douglasmkelly's posterous

I attended (and moderated) an aimWest event this past week. I'm writing a future post about the event topic: the Filter Bubble. It was an awesome event! More on that to come, but this post is on Klout. Klout.com was discussed a little at the monthly aimWest - but more importantly "Have you quit Klout yet?" was the theme of that discourse. Klout is a site that presumes to measure your social media influence. You wind in your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and WordPress IDs for tracking. Those of you that only use Posterous, you're out of luck. Klout only measures from WordPress and Blogger. Also, none of you on Android cells with other social picture sharing apps can increase your Klout - only we iPhone users that have Instagram get the bump. Nice, huh?

So why would you want to quit? Why wouldn't you? is the better question. I know, I know, we humans want to measure and score everything. We like competition. But does Klout really do that for you? For one thing Klout keeps changing their algorithm, stating that the changes will make things more even - more realistic. After the last change, however, Klout's CEO feared (publicly) that he may have made a mistake. I think monetizing people's clout in Social Media was the first mistake, personally. But seriously, did your Klout "score" actually make you want to better engage your audience? Did it change you? Did you tweet more? Did you use Facebook better? Did you actually influence more people?

I believe true influence is noticed on and off line. A friend coined the term "Meat Space" (or at least started using it) a while back. It means to meet in 3-dimensional space - actually pressing the flesh. Touching the meat of someone by shaking their hand, patting them on the back, and interacting in person. To me, you influence someone by receiving a reaction or at least an action. You can see their reaction in person. You can tell you've influenced someone if they take action - like signing that contract. Klout doesn't measure your offline influence. 

I did partake in the Klout.com phenomena for a while. But I never really understood why I should care? Other than measuring myself against others - in that same competitive way that everyone else liked about it - why use it? If any of you can give me a valid reason, I'd possibly consider joining Klout again. Until then, I'm going to use Google Analytics and link shortners to track hits and clicks to my blog, site and other websites. I am going to measure my clout by getting new customers or perhaps new members to aimWest. I quit Klout. If you want to quit too but can no longer find the opt out, do this:

Klout disconnected the link between "profile settings" and "delete your account".  The removed function is now pushed to the very end of the "privacy" policy page which you can only access through a text link at the bottom of your "profile settings" page.

Last week a virtual friend sent me this "Hey what's with this post about you" Twitter Direct Message. I actually clicked the link, as I had believed there might be some bad feelings in the local area about my company. Of course I'm not telling you why - suffice it to say a competitor may not like my firm for some strange reason. So Google Chrome saved me from going to that site. w00t! Today two friends' twitter accounts were hacked. They're both very Social Media savvy.

I also received a call today from a lady who clicked the spammer's DM link and got through to that site. Lucky she didn't fill out the form that was there. I DON'T LIKE SPAM! This kind of spam is the worst kind. It plays on your emotions and draws you in - then steals your identity. The viagra spam emails never trick me - I'm not 60. I don't know why they continue to find their way to my inbox. But this new Twitter DMing is a little scary.

Here's one way to not get hacked: Only use https://twitter.com. Its the secure version. In fact, only go to sites that have a security seal or SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certification when in a public wireless area. Facebook has one. My blog has one. The cert's not owned by me, and you might get an "Error" if you try, but it works and is legit. This is only really necessary if you are using open wifi. If you're in a coffee house and browsing the interwebs and log in, you can be "Sniffed" by a FireFox plugin (there are actual sniffing programs too) that can view all your open tabs, and gain access to your logged in sites. If you normally have Safari, FireFox or Chrome (or God forbid, IE) manage your passwords for sites where you have to log in, ensure that you remove this saving feature for non-https sites. That 's' means the site encrypts your virtual transactions, thereby making your password very hard to learn. 

If you get hacked - and you're a business - you need to contact all of your clients and apologize. Then you need to give them the name of a very good internet guru (or this blog post) - and say that even you can get hacked - and if they don't want to get their sites and accounts compromised, they need to get some security in place. Suffice it to say that a guru I use had his twitter account hacked a couple months ago. It can happen to anyone. If it ever happens to me, I'll be referring you back to this post. 

I have been on the Beta - Invitation-Only - Google+, for a few weeks now (thanks Jay!). I don't feel all special and alone, however. Almost everyone, that I get all Social Media with, are in. Actually that's a pretty good thing - as, if they weren't, I wouldn't be having any fun.

So far, I like the cleaness, and I like the lack of ads (so far, right?). Circles are nice - and slightly easier to use than Facebook's lists. I like that I get notifications while I'm using other Google apps. I also like that all the Social Media Gurus and Techies have embraced Google+ and write frequently. It almost has that brand new Twitter feel.

However, I've not been using it as much as Facebook for a couple reasons:

One: I can't publish from Hootesuite or Tweetdeck to Google+. When you post to 4+ social networks, you look for the easiest possible way of transacting with them.

Two: I'm using/playing EmpireAvenue. EA gives you increased share price based on your social media use. It's just a way to monitor engagement. Also, it's a great way to find people to follow and engage people with similar interests in Facebook. Actually I've been contacted by and contacted EA users about all sorts of things including finding speakers for a non-proffit I'm a part of - Oooo Social Networking! Think what you will about EmpireAvenue, however, it is gaining traction in the SocMed sphere and almost all the Fortune 500 companies have a presence/user on EA. So I'm on EmpireAvenue - as it is a way to measure Social Engagement, it is growing, and I'm intregued by a Social Media game. This all said, they're not wired in with Google+ yet. I get no boost to my share price by posting to Plus. I do get the bump from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. And hundreds of people that I do interact with often, are on FB. 

So I'm looking for some thoughts and musings from my blog followers here. Are you using it daily? Do you like it more or less than Facebook. Is it as important to you as Twitter? Do you dislike the Mobile App?

Also, I started writing this post long ago, and haven't blogged in all of August, so wanted to get this done and out. Hey it's Summer. I'd rather be outside, or increasing business, or writing other's Social Media Content - than blogging. Call me odd.

Have you seen the video by Socialnomics/EQualman? - It's been out for a few years and edited as recently as last year.

Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh) from Erik Qualman on Vimeo.

I mentioned in the beginning of March, change was gonna come. That change was that I merged my company with another in the Greater Grand Rapids area. Things didn't work out, unfortunately, and the merger diverged or divested a couple weeks ago. My next post will discuss this "Diverger".

Change isn't often easy - in fact it can be rather difficult sometimes. Periodically it can actually be painful. (Ready for the segue?) The change from businesses managing the dialog, to consumers having a voice through Social Media doesn't have to be painful. It could be, however, difficult for some to completely grasp. Last week, I assisted the Grand Rapids Social Media (GRSM) group with a round table discussion on how to get followers in social media. It would seem that a number of people still have questions.

It's alright to not understand something. You don't have to be an expert in in a matter just because it flirts with your job title. Most likely you were hired for several specific tasks - then this whole Social Media "Revolution" came along and now you feel the expectation that you must do SocMed for your company. There are plenty of great resources out there that can help your business. But please, consider outsourcing a practice in which you're not trained or adept.

If you feel that you can handle this strange new abstract, then you must embrace change as well as discussion. Like any relationship, it's all about conversation. If the communication is not there, things aren't going to go well. Everyone has to understand the expectations: If your audience wants to learn about what you had for lunch, then by all means tell them - if they don't, stop blathering on with statements they have little concern for. A small FYI: by-in-large no one cares about your cats. Perhaps your listeners really want engagement - ensure you are responding timely. It is possible that you mostly want to inform, make sure you are giving the info your audience desires, but you still need to listen - SocMed is not push only.

As I said before: there are lots of resources out there, both online and human. I really recommend if you don't have the time or inclination, hire a reputable consultant.

or - GRSM: Now in Technocolor...

I've been writing a lot lately, it's just been in the form of site content, quotes and proposals. Since the next Grand Rapids Social Marketing Lunch is dawning on us again next week, I thought I'd post something about last month's meeting. In case you don't know, The GRSML is a free, open to the public, lunch and learn, Networking opportunity. You bring your own lunch (generally). The Free Water GRSM was pretty well attended as the speaker was a good draw. @aaron_creo or Aaron Creo (outside of the twittersphere) spoke on Video as a Social function. He listed all the various stats that many of us have seen and showed a couple videos that have gone viral along with a couple campaigns like the Old Spice one and the Toyota Sienna Swagger Wagon. I've talked these up quite a bit on Twitter and Facebook over the last few months, so it was nice to see Creo adding some cred to my posts. That wasn't my take away from his talk, however.

Aaron touched on a few things I put into my craw:

• Video is a captive audience
• You can craft messages for specific types of people
• With online video there's no media buy
• People are sharing more than ever before
• Not for profit organizations are great candidates for video use

Mr. Creo also gave a few do's and don'ts for organizations wishing to dive into social video:

• Only make videos that make sense
• Utilize tips on framing and lighting from sites like http://www.tiltnpanstudios.com/videotraining.html
• Ask questions like "What does your audience expect from you?"

He also reminded us that Video is permanent. Once you post it, someone somewhere has downloaded it and can repost. So, make sure it's done right and that your message is clear, on-target and well thought out.

I've been talking up YouTube over the last several months and am writing some scripts for clients, to give my company some visual/verbal feedback on work done for them. These are mostly bullet points reminding my clients of what was accomplished and things they said to me, like "Wow!" or "That's exactly what I wanted". Things like saying, "that is so cool" and a hug after the meeting I can talk about but until the permanency is posted on YouTube and linked from my site... It's just me talking about it. There is so much more credence to the client in their own words. LinkedIn is great for recommendations, but watching someone talk about how well you've performed for them is even better.

Just this morning I posted a video to a client's site linked from a local news outlet. The article was about ArtPrize, a local arts event that you can win. This client is a venue for ArtPrize and when the news channel did the report, it was mostly about the event and not the venue, but the clients face and venue exterior were actively shown throughout the piece. She was able to help explain ArtPrize. Not only did she receive some free press, but now has the better ability to showcase her business to the world from her website.

My recommendation is to incorporate YouTube or other social video sites into your overall Social Media and Marketing strategy. YouTube is the 2nd most used search engine in the world, behind Google. If you can be found there, how much business do you think you'll garner?

Last week 250 West Michiganians and I attended the AimWest Google Lunch at the Devos Place. I won't get into what a cool venue Devos Place is, or that the Devos-Provided WiFi didn't work for most of the day, or that I took 3/4s of a day off to go. I won't get into the price for AimWest Members being only $10 less than non-members... Ok I guess I just did... I just couldn't believe for the price of the event, that the WiFi wasn't adequate.

Was it cool to go to a great venue to listen to The Almighty Google speak? Oh Yeah! Was it cool that a local organization can pull in a Google Rep? You betcha. I will start with saying, that I knew most everything presented by all 3 speakers I listened to, and if I didn't, I could've Googled It. I also made up a half dozen people's mind on what they were going to attend – solely because they believe I know what I'm doing. I picked events based on packaging and name instead of really asking what the product contained. To all of you that decided to attend the break out sessions based on my going: I am sorry.

I did come away with some minor notes. Google's John Black (I'd so change my name to Jack!) was the Keynote speaker. Google's retail online sales manager didn't have all the techie info I had hoped to glean. John briefly talked about Google's association with Dish Network for TV ads. That was cool to hear. They have set-top boxes helping to manage ad integration. The ad supplier is only charged for when someone actually views an ad – local or national. That was pretty much it. The coolest take away.

Some of the other areas Black touched on were:

• Based on customer feedback they are also working to make it easier to use Google Adwords.
• In 3 years Google's seen a 300% growth in mobile search, with 50 times more search on mobile devices than regular cell phones.
• Google believes more and more computing will be done on the Cloud than on your C: drive. (This is not news)
• Google.org tracks flu trends world wide
• Some of what's next: Consumer Internet, Smart Grid Technology, and Green Energy

You know what? I could have Googled all of that. It was cool to see the Flu graphs and how Google is predicting breakouts around the globe on similar numbers with the CDC. Some of the other numbers were slightly noteable. But John Black didn't come with anything new – seriously new. 25 minutes after his key note finished Google released a statement that they were rolling out Font API and Font Directories. No one in the room knew about that! It could have been the Steve Jobs-esque end to an address. Then on Friday (or Monday, I don't exactly remember), Google released a notice that Google TV was coming to a provider near you. Ok, I get it: Google's a HUGE company and all, but come on! The GR Press was there. One of the local TV news outlets had a camera going. Grand Rapids is number 1 or 2 (depending on the poll) to get Google Fiber. John made a comment about GRGoogleFiber initiative, but that was it. No major announcements. No major un-Google-able points.

I'll back off Google for a minute. The best thing I've enjoyed about AimWest events, even when I could have given the talk my self, has been the Q and A. Even if I know most of what the speaker discusses, the questions fired and the answers given help me with my potential clients. I ended up walking out of the Mobile break out session, when the guy went long, and we never had any question period. For one thing the guy was extremely boring, wasn't used to giving speeches, was visibly unprepared, and spoke above many people's heads. Part of what he talked about was essentially Business 101 – but for iphone apps. I attended the mobile session because I believed it was going to be about new trends, or how Google and iPhone/Android were going to revolutionize the world. I didn't really want to hear about the steps to rolling out an app. I only jotted down a couple things during his session:

• Launch your App with friending to gain stickyness
• Plan for Participation
• Support Social Networking and Location
• and expect emergent uses because you may have envisioned it being used one way, but the marketplace may find another way.

I only noted these because they cemented what I already knew and spoke to Social Media. The guy talked about who you need to have buy in, from Legal to IT. Any department that wants a new site, app, marketing expenditure or corporate direction knows and lives by this. It's called “Red Tape”. I almost walked out to find another session, not caring who I offended or what I missed, because I made the terrible assumption that it would get better – or end soon and the Q&A could begin.

So ok – 1). the food was good. 2).I saw 40-50 people I know. And, 3).I met someone that I've only talked to on Twitter. I set up 2 meetings from this event. Those are good things and if I close any business out of it, will probably change my tune – but even the last breakout was google-able. Pete Brand was a much better speaker than either Mobile Guy or Google Guy. But he only read a list of Google Apps, that anyone can find on Google's App Site. He did give one sentence describing each... (psst, you can also read that from Google Apps), what I really wanted to know was how his company helped organizations save money. How he helped them migrate from Microsoft to the free Google Apps. How much money did his clients save? How easy was it? I only tweeted a couple things from Brand's talk:

• Use forms to easily roll out marketing questionnaires with out needing IT support.
• The other was that I already knew all of this.

There was some Q&A, like “How did you migrate your clients from MS to Google. Brand deferred to the audience. The Grand Public Library rep tried to answer that going Open Office was pretty easy. Does it sound like I'm griping here? It should. For $40 I got to have a Google Search recited on 2 different topics, and some guy review Business classes. I can believe that, in the West Michigan area, there are many knowledgeable individuals. Having the audience answer other's questions isn't really as bad as you might think. I attend a local Social Media Free Lunch where the group founders have asked me to answer some questions. It really shows that there are several topic savvy individuals locally. The difference between a lunch/learn and a conference, however, is that the speaker is supposed to be an expert.

Am I asking too much?

I know that the AimWest Board works really hard to pull these things off. I respect all and know many  board members. I also bet that they don't review presentations pre-event. After this one, I hope they start. If any of you attended the AimWest Google Lunch and took some good things away, please for the love of all things Google, comment. I love Google. I love AimWest. I'd like AW to get better. I think all comments here could be reviewed by the board. Google, on the other hand, is getting too big - in my assumption. They'll not be reading this blog. But if you're from Google, change my mind!

For about 6 months, I've been networking pretty heavily. As I said in a recent post, I'm out looking for new business after a few client jobs drew to an early close. They had been long term, but either changed their direction, added staff to do what I accomplished for them, or just ran out of money. So I needed to get back into the sales game to generate some new revenue streams. Last month I listened to Tony Rubleski speak about marketing and networking, where he said one should spend at least 3 hours per week networking. However, he didn't really explain how to network more effectively. Tony also talked about setting yourself apart from the herd. Be the Yellow Tulip in the sea of Red. More on that later in the post.

I've been attending AimWest, GRAPE, GRSML and GRSBBC pretty religiously for a few months. I have joked that if I could only get paid to network... I've gotten involved with the GREC and GRYP, and attended events like Free Lunch Friday and a Community Expo. I've tried to work the room, meeting people, talking to them about their businesses and accumulating cards. I've called on several, emailed many, and mostly attempted to create relationships with repeat attendees, hoping to garner business. This effort has gotten me some call backs and a few alliance partners, but my funnel is still not full.

This week saw me at the Breakfast Club listening to Dave Kersjes speak on Networking. Dave's a very analytical guy (we've had coffee before), having been an engineer prior to becoming a business development specialist. He spoke about having a process and tracking procedure for networking. Perhaps I need those but I'm more of an artist, free flowing, type of guy, tracking it in my mind. I figure if I have new clients it must be working. But conceivably I should start being more organized with the contacts I make and do some tracking. I use Google Analytics, why not Business Card Analytics?

A few, of Mr. Kersjes' suggestions, I've always done: Have a Firm Handshake, Identify Areas of Mutual Interest, and Eat Before You Go. One point, however: I don't always Avoid Controversial Topics. I don't like weak hand shakes, so don't give them. I always look for ways I can help. And, if I don't eat before I go, I'm not sure they'll be anything there I can eat. The reason, Dave says, that you eat previous, is that it's not about the food. It's about meeting the people that are there. You don't want to spill a glass of wine on your prospect - or spit food on them.

The greatest points I took away from Dave's presentation was “keep eye contact”, “take their card, but don't give one of yours unless they ask for it”, and to meet as many people as possible while you're there and ask if you can call them. The biggest thing that hit me was, “listen to them and their needs, looking for an opportunity” to interject your businesses' talents. Essentially tying your value statement to the other person's business. Focus on them while you're talking to them. It's all about them. I do that! I listen. I love to hear what people are passionate about and why they love their job, what they do to help their clients. It's one of the best parts of my job. I can't create a solution if I don't understand their business and their problems.

Dave talked about 2 hour networking events and spending 2 minutes with each person you meet, to get as many cards as you can. Here's my problem with the “meet as many people as possible point”: I can't really get a good understanding of their issues and what hurts, if I don't spend enough time listening. Two minutes is just not long enough for me. But 6 might be. Some of you, reading this today, might be at my blog as a result of our meeting at an event. Would you be here if I ignored you at a networking opportunity because I had already met you once? If I only spent 2 minutes with you? Now Dave did impart that you want to follow up with that phone call and have a longer meeting with them. That's my next biggest point – and one I implemented successfully this week. I have 4 meetings this week and a couple next week because of the “can I call you next week to learn more of your business” strategy.

One of the concepts Kersjes shared was Networking is the opportunity to “Share Your Network and Your Knowledge”. Well I'm very willing to share my network, and help others gain opportunities. I'll share some knowledge as a free take away, but am getting a little reluctant to give away all of my knowledge. I pretty much sell my knowledge and talent. I don't have a widget or product that I sell. What's the old adage, why buy the cow when you get the milk for free? But my network is another matter. You can get LinkedIn with me and view my entire collection of contacts. If you want access to someone in my network, I'd be happy to introduce you.

The next strategy that worked for me this last week, was creating a name tag to wear to networking events. It has my twitter handle, name and company, and says that I'm a Website Beautician and a Social Media Evangelist. Not that I do “Website Design and Development” and “Social Media Consultant” << Borring! (that's a SM thing). And it's my own badge, not the peal and stick, sharpy marker-written kind.  I also stood up at the SBBC to give my name, business and title and said “I have 5 titles, come ask me what they are”. People did! They also wanted to know what a Website Beautician was. They wanted to learn more about being a Social Media Evangelist. Hello! Yellow Tulip over here! It probably helps that I like to laugh and am not quiet about it. It might also bolster me that I'm a big guy with spiky hair, long goatee and ear ring. I kinda stand out in a room full of suits. But just being noticed isn't enough. “Why do I want him to call me?” Because I can make your website a pageant winner, and I can explain Social Media and develop a strategy to use it effectively. Check my name tag, you might notice I'm a little creative.

The last thing that stood me apart at the SBBC, was throwing a giant business card into the door prize fish bowl. A new alliance partner has a slightly oversized card that helps her stand out (at least in the rolladex). She has won the door prize at 3 events I've been to. So I thought I'd try out her scheme and go large. I got more people coming up to me after the event was over, when I won the $100 golf outing, to ask if I golfed, ... or to say that I cheated. I might not have gotten to talk to them this month, but I can guarantee at the next event I'll still be noticed. Oh and if I keep winning, that's almost like getting paid to network, right?

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I went to a conference Thursday November the 19th. Yes, I'm finally posting 11 days later, but in my defense: I've been hunting. Hunting deer - hunting clients - hunting new opportunities. I did get a new client. I did get a meeting to discuss new opportunities (in old media - more on that later) and I have seen a lot of deer. None of the deer had horns when I was able to shoot one. The day of the conference, I watched a 4-point chase some does, making me 1/2 hour late for the start of the conference... more on that later too.

The conference was put on by the AimWest Interactive Association of West Michigan. I've been to a few of their events in the past but didn't join the organization until a couple months ago. I'm pretty impressed with the association's management and the amount of buy-in from the local community. AimWest has a good reach too: I met individuals from as far away as Chicago and Detroit. Pretty darn good for a Grand Rapids Based non-profit. This particular conference was called The Social Media ConFab. A confab was not really what this conference was, in the truest sense of the word. There were some great discussions, and there were some good networking opportunities, but this was definitely more of a fabulous conference. So if they were going for the play on words, it worked.

Google was there, or at least a rep was. She talked briefly about Google Analytics. I really wished she'd have brought a bunch of Google Wave invites. That would really have helped collaboration. We could all have benefited from that event. It would have completely overshadowed Cindy Droog's talk on Analytics however. Ms Droog, from Amway, gave a great review of how Social Media has gained traction at Amway and how they manage Analytics. She also gave me a shout out for design work on Amway's Opportunity Zone Blogs, and help with consulting on Social Media for Amway.

Facebook also made an appearance and received many questions including one from Yours Truly that garnered some laughs and actually was posted on YouTube (but not by me). People really seemed to want Facebook to do more with the app. Personally I could do with less. I would like to use it more, and assist my clients more with regards to mining clients' posts and driving revenue. But from personal use, I like Twitter more in the Social Media arena.

The author of Twitter for Dummies was the keynote speaker. Laura Fitton did not unimpress as an expert on Twitter. I found her inviting, interesting, facetious, vivacious and intelligent speaker. I learned much in her hour lecture at the ConFab. My favorite quote from Laura was "Twitter is the stream running along side and with the internet" (paraphrased). Essentially Twitter is the internet in brief. It's the running dialog that we, the users, have about what is going on everywhere. She also reviewed options for business so for me, how I can assist my clients in using Social Media and Twitter specifically. She brought insights in to benefits of using Twitter for more than just Social Media, but for research, content generation and SEO.

Even better than the brief Twitter for Dummies Author hour spent with 240+ other listeners, was the pre-ConFab Tweetup the night before. I was able to meet Laura and 50 others that were to attend the next day's conference. The conversation at Wednesday Night's Tweetup was more stimulating than the actual conference on Thursday. It was also a better networking opportunity, garnering more business cards than 7 hours the following day.

Laura Fitton was also a little inspiring with regards to social media. Fitton also reminded us of how we should approach business by listening first, learning from our clients, taking the time to care and then serving. She explained that we can do all of that from Twitter.

I don't know yet where I will take social media, but I hope to broaden it's appeal in some manner, as Laura has. I've already signed up to be a "Champion" of Tweetdeck, my Twitter application of choice. I was actually able to assist 3 others at the conference to load twitter on their laptop or iPhone. Next I need to draft a plan on how to enable my clients to use Social Media to Confabulate, collaborate, communicate and enumerate.