Quotes for the week, ending 08 Aug, 2009

August 8, 2009August 8, 2009 / Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

“The narrow prism of terrorism”

John Brennan, President Obama’s new counter-terrorism chief, saying the present administration won’t be looking at allies and other nations this way anymore.

FACT: You do own your brand and brand messaging

FACT: You don’t own relationships customers have with your brand

Beth Harte, at SocialMediaToday.com on Brand Vs Brand Relationships

“Washington Post Magazine ceases its XX Files feature in Sept. Probably cause?…the essays tended to focus on negative experiences with men.”

Tweet by InVocus

“But the pleasure of turning the page! I protested. The feel of something organic, not electronic, in your hands. The crispness…”

Jessica Burnette-Lemon, on looking at the Amazon Kindle

“Scare you away yet?”

Job description for AXIS Inc., for entry-level marketing position that requires knowledge in PR, customer service, sales…

“Successful candidate will have: 1) LinkedIn, MySpace, and/or Facebook account; 2) Twitter account with consistent, frequent updates; 3) Personal blog”

Job description for Social Media Director at ADF

“It’s a big surprise to me that my blog has meant that 250m people have not been able to enter Facebook.”

A blogger names Georgy, on the reason for the denial of service attacks on popular networks Facebook and Twitter.

“Military computers off-limits to tweeting GIs.”

Headline of article about the Marine Corps banning soldiers from using military computer networks to access FAcebook, Myspace and Twitter.

Quotes for the week, ending 1 August, 2009

August 1, 2009July 31, 2009 / Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

“One over-riding rule: do not ask how long your episodes should be. Ask yourself hows short you can make them. People have a limited time to watch/listen to content.”

Evo Terra, co-author of Podcasting for Dummies, when I interviewed him for an upcoming article and, podcast.

“It’s at the point where we almost don’t need to use press releases,”

Martin Murray, senior corporate news representative for the Public Service of New Hampshire, on using Twitter as a way to update customers on an power outage due to an ice storm

“With no correspondents allowed on the ground, the BBC, like almost all major news organisations, is forced to rely on the honesty of citizen journalists to provide details from the protests.”

BBC report on how citizen journalism is on the rise in Iran

Media reports speculated that “Bruno” suffered from the “Twitter effect…”

Reuter report on how movie studios are using Twitter, but how it can sometimes backfire. Tweets about Sacha Baron Cohen’s gay-themed comedy, Bruno, created buzz but also scared people away.

“Lifestyle Lift regrets that earlier third-party Web site content did not always properly reflect and acknowledge patient comments or indicate that the content was provided by Lifestyle Lift,”

Press Release by the the company after New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo came to a settlement with cosmetic surgery firm for published fake consumer reviews on the Net.

“Hey, that’s Apple. They do what they do, and they don’t really care what the rest of us think, as long as they make cool products that we’re willing to pay for.”

Shel Holtz, commenting on the problems of how all reviews on iTunes do not show up the same in all countries. On For Immediate Release, episode 468.

Twitter interview with Jessica Hansen

July 24, 2009July 24, 2009 / Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

Welcome to the fourth ‘Twinterview’ here at HoipolloiReport, and welcome to Jessica Hansen, who’s agreed to participate / be grilled in this compressed, live format.

Others in this series have been:

Mitch Joel, Podcaster, blogger, author, Six Pixels of Separation
Johna Burke, VP of BurellesLuce
Nina Miller, Senior Designer, and long-time Twitter user at Arizona State University

It’s going on live at 9.00 am today at Twitter.com/heyangelo

AF: @JessicaLHansen Good morning Jess. Thanks for agreeing to do this Twinterview. Did you know you’re the fourth ‘victim’?

JH: @heyangelo I’m honored to be the fourth Twinterview ‘victim’ 🙂

AF: @JessicaLHansenYou’re a very big Twitter user. What do you make of compressed interviews?

JH: @heyangelo I’ve been using Twitter since ’07 & love it! Twinterviews are a great way 2 quickly share concise bits of info w/ a lrg audience

AF: @JessicaLHansen For a moment I thought you said since you were 7 🙂

JH: @heyangelo HAHA! No, the Internet wasn’t even around when I was 7 — Let alone Twitter 🙂

AF: @JessicaLHansen If you were to choose between blogging and micro-blogging, what makes more sense to you and how you work?

JH: @heyangelo I don’t know that u need to choose btwn blogging & micro-blogging…

JH: @heyangelo I’d use a blog to share more in-depth info or maybe info just about one subject (which may only appeal to a smaller audience)…

AF: @JessicaLHansen Some people think Twitter is just mindless ‘brain noise’ http://bit.ly/l Wher and blogging is the new long-form journalism

JH: @heyangelo Use micro-blogging 2 not only share bits of info (& link 2 in-depth blog posts if u want), but also engage more & listen 4 info

JH: @heyangelo I’m going to have to check out The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast (http://bit.ly/lWher) for the piece about ‘brain noise’

JH: @heyangelo There are def. still Twitter users who are posting updates about what they are eating (now famous example), and nothing else

JH: @heyangelo Those same people rarely see the value in using Twitter — It should be a two-way form of communication…

JH: Don’t use Twitter to just push ‘mindless’ info…Listen to what else is being shared, & engage w/ others to get the most value

AF: @JessicaLHansen Such as? Name three people you follow who do a good job at it

JH: @heyangelo You’re putting me on the spot–I have a hard time w/ #FollowFriday because there are so many people who are sharing great info

JH: I enjoy following people who tweet useful info (beyond the ‘yum! I’m eating a grilled cheese’) and share common interests of mine

JH: @heyangelo To be general, I enjoy following reporters to get more insight into their personalities & to learn about what they’re working on

AF: @JessicaLHansen Nice dodge, can u be specific? No harm giving a shout out to someone

JH: @heyangelo For a great list of communicators, I turn to the ‘IABC on Twitter’ list (twitter.x.iabc.com)

JH: @heyangelo Most of my #Mindspace colleagues are on Twitter–If I pick 2 who use it regularly & do a great job, follow: @BDiggs @JeffHechtAZ

JH: @heyangelo And of course u do a great job at using Twitter–engaging w/ your followers, & sharing links to interesting artices #FollowFriday

AF: Ah, Flattery! Won’t let you go off lightly, though. Let’s talk about jobs.

AF: @JessicaLHansen Let’s talk about your job. You were immersed in digital media and were laid off. Were you taken by surprise? Why?

JH: @heyangelo Yes, back to your question about jobs, and being laid off while being immersed in digital media…

JH: @heyangelo I think the best thing people can do right now is realize the power of having a strong network, esp. when u don’t think u need it

AF: @JessicaLHansen I want 2 go bck 2 that week. Did you pull out your resume? Log into LinkedIn? Posted a status update on FB? What did u do?

JH: @heyangelo When I was laid off, I had already been actively involved w/ @IABC_Phoenix, was volunteering w/ ADA, & building a Twitter network

JH: @heyangelo First thing I did after being laid off was update all of my online profiles — LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter…

JH: @heyangelo You always want your online profiles 2 be current, but I was surprised by just how many peopel reached out after hearing the news

JH: @heyangelo I’m connected w/ family & friends on LinkedIn & FB & know I have their support…Was overwhelmed by generosity of Twitter friends

JH: @heyangelo I was already on Twitter sharing info. w/ people–Then, when I needed support, had people offering advice, help w/ my resume, etc

AF: @JessicaLHansen How about networks in the Valley? Did you do a lot of face-to-face meetings or were you all digital?

JH: @heyangelo That’s an important point, Angelo. I connected w/ a lot of people online, but I made a point of having face-to-face mtgs as well

JH: @heyangelo @IABC_Phoenix is a great network, & there are some other chapters organizing support groups 2 help collaborate in tough times

AF: @JessicaLHansen Were there any hiring managers that found you because of your social media footprint?

JH: @heyangelo Yes, I heard from a few hiring mgrs because of my social media footprint–Scheduled in-person interview w/ @cplanchard via DM 🙂

AF: @JessicaLHansen What do you think job seekers do badly?

JH: @heyangelo Job seekers who have a strong network of pros are going to be a step ahead when it comes to finding the next career opp

AF: @JessicaLHansen And from the other side, what do you think companies seeking great employees do badly?

JH: @heyangelo HR depts are getting bombarded by resumes from job seekers right now–It’s important to connect w/ people & build relationships

JH: @heyangelo Hiring mgrs are missing out if they aren’t joining the convo on Twitter–Great way 2 find talent & learn a lot about candidates

AF: @JessicaLHansen Let’s switch to IABC. You’ve taken on the presidency this year for IABC_Phoenix. What are your three big goals?

JH: @heyangelo Yes, I’m honored 2 serve as @IABC_Phoenix President this yr. We are focusing on having our members Be Heard more than ever…

JH: @heyangelo @IABC_Phoenix will be the definitive resource for comm practices & engaging communicators at all stages of their careers

JH: @heyangelo @IABC_Phoenix will enable our members’ success in performing their jobs and advancing their careers

JH: @heyangelo Personally, I’d like 2 connect w/ as many @IABC_Phoenix members as possible this yr–Get 2 know them, hear what they need from us

AF: @JessicaLHansen From recent membership at IABC_Phoenix, attendees at events, what are members seeking most?

JH: @heyangelo From recent @IABC_Pheonix surveys, members want: smart network of comm pros, info on new career opps, & more on social media

JH: @heyangelo @IABC_Phoenix will enable our members’ success in performing their jobs and advancing their career

AF: @JessicaLHansen How do you see Phoenix positioned in terms of Communications opportunities?

JH: @heyangelo I think there are a lot of opps 4 comm pros in #Phx, but it’s also 1 of the hardest hit by this economy–We need to work together

AF: @JessicaLHansen #On that somewhat optimistic note, I’ll let you go. I know you have to run. Thanks for your time!

JH: @heyangelo Thanks so much, Angelo! I enjoyed the Twinterview (thanks for the opp!), and hope I was able to share some helpful information.

The road becomes a canvas, with Chalkbot

July 23, 2009 / Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

A few days ago, someone asked me for an example of how to use social networking or blogging tool in a really different way. I had a couple of personal examples. I wish I had seen this.

Not just a short message, but a digital-to-chalk application of micro-blogging.
Not updates about ‘what I had for breakfast,’ but why I support your cause.
Not yet another cancer ribbon, but a ground-up message supporting Livestrong

This is a really fascinating example of how people send a message to others, using a ‘platform’ we take so much for granted –the road.

I found it via the Nike Tour de France microsite, where people can upload messages that get printed on the road via a bot. They send their message via …. you guessed it, Twitter.

How does it work? The device uses a 48 nozzles-spray to write with emulsified chalk on the street. If you like to participate, send a message to the Chalkbot Twitter account.

Check some messages, here.

Twinterview with Mitch Joel live, now

July 21, 2009July 21, 2009 / Angelo Fernando / 2 Comments

Today I am conducting a Twinterview –Twitter Interview– with marketing guru, podcaster, and now author af an upcoming book, Six Pixels of Separation.

@mitchjoel Good afternoon, Mitch. I’ve been a longtime listener of Six Pixels of Separation. When did the idea of the book come up –and how?

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo book idea came together about two years ago. I wanted to connect the non-connected business to our world (using their words)

@mitchjoel Explain ‘six pixels’ to someone who doesn’t get Small World theory. http://bit.ly/ZrLme Do u have a Twit-friendly answer? http://bit.ly/ZrLme

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo we used to “know someone who knew someone” now – with these digital channels – we are all connected. No degrees. Only pixels.

@mitchjoel Let’s move to your marketing practice,. Are there clients who listen to your podcast & still shake their heads at social media?

Mitch Joel @heyangelo I think clients are much more savvy than some marketers give them credit for. They get it and they want more of it.

@mitchjoel Because of the Tweetdeck delay I want to go back to your point about Pixels not Degrees. Pixels as in links?

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo no pixels as in: we’re connected. If you do a search on Google for anyone, you are connected. No need for an intro through others

@mitchjoel Tell us a bit about the book –Use as many tweets for this to tell us (a) what gap does it fill (b) who is your audience?

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo gap: a business book in business talk for business people about connecting to consumers.

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo audience = every person you and I have to “convince” that using these channels is good/smart for business.

@mitchjoel Ah! So you mean we could secretly mail the book to someone in the C-suite? Would you have a podio-book of this as well?

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo no need to be secretive about mailing the book My hopes are that those reading this know who to give it to and they’ll be happy

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo audio versions will be available. I have to say, recording the audio was hard… they wanted it perfect 🙂

@mitchjoel Tell our readers why you were summoned (too strong a word?) to Google to explain social media. What did THEY need to know?

Mitch Joel: mitchjoel@heyangelo Google holds events – internally and public ones for clients. I’ve been asked to give presentations there. It’s an honor.

@mitchjoel Regarding the audiobook, do you have rights to do whatever you wish with it in your podcast?

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo I do not. The audiobook is the property of my book publisher: Grand Central – Hachette Book Group.

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo I do not have those rights. I’m sure my Publisher would be open to suggestions though 😉

@mitchjoel Are you under pressure to market the book using the digital strategies you recommend?

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo I would not say it is “pressure”. Again, I want the book to hit the businesspeople who are not following Twitter and Blogs.

@mitchjoel You’ve got another large digital footprint on Facebook – 1,681 members. What excites that community?

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo funny, I thought it was more like 3,660 😉 The conversation is def. different. Not sure why, but it’s just different.

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo it’s all the same to me. Give first, build the community and be helpful. Everything else works out.

@mitchjoel What have you learned as a podcaster and blogger, that you didn’t know as just a marketer?

Awaiting answer: Tweetdeck delay

@mitchjoel Thanks for your time, Mitch. + patience with Tweetdeck delays etc. I’m looking fwd to the book. Preorder! http://bit.ly/VToC8

Mitch Joel: @heyangelo thanks for the Twinterview… that was fun. Next time, let’s just use two cans and a string 😉

Diplomacy’s BFF, social media, opens third way

July 7, 2009 / Angelo Fernando / Leave a comment

In 2005, an article that largely went unnoticed about using technology appeared in Hoover’s Digest. It was authored by someone names Jared Cohen.

In it he analyzed the pent-up resistance in Iran, and what it means for the future stability in the Middle east.

“That resistance, however, no longer appears in traditional forms of oppositional activity, such as massive political demonstrations and an organized opposition. Instead, it often manifests itself in the form of a “passive revolution,” a widespread social resistance that, given its methodology of engaging in activities that are antithetical to the regime’s values, is political in and of itself.”

He spoke of something called ‘virtual association’ a form of symbolic social networking among people who were passively resistant. These real, but invisible networks posed a threat to the status quo, he said, because “there is no leadership, network, or covert movement to crack down on.” Cohen also predicted there would come a Tipping Point, when those networks could be nourished.

That Tipping Point came in June this year, with the media bans and snuffing out of any form of protest. That idea of ‘nourishing’ the assets inside a country appears to have been turned into a diplomatic policy.

In April, the State Department took a technology delegation from Google, Twitter, AT&T and a few other companies to Iraq. According to TIME, the person behind the idea of a technology delegation was Jared Cohen.

I find this interesting because for decades, we have adopted a for-us-or-against-us approach to how we deal with the rest of the world. Now, a consensus toward a Third Way is being taken seriously at all levels. It involves first listening to those unlike us, seeing what ways they engage between themselves, and try to become part of their conversation.

Goli Ameri, US Asst. Undersecretary of State has also referred to this approach this third way: bringing people together to create greater mutual understanding. Dialog and exchange all fit nicely into the template of social media, which has no use of message-force multipliers –a failed PR strategy that is as crass as the phrase– and the likes.

Public diplomacy has been hamstrung with a top-down we-talk/you listen approach for decades. Today we have begun to understand the antenna is more important than the loudspeaker.

If social media and the possibilities they open up are making people try new ways of listening, connecting, and engaging we will be all better off for it.

Hoipolloireport

Angelo Fernando's blog since 2004

Best Practices

Quotes for the week, ending 08 Aug, 2009

John Brennan, President Obama’s new counter-terrorism chief, saying the present administration won’t be looking at allies and other nations this way anymore.

Beth Harte, at SocialMediaToday.com on Brand Vs Brand Relationships

Jessica Burnette-Lemon, on looking at the Amazon Kindle

Job description for AXIS Inc., for entry-level marketing position that requires knowledge in PR, customer service, sales…

Job description for Social Media Director at ADF

A blogger names Georgy, on the reason for the denial of service attacks on popular networks Facebook and Twitter.

Headline of article about the Marine Corps banning soldiers from using military computer networks to access FAcebook, Myspace and Twitter.

Quotes for the week, ending 1 August, 2009

Evo Terra, co-author of Podcasting for Dummies, when I interviewed him for an upcoming article and, podcast.

Martin Murray, senior corporate news representative for the Public Service of New Hampshire, on using Twitter as a way to update customers on an power outage due to an ice storm

BBC report on how citizen journalism is on the rise in Iran

Reuter report on how movie studios are using Twitter, but how it can sometimes backfire. Tweets about Sacha Baron Cohen’s gay-themed comedy, Bruno, created buzz but also scared people away.

Press Release by the the company after New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo came to a settlement with cosmetic surgery firm for published fake consumer reviews on the Net.

Shel Holtz, commenting on the problems of how all reviews on iTunes do not show up the same in all countries. On For Immediate Release, episode 468.

The road becomes a canvas, with Chalkbot

John Brennan, President Obama’s new counter-terrorism chief, saying the present administration won’t be looking at allies and other nations this way anymore.

Beth Harte, at SocialMediaToday.com on Brand Vs Brand Relationships

Jessica Burnette-Lemon, on looking at the Amazon Kindle

Job description for AXIS Inc., for entry-level marketing position that requires knowledge in PR, customer service, sales…

Job description for Social Media Director at ADF

A blogger names Georgy, on the reason for the denial of service attacks on popular networks Facebook and Twitter.

Headline of article about the Marine Corps banning soldiers from using military computer networks to access FAcebook, Myspace and Twitter.

Evo Terra, co-author of Podcasting for Dummies, when I interviewed him for an upcoming article and, podcast.

Martin Murray, senior corporate news representative for the Public Service of New Hampshire, on using Twitter as a way to update customers on an power outage due to an ice storm

BBC report on how citizen journalism is on the rise in Iran

Reuter report on how movie studios are using Twitter, but how it can sometimes backfire. Tweets about Sacha Baron Cohen’s gay-themed comedy, Bruno, created buzz but also scared people away.

Press Release by the the company after New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo came to a settlement with cosmetic surgery firm for published fake consumer reviews on the Net.

Shel Holtz, commenting on the problems of how all reviews on iTunes do not show up the same in all countries. On For Immediate Release, episode 468.

Britain’s foreign secretary, David Milliband, on the release of one of its embassy staffers in Tehran.One other staffer remains in custody.

Leo LaPorte, about how his podcasting career took off late, being interviewed by his daughter, Abby who started her own podcast, Abbey’s Road.

Paul Fishbein, president of the AVN Media Network, an industry trade publication.

Melissa Chan, an Al Jazeera reporter from XinJiang, via Twitter, after ethnic rioting broke out on in Urumqi, China between the Uighur minority and Han Chinese.