I Spot A Fakey McFake!

Yes, I know the word in the title are not necessarily words, but just stay with me on this.

Part of being in the world of social media, or online media in general is the concept of social proof. There exists a proving grounds of sorts for people to "strut their stuff" or at the very least reference people in order to establish some credibility. I come from the school of thought that there exists no experts, especially in social media. No doubt there are people that do it well, and understand the concepts of merging a brand with a community, but to call oneself an expert is probably a little over the top.

Nevertheless, do not think that because I do not believe in the idea of a "social media expert" that people should toss around the buzzwords like confetti in a parade, but alas we see too much of that. Suffice to say that just the term alone, social media, is a buzzword that has come and gone, and while the platforms the networks that exist are credible and any brand venturing into this foray can benefit from it, I think people just get tired of hearing the word.

I find it more disturbing when people in desperate situations feel like "social media" is the way to go because "surely someone will buy into the hype and hire me."

This is where I find myself today. Individuals come to mind that claim to be the leader in blogging for example, or the leader in podcasting, yet when you reference their names, all they've done is expert SEO marketing, with little to no actual content. Even more disturbing is their ability to "snake oil salesman" their way into the hearts of companies and convince them that they are the next logical step for success.

Just because you write on your blog does not make you the expert on blogging. That's like keeping a journal and saying you're a writer. It just doesn't add up. Perhaps I'm a cynic, but I'm just looking at things from both sides, and sometimes I think the lack of understanding in the business community makes them the perfect prey for these scheming salesmen.

Social proof people! It's okay to ask for their body of work. Ask for references, ask for anything that makes the words they spew have meaning. A fancy song and dance is nice, but as they say the proof is in the pudding.

Photo Credit dyanna

He Said, She Said, Who Said?

Nothing hurts a brand like negative press and misinformation. Unhappy customers and uninformed individuals can put a verbal blemish on your product or service, but who's monitoring the channels?

As a brand, whether you offer products or services, it's vital that you keep track of what is being said, whether you are online or not, because "gossip" can cost you both reputation and customers. It's sad when a reputation is tarnished by the sheer lack of understanding, but made even more painful when there is a lack of representation to stand up for answer the things being said.

What do you do with your brand when you hear negative talk? Do you constructively approach it? Do you immediately lash out, hoping to diffuse the situation? Or do you simply remain unawares of what's being said?

I'm curious to know what methods you use to protect your brand, how you choose to approach both negative and positive chatter on the various networks you monitor.

Photo Credit lunae

Social Media Experiment with Mayoral Candidate

Last night I had the pleasure of participating in a local experiment merging new media and traditional media in a social media event held by mayoral candidate, Julian Castro. I was unable to make it to both events, but the one I did make it to I wanted to share with everyone.

I first want to share the relevant questions and answers that were exchanged during this amazing discussion happening both in person and streamed on the internet thanks to BlogCatalog's, Bloggers Unite initiative. The event organized by Alan Weinkrantz was a huge success and regardless of political affiliation was an interesting take on the merging of two worlds, similar the the recent US Election, which finds President Obama sitting at the head of our nation.

After the Q&A reporting I will give my final analysis of the event as a whole and where it fits into local politics.

Engagement

The gathering started at 6:05 p.m. with an opening by Alan Weinkrantz followed by an introduction to Julian Castro who thanked everyone for being present. The event was attended personally by bloggers, traditional journalists, and other media types from San Antonio that had been invited to this private event. The audience was live on the internet via chat room but the video stream was available for them to watch and interact with.

Julian wanted to express his interest in seeing technology and media efforts infused into every aspect of the city at the community level, the political level, and the personal level. He expressed his love for they city he grew up in and how he wants his efforts to help the city become a functional entity. He looks to embrace social media tools to allow individuals to engage him in questions, comments, thoughts, and have a real say in the course of how the city is navigated during these tough times in America. All lofty goals, but he seemed genuine in his statements.

He expressed his concern with voter turnout talking about how only 13-15% of voters turn out to engage in the process, with a huge gap remaining in the 18-30 demographic. Hoping that social technology can help increase the turnout, especially within that demographic by speaking to those individuals on the formats that they are most familiar with.

His goal is to ultimately create a dialog that does not currently exist and provide just another way for people to enter into the political process.

Questions

Question 1: From the internet regarding San Antonio's green initiatives
Point 1: Mentions the importance of sustainability; wants San Antonio to be a leader
Point 2: Pursue ways to put San Antonio into the "Green Economy" building green collared jobs

Question 2: From invited blogger regarding Julian's plan on dealing with poverty
SA is ranked as one of the poorest big cities in the nation. Julian wants to continue to build programs that help the less fortunate work to become functional citizens for their own personal lives. Two problems to work on to help alleviate some of the poverty issues:
1. Illiteracy: Relatively high numbers need to overcome their lack of being able to read or write. Build programs that will help elevate the number if illiterate and get them to where he knows they all can be.
2. Teenage pregnancy: A key problem for girls under 15, work with established assistance programs like Project Worth, and build on after school programs to help keep youth engaged.

Question 3: From invited blogger regarding the creation of jobs
He commits to make job creation a priority focusing on two points:
1. Wants to create a competitively trained work force by working with public libraries, public school districts, after school programs, job training programs, and universities and colleges in the city.
2. Foster the growth of current economic strengths such as the BioSciences expansion at Ft. Sam.

Question 4: From the internet regarding the creation of a financial district in Downtown
Julian believes that San Antonio is prime to build itself a financial district with its proximity to Mexcio and the rest of Central and Latin America.

Question 5: From invited blogger regarding issue with San Antonio school districts
Julian agrees that better efficiency is required when it comes to the school. Because a lot of his initiatives place the burden on education and training, he'd like to review the current status of the school system and possibly collaborate and consolidate where he can and where it seems most appropriate. He recognizes that the issue is bigger than just the city and goes up the chain to State and Federal Government concerns.

These are just five of the questions asked during the hour and a half session that was amazing informative. Other questions fielded included inquiries on taxes, communities and neighborhoods, transportation, public services, technology, economics, and current processes within the local government.

It was a good turnout for media types in person, while 30+ people engaged the mayoral candidate online, proving the experiment was successful in terms of gauging an audience online.

Analysis

Ultimately this mayoral candidate proved himself to be articulate and ready to tackle questions without any kind of preparation. Julian's approach is definitely one with family and communities in mind. In all fairness I was unable to attend the other candidates event, but I welcome any opportunity to hear that side of the story too.

As an experiment I think there was an overall success. The convergence of traditional media with new media types was a good atmosphere and established an understanding that there is a place for both to coexist.

My only concern with regards to the technological advances that our city is making, is that we cannot forget those that are unable to tap into those networks. There are vast populations in our city without a computer much less an internet connection. Any mayoral candidate must not lose sight of those constituents regardless of the cool "newness" of the internet's social networks. Social media must be understood as an extension of the constituency not the focus, because that will distance those individuals not connected to modern trends.

Several outlets posted articles on the "Social Media War." The focus was who was doing what rather than the message. The messages that I heard at what I attended were strong, and evident that every one had a chance to be heard. From what I hear about the event that I did not attend, there was a similar atmosphere.

Despite Twitter, Facebook, and other video networks and their popularity, let's hope the candidates do not lose sight of what their real duty is, as mayor of this fine city we are the investment, the people, and ultimately that is what they will be judged on.

Research with Reach!

The banning of social media outlets seems a foreign concept in today's fast paced info laden world. Content is mostly consumed via online reading, research, and ultimately conversation across the various networks available. Crowdsourcing is an approach that leverages the wisdom of the masses who ultimately have an honest an unfiltered respose.

Have universities truly embraced the idea of using the technology at hand to fulfill their needs? Have they reached out to an audience with unending possibilities? While conducting research surveys would be emailed from academic to academic and passed out in a very limited capacity, hoping to acquire a specific number for satisfactory metrics. Why aren't more researchers turning to the internet for the unending reach social networks can provide.

All social media advocates, let's come together now and show the power of crowdsourcing, the power of coming together for a common cause. There is a survey for those in committed relationships that needs your help. It's a few minutes of your time, but I was able to combine my efforts with those of a Ph.D student to get this relationship survey out to the masses using a variety of social networks and outlets.

Spread the word, share your thoughts, info is kept private and not shared, so join me in completing this survey and introduce the higher end of academia the usefulness of just such an effort!

CLICK HERE for survey!

Photo Credit athena

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