Category blogs

Blog Action Day for Climate Change: just do one thing.

4 comments By Deb Filed in Environment, blogs, community, community service, participation, poverty October 15th, 2009 @ 12:48 am

Last year I was lucky enough to participate in Blog Action Day. It’s pretty impressive to see the numbers- 7,883 blogs, from 140 countries with over 11 million readers are reaching out to educate people about Climate Change. Posts are from bloggers like Vincent Abry from France whose un monde du geek I enjoy. Ritsuko’s ゴハンBlog in Japan. (ゴハン = food.) Whose tweets about camping I’ve enjoyed. And, The Gamelian World out of Ghana who recently reported the first iPhone game likely to come out of Africa.

You get the idea- all these folks on the same day reaching out for the same goal. Pretty amazing.

My contribution is a small one. I used to work in the environmental movement and what I noticed is that most people felt guilty about not doing enough. I think they felt that if they couldn’t do something on a grand scale, like have a completely solar home, that their was nothing they could do to contribute to protecting the environment. When, in fact, if you asked them, they did something- turned off the lights after they left a room, conserved water, drove a smaller car, etc. Once they thought about it, they decided they could add one more thing into their lives, such as:

Writing to an elected official once a year to let them know their opinion.
Figured out how to recycle in their neighborhood.
Watered their garden before 8 a.m. (less evaporation)
Wore a sweater and turned the heat down. (Thank you President Carter!)
Bought grass-fed beef when they could afford it.
Supported a local CSA buy purchasing their vegetables through one.
Volunteered at community organizations committed to protecting the environment while serving the community. Denver’s Same Cafe is a great example!
Giving props to a climate-friendly business on review site tuggl.com.

Again, I am not suggesting you do all of these, just saying maybe you can try out one of these occasionally. Then you can work on getting your home off the grid. jk.

Thanks again to the folks at Blog Action Day for making this happen!

Plurkshop: Atypical Social Media Campaigns

14 comments By Germaine Filed in blogs, plurk July 3rd, 2008 @ 8:21 am

Last Night I had the privilege of hosting the 5th ever PlurkShop. Plurk, is an online community that facilitates conversations through microblogging. Each post is less than 140 characters long and you follow the Plurks along a time line. Discussions exist in threads so that you can participate. One person “says” something and others contribute to the conversation through responses.

It’s a fun community. A kind of Digital Diner- you show up, someone pours you a cup of coffee and the gang is there. They are all smart AND funny; ready to chat about social media and the biz. And, they give you a real, hard time

What is a Plurkshop?

A group of motivated social media gurus- at all stages of the learning curve – get together in a Plurk thread to rap about a topic. Initially, these conversations grew organically and folks would spend hours debating the merits of a blog, marketing strategy, or helping one another with business challenges. Well, gentle reader, great things are delivered out of spontaneity and our group – open to anyone wanting to join – decided to host official Plurkshops. We set dates & times; one of us serves as a host and voila- a workshop based on free form exchange is rolling.

Plurkshop #5: A-Typical Social Media Campaigns

Are there sacred cows that you would never, ever touch with social media? Is social media appropriate for all types of business? Would it work for the most pedestrian of markets like waste management, auto body shops, TV repair shops, public utilities?

Here’s what we came up with. Yes & No. For the most part, almost any business/organization could build an online social community with the exception of funeral homes. Aspiring businesses however, need to met a series of conditions:

Does the business have a marketing plan?
Does management know why it wants social media?
What kind of community does it hope to build?
Who will implement the plan?
Are there resources- time, skills, money, technology to implement the plan?
Does the organization have an established community to build upon?
Is this community online?
Can the company partner with other organizations to build a community together?
What is the best social media application? Blog? Facebook? MySpace? Twitter?
Is this something local or national in scope? Where do they want it to go?

What’s the Value for the Organization?

Able to harness the enthusiasm of customer base to build an online community.
Attract new customers through the online community.
Can provide extra service to clients such as DIY tips.
Helping your community find resources builds trust.
Having a comprehensive listing on Google & Yahoo helps your community find you – more and more people are recycling their yellow pages!
Using feedback media, such as blog comments, allows the company to incorporate these ideas into their future plans.
Partnering with other organizations can save on resources and expand reach.
An interactive site engages participants and encourages them to contribute.

Technology Transfer

All great things experience growing pain. So many Plurkers attended our last Plurkshop that we decided to try to adapt the format to a chat room this time. Which had its challenges. A bright guy was able to set us up with the chat room and since we were in beta format, there were a few glitches. For those who were challenged by the new format, they were able to follow the conversation on their Plurk timeline.

Probably the bigger challenge was communication about the Plurkshop. Many people knew we were having the Plurkshop, but had trouble finding us – Plurk Gods can you offer and event listing space? Maybe an event ticker?

Also, the fact that we were in a password protected chat room led some to believe that we were trying to be exclusive. This was not the case. Our aim was to provide a format to maintain a pace to the conversation, that was a problem last time, in a forum that allowed for a large number of participants. The lesson is good communication is just as important as the technology. Finding useful applications that enable us to get the word out clearly to the community is key. Our group’s goal is for everyone to be able to participate in community building conversations.

Give us time gang! We want everyone to participate and have plans in the works to solve these challenges.

Examples of A-Typical Social Media

Waste Management, Inc. sponsors Greenopolis an online green community.

Buchtel Motors in Denver gives tips and offers appointment set-up online.

Denver Water has a water conservation campaign, Use Only What You Need

(Be sure to check out the Bandwagon page and watch the hilarious flower video!)

Check out the timeline from last night’s convo here. And send us some love- we need your comments!

Happy Fourth of July!

-I Can’t Keep Up

Blogging: What’s in it for Me? (That’s you) Part I

4 comments By Germaine Filed in blogs, digital immigrants June 13th, 2008 @ 8:57 am

I apologize for such a long break! Personal commitments (the injured dog) and an abundance of work kept me from posting. I prefer to have well thought out and researched posts, so it takes me a little time to come up with quality stuff, hence the delay Thanks for your patience.

Image credit to Toothpaste for Dinner.

Gentle reader, I have posted on blogging and on various kinds of social media, but I want to circle back to the blog. From the responses I have received on my blog, I realize that I am developing two audiences- Digital Immigrants and PR/marketing professionals. While I know some content overlaps, some sections are going to be directed at the PR professional, so bear with me! I plan to start general and then move into the specific, so DI’s you can hop off there, or keep reading!

Passion is Key
Blogging is best when it’s about something you love and are absolutely crazy about. Foodie bloggers tend to fall into this category, athletes, web 2.0 geeks, gardeners, grandparents and cupcake fiends as well. For me, I love technology and to constantly be learning. Blogging and using micro-blogging feeds this desire by allowing me to learn from others and share my thoughts with them. That collaborative exchange is equally exciting for me and fuels my drive to learn more.

I think social media does that for a lot of people. In a discussion on Plurk today a number of us talked about passion being a driver for a good blog. Passion demonstrates authenticity. In the world of social media, nothing generates stronger relationships than authenticity.

This is true for businesses and organizations as well. Whoever posts for your company or non-profit better be just absolutely nuts about it. And capable of communicating it through the artful arrangement of words. Humor is key too, and maybe the biggest challenge of all.

Share with others
You can share your blog with others by:

-Syndicating it through an RSS reader like Google Reader
-Forwarding it via e-mail
-Placing its URL on your business card, web site, Facebook page, Tweets (Twitter Messages)
-Placing the link in your e-mail signature
-Commenting on other blogs- most comment forms allow you to place the link to your blog or web site so other readers/commenters learn about you
-Posting it on a social bookmarking site like del.icio.us or digg

Sharing starts a conversation with readers and others in the community. You build relationships that you already have with friends, family customers and start new ones with readers who find you as they travel through cyberspace.

Connecting with You Community
Many personal blogs start to connect family, like my friend Simone’s blog. She just moved to Belgium and we get to follow her new life.

Some folks who are absolutely nuts about what they love to do spread their enthusiasm. Tim Jackson’s blog is a good example. His passion for cycling, his daughter, marketing, social media and our wonderful health care system (not) suck you right in.

Foodies like CakeSpy gives us something to dream about while we work.

Companies like Dell, Patagonia and Flock all use blogs and micro-blogs to reinforce their online identity, listen to their customers’ feedback and track new trends and/or problems.

Stay tuned for Part II: learning and more learning AND tracking your followers.
Same Bat Place, Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel.

Happy Friday!
-

Micro-Blogs: Keep It Short Stupid

0 comments By Germaine Filed in blogs, micro-blog June 3rd, 2008 @ 2:30 pm

“Let’s all get small,” quipped Steve Martin, well, that is where online content is headed.

In the past I have talked about blogs as a kind of journal or diary. And they were largely initiated by users for their own purposes- hobbies, sordid details of their lives, travel tips, etc. Commercialization of blogs has led to a new format, kind of like a magazine where you can flip through the various blogs and posts to read up on topics of interest which are either posted by organizations, or, supported by commercial advertising.

Going beyond that are micro-blogs which allow short bursts of information users put out to their network.

Micro-blogs, sites like Plurk, Twitter and F acebook, give users the chance to post brief comments, questions, information in just a few, or even one sentence(s). With limited space, messages are concise and targeted to the blogger’s audience.

note Twitter’s use of a single column for all “tweets.” (posts)

Twitter asks users to answer one question, “What are you doing?” – in 140 characters, or less. Twitterati communicate with their friends, or “followers” as they are known by posting messages and responding to their friends. Conversations and posts from the people you follow are listed in reverse chronological order all in one column. (see above) Lately, Twitter has become a victim of its own success and has been down a lot, but with the company’s recent infusion of $15 million in new capital, that should be resolved.

One of the most active “Twitterati” is Barack Obama who has over 34,000 followers and is following over 35,000 people. Where does he find the time?? Another example of a successful Twitterati is NASA. Yes, the Mars Phoenix Lander communicated with Earthlings through Twitter posts. All managed by a NASA intern, no doubt. The New York Times posted a sample of a Mars Phoenix “tweet”:

Here’s a great picture of my deployed arm with the scoop on the end: http://tinyurl.com/3s354p I can’t wait to dig in the dirt next week.

You can join the other 16,991 people to follow the Phoenix Lander on Twitter here. (Which, by the way, makes the Lander #13 on the list of most active Twitterati.)

Plurk expands the concept by posting comments on a timeline with all the responses grouped together. Users can “ask,” “say,” “wish,” or more to friends. It is a little more sophisticated than Twitter, but needs to develop a following. I have been using both Plurk and Twitter and I have more work-related connections on Twitter, Plurk has not developed that audience yet. Read the Plurk FAQ.

Facebook, too, facilitates micro-blogging. It has a little section that says “Deb is…” and I occasionally update it to describe what I am up to. “Deb is looking for chocolate.” “Deb is posting on her blog.” etc. Not something I love to do, but it is fun to read what folks are up to. Facebook users can post messages, links, photos, etc. all in the short format that micro-blogging requires.

Note the simplicity of Facebook’s status box. Apologies to Twitter.

Tomorrow I will take a look at how micro-blogging impacts public relations, media relations, customer service and marketing- phew!

-I Can’t Keep Up

What is a Blog Carnival?

3 comments By Germaine Filed in blogs, socal media May 28th, 2008 @ 6:56 am

In the interest of transparency, I have to confess that this is a slightly self-serving post. My post on Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives was selected for Social Media World’s Blog Carnival.

A blog carnival is like a magazine with contributors around a particular theme. One blog proposes a carnival topic and bloggers submit articles. The host reviews submissions and then posts the selected pieces. The “carnival” page reads like a table of contents with brief descriptions of each article and a link to the author’s page.

While blogs can be hosted by any blogger on their own website, Blog Carnival is a web site that facilitates the hosting, submission process and publicizing of various blog carnivals. Here is a sample of blog carnivals from the site:

Georgia Bloggers at Georgia on My Mind
Green Gardening at Wiggly Wigglers
Carnival of Education at Bluebird’s Classroom

There are a number of good articles in the Social Media Blog carnival that I am participating in. Amanda Moore posts on the characteristics of a bad blog in 6 Things That Will Make Me Leave Your Blog. Highlight Health 2.0 does a great job explaining media snacking. Jason Peck, a sports business blogger, posts a review of a golf networking site at Take a Peck.

Blog carnivals are a one-stop shop and a great way to learn about new topics. Check one out. Google a topic you are interested in with “blog carnival” attached. I found a fun blog on atuomotive advice for women, Ask Patty, by searching for “sports blog carnival.” The post covers women in auto racing. A topic I never would have thought of, but what fun item from a general search!

Happy reading! -I Can’t Keep Up

Are We Talking to Ourselves?

0 comments By Germaine Filed in blogs, socal media, video, what is? May 21st, 2008 @ 11:53 am

Common Craft posted today on the lesson he learned at the Community 2.0 conference last week and made a great point. It is easy for those of us in the Online Social Media tribe to make assumptions about the online world and how many folks are using it AND the crazy number of technologies available that, for us, are fun. I am sure to the rest of the world, these technologies are just downright confusing.

What Do Online Peeps Really Want?
As you know, my main goal is to help folks with a background in traditional media learn about new media in the Web 2.0 world. Everyday when I post, it is so hard to decide if I am using too much jargon, is there an awareness of the post topic, are my readers really interested in the topic? Not to mention, “is this funny enough?” Do you have any idea how hard it is to be funny every day? Oh, the pressure!

Per the Nielsen Net Ratings, there are around 3.5 million internet users in the U.S. alone. The average person spends around 65 hours per month online and the top three brands are Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. (Surprisingly, YouTube came in at 6th place.) Online users know about these brands, but what technologies are they aware of and using? Take RSS feeds as an example- only 7% of users use that technology.

I have addressed some topics like RSS, Blogs, YouTube, Twitter, Memes and Flock. My goal is to introduce these topics and generate conversation. This hasn’t always worked.

Sacrificing Explanation for Space
When I feel I don’t want to use space to explain terminology, I will link to the definition of the term which is usually a Wikipedia entry. I know, however, that this is not working because I can see from tracking statistics that few people click through to those definitions. Since I know many of you are digital immigrants, I know that you can’t get all of the stuff I am explaining.

Call for Feedback & Ideas
Gentle reader, please give me feedback on this topic. Are my explanations easy to understand? Are links to definitions a waste of time? What topics that I have covered need better explanation? What topics would you like me to cover? You can do so via the comments button below. And, if for some reason, you would not like your comment posted, just say so.

Future Topics
Web 2.0, FriendFeed, shared bookmark sites, niche online communities, MicroBlogging, MicroPR, video sharing sites beyond YouTube.

Are you an online community manager?

0 comments By Germaine Filed in blogs, socal media, social networking May 19th, 2008 @ 9:05 am

Do you manage a chat board? Manage a blog? Recruit people to sign up for an e-mail newsletter? Write e-communication content? Work with IT/web support to build a community network? Are you doing all of these things? Then you are an online community manager.

I don’t bring this up to encourage everyone to run out and apply for this type of job, but rather to point out how important it is for organizations to recognize the resources necessary to build a successful online community. Additionally, online community management has to be coordinated with traditional media. It doesn’t replace it directly, but serious thought needs to take place as to how it will happen, who will run the program, what technical resources are required, how it will dovetail with traditional media and what is the cost.

We are definitely in a period of transition and PR/community relations/marketing professionals need help making the transition whether that means appropriate training, or additional capacity to build an online community. While it is tempting to immediately engage in free online resources, being successful isn’t just a matter of signing up for a Facebook page, or starting a blog. Community relations requires lots of personal interaction, online communities require the same, as well as the understanding of the technologies to best cultivate online relationships.

Online communities, often referred to as social networks (which I find silly, we have always had social networks, we should use the term online social networks.), are a different beast than traditional marketing. In order to build a strong relationship with committed, passionate customers/constituents, care must be taken to truly build a community. Attempts to gain immediate donations/sales from participants will remove the authenticity that online users expect. One of the reasons blogs and chat boards have become so popular is that the institutional element has been removed and people feel empowered by gaining first-hand knowledge on a topic/product.

In the future, I will take a look at a successful online community.

Happy Monday! -I Can’t Keep Up

Think Globally, Blog Locally

4 comments By Germaine Filed in Denver, blogs, cultural, going local May 13th, 2008 @ 5:46 pm

Mack Collier from The Viral Garden made my day today when I read his post on the recent history of social media and where it is headed. Why? These few words:

One thing that I really think drives social media, is the ability it gives us to connect with each other. I think that moving forward, the focus will turn to doing this on a local level.

I recently posted on my interview with DenverInfill and Riverfront Park and how their efforts have made our community stronger. In the past we have heard a lot of great stories about chat room buddies, matchmaking sites, social networks, etc. These connections formed relationships from around the world and you can’t complain about that. Who would think that taking it to the next level would mean bringing cyberspace home? A connection to local community gives everyone an immediate point of reference that is hard to beat. (OK, maybe it is second to food, but that is another post!)

What have bloggers done for Denver lately?
Bloggers bring Denverites together by sharing information about events, art, Colfax, green architecture and design, fashion on the street and all things Denver. Want to learn about the local hip & cool? Check out these sites:

Cupcakes & Culture: The Shoppe
Creative Denver: The Denver Egotist
Downtown Denver: Live Downtown Denver
Fashion: Cat’s Pajamas
Food: Culinary Colorado
News Analysis: Wash Park Prophet
Politics: Colorado Confidential
Veggie Food: Ginger Beat
Vlog: Denvergence

Got a local blog you love? Send it my way!
-I Can’t Keep Up

Sunday Funnies: Blog meets GI Joe

1 comment By Germaine Filed in Sunday Funnies, blogs, community, going local, humor, images May 8th, 2008 @ 3:19 pm

Pond Patrol: One Man’s Quirky Hobby Develops Narrative, Following

image credit: Gio Toninelo

I love the Pond Patrol internet series that I read about in a Westword article a couple of years ago. While Corporal John Harris has concluded his story, it is worth going back and reading for a number of reasons, if not only to give yourself a funny break during the work day.

Blog Rises from a Silly Situation (I am not making this up.)
Denverite Gio Toninelo just wanted to protect his pond from some neighborhood kids. As reported in a 2006 Westword article:

“After two of his turtles went missing, he suspected neighborhood children and placed two of his G.I. Joe dolls around the pond to guard against any more nighttime intruders. He was so amused by the situation that he started a weekly web log featuring photos of the miniature soldiers fishing or camping.”

Voila, an original blog with a funny narrative and creative visuals was born! Toninelo combined an engaging story with GI Joe doll images setting the stage for each of the 100 episodes is this serialized drama.

image credit: Gio Toninelo

The setting is Mulberry Ridge an allegedly decontaminated nuclear waste dump. Several biologists and marines from a specialized recon unit have gone missing. The series, narrated by Corporal John Harris, follows the adventures of the Third Force Recon Team which includes an EPA researcher and scientist as they study the pond’s ecosystem and reported unusual plants and animals.

Go to the archives and start from the beginning. It’s a treat to read a great series and see the evolution of Toninelo’s writing and photography skills. During its run, Pond Patrol was an amazing hit on the web attracting up to 62,000 hits a month. In addition to the massive following, Toninelo hosted GI Joe Fest a stop motion film festival. Quirky? Yes. Toninelo’s passion took a totally goofy idea and developed his writing and photography skills, not to mention an online community – something we all endeavor to foster.

Signing off - I Can’t Keep Up

Going Local: Denver’s Celebrity Bloggers

1 comment By Germaine Filed in Denver, blogs, cultural, parks April 28th, 2008 @ 2:44 pm

While it is not my plan to make this the “Blog Channel: all blogs, all the time.” I do think a great Denver social media story starts with two of our most popular blogs. I will return to covering other aspects of social media soon. I promise.

When asked about the best blogs in Denver, Rick Anstey had this to say, “If you want to be informed of what’s going on in the downtown community, there are a handful of places to go.The Riverfront Park Blog is one of my two favorite sources. Denverinfill.com is the other.” Last week I had the privilege of sitting down with Ken Schroeppel, DenverInfill.com and Matrix Design Group, and Celeste Federico, Riverfront Park, to talk about their blogs and life as a blogger.

When I think of a blog that exists only in the cyberworld, it is something vague, “out there on the internet.” Some crazy nut follows a particular ingenue to gossip with fans from all over the blogosphere, or, a community of people with a shared hobby, like collecting Bionic Woman dolls, gets to talk about their latest find at the flea market. Unlike blogs based solely on shared interest, Denver Infill and Riverfront Park go beyond the cyberworld by being physically rooted in Denver.

In the community on AND off-line
The influence of locale offers benefits to both our friendly bloggers and Denverites. Topically the blogs overlap with one another, both create dialogue about development, but they have their own distinctions as well. Celeste talks about a lot of the fun, social things to do around town. Ken not only educates us about current development projects, but also about Denver’s historic architecture such as LoDo’s Historic Painted Commercial Signs. Their posts give readers a chance to learn, give the blogger feedback and engage in discussion with others online, or meet each other at a happening hot spot.

Ken’s personal blog is a complement to his web site DenverInfill.com which “is a comprehensive overview and photographic survey of all the urban infill and redevelopment projects in the greater Downtown Denver area.” He said that occasionally (1/20th of the time) he will add editorial comment to his material, but for the most part providing factual information for the community to discuss is really his mission. A recent example of this would be the path worn by pedestrians in Commons Park. Titled “The Shortest Path” , with only a couple of images and one remark, the post has generated over 60 comments discussing the park’s design (or, according to some, lack of) and solutions to the problem.

Celeste’s Riverfront Park Blog, owned by East West Properties, shows how an organization can create community not by promoting the corporate line, but by simply, and sincerely, offering the community a service. Riverfront Park’s success is due to Celeste’s voice and keen eye as to what will keep her community engaged and informed. She not only provides updates on new building projects, but also on good eats, cultural opportunities and the Dogs of Riverfront Park. One of her most popular postings about the Homeowner Happiness Task Force led to over 100 people attending a Ski Train outing and continues to generate a crowd for work days in Commons Park.

Topic isn’t the only part of a good local blog, the fact that our bloggers interact with their readers out in the non-cyberworld is also key. Celeste chats up Denverites out on the plaza daily. Ken attends public meetings to learn more about new projects. Their readers approach them on the street, and, even in restaurants to pat them on the back or get in a word or two about a particular posting.

What makes a good blog?
Ken and Celeste agreed that a good blog is factual, reflects the blogger’s personality, respects the reader and is timely in nature. “A blog is a reflection of your personality. Mine tends to be fact-filled and encyclopedic yet laid back and engaging,” Ken explained.

“When I think of developing an audience, a quote from Seth Godin [marketing guru] comes to mind, ‘I’ve showed up everyday,’” said Celeste. Ken seconded that and explained that since he is an early bird, he gets right to work on his post so that his readers can check it out first thing in the morning. They both try to post daily.

Features make a blog too. The image of the Please Use Sidewalk sign, coupled with a Google Earth image showing the path from satellite view, in Commons Park told the story visually. Cool music streaming on Celeste’s site lulls you into clicking through page after page of stories. BTW, the music is from local band Pretty Lights. (You don’t have to limit your local consumption to just food!)

This is just the start of a report on my conversation with Celeste and Ken. In future posts I want to go into greater detail about dialogue with an audience and how their respective blogs reach beyond Denver.

Cheers,
-I Can’t Keep Up

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