CK's Blog

Video Panel: social media and the tech entrepreneur

Back in May when I spoke at Sun's Startup Camp (in San Francisco), I was approached by Carsten Rubsaamen and Ralf Schmelter who asked me if I would participate in a video interview as part of their "Venture Road Trip" Project.

You see, Carsten and Ralf are post-graduate students from Germany who, as part of their studies, traveled through the U.S. for 90 days in order to study similarities and differences between American and European startup success stories. They stopped in the Bay Area, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas and ended in NYC.

They interviewed a score of high-impact serial entrepreneurs and investors on their personal stories and experiences in building up companies--from small early-stage technology startups to paradigm-shifting companies like Amazon, Google, and Yahoo. When they asked if I would be interviewed I agreed...but  I told them that instead of interviewing just me, I thought it would be far more interesting for them to interview several specialists who could discuss social media.

So we turned it into a video panel by tapping three of my NYC colleagues--David Berkowitz, Paul Soldera and Alan Wolk.

Being that we're covering a lot of ground when discussing social media, you can imagine that an hour just flew by. But that's a lot to consume in one viewing. So Carsten and Ralf split the panel discussion into nine video segments separated by nine questions (some of the segments are almost 4 minutes, some are 9). I've featured two segments below--but the entire series is right here.

There are plenty of good takeaways in the videos, but the big one that I'd like to leave you with is this: Next time someone asks you for an interview, think of your audience, and how it might just be a lot better to include a bunch of perspectives, not just your own.

After all, isn't a world of perspectives the true value of social media?

(yup, that's a rhetorical question)

This segment (running at 3:44 minutes) focuses on the question "How has marketing changed with the 'new guard' of social media?"

And this segment (running at 3:17 minutes) focuses on the question "With so many social media tools available to entrepreneurs and startups, how to decide which tool is best for your company?"

Again, the entire video series (9 segments) is here. RSS and email subscribers please click through to the blog to view them.

Bye Bye Big Apple, I'm heading West...

I'll be on the road this week seeing great spots in this great country. Yep, I'm leaving NYC and heading West. And then I'm going to keep heading more West until I hit the coast. Perhaps I'll be inspired to dip a toe into the Pacific Ocean.

First I'll be in Columbus, Ohio for the SBMU Conference (Small Business Marketing Unleashed) from Sunday until Wednesday where I'll be talking Branding and Social Media--which just so happen to be TWO of my favorite subjects ;-).

I've written before about what I'll be covering at the conference and you can find out much more about SBMU right here. If you're attending, I can't wait to meet you and grok about marketing.

Come Thursday I'll move from the Midwest to the West Coast. If you're in San Francisco and free for lunch on Thursday (9/25, from 12-2p) why not join me and many other technology and social media professionals at a launch luncheon for Glubble's New Edition for Families. Oh how fun it is to look at technology NOT from the standpoint of a marketer or adult...but as a family with kids under age 12.

In fact, it makes me want to be a kid again and focus on playing games not devising grown-up strategies, chatting online with my cousins instead of emailing clients--and creating works of art through coloring pages instead of creating charts. Oh to be a kid again with nary a care in the world.

The information is here and if you want to attend please send an email to Liana at this email address. Just tell her that CK sent you and that you, too, wish you could be a kid again (if only for one day).

Through the eyes of a marketer: ServiceNation's Summit

Having just come off of ServiceNation's Summit I'm aflutter with thoughts. It's not every day that I attend an event with 500+ leaders of non-profit, NGO and social change organizations. And it's certainly not every day that I get to be at an event with such notables as Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Jon Bon Jovi, Usher, the CEOs of AARP, Habitat for Humanity and the list goes on. And on.

The event left me humbled and heartened; I guess the best way to put it is that the event left me affected. And I admit to wiping tears from my eyes when Hillary Clinton hit the stage. Whether you voted for her or not, she has done momentous, moving things in her career. Matter of fact, whether you agree with the views or parties of any of the political leaders that were present, I hope we can all agree that these people have accomplished much (as anything else would be downright myopic).

And I give compliments to BOTH presidential candidates for doing well at Thursday night's Presidential Summit. I didn't come at this event to judge, but to listen. You see, this event was not a debate because this event was about uniting us all around something on which we all agree: the need to place service, in its many and myriad forms...spanning improvements to education to bettering our nation's health to eradicating our plummeting levels of poverty...into a place of more prominence in our country, to garner more participation from the public and the need to shift many of our existing perceptions around service.

And if we're talking prominence and participation---and most definitely when we're talking perceptions--we are talking my language. Um, marketing anyone?

#1 Exalt prominence: As a nation we have plenty to be proud of on service--many don't realize what a strong nation of volunteers and efforts to improve social conditions we can boast. But we haven't placed this as prominently as other departments. Governor Schwarzenegger and wife Maria Shriver have worked hard to get California to appoint a Service Director to its cabinet level--and both McCain and Obama vowed to add this position to their cabinets at the federal levels as well. There are bills dedicated to service that are currently in Congress and ServiceNation unleashed a Declaration of Service that many signed at the event. And of course let us never forget the inimitable dedication to service that our military exemplifies every single day.

#2 Increase participation levels: Whether through activism, advocacy or volunteerism, our nation can increase its level of time dedicated to service. Corporations can make it easier for workers to dedicate a portion of their time to charities. Individuals can learn how to spend a few less hours watching TV and instead teach a child or an adult to read. As marketers we can lend a few spare hours a month to helping a charity with their promotional needs. Point is, we can get creative, and dedicating time to service can be both impactful and tenable amid busy schedules.

#3 Shift current perceptions: Obama hit on how we "need to make service cool again" and Schwarzenegger hit on how we need to "leave a space open on our resumes for service," while Bon Jovi wants to "make service the new black, always in high fashion." The thing is, we need to shift perceptions around (1) how much service improves our country and its citizens and (2) whom all can dedicate time to service. Remember, while the young have unparalleled levels of energy, older segments have unprecedented wisdom that can only be gained through experience--with retirees having more time they can allot to important causes (I will talk more on this later as, just like AARP underscored, we need to stop viewing the 50+ segment as a deficit when, in fact, they will likely be our biggest asset).

In closing, I would be remiss if I did not extend my gratitude to three entities:

First, to ServiceNation: The event itself--and the overall movement--is a marketing brainchild. BRAVO! There are many organizations dedicated to improving the country's many issues and pushing for social change so to nestle them all under "service" was clever. What's more? ServiceNation is only about 18 month's old, which makes their tireless efforts all the more impressive. 

Second, to Echo Ditto: I am beyond impressed at how professional and respectful the EchoDigital Team were to we bloggers (big props to Brian Reich and Joseph Porcelli). They ensured we were well communicated to and had proper accommodations. So much so that, as a professional, I would have no reservations about recommending them to my clients who need help in bolstering communications and communities around their special events.

Third, to Nedra Kline Weinreich: Nedra is both teacher and friend to me. She not only provided me the reference to attend the event, Nedra helps me every day. She's taken the time to teach me new strategies and methods on social marketing (which is NOT the same thing as social media--read more here). I find that teaching is one of the most giving things we can do for another person; in this case it's a huge act of service in bettering our profession.

PS: Yes, those are pictures from speakers at the event. I needed to take shots of the large screens as I wasn't close enough to the stage to get clearer pictures (and Schwarzenegger attended via video feed). I hope it's OK that I placed photos of the big names in this post...as I said in my opening, it's just not every day that I'm in the company of 500 of them.

To be among 500 leaders focused on social change

I'm both honored and over the moon to be attending ServiceNation's Summit on September 11th and September 12th. I'll be blogging a wrap-up of the event...and oh what an event it will be.

For two days over 500 leaders will convene in NYC for a moratorium on politics, to wholly focus on service. The lineup of speakers is mind-blowing (and makes me feel oh so small) including Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Bloomberg, even Alicia Keys, Jon Bon Jovi, Kenneth Cole, Usher and the CEO of Habitat for Humanity (my FAVE nonprofit organization). And the list goes on and on.

All in NYC, all focused on how we can improve our nation, and its many challenges, through service. Um, see why I'm over the moon?

I'll be posting after the event, and I'll twitter when I can during the event, but I wanted to first give you some background:

"ServiceNation Summit , Sept. 11-12 in New York city, will bring together 500 leaders of all ages and from every sector of American life —from universities and foundations, to business and politics—to celebrate the power and potential of citizen service, and lay out a bold policy blueprint for addressing America’s greatest social challenges through expanded opportunities for volunteer and national service.

The Summit will begin with a presidential candidates' forum the evening of September 11, where Senators McCain and Obama will speak in depth about their views on the role of citizenship and service in post-9/11 America. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will welcome the attendees when the proceedings continue the following day, and the summit will conclude with a keynote address by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who earlier this year became the first governor to create a cabinet post dedicated to service and volunteering."

ServiceNation is a campaign for a new America. An America where citizens unite and take responsibility for the nation’s future. An America that restores the great tradition of citizen service, and honors the profound sacrifices made by so many Americans who have passed before, from the small band of Founders to the millions who have fought for equality and justice at home, and defended our freedom abroad. ServiceNation is about an America that is ruggedly idealistic, compassionate, and above all committed to the idea of shared sacrifice in pursuit of America’s boldest promise: liberty and justice for all."

I will be joined by my fellow colleagues'/marketing bloggers: David Berkowitz, David Reich and Alan Wolk...so watch for posts and tweets from us all. Lastly, I need to give a HUGE shout-out and HEAPS of gratitude to Nedra Kline Weinreich for recommending me to attend this event. Unfortunately, since she's on the West Coast she won't be able to attend (and will have to vicariously experience the event through me); but she has truly made my year. I'll be cross-posting on this blog and her blog about the event.

Here are some links for more info.:
To see the schedule of events on Thursday and Friday go here
To follow ServiceNation on Twitter go here
Follow David Berkowitz, Alan Wolk or CK (me) on Twitter
To learn more about ServiceNation go here

Methodologies come easy. Mindsets not so much.

I was recently asked to submit a session idea for a conference next year that focuses exclusively on new media--with a heavy emphasis on social media. In looking at the lineup of impressive presentations, I saw everything from how to start a blog...and how to quantify the success of social media...to how to identify appropriate bloggers and create evangelists.

To be sure, these are all pivotal areas to cover. After all, for the uninitiated (or "newbies") these are fundamental building blocks. Be it in front of an audience, or one-on-one with a client or colleague, I speak to these areas quite a bit. In fact, I often refer to them as "building blocks."

But before I build, I work to lay the foundation.

I explain how, before we can change our marketing tactics, we need to change our mindsets. Because changing mindsets is where progress (and success) really happen. Always has, always will. Whether in business, society, even science and government.

Look how Galileo worked to change mindsets in urging others to understand 'twas not the sun that revolved around us, but us around the sun. While not being the center of the universe didn't work so well for him at the time (the church declared him guilty of heresy and placed him under house arrest), it's now the foundation of how we view our place in the world universe.

Now he's now hailed as the "Father of Modern Science."

Or how Queen Elizabeth needed to change her mindset from becoming a woman who honored duty above all else, to a woman who needed to change her mindset and place more emotion first, tradition second.

She even admitted to needing to "modernize."

Good ol' Gore worked so many decades trying to get us to focus on the climate crisis only to be told it wasn't a political priority. After finally going to film he was able to open our minds to global warming being "not a political issue, but a moral one."

And his dedication might just save the world (and revered as much as any president).

If you think about it, when we say the world has changed, often times it means that people's minds have changed. People open their minds to a new opportunity or new market, or they change their thinking about how to solve an issue, or adopt a new type of behavior. Ask any marketer and you'll find that the toughest objective is getting customers to change their habits and ways.

Now it's time that the marketers will have to change. Irony is funny like that, eh?

I've said it before but, with social media, it's "trends first, tools next." Because social media is a set of tools, the consumer-driven trends are what drive the adoption. But you would be amazed at how often marketers don't take the time to truly understand the environment (or develop a sound strategy) and delve right into the tactics. No wonder we hear so many savvy marketers lament how the majority of professionals "just don't get it."

The learning curve, I find, is not in how to use tools such as blog or Twitter, but in understanding how markets are sharing, what part they want to play in the business cycle and what part they want brands to play in the media they're using.

So in submitting my idea for the conference I'm not focusing on methodologies, how-to's, to-do's or checklists. Nope. Those topics are well covered. I'll let you know when the conference is announced. But, in the meantime, I'll keep doing what I can to change hearts and, most especially, minds.

Some helpful posts to learn more:

• The real story of social media
• The Share Economy (PDF)
• Understanding the range of value people find in blogging
• How bad feedback can really be quite good for your business
• How WOM works
• A compilation of mind-changing goodness posts are here

Conventions '08 Chat-up: Back with Round #2

Last week we discussed Brand Obama's acceptance speech and this week we're buzzing about Brand McCain's acceptance speech. After all, these aren't just presidential hopefuls these two men are brands battling it out to win your hearts, minds and votes.

To commemorate the occasion, my colleagues from last week--a balanced panel of liberals, moderates and conservatives--have rejoined me in order to assess the (marketing) success of McCain's speech.

Read our very different takes...and weigh-in with your own take right here.

Getting it 'right' with Obama (and many of our markets)

Find out about why the media is getting it oh-so-wrong with Obama.

And why many marketers are missing oh-so-many opportunities to better understand and build value for their markets.

It's in my current column over at The Daily Fix.