Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Social Media Success: An Interview with Marc Smith
A large number of users are gaining great advantage personally, professionally and otherwise from their active use of social media tools to connect, share and learn. Marc Smith of Amuse Consulting is one of those people and I took some time to ask him about what's worked for him. Today is the 5th anniversary party of @amuseconsulting and Marc is throwing one hell of a party later this evening, but I got to ask him about what's worked for him before things got wild (UPDATE: The party was a great time and showcased the little touches that take a event from ordinary to extraordinary.
Before using social media Marc used a strong arsenal of tools to promote his business including: personal networking, a website, word of mouth, monthly e-newsletters and joining associations like Business Network International. Marc has been using Facebook for almost five years but didn't really know what the benefits for his business were until friend and YouTube specialist @JoshRimer sold him on them.
He said that they were free tools and that they are just an extension of the relationship marketing that I was already doing. I was also enticed by the possibility to target categories and markets through social media versus going to networking events where it's often a 'crap shoot'. In Social media I could seek out my targets whereas at networking events I was relying on other people to come to those events where I would then have the opportunity to meet them. - Marc Smith on why social media is superior for him.
I frequently use a story I heard about Marc as an example of what kind of things work for building connections and community. In the story Marc has a coffee everyday with someone new. Often those are people he met through social media.
ME: How did you come up with this idea? How has it helped your business and you?
ME: How did you come up with this idea? How has it helped your business and you?
MARC: It's part of what I do. I used it to build my community personal, professional or any other. No one will hire me if they didn’t know who I am therefore the more people I met the more opportunities for business I would have. I used to work at Caper’s then struck out on my own. In the last year with the Social media explosion the real benefit has been that people are now calling me to have coffee with me to share their business with me. The roles have reversed. I always say yes because you never know what benefits those conversations can reveal for your business. It expands opportunities for business and it expands the products/services I can offer to clients because I know of their existence. Sometimes taking something new to event planning can be that competitive edge, IE mobile apps for events.
I am an open source program. -Marc Smith
What has the ROI been for you in using social media?
It’s been a 300-500% on the investment of my time. Social media use has created opportunities for me to speak, to reach new customers, and it’s probably doubled my profile in the last year. A website or going to an event is a onetime thing whereas Twitter and Facebook allow me to interact with people on a regular basis to stay top of mind and create more business opportunities. It keeps me relevant.
How has using social media enhanced your life beyond business?
I’ve made some really interesting friends. It’s provided more opportunities to speak to young entrepreneurs. It’s allowed me give back to my community more by supporting charity and grassroots events.
What is the most unexpected thing you have found since splashing into the social media world?
How many people are social online and unsocial offline? It’s hard to tell what someone truly through a digital avatar is. I am as social offline as I am online and for others this may not be the same.
Did you teach yourself everything you know about social media?
It was all learned through social engagement. @ShaneGibson and @IanWatt were a few of the people I met in the early stages. Everyone along the way has given me bits and pieces. I try and explain the big picture to people. A lot of it was trial and error and also a lot of anecdotes. I think I followed the right people in the early stages and that quickly advanced my learning. Instead of spending a few minutes getting started I spent a few hours and began to find out how the services best work. Twitter has been the most successful for me. Although I use Facebook and LinkedIn as well.
5 Rules for being an Entrepreneur - Marc Smith
- Be the right person for the business you’re going to be in.
- Be self aware. Know your strengths and weaknesses. What makes your day better or worse.
- Don’t do things that don’t make you money (outsource, outsource, outsource) All the things that I am not good at or are not my core strengths take a lot more mental time away from the things you are good at. It has a much higher ROI.
- You are never busy enough. You always have to leave time for networking, marketing, building sales or acquiring jobs. Relying on a single client can leave your business in the wind.
- Even solo entrepreneurs are never alone. Make sure you have a network of people who want you to succeed behind you. You need a shoulder to cry on and someone to bring you down to earth when you are doing really well. (This is most important). No one looks out for you more than your family and friends when you are starting a business.
5 things every entrepreneur should know about social media
An Interview with Richard Loat @Mozy19
8 Questions with Gillian Shaw (The Vancouver Sun)
The following is a transcribed version of an audio interview with Gillian Shaw, technology writer for the Vancouver Sun, made at the Fresh Media Forum on Saturday October 24th, 2009. This interview was originally published as part of BCIT's 3 Blog Nights.
What’s it like being from the boomer generation working in the new media space?
It’s really exciting actually. Our business has changed so much since I started. I didn’t start when they had typewriters but close enough. At that time we had one-dimensional writing. We could write our stories and they would land on your doorstep in the morning and that was it. It was a one shot deal. You had one chance to talk to the audience and they had a limited chance to talk back to you. Even with email you just don’t have that 24/7 interactive opportunity that you have today. Between that and being able to tell our stories in so many ways - video, podcasts, blogs - it adds so many dimensions and I love everything about that.It seems like the local tech community in Vancouver is reaching a critical mass. What’s your feeling on the current state of the local tech community?
I write in this space and I am a journalist but I am also really enthusiastic. I am a really big booster of our homegrown technology and what people are doing here. One of the things that’s often said, I think it’s true, is that some of our best companies, best talent and best innovation are recognized more on the world market before they are recognized at home. I try to change that with what I do and what I write. I work to shed light on it and tell the stories of some of the great innovation that’s going on right now in our city.
What do you think the importance of understanding and using new media is to new graduates, specifically in journalism?
I think it’s totally important. It is really key and crucial and really just a lot of fun to be able to use all the different tools we have available. I don’t think there is space for a one trick pony anymore. I don’t think you can just say, “I write and my stories appear in print” or “I just create one kind of media or another”. Although there are specialists, if you are going to be in journalism I think you need to take advantage of all the different ways of sharing your stories.
Do you teach your co-workers about new media?
I try to help whenever people ask and a lot of people ask me. I am a bit of a social media evangelist so I really like to share that information. I am very fortunate because I learn a lot from the people in my network and my community who are very kind and generous with their time and expertise. They pass that along to me so I try to do the same.
What is your favourite part of the democratization of media and journalism?
As a journalist, the most important thing is that now everybody can be a publisher and everyone can be a reporter. We’ve seen some very important cases, such as the Dziekanski death at the airport, where it was having a citizen there with a camera that made the difference between that case being buried and his death going unremarked or investigated and the braidwood inquiry that we see today.
In your opinion how will the democratization of journalism affect the Olympics?
I think the Olympics are a really great opportunity for Vancouver social media to showcase itself to the world. I think Vancouver’s social media scene is already regarded as being quite leading edge. People look to Vancouver and its social media to see what people are doing here. The Olympics will provide a broader forum and spotlight it even more here. I think it can only be good.
What do you think is next in media both traditional and new?
I have ideas everyday about the technological inventions I would like to see. Coming off a talk about the future of media, which is area I focus a lot on, I think that one of the jobs ahead is for people to figure out how to continue this on and continue the expansion. In some ways the problem is how to make money in the delivery of news in our 24/7 world. We’ll all be better served when some of these questions are answered.
What is your favourite app on your iPhone?
I just love the video capability of the new 3GS because I had the 3G, which didn’t have video. The second I got video everything and everybody in my life when online. Even though I carry a little a mini video recorder I just love using the iPhone. I like the fact that is such a multipurpose tool. If I go somewhere and just have my phone in my pocket I can still be posting my videos to YouTube.
Thanks so much for taking sometime today, Gillian. Gillian can be found at her blog and her column in the Vancouver Sun.
The Digital Footprint: Kris Krug Educates (3 of 3)
An iPhone Panorama shot of Pennask Lake. -KE
This is part three of a three part interview with thought leader Kris Krug. Have you read Part One and Part Two yet?KE: Is web video the new billboard?
[For great free analytics for your site check out Google Analytics]
In your opinion are Facebook Apps an effective way to engage your audience?
I love connecting other info into my Facebook account using Facebook Connect. Spammy apps, like quizzes, will eventually die off. Smart apps are rad. They can now add cool functionality to Facebook through outside sites and applications. The old way of site transition was difficult and now with various API (application programming interface) I can integrate everything. This is the promise of the internet. Using widgets and linking I can unlock true power by transferring my work, stories and reputation from one medium to another.[Check out Kris' Netvibes page it is a great showcase of some of his 'hats']
You have spoken in the past about the ability to access your all of your personal information online from any internet terminal anywhere on earth, how does that work?
What do you think the iPhone will do to the mobile computing landscape?
What do you think educational institutions should be doing with new media/social media that you don’t see them doing right now?
A lot of the changes we see in the classroom will be around wikis and online collaboration. Students and teachers are moving towards posting homework online. They are using technology to create roundtables and meetings, to share more freely. The essence of this shift is the integration of collaboration. I have really enjoyed the benefits of using twitter at events and conferences by putting a Twitterfall on a background at the front of the room. The discussion is democratized and leads to more diverse feedback.
How do you think higher education institutions could be using new media and social media to improve recruiting practices?
Recruiting is only one area where social media should be used. Collaboration is the most interesting aspect of these tools in education. It changes recruiting from a traditional top down system to an inside out system. It’s about drawing people into the real community/culture that is going on around the institution. There is an opportunity to highlight the content being created from inside institutions. It’s about being a storyteller inside the institution not about marketing and sales. It puts the responsibility on the institution to have programs, research and teachers to draw in students in a real way.
What is your least favourite thing about all of these new tools?
I love all of these tools although I can’t see my screen very well at the beach. So I have to be inside too much. The one thing I miss is being outdoors more because this stuff ties you indoors. Also because it’s always on, sometimes it feels like a moving goal post. There is a feeling that, whether we are present or not, things continue to go on without us. It’s hard to get away from. There is no more end of the work day. These tools bring the world into our lives 24/7.
[Kris' photography was brought to global prominence by a bizarre situation where another user attributed his work as theirs.]
Can you tell us about that incident?
It was back in 2004-5, I had developed an audience online and they had a good sense of the style of my work. Eventually it came to my attention that this young photographer was passing off my work as his. It was obvious that it was my work. I proceeded to blog about it and the blogosphere was angry and pushed back at this guy. The subsequent blog posting was picked up by Digg resulting in over 1700 ‘diggs’. I was then was sent a phony cease and desist order to try and get the post taken down. You see because of the strength of my blog in search engines whenever anyone searched his name this story about how he stole my work and passed it off as his own would come up at the top of the search results.[Three years later the incident is still the top three search results from the thief's name]
Kris talks with Leo Laporte about Creative Commons License
He was trying to pull a fast one on the internet, but it didn’t work. Legal academic journals have used this case study as an example of intellectual property rights and the internet. After I was served this fake cease and desist order he has continued to beg me to take down the blog post, but it remains up to this day. At one point I even told the guy that he should change his name, it’s the best option.
Did you enjoy reading Kris' thoughts? Here is a new post he wrote about the Digital Footprint.
Dick Zokel's golf course Sagebrush overlooks Nicola Lake w/Quilchena Hotel in the bottom right. -KE
Thanks so much for all of your great insights Kris it’s greatly appreciated. I look forward to speaking again in the future. –Kemp Edmonds
This is part three of a three part interview with thought leader Kris Krug. Have you read Part One and Part Two yet?
The Digital Footprint: Internet Philosophy with Kris Krug (2 of 3)
This is part two of a three part interview with thought leader Kris Krug. Have you read Part One yet?KE: You often talk about a ‘digital footprint’, what does it mean to you and where do you see it going?
KK: Every time we interact online we are leaving digital breadcrumbs. These little digital ‘bits’ leave a trail of information about us. We reveal things about ourselves and others make statements about us. This could be what you read, when you favourite a video or post a comment. It’s an amalgamation of what you do online. Even when we think we don’t exist on the net in fact we do.
[Google your name and add your main city of residence to see for yourself]
What do you think of Aggregators? Will that be the digital footprint?
[Get an idea of how FriendFeed represents the digital footprint at Kris' feed or mine]
Do you see any really good Filters out there?
I am currently consulting for 2010 and the David Suzuki foundation, building custom dashboards. I am running searches for “Cultural Olympiad” through PostRank. It tells me who is saying what about this topic anywhere on the internet. I am also using Netvibes and Yahoo Pipes mixing and filtering feeds, Technorati and Google Alerts to track online content in real-time. The really good filters are custom built for their users to enable the most focused result.[Also try Social Mention or Twitter Search for tracking internet chatter about your topic of choice]
Should we be using custom or proprietary filters to gather information?
The easiest to use and cheapest solution is good for the average individual. For companies or individuals needing custom in-depth solutions complete with statistics and analytics a custom solution is the way to go. The current market for these custom solutions is a bit of an arms race and the key is to dial in and refine searches and filters. Techniques like keyword segregation and optimization help enable custom solutions to increase the value for users. To those who understand the power of the media, know what’s possible and want to utilize that power will use custom systems going forward.The internet is an incredibly visual medium, what does this mean for the written word?
I don’t know. Media literacy is very interesting. In the advertising age with TV we saw a movement away from literacy and ads towards visuals and real stories. Young people are continually tuning out traditional advertising. The internet is based on text, HTML=Hyper Text multi-language. It’s all about machines being able to read text and understanding linking and language. We are observing changes in communication. Things may not be better or worse, but they are certainly they are different. The approach to media is changing as media power becomes more decentralized. We are now able to receive many different perspectives, a myriad of voices representing different sides of an issue. Biases are now more explicit compared to the old system where biases were less obvious and people were tuning out advertising a lot less.What would u like to see on the internet/web that is not currently available?
I would like to see more philosophical dialogue and less pure entertainment, more art and culture and less funny cat videos. I would like to see more true art online, more cultural interaction and above all; more collaboration. Canada Code is a great example. We now get to tell our own stories. VANOC’s people are doing a great job working inside an organization [the IOC] which is resistant to the internet as a means to create culture and identity. I would like to see us reaching out to artists and Canadians because we can tell the best stories. You are an artist and creator who wears many hats, how do you keep it all in order?
What about bloggers or creators whose work isn’t really seen by anyone? ;)
In regard to doing stuff that no one sees, if they keep it up people will eventually stumble upon it. Do it for the love of subject matter and it will come; the audience and the money. Learn more about your subject matter and figure out how to use it. I am a firm believer that there are different strokes for different folks. ‘Create your own reality’ with these tools and a community will grow around you if you engage them.
Do you think the sale of the Pirate Bay is a turning point in the proliferation of piracy on the net?
People’s attitudes about piracy are changing. BitTorrent is becoming like TCP/IP to email. In the sense that everyone uses email but few people know its backend is TCP/IP. People will get content anyway using peer to peer sharing. BitTorrent is a way to handle billions of users.
The view from L'Hermitage looking East towards Vancouver Public Library. -KE
The Digital Footprint: Lessons from Kris Krug (1 of 3)
Kris Krug is a technology, idea and thought leader with a strong presence in the digital world. He is also described as ‘a tech-artist, quasi-sage, cyberpunk anti-hero from the future’. The more you get to know him the more that description rings true. I like to imagine him as a cyber surfer on the front of the wave enabling arts and culture in the internet age. If you've never heard of Kris check out his Wikipedia page here. Kris describes himself on kriskrug.com as, “a photographer, web strategist and author based in Vancouver.” Kris speaks all over the world on the topics of technology and the arts. I was inspired by his presentation at Pecha Kucha in Vancouver titled, “Open Everything”. In the presentation Kris talks about the move away from traditional blogging towards a digital footprint.To Kris the 'digital footprint' is represented by his photos on flickr, his videos on YouTube, his blog posts, links he shares, comments he leaves, interactions he has and comments others make about him. See a digital footprint by googling his name or mine. I am writing with many links embedded in the hopes that if you are interested you will explore and try these tools for yourself. Powerful computing tools are increasingly moving online and Kris knows his stuff. So join me as I go into the mind of a current thought leader for a lesson or two.
When did you realize that technology was part of your vocation?
I really started working with web technology while I was at University. In early 1996 I was introduced to Netscape(?) and I started creating web pages. It was when my Communications professors approached me to build web pages for them that I knew things were really changing. It was an upheaval of the traditional power structure. Normally students want help from professors, suddenly these same professors were coming to me for help with their work. I went onto to create web pages for my professors, to promote and sell books, and the university.
In 1998 I created Spark-online.com, an online magazine exploring electronic consciousness and digital philosophy. It grew pretty big and we were using content management systems before blogging which required us to build new HTML pages every month. 11 years later my life is a continuation of those explorations and the addition of more. I am publishing online and speaking live exploring how we are changing and how the medium is changing.On Blogging...
When blogging first started it was for everything [pictures, videos, discussions]. Now each of these media has their own tools outside the blog [flickr, YouTube, Twitter/Facebook]. People are no longer blogging every day; comments on blogs aren’t the place for discussions they once were. One great new tool [Disqus] aggregates tweets about a particular post and then includes a link or embeds those tweets into the blog in the comments section.
Now, instead of writing a blog post after an event I can tweet from the event, post photos and video directly to the web in real time and the day after the event I can do a blog post. I can use tweets from others about the event, embed some of the photos or videos I posted the day before into the post. I feel like we are moving from a web of pages to a web of streams. These streams allow us to aggregate our presence into one central place.On the Olympics... [from a video of a recent Olympic roundtable w/Kris]
I currently represent "The True North Media House" and we are working to build an independent, alternative media center for the 2010 games. There will be a period of time in the future where the stories we are sharing 20 years after the games will be things that happened online. This is the first Olympics sitting on that brink and I hope to help tip the scales in that way through the organization of this 2010 media house.
[Also see this post from co-founder Dave Olson]
In order to prevent readers from having to read to much at once I have broken this piece up into 3 posts. Each post is chalked full of great tools, ideas and links from Kris Krug. Read Part 2 now!
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