Joie Tamkin
Social media in heels
RIP Steve Jobs, Top 10 Tweets
0226 days
From Mashable.com
It was an outpouring of grief on a scale that Twitter has seldom seen. By midnight eastern time — less than five hours after
Apple announced that Steve Jobs had passed away — 1.4 million tweets had been sent with his name in them, according to social media analysts Sysomos.
Apple announced that Steve Jobs had passed away — 1.4 million tweets had been sent with his name in them, according to social media analysts Sysomos.
And Storify, a service that lets you collect tweets and other forms of media in a single embedded stream, just released a list of the 10 tweets that have been most quoted by its users. Not surprisingly, Bill Gates and Barack Obama top the list
1. Bill Gates, Microsoft founder
For those of us lucky enough to get to work with Steve, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely. http://t.co/g4HLDYtb
For those of us lucky enough to get to work with Steve, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely. http://t.co/g4HLDYtb
Rest in peace, Steve Jobs. From all of us at #Obama2012, thank you for the work you make possible every day—including ours.
Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to Steve Jobs’ family & friends. The world rarely sees someone who made such a profound impact.
BillGates
RIP Steve Jobs. You left your mark on our desks, on our ears & in our hands.
Steve lived the California Dream every day of his life and he changed the world and inspired all of us. #ThankYouSteve
7. Ashton Kutcher, technology investor and actor
I never thought I could be so busted up about the loss of someone I never met. #stevejobs
aplusk
October 5, 2011 at 20:35
I never thought I could be so busted up about the loss of someone I never met. #stevejobs
aplusk
We’re very sad to hear the news of Steve Jobs’ passing. Larry’s thoughts http://t.co/VjVqGw1O & Sergey’s http://t.co/zzPE1ZwH
google
October 5, 2011 at 20:08
Steve Jobs, 1955-2011: “a true visionary” – statement by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer http://t.co/Bdj7rdAV
10. Snoop Dogg, the rapper
RIP Steve Jobs Rest in peace homie.
Lessons from The Godfather
3496 days
The greatest leaders of today know the lines to the famous movie, The Godfather, and when I say leaders, I am referring to CEOs and CFOs. The tribulations of the Corleone family have several social marketing lessons that will help you conquer the Tattaglias, Barzinis and Sollozzos that you may encounter. Let’s start with my favorite one:
Keep your friends close… and your influencers closer. Don Corleone sets Amerigo Bonasera straight on the day of his daughters wedding scolding him that Bonasera must “Ask with respect” and “Come to me with friendship.” As a Social Media Marketer, one must keep in touch with friends, and respect their influencers. Identify your key industry leaders and make your motive to build a synergistic relationship.
Give your audience an offer they can’t refuse. Great content makes the best offer, I assume that’s why you are still reading this post right? I gave you an offer that got you read this blog post. Great offers reduce barriers and build credibility.
Don’t hesitate to go to the mattresses. Stick to your beliefs and stand for them, those are the beliefs that you take to the mattresses. I believe in the power of social media (2 way conversations) over traditional media (one way messages). Being a thought leader in your industry is essential to rise to top and beat out your competitors.
It’s all personal, every bit of business. The Godfather is all about business, but is business personal? Michael Corleone explains it best… “Tom, don’t let anyone kid you. It’s all personal, every bit of business. Every piece of shit every man has to eat every day of his life is personal. They call it business. OK. But it’s personal as hell.” Our business is marketing… so make it personal, give your brand a personality and connect with your consumers and target audience.
If you can’t change, you’ll be sleeping with the fishes. This is my second favorite as it directly relates to the recent shift in marketing over the past few years. Michael Corleone realized he needed to move to Las Vegas to protect his business interests, you need to adjust with the times or you will end up like Luca Brassi… sleeping with the fishes.
Do I need my own on-line Community?
0600 days
As a social media goddess, or obsessed, call it what you want… the topic of building your own community / social networking platform has been a trendy one. No, we are not discussing being the next Myspace or Facebook. What many companies want today is their own on-line community where like minded people can come together and discuss their products amongst the masses and then hopefully the entire community will purchase from them sending their e-commerce sales through the roof. Sounds easy right?
This is a recipe for disaster. Building a community, trying to control the conversation and then trying to sell your products to a mass audience is social media suicide in my book. It’s right up there with posting your baby’s sonogram in your facebook status… yep! Seriously inappropriate. I’ll be skipping that baby shower.
So you still want a community? Then lets build it properly, so they will come.
Rule #1: Control freaks not needed
If you can’t handle a passionate complaint about how pissed off someone is that they wasted 50 bucks on your product, than stay off any consumer content driven site. Go to any of your favorite facebook company pages. Even pages about puppies get unfavorable posts, that is the beauty of “consumer driven content.” Recognizing that as the company, you are part of the conversation, you are not there to spew your marketing messages. If you do get a nasty post, leave it up, show good sportsmanship and respond with kindness (one of the best marketing tools).
Rule #2: Let your employees contribute
Sounds scary I know, but this concept truly reflects the corporate culture. If your company is voted “Best Place to Work” and is one in which everyone trusts one another, where “dumb ideas” are encouraged in the name of brainstorming, and where the politics is under control, then you’re good. I like to hand out “best practices” reminders before anyone on my team types the companies name. It’s a friendly reminder that ethics apply on-line at all times.
Rule #3 Keep it simple
We’ve seen plenty of companies get wrapped up in the technology and super cool features complete with bells and whistles that cause them to fail. I like to think of on-line communities as the modern day water cooler. When I have a few moments to spare and want to connect with people, I log onto Blogher and read the chatter, write a few comments and maybe write a blog or two letting people know what new low calorie drinks I am consuming these days or complain about my dog. It’s simple, easy and doesn’t take up a lot of time and my dog could figure out the interface. Keep it simple.
Rule #4:Appreciate your most loyal members
The people who take the time to post messages in your community on a regular basis are committed to your business and should be thought of as your VIP’s. If they write product reviews for your site, it’s because they like what you bring to the table, and they choose it over the competition. With luck, that also means they prefer to give their money to you rather than to a competitor. Treat them right, and their friends will join in too. Reward them with insider treats, free t-shirts, product testing… you get the point.
Alright, you might be a bit tired after there four simple points, I suggest joining Blogher or another on-line community before starting your own. You really should know what you are getting yourself into before you take the trendy route.
Facebook Places Tagging = Trouble
2639 days
by Joie Tamkin
in Privacy
Facebook Places is exciting, and plenty of people have already “checked-in” at the super trendy sushi restaurant or from a beach resort in Maui. Facebook is all about putting you best face forward and here is yet another feature that enhances your coolness.
So go on, start checking-in… and don’t forget to check in anyone you feel should be hanging with you… huh?
Yep, others can claim they are with you. Take a look at my first check-in to the right. That’s me at work and I was nice enough to let everyone know that Trent was also at work, unannounced to Trent. He sent me a nice thank you, luckily we were at work and not claiming we were out golfing, or at a hotel …I am sure his wife would appreciate me checking us into The W.
So you get why this isn’t cool right? Say your girlfriend is out of town and you go out with your boys to the bars and run into an ex-fling who decides to “check-in” at the bar and tag you as being with her and brags that you and her just had the best night together reconnecting. Yeah, not good.
Or maybe you’re like me and you just don’t want people knowing where you are all time and who you are with. I’m single, I have no one that really cares where I am except my dog, but I still don’t need to announce my location and I certainly don’t need my friends tagging that they are out in a bar with me or that we are shopping again.
Alright you get it, now let’s fix it. Yes, there are ways to control this madness. TURN IT OFF!
Here’s what you do, it’s simple.
First, click on the Account tab at the top right and click Privacy Settings. Select the little blue “customize settings” towards the bottom of the screen that appears. You’ll see a list of privacy options. Under the Things Others Share category, disable “Friends can check me in to Places.” Now, only you can broadcast your location.
You can also choose who can see your check-ins. Click the “Places I check in” under the Things I Share category. The default is “friends only.” Selecting “Customize” brings up a pop-up where you can exclude entire networks, individual people, or everyone.
Finally, you may want to disable the “People Here Now” feature. “People Here Now” allows any user checked in at a location to see who else is checked in there—even if they’re not friends. Make sure the box is unchecked next to “Include me in ‘People Here Now’ after I check in.”
Alright friends… that should do it!
Facebook Places Launch!
1639 days
Facebook announced the launch of Facebook Places last night! Think GPS location sharing, similar to Foursquare and Gowalla.
Facebook Places is a new product that allows users to share where they are, find out where their friends are, and discover interesting places nearby. Facebook Places also allows businesses to establish Places (physical store locations) on Facebook and then encourage guests to share where they are by “checking in” to their Place. Check-in stories can generate powerful, organic impressions in friends’ News Feeds, extending your brand’s reach to many potential new customers.
Got multiple retail locations? Facebook plans to develop a solution for brands with multiple Places (store locations), that will allow the main brand Page to “adopt” all of their Places.
What can you do with Places now? Start to create and claim your Places. Facebook Places is available to all Facebook users in the United States with the latest version of the Facebook for iPhone Application or any HTML5-enabled mobile device via touch.facebook.com.
This is a very exciting development and just another way Facebook is dominating the social space.
Damn Fail Whale
1703 days
Ahhh. The Twitter Fail Whale, now that picture instantly raises my anxiety level. I was an early Twitter adopter as a Public Relations Professional and the first hundred or so Fail Whales I received weren’t a big deal. I would smile at the silly image and do something else. I’d cruise Facebook and wait a few hours until the tweets had stopped overwhelming the little birdies.
Here I am 1.5 years later as a Social Media Manager, swearing every time I see those damn birds carrying a whale. Put down the f*c**n whale and get my tweets up! I have sH*t to do here guys.
Seriously? This one image makes me want to throw something, I just spent 5 minutes putting together the perfect 140 character tweet with enough room left for re-tweeting!!! and now my tweet is gone and I am too pissed off to re-write it. Not to mention I had to shorten the url myself! Does the whale need all those birds? Can’t one be auto shortening my links?
Yes I know, there are plenty of Tweetme’s and Tweetdecks I can be using that seamlessly swim past these pathetic whales complete with url shorteners, but admit it, there are times when you have to go Twitter. Tweetdeck likes to freeze on me and make annoying spinning noises, so I often prefer to use Twitter for some simple tweeting and DM’s.
Sometimes its good to stick to the basics. I get a bit of nostalgia logging onto Twitter, but I am not sure I can handle anymore Fail Whales. I wonder if my doctor will prescribe me Xanax on the grounds of social media platform rejection by silly images?
Oh and if you know how to turn the Tweetdeck pop-up spinning noise making box off please save me.
Move over Craigslist, There’s a new Bird in town
7730 days
by Joie Tamkin
in Networking
I’ve met several of my closet friends through Craigslist. Being a San Francisco girl, Craigslist helped me find several roommates after college in 2002 and sell my first car, a dodge neon.
Craigslist was one of the first social media platforms that connected people to buy, sell, rent and more. It’s now grown to be the 35th most popular site according to google. Has Craigslist gotten too big for its britches? Maybe… but it also seems a bit old school for me, as it brings back memories of Top Ramen and living with 5 people, 3 cats and 3 bathrooms. My hat still goes off to Craigslist as this “list” definitely paved the way for more innovative listing platforms.
Watchout Craig Newman! There’s a new bird in town, Adbirds. The Austin-based company has Craigslist capabilities with a bit more feathers.
Adbirds features utilize social media’s sharing capabilities with buttons to share items for sale with friends on twitter, facebook, digg etc. Its an easy way to get your items in front of more buyers. The interface is amazingly simple and easily connects you to where you want to be. Want to add 10 pics and embed video links? No prob.
The free accounts come with a unique user name and URL address, and easy pay features. Any Free account can run 5 ads at a time.
Did I mention community love? All Adbirds users are encouraged to help build awareness of a local favorite organization with name and web link using the “favorite charity” identifier from the account manager. So while you’re trying to make a few bucks off your old baseball card collection you can support your favorite charity, the name and link of the charity will appear at the top of every ad.
Join AdBirds Today Adbirds.com
California Issues Social Media Policy
2811 days
As a California girl I like to see that crazy state taking steps in the best direction. At first thought, regulating social media may seem controlling or invasive, but it is absolutely necessary, especially for government agencies.
We have all seen the news about the Military restricting social media from the troops, and for good reasons right? It protects the men and women serving from being located and protects our country from accidental leaks of sensitive information.
So instead of California restricting Facebook and Twitter use from government employees, they are enforcing guidelines. I applaud California and believe that all organizations, government or not, should embrace social media and enforce a policy amongst its members.
Here is the release from the State of California.
California Promotes Secure, Appropriate Use of Social Media Sites for State Government, Issues Policy
State Technology Update – February 26, 2010
The State of California has officially adopted the use of social media tools to promote communication and transparency for Californians interacting with state government. The Office of the State Chief Information Officer (OCIO) today released Information Technology Policy Letter (ITPL) 10-02 which outlines the use requirements for using social media sites such as FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube.
“The more we increase the state’s online presence to enhance communication and transparency, the better we are able to serve Californians,” said Teri Takai, California’s Chief Information Officer. “At the same time we must be diligent to ensure we use social media tools in a way that is secure and appropriate for official business. This policy provides a risk management framework for agencies to consider in their use of these innovative and dynamic tools.”
The policy encourages state officials to use social media tools, while requiring that only those users who are authorized and have been trained regarding their roles, responsibilities and the security risks as outlined in the policy, have access to social media sites while at work as a state employee. It also requires that agencies assign the management and monitoring of official social media sites to the same internal organization or individual that oversees public communications for the agency.
The policy is accompanied by a Social Media Standard to help state agencies consider the various risk factors associated with the use of social media sites. The Policy Letter can be found online at http://www.cio.ca.gov/Government/IT_Policy/ITPL.html. The Social Media Standard can also be found online in Section 66B of the Statewide Information Management Manual (SIMM) at http://www.cio.ca.gov/Government/IT_Policy/SIMM.html.
When the OCIO was established in January 2008, it was the intent of the Legislature and Governor to create an agency that, among other things, establishes policies and standards to ensure that state information technology (IT) systems run effectively. Through changes to the State Administrative Manual (SAM) and the SIMM, the OCIO creates statewide policy for the Executive Branch to ensure coordination as the agency works to oversee IT activities with a common direction and vision.
Getting your feet wet with Social Media
0830 days
by Joie Tamkin
in Networking
By now we are all familiar with the top social media sites; Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We see each other tweets and notice that CEO’s like Mike Peter of Campus Advantage tweeted about the National Apartment Association conference 5 times in less than an hour on January 12.
You’ve heard it before, these sites can be powerful resources, help gain exposure and increase your online presence. For some, tweeting and other social media platforms come easy, but for most of us, we learn and explore before hitting the tweet this button.
There are no written rules on how to play the social media field, here are some simple ways to unleash the power of social media and design your own plan for success.
1. Share interesting content
Effective social media practices involve engaging your audience, which means figuring out what they want to know and what purpose you want to serve with your posts. Content can come in many forms, including articles, blog posts, video clips, quick tips, statistics, photos, news, industry resources, special offers and so much more.
2. Share information from other sources
Share what you find interesting and you will see your network grow with those that share the same interests. Share content from other websites, blogs, magazines, news outlets and other social media users. Remember, it’s about engaging your target audience. When you develop a reputation for providing interesting, useful content, even when it’s content from an outside source, you still benefit greatly.
3. Provide links
One of your goals should be to increase traffic back to your Web site or blog. You can do this by sharing compelling headlines alongside a link to further information on your site. You don’t need to include links with every post, but do distribute them often. Ever wonder how people get those tiny links? There are several link shortening service such as http://bit.ly, which shrinks long links.
4. Engage often
Commit to engaging as much as possible throughout the day, if that sounds like too much, try engaging at least once a day. Share a post first thing in the morning, then check in between meetings and at various intervals to respond to your audience, share new content and get engaged. Remember that your goal is to be a resource.
Are your needs being met?
3844 days
by Joie Tamkin
in Branding
I’ve always been fascinated with Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs in life… checkout his pyramid of needs. Are your needs being met? This sequential hierarchy of needs doesn’t usually happen in today’s society. 
When I think of needs, I think of: Starbucks, whitening tooth paste, Google search, and my iphone. I actually have all levels in the pyramid covered multiple times.
How amazing is it that Starbucks found its way into being in my life’s pyramid of needs? Now that is impressive Branding! Starbucks provides every level of the Pyramid.
Let’s start with the basics, Physiological, they provide food and water. Moving along to Safety, I stay alert and productive because I get my Starbucks coffee every day and my co-workers are safer once I have my coffee.
Next is Love/belonging, this is my favorite one! When I order a tall half-caf, skinny vanilla latte, it shows that I am an insider and belong in “the club” I often ramble my long obnoxious order carelessly as I update the Baristas on the latest celebrity gossip. I feel like a Rockstar (loved) because they remember my name and know how to spell it.
Now we are really getting into the magic of this brand, Esteem, watching those Barista’s aim to please me is exhilarating and when they call out my name I get that gitty feeling like Bob Hope just called me up to the Price is Right. The first sip of the not-so-great tasting coffee, shoots my confidence sky high and I am ready to take the day.
The last need is Self Actualization, I accept Starbucks for what it is… it’s mediocre coffee with long lines and no parking… but it brightens my day everyday, sometimes twice a day.
What’s my point? Not only should we all have invested in Starbucks in the 70′s but Starbucks is a strong brand because they meet numerous core needs simultaneously. Does your Brand do that?
