Are municipal entities around the country getting the message that social media plays an important role in communications during and after natural disasters? My personal experience trying to get information about Long Beach Island (LBI) following Hurricane Irene where my in laws have a cottage makes me wonder. Only one island municipal entity, the Harvey Cedars Police Department, is on Twitter. None, except the Borough of Harvey Cedars, appear to be on … [Read more...]
Tweeting Libya’s ‘Digital Black Hole’ Revolution
August 22, 2011 by
"RT @mashable: Unconfirmed: Tweets Say Gaddafi Has Left Libya [BREAKING] - http://t.co/zOpe3NO," read a surprising tweet flashing across my smart phone screen Saturday afternoon. Since Mashable is a very reputable social media and technology blog, I immediately retweeted the message to my Twitter followers and began running searches to find out more about what was going on. Last January and February I'd followed the Revolution 2.0-powered uprisings in Tunisia and … [Read more...]
‘I’m Gonna Be Your Friend’: A Model Campaign
August 9, 2011 by
I absolutely love Save the Children's new social media campaign harnessing the power of celebrities and a Bob Marley song to raise funds for the devastating food crisis affecting millions of children and their families across East Africa. The "I'm Gonna Be Your Friend" campaign, which kicked off today, is named after the "I'm gonna be your friend" lyric in Marley's 1973 song "High Tide Or Low Tide." Using the moving song as the soundtrack to a YouTube video slide … [Read more...]
HOW TO: Reach Your Audience with Text Messages
July 28, 2011 by
Sending a text message is almost the only way you can be sure your target audience actually reads your message. An amazing 97 percent of mobile subscribers will read an SMS message within four minutes of receipt. But only 20 percent of listserv e-mails, depending on your industry, are ever opened at all. Here are six steps organizations of any size can use to add text messages to their communications mix: 1. Choose a text message delivery system. While there … [Read more...]
A Surprising Side Benefit of Concrete Language
July 21, 2011 by
Do you think using big words and industry jardon makes you look smart? If you do, think again. It actually might make you look like a liar. A recent psychological study published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin shows vivid details and lots of facts make a statement seem more credible. Here's what the results of the study, which I first read about in AM New York, suggest: Use simple language. If people can process your statements quickly, they … [Read more...]
As Google+ Makes Waves (or Not), Be Water My Friend
July 12, 2011 by
“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my … [Read more...]
Video Clip of the Month: Context, Not Content, is King
July 1, 2011 by
My July 2011 video clip of the month takes on the Web 2.0 cliché that “content is king.” It features Ben Watson, Adobe principal customer experience strategist, explaining that content is not king, context is. By context Watson means a brand's ability to connect with customers and filter information for them in a way they find useful and enjoyable. I picked the video because it illustrates an important point. Today, context drives relevancy, efficacy, and … [Read more...]
HOW TO: Fearlessly Start a Blog in 8 Easy Steps
June 27, 2011 by
Are you ready to start blogging to get your ideas out into the social media ecosystem? Or are you hesitating, afraid to get your feet wet? Here are eight steps to get comfortable—and your content carefully calibrated to your target audience—before you take the “publish” plunge. 1. Decide what to blog about. Choosing the right niche for your blog is perhaps the most important choice you can make before you actually start blogging. Search for a way to balance what … [Read more...]
Social Media, Democracy & the Death of the ‘Big Lie’
June 16, 2011 by
I let out a huge sigh of relief after reading the results of a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey released today. It wasn't because the survey didn't find social media is isolating us inside digital bubbles. Rather, I was relieved because it didn't find social media polarizing perspectives and harming democracy. According to Pew's website: "We measured 'perspective taking,' or the ability of people to consider multiple points of view. There is no … [Read more...]
Could Clinton Win Presidency in ‘Fifth Estate’ Age
June 9, 2011 by
If Governor Clinton had been up to his shenanigans in the "Fifth Estate" age, do you think he could still win the U.S. presidency? Or would the citizen media's ability to document indiscretions and spread them virally have squelched his political ambitions? It's hard to say for sure. But without a doubt his successful message control strategies wouldn't work today. As Geoff Livingston, Zoetica cofounder, emphasizes in his new book, Welcome to the Fifth … [Read more...]
Video Clip of the Month: Google Goo Goo for Gaga
June 1, 2011 by
My June 2011 video clip of the month—a commercial for the Google Chrome web browser and Lady Gaga's new "Born This Way" album—was part of an unprecedented social media campaign that propelled the album to more than 1.1 million sales during its first week of release. I picked the viral video because it's an amazing example of how digital is changing marketing. Today's superstars don't buy attention. They earn it, and Lady Gaga is the queen of earned … [Read more...]
HOW TO: Remove the Snooze from Your Company Blog
May 24, 2011 by
Once you get past the "should my company be blogging” hurdle, you need to ask yourself "what type of blog is right for my company?" Unfortunately, many companies forget that question and take starting a blog lightly. That sets them up for a blog full of regurgitated press releases with a high snooze factor and little readers. To remove the snooze from your company blog, figure out what strategy (or strategies) will build the most rapport with your target … [Read more...]
Is Twitter King and the Press Release Obsolete?
May 22, 2011 by
Now that anyone can break a story through Twitter is the old-fashioned press release obsolete? People have been predicting its demise for years, but I think the truth is much more complicated. As I wrote in my Are Blogs King and Press Releases Obsolete? post last year, today’s Web 2.0 world doesn't mean you should stop issuing press releases and replace them with announcements on your blog. Likewise, you shouldn't just start tweeting all your announcements. The … [Read more...]
Top 12 Blogs to Help You Change the World
May 13, 2011 by
If you want to use social media and mobile applications to make the world a better place, a number of blogs can help you chart your way, even as technologies change. Among the many strong ones out there, here are my favorite 12: Beth's Blog—one of the most popular and useful blogs for nonprofits (and anybody else interested in making a difference)—provides the latest insights into social media, online networking, and transparent organizational management. Its … [Read more...]
State Department Abandons Cold War Mindset!
April 26, 2011 by
I was greatly relieved to learn the U.S. Department of State is recalibrating its public diplomacy efforts toward social media and finally abandoning its Cold War mindset. As part of these efforts, America.gov, an ambitious public diplomacy portal launched during the Bush years, has been shut down. According to The Hill: A message on the front page of America.gov informs visitors that, as of March 31, the site is not being updated and will be archived. A notice … [Read more...]
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