Tag Archives: StumbleUpon

The great thing about the Viral Video Phenomenon is that you don’t need a professional film crew. Let your imagination be Director and your “sense of fun” do the scripting.

Although it is virtually impossible to create a Web marketing program that is guaranteed to go viral, according to David Meerman Scott and other pundits, you can stack the deck in your favor by (a) following some guidelines and (b) avoiding the pitfalls.

PR student Synang Chhan wrote this guest post on “Helpful Tips for Going Viral on YouTube” as a result of her classroom research:

Give People Something To Talk About

by Synang Chhan

The whole point of going viral on YouTube is to create a piece of content that goes beyond mediocre videos. The focus is to get people talking about and sharing the content. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts to make that happen:

The Nine DO’s

1) Define the audience: Think about the types of viewers that your video is trying to reach and give them something to talk about with their friends, family, and peers. Keep in mind their thoughts and feelings to create positive feedback. Top Ten Videos list

2) Generate a viral trigger: Pick and choose an element that will “hit the spot.” Start with something shocking and/or hilarious and/or completely unique to get the buzz going. Manhattan Bridge sways with subway traffic

3) Stay homemade: Make sure to be yourself. The best way to gain the audience’s trust is to show a natural and organic personality, so the audience sees a real person, not a robot. Fellow student Christine Ferraris promotes “‘new” company

4) Mimic a public figure: Involving a celeb-inspired imitation may lead to viral success. People take pleasure in getting a kick out of their favorite stars goofing off antics; better yet, people enjoy watching celebrity imposters because there is the added element of checking out how close the copier can get. Also, the high publicity value of public figures makes them especially easy to search for. Who can forget Tina Fey as Sarah Palin

5) Take it to the Max: With more than a million videos uploaded worldwide, you have to give yours something extra to even get noticed. Yours needs to be TEN TIMES BETTER — 10 x Funnier — 10 x More Exhilarating — 10 x More Original — 10 x More Inspirational! The Law of Attraction

6) Bring the exposure to your audience: The purpose of the viral video is to share the content. On the other hand, DO NOT WAIT for people to find your content. Even the most creative videos on YouTube can go unnoticed as a result of lack of exposure. Seeking a platform approach to viral sharing is a good idea. some suggestions are Digg, StumbleUpon, HeySpread, Facebook, Twitvid, and TubeMogul in additiaon to YouTube. Viral Video Blog

7) Make it portable: Allowing the video to be shared easily is to make it portable, downloadable, and obtainable. Moreover, allocating friendly links to your video will make it simple for people to spread it effectively. A site for the funniest videos

8- Timing is necessary: Keep in mind that luck and timing is essential because most videos are often “stumbledupon” by someone who then passes it on to another person who passes it on, and so on. Basically, you will need to be in the right place at the right time in order to have the potential for that viral spread. In the meantime, you can acquire lots of views to happen fast after upload by making the front page of Digg or as a YouTube Video of the Week. Top rated videos on Digg

9) Track the viral activity: Since your video has hit the web, you may want to track where all the downloading activities are coming from. many sites such as Unruly Media, Google, or YouTube Insights can tell which keywords people use to find your video, which then helps you effectively advertise it. Unruly Media and YouTube Insight

And NOW what you should NOT do if you really want to go viral

1) DON’T create a fake campaign: Being REAL is essential. If you act insincerely, people can tell. You will be misrepresented in a way that will hurt, not help. Be who you are, not someone you are not.

2) DON’T be a commercial: While a few companies have been able to produce viral commercial videos, most do not make it. Audiences are looking for something to talk about, not something to buy.

3) DON’T post bad quality: While your videos don’t have to be professional, if the quality is too poor, that can be a big turn-off. Keep the style of America’s Funniest Home Videos as a model, not The Blair Witch Project.

4) DON’T make the video too long: When videos play more than five minutes, viewers will stop watching and look elsewhere — in most cases, but not all. Susan Boyle and the Battle at Kruger both went on for more than 7 minutes but were so great that viewers keep coming back.

5) DON’T mislead the content with an SEO title: Keywords in a title will not guarantee viral success and may backfire by misleading the viewer. No one wants to waste time clicking on a video for one reason and then seeing something totally different. You will lose credibility and earn a bad reputation.

6) DON’T pick an unappealing background: If your background is all plain, it will give your video a plain vibe. If you film in a home office with a messy desk, most people will think you are lazy and unorganized. First impressions do count.

7) DON’T keep your videos to yourself: Distribute to EVERYONE you know and to all the social bookmarking sites.

8- DON’T be negative about competitors: Keep your videos classy and sophisticated by avoiding trash talk, which will only be viewed as rude, disrespectful, and in bad taste.

9) FINALLY, DON’T Stop Having Fun!: Although you may have serious messages to get across, adding fun can make all the difference.

Now Just Do It!

Next post: Future of Advertising AND YouTube

Sharisax Is Out There

Listening Redux: First rule to success in business

August 7, 2009 Shari Weiss 45 Comments

My SFSU Business Communication students learn three rules to Business Success in their first class session:

(1) Listen Carefully

(2) Read Carefully

(3) Follow ALL Directions

The suggestion to students — and everyone — that active listening is a skill can be easily disregarded as many people simply hear the tip and move on.

That is, they get ready for the next “rule” without really understanding the implications, and the difficulty, of what it means to really listen.

An earlier post of mine When communication adds up to a big fat zero proposed that all the new technology and accompanying tools and tactics were of little value if strategic planners did not first begin by Listening Carefully to online voices in their community.

This advice reverberates through the web in social media blog posts countless times every day. Today, in fact, a Brian Solis update on my Facebook stream pointed to PR 2.0 guest poster Michael Brito‘s rant against companies that listen but don’t act.

Rule Number One: LISTEN CAREFULLY

Last evening’s rigorous SFSU Business Communication class [we were learning to write business reports] was sweetened with an anecdote from one student who had really learned the power and rewards of LISTENING CAREFULLY at work that very afternoon.

New to his position in a downtown business, my student was invited to a meeting featuring a high level executive from headquarters. He [we’ll call him Adam, not his real name] had heard that this exec was noted for long, sometimes very dry speeches. But Adam was determined to pay close attention and practice all the “active listening” tips we had discussed in class.

“It was hard because lots of my coworkers were chatting and not paying attention, but just the same I wanted to focus on what was being said. I kept thinking about how important that was,” Adam told me.

The speaker did go on and on. And as hard as it was for Adam to keep his focus, he managed to do it . . .

And then the speaker stopped, looked around the room, and asked “Who heard what I just said?”

There was silence.

Adam cautiously raised his hand and repeated the last few facts related by the speaker, who acknowledged the response and asked Adam to stay behind after the meeting.

Adam was terrified, but not for long. After the meeting, the executive shook his hand, asked for his name and position, and said:

Good job, Adam. I’m going to be looking out for you. You are bound to go far in this company.

Adam was overjoyed and naturally was bursting to tell me. I was overjoyed and bursting to tell my audience — both Adam’s classmates and my blog readers.

What would our business and personal lives be like if we ALL made even small efforts to listen carefully when people were talking to us and with us?

Next post: Networking Tips

Blogging, Twitter

What to TWEET about — Part Two

June 13, 2009 Shari Weiss 15 Comments

Best Practices for Using Twitter

Since Twitter will be changing all our lives, according to Time magazine’s recent cover story, I was thinking about how my use of Twitter differs from other Tweeple — and whether anyone could really publish a Best Practices for Using Twitter.

Don’t most of us think we are right most of the time?

If I, personally, was “right” on Saturday, May 23, when I posted my first tips on What to Tweet About — a blog entry that has so far been my most popular [732 views to date] — then I’d like to re-visit one of my Tweeting suggestions, i.e. “Share an insight that you’ve gotten all on your own and are dying to share.”

Today’s post will feature a dozen of the personal ideas I tweeted since joining Twitter this past March. My hope is that readers will find at least one of these thoughts that resonates with them in a way that invites validation through a personal story.

So tell me if any of the following ring true for you:

About Business in particular:

1 – People are NOT numbers. When businesses fully understand this, their strategies and tools will adjust.

2 – Participation is today’s Marketing & tomorrow’s Loyal Customer Base

3 – To be an effective manager: Realize that you are smarter OR wiser OR more knowledgeable than your staff . . . and coach accordingly.

About Blogging in particular

4 – Quality of content wins over fitting into someone else’s box.

5 – Content-rich means both “key words” and total substance.

About Life in general:

6 – Multi-tasking is vastly over-rated.

7 – Motivation often comes after the Hard Work is done

8 – A Work in Progress: doesn’t that describe Everything?

9 – One cannot give from a depleted state

10 – We are what we think about

11 – We like doing what we do well: when we focus our efforts on our strengths, we build our reputation and loyal followers.

12 – The more I learn, the more I want to know.

Got an experience to share? Or an insight to add?

And Follow Me on Twitter @sharisax

Next post: Marketing success will depend on tapping into Today’s New Resources

Twitter

Twitter for Business: Beyond Twitter 101

May 29, 2009 Shari Weiss 6 Comments

Today’s Twitter Lesson: How Microblogging Builds Community

Social Media is all about People: Connecting, Engaging, Listening and Helping One Another. Twitter technology can do all that!

ONE: 32 million Twitter users according to WSJ article Ten Ways Twitter will Permanently Change Business. [As of Dec 2009 68 million Tweeters]

TWO: Twitter creator Jack Dorsey has told us Twitter WILL one day [probably sooner rather than later] be as ubiquitous as email.

THREE: The only question, then, is HOW to use this amazing and “simple” technology to ReShape and ReVive Business in America [and all over the Globe]?

The BEST ANSWER is by Reading, Listening, Talking, Thinking, and DOING!

(A) Try search.twitter.com — put in “twitter for business” and VOILA! real-time URL’s to check out

(B) Study the Tweet Streams of progressive companies like @wholefoods, @jetblue, @homedepot, @SouthwestAir and “team” members at places like Dell, e.g. @ChrisBatDell

Twitter will help marketers get measureable results

Because Twitter updates in real time, you can reach an audience on the spot. It’s a great platform for asking for assistance, getting opinions, and answering questions. Much less expensive than a focus group — and so much more personal.

Twitter builds communities, and this will be especially fruitful for retailers — both local and global — as companies have the opportunity to tell customers about attractive sales and new products.

Use Twitter to engage with customers and create advocates. It really is all about People Helping People.

Blogging, Facebook, Twitter

What should U TWEET: Twitter 101 Lesson 4

May 23, 2009 Shari Weiss 31 Comments

What’s so cool about Twitter is that there are NO rules: it’s like the “Wild West” where anything goes — as long as you use 140 characters or less.

Q: Why devote an entire post to this subject?

A: The 19th century poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “We are always looking for someone to tell us what to do” . . . and many typical Twitter users [see previous post] “forget” to Tweet.

So here are my thoughts:

1 – Jack Dorsey, Twitter creator, told my class that his mom likes to hear his day-to-day activities whether he’s meeting friends at a restaurant or getting off a plane in Iraq.
2 – Remember there are NO rules.

3 – That being said, you might want to consider WHY you are on Twitter: Do you really want the “world” to know you had a pizza for lunch? [Actually, I’m in NYC right now and called one of my brothers, whom I hadn’t told about my trip. He knew I was in New York because I’d put the word out on Twitter.]

4 – Personally, as someone who teaches public relations — and, thus, reputation management — I like to think about what my “Profile,” i.e. my Twitter Stream, looks like to someone who is deciding whether to follow me or NOT

5 – Therefore, in most cases I write personal comments using the DM [Direct Message] function — or simply send an email — so that my Tweets are more “thoughtfully” targeted to all my followers.

What makes a Tweet more respectful of your followers? Here are some of my suggestions:

(A) Passing along a cool blog entry or website I’ve come across, e.g., Adam Singer’s “What if?
(B) Retweeting [RT] an informative link that I’ve read from someone I follow on Twitter — see the previous post to find out about Tweetdeck which makes Retweeting so easy.

Quipsandtips asked: I’m in a lull, waiting for mag assignments & book contracts. How do you know when it’s time to revamp goals or change action plan?
I answered: @quipsandtips how do you know when it’s time to make new plans? When you ask that question 🙂

(D) “Reading” a book and sharing a short insight from it, e.g.,

Reading Putting Public Back in PR by Brian Solis & Deidre Breakenridge #PPBinPR : PR 2.0 creating new toolkit 2 reinvent market conversation

(E) Sharing an insight that you got “all on your own” and were dying to tell someone, e.g.,

People are NOT numbers. When businesses fully understand this, their strategies and tools will adjust.

Just remember, there aren’t any rules Unless You Make Your Own, so TWEEPLE – please tell us your rules and share your favorite Tweets. The conversation is what Social Media is all about.

What to Tweet About – Part TWO

Twitter

Life on Twitter made easier than Life on Mars — Try Tweetdeck

May 20, 2009 Shari Weiss 5 Comments

If you love getting organized, you’ll love Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is the key that not only opens the door to greater accessibility but can make your entire Twitter experience so much fun — especially for those who love easy organization.

How Tweetdeck works:

1. Download Tweetdeck (TweetDeck runs on the Adobe AIR runtime. To use TweetDeck, you will need to install Adobe AIR first.)

2. Login and you will see THREE COLUMNS: One column is a list of the Tweeple you follow [ALL FRIENDS] with the most recent 100 tweets (including your own). The second and third columns are likely to be empty.

3. One of the empty columns is called DIRECT MESSAGES. When you SEND one of your followers a DM [direct message], it will appear in this column.

4. The other empty column is called REPLIES. Here you will see messages that mention your twitter name, i.e., @twittername, e.g., @sharisax. [An “advanced move” is to change this column, but that can wait for a later post from me or you can read about it within a blog called Twittercism.]

5. Now you are ready to take a look at the boxes that run along the top, beginning on the left above your columns. The first box TWEET will open up the text insert line that allows you to write your 140 character message. [The box turns red if your message goes over the limit.] The input line below the tweet line is used for shortening a long URL: simply type in the complete URL, click SHORTEN, and your smaller URL is inserted into your message. The TWITPIC box next to Shorten allows you to add picture files. When your message is complete, click your enter key and the message will be sent to Twitter.

6. Tweetdeck has many additional features, but you may want to play with just two of them before you begin further investigation. The sixth box from the left [after the Tweet box] is called GROUP. When you click on Group, another column pops up: ADD A GROUP. You are asked to name the group.

Many Tweeple use a column to separate the most interesting and important people they are following from the rest of the pack, so often this column is identified as A-List. You will see a “drop down” listing of ALL of the people you follow, and you click on those you wish to be in your “A-List” or whatever you choose to call the group.

When you are finished selecting group members, simply click on SAVE GROUP at the bottom, and then you will have a separate stream of tweets from group members. This makes it easy for you to “follow” a lot of people and not have to read through all their tweets to get to the ones you want.

7. The final “beginner’s tip” is the box to the right of Group. This is TWITTER SEARCH. When you click here, you will get an input box asking what you are searching for. You can try any topic, even your name. When you hit enter, another column is added with the Tweets mentioning the word or phrase (just as if you had gone to the Twitter Search site.

HINT: When I set up my first additional group and search columns, I thought some had “disappeared” because I couldn’t see them. Then I discovered the movable bar below the columns that allows you to move to the right or left to access all your columns even when they extend past your screen size.

NOTE: Additional sources: Chris Spagnuolo’s EdgeHopper, and here’s a site that answers Tweetdeck FAQ

FINAL SUGGESTION: These tips listed above are just to get you started. The Real Fun begins when you discover some of the functions on your own — So Download Tweetdeck and Enjoy!

Next post:What to Tweet About

Blogging, Twitter

Twitter 101: Be Choosy when selecting first Tweeple to Follow

May 19, 2009 Shari Weiss 18 Comments

The REAL, intrinsic, not-so-secret value of social media in general — and Twitter, particularly — is the desire to help others by sharing information.

Expertise, whether in the form of “raw knowledge” or super-research skills, is on the Net for the taking and, of course, the giving.

Lesson TWO: How to find people to “follow” on Twitter

1. Your first step, of course, should be your “plan” for Twitter. Is this platform just another way to text-message friends and family? If that’s the case, you don’t need my help. Simply convince your friends and family to get on Twitter and then you all follow each other.

2. HOWEVER, if your desire is to Explore the Technology and the Web at the same time, you will want to find Tweeple [i.e., Twitter users] who (a) know what they are doing on Twitter, (b) “tweet” about subjects of interest to you, and/or (c) have the kind of celebrity that you want to get close to.

3. WARNING: In the beginning, you ought to be as selective as possible in choosing people to follow. The more people you follow, the more messages you will receive — and, consequently, the more confused you may become. [Stage One of Twitter Use is Confusion. See previous post.]

4. NOW FOR MY FIRST SUGGESTION: Access a Twitter Directory. You can Google “Twitter Directory” and find pages of directory listings, but for starters, why not go to Twellow, the Twitter Yellow Pages.

Look at the categories. Want a newspaper or reporter or blogger who Tweets about current events, for example? You’ll find hundreds.
Find a name that looks familiar or interesting and click the word “follow” on the left side of the listing.
The next screen will show you the latest Tweets from this source. If you want to follow this person’s tweets, you will need to be logged on to your Twitter account. If you forgot to log-in first, No Problem, simply go to the login box on the upper right, put in your name and password, and you will be returned to this Tweeter’s page.
Then simply click on the word “follow” below the photo or icon. And so forth . . . add as many people as you want, but as I suggested above, you might want to be choosy at first.

One “surprise” is that many people will automatically follow you when you follow them, but not everyone. I got a charge when Barack Obama followed me, but neither Hillary nor Al Gore did. You live and learn.

5) SINCE YOU’VE GOTTEN THIS FAR in today’s post, your next step might be to follow me.

You can see the kind of comments, i.e. “tweets” that I make BUT you can also see whom I follow. In the right sidebar where it tells you how many people I am following [353 today], click on the word following. Your next screen shot will list those Tweeple and you can follow the advice above to see any of the tweet “stream” of any of these people.

6) LAST TIP OF THE DAY: Try search.twitter.com. When the search box appears, write down a word or phrase like “dogs” or “future of advertising” or “project manager” or “employee engagement” or “Adam Lambert” — what or whoever interests you. Up will pop ALL the Tweeple who are Tweeting about your topic in Real Time, i.e., who may be posting about that subject right NOW.

If you like what you read, you may click on their icons and check out their tweet stream. If you like the stream, click follow.

POSTSCRIPT: Once you get going with Twitter, you’ll notice daily posts on How to Find Followers, and/or you can check out some of these sources: 14 Twitter directories to find new friends; 5 ways to follow good people on Twitter; Show this to friends who want to get started on Twitter.

Please let me know what works for you — follower-wise. And stay tuned for tomorrow’s lesson on Tweetdeck

Twitter

Twitter does NOT have to be STUPID: Twitter 101 – Lesson ONE

May 17, 2009 Shari Weiss 39 Comments

Stupid is such a loaded word: you never know how someone else will react if they hear the word

So let’s begin TWITTER WEEK 101 with an agreement that 10 million+ users can’t be All Wrong. They’ve learned it’s all about How You Choose To Use The Power of Twitter. [BTW, as of Dec 2009, the total Tweeple is now at 68 million!!]

Start by acknowledging that as “simple” as Twitter is to use, to really understand its power will take time and participation. I recently read a post on the Four Stages of the Average Twitter User:

(1) Confusion — and the feelings that it is “stupid” to read about someone going to get a pizza;

(2) The first “AHA moment” when you realize there’s more to this than first meets the eye, e.g., for me, it was when I thought about using the technology to have my English students write something of substance to me in 140 characters AND THEN when I found out how easy it was to gather tons of information on the future of marketing;

(3) Remembering to Tweet was listed as a stage when users simply keep reading and reading without adding their own content. Actually this didn’t happen to me exactly. Rather, I was so excited about the things I was reading, that I immediately “RETWEETED” — in other words, copied the link and broadcast it to my followers.

. . . which reminds me that these “Stages” did not include the All Important Terms: Update, Followers, and Following:

UPDATE: Your Home page begins with the question: “What are you doing?” When new [and old] users simply answer that question, you do find out personal info that may or most probably won’t be the “Best of Twitter.” However, most people do NOT answer that question; they simply disregard it and write about an interesting discovery online, in the news, OR BEST . . . to my mind . . . is a personal insight they want to share.

FOLLOWING: These are the Tweeple [i.e. people who use Twitter] you will choose to follow because you either know them, know of them, or have found out that they like to talk about things of interest to you. More about Who To Follow in next post.

FOLLOWERS: This is “cute.” Either you can invite people you know to receive your Tweets [that was how I first got on Twitter] or people will simply find you in cyberspace, and that can be Really Cool — when absolute strangers all of a sudden start following you, it’s a real charge! You’ll learn that there are myriads of ways to collect 1000’s of followers — but the jury is out on whether that is a good or bad thing.

4) Final of Four Stages: You’re hooked. And I was — to the point that I could barely pull myself away from my Twitter Page, to the point where my husband called me Tweetie Bird.

. . . two more points in Stage Four:

Tweetdeck – an application that you can download to help you categorize your actions on Twitter [more about this only after you’ve had some initial experience.[ See my Tweetdeck post]

The power of search.twitter.com – where you can look up just about anything whether it is “future of advertising” or “Adam Lambert” or “dog grooming” and find out what people are saying about that subject Right Now — it’s also a good way to find people to follow who like the subjects you like.

5) My Stage Five: I learned that I can still get a lot out of Twitter even if I happen to miss an “important” Tweet. Most of the good ones are Re-Tweeted. And I, personally, am ready to find out how to Use Twitter for Business.

So, if you are a budding Social Media Marketer like me, stay tuned for reports on Hints, Tips, Tools, and Strategies for using Twitter for Business.

In the meantime, you can check out Novice Primer for getting started in Twitter and Top Ten Twitter Tips

The REAL SECRET is Just DO it! And if you have any questions and/or good tips for beginners and/or your own great Beginner’s Stories, please add them to this post.

Next post: Whom to Follow

Blogging, Twitter

Personal Branding is Powerful Strategy in Social Media

May 15, 2009 Shari Weiss 8 Comments

The last class of the semester will not be the end of studies for many SFSU marketing students.

What a wild ride –

Jumping off the PR 1.0 trail and on to PR 2.0!

And I’m happy to report that many of my 90+ students will be continuing our trek down Revolutionary Road. Below is a sampling of their semester wrap-ups:

Consumers create the buzz:

“I learned that people are changing the way information is given and received. Today Social Media is influencing all of us in ways never thought possible 5, 10, 20 years ago. Websites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are evolving into powerful tools. And companies are seeing this as consumers are now the ones creating buzz about products and places.

Today we all have the opportunity to use the Web to tell stories, to educate, to entertain, and, most importantly, to engage in conversation. We are only beginning to explore the many ways to communicate.” — Alice Ng

Social Media is our future:

“It is not only a way for people to connect and maintain relationships, but the Future for marketing and business, as well. Most of the population has hit their limit with mass advertising. People have figured out that everything is a selling gimmick and they have become immune. Marketing has become Word of Mouth — and what better way to facilitate the discussions than through social media.

If I am interested in a new TV, I want to hear real-life reviews and opinions — and with just a few clicks I can find them with Twitter. Or, if I want to know more about a person or organization, I simply go to LinkedIn or Facebook. As more people are realizing that everything is available online, more companies and people are adding valuable content to be discovered.” — Natalie Leadbetter

What’s just a fad?

“The number of social media websites id mind-boggling. The question is which ones are here to stay, and which ones will be merely fads. It’s frustrating that more and more aspects of life are moving to the Web. Personally, I find that staring at a computer screen for longer than a couple of hours at a time can induce headaches. Also, social media is killing privacy, and I have always considered myself a private person. I haven’t felt comfortable putting myself on the Internet for anyone to Google.

One of our speakers told us, ‘If I Google your name and nothing comes up, then you can forget about a job1’ I still have a hard time getting myself to put my name out there and start the multiple social networking profiles that are required for this class — and what now seems, required for life in general. Is there another niche out there for me to avoid this whole Web 2.0 thing? I DOUBT IT. I guess it’s time for me to bite the bullet and join the massive conformity that we call Social Media.” — Emilio Siqueiros

Personal Branding 101:

“I’m personally appreciative to have been immersed in the New Rules of PR. Communication has been revolutionalized and one of the most important lessons for me has been about Personal Branding. From everything I post online to my contributions to others’ web conversations, being Proactive is the Key. I now understand the importance of contributing to other people’s blogs as well as creating and maintaining online profiles — to connect with others and to contribute to the Worldview of Knowledge.” –Alvin Lee

Be careful online:

“When I first began this PR class, I hadn’t known what to expect. All I’d ever heard about PR were statements about making a company Look Good. But now my understanding has changed to the view that PR is more of a process of having a company do the kinds of things that will make it look good and earn that good reputation. And I can see how the internet — and everything we post online — can affect our reputation for the bad as well as for the good. Before this class, I’d tried Twitter when it wasn’t all the rage. I thought it was interesting, but it would fade away.

Now, though, I’m surprised that I’m Tweeting on my final — social media has grown so powerful that wherever I look, someone is bombarding me with some sort of advertising cleverly disguised as Tweets. Every action we take, we have to know that a potential client or contact is watching, and what we write online can make or break us in the Business World.” — Victor Atilano

Share your experiences with us. How has your life changed? Most of us believe that ours has improved? How about you?

Next post: http: Twitter 101

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Blogging

Blogging is New World Pathway

May 13, 2009 Shari Weiss 5 Comments

“Write your own blog post everyday, but spend twice as much time reading other people’s blogs — and comment”

We had Sleepy Blogger, aka Robyn Tippins, come to PR class at San Francisco State, Tuesday, May 12, on the second last day of our exciting adventure into the World of All Things Social Media.

In addition to being a very popular and influential blogger and mother of four children, Robyn is Community Manager for Yahoo Developer Network. I read about her in a chapter of What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging by Ted Demopoulos.

Since she lives in the Bay Area AND a student group planned to tell the class about blogging, Sara Peterson (student in the group) and I Tweeted and Emailed. It worked for Jack Dorsey — and it worked for Robyn Tippins.

WOW, did it work!

The students loved her “down home” story — at 21, Robyn started a cloth diaper business from her home in Georgia, and the rest is history for another post. But what impressed Sara and so many of the students is how Robyn decided to make things happen, and she made them happen!

Here are some of the comments students wrote after her presentation:

“It was cool to learn how Robyn created a business on the Internet at such a young age, and now she works for Yahoo.” — Stephanie Mereau

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“Once you get out there, people start to refer to you and this is how you become influential.” — Mita Mahida

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“No job is Too Small!” — Alice Ng

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“It’s important for your blog to create a niche so that the right people can read the right blogs and leave the right comments for the benefit of the overall conversation.” — Stephen Giusti

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“Word of mouth has a lot to do with success in the blogging world as it is for business in general.” — Rafael Silla

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“Paid advertising on your blog can hurt you rather than help you because of all the clutter and distraction.” — Ann Marie Pawlicki

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“Research is essential — it makes you credible and relevant.” — Marie Belhomme

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“Key words and meta tags make it easier to find your blog.” — Gabriela Acevedo

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“Spend more time visiting other blog than writing your own.” — Theresa Rix

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“Moderate comments: know what your strategy will be.” — Brian McGuinn

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“Get your ideas out there and personalize some of your posts to keep yourself real.” — Orly Macabi

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“All in all: One of those classes that makes it all worthwhile.” — Shari Weiss

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Next post: Personal Branding using Social Media

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Sharisax Is Out There

Social Media Strategies Work in Everyday Life, too

May 10, 2009 Shari Weiss 7 Comments

Writer’s Block? Rather, so many things to say —

How do you pick one post for the day?

This reminds me of one of the greatest pieces of advice I have ever received . . . decades ago, and I am still often sharing it with stressed-out students and friends:

Whenever Life bombards you with more challenges than a human being should have to handle, you pick ONE to focus on, and all the rest will magically and mysteriously fall into place.

Eeeeny meeny miny mo. I picked this topic:

Do’s and Don’ts I learned through my social media “research” this week:

DO’S

1. LISTEN very, very, very carefully. You never will learn if you don’t. And you will learn so much more than you ever thought if you do.

2. ENGAGE with an open mind. If you are going “out there” — whether on the Web, in the classroom, at a meeting, or in a gym — expect to give and take, which means you may actually change your mind about something.

3. THINK things through. Knee Jerk reactions are for “jerks” — be deliberate and responsible and know that if someone is really listening to you, he or she will appreciate words that are carefully considered.

4. SINCERITY can never be overrated. Genuine passion wins friends and influences all sorts of people.

5. LOVE what you do and do what you love, and as my mom always said: “The money will come” =D

DON’TS

1. This one is easier than I thought it would be: Do NOT do unto others as you would not have them do unto you.

PS Now I’m thinking of dozens and dozens more DO’s [and maybe a few DON’TS] but I’d rather share the stage: What social media strategies work in your day-to-day lives?

Next post: Social Media Reading List

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Twitter

Facebook is a Waste of Time

May 3, 2009 Shari Weiss 10 Comments

. . . and Twitter is for Dummies, and Friendfeed, well, that’s way over the top!

Just how is one supposed to counter . . . and even live with . . . people who just don’t “get it” i.e., that the world has changed dramatically?

“Everything never changes. Something has changed and it impacts everything else.” [Quoting John Naisbitt in Robert Scoble’s Naked Conversation]

SOCIAL MEDIA impacts everything . . . now and in our future. So back to my original question, What do we say to anyone — particularly from my BabyBoomer generation and older? How do we share our enormous excitement about the possibilities for the world, for our friends and family, and for ourselves as individuals?

Personally, I believe I have a distinct advantage when it comes to answering the question, mainly because just three months ago, I was telling a friend that his use of Facebook three hours a day was a huge waste of his life.

What has happened to me?

First off, I have remembered that Open Minded-ness is key to Critical Thinking and as such I needed to check out the BUZZ before categorically dismissing a phenomenon that has captured the attention of millions in one way or another: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, YouTube, and countless numbers of blogs.

What helped me most was Twitter, which surprisingly still is a mystery to so many people I talk with — but, of course, not to the vast majority of people who will read this blog post.

I’m not a cellphone texter, so that particular use of Twitter didn’t seem relevant. Initially I wondered if this great new technology could be molded into a teaching tool, i.e., to force my students to write something of substance in only 140 characters. The essence of good writing is clarity and conciseness.

Playing with Twitter

While I liked developing that “writing with Twitter” idea, however, I began playing with Twitter, i.e., following people, reading their updates, posting some of my own — especially “retweeting,” re-posting a particularly good update. Most of all, though, I was reading on a daily basis just what all this social media was about and the great benefits it has to offer.

And now I’m hooked.

In a nutshell, social media is allowing us all to share our research and our thoughts and, yes, our products/services with a community of like-minded individuals whose lives can be enriched by being connected to us through the Internet.

Like most knowledge, the more you learn, the more you realize there is so much more “out there” and that’s the primary reason for this blog — to help me learn more and to answer the question, “Why Social Media is NOT a waste of our time.”

Please let me know about any conversations you’ve had when people have told you that blogging, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are all “a waste of time.”

Next post: Facebook for Business

Give People Something To Talk About

Best Practices for Using Twitter

Today’s Twitter Lesson: How Microblogging Builds Community

Q: Why devote an entire post to this subject?

What makes a Tweet more respectful of your followers? Here are some of my suggestions:

Quipsandtips asked: I’m in a lull, waiting for mag assignments & book contracts. How do you know when it’s time to revamp goals or change action plan?

I answered: @quipsandtips how do you know when it’s time to make new plans? When you ask that question 🙂

Reading Putting Public Back in PR by Brian Solis & Deidre Breakenridge #PPBinPR : PR 2.0 creating new toolkit 2 reinvent market conversation

People are NOT numbers. When businesses fully understand this, their strategies and tools will adjust.

If you love getting organized, you’ll love Tweetdeck

Lesson TWO: How to find people to “follow” on Twitter

Stupid is such a loaded word: you never know how someone else will react if they hear the word

Consumers create the buzz:

Social Media is our future:

What’s just a fad?

Personal Branding 101:

Be careful online:

“Write your own blog post everyday, but spend twice as much time reading other people’s blogs — and comment”

WOW, did it work!

Writer’s Block? Rather, so many things to say —

How do you pick one post for the day?

Do’s and Don’ts I learned through my social media “research” this week:

1. This one is easier than I thought it would be: Do NOT do unto others as you would not have them do unto you.

What has happened to me?

Playing with Twitter

In a nutshell, social media is allowing us all to share our research and our thoughts and, yes, our products/services with a community of like-minded individuals whose lives can be enriched by being connected to us through the Internet.

Going BEYOND the Social Media Revolution