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Stick a Fork in Negativity

Dave from Area 224 is on a break…from Facebook. AND…

I’m on a break from negativity, too. In fact, I want to stick a fork in it. Because…It’s done.

Fork In Road
Thanks, Girl-meets-art; used with Creative Commons License

Really, though, you can listen to outside forces that tell you everything sucks, or you can choose to ignore those outside forces entirely, and move the heck on.

I’m choosing the latter. It’s hopefully going to bring more positivity to my life.

So this isn’t a missive that says you should give up entirely on social media – considering the fact that a blog can be considered one of the pillars of your social media strategy, I’d be flying in the face of convention if I gave it all up.

But I’m taking a break from Facebook, and, even more importantly, from being so gosh darn negative.

Why, Dave, the sudden about-face? 3 Reasons:

1. Everyone’s life looks better than yours…

But, in real life, it isn’t.

I’ve always had a saying about business travel: Those that don’t travel for business are jealous of those who do. And those who do travel for business are jealous of those who don’t.

The old, negative me would look at a Facebook post and say “For the love of Mike, why are you traveling AGAIN? Shut. Up.”

The new, positive me…actually, I don’t want to make them envious of MY lack of travel – I mean, a Foursquare check-in from my living room seems rather much – but, there is something to be said for not having to cope with ANOTHER airline delay. Or a botched hotel check-in (which is much more serious than a botched Foursquare check-in).

People aren’t sharing their travel stories to spite you. Really, they’re not. They’re just…being “social.” It’s nothing personal.

2. The internet is filled with half-truths, lies, hyperbole, and so much more!

Hey, I bumped into one “internet-famous” person online recently who came clean. They used to make a lot of money, now they don’t. They used to live in a big house, now they’re not. They used to be married and now, well, they aren’t. This was someone that, in all candor, I would look to for advice, back when the perception I had of them was high-flying success.

Rather than grave dance on someone’s misfortunes – which is not only mean, it’s counter-productive – maybe there’s something to taking the high road?

Guess what? This sort of thing will happen, over and over and over again. The internet is a great thing: you can create the perception that you are both large AND in charge.

idog
World-famous cartoon. Copyright The New Yorker.

But, really. If you’re NOT the real deal, the world will find out. It may be tomorrow, it may be a few years from now.

My own take: “Who. Cares.”

Look, I’ve got my own problems, you’ve got your own problems, and we are (GASP) all in this together. Take what people say with a grain of salt…or a salt lick. Especially online. Easier to be positive that way.

3.  Both sides just spent $2B to tell you the other one sucks.

It’s true: either your guy won or they lost, but, in any event, someone spent a whole lotta money to drill home the negative imagery.

Rather than belabor the point of how negative this campaign was, I’m choosing to focus on those things that ARE in my control.

It’s not about looking at a glass that’s half-full while you’re driving a car off a cliff – it’s more than that. Or maybe not.

In any event, I’m NOT sticking my head in the sand hoping problems will go away. That’s being ridiculous. Instead, I’m getting my head out of the sand and focusing on those things I CAN CONTROL.

And it starts with my mood. My perception. My positivity.

Join me. Please.

It might actually be fun!

Metrics Don’t Matter

In typical Area 224 style, a whipsaw title followed by some unexpected takeaways.

Bloomberg Businessweek Cover
Image of BBW Cover, adjusted for oilpaint effect

I received the latest Bloomberg Businessweek over the weekend, and, when I saw the cover (photo over there), I figured this was going to be an article worth reading.

It was.

The article is called “Everywhere Sports Profit Network,” penned by Karl Taro Greenfield. Here’s a link.

Suggestion: read it, even if you don’t like sports. (Actually, read it ESPECIALLY if you don’t like sports.)

[NOTE: For my money, some of the best writing on the planet is in this magazine. A bold statement, sure, but, if you’re a student of the business game, BBW is becoming a must-read. The other must-read is referenced in this article.]

There are some great tips on business contained in that article about ESPN – and I want to give you three takeaways. Plus, as a bonus, you’ll be able to glean why metrics don’t matter.

1. Every Stinking Platform Network

We could have said “Social” or swore in place of the word “Stinking.” But the point here is that they don’t think of properties in terms of whether or not they will translate to the small screen (or website or radio or magazine), they instead think of translating the property to everywhere possible.

Take this example from the article:

“The company has moved aggressively into new media and platforms, without regard for how they may negatively impact the old…

“ESPN’s $5.6 billion deal with Major League Baseball…is typical of the kinds of multiplatform rights packages the company now seeks to acquire. Not only will ESPN continue to televise regular-season and playoff games through 2021, it also gets radio rights, international rights, unlimited highlights and, most important, the right to stream all that content through its mobile applications.”

What does this mean for you, business person?

It’s not necessarily about “mobile,” or “social” – it’s about…well, it’s about thinking creatively about everywhere and everything and how it gets used.

Repurpose. Repurpose. Repurpose.

What you have sitting on the shelf may not be valuable to you right now – but if it gets repackaged, shared in a different way, or presented to a different audience – there may be something there.

2. The Event IS The Thing

When I was reading the article, I couldn’t help but think back to the 2010 World Cup. (Soccer.) ESPN decided to send its big talent to South Africa to cover the event – even though a couple of their big names weren’t soccer reporters.

WHY?

Think about NBC’s Olympic Coverage (covered here a couple weeks ago.) Now think specifically about Ryan Seacrest. Whether or not the guy knows boo about sports is beside the point: he brings that “Big Game Feel” that you want. If Ryan Seacrest shows up, there’s now the imprimatur. It is now a Big Event.

ESPN continues to go out of its way to make events into EVENTS.

[I know what you might be thinking: “Dave, it’s ESPN! They spent Billions on Baseball!”]

But that doesn’t mean that your next THING can’t be an EVENT.

In fact, as the article reminds us, this is the network that started in trailers and showed a lot of Australian Rules Football.

Over time, they created a look, a feel, a brand. There’s a “lagniappe” element to it – originally that something extra was…well, everything. Now, it’s a rabid, everywhere-sports-are-there’s-ESPN element.

3. Inject Personality

Metrics from Compete
Which Metrics Matter to You?

Here’s where we bring back the title of this article. Metrics Don’t Matter? No, they DO matter. Just…the RIGHT metrics.

Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy, Editor-in-Chief at Grantland) has a personality. Sure, it’s not without its foibles – as all personalities are.

But without his personality and years of allowing that to shine through, there’s no Grantland.

And Grantland contributes to an ESPN metric called “users per minute:” the number of mobile users visiting ESPN. This reached a height of 102,000 in June. (60,000 of those were from Grantland.)

You’ve got to have a vision – which Simmons had for Grantland (sports, pop culture, etc.) – and you’ve got to have the personality (and personalities) to pull it off.

“Personal BRAND” may be a whole bunch of BS to you. And, in some respects, that’s okay. But Personality – that can be translated, and effectively so, into your business.

THE POINT: THE RIGHT METRICS MATTER

ESPN translates a combination of all three elements above – Multi-Channel Storytelling, Events, and Personality – into some crazy numbers on all the metrics that matter to THEM.

The fact that Compete.com – pictured over there – has Yahoo Sports (WHAT?) as the top-ranking sports media site is, frankly, of no interest to ESPN.

And the fact that some site ranks you as the 56th most popular social media consultant in Idaho shouldn’t matter to you, either.

ESPN is keeping advertisers happy with engaging content, but they’re only doing that AFTER they’re able to have an engaging value proposition.

YOU can keep your stakeholders happy by…

  • ASKING what business problem you can help them solve
  • CREATING a valuable way to solve it
  • COMMUNICATING that value through whatever it is that makes your business unique.

Go. Read the article, and make some magic happen for the metrics that matter for you.

 

Stop. The. Humblebragging.

Humblebragging is a new name for an old idea: sounding “humble” while you’re actually “bragging.” It needs to stop.

Humblebragging
STOP.

Welcome to another blog post that will get me unfriended. (You know about unfriending – when you’re “friends” with someone on Facebook and then, all of a sudden, you’re not friends anymore.)

Social Media is the worst for humblebragging – and some of you need to take a long, hard look in the mirror – followed, possibly, by a nice, cold shower.

I know, I know, we’re living with the “Awesomeness Generation” and there are these youngsters entering the workforce who are used to being told how okay they are, then being handed a trophy for showing up. Those of us in Generation X are guilty of allowing this behavior to happen – and we can do something about it, too.

And this whole humblebragging movement is exacerbated by everyone’s bully pulpit (read: your blog, your Facebook page, your book, your speaking gigs, your Tweets). The appearance of awesome is just a few followers, blog comments or likes away.

Humblebragging Basics

I once got interview advice from a friend that sounded like this:

“If they ask you for your weakness, use something innocuous, such as your proprietary filing system that no one else can figure out, but allows you to do tasks in 25% less time.”

That. Is. Humblebragging.

A real-life example came from President Obama, when asked to focus on the mistakes in his Presidency. (See here for one side of the story.)

His filing system is so good that he was able to get Obamacare done!

Or, to be more direct, he was asked to talk about mistakes, and he used something that, in his mind, he got SO right that it couldn’t possibly be wrong.

Humblebragging is not limited to politics. Social Media makes it easy.

Top 400 Bloggers in the World of Metallurgy

Lists like the above – and there are “Top Whatever for Whatever” lists all over the Internet – make the Social Media component of this humblebragging even worse.

The usual formula goes like this: (1) get on a list and (2) Tweet, Facebook and Blog the fact that you’re on the list. The status updates to do that normally sound like this:

“Humbled to be on the Top 400 Bloggers in the World of Metallurgy List with (insert famous person here).” (Link follows.)

Ah, but, see, that’s the point: you’re not humble, you’re bragging. Humblebragging.

Humblebragging Instead of an Apology

This is the other sad reality – often, humblebragging is one way to deflect attention from what you’ve done wrong. And, if you’ve got enough friends, fans or followers, off you go: talk about how you were too busy to get it right, because you were traveling the globe, or you were working with too many clients. Say that your mistake is that you were too busy. Keep fueling your own awesomeness fire – talk about how your dialogue is helping your industry grow – discuss that you learn from mistakes.

But don’t apologize.

Fess Up. Own Up. Shut Up.

Here’s why some folks need to take a long, hard look in the mirror: President Obama is doing whatever he can to get re-elected, and Governor Romney will likely do the same.

You are not these people, you are not in the political arena.

You CAN say that “the biggest mistake of my first term was that I worked too hard and too long to push through a bill that could set us over a fiscal cliff.” You don’t have to worry about getting re-elected, or elected in the first place.

You SHOULD apologize if you didn’t get the facts straight and were able to attach yourself to a firestorm and grow your own list, blog traffic, affiliate revenue or book sales as a result.

You MIGHT want to think about the perceptions of what you say, and how you say it, and whether you’re perceived as the person who talks a good ballgame but doesn’t really know how to PLAY that ballgame.

Stop. The. Humblebragging.

 

 

 

 

Your Fill In The Blanks Social Media Bandwagon Blog Post

Last year? Quora. This year? Pinterest. What’s Next? Doesn’t Matter: All you have to do is copy and paste what’s here, and fill in the blanks once the next new thing arrives. You’re welcome.

Joyous Social Media Users
Photo courtesy lightruth, used with CC license.

There’s no question that [BLANK] is the hottest thing going in social media right now. After its launch [6 MONTHS AGO, 6 YEARS AGO, LAST NIGHT], [BLANK] is attracting the attention of brands, venture capital firms and even the President [OF THE UNITED STATES, OF RUSSIA, OF MY LOCAL SOCIAL MEDIA CLUB CHAPTER].

We took a look at the inner workings of [BLANK] and we like what we see – there’s a reason for all the buzz! In fact, Social Media [GURUS, NINJAS, ROCK STARS] from [CITY] to [OBSCURE CENTRAL EUROPEAN NATION] are all jumping on the bandwagon.

So, should you join them? Well, here are some tips before you [GET STARTED, SELL AN EBOOK ABOUT “BLANK”]:

1. Don’t Ignore the Other Networks

“[BLANK] should be part of every brand’s social media strategy,” said [EXPERT, GUY OFF THE STREETS, SIMPSONS ANCHORMAN KENT BROCKMAN]. “In fact, the way it seamlessly connects with other networks, I can’t imagine life as a brand marketer without [BLANK].”

And, with the backing of [GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, THOSE GUYS WHO GOT INVESTMENT FOR THAT ONE THING], you can bet that [BLANK] will become part of the social media fabric for years to come, meaning that it will be another tool in the arsenal – and your experience [BLANKING] will integrate well with your experience [FACEBOOKING, TWEETING, QUORA-ING].

2. No Matter Your Industry, Learn From Others Who Use [BLANK]

Just last night, [WEBSITE] reported that a Not-for-Profit used [BLANK] with great success. “We [BLANKED] and, while we were wary that it was a bunch of hype, after [BLANKING] we totally love it. And, two people came up to me [AT AN EVENT, ON THE STREET, AFTER SEEING ME ON THE TODAY SHOW] and said they saw our integrated, strategic [BLANK] presence and planned to [DONATE, COME TO OUR EVENT, WATCH THE TODAY SHOW AGAIN].”

Pinsanity
Guess which camp we think Pinterest is in?

3. Even if [BLANK] Goes Away, Have Fun [BLANKING]

The founders of [BLANK] admit that they’re a little surprised by the attention. “I remember the early days of our startup [6 YEARS AGO, 6 MONTHS AGO, LAST NIGHT], when we wondered if anyone would [USE IT, FUND IT, GIVE US $200 MILLION DOLLARS]. But we stuck to it – we were committed to our dream, and, even though Mom and Dad told me how awesome we were, we knew that, until we had [A TECHCRUNCH POST, 25 USERS, JEREMY LIN’S ATTENTION], we weren’t going to make it. Now, though, we’re convinced – this will be huge.”

As with any emerging technology, there’s always some hype. But, if you use this template, you, too, can post about what [BLANK] is doing.

Have an awesome time [BLANKING]!

 

How to Learn PR from Pinterest, Downton Abbey and Susan G Komen

Pink Car
Used with cc License, thanks Fabrice79

What a week, huh? If you haven’t been paying attention, you missed a ton. Here’s a recap. Oh, and spin on over to New Frugality to take a look at a cool side project that Dave’s part of.

1. Pinterest is officially huge – and possibly overrated.

Heard about Pinterest yet? Well, we don’t wanna explain it – we’ll leave that up to the experts. Like Francisco over at Social Mouths. His post tells you just about everything you need to know about Pinterest.

What’s the PR takeaway?

80 percent of users, according to Francisco, are female. Thus, know your audience.

The delightful Sean McGinnis asks whether Pinterest will become the next Quora or Empire Avenue. Good questions.

2. Downton Abbey is worth the hype.

Haven’t seen the BBC-turned-PBS English Lords and Ladies Programme yet? Neither had Dave before two weeks ago.

Now, I’m officially hooked. And almost caught up. Why? It’s a quality program(me).

What’s the PR takeaway?

Storytelling is NOT going anywhere. Thus, learn to write – and learn how to tell a story.

The richness of prose is not JUST because people spoke more formally back in the day (the 1910s). The complex characters, the story arcs that are going for years. When’s the last time you actually sat down and planned your business for the long term?

3. Susan G Komen for The Cure didn’t read the tea leaves.

Yeah, it’s a firestorm. But, as Dave shared on Facebook earlier today, the real issue here isn’t pro-life vs. pro-choice, or access to women’s health care. The real issue is “pinkwashing.”

What’s the PR takeaway?

Think things through, and don’t be a bully. Thus, just because someone wants to give you money in exchange for association with their brand – make sure that’s a good idea.

Komen underestimated how polarizing this issue would be; as a result of their off-again, on-again support of Planned Parenthook, they alienated first the Left, then the Right. AND, as a result, they are now subject to more questions – from the Left, Right AND Middle – as to how they spend their money, what they spend it on, and whether it’s all supporting their cause – or just pinkwashing.

Pink Guns Don’t Help, either.

Hype from Pinterest, Story from Downton Abbey, and Pinkwashing from Komen. Lots of PR Learning this week.

 

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