Sidewiki

2009 October 1
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by Taylor

For online content creaters, life just changed.  Google’s new sidewiki now allows you to commenton ANY webpage… and read others comments who have been there before you. It’s a feature of their new google toolbar. Will this be helpful?  Check out the details of the new Google SideWiki on Google’s blog.

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Why your boss is scared of Twitter.

2009 September 28
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by Taylor

Social Media Today’s daily e-mails just brought my attention to a post by B.L. Ochman’s called The Top Six Reasons Companies are Still Scared of Social Media. It was a great post that highlights some of the main reasons many companies aren’t exactly running to catch up on social media trends (but rather running in the opposite direction).

I have found myself in the position numerous times to want to argue with corporate professionals about why social media is worth the time and effort it takes to learn to utilize these new mediums. I’ve even given a presentation to introduce how each site/application could possibly used for different types of clients. This post made me realize that the first step is looking more closely at what is is holding our bosses back.   Then we can more strategically plan our rebuttals! Here’s why the boss is scared of that little blue bird….

Here is a summary of Ochman’s post along with some thoughts of my own.

scaredman.jpg

1- Companies think that employees will waste time with social media.

Many large corporations block their employees from accessing the Internet altogether. Others try to block employees from accessing personal email or social networks like Facebook during work hours.  In May, 2009, according to emarketer, there were 29 million smartphones in the United States. That’s a lot of Internet access available to workers everywhere – and employers can’t stop us from accessing the Internet – on breaks, at lunch, in the bathroom, you name it.  The value to workers of having Internet access – in terms of research, communication, and speed – is far greater than the threat of lost productivity. Companies have a right to make policies and rules about personal use of the Internet, but blocking it during work is just stupid.

This is great one. Your employees are already tweeting in the bathroom.. so you may as well them allow them to at their desk, then maybe they’ll learn enough about twitter/foursquare/facebook or whatever it may be to help you implement it into your overall marketing strategy!

2- Haters will damage our brand.

“What about the haters?” is the first question that comes up at my corporate and conference social media workshops. “What if people say bad, mean, nasty things about our brand?”  Well, there may be things you need to change about your brand, and in that case, you should thank them for letting you know what they are. Then you should make changes.  If you have built an online community that includes people who don’t hate you, that community will rise to your defense and they will handle the problem for you.

I completely agree with this one.  Criticism can make your brand stronger if you counteract it, you will learn where your brand needs to improve. You’re getting free and easy feedback through interactive sites!

3- We’ll lose control of the brand.

Listen up: every person with a computer and even a tiny skill level has the tools to make their opinion about your brand heard by other people. They’re already talking about you. Message control is an illusion. Give it up.= Your workers are talking about you in closed Facebook groups designed to keep you out so they can talk about you in peace. Your customers are emailing, Tweeting, Facebooking, and that old standby – calling – their friends about their experience with your brand. You don’t have control. You might as well join the conversation. At least that way you can influence what is being said.

Simply put… since they are already talking about you… joining in gives your brand the change to first listen, then TALK BACK and be pro-active and re-active instead of just observing.

4- Social media requires a real budget! It’s not really cheap, or free.

While many social media tools are free, knowing how to use them takes experience and perspective.  The boss’ friend’s high school or college kid can’t integrate social media into the company’s overall marketing. That requires experience and perspective. Having a large social network and a stellar online reputation helps too.

5- They’re scared they’ll be sued.

Oh puh-lese. Next!

Again, agreed.. you could be sued a number of other ways too. Crawl out from underneath that rock you’re living under… and welcome to the 21st century.

6- They’re scared of giving away corporate secrets or that information on social networks will affect the stock price.

If you don’t already have a social media policy, you need to create one.

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Unhappy at work? Maybe you’re not alone.

2009 September 18
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by Taylor

CNN Money ran an article this week, Less Pay. More hours. Unhappy workers saying that the majority of workers that are still employed are dealing with longer hours and less pay and this make for unhappy and unmotivated workers. Which means the unemployed aren’t the only group that is feeling the recessions. And what about those that were laid off, and have picked up a new position simply for the paycheck, and not becaue they love the job? This group seems to have felt the recession from both angels.

The article gives this quote by Domnick Eger, an information technology specialist in Phoenix, Ariz. “You can’t help but just do the bare essentials to keep you from being fired.” He goes on to talk about how he feels stretched to a breaking point in his current position, but is unable to find a new job.

Feeling unhappy at work should not be taken lightly. In a book by Chad Foster, it claims that the average person works 86,000 hours in their lifetime, and most of us eight-to-fivers work anywhere from 40-50 hours a week. This is the majority of your time (the majority of your week) spend at a place where you may not feel challenged, may not enjoy, and according to this CNN article, you might just be miserable.

According to a recent survey by the Workforce Institute at Kronos, 40% of employees at organizations affected by layoffs say productivity has been negatively impacted, and two-thirds of them say that morale is suffering and that employees are less motivated than before.

My question is. When will this change?? When can we expect this to turn around? When will people to start be happy and fulfilled in their jobs again?  When will the economy improve enough so that people feel secure enough to leave their jobs to find new ones that motivate and stimulate them again?

When are we going to get some good news? And once we do, how long will it take things to really turn around??

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do you have thick enough skin to be a PR pro?

2009 September 8
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by Taylor

I have often thought about this in my experience working in PR… the traditional PR job, full of pitching, getting your releases butchered, and/or sucking up to clients to keep them happy and/or the media to sway them in your favor… can be a hard 8 (or 10, or 11) hour day. Maybe it’s not for everybody. Maybe only some personality types can take it. Or maybe that’s on the beginning and PR types learn how to grow thick skin and get better at their jobs. There’s a lot of criticism in the job, and opinions from person to person working in an agency can differ. (Not to mention unhappy clients if they don’t understand/support the angle you took to acheive their goal).

I’ve never come across the blog before but it felt like my own words when I came across it today and I had to share it with you all.  It’s titled, “PR Breakfast Club, a chance to start the day out right” and I loved this post, “Am I too emotional for PR” this post was written by Marie V-B and it’s a great little blurb about life as PR pro who sometimes breaks down at 10:00 PM at night when she makes the mistake of checking her work e-mail and getting a nasty scolding from a client.. oh the life of publicist. Question she poses: is it for everyone?

What do you think?

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Scared to be unfollowed? Follow this advice.

2009 August 28
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by Taylor
I thought this was a very interesting article by Augie Ray  on Social Media Today about habits on twitter that can get you un-followed. How closely should we follow them? Is it better to have more followers? Or less followers – who are quality and participate in the same twitter conversations as you, work in your industry, know you in real life, and add value to your twitter feed! Just something to think about!! Many of these are good pieces of advice, and others, I don’t agree with so much.  I don’t love the idea of avoiding contraversy, if you do – where is the value of the conversation? Either way, these are great tips and I wanted to share them!

Eight Twitter Habits That May Get You Unfollowed or Semi-Followed

8. Constant Tweeting about your own business: I was just followed by a printing company in Raleigh, NC, and every single tweet was about their business–”lowest prices,” “visit our site,” “why everyone is switching to us,” blah blah blah. According to TweetLater, the tool I use to vet followers, over 50% of those followed by this business chose to ignore this account, and it is a sure bet almost none of the remaining 50% will pay any attention to what this Twitterer has to say. Constant self-promotion isn’t a stream of tweets, it’s a stream of ads, and no one really wants to subscribe to that.

7. People who mistake public tweets for private messages: When you make lunch plans via email, you send a message only to the people you wish to invite and not to everyone in your contact list. This common sense approach isn’t so common on Twitter, where some folks seem to believe every communication to anyone should be broadcast to everyone. As the number of followers grows, the need to cut down on noise increases, so if you wish to encourage your followers to pay attention, keep private communications private and send a public Tweet only when the message may be of interest to many of your followers. The Direct Message (DM) is a powerful tool–don’t fear the DM!

6. People who engage in partial and cryptic @replies: Twitter is intended to be conversational, but remember that people will begin to tune you out if they cannot understand or decode many of your status updates. For this reason, it’s important when replying that you give context; for example, what is “@you Word,” “@you I’m sorry to hear that,” or “@you ROFLOL” supposed to mean to people unless they 1) follow both you and the person to whom you’re responding, and 2) care enough and have the time to follow the dialog back and forth?It’s one thing to say “@you That Conan O’Brien video clip of Shatner reading Palin’s speech was funny,” but it’s an altogether different and more annoying thing to tweet, “@You That was hilarious.” The former gives context that invites attention and replies from others; the latter is just noise that will only have relevance to one person.


5. Just links: Sharing links is a great way to create value for your followers, but please don’t share links with no explanation. What is on the other end of a link-shortened URL such as http://ow.ly/iyu8? Is this news, a video clip, spam, spyware? I don’t know and I don’t care–links with no context not only won’t get clicked but may encourage others to dump you.

4. Excessive games, sweeps, & viral marketing:I’m a marketer and support the appropriate use of Twitter for participation in marketing promotions. But when a Twitterer becomes obsessed with a game or sweepstakes and litters their Twitter feed with promotional tweets, it isn’t any different than spam. Sharing a cool branded video or a relevant sweepstakes is great; tweeting #moonfruit 20 times in 5 minutes because you want to win an Apple computer is just damn annoying. Of course, smart marketers will find a way to create Twitter promotions that engage others rather than irritate them. For example, Marriott launched an annoying Moonfruit-like promotion at http://marriotthawaiitweets.com. It’s causing a minor flood of useless and repetitive tweets like “Trying my luck to win a Hawaiian getaway from @marriotthawaii.” As my Twitter friend @RobertKColepointed out, “This is spam without some form of community benefit, like naming a favorite activity in Hawaii.” Marketers need to challenge themselves to get people sharing something of interest and not just spammy and irrelevant tweets, because what worked for Moonfruit once could well become a PR disaster for a brand running a Twitter sweepstakes in the future.

 

3. Automatic Direct Messages (DMs):Talk about getting a relationship off on the wrong foot–someone trusts a Twitterer enough to follow him or her and then is repaid with an impersonal and spammy Direct Message. Many is the time I’ve followed someone, received a generic Auto DM, and immediately unfollowed, beginning and ending a Twitter relationship in less than five minutes. Using an Auto DM may seem like a good way to “welcome” new followers, but most people actually find it very unwelcoming. Also, Auto DMs can fill up peoples’ lists of incoming Direct Messages, making it difficult to catch real, valuable, person-to-person DMs. A move is afoot to shame those who send automatic DMs. The site StopAutoDM.comrecently launched, encouraging Twitterers to send an @reply containing the hashtag #stopautodmto those who use Auto DMs; doing so causes the tweet to appear on the site’s “Recent Offender Newswire.”
2. Publicly thanking others for thinking you’re terrific:It’s very rewarding when new people follow, when you get cited by others with a #followfriday mention, or when you get retweeted. Each of these occurrences is an appropriate opportunity to thank someone–privately with a DM! Sending a public tweet that thanks someone for following, for recommending you, or for retweeting your post isn’t an expression of gratitude but a boast sent to everyone who follows you. It’s a big, needy, self-serving way to make sure a wide group of people are aware that someone thinks you’re terrific. Think of it this way: When you receive a compliment from a boss or peer, do you express genuine gratitude in a private manner, or do you stand on a chair and bellow “Thank you for complimenting my work!” Public tweets that express appreciation for referrals and recommendations are the Twitter equivilent of a vain bellow.
1. Politics, Religion & Sex (unless that is your Twitter profile’s purpose): If you create a Twitter profile to support gun rights, gay marriage, your church, or your adult film career, by all means talk politics, religion, or sex; that would be expected by people who follow you. But if your Twitter account is intended to be professional, then tweeting about politics, religion or sex is a good way to offend or annoy some portion of your followers.
Miss Manners’ adviceis as relevant on Twitter as it is at dinner parties: “Unless you are like-minded old friends, (do not talk to another) about sex, politics or religion. That is not a quaint prohibition. Such subjects as gay marriage, taxes and abortion have been known to explode otherwise pleasant dinner parties.” Or Twitter relationships.  Some folks reject the idea of “rules” for Twitter and think anything goes. This attitude may be fine for those who don’t really care whether they’re followed or what others think, but that’s a luxury not afforded most of us with a professional intent on Twitter. The microblogging service hasn’t changed the essentials of communications and relationships: People listen to and connect with those who demonstrate concern about their relevance, comprehension, and value to others.

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Why it’s important to blog, no matter who you are.

2009 July 30
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by Taylor

The importance of blogging…. I obviously do this for a reason, and I’d like to explain why I think it’s relevant, no matter who you are or what you do for a living.  Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer there could be value in this for you.  The bottom line is that anything I spend my time doing is something I see significant value in. Here are just a few of the main points: 

1. Enhance yourself and think productively- If you are constantly considering post ideas while your working away at work, or considering new ideas for a project outside of work, you might stretch your productive thoughts of the day into something that can actually have take away value.  Posting in a way that seeks to encourage and/or teach other people will also stretch your thought process. Always tryign to learn for yourself and teach others sharpens your mind and keeps your intelligence active.  As much as I learn every time I dive into a new idea for a post, or a step by step process I’m wanting to learn more about… I walk away in small but real ways a more experienced and diverse person. There is huge value in that.

2. Teach yourself and learn something – My pretty knowledgeable older brother once told me that the best way to learn something is to create something yourself. Put together an article or a step by step list of how to accomplish something. Once you’ve done some research and put something together you will realize you’ve taught yourself. Blogging is extremely effective for this, and in the process others can learn from your discoveries.

Example? Why is it good to TWEET and MEET? Well.. put together a slide show on the value of connecting w/ your twitter friends, throw in some statistics you find, talk to some people who’ve had  a good experience, and by the end of the slide show, you just might have a compelling argument, and understand the value a little better yourself.

3. Become a better writer – Expand your skill set. Are you a good writer? Would you like to be? The only way to get better, and continue to expand on the comfort level of your writing is to do it more often. Sitting down w/ a blog to lay out your productive thoughts of the day or week is an extremely beneficial exercise and doing this may help you become a better writer for things you need to do at work.

4. Develop your thoughts - Did you ever have a great idea or experience a spark of interest in something, and then forget all about it? A professional blog is a place to expand on that spark rather than forgetting it.

5. Create some credibility- If you’re someone who seeks to be involved in the social media realm, someone who claims to think creatively, or someone who says they have a strong work ethic.. prove those things here (on your blog) and create some credibility for yourself. This is an area where you can push the envelope, reveal your willingness to consider, learn and explore different ideas and discuss current trends in your profession. Whether that means a political discussion, a break down how-to of a real estate agents in today’s economy, discussing the current market conditions and how different businesses are effected, sharing your struggles and frustrations with what the radio advertising industry has become, or exploring ways that new media can effect the PR industry and therefore various clients — write about it, think about it, explore it, and prove that you’re the employee that’s actively thinking about what’s next.  Become credible.

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Dopplr Update

2009 July 29
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by Taylor

Inspired by my last post, and my travel schedule for this fall. I’ve just set up Dopplr to come here to share my trips. The latest trip scheduled….I’m taking a trip to Bloomington between September 19th and September 21st.

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TRAVEL

2009 July 16
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by Taylor

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

It is my belief that traveling, even on a small scale within the United States has incredible value in the way that it adds to your life perspective.  It reminds you there is life out there outside of the small everyday world that you experience.  It changes opinions, perspectives, aspirations, and… if you one who itches to see more, experience more and learn more, then it can change desires as well.

In the past couple of months I’ve had several weekends away from my beautiful home in San Diego… Philadelphia, Washington DC/Bethesda area, Newport Beach, Palm Springs, Indianapolis, New York City… and this weekend I’m headed to Fort Wayne Indiana! (Don’t ask why…haha)

Honestly, from big city to small town, the value of getting away (the way that I have recently) cannot be matched. It opens your eyes to the world outside your own, and to all different kinds of lifestyles. I’m 23 years old, I’ve got nothing that says I can’t pick up and leave for a weekend. No little dog at home to be babysat, no husband and child to worry about (or feed)… it’s truly and incredible unique time in my life, and I’m blessed to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities at hand to get out and travel some! So I’ve jumped back onto Dopplr with the intention of actually using it this time! 

 

My encouragement to you….

Go search cheap flights. Go see some friends cross country. Travel is expensive, but the expeirence is worth every dime, (or $100 dollar bill). It changes the way you see things, and it may change the way you chose to live….

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

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Social Media & Privacy. Consider locking down your Facebook.

2009 July 2
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by Taylor

As social networking sites continue to grow, multiple, and become more and more popular, the line between our professional lives and personal lives is becoming blurrier by the minute… and it can be a little nerve racking. ealize how much information on us is out there for a complete stranger to view. It’s good to be aware of this, and to take certain steps/precautions.

Making your Facebook page a little more private, is a great place to start. There are tons of networking sites to find people through, and Facebook is a good tool for after you have already made those connections.

Here are some tips from Drew McLellanon how to protect your privacy on facebook.

Ten Privacy Setting You Should Consider:

Use your friends lists — everyone doesn’t have to see everything.

Remove yourself from the Facebook Search results — if you only want to be found by people you reach out to — this is an easy fix for eliminating most of the unwanted friend invites.

Remove yourself from the Google search– Facebook listing seem to grab great Google juice.  So if you want to be found, leave it be.  But if you’d prefer more privacy, you can remove yourself from the listings.

The dreaded photo/video tag — this one has cost people jobs, relationships and their own dignity.  With a simple change in privacy settings, you can make it so that no one (or just those you choose — think friend lists) can see those tell all photos and videos.

Not everyone needs to see every picture — this holds true of your photo albums as well.  You can set privacy settings for each one separately.

Prevent “stories” from showing up on your friends news feed — is there anything more awkward than when your friend goes from in a relationship to it’s complicated or single?  Avoid that embarrassment with a few simple settings.

Keep your application updates from being published– do you really want people to know you’re looking for a tommy gun in Mafia Wars or that you’ve wasted yet another hour hitting a new high on Bejeweled?

Make you contact information private – for some people, their cell phone number is public information.  But for others who might have arms lengths relationships at best with many of their Facebook friends…a bit less shared would be good.

Censor your friends…keep their thoughts off your wall! – I think this is one of the most critical on the list.  You can control who sees your wall and who can write on your wall.  Do you really need your frat buddies sharing stories with your boss?  I’m guessing not.

Keep your friends private — this isn’t just about your privacy, it’s about your friends’ privacy as well.  Remember, anyone who is a friend of yours can pop onto your friends list and cherry pick them for whatever reason they’d want.

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Find your strengths. Forget your weaknesses.

2009 June 23
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by Taylor

Success is acheived by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.

- Marilyn vos Savant (American Journalist)

I have learned lately that as you get further and further into your respective field or industry, some of the most important things you will learn are about yourself. You will realize what your own strengths and weaknesses are and this is an incredibly valuable lesson to learn. You’ll figure out what you’re good at, what you aren’t so good at, what you enjoy, what you can’t stand, what you don’t mind, and what you’re asked to do because your the best at it.

I think it’s invaluable to realize what you want to do in life and in your respective career and what you don’t want to do. It’s also just as important to recognize what you are aren’t great at, as it is to know where your strengths lie.  

I had decided this a couple months ago, as I analyzed my own strengths and weaknesses in the field of public relations, and I was recently given an amazing bit of advice that backed up my own belief.  Many management programs will focus on strength and weaknesses and once you can label what those are for you, they focus you on your weaknesses with the intention on improving you and making you better and more able in those areas. Now – this may sound like a great idea, but this smart and successful woman giving me this advice painted a different picture for me. Why in the world would you categorize your strengths and weakness and what you enjoy vs. what you don’t, only to zero in on what you’re bad at? If you are a great writer, and a great speaker, why in the world wouldn’t you focus on those areas in order to better yourself, and get better in an area where you clearly have talent? If you can think on your feet, and are a fantastic sales person, or pitcher – then why would you sit yourself down and put pen to paper (or typing fingers to mac book air… whatever) and force yourself to learn to be a good writer? Exactly. You wouldn’t, or at least you wouldn’t enjoy it.

It makes very little sense to focus on the negative and/or weakness and beat yourself up for it. The clarity and sense is in focusing on what you love to do, and improving on that skill that you are good at until you can rightfully call it an area of expertise.

I’ve taken this lessons and I am letting it direct the rest of my career. Money shouldn’t lead you, acheiving fame shouldn’t direct your path, happiness and contentment – enjoyment in the workplace SHOULD! So figure out what you love to do – and if you learn to do that well, the money and success will soon catch up to you.

At times, our strengths propel us so far forward we can no longer endure our weaknesses and perish from them.

- Friedrich Nietzsche (German Classical Scholar, Philosopher & Critic of Culture 1844-1900).

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