Finding Your Inner Geek

Going social in today’s online world can be overwhelming, especially for business-owners looking to reap the benefits of these new technologies. In 2008 alone, there were more than 130 million blogs documented on the web, at least 350 different social networks used, and over 82 million Americans who created user-generated content online. In an industry that is saturated with connections, networks, and content, individuals and businesses are all wondering, “Where do I get started?”

Alexa Scordato and I invite you to participate in a two-hour beginner workshop that will give you a clearer sense of how to use social media for both personal and professional uses.

PART I
During the first hour of the workshop, we will:

• discuss the basics of social media and its implications on the world today
• outline real case studies from individuals and companies using social media effectively**
• describe how Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn may be used to build a personal brand

PART II
In celebration of historic Hotel 140, the second half of this workshop will focus solely on Twitter:

• What is Twitter and why’s everyone talking about it?
• Getting started - where to begin and how to avoid common mistakes
• Who’s doing it right and what’s the ROI

**John Pepper, CEO and founder of Boloco (our wonderful food sponsor), will give a short presentation on his use of Twitter and what it means for brands to market themselves online.

This event will be hands-on so don’t forget your computer. If you don’t have a Twitter account already, by the end of the session you will! Plus, you will have a bunch of new friends to begin tweeting with.

Date: Thursday, 7/23
Time: 6 - 8 PM (Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be served. Assorted wraps courtesy of Boloco)
Location: Hotel 140, 140 Clarendon St, Boston (across the street from the Back Bay T station and walking distance from Copley Sq)

Questions, please contact Alexa at alexa.scordato@gmail.com or me at maria@mediaawaken.com.

What First in Social Media?

A question that I get all the time is “How do I get started in social media? There are a million blogs out there, which ones should I start with?” Since I frequently tell people basically the same answer, I figured I should probably blog about it (although, if they are a complete newbie, they probably aren’t reading my blog, so perhaps I’m launching this into the echo chamber, but nevertheless, here we go…)

One of my favorite first stops on the getting your feet wet highway is the Common Craft Show. This site has a myriad of intro/how to/in plain English videos. One of my favorites is Social Bookmarking in plain English. Last summer, my mom asked me what delicious is and why she would ever want to use it. After tripping and stumbling over my tongue for a few moments attempting to figure out how to explain it to her, I turned on my computer and showed her this:

After watching it she said, “ok, I get it” and then she actually started using it! My goal this summer: get her on Twitter.

Now onto blogs:

There are quite a few quality blogs out there. All of them require a newbie to comb a little, but there are definitely nuggets of gold to be found. A few good places to start are Chris Brogan’s blog, for microblogging (aka Twitter) Laura “Pistachio” Fittons’s blog, Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel is also great. I recently blogged about a list that Viralogy put together of the 10 best marketing blogs by Gen-Yers. If you are interested in affiliate marketing and how to make money from you blog, and about blogging in general definitely check out Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger. If video blogging (or vlogging) is your thing, then Steve Garfield is your man.

Now, before I hurt any one’s feelings for leaving them out… I want to state loud and clearly that there are a TON of amazing blogs out there on a TON of topics. Many of which I read almost daily (I definitely don’t have time for the newspaper anymore, but with all the great content out there, who needs a newspaper?!) The resources I listed above are simply what I view as a good starting places to begin the adventure that is social media.

With all that being said, what do you think? Is there a blog or a site that you advise people to read when they are dipping their toes in for the first time? I’m always looking to be a better advice giver, so please share :)

Photo Credit: Bartek Kuzia

Top 10 Gen-Y Marketing Blogs via Viralogy

I love top 10 lists. I love Gen-Y bloggers. I love marketing blogs. Throw them all together into one post, and I’m so happy that I have to write my own blog post about it.

Today, Viralogy came out with their Top Ten Gen Y Marketing Blogs list. While some of the names on the list are familiar to me (Stuart Foster’s Lost Jacket) most are blogs I haven’t read before. I’ve already checked out a couple of them this morning and am greatly looking forward to reading the rest soon.

The metrics for rating the top blogs are very interesting too. Linkbacks, Traffic, Comments, Authority, Followers, and Retweets were all evaluated to create a rubric for rating each site. I find it very interesting that he didn’t just look at the blog’s status, but at the impact and waves the authors are making on other sites too.

If you haven’t checked out Viralogy before I highly suggest you do. It’s a blog/vlog by Jun Loayza (@JunLoayza) where he interviews, via Skype, other awesome gen-yers. His blog is pretty sweet too.

What do you think of the list? What blogs do you think he missed that should have been on it?

Shiny Toys and Paralysis

This past Tuesday, during Social Media Breakfast 13, George Grattan shared with us the extent of how Earth Watch is using social media. One thing in particular about what George said stood out for me (and I think a lot of other people in the room). He told us that Earth Watch isn’t on Twitter. Yet. He stressed the yet because he says that he understands the value of Twitter but isn’t ready to engage.

This is simultaneously commendable and worrisome.

C.C. congratulated George for not getting caught up in “shiny object” syndrome. Too often, we see brands that are using social media simply for the sake of using social media, and because it’s the “hot” thing to be doing right now.  Many a blog posts have been written about the importance of listening before engaging, of creating a strategy before jumping in with both feet. I completely agree. Only engage in social media if it makes sense for YOU.

So. Why did I find his comment worrisome?

I haven’t had the opportunity to sit down with George to discuss, so this is purely conjecture and my own reaction, thus, it is entirely possible that what I’m about to say does not in fact apply to Earth Watch, but nonetheless, I believe it does apply to many people/brands/situations.

Part of the reason he gave for not engaging yet, is he isn’t sure what to say. Not knowing exactly what to say is not a reason to not be on Twitter. This may seem like a contradiction to what I said previously about having a strategy, but I assure you, it isn’t. Strategy and tactics are two different things. Strategy is the reason you are there, the overall approach that will hopefully have a specific outcome. Tactics are the nitty gritty. If Earth Watch isn’t on Twitter yet, because they haven’t decided on a strategy, then great. They should wait. If it’s dues to tactics, then I’m worried, for their sake.

When I first joined Twitter I was often struck with paralysis of the tweet. I wanted so much to be witty and interesting and smart, for people to enjoy my tweets, for them to want to engage with me and read what I had to say. I wanted all to the point that I found myself frozen in front of my computer or cell phone in hand, having no idea what to say.  I had effectively psyched myself out of the game.  It took me a while to relax and just be myself, without the strain of worrying if my 140 characters would change the world. With paralysis (or simply not engaging) comes so much missed opportunity.  So don’t get stuck!!

What about you? Have you been struck by shiny object syndrome? Or paralysis? If yes to either, how do you navigate it?

photo credit: marcus_jb1973

Social Media Jungle Boston

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at Social Media Jungle hosted by Jeff Pulver here in Boston (well, Waltham actually, but close enough). It was a great day with a lot of amazing speakers. The format was casual, which I’ve come to expect at social media conferences and events. Each presenter had 20 minutes to present their thoughts/ideas with no PowerPoint slides. Jeff encouraged all the speakers (and the audience) to think of each session like a blog post–floating ideas out there for people to interact with and comment on. Some sessions were more interactive than others, Laura @Pistachio Fitton had us raising our hands for polling purposes, Steve Garfield had us uploading pictures to the web real-time and Christopher Penn has us shouting out what numbers matter to us like a game show. Lots of other amazing people presented that day and I highly suggest checking out the assembly of blog posts that came out of the day. And don’t forget to check out the Twitter stream from the day too.

A few of my take-aways from the day:

• Be human, be real, be vulnerable — we are people talking to people. Not brands talking to brands or companies talking to companies.
• One email can make all the difference (of course this is one of my take-aways, it was mine and Alexa’s session ;-)
• We need to stop talking about social media in social media. Time to spread the gospel. Or time to just use the tools without always talking about the tools.
• Be HELPful - Hustle, Engage, Listen, be Passionate
• Engage each generation, utilize each one of the generations’ specific talents. No one is irrelevant, no one is too inexperienced. Each generation brings a unique perspective to the table. Be cognizant of that and use it to your advantage.
• Numbers matter. But don’t let them matter too much. (CC Chapman first spoke about how the numbers don’t matter, then later in the day CS Penn rebutted with how certain numbers do matter, and matter a lot. The balance of the two points of view was perfection.)
• The influencer doesn’t matter. The message matters. If you say something good, and say it for long enough, people will hear. You don’t necessarily need a loud speaker. And having one doesn’t necessarily mean that people are going to pay attention.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to passion. BE PASSIONATE about what you do. Excitement can be found in the most mundane of details and tasks if you look hard enough. And in this crazy world we live in, with the economy spiraling out of control, my one little piece of advice–keep breathing.

The B2B Case Study That Made My Day

While doing some research into B2B case studies and social media, Sandy came across this blog post and passed it along to me. As I read the post, I was thinking, “this is cool.” And then I got to the comments. And that is when I began thinking, “this is awesome!”

The blog post, written by Beth Harte, is called: Lured in by Social Media: An Unofficial B2B Case Study. In this post, she chronicles her journey of a company (whose name is revealed at the end of the post) first coming up on her radar, her use of social media tools to find out more about it, and her interaction with the company–culminating in her hiring them. Then, at the end of the post, she wrote a challenge:

And finally, because I really want to see if they are on their social media game and if they are listening, here’s the company name Hubspot. I’ll know for sure if they leave a comment.

From what I can tell from the date/time stamps, within a few hours (HOURS!) someone from the company had responded. They had been listening! Not only did one person respond, but FOUR people did including one of the founders and the VP of Marketing. They knew that Beth had been doing her due diligence. They knew she was asking questions, poking around. And they DIDN’T interrupt her! They waited til she was ready, and then they were there, present and responsive.

In the comments, one of the founders of Hubspot, Dharmesh Shah, addressed their actions and said

The idea behind social media for business is to build a relationship over time with people that might benefit from your products and services.

Building A Relationship

As a social media junky and consultant, I know that social media is about relationships. I know that it isn’t a get in and get out type deal. But it’s amazing how many people don’t get it… They want to know how a Facebook page is going to get them a sales lead - tomorrow.

So, while Beth’s experience may not be revolutionary, and the idea of building relationships is not new (at least to me), I was thrilled to read this post and know that some companies out there are getting it. Thank you Beth for sharing this with us, and thank you Hubspot for doing what you do.

Sandy Kalik Joins Media Awaken!

I am ever so pleased to announce that Sandy Kalik (@skalik on Twitter) had joined the Media Awaken team! She is going to be my right-hand gal in saving the world and will officially take the roll of General Manager. You can find her mini-bio here.

I love her energy and vision. We’ve come up with some big plans for Media Awaken that I cannot wait to set into motion! And I hope that her love of yoga (she is going to be a certified instructor soon) will rub off on me and we will soon be strategizing while in warrior pose or upside down something-or-other (I hear blood rushing to your head is good for the thought process?!).

I’m super excited Sandy and I will be working together. What a wonderful way to begin a new year!

(side note: WP is being lame and won’t let me upload a pic. But i promise, once that is figured out I will put up a pic of us!)

Hungry for Travel? Check out tripwolf!-an online social travel guide

tripwolf is an online social travel guide and my newest client! I know I said I work with nonprofits, but these guys are so cool I couldn’t resist (and we all know I’m a sucker for traveling!).

tripwolf pairs the knowledge of a conventional travel guide with the power of social networking. The foundation of the content on the site comes from MairDumont – Europe’s largest travel guide publisher. But that is where convention and “old school” ends. tripwolf acts almost like a wiki, where the users can upload their own content- reviews, pictures, even videos! The site grabs content from wikipedia, flickr and youtube to further flush out the experience. Check out their guide to NYC to see what I mean!

But all that is basic. There are a ton of travel sites out there that do similar things. But here are a few things that for me really made me appreciate this platform: trip gurus and custom printable guides.

Trip gurus are self identified experts for a certain area: I’m a trip guru for Pondicherry in southern India – the city closest to where I lived in India. If there are multiple gurus for a specific location, a lead guru is identified. This is based on how many people that guru has helped.

What is the point of a trip guru? Who better to ask about a location than someone who has been there (more than once)? Instead of only knowing what you can find written down in a book or somewhere in the interwebs, you are given access to a real human being to answer your questions!

Next time you take a trip, ditch the heavy travel guide. With tripwolf’s printable travel guide, you can compile one of your very own using peer reviews, advice, photos and videos to inform your choices. When you come across info that is interesting to you, drag and drop it in your scrapbook. When you’ve got all the guidance you need, print it, throw it in your bag, and sigh with relief that your backpack is 5lbs lighter than your last trip!

If all that weren’t enough, tripwolf helps you get social! You can write a blog during your adventures, connect up with fellow travelers, suggest location to your friends and share your stories and advice in the forums: going to Peru? Worried about getting your stuff stolen? Check out my advice on travel safety on buses in Peru! (change this info to be something someone else wrote….)

So, check it out! (did I mention that the made it really easy to sign up?! All you need is your Facebook login info to create an account – it will even pull info from your FB account to populate your tripwolf profile!) and let me know what you think!

Fight Poverty - Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day. It’s a day when “thousands of bloggers will unite to discuss a single issue - poverty. We aim to raise awareness, initiate action and to shake the web!”

As we all know, my passion is supporting causes, especially when new media is involved in the process. Poverty is one of those issues that strikes very close to home. As some of you know, I was raised in southern India, in one of the most rural and poorest areas in India. As a 10-year-old fresh from affluent America, malnourished and emaciated children, 8 people sleeping in a single room hut on dirt floors, and lines 2 hours long to get a single bucket of water once a day, was not something I was used to seeing — nor something I’ve ever gotten used to seeing.

But poverty isn’t just in developping countries. There are people, right here in our backyards, that cannot afford to buy shoes. They don’t know where their next meal is going to come from. And with winter right around the corner, many of them have no idea how they are going to heat their house (if they even have a house).

SM4SC (social media for social change) proved that the power of social media can be leveraged to bring people together to support one cause for one day. Last Friday, we raised $21,000 for Jane Doe, Inc.

So, today I ask you to come out in support of fighting poverty. Check out the Blog Action Day website (http://www.blogactionday.org/) to see what people are doing all over the world.

Or, check out what Jessica Smith is up to over at Jessica Knows: she has pledged all the money she makes from advertising on her blog today to support Project Peanut Butter (it helps malnourished children). Not only that, but Jessica is one of the fabulous ElevenMoms (a video contest put on by Walmart - for details follow the previous link), and Walmart has promised to match dollar-for-dollar all the money raised by the ElevenMoms today.

So, go to Jessica’s Site, click around on her ads and make some money for Project Peanut Butte!!

And Please. Please. Blog about Poverty. Blog about Blog Action Day. Pass the Message On. Take Action.

BlogHer Comes to Boston! FTW

I was really bummed this summer when I couldn’t make it out to San Francisco for the annual BlogHer Conference. Lucky for me (and you!), the Outreach Tour is coming to Boston this weekend - Saturday 10/11! As I’ve been sharing my glee with everyone who will listen, I’ve been getting a mixed bag of reactions (I find that I often get mixed reactions from people whenever I talk about an event/conference/anything that has “women” “her” “female” etc in the title. These “mixed” (read: usually negative) reactions are often, if not always, from men).

I was talking to one of my guy friends about BlogHer a few days after getting back from BlogWorld Expo in Vegas, and he said he didn’t get it — why, if I had just gone to a major conference about blogging, was a conference for women bloggers necessary? I sputtered for a moment, I mean, DUH. But then I stopped to really think about it. Why is it important?

My guy friend said he understands that women have not reached equal standing in many aspects, but that new media seems to be a field where the playing has been leveled. This made me pause again. It’s true, there are a lot of prominent women in the field. So, if the field is leveled, why does the idea of a community for women seem so darn important?!

I have been extremely fortunate in that my life has rarely been limited by my gender (I’m a girl…in case you were wondering *wink*). But, I know this isn’t true for all women. So, is this why it is important? So that women have a place to feel equal? Is it because tech is usually a sphere reserved for guys and diving in can be daunting? It is for the camaraderie?

Since I obviously don’t have the answer (I think it is a combo of a lot of things), I went a-hunting. One of the first thing I noticed while scouring the BlogHer website is that the answer wasn’t there. Their mission statement gave me a starting point

BlogHer’s mission is to create opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment

but somehow that isn’t enough (no offense!). I read that and think “yea! right on!” but there is something more than that that is triggering a reaction in me (and others - for good or bad).

I’m still trying to figure it out. So, in the mean time… What is your reaction (positive or negative) to BlogHer? Why do YOU think BlogHer Conferences are or aren’t important?

Regardless, I’m SUPER psyched for BlogHer Boston this Saturday. If you are there, please say hi!!

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