LinkedIn IPO: Looks Good on Paper

Initial Public Obsession

The online and business world was a tizzy Thursday as the LinkedIn Corporation went public. The initial public offering (IPO) put the stock price at $45 USD. It began the day on the New York Stock Exchange at 83 bucks, rocketed to $122.70 and ended the day at $94.25. And then to $93.26 following after hours trading.

LinkedIn was one of the hottest trending topics of the day, the blogosphere was a blur with new posts every few minutes and opinions were plentiful. The good news was dampened by worry that this was be the beginning of another dot.com bubble.

The Dice Rolls Again

Investment giant Warren Buffet doesn’t play in the speculation world because it’s not actual product and he is one of the wealthiest people on earth. While Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, once owned broadcast.com. In 1999, the company was making about $14 Million in annual revenue and Yahoo bought it later that year for $5.6 Billion in stock options. The question remains whether LinkedIn is worth $95 bucks a share, $950 bucks a share or 95 cents a share. Perhaps the only safe bet is the velocity of purchases for stocks will slow down.

Speculators are frothing at their keyboards for the day Facebook or Twitter announce their IPOs which some estimates say it will happen in the next 12-18 months. The question on most critics’ minds is whether either will be properly valued. And judging by first day LinkedIn trading mayhem, that is doubtful.

IPOs almost ground to a hault after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and others in late 2008 in the U.S. and have never returned to the frenzy of the initial dot.com boom-bubble-bust. This volatility would okay if you could buy low, sell high and get out before the floor caves in. It's doubtful anyone will ever know the value of LinkedIn and with an 8,000% increase in 24-hours, the numbers are tough to trust. MySpace anyone?

Is this the beginning of a dot.boom or a dot.bust?

Kneale Mann

Do You Have Great Songs?

Guitars Are Not Enough

The business world can be overwhelming. You work hard, you strive to improve and help others yet the hill can be rather steep. Add in the digital world and it can feel like a losing battle. For all the opportunities there are obstacles. In a world where the playing field is evened, it is tougher to stand out.

I hosted a social media strategies workshop a couple of weeks ago and outlined that it takes much more than a website or web presence.

How Do You Cut Through?

How does your content find an audience? How do you find clients? How do you get paid? How do you sift through the virtually endless content? It takes perseverance and there are no instant wins or we'd all take them.

The journey is as personal as each of us but simply showing up is not enough. We have to read, listen, contribute, collaborate and have great songs.

Good is Not Enough

Of course we're not all musicians but it is imperative we have the equivalent of great songs to offer or the best we can hope for is to be average, pretty good, the norm.

When MySpace exploded onto the scene, it was touted as a place for every indie artist to find a home and millions of a adoring fans. The major music labels and corporate media were no longer necessary to carve out a successful career. It was heaven. It was a gold rush. Opportunity increased, fame not guaranteed.

Not So Fast...

Songs may be a product or a service but someone needs to see value or all the tools in the world will mean nothing. So the item that should receive a lot of your attention is writing great songs (building great products, offering great service). As Seth Godin often says; doing it cheaper and faster is simply not enough.

How's your repertoire?

Kneale Mann | How can I help?

image credit: flickr

Do You Have a People Plan?

We are social media.

Unless you work in a fully automated business where you are the only human involved, you work with people.

And it takes many people to make the machines to create a fully automated workspace so you're always working with people in one way or another.

We live in a time where stuff appears and we integrate it into our lives without much thought.

It takes a village to raise a child.
It takes a community to build a business.

The notion that we are going to survive in a world where the boss barks the orders and the minions carry out her wishes in neatly formed cubicles is both archaic and broken. People are working in their homes, bars, coffee shops, airports, via cell phone and through telecommunications. People have surpassed the drone mentality.

This is not our grand parents business environment.

The world is becoming more digitally social. The largest aggregated social networking site on the planet is QQ from mainland China which has over one billion subscribers. Facebook has over half a billion, Twitter is approaching 200 million, three quarters of North Americans have Internet access and there are more than 4.6 billion cell phones currently in use around the world.

Mobile penetration is increasing every day and our ability to connect to each other is getting simpler and easier by the week.

Technology is not just making fun gadgets and toys but solving real human crises as well. Yet companies are still focused solely on revenue.

There is nothing human about the bottom line.

Money is important, it keeps businesses in business but without employees, stakeholders, associates and ultimately customers the company doesn’t exist.

We are a connected world. We are finding similar thinking people across thought silos not just proximity circles.

How does that relate to your business?

These are people and they are wired up, hooked up, creating their own customized user experiences and yet many companies are still grappling with this whole social media thing.

Concentrate on their behavior and your actions. This has absolutely nothing to do with a particular web portal, this is about us wanting to be creative human beings.

When developing a business plan, do you think it is equally imperative to keep your eye on a people plan?

knealemann
Create experiences not campaigns.

image credit: jerdi

Are You Ready?

Don't Hide Behind Their Excuses

I have been in digital media in one form or another for about fifteen years. But only in the last few years I realized the need to define it, excuse it, defend it, explain it or convince someone about it.

I don’t anymore.

I know Hubble is above us and the rest of the iceberg is much bigger than the part I can see from here.

It’s not about the tools or the sites or the tweets or the blog designs or the interfaces or the anything else you want to point to, it’s about you.

Find The Quiet

Forget the noise; forget the blaming and the stalling. Are you ready to get to work? Are you prepared to put in the time it takes to build a human network of evangelists, customers, friends, advocates, colleagues and people you can literally call on when you really need another human being?

This is not going to be easy – in fact, there will be days when you think it’s just a big waste of time. Eliot Burdett who has been training sales teams for years, nails it when he says; “The best results come right about the time you think you are absolutely wasting your time.”

Unfold Their Arms

Most managers or owners who build the wall to stop the social media discussion are often the same people who are sleeping soundly at night because they have placed their media in newspaper, on radio and television and through the direct mail piece. All too often, we fear the unknown.

Some fear that getting involved - not tinkering with friends online - but involved with social media will require hard work and time. Their fears are well founded. But what part of your business is not work? What part is automatic? What part appears on a silver plate for your complete enjoyment void of effort?

Wait and See

In 1986, I asked my boss about getting a fax machine. He thought it was unnecessary. He quipped there was no need for us to get one until everyone else got one.

Can you be the internal champion that will convince the boss to at least open her mind to possibilities?

Will you remind those who like the good ‘ole days that the average age of users on Facebook, MySpace, FourSquare, Twitter and LinkedIn is about 35 and it's not just a bunch of bloggers and cool kids?

If you get his attention, will you remind him that ‘placing media’ and ‘engaging with other human beings’ are two different things and you can do both?

Are you going to stand up to her and agree that this activity takes time, there are no easy instant automatic cemented home runs with any activity and that includes her current media spend?

Are you now ready to fight for it before everyone else gets one?

@knealemann
Helping you integrate all you do with all you do.

photo credit: pmstudent

What Does That Button Do?

Follow Us!

Have you seen that around a lot more lately? It’s all the rage, everyone’s doing it. It's so cool, where have you been?

Companies, agencies, not-for-profits, consultants, lawyers, teachers and people from all walks of life are joining Twitter.



What's the URL?

Some think Twitter a website – it is not. Some think it’s a way to simply bark out deals and sell some stuff – wrong again. While others have discovered it is a place where other human beings are actually sharing usable information that can help each other’s bottom line and knowledge base while expanding their personal community to a worldwide scope.

As with all things, the late majority arrives some time after the early adopters have populated the idea, taken it for a few test runs, poked holes in it and given feedback to its creators. More than three years later and the process continues.

Will It Go Bankrupt?

I have lost count the number of people who seem to be concerned about Twitter’s business plan and revenue model. These are people who are afraid that if they engage in this channel and it goes out of business, all their hard work will be gone. Wrong yet again.

Microblogging has nothing to do with a particular website. Twitter is the biggest right now but five years ago, MySpace was on top of the social networking world and now the horizon is looking mighty crowded.

Adopters and Naysayers.

The loudest crowd seems to be congregating on soap boxes outside of the space. They are lobbing ill advised and uneducated views of its effectiveness. It’s a little difficult to assess something without trying it.

There also seems to be a growing crowd near the “I don’t get it” booth in the parking lot. It's okay, I don't get how rocket ships get to a space station but I accept it.

There have been over 2 billion tweets since Twitter’s inception, there are over 50 million users, 62% of Twitter use happens in the workplace, almost one quarter of tweets are generated by computer bots and roughly 75% of all human tweets are generated by 5% of the users.

Numbers vs. Reality.

Now before you wave the “I told you it was a waste of time” finger, let’s compare to real life. About 5-10% of the people (depending on the industry) control 75-80% of the wealth and about a quarter (or more) of the workforce is mailing it in most days.

Twitter is not about mass, it is about quality. It's not about splashing everything with the same bucket of paint, it is about finding influencers. It's not about barking and yelling, it is about listening and building. And that takes time. If you don't have time or want quick results, buy a direct mail campaign and hope for the best.

Buttons and Widgets.

It’s interesting to watch as companies are trying to get in on the new thing (again, which is as old as humans have been alive) with “Follow Us” buttons on their websites. There is a recognition that microblogging has value to their organization. The problem begins when you click on the button and see very little activity.

I won’t name names and only as an example, a prominent Canadian entity with national scope is following less than 20 people, has less than 100 followers and is using this robust dynamic two-way tool as a one-way broadcast channel. What a shame.

What are your thoughts?

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

photo credit: handycons

U.S. Marines: No More Tweets

Yesterday, Wired ran a story entitled “Marines Ban Twitter, MySpace, Facebook”.

The article outlines the reasons why the U.S. Marine Corps has blocked all access to any social networking website effective immediately.

International Incident?


Could this mean government agencies all over world could decifer that banning social media will close any possible electronic threats?

This is from the Marine Corps order “These Internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries.”

It sounds ominous and scary. This U.S. military agency must protect itself from infiltrators – most importantly from the enemy.

This Could Be Just The Beginning

The ban will last for 12 months and stems from a warning by the U.S. Strategic Command which is considering the same interdict for the entire American military. There are scams, viruses and even more sinister stuff that could attack their firewall and get at their secrets.

Another quote from the story; “[Social media sites] make it way too easy for people with bad intentions to push malicious code to unsuspecting users.”

How does that affect us?

• We could delete our profiles.

• We could hope that our information isn't stolen.

• We could assume governments are the sole targets.

What are your thoughts?

@knealemann
Let’s create experiences, not campaigns.

image credit: iwar.org.uk

Social Media: What Are Ya?

What does Twitter do?
nothing, it's a website.

Social Media may only be about 15 years old but social networking or human networking is as old as creatures have lived on earth.

Tweet Bark Meow Tweet

This is not just a human thing, the animal kingdom is socially networked too. And with the advent of places like Barn Mice and ASN, animal lovers have their own dedicated social media sites as well.

More Friends = More Money?
there's no correlation.

Twitter has grown 1400% in the last 18 months, LinkedIn is exploding and there seems no end in sight, MySpace has over 250 million user pages, Facebook gets over 800,000 picture uploads a month and the list of other places people congregate online is virtually endless.

Technorati measures the performance of over 180 million blogs and monitoring companies offer you a chance to harness the conversation around your brand on the web. And to a growing number of people, online social networking is quickly becoming a preferred form of communication over even traditional email.

Who Has All The Answers?
no one, not even self-proclaimed "experts".

There are readers and feeds and analytics and optimization - all bells and whistles that can confuse you if you are still wondering "what is social media".

Companies that not only embrace but commit to the Internet are seeing its power first-hand. The key component is commitment. You can’t tweet once a week or read a couple of blogs and grasp the vast potential social media can bring to your life and career.

Social media = Online billboard?
absolutely not.

One thing is for sure, there is not one correct way to navigate all this stuff. You just have to find your own, whatever way works for you.

If you think you may be out of uniform or not connected as well as you should be, just pick one, any one and connect to that.

Grab your miner’s helmet, some patience, an open mind and start diggin'. You'll find your voice.

What says you?

@knealemann

image credit: ceoworld.biz | imdb.com

Have You Met A Social Media Expert?

If you spend even a few minutes on a social media channel you may have picked up on a new phenomenon.

The symptoms are common to most sufferers; they are usually very easy to diagnose but not so easy to treat - or is that tweet?

Look To The Ones In The White Coats

Scientists from the four corners of the round globe have been studying this problem for some time. In some labs this is taking up more time than devising the proper H1N1 vaccine. The symptoms are generally mild at first but if left untreated this can become a serious problem.

It Seemed Innocent Enough

It begins with the belief that one has mastered all aspects of the human condition, relationships and literally has all the answers. What often follows is the production of an e-book or webinar and possibly a website that lists – for a nominal fee of $29.99 plus shipping and handling – the secrets to a fulfilling life.

It's important to note that not all e-books and webinars are bad so it will take your careful examination of all the evidence to make your final summation.

To the untrained it may seem to be a gold rush – a nirvana, if you will – of knowledge and answers to the secrets of our existence on earth.

Use Extreme Caution

If you feel you may be in conversation – or worse yet – in direct contact with a patient of this horrible affliction, walk away carefully and nod politely.

Another quick trick it to ask them something outside of their comfort zone - perhaps something that may require more than simply a laundry list of geek terms tossed in with the occasional share and stumble.

How 2005 Of You

They have flown long past MySpace, Facebook is child’s play and Twitter is next. The end is near. Realizing that only 5 to 7% of the world's population has even tried a social networking website is irrelevant.

Search For Signs Of Life

If they drop the social media speak and have an actual conversation with real words like a human, there is hope.

If they offer you assistance with navigating all of the tools at your disposal to enhance your business and personal relationships, then they are safe to correspond with and you can now create solutions together.

I wish you well. Be safe.

@knealemann
knealemann at gmail dot com

Helping you better utilize all media.
How to make it, use it and profit from it.

photo credit: Hugh McLeod | gapingvoid.com

How Can Social Media Help You?

Connecting to Followers thru' Friends

Okay, here we go with the sexy topic on many minds right now. Will social media help grow your business? The answer is very simple: it depends on your commitment.

To think that if you sign up a Twitter account, get a Facebook profile and post your resume on LinkedIn will make you successful is less sound than hoping the $10 you just dropped on this weekend’s lottery will make you wealthy.

Pick your analogy but somewhere will be something about seeds and a garden.

Social Media 101

I will assume you know something about social media, you dabble a bit, but you want to know how it may help your business. I have decided to focus only on the social media big four, unfair perhaps but let’s fish where the proverbial fish reside. This is a potential audience of over half a billion.

And important to note, none of these companies are clients though one could always dream.

MySpace

Although we know social networking is 100,000 or more years old, MySpace is the grandfather of social media. Before the other biggies, MySpace was a place to be expressive and share, gain friends and discover new music. It has evolved into an artistic marketing and thriving community of musicians, fans, film, comedy, design and more.

Customization and freedom are the backbone of this space. As far as being involved with MySpace on a business level, this is were you can go crazy. Experiment, post your latest and newest and ask for opinions. (And wait for answers!)

Many of the social media early adopters dropped MySpace a couple of years ago, but if you haven't been in a while - it's worth a visit.

Facebook

Facebook is an excellent social networking site to establish relationships between your company and individuals. It can create an evangelist network of similar thinking people.

If you have good stuff to share, great products to use, then it can be a good place for you to allow the conversation to continue. Remember, branding only happens between customers. But you need to be a part of the conversation.

Facebook has more than 200 million active users and more than 100 million of them log on at least once a day. The fastest growing demographic is 35yrs plus.

With the creation of a company Facebook Group, you can correspond with like-minded people with a vested interest in what you offer. A personal and company profile or group should be developed as solutions-based to benefit the visitors.

Twitter

Twitter is a channel that demands interaction and contribution. This is where the conversation continues and anyone or any company that tries to “sell” their wares is not received in a positive way.

There are currently more than 10 million people sharing this space and it is growing at a current rate of 1400% a year. This does not mean they are all paying attention. The downside is that attrition is running at over 50%. That means that more than half of those signing up drop it quickly. But still, the community is growing.

Twitter is a place where you can also interact with your potential customers in real-time. In order to engage, you must participate – and you must mean it.

Some companies have successfully embraced Twitter as a part of their personality campaign.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the business social networking leader. This is where your company can establish business-to-business, business-to-industry and business-to-customer relationships.

With their integrated search tools, you can quickly find out how many groups are dedicated to your industry or specialty. You can also start your own group and search for others to join. Maintenance, commitment and regular contribution is also mandatory to best access LinkedIn’s potential.

Integrate Everything

Those are the social media big four. And there are other ways to integrate your name, company and message online through feedburner, rss feed, blogs, podcasts, friendfeed, and numerous other social media websites.

And one very important point here - diversify because like the auto industry, you cannot assume any company or web portal will be around forever.

Easy Peasy

And your own site should be easy to navigate and should include links to all of your sites. You should also have search engine optimization and everything wired with Google Analytics. All of your online activity must be streamlined, integrated and aggrated to maximize your impact.

Some or all of this may sound like algebra to you, because it is. It takes time to navigate and most of all it takes commitment to participate.

To butcher the cliché, your social media presence won’t be built in a day.

How can Social Media help your business?

@knealemann
knealemann at gmail dot com

photo credit: ceoworld.biz

Social Media: Racoons and Evangelists

There is certainly no shortage of chatter right now about the explosion of social media. "It’s everywhere”, a buddy said the other day. But the Twitter numbers are mind blowing. There has been a 1400% increase in membership in the last 12 months. Add to that, the largest growth has been in the 35-49 demographic.

And some wonder why venture capitalists keep pouring money in to this project. It's safe to say they aren't waiting for banner ads to recoup their investment. It's about the numbers and with 10 million members in three years, that's a lot of influence.

Twitter Pro or Premium or whatever they will call it, will bring in revenue but like Google, there is enough evidence to suggest money could be made behind-the-scenes.

The Social Media Big Three.

So Twitter is now a legitimate player along with Facebook (175 million) and MySpace (250 million). But with the current American auto industry mess fresh on our minds, it's important to note that companies don't necessarily stay on top forever.

Estimated revenue for these sites in 2008 (figures in USD)
MySpace $800M | Facebook $300M | Twitter $0

A warning from The Hacks.

In this week’s Media Hacks podcast - a must listen - Christopher S. Penn cautions anyone who thinks they can make a living solely from focusing one social media site. There are examples of people doing very well at that, but there is concern if the space goes under.

Diversify your social media portfolio.

Penn says that if you pour all your time and resources into Twitter (for instance) and for some reason they go out of business, so could you. But if Twitter is part of your overall strategy – which in many cases is a wise move – if it goes out of business, you can shift your energy to other places.

Let's check again with those venture capitalists.

Too often those who run screaming into the night saying "how will we monetize this thing" are measuring it against mainstream metrics and advertising. Meanwhile social marketing and behavioral scientists are watching all of this very carefully.

Social spaces, our need to connect and our desire to build communities is not going to change. You may just want to remember that there are millions of people still not immersed in the social media. Yet.

Would you be happy with a 7-share?

It's difficult to determine how many people are participating in social media today. Many have multiple profiles on several sites but if we were to guesstimate that half a billion was the number, that's still only 7% of the world's population. So odds are, you have met plenty of people who haven't even tried this thing that's "everywhere".

Something to keep in mind if client strategy is part of your job. It's an important part of the strategy, but dangerous to assume you will get more buy-in than raccoons in headlights. And simply having a Twitter account without understanding what it can do for them or how to properly use it, is a dangerous game as well.

Have you tried social media? Have you found people who have not tried it yet? What are your thoughts on companies embracing social media?

Earth Hour: Real Social Media

It was born in Sydney, Australia two years ago. Just over two million businesses and homes shut off the lights for an hour. Last year: the worldwide initiative reached over fifty million.


Today over a billion people will turn off their lights for an hour as part of a global vote to save our home – Earth.

Whenever we hear naysayers quip we can’t do it, think of today. Whenever we have to endure negative comments that cite the lack of the human collective to join hands and accomplish the impossible, think of today.

Earth Hour is social media and the medium is Earth.

From two million to over a billion in just two years. That is the power of the human spirit. That is you and that is me.

At the core of social media is our hierarchy of needs. It has absolutely nothing to do with a particular website or profile design. It has everything to do with the connection of human beings and our need to belong.

What are you doing for Earth Hour?


Website

Twitter

Flickr

MySpace

Bebo

Facebook

StumbleUpon

People Are People

I got an email yesterday from someone who had sifted through previous posts here and found one I did last May about taking the social media experience to the human level. It was inspired by CC Chapman who suggested that once you establish a new relationship perhaps you should just grab coffee and get to know someone better. That is the essence of all this online chatter.

Tools vs. Humans

We have websites and profiles, friendfeeds and tweets, followers and connections, microblogs and status updates; but those are simply the ways in which we reach each other.

Mitch Joel suggests that Twitter may become the next Google. Jeff Pulver thinks that it will be sold to Microsoft or Google in the next 18 months for $2-4 Billion. All could be true, all could be irrelevant. Those are tools and without the human element, we’re right back to the dot com bust.

We Are The Change

The point is we are the ones creating change; we are the ones connecting with each other across different industries from far off locations. Mitch and I had lost touch for 15 years and frankly he’s the one who pushed me in the deep end in the first place. Then he walked away to let me figure it out. Glad he did.

The Web of Social Connections

From geek dinners to podcamps, blog comments to phone calls, tweetups to webinars, the world really is a lot friendlier and a lot smaller than you think.

We all have the opportunity to gain new connections, contacts, colleagues, friends and perspective. There may be a dimension missing from some business plans and that is a better understanding of human behavior. And most of all it means we are just people trying to figure it all out and if we share more often we can help each other do just that.

Whether you meet someone in a coffee shop or through contacts in a social networking site, it’s up to you how much you want to pitch in. If you do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how much we will appreciate it. #followfriday

@knealemann

Connecting the Connections

Keith Burtis gave a great presentation at PodCamp Toronto last weekend. It’s especially engaging when the entire room gets involved and Keith let the discussion run wild. It was fantastic! I love Keith’s story too. Eighteen months ago he was working in a warehouse and now he is helping others around the world embrace social media.

These Are The Days Of Our Lives...

Keith compared traditional business models (the funnel) to social media models (the hour glass).

Traditional business shoves as many through the pipe on the hopes to be left with a handful of paying customers. While in social media, you may start with a larger group of people but each one represents the chance to develop a deeper personal relationship.

The funnel starts with a large group and ends with a small group. But the hourglass starts with a large group, develops into small one-on-one connections with people who have their own network, and can result in a larger group.

Traditional model is transactional
Social media model is relational

It was amazing how much chatter ensued after getting back to the office. There were people who reached out to say they wish we had had a conversation at PodCamp and I did the same. Perhaps you experienced this as well.

I have started applying Keith’s suggestion even more to develop stronger one-on-one connections past the follower/friend relationship. After all, we are all just people. Extend a hand or an email, perhaps a call or even a meeting and break through traditional circles.

One-To-One Across The World

Proximity is the single biggest way to meet people: you work together, you’re in the same industry, you are blood related, or you know someone who knows someone. But with social media you can meet people from all walks of life, all over the world, and expand not only your scope of relationships but your knowledge base.

Hop into the conversation. Dig a little deeper. See if you can learn more about someone.

What do you have to lose except the chance to meet someone you otherwise would never would have met?

@knealemann

ustandout.com

Meetings Morsels Moments and Money

The relationship comes before the sale. It's about people buying in to you, not your business. Be transparent and talk like a real person. #pcto09

PodCamp Toronto began last Saturday morning and everyone was saying their goodbyes Sunday afternoon.

In thirty-six short hours, a lot was said, done and discussed. But more importantly, connections were made and strengthened.

About 500 people converged on Ryerson University to discuss social networking. If you were to assume everyone who attended was from Toronto - which they were not - that represents just .0001% of the city's population.

Anyone who may think this space has reached maturity needs to look closer. Our need to connect and belong has been around since we have, but this new wave of communication is still in its infancy.

You will scale faster by building deeper relationships with fewer people.

Be interesting and engaging. Re-humanize your company, service or personal brand. #pcto09



Toronto was the first city on earth to have more than a million Facebook users, so this is not about convergence.

This is more about a small percentage of the population who want to take social media to the next level.

To most, it is a way to stay in touch with their friends – which it is – but to some it has become a powerful way to build business relationships through deeper human relationships.

Be a community gardener. Keep them entertained and make their day. It’s has nothing to do with your offering and everything to do with you. Balance the deal flow with the cash flow and figure out your place in the flow. #pcto09



The event was filled with great presentations which were followed by conversation about the content that was covered. I asked someone if they were enjoying the weekend and they said the best part was the one-on-one chats to dig deeper into the information. The theory is great, but the actual application is key.

The highlight for me was to talk to people I have met through social networking about them and their interests and projects.

PodCamp Toronto was not only enlightening but very social – which is the point. Another hightlight was the reminder that social media is an even playing field and there is no one way to do it. There are many tools at your disposal and it’s how you apply the ones that you need for your particular situation.

Gain trust and don't break it. We are in an era of mass customization. Create a relationship - a rapport on a human level. Be one of them because we are all one of them.
#pcto09




How do you monetize social media?

It's no different than any other venture or industry. There are no get rich quick schemes - in fact, you need to be very real or others will see your pitch before you arrive. Only a small handful get to win the lottery, the rest of us have to work hard.

Put your business cards away, lose the slick sales' pitch and just get to know someone. People will buy in to you long before they buy in to what you do.

How are you using social media to connect on a more human level?

@knealemann

photo credits | eva blue | lexnger

PodCamp Toronto

If you haven't immersed yourself in the social network, jump in!

The price of admission is contribution. There are no rules of how much or how often you should contribute just join the conversation.

Free to Join. Free to Join In.

You don’t have to do a podcast or a blog, you don’t have to have 30,000 followers on Twitter, your friend list on Facebook doesn't have to be in the thousands; you can just come in and grab a seat.

This weekend marks the third annual PodCamp Toronto and it will be busier than ever. There are almost 900 people signed up and the schedule is jammed with tips and pointers no how to navigate the digital space, how to interact better and perhaps even monetize the experience.

No salespeople wanted

That last part is tricky. If you think you can apply scam tactics to social media, you will find out very quickly that is not a wise approach. At the core of social media is the social aspect. People need to buy-in to people before they buy from people. Never has that been more crucial than right now.

PodCamp Toronto is an unconference which means admission, ideas and sharing is free. You are encouraged to share in the sessions and in the hallway, just get to know each other. The playing field is even.

Nice to meet you

The cool thing about this event is that you will meet people from all walks of life, experiences and professions. If you go to a marketing convention to watch marketing experts talk about marketing, it's can be too one-dimensional.

If you’re going to PodCamp Toronto, perhaps we’ll run in to each other.

km

From Cave Walls to FriendFeed

How old is social media?

At the core of social networking is connection. It has been going on for about the last 100,000 years or so.

People used to write stories about their lives through pictures on cave walls.

Juan Pablo Bonet first introduced a new way of communication for the deaf and today millions converse through sign language.

Can you hear me now?

In 1836, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail developed an electronic telegraph machine that sent a series of electric currents which made markings on tape. An alphabet was devised and long distance two-way communication was made possible with basic equipment.

Ancient Greece is the place where the earliest form of shorthand was documented. As early as 400BC, shortened versions of full words were carved on to marble using mostly vowels with slight variations to indicate consonants.

Rocket ships and email

In the late fifties during the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. This event caused the Americans to quickly get to work on the Advanced Research Projects Agency or ARPA which later became ARPA Network or ARPANET. Today, you and I know it as The Internet.

Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the mid 1400’s. His creation revolutionized communication. A&E named him the most influential person of the 20th century.

Shawn Fanning turned the music industry on its head with his invention of computer code and later Napster which allowed people to electronically share songs.

What does all of this have to do with Social Media?

In short, everything.

This is not about LinkedIn or Facebook, MySpace or Bebo, Twitter or FriendFeed.

Morse code, the Internet, hieroglyphs, the printing press, mp3s, shorthand and many other magnificent inventions have immeasurably helped us better connect with each other while sharing stories, knowledge and experiences.

But can any of this ever replace in-person interaction?

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Being Social Through Social Media

What is the first thing you would do if you won $5 Million?

Yesterday was a fun day on Twitter. It was one of those moments where I wanted a naysayer to be around so they could see what social media is all about.

In light of the current economic situation, I thought I'd pose an age-old question. Perhaps the answers have changed. My question was: what would be the first thing you would do if you won $5 Million? The amount wasn't important, but I felt it needed to be significant enough to get a reaction.

Some responses…

@DellaSiemens Pay off student loan debt
@CamilleJ buy my own flat! :)
@LifeLdrshpCoach Pay off my mortgage & credit cards, help my family members get in the black, put a BUNCH under the mattress, and then DONATE.
@cynthiayoung Buy expensive ketchup! (Barenaked Ladies' reference)
@chrisbrogan I’d bank 2, donate 1, and burn through 2 "fixing" things.
@Zoeyjane I'd buy new clothes. And a skateboard. And a tattoo. Prolly some furniture. Eventually I'd make it to a charity or two.
@myogis Call in rich! (nah...I'd probably call in sick before telling anyone)
@marcpsummers save $2 million and buy property with rest after paying every bill I had in my whole lifetime.

Science Meets Reality

A discussion ensued over a question we have asked, been asked and asked ourselves our entire lives - what to do if we won a bunch of money. Most lists didn't simply include buying fivolous stuff - though fancy ketchup is a good one. More importantly the lists included many ways to help others.

It is my suspicious that if we did a more scientific and detailed piece of research the responses would still fall under these main categories:

1. Pay off debt
2. Help others
3. Make a difference

Now let’s change the question slightly...

What would you first do to make $5 Million - so you could help others and make a difference?

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Newsflash: Social Media Is Not A Fad

Let’s take a quick trip back to a simpler time when laptops were rocks and Facebook was a cave. It was a time when grunts meant complex sentences and networking was done around campfires after the beast was conquered.

It was discovered then that humans enjoyed the contact of other humans. Similarly it was revealed that humans enjoyed multiple visits from those they knew and called them “friends”. Experiences shared, stories told.

From 2,000,000 BC to Today

Fast-forward several million years and a new study by Cision – a media research company out of Chicago has discovered that social media is in fact on the rise in Canada. The sites with the biggest growth are globeandmail.com and cbc.ca

If you aren’t in Canada – The Globe And Mail is a national newspaper which has recently stepped up their online content in the wake of that industry’s crumble and CBC is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – the national government funded television, radio and content company.

Content Content Content

Jay Krall from Cision says that social media and online content channels are the future. Not a big revelation but content still must be worthy of people’s time and people must know where it is and how to find it.

Not So Fast!

It’s dangerous to tell those not versed in the space to simply start a blog or sign up at social media sites or post their messages and content on a website. It’s like age-old issue in the music industry – bad music slammed over people’s heads will still not make it good.

Try It You'll Like It

Like with any piece of research, there are flaws. In this case, Cision measured online success by blog comments and mentions on “the social web” – love that term. It sounds like my dad talking about Nine Inch Nails as “that music you kids listen to”.

Reality and Media

Online is not the future, it is the present. As stated several times here and many more times to friends and colleagues – this isn't new media or new reality – this is media and reality.

How will you best harness the power of social media to help your business?

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Many Minds Make Light Work

@carl Dude, how you doing?!
@steve All good ...how's Mary?
@carl Awesome, thanks... Sally well?
@steve Couldn’t be better! How’s the gig?
@carl Good good ...let’s grab a beer some time!
@steve Sounds great, give me a shout.

Carl signs off and wonders why his life is such a mess while Steve seems so happy. Steve grumbles under his breath as he switches off his laptop that Carl has it so good while his life is falling apart.

Take A Peak Inside

As we open the doors wider into ourselves, do we need to put up a higher wall or a braver face? I have received countless emails from people who feel intimated by places like Facebook and Twitter. They don’t feel they have anything to share. We all have something to share.

The Power We Hold

MuteMath writes in the song Peculiar People “With a word we can drown a mountain”. Later in the song they write "we can fly with the wings of eagles". The operable word in both lyics is 'we'.

We are human. We are flawed. We experience life with its joy and bumps. We too often have to paste a smile on our face for the world to see. We often forget others must do the same.

Start With Hello

If you have a social media profile and you dig a little deeper to get to know a new contact, you will experience the magic of the medium. I remember the first time I sent an email to someone I had just met - and they responded! And we started a conversation.

My friends who don't 'get' social media, think that Twitter is a waste of time. But if you've ever experienced it when the conversation flows among several people and new people chime in with thoughts, you know that it's much more than a chat room.

During the Presidential debates, Obama's inauguration, the bailout, and the latest in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the conversation was vibrant and alive.

Let's Collaborate More

If we are spending more time online in social media enviornments, should we not be trying to share even more? But let's not confuse activity with progress. Increased chatter does not guarantee more solutions.

Stretch out those conversations - in public or private. This isn't about showing others how s-m-r-t we are or how well-read we are or how in-the-know we are. If we all lived 300 years, we still wouldn't know it all.

Be Yourself

To borrow words that best describe this, I turn to Seth and Mitch. Be remarkable. Be authentic. Take chances and step out. Enjoy your voice.

We are all stumbling around together. If we aren’t willing to make mistakes, be ourselves and be remarked about, then we may as well turn off the computer.

And the next time someone asks us how we're doing – maybe it's best to simply say “fine thanks, you?”

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Passion and Self-Doubt

Last night, I was re-reading Chris Brogan’s free e-book on personal branding. I refer to it often and if you are feeling a bit lost or looking for next steps, I recommend you do the same. Download Chris’ book here.

In fifteen pages, Chris outlines some steps you can take to improve you, your career, and your brand. The sections that stood out for me were about self-doubt and passion.

I think many of us would have our PhD in both topics and this all stems from one important element – human behavior.

The Network is Social
We have created a network of connections that can blow our minds. I hope you're the same, but I have made contact with people I would never have met if it wasn’t for the social network, blogs and podcasts.

Chris talks about making something of our social media connections. It’s not enough to just collect them like trinkets as they do the same with us. Make a human connection. I sent Brogan an email last night and he returned it!

Passion
You may have experienced this issue. You have great desire and burn in your gut to do something but then self-doubt creeps in and the party is over. We are excellent at sabotaging our own dreams aren’t we?

Self-Doubt
Here’s a challenge. You have five minutes to find someone who will tell you “that won’t work”. Don’t hurt yourself, they’re everywhere. And too often, they are inside us already.

The World is a Stage
Chris says that you must have a great attitude every time you enter the social media world – and I agree! No one likes a grump. But have we created a platform where fears and dreams and passion and self-doubt are allowed to mingle?

We are a network, we are connected. We are not 6.7 billion humans cohabitating. We make mistakes, we lose stuff, we have silly ideas, we have doubts, and we have passion. Let’s celebrate that rather than pretending we have it all figured out.

Thanks Chris for always sharing!

Now, what are your thoughts?

km

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Harold Whitman