By Taylor Pepe
If the ‘90s taught us anything, it’s that disease is dangerous and moves very quickly, as evident in the 1995 thriller Outbreak. If you are unfamiliar with the plot, it goes something like this: a super dangerous virus is discovered in Africa in the late ‘60s, covered up by the government and forgotten until the mid-‘90s when it resurfaces. A lab test monkey which is being brought to the United States is infected with the disease, unbeknownst to Patrick Dempsey, who tries to sell the animal on the black market. As you can probably surmise, the monkey affects one person, is released into the wild, and before long California has a town quarantined, people are sick and dying, and Dustin Hoffman is trying his best to catch a monkey the size of a housecat before said California town is destroyed.
Now, imagine if that was real and if Twitter was around. I can already see the monkey’s novelty account.
The Hollywood scenario outlined above recently played out in real life at the Archipelago Journalism Conference in Alberta, Canada. Granted there were no monkeys, Dustin Hoffman, or death, but there was an outbreak of Norovirus (another term for stomach flu). Of the 360 conference participants, 150 became ill, but thanks to quick thinking by the organizers and Twitter, that number could have been much higher.
Twitter is proving to be a valuable tool in the wake of disasters and major events. After the earthquake in Turkey, survivors used the platform to let others know they were alive. During the incident at Virginia Tech back in December, students and police used Twitter to communicate what was going on as the campus sat under lock-down. Using a high-speed social media platform is becoming the norm when dealing with events, and the conference in Canada proved to be no different.
The first few days of the conference went along as planned. There were speakers, new learning experiences, and new friends to be made. And then, it happened.
During the final keynote, organizers were notified of an attendee vomiting. As they responded, they became aware of another person getting sick. Then another, and another. Cue the domino effect.
As participants rode on the bus heading back to their hotel, more attendees became ill. Then came the tweets. As attendees began posting updates on who was getting sick, conference organizers began checking the stream and sharing information as quickly as possible. Participants had been posting updates to #nash74 and as the people in charge noticed the magnitude of tweets surrounding sickness, someone made the conscious decision to cancel the rest of the evening events and send everyone back to the hotel.
The scene at the hotel began to resemble something out of 28 Days Later. More and more people became ill and before long, Twitter was serving as a guide as to what areas of the hotel were the most infected.
Organizers leveraged Twitter to let conference-goers know they would be coming around with fluids and medicine, and left instructions as to where they would be and when. Twitter also served as a virtual meeting place where the healthy could pass information on to their fellow attendees.
Having Twitter was beneficial to the attendees as well as the staff. By using a social platform, information was able to reach a wide audience in a short amount of time. Additionally, everyone involved was able to stay on top of information in real time, a comforting fact to many of the people who were sick. Social media platforms are evolving and soon may be the default method of contact during major events.
The ill attendees stayed at the hotel a few days longer before finally heading home.
February 24th, 2012
By Guest Author
This is a guest post by Nate Towne. Follow him on Twitter @Fancy_Lad.
You came back (By the gods, you need a hobby.)! But I’m glad you did return, because here’s where the rubber really meets the road when it comes to using Pinterest for business. Got a great product? A smashing storefront? The world’s biggest/largest/bestest thing ever, yet nobody seems to know or care about your brand? Pinterest to the rescue! Your brand can use the power of Pinterest to see and be seen, here are a few tips to get your Pinterest juices flowing…
- Crowdsourcing! Creating a new logo? Designing a new package? Frosting a cupcake? Share your designs with the world and ask your fellow Pinheads to pick ‘em apart. By providing a range of options, you can see which designs get the most love. It’s just one more way to milk the feedback machine for all it’s worth. And oh, it’s worth it, believe you me. It’s like harnessing the commenting power of Facebook, but it’s interesting and not about a stupid farming game. Yes, THAT game. Ugh.
- Give Props: Do you have a customer or client you just love? Pin their stuff and show them the love. They’ll see that you’re pimping them and will likely pimp you in return. You already do this in the real world (it’s called a “referral”) but I swear it’s much more fun on Pinterest. (User tip: if you add a “@” in front of a Pinhead’s name, the user will receive a notification of your love. Now that’s special!)
- Play Well With Others: You can lighten the load on yourself by adding contributors to your pinboards. It’s the perfect way to showcase your intern’s quirkiness or highlight one of your favorite business partners. It’s super easy to collaborate on Pinterest, far easier than Facebook.
- Recon: What the heck is that florist down the street doing that you’re not? How come THAT cupcake shop has crazy sales? Follow the boards of your competitors and others your brand aspires to become and “borrow” the best of the best – and leave the rest.
Okay, that’s enough for you to get started I think. But before you do, you need to ask yourself:
- It’s cool, but is it appropriate for my business?
- It’s cool, but is there a return on investment for all my hard work?
- It’s cool (sense a theme?), but do I have the time?
If you answered “Yes! YES! OMG YES!” to questions #1 and #2, you’re ready to jump in (You’re also way too excited, so settle down.). If you’re on the fence with #3, you can still dip a toe in the water by creating a personal account first, and see what all the fuss is about. Then after you’re hooked, you can do a deeper dive. If you “set it and forget it” it’s probably not for you. Which is sad. ‘cause it’s REALLY cool. That is all – carry on.
February 10th, 2012
By Ben Haber
UPDATE: While writing this post, Pawngo closed the comment section of the blog, erasing 60+ negative comments. Since dumping the pile of Butterfingers, they have also disallowed posting on the company Facebook page and taken down Todd Hills’ phone number from their website.
As the anger over Pawngo’s ill-advised PR stunt in Boston yesterday continued, Pawngo’s CEO, Todd Hills, decided it was time to stop posting sarcastic tweets, and issue a real apology. Unfortunately, this is when it was Hills’ turn to drop the ball (perhaps he should receive a giant heap of Butterfingers).
In what appears to be an “oh crap – this really backfired!” moment, Hills wrote an apology on Pawngo’s blog, which came across as insincere, especially to New England residents. Why is it not being taken seriously? It’s all in the third paragraph…
Pawngo has been changing the world of providing credit to individuals and small businesses, and our business has grown dramatically in the past year. In the process of growing, we have received lots of attention from the press, talking about how we are opening up new financial options for many otherwise un-bankable people. However, this incident in Boston produced some press that we would rather not have.
Yes, you read that correctly. In an apology for a mean-spirited PR stunt, Hills thought it would be appropriate to pitch his company and their services. As anyone can imagine, the post was not well received by Patriots fans, who have left comments on the post. Many of these comments suggest that if Hills were serious about his apology, he should make a sizable donation to the Wes Welker Foundation.
In addition to attacking Pawngo, angry New Englanders have been targeting Groupon (who shares investors with Pawngo). Groupon has been issuing statements to everyone on Twitter individually, and even Nestle Butterfinger has been making it clear they had nothing to do with the lame stunt.
February 8th, 2012
By Ben Haber
Today online pawn show Pawngo thought it would be funny to pour salt in the wounds of New England Patriots fans, and dropped off a massive pile of Butterfingers in Copley Square. Then an employee stood behind the pile with a sign that read, “Thank you Wes Welker.”
While the saying, any press is good press, is often true, this moment is one of those exceptions. Just 36 hours after a heartbreaking loss in the Superbowl, a company headquartered in Denver (remember that 45-10 first round playoff game?) thought that for some reason, it would be a good idea to throw a low ball at six states of potential customers. After this move, is there any Patriots fan that would seriously consider purchasing something on Pawngo in the near future? I think not.
There are always certain events that PR and marketing people should stay away from, and many of these are obvious. But Pango’s PR stunt showed that the company has very little class. Instead of reminding Patriots fans about Welker’s missed catch, go join in on New York’s parade. Quite simple, this is an example of a PR or marketing idea not being well thought out. Sure, it will grab national attention for a day, but at what price? Do you really want to be the company that upsets its own customers?
The only good thing for New Englanders (besides some free Butterfingers) is that Mayor Menino is apparently going to fine Pawngo for commercial dumping.
If you want to share your own thoughts with Pawngo, their Facebook page is Facebook.com/pawngo, and their Twitter handle is @pawngo.
February 7th, 2012
By Guest Author
This is a guest post by Nate Towne. Follow him on Twitter @Fancy_Lad.
So you’re considering Pinterest for your business are you? Well you’re not alone! As my last Pinterest post propounded, Pinterest has more than four million users and is growing each and every day. It’s the “hot new shiny toy” of the social media sites – which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for your brand. After all, thousands of people get their naughty bits pierced each year – that doesn’t mean you should, too (Or does it?). So if you are considering jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon for business, here are some insights to help you make an informed decision.
We can all agree Pinterest is pretty darn cool, but as responsible marketers, we must ask: is it right for your brand? If you’ve got some awesome visuals or products to share with the world, the answer is: yes. Whole Foods, Martha Stewart Living (R.I.P!), Better Homes & Gardens, Bergdorf Goodman – they all have Pinterest accounts, and more brands are joining each day. While the wedding , fashion and design industries appear to be leading the charge, there are many uses for any business – provided it sells something that is visually compelling, provided you want people to share your stuff online and provided you have the time to handle building and maintaining a Pinterest account (That’s a post for another time my dears.).
Pinterest is easy to use, which is yet another reason it’s great for businesses (Why, even my mother could figure it out, if she could put down her glass of wine.). It’s a website, it’s a search engine browser button, it’s an app – it’s everything you want it to be and everywhere your customers like to hang. You can login using Facebook or Twitter, you can take pictures and upload them to your pinboards – which can be customized according to your tastes. Yes Virginia, you can have a pinboard dedicated to burnt toast art. Whatever floats your boat!
So to make a long blog even longer, let’s cut to the chase. How can brands use Pinterest to boost the bottom line? Here are some thoughts to discuss amongst yourselves at the water cooler:
- Share Your Look for Less: Creating virtual “Look Books” or reference boards to share with other Pinheads. Launching a new line of toiletries? Create a board! Pitching a big landscaping project to your local bank? Show them exactly the types of plants and materials you’d use – paint them a picture, that’s what Pinterest is all about. And if they share your boards, all the better!
- Sell Product: While you can’t BUY anything on Pinterest, if you pin your products and link to the website within your Pin, your fellow Pinheads can easily jump to your ecommerce site. An added bonus: if you add a “$” to your Pins description, Pinterest will automatically add a price banner to the photo AND your Pin will appear in the Pinterest “Gifts” category. Sweeeet.
- Demonstrate Subject Matter Expertise: You’re SMART and creative, damn it, so showcase your awesome sauce with pinboards! If you’re a company that sells shoes – own it. Create a board for your products, but also create boards for other shoe-related visuals. Like great places to hike or jog if you’re in the sports apparel game. Or pictures of celebrities who wear your shoes – or who should wear your shoes. Best dressed? Worst dressed? World’s most unappealing cankles? Pin it and become a SME superstar!
Next up in this hopelessly-devoted-to-Pinterest series: how Pinterest can help your business get more business through caring and sharing. Because just like the Hokey Pokey, that’s what it’s all about!
February 7th, 2012
By Ben Haber
On his show last night, Stephen Colbert introduced a new hash tag, #preparethem. The hash tag was in response to Mitt Romney claiming that the negativity in the Republican primary was good, because it will prepare the winning candidate for the general election. Colbert decided the candidates needed some help in this area, and posted two tweets “live” during his show, and others since:
Since introducing the hash tag on last night’s show, Twitter using have been posting their own creative lines throughout the entire day. Some are pretty well thought out and entertaining. You check them out here.
February 2nd, 2012
By Guest Author
This is a guest post by Nate Towne. Follow him on Twitter @Fancy_Lad.
Pinterest, schminterest! What’s with all the buzz about this new social media channel? Is it worth your precious web surfing time? And how can you use it to build your business so you can feel less guilt about surfing boards on Pinterest on the company dime? Read on, fearless reader – you might just learn something (I swear it’s not my fault if you do.).
Our good pals at Mashable report Pinterest is currently enjoying the limelight as one of the top 10 social networks – and it’s still (technically) invite only. Though getting an invite is pretty easy if you’re on Twitter or Google+ – heck, just ask me and I’ll invite you. Or you can ask Pinterest for an invite –I’m betting dollars to donuts they’re not going to turn you down. I’m a sharing kinda guy. The premise behind Pinterest is pretty basic, it’s a cloud-based social media network that lets you organize and share all the cool discoveries you find on the web. Pinheads (yes, I’m coining that term) use pinboards to showcase their mad style, plan vacation shenanigans, organize their favorite recipes, share gifting ideas, and among other things, drive traffic to ecommerce sites – *gasp!*
What makes Pinterest a social network? It allows Pinheads (see? I’m running with it!) to browse pins and boards created by other Pinheads. Trust me, you could spend days browsing other Pinhead’s pinboards – they are a constant source of amusement, amazement and discovery. And if you’re an entrepreneurial kind of person, the two words that stand out here are “discover” and “share.” Who wouldn’t want Pinheads to discover and share your coolness on this hotter than hot internet destination?
Let’s face it – if you build it, and it’s cool, and it reaches MILLIONS of potential customers, businesses will come. But should your business jump on the bandwagon? According to ComScore’s recent data on Pinterest, the site has nearly five million users and shows no signs of stopping in its race to the top. Data from Google Ad Planner reports nearly 1.5 million unique users are visiting Pinterest daily, and spending more than 14 minutes on the site per visit (If you ask me, this number is a little low – Pinterest is *that* addictive!). If that data isn’t enough to get you thinking, digest this new insight from Shareaholic via GigaOM: Pinterest is now driving more web traffic referrals than Google+ (not surprising), on par with Twitter referrals (rather surprising!). But juicy and compelling data aside, is Pinterest right for your business?
That’s a question for another post – in fact, my next few posts will break down why brands should consider converting to Pinterest , or not as the case may be. I promise you dear reader, it will be worth the wait. And if not, I’ll gladly give you your money back…
February 2nd, 2012
By Guest Author
This is a guest post by Mandy Miller. Follow her on Twitter at@MandyMayM.
Remember when they used to tell us in grade school that we could all help stop crime? Although we’re big kids now, that still holds true. However now authorities and victim’s of theft are taking to the streets of social media to hook crooks. While a very hyper-local story to Boston, Boloco’s use of social media to gain leads in making arrests for a robbery that occurred on January 28th at their 1084 Boylston Street location has made the headlines and speaks to the power of social networks in law enforcment.
Posted to their YouTube and Facebook pages, Boloco is hoping that citizens will view the security tape and recognize the culprits that broke into to the location in the early morning hours Saturday morning, making off with the establishment’s safe. Since Saturday, the original Facebook post has received over 60 comments and the YouTube video has been watched over 5,300 times. There is also a nice cash reward for watching and reporting. A $1,000 reward is up for the tipster that lands these criminals behind bars.
To me, this brings about an entirely new age of tipsters for crime. Although your identify isn’t completely hidden if you are making public comments on these pages, this avenue for soliciting ‘anonymous’ tips from the public is genius to me. It also has me wondering what other ways law enforcement could use this avenue for stopping crime. We all remember the glory days of America’s Most Wanted, featuring horrible criminal stories to homes via network TV, but I believe social media takes it beyond that as you’re delivering a message and providing an opportunity for tip submission in the same medium. You’re also driving on a social networking site – keyword being network. You’re likely to share with your networks and your networks will then share on. Crime can literally then go viral – in a good way.
What are your thoughts? Do you believe that this treads on anonymous tips and the safety of tipsters, or do you feel that this is the start of a new age of stopping crime via social networks?
January 31st, 2012
By Guest Author
The Super Bowl is six days away and recent history indicates the NFL Pro Bowl has painfully come, and thankfully gone. This is the same lack luster game between the AFC and NFC’s best, doubling as a glorified flag football game with pads. Two years ago the NFL gave the Pro Bowl a shake down, moved the game a week before the Super Bowl, and from Honolulu to Miami for the first time since 1980. Last night the game reverted back to its rightful spot in Hawaii, with twitter stations on each sideline.
Wait – what!? Yes, the league that has historically been strict on their social media policy. The NFL policy states players aren’t allowed to use their twitter account 90 minutes before a game, and only after their post-game media obligations have concluded. That being said, the league provided each sideline with twitter stations, so that players could “live tweet” during the game.
This flip-flopping on the policy wasn’t looked to highly upon by players; including Steelers’ linebacker and NFL’s notorious dirty hitter James Harrison. On his own twitter account Harrison wrote, “Why u think the NFL “wants us” to tweet during the Pro Bowl but wont “let us” til 90 min AFTER a real game? I won’t tweet during today’s game.” Harrison’s stance wasn’t reciprocated, as many players enjoyed the relaxed policy including the Pro Bowl MVP, and Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall. He went on to write, “Shout out to @MiamiDolphins & @Finsiders. Happy to be out here, but I can’t wait until next season!! Feb 13 & I’m back at it! #probowl,” said Marshall.
While I’ve been known to “live tweet” games, mostly for my beloved Syracuse Orange basketball team, I agree with Harrison. The NFL is the greatest professional sports league in the United States, but it’s also a business. Twitter is the social network, and the NFL tried to cash in. In a game that traditionally hasn’t held up to its end of the bargain, the tweeting stations were ways to create some excitement and bring people back, but it didn’t work. Last year’s Pro Bowl took in 12.04 million viewers, while last night’s game saw 10.52 million viewers according to The Futon Critic. Twitter undeniably brings fans closer to celebrities, athletes, and it’s a great tool, but my take away? Leave the “live tweeting” to fans, journalists, and the social savvy.
This is a guest post by Marcus LaRobardiere. Follow him on Twitter at@marcusdl
January 31st, 2012
By Taylor Pepe
Now Hiring: Social Media Steamboat Captain
There are lots of titles I like to call myself. Reddit Overlord, Social Media Lumberjack, Marketing Fisherman – just to name a few; however, I find that the appropriate time for those names is when I’m among friends discussing people who actually refer to themselves like that. I’m sure you’ve all come across the sometimes funny, generally obscure, and usually head-scratch-inducing titles some companies use to promote positions within their organizations. After doing some online digging I’ve pulled out some of the pros and cons to coming up with these titles and really what having a goofy name boils down to.
I’d like to preface the rest of the article by saying this is solely my opinion, so don’t let my view take away from your dreams of becoming the next “Search Engine Sherpa”.
First up and probably most importantly, why bother coming up with a tongue-in-cheek job title? Simple: it may help you get noticed. If you’re job hunting in this economy, you need all the tools you can muster to help you stand out. If you can brand yourself as something outlandish, and are able to back up your title with solid experience, you’ll send a great message to an organization.
Second: silly titles can help you expand a company’s brand. I would advise against “Mortgage Magician” if you’re applying to Goldman Sachs, but if you’re applying to a company that’s laid back and encourages a fun working environment, a goofy title might help you assimilate into the company culture faster.
Third: a unique title could potentially lead to more conversations and aid in networking. Keyword – potentially. Unique titles will aid in networking if you’re engaging with other people and companies that share the same values as you do. I highly doubt a financial institution would take you seriously if you described your lending strategy as “ninja-like”.
Now to the part which seemed to come easier: The Cons.
For starters, some of the job titles you want to use are too obscure. Remember, you’re trying to create a title that emphasizes what value you bring to a company. This isn’t seventh grade: the luxury days of choosing a ridiculous AIM screename are behind us. It’s time to really demonstrate why you are good at what you do, not that you’re the DaSureShot112.
Next up, having a creative title can make you come across as bit pretentious. If you’re going to say you’re a “guru,” you’d better be able to wow everyone you talk to with your knowledge of an industry, and I’m not talking about just knowing your info, I’m talking about you needing to have thought provoking statements flowing out of you every time you open your mouth. That sentiment is echoed throughout the hiring community and lot of decision makers are starting to get on board with the idea that the creative titles are becoming too overplayed. 2012 could be the year this trend dies out. The industry is becoming saturated with gurus, champions, and masterminds leading to the question, whatever happened to common titles like coordinator, director, and executive?
Another con, which a lot of people don’t think about, is a creative title can distract the person who is trying to hire you. Unless you plan on working at hip, new-age company, a lot of organizations are still old school when it comes to hiring new talent. This means some of your recruiters are probably your parent’s age. Your mom may think it’s cute you call yourself the “Happiness Advocate,” but the person interviewing may think you’re a moron.
Finally, if you’re going to have a creative title, you need to think about the long-term implications. Today, you’re riding high as the “Web Kahuna,” but what about 10 years down the road? Nobody wants to be known as the creepy person who continually refers to him/herself as the “Big Cheese” when everyone else is going by “Director,” “Coordinator,” or “Executive.”
Really, having a title depends on the person and the organization. If you’re trying to get noticed by a younger, more laid back company, you have solid experience, and you’re able to carry a title without becoming too full of yourself, go for it. Just know how to adapt your title if you ever decide to look elsewhere for employment. That being said, I am still against creative titles. I’d probably get fed up really easily if I had to take direction from a “Corporate Magician” or a “Master Handshaker” as opposed to a “Director” or an “Executive.”
January 23rd, 2012
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