Flowtown’s 2010 Social Networking Map. But shouldn’t LOLCats be bigger?

I love Flowtown’s wry look at the state of social networking.

For the entire 2010 Social Networking Map, click here

What would happen if we all took 24 hours offline . . . together?

When it comes to digital media, is it possible to have too much of a good thing? How easy is it for you to go off the grid? You will soon find out should you be brave enough to participate in the upcoming worldwide event called The Big TurnOff. The aim of BigTurnOff is to collectively take twenty four hours off from digital media as a social experiment in order to evaluate the role of and our relationship with technology in our lives.

When the organizers learned about my digital detox –thanks to CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen for her trendsetting coverage of my experience –they approached me for my take on the Big Turnoff. Here’s the recent interview:

On The Grid Guru of New Social media strategist and Guru of New, Sarah Browne, took 40 days off from social media in observance of Lent last year and also recently spent some time offline in Alaska. She was kind enough to take the time to share with us about her experiences with social media abstinence and about her life on the bleeding edge of technology. Here’s what we learned…

BigTurnOff.org: When did you first begin using social media?

Sarah Browne: Actually I crack up when I hear all the pundits act as if social media was just invented. Anybody remember eworld’s Town Square? Compuserve? Prodigy? America Online’s Million-Chatters-A-Day? And of course, BBS, MOO/MUD. I was one of the first AOL Greenhouse Partners, way back in the dino-days of 600 baud, circa 1995. One of the first things we learned from Steve Case, Ted Leonsis, Eileen Bramlet & Company was the value of ‘community.’ Our chat rooms, message boards and content were all powered by our members — some of whom were paid in free (overhead) accounts. Our sites were all about Community, Connection and Conversation. We just didn’t have the cool tools or tech available today. We used to dream of bandwidth.

BTO: What led you to become a social media strategist and expert of the new?

SB: I’ve been an ‘expert of the new’ for (sheesh, dare I say this?) decades. Early on, when I was at Ogilvy & Mather, I was the only one who ever asked — begged — to be put on pitches and new products. Everyone else was hugely concerned with filling up their portfolios — and new products have a long launch time . . . and pitches (see the recent Mad Men) can go poof in moments. But I loved the thrill of starting from scratch, the pulsebeat of innovation and I loved hanging out in corporate labs and research facilities. Ingredients, formulas, technologies turn me on. So for me, social media, in which ‘now is the new wow’ is merely the latest 24/7 focus group laboratory. I never set out to become a Social Media Strategist — I simply sniffed out the next new thing (as always) and applied it when clients asked me to.

BTO: With regards to technology, as the duration of time in product life cycles from bleeding edge to obsolete decreases ever more rapidly, do you find it increasingly challenging to stay abreast of what’s “new”?

SB: Absolutely. We recently snuck away to Glacier Bay, Alaska to go sea kayaking and clap away marauding bears. Connections were iffy and besides, I wanted to go off the grid. I was astounded by how ‘behind’ I was after only a few days. And my 2010 Radar Report, which was produced in January was “old” by February.

BTO: Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the barrage of available information and how do you manage it all?

SB: Yes, I often feel overwhelmed and I am not nearly as uber-engaged as many of my social media cohorts. I have learned that when I get to a certain point, I need to actually make myself shut down the computer and turn off the phone. I really hate Facebook because of what it’s become and really only like the friends/family part of it. I probably have Hidden 75% of my so-called Friends due to their E-Hole behavior. So one way to manage it all is: TURN IT OFF. The other way is to use management features on services like CoTweet, push only certain notifications to your cell and oh yeah, TURN IT OFF.

BTO: How do you keep up and help your clients stay up to date as well?

SB: I have my daily morning drill, which includes certain sites from local to global. Some info is pushed to me — New York Times, of course, and some I scurry after. There are a couple of trend sites I like, too, — I am a Spotter for Springwise, for example. And of course, Twitter, mon dieu! In 30 seconds, you know whether there’s been an earthquake in Chile or whether Justin Bieber is now shaving. I try to keep very current in certain categories because of fave clients and often will either email them or blog about their issues. Right now, I have a number of clients who have been in Name Generation mode — so I made sure they knew about the new .co domain that launched last week.

BTO: Can you share your single best and worst experiences from your perspective in being an early adopter?

SB: Microsoft Bob! Front Page! Microsoft has been a longtime client, which meant I’ve been a frequent beta tester for many of their products. It is still amazing to me how a company with such smart employees can come up with such turkeys. I love working with them because of their brainpower but I still have nightmares about Front Page extensions.

And my best experience as an early adopter? It’s near blasphemy to mention the much-maligned America Online. But digital anthropologists will remember that once upon a time, AOL was the rock star, replete with magazine covers, explosive growth and millions of addicted fans. The early America Online also had something all-too-few Internet darlings ever managed to achieve: a revenue-generating business model. I was there for a few of those shining years, soaking up the smarts from more Harvard MBA’s than show at a Crimson football game. There were so many firsts for the fledgling Internets. And so many firsts for those of us lucky enough to be there.

BTO: How do you feel that social media and technology are changing how we approach our lives (both positive and negative) especially with regards to human relationships, for example our definition of the word “friend”?

SB: I struggle with this question virtually every day. Actually, I’ve struggled with this concept since the dawn of the Interwebs. On one hand, my world is happily jam-packed with friends I never would have made in a completely analog world. On the other hand, the shallow, self-promotion-ness of it makes me crazy and sad. Did you read that New York Times article tying the decline of empathy with the rise of social media? Not sure I totally agree –but I love what the writer said about self-promotion replacing self-awareness. Scarily true.

BTO: What improvements would you make to sites like Facebook when it comes to striking a balance between “open and connected” and user privacy?

SB: I think it’s up to us to find that balance. Facebook is not going to change. Yes, they will make some concessions here and there but ultimately their bottom line is all about 500 million users and how to generate revenue from the teeming masses. Despite all of the Quit Facebook Days and kvetching, their numbers have exploded. But I have noticed some changes being made by (experienced) users themselves. Many are cutting back on authenticity and true self expression; spending less time; being more guarded. Newbies are still bombarding us with new goats from Farmville. It’s like Neopets for grown-ups. But I can’t really complain — I was a big fan of Facebook’s Pirate English. Arrrrlllll, matey!

BTO: Can you tell us a little about your experience with giving up social media for Lent (and perhaps your more recent detox)?

SB: Here’s why I decided to give up Facebook for Lent last year. My reason is a bit different from others who choose to do a digital detox. Most of them are simply and happily addicted to the service and concerned they’re spending too much time online (usually tracking new and old romances.) My problem was that virtually every time I logged on, I’d find myself enraged. The red-in-the face, migraine’s-coming kind. I was furious over the morphing of my cozy mash-up of friends and family into a nest of shamefully self-promoting E-Holes. Plus I knew that it was essentially my fault. This was one prediction the Guru of New got way wrong. I genuinely didn’t foresee that the massive blurring of business and personal would turn my Facebook page into a 24/7 ad for people I wouldn’t recognize at Safeway — many of whom wanted me to ‘uplevel’ my business, sign up for their teleseminar or ‘fan’ their whatchamacallit. Instead of being a daily digital scrapbook Facebook was transformed into Personal Brands R Us. I didn’t want to manufacture a perfect, pretend life for these pretend friends. And I was ticked at the people who enjoyed doing just that.

So being off Facebook for 40 days and nights was a relief. I turned my clients’ pages over to my project manager, tucked my Advil in the drawer and didn’t miss a moment of not ‘upleveling’ my business in any way. Somehow my company has survived the lack of teleseminars, podcasts, MLM and ‘wealth systems’ offered to me via Wall, Status Updates and News.

Off the Grid Guru of New

When we went to Alaska a few weeks ago, one of the best parts of our trip was staying off of Facebook. I do definitely miss seeing pictures of friends and family — and I will admit I love connecting with my sorority sisters and scattered relatives.

Twitter’s kind of a different story. There’s no pretense that someone is your Friend. It’s very cut-and-dried … Follow/Following. No strings attached. And while there are plenty of E-Holes on Twitter, it’s a very ships-passing-in-the-night relationship. I don’t need a detox from Twitter. I’m emotionally detached.

BTO: Do you feel that others could benefit from even a twenty four hour detox? If so, would you see any benefit in doing it together with a number of other people who would share in the experience?

SB: I think everybody who spends more than an hour a day using social media could benefit from a detox of some kind. I actually read books — like BIG ones — when I was in Alaska and offline. Of course, I learned about these particular books on Twitter! (Stieg Larsson) But I don’t know if there is any need to detox from our digital tools–checking bank balances; movie times; texting friends; etc. For me, it’s certain social media that’s the devil.

Please don’t ask me to share my 24 hour detox with my daughter, who practically cuddles her iPhone.

BTO: What do you think of The Big Turn Off as a worldwide event? …and/or as a local event held in ways that a smaller local community chooses on their own?

SB: Worldwide. The Big Turn Off needs to be a statement with a capital S. I remember the August when AOL crashed for 19 hours. Quelle freak-out. There can be smaller local events — like local Ted meet-ups during the big event.

BTO: Would you be willing to participate in either a local or worldwide Big Turn Off event?

SB: Absolutely — I’m in.

BTO: One last question… As Guru of the New, would you say we can officially declare Turning Off “The New New Thing”?

SB: Yes — Turning Off will be officially declared “The New New Thing” by the Guru of New on my blog, etc. I’m psyched!

BTO: Wow! That totally rocks. Thanks, Sarah!

Learn more about the Big Turnoff:
BigTurnOff.org
facebook.com/bigturnoff
twitter.com/BigTurnOff
myspace.com/bigturnoff

Travel company gives bloggers free trips.

As those of you who have seen my “Ten Commandments of Social Media for the Travel Industry” already know, the list of Social Media Winners is growing fast and may soon overtake the Social Media Sinners category. Everywhere I travel there are new examples of social media savvy, from London’s Red Carnation properties to last weekend’s terrific ATIA (Alaska Travel Industry Association) Tweet-up.

Now here’s another shining Social Media Winner: Travel company YokmoK, which brilliantly uses social media to solve the pesky problem of unfilled space by inviting bloggers to travel free.

Here’s the scoop from their site:

You blog? Then travel free with YokmoK

Ask yourself the following questions:

• do I have a popular blog? (typically a popularity higher than 10,000)
• does my blog relate to travel, adventure, adrenaline sports, adventure travel, or similar?
• do I have quality content and update it regularly?

If you’ve answered YES to these questions, then wait no more ’cause you are entitled to travel FREE with YokmoK.

Why?

We’d love to have all our trips fully booked, the whole year, every year, but it just doesn’t happen, and some free spaces are available from time to time. It can be snowshoeing in the Swedish Lapland, hiking in the French Alps, or trekking in the Sahara desert. So if you are ready to jump on a last-minute plane, and blog before, during, and after the trip, then you have a real chance to travel for free with us.
How?

It’s very simple. Just send us an email to contact with the following information:

1. your name;
2. URL of your blog;
3. which trip, date, or sport you’re interested in (snowshoeing, hiking, bicycling, trips in August, all…);
4. a few sentences about yourself;
5. as subject line please put “I’m a blogger and I want to travel for free with YokmoK”.

The only nit I have to pick with YokmoK is its definition of blogger popularity. YokmoK defines “popularity” as those with 10,000 or more incoming links—relating to travel, adventure or adrenaline sports. As I’m a quality versus quantity gal, my vote’s for the blogger who genuinely engages with readers, delivers compelling and accurate information and uses other forms of social media — Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Youtube– to promote the blog. While being effective with social media is certainly still somewhat a numbers game, there are other factors such as engagement and journalistic standards that should count as well.

Springwise reports that If the blogger is available to participate, YokmoK will pay for all services included in the price for the corresponding trip. In exchange, the blogger is expected to share their experience of the trip, including at least four entries before the trip starts, one entry per day during the trip, and another four entries after the trip ends; each entry must include at least one direct link to YokmoK’s website.

So bloggers, are you packed?

STACKD helps people in office buildings get in touch – for business or beers.

Do you know your office neighbors? That guy you see on the elevator everyday? Those familiar faces you see when you’re buying your morning latte? One of the ironies of our social networking world is that we often end up communicating more frequently with those across the planet than we do with the people living right next door. Stackd is a site that aims to change all that by helping to connect those who work in the same vicinity.
1 Building
19 Floors
103 Companies
10,609 Connections.

New site STACKD “helps people in office buildings get in touch – for business or beers. We would like to think that it’s the people around you that should be part of your social network: people you meet in the elevator rather than on Facebook, people you follow to the 14th floor instead of on Twitter. Online social networks are great for what they are. We built STACKD to tap the potential of the place you stick around most: the office.

Now in beta, Stackd was created by New York-based Supermetric to enable its own neighboring office workers. Currently focused on Manhattan and Brooklyn, the site is free to use for both individuals and businesses, which are encouraged to list their offices on the site. (I didn’t find any of my old Manhattan office buildings yet — but it’s early on.) After signing up with Stackd, users can browse by address through the listings of other businesses in their area, hook up and expand their social network locally.

Can’t you picture this concept thriving here in the Bay area, where the trend toward co-working spaces is already spreading? Check out these San Francisco co-working options. And then keep your fingers crossed that STACKD will catch on here.

Thank you, Springwise.

The surprisingly simple way social media can change your life.

Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated. In French its sérendipicité but also heureux hasard, “fortunate chance.”

And that my dears is the very definition of Social Media. Fortunate chance. Random reward. Luck on steroids. In the old (analog) days, the answer to “What are the odds?” would be a rueful chuckle. The only way to increase your possibilities of connecting, whether in business, opportunities, love, relationships, insights, anything, was either to up the elbow grease via traditional networking or bury a statue of St. Jude in the backyard.

Today in our Kevin-Bacon-World, serendipity now gets an upgrade. I call it “Strategic Serendipity” and when I teach Social Media workshops, this phrase gets a nod from newbies to experts alike. When you use Social Media effectively (note that vital word), what you’re doing is greatly increasingly the odds of stumbling across exactly who you want to stumble across:

* If you’re writing a book, agents, publishers and writing experts show up
* If you’re looking for a job, the right contact, the opportunities show up — including some you never imagined
* If you’re running a business and need help, the right virtual admin, the right CPA, the right insurance agent show up — and maybe even partnership and joint venture opportunities

Obviously this list could stretch to the end of the page. I cannot tell you how many people, opportunities and fruitful insights have come my way via Social Media. But make no mistake. Strategic Serendipity is no random, hippy-dippy flinging of one’s personal brand or business into the Universe. Yes, your personal message-in-a-bottle is floating quixotically in the tumultuous seas of Social Media. But you have a choice about when, where and in what direction you want it to bobble. You don’t have to toss it willy-nilly into the world. You can pick your ocean. For example, if you’re into music and entertainment and seeking fans, labels, producers, then you’d want to throw your bottle into the sea that’s MySpace. You’d tightly target your message so it’s immediately engaging to the people who find it washing up on shore. You research the influential beachcombers, learning where their favorite sandy patch is and when they’re out roaming.

Be prepared also, for whatever shows up. Often it’s not the way you imagined it. But even more often, it’s far more intriguing.

There is an art and a science to putting the tools and technologies of Social Media to intelligent use. A few tips to tap into Strategic Serendipity:

* Remember the word ‘strategy.’ Before you run off and start tweeting like mad, friend your entire kindergarten class and zip through entire blogrolls, have a solid plan in mind. What do you want to achieve with your social media program? What business effect do you want to achieve? What personal effect do you want to achieve?
* Quantity versus Quality. This continues to be hotly debated in social media circles. My point of view, one that’s been reinforced recently, is that engagement is what counts, not huge networks of people who have no clue who you are. You want a healthy percentage of people who share your passion, including enough influentials to help you make things happen. But don’t always think the well-known ‘rockstars’ are the only ones to know. Many of them don’t manage their social networks anyway — all too often it’s still a “I’ll have my girl tweet your girl” world out there.
* Fish in lots of ponds. You’re far more likely to connect with a wide variety of people, networks and possibilities. One of the biggest mistakes networkers make is to spend too much time in professional networking groups. Why waste time in a pond of everybody trying to sell something? Find a pond of buyers instead.

I’d love it to hear your Strategic Serendipity stories. Please post below or email: Hello@guruofnew.com.

Forget Everything You’ve Ever Known About Book Publishing.

I’ve been planning on writing about writing for a couple of months now. As a writer-since-birth (aren’t we all?), my world is heavily and happily populated with other writers. In most ways, my fellow writers and I are simpatico. We’re soul mates. We’re creative kin. But there’s one way in which I’m decidedly different from my comrades: I saw it coming.

“It” of course is the Internet. It of course is the driving digital force that’s (pun intended) re-written everything, especially the already fragile world of publishing. New technology continues to rock the business of books. And I don’t mean the technology that gave us self-publishing and Kindles. I mean the uber-disruptive combination of enhanced bandwidth plus social media. As one of the rare writers (in my crowd anyway) who very early on embraced the “Interwebs” and later on, social media, I’ve been the proverbial canary in the mine, grown hoarse and embarrassingly bombastic at lunches, cocktail parties and phone conversations about the need to ‘get’ it. My original plan was to post a list of useful links and actionable ideas for writers here on GuruofNew.com . I still may do that. But I realized after reading Adam Penenberg’s article in Fast Company: Viral Loop Chronicles – Forget Everything You’ve Heard About Book Publishing — that unless a writer realizes the very foundation of our writer’s world has crumbled (drumroll) and is being feverishly re-built — no list of 10 Must-Have Links for Writers is going to matter one whit.

Consider this scuttlebutt: Agents now ask prospective authors how ‘big is your network’ — suggesting 100,000 as a good place to start, because if 10% of this combo of Follows, Friends, Fans and Connections buys the book, pub costs are covered.

Consider this scuttlebutt: Tim Ferriss, the author of New York Times bestseller “The 4-Hour Workweek,” is using PBwiki to organize reader feedback and participation for the second edition of his book. Tim’s innovative use of social media such as blogs and social networks won him numerous accolades for “The 4-Hour Workweek,” including his first book launch being named one of the top 50 product launches of 2007 by Advertising Age magazine, and simultaneously reaching #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Businessweek bestseller lists.

I am assuming you noticed the operative phrase “product launches” — because that’s exactly what a book is these days. I’m not idealistic fool enough to think this is necessarily a bad thing or even a new thing.

Here’s an excerpt from Adam Penenburg’s article. Trust me — every writer needs to read it:

“Forget everything you’ve heard about book publishing.

For instance, recently at a party to celebrate the publication of my latest book, a number of people asked, “Is your publisher sending you on a tour to promote your book?”

Dicl;dsCKWDfce9qdck. Sorry, I was laughing so hard recounting this story that I hit my head on my keyboard.

These friends/colleagues/acquaintances/random people I met were inquiring about Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves. It tells the stories of the fastest growing companies in history–Skype, Hotmail, eBay, PayPal, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and many more, all of which grew virally. By amassing such huge numbers of users without spending a dime on marketing, they were able to create multimillion and in some cases billion-dollar businesses practically overnight. They did it by creating a product that its users spread for them. In other words, to use it, they had to spread it. Never before in human history has it been possible to create this much wealth, this fast, and starting with so little. I’d like to think Viral Loop is partially inspirational. If they can create billion-dollar companies from scratch, why can’t you?

Most people have a vision of publishing that ceased to exist years ago: writers of yore traipsing bookstore to bookstore across America to offer readings and scrawl inscriptions to the handful of strangers who bothered to show up. It sounds so quaint. Alas, today’s publishers have little patience for such low-yield marketing efforts. Building a writer’s career isn’t part of the equation. It’s all about the bottom line. If legendary editor Maxwell Perkins, who patiently guided some of our nation’s greatest writers (Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe) were alive today, he’d probably be working in public relations.

Publishers don’t pump serious marketing money into a book unless they know it’s a hit, even after coughing up a six-figure advance. They don’t commit to ad budgets in contract negotiations and are loath to spend a dime on authors’ Web sites, travel, or any other expenses. That’s because so few of the books they publish actually “earn out,” that is, sell enough copies so that the author’s advance is covered by his or her sales. A book that sells enough copies to justify an author’s advance is about as common as a kind or thoughtful anonymous comment on Gawker.

There’s an old saying in publishing: Your agent hasn’t done his job if you earn back your advance. But, you might ask, how can a book be a hit if your publisher doesn’t get behind it?

Therein lies the mystery of marketing a book at a time the old rules don’t apply. As a former book editor of mine explained, publishers follow the broadcast TV model. You schedule a show for primetime and see if it develops an audience. If it does, you throw your weight behind it. If it doesn’t you pull the plug. Book publishing is a “hits” business, with a tiny fraction of huge sellers–thank you Dan Brown, Malcolm Gladwell, and soon, Sarah Palin–carrying the rest of us losers. Publishers don’t care about dropping money on 99 books if the 100th is a Tipping Point or Freakonomics. This also characterizes the music business and we can see how well that turned out, but I digress.

Instead of a publisher building your career, you’re on your own. And if you talk to editors you’ll get an earful. They wonder why authors don’t take a percentage of their advance to pay for their own marketing. Why should the publisher have to do it all? They paid you for the work, didn’t they? For too long authors have acted like crybabies, waiting for publishers to be like, well, publishers used to be. That was a long time ago, when editors used to, well, edit, but much of that responsibility has been passed on to literary agents.

I’m not kvetching, mind you. I can honestly say that Hyperion, which released Viral Loop, is the best publisher I’ve worked with. But there is nothing sexy about an author selling a book. It isn’t about cocktail parties, readings, and witty repartee at the Algonquin Hotel. Nowadays it’s about press coverage, social media, Facebook and Twitter, iPhone apps, virality, and the hope that if you hang on long enough and convince enough people to buy and read your book, they will market it for you.

How? Because if they like it–really like it–they will, without prompting, enthusiastically recommend your book to a friend, and so on, and so on (like the old “psst” shampoo commercial). It’s word-of-mouth, the gold standard of marketing, because a recommendation to buy comes from a trusted source like a friend or family member. This is how publishing has always worked, of course. It’s just the journey there that’s become particularly treacherous.

The hardest part for most authors is to create that initial large installed base of readers. Some like Gary Vaynerchuk, who dictated Crush It: Why Now Is The Time to Cash In On Your Passion, are, as Gary Vee would put it, “crushing it!” Most, however, fail.”

Guru’s Note: The Guru of New Group is here to help you with book strategy and social media. And we’ve got a great Book Tour guy who gets that IRL (In Real Life) still sells lots of books.

Oh and another thing. Here’s a great article on 15 Twitter Users Shaping the Future of Publishing.   And stay tuned for my upcoming posts on (yes!) the Vook and the Nook.

Your Latte’s Lukewarm? Lost Your Keys? Blame Drew’s Cancer!

#Blame Drew’s Cancer has been trending on Twitter all day.

I’m sooo blaming Drew’s Cancer for forcing me to ditch my Name Generation project so I could investigate. Here’s the scoop:

On May 20th, 2009, Drew Olanoff was diagnosed with cancer: Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Ever since that day, Drew has blamed everything on his cancer. Losing his keys, misplacing his wallet, Twitter being slow, the Phillies losing, etc.

Why? Because you have to beat up on Cancer to win… and you can help out. The site explains how:

Blame Drew’s Cancer for anything and everything you want. Tweet with the hashtag #BlameDrewsCancer and it’ll come here. We’ll keep a tally and hopefully when all is said and done and Drew beats Cancer, some nice company or companies will donate a dollar for every unique person who Blames Drew’s Cancer to the American Cancer Society and the Make a Wish Foundation.

Some of the things Drew’s Cancer is soo responsible for:

• Today I gave myself a paper cut for the first time in forever. I suspect Drew’s cancer. #blamedrewscancer
• I #BlameDrewsCancer for all bugs in my code
• Went to see Terminator: Salvation and it sucked. I should blame McG but I’m going to #blamedrewscancer
• I #BlameDrewsCancer for having to bear witness to Joe Jonas in a male leotard and heels while gyrating to Single Ladies
• Do you ever just start throwing things in a pot to make your dinner? I #BlameDrewsCancer for not knowing what to…

If you want to read about Drew’s journey, click here for his honest and well-written blog. May we all handle our own diagnoses with Drew’s grace, guts and creativity.

Guru’s Note:  This works very much like the controversial Skittle Twitter campaign a few months ago. I blame Drew’s Cancer for the #Epic Fail some say that effort was. (I don’t agree — I hadn’t thought about Skittles in an eon and now they’re back on my radar.)

What’s Tweetworthy in Your Town? Find Out What’s Happening from Happn.

I realized this weekend at #TWTRCON why Twitter is my favorite addiction:  it’s all new, all the time –a perpetual work-in-progress.  New tools and trends bubble up constantly. If you’re a new junkie like I am, Twitter is the uber-ultimate in shiny new toys. So of course you’re going to love this hot new trend-tracking site that tracks emerging trends in 52 different metro areas around the world.  Happn.in collects and aggregates popular phrases used on Twitter, showing you what people are twittering about in your city.  The five most popular phrases each hour are posted to the site — and then they’re tweeted three times a day to the happn.in Twitter account for each city. Right now, there are about 79,678 people following happn.in in 52 cities.

And here’s a special twist that the Monetizer in me loves:  Happn lets you sponsor tweets. It actually has a business model with a mini-revenue stream. Yowzaa!  I paid a Suze Ormand-pleasing $2 per sponsored tweet. So when tweeps read what’s hot in LA, SFBay, Seattle, London, Boston and New York over the next couple of days, they’ll also see <GURU OF NEW> with a link to my site.  If I popped $100 for a heavy-up campaign, it’s possible these sponsorships could actually generate some Guru brand awareness.  But in the meantime, it’s really a blast to watch as trends zip around the world — and practically droolworthy to see what’s hot in one city and decidedly not in another. 

Guru’s Note:  I begged Jay to add the Monterey Peninsula to its list of cool trend-setting cities. But unfortunately, not enough tweeps in our eco-paradise are tweeting. (At last count, there were probably 8 of us and that includes the new seahorse @MontereyAQ and Zen Otter @EmbassyMonterey.

But good news: Things may change soon with our upcoming Social Media Monterey Mini Camp. Stay tuned for details.

Are You An E-Hole? The Six Tell-tale Signs.

Normally, when I’ve told friends “Hey! I’m writing a book”, the response is polite to vague to “I’m so sorry. I’ve given up reading for Lent.” In LA, they’re likely to suggest a fair exchange: I’ll read your book if you read my screenplay.  In Silicon Valley, they look blank until you explain that a book is kinda like a giant Wordle app or literary widget.  In New York, they immediately kvetch about agents while in Paris they offer to read it once smoking is reinstated in cafes.

But this book?  Amazingly, people have not only urged me to write it but to write it laser-fast. Three of my Twitter pals have already asked if the guide will be published in time for Christmas stocking stuffers. I’ve almost been persuaded to write an e-book first and then follow up with hard copy.

Is this because I am such a crackerjack writer? Although I’d love to say yes, the true answer is ‘probably not.’  The fact is, there is a clear and compelling, even urgent, need to make sense of the good, the bad and the blurry of the digital era, particularly the consumer-friendly, tool-rich phenomenon known as Web 2.0.  The Internet does genuinely ‘change everything’ — including the ethics and etiquette of how we use these tools. Countless books have already been published on this subject, many of them scholarly works of genius from academics that probe everything from user-generated content to mass collaboration to digital innovation and citizen marketing.  

If you’re looking for books of this decidedly brainy ilk, click to close and move on to Amazon or your local library. The goal of my upcoming guidebook is quite simple: to help keep you out of online doo-doo and encourage you to dip into this dynamic digital world. And maybe have some fun while you’re at it.
 
Here’s a small sampling from my new book:
How Not To Be An E-Hole:  The Ultimate Guide to Online Etiquette and Ethics.
 

Are You An E-Hole? The Six Tell-Tale Signs.

Sign 1:  Is Social Media all about you?  Social Media can indeed be Me Media.  Today’s tools make it fast and easy to get the word out about your inherent rockstar-ness. Isn’t everybody fascinated by the ham sandwich you had for lunch? Doesn’t the world want to know about your cool car, your hot bod and the gaggles of groupies hanging on your every tweet?  Smart folks see that switching from Me to We is the secret to shining at Social Media.  And yes, it is possible to be an E-Hole in only 140-characters:  http://tweetingtoohard.com/

Sign 2:  OverSharing  Over-sharing can occur on any of the Social Media channels. Over-Sharing is defined as sharing anything from the too-intimate details of your world (tweeting during your during your prostate exam) to the too-mundane (I had scrambled eggs for breakfast) to the too-frequent.

Sign 3:  Are you a FRAMMER?  Friends just ain’t what they used to be. In fact, my buddy Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Correspondent at CNN, who covered my recent Facebook Addiction story, believes the very definition of Friendship is at stake: “What exactly is a friend these days?”  Well, it sure isn’t FRAMMING them. Friend Spam is being spammed by your so-called Facebook Friends including:

• A barrage of shameless self-promoting links, events, fan pages, webinars, promos, etc.
• “Cherry-picking” among a Friends List — picking the most ‘useful’ for marketing and networking.

FRAM hurts more than traditional spam because, after all, it’s the ultimate in permission marketing. You haven’t merely signed up for an impersonal newsletter, you’ve opened the door wide to your life. You’re not an address on some database sold and re-sold by dead dotcoms. You’ve willingly extended an invitation to participate in your own personal universe.

Sign 4:  Uber-Exuberance   Apps, widgets, links, videos, photos — it’s a smorgasbord of Social Media tech and toys out there. Are you so sure all your friends want that ‘growing gift’ of cactus, that beer or cup of coffee you’re dying to send? Does everybody want to take that quiz, play 25 Random Things and beat you at movie trivia?  The sure sign of a Social Media newbie (and often Accidental E-Hole) is assuming everybody will appreciate these occasionally amusing time-wasters.

Sign 5: Where are the Privacy Police when you need them?  It’s true: Facebook keeps changing its interface, which confuses the heck out of who can see what. What was private on Tuesday may be part of a News Feed on Wednesday. So if you’re not careful about the changing-rules, your mother-in-law may be able to see the pictures of the dinner party she wasn’t invited to posted prominently in Highlights.  Or your boss might see that comment you made about ‘blowing off work’. Or your sorority sister might post racy stories about an era you’d prefer to forget on your Wall for all to see.  The secret to avoiding E-Holism?  Use the Privacy settings!

Sign 6: Keep It Social, Stupid.   Keeping it social means you never forget these new tools are all about people and being personal. Keeping it social means you avoid using robots as well as acting robotically. So personalize your Friend, Follow and Connection Requests, say no to Auto-DMs on Twitter, and develop new online relationships authentically. Don’t think you can FRAM like mad, never bother to check the youtube links your buddy proudly sent of her kidlet’s concert, and then expect favors, shares and RTs (Re-Tweets on Twitter).  Keeping it social is keeping it reciprocal. Friendship is a two-way conversation, not a Me-megaphone. 

Guru’s Note: Please send me your favorite E-Hole stories. Were you an Accidental E-Hole? Do you know an Intentional E-Hole? Do tell all. Email me at: hello@guruofnew.com or post a comment. Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Should Sears Go Social?

 

I’m a Sears girl from way back. My Dual Action Agitator copy, in tandem with the poetic “Save $40 off on this big Kenmore Refrigerator” was nothing short of Steinbeckian. My advertising Alma mater, Ogilvy Chicago, worshipped on the altar of Sears.

So of course I was intrigued by the giant’s latest move — launching a new social network called MySears.

Brandweek reports the chain has registered more than 200,000 MySears users since it rolled out the site in late March. The look-alike site for sister chain MyKmart just launched a week ago. Both are powered by Chicago-based technology company Viewpoints Network.

Retail chain passionistas visiting MySears can express themselves via these increasingly ubiquitous Social Media features: taking polls, connecting with your fellow Sears buddies, creating a social profile, uploading photos, tagging, blogging, and participating in (my favorite part) the Ideas section.

Lest your passion for Sears not be completely fulfilled, consumers can also follow MySears and MyKMart on Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and Twitter.

According to the Brandweek report, Rob Harles, vp-community for Sears, said the chain’s goal is to glean new insights from customers and give the brand more of a human face. “Ultimately we’re going to try to use this to first and foremost learn about our customers and secondly use those lessons and use that to integrate that into the shopping experience,” Harles said.

Hmm. Translated from the marketing-ese, that sounds suspiciously one-sided. ‘First we’re going to study you and then we’re going to use what we’ve learned to figure out how to sell you more stuff.’  The headline for the site lays it out clearly, assuming you’re there to shop : “Get Advice Before You Buy.”

Obviously I’ve no quarrel with using Social Media to figure out how to better reach customers and improve sales. Profit rocks, especially these days. But it doesn’t take more than 30 seconds of rudimentary Social Media listening tools to tap into the existing conversation about Sears. Much of what’s being said isn’t pretty. Shouldn’t some of this chatter be answered first? (Kind of like cleaning the house before we invite a gaggle of guests over for a big party) Shouldn’t resolving negatives be the first priority of any customer-first company, much less the mission of a new participatory consumer site?

A sampling:

RITBeast: Reminder: Never have any dealings with #sears unless you feel like gouging your own eyes out and stepping on them while being nut-kicked.

legallush: Listening to Sear tech suck dryer lint from my hoses in laundry. Stupid dryer gets hot but doesn’t dry. #sears

glamorousamanda: Rant end. Do not buy products from #Sears. They will not honor their warrenty nor do they care if your home catches fire from products!

MySears Ideas: Listen Sears…….. people WANT to buy from you but you make it harder and harder.

Do we really need all the Social Media window dressing around what should be the main course — serving customers? Couldn’t we just have one colossal: CLICK HERE FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE button, with some seriously vetted reviews posted below it and an in-depth Peer 2 Peer Forum?

This road feels strangely familiar. Over the years, in Customer Experience projects for both Microsoft and Yahoo, we worked hard to ‘put a human face’ on these mammoth empires via an array of social media features. But whatever we tried, all anybody ever wanted to do with these pieces-of-corporate-humanity was find somebody to fix their email, browser, software, personals ad or just plain rant. This is why Yahoo Answers was such an instant hit. Human beings simply want their questions answered, especially when said questions revolve around things they paid for. They don’t necessarily need Friends or Polls or Pictures, unless it’s a photo of that broken microwave door they need replaced.

So what should this new MySpacian MySears do to avoid the fate of the late, not-great The Hub, built and quickly dismantled by Walmart back in 2006?

• Let MySears evolve organically. Let the community spell out over time what it wants and needs from the site and its satellites. Are users primarily interested in broadcast tweets about upcoming sales? Are they flocking to the discussion boards? Engaged communities vote with their attention.
• Manage site expectations. Research whyconsumers are visiting and where they came from. Did the majority find their way there because they think the site is devoted to customer service? Did someone post a Craftsman discount link on a couponing site, sending an avalanche of users in search of it? 
• Accept that consumers create their own uses for sites and social media features – including their own ideas of how products should be tagged –which may have little to do with your intentions for your brand. Just for fun, go visit Amazon’s Customer Communities and check out some of the Revenge-Tags, including some of the DefectiveByDesign tags.
• Find your Frank Eliasons (@Comcastcares) and empower your staff to participate as Tony Hsieh has done so successfully with @Zappos. Be careful of ‘ghost’ tweeters or posters. Don’t rely on your Viewpoints vendor to substitute for real Sears employees. Kudos to BlueCrewGuyinMA, who’s all over the site, answering questions and in general acting as the site’s Go To Guy.
• Encourage usage of the Discussion section, with its fledgling Peer to Peer type forum.  Many of your customer-service seeking users will be satisfied with this kind of help, as they frequently do yield real solutions to customer problems.
• Research potential Passionista segments a la the Craftsman Club and nurture them with ego-rewards as well as discounts and insider information.
• I like the potential of the Ideas section on MySears,which reminds me of Dell IdeaStorm. Like Dell, after the Dell Hell debacle, Sears needs to heal itself before it can roar back. So far, the “We Listened. See Ideas in Action” is empty. Let’s hope this changes soon.
• And finally, have some fun with the site.  The intrinsic beauty of social networking is that it’s supposed to be lighthearted. So have a Tweet-Up in the Craftsman aisle. Partner with Family Journaling site Plumkeeper and have a “Kids Say the Darndest Things (About their Dads)” Contest and invite your Facebook Community Moms to enter. Set up a Linkedin group for Retail Innovators.

So should Sears go social?

Guru’s Note: What I found oddly fascinating is @MySears use of Twitter — particularly its choice of who to follow. Smart Tweeters often check a Twitter ID’s first Follows as it can reveal either strategy or the threat of spam. In this case, @MySears has 923 Followers so far — and is Following 1995. But here’s the reveal: the first SIX of rows of Twitter IDs @MySears has chosen to follow are all variations on Mama: @CursingMama, @PsychoMama, @GeekMama, @Baby_Mama, @TheCreativeMama. So far, none of these Mom-tweeps appear to be tweeting like mad on behalf of @MySears like @ResourcefulMom does when promoting one of her many popular Site-Warming Parties. So one can only assume either all these Mamas are close personal friends of @MySears or that someone has advised them to cozy up to Influencer Moms on Twitter. Given the robust purchase power of the 80+ million Moms in the US who spend some 2 trillion every year, it’s no surprise @MySears would sagely search keyword: Mama.

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