Confessions of a Digital Hoarder

This week, thanks to a post on my friend Sarah’s blog, I became fully aware of my digital obsession. I’m a multi-tasker. On second thought, it’s entirely possible I’m a hoarder in the digital space. Pass by my desk at work and you’ll see multiple tabs open on my web browser—on a good day it’s only two (Gmail and Hootsuite), but on a typical day, there are several tabs open. In addition to my email and social sites (where I monitor 2 Twitter accounts and 3 Facebook pages), I’m also listening to something on either Spotify or Pandora while bouncing between articles that I can’t live without reading. And then there’s work—luckily, in my field, a certain degree of online research is perfectly acceptable. Even at home, I’m multi-tasking—as we speak, I have 12 tabs open in my browser. Seriously.

So, what would I do in a non-digital world? Read?

Remember these?

I’m still surprised by how few people read actual books. Since when did a Kindle or a Nook become a replacement for the feel of an actual book in your hand or the sound of a page turning? I can’t be the only person who loved the slightly musty smell of an older book from the library, can I?

Sadly, I have replaced my newspaper obsession with an online one, but this is mostly an economic decision, given the number of newspapers I read on a regular basis.

Need to look up something?

Remember when research involved a trip to the library? And don’t get me started on the Dewey Decimal System and card catalogs.

Happy Birthday to…

A sorority sister mentioned to me that she never receives birthday cards, Christmas cards, or letters anymore, now that everyone and their mother is on Facebook. A sobering thought, considering how we pride ourselves in our ability to communicate anytime and anywhere with anyone. Hell, I couldn’t even find a picture of an actual card. How sad is that?

Fess up, fellow hoarders! How bad is your habit? And what do you miss?

And You Are..?

As a writer (make that freelance copywriter in Columbus Ohio), words are my obsession. I can’t get enough of them—I love to combine words to generate different meanings, sounds and emotions. Of course, paying this level of attention to words also makes me acutely aware of words that I absolutely can’t stand.

Until recently, that list encompassed just a few words: paradigm, savory, panties, and moist. Capping the list is the mack daddy of all icky words: slacks. Just the sound of the word conjures up memories of the polyester pants my mom used to wear in the 70’s and 80’s. Those suckers had an elastic waistband, came in array of colors not found in nature and tended to make an odd swish-swish sound whenever she walked.

However, since I’ve been freelancing, there is a word that has come to my attention because it annoys and horrifies me at the same time: entrepreneur. I think the reason why this word bothers me so much is that it has become clichéd. Nine times out of ten, if you ask someone who is self-employed what they do for a living, they tell you that they’re an entrepreneur, and they probably won’t give you so much as a hint of what it is that they actually do.

There is also entrepreneur’s evil offspring, solopreneur, which is increasing in popularity. Again, what does a solopreneur do, other than work for themselves? I have no idea. What I do know is that the word reeks with pretention.

There’s a quote about pretentiousness that I have always loved—“an ounce of pretention is worth a pound of manure.” It comes from the 1980’s Julia Roberts movie Mystic Pizza (Watch it on cable sometime. You’ll love it.), and it’s a reminder that the more pretentious we are, the more likely it is that we’re also full of crap.

I think that, as freelancers, we become wrapped up in trying to describe what it is that we do. For example, I tend to describe myself as a freelance writer and digital content specialist. People in marketing, advertising and PR immediately understand what this means. There have also been times when I have also been on interviews with befuddled HR people from a different industry who just don’t “get it.” This, of course, has led me to whine afterward, “they just don’t get me!”

Maybe we try to come up important-sounding titles to get people to take us more seriously as freelancers. Then again, maybe it’s time to let go of titles and just get back to work.

Genuine Influence? Or Sheer Ego?

I’ve been following Fast Company’s Influence Project with great interest, primarily because I’m still trying to figure out exactly what it is they’re trying to accomplish. I get the whole point of using your social media influence to generate quantitative data that proves that people listen to what you say. However, this project leaves me scratching my head, despite their intentions of creating a viral campaign.

Never heard of the project? Here is how Fast Company explains it:

About the Project
We started with a simple question: Who are the most influential people online right now?

That’s what The Influence Project is designed to answer. By participating, you will have your picture appear in the November issue of Fast Company magazine as part of an amazing photo spread. The more influence you demonstrate, the bigger your picture will be.

You may discover that you’re more influential than you think.

Influence is not only about having the most friends or followers. Real influence is about being able to affect the behavior of those you interact with, to get others in your social network to act on a suggestion or recommendation. When you post a link or recommend a site, how many people actually bother to check it out? And what’s the likelihood of those people then forwarding it on? How far does your influence spread?

This is the type of influence we’re looking for. We want to find the most influential person online.

Who knows? It might even be you.

So how does this work? You constantly email and tweet your followers, as well as update your status, urging them to clink a specific link that contains your photo. Simple enough, right? I don’t know about you, but doesn’t this constitute spamming?

Fast Company considers being able to affect the behavior of those with whom you interact to be real influence. Last time I checked, influence was based on trust and deliberate connections, not spam and “noise.”

Here’s a thought, Fast Company, rather than urging people to exercise their influence by annoying their friends with pointless spam designed only to drive people to the Fast Company website, how about using it for something worthwhile, like raising awareness of an issue or encouraging people to “do good” on a local basis? To me, that’s what real influence is about.

And This One Time…at WordCamp…

Bright and early this past Saturday, geeks of all kinds converged upon the OSU campus for what my husband likes to refer to as a “lovefest for dorks.” WordCamp Columbus 2/PodCamp Ohio 3 served up its usual offerings of sessions for bloggers, podcasters, and social media afficianados. Of course, I had a hard time picking what sessions to attend, but here is a recap of some of my favorites:

The Business of Being Social – Michael Loban

While the term “social media revolution” is being bandied about with alarming frequency, we need to ask ourselves if it really is, in fact, a revolution. I mean, aren’t we social by nature already? While the tools have changed, the purpose has not, especially when you consider that 96% of Gen Y’s are using social networks and 80% of companies are using LinkedIn to find new employees.

Perhaps a better name for this session would have been “How Not to be a Social Media Douchebag,” since we talked a lot about the rules of engagement:

• Be remarkable
• Make it easy to share
• Happy people talk
• Respect the results

And if you want examples of how NOT to use social media for marketing, head over to the Marketing Douchebags blog.

Finding Customer and Clients on LinkedIn – Crystal Thies

You’d be surprised how many people “set it and forget it” when it comes to their LinkedIn accounts, let alone actually using it for lead generation. LinkedIn is a beautiful thing, especially when you take as good look at the connectivity of your netowrk. A couple of words of warning:

• The quality of your contacts far outweighs how many you have. You can have up to 30,000 connections, but can only send 3,000 invitations, so be judicious when using those precious invitations.
• Timing and action are everything. If you want to be top of mind, you need to be active within your network. Answer questions and rack up expert points. Also, find out when your group posts their daily digests and plan group activity accordingly.

Location-Based Services – Carolyn Maul

If you have a smartphone, chances are pretty decent that you’re using Bright Kite, Gowalla, Foursquare, or Yelp. Why?

• Real-time updates are the norm
• Smart phones are ubiquitious
• Consumers get a personalized experience
• LBS easily integrate with existing social networks
• Check-ins all for “push” updates

Sadly, in my hometown, only five establishments are actively using LBS for marketing, which I find shocking, especially since that type of technology is incredibly viable for companies who:

• Own a brick and mortar retail facility
• Are comfortable being a first or second mover in their industries
• Are niche businesses
• Want to support targeted efforts
• Need surefire methods to engage or re-engage their client base
• Have a customer base that is social in nature

This is all well and good, you say, but how do I use it? Social media rockstar Cheryl Harrison has a terrific list of ways you can use LBS.



Branding and Marketing Using WordPress – Chris Brown

One of my favorite things about WordPress is its versatility – when utilized correctly, it can have the functionality of a blog, podcast, and website, plus it’s one-stop shopping for branding and marketing your business. See see what you’ve been missing out on, check out Chris’s blog for her suggestions on what you should be doing.

Is There a 12-Step Program for That?

Yet again, I have taken a break from writing my blog. It’s not that I don’t enjoy doing it, but sometimes, you just need a break. I have been freelancing like you wouldn’t believe – in fact, it is arguable that I may be working too much. I have been working various contract assignments for agencies in my area, in addition to taking pretty much every freelance writing assignment that comes my way.

Really, I look at it as symptomatic of freelancing. It can be such a sporadic line of work that we’re often afraid that if we don’t take every assignment that comes our way, the proverbial wellspring will dry up and we’ll have no assignments at all.

So, is there such a thing as balance when you’re always looking for your next opportunity? I wish I knew. In the meantime, I plan to continue working as much as possible until I find my next permanent job.

Still Waiting…

During my travels as a freelance writer, I’ve been working in the mad, mad world of pharmaceutical advertising. While many creatives dread the field, I think it’s interesting because it’s as much about building relationships as it is about building brands. In this world, you’re building a product’s credibility within the industry and have the opportunity to potentially save lives.

One reason why pharma agencies seem to like me is my vast experience with social media and blogging, which is something I would love to do on a full-time basis. However, the problem is that the FDA has not made any decisions yet as to how digital communication should be regulated – 14 companies were given warning letters last April because of search engine ads that allegedly violated presentation of fair balance and disclosure-of-risk information. Really, can you hold a 14 word ad on google to the same standards as a journal ad or a TV spot?

The drug manufacturers themselves have even offered possible solutions to the mess – creasting an advisory board, for one, but also offering an icon that would be along the lines of the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval,” which immediately identifies content that has been regulated and approved.

The audience is there – go to twitter and search for a particular drug or disease state and you will find patients who want to talk. Why the hold-up?

I find it interesting that the FDA, though skittish about allowing pharmaceutical manufacturers to use social networking platforms for dispensing drug information and answering patient questions, had no problem offering a live tweet-stream of its proceedings on digital marketing last November. Hypocritical much?

No word on when the FDA will make up its mind.

Add This to the Bookshelf

I just read a review of Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson’s Rework and I’m dying to get my hands on it. This is the book you wish you’d written – smart, savvy, and so full of common sense like:

• Rethinking what we know about marketing
• The customer is king
• Implementation is as important as the “big idea”
• The need to focus on the actual issue at hand
• Why you should emulate drug dealers

This quick and powerful read outlines the rules for the new rule-breakers of the business world, and is especially for those who claim they hate business books.

Adieu, Garfield

Bob Garfield, my favorite curmedgeon at Ad Age, is finally stepping down after 25 years. Read his final thoughts on the crazy ad business.

Facebook as the New Twitter

According to Forrester Research, a new behavior is emerging in the social space: people are using vehicles for rapid, back-and-forth discussion. While this was once confined to Twitter, it’s now being seen on Facebook in the form of status updates. These users are referred to as Conversationalists and they make up roughly a third of the online population. Here’s what else we know about this group:

• 56% of them are female
• 70% are 30 or older (so much for that theory that social media is for teenagers)
• Their household incomes are about $2,100 above the average online consumer

Other groups that are emerging include:

• Spectators (those who consume social media) make up about 70%
• Joiners (social network participants) are still growing rapidly
• Creators (people who create online social content) are still growing slowly.

Yes, these groups overlap, hence the total adds to more than 100%. Notice that the number of online consumers not using social is down to 17%, and dropping.

While We’re on the Subject of Social Media…

AdWeek is out with an article questioning the long-term legitimacy of social media agencies that are quickly sprouting across the country. As I’ve said before, great social media is no substitute for a fully integrated communication strategy, and I think this year will be a make-or-break year for the so-called experts.

Will NBC Lose Money on the Olympics?

Flash back to 2003 when NBC paid $2.2 billion for the rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympics Games. Of course, at the time, the network assumed that it would make millions while dominating 17 consecutive nights of TV and promote its primetime lineup. Sounded like a win-win at the time, right?

Now, flash forward to 2010. The Olympics are facing stiff competition for ad revenue from the World Cup, demand is generally flagging for Olympics sponsorships, and the US doesn’t have any marquis athletes to hype, plus there’s that pesky economy. NBC Universal Sports President Dick Ebersol last week said he expected NBC to lose money on the games for the first time in memory, raising questions as to whether the struggles of sports marketing’s ultimate platform are cyclical. Couldn’t be that NBC paid too much for the broadcast rights, could it?

A Sweet Deal for my Readers – Just in Time for Vday

I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I’m in love with nameplate necklaces that spell out various social network ID’s. Now, you, too, can proudly declare your geek status at the next tweetup, thanks to my new friends at Survival of the Hippest. As a special deal for my readers, they’re offering 10% off of your order if you use this link.

Coming Soon to a Geek Near You

Did I mention that I want this for Valentine's Day? 'Cause I do!

Remember how nameplate necklaces festooned the necks of fashionistas everywhere a few years ago, thanks to the fabulous ladies of Sex and the City? Thanks to Survival of the Hippest, you can now shout your twitter pride from the rooftops…or at least across the room at a tweetup with these ultra-cool twitter ID necklaces. Available in silver or gold, diamonds are optional, and you can further customize with specific fonts, chains, metal, and bling. Bracelets, anklets, and pins will also be available in the near future.

Shouldn’t They at Least Change Their URL to NoFatChicksAllowed.com?

There are so many things that disturb me about the social network BeautifulPeople, which is like match.com for the genetically blessed. The site’s copy reads:

• Do looks matter to you, when it comes to selecting a partner?
• Do you want to guarantee your dates will always be beautiful?
• No more filtering through unattractive people on mainstream sites
• Meet beautiful people locally and from around the world – now
• Attend exclusive events and private parties

Yep, it is shallow and membership is purely subjective – potential members are granted access after a 48-hour vote by existing members of the opposite sex. It actually reminds me of amihotornot.com, which first surfaced years ago.

Then, I discovered the following article about how the site dumped over 5,000 members because of unsightly holiday weight gain. Sigh. Ordinarilly, I’d say something profound about how social networks are for everyone, but I guess when you sign up for a site like this, you’re pretty much asking for it.

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Turn it Around

Does your company care enough about its customers to rebuild a bad product? And, if you did rebuild it, how would your customers react? Domino’s Pizza has long been plagued with customer complaints about their product quality and found themselves asking the same questions.

So over the holiday season, in a classic move that needs to be required reading for B2B marketers, Domino’s did more than just improve their product – they went so far as to tell people about it. To do this, they utilized traditional advertising, in addition to a social microsite – PizzaTurnAround.com. What did Domino’s learn from this?

Always be honest with your customers. Who likes being lied to? The only thing worse than being lied to is being ignored. Domino’s had the guts to fess up: they had ignored customers and sold bland or bad tasting pizza. It seems like a simple sentiment, but it has powerful effects.

Boost Your credibility with third party social media endorsements. Sure, you’d like people to only say good things about your product, but how realistic is that expectation? Domino’s knew this and they included a live Twitter stream on PizzaTurnAround.com to hel convince people to try the new pizza. While not all of the tweets were positive, they are at least realistic and credible.

Be remarkable by doing what others won’t do. If you want to command respect and be the company that customers are talking about, your company has to be willing to do things for its customers that no one else in your industry would do.

Oh, Domino’s…I used to love you. Now, I adore you.

3-2-1. Now What??

For those of you keeping score at home (and shame on those who aren’t!), I haven’t been writing this blog for a while because I have been utterly swamped with life in general.

I started a contract position at an pharmaceutical advertising agency in October, which seemed very promising and seemed to guarantee a permanent position at the end of the contract. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out that way, so I’m ending 2009 the same way it began – searching for answers. I am back to freelancing for now, but I still would like to find a permanent “home.” I don’t think the door to the agency is permanently closed – I see it as somewhat ajar. To be continued.

Y-2-What?

Meanwhile, in a day or so, we’ll be celebrating Y2K+10. In other words, Friday marks 10 years since the predicted demise of life as we know it, remember? Because of some coding glitches, it was feared that the world’s computers would go haywire, banking systems would shut down, and madness would ensue. I don’t recall doing much out of the ordinary, aside from checking my bank balance on New Year’s Eve and then again on New Year’s Day, and trying to convince my mother that all hell would not break loose. The engineers at the radio station where I worked spent months preparing the computers to ensure that we would not lose any music, let alone valuable commercial revenue. Meanwhile, friends with small businesses were fervently backing up their data onto zip drives (anyone still have one of those?). How about you?

Going Out on a High Note

If you’ve ever read my blog, you know that I’m a big fan of fresh creative. Here, Ad Freak presents their list of the 30 oddest, quirkiest, and creepiest ads of 2009. Bring on suggestively dancing pigs, demonic possession, and tumors of disturbing proportion. Heck, even bring on the creepy Palm Pre lady. Let the games begin!

Attack of the Lollipop Head

Over the weekend, a story caught my eye and I can’t stop thinking about it – Extra TV ran a segment about a recent ad for Ralph Lauren, in which a basically skeletal model is depicted as having a head larger than her pelvis, thanks to some questionable photoshopping. Immediately, this threw me into an uproar – as a woman, this ad offends me, but what upset me more than anything is Ralph Lauren’s rather lame statement: “For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.”

Excuse me? They didn’t know that this had been done? I have worked in retail marketing and nothing went to press without several rounds of approvals, and that was at a furniture manufacturer in the midwest. They’re trying to tell me that an iconic international brand like Ralph Lauren would print something without final approval? I don’t think so.

Over the weekend, a story caught my eye and I can’t stop thinking about it – Extra TV ran a segment about a recent ad for Ralph Lauren, in which a basically skeletal model is depicted as having a head larger than her pelvis, thanks to some questionable photoshopping. Immediately, this threw me into an uproar – as a woman, this ad offends me, but what upset me more than anything is Ralph Lauren’s rather lame statement:

“For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.”

Excuse me? They didn’t know that this had been done? I have worked in retail marketing and nothing went to press without several rounds of approvals, and that was at a furniture manufacturer in the midwest. They’re trying to tell me that an iconic international brand like Ralph Lauren would print something without final approval? I don’t think so.

Will Tweet for Food

From time to time, I like to point out grassroots marketing efforts, particularly because of the degree of authenticity. Those who know me well know that I am also involved in a group called Tastecasting, which combines two of my favorite things – dining out and social media. Check us out here, especially if you’re interested in starting a chapter in your city.

Defining Average

The 2010 Census is sure to bring surprises to marketers – the “average” American consumer is no more. As demographics expert Peter Francese writes for Advertising Age, “The average American has been replaced by a complex, multidimensional society that defies simplistic labeling.” Though official data won’t be released until April, 2011, we do know some of the preliminary findings: diversity statistics are widely varied by demographic group, the American household is extremely varied (married couples without kids are the prevalent type, followed by single people), and the population is shifting toward the southern and western portions of the country.

Happy Monday (and Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers)

Finally, here are a couple of spots that have been making me laugh lately. Bud Light does a genius job drawing parallels between an uncomfortable breakup and selecting a beer, which Geico presents a talking pothole that is eerily reminiscent of how I imagine Britney Spears sounds like. Enjoy!

Giving Oprah the Finger

KFC‘s CMO is pointing the finger of blame at Oprah Winfrey for last May’s grilled chicken promotion/fiasco, claiming that they were given very short notice of their upcoming appearance on the show, thus giving the chain less than a week to prepare franchises for the sheer volume of the giveaway. According to an article by AdWeek Media, the fast feeder had planned for 4 million people, tops, to redeem their coupons. Instead, within 24 hours, 10 million people had tried to get their free Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal.

A Commercial That Will Change Your Life
Once in a while, you see a commercial that makes you stop and think, and possibly shed a tear or two. This spot from Thai Life Insurance celebrates the human spirit and embraces life in a way I have never seen before by telling the story of Toi, a young cancer patient who won’t let her disease stop her from celebrating life with the three most important people in the world.

This spot also took the Grand Prix for TV at the Asia Spikes last week.

Coming to a Geek Near You
Microsoft doesn’t just want to sell you software, they want to make your life a little easier, too, by helping you manage those pesky social platforms by aggregating monitoring tools and combining them with the rest of your organization. Looking Glass, which is still in the testing phase, will then connect that data into Microsoft’s enterprise platforms, such as Outlook and Sharepoint. Microsoft officials describe Looking Glass as a “bridge between IT and the marketing organization.” For example, a CMO gets an email in the middle of the night about increased chatter on twitter about his company’s product. That information is then linked to the company’s customer relationship manager system to decide if a PR response is warranted.