Oct 2, 2008 | blog
Sometimes I spend time just generating ideas for blog posts, and they make it into this list or that notebook (though you couldn’t tell by my current lack of posts ;). While I can’t claim this idea is original, I do indeed want to share this list – I’ll probably not use them in the near term and it may be inspiration to someone to write a great post that I’d love to read.
So without further rambling, here is a list of 50 blog post ideas (kinda heavy on social media), for you to take and repurpose for your needs.
- Working your social media juju
- Training your ninjas
- How organizations can’t succeed with the social web
- How organizations can succeed with the social web
- Why don’t we "offshore" to middle America?
- Looking for the fast buck? Try looking for fast customer satisfaction instead.
- Don’t wait for your brand to succeed, make it succeed
- Internet Rock Stars and other fairy tales
- Like the A-List? It gets even better on the Z-List
- Don’t read the news, make the news
- Your time is now
- Success is defined by those wishing to achieve it
- Success doesn’t define you, you define success
- Social media is like good BBQ, mmmm
- Have a product? Build a community.
- Blog your way to a better job
- Yes, it’s easy to say…
- It isn’t about social media, it’s about being social
- Why social media isn’t about selling anything
- Building a better branded you
- Host an event – here’s how!
- Social Media Ninja – Tools of the Trade
- Wishing is good – doing is better
- Walk tall, blog proud
- Taking the work out of blog ideas – 100 topics for your blog
- Personal Brand: It is about you
- Corporations and Facebook: They do mix
- Getting Buy-In from the Mail Room: Why it’s important to include people who do real work
- Hosting an event? Check in with these folks.
- I’m not dead, I just don’t blog
- You’re Dad’s blogging – what do you do now?
- Things social medians could learn from an old-time community social
- Your Grandparents Were Social Media Gurus – Here’s Why
- Busy? Just press pause.
- We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.
- Are you a social giver or a media taker? Here’s how to find out.
- A bridge to nowhere – the promise of social media that was.
- Social Media’s Red Light District – Beware
- Following the white rabbit of social media
- Brand identification – why your picture is important
- When it rains in social media land, do you build an ark?
- Giving 100 ideas away
- But wait! There’s more!
- Things I wish I had known when I started blogging
- Things I wish I had known when I started social networking
- Corporate social media and other oddities
- Changing the focus of your blogs topic
- There’s a blog post in here somewhere
- Wishing isn’t as good as doing
- Social Media Success Stories from the Road
If you don’t mind, I’d love a link back to this post or my blog if you use one of the titles verbatim, if only so I can follow up and read yours. Don’t sweat it if you don’t want to. Have fun!
Oct 2, 2008 | blog
Wondering when an online-oriented event is going to pop up in your area? Why don’t you make it happen?
While “social media†is every today, it’s as important as ever to get face 2 face with folks you know online. The adage “it’s not what you know, but who you know†is as true today as it was to previous generations. While technology is tearing down the barriers of time & distance, as humans, we crave real-time interaction.
Being an organizer of events in your town or city has some advantages – you get to pick topics that are interesting to you, you get to help get people involved, but mostly you get to meet lots of people. That’s probably the biggest reward of all the work that goes into these things.
The other thing is simply getting things started. Why wait for someone to get things started – you could be that person. It’s not hard, and I know that most everyone that’s worked on getting organizing and hosting events would be happy to share some tips to making it all happen.
Are you ready to start something?
Photo credit: Katie Blanch
Sep 11, 2008 | blog
Looking forward to the next Social Media Breakfast? So are we! We’ll be meeting at the Best Buy headquarters in Richfield, MN again this time and will welcome the co-founder of Blue Shirt Nation, Gary Koelling who’s going to share some stories and background on Best Buy social media initiatives like BSN, Gift Tag and so on.
We’ll also talk about social media “Purists” vs. “Corporatists” in the enterprise, take a quick look at the SMBMSP social media site on Ning, and hear from ThreeVolts about web video. We’ll see you there!
Agenda:
- Gary Koelling, co-founder of Best Buy’s BlueShirtNation will talk about BSN and GiftTag
- Group question: Social Media “Purists” vs. the “Corporatists” in the enterprise. What’s your take?
- Three Volts will talk about web video and it’s use by companies
- Conferences – Who’s going and why (BlogWorld Expo, DEMO, Defrag, SXSW)
- Local event/meetup update – what’s coming up & details on SMBMSP8.
- Announcement: We have a bacon sponsor!!!
Breakfast sponsored by:
Chat:
http://www.meebo.com/room/smbmsp/
I’m hoping his works for the remotes and us behind a firewall at SMB – any other ideas or suggestions?
Video:
http://www.mogulus.com/smpmsp
Please note that we’re using the Meebo chat listed above rather than the embedded Mogulus chat. Sorry for any inconvenience!
Social Media Breakfast & Social Media Club
Local conversations, with national connections!
Aug 28, 2008 | blog
It’s a new field where there are no experts; no real training for classification or certification, and it’s difficult for folks participating in it to explain how it works. It’s not a lawless field where anything goes, but the cowboys still roam the prairie where social media grazes. Christopher S. Penn describes the problem and the process quite well in his post How to Become a Social Media Expert, comparing social media to the nuances of martial arts training – pretty good analogy in my book.
Since there are no real experts with years of schooling and experience, how does a company find a community manager? Heck, how do they determine what they’re looking for – most companies really don’t even know exactly what they need. Several are starting to here “community manager†more in relation to social media, and I suppose it does make a bit of sense to the average hiring manager.
As I’ve been looking around in this space as a consultant myself, I’ve noticed a bit of mislabeling, and misunderstanding of what these positions do. They can range from being a glorified forum moderator, to the public figurehead of the company in social media circles. The vagueness and inconsistency is frustrating to both those looking to move into these jobs, and the companies who realize they need someone to fill this indefinable niche they have.
Normally, a company would hire a consultant to help define the needs, address the process, and sometimes assist in filling the role. The problem though is… aren’t consultants experts and there really aren’t any social media experts? Catch 22 huh?
Some firms are looking internally and finding candidates in their existing staff. This could be anyone from marketing, to information technologies, to human resources (and beyond). Sometimes it’s easy to get noticed and get in front of the right people. Other businesses are going for the big guns and hiring out consultants from the A-List to assist them in their social web endeavors.
At least, several of the A-List actually have participated in building, shaping, and forming the concepts of the social web through the work of Cluetrain and their own pieces through the years. This is a great place to start, even for organizations with small budgets – many of the thought leaders in social media give away really good information for companies to start from.
So in this nascent “industryâ€, there is confusion on both the side of organizational need and individual growth in social media. The next step for those mastering the dark arts of the social web is to be bold, go forth, do good things, and prove that you have the vision and understanding. Both to the founding concepts of Cluetrain and to the fiscal responsibilities of corporations that want to participate in, not control, the message.
Photo credit: .mw
Aug 27, 2008 | blog
What are you doing right now? Are you moving forward, stagnating or slipping backward? Why wait to launch your biz, your idea, your brand? Why wait to spend time with your family or call your parents back?
There’s no better time than the present to do something.
Right now you could be:
- Building something new
- Spending time with your kids
- Finishing a project
- Outside
- Helping a friend in need
- Building a website
- Mowing the grass
- Working on a community project
- Reaching out to someone
- Stimulating the economy
- Supporting your local charities
- Practicing your golf swing
- Taking responsibility
- Yielding to pedestrians
- Taking your family on vacation
- Applying for that position or job you want
- Visiting a elderly relative
- Taking the stairs
- Finishing several projects
- Saving money
- Getting away from the computer for awhile
- Fishing
- Building your personal brand
- Returning that phone call
- Taking steps to become the person you want to be
What I really want to convey is the reality that there is no better time to do something for yourself, your family, your community, your country, or the world than right now.
Inspired by Van Halen’s Right Now
Photo credit: Pat Rioux
