One Mann's Opinion

Silence May Not Be Golden

2009-11-04T07:42:00.008-05:00

Have you ever been in a business meeting where there have been people who have said nothing? Of course. If you know me, you know I'm never that guy. Ha!

They may quietly take notes, smile and seem to be paying attention.

They usually are, but as someone who is never short on conversation I find these people amazing yet puzzling.

Is it their choice to say nothing?
With strong personalities present, are they afraid to contribute?

It’s one thing to be polite and pay attention to a presentation but this is pointed at those who rarely if ever utter one word in any meeting. Perhaps you should wonder why they are in the meeting in the place or more importantly whether there is a deeper issue. Are great ideas being lost in the back of the room?

Some people prefer not to lead discussions or speak with ease and that’s okay. But in a co-creative workspace, it requires contribution from everyone.

It's important to decipher the reasons why they remain silent.

A common perpetrator is the highest ranking official in the room who makes it clear they are not interested in ideas or a democratic creative process.

I know this is shocking but some managers actually do not want others’ opinions. In other cases - though rare - those in management positions do not possess the skills or training to actually coach people.

Some people are shy, some are polite and some are respectful of authority. Some feel the only way to survive these types of situations is to sit quietly, nod and take notes.

Do you know the real reason for their silence?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business
marketing and social media strategy.

image credit: outinc.ca

Alternative and Mainstream Converge

2009-11-02T16:01:00.001-05:00

I spent many happy years working with musicians and their music. I loved it. Some still know me as a former radio guy but there is a much deeper story.

Below The Surface

Radio – like every industry – has much more under the surface than those outside comprehend.

Overseeing a radio station requires regular business stuff like budgets and talent development; promotional duties such as website management and database marketing; and external oversight on such items as advertising and event management.

Turn It Up

As part of my radio career, I worked in what is called the alternative rock format at two stations. Alternative is a distinction that carries as much negative connotation as positive reinforcement.

The core of alternative music fans are rarely happy once a band gains even a modicum of success while those unfamiliar with the genre think it’s full of strange people with purple hair.

It's important to note that both alternative radio stations continue to be successful measured against mainstream metrics. And perhaps with the exception of one year at Hallowe'en, I've never found the need to dye my hair purple. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I like purple and I digress.

Can you be cutting edge and mainstream at the same time?

In 1988, Michael Trent Reznor formed an industrial rock band called Nine Inch Nails - no doubt you’ve heard of them. Twenty-one years later they have sold millions of albums, CDs and downloads, played in front of massive festival and stadium crowds and won Grammy Awards.

Despite this worldwide success, Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor remain categorized as alternative not mainstream.

When NiN formed, there wasn’t the long list of social networking channels we have now. Today, Reznor has over 600,000 followers to his personal Twitter account and his band is well represented through their YouTube and Flickr spaces.

Imagine. Create. Share.

In 2006, Jack Dorsey was looking for something that would kick start a creative slump for his company Odeo. His original idea was to create a conversation space through sms called my.stat.us.

Today, Jack and his partners Biz Stone and Evan Williams, seventy-five employees in a modest San Francisco building and millions in venture capital have grown Twitter to one of the fastest growing web portals in the world with millions of regular users.

From 1975 to 2009, Microsoft has grown from an idea Paul Allen and William Gates had to develop software for the microcomputer to over 90,000 employees in 100 countries and over $58 Billion in annual revenue.

So is Twitter the alternative and Microsoft the mainstream?

Whether you a musician and producer of industrial music, three geeks from Silicon Valley or the world’s largest software manufacturer, you have to start with an idea.

It may be a concept yet to be adopted by anyone else, it could be quite different than the current mainstream thought, but if it’s a good one the audience will discover it.

At that point, will it really matter what label we put on it?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business,
marketing and social media strategy.

image credit: colourlovers.com

UX BizPlan Vending Co.

2009-10-29T08:13:00.010-04:00

The vending machine is marvel of retro technology which thrives in our digital hi-tech portable world. Not only can you order items on your cell phone, you can now buy a cell phone from a vending machine!

But let's stick with food for a moment.

Will you hover over your selection just that extra half second to insure you don’t accidentally get black licorice when you wanted cheese doodles?

Dinner In A Bag

It can be stressful when you made the decision to work late and replace dinner with a few handfuls of deep fried potato slices.

Snack food is a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry. There are companies making money hand over chips as we toil late in to the wee hours searching for sustenance.

Conformity and Choice
How can we learn from the vending machine while running a business?

Some say if we are left with too much choice, we make none at all. But if we think we are too restricted, then we are unhappy with the choices presented to us.

User experience must be – by definition – designed for the user. We customize our phone backgrounds and voicemail, we can modify our computer color schemes, choose from the long menu of options for our car and fashion is an individual choice.

Why do we conform in the workplace?

Could it be beneficial to examine the tastes and desires of each member of the team? Is it possible to find a more co-creative workspace by incorporating the choices made by each person involved?

If we all liked the same things, shirts would only be available in blue and the parking lot would be filled with the same make and model of car.

No Rules. No Conclusions.

This is not to suggest you create an atmosphere where everyone chooses and no one makes decisions - that's just as unproductive as a benevolent dictatorship.

If you work with clients or run a business, give some thought to the abundance of knowledge and experience of everyone involved. You may find some surprises along the way and not blindly feed them black licorice when they’d prefer cheese doodles.

What's your selection?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business
marketing and social media strategy.

image credit: askdavetaylor.com

Why Social Media?

2009-10-26T18:01:00.001-04:00

Got 'em. Need 'em

Why do we spend time collecting connections, friends and followers? Are we going for some sort of record? Is it bragging rights we seek? Are we in need of that much attention that we must ask strangers and colleagues to click a few clicks and join our community as we reciprocate? Is that the end game?

Are we collecting each other like trading cards or dusty trinkets for the mantle? Of course not!

Sure, some think these digital channels are advertising/spam/direct mail opportunities but those activities aren’t very successful.

Yes, enough people say yes to the pitch. There are plenty who are happy to write the code to create bots who scour the social networks like bottom feeders. But that’s not you and me.

A Chit and A Chat

Most of us just want to connect and share. It is a chance to find and meet similar thinking people. It may even give us a chance to work together. But it begins with a conversation and a modicum of trust.

It’s a cup of coffee, relax!

Today I published a tweet about meeting people for a chat. There were some skeptics and a whole bunch who said that would be a good idea.

Newsflash: If you want to tap in to the magic of social media, you kinda need to be somewhat social. I am looking forward to the seven meetings that were booked within ten minutes. Pretty cool, huh! Yes it is.

Friends And The Rest

Why do you have friends or followers or connections on your social media profiles? Some may be buddies from school or co-workers or members of your Thursday night hockey league but are there others?

Why are they there? Have you taken the time to get to know them a bit more? It may surprise you that they may have been trying to figure out a way to connect with you.

It’s not whether or not you need to tap into the power of human networking, but you should know why do you want to do so.

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business.
marketing and social media strategy.

image credit: scienceblogs.com

Freedom of Choice | What Is Yours?

2009-10-24T07:01:00.022-04:00

The waiter asks you what we want from the menu.

You call the service line and if you’re lucky enough to get a human within half an hour they will ask you how they can help.

You stand slack jawed in the cereal aisle trying to decide whether it will be flakes or loops.

Consumerism is built on the appearance of choice.
What happens when we have too much?

Imagine for a moment that I put pictures of 83 different cars in front of you. Each car is available in 17 different trim packages and 163 colors. How quickly would you choose the car you wanted? At one time I did have a car that was black currant with grey leather interior. But I digress.

If your real estate agent showed you 481 different houses, how closer would you be to calling the moving van? Crown moulding is not that compelling but the Catskill green granite counter top in the bathroom is fantastic.

What About Your Career?

On the surface, a free society fights to have career path choice.

It’s obvious, right?

You want to choose what do for a living – don’t you? You don’t want to feel stuck, you want a wide open menu filled with hundreds of delicious items.

Depending on the study however, most say that close to 80% are unhappy with their career path - why is that?

We can site family obligations, financial concerns, educational limitations but are those just excuses? Most of us have them; they are nice comfy memes to keep us from stepping too far out on the ledge.

Why don’t we make more choices?

It’s common to feel stuck, have self-doubt or limited with your ability to move. Imagine how that looks across an organization with hundreds of people feeling the same way. It may not appear to be related to your personal or business strategic objectives but it has everything to do with them.

In the free world during tight economic times you can try the - ’cause I said so - approach for a little while but it is a highly damaging long term plan.

Your most talented stakeholders will simply leave.

Some say that there are three reasons we do anything: to make money, to make a name for ourselves or to make a difference.

What is differentiates high achievers from the rest?

It begins with their ability to answer one simply question:

What Do I Want?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business,
marketing and social media strategy.

You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
Rush - Freewill

image credits: gallup.com | corbisimages.com

Social Media | 37 Things

2009-10-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

• This is not advertising.

• Trust is earned over time.

• There are no short cuts.

• Do something.

• Spam is not content.

• Let us get to know you.

• Never fixate on the numbers.

• Have patience.

• Ask a lot of questions.

• Share. Often.

• Don’t get caught up in stats and surveys.

• Be helpful.

• We need you to lead.

• Social media efforts must integrate with your overall business plan.

• Write well.

• Have fun. Always.

• Navigate the digital space like your life space.

• Contribute to the conversation.

• Be yourself.

• The answers won’t land on your lap.

• Never take yourself too seriously.

• Tighten your helmet and get in there.

• It’s up to you to decide what you need from this space.

• Engage don’t just broadcast.

• Tell us what you learned so we can learn from you.

• Twitter alone will not save your business.

• Respect your community.

• Read others’ profiles don’t just expect others to read yours.

• Open your mind and imagine.

• Learn the tools. Then understand it’s not about the tools.

• Educate yourself. Constantly.

• Treat us with respect. We'll do the same.

• Learn from others. Then carve up your own thing.

• There is not only one way to do this.

• If you want others to join you, ask yourself why.

• You get out what you put in.

• We are in this together.

What would you like to add to the list?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business,
marketing and social media strategy.

Communicating with Other Creatures

2009-10-19T07:51:00.009-04:00

Nice To Meet You

It hit me last week while having coffee with someone I had just met. We were having a great conversation.

It weaved from family stuff to work stuff to ideas and plans. The exchange felt very natural. We had met through the social network but the commonality was work.

In order to activate the true power of digital and social channels we must be able to navigate actual conversations with other humans. The tweets and emails are not enough. I look forward to more conversations this week with new people - it's cool, you should try it!

Gadgets and Gossip

The debate over formats and tools may never end but if your personal skills in areas such as talking with people and face-to-face correspondence are lacking you may need to give that some attention.

Because I paid attention to the conversation, I now have the privilege of being involved in TEDx Ottawa.

Science Fact or Fiction?

Often when "the future” is portrayed in films, we are donning uniforms and flying in cars. Medicine has advanced to the point where doctors simply zap us in the shoulder with a silver implement and the poison from the alien force is removed.

We walk on escalator type sidewalks and no one can explain how we can fly in our space ship through an asteroid storm hundreds of light years away the nearest fueling station.

Horses and Horsepower

Centuries ago it would take weeks to deliver a letter written with an ink-dipped feather to its recipient via horseback. But do our thumbs on a smart phone make the message more important?

Has technology allowed us to forget how to speak with each other?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business,
marketing and social media strategy.

image credit: nationalgeographic.com

I Don’t Care

2009-10-15T06:57:00.004-04:00

I don’t care that you may think all this social media stuff is voodoo magic. The faster you decipher it is for real, the better shape your business and career will be in.

I don’t care if I don’t agree with everything you say.
I’m glad we’re engaged in a meaningful conversation.

I don't care about your opinion on my choice in music.
That's why it's my choice.

I don’t care what you did last year, ten years ago or last week.
Bring forward the good stuff and incinerate the rest.

I don't care who doesn't like me.
There are 6.7 billion of us, we can all find someone.

I don't care who knows I love pumpkin pie.
But I will share if you want a slice.

I don't care if you have self-doubt, no money,
lost your gig or think you are stuck.
Let's get over ourselves and get unstuck together.

I don’t care that I am entering the busiest time of my career.
I know what hard work looks like.
I’m looking forward to helping as many people as I can.

I don’t care about your family situation, marriage, demons or shortcomings.

I do care about your passions, ideas and how they are burning a hole through your cranium on the way to sharing them with others so we can help you make them a reality.

What don’t you care about?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business
marketing and social media strategy.

image credit: api.ning.com

You Have Marketing | Sleep Well

2009-10-14T00:00:00.001-04:00

Investment Returned?

The chatter about return on investment never subsides.

If you spend money it's your right to measure the wisdom of your purchase and how it may have helped your business.

But Is It That Simple?

Stan buys an outdoor campaign in five cities for twelve weeks and sees a 9% increase in sales on the East Coast. Sounds great. The boss will love it. So is the campaign the cause of the increase? Not even Stan can be sure.

Share Points and Average Quarter Hours

Kayla has always used some of her marketing budget to place advertising on alternative rock radio stations. Since her target is Males 18-34, that makes sense but she has seen a decrease in revenue for the last five quarters. She is concerned that radio isn’t as affective anymore.

Her lean toward increasing her social media activity is justified. But the radio spend is worth a much closer look – not because of the medium – but because it may not be the reason for the decreased revenue.

Blanket and Hope

Keith is convinced that direct mail will work. He has seen the stats. He knows that less than 1% of people who receive the piece will actually spend more than a second to review it. He has decided to simply mail his menu to everyone in his town of 34,000 people. He will do four mailings per year.

Keith’s pizza joint is humming. He and his staff can barely keep up with the demand. The campaign is working like a charm. Or is it?

Social Media Saves The Day?

Lloyd started his Facebook group almost a year ago. He asked every friend to join and asked each of them to ask each of their friends to join. There are now 8,714 members from all over the world. The numbers keep building but Lloyd doesn’t know what to do next.

Marketing is not simply advertising. What you did last year is not a solution. Your company is not a campaign.

Radio, social media, print, outdoor and digital can all be viable options for you. But simply picking one isn't enough to ensure a good night's sleep.

What says you?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business,
marketing and social media strategy.

image credit: firstpeople.us

A Group Does Not A Team Make

2009-10-09T00:00:00.002-04:00

Leadership is action, not position.
Donald H. McGannon

It’s simple to develop responsibilities, titles, direct reports and deliverables. But how will you allow a place of teamwork to resemble reality?

Beware what you set your heart upon. For it surely shall be yours.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you have ever experienced a true open environment it can be exciting - yet to some - chaotic. And because most don't want chaos, they choose to keep things nice and neat and departmentalized.

The perception of losing focus or control can block potential for significant growth in your organization and the careers of each person inside it.

If ideas aren't shared, department walls get higher and silos deepen.

To lead the people, walk behind them.
Lao-Tzu

The position of Chairperson, CEO or President may appear to be at the top of the organization chart. But it's actually in the middle. This is the person who sets the tone; makes the big decisions that could affect the workload of everyone else.

She must answer to the owners, shareholders, investors, customers, employees and the public. If a company relies solely on her decisions, millions or even billions can hang in the balance. It's dangerous to lean on one person's bad - or bad mood - decisions.

The first rule of management is delegation.
Don't try and do everything yourself because you can't.
Anthea Turner

A former boss taught be about “reversed delegation”. This is where someone suggests a half-baked idea and you try to run with it.

This neither encourages their further thought nor helps you with what you want to accomplish. Push it back on their plate and see what happens.

Organization charts and fancy titles
count for next to nothing.
Colin Powell

For decades even centuries, we have followed a company model that resembled a flow chart. Nice and clean, easy to follow, department and leaders, directors and work flow.

We may have forgotten one important element:

Are we communicating and sharing this life experience with each other or just sharing a parking lot and florescent lights for 2,000 hours a year?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business,
marketing and social media strategy.

image credit: theworkorganizer.biz

Friends

2009-10-05T08:44:00.008-04:00

I was reminded recently of the importance of friends.

All too often we speak of friends, connections and followers in the same light.

Check out Chris Brogan’s post about being that sharing guy while trying to have a balanced life.

But this isn’t about social media spaces, this is about human spaces.

To my friends: Thank-you. Thank-you for letting me mess up and apologize and move forward. Thank-you for letting me in. Thank-you for your help.

Being human is tough sometimes, isn’t it?
But the good news is we have our friends.

Here are some cool quotes about friendship, feel free to add yours...

The most beautiful discovery true friends
make is that they can grow separately
without growing apart.
Elisabeth Foley

Friendship isn't a big thing,
it's a million little things.
Author Unknown

Friendship is unnecessary.
It has no survival value.
Rather it is one of those things
that give value to survival.
C.S. Lewis

Our most difficult task as a friend
is to offer understanding when we don't understand.
Robert Brault

Friends are relatives you make for yourself.
Eustache Deschamps

The most I can do for my friend
is simply be his friend.
Henry David Thoreau

True friendship comes
when silence between two people
is comfortable.
Dave Tyson Gentry

Only your real friends will tell you
when your face is dirty.
Sicilian Proverb

knealemann.at.gmail.com
Helping you create your best business,
marketing and social media strategy.

image credit: nextup.files.wordpress.com

What Is Local To You?

2009-10-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

Location Location Location?

In my twenty-five years of marketing and media, I have heard one phrase uttered more often than any other: Be Local.

It was how you differentiated yourself from national outlets.

Market and demographic were used to describe the audience, listener or reader. It wasn't about home or humans.

Local referred to the geographic location of a business and its customers.

I have realized that my view of "local" has changed. It is has become less about geography. It is more about what is local and important to me.

Buddies For Life

You may have attended university in another city. The relationships you formed during that time remain local to you. You may have moved hundreds of miles away and never visited the campus after graduation day, but all your touch points to that experience are still local to you.

Perhaps you love your car so much you have joined an online community devoted to lovers of that model and you have formed relationships with other owners and perhaps even planned outings and events. That is a community that is local to you.

Know Your Locals

It is crucial you realize this fact if you are running a business. It’s not enough to be in a market without activating the power of the local community. There is a chain of coffee shops here that is competing quite nicely with two major international chains, because they are local to us.

If you own a destination business - such as a hotel or resort, then it’s important to realize that your local community is anyone who wants to visit your destination. So you need to be local to them.

Emotion vs. Location

We need to keep finding ways to allow our growing online relationships a place to flourish that make it feel local to us.

The size of your community is boundless and what is local to you may have become more of an emotional and mental attachment rather than a spot on some map.

What is local to you?

knealemann.at.gmail.com

image credit: skagitriverjournal.com

How Much Time Do You Have?

2009-09-29T15:53:00.019-04:00

Just Say Hello

I thought it was time to put aside my "busy" schedule to contact a few people I hadn't talked with in a while. There was no agenda, it just a quick note to see how they were doing.

Quite a few of them mentioned how they were "busy", working too much but doing just fine.

Work No Play

It got me thinking of how we live like our time is infinite.

Why don’t we take more chances or go for things we want? Perhaps we think it'll be too difficult to complete? Maybe it’s easier to stay where it’s nice and comfy? Maybe we're just too "busy"?

How About Now?

We are not guaranteed tomorrow. But let's hope we get there. We have a lot of busy and important things on our to-do list.

It all sounds dramatic but have you ever stopped to think about the time you spend waiting and wishing and hoping and worrying instead of doing?

Busy Busy

One of my clients says that "busy" is a victim word. We use it as a crutch or badge of honor. We also use it as a shield to hide from things we don’t want to do, chances we don’t want to take or fears we don’t want to face.

Now What?

Watch Ray Zahab speak at TED2009 about his trek to The South Pole. He is also one of three men who ran the entire length of the Sahara Desert. You can say this dude is focused.

Then think about it. How much time do you have?
I know I am.

knealemann.at.gmail.com

"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."
Joseph Campbell

image credit: impossible2possible.com | highpointswim.com
video credit: ted.com

Communication Check-Up

2009-09-28T15:01:00.008-04:00

When was the last time you had an open and honest conversation with someone?

How did it go the last time you were focused solely on their interests, their goals and their needs?

Who did you last help without their knowledge?

Why would it be beneficial to look at the ten people you spend the most time with and think about the last time you had a deep honest conversation with each of them?

What should you do if you're stuck?

Where should you start?

Would it be valuable to begin
with a communication check-up?

knealemann.at.gmail.com

image credit: praxiline.com

Do You Have A Strategic Plan?

2009-09-24T13:25:00.013-04:00

One Third Win
The numbers are slightly different depending on the study, but the number of businesses that launch then thrive is quite small. About 30% of all new companies actually see their way to black ink.

Why Is That?

I have worked on fifty-page Strategic Plans, it's a lot of work!

It requires people and meetings and the result is an extensive blueprint for the next fiscal year. For the most part, the Plan was followed and people were held accountable. Each tactic had dates and money and people attached to it so the Plan could be realistically and properly executed.

I would often test people’s knowledge of the Plan by asking them if they could recite our Three Strategic Objectives. Most did well on that point. But when it got to the tactics and time lines and who does what by when, their ability to recount the Plan began to decline.

But you don't need a fifty-page Plan to succeed. Trust me! Those things were behemoths. No wonder no one could remember what was in them.

Why do companies fall short of their goals?

Focus

This is often a catch-all that isn’t given the attention it deserves. If you’re in a well financed start-up, it can be intoxicating. Ideas are following, people are happy and it’s exciting. But once the balloons deflate and the actual real work begins and you experience that first difficult client, things may begin to wobble.

Market

It’s even more essential that you are aware of your market. That includes where you are geographically, the industry you are in, what your competitors are doing and the never ending changes in customer desires and demands.

A Plan is not something you put in a pretty binder to sit alongside previous years' Plans to simply collect dust.

Homework

No matter your industry or role, you need to be constantly educating yourself on opportunities and trends. We have the world’s largest encyclopedia at our fingertips but how many of us end up at the same websites every day?

Accountability

This has always been a hot button. It looks good on the wall or in your company propaganda or on your website. “We’re accountable!” Are you? In order for this to gain traction, everyone in your organization must be accountable to everyone in your organization. No exceptions.

Execution

Plans are useless without action. If you take the required time to set out a Plan, then actually carry it out.

I’m a guy, I hate reading instructions but I have often destroyed a purchase because I didn’t read the sheet of paper with the thing I needed to assemble. That is why the instructions are there. That is why you galvanize a Strategic Plan.

Then you do need to be nimble so you can react to opportunities that may not have been there when you developed your Plan. You won’t be able to do so if everything you do is by the seat of your pants.

Communication

This is the largest reason companies fail. We can discuss this at length another time but it is monumentally imperative that you keep clear collaborative communications open with everyone in your organization or the clock is ticking.

Fear

We are human beings. We mess up. We mean well. We have the best of intentions. But we miss steps and get frustrated and get filled with self-doubt which stops us from getting there. And we forget to ask for help!

Am I way off the mark?
What are your thoughts on this?

knealemann.at.gmail.com

image credit: postyourtest.com

Communications and Conversations

2009-09-22T00:02:00.003-04:00

Let Them All Talk

I posed a simple question on Twitter: I see a trend toward DMs over emails for some people. Not a huge email fan either but still not sure I like said trend. Thoughts?

A Twitter “DM” is simply the email platform called Direct Message.

Email me your fax so I can DM the response to your PDA

In the course of a day, I will use literally every medium at my disposal and I don’t give it much thought. Some prefer email, others like calls, social media portals for others, texts are the way to chat with some and there are friends and colleagues who don’t do anything unless it’s face-to-face.

Here are some responses to my query...

joshchandler: it's interesting, a lot of people DM me as if they were sending an email.

ethanwaldman: If the connection is meaningful- networking, NOT selling, I prefer email. 140 characters is not enough for correspondence.

clothbot: DM is the new IM replacement.

MarkBlevis: The problem is the amount of time & energy it takes to move the conversation in DM (140-char) vs. email or in-person.

knealemann to ethanwaldman: In the course of a day, I may 'converse' with someone in five different ways. #technology

Wooby: Excellent point about new communications tools giving us more choice. This is left out of social media conversation too much. I get notified of DMs via email anyway. Ditto for FB msgs. On my end, they're all the same.

knealemann to wooby: some just grab whatever is convenient and use that. I correspond with some on several medium (email, DM, phone, person) at once.

Rebelcontent: DM's to be less efficient.

knealemann to joshchandler: some want to conduct business without it going on the company email server, as an example.

SuzeMuse: Everyone uses the media in a different way. It comes down to personal preference. I've been using skype video lots. I also think it depends how well you know the person. I've had plenty of meaningful text conversations.

I'll take face-to-face over every other portal, tool or gadget.

What is your preferred form of communication?

@knealemann
Helping you improve your media, marketing,
bizdev and social networks

image credit: dotnet.org

The One Thing

2009-09-19T23:48:00.005-04:00

What is the one thing you
will change to improve your career?

What is the one thing
you will do to help us?

What is the one thing you will read
to engage a conversation?

What is the one thing you will
affect to cause you to move?

What is the one thing
you will say to help me?

What is the one thing you will mean
that will create a positive shift?

What is the one thing you will create
that will ignite others?

What is the one thing
you will write that may cause us to think?

What is the one thing we will
act on which will affect a revolution?

What is the one thing I will do to help you?

@knealemann
Helping you improve your media,
marketing, bizdev and social networks

image credit: completeinnovator

Social Media: Sites or Souls?

2009-09-17T09:31:00.015-04:00

Social media gives us the chance to meet people quickly. We can collect friends, connections and followers like trinkets.

We can lose an opportunity to make a new friend or colleague.

Let's dump tools, toys and websites and focus on our ability to navigate a conversation.

Widgets and Digits

Think about how much time you spend corresponding with people through tools: email, phone, text, social networking and all the other detached ways you converse. Now quantify how much of each day you spend in that sphere.

Then calculate how much face-to-face actual personal connection time you have each day. Then compare the two numbers.

Technical vs. Personal

Everyone in your network took at least a second to decide whether they would join your community or not. It's up to you to figure out if they will become part of the silent majority or an actual friend or colleague or client.

How much time do you spend on building actual personal relationships?

@knealemann
Let's create experiences, not campaigns

image credit: best-catcare.com

Let's Talk. For Real!

2009-09-16T00:00:00.005-04:00

Passion Rules

I love talking with business owners – especially ones who own small to medium sized companies. They are tirelessly passionate for what they do and they really do want to make a difference. So if you own your own company. let's chat some time.

Do What You Want

If you live in a part of the world where it is even possible to venture out on your own, hang your proverbial shingle and build something from scratch, count yourself lucky. It is terrifying and exciting all in one.

As we dig ourselves out of this world economic crisis it is my belief that the right brain economy will emerge – where creative ideas will seize the day – and small to medium sized businesses will find success by working together.

A Bag of Rice and A Goat

There was a time when two people who wanted to do business would find something they could trade. I may have the skills to fix the roof of your house and you may have a vegetables to give me for my dinner table.

Even in the world of social networking and digital marketing, portable everything and instant anything, we still need home repairs and food on the table. The future of commerce lies in our ability to find companies and individuals who we can work with to share and merge and compliment skill sets.

Death, Taxes and Finding Customers

There may are only three certainties in life. Have a look around at your network – all of it. There are people who can help you, there are people who need your help.

So send me an email and let's chat.
Let me know how I can help you.

knealemann.at.gmail.com

@knealemann
Let's create experiences, not campaigns

image credit: pendyman.com

Social Media and Small Business

2009-09-15T00:21:00.015-04:00

Misunderstandings

It is fascinating to listen to the discussion surrounding social
media in regards to the view
of some that it is a fad and to
others that it is a quick fix.

It is neither.

Now What?

So you’ve been dabbling in social media. You have a Facebook profile with a few hundred friends and perhaps you’re now on Twitter. You aren’t interested in blogging or webinars; YouTube is fun to watch but you don’t want your own channel and now you wonder if it’s time to introduce the company you work for or own to this space.

This is Business

Your social media commitment must be completely in line with your strategic objectives. You wouldn’t treat any other part of your company with this type of haphazard approach so it is not wise to do so in the social networking space. In fact, it can hurt you.

No Time - Don't Bother

Companies can get caught up in their own ‘too busy’ mentality and let things slide. Social media is not something to do ‘when you have some time’ – make time for it or you won’t see the benefits. Watch that it doesn't take too much of your time either. Yes, it is a delicate dance.

In a previous life I would consult radio stations that didn't have the money or people but wanted to do a lot of fancy things on their website to actually do very little. Do it right or don’t bother.

Hey! There Are Humans In Here!

And you will need patience and all those other traits that make you a bright business person. It’s tricky to resist the temptation to use the social web as a giant advertising medium but figure out a way to curb that desire.

Social media is not a campaign and your company will not gain millions in revenue after a handful of tweets – though there are a couple of stories where this has happened, those are rare. And if you aren’t willing to pay attention to how people interact with your company online, this may be a struggle for you.

Metrics and Missteps

Oh yes, and this is paramount. Grasp this immediately. Metrics are not the same as the ‘sleep at night’ estimates from other mediums. Just because you put up a billboard at the corner of East and South Sts., doesn’t mean anyone saw your message. That is the same with social media, it takes time and commitment.

It Begins Within

You need a corporate champion. If someone in your organization is committed to online social networking, you can begin to be a part of the conversation where your customers and potential customers may be as well.

Focus the Funnel

There are many social networking spaces but it’s difficult to keep profiles and contact on each because of the law of diminishing results. You simply don’t have the time!

Pick the channels you want and do them well. Skip the rest.

Congratulations if you are in the space with your business. If you haven’t but are thinking about it, have a blast!

@knealemann
Let's create experiences, not campaigns

This Weekend: PodCamp Montreal

image credit: openrain.com

Are You Multi-Medium?

2009-09-12T10:45:00.018-04:00

Did You Get My Email?

I was emailing someone the other day and realized it was the first time we had corresponded that way in months. There had been land line calls, cell calls, texts, Twitter DMs, Skype and probably even notes via Facebook. Sometimes all in one day. But we hadn’t sent an email to each other in ages.

Have you experienced the multi-medium conversation? You may not even stop to think about how you are communicating because the message is more important than the gadget.

Where is this all going?

At best guess, the Universe is about 14 billion years old and humans have been on earth for about 200,000 years. So the latest iPhone app may not be a big deal in 100 years, or even 100 days. Sorry!

Millennial Influences

In 1999, A&E produced an outstanding series featuring the one hundred more influential people of last millenium.

The list included the famous and infamous, the evil and angelic, inventors and politicians, sculptors and philosophers. It spanned from Martin Luther King Jr. to Nicolas Copernicus and Michelangelo Buonarroti to Bill Gates.

Human Networking

From caves to 3G networks, what remains most important is our ability to communicate. My wonder about email seems rather silly now.

And if you didn’t see the A&E series, any guesses on the most influential person of the last millenium?

It was Johannes Gutenberg who introduced the printing press to the world around 1450. His invention revolutionized communication and helped increase literacy.

What is your favored medium of communication?

@knealemann
Let's create experiences, not campaigns

image credits: domaindlx.com | apple.com | mnsu.edu

9/11: Where Were You?

2009-09-11T06:45:00.007-04:00

August 27, 2001: I confirm my flight time for an upcoming trip to NYC on the 11th, booked on the 8am flight.

August 31-September 2, 2001: I enjoy a weekend with friends at a cottage and inform them of my upcoming trip. My buddy Mike suggests the two of us should do the trip some time and enjoy some Yankees’ games and bad food.

September 5, 2001: After a pretty busy summer of travel, I decide to cancel the NYC trip. The decision is to reschedule in a few weeks.

September 11, 2001

8:13: American Airlines Flight 11 bound for Los Angeles has its last routine communication with the FAA's air traffic control center in Boston.

8:14: Flight 11 fails to heed instructions to climb to 35,000 feet.

8:14: United Airlines Flight 175 departs from Boston Logan airport, also bound for LA.

8:21 Flight 11's transponder signal is turned off but plane remains on radar screens as a blip without additional information.

8:25: Boston Center flight controllers alert other flight control centers regarding Flight 11.

8:30: Management meeting begins on time as usual. Anyone late has to buy coffee and donuts for the dozen or so in the room. There’s a lot to cover as all three of our radio stations have just entered big ratings periods. We will need to review some budget items as well.

8:46: Flight 11 crashes into the north face of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

8:51: Hijacking begins on Flight 77.

8:54: Flight 77 deviates from its assigned course turning south over Ohio.

8:56: Our news director gets a call and quickly leaves the room. Our General Manager wonders why he's interupting but keeps the meeting moving along.

8:58: Flight 175 takes a heading toward New York City.

9:03: Flight 175 crashes in to the south face of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

9:10: Our news director returns to inform us that the aircraft that hit the World Trade Center which was originally thought to be a twin-engine plane was actually a commercial jet. Meeting over. We race to the nearest television and watch as if we are viewing a horror film.

9:13: We suddenly grasp the gravity of the situation and move in to action. Three radio stations, three studios and ours half a block away on the street level.

9:15: Bush leaves the classroom and enters another one commandeered by the Secret Service.

9:28: Hijackers storm the cockpit on Flight 93 and take over the flight. The entry of the hijackers is overheard by flight controllers at Cleveland.

9:29: President Bush makes his first public statements about the attacks in front of an audience of about 200 teachers and students at the elementary school.

9:32: Our morning show producer dials up news feeds while five of us each grab a computer and start to dig for information.

9:35: Flight 93 reverses direction over Ohio and starts flying eastwards.

9:36: Based on a report that Flight 77 had turned again and was circling back toward the District of Columbia.

9:43: The White House and the Capitol are evacuated and closed.

9:45: United States airspace is shut down.

9:48: Our studio is full of people trying to gather as much information as possible. It’s numbing to be in the media while the world is panicking. The usually busy Yonge Street in downtown Toronto is virtually abandoned.

9:53: CNN confirms a plane crash at the Pentagon.

9:57: Passenger revolt begins on Flight 93.

9:59: The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

10:01: A brief silence – which felt like an hour – fell over the studio. Our morning team held it together but thoughts of leaving to find loved ones overwhelmed us all. Something made us all stay and do what we could.

10:03: United Airlines Flight 93 is crashed by its hijackers southeast of Pittsburgh.

10:10: Part of the west side of the Pentagon collapses.

10:15: We turn our radio station over to the CNN feed and let the experts take over. Our morning team makes sporatic local announcements over the next hour.

10:28: The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

10:50: Five stories of part of the Pentagon collapse due to the fire.

11:30: Our morning team goes on the air with fresh information from a local perspective. There are concerns that many of the Toronto landmarks would be targets – including the world’s tallest free standing structure – The CN Tower.

11:55: The border between the U.S. and Mexico is on highest alert.

4:28: I return to my office and notice my voice mail light is flashing. The electronic voice says “You have 52 new messages”. Among them were concerned listeners, all of my cottage buddies who hadn’t heard I cancelled my NYC trip, my entire immediate family and two friends I hadn’t seen in years. The office was eerily quiet. I was numb. The world was numb.

4:51: I realize that if I had taken that 8am flight to NYC, I would have landed at LaGuardia at around 9am and watched it all unfold in the airport or perhaps worst, in the back of a cab on the bridge into Manhattan.

Lost friends reunited, the important things became important again and the next month was a blur for everyone. Eight years later, the topic of September 11th, 2001 still comes up almost on a weekly basis.

What have we learned?
What has improved?
What has changed?

@knealemann
Let's create experiences, not campaigns

Three Smart Dudes. Read On.

2009-09-09T01:11:00.011-04:00

If you spend any time in the social web and more specifically in the marketing or digital silos, you have heard of these three engaging guys.

Trust Agents

Julien Smith, a funny honest tell it exactly like it is podcaster and writer who engages everyone he meets. When I met him I instantly liked him. I’ve heard that said about him often.

Chris Brogan who has been carrying the torches of sharing and helping for a very long time. Way before most of us had heard of places like Twitter and Facebook, Chris had harnessed how to use these spaces to build brands including his own New Marketing Labs.

Six Pixels of Separation

Mitch Joel is the smart engaging president of Twist Image – a digital marketing firm with offices in Montreal and Toronto, Canada. Mitch has 34 jobs and produces a daily blog that makes ‘traditional’ published columnists weep. He is the definition of a connector with equal parts maven and salesman.

Chris and Julien released their new book Trust Agents last month and it is already a bestseller. No surprise. If you’re wondering what all this sharing and trusting stuff is all about – buy a copy, buy one for a friend, buy one for everyone in the office.

Mitch released Six Pixels of Separation yesterday. Joel is a mastermind of the digital space. He gets the gadgets but more importantly embraces the content and even more importantly the humans that make it.

Put on your to-do list: "Buy several copies of Six Pixels of Separation".

Chris, Mitch and Julien are also one half of a regular podcast group called Media Hacks which is a free download so do that immediately.

Don't Just Think, Do

I have had the pleasure of spending time with all three of these talented men and they are the real deal, they are forward thinkers and most importantly they are forward doers!

I don't get a dime for this post so why am I doing it? Because Mitch Joel, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith have taught me by their own actions that if you work your ass off and honestly help others you will navigate this world with much greater ease.

And now they have written it all down and recorded audio versions too.

Read On...

@knealemann
Let's create experiences, not campaigns

Call Me In September

2009-09-07T10:18:00.009-04:00

It begins with the usual signs. Traffic is a bit more congested on the way to the office in the morning. Ah yes, school is back and the unofficial end of summer is upon us. Depending on your region or level, school goes back on different dates but school is back for everyone as of tomorrow. It is Labor Day in the U.S. and Canada and there is no denying it – school is on.

Fall is on its way in North America. It’s September, a month of transition and rites of passage. It is a time to remember school summers of yore or the one that just passed. It is the month that turns summer in to autumn and projects in to deadlines.

Ah yes, dear sweet September. Call me after Labor Day and we can discuss it. Let’s revisit that in September. A month filled with many expectations and new beginnings.

As we gaze upon the Halloween displays in stores and thousands of additional cars on the way to work, reality sets in.

But let’s remember with fondness, the lazy hazy days of call me in September.

@knealemann
Let's create experiences, not campaigns

Communications: Bark Speak Meow

2009-09-03T07:15:00.008-04:00

Speak to the dog, about what matters to the dog in the language of the dog
Jeff Eisenberg

True open honest collaboration is something that many enjoy. It can be a rare experience but magical when it works. This is where the entire team is working as a team.

There are no hidden agendas and everyone at the table is able to put aside the temptation of promoting their cause or business for the purpose of the team.

Woof Woof

Eisenberg reminds us that we need to read the room and talk to what matters to the room. It’s not enough to show people our skill set without applying it to their situation.

What Do You Think Of Me?

If we can put our agenda aside in place of those we are helping, we will be much further ahead. Our experience is drawn upon daily but understand it is in context with someone else’s need. And we do the same.

What barks you?

@knealemann
Let's create experiences, not campaigns

image credit: worth1000.com