Your Custom Text Here
I started a new job today at www.patheos.com. It is a comparative religion website with a social interaction aspect.
I highly recommend checking this site out. It hasn't fully launched yet (look for the main launch on May 5th) but it is super cool. The Judaism gateway needs some work so go to the contact us button if you are interested in being a contributor.
I don't have too much to say about it yet but I will keep you updated. (Come on, today is only my first day!)
Okay. I get the economy is bad... trust me, I REALLY get it! But there has been this disturbing trend of laying off arts reviewers from major newspapers.
The LA Times has a section for Movie, TV, and Music reviews... no dance. Very little about dance on their online site. The Village Voice in NYC? Last I heard Deborah Jowitt, the dance critic, was laid off from the periodical. I hear she is still writing dance for them (she was a biographer of Jerome Robbins) but I don't think she is full time as a dance critic any more.
NYTimes? Anna Kisselgoff is a legend. She is still writing. But those are the biggies, guys. What about the locals?
Here is Denver we lost our full time dance critics a few years ago. Now they all wear multiple hats and are called "Arts Critics." And they do an enormous job. I am not knocking these hardworking folks but when a contact recently told me he couldn't make it because that weekend he had to go to a RollerDerby Dolls event, rock concert, and then a night club opening to cover for the paper, I decided that this has gotten out of hand. How can someone be an expert when they have to see so many different forms of entertainment to keep their jobs? They do a phenomenal job writing the articles but they don't get to connect to the work quite as well when they are running to the Philharmonic for their evening show, all in the same day.
The reason this came about is because our partner, Curious Theatre Company in Denver received this most AMAZING review by a writer for the Westword here in Denver. It is possibly the most beautiful review I have read. The show was incredible but this review, beautiful. Here is a link to the review - The Westword Eurydice
Final word, don't shove the arts to the side and call it okay. We may not be breaking news but we deserve column inches too.
Well, it has officially happened. Twitter has taken over the world.
In the past week, I have had 10 friends join twitter who were anti-tweet before. Why the change? Why now?
The Denver Post ran an article in the Sunday A&E section about Twitter - http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_11899588
And on March 3rd they ran this Twitter article - http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_11826126
Two articles about Twitter in less than two weeks!!!!
Clearly, the press is jumping all over twitter and as it comes out that John Mayer is tweeting nasty about Jennifer Aniston during a concert or Shaq clearly doesn't know how to spell because his tweets are illegible, Twitter has become fodder for the mainstream. AND it is becoming a news source. People in the plane that crashed into the Hudson were tweeting live from the sinking plane and on the ferries. CNN's news isn't breaking anymore because I read it from the people who are experiencing it on Twitter.
Twitter caught my attention in the middle of 2007. At this point I can't remember who urged me to sign up but I had an account and then I read a story about an American kid in Egypt who got thrown in jail. He tweeted, "Arrested" and kept the world updated with his short tweets. The country was mobilized on his behalf in just a few hours and he was released. All because someone, his Tweeps, found out that he was in jail. I wonder how Twitter will figure into court cases and missing persons searches... "Well, Captain, she tweeted that she was meeting a guy out on cty rd 4 at 11:37pm and hasn't been heard from since." That plus GPS in cell phones should help locate missing tweeters.
But back to why the surge in members. I blame Facebook. So we all know by now that Facebook changed their interface and there are articles all over the web about how much it sucks and what people like or don't like (and then there are the people who don't really understand the Web 2.0/3.0 revolution and make up for it by calling those of us who do understand front end and back end systems and all that idiots and dorks and time wasters... I bet you in a month or two they will be calling us to help them get set up on Twitter or Facebook). I'm not here to discuss the pros and cons of it (because frankly, I don't have the time to and it was done really well here - http://www.alternet.org/story/131866) but I think that the new "Twitter-like" Facebook interface helped make Twitter go mainstream but pissed off the Facebookers.
Here's the logic -
Facebook users who are Twitter users saw the similarities immediately. SO we all started Status Updating that and talking about how much we disliked it. That plus the abundance of media coverage about Twitter pushed these people over the edge and they signed up.
Now, I will say that of these people who just registered, many have only tweeted once and the tweet read something like, "Trying this Twitter thing out" or "Signing up for Twitter!" But that's okay guys, just hang in there. I think it was a full year after signing up that I got Twitter-active (now I have 600 some followers and well over 2,000 tweets, I average 16 tweets a day). It took going to the NPAC arts conference in Denver last year to really get me going. I realized I could tweet the wisdom I was getting and share it will my tweeps. It was great!
Anyway, here is another really great blog post on the evangelising of the anti-tweeters - http://www.sarahlacy.com/sarahlacy/2009/03/guest-post-a-facebook-addict-gets-twitter-religion.html
So, needless to say (I think), Twitter is becoming main stream and the early adopters (I like to think of myself as one) will be moving on to the next best thing. And Facebook, you are not it. I'm kinda happy with the change in Facebook... now my addiction is disappearing. Instead of checking it every half hour or so, I maybe check it once or twice a day! Whoo hoo!! I guess I don't need that 12 step for FB after all...
Okay, I don't have an addictive personality BUT I am totally easy prey when it comes to social networking. I don't know why. I never got addicted to smoking or drinking or anything... except social networking. I mean to the point where I check it on my phone at night in bed and tweet "Good morning, Tweeps" in the morning.
On the surface, you may think that seems sick but it gets worse. I manage accounts all over the social networking world for various groups that I represent. That means that more than half my day is spent logging in to Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Linked-in, etc. Rarely, (but it does happen) I get SNICS (Social Networking Identity Confusion Syndrome ... I just made that up) and comment on a friend's picture while signed into the wrong account but usually I only do what needs to be done for that group. I do, however, make all my personal friends be friends with those identities on FB. :-)
Right, so let's guess that I spend two hours of my work day on social networking sites (for my main job with Ballet Nouveau Colorado), two more hours a day researching new ways to network & reading articles and an additional five hours a week on sites like YourHub.com, Denver Metro Mix, and This Week in Denver. Break out your calculators kids, that is 25 hours a week spent online networking...
One could say that I have a problem if half my week is spent digging online but I disagree. My intimate knowledge of the way Facebook and Twitter work has only enhanced my ability to do my job. I sat at the National Performing Arts Convention (NPAC) in Denver last summer and listened to well established companies complain that they can't reach the newer generation. The generation that wants to "Go Green" and save the planet, the ones that refuse hard mailings, who are the newest philanthropists and theatre-goers, who can't remember what color the yellow pages are and Google you before they meet you... my generation.
You see, my need to devour information and be an early adaptor for technology has served me right as the PR Director for Ballet Nouveau Colorado. I didn't know I wanted to do PR until I realized it is what I do everyday anyway! I devour articles on the internet and in magazines. If someone has a new program... Friendster, Myspace, then Facebook... I want to be a part of it. I taught myself HTML coding so I could make my profiles look nice in the earlier days before they had the easy profile maker that inserts HTML for you. Anyway, I feel like I am going off on a bit of a tangent here. What I really wanted to say is, you can do it too.
Look, there are three steps to how I work.
Seek. Post. Trend.
Seek - You always have to be looking at what's next. Where are people getting their ideas from? How did you hear about this restaurant or bar or theatre group? Google a popular group in your town and find out where they have their events posted. THEN -
Post - Everywhere. I am not kidding. You better be on all the popular sites but get on every free listing you can. Goodness knows someone looks at it! THEN -
Trend - GET GOOGLE ANALYTICS ON YOUR WEBSITE! Or something comparable. Google's is free and easy to figure out. So, see what the trends are. Are you getting a bunch of hits off a website you never heard of? Go there. Figure it out. Post there.
Seek. Post. Trend.
So you read my rant about "new media experts." I am not claiming to be one but it works for me. The biggest thing I tell any group that approaches me for advice is this... if you are a generation or two above me, while not impossible, you may find this type of work daunting (I'm not being mean here... my boss was the one who said it). Hire a recent college grad who either currently knows your org or can learn about your org and have them manage this. The onus of responsibility does not rest solely on your shoulders. You don't have to learn HTML or tweet all day but you need to have someone in your org doing it for you!
Oh and P.S. I heart Facebook especially because I have found friends that I lost touch with over 22 years ago! Don't underestimate the power of the net, homeslice!
P.P.S. I hate that spell check wants you to capitalize "internet" I don't think it needs it anymore...
So I posted yesterday about so-called "new media experts" and I stand by what I said but my butt was totally saved today but an SEO expert and I am feeling some remorse.
His website is http://www.ronmedlin.com and his name is (oddly enough ;-)) Ron. He walked me through optimizing our school website. All because I sent a twitter SOS!
So, yes, the glut of "new media experts" still disturbs me but Ron Medlin gave me hope that there are really people out there with more knowledge than I on these subjects.
Check out his site, it is super helpful!
Maybe not... if you don't live in the social networking/new media world, like I do.
I noticed the glut of "new media experts" on twitter. Nearly all of my nearly 600 following/followers has some connection with social media/new media/etc. And everyone is an expert or offering workshops or chances to maximize my networking ability. Cool. I want to do that. I want to learn how to use Facebook and Twitter and Yelp and blogs to it's highest capacity to do my job and promote my company...
So I go to workshops... I've been to quite a few by different people and organizations. (None from my tweeter friends. I think they have a bit more credibility in it but still...) And my conclusion? I could have led everyone of those workshops.
Nothing groundbreaking was revealed to anyone who knows how to use Facebook or write a blog. Now, I can understand that those introductory levels are important and without fail, 80% of the people at those workshops are Facebook virgins who aren't quite sure what will happen if you "poke" someone but come on! Can't there be an advanced level of these workshops... or are we all stuck at this knowledge level and no one knows much more that I do about how to use these tools to get donations or put Butts in Seats (BIS, yes, it's a real term) or drive awareness?
Frankly, I am starting to realize that, for the first time in my life, I am actually part of the pioneering generation for this type of marketing/promotion. None of us know what the world will look like next year or the year after or the year when the last newspaper folds. Right now, one of the biggest pulls for our show attendance is physical newspaper ads and articles. What will replace that when the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post go out of business? Trying to stay ahead of the curve isn't easy.
And frankly, I don't despise the people who say they are social media experts and put on basic workshops on how to set up a myspace account but I wish everyone would just be honest and say, "We just aren't positive. We aren't sure what the BEST way is to maximize traffic to your site or sell tickets but here are a number of options that have worked in the past." We don't have enough historical data to give absolutes here.
The biggest lesson I want people who fall into that 80% who don't know how to write a blog or create a Facebook fan page to learn is that they need to hire a young person to help them. My boss and I have discussed this often. She feels that without me at this office, BNC wouldn't be where it is today. Where is BNC? At the forefront of current technology, on all the major what-to-do sites in Denver, all over Google. The best compliment I get is when people say to me, "I see you guys EVERYWHERE," because that is the key. You must have a person on staff who has the time and know how to put your company all over the internet.
Whew! That was my soapbox today. I guess I just wish people could say, "I don't know but we can all find out," instead of assuming an answer.
P.S. I hope this doesn't sound snarky. I know some really wonderful PR/Marketing new media experts who are really good at what they do. It's just the proliferation of them that makes me think...
Okay, now I have to go clean up and I think I might sleep in tomorrow. That's what you get to do after a successful event, right? :-)