Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Why do you participate, or avoid, social networking? I believe it depends on how you view it.  Do you see it as an opportunity, or an obligation?

I had an interesting online conversation yesterday. A friend of mine IM‘d me to tell me that he probably won’t see any replies I make to his tweets.  Apparently he posts to Facebook via text messages on his phone,  and those posts are automatically posted to Twitter.  The weird thing about this conversation wasn’t the content.  I’ve had this conversation with others. What was interesting was the tone.

While discussing this with my wife tonight, we both had the same thought. It was the expectation my friend was railing against.  I’ve been thinking about this and an interesting thought came to me.  See what you think about this…

I’ve always been amazed that so many people talk about not finding time for social networking.  ”How do you find the time to keep up with all of that?” Another friend asked the other day.  And yet, keeping up has never been an issue for me.  I see it as more of an opportunity.  But for the first time, tonight, I see where some people may see it as an obligation.

Today I completed an online product survey and was asked how many people I interact with on a regular basis.  Since they didn’t specify online or offline, I combined the two and answered 10-15.  It’s true!  Although I live in the country and haven’t left my house in a week or two (figuratively speaking), I regularly converse with 10-15 people.  To me, online social networking tools, like Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, etc, are opportunities for me to extend my reach, my influence, and my leadership.  More importantly, they allow me to keep my pulse on real life outside of the walls of my office.

When CEOs of major corporations, like @MichaelHyatt and @Zappos can find the time, I think the “not having time” comment is not the real reason.  We all find time for what we value.  I believe the real issue is how we view the tools.  For instance, I rarely answer my phone if I’m engaged in something – be it a conversation, a creative project, or some casual family time.  That’s because I don’t value being available when other people decide I should be available.  That’s why email, SMS, IM, and Twitter work so well for me – I can respond at my leisure.

So, what it really boils down to is your values. If you see social networking as an intrusion and an obligation, you will struggle with it.  If you see it as an opportunity to expand your circle, you will gravitate towards it.

How about you?  Do you see social media tools like Twitter and Facebook as opportunities, or an expectation that you don’t need in your life?  Do you see these tools as an opportunity to create space and freedom in your life?  Or, do they crowd out what little free time you’ve been able to carve out of your schedule?  What about your employer?  Do they see these tools as opportunities to improve their ROI – or do they see these as time wasters that are only used by slackers?

What is your take?

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US Postal Service Wake-up Call

While the US Postal Service struggles against a $7 billion deficit, they seem to think they can regain their footing when the recession ends.  In the meantime, this NY Times article talks about all the businesses that are moving from mail-based billing to the web.  Last year record numbers of people filed their taxes electronically.  The handwriting is on the wall.  If the USPS doesn’t make some serious changes, they will go the way of the Pony Express.

On the other hand, the Swiss are instituting a service to intercept your mail and have it delivered to you via the web.  They are not the first to do this, nor the last.  Read this BBC news service article I saw on today.

Instead of complaining

Instead of complaining about the situation that caused the problems you face, it is always best to analyze the situation and get down to the root causes.  Once you identify those issues, address them.  In the case of Snail Mail, asking people to mail more, or simply raising prices, is not going to solve the problem.  People are seeking to be more “green” and they are using the web more and more.  In addition, many large businesses have found it is less expensive, less complicated, and much more efficient to go electronic.  While the Post Office may not close next year, they will continue to find themselves in trouble unless they can find a way to use the Internet for their benefit – rather than consider it their competition.

Don’t go the way of the dinosaur

Where is your business in the sea of change?  Are you doing the same things, over and over?  Or, are you adapting to the currents, culture, and challenges?

The key is to adapt early and often.  If you wait until you’re in crisis, it is often too late to make the necessary corrections.  Stay abreast of the culture, stay attuned to the needs/wants of your stakeholders, and stay fresh.

I would love to hear your thoughts on these issues – not necessarily the Post Office, but the need to stay current.

• http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/business/29postal.html
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/8226296.stm
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8224573.stm

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One night, you woke up with an incredible epiphany – isn’t that fun!? After thinking about it for awhile, talking it over with a few trusted friends, you launched your new project. But now the realities of the situation have caught up to you. This is hard!

Well, you knew it would be hard when you started. You’re not an idiot. But you didn’t know it was going to be this hard. You’re not ready to give up…yet. The thought does cross your mind sometimes though.

You’ve probably already noticed that most of your friends do not make good mentors. They are smart, creative, and supportive, and they are great cheerleaders – but they don’t have the answers. What you need is a reliable conversation with someone who doesn’t always tell you what you want to hear.

That’s where we come in. With extensive experience in leadership, mentoring, coaching, and successful multi-disciplinary management, we can help you reach the next level. We can help you get past the plateau you’ve discovered.

Anyone can connect the dots when they are out in the open. It takes an intuitive, practical understanding of the current trends and opportunities to successfully chart a course in a dynamic world of change.

No matter your focus, we can offer various approaches to your situation. We specialize in analysis of the current situation, identifying potential solutions, and defining your best approaches to the future. In addition, we have the connections to the people who can best make this all happen. We will happily direct you to people who are better suited to your situation and issues.

If you would like some assistance connecting the dots – especially the invisible ones, contact us. We’re happy to meet with you at no charge to discuss your situation. Sometimes, that initial consultation is all you need – and we’re fine with that. We’ll never push more on you than your want or need.

Call: 503.438.4671

Presented by Chris Messina (OpenID Foundation), David Recordon (Six Apart), Joseph Smarr (Plaxo). As evidenced by Barack Obama’s successful presidential campaign, we have clearly entered the age of the social web. This developer-oriented workshop will emphasize the use and application of free, open building blocks for enabling social networking features on your site or service, and provide illuminating insights from some of the key figures creating these technologies.

http://en.oreilly.com/oscon2009/public/schedule/detail/8575

The other night I attended a gathering of Portland’s online community managers.  I like nothing more than getting together with a bunch of smart people to explore new ideas, concepts, and issues.  This turned out to be one of those nights.

One of the issues that came up was in relation to the ROI (return on investment) – I wrote about this last week.  My question is, how do you help a small business owner that they need to put their money into social media and online networking?  Why would a business with less than 100, or less than 50 employees want to pay someone to develop a presence for them online?  And even if someone agrees that they need an online social networking presence, how could anyone quantify their return on this investment?

It turns out that this isn’t just an issue for the small businessperson, but for the Fortune 500 companies also. Some of my colleagues do consulting work for these companies, and it is a hot topic in all sectors right now.

There were two things I took away from this conversation:

• At this point, no one can guarantee that you will see a direct return on the dollars you spend.  For instance, if you pay a social media consultant $5000 to develop your online presence, you won’t automatically see $10,000 more revenue next year.
• The conversation has moved out of the town square and onto the Internet.  People are talking online, and they’re talking about your business, your products and services, and your company.  It’s up to you whether you want to join that conversation or not.  Either way, the conversation is happening – and your traditional advertising dollars are not going to influence the conversation, and the resulting purchasing decisions, as much as a person’s online community.  It is imperative that you become a part of that community.

Years ago, before the age of huge metropolitan centers, people lived in villages, and they shopped in the town square. Everyone knew everyone else and it was the center of social networking.  Because refrigeration hadn’t yet been invented, people went to the market fairly frequently.  Those who offered superior products and friendly service were the most likely to succeed.  In the real-world of the 19th-century marketplace, you couldn’t fake it.

20th century marketers and the companies they represented, were very removed from their customers. We saw a backlash to this in the last few decades when people began to advocate buying locally.  There has always been back channel conversation, but businesses had to hire market researchers and employ focus groups to discover what was being said about their products.  But, with the advent of online social media, businesses and regular people can interact directly.

Here’s a real life example:

Last year, a friend and I engaged in a short online discussion about Comcast. My friend was in Amsterdam, and I in Portland. Within moments, we were joined in our discussion by one of Comcast’s vice-presidents.  It was very impressive.  My attitude  towards the company changed course significantly.

A few months ago, I mentioned Verizon and their lockdown of the GPS device on my Blackberry.  Several friends jumped on my comment and we all commiserated the shortsighted decision on the part of Verizon.  There was considerable discussion about switching to ATT and an iPhone, so we would have better access to geo-location social networking capabilities.  I’ve never heard anything from Verizon on this issue. (By the way, I’ve gone on to post messages on Verizon’s website, sent them emails, and talked to customer service over the phone – but I’ve never heard anything in return.)

So, you tell me, who is winning more customers in the online community? Verizon, or Comcast?  Can we really afford to not participate in this conversation?

Last week, a friend of mine posted a comment on Twitter about being refused service when she tried to order food in the drive-thru lane at a local Burgerville restaurant. I’ll let her tell the story in her own words:

http://www.cafemama.com/2009/aug/12_to_burgerville_a_more_bikethrough_future.html

What do you think? Can you afford NOT to participate in this conversation?

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Yesterday, while catching up on feeds in my feed-reader, I came across an article by author Seth Godin (thanks for sharing this Chris Brogan), titled The massive attention surplus.  The article immediately caught my attention on many levels.

• First, Godin is a leading thought leader.  His book, Tribes, has been on the best-selling leadership book on Amazon for almost a year.  The man knows what he is talking about.
• Second, this short blog post, offers great insight into an area that I have been pondering.  As traditional media continues to circle the drain, and online social media takes center stage, how will this affect marketing, revenue streams, and the return on investment for firms employing social-networking as a part of their marketing strategy. (I talk about this here)
• This post also, at least in my opinion, puts a stop to all the whining marketers and print media mavens who complain that the Internet is killing their business.

We are living during a time of great change. Print media is fading – fast – and online social-networking is taking over.  No one really knows what this means…yet.  One thing is certain, magazine and newspapers are a thing of the past.  More and more people are getting their news and entertainment via the Internet.  Real-time news delivery, via Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sources are lining up on center stage and are not just poised to take the lead, but by some accounts already leading the trends.

Recently Newsweek magazine, for which  I’ve subscribed to for over two decades, revamped the format of their online and print magazine.  The website looks great, the print magazine, not so much. In explaining the new format, editor, Jon Meacham, mentioned that the magazine has been loosing money for almost two years.  While I appreciated his candor, and I also appreciated the bold revamping of the magazine, his comment, and the new format were what finally convinced me to cancel my subscription.

So what’s next?

We are entering a time when we can no longer rely on traditional marketing and journalism to get the message out. While this is an uncertain  time of transition, it is also a time of great opportunities.  The key is seeing and seizing these opportunities.

Image by luc legay via Flickr

I’ve been keeping my eyes open for those opportunities… Just today, I stumbled across this article in the New York Times: Mining the Web for Feelings, Not Facts Instead of just searching for raw data, smart companies are learning to mine the web for feelings.  Reading this article, in conjunction with the one above, really connected some important concepts for me.

I love it when these invisible dots connect. There is a world of possibilities when we learn to see the unseen.  I’d be curious to hear some of your thoughts after you read the articles.  Did these articles unlock any ideas in your  brain?

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When it comes to socialmedia, what kind of returns can you expect? You’d like a hard answer to that wouldn’t you?  Before you plunk down some hard cash to transform your business, you’re  going to think long and hard about what kind of returns you will see.

What if I told you that I can’t tell you? What if I told you that no one can quantify your ROI?  Oh yeah, if you’re a big Fortune 500 company looking to dive into socialmedia, you’ll have some data, but you’re probably not reading this blog either – you’d have people to do that for you.  For the smaller businesses, right now isn’t the time to think about ROI.  You should be more concerned with getting left behind.  Watch this!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8]

(thanks to Socialnomics for the great video!)

Any questions?

Just a few days ago, she came into my office and asked me to show her how to draw a star.  I’d already tried to do that last week, but she was so fascinated by the star, she was having trouble watching the how part.  Just before I put the pen to the paper, I stopped and gave the pen back to her.  People don’t learn by being shown, they learn from doing it themselves.

As I tried to explain it to her, I realized I needed to take it a bit slower.  That’s when I remembered the dot-to-dot method.  I used to love dot-to-dot  images when I was a kid.  I would spend hours, following the dots and watching the images appear.  I  got to the point that I started making my own dot-to-dot images – and then solving them.  So, that’s what I did with my Darling Daughter that morning – I drew five dots on the paper, then numbered them.

I still had to walk her through the process, but at least she had a guide to follow – and a map! After she traced her first few stars, she ran into the other room to share her new-found skill with her Mommy.  It was fun to watch.

There are basically three different learning styles. Audible learners can easily learn through hearing.  Visual learners need to see it to learn it.  Kinesthetic learners are best able to learn through doing it.  Most teaching in our culture is designed for visual or Audible learners, yet a great number of people need more.  The best teachers and trainers will incorporate all of these styles into their presentations.

Don’t just tell your employees what they need to know. Show them too.  Let them read about it.  Then, let them demonstrate it to you in a non-threatening, relaxed environment.  Do not consider your employees trained until they can teach someone else how to do it – or at least demonstrate the correct methods.

In medical schools they have a phrase:

“See one. Do one. Teach one.”

This process is simple, but it assures that the doctors in the field understand what they’re doing.

Go beyond simply telling your staff what they need to do. Follow it up with a demonstration.  Then, no matter how simple it might seem, have them demonstrate what you’ve taught them.

It’s not enough to hire the right people, you have to train and mobilize them too. Good training will assure great results down the road.  Never underestimate the time spent preparing your personnel.

• Recruit, Train, Mobilize, and Monitor.
• Good training is not just visual and audible, it requires hands on practice too.

By taking the time, you can have stars on your team too!