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Gratitude

Gratitude

November 25, 2009

It may be cliché to write a post on Gratitude for Thanksgiving, but I’m doing it anyway. But really, shouldn’t we be giving thanks consistently and not just once a year? I try to incorporate gratitude in my daily routine. I feel that i have a lot to be thankful for.

When I read posts on other blogs that resonate with me, I tend to thank the author in the comments. If you’ve ever commented on a blog before, you know that it’s common to see things like ‘Great post’ or something to that effect in a lot of the comments. I do this myself, but I try to follow it up with a thank you. Why? Because I think it’s important that we all show our appreciation for the people out there that are doing great work and providing inspiration for the masses. It’s so easy to say, and I think it makes the people on both ends feel better about themselves and the work they are doing.

Thanks

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an entry called Four things that are inspiring me today, and I thought it would be nice to pick up on that theme and mention some things that I’m thankful for today.

TweetDeck – I don’t know how I would be able to keep up with the volume of info that I’m trying to consume without this incredible resource. I used to have a monitor on my desk at the office that was dedicated exclusively to TweetDeck. Some of my coworkers thought it looked a little freaky, but I’m seriously thinking about revisiting that setup. TweetDeck is a free program/service – that deserves a special thank you in my opinion!

Amber Naslund – I’ve been following Amber on her blog, on Twitter, and I’ve had the pleasure of participating in a webinar that she hosted recently with Radian6. She’s a very smart lady that has been providing some incredibly useful and thought-provoking content. I highly recommend checking out her blog. Amber, thanks for pushing us all forward with your insightful posts.

Simon Mainwaring – I happened upon Simon’s blog last week and was really energized by what I read. He is definitely a forward thinker, and reading his entries is always an inspiration to me. His recent video interview on his blog, How to face the future of advertising is definitely worth checking out. I’ve said this to Simon privately, but here again – thank you for your inspiration Simon!

Adam Waid – Adam is one of those guys that always seems to have a positive attitude. We met on Twitter a few months back and he consistently makes me smile with his tweets, posts, and even his commentary on my cooking photos on Facebook. Thanks for the positive reinforcement Adam. I’m cooking Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow – if you get hungry, we’ll have plenty. 🙂

Supportive Colleagues – lately I’ve received some incredible support from colleagues that truly want to give me a hand and move forward toward the goals I’ve laid out for myself. I want to mention Jeff Duvall in particular today – he really helped me through a situation yesterday when I needed someone the most. Jeff, thanks again for your support!

Friends and Family – I’m especially thankful for my friends and family today. I’m fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with family tomorrow that I don’t see often. These are the moments that really make life truly enriching. This year, we have 20 people around the table. I believe this is the most we’ve ever had together on Thanksgiving, and for that I’m very thankful.

In business, expressing gratitude can be rewarding to everyone involved. Depending on where you fall in your organization, it might make sense to share appreciation for your boss, your client, your vendors, your employees, your customers, or the people who pick up the trash at the end of the day. Saying thank you breaks down barriers and brings people closer together. It’s a liberating experience. Just imagine how much better you feel when someone says thank you for something you’ve done. Now apply that to the business you are in. Sometimes, a well-timed thank you can go a long way toward increasing morale, productivity, and general happiness of everyone in the organization.

What do you think? Is there anything in particular you are thankful for today?

Thanks for stopping by!

photo credit: istockphoto

Social Media Strategy

The 60% of 'Non-Pointless Babble' on Twitter

August 21, 2009

BabbleA recent study conducted by Pear Analytics raises some interesting questions on the opportunities for brands and marketers on Twitter.  Of course, many of the subsequent articles have focused on the 40% of ‘Pointless babble’ that was the highest scoring answer.  Let’s be honest – it would appear on the surface that the survey selections were skewed to show Twitter as an unfavorable medium for marketing with ‘Pointless babble’ being a choice in the survey.  Wouldn’t a more neutral choice such as ‘General chatter’ or something that is less biased have been more appropriate?

Either way, that still leaves the other 60% of tweets that have potential value for marketers.  For example, the second highest scoring selection was ‘Conversational’ with 37%.  If we are doing our jobs as marketers in social media, isn’t this really the sweet spot we should be focusing on?  Throw in the ‘Pass along value’ and ‘News’ tweets, and you have what is arguably a substantial volume of activity that has potential to provide value to marketers and consumers.  I think the glass if half full here.  Babble or no babble, there is real opportunity for those who choose to tune in and participate.

If another report came out tomorrow that concluded that a low percentage of people used TV for ‘Watching dumb commercials’, should we call into question the effectiveness of advertising on TV?  Of course not. Perhaps this is just a case of people not understanding how to filter out the noise and benefit from the dialogue on Twitter.  Email spam is a big issue too, but most people haven’t stopped using email to communicate.  There is no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water here.  We can choose to ignore the babble and focus on the real value that lies in the conversation.

Social Media Strategy

The 60% of ‘Non-Pointless Babble’ on Twitter

August 21, 2009

BabbleA recent study conducted by Pear Analytics raises some interesting questions on the opportunities for brands and marketers on Twitter.  Of course, many of the subsequent articles have focused on the 40% of ‘Pointless babble’ that was the highest scoring answer.  Let’s be honest – it would appear on the surface that the survey selections were skewed to show Twitter as an unfavorable medium for marketing with ‘Pointless babble’ being a choice in the survey.  Wouldn’t a more neutral choice such as ‘General chatter’ or something that is less biased have been more appropriate?

Either way, that still leaves the other 60% of tweets that have potential value for marketers.  For example, the second highest scoring selection was ‘Conversational’ with 37%.  If we are doing our jobs as marketers in social media, isn’t this really the sweet spot we should be focusing on?  Throw in the ‘Pass along value’ and ‘News’ tweets, and you have what is arguably a substantial volume of activity that has potential to provide value to marketers and consumers.  I think the glass if half full here.  Babble or no babble, there is real opportunity for those who choose to tune in and participate.

If another report came out tomorrow that concluded that a low percentage of people used TV for ‘Watching dumb commercials’, should we call into question the effectiveness of advertising on TV?  Of course not. Perhaps this is just a case of people not understanding how to filter out the noise and benefit from the dialogue on Twitter.  Email spam is a big issue too, but most people haven’t stopped using email to communicate.  There is no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water here.  We can choose to ignore the babble and focus on the real value that lies in the conversation.

Social Media Strategy

Is this the Facebook and YouTube election?

October 2, 2008

We are at an interesting junction in history right now, and it is fascinating to see how social media is shaping the political landscape in this election cycle.  Remember, in 2004 Facebook had just launched and was open to college students only, and YouTube didn’t even exist!  These two sites alone have totally changed the game and we are now in a new era of information sharing.  The old days where politicians got away with the occasional gaffe as long as the media didn’t pick up on it are over.  Now, practically every second of their day is recorded and posted almost instantly on YouTube and Twitter for the world to see and hear.  And of course on Facebook, the sharing of information and personal beliefs is occurring on a staggering scale.  Friends that I would have NEVER had political discussions with are engaging on Facebook.  In fact, instead of a 2-way dialog between 2 people, Facebook enables a multi-way dialog with a vast number of people.

Take for instance the status comments.  When someone on Facebook posts an observation or political view on Facebook, his or her whole friend network has the potential to see it.  If people comment back, not only does the original person receive alerts, but also everyone who comments on it receives an alert as well.  All of the sudden, what we think about the process can be expressed and discussed more easily with much larger groups of people.  Breaking down the physical and geographic barriers has huge implications, as we are not confined to hearing the prevailing beliefs of our particular corner of the world.

I believe that we are in the midst of a major shift in how people perceive politics.  No longer is it just for the older crowd that reads the newspaper and watches 60 Minutes.  Now everyone is talking – the question is: who is paying the most attention?

What do YOU think?  Is social media going to make a difference in this election?