Today is Jeremy's Wright's birthday. I know because my facebook page told me so. What did I do? Did I email Jeremy? Nope. Did I Twitter Jeremy? Nope. Did I Skype Jeremy? Nope. Did IM Jeremy? Nope. Nor did I call or send an eCard or a paper card. Did I wish him happy birthday to you on Diva Marketing? Nope.
I zipped over to his myface page and left a happy birthday wish on his wall. Last I looked 45 other friends had too.
Sidebar: The wall is where people hang out on your page. It's an on-going comment section. If you add a widget you can even post photos and videos. Some widgets let you draw pretty pictures. Wonder if one of the developers is an Emerson College alumni because the wall was were we hung out. Yup, the corner of Beacon and Arlington Streets.
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
Blogger Stories is a
special blog that I launched to tell the stories of how people have
been touched by blogs, podcasts, vlogs and other online interactions.
The virtual library has almost 90 "chapters" written by bloggers from all over the world.
The new chapters of Blogger Stories remind us that we are indeed living in a global world that spins smaller with each click of the mouse.
Sunny Cervantes wanted to share her marketing expertise with her fellow marketers in the Philippines. Malaysian-born legal thriller novelist Yang-May Ooi, based in the UK, wanted to promote her works. Blogs offered them the opportunity to do both .. but these women, from the same side of the world, found social media gave them more ..
Move over Philip Kotler, Al Ries and even Seth Godin. There's a
new marketing guru in town .. Paris Hilton.
The Learning Annex has offered Paris Hilton a cool million bucks to teach a one-hour "How to Build Your Brand" seminar. In a New York Post interview, TLA's President Bill Zaner called Paris Hilton a " ... brilliant entrepreneur."
We have a lot of people in small business, and where they need the most help is getting branded. Who is better at branding than Paris Hilton?"
Blooper! Either Bill Zanker was so excited about his newest prof or the New York Post's editor missed this one but it 's a great mid week giggle -"She's a businessman who has made this persona." Sidebar: If someone has the article send it to Jay Leno for his Highlight segment.
I'm betting it's the first time that Paris Hilton has been called a guy. But what the heck .. with an extra million she can buy some cute blink and a new pair of Jimmy Choos that will reinforce the brand that is a Paris Hilton .. marketing and branding prof. Female that is.
JetBlue raised the hopes of social media enthusiasts when David Neeleman, founder and chief executive, drop his apology for the airline's Valentine Day Fiasco on YouTube. The blogosphere was a buzz that JetBlue had sipped the Kool Aid and was joining the conversation along with its colleagues at Southwest Airlines.
Didn't happen. In fact, Mister Neeleman recently was asked by his board to step down. Reinforcing that, no matter how sincere, a social media tactic can not fix a company's internal challenges.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal (subscription may be needed) new CEO Dave Barger passed along some lessons learned. "Yes, but apologize and then get on with it. What I heard from so many customers was, 'Thank you for the apology, stop apologizing, go fix it.' "
However, perhaps there is a social media strategy in JetBlue's future after all. This sidebar from the WSJ's article reflects why any company should consider engaging in a continuous conversation with customers, employees and constituents.
Love this snippet from the interview; although taken out of context it should be on the quote wall of every marketer, CEO and business leader. " ... don't be afraid to experiment.
They're not all going to be successful, but if you don't experiment,
you can become stagnant." Dave Barger
Perhaps Dave Barger's 3 Tips should be added to Drew McLellan's Blogger's Toolbox post. Check it out there are some great links and information. Toss of a pink boa
to Lewis Green for including Diva Marketing in his list of blogger's tools and for his off the top too kind words! Toby may be the best blogger I know. She mixes styles, covers lots of good material and reaches out to feature as many bloggers as she can.
By the way, Technorati ranks
Diva Marketing (this week) at 1516 out of 86.6 million blogs tracked.
Oh and also at 4786 .. seems they're pulling in 2 feeds. Curious to
know what ranking would be if both feeds were combined.
Lessons Learned: In keeping with the toolbox suggestions - one question that frequently comes up is, "How do you get readers? And how do you get readers to return?" One suggestion, from back to basic marketing 101, own a positioning. For many bloggers that develops organically over time. For example, for Divo Lewis Green that is becoming ethics and service. In this virtual world more than one blogger can claim a space. Wayne Hurlbert has built his reputation on ethics as well.
For Marianne Richmond it's all about the analysis, for Sybil Stershic it's internal employee care, TDavid's world is techy all the way, CK is the diva of creating online relationships. You get the picture. What positioning does your blog own? Or what would you like to be know for and how can you make it happen?
For JetBlue it might be about how to hug your customers while not loosing sight of the service aspects.
Mister Barger, will you take your own advise and experiment with a strategy that can support your communication vision?
Remember: They're not all going to be successful, but if you don't experiment,
you can become stagnant."
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
Blogger Stories is a
special blog that I launched to tell the stories of how people have
been touched by blogs, podcasts, vlogs and other online interactions.
The virtual library has almost 90 "chapters" written by bloggers from all over the world.
Toby's Blogger Stories project demonstrates once again the strongest reason for continuing to blog for years on end - the extraordinary people you meet by joining the community. BL Ochman
The new chapters of Blogger Stories are told by an author of five books (working on number 6) who owned a publishing company, a talented new writer who is working on his first novel and a woman who is blogging from what many would call paradise .. the island of Providenciales in Turks & Caicos.
There's a new tag meme in town. Well actually it's been going 'round since February 2007 when the thinking blog came up with a new award: Thinking Blogger Award. At first glance it seems like an easy one to play along with .. no hard questions to mull over. Sidebar: Thanks to C.B. Whittemore for the research on the story behind the awards.
Participation rules for the Thinking Blogger Award
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think, 2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme 3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).
So when Bob Glaza, one reader at a time, honored me with the Thinking Blogger Award I thought .. hmm .. something I can do while sipping a John Daly
(which I think will become my newest fav summer drink) with little
thinking. Which was just fine with me girlfriend, especially on a
Hot'Lanta day.
But who to tag became a major thought process. There are too many wonderful, talented bloggers with more coming on every day. Actually, I'm thinking we should close the gates to the blogosphere for awhile and just get caught up before we allow more blogs in. But that's a post for another day. As C.B. Whittemore said in her Biz Blog Profile interview, " I wish I could read faster."
I'm giving my 5 Thinking Blogger Awards to 5 blogger with less than a 5 Google ranking today .. but will sooner than later have rankings to the virtual sky! In the words of Bob Glaza - "They change the focus of my lens. They challenge me with their points of view. In short, they make me think. They make me laugh, cry and alter my thought process - all good and worthy."
Why. Because. Sally Falkow asked if I would pass the word so I am.
The Society For New Communication Research and Marketwire launched a survey to determine how bloggers prefer to source and use news content. We want to find out if influential bloggers like yourself are
incorporating, or are planning to incorporate news on your blog and
also get your views on news sources.
There is a call out to all bloggers from all areas of the blogosphere to take the survey please and thank you. It's fairly painless and should take about 5 minutes or less.
The findings will be presented at a 2007 SNCR Symposium. What I don't know is how long it will be fielded nor do I know if participants will get a copy of the report .. or even a copy of the Executive Summary. Seems that SNCR would make that public but I don't know.
Here's where the marketer in me comes out .. SNCR and Marketwire do not have links to the survey on their sites. In fact, I couldn't find anything about the study on the SNCR site not even a media release. Guess it's the cobbler's child syndrome.
Update: Sally is going to ask SNCR to include the release on their site. She is also going to find out if Marketwire will share the Executive Summary with people who participate in the research. Thanks Sally!
Sidebar: The retro graphic was created, I guess in the 80's, for my dad's research company - Ellington Surveys. Click to see the "Girls" in their bell bottoms and smokes of choice. Yup, we've come a long way bebe! The cute lady in the yellow pantsuit tagged "Ann" (spelled wrong .. should be Anne) is my mom and of course Louis, or Mr. B he was fondly called is my dad.
Biz Blog Profiles! is a behind the scene look at how corporations, non profits, higher education institutions and the arts are using blogs to support their marketing goals.
Christine B. (CB) Whittemore, Director, In-Store Innovation Wear-Dated Carpet Fiber Solutia Inc., is passionate about ensuring the brand experience exceeds her customers' expectations. Understanding that social media could support traditional marketing efforts she launched Flooring The Consumer. CB's vision and creativity clearly demonstrates there are many ways to bring social media into an organization.
Wear-Dated is Solutia’s brand and warranty to the consumer for carpet made with our nylon 6,6 carpet fiber. It was created approximately 45 years ago in what seems like a very different place and time.
In 1962, the Arnold Constable Department Store in New York City was going out of business. The store had a long and proud history - Eleanor Roosevelt had been one of the many rich and famous who bought her clothes there. The store sold men's shirts with an interesting label in the collar area: if the shirt wore out before the date stamped on the label, a customer could return it and receive a full refund.
The store referred to the label as its "wear-dated" guarantee. Bob Born, from Chemstrand [Monsanto's/Solutia's first wholly owned subsidiary], liked the label idea and bought the rights to it. I love this creation story.
About Christine B. (CB) Whittemore
I started out with Monsanto in the Acrilan acrylic apparel division of Wear-Dated in 1993. In those days, we had a New York City office and worked closely with the garment trade. The office walls were covered with posters showcasing events that Wear-Dated had done in the sixties and seventies with the likes of Barbara Streisand. I remember hearing that at one point the whole mezzanine level of Macy’s Times Square sold only Wear-Dated [polyester] apparel. Heady times!
From apparel, I went into the Wear-Dated upholstery business. Four years ago, I moved into the nylon 6,6 Wear-Dated carpet fiber business as director, in-store innovation.
Why Wear-Dated Is Blogging
Flooring The Consumer is my personal business blog. I started it because I wanted to be more involved in the evolution of marketing away from traditional mass approaches. At the same time, I felt a sense of urgency around getting the message out about marketing to women and improving the flooring retail experience. Getting articles published in our trade press took too long, and self-publishing via a blog – which I felt strongly was NOT – seemed like a wonderful solution. I want to elevate the existing lousy flooring experience and I hope someday to be able to direct [women] consumers to innumerable outstanding retailers for a memorable consumer experience!
Flooring The Consumer allows me to experiment with projecting a voice for Wear-Dated; it allows me to draw others from my team [sometimes kicking and screaming, other times enthusiastically] – e.g., Ann Hurley, Ben Jones, Marianne Cone and several of our Wear-Dated representatives. It also means connecting directly with those who share our passion for the consumer!
From a very practical perspective, Wear-Dated gets to be a thought leader where no one else in our industry does much outside of traditional approaches. Flooring The Consumer provides our field force with ammunition to get retailers thinking outside of their comfort zone; it supplements the training presentations that I’ve developed, and documents all of the nuggets of valuable insight and information that I run across.
How Blogging Fits Into Wear-Dated's Marketing Strategy
Oh, the plans I have! Seriously, blogging is here to stay. I’ve had fascinating discussions with associates in our corporate communications department about blogging, podcasting and generally incorporating the principles of Web 2.0 into the social media pressrooms we want to create. Being able to bring the example of Flooring The Consumer – and other business blogs – to the discussion really makes the opportunities and possibilities come alive.
Selling-In to Management
I remember bringing up the concept early on [1.5 or 2 years ago] and being looked at with skepticism. After all, blogs were a fad not worth wasting an iota of time on, right? Well, I decided to learn as much as possible on my own time. In early June 2006, I attended a Marketing Innovation Conference sponsored by Columbia Business School and Corante that fired me up, not only about blogging, but about web 2.0, the power of community and of conversation.
Just about everyone in the room blogged, and was accomplished [e.g., Brand Autopsy’ John Moore, John Winsor, Johnnie Moore, Lois Kelly, Constant Observer’s Tish Geier….]. A few weeks later I published my first post. I sent an email to everyone I knew internally and externally to announce my big event, and invite contributions.
After a few weeks, I created a press release on the blog. A few weeks later, I presented the blog to my associates, explaining how it worked and what it did and was surprised when they embraced it. But, actually walking them through it was critical. I internalized how foreign the concept of ‘blog’ is to the majority of the population [more so in some industries], making it important to hold people’s hands to get them acquainted with the richness of the medium.
Challenges Facing Developing Flooring The Consumer Blog
The biggest challenge is overcoming the initial technical pushback and the lack of understanding of blogs. Every so often I’ll send out a particularly relevant post via email to let people know [or remind them] about Flooring The Consumer.
I’ll circulate a press release, as appropriate. I encourage our Wear-Dated Reps to showcase positive flooring retail experiences on the blog and to let me know of particularly noteworthy retailers. I want to celebrate those who really get the customer experience! Whenever I conduct presentations, I make sure to talk about the blog and how to subscribe.
How Wear-Dated Promotes Flooring The Consumer Blog
Let’s see. I bring it up in conversation quite a bit as it captures what I am passionate about, and responsible for! After a training presentation on marketing to women, I refer attendees to the blog for reference information, and relevant articles. Same goes for Trading Up or the retail experience. I encourage our WDRs to do the same, to print out specific postings and use them as leave-behinds with retail accounts. I supplement our marketing materials with postings that connect a voice or an additional perspective.
Since we are talking a new medium, I use traditional tools like press releases to extend the awareness and generate more discussion. I’ll also include links to specific posts in press releases about other programs or activities. Ironically, the trade press hasn’t yet included a single specific mention to the blog, although I seem to be getting published more frequently!
I’ve created categories [not quite as elegant as a ‘toss of the pink boa’!] to celebrate the achievements of specific carpet retailers. The highest achievement is the “Store That Floors” award. “Flooring It Differently” lets me showcase a specific exceptional element of a flooring retailer’s experience.
I’m looking forward to the upcoming Bathroom Blogfest ’07 and highlighting some of the beautiful bathrooms I’ve photographed in the past year, too!
Lessons Learned It’s a slow process! So, it’s critical to stay focused, yet be open to new ideas and possibilities.
It’s a serious commitment. I liken Flooring The Consumer to having another child. A blog must be nurtured consistently over time. It requires strong passion, vision, creativity, flexibility and lots of love.
Absolutely be authentic, honest and courteous.
Learn html, tagging, linking…..
Be sure to listen to fellow bloggers. The marketing realm includes so many passionate and talented individuals whom I constantly learn from. Be sure to include them to amplify your ideas and generate more discussion.
Develop your own, unique voice.
Wear-Dated’s Future Blogging Direction
Flooring The Consumer is here to stay. I see additional blogs in Wear-Dated’s future, but am still working on the execution details. First step is identifying additional bloggers!
Christine B. (CB)Whittemore On Blogging
“It flows through my veins!” It’s electrifying. I see everything with new eyes because some aspect might be relevant for a post. I love sharing those wonders. Now, I wish I could read faster, assimilate ideas more quickly, write more efficiently and catch up on all of the ideas I have for future posts!
Two pharmaceutical companies joined the healthcare blogosphere conversation this month: GlaxoSmithKine - alliConnect and JNJBTW - Johnson and Johnson. The launch of these blogs, that differ vastly in tonality and focus, is a significant step in acknowledging the importance of social media in healthcare marketing. Or is it? Are they really in the game?
What first had me questioning was the lack of attention to branding on JNJBTW. Disappointing. J&J is famous for strategic marketing. However, the "skin" of JNJBTW lacks sophistication giving me the feeling that this blog might be a tentative step or perhaps an experiment. Examples - the link "About the authors" profiles one author not multiple authors. Nor is there a link to the parent company. These may seem like minor details but in social media success is in the details.
Sidebar: J&J has reached out to healthcare bloggers hosting dinners in NYC and at the Healthcare Blogging Summit in Las Vegas in March. Bloggy transparency, I attended the speaker's dinner in Vegas and enjoyed in-depth conversations with a couple of folks from J&J.
Although alliConnect is a stronger branded site (the logo is the masthead), I wondered about GSK's commitment to this initiative as well. Neither blog is linked from the parent company website. At least I couldn't find the page. alliConnect isn't even linked from the brand website. So I ask GlaxoSmithKine and Johnson and Johnson what are your intentions? Is this a feel good let's be cool at the next stock holder's meeting or are you in the game?
Launch date: June 2, 2007 Focus: Weight loss product alliconnect and issues regarding weigh loss. alliConnect is the official alli blog. It's a place for you to have a conversation with us about weight loss issues. Because we work for a drug company we do have to abide by a few rules
Tonality - Conversational Transparency: Blogger Steve Burton shares an oops experience he had with alli. Smart Moves: Invitation to alliFirst Team to post comments
Just the facts ..
Blogger/s: VP of weight control, brand manager, marketing director, attorney, consultant (Debbie Weil); photos of bloggers "conversational bios" Blog Skin: alli logo used as header is the only branding element Graphic elements: Posts include photos Social media bookmarking: None Comments: Open Trackbacks: Open Blogroll: Yes, GlaxoSmithKine links only Blog Search: Yes Comments Policy is a good reflection of the overall tonality of the blog.
We will do our best to review and publish your comment within 24 hours.
We
reserve the right to reject comments that contain profanity, are
inflammatory or are otherwise inappropriate. We will not publish
opinions that are so far outside of mainstream science as to be
misleading or confusing. We will not permit comments to be disguised
as sales pitches for other products or services.
Please share
your stories and experiences with weight loss, as well as your opinions
- even if they are critical of alli. However, please do not include
your mailing address or phone number. The purpose of this blog is to
stimulate discussion.
Legal Stuff This blog is written by employees of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare who are authorized to speak on behalf of the company.
Our
posts and answers to your comments reflect our company's point of view.
They are based on the latest in science and what we've learned from
talking to consumers.
When we offer personal points of views, or talk about our experience with alli, we'll make sure that's clear.
Launch date: June 4, 2007 Focus: Corporate/company issues JNJ BTW, there will be talk about Johnson & Johnson - what we are doing, how we are doing it and why.This
is a big step for us as a company. Anyone working for a large
corporation will appreciate that there are many internal limitations on
what we say and how we say it.
Tonality - Formal Smart Moves: RSS feed for comments
Just the facts ..
Blogger: Corporate communication media relations; no photo; "business bio" Blog Skin: Johnson & Johnson logo used in subtitle is the only branding element Graphic elements: Posts do include photos Social media bookmarking: None Comments: Open Trackbacks: Not indicated
Blogroll: Yes, Johnson & Johnson links only Blog Search: Yes Comment Policy is a good reflection of the overall tonality of the blog.
All
comments will be reviewed before posting. Since this blog is about
Johnson & Johnson, comments that don't directly relate to the
Company or to topics covered on this blog won't be posted. That said,
some comments may be forwarded to other people within the Johnson &
Johnson Family of Companies for follow-up as appropriate.
We
generally won't post comments about products that are sold by the
Johnson & Johnson operating companies. Product questions should
directed to the companies that sell them. A list of the products sold
by our operating companies is available on the Johnson & Johnson
website.
Please keep in mind that Johnson & Johnson and its
operating companies work within highly regulated industries. Therefore,
comments that pertain to ongoing legal matters or regulatory issues are
unlikely to be posted. Further information about our policies
concerning content ownership and privacy as well as our responsibility
for the accuracy of comments posted to this site can be found in our Privacy and Legal Notice.
Sidebar: Sometimes the world spins strange synergies. Seems Marc Monseau, blogger for Johnson & Johnson wants to lose a few pounds. "After all, if I could lose a few pounds and reduce my cholesterol, I'm pretty sure that I would not only feel better but I would also reduce my risk of developing heart disease - a condition that plagues my family." Hmmm ... wonder if GSK's blogger relations strategy includes out reach to another pharma company (smile). How about a blogroll link exchange?
Read more from two prominent healthcare bloggers:
John Bell on alliConnect - This step forward into social media will be a huge leap for pharma. It is particularly valuable for this category but others will follow.
Fard Johnmar on JNJBTW - Based on Monseau’s opening post, I get the sense that he is going to be talking about some meaty and relevant issues.
This is a long over due thank you. It's also a pretty good list of where to find some great marketing blogs and a few cool, bloggy resources.
To Philippe Deltenre for the opportunity to be part of your Trilogy Interviews with BBFs from all over the world. Mark Goren has links to all the interviews.
To Mack Collier for the
Viral Garden's Top 25 Marketing Blogs. Diva Marketing has had the honor to be included since day one. Today Diva ranks #11. Sidebar: Mack recently changed how he ranks the Garden's Top 25 (from Alexis to Technorati). Jim Symcox has an interesting matrix showing how the Top 25 juggled in ranking.
To Todd And for The Power 150 Marketing Blogs
for developing an extensive list of marketing and pr blogs. Diva Marketing has had the honor to be included since day one here too. Today Diva ranks #20.
A few weeks ago Geoff Livingston, The Buzz Bin, presented me with an opportunity that no self respecting Diva worth her Jimmy Choos could refuse.
Geoff invited me to key note at the divine divas of Washington DC's Success In The City'sNew Media Nouveaux Conference - "How to make your audience fall in love with you, your message and your business." Click on to the site and you'll understand why I'm excited about talking social media with the SITC Divas.
A few details .. Date: Friday, July 13 at Time: 8a - 3p Place: Tower Club, 8000 Towers Crescent Drive, Suite 1700, Vienna, VA 703.761.4250 Brochure
As a prelude to New Media Nouveaux Conference Geoff asked me a few questions about marketing and social media. For your reading pleasure, here's a snip from our interview.
Geoff: Why are so many businesses running towards new media?
Toby: Social media is more than a passive website strategy. The most beneficial aspect is the ability to engage directly with customers and other stakeholders. Social media opens the doors for businesses to listen to the unfiltered voices of their customers and to track those conversations.
Social media also provides opportunities for the people within the company to join in on those conversations and talk directly to customers. Taking an active role in creating a dialogue with customers about issues that they care about, at the moment in time when they care about those concerns, is the heart of new media marketing.
Geoff: What are your thoughts of the concept “participation is marketing?”
Toby: I love the concept. It adds an important dimension to an expanding, complex marketing tool bag. Sometimes it’s nice to reach for a paper sales sheet with just the facts. It’s also nice to know that there is an online communication resource: a bulletin board, blog, wiki, vlog, podcast, where additional information can be found including peer-to-peer feedback and a way to engage with the people in the company too.
So, Divas and Divos if you're in DC on Friday the 13th of July drop by .. I promise it will be very lucky day!
Blogger Stories is a
special blog that I launched to tell the stories of how people have
been touched by blogs, podcasts, vlogs and other online interactions.
The virtual library has almost 90 "chapters" written by bloggers from all over the world.
The newest Blogger Stories chapters were contributed by two women who both share a common background. They began their careers in traditional print publishing. Innovators in their respective fields, BL Ochman and Patricia Skinner found that blogging provided freedom to publish when they wanted, where they wanted and what they wanted. Now they are passing along that knowledge and passion about social media to their clients.
In her iMedia Connection article, What Kills A Social Media Campaign,BL Ochman cuts to the chase in her analysis of how 7 major brands: Ford, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Sony, Dell, Netflix and Lego are entering social media marketing.
If you're still not quite sure if consumer generated media impacts brand perception, as well as the bottom-line, just ask CompUSA. Jackie Huba tells the story at Church of the Customer.
Now if I were Twittering I'd add - off to walk Max. ttly.
I think I missed the cake and champagne but it's never too send virtual Happy Belated Birthday wishes to two of my Favorite Divos! And the Ultimate Diva!
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
How has your week been? Mine was hot hot hot and looong. I'm looking forward to chillin' and sharing an adult beverage or two with friends. Does any one remember the old stand-up comics Abbott and Costello? Today's Friday Fun is a techie version of their famous "Who's On First" routine. To jump-start your weekend here's a bit of humor because sometimes it's good just to laugh.
The scene: Costello calls to buy a computer from Abbot.
Abbott: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you? Costello: Yes. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer. Abbott: Mac? Costello: No, the name's Lou. Abbott: Your computer? Costello: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one. Abbott: Mac? Costello: I told you, my name's Lou. Abbott: What about Windows? Costello: Why? Will it get stuffy in here? Abbott: Do you want a computer with Windows? Costello: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows? Abbott: Wallpaper. Costello: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software. Abbott: Software for Windows? Costello: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have? Abbott: Office. Costello: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything? Abbott: I just did. Costello: You just did what? Abbott: Recommend something. Costello: You recommended something? Abbott: Yes. Costello: For my office? Abbott: Yes. Costello: OK, what did you recommend for my office? Abbott: Office Costello: Yes, for my office! Abbott: I recommend Office with Windows. Costello: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need? Abbott: Word. Costello: What word? Abbott: Word in Office. Costello: The only word in office is office. Abbott: The Word in Office for Windows. Costello: Which word in office for windows? Abbott: The Word you get when you click the blue "W". Costello: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with? Abbott: Money. Costello: That's right. What do you have? Abbott: Money. Costello: I need money to track my money? Abbott: It comes bundled with your computer. Costello: What's bundled with my computer? Abbott: Money. Costello: Money comes with my computer? Abbott: Yes. No extra charge. Costello: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much? Abbott: One copy. Costello: Isn't it illegal to copy money? Abbott: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money. Costello: They can give you a license to copy money? Abbott: Why not? THEY OWN IT!
A few days later:
Abbott: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you? Costello: How do I turn my computer off? Abbott: Click on "START"
Here's the original stand-up bit. Well worth a click to view. What did we ever do without YouTube?
Sometimes Friday Fun has a few Lessons Learned: Keep in mind that especially in our virtual text communities the canvas might be the software platform but we paint with words (unless you are David Armano - smile). As we continue to reach a global audience and build relationships with people from different cultures, as Who's On First demonstrates so well, words can muddy your ideas. Open Comments are a good way to ensure people can ask questions if they're confused. Keep in mind if one person doesn't understand there are probably others who don't as well.
Nope, Girlfriend, blogs are Not social media .. unless you add s-o-c-i-a-l.
Word of caution. Adding s-o-c-i-a-l to blogs may prove hazardous to your life. Talk to my friend CK
who had more than enough friends, thank you very kindly. So CK adds
s-o-c-i-a-l to her blog and what happens? You guessed it. Now she has
more friends. Turns out that is just fine with CK.
To understand that real friends can develop through blogs please read CK's story of how her BBF friend Drew McLellan coordinated a surprise memorial for CK's mom: The Momma Tree. I told the Momma Tree story to my friend Polli who told me that all of a sudden blogs clicked for her. She "got" the side of how people "typing in the dark" can come together to create global friendships.
As amazing as CK's story is, similar relationships are happened all over the blogosphere .. from bloggers in New England like Lewis Green and KD Paine and to Rajesh and Arun in India. But hold on .. what does this have to do with business or marketing you may ask. I'll borrow a comment I left for on a CK post ..
Many people don't understand how the internet works as a catalyst to
build relationships which can lead to friendships which can evolve into
a community.
Why is that important from a business perspective? Simple.
People like to do business with people they like. (That extends to
brands.) Building a business community is not necessarily about singing
Kumbaya but expanding a resource network.
How do you do coffee with Luc or Philippe or Kris from Belgium or Nettie and Connie in Texas when you're on opposite sides of the world? CK and Drew to the rescue .. drum roll please .. you host a Blogger Social and invite your friends to the biggest bloggy bash ever. More on CK's Blog including a survey where you can give your feedback on places and dates.
Me? I'm voting for a cruise and looking forward to Belgium chocolates from Philippe and Luc and Kris.
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
This Friday Fun is dedicated to a very special young lady - Olivia King. Olivia is a typical kid. She's 10, loves school, her friends, her dogs and recitals. She lives in a suburb north of Atlanta. And she's pretty cute too.
But Olivia King is not your average 10-year old. She has Cystic Fibrosis. She needs a liver transplant. Her mom Barb and dad Dean are writing Olivia's story at www.caringbridge.com type oliviaking (no spaces).
Her friends are planning a fund raiser - Olivia King Shoot Out Golf
Tournament - which is part of The American Challenge Golf Tour. This is a Pro-AM tournament where you can play with a Pro. 18 Hole Qualifier-9 Hole Elimination Shoot Out. Top ten finishers qualify for Shoot Out competition.
Date: July 7th, 2007 Time: 8:00a Place: Orchard Hills Golf Course Newnan,
GA 1st Place Prize: $2000.00 (based on 22 entries)
For more information please contact the tour office 817-232-1773. Sponsorships are available too.
Update Donation Information. Your Kindness Will Help Olivia Raise $185,000*.
Helping Hands Ministry, Inc. (a Non-Profit 501 (c)3 Organization) P.O. Box 337 or 135 Main St. Tallulah Falls, GA 30573 Tel. 706-754-6884 Donations Are Tax Deductible Mark all donations to the "Olivia King Fund".
Note: Helping Hands does not have the ability for online donations. Helping Hands takes 8% of donations. If you don't
care about the tax break and want to make an online donation please go
to Mom Barb's PayPal Account. Use kingbkmp1@bellsouth.net as the email code. Or use the cool, nifty ChipIN widget that Carol Krishner kindly created. See Diva Marketing's right side bar.
*Insurance will not cover the total cost of Olivia's medical care.
.. to join together to spread the word to friends, family, neighbors, colleagues and anyone else about this from the heart project. Mom Barb is in the process of setting up an online donation site. If you have any ideas about how to help an awesome kid please drop a comment. Perhaps a mention on your blog or an email to your network? And if you have a suggestion on how to bring smiles to a little girl who is going through what no child should have to endure that would be great too.
Local News .. 11Alive coverage of Olivia King .. video and article.
Sidebar: Atlanta Bloggers, if you'd like your name added to this list, which seems to be turning into a "Where Are The Atlanta Bloggers?" let me know.
Peachtree Road Race Number.
