THINKing

Brands Need A Home

Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com

Many brands are investing a lot of time and money into social networks, almost to the point of ceding control to another entity. It’s time to rethink this.

7 Strategies For Employee Communication Through Social Media – Part 1

Market Successfully In Today’s Interactive Environment

I just did a session called Market Successfully In Today’s Interactive Environment for the Bank of Commerce’s School of Commerce (SOC). The SOC is designed to help independently owned businesses with the key challenges they have, ranging from financing to marketing.

How Is Social Media Like A Mullet?

Photo: Copyright 2001 Columbia Pictures

When you live in the South you sometimes still see the male hairstyle known as the mullet. As Joe Dirt said in the movie by the same name, a mullet is “business in the front, party in the back.” And that is how social media is like a mullet: it’s both business and personal.

Top 15 Uses For QR Codes

Have you been seeing funny looking images like the one above popping up in stores? This is called a QR code or Quick Response Code. They are great tools for connecting the real and the digital worlds. Microsoft has a competing technology called tags. My prediction: it loses.

Real Life – The True Beneficiary Of Social Media

I was having a discussion last night with a friend who doesn’t get social media. He says he feels like a voyeur when seeing things his friends post. I can understand that to a point because some people do overshare their lives.

Too Much Social, Not Enough Sales?

Is social media wearing you out and getting in the way of your real work? It’s not bad enough that you have to keep up with a blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Friendfeed, Youtube and maybe Plaxo, but every day I’m being asked to join yet another social network. There are hundreds of them, it seems. I’ve said no to Viadeo, no to Friendster, no to MySpace, and by-bye to Goodreads.

Your Online Privacy Is Your Responsibility

OK, I’m going to say it and hack off some folks: your privacy is not Facebook’s responsibility, nor the government’s. Just like earning a living, supporting your family, taking care of your health, paying your bills on time, and raising your children to be productive citizens, ensuring your privacy online is your responsibility.

#tweeta20 – That’s A Wrap

Well, #tweeta20 – the social media project designed to raise awareness and funds for Thompson Child & Family Focus -  is behind us now and I think it was a success. I think we raised more awareness of the good work that Thompson does than we did money. Although we raised at least $4,000 via social media at last count.

Tweeta20 – A Non-Profit Social Media Pilot Project

On Tuesday, May 11, nine Charlotte social media folks and I will spend an hour trying to raise money for Thompson Child & Family Focus, an organization that has spent nearly 125 years providing education, treatment and support for children traumatized by sexual abuse, domestic violence or rampant neglect.