First I should complain at myself for not keeping up with my blogging – I get a great start and then I slack off because other things always seem to take priority. But I promise I will get better – so stayed tuned things have been bottled up and it could really get crazy with all this venting going on…
Over the past few months I have heard some pretty crazy stuff. I have had people get frustrated, sound fearful and make bizarre claims about social media, as if it is the demise of the universe as we know it.
The universe?
No.
Traditional Media?
Maybe… talk to me in 10 years, maybe sooner.
Here are a few random comments and I will keep it to 3:
Social Media can help you attain your goals:
Does any of this sound so bad?
Social Media is hardly the Anti-Christ, destroyer of all we know as reasonable today, but it may be the transformer or catalyst that moves us into a next level of how we receive and PARTICIPATE in delivering information.
Here are some other truths:
Social Media allows just about anybody to have an opinion, type it into a computer and let the world see it. Like it or not.
Traditionally, we were SPOKEN TO, fed or preached to… a writer from our newspaper, a reporter from a TV or radio station, someone that told us the NEWS.
Only sometimes from their perspective, it was really opinion, based on the reporters “take on things.” It’s amazing how many few GREAT, true journalists were in my life, but even they had to rely on information from others and had to translate it.
If you are my age, you have memories before the 24 hour news cycle of cable TV and pressures related to get stories to the listening public – sometimes before checking facts, making sure that the information is accurate.
What social media does is, it invites YOU to participate. For example: Did you see a tornado and take a quick amateur video of it? Did you go to an event that no traditional media reporters was able to attend, but you were there with your camera?
And how about your own business?
You know it best.
You know YOU best.
Social Media helps you control your message and support other marketing/advertising you may be doing, your website, your promotions, it answers the questions the customers ask “Why should I spend my ‘hard earned’ at your company, on your product?” You get to ask what is important to your customer YOURSELF and answer those questions DIRECTLY and be in control.
It isn’t narcissistic, it is reality. Yeah you get to “toot your own horn” and what is wrong with that? If you don’t believe in yourself and what you do, then why bother? Your passion is hard to translate expecting others to do it for you in your way also takes time and energy – why not use that time and energy to make the tools of social media work for YOU!
I recently washed my car by hand and I was horrified. OTHER THAN MY OFFICE, if you ask any of my friends, many of them will tell you that I park away from people, I often find a spot and take the stroll into the place I am going, stretching my legs and there is no one parked around me-for several spaces. Often my car looks like an orphan out in a lonely part of the parking lot.
I wonder if anyone has ever done a sociological parking study? Why do people park where they do?
Many times I will come back out to the parking lot and there my car will be way out in “the back forty” with several cars parked next to it and all around it. Nobody I know, but people insist on bunching up, next to me – who knows why? (No smart remarks, I am not thinking I attract people or anything like that.)
When I handwashed my car I found dings, digs and huge long scratches that I had never noticed before. Nothing serious, but still, it is my car, I try my darndest to avoid people swinging doors into the side and scraping along the side of it and it seems impossible. Part of me would like to install a camera around it so I could catch people, the other part of me would like to have a large pail of stinky chicken manure and launch it onto the person that does this stuff !
Anybody got any ideas? How do I deal with this without getting sued for spreading manure on the assailant of my car.
The days when kids could ride their bike anywhere and not worry about getting harassed or kidnapped? The days when nobody you knew was allergic to peanut butter?
The days when you worked hard, appreciated your job and if your superiors didn’t “speak your language” or tell you every move that they made, you just went about YOUR job and just hoped that the company was doing well enough, they might give you a turkey at Thanksgiving?
I have a friend that called me the other day and said, “I don’t get it. I don’t think my employees read the paper. I don’t think they have a clue or care about how hard we battle every day for their paychecks. How much health insurance is going to go up this year…” (You get my drift.)
Obviously, he was distressed and frustrated. I cannot say that I blame him. This is kind hearted, hard working man has grown his business over the years, through some very challenging times. In a company meeting they expressed to him how “if the company would do this” or the company “would do that” and perhaps if the company would appreciate them more, then maybe they would be happier working there. They would want to do their jobs better.
WOW! Unless you have been under a rock, did anyone realize that having a job with good people around you, should make you happy? And sometimes when people are “TOO HAPPY” nothing gets done, no one’s eye is on the ball, customers aren’t served and products aren’t produced well.
I cannot blame him for just wanting to fire the few voices that expressed this in their meeting. In this time of small business owners juggling balls to keep customers happy, payroll and health insurance going, it does make you crazy when an employee thinks the only care of the company should be THEM and their personal quirks. For the record we do care, but you need to care, about your company and your job too.
Owning and running a business is complex. Keeping all the plates spinning is tough. But remaining focused on what your role is as an employee or an owner is vital to happy customers and long term health of the company. NOBODY I know wants their employees miserable or to feel unsafe or harassed in the workplace. But we need you to trust us that we truly care about you, your well being, your personal growth, your family issues.
We don’t always make the right decisions, but we make HONEST ones with information that is not necessary to share each and every detail with each and every employee. If we did that, then we wouldn’t need the time to worry about your paychecks or your health insurance, because we would be CLOSED.
f4pderyc5t
Subject: I hate being deceived!
Issue: I am from Maine. I love Maine. I am all about local – before it was COOL to support local. So when the battle cry came out late last summer to buy lobsters from Maine lobsterman – we did. We like lobster, but we started having it more often and served it to more people, made it in many different ways. Here is a little html file to give you an idea of the situation of the lobstermen. Later on, there were a bunch of other late adopters started talking about the price of lobster being in the $3/# range, (while diesel prices were through the roof). But getting this word out was good. So again, we were reminded to continue to eat Maine lobster as part of the weekly meal routine.
New Year’s Eve 2008. We decide to make lobster- it seemed perfect. The price had climbed up to $4.50/#. When I was at the Deli Counter looking into the lobster tank, I saw a sign over it stating as follows:
“insert store name here, is a long-time supporter of communities where we operate. In Maine, the lobster industry is faced with tough times. insert store name here, is doing it’s part to lower our lobster prices for our customers to enjoy.”
So I proudly ordered the guys up and I even bought a few extra to make a lobster stew after. I felt so patriotic, I practically whistled the Maine State Song on my way out the door. (Here are the lyrics, I am not kidding!)
I got home and started cooking the lobster. They need to be cooked LIVE , (if you didn’t know, they look green when they are ALIVE), so I started right away, the water boiling and dropped them into the pot. We ate them- they were tasty.
Lobsters are banded to protect them from going after each other, pinching you and also for ID purposes. I noticed the bands that came off of more that a couple of the lobsters, read “PRODUCT OF CANADA.”
I was dumbfounded.
Let the record show, I love Canada and I love Canadians. They are our neighbors after all, and I have great friends from there. If you want Maine Lobsters and they are truly Maine lobsters, go here or here. Just in case there is a shortage of Maine lobsters, or if you want to make sure the ones you are getting are from the Gulf of Maine, they both will help get you what you order.
BUT – I felt duped, used, betrayed, whatever you call it. I feel even worse for the Maine Lobsterman. I went back to the insert store name here, to take a photo of the sign I had read and if I hadn’t done it quickly, they were not going to let me take the photo in the first place. I needed permission – apparently. Now oddly enough, I have tried to upload the photo I took of the sign to this blog and the insert photo option on blogger doesn’t seem to be working either!
What I said in my head: I have to ask permission to take a photo of a sign in a public place? You don’t have to ask permission to screw me in a public place?
What a country! (Perhaps I should start singing Oh Canada! (I even know the words) when I leave insert store name here…but I won’t be going back.
Issue: Our Government certainly knows how to gather information from us, by tapping phones, poising cameras in places no one knows about, etc. but they are so provincial when it comes to THEIR information…excuse me, we paid for it, it is OURS! Isn’t this all in the name of protecting Americans?
The Spy Factory- I came home from teaching tonight to watch the only thing that was worth my time to watch. If I could give you an exact link I would, only the MPBN website has some pathetic pop-up and I cannot pass it on to you.
We all expect for our tax dollars that we get certain things. Here in lies the thesis of the story. The idea that we (the American public) doesn’t REQUIRE these agencies to TALK to each other and collaborate in order to PROTECT us is truly a mystery to me.
What I say in my head – what is the deal that NSA/CIA/FBI dont share information because of their egos? We lost 3000 + people, in the World Trade Center who really is to blame?
Subject: “Look out for that TRUCK!”
Issue: PEDESTRIANS, crosswalks, snowbanks & cell phones!
In Maine we have a law like many other states that Pedestrians in crosswalks have the right of way. In my city (Bangor), we have a downtown that has a few roads that are particularly hazardous with people just walking across the road aimlessly. Let’s pick on Harlow Street for example, the post office, the federal courthouse, the library and a “pay to park” lot all in about a block.
Many times folks appear out of no where, not on a crosswalk, sneaking out between 2 SUV’s so you don’t see them until they are RIGHT in front of you. Most of us try to avoid the street all together, but sometimes you just cannot. And now we have snowbanks on other streets that are creating, what Justin in my office refers to as “snowbank peek-a-boo” on top of it all.
Monday I was crawling through there and this guy wanders out into the street, with his cell phone up to his ear into the path of a truck – I don’t know how he didn’t get hit. The driver jammed on his breaks and hit the horn.
Guess what happened then? YEP! The pedestrian flipped the driver off!
What I say in my head:
WTF?
Subject: “I don’t have time to play on the computer ALL day?”
Issue: People claim to not have time to try social media.
I am never sure why or what context that makes people say “I am not good with computers…” or “I cannot do myspace, twitter, Linked-In it’s a waste of time “or whatever software it is they haven’t even tried.
Have they REALLY tried? Have they bothered? One of the reasons people use these things is so you can learn new ways to communicate with people. Learn new technology and oh, btw it is FREE. No pay out to learn and have others help you learn.
I come from an era where learning something new almost always comes with pain. You fall off your bike, you fall down on skis, your math teacher makes the class boring, you get the drill. But this can be fun and I know what you are saying, “Then I cannot be learning.”
If you are in business today, we all need to know how to communicate differently and the further out in the countryside your business is, the more vital learning these tools.
People don’t bother to make the phone call to visit. And hell, if they call you at work, “telemarketers” get hung up on and sales people get voice mail. The daily newspapers get thinner and thinner – so you know that NOBODY is reading them.
But when politicians have myspace, Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as have debates on YOU TUBE, what the HELL do you think THAT means?
You reach people, maybe?
I had a myspace party at my office last Fall and we had a great time! I am learning to use these tools myself. I had a couple friends (was actually about 10) that came over that wanted to learn. And I had a wonderful friend who is brought someone that KNEW what they were doing, and we put it on the flat screen monitor and LEARNED about it.
From that little workshop most all have active Facebook & Linked In accounts. They found those things work for them. Some are participating in blogs and some have blogs. So we did make some headway!
What I say in my head: In this economy, do you want to make ANY money? Reach out to new business? AND btw it isnt “PLAYING” it is about your business it is WORKING!
Subject: Middle of the night suicide thoughts- battles of Cathy Mitchell vs. Billy Mays.
Issue: It is bad enough when you wake up in the wee hours of the night and you cannot sleep, but to turn on the TV and find NOTHING but someone selling you the next way to make millions, or SPEND millions is really a drag. I MEAN EVERY channel! Opportunities for me are everywhere. I can buy a foreclosed property, clean out my colon, get rich with SMC, need a power wheelchair that I can get for free (FREE?) the list goes on and on. And seeing a sweaty Chuck Norris in his cut off T-shirt doesn’t work for me either – incidentally.
Over the winter, I wrote on my MySpace page a nightly chronicle of the various crap that was FOR SALE channel by channel. People thought I was crazy, but am I?
BUT the BIG WEINERS in the annoying category goes to:
What I say in my head: The scary thing is some people must be responding because they wouldn’t be on TV night after night if they weren’t making money.
I am a "40 something." I am too old to know how to understand text message talk, too young to retire. I am a social person, I believe that if we are not careful all this technology can remove me from the place I love best - being with and helping people. I like to hunt, fish, ski and hang out with my dogs. My dogs are like my kids. I like them better than I like many people.