MOSS HYSTERIA

It had to happen...Less Green for More Green

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Yesterday I got a solicitation in email to purchase the new study from Natural Marketing Institute on the Mainstreaming of Sustainability.

It has been nine years since NMI conducted the first... research study on the Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability (LOHAS) marketplace. In 2002, only a few companies were talking about sustainability. [Now] most Fortune 100 companies have C-level sustainability staff and have infused sustainability throughout the organization so that it is everyone's responsibility to consider the environmental and social impacts of their products and operations.

Today I received an solicitation in email to purchase a Green Deal of the day. Now, I'm a big fan of Groupon, LivingSocial, ideeli, you name it. I know, I know: higher consumption... but less gas when buying daily deals online vs at brick and mortars! But check out the Green Deal rationale, which makes sense to ME:

You want that big coupon for that local restaurant or that online retailer that makes you call all your friends because you can't believe what an amazing deal you just got. But you don't want to get great savings at the expense of your commitment to taking care of people and the planet.

Now you can get a great deal AND support the companies who share your values.

So, I love that now, instead of all our early cries about mainstream companies jumping on the green bandwagon, now the green guys are going mainstream. At this point, I'm all for things moving both ways, and finding a good, green middle ground.

Multi-tasking too much? SITT with it...

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 20:44:00 +0000

It has to be said -- OFTEN, since most of us still don't get it (or at least ignore it) myself included, and I wrote a damn blog about this same topic two years ago and called it MT Brains (get it?): multi-tasking is not efficient. It FEELS like it is; we get smugly proud of looking/acting busy and managing tasks, putting out fires, and juggling three screen lifestyles all at once. But the micro-seconds it takes our brains to recalibrate when we jump from one task to another actually SETS US BACK and sucks time and focus for the worse. And it's physically affecting our brains, and the brains of the up and coming generation.

Check out the story on kids and tech addiction, in the NY Times. This is startling, but not surprising. Prognostications for the future of our society, anyone?

There's scientific proof that our attention and comprehension skills are negatively impacted by multitasking, so we need to counteract it...even with focused breathing for a few minutes. Think of it like a counter-stretch during a work-out.

This is why I'm taking advantage of SITT training with Dr M.A. Greenstein -- Somatic Intelligence Training Technologies.

Also known as “mindfulness practice” S.I.T. (sm) trains users to embed the practice of mindfulness in an embodied way, grounding it the emergent science of contemplative brain/mind/body studies.

insula portion of the brain

Dr G is amazingly generous with her time for a pittance of a fee, and with her honey-smooth voice talks us through the art of healthy, cleansing breath. Think about it for a second: where are your shoulders right now? Up by your ears? How is your breathing? When's the last time you took a slow, deep, luxurious inhale? She taught me about the insula, and how focused breathing helps expand that portion of the brain. It's a fact, jack. She wrote her thesis on it and spoke at TED. So, I'm here trying to evangelize something that costs nothing to do but could cost us a lot if we don't: Take some time each day to do nothing but observe your breath, or, as she says, "Be aware of your awareness."

And now back to our regularly scheduled frenzy.

Tearing down the Walls to Good Customer Service

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 16:44:00 +0000

Call me a princess, but I had to return or exchange a bunch of damaged or bad quality things in the past two weeks. From a third try at getting my eyeglass prescription filled correctly to a keratin treatment re-do to a mattress that smelled like mildew (eeww!). The good news is that all three of those companies redid or replaced the items without much hassle and with decent customer service. (Thank you, Loft 26, Cohens, and Sleepys!)

The bad news is that I'm nostalgic for a time when workmanship was excellent and important to begin with. (Of course, I only HEAR about those times from older relatives or movies on Turner Classics.)

Back to the good news. Customer service. We're in a time when consumer goods are a dime a dozen and Miss Manners is rolling over in her grave. We just don't seem to care as much. BUT, now with more people out of work, companies can be more discriminating in the workers they hire, and bad employee attitudes may put bad workers at bay.

Danny Meyer, whom I've long respected for his conscientiousness about sustainability as well as creating quality restaurants from Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe to the hot new Shake Shake phenomenon , just added a brand extension to Union Square Hospitality Group all about customer service. Today on the Wall Street Journal Report he explained how his new HQ -- for Hospitality Quotient -- is new company to help those who are already the best at what they do or make, make their stakeholders even happier with good treatment and good customer service.

In a way, we can also thank social media for influencing this potential trend: Let's look at what Frank Eliason set out to do with @comcastcares on Twitter. Knowing people can say and write exactly what they want about a company he and others, like the classic examples of Zappos and Dell, helped inspire them to make good customer service a mandate on the social web. It's all tied together. The walls are down, companies are bare naked, and even Cohen's Opticals knows I can write something good or bad so maybe, just maybe, companies are erring on the side of better workmanship, better customer-facing employee training and better HQ overall. And better customer service can actually help stimulate the economy! I like this post on it from last year: http://www.goodexperience.com/2009/04/on-hospitality-in-a-t.php

Now, there are still the places like Bard Graduate Center, which has ignored my pleas and emails to begin their construction on Saturday mornings later than the 7A start they have had in place for the past weeks. So, I can take it to my blog, and at least feel I had a place to share my pain...and hope they will remember that the walls between public opinion and good customer service are as thin as the walls between our physical buildings.
ARGH!!

Happy Synchronicity

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 23:30:00 +0000

I LinkedIn with David, after meeting him at a trade show a few years ago and our professional paths continue to cross here and there. This week he sent me a friendly email letting me know about an upcoming "Broadway on Broadway" event at TImes Square. Apparently, his client's tech product - Aerva's Pic2Screen application - will be make it a consumer-controlled billboard - enabling tourists to upload their photos on the jumbo Kodak screen. Super-sized social media.

Cool. I like Broadway. I like new consumer tech applications.

So, I clicked on the link to read more on David's blog, Eat Media, which featured an article on Aerva that he included. His blog included his Twitter feed where I happened to see his interesting tweet about how that Kodak screen enabled more awareness for a Diabetes event, featuring pictures on the big screen of kids with juvenile diabetes who were working to raise research money.

Cool. I like cause marketing. I like new tech that helps consumers raise their consciousness. AND, I am working with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation on some of their chapter's social media efforts. So I clicked on THAT link from Twitter and read more about that case study.

That led me to a terrific story about 9 year old Noah, The Diabetes Dude.

And that is where this story ends...and begins:

The story is REALLY about Noah, and HIS combination of charisma and a good idea to help leverage star power, media, and social media to get people thinking and acting.

Noah The Diabetes Dude, and his parents have set out to do their version of the traveling garden gnome, but using blue flamingos as a pop icon of diabetes awareness..."flocking" people with the plastic birds to create engagement and interest.

They have a nice little site, a blog, videos, photos, a donation button...even an interactive Google map to track the growth of their flock!

The value of sharing good content, across multiple platforms, and the joy of synchronicity led me to learn more about this inspiring little activist, so I hope you'll read about Noah from here, and decide to do your part to "flock someone" and spread the word and donate some dough to help eradicate this terrible disease.

Cool?

Oh the Places you might not Like to go on Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:09:00 +0000

There's Trouble again in Facebook land, and that starts with T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Places.

Per a really interesting article in Ad Age that describes a "real life" experiment in trying out the new Places feature on Facebook in real life, there are a lot of aggravated people. The issue at hand is again the DEFAULT settings that Facebook arrogantly selected including one that enables anyone to check anyone in to a location, true or not, desired to be revealed or not.

You would think Facebook would have gotten the clue from the Beacon fiasco, but not so much.

There are a lot of good articles on Places to learn more (like on Mashable ) if you want, but as always, I think the reader comments (including my own) especially on this particular article are a reflection of the feelings of many. It all feels very similar to the uproar created by Beacon which infamously automatically posted purchases made online via Facebook connected sites to one's wall. The Beacon anecdote that circulated as an example of a good idea gone wrong was the guy who cancels on a date, only to have the movie tickets he purchased posted on his Facebook page, to his girlfriend's dismay. Now imagine being location-outed by a friend to the delight of a stalker-ish ex, or your boss if you're playing hookey!

We have got to pull the reins in on giving power to the people and keep it with the person.

The majority of commenters on this story echo how I feel, and why I immediately disabled the ability of someone else to "check me in" on Places. While I have a lot of respect for Read, Write Web content, they are not as much concerned about "asynchronous" check-ins. But they DO bring up another issue - that of labeling a place with a less-than-desirable name...like, say, your own home, or a restaurant you didn't love...and having it stick.

So, if you agree, and I think most do, go to your privacy setting immediately.
Here's a how-to from my @rww source.

Predicting a Social Media Based Society

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:01:00 +0000

As a media marketer, I've been awed by the impact of social media on all our lives for a while now. In a Faith Popcorn moment recently I was trying to imagine the even greater impact it will have on society down-the-road. Will the transparency social networking forces on brands now drive us to be kinder, gentler human brands because of the power of mob to criticize? We already open ourselves up to criticism for every opinion posted. And we make instant heroes of the Steven Slaters of the world (212,000 Facebook fans and counting) who act out secret fantasies in public.

So, think about where will we be as the walls are continuously torn down... where that will put us in 20, 30 years under our belts of a medium that is only in its toddler-dom today?
What adjustments will we make?
Will the pendulum swing backwards to greater privacy than ever, as a backlash to too much crowd judgments on every move one makes?
Will it burst open even further and manners and mores be damned?
Will we become vanilla pudding, scared to make a move or take a stance?

I wonder.

Tamar Weinberg wrote a nice blog on balancing social media social lives and blending with relationships offline, applying practices of one on the other.

As social media enthusiasts, we often forget that we live in a different type of world than everyone else. We might be more keen to open up to strangers and share our feelings with people we don’t know. It’s the world we’re living in — for us, at least, and it will continue as we spread these ideas to our peers and colleagues, all of whom will likely slowly open up to this world in due time. All paths will ultimately lead to here whether or not these “outsiders” have chosen to accept it yet.

Faith Popcorn, criticized by some, lauded by others, predicts less conspicuous consumption (driven by fear of criticism again or is it the economy, stupid?...though we won't hesitate to rubberneck in awe of a Real Housewives' lifestyle and shop their bankruptcy sale). Either way, social media is part of the problem and the solution:

Amy Avitabile, senior vice president of marketing at Lord & Taylor, called the use of social networking a “complete game-changer.” Lord & Taylor is using Facebook and Twitter in nonpromotional ways. It also has a mobile strategy for messaging. While Lord & Taylor was late to the party with e-commerce (its site is less than two years old) “it’s the number-one trending door by a lot,” she said....

“Our big message was to alleviate the guilt of shopping,” said Avitabile. “We don’t sell things she needs, but what she wants.” So the store developed the “Shop Smart” campaign, created by David Lipman with the tag line “Shop More, Guilt Less.”

Popcorn also thinks supermarkets will work to compete with local farmer's markets' rise in popularity but may fail without "authenticity and transparency." Why? Again, because of social media, and our ability as consumers -- or just humans -- to point fingers and get to the truth.
Truth is the breath of life to human society. It is the food of the immortal spirit. Yet a single word of it may kill a man as suddenly as a drop of prussic acid.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Thoughts? Criticisms on this post? Please share, but leave the prussic acid at home.

Looking Up

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:59:00 +0000

My dear friend Rita, a respected businesswoman in the marketing world, forwarded me a link to Pete Blackshaw's column today in AdAge. I was very moved by the piece and submitted a long comment back to Pete, but the topic is worth a couple hundred extra words...at least.

Pete, a regular AdAge columnist and VP at Nielsen Online Digital Strategy, lost his sister recently. He became aware of the contrast between real, deep offline connections and community created by her passing and shared grief and support vs the surface kinds of connections we are all running after in our online world. Here's a link to his column: http://bit.ly/Blackshaw-adage

I found myself buying every admonishment and silently vowing to work those offline relationships harder than my Twitter-based ones, but found the comments posted very interesting for the push back from a few readers. This is actually why online conversations can be so important and compelling. We actually have more opportunity than ever before to share and hear other opinions. This hopefully will make the world a little smaller, but it also reminds me of the need to remember the middle ground.

Here's what I wrote in response to Pete's column and others' comments:

"Pete, I too am sorry for your loss, and sadly grateful for the column it inspired.

Yes, there are those who feel the connection you made between your experience of a family member's death, offline, with the lifestyle we live now, online, was "kind of too much" or "nearly blasphemous."
And others will share the pathos completely and hang their heads in shame for a moment vs just hanging their heads down over a smartphone, thanks to the reminder that we need to emerge from our avatar-selves and raise our eyes and our consciousness more frequently, and seize the offline day too.

That said, the ship has sailed and I fear we won't easily be able to find our way back to the kind of connections we SHOULD have. I'm guilty of missing the chance to share a smile or receiving one, and have heard annoyed passersby say, "Look up!" And I've been annoyed in return to see every single person on the train completely absorbed in their own digital world.

Tim Sanders wrote his book, Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends back in 2002 on the premise that "being a lovecat" is the only way to succeed in the 21st century, and necessary to overcome our Dilbert society of isolation in cubbies.

We crave community. I think we're creating it in any way we can.

Digitally, time suck that it is, is just easier for many. Unfortunately, we end up back in the digital version of a cubbie after all.

Thank you for the excellent reminder to look up."

Learning to Swim at Broadband Speed

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:07:00 +0000

I was just reading "High Speed for the Sparsely Wired" in @NYTimes this week about the portion of the government stimulus program that allocates $7.2 billion for extending high-speed Internet access. I have to say, I'm pretty fascinated by both the possibilities facing rural communities about to get transported to the web 2.0 community via the economic stimulus plan...and by the perspectives of people in and out of those in dial-up-speed land.

Think about it: if you're reading this blog, chances are you didn't have to wait a half hour for the page to load. (And if you did, and think I'm THAT worth it, bless your heart.) That means you likely live in an area where broadband means PDQ* access to the world wide web. It means traversing global villages and accessing the knowledge of the crowd on literally any topic you can imagine. It means you can, like view images of Mars or play web chess with someone in the Czech Republic...or try the impossible of keeping up with every damn article on social media marketing, staying up every night til 2AM....

The comments on this news story are inspiring, as many in rural areas talk about gaining the ability to work virtually, or post resumes, or set up online storefronts -- helping to open up new commerce opportunities. And imagine this: expanded health care options, too! For example,

"doctors in Anchorage, 400 miles to the east, can see patients via videoconference."

It's a whole new frontier for many, down to learning how to build a skyscraper ad right in their own backyard. Of course it also means closer examinations of the less illustrious and the downright icky. Or, as "Mike" commented on this topic in a NY Times story:

"How can you not look at that [article] and think, "Hi, JokrBoy. I'm HotBlonde. What r u wearing?"

Access to the vain or glorious aside, it means a whole new part of the country will be exposed to social media tools that some 500,000,000 Facebook users take for granted. We're not talking total social media virgins, as patience, or satellite and cellular services have certainly enabled access for many. But from an almost anthropological perspective, it will be interesting to observe how superfast, 24/7 entry to Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Digg impacts life as they knew it. I can already hear the cries of "and WHY do I want to 'tweet'!?" or "What a time suck!" Oh the stories I could tell...the caveats...the techniques... Don't use all CAPS! Don't "sell!" Do remember my social coaching mantra of "Look. Listen. Learn. Participate. Lead!"

Unless our rural friends stay up nights studying Mashable and Brogan, Ochman to Owyang til all hours, they will have to learn it all the hard way. They will be jumping into the deep end that most of us had the chance to hold hands and wade into more slowly back in the day, last year or so.

*Now it will even be easy to figure out obscure references like "PDQ."

Black Gold and Blues

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:56:00 +0000

On the day that yet another attempt was made to cap the disasterous oil leak in the Gulf, I reread a blog post from the NRDC on 5/21, about dealing with the feelings of frustration and anger. Since I awoke this morning to news stories of pelicans drowning in oil and the spread heading towards all of our mid-Atlantic beaches, rereading Sheryl Eisenberg's thoughts stemmed the flow of some of my tears. For now. In my rage against the machine I offer some of her words to help us all funnel action to good:

From This Green Life blog of the NRDC: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill -- What You Can Do

In 1968, when I learned about the population bomb in biology class, I was overwhelmed. The planet was heading for disaster and there was nothing I could do to stop it. In the 70s, it was nuclear weapons; in the 80s, the ozone hole. This spring, it's the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But these days I know something I didn't know then. There is always something I/you/we can do.

I don't mean we can erase the disaster that has already occurred. That's oil under the bridge—and if we're unlucky, into the Gulf Stream. What we can do is help prevent recurrence. For recurrence is not only likely but inevitable as long as we allow offshore drilling, depend on oil and, indeed, continue to consume energy as if there were an unlimited supply.

Therefore, this is the time—when we are sick at the thought of the workers killed, sea turtles and other endangered species harmed, fisheries ruined, coastline polluted and coral reefs destroyed—to change our lives.

To begin, we must change our mindset.

We are running on borrowed energy. Oil is just one part of the problem—and oil spills just one of the risks. The trouble is our whole fossil fuel driven way of life. There is not a big enough store of fossil fuels on earth to sustain it, and if there were, it would only make matters worse. Prices would go down and use would go up. The environmental costs of extraction would rise and the climate would be wrecked that much sooner and more completely, perhaps irretrievably so.

We who care need to follow Gandhi's dictum and "be the change we wish to see in the world."

Here's how.

Step 1: Drive less. Do you hop in the car whenever you need something? Zigzag across the landscape to perform errands in opposite directions? Drive where you could easily walk? Join the club.

Americans burn up gas so freely because it hardly seems to cost them anything. The price at the pump is deceptively low and the true price—environmental destruction—is hard to recognize.

But for this brief moment in time, thanks to the oil spill, we can connect the dots. Use the opportunity to change the way—and amount—you drive. Plan your trips. Carpool. Walk. Bike. Give public transportation a chance.

Step 2: Care and repair. Cars and appliances, along with virtually everything else in our consumer culture, are considered more or less disposable nowadays. Since we expect to replace them, we don't keep them in good working order. Thus, they continue to operate, but grow less and less efficient, eating up energy unnecessarily when they run.

So take your car for regular tune-ups, keep the tires inflated, change your air conditioner filters, lubricate the moving parts of motors and do all those other pesky maintenance tasks recommended in the manuals.

Step 3: Get energy-efficient equipment. The difference between conventional products and energy-efficient ones can be quite staggering. For instance, an incandescent bulb uses four times as much energy to produce a given quantity of light as a compact fluorescent bulb—and 10 times as much as an LED. Yes, the energy-efficient alternatives cost more to buy, but they also cost less to operate. Besides, becoming the change you want to see in the world includes paying more for a cleaner, safer future. So, shop for Energy Star appliances and factor fuel economy into your choice of car.

Step 4: Go local—and not just with food. It's simple: goods need to be transported to market. The shorter the distance, the less energy required. Therefore, look for products made close to home.

Step 5: Change your habits. Today's norm is to live wastefully, but you don' t have to go along. To save energy:

• Turn off lights when not in use.
• Wash full loads of dishes and laundry.
• Air dry both.
• Change your clothes before the thermostat.
• Unplug chargers and always-on appliances.
• Reuse and recycle.
• Eat less meat.

Step 6: Buy less stuff. It takes energy to produce goods. Think twice before you throw it away on things you do not need.

Whatever you do, don't let this moment pass without some step toward change.

And one thing I just did with some savings from buying less? Contributed to the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. It's a start.

TED brings it home - augmented mapping from Bing

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:55:00 +0000

If you have heard of "hyper-local" or "augmented reality" meet them combined in Bing's mapping discussed this week at TED:

This is an important video to watch all the way through (it's only 8 minutes) if you want to see what is possible RIGHT NOW. Just another example of how we are truly in the midst of seeing change take place in the world as we know it -- and not just HOW we see it, but how we CAN see it -- right in front of our eyes, and right in the palm of our hands.

Staying the Course is Key

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:46:00 +0000

MSNBC had a great article last week about Tech Fatigue. I think one of the most astute lines was:

"We have reached a tech bump in the road, augmented by news-at-the-speed-of Internet, which leads to immediate inflation and deflation of new products even before, or just as, they're released."

Here's what I wrote in response to the some of the other comments on that good article:

"Most commenters are really missing the big picture of the story. It's not just about your iPad or iPod or whatever. It's about those and ALL the gadgets, sites, platforms and tools being thrown at us. This is the best takeaway quote from the story: "we have reached a tech bump in the road, augmented by news-at-the-speed-of Internet, which leads to immediate inflation and deflation of new products even before, or just as, they're released."

The author did a great job in summing up the challenge companies are facing if they don't take advantage of 2.0 customer input and build a trusted brand in this era of information overload and consumer fatigue. Personally, I'm exhausted, not just from trying to figure out my new Droid or now Google Buzz or next Mobile TV (MDTV?), but as a social media marketer, I can't shut down or I'll get shut out."

That's why it's essential for companies to get in and stay in the game. Think of the shelf life of a Tweet. If you catch people reading their newsflow at the time you tweet, they might catch your comment...then it's gone from the top of the newsflow pile. Unless you repost it there, and elsewhere, and catch more attention, but it's like collecting water in a coffee filter. And that's why there's a twofold challenge to keeping your brand present and relevant: being present at right time... and grappling with consumers' information overload.

Hence the point of the MSNBC story: We're ALL on overload. We are drilling down as fast as we can, or trying to learn the latest gadget or gizmo when all of a sudden, WHAM!, the next one comes along. So where do we turn, what do we do?
Some may throw up their hands in frustration and catch a boat to the closest desert island. (Sounds good to me.) But lots of us will just pray for a single easy platform (which is what FriendFeed tried to be, and now GoogleBuzz, or GoogleWave or whatever, hopes to deliver) to come along and just make life and info easier to manage.

But who do we trust? Everyone is promising to be THE panacea.

And THAT's what brings me back the importance of staying the course.

Now more than ever companies have to be present and maintain. Be the rock. The redeemer. Suck up the negative and course correct as possible. Show gratitude and leverage the positive. But stay in the newsflow. Show us you're not going away like a flash drive in the pan. Help me find you wherever I am hanging out so I don't have to do a big search to find that solution or tool I read about on some platform that I meant to bookmark that was going to make my life so easy.

Adjust your Set

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:59:00 +0000

I was skimming CSRWire.com - an interesting media platform for social responsiblity content - and came across a post by their CEO, Joe Sibilia, in their terrific TalkBack blog section. Only Joe was writing not about social responsibility but about social media. He wonders if Boomers will adjust to it. He shares examples of those who have adapted and prevailed personally and in business, and others who question the value of sharing...yeah, yeah...the old "what I had for breakfast" content, and dismiss social media with those kinds of digs about it. (I'm so done with that, by the way. See my "Facebook Off" post. Reminds me of that old "Jennifer Anniston's sweater" line.)

Anyway, it was thoughtful post, but with one mistep, I think. He quoted a Social Media Examiner article that suggested a Twitter plan with "up to 20 tweets a day" to grow your business. And those still harping on breakfast commentary content could easily use that as more fuel to justify throwing their hands in the air and stepping away from the keyboard. "I barely have time to email..!" It's not like I have to DEFEND the pervasiveness and benefit of social media (though, that's sort of what I do when I coach executives in it), but I do feel like we are in the middle of a huge sociological shift that we should enjoy observing and being a part of, and not fight the phenomenon.

Here's my comment to Joe's post:

As a boomer who is a social media professional, I can tell you that it IS hard to embrace this world as nimbly and naturally as, say, my teenage nephew or 20-something niece. But as a marketer I see the imperative to keep up with the way the world is going. Debating the very question of "whether we'll adjust" is sort of moot as I think we'll have little choice within the next couple of years. We ARE adjusting, in our own ways. Why, I actually know some boomers with touch-tone telephones! Ha. (or LOL, if you prefer.) There will always be Luddites among us - as there have been for every advancement - but there will always be those like my 80-year old aunt who sends me daily jokes via her WebTV. FYI, the latest research from Comscore shows use of Facebook by boomers up 106% year to year 10/08 to 10/09. And it's sort of a trite research point already that next to teenage boys, moms are the second biggest demographic playing mobile games.

The one thing that I take exception to in your post is that the "be prepared to tweet 20 x a day" was taken a bit out of context from the Social Media Examiners article. They end that article with the reminder that:
"...Although a tweet plan [to schedule and auto-release up to 20 tweets/day] is useful when your schedule gets busy, it’s not a way to avoid real-time tweeting. ...But there are different opinions about scheduling posts. Many people feel scheduling tools take away from the value of real-time interaction on Twitter. And they are right.

You must find a balance to make this work for your business. And you can only find this balance by jumping in, listening to your audience and tweaking the content you share on Twitter to get the best results."

Twitter is just one tactic. But don't forget that you received 20 comments and counting on this blog -- which is another tactic of 2-ways communication. We just each will find the platforms and ways to reach out and find and engage in communities in our own ways. We are a tad starved for human contact, and sadly a lot of us will rely on digital versions of it...boomer or GenXer. The good news is that we are ALSO finding ways, like Tweet-ups and Meet-ups to take our interactions OFFline, too. But we arrange those in-person meetings through...you got it: social media.

Social Media on my Mind

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:34:00 +0000

I should be sleeping. It's after midnight and I've been running all around the city for a few days now, participating in every free panel discussion and conversation I can fit in during Social Media Week - the international "convo-bration" of digital word of mouth.

The problem is that I'm kind of wired, partly because of Wired. The magazine hosted a panel discussion this morning that included some brainiac speakers, including Denis Crowley, the founder of FourSquare (don't worry, if you haven't heard of it yet...YOU WILL. Remember when you'd never heard of Twitter?), as well as Tony Jebara, the Chief Scientist at Sense Networks. Tony described the fact that we're basically evolving around our devices. See, the more you rely on Google Maps, for example, which I'm quickly getting addicted to, the smaller your hippocampus gets along with your ability to navigate without your map crack.

I have been having a great time meeting people in person who I only touch-typed before... discovering one of my favorite bloggers and another friend I "met" on Twitter and I all share the same hand therapist for our poor, overworked typing hands, and so on.

I'm thinking I maybe should have majored in philosophy...or anthropology. This is a fascinating time. And while I'm pretty sure we won't all grow extra thumbs as we evolve around our PDAs, I do think we're facing an amazingly fast paced social morph into a vastly different species in most of the planet. Or at least those places where a Social Media Week is filled to capacity.

Stay tuned...

A Different Face Forward - My Melanoma Check Up (or: "Bronzer Beware")

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:01:00 +0000

As a “woman of a certain age,” I am used to getting the recommended regular medical tests and checks. But I didn’t know there was more to a skin exam than the occasional inspection done by my dermatologist, when I remembered to even book those check-ups. I was proud of myself for being a little more vigilant than many I know – who had never even done a skin exam let alone been checked between the toes, for example! I felt ahead of the curve by comparison.

Then the experience of two different friends gave me a head’s up about ways to get a better head-to-toe scan. My friend Leslie, who has a lot of “beauty marks,” lives near the Millburn location of MoleSafe and had gotten full body scans and "mole mapping" for herself and even her children. (I found out that skin cancers are on the rise among kids – especially teenage girls who have been allowed to use tanning salons.)
(I cringe when I think of us using those sunlamps as kids.)

I was thinking about checking out the place and then I bumped into my friend Carol, who had just gotten back from a follow up exam since her bout with melanoma a few years ago. Her cancer had actually been spotted by a woman standing behind her on a ticket line. Carol had had a sleeveless shirt on, and a woman tapped her on the shoulder and said, “pardon me for intruding, but has anyone ever checked out the mole on the back of your arm?...” Carol was vaguely aware of it, but it wasn’t in a place she could easily see. She decided to see the doctor…and a surgery with 16 stitches inside and 16 stitches outside basically saved her life the next week.

That was enough coincidence to send me to MoleSafe to see for myself…and have someone see ME better than I could myself! I spoke to Dr. Richard Bezozo, who invited me in so I could help share the experience with my readers. Bascially, MoleSafe is a three-prong protocol for screening: “Total Body Photography, total digital dermoscopy and digital sequential monitoring.” Apparently, that’s the gold standard for screenings that most dermatologists in the rest of the world recommend. We’re behind the curve in the good old US of A for being progressive in prevention. And it’s not like this is an invasive protocol.

Anyway, here's what happens: First, the place is clean, nice, and comfortable (and right near the train from NY.) You get down to your skivvies (you can keep a paper gown on, but I figured mole mapping is once a year and very important, so might as well go for the semi-full monty.) The exam room has a mat that looks like something from an old-fahioned dance less (or these days like a Dance Mat from Wii!)

My very reassuring nurse/“moleographer” had me take a stance with my feet in the position indicated on the mat with hands akimbo (I think that means hands on hip? but I always wanted to be able to use that word in a blog). She took a set of images that way, then a set of images on the otherside, feet in the opposite position.

Then we sat down at her desk while she uploaded the super high res images, then coordinated the pictures to points on a computer image of a body. It was like creating a constellation on paper. I could immediately understand how the consistency of taking the same position on the mat year after year is a lot more efficient than random poses and “eyeballing” things. My molegrapher then carefully did a visual exam of moles that caught her eye and captured those with a dermatoscope – it’s a super magnifying camera with a special light that really shows details of specific moles. She uploaded those images, also correlated on the computer to the ones she’d marked on the figure.
It was fascinating to see super enlargements of my skin on the computer. You might find out that there are some that are “interesting” – and might be reassured about others…but all of them are sent electronically (yes, safe and encrypted) to a sort of radiologist/dermatologist who reviews the dermatascope images professionally. You get a lovely CD of your body mole images to take home and give to your dermatologist. Then, a week or two later you have a report from the specialist sent to you.

The thing is, MoleSafe doesn’t do any surgeries or removals, so dermatologists are still involved in the whole process. I guess It’s like sending a person for an MRI and having then having them come back to the doctor to get treated for the broken leg or tumor or whatever. We need to be our own patient advocates and seek out MoleSafe on our own…or bring it to the attention of our doctors. You can go get one without a referral, and some insurance will cover it when you submit the receipt for reimbursement. Some won’t. But it’s an investment in your life compared to the approach most dermatologists have been using for the past 50 years.
So, I recommend you get on board. Or, get on mat, I guess.

PS: The good news is that I am a-okay, but have a much better sense of what to look for, where to look for it, and why.

PSS: MoleSafe is opening at NYU on 2/3. That should be the eye-opener a lot of people need about the value and legitimacy of this kind of protocol.

3-D'lemma

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:35:00 +0000

I had a reality check the other day when it came to the check at a restaurant. Not the price. The reality check was seeing the check. Sigh. I borrowed a votive from the table next to mine and made a vow to head to Duane Reed for the cheap-o reading glasses. Add that to the pile of things I'll have to keep by the bed, by the remote, by my desk. Maybe I should get three pairs...Oh and one for each purse and backpack since lately my friends (who can't laugh at this post since they know who they are) are asking if I have any they can borrow. I'll make it an even dozen.

So what happens when I have to deal with 3D glasses on top of that?

So far seeing a regular screen without glasses isn't a problem (phew!), but I can envision tons of issues when I invest in a new 3D capable TV. For example, how many pairs will come with a set? Any? I hear they go for $30 - $50 a pop...so how many will I need for when I have company? And speaking of company, what about cozying up for a date, watching TV, and looking...well, NOT CUTE! Are there designer frames? I'm just sayin'.... Let alone can two people actually smooch while wearing 3D glasses if the mood strikes during, say, one of DIRECTV's new 3D shows?

Will networks, like ESPN and their new 3D channel, distribute the glasses, or will Comcast or other providers? Who will brand them? I'm thinking its a new market for branded premiums.

What if someone walks off with your 3-D glasses? Can they be tethered to the TV? Will those little chains that turn eyeglasses into necklaces support 3D goggles? And what about prescription 3D? Can I get them at Lenscrafters?

Will I need to have them just to do most things online, soon? I mean, there's already Club Cooee, a sort of 3-D Second Life meets IM, and its fan page already has about 14,000 fans. And there are a ton more online places and ways to wear your glasses. Or not.

You can try to skip 'em and just cross your eyes with some content, and you kind of get a sense of it like in this YouTube video. I know this should work; there's even a drop down menu for about a dozen ways to watch it, but without those actual glasses, it's just not optimum. And frankly, all those options and trying to cross my eyes just gave me a headache.

Or maybe I just need glasses.

E.B.'s Best of the Top Ten for '10

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:05:00 +0000

I put all the effort into writing this week into my e-newsletter, with a whole compilation of some of my favorites of the Top Ten lists that came out recapping the last decade. So, to make my life easier, and to offer you one easy resource, here's a link to that newsletter.

From BrandChannel's favorite articles to the top recommendations for Social Media Strategy -- even the best books
for Small Business Owners and the best songs of the year from The MusicFile, it's all the scoop you could want IMHO of mostly business best-ofs.

(Special bonus! See my holiday recap video with my look back at 8 years of Moss Appeal! It's a link within that link, but here it is again.)

Happy New Decade, all. More later.

300 Million

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:29:00 +0000

Two stories this weekend, frustrated me. Both were about the impact of $300,000,000 in the world.

$300 million dollars I wish I could give.

$300 million I wish I could take away.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal explained in a fascinating story, "Small Energy-Saving Steps can Make Big Strides," that even as we're working on big improvements in reducing our environmental impact, smaller, less glamorous options can "add up to major environmental progress -- and at a cost more palatable in struggling economies. ...[Options include the] lowly but effective efforts such as improving fuel economy in cars, better insulating homes and helping families in India buy $20 cooking stoves."

It will be challenging to develop and gain adoption of enough plug-in hybrids to reduce oil usage more than about 7% by 2030. But by just improving mileage efficiency on vehicles from 26 to even 36 MPG it could be a 32% savings in oil usage!

But, "if half the families in India began using improved stoves, the Atmospheric Brown Cloud would shrink by about one-third."

Incorporating the low tech while developing and rolling out the necessary higher tech solutions makes good impact and good sense.

"Envirofit International, a Fort Collins, Colo., nonprofit group, has sold some 100,000 stoves over the past year in southern India. The organization [ which, yes, is funded in part by the Shell Foundation, but also Google and the EPA] sells them largely out of vans that roll along dirt roads in rural villages. One study notes that 60 million stoves, if sold in India for only $5 each, would cost $300 million. Even if the stoves cost more, that rollout would be cheaper than most other clean-energy options."

That number came up again tonight, on 60 Minutes, in the piece on "How Gold Pays For Congo's Deadly War." We learned that:

"...even if Congo's gold is less than 1% of the world supply, that still comes to more than $300 million a year - enough to keep the war going forever, mining an inexhaustible wealth of misery."

$300 million is plenty to inspire and fund the warlords and rebels who force men and children to mine for gold for perhaps $1/day in "wages." If they survive. 5 million have died so far.

"Jewelers know about the tragedy in Congo, but it has never been standard industry practice to trace gold to its source. Jewelers buy gold from middlemen; they don't ask where it comes from.

...It was seven years ago the industry banned so called blood diamonds from West Africa. But, up until now, it hasn't done the same for gold. ...And of the major jewelers [60 Minutes] talked to, only Tiffany said it can trace nearly all its gold directly to a mine; theirs is in Utah. Walmart told us it plans to trace the source of 10 percent of its gold products by next year."

At a time of year when we are consumed by consumerism, let's push our comfort level and bring these two issues to light:

Do take on the low tech solutions that will help our world's environment (yes, turning off the lights DOES help!)
Do question the origins of your purchases and think about all the stakeholders and supply chains that go into those items.

And if you have a spare $300 million...well....

Ear Candy IMHO

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:49:00 +0000

The beauty of having my blog is the ability to put out there things that have impacted me, or influenced me personally and professionally. In this case, I have to share some about the back to back to back jazz I saw last week -- each performer fabulous and distinct. So, in my humble opinion, do your ears and your brain a favor by checking out the following, if you haven't already...and again, if you are already wise enough to be familiar with these artists:

Sachal Vasandani: Last week there was no way I was going to miss my favorite new jazz singer -- -- at his album release celebration at Dizzy's. I can't stand how much I love this guys tones. And it's not just me.

Sachal Vasandani - EPK from Mack Avenue on Vimeo.

While his self-penned "Royal Eyes" has stayed in my head for days, a stranger who wanted to catch some jazz while in town was seated at our table. At the end of the gig I asked him what he thought of Sachal and he said, "That's the best version of "In my Solitude" I ever heard." I'd been thinking the same thing. And while Sachal worked it on "Old Black Magic," he's just so smooth that after only a couple of listens his original songs start to sound like old standards. The first time I heard Sachal was also the first time I heard Gerald Clayton, maybe two or three years back at a showcase at the Steinway Store during the days of IAJE. I was stunned. I think he was maybe 23 then. Gerald performed again at the teeny but serious listening space, Jazz Gallery on Halloween. I saw him there with Roy Hargrove a while back. Now Gerald, with his new debut album, Two Shade, can be the headliner too.

Right now, though, he's off in Europe for a couple of weeks with Gretchen Perlato. The second he's back, go see this wunderkind. And he's a nice guy on top of it.

Maybe that's because he takes after one of the dearest people I know -- his dad, world-class jazz bassist John Clayton. If you want to weep, listen to him bow Jobim's "How Insensitive." If you want to laugh, my old favorite is his classic version of Keter Betts' "Walkin' Bass." But his Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra did it again. Stunned first timers, and confirmed the smarts of people who already follow CHJO, at this week's Champions of Jazz Benefit from WBGO. Not only did John's orchestra co-leaders Jeff Hamilton on drums and brother Jeff Clayton on sax do what they do so well, but they were in more amazing company. First they brought out the evening's honoree, Paquito D'Rivera, who was completely charming. I'd never heard him -- that I know of. But I'm sure his clarinet was on tracks of some of the albums I've heard, since he has 9 Grammys! Then, they brought out more of the old geniuses: singers Ernie Andrews,

He made us ALL feel like "Lucky So and So"s when he did that song...and Freddy Cole (yes as in Nat's brother) was class incarnate.
(Backstage after WBGO concert with Jon Hendricks, Freddy Cole, John Clayton. Nikki and Sachal. Everyone seems to know each other in the jazz world.)
And the new talent that sat it blew us all away, too. Stefon Harris on vibes with Milt Jackson flair, and unbelievably, the scatting and sound that came out of 15 year old Nikki Yanofsky was like she was channeling Ella. And I don't say that lightly.
But, all I can do is lead you to the music. You have to drink it in yourselves if you want. But thanks to this post, I can put it out there, and imagine you listening, and sharing IMHO.

IMHO - Film Fest and Broadway Opinions

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:58:00 +0000

I did my third yearly trek to the Hamptons Film Festival a couple of weeks ago. The beach in the fall is wonderful , and farm stands have all those colorful gourds...Well, you get the picture. And speaking of pictures, I saw some great ones...and not as great ones. Here's the scoop in case you can catch or avoid any of these IMHO ("in my humble opinion" for those not IMing w/teens):
In order of favorites of what I saw:
Big River Man - Documentary that you'll swear throughout most of that it can't be real. You'll think it's Spinal Tap, or something. But not only is this film real-life but it's hugely important to see.

Did you know that there's a guy in Slovenia who has swum the entire length of the disgustingly polluted Yangtze, the Mississippi, and now the 3,300 mile AMAZON river? Do you know the last trek took took this man, Martin Strel, about 66 days and basically drove him to the brink of insanity? He did it to raise environmental awareness (and because he probably already was a little insane). But while he's a hero in Eastern Europe, he's virtually unknown and unheralded in the U.S. Typical. Probably because he's no Lance Armstrong; he's 53, overweight, and a heavy drinker.

I digress. This is must-see, and will be on TV, premiering on Planet Green in January. Go John Maringouin (seen here w/me and my new favorite T-shirt)! A great docu-director who has made a career out of unusual stories. I mean, this guy lived on the Amazon shooting this for two and a half months, too!

Applaus ("Applause") - Danish film starring the amazing Paprika Steen. She plays an actress battling alcoholism and trying to regain custody of her kids, but its all interspersed with her playing the alcoholic Martha on stage in "Who's Afraid of Virgina Wolfe?" With a tight story line and intense performances everyone in the audience was amazed it was a first time director. REALLY worth seeing if you can find this foreign film somewhere.
"Solitary Man" - No one does man-on-the-brink better than Michael Douglass. Any guy approaching mid-life crisis, and the self-confident women (Susan Sarandon) who are fed up with them, should see this.
"Men who Stare at Goats" - I'm sorry. I wanted to love it. I could BE a goat starer. But I only liked it. Clooney? Excellent. (Duh.) McGregor? Dunno.
"Five Hours from Paris" (Israeli feature film) -- Good. Cute. DEFINITELY look for on NetFlicks. Maybe not for $12.50 at theater.

And just to throw in a theater thought? Really enjoyed Brighton Beach Memoirs on Broadway last week! Great set, great cast. Maybe NY-centric story for some, but fun. Looking forward to see the other "bookend" -- the 'sequel' of Neil Simon's story called "Broadway Bound," that also opens soon.

There you have it.

Fueling Students with the right eco-Information

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:04:00 +0000

I'm excited to be attending yet another spoke on the Fuel wheel -- a reception with a rare appearance by Sir Richard Branson in support of the curriculum that was created from the movie Fuel. Though it's part of the events for Climate Change NYC week, and attended by folks like Council Member Jim Gennaro of Queens (seen here with Green Drinks NY founder, Margaret Lydecker), this will be a national green curriculum.

Designed to meet national educational standards, the curriculum came about from strong requests by FUEL theatergoers. I know. I was one of them, asking about that at the very first screening in NYC. Education is key. For now... For sustainability... For kids to grow into a "business as usual" frame of mind about living green. I was so passionate about what I learned when I saw the film at its NY premier, that I blogged twice about algae, tweeted about it, etc. It's eye-opening and keenly important.

The reception kicked off with Josh Tickell introducing The Climate Group CEO Steve Howard who talked about how "if I were a young person, but I'm not" --"yes you are!," interjected Sir Branson -- he'd want to improve and visualize the world a better place..." ...to the point of zero impact flights.

"That's why this is such an inspirational endeavor. It's about giving hope to kids."

Then Josh talked about how personal a journey making Fuel was for him, growing up in a toxic area of the south. It didn't begin with a global awareness, but rather a personal one. Fuel is the story of his search for alternative solutions for the past 23 years.

"But it's also an allegory for us taking the journey... and learning to live together peaceably and sustainably."

Rebecca Harrell explained how the curriculum was developed, which included having students build their OWN working bio-fueled cars. Since this curriculum wasn't required, they created a Web site of open source knowledge. She and Josh presented Sir Richard Branson with the first ever award for earth educator, who talked about how Steve Howard told him "inconveniently" about climate change. He realized he needed to take action. We have a "major task to try to tackle global warming:

"For the film to have moved into an education basis is fantastic because there's so much missing information," he said.

Josh introduced Council Member Gennaro has been instrumental in inspiring the people of NYC to collect and use veggie fuel, for one thing. he wrote and passed NYC's climate change bill with a mandate of 30% reduction in overall sector by 2030. Now we're trying to retrofit all of NYC's stock of buildings to be greener.

At that point, we headed outside to the waiting Algaeus, the world's first algae gas powered blug in hybrid, which was the first to cross the U.S. powered by green critters! They poured the final gallon of alternative fuel into the car.

Then we got to tour the van made famous by the Sundance winning movie and Letterman -- the Veggie Van!

It was a great event. See Jon Vachon's pix (better than mine!) here.

Reminds me that a green curriculum isn't just for kids.

Miss Manners is Rolling her Eyes

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:21:00 +0000

I don't always keep my elbows off the table. Sometimes I opt for the easy email reply vs. a handwritten thank you...or worse, forget to do either. I'm sure I can think of other manners-shortcomings -- just none I'm willing to cop to right here.

But I have never threatened to shove a tennis ball down someone's throat, or jumped on stage to steal the glory from someone making a gracious acceptance speech. And even some time since 4th grade, I've probably called someone a liar. But this was a bad week for high profile people forgetting their manners in a massive way.

We are on a slippery slope of letting some of our role models get away with murder -- or at the very least character assassination -- with some people applauding the temper and disrespect excused as "passion" of Joe Wilson, Serena Williams and Kanye West. Was it a full moon? It's really hard to keep cool under pressure, but these are people we've elected or elevated to celebrity status, or who are USED to major pressure (er, we're talking "World Champion" pressure.) I don't know how or what we'd censure, but I think just being aware of it, posting or tweeting about it, and not letting them off the hook with a shoulder shrug is a start. At least most of the comments about Kanye on CNN's Facebook page were more condeming. But where's the remorse? It takes a big person to make a big and sincere apology.

It's scary to lose it. We've all done it to a degree. Words you can't take back in an argument. Getting frustrated in traffic. Throwing the spaghetti against the wall. (Wait, I said I wasn't going to mention that.) Our personal Lizzie Grubman Moments. Times when better judgement is sadly obfuscated by the heat of the moment. And it can change everything -- like your whole life. There are TV shows based on those moments.

Maybe the trick is meditating? Maybe a little group therapy? I for one would pay to see Joe, Serena and Kanye in school with Miss Manners. Then again, maybe she should have a regular program in addition to her forum and columns. We could all use a refresher course in what shouldn't be tolerated before we all become social flunk outs.

A Facebook-Off with a Friend

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:29:00 +0000

I sent some personal emails to my exec-level friends to encourage them to consider having me "train them" in social media best practices with my private coaching "C-Tweet" service. I got a fairly strong POV email back from a friend who couldn't understand all the fuss about Twitter. I didn't write back immediately, and he sent me another note via Facebook (ironically), concerned he'd upset me.

Our back and forth, quoted below, was a great illustration of exactly why I think this social network seachange we're facing almost a social version of the VHS/BetaMax facebook-off. The use and the use-nots? The cares and the care-nots? (Of course I'D like to think it's the at-least-TRY-to-keep-ups vs. the head-in-the-sands!)

He wrote:

I hope I didn't make you mad at me... But interestingly enough I saw this article on CNN Money* this morning which tells me I am not the only one.

I am not wanting or trying to offend you. I hope you make a ton of money off of social marketing and Twitter. I still just don't get it. Maybe I am wrong. But I always change the channel when CNN starts posting Tweets on air. Which is funny considering that I used to like Letters to The Editor in my news mags and newspapers. But it has gotten so pervasive that I am beginning to not care what Joe sixpack has to say anymore. I guess to each his/her own.

I hope you are well!

MK

*A rant about Twitter (in six bite-sized tweets)

Source: money.cnn.com

omg! twitter's down! what did shaq eat 4 lunch? i don't know. but who cares? tweets are junk food 4 brain. where's the biz, biz? aykm?...

E.B. Moss

Today at 11:28am

Hi - you didn't make me mad; just busy (maybe with the time suck of social media!?) But this isn't personal at all, at all, so no worries, and I've known you forever! But you underscored my realization that educating executives on the big picture of social media marketing understanding is more necessary than ever! :-) I don't really care about Twitter per se -- and C-Tweet is described as teaching that and all social media best practices to the C-suite level, but I do find Twitter an incredible crowdsourcing tool. And it's worthy of a second look, I think.

Do you remember how in interactive TV advertising we always used to describe it as being able to use the remote to "buy Jennifer Anniston's sweater"? Well, it's common now for the masses who don't really use it to say, "I don't want to know what so and so had for lunch." It's so NOT that, unless you're choosing to follow knuckleheads who aren't interesting, and aren't savvy about how to contribute. BUT, I agree it has no business model yet, and it is a time suck. (Though I spend a lot less time blogging now since I can share thoughts quickly and easily on Twitter.) Anyway, what it is good for now, at the very least is, as Christian and Troy said in the comments of that article, is that it's another tool that represents the way the world is going. The more facile you are in multiple tactics, the better you'll keep up with change and new marketing insights.

And, the overarching theme of what I try to share in social media for marketing/business relationships especially, is that you have to LISTEN first...and to do that you need to know WHERE to listen for conversations of interest to you (or your business.) It may be that it's not even ON Twitter (though with a year to year increase of 1400% year to year in users, it is increasingly so for our peers!) And, by the way, some companies ONLY listen, without joining the 140-character conversations. It may NOT be for youth. They are still predominantly into Facebook. Just as they USED to be predominanly into MySpace. I barely ventured onto THAT platform even in its heydey. Now they're moving into Tumblr, etc. as the "oldsters" start taking to Facebook. And so on.

Would love your thoughts on this. And this convo is great material for a blog post, by the way!

Best,
EB
PS: I think it's lame when all the news shows try to Tweet, also. It's like Lawrence Welk saying "Get-ah down, Get-ah Funky, everybody." It bugged me when iVillage first added their email jockey, and bugs me when the TV bugs cover up on-screen headlines with urges to follow them on Twitter. I believe in convergence, but not forcefitting it just to try to be groovy. I DO however, follow Anderson and Sanjay, etc. on Twitter, because when I'm USING the medium I choose at the moment I can choose to see them then. Just like I CHOOSE to sometimes watch them on TV instead. Know what I mean?

Now how about YOU all? What do you think? Important to at least be up to speed on what's happening now, or dismiss it? (Hmm, perhaps that question came across a tad slanted.) Well?

From Twitter's suggestions for business to a Slice of Real Life

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:49:00 +0000

I work with some big companies and some small companies. What they have in common is that they are made up of human beings...most of whom have not quite wrapped their brains around social media, or at least social media best practices and strategies. I work to help them enter that space with some 1:1 trainings (C-Tweet!), some team workshops, and ongoing real-time doing (okay, or doing as a say, not always as I do!) as we set strategies for Listening, Learning, Participating and ultimately, we hope, Leading.

This morning, I was catching up on blogs, tweets, etc., and reading some stories associated with some keywords I’m interested in -- or my clients are. My thought process was centered on what I needed to learn...and if I needed that info, might my “readers” or my client's readers be interested, too? If so, I'll alert my clients, if they're not up to speed on alerting themselves yet! I sent one client an article, with a suggestion they post or comment...and then as one thing led to another in the DOING of the 'best practices,' it dawned on me, that what I was doing is what I've been trying to explain they start doing on a regular basis.

So I thought I'd use this as a real-time (sort of) example of my process of "organically" noticing, sharing, commenting, following, and being a little farther into the social scene. Since this morning I was involved in my core competency, Ad Sales Marketing, those are the examples used here:

Ironically, it started with the story I saw through my Adweek Interactive news alerts about about Twitter teaching companies to tweet. I thought it was a good reminder of what I've been encouraging, so I read, then forwarded to my client. After reading that story, I saw the link to “related stories" or "most emailed" -- which included the Ad biz facing the “New Normal.”
I suggested that my client post that article as a way to continue being a resource for interesting info about their media business, but even better — suggested they add a comment contributed from one of their execs, one that hopefully shared a POV, because that would also show him/him being PRESENT in the very space where their clients are.
In reading the COMMENTS you see many interesting points of view and they lead you to more people who are more involved -- or more engaged -- in the social media space.
Of the 30 or so comments, I saw one written by “S. Postaer” who said: “There is a silver lining, albeit small consolation to those eliminated: http://godsofadvertising.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/the-recession-in-adland-do-the-bad-times-have-a-silver-lining/ “ Didn’t know who he was, but it was simple, compelling, and it offered a link with an intriguing title, so I clicked on it.
THIS a good example of how the commenter, S. Postaer, drove people to HIS blog, where I can learn more about him the human, maybe read an interesting post, and now follow him — perhaps by subscribing to his blog
His blog includes a link to instantly enable you to follow him on Twitter (which I have done for me...AND suggested my client follow him, too, because even following him means, again, at least for my client, SHOWING UP and being present).
His Twitter profile doesn’t have a lot of followers. Yet. But he’s there. S. Postaer is present. He’s available to be humanized and share some personality, which makes me — suckers that we are — like / trust him a little bit more. Even if we don’t always agree with him. Oh, and did I mention he turns out to be "Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of one of the world’s largest advertising concerns, Euro RSCG Chicago" according to his bio? Granted, I could have done a search for him specifically, or the keywords associated with his business, but it's a big world. And now I know a little more about this executive other than just doing a knee jerk "follow" or "friend."
THAT whole sharing the process thing that I went through with my client as a teaching example led me to write this, my next OWN blog post...which I think might help others.
So maybe, someone will share MY link or tweet it, and so on.
And see ME as a breathing human being behind the Moss Appeal brand and will turn to my company more because as Sally Field once said... Oh you know what I mean.

Sigh.

Don't Push Mainstream off the Green Bandwagon

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:46:00 +0000

I read a tweet ( RT rocknrod The dirty tricks behind local-washing: How national corporations are co-opting the idea of "local"... ) that led me to Indyweek.com for that post on Localism. I think this is an article worth reading. With a caveat. Read the reader comments, and this post, too. And tell me what you think.

I agree with most of the comments: very good in-depth reporting and awareness raising. I am, however, sensitive to the fact that there are a LOT of buzzwords -- greenwashing, astroturfing -- and labels incorporated into the article...and a proposal that we create yet ANOTHER label ("independently owned.")

I'm not opposed to creating clear and transparent descriptions, but I also know -- as evidenced by one of the earliest reader comments -- there is already massive consumer confusion. It's bad enough that we don't have consistent certification programs for green businesses and services, so it's easy to stake a claim and risk being accused of "greenwashing." But I try to minimize use of that word because the fact is, among mainstream consumers, there's still a TON of education and action that has to happen to get the majority on a green path.
We don't want to add to the cynicsm and give mainstream a chance to fall OFF the green bandwagon before we get them on it.

Just as Adam Werbach of Saatchi & Saatchi S is a proponent of moving the sustainability* movement description towards the word BLUE to be more encompassing of the issues, LOCAL is another issue that falls under that category. Do we need to keep chunking things out? What about when "Independently Owned" soon becomes besmirched by the "Home Gardened" crowd or the "Virtual Workers Creating Less Carbon" (me.)? We run the risk of alienating people with too much pressure on politically correct labeling before we've had a chance to educate them in general about simple steps to take at the very least. Again, I'm a big fan of the content and intention...just hoping we can put emphasis on action vs labeling.

I remain perhaps a Pollyanna in promoting my mantra that every step is a good step... even if it is a corporation using marketing to move the ball forward...for NOW. Let's start the skewering AFTER we've saved the world!

*Sustainability: Not robbing the future of resources for today's business practices (Think adherance to triple bottom line people (fair trade, etc.), planet (eco-conscious) AND profit.)

Legally Blog: The challenges of coralling the conversation

noreply@blogger.com (E.B. Moss) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:19:00 +0000

I don't have the answer yet. I don't know that anyone really does, as social media is like an octopus, regrowing tentacles and mushing and morphing its way through the communal media ocean. But one of the biggest questions I hear from my client and prospects about entering that ocean is how to "control their employees." And of course the immediate answer to THAT is: "you dont."

Clearly, participating in social networking is about being yourself and communing as best we can in our face-time starved society. I always think about Tim Sanders and his book from '02, Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends His premise is that sharing information is a loving, giving thing and that we all need to open our "rolodexes" and give a little to get a little. The Dilbert society of cubicles has starved us for companionship. Even love ain't gonna drive us offline so easily any more. We even FIND love online these days. We will keeping trying to find virtual places to hang out and talk.

So, for a company to ask us to stay nicely in our cubbies and not chat is not practical. But there are WAYS to chat...and as has always been the case there's that little thing most employees sign about not blabbing trade secrets to the press or even friends.

The internet is one big mouthpiece (and I LOVE Brian Madison's song "What Happens in Vegas Stays on the Internet" it should be sung after the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school, if kids still do the pledge, these days.)

Blogger beware.
Employees have to have the dots connected for them that badmouthing a bad boss on Twitter or posting a gripe in a chat room about co-worker is the same as broadcasting to the world. Forever.

So, for here's a good legal blog to read, even if it will sort of strike fear in the hearts of some employees and employers.
The battle of the blog: Legal implications of your employees blogging about the workplace :: WRAL.com

FYI: (No employees were harmed in the making of this blog.)

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