Tag Archives: blog

My blogging birthday: Mengel Musings turns one

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It doesn’t seem possible, but tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of Mengel Musings. From my first, very tentative post to my 100th post Wednesday announcing my new job at readMedia, it’s been a fantastic first year as a blogger. This space has been a way for me to explore the rapidly changing world of PR and communications, force myself to write on a somewhat regular basis, converse with smart people from across the Web and around the world, and even learn a little bit of CSS.

Here’s a retrospective:

Three most-viewed posts in the last year

These posts saw the most traffic on my site. The numbers are probably not totally accurate as some of my posts were syndicated to SocialMediaToday.com and my stats here don’t reflect those page views. But all-in-all, these were popular (in the case of the McDonald’s post it was largely due to Google searches — it still gets traffic daily):

Five reasons corporations are failing at social media
Locally targeted McDonalds ads turning heads
(tie) How I use Google Reader without going insane
(tie) Six ways to add social sizzle to internal communication

Three most-commented-on posts in the last year

I try very hard to respond to commenters and engage in dialogue, so some of these comment numbers are a bit inflated since many of the comments are my own. Still, these posts generated good discussion among readers. In second place with 48 comments was the ‘Five reasons’ post listed above, so I skipped it and moved to the next on the list:

Allan Schoenberg: My Twitter “Patient Zero” (57 comments)
“Become a fan” of Facebook brand fatigue (45 comments)
Can “sponsored journalism” really work? (33 comments)

Three posts that are my personal favorites

These are the posts that, while they may not have gotten a ton of traffic, comments or retweets, are posts that I am most proud of, enjoyed writing the most, or that I think show some of my best thinking:

Where the boys are (hint: in the business school)
Are corporate communicators hopeless in social media?
Anatomy of a social media product launch: Screenr

Year two and beyond

What’s next for Mengel Musings? Well, I may not be posting quite as frequently as I get up to speed in my new role. Secondly, the topics and focus of this blog will probably shift a little. Since I’m now out of the corporate communications world, I’ll be writing less about that. You’ll probably see more posts about how the news and media landscape is shifting and the challenges and opportunities that presents for PR professionals– especially in regards to local news content.

I’ll still write a lot about social media, but I (and many others) am ready to move on from the Shiny Object Syndrome that captivated us all in 2009 and talk more concretely about how social media participation provides value for organizations – how and why companies are using social media to generate sales leads, support integrated paid/earned media campaigns, enhance customer service and loyalty, and provide real value.

Thanks for sticking with Mengel Musings throughout the first year, and I hope you’ll hang around to see what year two has in store. Check the archives and tell me what was your favorite post of the last year. What would you like to see more or less of going forward? As Jason Falls always says, the comments are yours. Let me know.

Why I was wrong about lifestreaming

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I sat staring down the white screen of WordPress death tonight knowing that I was due a blog post but unable to come up with anything (I’m sure no blogger has EVER had that problem before, EVER).

So, in my writer’s-block-induced haze, I sent out the following tweet:

Crowdsourced tweetThe lucky winner? Mark Krynsky (@krynsky) responded first:

Mark Krynsky LifestreamingCrap.

(Although I suppose I should be glad that Arik Hanson didn’t beat him to it, with his “Everything I learned about social media, I learned from Barry Manilow” suggestion.)

Mark was calling on me to refute a post I wrote several weeks ago asking what the big deal was about lifestreaming. That post generated a healthy discussion as readers tried to help me understand what value sites like Tumblr and Posterous added versus a traditional blog and other outlets like Facebook and Twitter. Mark, who authors the LifestreamBlog, left one of many great comments on the post.

I revisited the post and my initial stance. I wrote that original post from the standpoint of genuinely questioning and being curious about the value of lifestreaming, and not necessarily dissing or deriding the practice. A lot of the comments helped clarify my thinking. The most common reason people cited for lifestreaming was that it occupies the space “between Twitter and a blog” and provides an outlet for “off-topic” items that may be out of place on a subject-specific blog. Others use Posterous as a way to clip and save items from the Web, almost like a juiced-up Delicious account.

All are valid reasons, but so far I still haven’t found the time or interest to update (curate?) my own lifestream or really follow anyone else’s.

But, specific to Posterous, which seems to be the most popular lifestreaming tool right now, I will say that I do see the potential from an ease-of-use standpoint. The ability to send in blog posts via e-mail directly to Posterous is very compelling for someone who wants to blog or share information but doesn’t want to deal with a complicated (or even a simple) CMS. And Posterous makes it very easy to record audio clips and send them directly to the site. It’s a way to start creating content with extremely low barriers to entry.

Another interesting “group lifestreaming” experiment took place at Social Media Breakfast Houston. Bryan Person created a Posterous account and had attendees e-mail info and photos. I could see this type of format working for events and conferences as a place to have people collectively contribute content (holy alliteration). The concept is similar to Collecta, a site that pulls in Tweets, photos, and more for specific hashtags.

So, I’m not sure that asking a question can really be “wrong”, but I’ll certainly admit that my eyes have been opened to many more possibilities for lifestreaming. Heck, I may even get around to updating my Posterous account one of these days.

Thanks to Mark and everyone else who participated in my little Twitter/blog/crowdsourcing experiment. For now, writer’s block averted.

Anatomy of a social media product launch: Screenr

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Ever try to explain to someone over the phone how to do something online? Or try to walk someone through a Web-based process without being able to really show them what you’re talking about? I’ve used products like Adobe Captivate before to record screen activity, but it’s expensive and a bit cumbersome for simple screencasts.

screenr_logo_smallScreenr, which launched last week, is a free, Web-based screen recording tool that’s fully integrated with Twitter. But this post isn’t another Screenr review (you can get those from Mashable and a host of other places).

I contacted Gabe Anderson, director of customer advocacy for Articulate, the software company that created Screenr, and I asked him a few questions to understand how the company used social media channels to launch this new product.

Here’s what he had to say:

The launch of Screenr was completely organic; we did not hire an outside PR firm. Prior to the Screenr launch, a number of us at Articulate were already active on Twitter, so promoting a product tightly integrated with Twitter was pretty natural; the buzz on Twitter immediately spread like wildfire and hasn’t slowed down.

For this launch, we did not use any traditional channels like a press release. Along with promoting Screenr via Twitter, I also posted this blog entry, and my colleague Dave Mozealous posted this one, followed by a series of tips. My other colleague, Dave Moxon, also posted this blog entry with Screenr tips the day after the launch.

I asked Gabe how Articulate defined its target audience for the launch and how it approached them:

Our target audience is really wide: Pretty much anyone who uses a computer and has something to share visually with others, which is why Twitter users were a perfect target for Screenr. Key to the launch was the first review by the hugely popular ReadWriteWeb blog, which posted its review in conjunction with our official launch. We also had an existing relationship with @copyblogger (Brian Clark), who tweeted the launch news to his 31,000+ followers. And from there, we watched the tweets fly out nonstop.

Later that day, CNET picked up on the buzz and contacted our CEO, Adam Schwartz, via Twitter for the review and interview that was posted later on the day of our launch.

AdamScreenr

The next day, The New York Times online had syndicated the ReadWriteWeb review. Getting coverage in the NYT is pretty sweet. Not that I doubted it before, but once I saw that, I knew Screenr was going to be a really big deal.

I also had Gabe tell me about how Articulate is using Twitter to follow-up and respond to new Screenr users after the launch and how they plan to keep the buzz once the initial “launch glow” wears off:

A number of Articulate staff, including our CEO, our QA Manager, and I, actively monitor Twitter for all the Screenr chatter, engaging in dialogue directly with users who run into issues. We’re also using GetSatisfaction to collect feature requests and answer technical questions.

[Gabe created a screencast to explain to users how to do this:]

Screenr promotes itself: The more people use it to create screencasts, the more links we receive back to Screenr, and the more new users will continue to create screencasts. Additionally, we’ve already begun to heavily integrate Screenr with our daily interactions with the Articulate community: To answer customer questions via support cases, in our Community Forums, and in our Knowledge Base.

So with essentially no external agency support, the team at Articulate used internal and employee blogs and Twitter accounts to launch a product and within days received coverage from major industry blogs and mainstream outlets like The New York Times.

Not only did the team at Articulate generate some good press and general awareness about their new product, but they’re also continuing to use Twitter to monitor what users think of the service, help those who have issues, and gather feedback to incorporate into future editions. And you can bet that those users who get hooked on the Screenr interface and accompanying customer service may be inclined to try out some of Articulate’s other (revenue-generating) products, as well.

While the Articulate team definitely deserves kudos for a great launch, what does this mean for PR and marketing firms who are/were heavily involved in traditional product launches? Will more and more companies move to this model of an organic, in-house launch strategy? I think Articulate’s culture and tech/social media savvy employees certainly helped here, and many organizations wouldn’t have been able to pull it off as smoothly as the Screenr team did. But it does reinforce that not every organization needs scores of people or big budgets to successfully create buzz about a product.

Thanks to Gabe and Articulate for sharing the Screenr launch story!

3 reasons even “social media types” still need a resume

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Remember Elle Woods and her scented, pink-paper resume in Legally Blonde? She’d be an anomoly today, as most people don’t print paper resumes anymore. But despite lamentations that “Google is the new resume” or “Resumes are useless in the Internet age,” you still need one if you plan to apply for a position at a large company. Even a social media position.

While those of us who blog, tweet, post, message and tag each other all day long would like to think that our online presence is enough to stand on its own as a testament to how smart and savvy we are, the human resources department is still going to want you to submit a formal application, which often includes uploading a resume. If you’re trying to land a job with a funky little start-up or a tiny shop with a handful of employees, then the resume matters less and all of your other online work will likely be a bigger factor. But if you’re looking for a job with a big brand or company, have it ready.

I’ve worked very closely with the HR department in some of my previous jobs, so I’ve had the chance to observe some of the machinations that go along with trying to hire someone at a large company. Here are three reasons why, no matter how sexy your blog, Posterous, Facebook page, LinkedIn profile or “personal brand’ might be, you still need to have a resume:

1. Your blog can’t be entered into a corporate resume database

There are several reasons big corporations use resume database-systems like BrassRing or HireGround. Probably the most important one is compliance. In order to be in compliance with myraid hiring laws with acronyms like OFCCP, EEO, and FLSA, companies with more than 100 employees need to show ratios of applicants to interviewees to hires, show that they have consistent hiring practices across the company, and show that they actively sought out diverse candidates.

Making each candidate go through an online hiring system, which usually includes a resume upload and screening questions, allows for easy data collection for compliance purposes. Companies can’t run your blog or Google profile through its screening processes when it comes time to file compliance reports each year.

2. The first cut of candidates may be made by someone who doesn’t know what a blog is

Often an HR associate sorts through the company resume database– sometimes arbitrarily, sometimes by keyword– to find an initial group of candidates to screen. This is where networking is huge. If you submit your resume online, it can be a total crapshoot whether it even gets viewed. But if you know the hiring manager or someone who can pass your resume along and help it move to the top of the pile, you’re in a much better position.

In all likelihood, however, the HR associate probably isn’t going to find and read your blog. It would be extremely time consuming to do that for each candidate in an initial screen. They may check you out on Google or LinkedIn in a cursory manner, but their goal is to fill the role as quickly as possible. That’s their metric. So unless someone tells them to flag your resume, you’re at the mercy of whether or not you appear in the database search results (so make sure you have the appropriate keywords in your resume).

3. Many companies still aren’t comfortable with social media for the hiring process

The mere fact that a company would hire for a social media position is a step in the right direction, but if they’re looking for someone with expertise in the area, it’s because they lack it. The hiring manager may not know where or how to start screening candidates based on their social presence. Should they be looking for quantity or quality of blog posts? Does number of Twitter followers matter? How many LinkedIn connections should the candidate have? Why aren’t they on FriendFeed? What is FriendFeed? Corporate HR and hiring managers are used to resumes, comfortable with resumes, and still expect resumes. They’re not quite sure yet how to integrate social media into established hiring practices.

Even a company like BestBuy, ahead of the curve on social media adoption, didn’t quite know how to structure a traditional job posting for its Emerging Media Manager role. Kudos to them for reaching out to the community and crowdsourcing ideas for key skills and requirements for the position. But anyone who applies  for the role must do so by submitting an application and uploading a resume via BestBuy’s corporate career site.

Yes, it would be great if someday we could all just let our work stand on its on merit wherever it happens to live online and not have to put together verbose and formal resumes. You certainly should mention and even highlight your online outposts on your resume (at least your blog and LinkedIn profile), and as you move further along in the hiring process there’s a greater chance that someone in the hiring process will take the time to look at your work. Just don’t expect the traditional resume to disappear any time soon.

Social Media Smackdown: Columbus, Ohio vs. Columbia, S.C.

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Something a little different for this third round of Social Media Smackdown: I’m comparing how two cities are using social media from a travel and tourism perspective. Both have their namesake from Genoa’s most famous navigator and both are home to college football teams I love to hate. Let’s see how Columbus, Ohio and Columbia, South Carolina are cultivating relationships with fans through social media. Buckeyes or Gamecocks? Let’s find out:

expcollogo columbialogo

Round 1: Twitter

Each city has a Twitter account; Columbus can be found @ExpCols and Columbia is @columbiasc and both claim to be the “official” guides to their respective cities. Twitter-Friends, which I’ve used in past Smackdowns to calculate metrics like Conversation Quotient and Link Quotient, was not functioning properly and kept giving me big zeroes in these categories for both accounts. So, I had to go through manually and eye up each Tweetstream to make a judgment.

Columbus, Ohio: Following 1,853; Followers 2,775; Tweets 3,217
Columbus is VERY active on Twitter, posting updates several times a day. Most of their tweets include a link to its CVB blog and there are very few @replies. They often add the #ExpCols hashtag to tweets, but it doesn’t appear that many others do. Essentially, Columbus’ Twitter account can be boiled down to an RSS of its blog (with more interesting teasers to accompany the links to the blog posts).

Columbia, S.C: Following 3,665; Followers 3,832; Tweets 1,140
This Tweetstream is much more interactive – a better mix of @replies and RTs along with links. It looks like the Columbia CVB has used Twitter to promote giveaways and take a thought leadership position in the travel/convention industry: many tweets are links about meeting planning in general. They also recommend other local South Carolina twitter accounts for people to follow and offer tips on things like local grocery deals and weather reports. They also use the #famouslyhot hashtag to identify some of their tweets.

Point: Columbia is using Twitter not only to push out its own content, but also to share interesting tweets and links from others. Columbus, however, uses Twitter more as a broadcast channel. Point to the southerners.

Round 2: Facebook

At first glance, this was a walkaway victory for Columbia, S.C. When I searched Facebook pages for Columbus, Ohio, the page I found first had 16,259 fans. However, the city didn’t appear to be taking advantage of the page very much. The only wall posts were by fans – Columbus didn’t seem to be interacting with them at all. Posts included “shout outs” like “Just visited The Short North. Pretty Cool! White Castle rock on!” Other wall posts by fans are advertisements for events or fundraisers in and around the city. On the photos page, there are a few profile pics and about 20 photos that have been uploaded by fans. There was only one discussion topic posted with no replies. It seemed like a big miss. But when I went to the “Experience Columbus” Web site and clicked the Facebook link from that site, it took me to an entirely different page. This one only had 525 fans, but was much more interactive. The page has Flickr and YouTube streams integrated into it, a feed from its blog, and several posts and links to the wall detailing all the goings-on in the city. But, when I searched “Columbus, Ohio” on Facebook, it didn’t even come up in the results. Searching on just the word “Columbus” revealed the site, but it was listed seventh or eighth in the results.

cbabridgeThe Facebook page for Columbia, S.C., has just over 8,000 fans, but is much more interactive. The site appears to be maintained by the Columbia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, whose staff posts events and news items about what’s going on in the city and invites fans to share their events. What I particularly like is a post on the wall (with a photo) identifying and introducing the Columbia CVB staff. It humanizes the page and lets you know that there are real, live people behind this brand! The photos page includes nine albums, like “Celebrities in Columbia” and candids from various conferences held in the city. On the boxes tab, Columbia has an import of its Flickr stream for more photos and feeds to three different blogs about Columbia. It also includes a .pdf of its meeting planners guide and more than 400 links posted to the page that relate to events, residents or news items about the city. A YouTube box on the home page links to a few videos about Columbia.

Point: Both cities have a good Facebook presence. I like how Columbus is a little less marketing focused. But because it’s so hard to find on Facebook, I think I have to go with Columbia on this one.

Round 3: Web site

Each city’s Web site is run by its Convention and Visitors Bureau. While Columbia’s starts out with a landing page that makes you choose among the Convention Center, CVB and Regional Sports Council sub-sites, Columbus’ home page is more traditional and in my opinion, easier to get pulled into.

colsskylineOn the “Experience Columbus” Web site, you are immediately presented with a scrolling visual of photos from various events around town, a sidebar of social links to six different online locations like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, a hotel booking widget, a blog feed and an events calendar. Despite all this information being on the home page, it’s not too intimidating. There are links and tabs for meeting planners, the media, and then a series of links to dining, lodging and activities in the city. There’s also the option for local Columbus residents to become “members” of the site. The link to the site’s blog takes you to a nice platform that appears to have been posting since last October. The content is written by various members of the CVB staff and discusses local events and suggestions for things to do in the city. They even appear to have featured some guest authors now and then and have done a good job of embedding pictures and videos into the blog. Few of the posts have comments, but overall the blog does appear to be a good source of information for residents and visitors alike. The “IN” portion of the Web site for Columbus residents is interesting; it is basically a call to action for city residents to help share the good news about their city by inviting family and friends and identifying opportunities to host meetings and conferences in the city. Site members get access to special discounts at local merchants.

I disliked how immediately on Columbia’s “Famously Hot” home page I was faced with a choice.  How am I supposed to know which of the three options to choose? Each link took you to an entirely different site. I ended up picking the CVB portion of the site. Each link took you to an entirely different site. It didn’t work (in either Firefox or IE). I kept getting 404 messages. I’m not sure if it was just my computer, but still after several clicks and refreshes (and even trying to access it on one of our four other computers at the house), I couldn’t get it to load. It appears that there are a few blogs on the site (their FB page had links to a few), but anything trying to resolve to the columbiaCVB.com site just wouldn’t fly. FAIL.

Point: Probably unfair since I couldn’t actually load Columbia’s site, but Columbus, Ohio, wins for its simple but effective presentation, obvious links to social outposts, ease of navigation, well-written blog and innovative focus on residents with its “IN” community.

Round 4: Other Social Sites (Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, etc.)

Both cities do a pretty good job here. Both have a Flickr presence, but while Columbia’s is heavily populated with more staged “markeing” shots and logo images, Columbus has its Flickr presence set up as a group pool where other Flickr members can add their own photos and tag them. There are 300+ photos in the pool and they give you a true sense of what the city is like.

On YouTube, Columbia has had a branded channel since 2007 and has 25 videos posted, with over 4,000 views. Columbus’ 13 videos have been viewed more than 2,000 times, but that’s in just two and a half months since they created their YouTube site. Again, the Columbia videos feel a little more produced and staged and focus heavily on meetings and conventions, whereas Columbus features clips on what it’s really like to live in that city (neighborhood profiles, e.g.)

Both cities had MySpace pages (Columbia actually had two). Both pages had about 1,000 friends, and both had integrated their other social outposts onto their MySpace pages. There was really nothing to truly distinguish them. What I found very interesting is the Columbus is using Delicious to bookmark articles and sites about its city and Northern Ohio. They’ve tagged and bookmarked articles from Bon Appetite, Style, and the Columbus Dispatch.

Point: The point goes to Columbus here. Although it was essentially a draw with MySpace and YouTube, Columbus’ more authentic presentation of its city on Flickr and its innovative use of Delicious to draw attention to news about the city gives it the edge.

ALA @ USCThe Final Verdict: It’s a 2-2 tie…but I think the overall win has to go to the capital of the Buckeye state. I really like how, despite the fact that the CVB is backing their online presence, Columbus, Ohio, is really trying to not be too heavy handed with the marketing aspect of it and trying to engage people and give a real portrayal of what the city is like. Columbia, S.C. does a good job having a presence and using some of the social media tools, but it just feels a little more forced somehow – more like the content and messages are being pushed out versus engaging with fans to create content and conversations together.

Plus, Columbia is home to Steve Spurrier, so they should automatically lose anyway. Go Dawgs.

Previous Smackdown: Mountain Hardwear vs. The North Face
Previous Smackdown: Magic Hat vs. Bell’s Beer

Image via Flickr users RatsOnParade and BridgeImages