My First Tag... wonder where it'll take you.

I’ve been looking at this idea for a couple of months now, and the more I think about it, the more brilliant it seems to me. In short, Microsoft has the developed the technology that allows you to print/paint/embroider/whatever tags on physical objects like posters, business cards, signs, walls or t-shirts, so when you encounter those tags (image, left), you pull out your smartphone and scan them. You’re then taken to some online destination on your phone — a page, a blog, reviews of your business, a video, etc.

It’s absolutely brilliant. I’m not sure exactly how long these have been around, but I’m already seeing them all over Condè Nast. This means that it will be just a matter of months before they become more mainstream, especially with the number smartphone users projected to overtake feature phone users by the end of 2011.

I’m already suggesting this to anyone who comes to me for advice on this “social media stuff”. (My answer is “I don’t know if you can get on top of that social media stuff, but you should definitely look into this TagReader business”) I’ve even suggested it to the marketing team of United Way Worldwide (my most fabulous employer) and we have begun discussions about adding these to our ads in print and out of home.

The opportunity is to engage people when you have their attention, or when they actually might want to learn more. For example, (Realtors, no need to send me thank you notes) if I saw a for sale house that I might be interested in taking a look at (since I am on the market), but not badly enough to want to schedule a visit, a tag could take me to a virtual tour of the house that I can watch right there while I am on the front porch. I could be sold right there. Thinking of the day job potential, United Way has fabulous out of home ads and we receive millions of dollars in placement in bus shelters, airports, along highways, etc. Those tags could capitalize on the interest the ads generate and make the United Way experience feel very real by instantly telling a video story, right there while you’re waiting for your flight. The possibilities are spectacular.

The Microsoft Tag website and blog.

The decline of job satisfaction in the USA

I was really surprised to read that so many Americans say they dislike their jobs. This article has taken a stab at explaining this trend and it all sounds fairly rational, but what I can’t get past is… how in the world could so many people whine so openly about the jobs that pay them money and support their lifestyles. I get it, you can be discontent with where you are — because you made a wrong move in the first place, or because things are dead ending — but why  do you stay and put up  with the misery of the situation anyway? Doing something about it, perhaps? Like talking to your boss, or looking for a new job?

Granted, the former isn’t always the best idea. The boss could be a douche who’s not reasonable, and an attempted conversation may precipitate an even worse situation. But it could also result in a productive strategy session that would put you on a better path.

The latter is always an option. What sort of a sense does it make to hate your job, to answer some little surrey about how unhappy you are with it, and not to actually be doing something about improving your situation? When I first saw this article, asked that same question on my Facebook profile. Overwhelmingly, people said “it’s not that simple, you can’t just switch jobs”. I didn’t get it. What’s not that simple?

If it’s time to change jobs, then you just get on it and do it. If you can’t change jobs because of X, Y and Z, then you don’t complain about it, because you know exactly why you are staying. In both cases, I just can’t accept that someone will actually dare to complain about their current job. To anyone! I think the rule is that for as long as you are at a job, you must love it. No exceptions. If anyone asks: you love your job. If you’re investigating other jobs: you love it, but it’s time to explore and grow. If it’s too soon after you started there: you love the people, but didn’t know how the job would work until you got in bed with them. Never should you say to anyone, under any circumstances, that you’re not loving your job, your company or your colleagues. It’s toxic for you and it’s certainly not what you want to project out there.

Back to the “it’s not that simple” position. I agree, the hard part is to decide that it’s time to move on and find a place that makes you feel happy and useful. Once a decision is made, it’s simply a matter of following through with it. [I love this quick gem by a mentor of mine]

I will take this a step further… and I will actually make it my goal to get an offer from at least one other company in the next few months. I will describe the process of getting to that here. The secondary purpose of these posts would be to document how one goes about finding a job in the new subfield of social media. There’s such mystery around it since it’s so new, it may actually be helpful to others to read about what resources I will tap into to accomplish my goal.  Exciting!

So, what is it? What’s the stuff that makes others want to interact with us in social space? Well, there doesn’t seem to be a fairy juicy that you can rub on your keyboards; rather, it’s a response to how we behave in and out of the social networks. Here are some thoughts.

Outreach

If you engage with your friends or community in the first place, they appear to be much more inclined to return the interaction. Commenting on their posted items, mentioning them in your tweets, asking questions or linking to their blogs — these are all good ways to improve online relationships. Next time, they will do the same for you, which in turn will help promote your content and give you some (social) buzz.

Congeniality

This is tricky, but it also comes down to how many of your socially active contacts actually think you’re a nice person. No one will respond to anything you post if they think you’re an asshole (yet, they may still be in your network… don’t we all like to keep an eye on our enemies). Very few will react to something you say if they’re indifferent to who you are, or if they don’t know you very well. Again, this is not a judgement on you, it just speak to how others perceive you.

Content

Most people have a mix of personal and professional contacts on their social profiles. For example, I have nearly 600 Facebook contacts and I would say that about 200 of those are work peeps. The rest of are my immediate community, some echoes from the past and some that I don’t actually know. This all translates into demand to create diverse content that your major groups can connect with and have something to contribute to. My professional contacts love it when I spill the beans on something I’m working on for the first time on Facebook, while my personal contacts will probably ignore it. My personal contacts would appreciate keeping track of my whereabouts (especially when I am tweeting pictures from the BEST gym ever in Manhattan — and everyone I know in DC has a Manhattan fetish), but the work folk won’t feel comfortable reacting to that particular post. Yet, both sides are curious — and while they may not respond to content that’s not relevant to them, it would add to their experience with you when they learn a bit more about your other sides.

Schedule

You don’t have to have an actual calendar to manage the posts of your personal profile, and in fact, spontaneity is a favored quality. You do want to be fairly consistent — perhaps once a day, perhaps a few times a week — so you can continue to appear in the news feeds, even if people don’t respond to everything. Out of sight is definitely out of mind in social space and it could take a while to build awareness back up after a long break. (oh, and there’s a complicated Facebook algorithm that favors the more active)

Asking

I’ve noticed that if you manage to insert an actual question in your post, you would get a greater response, as opposed to if you simply stated a fact or made an observation. There power of “what do you think” or “do you know if” seems to be much greater than “here’s where I am about this”. By asking questions of my community, I’ve been able to get a good landscaper, amazing wine recommendations, tickets for sold out shows, speakers for classes I’ve taught, and other stuff I should probably not mention.

Multimedia

Posting photos and videos is a very engaging way to create interactions. I love snapping random photos and posting them to my Facebook page via Twitter. Short videos are not as easy to snap and post, but just as cool if you have the mechanics down. Friends and colleagues seem to love getting a picture of what it is that you find interesting. It is 1000 words. While it’s a very easy way to satisfy someone’s curiosity, there’s no need to be bummed if not many people actually comment on a photo or a video. It’s worth noting here that most people are what you would call “spectators” — they love to watch what others are doing, but they don’t really go through the trouble of participating in the conversation. Last night, I posted this one little photo form a wall I climbed… and while only one person gave it the thumbs up on my Facebook profile, the photo had gotten 180 views on twitpic.com last I checked.

Happy networking.

Thanks to @richmintz for sharing his thoughts with me on this topic.

What do you think? Is something missing from the list? Leave me a comment.

I am not even in the closet about Lady Gaga. I am officially ready to get on my rooftop and scream my head out to let the humankind know of how I worship her. I know exactly why.

Start with her name. She created herself around the name of a song by Queen — the band that helped shape not just my understanding and commitment to music, but influenced me greatly as a person. I remember being 8 years old and blasting out Freddie’s theatrical rock soprano, and feeling really right about it. Well, I wasn’t like most children… my favorite album was “The Final Cut” by Pink Floyd during my 9th year. But no matter. It wasn’t until later that it occurred to me why Queen’s feel, channeled by Freddie, made so much sense at such early age. It allowed me to feel normal. The decadent shows, the over the top music, the obviously gay lead singer. It created a space for me that was comfortable.

Which brings me back to Lady Gaga. Not since Queen have I felt so connected to what a performer is about. I consume way more music than most people I know, but it’s very rare that I would be so taken and empowered not just by the music, but by the whole experience: the art, the philosophy, the story, the strategy, the music, the performance and the aura. Everything I sense from her comes from a genuine, vulnerable place, but a place that will give her enough fuel and authenticity to sustain a long career.

Like Queen, Lady Gaga allows me to feel normal — and “normal” really isn’t the word. She makes me feel OK about being not normal. I suspect that lots of kids feel the same way thanks to her. And it’s not like she’s the herder of the pubescent and the weird, and leading that parade by outdoing all of us. Oh no. She has a way of reaching into us, making us feel “normal”, opening our hearts, and encouraging us to operate from our own uniqueness — by expressing ourselves instead of trying to become drones; by loving instead of being afraid.

And then there is the artistic experience. I move to submit the above posted video clip into evidence. A 5-minute performance during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. No artist goes through this much preparation, this much trouble and this much detail for one quick gig. Most just show up, lip sing, make some moves and call it a success. But that is the difference — Lady Gaga writes great pop songs, has a grand artistic vision and presence, and she works harder than those other people. Much harder.  For her hit and run appearance on Oprah, she devastated a yellow cab with her shillelagh, for Pete’s sake! How much trouble was that to put together? But it made sense in her vision and she didn’t just decide that it’s too hard to pull together. She labored. It might be that Madonna, who I thought was the hardest working musician, is soon to be eclipsed.

I don’t think I will offer musical commentary on my blog often — although, it’s a great passion of mine. Lady Gaga made sense, however. I think that she will leave this world much better than she found it when she arrived. She will do this through the many young minds she will inspire, who will be driven by their own distinctiveness and who will focus on love. Not on fear as their parents. She will create the awareness for them to question what they are being programmed with and she will liberate them from the burden of having to fit in.

Lady Gaga official YouTube channel |  Lady Gaga  Dot Com |  Lady Gaga Twitter |  Lady Gaga Facebook

My worry was two fold: a) I’m utterly unclear on what a Social Media Guru is; b) I am afraid that my role will be to perpetuate last year’s conversation, which was all about social media tactics, mostly related to tweeting and Facebook Causes fund raising. It was b) that compelled me to say “yes” to this gig. Being on the committee doesn’t give me exposure or podium time, but it allows me to influence the content, broaden the view of social media, even help with recruiting the speakers who will be addressing a few hundred nonprofit marketing folks. And to me, the marketing folks are the leaders of movements, though some of them may not be thinking about it in quite such terms. So, I reluctantly figured that this would be a chance to do my part and help re-frame the social media conversation into one about leadership, strategy and impact.

The three points that I will drive at are:

1. It’s not about technology; it’s about people and relationships. It’s easy to forget when you are dealing with a keyboard and online tools every day, that the driving force behind anyone’s organization is made up of individual people. The strength of the relationships you have with each of them will determine the potency of their commitment and the size of the impact you can create together with them.
2. It’s not about talking at your supporters; it’s about having a conversation with and leading an interconnected movement of people. A happy movement has a leader who has at least these two characteristics: belief and the ability to speak, listen and encourage conversation. The time of traditional, one way communications is over. (therefore, using modern technologies with old strategies is not an option) The time of the king leader is also over. It used to be that you were given or hired into authority, but that’s no longer. Today, you have to earn your place as a leader every day. Today, anyone within an organization can be a leader. This is the age of leverage and connectedness.
3. It’s not all about the net; it’s about an integrated approach to empowering and encouraging your people. Social media has its roots in technologies as much as it does in the innate need of people to connect with other people. Therefore, I would like to shift the focus away from the internet experience and bring it to all things that allow people to connect with each other. This includes on the ground events, face to face interactions, mobile engagement and content generation, etc.

If you happen to read this and know great, relevant speaker, or if  you are one yourself, please leave me a comment. I’m especially interested in giving the podium to movement leaders, community organizers and experts on mobile technologies or engagement. And if you happen to work at United Way (any local United Way) and wish to attend, I can probably get you a discount.

Happy New Year!

...believed to be able to turn stupid ideas into successes.

I lead the social media “team” (of one) at the national office of the largest private charity in the world. I am bombarded with questions from my coworkers about what social media can do for them.

“I want more people to download the presentation I gave on cultivating major donors!, or “I want you to thank FedEx for their support during the year on Twitter.”, or “Can we get an iPhone app that can raise money, capture people’s email addresses and help guide them to volunteer opportunities?”

I am just as guilty of rolling my eyes as I am of not being a bit better about educating why random and often ridiculous ideas like that — not thought through and divorced from strategy — are not exactly worth my very limited time. I am, after all, a one man band and must remain deliberate about how I spend my moments. But for some reason, everyone, you know, seems to think that social media is this unicorn that can make even your stupidest ideas be ravaging successes.

Yet, I look at my colleagues from other organizations and all they talk about… is how Charity Water used Twitter, or how PETA raised 10K on Facebook. BLAH.

So how can I point a finger at everyone else for asking questions, when “the experts” can’t stop forwarding articles to everyone they can think of that glorify the tactics and the technology? In the meantime, I am stuck with having to respond to every solicitation my boss receives from companies that offer to help us reinvent our brand around our Ning network, or our Facebook page. “Should we be talking to these guys?”, she asks… and I have to say “No!” about 95% of the time and again explain how, generally, we wouldn’t want the tail to wag the dog.

Um, hello, colleague Experts, are we forgetting what business we are actually in? I’d like to see more articles forwarded about how to lead, instead of about who follows us on Twitter. I’d like to read more stories about the impact of our movements, instead of going on about how some viral video on YouTube that had gotten 6 million hits.

We roughly belong to one of three groups: marketers, communicators or leaders. The core of our fields is the same — the relationships we build with individuals. But I’m a worried that going back to that first priority tends to get buried in the glistering sands of new tactics. The gazillions  of new social networks that crop up and die out in a matter of days don’t all have to be conquered and explored. Social media has already changed the landscape of all businesses — people now can connect, communicate and draw strength from each other. Tactics and launching presences in new networks is just not the way to go about it. Perhaps we should all try to chill out and focus on our business strategies instead. The rest will fall into place. We are the experts on how to use the social space in support of business priorities, right? (at least that’s what I see on everyone’s résumé these days)

Annise Parker, Controller of the City of Houston, running for Mayor in 11/2009. One of the nearly 90 candidates backed by the Victory Fund.

In their own words: Leadership matters. The individuals we elect to govern have a direct impact on our lives. The decisions they make are important, and the examples they set can inspire and influence our communities, our states and our country.

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund identifies, trains and elects LGBT leaders to all levels of office, in every corner of America.  The Victory Fund and the courageous we endorse have proven that with smart strategic support and the financial resources necessary – typically twice what straight candidates need to raise – LGBT candidates can run and win anywhere.

Why I like them: Non heterosexual folk are grossly underrepresented at all levels of government (only 3 are openly gay in all of Congress as of today). I would have loved to be perfectly confident in the good intentions of the non gay politicians, but the fact that we still have to fight for equal rights for all US citizens muddies that notion. If all of them were as enlightened and dedicated, gay inequality would have been a thing of the past. We need advocates to stand up for us where it matters the most and who can ensure that we will be granted our rights without unreasonable or intentional delays. As importantly, homosexual human beings come from a place of a great understanding and are particularly able to give voice to all — not just their own — but to all who can’t speak for themselves. They will always be there to challenge the rest when things get uncomfortable or complacent. The Victory Fund rallies support (voices, volunteers and cash) behind credible GLBT candidates to all public offices across the US.

Impact story: (Even more impact after this year’s elections) The Victory Fund has backed Annise Parker. She is one of the highest-ranking municipal officials in the LGBT community. She has been elected six times in Houston, in the most recent three as the city’s number two — Controller of the city of Houston. Throughout her political career, she has been a huge advocate for civil equality, from fighting the repeal of Houston’s non-discrimination policy to campaigning against the Texas’ anti-marriage equality amendment. She is currently running for Mayor of Houston. She has a really good shot. If she succeeds, she will have an opportunity to blaze unprecedented trails — both as a mightily capable city forewoman and as a supporter for GLBT equality… all in one of the most conservative states of the Union. Support her here. Election’s on November 3rd.

How you can get involved: You can donate to the Victory Fund here. (or to Annise from the same place) There aren’t any volunteer opportunities directly with the organization, but you can get involved with any of the nearly 90 candidates the support.

Cool brand asset: It’s not their colors. It’s not there logo. It’s not their imagery. In fact, I wish I had the time to shake someone up over there, so they would invest in adding a little snap to their identity. Their strength is the brand value proposition: I would like equal rights for myself and my community + The Victory Fund is the organization that support the most credible candidates from the Gay Community = Together, we can bring about real change within our lifetimes and ensure that we have the same rights as the other 90%.

What the authorities say: A pretty lean operation, with only 10% overhead. Annual report here.

Will the net (f.k.a. the Internet) help turn our planet into an efficient mechanical monster being? Love the idea.

I think it’s time. It’s been bugging from the first day I heard about it, but I dared not speak of this to anyone. That’s changed now. I’m ready to submit to the world’s judgment. And I have the best place to stage my rebellion — a blog that no one reads. Brilliant, I hope the wrath won’t sweep me away.

It’s time we stopped calling the Internet the Internet, and start calling it the Net. Of course, I don’t have a revolutionary etymological basis for this, but I find that the cumbersomeness of having to say “inter” every time can easily be left up the creek, never to think of again.

Back in the 60s when the Internet was first conceived, it made sense to talk about the interconnectedness of the first two computer networks that were linked. We then went on to add a few more networks, then another, then connected it to the inter network of one other country, then others joined. The whole thing proved mightily handy and many more hitched onto it… and by the mid 90s, the network was so robust and vast that it was no longer connecting computers. It became the vascular system of our world: it carried commerce, information and most importantly, it started to become a great facility for the innate human need to connect with others and form communities. If you’re able to read this, you know the rest: Blogger, Friendster, My Space, Facebook, Twitter.

Its usefulness is sprawling beyond prediction.

Nowadays, if something runs on electricity, it can likely be programmed to connect to the Internet; to be controlled remotely or to be synchronized with other things for the pleasure of its owner. You want the lights dimmed in the dog house before you leave the office? No problem! But this is just the beginning of what is set to grow from being the vascular system of our collective existence to the skeleton of the Death Star we’re undoubtedly going to turn this planet into. So we might as well start to let go of the idea of the Internet as this magical thing where we get our porn and the weather, and begin to be a bit more incorporating of what’s inevitably coming to us — the Net that will bind cars, appliances, roads, public transportation, utilities, work, vacations, bills, legwork, housework, humans, animals, entertainment, customization, medical and tax records, charity and chores all into one coherent experience controlled somewhat centrally, to which we’ll interface thanks to a nano brain implant and an eye lens viewer.

If nothing else can convince you, allow me to appeal to your laziness — imagine a world where you don’t have to say or write “inter” in front of “net”. It adds up over a lifetime… and you could use the time to take a pottery class in your 90s! This truly is the only substantive reason that propels me to trouble myself with writing this.

A friend gave me the idea to ask this question: what’s your first memory of being on the internet? Yes, yes. I realize that’s private.

Rey Ramsey, CEO of One Economy Corporation

In their own words: One Economy Corporation is a global nonprofit organization that uses innovative approaches to deliver the power of technology and information to low-income people, giving them valuable tools for building better lives. Our mission is to maximize the potential of technology to help low-income people improve their lives and enter the economic mainstream.

Why I like them: Building broadband / wireless infrastructure in underdeveloped neighborhoods of this US, doing the same in struggling countries in Africa and Asia, creating helpful and relevant content, convening coporate and government partners aptly to accomplish their (usually win/win) goals… They connect disadvantaged folks to the Internet and plug them into information and tools that help them improve their own lives. They create opportunities where it matters most.

Impact story: I had a recent post about this. Check out the video. It talks about how One Economy partnered with a community leader (Vivian Saunders) and with the Birtie County (NC) government to create a technology focused school (called “The Hive” after One Economy’s resource website The Beehive) for young men who haven’t just dropped out, but are unwanted by the traditional school system, or anyone else in most cases. After just one short year of great results, the program will be expanded to accommodate about 50 students, which is twice the number they started with. In the after school hours and on weekends, the Hive’s computer facilities double as a community center and a career advancement resource to the citizens of Bertie County.

How you can get involved: I’m pleased to see that donating is low on the One Economy list of ways to support their work. More important are: content creation through their two websites www.pic.tv and www.247townhall.org; for young adults there’s the program called “Digital Connectors“; or you can participate in their networking portal and blog called “The Idea Network“. Donations are nice too.

Cool brand asset: There isn’t much of a brand strategy here to speak of — even visually this organization and its sub brands aren’t groundbreaking. However, One Economy’s brand does have a secrets weapon. Its founder CEO, Rey Ramsey. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with Rey in person and he is one of those people who not only have the vision and the creative brainpower; he also has the leadership allure that draws people to follow him and remain loyal to the organization. Ray is connected and sought after.  Because of him, One Economy is a place where corporate and political alliances are forged and nurtured, all in support of the measurable results the organization rightfully takes credit for. The danger with a super start CEO… is that if he were ever to leave his baby in someone else’s hands, the organization will suffer a long and uncertain period of transition. I hope he stays there for a long time.

What the authorities say: Charity Navigator gives them 4/4 stars.

I really only wanted to post the video here, but I can’t go without putting some context around it. Yet, there’s no need to focus on the writing, just watch the story.

I had the privilege of seeing miss Vivian accept an award for the work she is doing at the Hive — the charter school in rural North Carolina this clip is about. That school is a home for about 50 students who haven’t just dropped out. No other school would even agree to take them in, that’s how hopeless the conditions are for all involved. We are talking about 50 young guys who are in trouble, who are abandoned, and who have almost everything against them. That means taking 50 young men, who are most certainly otherwise headed for jail, and restoring their confidence and hope, while putting them through school. It is a most profound intervention that turns their lives around and puts them on a productive and positive path.

This clip is a slice of what will become a lengthier documentary, I hope I am not stealing its thunder, but I am certain that the producers will happily get in touch with me and ask me to take it down if need be.

The success of the partnership between Vivian Saunders and One Economy, even after one short year, is obvious and has to be scaled and replicated. There are young men all over this country who are simply not wanted — not by parents and family, not by social agencies and institutions. The most difficult element to replicate of this will be Vivian’s love, which is what powers the school and helps heal the boys. I am certain… I am absolutely certain that people like her will step forward and gladly take on the work in other communities where the conditions are similarly dire.

More about the Hive soon.