Ada Lovelace Day

What is it? According to Wikipedia it is ‘designed to “draw attention to women excelling in technology”, began in 2009′

I was not familiar with Ada Lovelace and I am already a big fan. It still amazes me to see so many women intimidated by anything related to the technology field as well as math and sciences. What impresses me the most is to see anyone desiring to continually learn things. So, on this day, I would like to pay tribute to my local hero Francine Hardaway. I admire her dedication to keep technology, small business, social media and the valley community thriving and leading the way in this continually evolving time.

Thank you, Francine, for all of your hard work! It does not go unappreciated!!

Random Acts of Kindess

I wanted to direct this blog to the topic of social media. At first, I thought this topic didn’t fit and was ‘too soft’. Then I thought again. (No comments from the peanut gallery! ) This IS social media. This Week is Random Acts of Kindness week and this post on Karma Cooler relies on the community to share the ideas on kindness. Social media is about sharing and building a community.

Kindness doesn’t have to cost money and I love the example from Improv Everywhere. Look how a simple ‘high five’ can bring smiles to even the toughest New Yorkers!

My only suggestion would have been to give ‘fist bumps‘ instead of ‘high fives’. ‘High fives’ are soooo 90s.

Enjoy the week!

‘Fist bump’!

What is the measure of success?

ROI, metrics and measurement are required to be mentioned at least 50 times in any business meeting. What is X worth to me? While I appreciate the question, I also needed to refrain from kicking the speaker of this statement in the shins. Yes, tracking and other tools help direct business decisions, but I don’t want them to get in the way of what ‘should be done’. You know your business and you should know your customer.

I’ve just finished reading David Meerman Scott’s ‘Lose Control of Your Marketing‘ and I loved it! My favorite quote ‘Return on Investment Makes you Boring’. Wow! My kinda man! What he means, or what I took from this, is that you need to think in terms of today and where your customers are. Things that may not be familiar to you and may be tough to measure. Are they reading direct mail, newspapers, watching tv, listening to radio or are they participating in social meda? Do you know?

For example, I started the Twitter account for Southwest Airlines in July 2007. I did not do an ‘ROI’ of participation, because I had the support of my wonderful senior management to try new things. What I found was that there were a lot of travelers, BUSINESS TRAVELERS, that were participating on Twitter. Although our followers numbered around 200 in those early times, what we found were that not only were these business travelers with Twitter accounts, but they blogged as well. Now we were looking at something that spoke much louder than 200 people. This was now entering a much bigger stage which then caught the attention of ‘regular’ media. Southwest Airlines’ Twitter followers now number over 10,000 and growing every day. What would have happened if I were to have stopped because there wasn’t enough ‘ROI’ at 200 followers?

I’m not discrediting measurement. Oddly enough, I’m helping a current customer create reports and success metrics as we speak. What I want to see is people trusting their instincts as well as showing they know their customer. That’s where the fun starts as well as the business.

Where are your customers? If you don’t know, do your front-line employees know? Have you asked your customers? What metrics are you missing by not engaging with them?

My Customers/Members Don’t Use Social Media

There always seems to be some business or organization that feels social media ‘isn’t for them’. You know, none of their customers/members use it so they don’t need to either. One of my favorite things is to find the most random examples for the use of social media. Here are a few of my favorites:

Small business- A small coffee shop in Houston crediting Twitter for doubling their traffic.

Grocery store- Fresh & Easy, a new option for Valley residents, says their Twitter account is “designed to talk (and listen) to customers and potential customers” They are passionate about this channel even though they are told no one follows social media in the UK.

Fans as official bloggers- I learned about this from one of my favorite authors on social media, David Meerman Scott. The New York Islanders asked fans to blog about the team and invited them to games treating them like ‘official’ media. The program has proven to be successful and will continue this season.

Usually people are afraid of what they don’t know, afraid of the technology or are afraid of hearing something ‘bad’. Let’s look at these three ‘ghosts’.
1. I don’t know what social tools are out there. Research. The Internet is a click away. What about your employees and customers? Ask them. Start with 1-3 tools and be consistent with your participation.

2. Technology is too complicated for me. These tools are built for ease of use. Still afraid? See paragraph above. Social media is about sharing and you’ll be surprised at how helpful your community can be.

3. They might say bad things about me
Guess what? The conversation is out there whether you choose to participate or not. Shouldn’t we invite the conversation and build the relationship than just ignore it?

Are you sure your customers/members aren’t participating in social media? Do you really think you can continue to ignore the tsunami
of social media?

Just ask for help. It’s only a friend or follower away!

Silly! Twitter is for kids!

That’s usually the comment that I get when I bring up any social media conversation. It’s usually followed by ‘I don’t have time for that!’ Yes, there is wasted time and silliness on social media tools, but isn’t that the same about email? You make of it what you put into it.
I’ve recently read two great posts about the importance of social media and time – Personal Web Manager – the next web 2.0 job? talks about having a ‘social media assistant’ to help you organize and collect all web 2.0 information for those who want information and don’t feel they have the time and maybe talent? Chris Brogan helps put it all into perspective with Be Realistic About Time. These show the value of social media, but not at the cost of personal time.
I have found loads of valuable business content and conversation, especially in Twitter. The best thing about social media, besides being free, LISTENING. You can get a quick read on hot topics and what people think just by listening in on these tools and being a part of the conversation rather than just the topic.
Are the experiences that people are ‘Twittering’ about good for your brand and/or are you part of the conversation? Isn’t that what social media is about anyway – being human and not a cold, sterile ‘corporation’? People are forgiving if you’re honest and responsive.
If you’re not using one of the social media tools, check it out. Start slow and find one that fits ‘you’. Make sure you are consistent with your participation now that you know you don’t have to ‘live there’.
What do you think? Do you use social media tools? Do you have a life?

Write someting? In a blog?

I thought they were just for posting other content like Flickr photos, Twitter and Delicious! OK, write something.  Love Delicious.  Where else can I throw things around and still be ‘organized’ and find stuff?  Tags rule.  Twitter.  Twitter is swell.  140 character is my writing limit.  That’s why I have such a hard time with a blog.  I feel like I need to fill space. Friend Feed pulls all of my ‘social media’ sites together and allows for others and me to comment/like/link on posts.  Last.fm is fun. Love the ability to comment and pull into my blog. 

What new social media services do you like?  What do you use most often?

Go Suns! Hello Hotel Valley Ho!

Good wine and friends from Wisconsin. Yea, this weekend won't suck.

Brett Favre not retiring?! http://tinyurl.com/2ar9s8

Can't believe I missed this on David Letterman last night! We were discussing Aaron Rodger's future with the Pack with friends from Wisconsin.

Say it ain't so! Brett, go to the broadcast booth!!!

NBA – A whole new game with kids

A couple of weeks ago, I took my friend and his eight-year old boy along with my nephew, Max to a Suns game. Wow! What a blast! Going to a game with eight-year olds puts a new spin on things. How fun! Max was so excited about the game and really got Louie’s son, Colton, into the game. You could feel their excitement. I got 3 bonus hugs from Max to boot!

New Year’s Resolution?

Of course I start thinking about New Year’s Resolutions this time of year and I actually try to figure something out and follow it. This year, my resolutions were to work out and spend more time enjoying life. I have to say this is the first time that I’ve really felt like I followed through with it.

Working Out:

While not perfect, I have followed a pretty consistent schedule of working out.

Enjoying Life:

Traveling less for work – I get more personal time at home. This was a challenge because I did have to ‘give up’ some things at work in exchange for more ‘me’ time. Was it worth it? YES! It’s also made me look at some priorities and this will probably be an area I’m expanding on for 2008.

Playing electric guitar – My lessons went ok, and I’m proud I started something. Unfortunately, they went by the wayside in October when we got a puppy and the place I was using required once a week lessons. However, I’m finding myself looking to go back and I’ll be trying to find a personal teacher on my schedule this time.

Surfing – Went to San Diego and took a couple of surfing lessons. Not bad for an ‘older’ beginning surfer. I’ll try it again next year too.

What’s up for 2008?

Hmmmm…..I think I have some things to expand on and I’m really thinking about other opportunities for me to grow. Loved this article…