I got to serve on the speaker selection team this year.  We picked 20, mostly from Fort Wayne, a few from Indianapolis and at least one from out of state. Check out the line-up here and keep track of these names.  Some are already famous for what they have done or are doing.  Some will never be famous, but will inspire others.

Today will be a non-tech for me I believe.  I’ve got a couple of pens and a new journal that I’ll be using to take notes.

If you see me say hi, I’d love to meet you face to face (again).  Today I’m just the bearded guy with a white shirt.

Here’s the list:

MARKBECKER

Creating the tipping point for positive change in communities, perspectives gleaned from a seasoned civil servant yield a call to collaborate for our city and our region.

ZACHARYBENEDICT

Recognizing the socio-economic power of everyday interpersonal connections can be used to increase engagement and improve communities – this is a call for reprioritization.

AARONBROWN

Mobilizing communities to make a difference through service as seen through the eyes of a volunteer – a story of personal change, inspiring encounters and key takeaways from these experiences.

ALEX JONATHANBROWN

Building endeavors within Fort Wayne around organic, strong ideas with a large support base.  Avoiding the pitfalls of the hip or exclusive versus the strength of the sustainable cool.

RANDYCLARK

Distinguishing the use of technology as a force that can be used for good is a powerful tool in promoting community and pursuing real world connections to offer support to one another.

ERIKDECKERS

Exploring the disruption of society from the introduction of both internet and social media with consideration for the possibility that these modalities have created newer and better communities.

KIRBYFERGUSON

Remixing is a folk art but the techniques are the same ones used at any level of creation: copy, transform, and combine. Explore examples, discover innovation’s secrets and be inspired to go and do likewise.

JEFFREYGLADD [MD]

Empowering patients to true jump-out-of-bed-in-the-morning health by creating high-tech, high touch medical practices focused on achieving optimal levels of health and balanced lifestyles for patients, employers and providers.

RILEYJOHNSON & GINGERGIESSLER

Re-thinking education in Fort Wayne through an innovative program that empowers students in the classroom and community with the goal of improving the culture of our city by giving the students a voice and a choice.

JOHNKAUFELD

Discovering oneself on the road less traveled as a leader, this is an opportunity to explore and consider how to translate and communicate passion and beliefs to other people.

LORIKEYS

Learning to dance happens in a progression.  It can change people’s lives, and the same lessons learned on the dance floor can make even greater changes in the world.

KELLYLYNCH

Challenging the “what’s in it for me?” mentality with a shift to making imaginative and authentic investments – fusing arts and culture, trails and rivers, historical cornerstones and inspiring considerations of who we can become.

MILESNITZ

Contemplating the concept of change through exploration of secrets hidden deeply within the neuro-biology of the human brain. Learn cutting edge approaches being used to facilitate new thinking.

MACPARKER

Taking risks and having vision built Fort Wayne’s legendary past and will reshape its future.  Reviewing the first three Acts of Fort Wayne’s history offers insight into why Fort Wayne needs to get its swagger back to direct Act Four.

ROBSALKOWITZ

Using the lens of the San Diego Comic-Con to explore the unprecedented disruptions in communication, marketing and technology, explore the convergence of pop culture, niche & mass marketing and changes in the top down creative approach.

CHRISSANDERSON

Making dramatic changes in health yields significant weight loss, improved statistics and remarkable changes in quality of life.  Consider the transition from sub-par to premium nutritional fuel to improve health and optimize life.

HEATHERSCHOEGLER

Realizing that [1+1≠2] in the realm of human contact and connection – rather recognizing that [1+1=infinity] – opens doors to endless possibilities for anyone. RETHINK Fort Wayne!

ALEXSMITH

Discussing the importance of sowing seeds that benefit others, as well as cultivating community attachment and retaining talent – recent grassroots initiatives give proof of fertile soil within our city.

LAURENZUBER

Giving yourself permission to be fluid, to try things, to test what you want to do and where you excel makes a case for the five-year anti-plan: RETHINK entry level.

It gathered some attention, including a new Twitter follower that had me puzzled for a couple moments.

Take a look:

When I received the notification in my email, my first thought was, why in the world did BathroomDotCom want to follow me on Twitter? 

Then I remembered I used the word Crap in my latest update and sent a promotional tweet at noon.  19 minutes later, the autofollow program that BathroomDotCom decided that I was worth following.

That, I believe demonstrates the problem with AutoFollowing on Social Media based on keywords without a little human intervention.  Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of crap…

Last month I saw a study that confirmed my thoughts that most businesses still don’t know how to use social media as a marketing tool.

Too many have a goal of measuring success by the number of Twitter Followers or Facebook Likes they have.

If you’ve fallen into that sinkhole, read this from the Center for Media Research:

According to published studies by Dr. Tina McCorkindale, an assistant professor at Appalachian State University’s Department of Communication, “18- to 29-year-olds are the Facebook generation,” and it’s not the Millennial “likes” that assures ad success, but perks.

The studies found that while 75% said they had “liked” a profit or non-profit organization on Facebook, 69% said that once they “liked” the organization, they rarely or never returned to the fan page. Only 15% of the respondents said they visited organizations’ fan pages weekly. Most respondents (44%) spent less than 30 minutes a day on Facebook.

McCorkindale says, “… one of the (marketing) basics… is to build relationships to… get individuals to engage in some sort of behavior… 18- to 29-year-olds are not as invested in an organization as the organization may think… when they click the ‘like’ button or click ‘follow’… It’s fairly consistent in the research that Millennials like organizations that give something back to them.”

“It’s not about the number of people that like your page, because they may not be the right people, and they may not really like you, they may just do it because of pressure from friends,” McCorkindale said.

Enticements to return to a Facebook page include discounts, coupons, sample products or new information. But 42% of the Millennials will disconnect from an organization or group if they become too annoyed with the volume of emails or updates they are receiving.

I have often preached that “Like’s” are nearly worthless.  It’s to easy to press the Like Button on a Facebook page in order to get a reward.

What you really want is Love.  As in people who love you and your stuff so much that they tell others about you.

Love is always better than Like.

Money is what makes the world go ’round.

Not literally, but figuratively.

And in many small ways, I suppose literally too, depending on the type of world you are looking at.

I’m going to stick to the world of media and marketing that I know so well.

The internet was supposed to kill off so many things we have lived with for decades.

Like Newspapers, Yellow Pages, Television, Radio, to name a few.

Sitting in a coffee shop the other day, I saw someone with a phone book and someone else reading the Sunday paper.

Over 90% of Americans still listen to the radio at least once a week, and we seem to continue to fill between 100 and 1000 cable TV channels with something 24/7.

As long as there is money to support _______ it won’t go away.  Which is why AOL and MySpace are still alive, even though they shouldn’t be with Facebook and Google taking over the world.  Or at least the World Wide Web.

A business stays in business as long as they have the funds to stay in business.  It’s that simple.

I mean one time I had a staring match with the guy behind the counter, except he never looked me in the eye.  I was waiting for him to greet me and he just stood there, looking bored as crap, not saying a word.  I walked out.  I told my McDonalds contacts and now this is one of the best run places, even when they are busy with 20 cars in the drive thru.

This morning I saw a report about customer service.

According to the 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer consumers who have used social media for service tell significantly more people about their service experiences, and say they’d spend 21% more with companies who deliver great service, compared to 13% on average.

The survey reveals a sorry state of service in general, pointing that 93% of Americans surveyed say that companies fail to exceed their service expectations, while 55% walked away from an intended purchase in the past year because of a poor customer service experience.

My first thought was this was a waste of money… of course we want better customer service, you don’t need a survey to point this out.  But then maybe someone needs to be told that their service sucks.

You and I have the power to say something, to reach others and tell the story about the salesperson who did a fantastic job, or the waiter who constantly screws up.

Actually we have a responsibility to tell others.

Tell the head honcho if you can.  Tell others about it on Facebook, Twitter, your blog or website.

And don’t just complain.  Compliment too.

Write a recommendation for someone on Linkedin.

At the very least tell the person face to face that you are grateful for the job they did, even if it’s just their job.