ResearchGoddess

I got really, really fired up by a post I read last Friday that went completely off on social media, ‘snake oil salesmen’, training and certifications, and so forth. I won’t do it the honor of linking to it here, nor will I tell you where I saw it because I do not want to attract attention to it. So don’t ask. Just strap yourself in – I’m sharing my uncensored thoughts on several different issues here. Because, after all, everyone is entitled to my opinion

Poo-Pooing Social Media For Recruiting. #Tired. #Lame. I feel there is a point that is being missed here. Social media: yes everyone gripes about recruiters’ approach to it as another job board, or how much of a waste of time it is. But you know, lots of people also approach the telephone with the same mentality – smile-and-dial and robotically go through candidate calls. And I know lots of recruiters whose phone time is tracked who call friends, family, and each other around the office to boost their phone time – talk about a time-waste! I don’t see how any of these are different, because they’re all still a misuse of communication tools. The focus of this, and any, discussion when it comes to recruiting tools should be your voice. Because your voice is where everything begins. These tools – the telephone, email, social media, and whatever is next (think augmented reality and hologram-type stuff… cool!!) – are merely channels to amplify your own voice. I know some people who have a GREAT voice on social media, and others who suck at it. On the same note, I know some people who have a GREAT voice on the telephone, and others who suck at that too. And I’m not referring to the sound of their voice – I’m referring to the overall message they convey and the passion behind it.

Think of it this way; art comes in many different forms – paintings, writing, music, acting, etc. Often, someone who is a poetic writer may suck at playing an instrument. Or an actor might be an awful screenwriter. As well, some people don’t like music, or hate to read, or detest going to plays. Do these personal preferences make the artists any less of an artist, or diminish the importance or value of the artform itself? Not in my book – artists choose to amplify their voice through a method that they feel is best suited for them. As well, not everyone is going to like or appreciate an artist’s chosen mode of voice amplification, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still art. Diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks.

Continue reading “One Big Rant (Yep, It’s Big!)” »

These spotlights are opportunities for you to get to know some individuals who were recommended to me for the article I wrote for Mashable, 4 Essential Traits for Social Media Success in Your Career. The purpose of my project, detailed here, is to profile some social media professionals to keep an eye on in the coming year.

Spotlight:

What Amber had to say about DJ: “DJ has an email background, but he’s fully grasping the potential and power of social media, and I already know he’s making a difference to his community.”

DJ graduated with a BBA from University of Michigan in 1998. Upon graduation, he worked as a business analyst for two years in Chicago and Kansas City. He then decided to pursue a  Master of Education degree because he wanted to be a teacher. Upon earning that degree, he taught junior high American history for two years. Ready to get back into business world, he went back to North Carolina to work in business for another four years. A year ago, DJ earned  his MBA from UNC Chapel Hill. Last summer, he became the Director of Community for Blue Sky Factory, a company that provides email marketing products and services. His role was actually written based on Amber’s job description – he manages the social media presence for the company, including writing and managing the company blog, The Thinking Inbox. DJ says that if he’s doing his job right, you’ll associate his name and his face with Blue Sky Factory and email marketing. Additionally, he writes a monthly article for MarketingProfs, a monthly column for the Email Insider, and blogs for himself at Social Butterfly Guy. Continue reading “Pay It Forward 2010 Profile: DJ Waldow” »

My friend Mike shared a link to an article by Lindsay Fosner called We Don’t Go To Church last week. The post discusses some reasons why people, young people in particular, don’t attend church anymore. I found it quite interesting that ‘community’ was referenced several times in this post – and there are plenty of things about all types of communities that can be learned from the dwindling attendance in church these days.

“Young adults today are looking for depth…They are opposed to said “community” that doesn’t truly hold people accountable or go deeper than knowing your name.”

How many times do we have this debate of quality vs. quantity? Sure, to have a diverse and interesting community, you must have quantity. But to have deep, meaningful relationships within that community, you must focus on quality. There is a delicate balance of the two to find the most value within a community, and unfortunately a lot of young people aren’t willing to put the sweat equity into building a valuable community. Continue reading “Lessons On Sustaining A Successful Community Learned Through the Church” »

Last Wednesday, our Bellingham Social Media group met to discuss the recent bid our community made for Google’s Fiber For Communities program. Our presenters and panelists were Scott Pierce, a local content strategist, Nathan Carnes, principal of Carnes Media, and David Wiggs, a marketing professional and founder of Hitch. These three men, along with many other Bellingham residents, each took a keen interest in this project. The city commissioned Hand Crank Films to create a video to send to Google with our interest in this program – the video has stirred emotion in many local residents and was even featured on CBS News. We were fortunate to have Traci Hahn of Trac 2.0 Productions filming this presentation. You can view it in 10 minute segments with the following links:

The purpose of this discussion was for the panelists to share their involvement in this project as well as to discuss some of the bigger lessons that were learned from pursuing this campaign. Overall, the theme was community:  where to reach it, how to get it involved, and what to do next.

Scott shared the importance of reaching community where it already exists. Some of the things the guys learned in developing a grog (group blog) was that there was already a community developing on Facebook to support Bellingham’s bid, and that the platform chosen to host the group blog was a little buggy and made it difficult for people to participate. Scott played a big role in encouraging community participation through various online channels, which included going to this growing Facebook community because that’s where a lot of support had already been established.

David, a traditional marketing professional, encouraged other local creative agencies to get involved and shared with them the benefits of participation – getting their creative work in front of not only potential new clients, but also in front of the eyes of the executives at Google. He also said that it is important to ask your communities what is important to them before you try to decide for them.

Nathan developed a cool site called BellinghamAtlas to supplement the other efforts being put forth by the Bellingham community that was ignited by the campaign. The site is a place for people to upload photos or videos that are geotagged around the city to show why Google should bring fiber to Bellingham. This was yet another online resource where community came together for a singular cause.

What lessons can you learn from this effort for your own community? Whether we’re talking about online communities or actual neighborhoods, many of the lessons are the same. Most importantly, let people know what they’re getting involved in – asking them to participate without letting them know what’s in it for them is like asking someone to give you money without telling them what it’s for. (that’s called robbery in many cases!) Also, make sure you find out what the community wants and don’t just do what you think the community wants. It’s easier to get support for a group effort when the effort encompasses things that the community has share that it wants or needs. And lastly, keep the effort going. Even if Bellingham does not win this bid, those leading the charge have done extensive research into how to actually bring fiber to our community. We’ve got the information and most certainly will do something with it. And, for a city that is nicknamed ‘The City of Subdued Excitement’, to get the community to rally together like this is incredible, so we’re looking to keep the ball rolling!

How has your local or online community come together for a cause? What are some of the actions you’ve taken to get people more engaged in community efforts? I’d love to hear your stories – please share them in the comments below!