While I know it’s only the end of July, I happened to catch a special on the History Channelabout Nostradamus last night which got me thinking about the new year. So I thought I’d make some Nostradamus like predictions for 2013.
In Response: Cathryn Sloane’s Social Media Article
This afternoon I was perusing my Twitter feed when I came across Noah Malin’s Paper-li The Social Media Thinkers Daily. This is also where I discovered Cathryn Sloane’s post titled: Why Every Social Media Manager Should be Under 25.
The Good, The Bad, & The Sometimes Ugly Side of Social Media
Last night my wife and I were jolted awake by a cacophony of metal on metal. Laura shouted “what was that?” – I responded without hesitation “That was a really horrible car accident.” I threw on my clothes as quickly as I could and just as I was about the leave our bedroom she said “take your phone so you can call 911.” I ran out of our house, and onto the street. Lying upside down in the center of the street was one single car. Nobody was near the car. It was oddly still. As I ran closer it became more apparent that I was the first person to arrive at the scene. Another gentlemen met me from the opposite side of the street. He had just missed what had happened. I knelt down to see who was trapped inside – rapping on the window – and expecting the worse. I leaned in and said “hello, are you OK?” To which a woozy response came back “yeah, I’m OK.” The driver of the car was sitting right side up on the roof of his car. Dazed by the collision, but coherent. I dialed 911. As I waited there with the man stuck in his car in the middle of the street, we got to talking. I noticed a flask by his side. Not cool. I also noticed bills with his name on them. I asked him if that was in fact his name – it was. (I won’t use his name here of course). As the EMT’s showed, windows were smashed and more neighbors began to get out from their cars to see what had transpired. All of them photoed the incident. Two of them filmed the entire ordeal with their iPhones from the moment they arrived on the scene. I stepped back before they shattered the window to extract the man, but decided it would be inappropriate to photo him, the extraction, or anything else until he was removed from the scene. I did however, take this photo.
Social Media is Appropriate for Every Business …Period.
About 6 months ago my Father hesitantly asked me a favor. He’d scheduled an appointment with his friends and long-time financial advisors from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney: Richard L. Schneider and Ira Bauman. Dad is living with ALS (aka Lou Gherig’s disease), and is in a wheelchair. Requests like this have become the norm around our house. If I can’t help Mom and Dad, my brother steps in.
5 Sure-fire Ways to Get Your Boss to Pay More Attention to Social Media
I once heard Gary Vaynerchuk answer the question “What’s the ROI of social media.” His response was partially dismissive, mostly true, and certainly brought down the house. He replied with a fervent “What’s the ROI of putting on your pants.“ Image from Maries Claire I love that response, but I also understand why your boss may cringe after hearing it. She has a budget, key performance indicators, and responsibility. She’s asking you about ROI because she wants to support you. She needs to understand the ROI so she can allocate said budget, and analyze how well you’re doing. So how can you impress upon your boss that she must invest in social media today?
The Secret to Getting a Job in Social Media
A few months ago I was invited to visit my Alma mater Loyola University in Baltimore to lecture about how students can leverage social media to get a job. Hire Me! When I lecture I love to offer real life examples of how students can leverage the free tools at their disposal to gain employment. I included an outline of Dan Herbert – a college student who was using social media to it’s fullest. He wanted to work in social media, so he was actively engaged in social media (what a novel idea). I also spoke about how I had creatively sought a job in social by launching Facebookshouldhireme.com. I love helping people engage in social media, and I love lecturing, just love it. Because I love it so much, and because everyone that knows me understands this about me – I’m lucky enough to speak with some great young people about their careers.
3 Pieces of Good News for Not-for-Profits Engaging in Social Media
Nearly two years ago I started to work with my business partner Anthony Zarro at Drive Action Digital. Anthony had already been running the business on his own, and was successful at cultivating relationships with major brands building gorgeous web sites, managing SEM programs, assisting with SEO and generally offering a senior executives savvy and strategy in the digital space. Together we closed major deals with companies like Geico, Littlemissmatched and Lavanila. As our first year of work continued to develop we decided to hold our own social media seminar. We invited our clients and industry professionals to join. The seminar was a smashing success. As a result we were invited to speak at an event hosted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Both Anthony and I had never really considering working with Not-for-Porfit organizations until we were invited to speak at the event. As a result of speaking at the AFP event we have since begun working with two not for profit’s in our area – Hudson Valley Hosptial Center and Westchester Library System. Which brings me to the point of this post.
Your World is Exploding: How Social Media is Changing Everything-and How you Need to Change with it.
Since the publication of Your World is Exploding on Amazon, last Tuesday – I’ve been a wreck. Suffice to say that this project has been the most arduous, gut-wrenching, terrifying experience of my life. It’s also been the most exhilarating, spirit lifting, joyful tear inducing experience. My mental state is sufficiently unstable, my emotional state – off the charts. This has been hard. And worth every minute. Possibly the most rewarding endeavor of my career – So – if you have an opportunity to download the e-book, please do so. You can get it for free if you’re Kindle Prime Member. If not, than I’m following my own advice of “giving”, and I’ m giving to you – whether you want it or not – Chapter 1 – Awakening. So, sit back and enjoy your $0.53 worth of my $7.99 e-book. Please add comments, share, tweet, post on Facebook – whatever…just let people know you were here. Side note – I keep tearing up every-time I see my book listed on Amazon.com – I highly recommend it – Seriously – try it one day – it’s a crazy experience. You have it in you. Start now!