tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89365087799568567982024-03-13T04:03:56.878-04:00Tales from The Social Media Front LineTreading water in a tidal wave of information about social mediaKaren Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-6546862743455029842013-07-08T16:34:00.000-04:002013-07-08T16:34:54.828-04:00Check out my website: SocialMedialista.comMy Mom said I didn't seem like an actual professional if I didn't have my own website (something my friends at VeriSign would be glad to hear...)
So I created:
<b><a href="http://socialmedialista.com">http://socialmedialista.com</a></b>
And then I pretty much lamed out and stopped blogging. So, not sure how much it actually helps.
Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-77103544178395219312010-01-31T18:16:00.016-05:002010-01-31T19:51:56.355-05:00"Do Social Media" = "Collect Underpants"The hype around social media just seems to be growing. But as the initial glow of this new medium wears off, it's going to be up to us to prove the ROI of social media. (Thanks to <a href="http://ablebrains.typepad.com/">Steve Mann</a> for showing me some great case studies about smart companies who are doing it right). But the trick is finding the formula that clicks for each individual company. There is no "one size fits all**" when it comes to social media - you need to tailor the solution to your particular needs. This is not an easy task and it's not easy to demonstrate ROI while you are formulating and executing your strategy. <br /><br />Have fortitude, my social media kindred. Refuse to let your stakeholders consider number of HITS a metric (they are "How Idiots Track Success," according to <a href="http://kdpaine.blogs.com/">K.D. Paine</a>). Help them understand the real social media metrics like buzz volume, buzz sentiment and engagement (Mike Manuel, social media genius, <a href="http://www.mike-manuel.com/blog/2009/12/16/three-types-of-social-media-measurements/">can teach you more about metrics</a>). But at the same time, realize that as cool as it is to show how many followers you have on Twitter, how many fans you have on Facebook, and how much buzz you're generating, at the end of the day, the people who write your paycheck will want to see the impact to the bottom line. <br /><br /><h4>**Speaking of one size fits all...</h4><br />The daily influx of invites to Webinars and conferences promising to show me the Holy Grail of Social Media Success remind me of the South Park episode about the "Underpants Gnomes" that are stealing Tweek's underwear. One of my favorite South Park moments is the Gnomes' business plan: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOqdXt1ac_Cd-By0m9AlEwwa-WNP_9qyo1JntYlbPyPfw1OgRb6In4wLiKWtssiBE5SrouovdnYwXAW1eRlJ94zfFFK8y6V-bBgka50oTUDSIixgOtVv5hAm4zAa8gaGy2ZEGN5vXsK9m/s1600-h/south+park_image.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 384px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOqdXt1ac_Cd-By0m9AlEwwa-WNP_9qyo1JntYlbPyPfw1OgRb6In4wLiKWtssiBE5SrouovdnYwXAW1eRlJ94zfFFK8y6V-bBgka50oTUDSIixgOtVv5hAm4zAa8gaGy2ZEGN5vXsK9m/s400/south+park_image.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433050920106125554" /></a><br /><br />We all get the endless invitations to paid Webinars claiming to teach us how Social Media will make us successful. The truth they don't want you to know is that nobody can give you the magic formula to "do social media." STOP WASTING YOUR MONEY. You just need to figure out how to listen to what people are saying about you, and then how to join the conversation. Yes, there are lots of ways to do this, and it's not always easy to figure out which way is the right way. It takes some time and effort. There is no quick fix or easy salvation -- if anyone suggests you do a "viral video" run the other way - FAST! With all the tools and technologies out there, the task is daunting. But if you go for the quick fix, you may as well use this as your business plan:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGiNniDcwH8inTTp9GZhYLGhfnPnqT21ap_67qaYnA4y1PgzbwU3kkvirjuyc2fPDsyUONnJSiANqPMRhzq9UoU2cAsfhnOjosPW3OJ7xGevVZaf02RXdjl5DR5o6ZG6fispw2LlAITUn/s1600-h/south+park_do+social.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 384px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGiNniDcwH8inTTp9GZhYLGhfnPnqT21ap_67qaYnA4y1PgzbwU3kkvirjuyc2fPDsyUONnJSiANqPMRhzq9UoU2cAsfhnOjosPW3OJ7xGevVZaf02RXdjl5DR5o6ZG6fispw2LlAITUn/s400/south+park_do+social.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433057757527743234" /></a>Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-32330079204513842772009-07-19T17:00:00.011-04:002010-01-31T20:01:33.917-05:00Capturing Leads and Tracking Conversations on TwitterHere at VeriSign, we've proven that Twitter can be used to capture sales leads and make sales. But we are also seeing all kinds of other interactions that happen on Twitter. These include: <ul><br /><li>Requests for information / help with products</li><br /><li>Suggestions for product features (e.g., “VIP iPhone app should work on iPod Touch!”)</li><br /><li>General industry questions</li><br /><li>Media inquiries and commentary </li><br /><li>Customers needing some TLC</li><br /><li>Interesting news articles or Tweets to share</li> </ul><br /><h4>Getting Started</h4><br />Before you start, you’ll need to do a search on your brand to see what kind of mentions it is getting. <span style="font-weight:bold;">http://search.twitter.com</span> will find all mentions, which you may want to catalog in your own spreadsheet because it only seems to archive about a month’s worth of data. But you can still find a Tweet using more specific keywords on Google to find tweets, because, <span style="font-weight:bold;">much like a diamond, a Tweet is forever!</span> (even if you delete a Tweet from your Twitter stream, it’s going to show up on Google!)<br /><h4>Tools for Tracking Conversations</h4><br />1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Bit.ly</span>: Bit.ly can be used for shortening any URLs. You can even create custom Bit.ly Urls, but keep track of what you create because Bit.ly won’t track those for you. And beware the inflated Bit.ly stats which do not filter out hits from bots / spiders, etc. <a href="http://bit.ly/lQPHK">More on that here</a> from <a href="http://bit.ly/d6bC8">Hutch Carpenter</a>. And Tac Anderson is <a href="http://bit.ly/FSZg8">a great blogger to follow</a> if you want to keep up on the latest cool tools - he is great filter for the (too much) information that's out there.<br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Tracking Codes</span>: We use Visual Sciences on our VeriSign.com so if we append an “SL code” to a URL that we send out, and someone visits the VeriSign.com site, we know where they came from. So, the URL we send looks like this: www.verisign.com/industrybriefs?sl=12345. Using these helps us keep track of traffic that we send over from Twitter.<br /><h4>Capturing Sales Leads</h4><br />Our leads from Twitter were getting lost in the Siebel Sales database becuase we had no way of tracking. The “traditional” way of capturing leads is that a prospective customer fills ut a landing page. We persuaded the Direct Marketing team that people engaging with us on Twitter are in no mind set to fill out a form if they wanted more info, and they are allowing us to fill in the form ourselves, as long as the potential customer approves it. Now that's progress! Now all we need is our own cool little "Twitter Leads" form. I'll keep you posted on how it's going.<br /><h4>Keeping track of Resources</h4><br />Many of the interactions I mentioned above need to be shared internally with the right people, and then communicated back out. We're talking a serious time commitment here. But how to show the "higher ups" what resources are necessary? I've worked with my colleague (@AllenKelly) to come up with a system that should help us with this. More on this after we try it out for a bit.Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-64655049407960021172009-07-06T09:20:00.009-04:002010-01-31T20:08:33.451-05:00Reaping the Rewards of your Blogging EffortsYou’ve been valiantly foraging through the social media wilderness, publishing blog posts and Tweeting your heart out. Wouldn’t it be nice to see the fruits of your labor? Here are a few tools I use to track blog success. I started using these methods for our Corporate Social Media efforts but they work for personal blogs and Tweets, as well. Don’t forget: the <span style="font-weight:bold;">key social media metrics are sentiment and level of engagement</span> (e.g., number of blog post comments, trackbacks.) Or are you simply wondering “<a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2009/05/making-sense-of-social-media-landscape.html">why do I need a Web site, a blog, and a Twitter account?</a>” <br /><br /><h3>Tracking "Micro-Metrics" for Blogs </h3><br />1. Feedburner allows me to see how many subscribers I have, enable blog subscription via email, and add the “share this” feature for each post. They provide a snippet of code for me to insert into the blog template, and instructions for Moveable Type and Wordpress.<br /><br />2. Google Analytics offers a myriad of data, but I usually focus on the following data points: <ul><br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Percentage of readers arriving through search</span>. If it’s below 30% we need to better optimize the blogs for search: I remind bloggers to focus on the keywords in the post title and body, leverage the “categories.”<br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Keywords</span> bringing people to the blogs. This data usually provides a nice ego boost for our bloggers, since the primary keywords bringing traffic to each blog are usually the bloggers’ names. Ideally the top keywords would be industry / product terms. Or simply “VeriSign.”<br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Time spent reading posts.</span> Less than a minute means the user found little value in the content. I like to see readers spending at least 2 minutes on each post. One blogger had readers spending about 6 minutes on each post, which I shared with all of our bloggers. Another blogger (jealously?) pointed out “his posts are really long.”<br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Referring sites.</span> Is there some site helping you out that you did not know about? Where are users coming from? This will help you tailor your content to appeal to those folks.<br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bounce Rate and Exit rate.</span> A high <span style="font-weight:bold;">bounce rate</span> means the content on the page the user landed on was not interesting to them. They came, they saw, they left your domain. Conversely, the <span style="font-weight:bold;">exit rate</span> is the measure of how many people left a page, and then went elsewhere on your site - that particular page was not too exciting, but they were interested enough to look further. You should worry about a consistently high bounce rate and consider how to make that landing page a little juicer. This is why it helps to know what keywords people are searching on, and what the referring sites are. There is a nice explanation of these terms on <a href="http://www.SEOlogs.com">SEOlogs.com</a>.<br /></ul><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Coming soon...</span> "Capturing Sales Leads and Tracking Conversations on Twitter"Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-35527144678462029202009-05-05T17:01:00.003-04:002009-05-05T17:07:11.907-04:00Making sense of the social media landscape...In February, a friend who is an excellent personal trainer asked me how she could use social media to improve her business and attract clients. "What's the difference between a Web site, a blog, Facebook, LinkedIN, and Twitter?" she asked me. She already had a Facebook account to connect with friends and family. I remembered an anecdote I heard at a conference, a clothing analogy for some of the social networking tools:<br /><blockquote>LinkedIn is like your "business attire" for your professional contacts. Twitter is your "business casual" wear. For example, you can use it to make informal connections with colleagues you meet at conferences to get to know them better. And Facebook is "weekend wear" -- flip flops and shorts, meant for your friends and family.</blockquote><br />"Well why do I need a Web page?" She asked. I had to think about this one. Did she really need to register a domain name and set up a site, with all these tools at her disposal? The answer is a definite "yes." I judge a business by the quality of their Web site. Maybe I'm a bit of a snob, with my roots in Web content development, but I usually choose the restaurant or a hotel with a higher quality Web site unless I have a strong reason to do otherwise. I don't think I'm alone in this. So I explained to her that as a solo practitioner, she needed to establish her professional presence with a Web site. I even suggested "<a href="http://www.TrainWithJess.com">TrainWithJess.com</a>" which she loved.<br /><br />Then she asked, "why do I need a blog?" So I gave her another analogy. "Your Web site is like your office building, it's your home base. Your blog is like the landscaping / garden out front that shows that this building is occupied and cared for." And then, the final question:<br /><br />"Why do I need Twitter?"<br />"Twitter serves as a way to meet new prospects and attract them to your manicured blog and professional Web site."<br />"Got it."<br /><br />That was two months ago, and since then Jessica has created her own Web site, complete with a blog and Twitter feed. She even found some new communities to join, hosted on Ning. I am amazed at how much she learned on her own, and she is already attracting new clients who are finding her Web site via Twitter and Google, and complimenting her on "how professional it looks."<br /><br />Jessica is obviously a very smart, ambitious lady, but the fact of the matter is that in a Web 2.0 world, ANYONE can self publish and have a voice on the Web. All it takes is the desire to learn and the willingness to spend some time doing it.Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-70654663385752231972009-02-19T17:27:00.009-05:002009-02-19T21:18:35.320-05:00Help Cookie and Coco stay Together!UPDATE! It appears that Cookie and Coco are actually in CA, not in VA as I had originally thought. <span style="font-weight:bold;">They have found a home TOGETHER through lab rescue. </span> My college roommate saw my post on Facebook and gave me this info. I see on my comments from Liz that she saw the same email, but thought these dogs were in Vermont. I think we have a bit of a viral urban legend going on here -- not surprising since this story touches all of us who worry about those who are suffering from the bad economy. But these dogs are for real and they have found a real home, so all doggie lovers, rejoice!<br /><br />And for you Lab lovers who are looking for a furry friend, why not check your local <a href="http://www.lrr.org/wiki/page/LRR/Welcome">Lab Rescue</a>?<br /><br />**** <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Two young adorable female labs - age 3. Well cared for. Family losing home.</span><br />It's a sad story that's probably all too common these days. A Northern Virginia family is losing their home and the family dogs aren't welcome at the new apartment. <br /><br />Already housebroken, trained, love kids, neutered, up to date on shots. Must stay together!<br />Contact: Katherine at: kjmorris74[at]yahoo[dot]com<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmqXHJ1FyJiXUiG7179bt5Bg9u5vSlA39SfK0GkqzvG0aOyhYdSwr7gZV_HcWEnAATeP7yUURpd4_itb7DYAj0ThkXVMKZK72XtuOzWr9ONVNThPQJL1ke_AKi1IRmDjooBZ7La1rvpy3/s1600-h/cookie+and+coco.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 369px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmqXHJ1FyJiXUiG7179bt5Bg9u5vSlA39SfK0GkqzvG0aOyhYdSwr7gZV_HcWEnAATeP7yUURpd4_itb7DYAj0ThkXVMKZK72XtuOzWr9ONVNThPQJL1ke_AKi1IRmDjooBZ7La1rvpy3/s400/cookie+and+coco.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304640152103824610" /></a><br />Here is a letter from the owner:<br />"As many of you know, we are moving in just 2 weeks Unfortunately, I have still not been able to find a good home for Cookie and Coco. We're not able to take our beloved doggies with us and I've been desperately trying to find a home for both of them 'together'. They were raised together and pine without each other. The Lab rescue have already said that they would probably separate them, so this is my last resort.<br /><br />Recently I tried to take Coco out in my car alone and she TOTALLY refused to even get into the car without Cookie.....!!!! She absolutely pulled back on her haunches until Cookie was by her side. Both doggies are in great health, have been spayed and have ID chips implanted under the skin.<br /><br />Cookie turned 3 December 10th and Cookie is my mellow-yellow, and just loves her tummy rubbed. Coco is adorably funny and lives for her "ball". She also loves the water..... Cookie loves lots of attention.<br />Both doggies are loyal and love to walk. They have been raised with my 3 kids running around all over the place, and have survived Sammy's constant hugging and love of 'dress-up', so they are fantastic family dogs. This is by far one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, but under the circumstances I have no choice.<br /><br />Please, Please forward these pics to all you know and help me find a great home for these fabulous doggies. They are just adorable and it's heartbreaking to let them go. In a perfect world, I hope that we could find someone local so that we can still keep in touch and visit them.<br /><br />I pray that someone somewhere can help us keep Cookie and Coco together, and love them just as much as we do. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart."Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-60962152444447042572009-02-03T21:18:00.006-05:002009-02-03T21:27:06.212-05:00Iran: A Nation of BloggersIt took something exceptional to snap me out of my several-month blogging slump. I found this on twitter from @marshallk Iran: A Nation of Bloggers a powerful 2 minute video.<br /><br />Half of Iran's population is under 25 and they are not happy with the oppressive regime. They blog about it, most anonymously for fear of imprisonment, but some are bold enough to speak out. I did not realize that Iran is the third largest blogger nation.<br /><br />Check out this video.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2139754&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2139754&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ffffff&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><br /><br />Good stuff! Let Social media bring democracy to the masses, Obama style!Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-7271973422438754052008-11-18T08:11:00.003-05:002008-11-18T08:13:29.343-05:00Know Your Meme: "Fail"The game-related history of "FAIL!" Answers the question, when does a "Standard Fail" become an "Epic Fail?"<br /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="437" height="288" id="viddler_rocketboom_1251"><param name="movie" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/c6186f20/" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://www.viddler.com/player/c6186f20/" width="437" height="288" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" name="viddler_rocketboom_1251" /></embed></object>Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-84338758447845352212008-11-14T16:49:00.009-05:002008-11-14T17:41:03.804-05:00Social Media Rockstar Event in D.C.Last night, my husband and I attended a really fun event held by the DC New Media Tech (Web / Video), which is run by its dedicated leader, <a href="http://chiefsocialofficer.com/">Paul Worsham </a>. <a href="http://www.meetup.com/socialweb/members/3383966/">Kady</a> (I did not catch her last name!) organized this particular event. She did a great job and I plan to find out more about her work as a social media contractor for Booz.<br /><br />Just some quick highlights from the presentations:<br /><br /><a href="http://drinkingoatmealstout.com/">Justin Thorpe</a> who is the Developer Community manager at <a href="http://www.clearspring.com/about/press">Clearspring</a>. He described his job: "as a Community Manager I get paid to make friends"<br /><br />Jared Goralnick of <a href="http://www.awayfind.com/">Awayfind</a> offered some pragmatic advice: be nice to people and make friends *before* you need them!<br /><br />But the most memorable presentation was from <a href="http://cmelissinos.blogspot.com/">Chris Melissinos</a>, Chief Gaming Officer, at Sun Microsystems. His presentation was like a study of the cultural anthropology of gaming. I'll never forget some points he made, like: "for the first time in history, we have gamers raising gamers" and how today's youth are very "thumb oriented" (I can't do his presentation justice here, you have to hear him tell the tale!) Chris is a dynamic, engaging presenter -- If you ever see him on the agenda at an event, you have to go! He is a MUST SEE!Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-19375295977626430782008-11-05T11:47:00.011-05:002008-11-05T13:56:52.926-05:00How Social Media swayed me to vote for ObamaI heard a word on TV last night that I don't think I have ever heard on TV before. "LAYAWAY." It's certainly not a new concept -- I've just never heard it on a TV ad. <a href="http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/dap_10151_10101_DAP_Kmart%20Layaway?keywordRedirect=layaway&psid=45620504&sid=KSx20070515x00001a">K-Mart</a> is advertising to "start your holiday shopping early, put it on layaway and you'll have it in time for Christmas."<br /><br />My husband's parents amassed a small fortune despite having a modest income and raising 9 children. Whenever I asked Dave how they did it, he said "they grew up during the Great Depression." For the first time in my life I actually understand this mentality. I am very fortunate I don't have to make any tough choices (yet) but I chat with the security guard at our office who had to stop taking his law school night classes because the cost of gas.<br /><br />Younger Americans are going to be affected by the economy. The cost of college is skyrocketing, and recent Business School grads will find that there are no jobs available. <br /><br />I was planning to vote for McCain until about a month ago. The choice of Sarah Palin as running mate was disappointing, but I am strongly opposed to big government because I have had experience working with unmotivated, uninspired Federal workers. They are not rewarded for taking risks, only punished when things go wrong. I worked for a Federal contractor and I saw how they stretch out a project -- the longer it takes, the more money they get. This is why I want my tax dollars to stay local; I am suspicious of "big government."<br /><br />But I was swayed by the passion and enthusiasm I see in the user-generated content on YouTube -- GenY LOVES Obama. I also saw the fanatical support on my Facebook network (Gen X), and through the people I follow on Twitter. Several of my good friends (Fay Mark, <a href="http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/karenhenke">Karen Henke</a> and Mary-Dixie Carter) were rabid Obama supporters from the start. The social network "<a href="http://my.barackobama.com/">My.BarackObama.com</a>" helped them reach out to people like me. <br /><br />Times are tough, and we're probably only seeing the beginning. When people are losing their homes, their savings, and the promise of a prosperous future, the only thing that is going to keep them going is hope. This is why I voted for Obama. But I might not have really seen the passion people have for Obama if it weren't for my online social networks. <br /><br />I got inspired to write this blog post when I read this article from Wired: <a href="http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/propelled-by-in.html">Propelled by Internet, Barack Obama Wins Presidency</a>Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-7391364080914403822008-10-31T19:12:00.010-04:002008-10-31T20:06:39.914-04:00Help create believers in Social Media!Help me show how effective social media can be as a recruiting tool! I've already spammed my networks on LinkedIn, but now I'm casting a wider net by posting this on my blog. I'd love to raise some eyebrows and impress my colleagues here at VeriSign with the effectiveness of online social networks. <br /><br />Help me find qualified candidates for these jobs which are in Dulles, VA; Mountain View, CA and New York, NY. I figure that at this point all of us know *someone* who is looking for a job. And, as the self-crowned "social media queen" of VeriSign it behooves me to create a real-world case study for Twitter and Blogging. (full disclosure: I'll get a referral bonus if someone gets hired - but that's not what is motivating me here, ok? REALLY!)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jobs in Mountain View, CA and New York City</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3z6hXq1QBBO08IVlQzj18SwbQQsuhyphenhyphencZyX5sF641AivXCEPGqlbz9B6npedZfo20AsGag-TevHkU6E_URIotMzNp4mqFgFdcuFH6OuFBwS_sFKukCzmEKGnn_bO98_OKh0AeTJSXKgbNR/s1600-h/mv.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 378px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3z6hXq1QBBO08IVlQzj18SwbQQsuhyphenhyphencZyX5sF641AivXCEPGqlbz9B6npedZfo20AsGag-TevHkU6E_URIotMzNp4mqFgFdcuFH6OuFBwS_sFKukCzmEKGnn_bO98_OKh0AeTJSXKgbNR/s400/mv.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263472840199367410" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jobs in Dulles, VA</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6gZ_UHDID3yH-QOys5fi2Sh594oYnE8Gmz6kpz9WcFelH1l3e7wZSupFt7m-tduT946vmvBbOqeEzQJ7Ro2JHR3Kd-LWlFv5hWgor4Tl93wtqxTlQDI9ClylO4iHF51hcUH6DYufq8Fv/s1600-h/dul+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6gZ_UHDID3yH-QOys5fi2Sh594oYnE8Gmz6kpz9WcFelH1l3e7wZSupFt7m-tduT946vmvBbOqeEzQJ7Ro2JHR3Kd-LWlFv5hWgor4Tl93wtqxTlQDI9ClylO4iHF51hcUH6DYufq8Fv/s400/dul+copy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263472627844401506" /></a>Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-61789495253625531682008-10-30T17:59:00.017-04:002008-10-31T20:05:47.070-04:00A Social Media Case Study from Radian6Since June I've been bugging social media experts like <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/1/a9b/6b4">Amy Paquette</a> of Cisco, <a href="http://giatalks.com/">Gia Lyons</a> of Jive Software, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/stevemann">Steve Mann</a> of SAP, <a href="http://www.newcommbiz.com/">Tac Anderson</a> of HP, and <a href="http://twitter.com/jmoriarty">Jeff Moriarty</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/kellyrfeller">Kelly Feller</a> of Intel. I've been looking for the "Holy Grail of Social Media" - namely, case studies and ROI. So I'm pleased to tell you that VeriSign is now featured in a new case study from the brilliant Social Media Monitoring company, Radian6. Now I finally have something to give back to all of these folks who have been so generous with their time. <br /><br />What Radian6 does is amazing. With all those "Google Alerts" and other info available, it can get tough to figure out what's worth paying attention to. Radian6 is a blogosphere monitoring tool that helps cut through the noise and understand:<br /><br />-- <strong>Who is talking about your brand?</strong> <br />-- <strong>What's the level of engagement around any particular post?</strong><br />-- <strong>What's the overall influence of the blogger?</strong><br /><br />The tool takes a little training, since it is a bit complex. You create your own customized "River of News" which is an apt analogy, because without this tool you're drowning in data. Radian6 (and Mike Manuel and Ryan Lack of Voce) have helped VeriSign stay on top of current trends, and much more...read the case study!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://twurl.nl/rau072/">VeriSign and Voce Communications: A Radian6 Case Study</a><br /></span>Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-9053562925304151752008-10-29T10:01:00.009-04:002008-10-29T10:37:32.586-04:00Dear Pepsi: Stop Anointing and Start ListeningWHEREAS<br />I don't really give a rat's a** what your logo looks like, as long as you don't change the taste of Diet Pepsi (by the way, I preferred the way it tasted last year, when the cans were light blue. It tastes funny now.) However, I would appreciate it if I could get Diet Pepsi at every fast food joint, restaurant and Movie Theater. My preferred soda is notably absent at AMC Theaters and Chik Fil-A.<br /><br />It's clear that you are not asking your customers what they want. If you had asked for MY feedback, instead of rebranding, I would have suggested you focus on improving your distribution.<br /><br />FURTHERMORE<br />Stop anointing people as "top 25" influencers. The other hundreds of top influencers are probably peeved that they weren't chosen in your top 25. Remember that they all got to be "influencers" because, much like entertainers, they seek the approval and attention of the outside world (no offense to anyone, I'm in that category too.) This reminds me of <a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/new-intel-insider-program.html">Intel's stunt with their "insiders" campaign</a>. I'm sure those chosen ones are enjoying their new Macbook Airs. At least Intel used the pretense of asking social media experts for guidance. But YOUR lucky top 25 are getting packages full of old cans and bottles. Where's the fun in that? I'd rather be an "Intel Insider" than a Pepsi "top 25-er"<br /><br />IN SUMMARY<br />Here is my "Pepsi Challenge." If just ONE Pepsi employee responds to this post, I'll be thrilled and will tell MY huge following of 200+ Twitterati that Pepsi "gets it." If not, well then Pepsi will just join my list here on my blog of the companies that DON'T. But yeah, I'll still drink Diet Pepsi anyway.Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-32041743943943200702008-10-27T15:12:00.020-04:002008-10-28T00:09:12.675-04:00What Roswell Taught Me about Social media<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIVSFNbfWnn7w_vgc29yYKSQG7mPA7XBpVXgZJBmIVed-8ulc3NHVeUGUEDPYAIi6do7ZrKvkJgj6Gro0aqKtq6mrF_0woysdxCO4OI2b4XcEVpzugVp9_ZRlkWh-NXz0Ix1PVN_6X5FF/s1600-h/alien+arby%27s.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 345px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIVSFNbfWnn7w_vgc29yYKSQG7mPA7XBpVXgZJBmIVed-8ulc3NHVeUGUEDPYAIi6do7ZrKvkJgj6Gro0aqKtq6mrF_0woysdxCO4OI2b4XcEVpzugVp9_ZRlkWh-NXz0Ix1PVN_6X5FF/s400/alien+arby%27s.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262043285327649762" /></a><br /><br />As we walked through the Best Western in Roswell, I noticed that people sat in their rooms with their doors wide open. I thought, "Are they waiting for a pizza delivery? Why else would they just leave their doors open?" My husband, said "They are waiting for their friends to stop by." I have never seen people do that. It turned out that the reason for the crowds was the Eastern New Mexico State Fair. I begged my husband to take me to the fair. He did not understand the fascination, but he indulged me.<br /><br />I saw pretty much everything you'd expect to see at a state fair, but since I'd never been to one, the whole experience was pretty exciting for me.I saw a bunch of shorn sheep who were mournfully saying "baaaa." I got to pet a cow, who tried to eat my belt. I was thinking I could put this image on some Moo cards...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVwNd0aqF3Qn-NeSFF5RxekY7FDQBPyiMEgVYx4ffhbTkeSoM-toQBDO9cEoj0ZHk6ijkbXM6NZtaJSb9qlCC4OEtijjq12WyUzZ_0g5iWwjDluDe-3WNbZ1h79B0OK9IALh7ONPZQPD7/s1600-h/karen+with+cow.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVwNd0aqF3Qn-NeSFF5RxekY7FDQBPyiMEgVYx4ffhbTkeSoM-toQBDO9cEoj0ZHk6ijkbXM6NZtaJSb9qlCC4OEtijjq12WyUzZ_0g5iWwjDluDe-3WNbZ1h79B0OK9IALh7ONPZQPD7/s320/karen+with+cow.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262046709116315170" /></a><br /><br />I saw a New Mexican delicacy called "Frito Pie."<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnffNyCgSAkAINfHZY9rGeSLxX5-amq-uIlm0NkoQzVZ_AhnP8NZpWjT_XrHlFYsaKJCrjSK7b0QOyZkx01wfbbyxcrICff9p-tb6W0mCbN9w3X2FH7nedPFjxe7UEsk7lugJsY8_Fre5/s1600-h/frito+pie.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnffNyCgSAkAINfHZY9rGeSLxX5-amq-uIlm0NkoQzVZ_AhnP8NZpWjT_XrHlFYsaKJCrjSK7b0QOyZkx01wfbbyxcrICff9p-tb6W0mCbN9w3X2FH7nedPFjxe7UEsk7lugJsY8_Fre5/s320/frito+pie.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262044015672755314" /></a><br /><br />Every time I visit this small town , I am struck by the friendliness and openness of the people. You sense it everywhere you go, just listening to conversations. People spend more time actually talking to each other. My father-in-law was an extraordinary man, and it seemed like half the town came to his funeral. Most of us don't experience this type of strong family and community. Especially those of us who grew up in urban and suburban settings or come from fragmented families.<br /><br />Human beings are social animals. We run in packs, like dogs (which is probably why we like them so much.) It's that craving for human contact that compels me to get sucked into Facebook for hours, just to find out what acquaintances ate for dinner last night, or to dwell on random twitter posts and blogs. But I don't consider social media a substitute for a "real" social life, probably because most of my friends are not "users." They are starting to catch on, though, and when they do, the applications will become even more relevant to my life.Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-28225757896477599442008-10-21T16:09:00.010-04:002008-10-21T17:30:47.914-04:00Steal This Social Media Plan!I recently put together a Social Media Program plan for 2009. My hope was to expand our existing blog program into a larger entity that would coordinate and oversee the social media efforts of our disparate business units. There is a need for proper processes and policies, and especially for education around the "dos and dont's" of social media. I caught wind of some rogue marketers who plan to spam the blogosphere with their messages. I quickly pinged <a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/evolution-of-social-media-at-cisco.html">Amy Paquette of Cisco</a>, who has been a great source of knowledge and advice. She advised that training and education should be a primary focus of any social media program. Well, here is my proposed plan. I'm not sure how well it has served my purposes, so I encourage everyone else to see if there is any value in it for them. Then at least I won't feel like I have wasted my time.<br /><div><br /> <div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_677410"><a style="font:14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;display:block;margin:12px 0 3px 0;text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/karensnyd/an-actual-social-media-program-plan-strategy-presentation?type=powerpoint" title="An Actual Social Media Program Plan / Strategy">An Actual Social Media Program Plan / Strategy</a><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=snyder-social-media-strategy2-1224623129257540-8&stripped_title=an-actual-social-media-program-plan-strategy-presentation" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=snyder-social-media-strategy2-1224623129257540-8&stripped_title=an-actual-social-media-program-plan-strategy-presentation" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;">View SlideShare <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/karensnyd/an-actual-social-media-program-plan-strategy-presentation?type=powerpoint" title="View An Actual Social Media Program Plan / Strategy on SlideShare">presentation</a> or <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/upload?type=powerpoint">Upload</a> your own. (tags: <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://slideshare.net/tag/social-media-planning">social-media-planning</a> <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://slideshare.net/tag/social-media-program">social-media-program</a>)</div></div><br /> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/karensnyd/an-actual-social-media-program-plan-strategy-presentation">SlideShare Link</a><br /> </div><br /> <img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bHQ9MTIyNDYyNDQyMjEyMyZwdD*xMjI*NjI*NDQ1MzE2JnA9MTAxOTEmZD*mbj1ibG9nZ2VyJmc9MSZ*PSZvPTYwZDYyY2MwNmQzZjRkMWE4YWJiNmE1ZDY*MzZiOGIx.gif" />Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-45389972300263065912008-09-09T20:30:00.013-04:002008-09-21T21:27:00.623-04:00Social Network Analysis: The Power of Informal NetworksI attended the "<a href="https://webapp.comm.virginia.edu/networkroundtable/">Network Roundtable</a>" conference here in Virginia.<br /><br />Social Network Analysis ("SNA"), also known as Organizational Analysis "ONA" is an established field with many professionals who make their living doing this (who knew?) It was not a large conference but people came from across the country and around the globe to attend. This was an introduction to the concepts for me but I found it very interesting, as sort of the "real-world basis" for online Social Media. It provides the foundation and background I have been seeking for why Social Media is so compelling...because it's based in basic human interactions.<br /><br /><a href="https://webapp.comm.virginia.edu/NetworkRoundtable/Home/RoundtableDirector/tabid/61/Default.aspx">Rob Cross</a> is a professor of management at UVA. He is an excellent presenter with a great sense of humor and great energy. Everyone laughed when he described how the more scientific approach to Organizational Network Analysis can (and should) replace the "kumbaya off-sites with executives falling into each other's arms."<br /><br />The conference offered a very academic approach. The goal is to diagnose issues within an organization, and the tactics are through surveys and interviews. What you usually see is a diagram that looks like a constellation, identifying the connections and relationships between individuals. You can see which individuals are highly connected or integrated, as well as those that are on the periphery.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoO_saJDoY9Yy8FuqYGCj4kHiuxut-efFWqvAvItPrRCiXIi4Zt-mfp1qkgkFLJlVv8IXRyBUt608az5NEs2x-wWN1ViBK7IzAN7A2NX9NmaTqOPOTh2zTdSTIxWcm8pOyDhuXZftGgdQ9/s1600-h/https___webapp.comm.virginia.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoO_saJDoY9Yy8FuqYGCj4kHiuxut-efFWqvAvItPrRCiXIi4Zt-mfp1qkgkFLJlVv8IXRyBUt608az5NEs2x-wWN1ViBK7IzAN7A2NX9NmaTqOPOTh2zTdSTIxWcm8pOyDhuXZftGgdQ9/s400/https___webapp.comm.virginia.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248649727977534370" /></a><br /><br />SNA can be useful for onboarding new employees, as well as helping existing employees with their transitions. It can be used to identify "bottlenecks" such as an executive who does not have the time to approve all the requests that come their way. It helps with Operational efficiency. For me, the most compelling use of it is to find out who in your organization is most connected, and is adding value by acting as a "bridge" between disparate groups. Once these valuable people are identified, they can be rewarded / motivated to stay with the company. It is fairly scientific in that it is based on data gathering and I saw a lot of these types of "constellation" charts.<br /><br />There were a lot of case studies presented, including Microsoft, 3M, IBM and Raytheon. But I'm still somehow at a loss for how this methodology might be applied to my own company. Maybe that is because I'm still new to the concepts, and I have no background in Organizational Development or HR. One strong message that was communicated is "forget about the tools." That's funny because I ended up at the conference because I was brought into an evaluation of Internal Collaboration Software because of my expertise in Social Media. I became involved in the issue of building internal community.<br /><br />One favorite presentation was <a href="http://www.laurenceprusak.com/">Larry Prusak</a>, who drew upon historical and economic principles to make his point about the importance of knowledge and networks. He insists that online social networks can never replace those in the "real world." I think that the next generation of Internet users will prove him wrong!<br /><br />Personally I really appreciated <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/tedsmith">Ted Smith</a>, a marketing guy who pointed out that marketing and PR pros tend to focus only on those individuals who are "Most connected" (e.g., the uber bloggers / influencers) while in fact, there are more individuals who are PRETTY well connected, and they appreciate the same messages as the "ultra connected" folks. I asked him to send me some more concrete examples.<br /><br />I also really enjoyed the presentation by <a href="http://talentreadiness.wordpress.com/margaret-schweer/">Margaret Schweer</a>, who referenced a lot of the Web 2.0 technologies, and explained what ONA is REALLY good for. She provided a good summary of how HR might be able to use these techniques.<br /><br />On the first day of the conference, <a href="http://swarmcreativity.blogspot.com/">Peter Gloor </a>left everyone buzzing when he showed us how analysis of online info (blogs and online forums) can predict the real world interactions, including stock prices!<br /><br />Grady Bryant has given me a copy of Rob Cross' book: "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1591392705/qid=1083591732/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-3338787-2379917?v=glance">The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding how Work Really Gets Done in Organizations</a>" so now I'll be able to brush up on some of the ideas that are new to me.Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-22214526772979351972008-08-19T13:32:00.029-04:002008-08-25T22:36:53.587-04:00Tac Anderson: Measuring ROI, B-to-B Marketing, and the Role of the Strategist<span style="font-style:italic;">(Second of a <a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/08/company-culture-at-hp-creates.html">two-part article</a>).</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.newcommbiz.com/">Tac Anderson </a>is a the Web 2.0 Strategic lead for HP's Imaging and Printing group. We met through some <a href="http://giatalks.com/">Gia Lyons</a> Twitter matchmaking.<br /><br />We discussed a wide variety of topics, including the types of campaigns that HP has run. One successful campaign sponsored by HP was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/projectdirect">Project Direct</a>, a contest on YouTube for aspiring directors to upload their movies. The subtle HP branding points users to HP Creative Studio, which allows users to create their own stickers and posters, in keeping with the "self expression" theme. I did not ask Tac what kind of metrics they used to measure the success of that campaign, but he did share some of his guidelines for measuring the ROI of a campaign.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Measuring the ROI of a Campaign</span><br /><blockquote>"Let's face it: there are not many best practices for Social Media and very few benchmarks. We all need to be open to learning as we go."<br /> -- Tac Anderson </blockquote>Tac likes to experiment, interact with people and see where it goes. So far he has been pleasantly surprised by the response rates. One successful tactic he mentioned was to sponsor a prominent blog, by working with Federated Media. Here are Tac's guiding principles for measuring the ROI of a campaign: <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Determine the GOAL of the initiative.</span> Tac repeatedly said how important it is to agree VERY early on on the purpose of the campaign, and to get buy-off on the stated goals. (He spoke with the conviction of someone who has been burned by this before.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Once you've settled on your goal, stick with it and don't waiver.</span> For example, if a campaign's stated and agreed-upon goal is to raise awareness, don't allow it to be judged later on by its ability to generate leads.<br /><br />Once you've agreed on the purpose of the campaign, and the desired outcome, you can <span style="font-weight:bold;">figure out what you want to measure</span>. For example, let's say the goal of your campaign is to raise awareness.<br /><blockquote>"How do we measure awareness? Are we going to measure online share of voice? Count hits? How about the level of engagement? What does 'engagement' mean to you? Comments? Links? Mentions? Pick a metric to use and then stick with it"</blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tips for B-to-B Marketers</span><br />Tac said it's important to remind people that marketing (whether it's "b-to-b" or "b-to-c") is driven by consumer examples.<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Figure out what you are trying to say and then figure out what your target audience cares about </span> Ask yourself honestly "Does this makes sense?" Do your homework. Don't get distracted by the latest "shiny object," which may not be the right medium for your message. A basic blog might serve your needs fine.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Do research on your audience</span>: how do they like to get their information. Is it e-mail? Do they read blogs? Use Facebook? Watch video on YouTube? Feed them the information in their preferred format.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Conduct Yourself Appropriately</span>, whether you host the community or join someone else's:<br /><blockquote> "You can choose to host your own party -- even be exclusive with your invite list. But if you decide to join someone ELSE'S party, be polite. Don't get drunk and out of line.</blockquote><br />4.<span style="font-weight:bold;"> Don't think like a big Corporation. </span> Even if you have a big budget, don't be afraid to leverage the free social media tools like Yahoo Pipes and Feedburner.<br /><br />And of course we talked about our own jobs. This is a topic that I also discussed with <a href="http://www.conversationsmatter.org/2008/08/24/meet-us-in-vegas-baby/">Kelly Feller </a>and <a href="http://softwareblogs.intel.com/author/jeff-moriarty/">Jeff Moriarty </a>of Intel: <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Role of the Social Media Strategist:</span> <br /><br />-- <span style="font-weight:bold;">Education:</span> For many of your colleagues, you may be their only resource into the world of social meda. Post questions and case studies internally -- and translate that information into actionable intelligence for project managers and product managers. <br /><br />-- <span style="font-weight:bold;"> Internal consulting:</span> serve as a resource for people so they can come and ask specific questions.<br /><br />-- <span style="font-weight:bold;">Be the Periscope:</span> Feed ideas to people, and keep them informed on what is happening in the world of Social Media. (e.g., "Company 'x' did this, here is what happened and how they responded.)<br /><br />Thanks again to Tac for all of your time. You are one cool dude. I hope we get a chance to chat again soon!Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-92167337455689457362008-08-08T16:35:00.017-04:002008-08-25T22:36:53.588-04:00Company Culture at HP creates an Integrated Social Media Program<span style="font-style:italic;">Part one of an "interview" with HP's Tac Anderson</span><br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1hBZ3QvUChK6JFkxOo6KIvMiSDSdybXTCPJwBS3jpVv-Rri6vXCRnKMlbSd-NurQlKQAivGJKYy-w6OVPawODZ08OkvyjNV0aF74CmOpknhNrMQH5M0_lzYmYlEUVlmGYhLvh9B8uwMM/s1600-h/tac.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1hBZ3QvUChK6JFkxOo6KIvMiSDSdybXTCPJwBS3jpVv-Rri6vXCRnKMlbSd-NurQlKQAivGJKYy-w6OVPawODZ08OkvyjNV0aF74CmOpknhNrMQH5M0_lzYmYlEUVlmGYhLvh9B8uwMM/s400/tac.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236460169085639986" /></a><a href="http://www.newcommbiz.com/">Tac Anderson</a> is a the Web 2.0 Strategic lead for HP's Imaging and Printing group. HP is one of the brands that I benchmarked for blogging best practices in 2005, so I was curious to find out what they are doing today with social media. Tac has been a student of social media since back in the 90s when we used to call this stuff "Community." He truly loves his work, saying:<br /><blockquote><br />If I wasn't getting paid to do this, I'd be getting in trouble for doing it too much at work.<br /> - Tac Anderson</blockquote><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Does HP have the Three "Success Indicators" For Social Media?</span><br />As I have previously blogged, there are <a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/after-meeting-with-other-social-media.html">three factors that are present in Enterprise Companies that are successful in the use of social media</a>:<br />1. A top-down driven approach<br />2. A robust internal community<br />3. A company culture that encourages openness and trust.<br /><br />At HP the hierarchy is flat, with small, empowered work teams and managers who control their own budget. There are 3 business units, Tac works in Imaging and Printing (IPG). Tac's BU is advanced in their use use of social media, mostly because their executive Vice President was a key driver of Web 2.0 technologies inside HP. <span style="font-weight:bold;">So, just like we saw at Cisco, Intel and SAP, there was a top-down driven approach at HP </span><br /><br />Tac described a <span style="font-weight:bold;">strong internal community at HP</span>, with hundreds of blogs, and an Internal Wiki called "Pligg" (like "Digg.) There are many more social media tools used internally than externally.<br /><br />The motivated, empowered workforce at HP creates a <span style="font-weight:bold;">culture that is conducive to embracing social media</span>. The business units are independent of each other; there is no Corporate Social Media Team. There is a lot of social-media-related activity at HP, but it's more about integrating Social Media into existing Corporate Communications or product launches. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A Comparison to Dell's Unified Corporate Approach</span><br />It's critical to understand this company culture if you want to understand HP's approach to Social Media. It's different than -- for example -- Dell, which has a unified approach to marketing and social media. (All the Tweeters use "@Dell" as part of their name.) But let's remember that at Dell, someone wrote a blank check to get the company out of "Dell Hell." And Comcast, now the darling of every Social Media presentation, had to do <span style="font-style:italic;">something</span> to erase the memory of the technician sleeping on the couch, didn't they? Does it really take a major Brand Disaster to get Enterprise companies on the Social Media bandwagon? <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">How Did Social Media at HP Evolve?</span><br />HP's social media program was originally driven out of marketing, and began with a handful of corporate blogs. <a href="http://www.communities.hp.com/online/">HP Communities </a><br />Seems to be the "official" HP Community, complete with employee-contributed video that you can vote on, podcasts, a link to the idea lab and to the "Wet Paint" wiki, which is a community for members to show off their creativity. And 50 "official" corporate blogs. <br /><br />Then there are 60 HP "Employee Business Blogs" that are hosted on HP Platform, written by various business groups. A few executives even have their personal blogs. The number of blogs is growing weekly, recently they launched their first foreign language blog. <br /><br />But the real jaw dropper is that there are links off to the employee's PERSONAL blogs. I love this! My legal team would keel over if we tried to do this. But HP's Legal team was apparently satisfied with the following disclaimer.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZk3vOWnq1sARDpSQaTBApeo8Ba-7UrHx3-RxEUOACxfB-nB3b5KrDBX2RfKfpriUzXpjsk-NbYRFCDGvTfKmQdMdlR_0hiezHyYxDJWlpSIV-zQDwbu_6QW9czmEWIAQDpojC5fGtLWPf/s1600-h/hp+blogs+disclaier.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZk3vOWnq1sARDpSQaTBApeo8Ba-7UrHx3-RxEUOACxfB-nB3b5KrDBX2RfKfpriUzXpjsk-NbYRFCDGvTfKmQdMdlR_0hiezHyYxDJWlpSIV-zQDwbu_6QW9czmEWIAQDpojC5fGtLWPf/s400/hp+blogs+disclaier.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236451468929812098" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">How Does HP Mitigate the Risks of Blogging?</span><br />1. <a href="http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/blogs/codeofconduct.html">The HP Blogging Code of Conduct</a> is posted front and center on the Community site. <br />2. HP has an organization called the "Core Community Council" that reviews blog applications and approves them. But they don't follow up or monitor the bloggers in any way. <br />3. Legal advises bloggers on how to protect themselves from risk, but unless it's an obvious violation, they don't interfere. <br /><br />So, in other words, employees are trusted to not act like idiots. As Tac puts it:<blockquote><br />"We hire the right people and we let them do their job"<br /> -- Tac Anderson</blockquote><br />Nicely done, HP. Your unique company culture seems to work pretty well.Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-85745762447698154732008-08-03T20:59:00.012-04:002008-08-25T22:37:40.166-04:00Thou Shalt Blog and Tweet and Google Thyself<blockquote>And the Lord of Social Media said "Go forth and blog and tweet and link to others, and ye shall rise from certain obscurity." And I did. And it was good.</blockquote><br />I've been googling myself for eight years with very little satisfaction. I never ranked above the fourth or fifth page in Google. In fact, if any old friends tried to Google me, they probably thought that I ended up as a motivational speaker.<br /><br />I don't run marathons or do anything newsworthy. The <span style="font-style:italic;">other </span>Karen Snyders have outshone me in every way: I get their email, I'm given their prescription glasses, my address is never the first one listed at the pharmacy and the local health club. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">UNTIL NOW.</span><br /><br />"What has changed?" you might ask. Well, I started this blog a couple of months ago. That bumped me up a bit (maybe page three?) But then, my Twitter friend <a href=" http://twurl.nl/vqunxt ">Jeff Moriarty</a> from Intel linked to my blog from his.<br /><br />And lo, and behold, when you search on "Karen Snyder" <span style="font-weight:bold;">it is I</span> who appear <span style="font-weight:bold;">on the first page</span> of Google Results. If I wasn't a believer before in the power of social media, I am now.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4Z1TkMSkUP1eljYYIosSclpLKgNfrtrfmVP103w3NsFYN-j5eQVqH99GwclVUvs0VVT5iedq8e_9vtsxBNkqOun3AXzyz9ZgSUEpSensop7sN6U_Mw4mBQFdiWB4mHrFMsSXjCTDj2af/s1600-h/google+myself.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4Z1TkMSkUP1eljYYIosSclpLKgNfrtrfmVP103w3NsFYN-j5eQVqH99GwclVUvs0VVT5iedq8e_9vtsxBNkqOun3AXzyz9ZgSUEpSensop7sN6U_Mw4mBQFdiWB4mHrFMsSXjCTDj2af/s400/google+myself.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230466533651794146" /></a>Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-65480115919407306372008-07-26T13:41:00.007-04:002008-08-25T22:37:40.168-04:00Cardio or Weight Training? Social Media is a Lot of Hard Work...After meeting with other Social Media professionals at Cisco, Intel and SAP, I have noticed three distinct characteristics that appear to contribute to the success of Social Media programs:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. Social Media Initiatives came from "the Top:"</span> <br />At Cisco, John Chambers' blog post about the iPhone lawsuit set off an avalanche of external blogging. At SAP, the CMO requested a social media strategy.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Internal Community Helps:</span> Both Cisco and Intel have a robust internal community that allows potential bloggers to try out the medium and find their voice.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Company Culture:</span> <br />Cisco and Intel (especially Intel) both have an internal environment that is receptive to social media. Here is what I wrote about their cultures: <a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/social-media-at-intel-humor-included.html">"Social Media at Intel"</a> and <a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/evolution-of-social-media-at-cisco.html">"The Evolution of Social Media at Cisco</a>.<br /><br />I just spent a week at our corporate headquarters where I met with execs who are supportive of social media initiatives for our company. As I think about how we should move forward, I am working with a PR agency that specializes in Social Media. They have lots of good ideas for me. But I still have a lot of work to do on my own...<br /><br />As I vividly recollect how hard it was to drag my butt in to the gym this morning, <a href="http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/129038/30147292">this analogy of Social Media to personal training</a> by Jim Durbin reminds me that we still have a lot of "heavy lifting" to do internally -- and the agency can't do these things for us: <br /><blockquote>Paying Sven to do your workout for you isn't going to help you, it's only going to enrich Sven. And for far too many of us, purchasing a 3 year membership at the 24 Hour Fitness of Social Media hotspot is a subsitute for actually exercising. </blockquote><br />So, while our agency (a.k.a "Sven") can help with some efforts (like monitoring the blogosphere), we have to continue to lay the groundwork of a social media program. I still need to persuade legal to open up the blog program, and update our policies so that employees won't feel scared to start a blog. And finally, there are our marketing folks, whose favorite phrase is "<a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/microsoft-spends-millions-to-go-social.html">viral video</a>." : - )Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-53664813114431631492008-07-14T19:46:00.006-04:002008-08-25T22:37:40.169-04:00Social Media at Intel: Humor Included<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3a7aHY4Zz3ae6Jr-2H-9mQ75T65aIT756EJDbSaQmjxK6KAyc9u06yl9hkraYlZrIZZYhfQfL4JHTk_zR1XiMw-dXWN-wtId6ocCdRO3YhTE063WP38oqmtrMBOfgVV0qPocXhXi5XcpK/s1600-h/avatar_glare_normal.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3a7aHY4Zz3ae6Jr-2H-9mQ75T65aIT756EJDbSaQmjxK6KAyc9u06yl9hkraYlZrIZZYhfQfL4JHTk_zR1XiMw-dXWN-wtId6ocCdRO3YhTE063WP38oqmtrMBOfgVV0qPocXhXi5XcpK/s200/avatar_glare_normal.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223018893016670674" /></a><br />Thanks to some <a href="http://giatalks.com/">Gia Lyons</a> matchmaking, I spoke with <a href="http://softwareblogs.intel.com/author/jeff-moriarty/ ">Jeff Moriarty</a>, Social Media Community Manager at at Intel. We discussed their social media program, along with a variety of other things, including social media job titles and Intel's new <a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/new-intel-insider-program.html">Intel Insider Program</a>. Jeff has created some new titles for us (<span style="font-style:italic;">e.g.</span>, "Social Media Ninja" and "Social Media Sherpa.") He's posting on that soon.<br /><br />The culture at Intel is open to social media, and the higher ups have a sense of humor (Jeff's well-received parody "Lord of the Re-Org" featured the CEO and other execs in starring roles.) There is a robust internal community, and internal bloggers who discuss all kinds of topics, not necessarily work related. They even have "internal blog ambassadors" to monitor them and keep an eye out for posts around politics and religion -- flame wars have already been waged over those topics. Jeff teaches his co-workers by helping them start an internal blog so they can play with it first hand. Or he'll brainstorm with a group that might want to experiment with social media, but may be better served by a forum or wiki.<br /><br />But, <a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/07/evolution-of-social-media-at-cisco.html">similar to Cisco</a>, social media at Intel didn't just blossom overnight. Jeff told me how "Intelpedia" was started on an employee's desktop, and it grew organically until IT had to support it. <br /><br />And apparently, I am not the only soul to suffer from marketing folks who salivate at the idea of creating viral videos. Jeff keenly observed:<br /><blockquote>Saying "let's make a viral video" is like saying "Hey guys, let's plan to be spontaneous next Tuesday at 2 pm.</blockquote><br />Finally, we decided it would be awesome to have a community of all the Social Media types from Enterprise Companies where they can share best practices. Jeremiah Owyang's <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/06/20/list-of-social-computing-strategists-and-community-managers-for-large-corporations-2008/">List of Social Media folks at Large Corporations</a> is a good place to get started. In the meantime, I'll keep sharing my conversations with the Enterprise Social Media peeps I meet. So far I have also chatted with friends from Cisco and SAP, and I try to organize a little "<a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/05/first-meeting-of-new-social-media.html">Social Media Roundtable</a>" with friends from the New York Times, AAA, Logitech and Disney. <br /><br />Conversations with <a href="http://ablebrains.typepad.com/">Steve Mann from SAP </a>(social media strategist extraordinaire) merit their own post. Stay tuned...Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-74835143819394882962008-07-10T21:44:00.001-04:002008-07-10T21:46:24.580-04:00"Where the Hell is Matt?"This is a cute idea. I wonder how long it took him to create this? The dancing is so well choreographed.<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1E-4oPBFwNY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1E-4oPBFwNY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-87942093566628330692008-07-10T17:53:00.006-04:002008-08-25T22:37:40.171-04:00"What the F**K is Social Media?"This slideshow contains the Social Media messages that many of us have heard over and over (and agree with). <br /><br />If it takes the "F" bomb to get this the attention it deserves, then so be it. 'Cuz I am getting tired of explaining it : - )<br /><br />So, <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-the-fk-social-media/">see it for yourself</a>, first hand. <br /><br />And btw,I think Marta Kagan really <span style="font-style:italic;">is</span> a genius (<a href="http://martazkagan.com/">and she does too</a>.)Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-10289063037489575992008-07-10T15:37:00.006-04:002008-08-25T22:36:53.592-04:00Evolution of Social Media at Cisco (Part 2 of a Series)I had another fun conversation today with Amy Paquette of Cisco. Our first chat was in June: see my post on <a href="http://karensnyd.blogspot.com/2008/06/roi-of-blogging-ciscos-social-media.html ">"The ROI of Cisco's Social Media Program."</a> Amy and I plan to chat at least once a month "until it doesn't make sense for us to chat anymore" (but that will hopefully never happen because she is so much fun!) Their social media program is so evolved that they already have people who specialize in things like "virtual communications" on Second Life. Something to aspire to : - )<br /><br />It is interesting how the Social Media Program at Cisco evolved -- it certainly did not happen overnight. One thing that fueled the fire: as the external communications team was putting together their social media program, the internal comms team was simultaneously building a robust internal community. They had several hundred internal blogs before the external program took off. Amy said:<br /><br /><blockquote>Having internal blogs is a great way for [potential external bloggers] to find their voice, and learn how to communicate with their blog. People feel more free to ask questions.</blockquote><br />Probably the biggest differentiator at Cisco is the culture. Social media has support at the highest level of the company -- John Chambers regularly reads the external blog posts: <a href="http://blogs.cisco.com/news">Cisco has 12 Corporate Blogs</a> with more than 80 bloggers. And let's face it, even the staunchest "blog haters" might waiver when the boss reads 'em.Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8936508779956856798.post-87897406448511952182008-06-30T09:35:00.007-04:002008-08-25T22:36:53.592-04:00Using Social Tools to Reduce E-mail within the EnterpriseThe scoop from Twitter this Morning:<br /><br /><blockquote>gialyons Retweeting @jenrobinson: @elsua's article is TOP TEN most popular on NYTimes.com! "I Freed Myself From E-Mail’s Grip"</blockquote><br />Luis Suarez (Social Software Evangelist at IBM) describes how he has significantly cut back on time spent in e-mail, while simultaneously increasing productivity and shared knowledge.<br /><br />We've been trying to describe a Utopia of shared knowledge inside the enterprise, but it's much better to actually have a real-world example of how these tools can be used. <br /><br />Read the NYT Article: <a href="http://is.gd/I1L">"I Freed Myself From E-Mail’s Grip"</a>Karen Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005966130567143173noreply@blogger.com0