So...What's Next?!?

We should be the cool kids!

Is your city social media friendly? Do businesses in your area have a reputation for embracing blogs, podcasts, and social networks?

This is the question that Dan Greenfield asked of several participants of SoCon08.

The overall answer (re: Atlanta)  was no - not really.

The question I had to ask myself today was;  Is that hurting me more than helping me as a social media consultant?

I have not traveled to the west coast...this past weekend I brought the west coast to Atlanta - that should count for something. But this weekend Chris Heuer and Josh Hallett and Dave Coustan pointed out that I need to get out to more conferences...something Timothy Moenk has been telling me for two years.

But today was the clincher. I was presenting to a new company here in Atlanta, my adopted hometown, where I have been evangelizing social media relentlessly for 2 + years - and the person I was presenting to said she had never heard of me. OK - that just sounds egotistical - but stay with me.

This person was also a social media enthusiast. However she had been going to conferences in NY and in CA and not even looking for good opportunities in Atlanta, because, she said, Atlanta had no market.

Because I have stayed in this city, it was almost as though my credibility was in question. Overall we worked it out and had a great meeting - but Atlanta... I am embarrassed!

I am not technical - so I can not go into details of all the activities that Jeff Haynie and Mike Schinkel and many others have been putting together such as start-up weekend or barcamp, but I do know that we have tried a variety of end user social media efforts that I have been involved with such as Atlanta Media Bloggers Group, Social Media Club, Social Media for PR Professionals, CRMA Summit, SoCon07, SoCon08, the new Enterprise 2.0 Society of TAG - plus PRSA events and there have been many other events.

So what is the disconnect?

Well - today I was sent another idea to start another group.

    Social Networking Experience Council

Initially I explained that I just do not have the bandwidth to start another effort. However, then I started thinking more about it. How can I get others to start "experience councils" regarding their industry? Someone who really is in PR (which I am not) should have a Social Networking PR Council. Many Interactive Marketing Agencies are claiming to be involved in social media. They should get together and start trading notes, because the one thing I have noticed is they are all over the place when it comes to how to create a social media site and what being a "consultant" means. We need more round tables and discussions.

But as much as I have tried to get those together, they do not happen in the business communities here like they should. The way they do things on "the West Coast." Everyone who claims to be an expert here seems to  treat social media as their secret sauce. It seems it is only a secret to people in Atlanta. Everyone else knows the doors are "open."

Come on Atlanta peeps - let's stand up and shine and not remain the outcast, introverted, stuff shirt city in the connected world. Let's start being one of the cool kids again!

Every generation needs a new revolution.

- Thomas Jefferson

Everything I know about Social Media I learned from watching my son play XBox Live

Alright - a few people such as Tim Moenk, Amber Rhea, Grayson Daughters, Josh Hallet, Jim Stroud, Rusty Tanton, Chris Boese, and many more might take a little offense to that title. The reality is most of what I know I learned from very smart, brave forward thinking people.. :)

However, I developed some profound (if I do say so myself) insights from watching my son play XBox Live.

Today I had a wonderful meeting with Les Ottolenghi who is setting up an amazing program schedule for the TAG Enterprise 2.0 society - but I digress.

I was telling him my theory that XBox Live and all the other ways our kids are connected will end wars in the next decade or two. Our children will not want to battle the friends that they have known and grown up with online. They will accept, understand, and appreciate the differences that our generation and generations past have killed over.

He agreed on the fighting aspect but felt the new wars will be fought over available resources. I thought that made since... humans will have to go through stages in the evolutionary process. The majority have stopped enslaving and torturing other humans (unfortunately I am aware that this still happens in many many places - but we are at least appalled by it and it is not
accepted globally like it once was) - next we will stop killing each other over our differences. However that does not mean we will be ready to play nice. We will probably just move into parallel play - which means we will have evolved into toddlers. Eventually we might be able to share.

Later tonight I got to hang out with some friends and again I made the comment that everything I have learned from social media I learned from watching my son play XBox Live. The point I was making then was that people of celebrity status, whose careers benefit by connecting with their fans, but who also get so overwhelmed that they have to escape - can utilize social media to gain their humanity back, connect with fans while playing. I connected those dots when my son informed me that Jack Black plays Halo. I began to wonder if my son ever got to play with Jack Black and did not know it. Then I thought what wonderful PR that was if he did play and everyone knew it was him...

Speaking of celebrities, I can not get Heath Ledger out of my mind today. I first saw him in 10 Things I Hate About You - one of my favorite movies - and then in Knight's Tale - another favorite. He is/was damn good looking, but so what - so are many who died young. So why does he keep coming to mind today...I guess he just did not "seem the type" to be found dead.

Finally - I think since I have a fresh start with this blog, I am going to end each post with a quote as opposed to a random quote randomly.

Many people can appreciate the fact that I can appreciate this quote...so this is for you (you know who you are :))

Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. - Winston Churchill

In the Spirit of Leonardo Da Vinci

This was one of my early posts - thankfully I had emailed it to someone, so I did not lose this one...Tim is going to see how many posts we can find - sort of an experiment of if someone could really delete their "digital footprint."

I was once asked if I could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be. I did not even have to consider the question for a moment, Leonardo Da Vinci.

He understood that possibilities were limitless and was driven to make others realize, through his personal example, the incredible possibilities that existed. He knew these things because he had the ability to look at things from a different perspective, of being able to make unusual connections and see things holistically.

Who was Leonardo Da Vinci? I am not concerned with his biography, but his approach to looking at situations and finding solutions to problems that others did not know existed. I want to tap into his zealous love of the quest and determination to interact with life and its events.

I want to apply the spirit of Leonardo Da Vinci to the enormous amount of possibilities that exist today, if we choose to look at things from a different perspective, make unusual connections and see things holistically.

Technology has made tapping into the spirit of Leonardo Da Vinci possible for anyone who has the desire to do so. Leonardo said that "the desire to know is natural to good men," and "the knowledge of all things is possible."

Assuming these comments are true, what made Leonardo different was the application of that knowledge. He was not a "specialist," he did not have a job title, he did not sit in a cubicle with a job description - he was an explorer, an inventor, an artist.

I am amazed how companies segment their business into sales, marketing, PR, customer service, executives and so forth.

If the marketing department is not aware of the information that the salespeople are receiving, how do they know how to target their campaign? If salespeople do not get to experience the issues coming through customer service, how do they know what problems to solve? How can PR respond to the public without being in the trenches with the public? How do executives keep fresh and innovative ideas without a constant interaction with the the new hires that are coming in, full of hope, enthusiasm and innovative ideas?

The knowledge of all things is possible if you find how and why each part is connected. With that knowledge you can create masterpieces and uncover the boundlessness of what is possible.

I was once asked if I could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be. I did not even have to consider the question for a moment, Leonardo Da Vinci.

He understood that possibilities were limitless and was driven to make others realize, through his personal example, the incredible possibilities that existed. He knew these things because he had the ability to look at things from a different perspective, of being able to make unusual connections and see things holistically.

Who was Leonardo Da Vinci? I am not concerned with his biography, but his approach to looking at situations and finding solutions to problems that others did not know existed. I want to tap into his zealous love of the quest and determination to interact with life and its events.

I want to apply the spirit of Leonardo Da Vinci to the enormous amount of possibilities that exist today, if we choose to look at things from a different perspective, make unusual connections and see things holistically.

Technology has made tapping into the spirit of Leonardo Da Vinci possible for anyone who has the desire to do so. Leonardo said that "the desire to know is natural to good men," and "the knowledge of all things is possible."

Assuming these comments are true, what made Leonardo different was the application of that knowledge. He was not a "specialist," he did not have a job title, he did not sit in a cubicle with a job description - he was an explorer, an inventor, an artist.

I am amazed how companies segment their business into sales, marketing, PR, customer service, executives and so forth.

If the marketing department is not aware of the information that the salespeople are receiving, how do they know how to target their campaign? If salespeople do not get to experience the issues coming through customer service, how do they know what problems to solve? How can PR respond to the public without being in the trenches with the public? How do executives keep fresh and innovative ideas without a constant interaction with the the new hires that are coming in, full of hope, enthusiasm and innovative ideas?

The knowledge of all things is possible if you find how and why each part is connected. With that knowledge you can create masterpieces and uncover the boundlessness of what is possible.