I recently had the opportunity to explore a new area of social media that I had never tackled, and it has been quite a learning experience. No, clearly podcasting is not “new” but getting it set up was new for me. There are so many different options for podcasting that it could confuse even a tech savvy person.

Parameters: (1) I was looking for the simplest means possible. My client who wanted to do a podcast will freely admit she is NOT tech savvy. And because I am not present each week to help record her episodes, it absolutely HAD to be as easy as possible. (2) We needed to keep it relatively inexpensive, especially since we wanted to make sure this was something my client enjoyed doing before investing lots of money into this venture.

This article will not attempt to be all inclusive and discuss all options for podcasting. However, I will present a fairly simple way to record and publish podcasts, to make this easy for future podcasters.

There are two major functions that need to be accomplished in order to publish a podcast: (1) Recording and Editing your show, and (2) Hosting and Syndication.

BlogTalkRadio

We started with this tool because a previous client of mine had used it. BlogTalkRadio seems a hybrid which incorporates both recording and hosting. Also, you could do live call-in shows, which was pretty unique. I’m sure with an actual studio with tons of equipment, live call-ins are standard. But… we didn’t. The interface seemed relatively simple, and although the sound quality wasn’t the best (even though my client purchased an inexpensive microphone that came with good reviews), we were satisfied.

BTR also hosted the shows… within a few minutes of an episode being completed, it was ready for listeners to come to her channel and listen at any time. At $39.99 per month, it seemed like an excellent, simple solution to our early forays into producing a radio show.

However, we soon discovered a big problem. When we recorded her most recent episode last week (I was the guest), it kept cutting us off while we were live and on the air. We next realized BTR doesn’t have any phone support or chatting. Instead, we were required to send an email requesting assistance, and then had to wait for a few hours for a response. When it came, the answer was “it’s some problem with your Wifi and here are suggestions for fixing it.” We made the adjustments and tried again, but BTR kept cutting us off.

So then my client came to my house the next day and we recorded the episode here… no cutting us off, but this time, the sound quality was so awful, her fans kept commenting, “I can’t hear… the sound keeps breaking up.” When we contacted BTR again about the problem, we got the same answer… it was my Wifi.

All I can say is that if we have two different households in different parts of the city, and neither of them have Wifi which can support their service in a consistent manner, this was clearly not the service for my client. And so, I went back to the drawing board.

Recording the Show

The most obvious solution for recording shows is to purchase software to record. I had some friends recommend Audacity (a free mixing/recording software) and Acid Pro, and my computer came with Garage Band. Another colleague recommended Adobe Audition, and she said that for people to call in, they would have to call in on Skype. I reviewed all of them, and while I’m sure I could have easily learned how to use them, they just did not seem simple enough for my client. I kept envisioning her head spinning as she looked at virtual dials and sound levels, and tried to get her caller’s voice to come in on Skype.

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I was also recommended a new app called Anchor, which allows you to record podcasts on your SmartPhone. Also, Anchor would host your shows and syndicate by sending them to iTunes. It seems fairly easy, but the problem was that the episodes could only be in 5 minute increments. You can upload audio recordings that are more than 5 minutes, but Anchor cuts it up into 5 minute sections and then “pieces them together.” My client’s podcasts last anywhere from 20-30 minutes, and I just wasn’t confident in the technology, so that wasn’t going to work either.

Finally, I found the answer… and it required a little thinking out of the box. We signed her up for a free service called Uber Conference Call. You can have up to 10 people call in at any given time, and you can record the call. Afterwards, you can download the episode as an MP3. This is so unbelievably simple. We opted for the free service, since we wanted to try it out and see if we liked it, although if we had wanted more bells and whistles, it would only have cost $10 per month. After our first few tests, it was unanimous. We loved it. The sound quality is excellent, and there are no dials or devices measuring sound. We just know it sounded great.

The one problem we have encountered with Uber Conference Call (for our purposes anyway) is that when she is producing an episode where she is not having a guest, there is no function that allows her to record the call. And so, on those days, she can either call me or her mother (and on our end, we will press the Mute button), and then she will hit “record” and begin her show.

Oh also, we can’t do live call-ins, but nobody had called yet, so I don’t think she is missing out on anything.

Editing Your Show

Once again, we needed to keep this simple, stupid. My client has a jingle which she uses at the beginning and the end of her podcasts, but she didn’t know how to make it play on her computer. Also, Uber Conference Call adds a little message at the beginning of the show which says, “This call is being recorded.” And so, I found two incredibly simple, free online tools to help with my editing.

(1) In order to remove the message at the beginning, I use a tool called Toolur. It couldn’t be simpler.

(2) In order to add the jingles, I had to make 2 copies of the jingle… one called “Intro” and one called “Close.” Then, I used a tool called Bear File Converter. I uploaded the “Intro” jingle, then the file that had just downloaded from Toolur (the episode), and finally the “Close” jingle. Then you click “Merge” and voila! You now have your episode! But… now what do you do with it?

Hosting Your Podcast

I did some research and found an awesome YouTube video by a gal named Jessica Stansberry, and she basically taught me everything you will see in the rest of this article. She talked about a hosting website called Blubrry. You can use Blubrry to do nothing more than host all of your files (and it works in conjunction with your already existing website), or it can be used to create a website solely to be used for the purpose of hosting your podcast. Because my client already had a website, we didn’t need Blubrry to create one for us. By the way, there ARE other hosting sites such as Libsyn and SoundCloud which basically do the same thing. So why did I go with Blubrry?

It has a WordPress plugin called Powerpress. This makes hosting and syndication so incredibly simple. AND… it’s cost effective. Hosting packages can cost as little as $12 per month. So, I set up the account with Blubrry and uploaded her episodes, and I also installed the Powerpress plugin on my client’s WordPress site.

One final thing… you must create a WordPress category that is only used for the podcasts. You will understand why in a moment. And you should keep it simple… I created a category called, “Podcasts.”

Setting Up Your Feed for Your Podcasts

I wasn’t entirely new to feeds… I routinely set them up for my clients to help with RSS syndication. But for the uninitiated, the feed is the conduit which tells all of the different podcasting platforms, “Hey, there’s a new episode for this podcast and you need to add it to your platform.” So it’s really a must to have a feed.

I do understand that PowerPress has a way to create a feed for your podcast within the WordPress settings. But, the easiest way to set up your feed is to go to Feedburner. You will need a Gmail account in order to set up your feed on Feedburner. Jessica’s YouTube video provides specific instructions for how to set up the feed, and I suggest you watch it because it can be kind of tricky. But as you create the feed, you will tell Feedburner to look for items on your website with the designated category… so on my client’s site, any time Feedburner sees a post with the category “Podcast”, it will immediately pull that item onto the feed.

You will also want to optimize your feed using Feedburner… including uploading your cover art. The cover art needs to be 1400 x 1400 pixels, and remember, while it looks HUGE while you are making it, it’s going to shrink down significantly on iTunes and the other services. Services such as Canva can help you create a beautiful, professional looking cover.

Syndicating Your Show

Before applying to the different podcasting platforms and submit your show, you need to have at least one show recorded and all ready to go. Then you go into WordPress and create a blog post about your episode. The title of the blog post will be the title of your episode as it appears on all of the podcasting platforms. The comments you list in the text box will be the show notes, describing to readers what you are discussing in each episode. Finally, you will go over to Blubrry and get the URL for the episode you are about to produce… you will go to the section of the blog post about podcasting and input the URL you just got from Blubrry. Be sure to click “Podcast” (or whatever category you have chosen for your podcasts)… this is critical because otherwise, your newly created feed won’t get the message that there is a new podcast ready to be sent out to all of the podcasting platforms. Then, hit publish and you are all done!

Okay wait, you’re not actually done, because you need to apply to the various platforms!

iTunes/Apple Podcasts – podcastsconnect.apple.com – log in with your iTunes information, fill out the forms and submit.

Google Play – https://play.google.com/music/podcasts/publish – log in with your Gmail account information. You will need your cover art

Stitcher – https://www.stitcher.com/content-providers.php – You will be asked to create an account, and then you can fill out the form.

I think it took 24 hours for my client’s podcast show to be accepted by all 3 of these services. And boy, were we happy to see those acceptances come rolling in!

Up and Running

I realize this seems like a TON of steps, and yes, it kind of is. However, even though it’s a lot of work at the beginning, now that it is set up, it’s pretty easy. All I have to do is upload the newly edited episodes to Blubrry, create a new blog post with the “Podcast” category clicked, and publish. And the episode is automatically sent to 3 podcasting platforms. THAT is easy!

It has been such an education, teaching myself all about podcasts while seeking info from others who have already done it and doing a little crowdsourcing. My client couldn’t be happier that we have migrated to Blubrry and that we have set her podcasts up to be shared on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher. If you would like to see the end results, please click here to visit my client’s website… specifically the page called “Podcasts.” To see how seamless the process now is, I suggest you review the “Featured Show” and click on the “Listen to the Show!” button. You can also see the cool audio player Blubrry automatically adds to your post when you connect the URL link to the post.

I feel confident that my client will be able to proceed in the easiest way possible with her podcast, and for a cost of $20 per month. If you have other ideas or comments for how to improve the process, please comment below!

The post Podcasting 101 and How to Get Started first appeared on Project Social.

Yesterday, my friend Tammi invited me to participate as a judge in a DECA competition.  Having never been in DECA (an international marketing association of students) in high school, I wasn’t familiar with the process but it sounded like a fun change of pace.  It turned out to be an educational experience for me too.

There were 200 high school students from the region who had come to compete in 19 categories.  Tammi and I were the judges for the Business Services Marketing category.  The competition worked as follows:  We were to role-play as the owners of a party planning company called Professional Affairs (to which Tammi quipped: “First recommendation… change the name!”), and the students were to role-play as employees of the company, tasked with telling us why the company should be using social media.  Talk about an “up my alley” task!

The students were given the scenario about 10 minutes beforehand and wrote notes on a sheet.  They came in one at a time and we were to evaluate them on everything from handshakes, attire, eye contact, presentation skills and content.  Here’s what I learned from the competitors:

(1)  We are old.

Apparently, Facebook is only for old people.  Each of the students who mentioned the 800 pound gorilla of social media said something to the effect of “we would want to use Facebook for our older demographic.”  Ouch.

(2)  LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+ who?

Only one student mentioned using LinkedIn, but he clearly had no idea how to use it.  Not one kid mentioned Google+ or Pinterest as social networks worthy of being used.  This could be a function of the students only having 10 minutes to prepare or perhaps they don’t know how to use these networks, but Pinterest seems an obvious choice for a party planning business.  Every single kid mentioned Instagram (“it would be great for showing off photos of events”), so they did understand the value of photos in social media.

(3) Discounts, Promotions, and Reviews are excellent content!

All of the students discussed offering discounts with special codes, so this is clearly a concept they understand.  Several of them mentioned promotions, including one who suggested a contest for a new logo.  (Did we need a new logo?  I like mine!)  They also definitely comprehend the concept of getting reviews from clients and publicizing them.  However, Tammi and I were a bit disconcerted when one student mentioned working with a specific company that pays people to leave fake reviews for your company.  We thought that was pretty unethical, and were taken aback that an 18-year-old thought this was a good idea for a competition.

(4) Mobile is HOT!

Most of the kids mentioned using the different social networks from their Smartphones.  This must be why all of them mentioned Twitter and Instagram, both of which have excellent mobile apps.  All of them mentioned, “young people today are constantly on their mobile phones.”  (Some grown-ups are too, by the way!)

(5) Kids Don’t Really Understand “Social Media for Business.”

Not one student mentioned blogging, which is always a great way for companies (especially party planners) to show off their work.  Only one kid talked about using Google for advertising in local markets, via a short 30 second YouTube video.  I was surprised that only one student mentioned YouTube at all!  Again, only one student mentioned ROI and getting measurable results.  This was obvious when we asked, “How will we know if our new clients are coming as a result of our social media plan?”  To which one student replied, “well, we have 300,000 people who live in our community.  So any fans that we get over 300,000, they came from the social media plan.”  Finally, regarding frequency of posting content, one girl told us “you can never overpost.”  Ummm… yes, actually you can. Let me speak freely: most of the cases of erectile dysfunction that I’ve treated could have been cured much sooner. Most men crawl into their shells when it comes to such a delicate matter as sexual impotence. At the same time, these men could have enjoyed normal sexual life with the help of time-tested pills, such as Cialis. Do not delay in dealing with ED!

Brave Souls

I don’t want this post to seem like I’m making fun of these students, because Tammi and I were both blown away by the courage required for these 14-18 year-old students to prepare a 3-8 minute presentation on a subject they wouldn’t learn about until 10 minutes beforehand.  Some of the students were extremely professional and highly knowledgeable.  A few were very nervous, and justifiably so.  Some of the students came from more disadvantaged neighborhoods… we weren’t sure how much support they got from the faculty at that school, but we were impressed that they came and gave it their best shot anyway.

As judges (and moms), Tammi and I were both frustrated that we weren’t able to ask more than the 3 standard questions on our rubric, or to offer feedback on the spot.  We wanted so badly to coach these kids, to provide advice (such as “don’t read from your notes the whole time… maintain some eye contact!”) but that’s not how it was set up.  We did provide lots of written feedback on their score sheets.  It’s the only way they can learn.

In any event, I came away highly encouraged about the future business people of the next generation.  The coordinator of the program told us during orientation, “We always hear in the news about the bad kids in America.  Today, you’re going to be meeting the good kids.”  And indeed, he was right.  These are natural born leaders, and I’m proud of them all.

The post 5 Things I Learned About Social Media At a DECA Competition first appeared on Project Social.

Image: www.digitalfamilysummit.com

Babies born in this decade may have a problem.  Their lives are documented from the moment their mothers first pee on a pregnancy test stick and triumphantly place photos on Facebook, followed by ultrasounds and photos of the mom’s growing stomach month-by-month, followed of course by birth.  Parents photograph their babe’s every smile and step, journaling every milestone, bodily issue and smart-aleck comment… all in a public forum.  These kids have no say at all in what information their parents publish about them.  Erik Qualman’s book “Digital Leader” addresses this concept of the digital footprint, and how it affects our lives.

But today’s teens still have lots of control over their own digital footprints, and that can lead to a whole host of issues people of my generation never had to address.  We’ve always heard that our social media posts can have direct consequences on our lives, but especially in an area that’s consuming me at the moment.

College Bound!

Most of my friends and family know my daughter is a high school senior.  Yes, we’re deep into the college application process.  I don’t really look at this as “a few months of hell:” staying on top of my daughter to write essays, filling out applications, asking teachers and guidance counselor to write recommendations, ordering score reports.  I mean yes, it is all of that.  But my daughter’s journey to get into the best college has been so much more.

I always like to have one big project I’m working on, and once my son’s bar mitzvah was over, I turned my focus to my daughter and colleges (much to her chagrin).  She was a junior at the time and not so jazzed about college… her house and room were comfy and she had a good life.  To her college, was terrifying.

My husband and I both adored college and know she will too,  so we forged ahead with college visits, standardized test taking followed by tutoring for the same, and more tests.  I created an all-encompassing spreadsheet to help us get organized and conducted lots of research.  Indeed, the college process was at least 2 years in the making.

Can you imagine, after all this work, how we would have felt to see her get a big fat rejection… all because of social media?

Teens and Social Media

It’s a well-known fact that as a general rule, kids today have no filter.  When it comes to social media, many don’t understand that just because they have a vehicle that allows them to shout out their thoughts, that doesn’t mean they should use it.  I’ve seen the posts of some of my daughter’s contemporaries, and I admit that some of them were appalling.  And I’m not easily shocked.

Note: If you are one of my daughter’s friends, hey I am NOT naming names.  Don’t unfriend me… it’s probably NOT you.

At the same time, I noticed my daughter rarely used her Facebook account except to post photos.  They were always cute photos, nothing she couldn’t show her grandmothers (both of whom are on Facebook).  Later, she created a Twitter account, and while some of her peers tweet 30-40 times per day, she might tweet once every few days.  As a social media professional, I was curious why she wasn’t posting more but she assured me she just didn’t want to.   My husband and I monitored her Twitter feed and cautioned her to delete anything questionable (perhaps once or twice in 3 years).  But essentially, her digital footprint is pretty darn clean.  That’s how we wanted it.

Do colleges monitor applicants’ social media?

I always assumed they did, which is why my daughter’s social media footprint was so important.  As we progressed deeper into the application process, I realized that schools receiving 30K+ applications probably had enough to read without researching applicants’ social media accounts.  Nonetheless, this article in the New York Times confirms that indeed, some colleges are reading the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the kids who apply.  I’m sure blogs and Tumblr accounts are examined too.

As with most factors in a student’s application package, if an admissions team is on the fence about a student, social media postings can make or break.  If a college sees you talking about your charitable extracurriculars or how hard you’re studying for a test, that’s likely to swing things in your favor.  Likewise, if you’re posting unpleasant, expletive-filled content, underaged drinking photos, or even that your social footprint shows you’re the queen of selfies (and not much else) your posts can show colleges how self-absorbed you are… and hurt you.

Clean Up Your Act

So what’s a kid to do to ensure their digital footprint is acceptable to colleges?

(a)  Think before you post!  If kids are taught from the very beginning that words in a digital forum actually mean something, and therefore only post content their grandparents can see, they should be fine.

(b)  Many experts insist that students should conduct a social media audit (i.e. cleaning up their accounts and deleting offensive or questionable posts) prior to starting.  And frankly, it should be done early enough that the cache on search engines doesn’t pull up the bad stuff anyway.  Then, they should follow method (a) above.

(c)   Finally, I’ve noticed some of my daughter’s peers taking some very savvy steps regarding their social media.  And perhaps not so ironically, it’s the students who tweet 30-40 times per day who do this.  Frankly, these are the students who truly need to protect their digital footprints!  The two main tactics I’ve observed are:

(1) Privacy settings – On Facebook, you can make your posts visible only to your friends.  And on Twitter and Instagram, you can make your accounts completely private to all but those you’ve approved.  Obviously, this prevents colleges from tracking your accounts, although I’m sure there are ways around this for techno savants.

(2)  Changing account names – From very creative names (on both Facebook and Twitter) to account names that include none or only a portion of the student’s real name.

These tactics allow students to continue to express themselves in an unfiltered way, allowing their comments to be seen only by their friends (as they always intended). While I’d rather see them learn to communicate appropriately, this is a good alternative.

Happy Endings

It was a happy day when my daughter’s first acceptance arrived.  As a social media professional, it was nice to see her digital footprint was not a hindrance.  My daughter came home from school that day, having tweeted how excited she was to get into college… her friends congratulated her warmly.  With bright eyes, she told me, “And 28 people favorited my tweet!”  Sweet confirmation, indeed.

The post Can Your Social Footprint Hurt Your College Chances? first appeared on Project Social.

I commented that SeaWorld’s treatment of its killer whales reminded me of slavery in the early days of our country.  In fact, images from Alex Haley’s miniseries “Roots” bombarded me.  Perhaps this sounds melodramatic, but allow me to flesh this out.

Capture/Kidnapping

Image: www.miamiseaprison.com

During “Blackfish,” we learn about the techniques used by hunters, hired by SeaWorld and other marine parks, who capture young orcas for their marine life facilities.   Hunters hoot and cheer as they chase the whales.  These hunters coral the whales, specifically the moms and babies, into coves where they throw nets around the young whales, ripping the young healthy ones from their mothers.

As John Crowe (one of those hunters hired by SeaWorld years ago) describes in “Blackfish,” the orca families didn’t leave after the babies were trapped: “The whole fam damily is out here 25 yards away in a big line, and they’re communicating back and forth.  You understand then what you’re doing.”  The babies are lifted onto a stretcher, screeching as their families echo the same sounds, and the young whales are taken away from their homes and families, never to see each other again.

Image credit: project-nerd.com

For those who have seen “Roots,” I’m sure you remember the scene where Kunta Kinte, Alex Haley’s ancestor from Africa, is trapped by cheering slave traders, who chase him into a clearing where they throw a net over him and slap shackles onto his arms, legs and neck.  It’s an incredibly memorable scene as Kunta thrashes about in slow motion, trying to throw off the chains and expressing his rage.  Next, Kunta’s father tells his mother “you still have one son,” and she screams in agony, knowing Kunta’s been taken from his home and family in Gambia, never to be seen again.

According to “Death at SeaWorld,” Tilikum was placed in a holding facility in Iceland for an entire year prior to being sold to Sealand of the Pacific.  The holding facility was a featureless, concrete tank with no natural light or sounds.  In “Roots,” Kunta is placed in a cage along with others in his village who have been trapped.  Eventually, they board the slave ship, but can’t imagine what awaits them.  In both the case of the whales and “Roots,” one can only imagine the discomforts of the long journeys as they are taken away in planes and ships.

New Land, New Home

Haida (left) and Tilikum (right) at Sealand of the Pacific. Image: orcahome.de

Tilikum arrived at SeaLand of the Pacific in 1984 and was placed in a tank with 2 dominant females, Nootka IV and Haida II.  He probably didn’t speak the same dialect as these females.  From “Blackfish” we learn that Tilikum’s trainers tried to teach him behaviors by punishing the other whales when Tilikum didn’t perform as requested.  Sealand’s trainers also withheld food from the the killer whales to incentivize them to perform, and to enter their horrific night-time quarters, “the module.”  All of this provided fertile ground for Nootka and Haida to bully Tilikum.  The whales were forced to perform tricks to entertain the crowds, doing behaviors they would almost certainly not do in the wild.

When Kunta Kinte arrived in America in 1767, he was sold to a plantation owner in Virginia and lived with other slaves, with whom he had difficulty communicating since he didn’t speak the same language.  The other slaves had to train “Toby” (Kunta’s new name), and they were punished if he didn’t perform as expected.  Of course, the slave quarters on this plantation weren’t exactly a 4 star suite at the Ritz Carlton.  Toby was forced to work and perform labor he would likely never have done at home in Gambia, or at least not of his free will.

Of course, breeding occurs in captivity.  Eight years after arriving at Sealand, Tilikum and the two females were sold to SeaWorld (following the tragic death of Keltie Byrne in 1991); even though he was abused by them, Tilikum had impregnated both Nootka and Haida.  After many years in America, Toby married Bell and they had a child, Kizzy.

Artificial Families

Tilikum (left) and Trua (right). Image: www.dailymail.co.uk

When Tilikum arrived at SeaWorld, he was introduced into a community with other whales, including many dominant females who beat him up.  It seems inconceivable that this behemoth creature could be bullied, but according to former trainer John Jett in “Blackfish,” that is exactly what happened.  In the wild, injuries and aggression between killer whales are rarely seen because when tension occurs, the whales can protect themselves by swimming away.  Not so in the concrete tanks of SeaWorld.

Ironically, SeaWorld refers to this group of whales as a “family,” despite the fact that the whales come from different pods with different dialects, often from oceans as disparate as the Pacific and Atlantic.  SeaWorld even bred one transient whale (Kanduke) with resident whales.  According to “Death at SeaWorld,” transients and resident whales, while they look alike, are actually nothing alike and avoid each other in the wild.  During a TV interview in “Blackfish”, Dean Gomersall (a former SeaWorld trainer) spouts off the company line when he says, “all the animals here get along very well.”  It’s simply not true.  And he regrets saying those things.

Of course, the slave communities within plantations were composed of slaves from different countries in Africa.  Often they didn’t speak the same language or have the same customs or traditions.  Nonetheless, they were all forced to live together and work together, carrying out the will of the slavemasters, for fear of punishment, including withholding of food.

Massive Chess Pieces

Image: flickr

As I read “Death at SeaWorld,” I was struck, on multiple occasions, by the heartlessness of the corporate office of SeaWorld, splitting up mother and baby whales, moving them from park to park as they saw fit… like oversized chess pieces on a mammoth board.  Before reading this book, I never knew that killer whales stay with their mothers their entire lives.  While I doubt most human men would choose to spend their entire lives one mere body length from their moms, that’s exactly what happens in killer whale pods.  So splitting up mom and baby killer whales is incredibly traumatic.

The most heartbreaking segment of “Blackfish” begins when former trainer Carol Ray discusses her despair over watching Kalina (the original Baby Shamu) taken from her mother Katina and being moved to another park.  Carol felt mocked by her superiors at SeaWorld when she expressed her reservations while Katina displayed true grief.   John Hargrove, another former trainer, describes the agonizing moments after Baby Takara is taken from his mother Kasatka, who proceeds to emit high-pitched wails… sounds so unusual that SeaWorld brings in audio experts who discover that she is making long-range cries in the hopes her baby can hear her.  Is it any wonder that in 2006, Kasatka repeatedly dragged Ken Peters to the bottom of the pool in front of a horrified audience? How much stress can a mother take when her baby is ripped away?

Kunta Kinte’s daughter is sold. Image: roots.wikia.com

Again, compare this to “Roots” when Kizzy, the only daughter of Toby and Belle is sold to another plantation.  The pain on their faces as they beg the plantation owner not to sell her is also heartbreaking.  How could plantation owners regard these human beings as commodities to be sold and moved from place to place, with little regard for emotions and their existing relationships?

And yet, SeaWorld did exactly that with its whales, and continues to do so.

Suing for Civil Rights

Evidently, I’m not the only one who saw these multitude of parallels… PETA filed a lawsuit against SeaWorld on behalf of the whales, invoking the 13th Amendment and claiming the whales were being deprived of their civil rights.  PETA claimed, “Plaintiffs are held in slavery and involuntary servitude.”  The judge later dismissed the case, claiming that the 13th Amendment only applies to humans and not animals.  Nonetheless, the judge did praise PETA (a group which is often recognized for showboating) for attempting to protect the killer whales.

Fortunately, our country prohibits slavery.  But as long as animals (like killer whales) are considered personal property belonging to individuals or companies, the 13th Amendment can’t protect them.  It seems, however, that Tilikum decided to prove otherwise on February 24, 2010.  He may be an animal, but he clearly does not want to be a slave.

The post Is “Blackfish” the modern day version of “Roots”? first appeared on Project Social.

Over the summer, I stumbled across the trailer for a new documentary called “Blackfish” about Tilikum, the killer whale responsible for the death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau and two others.  For no particular reason, I’ve never visited SeaWorld (either as a child or adult), and I’ve never been a “Save the Whales” kind of a gal.  I knew nothing about this and had never paid much notice to killer whales.  Yet something about the “Blackfish” trailer really drew my attention and I was fascinated.  Watch it yourself:

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G93beiYiE74[/youtube]

I discovered the documentary would be coming to Atlanta this summer, but I couldn’t convince any family members to go see it with me.  Same with my Facebook friends… people just didn’t want to drive to Midtown with me and pay to see a movie demonstrating animal cruelty; I couldn’t really blame them.  I would have to wait to see “Blackfish” until it aired on CNN in October.

Tilikum and Dawn Brancheau
Image: blog.parrotearth.com

In the meantime, I read the amazing book “Death at SeaWorld” by David Kirby and was mesmerized, and have read quite a bit about this issue since then.  I had no idea that killer whales were such incredibly intelligent and highly social beings.  I’d also never comprehended that these truly magnificent creatures had no business whatsoever being held in captivity, and I was quickly swayed to the “anti-cap” viewpoint.  I’m not going to use my blog to defend the merits of my previous statement and I don’t want to get into any arguments with the pro-SeaWorld crew.  We’re going to have to agree to disagree folks, because I emphatically believe they don’t belong in captivity.

For the uninitiated, one of the best online articles is “Killer in the Pool” by Tim Zimmermann, as well as his follow-up article “Blood in the Water,” about the death of trainer Alexis Martinez by Keto, a SeaWorld-owned killer whale at Loro Parque in the Canary Islands… exactly 2 months before the death of Brancheau.  (These articles are a LOT shorter than Kirby’s book.)  If you were as oblivious to this issue as I was prior to reading these articles, you’ll be astonished by the facts.  There is something VERY wrong about keeping killer whales in captivity.  I firmly believe these creatures (many of which are NOT good candidates to be released into the wild) should be retired to seapens which could be managed by SeaWorld, but would vastly improve the quality of life for the killer whales.

SeaWorld Fights Back

Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Image: Zimbio

SeaWorld has diligently ignored “Blackfish” from the very beginning, like an annoying gnat at a picnic.  Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite repeatedly tried to get SeaWorld’s side of the story when she developed “Blackfish” and was consistently rebuffed.  It’s a shame, because according to the director, she didn’t set out to create an anti-SeaWorld film… she was just exploring the question of why would a killer whale kill its beloved trainer. She wanted this to be fair and balanced.

The fact that SeaWorld rejected her interview requests is really not surprising, given the misinformation SeaWorld has been feeding its paying customers over the years.  Scenes evidencing this can be seen in “Blackfish”: watch as SeaWorld tour guides compare the frequency of dorsal fin collapse and killer whale mortality in captivity vs. in nature.  (Shocker: SeaWorld presents itself as being the better option for the whales.  Science tells us otherwise.)  At the end of the documentary, Cowperthwaite includes a statement that SeaWorld refused to be interviewed by her.

When “Blackfish” debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in February 2013, SeaWorld again tried to ignore this documentary.  Many articles came out lauding the film and a conversation began in earnest about the ethics of keeping killer whales in captivity.  However, it wasn’t until summer 2013 when “Blackfish” started appearing in movie theaters across the country, that SeaWorld finally made a rebuttal.  It released the following statement with 8 points, arguing against the merits and truthfulness of “Blackfish” and the filmmakers responded.  You can be the judge for yourself.

SeaWorld should have realized that “Blackfish” wasn’t a pesky gnat.  It was more like the tiny but deadly mosquito that killed Taku, a 14-year-old killer whale in SeaWorld San Antonio in 2007, by giving it West Nile virus.  Since airing on CNN, “Blackfish” is becoming deadly to SeaWorld’s mission and bottom line.

Blackfish Airs on CNN

On October 24, my wonderful husband volunteered to watch “Blackfish” with me and we were both amazed by what we saw. Cowperthwaite interviews many former trainers (Samantha Berg, John Hargrove, John Jett, Carol Ray and Jeffrey Ventre, to name a few), none of whom seem to have a personal axe to grind with SeaWorld, but all are now disillusioned by their own roles in perpetuating captivity.  She also interviews John Crowe, who in the 1970s was hired to capture baby orcas, and who tells us, “I felt like I was kidnapping a little kid from his mother….  This is the worst thing I have ever done.”

Image: CNN

The story was told repeatedly about how SeaWorld routinely separated killer whales from their families, both during the capture process and once they were being held in captivity, moving whales from one park to another like oversized chess pieces. I simply couldn’t help comparing this to the way Americans treated slaves in the early days of our country.  It’s heartless and cruel.  During the film, my husband was especially bothered when the staff at Sealand of the Pacific (Tilikum’s first marine park) explained how they withheld food from the killer whales, to incentivize them to perform or go inside their horrific night-time sleeping quarters.

I’ve watched the documentary twice more since it originally aired.  I can’t recommend it enough… while it’s disturbing, there’s really nothing young kids couldn’t see.  (The possible exception is the scene where they demonstrate SeaWorld’s “husbandry” methods to get Tilikum to provide sperm for their breeding program.)

Tsk, Tsk SeaWorld

The effect on social media since “Blackfish” aired on October 24 has been astounding.  I’m not going to summarize all that’s happened since this article does a beautiful job describing it.  But of course, my eye was drawn to the statement that SeaWorld is deleting comments from people on their Facebook page.

Truly, I feel like we’re living through the Hobby Lobby debacle all over again.  To their credit, Hobby Lobby never closed its Facebook page to comments from fans (the “Posts From Others” section), but SeaWorld has done so.  Apparently, there are countless number of complaints from Facebook users, and rather than respond politely (as Hobby Lobby eventually did), they’ve just deleted the comments once and for all.  So, the resourceful fans are responding to ANY post they see.  Here’s the proof:

If you look at this post, obviously there are 15 comments on this post.  However, if you click on “View all 15 comments,” here is what you’ll see:

That’s right, you only see 2 comments.  Where are the remaining 13 comments?  Obviously, SeaWorld didn’t like these comments and has deleted them.  They also want everything to be all kittens and rainbows at SeaWorld’s Facebook page.  As an experiment, I posted this comment on the bottom of this post, just to see if SeaWorld would delete the comment or even ban me.

It sounds like they are banning people, but hey, I was willing to try this in the name of social media. Sure enough, less than 45 minutes later, my comment was deleted (although I wasn’t banned).

Here’s a fascinating article from the team over at The Orca Project, about how they were banned and then protested in 2010.  SeaWorld did respond, but I love this phrase: “This is a SeaWorld fan site.  You can say what you please where you please, but we are under no obligation to provide you with a forum that you then use to criticize us.”

All I can say is: SeaWorld, you guys should take a page from Hobby Lobby.  You are getting bad social media advice from somebody.  If you want your fanbase to remain loyal and energized, then you need to stop banning and deleting anything you deem even remotely negative, and allow the natural flow of conversation to happen.  The brouhaha about Hobby Lobby has died down because they handled it appropriately.  Your arrogance in rejecting any and all criticism is showing, but it’s hardly the first time.  For the sake of the whales, I hope some of your pardigms are soon shifted.

The post Did SeaWorld learn nothing from Hobby Lobby’s social media debacle? first appeared on Project Social.

The Facebook page for craft store Hobby Lobby was a dangerous place to venture last week… what a whirlwind week they’ve had!

In case you hadn’t heard about the recent Hobby Lobby controversy, click here for my latest blog post.  That should bring you up to speed!

Quite a few things have happened since Wednesday evening when I first blogged about the Great Social Media Meltdown of 2013 (or does that title actually go to Amy’s Baking Company?).  It looks pretty obvious that Hobby Lobby got some much better advice on Wednesday, because that’s when they stopped banning users and deleting comments from those who questioned, criticized or teased their alleged anti-Semitic policies.  That’s also when Hobby Lobby started responding appropriately to people who questioned them in social media.

Please note, this post is not a defense of Hobby Lobby.  Rather, I’m just continuing down the road of what can be done to salvage a social media campaign after a major crisis, and to provide greater understanding of the controversy.

No More Banning and Deleting

First of all, since Wednesday evening, Hobby Lobby has been putting out a lot of fires.  After tweeting my own blog post, Hobby Lobby responded, apologizing for the misunderstanding and claiming the content of my previous blog post was not indicative of the company’s philosophy.  You’ll see how things played out down below:

So yes, I am officially no longer banned from the page.  I hope Hobby Lobby will consider un-banning the rest of the folks who were unfairly banned prior to Wednesday night.  Hobby Lobby also reached out to others who had tweeted negative comments.  You can read here to find out how their efforts helped defuse the situation a bit.

They also put out a few statements on their Facebook page, beyond their original statement on Wednesday night.  First, after spending quite a bit of time responding politely to fans (Jewish or otherwise), they requested some decorum on their timeline:

This was a good start.  Shortly thereafter on Friday, I saw this appear…

Again, another step in the right direction. This development was also confirmed in the Huffington Post.  You can read Ken Berwitz’s blog (mentioned in the Huffington Post article) right here, about his phone call with Steve Green.  Not sure if this will bring back legions of Jewish customers (and those of other religions who are offended by this entire scenario), but it’s definitely an improvement.  Now, it’s time for a little poll…

[socialpoll id=”2173052″]

Whack-a-Mole!

Things finally started to calm down over on the Hobby Lobby FB page, and then… they started playing Whack-a-Mole.  Basically, the trolls descended upon their FB timeline to wreak havoc.  I spotted some of this myself on Friday afternoon (Warning… some of what you’ll read here is pretty offensive):

For about 10 seconds, I was completely appalled.  What was Hobby Lobby thinking, after all the hard work they had been doing to win back hearts and fans?  And then I realized… it wasn’t Hobby Lobby.  Somebody had set up a Facebook account called “Customer Relations Team”, used the Hobby Lobby logo, and proceeded to respond to comments in completely inflammatory terms.  It was actually a pretty clever prank, but had the potential to be highly damaging.

Using my newly reinstated privileges, I went on the offense:

In fact, I sent a tweet to Hobby Lobby on Twitter, warning them about this parody account.  They quickly banned this user and deleted the comments.   Apparently, Customer Relations Team was the worst offender, but a few other users also came onto the page and claimed to be Hobby Lobby employees, responding to comments in offensive terms.  Now THAT is a perfect example of when a Facebook page should use the “delete and ban privileges,” not the nonsense from the previous several days!  So now, I want to ask your opinion again…

[socialpoll id=”2173050″]

You Know You’re in Trouble When Seth Rogen Says This…

Following the “Customer Relations Team” debacle, things started to calm down again when Seth Rogen (Hollywood actor and comedian) tweeted:

Wow… while I appreciate clever sarcasm as much as the next person, this one kind of left me flabbergasted.  Unfortunately, Hobby Lobby’s social media team didn’t see this and respond right away (you can see this was tweeted at 2:02 am and heck, even Hobby Lobby’s new social team deserves some sleep too).  Apparently, Seth really wanted Hobby Lobby to respond, so he tweeted this a little later:

You can see Hobby Lobby’s response to Seth’s tweet above.  I certainly don’t blame Seth for being upset with Hobby Lobby and using his well-known sense of humor to make a point.  But by this time, Hobby Lobby was beginning to make amends and his tweet seemed slightly out-of-place.

Is Hobby Lobby really Anti-Semitic?

The question that bothers so many is whether the statements of 2 employees in the New Jersey store reflected their own personal backward opinions, or a more systemic, disturbing philosophy promulgated at Hobby Lobby.  Having never worked there, I certainly can’t answer this question.  Like many who have shopped at Hobby Lobby, I’ve gone there only to find the store was closed (and always is) on Sundays, due to religious reasons.

Since my recent blog post, I’ve done research and there’s no doubt… this IS is a Christian business (scroll down to the bottom of this article to learn more), and religion is definitely part of the company’s ethos.  But that (along with not selling Hanukkah decorations) does not make a company anti-Semitic.  It does, however, make a company more vulnerable to such accusations, fair or not.

Apparently, the Green family has been exceedingly philanthropic to the Jewish community, long before this accusation of bigotry came about.  This controversy must be very hurtful to the Greens, both personally and financially.

Nonetheless, what bothers me most is the fact that two (not just one) employees made anti-Semitic comments in the New Jersey store.  If just one person made anti-Semitic comments, then I think we could all say, “yeah, one idiot doesn’t speak for the whole company.”  It became more troubling when Ken Berwitz spoke to the store manager and heard these ideas stated again.  Much as I want to believe Hobby Lobby just got caught up in something really hateful, I have to wonder why any person, working in a position of authority at Hobby Lobby, would say something like that without some direction from the company?  I’d love an explanation from that person as to why he said that.  THAT issue is more disturbing than whether they sell paper dreidels or electric menorahs.

Look, that’s the thought processes of one person (me), and clearly the Anti-Defamation League has accepted the apology of Hobby Lobby and they are in a better position to judge the situation than myself.  So, last poll of the day…

[socialpoll id=”2173051″]

The fact is the fury will die down, just as it did for Chick-Fil-A, Paula Deen and yes, even Amy’s Baking Company.  Hobby Lobby, this too shall pass.  In the meantime, I appreciate your being fodder for an excellent social media case study on “what not to do in a social media crisis.”

The post Hobby Lobby’s Social Media… the Saga Continues! first appeared on Project Social.

Image: IMDB.com

In the 1992 film “School Ties,” Brendan Fraser plays a young Jewish athlete named David Green, who hides his Judaism from his peers at a preppy New England boarding school during the 1950s, for fear of being the target of anti-Semitism.  In an ironic twist of fate, 21 years later, a different David Green is involved in a new anti-Semitic tale, only this one isn’t playing out on the big screen, but rather in real life.  Also, this time, David Green isn’t the recipient of the anti-Semitism… it’s his company, Hobby Lobby, that’s being called a bigot.

For those not aware of the controversy currently swirling around Hobby Lobby, here’s a quick summary.  A customer in New Jersey walked into a store, and when she inquired about the absence of Hanukkah decorations for sale, a cashier told her “sorry, we don’t cater to you people.”  The customer contacted the manager of the store to discuss this matter further, and when asked why Hobby Lobby wouldn’t be selling Hanukkah decorations, she was told “Because Mr. Green is the owner of the company, he’s a Christian, and those are his values.”

Image: blisstree.com

Hey, this is America and we’re all guaranteed our 1^st Amendment right to freedom of religion.  It is totally Mr. Green’s call if he doesn’t want to sell Hanukkah decorations… he can sell whatever he wants.  Not selling Hanukkah items is NOT anti-Semitism.  (There, I said it.)

But to have such a thinly-veiled hostile anti-Semitic corporate culture (Really? “You people”?) that has clearly filtered down to its lowest-level employees, well that’s when Mr. Green’s right to sell what he wants becomes my right to no longer frequent his stores.

Image: queenscrap.blogspot.com

What year are we living in?  I thought we had all moved past the whole “you people” sideshow.  Don’t we have bigger fish to fry (like a government being shut down)?  I don’t think even Jesus would have called this approach a “Christian value.”  To quote my husband’s Bubby, “It’s a shanda” that in 2013, this issue is being discussed at all in modern America.  I almost feel like we’re back in the 1950s with the Jewish David Green.

But let me get off my soapbox about the substance of the controversy, and focus on the real reason I’m writing this post… not only does Hobby Lobby have a reputation problem, but they also have horrible social media policies.

Banned From Hobby Lobby’s Facebook Page

Through my perusal of social media, I’d heard a rumor that Hobby Lobby’s Facebook page was deleting any and all comments that referred to the controversy.   So, as a test, I posted this comment:

Lo and behold, within a few hours, the comment was gone.  Actually, it was worse than gone… I could still see it, but nobody else could.  And suddenly, I was no longer able to post comments on the wall, respond to anybody else’s comments, or LIKE any comments.  Yes, it’s official, I was banned from the Hobby Lobby Facebook timeline.  No big loss for me personally, but them’s fighting words.

I shared this new development on my personal Facebook page, and some other friends took a trip to the Hobby Lobby Facebook page, posted comments as well, using the word “anti-Semitic” and BAM!!!  Also banned.  (Sorry Scott… )  My friend Hillary posted, “Why are you deleting posts and comments that question your business practices?” and within 30 minutes, it too was gone.  She didn’t even mention religion, and she was also banned.

A few of my friends tried different approaches… one friend posted this comment which let them know she was unhappy.  Clearly, Judi was more diplomatic than me and her post still lives.

Another friend posted this.  Knowing my friend, I don’t think his was an effort to be diplomatic… he was clearly testing the boundaries of Hobby Lobby’s so-called social media professionals.  His post is still there.

And finally, another friend of mine posted this image.  I guess Hobby Lobby doesn’t mind some references to the existence of the Jewish religion on their wall.  Maybe it’s because this one has a cross in it too. She got 52 Likes and said it beautifully.  Good job, Beth!

No Response To Comments Allowed Either

Upon further examination, I discovered that not only had Hobby Lobby banned me (and I’m sure a ton of other people who came to express their outrage) but any responses posted to the “Recent Posts By Others” section had also disappeared.

Case in point: before being banned, I had gotten involved in one conversation on their wall, responding to a man named Ben who said Mr. Green was an excellent example of a Christian and he respected Hobby Lobby.  I responded to Ben saying he and those of his ilk (one of my favorite words that I rarely get to use) were rather unfairly making the rest of the Christian world look bad.  Another woman (clearly Jewish) liked my comment and responded to me, and then we had a nice little conversation for about 4 comments.  Not so ironically, Hobby Lobby kept Ben’s ignorant comments and deleted ours.

Here’s an experiment: peruse the “Recent Posts By Others” section and look for posts where people are praising Hobby Lobby to the hilt.  If  it says “10 comments,” go ahead, try to read those 10 comments… you’ll only only be able to see 1-2 comments.  That’s the fine handiwork of their so-called social media team: they’ve deleted the comments from people criticizing Hobby Lobby or its supporters.  Here’s the post I mentioned from above.  It supposedly has 20 comments.

Apparently, not only does Hobby Lobby believe the “freedom of religion” aspect of the first amendment is selective to themselves, they also don’t care much for that little codicil about “freedom of speech.”

Free Speech Police

As a social media professional who has managed many pages, all I can say to their social media team is, “WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE THINKING????”

One of the basic tenets of social media is that this is a conversation.  Certainly, FB pages have rules that need to be followed, usually no profanity, spam, or being disrespectful of other fans.  But since when is “no mentioning controversies about the company’s own policies” grounds for banning?

When first launching a FB page, many clients ask, “What if people say negative things about us on our page?”  Legitimate concern, but if you have a skilled social media team, they can handle it deftly.  You’re never going to be able to make everybody happy, but you need to let customers vent, let them know that you’ve heard them and that you are working on their issues.  Ignoring the problem often makes the problem worse.

Attribution: www.jaybaer.com

To paraphrase Jay Baer (social media guru), you may never be able to make that complainer happy, but the bigger goal is to let other fans know that you care about customer concerns.

Boy, did Hobby Lobby take this in the opposite direction.  By banning me and deleting my comments (and those of countless others), they gave me the following messages: (a) they still aren’t catering to “my people” (b) they don’t give a crap about the fact that this controversy bothers me, and (c) they only want nice happy things on their page.  Kittens and rainbows, apparently that’s what they want.

Had they just responded to my original post and said something like, “Hi Karen, our corporate office is looking into this Hanukkah decoration policy,” I probably would have gone away a bit unsatisfied, but wouldn’t have been angry.  Instead, they’ve infuriated people like me and likely prompted a flurry of blogs, comments, etc.  And now, they are having to deal with a religious battle between those who are upset with Hobby Lobby and its supporters. Also, some very clever posters gave us these gems:

Seriously, a trip to their “Recent Posts by Others” section is highly entertaining now.  Their social media team just can’t keep up any more.  They’ll be busy for a long time to come, cleaning up this mess.

UPDATE: Since I began this post, Hobby Lobby has changed their social media tune.  First of all, they posted this apology.

Furthermore, not only is the social media team no longer trying to censor commenters, they are finally responding appropriately to many of the comments:

It’s really a shame that Hobby Lobby took so long to realize that they had created their own Perfect Storm.  Hopefully, this change of heart is related more to them realizing the true error of their ways, as opposed to watching their profits flush quickly down the toilet.  Whether I’ll return to Hobby Lobby remains to be seen.  They’ll have to earn my business back.

And by the way, just for the record, my social media policy is that I am not going to respond to any comments you may leave here, defending Hobby Lobby’s actions… you’ll never convince me that they were right.  But if you want to discuss why this was bad social media, I’ll be happy to talk turkey with you!

The post It’s all Kittens and Rainbows at Hobby Lobby first appeared on Project Social.

The old logo.

My friend Jamie Turner recommended that I crowdsource the logo.  I had no idea what that meant, but it was intriguing.  Although I know many talented graphic designers, I also have an eye toward new trends.  Plus, I'm not always the easiest client and since I wanted to maintain those relationships, crowdsourcing really appealed to me. 

Choosing the Crowdsourcing Site

For the unintiated, crowdsourcing is the process of setting up a contest and having graphic designers compete to design your logo.  There's a multitude of crowdsourcing logo websites, and each has a staple of designers willing to compete and submit designs for your logos, based upon your specifications.  You choose from designs, request revisions, and eventually select a winner.  These sites range in price from $99 to $399 for a logo.

The inspiration logo.

So, I set up my contest and set the price at $110 to hopefully entice more designers to participate ($99 was the lowest).  I chose to make mine a guaranteed contest (paying up front to guarantee payment upon completion) and another $19 to make it a "featured" contest (getting more traffic from designers).  I provided the inspiration logo as well as guidelines for what I wanted, set the duration as 5 days and off we went!

The Contest Begins!

At first, only a few designs were submitted.  Some I really liked, while others I truly hated.  The inspiration logo actually had an apple, and in spite of the fact that my instructions said "speech bubble", many designers submitted logos with apples in them.  After a few days, I started wondering if crowdsourcing was a good idea.  Then around Day 3, I noticed I could invite designers to participate.  I researched the list of top designers on 48HoursLogo.com and studied their body of work.  One designer in particular (jones12) caught my eye, so I invited him to participate.  He promptly submitted a design and moved up to the front of the line.

At the end of the 5th day, I'd received designs from more than 25 designers from around the world.  I selected 3 finalists (not a difficult task), and provided specific instructions about revisions.  Once I had revised designs in hand, I took a screenshot of them and posted it on my personal Facebook page to get feedback from my friends.  This turned out to be an inspired idea.

The middle design… people said it looked like a cow's udder.  Eliminate.  I was told the 3rd design looked like a tornado.  And the first design, many liked it but hated the capital letters in the name… didn't capital letters in social media equate to YELLING???  I also had asked the designers to add reflections of the speech bubble beneath the images, but my friends said they looked like shark fins.

A Finalist Emerges

In the end, I chose the design by Jones12.  Many people think the graphic in the center of the speech bubble looks like a film strip.  Actually, I thought of that graphic as my clients' message and branding, being pushed out towards the different social networks (the little squares).  But since it did sort of resemble a filmstrip, I decided to change my job title to "Executive Social Media Producer," because I help my clients tell their story.

Interestingly, after posting the 3 candidates on my Facebook wall, one of my friends (a graphic designer) sent a private message, sharing his discomfort with the whole concept of crowdsourcing for a logo.  He said, "is that how you propose your social media services be sold?  By people winning a contest?"  Well, no… but what I provide is a monthly service in which we create and post different content each month, whereas graphic design for a logo is a one-time thing. I understand some may see this as a cheapening of the graphic design industry.  But to me, I saw this as a way to get access to many designers that I might not otherwise have found, and for a very reasonable price.  And to be honest, it was fun!

So that's the way, it became the new Project Social logo!   

The post Here’s the Story of a Crowdsourced Logo… first appeared on Project Social.

Sometimes these announcements tend to elicit yawns (ahem, Graph Search), but today's presentation demonstrated many opportunities for marketers using Facebook to further their business purposes.  The live conference was broken up into 3 sections:

Richer Photos

Facebook acknowledged that when arriving at the homepage, the majority of Facebook users pay most attention to the newsfeed.  Not the list of apps on the left side, the ticker, and certainly not the ads.  So, Facebook has made the newsfeed much larger and in doing so, all photos will also be much larger, as will photo albums.  Posted links will contain larger images, longer descriptions, and the logo of the publisher.  When you hover over the name of a friend or page, the Cover Photo will appear even larger than before.  And you'll be able to see who has shared videos and links much more easily.

Courtesy of AllFacebook.com

What does this mean for marketers?

1. If using photos in your Facebook marketing hasn't been a main strategy for your business, it's time to shift gears.  A photo-centric marketing strategy on Facebook has been important for awhile, but this adds extra emphasis.
2. Hey bloggers and publishers, the selection of photos used in your articles is even more important.  Facebook will be automatically attaching the publisher's logo, which means you better have a good and recognizable logo.  Also you'll need an engaging and great description for your post, to entice fans to click on the link.
3. Cover photo – It's going to get even greater exposure, so make it a good one.
4. Videos – People will be able to see which of their friends have shared this, along with their photos and comments they have made about the video.  Make them engaging AND shareable!

Choice Of Feeds

Those of us struggling to get our companies' content into the newsfeeds of ALL fans (as opposed to the 16% that blasted Edgerank gives us)… your prayers have been answered.  Well, sort of.  Fans can now choose from a variety of newsfeeds (seen below) and will be able to see all posts from all friends and/or pages!  Here are some of the feeds:

1. All Friends – You can now see posts from everybody, not just the top friends.
2. Close Friends – This helps you to weed out the dreck… you know, those friends who sent requests and you didn't want to accept but felt you had to…
3. Topic feeds – music, sports, etc.
4. Photos feed – Just what it sounds like… if you only want to see the photos shared by your friends, this is for you.
5. Following feed – You can now see posts for all the pages you are following in chronological order… hallelujah!
6. Current feed – They are revamping this to include everything – all posts from friends and pages.  Awesome!

It seems that all of these newsfeed changes would take away the importance of Facebook ads, and promoting posts so your fans can see the content.  I guess the impact on ads and revenue for Facebook remains to be seen.

Mobile Consistency

The view of Facebook's newsfeed, on all devices, be it desktop/laptop, tablet or mobile phone will now all be the same.  This provides for a consistent user experience, no matter how you access Facebook.

1. The new design allows for the chat tray on smaller devices, for those of you clamoring for this feature.
2. “New stories” box will appear at the top of newsfeed on PC, just like you’ll see on the iPhone or iPad.

Coming soon…?

This all sounds great, right?  Can't wait to use it, can you?  Well, you're gonna have to.  Go to this link, scroll to the bottom, and join the waiting list for the new and improved newsfeed on the web.  It will be rolled out over time for tablets and mobile devices.  Who knows how long it will take, but I think it will be worth it!

What do you think of the new design?

The post Facebook’s Latest Newsfeed Redesign – Good news for marketers! first appeared on Project Social.

Circa 1987. That’s me on the right with my good friend Debbie.

Over the years, I’ve watched friends switch to Apple as I continued to buy PC after PC.  My Apple friends kept telling me, “You REALLY should move to Mac.” But I was quite comfortable with PCs, specifically all the Microsoft software and didn’t want to learn a whole new system or pay a lot more for my computer.  And yet, when I moved into the social media profession, every single person I met was using MacBooks.  Maybe there was something to this whole Apple thing.

My latest notebook was an Acer with Windows 8 and a very cool touch screen. Seemed like a good deal and it came from Costco with its 90-day return policy and access to their “Concierge” service.  The Acer looked like a MacBook, but acted like a PC.  Yet halfway through the 3^rd month of owning this Acer, I was fed up.  I’d already done a major virus removal, a system refresh (not restart) to resolve a “jumping cursor” causing me to lose all my software, AND I had persistent Wifi problems.  I realized this was the prime opportunity to finally switch to Apple.

Switching Teams

After visiting my local Apple store and getting a tour of a MacBook Pro by one of their Geniuses, I decided to make a leap of faith.  I purchased the MacBook, and would return the Acer to Costco before the 90-day window closed.  I figured the serious love for this laptop would come later, as Apple’s fans are hopelessly devoted.  I purchased Apple’s One-to-One plan (full year of unlimited lessons), and was encouraged to make appointments to learn how to use my MacBook. 

I made 1-2 calls to Apple for some set-up issues and was pleased to find no long hold times, calls lasting less than 10 minutes, and talented, enthusiastic support staff clearly located in the U.S.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind speaking to an overseas customer support person, as long as they can fix the problem.  But Apple’s customer support was outstanding so far.

Microsoft Office For Mac

I wasn’t convinced I’d be able to use all of Apple’s software (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) to edit my documents created by Microsoft Office, so I purchased Office for Mac.  My one major problem was setting up email accounts in Outlook.  So I called Microsoft customer support and wound up speaking to somebody clearly located in Southeast Asia, who claimed her name was “Kristin.” I figured Kristin could tackle this in 20-30 minutes using remote access to configure my email accounts (only 2).  Wrong!  Try 90 minutes. 

With Apple’s customer support, I dealt with consummate professionals.  But honestly, had somebody given me some direction, I probably could’ve figured it out myself and taken less time than Kristin.  At one point in the call, I did research on my Acer and I gave her the solution needed for proper configuration!  She was very polite and tenacious, but oh so slow!  That’s 90 minutes I wish I could get back.

Deactivating Microsoft Office

Throughout the week, I moved my data from Acer to MacBook, and my Apple love began in earnest.  Yes, there’s a learning curve, but not nearly what I’d expected.  Finally, I was ready to do a system restart on the Acer and return it.  But first, I wanted to deactivate Office on the Acer… after all, somebody else in my house might need to use Office for PC since mine is the only Mac in our house.

After researching, “how to deactivate Microsoft Office”, a Microsoft website told me to call their Fix-It number.  I thought “great, more remote access and they can deactivate it for me.”  10 minutes on hold and a customer support rep (who sounded like he was from the same call center as Kristin) said, “Certainly, we can help with that.”  He had me launch the remote access module, and said a tech would come on momentarily to help me.  We waited and waited for more than 10 minutes, and no tech came on.  Suddenly, the module shut itself down.  What the…? The rep said, “No problem, let’s try again.”  We did and got the same results.  He said, “We’re having unusually high call volume right now.  Can you call back tomorrow morning?”

So I did, and after another 10 minute wait, the new customer support rep said, “Of course, we can help you do that.”  We launched the module again and this time a tech came on.  The guy on the phone hung up, and I was left dealing with the “chat rep.”  “Gene” explored my system, and after 5 minutes, announced he was transferring me to another rep who could solve my problem.  Within another 5 minutes, “Donald” came on, spent another 5 minutes searching my system, only to tell me I would have to call customer support to get help with this.  At this point I was furious… wasn’t I already dealing with customer support?  Donald refused to respond to my questions and disconnected the session.

I almost feel sorry for the poor guy whom I spoke to next on the phone.  He listened to me rant and rave about my terrible experience.  He politely informed me that I couldn’t deactivate Microsoft Office.  But the next time I tried to load Office on another computer, I’d just have to call them and get somebody to issue me a new product key.  I couldn’t believe I’d wasted another 1.5 hours dealing with this nonsense, only to wind up with nothing.

Let’s Return This Baby!

It was finally time to return my Acer to factory settings.  This time I called Costco’s Concierge Service and they walked me through Windows 8’s restart process.  She said, “it might take about an hour to do this.”  I was anxious to get started, so we forged ahead.  No, not one hour, SIX hours.  The only pleasant part of this entire experience was returning the Acer to Costco and getting my money back.

So far, all my experiences with Apple have been excellent  I’m dealing with competent enthusiastic people who genuinely want me to learn to use their products.  I’ve had 2 personal training sessions (one for email and one for Keynote) and I’m thoroughly impressed.  My daughter is getting a MacBook for college next year and I can’t wait to help her out… I truly understand the Mac love now.  I can’t imagine EVER going back.

The post Lifelong Microsoft User to Apple Devotee in 7 Days first appeared on Project Social.

However, Facebook has some neat little features built right in that can make your life easier, don't cost anything to use AND can boost engagement.  Let's look at a few of these:

(1)  Embed Your Links

It used to be that if you wanted to post a link on Facebook, you had to post the full link into the status box.

This could make for a very long, clickable link in your post, in addition to the link that appears at the bottom of your post.  This looked especially messy if you had one of those extremely long links!  Now, you can insert the link, and once the "link box" appears below, you can just go ahead and delete the link.  Makes for a much cleaner look!  This is how it looks when posted on the wall, without the link:

Fans will be more likely to click on your link if the entire post looks clean and uncomplicated.

(2)  Change the Link Photo, Description and/or Headline

Have you ever posted a link and thought, "Uggggh, I don't like that description at all!"  Or, the link came up with a photo that really didn't match with the content?  Even the headlines sometimes don't match up.  Facebook allows you to change these items, before you publish them!  Here's how you do it:

After inserting your link (and then deleting the link once this image populates), look to see if you have Thumbnail choices.  You can easily scroll through the choices and select an image that better matches your content.  OR if none of them match your content, you can simply choose "No Thumbnail."  I would love to see Facebook add a feature that allows you to upload an image of your choice, because let's face it, sometimes the image choices kind of stink.

After choosing a better image, you can then change the description, simply by clicking on the text there.  It will initially turn yellow, and then a box opens where you can write a more engaging description:

Finally, you can edit the headline in the same way.  Simply click on the headline, it will turn yellow, and then you can enter a more engaging description.  The benefit of making all these changes is that by customizing your link in ways designed to draw the reader's attention, you have a much better chance of getting people to click on your link.

(3)  Post an Engaging Photo Instead of Using a Link

Although posting links is one of the simplest things to share on Facebook, links rarely get the same kind of engagement that images do.  It's just a fact.  So let's look at the 2 posts below and analyze what's different:

In the first post, Esri has included an engaging image and instead of using the link box which Facebook automatically populates, Esri has posted an image from this article and inserted the clickable link into the post.  This is a simple and very popular technique which almost automatically gets you more engagement.  It's considered a universal fact that images get more engagement on Facebook than most other forms of shared content.  The second post is a standard "we just shared a link" post on Facebook.  

By looking at the number of Likes, Comments and Shares, you can see which method is more effective for boosting engagement. Of course, this doesn't take into account the question of "perhaps one article was just better than the other" factor, or even the timing factor (some times of day are better for posting than others – although in this case, it looks like both were published at the same time).  But clearly, posting an image with your article gets more engagement.

(4)  Tag Other Facebook Pages in Your Posts

If you post content, then by design, only your fans are going to see it.  Once you get more engagement, then the posts can be seen by others virally.  (If a fan clicks LIKE, shares or comments on a post, then the post will be seen by that fan's friends in the newsfeed or the ticker.)  But, if you can tag other Facebook pages in your posts, then the content will appear on the wall of that other page, and all of their fans will see it too!

In this example, the post was published by Broken Sound Club.  But they also tagged "Boca Raton magazine" (who created the video) and "Allianz Championship" which is the golf tournament being held at Broken Sound Club.  By tagging all of these different pages, it guarantees that this post will show up on the wall of the other pages as well, and therefore will be exposed to the other fans.  Tagging is simple… all you need to do is know the correct name of the page, and then type an "@" right before the name.  Facebook will provide a drop down menu of choices you can select for tagging.

(5) Facebook Post Scheduler

As a page admin for many accounts, this one tool is essential.  Ever since Facebook introduced this feature, I have never used HootSuite or any other 3rd party posting service for my posts.  The feature allows you to schedule posts for up to 6 months in the future, and you can see how the content will look before it is ever published!  To use the FB Post Scheduler, begin typing a status and you'll notice a little bar appears at the bottom: 

Just click on that little clock in the bottom left- hand corner, and Facebook immediately offers you year, month, day, hour and minute options for posting:

After you've made sure the post looks exactly the way you want it to, click on "Schedule."  Facebook will then show a dialog box, telling you that your post has automatically gone to the Activity Log where you can see how it will look when posted.  To get to the Activity Log, go into your Admin Panel and click on "Edit Page".  In the drop-down menu click on "Use Activity Log" and you can see all Scheduled Posts:

Once you are in the Activity Log, you can make a few changes… by hovering near the top right corner of a post an arrow appears.  If you click on the arrow, you can change the time when it will be posted or delete the post all together.  I hope Facebook is listening, but I would love to be able to edit a post in the Activity Log instead of having to delete it and start all over again.

The Facebook scheduler makes life so much simpler and again, it adds to engagement because you can make a post look exactly as you wish and schedule it to post exactly when you want.  It's a powerful tool that costs you nothing to use.

So there you have it… 5 tricks or features that you can use to boost engagement and cost you nothing to use.  Let me know if you have other tricks that you use!

The post 5 Facebook Tips To Help You Beat Edgerank That Cost You Nothing! first appeared on Project Social.

For the last 2 weeks, I had been researching buying a vehicle for our 16-year-old daughter.  Although she had been lamenting for months that she was perhaps the only 16-year-old in Johns Creek, GA without her own car, my husband and I held out. Neither of us had gotten our own cars until we were seniors in college, and we didn't feel a need to keep up with the Jones'.  Nonetheless, in the last month or so, we'd decided to go ahead.  Our daughter had worked so hard on her school work and was beginning to take part in more extracurricular activities.  It just seemed like now was the time.

After conducting much research on "the best used cars for teenagers", we had finally zeroed in on a 2010 Hyundai Elantra.  It had most of the bells and whistles that she wanted, was extremely safe, had good gas mileage, and was in our budget.  It seemed like the perfect first car for a teenager… we didn't want her first car to be so souped-up that she would have nothing to look forward to.  On Thursday, I had located the actual vehicle that we wanted to buy and had even test driven it… I was very impressed and ready to proceed.  At this point, all we needed was to learn whether our daughter would be awarded a parking permit by her school for the spring semester.  That decision would be announced Friday morning at the school.

Friday, December 14

At 8:24 Friday morning, I received a 3-word text from my daughter that would begin the process: "I GOT IT!"  At 9:00, my husband contacted the general manager at the dealership to get the process rolling on buying the car.  The manager was in a meeting and promised to call back shortly.  According to their website, the price of the car had inexplicably dropped another $200 overnight, and we were concerned that at this price, it wouldn't last.  He finally called back (around 9:30), only to give us news we didn't want to hear…the car had been sold the night before.

Rats!!!!!!  It was time to start over.  I guess we didn't need to buy a car that day… our daughter wasn't going to be able to park it in her school parking lot the following week anyway.  Was it really necessary?  Yes, we had the car bug and the irrational impulse within me said it was time to keep going.

Somewhere else in the country, a horror was beginning to unfold.  We were so focused upon ourselves, we had no idea.

I started searching online and found another 2010 Hyundai Elantra at the "sister" location for this particular dealership.  It had 6,000 fewer miles and cost more, but it was certified, had a clean Carfax report and the color our daughter preferred… silver.  I contacted the dealership and after a conference call with my husband, the general manager agreed that I could come pick it up, drive it around, and bring it back later in the day with my daughter.

Heading Towards Destiny

Normally, I listen to CNN on XM when driving in my car.  Today, I was so focused on the task at hand, that instead I wound up talking on the phone to my mom.  I told her where I was heading, and we got the giggles over a huge coincidence… my mother's car lease was up and she was on her way to the dealership to get a new car as well.  How funny, that grandmother and her oldest grandchild were likely getting new cars on the same day!

I arrived at the dealership, signed the paperwork and inspected the car.  I was pleased with what I saw, and as I was getting ready to leave, my husband called.  Would I be willing to drive the car to his office?  His colleague, who works at Autotrader and was an expert on cars had agreed to inspect the car for us and tell us if the car had ever been in an accident (despite what the Carfax report said).  I hopped in the car and headed towards his office. 

Again, a strange coincidence kept me from hearing the terrible news of the day.  Although this car had XM Satellite radio, it hadn't yet been activated.  I spent the whole drive over to my husband's office, cursing how much I hated Atlanta radio stations.  It seemed my choices were rap music, Christmas music, or hard rock.  I dodged 18-wheelers and marveled at what great handling the car had.  My husband's colleague inspected the car and was very impressed. He showed us that indeed, the car still had all of its original parts and he claimed that this was a female's car… you could see marks on the trunk where the owner had clearly been placing her purse.  All cosmetic damage could easily be buffed out.  He gave us his seal of approval.  We were psyched!

The News Sinks In…

Half an hour later, I finally arrived home.  I had one hour before I needed to pick up my daughter at school (a special treat… she couldn't wait to see the new car).  I made myself some lunch, turned on an episode of "Walking Dead" on Netflix, and went on my computer to do a Facebook post for a client. While doing that post, I saw something strange appear in the ticker…

A friend of mine posted something about the NRA and "given the news of today, it's time to take a serious look at gun control."  What the heck did that mean?  I then clicked on my newsfeed and was shocked that almost all of my Facebook friends were talking about a tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut and innocent children dying.  Finally, I switched over to CNN's website, only to learn of the horrific events which occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.  The facts were staggering… 27 dead, 20 were children.  Very young children.  I was struck cold.

I spent the rest of my time at home, learning as much as I could and letting the news sink in.  It was almost too much to bear.  How had I missed this story?  Usually I'm so tuned into what's happening in the news, and yet on this day, I was so focused on my own life that I almost felt guilty for not paying attention to more important things.

TIme for Pick-Up

I finally left to pick up my daughter.  This time, I listened to the AM radio stations and heard President Obama discussing the tragedy.  He spoke, in halting terms, about all the milestones these children would miss… graduations, weddings, their own children.  Suddenly I got chills thinking about 2 other milestones… their first car, and the milestone of buying their own child their first car.  I was facing a milestone on this very day, and feeling terrible about all the families for whom these milestones wouldn't be possible.

When I arrived at my daughter's high school, all I wanted was to hug her.  She was brimming with an innocent excitement, even after we discussed the shootings in Connecticut.  When we finally got home (after I allowed her to test drive it, during which time she fell in love with the car), I pulled her into my arms for a long hug.  Ironically, neither of us let go for a longer time than usual.  It just felt so good to hold her, and realize how incredibly lucky I was that my child arrived home safely that day.  And to know that we were on the brink of a milestone for our family too.

Although we were anxious to head out to the dealership to buy the car, I wanted my son to arrive home from school first.  I stood in front of the house, waiting… something I don't normally do.  As he walked up the driveway, he got excited when he saw his sister's new car and realized what was going to happen.  Some kids would have been jealous of their older sibling, but my son was never like that.  He was always genuinely happy for his sister's accomplishments and good fortune.  I brought him into the house, told him about the shootings, and then I hugged him for a long time too.  I just needed to see him and tell him how much I loved him before leaving with my daughter.

The End of a Long Day

I had warned my daughter that buying a car always took a few hours and she should be prepared.  I tried to include her in the process, explaining what all the itemized costs meant on the invoice, as well as explaining that a few of the items still needed to be negotiated.  She was horrified when I told her that if things didn't go our way, we would have to threaten to leave and I needed her to just get up and follow me out without complaint.  She looked shocked and almost with tears in her eyes, she said, "But Mom, I REALLY  want this car!"  I told her not to worry, that it was simply a negotiating tactic.  I wanted to educate her on the intricacies of being an adult, because I desperately want her to become an adult who will someday be teaching these same things to my grandchildren.

Fortunately, our negotiations went well and we didn't have to leave.  Nearly 3 hours after leaving our house, we pulled away from the dealership… me in my car, and my teenager driving her own first vehicle.  This time, I listened to CNN in my car and caught up on the news of the shooting.  The details were simply unimaginable… I was caught up in the collective grief I know our country feels for this tiny Connecticut community.

And so I end this post, again feeling terribly sad for these children, these parents, this community.  On the day when we reached a milestone in our house, perhaps a thousand other milestones were lost in this small town.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Newtown, CT.

The post A Milestone and a Tragedy in Connecticut first appeared on Project Social.

The speed of social media continues to impress and awe me.

During the debate, in an effort to express his support for women, Republican candidate Mitt Romney used an awkward phrase.  He said he knew "binders full of women."  Here, you can watch it yourself.  [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Q7hONqQBk[/youtube]

Before the debate had ended, the following new social media accounts had been opened:

Romney's Binders Full of Women – Facebook page  – 41,052 Likes

Binders Full of Women – Facebook group  – 298 members

RomneysBinder – Twitter account  – 3,167 followers

Binders full 'o women – Tumblr page 

Let's face it… binders are the new Big Bird.

The post The New Big Bird: Romney’s Binders Full of Women first appeared on Project Social.

I was horrified recently to learn of a terrible incident that occurred in Pakistan just this week.

A young girl named Malala Yousafzai, was riding the bus on her way home from school.  Malala was no orderinary teen in Pakistan.  Since the age of 11, she had been writing a blog for the BBC about life under the Taliban in the Swat Valley area of Pakistan.  She has been interviewed on television and was very interested in education for females. 

Unfortunately, none of these activities are approved by the Taliban.  In fact, it goes against everything the Taliban believes in.

So on this day, they stopped the bus and climbed aboard.  They asked which child was Malala, and upon locating her, they shot her in the head and neck.  Malala underwent surgery to remove a bullet near her spinal cord and as of the writing of this post, she has not regained consciousness.

The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility, and announced that if they get the chance, they will try to finish the job.  I don't have the proper words to express what I think of this, but you can read the whole story here.

Presidential Elections

This shocking turn of events made me stop and think… it made me incredibly grateful that I live in a country where I don't need to worry about such things.  With the presidential election occurring in the United States in just a few weeks, it would be easy to dwell on what a mess things are here.  Just turn on the TV, read articles online or peruse the newsfeed on Facebook or Twitter… full  of denouncements of how awful things are in the United States (and how badly the candidates will muck it up once in office).

I'm not going to sit here and say that we don't have a lot of issues here, and plenty of problems that need to be addressed or solved.  I'm also not going to say that the two candidates for the United States don't have some fundamental differences in how they would address our nation's problems.

But let's be honest… when Barack Obama took office from George W. Bush in 2009, nothing completely dramatic occurred overnight that said, "Hey, somebody from another party is in office now."  And if Mitt Romney wins, I expect the same thing to NOT happen in January 2013.  Frankly, the Democrats and Republicans have more in common than not (when compared with political parties in other countries).  My mom likes to say that one of the great things about the U.S. is that we always have peaceful transitions between presidents… we've yet to have a revolution when a new president takes over! 

Free to Be, You and Me

Which brings me back to the main point of this blog… another great thing about our country is our freedom of speech.  For some reason, this horrible shooting in Pakistan makes me even more thankful than ever to our Founding Fathers.  Yes, if I post something on social media that ruffles feathers, I'm going to get instant feedback from the social sphere.  But do I worry that I'm going to be physically attacked because of anything I say?  Absolutely not.  Because of the First Amendment to our Constitution, I have the ability to work in social media and say whatever I need to on behalf of my clients… and even to publish this post!  And I'm certainly not worried that my government is going to come after me for talking about life here in the burbs. 

Poor Malala Yousafzai.  That is EXACTLY what happened to her.  She tried to speak up for the basic rights of young girls living under the thumb of the Taliban in Pakistan.  She paid the price for her words. 

So to get back to the Presidential election in the U.S…. no matter who wins for President, I'm not worried that I'll be a victim of my words spoken on the Internet.  I'm sure (if she recovers) that Malala and all of her peers would LOVE to come live here, and they wouldn't dream of using the winner of our presidential election as a qualifier before making that choice.  (Can you imagine: "Sorry, Romney is president, so I can't live there.")

I would choose living here in the U.S. any day, regardless of whether our next President is Mr. Obama or Mr. Romney.  And I'm so grateful to have the rights to speak freely.  Let's all say some prayers for Malala Yousafzai and hope for a speedy recovery.  Let's also pray that the Taliban hasn't put out a bright shining light.

The post The Taliban, U.S. Elections and Freedom of Speech first appeared on Project Social.