Power, influence and the social web
Jul 31st
Mitch Joel hosted me on his excellent Six Pixels of Separation podcast this week and I’m really proud of this content. I think you’ll love this lively discussion! It’s a pretty wide-ranging look at power and influence on the social web …
- Is there true power in reciprocity on the social web? Why is the power of favors toxic?
- Why are new power brokers emerging who have little real business experience? What is the source of that power?
- What are the dangers and possible advantages of the “social proof” that occurs through badges like the number of Twitter followers and Klout scores?
- How does power result in new monetization models?
- Can anybody disagree with Chris Brogan and not get blasted by his followers?
Any way, it was a lot of fun and I would love your feedback, either here, or on Mitch’s blog.
Click on the image below to access the podcast!
The social media numbers game. A {growtoon}.
Jul 29th
Proud to intoduce Kacy Maxwell of Nashville as our newest {grow}toonist. Together with Joey Strawn, I’ve got the best one-two cartoon punch on the blogosphere. Well, perhaps they are the ONLY social media cartoonists on the blogosphere, but who’s counting? Anyway, hope you’re enjoying a little Friday levity. — Mark
My blog is my gun.
Jul 28th
Over the past year I have had the pleasure of getting to know Alvin Tatum as a Twitter pal and {grow} commenter. I love his blog and am sure you will agree that you probably have not read about blogging from the perspective of this guest post!
By Alvin Tatum Jr.
“This Is My Blog. There are many like it, but this one is Mine.”
If you’re familiar with this line you know I’m making a play on words from the movie “Full Metal Jacket,” but it’s actually the opening line to the Rifleman’s Creed. Through my own personal experience however I learned how true that line is (“This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine”) and how you can apply it to your blogging life.
My Background
My name is Alvin Tatum Jr. and I’ve been in the United States Navy for almost 17 years where I serve as a Weather Forecaster. In 2008 I began a tour to Baghdad which really gave a new meaning to the term “a fish out of water.” Typically sailors don’t find themselves in sand, but there I was preparing to go into the heart of a war zone to provide weather support to the Army’s top brass. First I would have to make a detour to Basic Combat Training in South Carolina. There my best friends would become an M16 and 40 pounds of body armor. My enemy? The unrelenting August heat.
In the Navy not everyone is required to carry a weapon, but for the next eight months I would have an M16 by my side 24/7. I had to become intimately familiar with it. I had to learn how to break it down and put it back together. Most importantly I had to learn how to fire my M16 from various positions, and learn how to shoot targets up to a quarter mile away. Thankfully I wasn’t expected to learn these skills overnight and I had about 4 weeks to master them. By the end of training I could take it apart and put it back together like a pro, and the “Rifleman’s Creed” resonated with me all to well. This brings me to a few points about life … and blogging.
Get Mentally Prepared
(This is my blog)
Whether you’re in the military or just an average Joe, at some point in life we all have to prepare ourselves for something difficult. It doesn’t matter if it’s personal or professional, the first step in any challenge is to move forward. Procrastination is mental not physical. If you want to achieve your goal then you must get your mental house in order. Going to war takes a lot of mental preparation. Blogging is not war, but don’t let the mental process become a battle within yourself.
Be Original
(There are many like it)
My trip to Iraq required a lot of time and training, but it came from people who had already traveled the road. Look at your niche and do the same. Become familiar with it, be able to break it down and know who’s who and what they do well. This will help you find your aim and the position that’s best suited for your talent.
Quality is King
(But this one is mine)
Quality only comes from hard work, determination and preparation. I needed all of these traits to accomplish something I’d never done in my military career, and blogging is no exception. You must have all three of these traits to be successful and know the Core Values of Blogging. Quality is not necessarily showing up in the numbers either. You will come across all kinds of information that will sell you on fast success. More followers, more comments, more traffic, but it’s all a facade.
At the end of my training my M16 wasn’t just a gun it became a part of me and I felt naked without it. Your blog should be an extension of you. Most importantly it has to be yours and provide your readers with a level of intimacy that will lead to an inseparable relationship.
In war and in blogging it’s not how many rounds you fire, it’s how many you hit on target.
Alvin Tatum Jr is a husband, father, and 17-year Navy veteran who loves blogging about technology. His site is maddencorner.com.
Blogging, social media use skyrocketing at universities
Jul 27th
From time to time I have been pleased to feature the research of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research. They’ve uncovered some fascinating trends among non-profits, Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing Inc. 500 firms and the latest research turns to social media usage trends at four-year accredited collges and universities in the U.S. Some highlights:
Social media usage soars
100 percent of colleges and universities studied are using some form of social media, up from 95 % last year, 85% in 2009 and 61% in 2008.
Facebook is the most common form of social networking being used with 98% of colleges and universities reporting having a Facebook page (up from 87% last year). Eighty-four percent have a school Twitter account (up from 59%) and 66% have a blog (up from 51%). Podcasting has risen from 22% to 41% in just one year.
College admissions professionals are flocking to LinkedIn with 47% on the professional networking site, up from 16% last year. The number of schools using MySpace has declined from 16% last year to 8% this year. Foursquare and You Tube were included in the study for the first time and are being used by 20% and 86% respectively. The use of message boards and video blogging have remained at approximately the same level as last year (37% and 47% respectively).
The rise of the blog
Blogging continues to be embraced by colleges and universities. While other sectors are reporting a leveling off of blogging (i.e., Fortune 500, Forbes Top Charities) higher ed adoption has grown significantly in the past year.
Eight percent of schools with blogs are using some internally developed applications (down from 14% in 2009-2010). Others cite WordPress (38%) and Blogger (10%) as platforms. The use of WordPress as a blogging platform has doubled in the past year.
When asked who manages their blog, the most popular answers were the admissions office (including the director, staff and students), marketing, and public relations. The researchers also claim that these institutions are using their blogs “siginificantly” more effectively by developing communities around them. 85 percent now accept comments, up from 63% four years ago. The report also points to a four-year increase of RSS availability from 46% to 77% as an indicator of an increased sophistication in the use of blogging as a “conversation: and recruitment strategy.
And it seems to be working …
When asked how successful social media tools have been for their schools, respondents have “consistently raved about their experience,” especially Facebook (95% success) and YouTube (92%). For every tool studied, a high degree of success is reported. The relatively new Foursquare is being used by 20 percent of those interviewed while 61% of them report success with it. The exception is MySpace which shows a decrease in perceived success from 42% to 34%.
Surprisingly, school “listening” activities have fallen off. 53 percent in 2007, 54% in 2008 and 73% in 2009 report they monitored the internet for buzz, posts, conversations and news about their institution. The latest research shows a slight decrease to 68%. Given the ease with which monitoring can be done, it is surprising that all schools are not monitoring online buzz about their institutions.
US colleges and universities are taking the lead in using social media as part of their marketing and recruiting plans. Some schools will use search engines and social media sites to garner more information about prospective students. They are evaluating the effectiveness of tools that were adopted early on and making decisions about which new tools to add into their communications strategy. The goal is clearly to reach and engage those tech savvy young people who may be making at least initial decisions about a school based on its online presence.
Looks like colleges and non-profits are leading the way by far over corporations in social media marketing usage. This has been trending for our years now. isn’t it interesting that the organizations with the most money and resources have the least use of these tools … maybe that makes sense?
Welcome to {grow}
You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow.
Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
-Mark SchaeferFollow Mark
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