As a woman in this rural area, I felt what I needed to do was have a chat. That’s really what you need to do in life. Negative feedback is okay. Blogosphere is like driving a car – beep,  beep. People try to push you out of the way instead of saying "excuse me." And yet on the actual pavement you’d say, “Oh I’m sorry. Excuse me.” It’s that personal connection. Sometimes we get negative feedback about our products – too expensive, etc. If people post negative comments that gives you an opportunity to respond and connect. Turning naysayers into believers through conversation.

 

M – what tools do you use?

 

H – I am an awful blogger, awful writer. I like talking. I always wanted a radio show. I wanted to help people do things. I discovered Podcasts. This medium is amazing. That I didn’t need to go through the BBC, that I could just say what I wanted to. I didn’t have to have any interview that cut out my main point. I could make a radio show – so cool! When I turned up there on a Saturday for an event, the radio broadcasters were there and Wiggly Wigglers. So I committed to doing ten shows as a test. I just thought it would be the future. And so I’m not a good blogger, but I’m a good podcaster. We use the platforms we love. Can we use it? Do others use it? Can other people keep up? Farmers are less likely to use technologies so we use ones that are very easy. Facebook has been fantastic for us.

 

M – what value is there to talking to people around the world?

 

H – influence that we have on each other’s life is what we have in common. You really have to get on with people you don’t like when you live in a small community. So, this gives us a way to tap into a much larger community. We don’t have to live in the same place with people we commune with. All different walks of life. This is exciting. It doesn’t matter where you live – you share commonalities with people all over the world. Those people have something to share with us. Well, what about sales??? People do buy product all over the world of English flowers. It’s the principle that’s important. The world is changing so quickly and as businesses we need to keep up.

 

M – the catalog is what the community helps you build.

 

H – I tried to get a scholarship as a farmer. I am one of the farmers this year that is getting a scholarship to learn about farming technologies all over the world. And I put on my podcast that if anyone wants to put me up I will be able to stay over in the places I'll be visiting. And I advertise where I’ll be. I was out on the west coast. And I went up to Vancouver on invitation. What people think in the US is cool is different that in the UK. We think others are fashionable and cool, and they think the same of us. This is unbelievable that there is this commonality. “I need to get these people together.” So we set up a wiki inside of Facebook. Real product as well as chitchat – like our push lawn mower.

 

M – results of ad budget?

 

H – completely slashed our ad budget. We just do our podcasts and on-line site. Traditional channels like magazine – we do offers and editorials for them – and they get a cut of the sales of what we sell as a result of the offers. We make podcasts for their on-line sites. Much more equal relationship now with traditional channels. We’re not just the small company working with the big magazine. That is what we wanted – a voice for a small farm to be able to get ourselves out there like everyone else. When I think about it from our social media activities, we are getting noticed in the San Fran Chronicle, etc.

 

M – how do you communicate that you have these vehicles?How do you find your listeners?

 

H – I was missioned to increase leads to 2000 leads every month. Asked people in our catalog to tell friends and listen. Asked local hospitals. We see it really now as our PR strategy. If you have a good product, people will tune in. Fortune magazine would now like a good case study - they're choosing us. I don’t think it’s just about the $ signs.

 

Q&A

Q – Why did you choose Facebook over beebo?

 

H – easy. What naturally happens is what works. I was asked to be someone’s friend on Facebook. Had never heard of Beebo. So I saw that there were people into gardening on Facebook so I could see that was a space for us. I don’t think you need to be scientific about it. I am really just now getting into Twitter.

 

Q – Talk more about your podcasting.

 

H – We started it as a ten show test. Easy for us to know what to do. We needed to have a conversation to get things going.  Really like asking questions. What I love about our company is changing a space from boring to something that wildlife and humans enjoy. I wanted to share about farming. We don’t go on what our listeners want. Why do people buy bread makers - who knows? Bread is so cheap to buy and bread makers are expensive. And yet, people buy them. Let’s forget this idea that consumers know what they want – they don’t. It’s not up to consumers to tell you how to run your podcasts or blog. If they did, you’d only get the loudest voices. Put out your own story, your own voice. People will come along for a listen. It’s just about humanity and finding the answer. It doesn’t matter too much about the subject – do what you want to do. We’re growing salad leaves right now and making a podcast about it.

 

M – does topic materials drive when you podcast?

 

H – no. We podcast every Thursday morning. 

 

Q - How do I have time for that?

 

H - If the conversation is worth having in the company, then it’s worth having a podcast. It’s the highlight of my week. We might have a guest in or someone in the packaging dept talking about what they’re doing. You need to have that commitment to listeners. We haven’t appreciated the longevity of this medium. People do go back and catch up on podcasts they miss.

 

Q – video casts?

 

H – yes, we’ve done three videos so far. Some of the most popular casts we've done. This is the year of the video for us. I have not been that keen on it. I like that you can take the podcast on your bike. Don’t have to access all the senses for it. But I think there is a real place for us in videocasts. Slightly quirky content – we’ve committed to 18 videos. Short snappy numbers with a bit of humor.

 

Q – how d you deal with the time constraints for small businesses?

 

H – I am so glad you asked me that! Every woman has time to chat about how hard the businesses is, but they feel they have no time to chat about the good things? No. If you have time to make one phone call in the day, then you’ve got time to embrace social media. If people say you have no time, then I just think they are lazy cows. You have time. Sorry to be harsh, but small businesses do have time. Listen to the Podcast Sisters.

  

M – Thank you, Heather. Awesome advice.