I'm Thankful for....Blogcation
Among the many, many things in life that I'm thankful for--good health, a wonderful family, a great job despite a rough economy, material comforts, scads of interesting friends both on and offline, to name just a few--I'm thankful for the opportunities blogging has brought me. To me, blogging is one of the few pleasures in life that a person can have total control over. There are no rules, you can write what you want, when you want, how you want, and only if you want. If you enjoy writing--are, in fact--compelled to write because it's what makes you tick--blogging is a godsend. Sure, journaling is nice, but somehow knowing nobody will ever see it it just kind of falls short in the "I'm writ

Comcast and Twitter: How Much is it Really About Customers?
Raise your hand if you haven't heard about how Comcast is doing a great job using Twitter for customer service. Chances are, there probably aren't a lot of hands up because Comcast has gotten lots of great press because of Comcastcares. The problem is that, while I'm sure Frank Eliason truly does care about customer satisfaction, the re

Forget Traits--4 DSM Diagnoses of Social Media Mavens
Social media people love them some lists. 5 Qualities of a Good Social Media Manager. 3 Qualities to Look for When Hiring a Community Manager. Social Media Folks to Watch in 2010. Twitter lists...for chrissake--don't even get me started on Twitter lists. In short, there are LOTS of lists out there related to social media people...so I thought I'd add one of my own.Something I've thought about for a

Association Social Media #Fail
There's no shortage of buzz about what associations should be doing with regard to social media. Workshops. Webinars. Blogs. Tons of sources of information for crafting social media policies, setting up a Facebook page, using social media in conjunction with events. Somehow one association seems to have missed all these helpful resources, or else just ignored them. Because surely, had this association partaken of any of the above advice, t

The Chicken and Egg Problem With Social Media Hiring
Some great posts this week about hiring for social media jobs: one by Amber Naslund and one by Tom Humbarger.My favorite quote from Tom's post:"There are only so many social media gurus and rockstars – If you specify that you are seeking a social media guru or rock-star, then expect to pay a premium as these people are rare and they have many options. If you are not willing to pay for this type of expert, then don’t use t