Big Brother is here and I am embracing him

How many of you out there when you first saw FACEBOOK said, "that's silly, why would kids do that"? Be honest. When FACEBOOK started it was for kids on college campuses only and that was my first reaction. Why communicate on the computer when you can just walk across the proverbial Quad? Well, like 350 million + people I am thrilled that FB 'opened' up to allow anyone in. It has allowed me to connect, reconnect and express myself in ways that were impossible just 3-4 years ago.

It seems like as each new technology is released in the Social Media spectrum there is an initial resistance and then a fairly quick acceptance and adoption. Clearly this is what happened to TWITTER. Basically a concept that was developed at SXSW (South By SouthWest Music Festival in Austin, TX) as a way to let people know what concerts and clubs were hot up and down 6th Street, is now being used as a bona fide business and marketing application. It truly can be THE great equalizer for small retailers when trying to battle the 'big guys'. If you are in business and aren't finding relevant applications for a TWITTER feed then you just aren't trying. Personal case study - lots of big companies are now using employees and technology to track twitter feeds when their name comes up. Good, bad or indifferent a smart company can react to positive or negative feedback in a timely way. In sales there is an old axiom that says when you make a mistake and take ownership for it, fix it and make it better you have actually done more good than had there never been a problem in the first place. Three weeks ago I was sitting on a MISERABLE flight from LaGuardia to Atlanta. The weather was getting dicey, the flight was packed and I was already ornery. I noticed the Flight Attendants basically had the same sentiment as I. I even heard them cursing under their breath about dumb passengers and them wishing the flight would get cancelled. I thought, let's see if DELTA is paying attention, so I tweeted that I was receiving horrible customer service on DELTA flight # XYZ. I thought, someone is monitoring this and will at least Direct Message me an apology. Nothing. I was PISSED. I am an Platinum member at Delta. I have my own # to call when I want something. I am freaking George Clooney (if only at 30,000 feet) but I got nothing! I know had it been JetBlue or Airtran or SouthWest someone would have been in touch with me. You wonder why the big airlines are getting their asses kicked?

The 'newest kid on this block' is GEO TAGGING. Geo tagging is using smart phone technologies like GPS and phone apps to allow you to tell anyone in your network where you are at any given time. Like the technologies above my first initial thought was "why the F would I want everyone know where I was all the time" and seriously I still feel that way, but what I know now is that sometimes it is to MY advantage for folks to know where I am and even more so, it is amazing what a savvy marketer/promoter can do with that information. So I started using FOUR SQUARE ( as my geo tagging site. I have not been 'great' at doing it very often but I have tried and there are certainly times I don't want everyone to know where I am but as I do it more often I see the possibilities. Two weeks ago I was at a Social Media event so I thought, what a better place than here to 'TAG' myself, so I did. Within 3 minutes I had two people, who had done the same thing, find me and 'friend' me and then we had a REAL conversation, face to face about business (WOW!) and then I got a text from the BAR asking me if I wanted a complimentary cocktail...you bet your ASS I did!! There in lies the power. Its as simple as the Jergens (I think that was it) shampoo commercial from the 80's, "if you tell two people, and they tell two people...". I could have gone on my FB page to my 655 friends and said, "come down to ABC Bar in the next 30 minutes and tag that you are here your first drink is on the house" how quickly would that have spread? The applications are limitless and I am really excited to bring these ideas to three of our clients in the next couple of weeks.

Like all the other early adopters I am taking some heat when I post where I am and for the most part I laugh about it, knowing that in 6 months these same people will probably me right there with me :-)

What's on your mind?

The ever so provocative question that appears when you open up Facebook. It's your opportunity to share with the world, at least YOUR Facebook world, what's on your mind.

I am fascinated with updates. Now mind you, fascinated does not mean in love with. Sometimes I think they are a ton of fun and I love catching up with what my friends are up to but sometimes they can be downright scary and uncomfortable (more on that later).

In my world there are several types of status updates that I like to display:

1. What's on my mind - exactly that! What I am thinking right then. For me these are usually about my girls or how I feel about something that has happened current event wise. Like this very minute, I fired up the laptop from 35,000 feet in the air to write this blog and remembered DELTA now has wireless in the air --- my status - Online in the AIR - SCHWEEETNESS!!!

2. Song lyrics - I love using song lyrics in my status. Usually it's a lyric that pops in my head while listening to a particular song while the MAC is on, but sometimes I'll have a meaningful lyric in my head that I want to get out.

3. The MESSAGE - ahhh - the ever 'cryptic' status update that befuddles the world because everyone wonders if it is for THEM, about THEM or meant for THEM. It's funny - I very rarely use this, unless it is a positive message that may be meant for just a few, but wouldn't worry the rest of my 'online clan'. But in certain cases I have done it and then regretted it.

This final type of update is where I worry about online communication in general and it is the same issue I have had with email forever now.

I think as a society we have become so comfortable using all the forms of 'text communication' that we forget how this comes across sometimes. Sure, you can put in all the fancy emoticons you want, add in exclamation marks and add ROFLMAO all you want but what you can NOT do is convey TRUE emotion via a device (except the phone). Why is that you may ask? Sure, you know how you 'feel' at that moment and are sure you are conveying that exactly so what's the problem? You are not the problem. I (in this case the euphemistic I) am the problem. You have no idea my mood or state of mind and there in lies the rub. Text does NOT convey true emotion. I will interpret the words on the screen based on my mood. I may color it with sarcasm, sadness or joy, you have no idea. This has long become a problem in the Corporate World and I wish more companies would address proper communication strategy. In the work world, email should only be used to convey INFORMATION not feelings or discuss opinions. Those should be saved for face to face conversations. But, people now 'hide' behind the veil of email and texting.

One of my newer friends has helped me see this very clearly. While in Washington we had a blast 'TWEETING' at a Conference we were at. We even texted each other during break out sessions that we were at separately. In that 2 day period it became the basis of how we 'communicated' except when we met for drinks with the rest of our group. When we got back to Atlanta it seemed like texting was the only way to communicate until I was reminded --- hey, pick up the phone and dial (not in those exact words) and I got the message!

Enjoy the various ways we can communicate but don't forget the BEST way, your voice. It displays exactly how you feel through your tone, intonation, pitch and even the silence.

So, I'll certainly keep using my FB status and all the other great tools out there, but I am making a more conscience effort to pick up the phone, both personally and professionally --- give it a try, as the OLD commercial says "Reach out and touch someone" ---- ROFLMAO!!!!! :-)~