Mad Young Thing

Wow @flyinglens

2010-11-20T16:57:00.001+13:00

How to measure social media - notes from last night's #smcakl presentation

2010-11-10T11:03:00.001+13:00

Hi, it's Simon Young here. Thanks to those of you who came to the last Social Media Club Auckland for 2010. Great to see some familiar faces and some brand new people.

As promised, here are the notes and links from my presentation, "How to measure social media"

Useless measurements

Number of followers. See Cate's post for a few great explanations why.
Number of updates. (And yet people get so uptight about this when Twitter gets it wrong!)

Important measurements

If you're in a business or organisation, return on investment. Money in, money out. (Best explanation I've seen is Olivier Blanchard's slideshow)
Technology purchases used to be about buying a piece of software, and then everything was (supposed to be) easy.
Social media is the opposite - the technology is free, it's the other 3 T's you need to think about:
- Talent
- Training
- Time

Let's back up...

Measuring the direct line between "money in" (ie talent, training and time) and "money out" (the specific business objectives/KPIs you had in mind) is hard! Thankfully there are some measures that can help indicate where the value is happening. I've chosen 5:

Risk management
Demonstrating brand values
Traditional Customer Service Metrics
Empathy
Social Currency

Risk Management

Hard to come up with a dollar figure, but just asking the question "What's the cost of doing nothing?" is a great start to get us out of our ruts.

Demonstrating Brand Values

According to the Gallup Staff Engagement Survey 2009, disengaged employees cost US businesses US$416 billion in lost productivity.

How do you combat that? A whole bunch of ways, but one of the biggest ways is for the company to demonstrate (not just say) what it's about.

For example, AMP's Do Your Thing campaign - as seen in my column in the latest NZ Marketing Magazine, page 71 - and it's not online (yet) so you'll have to go buy a copy :)

Traditional Customer Service Metrics

The trouble with social media sometimes is that it's too different for companies. But how can it fit into existing structures, like a call centre? That's the approach Auckland-based Datasquirt has taken with its product CONTACT Social (disclosure: I have a referral agreement with Datasquirt, because I believe their product fills a need in the market).

They have the typical measures you'd find in a call centre: handle time, wait time, and who are the best performers. Those are the kind of measures you can tie to profitability and cost savings.

Empathy

It sounds like a warm fuzzy thing, but UK-based Harding and Yorke have shown a direct relationship between empathy and profitability. More info here.

Empathy is even more important on social media, because there's no body language or tone of voice. And those of us who use social media personally know that empathy is a huge part of our social connections online.

Social Capital

Erich Joachimsthaler wrote the book on how to value a brand, now he sees a lot of potential in the concept of social capital.

In a nutshell, social capital is how much a brand can be part of a consumer's everyday life. Instead of standing up on stage talking at you, a brand with high social capital is part of your everyday.

Summary

These 5 factors are only a few ways social media can add real value to an organisation or business. I welcome your thoughts and feedback on how else value can be realised through social media engagement.

Posted via email from socialmediaclub's posterous

It's @justinflitter talking about bringing the love to business

2010-11-09T18:57:00.001+13:00

Apologies for the multiple postings

2010-10-31T10:44:00.000+13:00

Yesterday I posted the same photo approximately 12 times! Yikes! Sorry about that, it's to do with the intricate content plumbing that I have set up with my Twitter and Posterous accounts. Twitter said it wasn't posting my picture, but meantime every time I tried to post, it was successfully publishing to Posterous - and here. And a lot of other places! Ah, live and learn.

I'm going to unplug posterous from here. No use duplicating exactly the same content, and in fact Google could penalise me for it. I'm still working out the different roles each blog should play, the fun problems of someone who likes to try things.

I find this hugely ironic on a building full of ad, marketing & comms companies :)

2010-10-30T14:14:00.001+13:00

I like my glasses

2010-10-22T17:28:00.001+13:00

This is my second week of four-eyedness. My drivers license renewal was a reason to do what I'd needed for probably years. It's a little weird and I got headaches the first week or so, but I'm quickly getting used to it. And the benefits are great, like:

* I don't need an HD tv, just seeing it clearly is good enough!
* I can see people I know on the street (you know, to either greet or avoid ;)

weird thing is, I forget that these aren't sunglasses and that people can see my eyes. When I go walking I tend to really make eye contact with people I pass by, which doesn't really matter with sunnies. But with glasses - it's a bit awkward at first, but y'know what, I think it's pretty cool! What's your glasses story?

Sent from my iPhone
www.sy-engage.com

So good to see one of my best friends again

2010-10-16T13:59:00.001+13:00

The pizza is here! #smcakl

2010-10-12T19:09:00.001+13:00

Do I look smart in these? #newglasses

2010-10-08T13:52:00.001+13:00

Fab thing about the Kindle is the screen savers. Make me feel all intelligent and well-read by association

2010-10-06T10:41:00.001+13:00

Will is pretty powerful (who's Will?)

2010-10-06T06:17:00.001+13:00

Okay, so Will is not a person, it's a character trait.

In Jim Collins' book Good to Great he talks about the level 5 leader, someone who shows a perfect balance of humility and iron will.

Abraham Lincoln is a good example. He was humble - when things went well, he assumed he was lucky. When things didn't go well, he took responsibility.

But he also had a strong will to see things change. He had an agenda that was bigger than him, and he served it - and persuaded others to do so as well.

I've pretty much got humility covered (I'm one of the most humble people I know ... yeah, I know how that sounds...) but I could do better in the will department.

Maybe I need to get in touch with my roots. My mother tells me I wasn't a passive child. Temper tantrums! On at least one occasion I needed hosing down. (If you know me, you may be surprised at this)

What I do know is that when I'm decisive, I'm happier. This is borne out by the research. In Authentic Happiness, Martin Seligman talks about flow, saying we experience it when we're active and goal-oriented, such as working or playing.

From the book:

"Americans surprisingly have considerably more flow at work than in leisure time. In one study of 824 American teenagers, Mike (Csikszentmihalyi) dissected free time into its active versus passive components. Games and hobbies are active and produce flow 39 percent of the time, and produce the negative emotion of apathy 17 percent of the time. Watching television and listening to music, in contrast, are passive and produce flow only 14 percent of the time while producing apathy 37 percent of the time. The mood state Americans are in, on average, when watching television is mildly depressed."

Woah. I wonder if that's different for appointment viewing or DVDs, because I get a great deal of flow from a good movie or TV drama...

But I digress.

Pursuing strong will, if you're like me and can be a bit too "go with the flow" at times, is likely to not only make you more effective - but also happier. I've been consciously going in this direction; it works.

(A note on the photo: I actually found this when searching Flickr for "tortoise". It's worth reading the description on the original photo page)

I like how the warning about the light is in Braille!

2010-10-04T19:11:00.001+13:00

Coolest people at #marieworkshops

2010-09-29T09:54:00.001+13:00

We have cool people here. A lot of synergies and crossovers too!

Sent from my iPhone
www.sy-engage.com

So... About this massive storm...?

2010-09-17T11:15:00.001+12:00

Great idea. A bit mystifying on the iPhone

2010-09-02T13:07:00.001+12:00

Wise words on selling from Michael Hill

2010-09-02T07:16:00.001+12:00

"...let the customers know you have noticed them and are attentive and interested - but never make them feel like you only care about them because they might buy something.

Selling is a human business. Our customers will only feel good about buying from us if they like the feeling they get in the store - and that means the relationship has to be about more than just commerce."

Michael Hill, in his book Toughen Up

Truer words were never spoken, about sales online or off

Sent from my iPhone
www.sy-engage.com

Taking a break on my morning walk. Spring is here! So is windchill

2010-09-01T08:30:00.001+12:00

Improvisation in leadership: More than just making stuff up!

2010-08-31T07:32:00.001+12:00

Business - and life - no longer has a script. Leaders must be able to adapt to life as it happens, not as they had planned.

That's why the first key skill of ragtag leadership is improvisation.

There are two sides to improv: performance and engineering. Performance improv is what we're used to seeing on Who's Line Is It Anyway, where actors and comedians have to respond to challenges on the spot. Engineering improv is what we see in the typical kiwi number 8 wire mentality, where you use what you've got to make what you need.

The myth of improv is that it's made up on the spot. In a way, improv takes more preparation than reading a script.

You can rely on a script. With improv, you rely on yourself - and the environment and people around you. Performance improv takes a special kind of attitude, one of trust, one of acknowledging the worst that can happen and ensuring things go in a different direction.

What kind of prep do you need for improv?

Knowledge. Know as much as you can about the area you'll be facing, and keep an open mind to new sources of information.
Curiosity. You'll never know all that you need to know, so keep an open, childlike, curious mind.
Bouncy. Don't get bogged down by failure, real or apparent. Bounce. Keep moving. The language of improv theatre talks about accepting offers that others give you. Accept offers from life and keep things moving.

Some other great resources on improv:

My interview with Wade Jackson, who knows a whole lot more about improv than I
The book Linchpin talks extensively about operating without a map; about building your own map
I haven't read it (yet), but have heard multiple people I trust recommend www.improvwisdom.com/Home.html">Improv Wisdom

And here's our fearless Captain Mal doing some improv of his own, from the movie Serenity:

(Photo: grilled cheese)

When to be consultative and when to be a boss

2010-08-30T06:44:00.001+12:00

When we talk about management models, we often get stuck.

Management (or leadership) models are like gears, we switch to the one that's appropriate for the circumstances (as we touched on in the last post).

Keith Grint touches on this in his work on "Problems, Problems, Problems". Thanks to Angus Blair for letting me know about Grint's work.

In a nutshell, Grint says we have three kinds of problems:

Critical problems, where a commander is needed.
Tame problems, where a manager is needed
Wicked problems, where leadership is needed

To unpack those further,

A critical problem was 9/11. Lives needed saving. Decisions needed to be made, fast. Hierarchy became important. We see this on both starships, the Enterprise and the Serenity.

A tame problem is a puzzle that has a solution, but it's complicated (as opposed to complex). For example, moving office or launching a new product. It needs the skills of someone who can make things happen.

A wicked problem is climate change and/or ongoing terrorist threat. These kind of problems can't be dealt with using command or management, it must start by finding the appropriate question and asking it, and knowing that you don't know the "right answer".

A recent IBM study of CEOs shows that complexity is increasing (and ability to cope with complexity is still low). We need a new kind of leadership more than ever.

In the next post, we'll look at the specific qualities of ragtag leadership, starting with improvisation.

Meantime, I'd love your feedback. On track? Relevant? Not?

I stand behind @jackyan as he starts speaking at his hui

2010-08-25T19:12:00.001+12:00

The view from free wifi finder. Meh

2010-08-23T14:25:00.001+12:00

A clarification: Don't be exactly like Captain Mal

2010-08-20T03:12:00.001+12:00

This is continued from Sci-fi management models #2: Firefly

I feel it's important to point out that the Firefly analogy is not so much about Captain Mal's personality as much as the structure of the Firefly crew, and the kind of leadership.

As for Captain Mal's personality, he is and always will be a soldier, and therefore a uniform-wearer and order giver, despite a veneer of pragmatism and humour.

But the circumstances determine the kind of leader Mal has to be - one who has to tap into the different motivations of each crew member.

There's a great example of this approach in the episode "Out of Gas", when we see how Jayne Cobb became part of the crew.

The scene starts with Jayne and his boss pointing guns at Mal and first officer Zoe's head. With his hands still in the air, Mal makes Jayne question whether he's getting the best deal ... from a position of powerlessness he persuades Jayne that life aboard Serenity will be more lucrative - and just like that, Jayne changes sides.

That's extrinsic motivation, and for some people (like Jayne), and some jobs (like petty crime), money can be a powerful motivator. But for most people, and increasingly for most jobs, intrinsic motivation is far more powerful.

In the book Drive, Dan Pink explains the scientific research that shows us humans are far more about autonomy, mastery and purpose than cold hard cash. And Captain Mal is pretty good when it comes to offering his crew those things in an intertwining dance.

He offers autonomy on a big picture scale - while they're on board Serenity, they're free from government intervention and control, which is important to some degree for everyone. However, they're also under Mal's command, which most times is just shiny, but it becomes important when there's trouble.

That's where mastery and purpose come in. All the crew members are already good at something in particular (piloting, engineering, doctoring, troubleshooting, etc.), and they have an opportunity every day to do their job autonomously.

We usually think of purpose as big and important (and that's what the follow up movie Serenity was about) but sometimes a crisis provides an instant and urgent purpose in miniature. That's when it becomes okay to be a bit more military, a bit more hierarchical.

More on this next time! Meanwhile, Mal explains the first rule of flying. I like this as a rule for life:

Sci-fi management models #2: Firefly

2010-08-17T06:40:00.001+12:00

Thanks to Adrian for his feedback on the last post, including the fact that it was too long. This next one would've been longer, so I'll break it up over a few key thoughts.

Firefly and 21st century management

Although it was sadly cut short after just one season, Firefly has a lot to teach us about organisations of the future.

Unlike Star Trek, everyone is on Firefly for a different reason. For some, it's to get from A to B. For others, it's a place to hide out from the authorities. For others still, it's part of their business.

And at the head of it all is Captain Malcolm Reynolds, someone who, it seems, always has options. He doesn't seem particularly noble or good, just smart. And yet, over the course of the series, he inspires great loyalty from his shipmates. He is most definitely the captain, but not always in a Star Trek sense. The others look up to him, and they also expect a lot of him.

He, meanwhile, expects a lot from everyone. Everyone's a paying passenger, and everyone has different arrangements.

It's a scenario not uncommon for a small business startup. But it's also a scenario playing out for the world's largest corporations. Turns out the flexibility afforded by Firefly-style arrangements can be very helpful to a business in fast-changing times. Also, it never hurts to look at what every party wants out of an arrangement. We can no longer assume that people just want to wear the uniform and serve the cause.

(To be continued... your thoughts and comments welcome!)

Sci-fi management models #1: Star Trek

2010-08-10T08:26:00.001+12:00

(This is a draft version of the first chapter of Ragtag Leadership. It's a work in progress and I would LOVE your feedback, negative or positive)

"The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth, whether it's scientific truth or historical truth or personal truth! It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based. And if you can't find it within yourself to stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don't deserve to wear that uniform!"

Captain Jean-Luc Picard, in the episode The First Duty

When I used to watch Star Trek as a kid, I wondered why everyone in the future wore the same kind of clothes. I didn't realise it was speaking about an organisation with a uniform. Star Trek has a lot to do with the uniform, with being part of something.

The Star Trek crew speak the same language, because they've been through the same training. Their goals and mission are clear: to seek out new life, new civilisations. Their parameters are clear: the prime directive guides their behaviour (except the odd occasion where circumstances dictate otherwise).

There's a clear chain of command, even when a merger takes place (as in Voyager), or when working in a joint venture (as in Deep Space Nine).

Everyone's cross-trained. When consoles blow up in Chekov's face (as happens with astounding regularity), Uhura is always able to take the conn while he goes to sickbay. And so on.

The fact that so many people on present-day Earth want to wear this uniform is tribute to the culture that Starfleet, this imaginary organisation, has created.

Want proof? See the documentary Trekkies, which delves into the culture of Star Trek fandom, from conventions to fan fiction to one woman insisting on wearing her uniform to jury duty. While others thought it was a bit of a joke, she was serious about the values that uniform stood for. (Full marks for courage!)

What's it really about?

And yet, Star Trek is not all about sticking to company procedures. Star Trek has always been about deep space exploration, where the buck really does stop at the captain's chair, even though there are officers higher than him or her back at starbase. The best person to make a decision is the person closest to the action.

In fact, some of the most compelling episodes of Star Trek are those which contrast captains who've been through the same training, and deliver different results. In Equinox, a Star Trek:Voyager episode, Captain Janeway comes face to face with a captain who has cut ethical corners in order to survive.

When she discovers what the other captain has done, she has little sympathy:

Captain Ransom: "It's easy to cling to your principles when you're standing on a vessel with its bulkheads intact, manned by a crew that's not starving."
Captain Janeway: "It's never easy, but if we turn our backs on our principles, we stop being human."

For Janeway, it's not so much a matter of Starfleet protocol as it is being human. When you're millions of light years away from home, being human is pretty important.

Variations on a theme

Over five different incarnations we've seen plenty of variations on the Starfleet management model.

The original series, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Enterprise showed us a Starfleet ship with a Starfleet crew, but Star Trek: Deep Space Nine showed us a joint venture (a Starfleet outpost near the planet Bajor, staffed by a mixture of Starfleet and Bajoran personnel) while Star Trek: Voyager showed a merger between the stranded Starfleet Voyager crew and the equally stranded outlaw maquis crew.

Okay, that's two variations on a theme. But still, these series provided some great moments of truth when it came down to the true nature of leadership. It goes far beyond position and title (particularly when you're far from the rest of the chain of command) and relies a lot on your personal negotiation ability.

Of note: even though the Maquis in Star Trek: Voyager were outlaws, they had still been through the same Starfleet training as the rest of the Voyager crew. The Bajorans in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had not, and it's interesting to see how far Captain Sisko associated himself with the Bajoran cause rather than representing Starfleet. His personal dilemma was between representing and advocating Starfleet's interests, and serving the people of Bajor. In the end ... well, I won't spoil it for you if you've never watched it.

What's awesome about the Star Trek model

Strong shared values can set a team on fire, and cause them to do together what they could never do alone. Military groups know this, that's why they draw heavily on their history and traditions and shock recruits into identifying with each other rather than any other background.

We also see it in the corporate world, with mixed results. Before the financial crisis and the scandal of early 2010, Goldman Sachs was admired for its strong culture. In a 2005 BusinessWeek articlehttp://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/feb2005/bs20050210_3129.htm , Aaron Marcus, head of campus recruiting, describes the teamwork culture at Goldman Sachs:

"teamwork means taking a passionate interest in facilitating the success of other people with whom you work."

The 2007 book Meaning, Inc. praised the bank's "restrained, almost cerebral tone", where "excessive individualism is frowned upon". The book also identifies Goldman's strong sense of long-term success ("a view that doing the right thing and building strong, enduring relationships with clients works out in the end. 'Long-term greedy', they call this orientation.")

A strong culture also comes with a sense of history. Again according to Meaning, Inc., Goldman Sachs hired anthropologists to "dig into its history and unearth key themes".

What's worrying about the Star Trek model

For one thing, it's worrying that I'm referring to Goldman Sachs as a good example of the Star Trek model. Being in a tribe can lead you to do things you wouldn't do alone, and that can be bad as well as good. How many sins have been committed by people "just following orders".

And this is an issue that's addressed in many Star Trek episodes and movies, case in point being Star Trek: Insurrection. In it, the Enterprise crew uncover corruption and must act outside of their Starfleet capacity to put things right.

In a confrontation, the corrupt Starfleet Admiral Dougherty threatens Captain Jean-Luc Picard with court martial. His response: "If a court-martial is the only way to tell the Federation what is happening here, Admiral... I welcome it."

It goes back to what that same Picard said at the beginning of this section: the first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth - not to comrades.

And that's the challenge facing any tribal organisation with a strong culture: encouraging the individual courage to stand up against the system when the system is wrong.

Another worry about the Star Trek model is simply its unsuitability for early 21st century employment patterns. Gone are the days of lifelong tenure, or even 25-year stints at a single job. Now the average length of tenure for a marketing manager is under two years. In this environment, incentives and messages need to be different.

Introduction: Business books are boring (why this book is about science fiction)

2010-08-04T07:04:00.001+12:00

I'd welcome your comments, feedback, agreement, disagreement about the below:

Business books are boring because they're abstract. They present ideas and models that we just can't picture.

Sci-fi, on the other hand, is generally not boring. It's exciting, it's full of drama, moral dilemmas and crazy situations.

And if you've been in business, you'll know if's also exciting, full of drama, moral dilemmas and crazy situations. Even if we're not "going where no one has gone before", we're often going where we haven't been before. Business is a journey of exploration - self-exploration as well as exploring the world.

So why not run them together? Watch most science fiction shows on TV, and you'll see that leadership and decision-making are the most important ingredients.

Why sci-fi in particular? Because sci-fi takes us where ordinary drama can't. Non-sci-fi fans don't realise this but ultimately science fiction is all about us, not aliens or space. It's a way of putting humanity under the microscope and seeing what makes us tick.

We've identified two main leadership models from our favourite sci-fi shows, and a third alternative for those who work alone. It's not that one is right and the others are wrong, it's just that some models work better in the times we're in.

We'll go over the benefits and pitfalls of each approach in future posts (and in the book!).

My #ragtagleadership presentation at BarCamp (MP3)

2010-08-03T08:12:00.001+12:00

Ragtag Leadership At Barcamp Auckland 2010 by Simon Young
Download now or listen on posterous

RagTagBarCamp.mp3 (17138 KB)

It's been a while since I've been worked on the book, but I have been watching Firefly, and the brilliant finale of Doctor Who. Never an idle moment.

But finally I've edited the audio recording from my BarCamp presentation, and include it here with the slides.

Highlights include:

My sound recorder cutting out periodically
People talking over each other (such enthusiasm!)
A premature finish (we had a little misunderstanding over timing, so keep listening after the applause)
Some great comments and feedback on the core idea, including:

What happens to a ragtag team when they have to answer to a higher authority (e.g. a board? Corporate leadership?)
What about Han Solo? He went from a sole trader/partnership to being a general in a much larger army. What lessons can we learn from him?
What makes leadership different from mere courage?

As I mentioned in the last post, the Doctor Who model seemed to get lost in the process, so I'll need to rethink how that gets introduced. Perhaps the core of the book is the comparison between the two key ideas of Star Trek vs Firefly. I think the consultant model (The Doctor) is still very important (not least because I fall into that category!)

Would love to hear your thoughts! Let's keep this discussion going.

My iPhone is safe now, my @tuffasnuts nutshell arrived :)

2010-07-27T16:45:00.001+12:00

Wowza

2010-07-21T15:10:00.001+12:00

Yum! Look what we got from @petalcupcakes

2010-07-21T15:09:00.001+12:00

BarCamp went very well

2010-07-21T07:58:00.001+12:00

I love it when things come about and they look like you carefully planned them. The debut of Ragtag Leadership at BarCamp Auckland was one of those times.

If you've never been to BarCamp, it's an unconference. Which means anyone can present, and a presentation is expected to be two-way - a discussion with the audience, not just a presentation at the audience.

I wondered if I was in the right room when I arrived and found the room filling up. I was ... and when I asked how many Firefly fans there were in the room, the hands shot up. My subtitle: "Why we need less Captain Kirk and more Captain Mal" struck a nerve.

We had a few projector troubles at first but that didn't prevent us getting underway... I explained that Ragtag Leadership is going to be a book but is currently a concept under development, and I'm looking to co-develop it with as many people as possible.

I'm so glad I did. People loved the general concept - that we can learn more about leadership and management from science fiction than from abstract textbooks. A lot of nodding heads when I said most business books were boring.

And people liked the contrast between the Star Trek model and the Firefly model. Doctor Who got somewhat lost, so I'll have to rethink that piece.

(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, don't worry, it'll all end up here on the blog - and in the eventual book)

I did get some great push backs, like:

Firefly the situation represents ragtag leadership (empowering, improvised), but Captain Mal the character is didactic and arrogant in his leadership style. He gets by on charisma. I'm going to have to rewatch a few Firefly episodes while I think over that one.
Being ragtag is easy for a startup, but what about a business unit that in turn has to report to other business units. There's gold there. At the end of BarCamp I spoke with Rochelle, who told me about her previous boss who fiercely protected his business unit's independence and sense of identity, despite being part of a larger organisation. Rochelle told me she realised only after this boss had left what an awesome leader he was.

And thanks to Haunani Pao who reminded me of one of the most important Ragtag Leadership factors that I'd completely forgotten about in putting together the slides: Captain Mal hires experts. Each one of the Firefly crew knows more about their job than Mal, and that's just fine. He never interferes in their specialty, he just leads and brings their skills together when needed. That's probably the most important part of Ragtag Leadership. And I nearly forgot it! So many thanks, Haunani.

I recorded the session, and hope to edit it this weekend and upload it here.

Meantime, live long and prosper. Shiny.

Email is evil?

2010-07-19T13:47:00.001+12:00

We're at our two day online marketing and new media class/seminar/workshop thing ... and we're thinking...

is email relevant?
it's annoying
intrusive
time consuming
addictive
often poorly written with lots of seplling mistakes
not as good as a phone call
impersonal - cos you could see someone, but who wants to see people?
necessary - we wouldn't be without it
fast
traceable - could get you into trouble - eg. when you address to the person you're writing about.
full of spam
fills up your inbox
personalised fonts and auto signatures with photos of cats and comic sans writing (ugh!)
people who leave FWD>FWD>FWD> etc! So untidy
LOTS OF EXCLAMATION MARKS !!!!! IS THAT BAD?????
(not so evil) Angels etc. made out of emoticons - quite clever
LOL
Email language hz bcum mr lk txt language >:-(
Demands a quick response
People who put "high priority" on every email
People who forward really bad jokes

Okay, I think that's enough. So is email really evil? Or are there a few good features in there?

(Thanks for the photo, gagilas!)

Anthea and Jade

2010-07-17T16:52:00.001+12:00

Anthea and Jade #bcak4

Aha! The shot I was waiting for of @jameshancox

2010-07-17T16:07:00.001+12:00

Aha! The shot I was waiting for of @jameshancox #bcak4

It's hard to photograph a moving person bcak4 @jameshancox

2010-07-17T16:00:00.001+12:00

It's hard to photograph a moving person #bcak4 @jameshancox

"walk up to someone and ask if you can take their photo" @jameshancox

2010-07-17T15:58:00.001+12:00

"walk up to someone and ask if you can take their photo" @jameshancox #bcak4

DIY augmented reality

2010-07-17T13:48:00.001+12:00

DIY augmented reality #bcak4

@andrewhedges :)

2010-07-17T08:51:00.001+12:00

@andrewhedges :)

Busy already at barcamp

2010-07-17T08:49:00.001+12:00

Busy already at barcamp

Love the "shared planet" idea but I find the TM ironic

2010-07-13T21:27:00.001+12:00

Love the "shared planet" idea but I find the TM ironic #Starbucks

Good crowd at smcakl where I've just arrived. (@sukeshsukumaran yes I am ;)

2010-07-13T18:30:00.001+12:00

Good crowd at #smcakl where I've just arrived. (@sukeshsukumaran yes I am ;)

So I'd better write a first post...

2010-07-10T22:59:00.001+12:00

...if only because you need to start the way you mean to go on. And I mean to go on. Oh yes. Just not right now!

Talk soon.

Good questions about blogging at today's #marieworkshop

2010-07-07T10:41:00.001+12:00

In our first session on blogging, we got some great questions from our attendees, almost all related to how blogs are perceived:

How does a blog get popular?
What is a blog? (As opposed to Facebook/Twitter)
Why would people read blogs?
What do I say? Do blogs have to be contentious or sensational?
Are blogs purely personal, or can they be professional? (That was an easy one to answer!)

What do you reckon?

Yo, wassup?

2010-07-05T10:50:00.001+12:00

Everything.

Ask me anything

How do you run a business in the sky?

2010-07-05T10:47:00.001+12:00

You make sure there's a building underneath. Works for us, we're on the 14th floor and haven't crashed yet.

Ask me anything

Blogs from online marketing/new media masterclass attendees

2010-06-30T09:13:00.001+12:00

We've got some great people joining us at today's masterclass.

Yesterday we set up some simple blogs using Posterous. Here they are!

Hope to see some more blogs from the whole crew soon! :)

Hotel wifi is letting us down

2010-06-29T14:19:00.001+12:00

So here we are at the online marketing and new media masterclass, trying to send emails all at once. Hmm.

Sent from my iPhone
www.sy-engage.com

I didn't know you could make personalised stamps in Aus. This is my sister's dog, immortalized in stamp form

2010-06-16T15:53:00.001+12:00

via tweetie

Open Leadership

2010-06-16T15:49:00.001+12:00

Just got this in the mail. Looking forward to it! I just need a month or so to read this and some other review copies I have.

Is Technorati still worth it?

2010-06-16T13:55:00.001+12:00

When I first started with social media, Technorati was supposed to be the top way to get inbound links and measure your authority.

Over the years, I've heard different things about Technorati, mostly that their authority rankings were not reflecting any kind of reality. Thankfully there are other ways of telling if a blog is influential or not, such as Google PageRank, the number of retweets and likes each post has, and even the number of comments.

Still, Technorati probably plays some small part in the ecosystem, which is why I'm pasting this code HGE99VYGD89C to claim this blog.

What's been your experience with Technorati?

How to get along with people

2010-06-10T20:42:00.001+12:00

Everyone's a little bit broken. We're all pretty messed up, and all a little bit crazy.

The people who seem to have it all together, you just don't know that well. We are all broken.

That could make you depressed, or it could make you compassionate.

Instead of expecting people to perform like machines, I choose to recognise that everyone is a little bit cuckoo, and a bit broken, and that helps me see that "despite whatever", they've got some amazing qualities.

Patronising? I don't know if it can be, if you give absolutely everyone the same benefit of the doubt.

Or am I a little bit crazy to say that?

Why social media can be hard to explain (warning: contains postmodernism)

2010-06-08T21:27:00.001+12:00

As Blake says, I think too much. I've started, so I need to get this out.

Social media is hard to explain sometimes. Not the big picture stuff, that's easy. I mean the specifics of "what you see on your Facebook news feed". Or any other page on Facebook (or Twitter, or LinkedIn) for example.

Because it's all personalised, everyone's page is different. It's customised to their network, their choices, their actions. It's completely subjective.

And that coincides quite nicely with what I understand of the concept of postmodernism (disclaimer: I'm not a philosopher, nor have I formally studied philosophy). Postmodernism acknowledges that our perception is ultimately subjective, that while there may be an objective truth, none of us are really able to get it.

Social media actually illustrates this side of postmodernism quite well, taking it from an abstract concept to something we can all relate to.

What do you reckon? Do the works of Derrida come alive through your Facebook news feed, or am I overthinking it?

The problem with Facebook

2010-06-08T21:12:00.001+12:00

Facebook is one example of social media. Social media is where sales, marketing and PR get mashed up, because customers want to buy from you and learn about you, but most of all they want stuff to work.

Even if you set up a Facebook page as a marketing effort, your customers will treat it as a customer service channel.

Facebook faces the same problems. They are keen to speak with you if you want to advertise. But when you have persistent questions about functionality, Facebook goes deaf, because Facebook is like every other business in that it needs to connect its ears and mouth. It needs to come to terms with the challenges of social media, which is really ironic because it is social media!

Sent from my iPhone
www.sy-engage.com

American grammar is just plain wrong

2010-06-04T10:55:00.001+12:00

Time for a wee rant. This'll only take a few seconds, I promise.

It really bugs me when I read or hear something like:

"Everyone can't be an astronaut."

...when the intended meaning is actually...

"Not everyone can be an astronaut."

Think about it. If everyone can't be an astronaut, no-one can be an astronaut, right?

So why do Americans (and I've only noticed this in American writing and speech) use language in this weird way?

And ... do all Americans do this, or just some?

If it's just some, I could then say: "Not all Americans misuse grammar this way." NOT "All Americans don't misuse grammar this way".

End of rant. As you were.

Ok pic time again #testing

2010-05-20T00:12:00.001+12:00

via tweetie

@kiwisnake close... www.socialmediajunction.co.nz

2010-05-17T17:08:00.001+12:00

@kiwisnake close... www.socialmediajunction.co.nz

Not everything that matters can be measured smj @gdosborne

2010-05-17T16:32:00.001+12:00

Not everything that matters can be measured #smj @gdosborne

Stats on search and social adspend (and @radicalalice's head)

2010-05-17T16:27:00.001+12:00

Stats on search and social adspend (and @radicalalice's head)

SEO simplified by @gdosborne at

2010-05-17T16:16:00.001+12:00

SEO simplified by @gdosborne at #smj

Know your audience segments and tailor your messages to them @sbs

2010-05-17T15:09:00.001+12:00

Know your audience segments and tailor your messages to them @sbs #smj

. @SBS has a wide range of topics! How to prioritize them?

2010-05-17T15:08:00.001+12:00

. @SBS has a wide range of topics! How to prioritize them? #smj

. @SBS has a wide range of topics! How to prioritize them?

2010-05-17T15:06:00.001+12:00

. @SBS has a wide range of topics! How to prioritize them?

Global sm best practices via @justinflitter simple but profound!

2010-05-17T11:12:00.001+12:00

Global sm best practices via @justinflitter simple but profound!

Trad vs emerging media lifecycles via @m_hickinbotham

2010-05-17T10:12:00.001+12:00

Trad vs emerging media lifecycles via @m_hickinbotham #smj

All set up for

2010-05-17T08:57:00.001+12:00

All set up for #smj

What do you think this is?

2010-05-14T13:47:00.001+12:00

What do you think this is?

Now it's @davidfarrier who has a mindmap

2010-05-11T19:04:00.001+12:00

Now it's @davidfarrier who has a mindmap

Thanks @becs355 for a great talk at

2010-05-11T19:02:00.001+12:00

Thanks @becs355 for a great talk at #smcakl

@tardisdesign's notes on @missrogue's #cnow presentation

2010-05-06T23:26:00.001+12:00

Link: http://www.tardis.co.nz/blog/2010/04/

Putting on a production

2010-05-06T09:58:00.001+12:00

I'm so looking forward to seeing Horseplay at the Maidment this Friday. It's been ages (about a year, in fact) since I've seen live theatre of any kind.

Just anticipating the production got me thinking about work (hmmm... just about anything gets me thinking about work...)

When your work involves a lot of sitting in front of the computer and concentrating, it can be hard to get motivated.

At sy recently, we've been implementing a few things to keep us on task - and interestingly, these ideas are from the entertainment world.

First is the runsheet, an idea we got watching the special features for JJ Abrams Star Trek. It's such an intense, fast-paced movie, yet behind the scenes there was a relaxed confidence running through the set. That's great leadership - someone like JJ who is on top of the schedule, and can also relate to all his people on a human level.

So we've started working on a daily runsheet, which is similar to an agenda or todo list, but with an important difference - the name has action built into it. It's a RUNsheet, not a walk sheet or a sit down sheet. It's a RUN sheet. Yeah.

We've also been creating a psychological space to work in. As I mentioned on iJumpTV a while back, we're now working virtually - or in less sexy terminology, working from home. But we still have the office sign, so when it's working hours, that sign comes out and is where we can see it all day.

We also have a banner we use for our workshops and events ... it says "a sy event" .... the challenge is, to make every day an event, not just the days when you're out and about, but even the stay-at-home and do-the-actual-work days!

How do you make your days into productions?

Awesome post-it installation at Whitcoulls Queen St

2010-05-05T21:44:00.001+12:00

Awesome post-it installation at Whitcoulls Queen St

It's quite dark in here

2010-05-05T20:04:00.001+12:00

It's quite dark in here #pointlesstweet

How to learn stuff

2010-05-03T16:19:00.001+12:00

If you ever want to learn about a subject, listen to a few experts have a conversation about it.

It surfaces the key issues, and helps you understand the different ways of looking at the subject. You may not understand every word that's being said, but you'll learn:

The priorities - what issues are more important than others
The terminology - key words, phrases and acronyms that get used
The conflicts - key ways of looking at the subject that disagree with each other.

A great way to get into these subjects is through podcasts - but make sure you get conversations, rather than just lectures.

Here's an example of this "in the deep end" kind of learning:

Last year I wrote some copy for treasury management software company. They do hedge accounting software - that is, they help companies have the right kind of records around managing currency trading. It's a very niche, complicated area. And I needed to learn about it - fast!

The Deloitte podcast really helped, because it featured a panel of experts talking about the key issues around hedge accounting.

They helped me to understand by telling stories, asking questions of each other, and offering alternative viewpoints.

I didn't understand everything, but because I felt like I was part of the discussion, my brain did an amazing job trying to keep up. It was so much better than trying to go for a "101" systematic approach.

The problem with a systematic introduction, is that sometimes you're learning the basic principles, but you don't know why those principles are so important. So you don't pay as much attention as you would, if you knew what it was for.

So if you need to know something - fast - jump in the deep end. Start with some podcasts.

Never talk about your weaknesses - unless you want people to admire you

2010-05-01T21:30:00.001+12:00

It's a paradox. The people who are most successful seem to be the people with all the flaws.

Who do we love? The people who are really at home with themselves. We admire them because when they admit they're not perfect, we see ourselves in them.

For example, Darren Rowse. Gary Vaynerchuck. And many more.

So ... should you be open about your flaws before you make a big success?

Good question.

In the 20th century, the answer was easy: no freaking way. Don't show an ounce of weakness. Be perfect, unassailable.

But the trouble with now is, word gets out. We're all human and we all make mistakes. Who is going to talk about your mistakes, yourself, or someone else?

Everything as a service

2010-04-30T09:01:00.001+12:00

You've heard of software-as-a-service; I believe a big change needed for the 21st century is to see every piece of communication as a service.

What does software-as-a-service do? It enables people to do things for themselves.

When you think of how to deliver a message, how can you make that message an experience, a facilitator that lets people do something that's useful or helpful for themselves?

For example, a bus-stop-ad for hearing awareness week had a way to check if your iPod was turned up too loud (just put your earbud into a sensor). It was information, but then it enabled you to make that information personally relevant to you.

How can you make your advertising or marketing communications more useful?

http://knowledge.smu.edu.sg/article.cfm?articleid=1267

Social Business: Innovation and Storytelling: Connect Now

2010-04-15T21:15:00.001+12:00

Social Business: Innovation and Storytelling: Connect Now

via Get Shouty by katiechatfield on 4/14/10

My notes:

The theme: One of the fundamental challenges organisations have is in developing a culture of innovation and inspiration- and building the teams and behaviours that will share and collaborate in order to achieve this. Where do you start? And how do you feed the fire?

Chart 13:

Change management is a scary word

It’s difficult, lengthy and expensive

Is technological change environmental change?

Chart 14:

(from Mumbrella’s coverage of the APG Battle of the Big Thinking Battle of Big Thinking part 1: Creating unique brands; Changing the world; Perth vs Sydney

Speaker: Peter Williams – CEO, Deloitte Digital

Topic: The formula for changing the world

Quote: “Any match in the box can start a fire.”

His argument:

That rather than chasing influencers, brands need to understand that when a population is ready to go through a phase transition anything can be a trigger if you understand it.

Using a home experiment involving a bottle of beer from the freezer, he showed how once one molecule of beer freezes (or changes phase), the transition moves to the next.

He also challenged the audience to clap in unison, and with no other obvious organisation, the room fell into rhythm within about a second.

He argued that formula for changing the world is simply having a self-influencing population that is ready to make that phase transition, and a trigger.

Chart 15:

Phase transition is more than synchronicity

You need to design the ‘what’s next’- because you’ll lose momentum and the potential for shift if you stop supplying new triggers and adapting the rules.

This formula’s potential describes the building blocks of change

It’s a process- an organic model that lives. It’s not set and forget.

It’s about creating an environment and prompts for adapting the simple rules and the trigger

Because phase transition is a chain reaction- you need to keep feeding the loop

Chart 16:

“Any match in the box can start a fire.”

“The ability to combine knowledge and information in a new way is important. Just because you have knowledge and information does not mean you are a creative person. But it is also impossible to be a creative person without knowledge and information.”

Chart 20

This exercise was inspired by Helen Hasan’s presentation at the NSW KM Forum – February Triple Threat.

At it’s heart:

You ask participants to find someone they don’t know and negotiate a game of PSR
(this can usually be seamlessly achieved
Then you ask that ‘team’ to find another pair and negotiate another game (with no further explanation)
What was a simple and explicitly understood task becomes a lot more complex….and chaotic
…. what will happen next?

Helen Hasan is Associate Professor in Information Systems at University of Wollongong. She has been a member of the KM committee of Standards Australia since its beginning and is proud of her role in writing the Australian KM Standard released in 2005. Her research areas relate to an innovative aspect of KM that she now refers to as ‘Sensible Organisation’. She has published widely in academia and she has applied her research findings in numerous consulting projects.

Photo credits:

Chart 23

http://threexthree.wordpress.com/

Chart 24

http://teamred1.tumblr.com/

Chart 26

The management team also used this structure to present quarterly back to the team

Chart 36

This diagram was created for my chapter of ‘Age of Conversation’

What it says is that you’re never more than 2 steps from disaster….

And with the tenure of marketers….why would they take that risk ?

Chart 39

Blog coverage: From State of Flux :

Can I explain what I do to my Mum? Katie Chatfield highlighted that we are working in a field that is quite complex and that has a new language. Don’t use jargon and discourse people don’t get, people need to understand your ideas to take them up. Use language as a tool to transfer your idea to the next person, when your trying to translate an idea to someone, it needs to be a story they can tell to other people.

Chart 43

Blog coverage: State of Flux:

Jack’s Show and Tell
Katie Chatfield introduced us to her company’s concept – Jack’s Show and Tell. This is cool! Company gets together to “build a titanium culture” recognises and awards work that changes the game. Gives people a chance to learn to tell great stories. Once a month, brought to you by the strategy, creative and design team. It is show and tell for grown ups and not a lot has changed since Year 3 at school. Simple stories, powerful experiences, transferring knowledge and a chance to look at how someone looks at the world

Chart 47

Ralph was inspired by the ancient (and, sadly, lost) art of haikugami, where the traditions of haiku are melded with those of origami to create beautiful and functional poetry.

In this entertaining and interactive presentation, Ralph shows what’s possible with 500 people, 5 minutes, and lots of pieces of paper!

See his fab presentation and some of the creations

Chart 49

Photo credits:

Chart 50

Photo credits:

The Barkly Social Club - Participate with Purpose. Engage with Emotion

2010-04-15T18:03:00.003+12:00

Another marvellous summary of Connect now Link: http://barkly.tumblr.com/post/517741772/participate-with-purpose-engage-with-emotion

Link: http://insanityworks.org/acme/2010/04/13/connectnow-2010-thoughts-notes-part-2/

Ameel's Career & MBA Exposition » Blog Archive » ConnectNow 2010 – Thoughts & Notes (Part 2)

2010-04-15T18:03:00.001+12:00

Awesome summary, extensive notes and links.

Asking powerful questions

2010-04-14T12:23:00.001+12:00

Download now or preview on posterous

art of powerful questions CCL.pdf (284 KB)

At Friday's workshop on Storytelling, I mentioned a document around asking the right questions to generate the most helpful stories. I've been helped by this document. Hope you enjoy it:

Unsung heroes of Connect Now

2010-04-13T10:39:00.001+12:00

Over the three days of Connect Now we got to see some amazing people up front. There were also some amazing people behind the scenes. Here are some of them (I'm sure I will have forgotten some)

For blogging:

Gavin Heaton @servantofchaos for providing thoughtful context on this blog and through his Twitter feed.

Warlach for providing an alternative live coverage of the event, again providing context and perspective. His first, second and third day coverage.

Kaila Colbin @kcolbin for writing the fastest, most thorough blog posts around!

For being an integral part of the conference experience:

Toula @digitalkulcha

Matt @Mattimck

Jade Craven @jadecraven

Lisa @lovewinenz for keeping us on time, all the time (and looking after our speakers!)

Stephenie Rodriguez @digitalgodess for berocca, livestreaming and just being awesomely supportive.

And of course, Siobhan Bulfin, for being audacious enough to not just dream it, but do it.

Information overload is a filter failure « damon klotz – thehrockstar & network-king

2010-04-13T09:26:00.001+12:00

Great post that came out of #cnow. Link: http://damonklotz.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/information-overload-is-a-filter-failure/

RT @Nightwyrm: Sign the Wellington Declaration TONIGHT and FIGHT ACTA for your Internet rights! http://tinyurl.co...

2010-04-12T22:46:00.001+12:00

RT @Nightwyrm: Sign the Wellington Declaration TONIGHT and FIGHT #ACTA for your Internet rights! http://tinyurl.com/y6vg9rl (this is international!)

RT @estateofflux: RT @TeamXero On the Xero blog: Social marketing "blowing up traditional advertising business mo...

2010-04-11T21:07:00.001+12:00

RT @estateofflux: RT @TeamXero On the Xero blog: Social marketing "blowing up traditional advertising business models" http://bit.ly/dprnXZ via SimplyTweet

My sister's desk calendar. Seems strangely appropriate at this hour

2010-04-08T02:14:00.001+12:00

My sister's desk calendar. Seems strangely appropriate at this hour

Sound check for

2010-04-06T16:45:00.001+12:00

Sound check for #cnow

What Rob learnt at Marie Workshops today

2010-03-24T16:35:00.001+13:00

Linking

2010-03-24T11:48:00.001+13:00

Links are the best thing about the web. They take you from here to here. Linking is what makes the web different from a book.

The Blenheim

2010-03-24T10:30:00.001+13:00

This is the ship my great-great-great-grandparents arrived to New Zealand in, in February 1840, the same month the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.

They arrived at Port Nicholson (now known as Wellington) expecting an established settlement, and found the rugged hills and empty beaches.

Home was either back in Scotland on the other side of the world, or here. They chose here. You could say they didn't have much choice, but their choice was in their attitude.

Every day they inspire me to choose here. To choose now.

What I had for breakfast this morning (an ironic take on stereotypes of blogging)

2010-03-24T09:40:00.001+13:00

So food. It gets talked about all the time when it comes to social media.

"Why would I go on Twitter?" people say. "I don't want to know what someone had for breakfast!"

And yet ... from my personal experience on Twitter (3-odd years, 6000-odd followers) tweets about food get the most interaction.

Maybe it's the way I say it: "Crumpet emergency! We are out of Nutella and/or jam". That one led to a lot of great comments back from people with great suggestions - including mixing butter and brown sugar (mmm!)

Why? Because everyone eats food. No-one doesn't eat food. Food and music are two of the great social connectors.

So next time you're scratching your head, wondering what to blog about, or tweet about (etc!) maybe just try saying - with a bit of dramatic flair - what you had for breakfast.

Mine, by the way, was supposed to be porridge, but ended up being some of that nice new Vogels cereal (well, new to me, because I haven't tried it before). My verdict: Mmmm!

Beautiful day in Auckland

2010-03-18T13:57:00.001+13:00

Beautiful day in Auckland

Defiance

2010-03-18T11:33:00.001+13:00

Sent from my iPhone
www.sy-engage.com

Eeek

2010-03-11T17:08:00.001+13:00

I wonder what this looks like on Posterous?

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_0403.MOV (199 KB)

Sent from my iPhone
www.sy-engage.com

What Murray said about our workshop

2010-03-10T15:56:00.001+13:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous

More photos

2010-03-10T09:53:00.001+13:00

These are photos!

A blog post with a photo

2010-03-10T09:51:00.001+13:00

(And I'm choosing it at random so I wonder what it will look like)

A blog post about blog posts

2010-03-10T09:36:00.001+13:00

This is an example post written for our attendees at Marie Workshops. It may not make any sense to you if you're not here. The sentence that you were working on before...

which, as I recall, was something like:

Who you are (business or individual, or a combination of the two - it's up to you).

What's your message? (In a sentence)

For example:

#END
--
Simon Young
Director
#sy social media consultancy
http://sy-engage.com/

Ph (+649) 379 5421 | Mob (+64) 021 192 0016
Skype: simonisntsoyoung
Our office: http://www.schmap.me/sy-engage/

Find me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook etc: http://j.mp/simonyoung

-----------

Unless we've agreed otherwise, this email is off the record. If this email is not for you, please let us know and delete it. Thank you!

Mental note: i had forgotten how awesome Che Fu is

2010-03-06T19:10:00.001+13:00

Mental note: i had forgotten how awesome Che Fu is

Lot of ppl here for the villamaria concert. MC just said "here's the sun folks, as promised" haha

2010-03-06T17:56:00.001+13:00

Lot of ppl here for the #villamaria concert. MC just said "here's the sun folks, as promised" haha

I'm sitting here very thankful for several things, one of which is the ability to get the cover off our spare pc ...

2010-03-02T14:17:00.001+13:00

I'm sitting here very thankful for several things, one of which is the ability to get the cover off our spare pc without a screwdriver, (thanks IBM) and the other of which is the ability to communicate your thoughts concisely

Surprisingly quiet on my desktop

2010-03-02T12:39:00.001+13:00

Surprisingly quiet on my desktop