Archive for December, 2008

Since the Motrin uproar and Chris Brogan scrutiny I have been wondering (out loud to some) who made/makes the social media rules? Is it a person? By committee? By culture? I still have yet to receive an answer.

As marketers it’s our nature to test, test again and re-test…and to push the limits. When did this change? Let’s face it, times have changed with technology advancements. And not all people involved in social media are marketers (or people involved in communications, PR, SEO, etc.). And as marketers we need to understand that and move forward with new ways to market (anyone remember when SEO/SEM was new?).

Social media is new territory and we are still learning and exploring. Being social with other people or customers isn’t anything new. Being trustworthy shouldn’t be worth an award or prize, it should just be. There should always be etiquette when dealing with other people, that’s just common decency. And we should be plain smart about how we present ourselves. You get what I am saying…

Social media is already coined the wild west and these types of incidents just convince companies even more so that it is. And this untamed wildness isn’t just effecting social media…it’s spreading to traditional marketing too. If it’s not the wild west, then perhaps it’s an ivory tower because a lot of people seem to want to put themselves on pedestals.

So, I just have one question. Who made the social media rules?

And if anyone can’t answer that question, then why should we follow them? And why should people be chastised for bending or breaking unwritten rules?

[Image: Blake Studios]

I have been tagged by my friends David Mullen, Damien Basile and Amber Naslund to share seven things about me that you might not know (or want to know).

Since this isn’t something that I normally write about, please promise to respect me in the morning…

1. I was bit by a snake when I was five.  And as you can imagine, I now abhor snakes. I can’t even look at them on TV or in a glass case…doing so causes me to get sick to my stomach and makes my hand ache. Completely psychological, I know. And, after all what other choice did the poor snake have after being snatched up like that?!
2. When I was in college I volunteered for a semester at KenCrest. My job was working with infants and children that had developmental, neurological, and different learning difficulties. I worked with kids whose parents dropped them off for the day and kids who were institutionalized because they were born with down syndrome, trisomy 13 or survived SIDS. Needless to say, it was the full-time, live-in kids that grabbed my heart.
3. I started riding horses (Hunter, not crazy Jumper) when I was 19. Through the years I have ridden all kinds of horses: Quarter, Welsh Pony, Arabian, Hanoverian and a Mustang, but never owned one. Eventually, I had to stop riding at 35 when a car and subsequent riding accident caused a lot of soft tissue damage that lead to severe migraines. I love horses and miss riding a ton. Someday I hope to get back in the saddle.
4. I am REALLY bad at math. Really. Bad. Well, except for tipping and figuring out a 20% discount on a new pair of to-die-for Lucchese boots. And yet I am very analytical…how’s that for a cruel joke? Being bad in math probably explains why I am addicted to shows like CSI, House, Bones, etc. It’s not the blood and gore; it’s the analytics behind what they do. I have always dreamed of working for the FBI or CIA. I guess I am just jealous that I’ll never be able to catch murderers, criminals or solve weird illnesses.
5. I have this weird ability to connect things that seem completely unrelated. It’s like putting together a puzzle in a nano second. Apparently it’s a trait that is inherent to being an ENTP. But who knows for sure, it could be some odd genetic flaw that is still undiscovered.
6. I don’t have a creative bone in my body. I can’t draw, paint, play an instrument, sing, or dance. Nope, nada, not a one. That’s probably why I am so passionate about music and the arts. The ability for a human to create, draw or paint a life-like image or to sing a Verdi opera just stirs me to my soul. (Yeah, and I am jealous too.)
7. And in killing two birds with one stone, the photo of the Triumph up above is the 6^th picture in my Flickr account (thanks to Michelle Wolverton for tagging me in that meme. BTW, I don’t have a 6^th page yet) and my last little known thing. What’s so special about the Triumph? Well, it’s my husband’s and I have been dying to ride on it, but haven’t gotten up the nerve to actually get on it other then when it’s parked in the driveway. Oh, and my mom promised to break both my legs and disown me if I ever did. That might explain a few things…

I tag the following people:

• Connie Reece
• Heather Rast
• Jason Falls (pay back for the best practices meme that went around)
• Paul Chaney
• Sonny Gill
• Michelle Wolverton
• Marc Meyer

Here are the rules:

• Link your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged

My friend Geoff Livingston and many others believe that it can. From what I have seen so far, social media gives non-profits the ability to reach out, spread the word, develop communities, and have conversations in ways that traditional marketing never could─or at least not in a way that wouldn’t potentially eat up an entire year’s marketing budget.

Seeing it in action has led me to believe that social media and the tools available can help non-profits. But what I have noticed is that blog posts on social causes, Facebook Causes (people join the cause, but that’s about it), tweets on causes, etc. never get the same attention as the latest social media snafu or raging social media debate.

With the world more connected now than it ever has been, non-profits have a way to use these connections to share someone’s pain from hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away. But what good is that if their social media efforts aren’t moving society for the good of that cause?

I think one of the new challenges non-profits face is the ability to get the people they network with online to move into offline action as well and even perhaps simultaneously.

Geeks who Give

Geeks who Give, here in Philadelphia, proved last night that this combination is fruitful indeed. With over 100+ people attending their charity event and tweet up they were able to collect over 900+ lbs. of food for Philabundance. They built the buzz up using social media and enticed us to donate food (the price of entry) by promising a great time at National Mechanics. And they delivered just that with a cooking demonstration (Fork demonstrated how to make an easy meal completely out of non-perishable foods) and karaoke. Geeks who Give will be utilizing social media for social good throughout the year as they continue to support local charities.

Save Darfur

Another cause that is showing great momentum by utilizing social media for social good is Save Darfur. A little bit about Save Darfur:

“Around the country and across the globe, the Save Darfur Coalition is inspiring action, raising awareness and speaking truth to power on behalf of the people of Darfur. Working with world leaders, we are demanding an end to the genocide, and our efforts are getting results.”

The Save Darfur campaign is utilizing a balanced combination of online and offline activism to help educate people and raise donations to help end this terrible genocide. The Facebook application alone has over 1 million members that have raised $75,000. And their student grassroots effort, Dollars for Darfur, raised more than $450,000 and engaged thousands of schools.

If you are with a non-profit, let us know if social media is working for you and how you combine online and offlice advocacy.

[Image: OneBigU]