A burning question for advertisers who claim to “get” social media

November 20, 2008 in social media | Tags: , , , , | No comments

Why aren’t you attracted to online communities? More specifically, why don’t you find value in reaching a small number of people who may all very well have interest in your product?

I am no advertiser, but it seems to me that if I knew I could find 50 people in one location, who typically come back to that location at least 3-4 times per week and I knew for certain they were all in the same profession or had a single shared interest that dominated the conversation, I’d want to be there. Particularly if I had a product or service that this group of people would want.

But before you write me off as not understanding the industry, I’ll beat you to the punch. I don’t. I did not study advertising, nor do I practice it. I am a journalist. But I am also logical.
When I see a group of teachers sharing the ins and outs of the craft, their problems of the day and commenting at length about new edicts from the administration, that seems to me like an advertising opportunity.
When a group of 60 people discusses books and does it consistently month after month, isn’t that a good place for a book seller to offer discounts or join the conversation?

How about a 50 diabetics sharing recipes? Can you think of anyone who might value that group?

Now, let me say that I do get the concept of scale. I know that you want larger audiences. I do. But won’t a lot of small, targeted audiences eventually add up? And isn’t there a smidgen of value in that?

All I’m suggesting is changing the game a little bit. And I’m not talking about advertising on Facebook. Do something new. Seek out the smaller online communities where passions run high and advice is doled out in droves. Give it a trial period and see if you can find a new model.

And if you want more ideas, ask. I’ve got plenty.

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The Case for Corporate Blogs

November 19, 2008 in Blogs, blogging, social media | Tags: , , , | 3 comments

internetsummitI’m here at the inaugural Internet Summit in Chapel Hill and just left an interesting presentation called Blogging and New Media.

The panelists: Andy Beal of Trackur, Henry Copeland of Blogads.com, Brad Hill of Weblogs, Inc, Tim Schigel of ShareThis and Scott Gardner of Triangle Direct Media.

They all underscored the importance of something I believe in wholeheartedly: Creating a conversation and engaging users online. Andy consults on reputation management, so I was particularly interested in some of his comments because I always open presentations with this: “If you don’t manage your online reputation, Google and others will do it for you.”

Here are a few of the notes I was able to jot down during the panel. I’m also sending out tweets, so if you aren’t already following me on Twitter, I’m @communitygirl.

A few takeaways:

  • The driving force behind blogs should be radical commitment to transparency.
  • Blogging is a lifestyle, attitude and participation in the community. No blog is an island. There is a series of blgospheres. A swarm of people behaving as a group.
  • It’s not about audience. The word is community.
  • Principles of blogging:Post a lot, and succinctly. Be short and targeted. Be prolific and precise.
  • If CEO wants to blog, ask what communities you want to participate in.
  • Companies that treat bloggers like they would The New York Times will find success.

More to come…

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‘Tis the season to engage your users

November 18, 2008 in Community Building, user generated content | Tags: , , , | No comments

It’s time to get your holiday ideas in gear.
Make a list of 10 things you can implement during the holiday season and mobilize the efforts of your online community.
Remember, people love to talk about themselves and show off their handy work.
Ask them to upload pictures of the Thanksgiving Turkey. Start a contest for the most creative Christmas tree.
Oh, speaking of Christmas trees, have you ever seen one made of Mountain Dew cans? A member of my online community uploaded this image gallery today.

So, get your holiday ideas in gear. I’ll be back with my 10 ideas in my next post.

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More from Peter Shankman on the death of the press release

November 15, 2008 in marketing tips, social media | Tags: , , , , , | 1 comment

My recent blog post about Peter Shankman’s press release prediction caused quite a conversation. In case you missed it, Shankman predicted that the press release would be dead in 36 months at a TIMA presentation in Raleigh last week.
So, I contacted Peter and asked him to respond to some of the comments left on the post. And he did.

Danny Brown wrote:

“With respect to Peter, I’d have to disagree. I would be more inclined to say that the press release will evolve and take advantage of the newer ways to communicate, but dead? I can’t see it, personally.”

Shankman’s response:

A press release on Twitter or on a Blog is as pointless as a press release itself. What good will it do? Give me information NOW, to the point, and how I want it. A three page press release, with each company blowing smoke up the other’s a__ about how great it is to merge is BS. “We merged with company ABC today to create company ABCD. This will give our customers more options, more sales, and more products. It’s good.” That’s what I need. If I want more, I’ll find it.

Johnnypr wrote:

“It’s certainly on life support but agree that it still has a chance to evolve, I just wish companies would avoid releases that start with the company name and how great they are.”

I asked Peter: “Does the press release have time to evolve?”

Shankman’s response:
Yes - The press release can evolve into NOT BEING A PRESS RELEASE. It can evolve into relevant information, when I need it, how I need it, and what I want it to be. End of story. Again, 3 pages of fluff doesn’t do it for me, or for the next generation.

Danny Brown also wrote:

“The press release is still one of the most useful mediums for recognized news sources. The newer social media release format will only encourage this, and used with a search engine optimized press release will be an incredibly powerful tool to reach as many outlets (media and otherwise) as possible.

I asked Peter: “Does this comment make you change your stance at all?”

Shankman’s response:

Useful and recognizable for who? I had a PR flack show me all the press he “got” for his client once. You know what he showed me? 35 pages of his PRESS RELEASE, REPRINTED on search engines. I literally drop-kicked him out the door.

And finally, Heleana Quartey wrote on her blog:

“One thing this argument does forget is there are still many niche trade publications that aren’t even online, and clients that don’t even read e-newsletters, never mind Twitter, so they don’t value ‘online coverage’.

I asked Peter: “What will happen to these people if they continue to stay offline?”

Shankman’s response:
Back in 1993, a Wall Street Journal reporter said to a mentor of mine, “Yeah, if this Internet thing ever goes mainstream, call me.”Enough said.
Alrighty then! Thanks Peter for sending me your responses.
Any more thoughts?

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The Press Release Will be Dead in 36 Months

November 12, 2008 in marketing tips, social media | Tags: , , , , , | 8 comments

shankman111208Those aren’t my words, but the words of PR and marketing guru, entrepreneur extraordinaire, author and all around crazy man, Peter Shankman who you may know as @Skydiver on twitter.

I attended an TIMA event in downtown Raleigh today where Shankman was the speaker. Having served on a panel with him at the same venue just one short year ago I knew that we were in for some innovative trains of thought.

So, Shankman declared in a room full of mostly interactive sales and marketing folks that the beloved press release will be dead in 36 months. He asked if anyone in the room had even read one recently, and the number of hands that flew up were slim. He drove home four points:
Transparency, relevancy, brevity and “top of mind presence.”

He says if your clients can’t send their message in 140 characters of less, it needs to change. He also said PowerPoint is for the weak, but that’s a topic for another discussion.

Interested in some of Shankman’s other colorful quips and trains of thought? Here are all of my tweets from the event in chronological order: BTW, I’m @communitygirl on twitter.

  • communitygirl: @skydiver tells me he has no idea what he will say to this audience of 100 plus.
  • communitygirl: @skydiver has taken the podium. He is a wild man. Says powerpoint is for the weak!
  • communitygirl: @skydiver says social media doesn’t exist. Gives the power to screw up many times over.
  • communitygirl: You can’t make something viral. You can make it good and it becomes viral. @skydiver
  • communitygirl: Social media is more like human nature per @skydiver. He helped launch the AOL newsroom without a clue.
  • communitygirl: Too many self proclaimed social media experts says @skydiver.
  • communitygirl: @skydiver says google will be the winner of the profile war. People in this audience say LinkedIn is more professional than facebook.
  • communitygirl: @skydiver predicts the press release will be dead in 36 months! Anyone agree?
  • communitygirl: Teach clients that if they can’t send the message in 140 characters it needs to change. Per @skydiver
  • communitygirl: You have to like social media. If you don’t it will be obvious. If the PR guy blogs for the CEO people know it. @skydiver
  • communitygirl: @skydiver says the personal vs professional profile will go away in 12 months. You will have one profile on whatever network wins!
  • communitygirl: Ever heard of unjust tagging? How about facebook purgatory? I will blog about it later. @skydiver is a fun speaker. Hilarious!
  • communitygirl: Kids growing up with technology will be smart about it. No need to pity them at all says @skydiver.
  • communitygirl: @skydiver is now talking about top of mind presence. Use social media to the point of “remembering.”

I couldn’t tweet everything, as i also needed to eat lunch, but those are a few highlights. Tomorrow I will blog about two concepts Shankman shared: Facebook Purgatory, and Unjust tagging. Pretty funny stuff. Yeah, he’s definitely a wild man.

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Here’s why no one reads your press releases but you

18 ways to engage users online: My first e-book

November 11, 2008 in Community Building, social media | Tags: , , , | 3 comments

After blogging pretty regularly and sharing my thoughts on everything from online journalism, and social media savvy to the downward spiral of newspapers and the importance of comments on news stories, I finally got around to writing an e-book.

Here it is: 18 Ways to Engage Users Online

I hope you find it useful and share it with your colleagues and peers. I’m planning two more e-books: One for non-profits and another for furniture industry professionals. I’ve spoken to a lot of people in both industries recently and they are eager to jump start their social media strategies.

So, do me the honors of checking out the ebook and tell me what you think.

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With Community Management Comes a New Kind of Stress

September 5, 2008 in Community Building, user generated content | Tags: , , , , , , , | 10 comments

I’ve always known on-the-job stress.

As an assignment manager, I worried about missing a big story or crucial interview, sending the news crew to the wrong location and various other scenarios that involved me ending up in the news directors office for singlehandedly destroying the ratings and making us look like losers on the air. It rarely happened, but the stress existed just the same. When Governor Lawton Chiles died on my watch when I worked at WFLA in Tampa, I stressed about getting it on the air first. It was a constant state of wanting to be first, and best. The sense of urgency was constant. No stress there, right?

As a news and special projects producer, I worried that my words weren’t powerful enough, my intro was too weak or I lacked the great video needed to keep the viewers interest. It was stressful to know that the exclusive interview it took two months to land could bail at the last minute leaving little if any time recover.

While managing media partnerships In the newspaper industry, the worries were also constant. Different, but constant: Will our news partners air our content, will we collaborate successfully, and will I ever get these print reporters to understand that multimedia reporting is not an option but a requirement?

Well, now I’m dealing with user-generated content and the game has changed tremendously. I’m managing content from people I cannot control in any capacity. They are nothing more than a screen name and an e-mail address. Some are even less. I don’t know their intentions or whether or not they’re who they say they are. Quite honestly, I’m not certain about much of anything in this particular space.

New stresses consists of relentless trollers intent on wreaking havoc on the community and calling me out in public blogs and making crude references to my ability (or inability, in their anonymous eyes) to do my job by faceless names who really have no real idea what my job entails.

I recently found a kindred spirit in a post by blogger Jeremiah Owyang: Social Punishment: The Bozo Feature .

In the comments area, I found Marc Meyer who wrote that he’d actually received a death threat from a user. There is a level of insanity in that but it is real. Someone took his role as a community manager seriously enough to wish him dead. Sad, but true.

A member of my community indicated in an e-mail to my boss recently that my moderating policies have caused her “undue emotional stress.” Someone else warned that he would continue to bring a flurry of problems through his posts and purposely disrupt and even attempt to ruin the community if I did not completely remove another member from the community. And just yesterday someone commented that I must be “sexually repressed” because their blog posts riddled with sexual innuendo and inappropriate content had been removed.

I am not making this up.

Are these things worthy of stress? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s important to note that this kind of thing can really get to a person. So, if you’re a community manager dealing with any of these issues and wish to start a support group, I’m in!

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Good community managers don’t mind stroking egos

September 24, 2008 in Community Building, social media, user generated content | Tags: , , , | No comments

If there’s one thing members of your online community want from you, it’s feedback. Positive feedback, or not-so positive feedback, they want to hear from you.

As in most group settings, the squeaky wheels tend to get most of the attention, but if this is where you are focusing your efforts, it’s time to stop. Yes, you have to deal with troublemakers to keep the community in tip-top shape, but you can’t neglect your top posters, continuous content creators and keepers of the community.

If it sounds like a huge task, that’s because it is. It’s an important one too and should be done on a daily basis. It isn’t something you have to spend hours doing, but it’s wise to carve out at least 30 minutes of your day to recognize the members who keep the community afloat, and spend a good portion of their time on your site.

So how can you do this effectively and efficiently? Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Comment on blogs or forums and be sure to compliment the author publicly. (”This is a great conversation piece. Good topic.”)
  2. Make a helpful suggestion. This indicates that you value their content. (“Great post. You might want to add a link to your last blog since it’s related.”)
  3. Make a direct request. (Loved the pictures from your garden. When can we expect to see more?”)
  4. Ask a question about their content. (That recipe looks awesome, was it passed down to you?”)
  5. Suggest a blog topic. (I see you’re passionate about drunk driving, you should consider writing a blog.”)
  6. Ask for their opinion based on what you know about them. ( “I’m heading out your way this weekend, any good barbecue spots in Sanford?”)
  7. Encourage communication with other community members. (”Johnny23 is looking for tax advice, aren’t you an accountant? Maybe you can help”)
  8. Make a promise, and keep it. (If you do decide to take more pictures let me know and I’ll highlight them on the home page.”)
  9. Tell them you miss them. (”Haven’t seen you in a while, I hope everything is okay. We miss your humor.”)
  10. Send a personal e-mail.. (Hey, you were one of our top posters last week. Just want you to know how much I appreciate your time. Keep it up!”)

Easy enough? Why not get started today? Pick a number between 10 and 20 and decide to issue that many or more compliments to your users on a daily basis. It will show them you care and that you value their time. It will pay off as they become more loyal and you’ll ultimately see the fruits of your labor.
Do you have any helpful hints on connecting with users? Feel free to share.

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Seven reasons to ban online community members

September 30, 2008 in Abusive Visitors, User Conflict | Tags: , , , | 1 comment

As community managers, we really do want everyone to peacefully co-exist. However, this can’t always be the case. In fact, it is is rarely the case. As in life, not everyone in a community, real or virtual will get along. That’s just the way it is.

As the leader, charged with growing the community and helping to cultivate relationships, you also have to know how to step in and take action. Sometimes that action means banning members from the community. It’s not something you want to do often by any means, but you do need to know when there is simply no other choice.

Here are seven situations that could lend themselves to banning visitors:

  1. They continually push the limits and ignore your guidelines or Terms of Service
  2. They are being openly defiant as a means of getting attention.
  3. They are harassing other members on a continual basis with no end in sight.
  4. They live to post inappropriate links and not much else.
  5. They are recruiting others to join a destructive cause within your community.
  6. Everything they post is hostile and an effort to create chaos
  7. They are disrespecting or attacking you publicly and making the issue personal.

I am not indicating that each of these situations should result in a banning. I’ve had every single instance occur in my community and I was sometimes able to communicate with the person and reverse the situation, which ultimately is ideal for both sides.

But I’ve also been in situations that were utterly hopeless, and banning was the only way.

What unique situations have occurred in your community that made “baning” the only option?

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Don’t “police” your online community

October 2, 2008 in Community Building, social media | Tags: , , | No comments

Community managers are constantly multi-tasking. From creating content, to encouraging more user interaction and stroking a few egos along the way, it often feels like your work is never done.

There’s some truth to that actually, because if your goal is to grow a community, that job will essentially never end. While it is of the utmost importance to keep the community clean and within your guidelines, you decide how you will make that happen. You can do it by force, with kindness and tact, or with some combination of three. It’s all about what works for you and the effect it has on the community overall.

I ran across a blogpost today called: The Challenge of Policing Online Communities, and I must ay that I completely balked at the title.

First of all, I don’t “police” my community. There are certainly days when I feel like a police captain banning problem users and busting up troll compounds. And there are also days when I feel like a rookie who just can’t get a break. But those days are much fewer in number than the days I thoroughly enjoy watching the fruits of my labor.

That is called “managing” the community. When you have a passion for your members and your community, you “manage” it. You cultivate it. You don’t “police” it.

I would never characterize my role that way. It makes it sound like a chore. And isn’t policing anything inherently a challenge?

Our words can be self-fulfilling prophecies. If you consider what you’re doing “policing” then that is what it will always be. You will always be in search of offenders and the good guys will simply pass you by.

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The troll and the “n-word”

October 3, 2008 in Abusive Visitors, abuse | Tags: , | 15 comments

I recently wrote a post about the fact that community management comes with a new kind of stress.

It’s a different type of stress that many of us have not experienced in previous positions. There were quite a few interesting comments on that post and all were empathetic.

Emersondirect wrote: “The problem is, that your users have no such accountability and if they did, would not behave that way.”

Mark O. wrote: “I’ve been the Community Manager for Buzznet for a while now and I can’t even begin to list or explain the abuse I’ve gotten from people. Harassment, hundreds of angry emails, death threats, homophobic rants…”

And in reference to the various types of stress described in the post, Steph wrote: “I think you just described my life at the end there…”

That brings me to this. Today I received an e-mail from a user who called me the “n-word.” But it wasn’t just the n-word. After that, came the “b-word.” I guess she was trying to kill two birds with one stone. I am not blogging about this for sympathy because I don’t need it. I don’t need it because I give her words no power.

I’m blogging about this because it further indicates how far people will go under the cloak of anonymity. It also gives me the fuel to keep building my community because there are people out there, like this woman (who is masquerading as a man in the e-mail) who desperately want to see it fail and live to wreak havoc on the members who make it a good place.

Am I a little miffed? Somewhat. But, I’m more annoyed than anything. That isn’t something you expect to have to deal with or see, particularly in the workplace. But, life goes on, and I’ll continue to do what I do, and do it well.

Flickr community manager Heather Champ got it right when she said this: Being a community manager is like being a pinata. People beat you with sticks and you still have to give them candy.

I couldn’t agree more.

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Can an online community destroy a marriage?

October 8, 2008 in User Conflict, social networking, user generated content | Tags: , , | 4 comments

I received an e-mail from someone who was quite disturbed about her husband’s participation in the online community that I manage. She was essentially accusing me of destroying her marriage. It was a bit disheartening, and I immediately felt for her, once I got over the sheer shock of the claim.

But, I spoke to a few people about it and I know that I cannot bear the blame for everything that takes place in this community. If you’re a community manager, neither can you. But instead of writing about it, I will share it with you, unedited.

Brace yourself:

I dont know who is over this sight but just to let you know that it has distoryed my marriage. Some of your people talk so dirty to each other and my husband got hooked and then met people at the get together and that lead to meeting this women out and having sex with I thought this was just A news talk chat room not where people are trying to hook up with married men or women it started out just talking until the started with the sex comments. Now my family are at risk of all kinds of things all due to this web sight. I have 2 children that has got to go threw this. My husband thought it would be safe cause it was a news chat not like my space I know if you go on and read all this you would have to see how wrong it is. your web sight is turning people family upside down. I hope with my contacting you will do something about this before it distroys other familys
like mine.

Now keep in mind that this is an online community and we do allow users to take their profiles private, so I am sure that some private conversations take place. But it certainly is not a chat room for people on the prowl.

What do you think about this? Am I tearing this woman’s family apart?

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Dear Community Manager: You Suck!

October 15, 2008 in Abusive Visitors | Tags: , , | 3 comments

If you’re ever in need of some interesting reading, just ask me for the keys to my inbox. You’d certainly want to grab a bag of popcorn and a soda because once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop.

The emails that community managers receive from members run the gamut. They can be comical, threatening, pathetic, sad, sometimes refreshing but more often than not, downright disturbing.

I ran across Smiley, in the comments section of this post written by Martin Reed, author of the blog Community Spark.

Smiley shared an e-mail he’d received from a user that was so familiar to me I couldn’t help but laugh. Here it is:

“You are making more ******* rules tom than the marie celeste did when it sunk which is exactly what you will do …i hate to tell you that i have around 300 isps and can change and am on as we talk on this message ..so whats your ******* point ….you are so insecure cause you no that you are not and never will be good enough for holly ..your hollys parents will be horrified by the looks of you a neo nazi punk skinhead with pink walllpaper ,looking like a raving poofta ….in your picture ….as i say its no point banning cause we are all doing what i do anyway is change isp at a flick so let your forum run down and holly will go running to a man in london she used to see and still is ..”

Geez! What this tells me is that Smiley is managing his community well. But see what we’re up against? I still can’t wrap my arms around the mindset of a person who lives to destroy an online community. I find it mind boggling.

So, after i finished laughing at Smiley’s plight I checked my BlackBerry and found my own little gem.

Here it is:

Hello Angela,
I want to discuss the reason why I was banned? I got banned because I copied what _____ said to me? She made a public life threat on your site, and I get banned for it?
I suggest you ban ______, or you might want to start looking for a new job.

Talk about being direct! I will look into this person’s claim, of course but wow…I might lose my job for banning someone, who for the record , I didn’t even ban.

I’d like to read some of your e-mails. So if you’re up for it, post one (or more) in the comments area below, and let’s have a good chuckle.

We all know that in this business, a sense of humor is a must!

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For some, social media is still very new

October 17, 2008 in social media | Tags: , , | 3 comments

I spent the day at the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits Statewide Conference and boy was it an eye opening experience. The main takeaway for me was that social media is still very very new to many, and as professionals who do this for a living, we are not serving them well.

Tomorrow, I will be at ConvergeSouth learning about Social Media 3.0, less than 24 hours after conducting a presentation in front of 40 people who don’t even understand Social Media 1.0. I am going to take a step back and start helping some of them understand all of this. If not me, then who?
For anyone interested, the presentation is below.

Finding The Social Media Platform That Works For You

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: social media)

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Do online communities mirror race relations in America?

October 21, 2008 in Abusive Visitors | Tags: , , , | 4 comments

With all of the kind words and support I received after this post, I thought it would only make sense to provide an update on the relentless community member who is intent on hurling racial slurs my way through various forms of communication.

It’s getting pretty old and pretty sad, and I think I feel sorry for her on some level.

As much as I promote the importance of engaging users online and reaching out to community members to provide them with the best experience, it’s clear that I cannot do that with her.

First it was an e-mail but today it was a complete blog post with paragraph after paragraph of insanity all related to the concept of “Training your n-word.”

Where do people get this stuff? I know that it’s directed at me the managing editor of the community, not me personally (although it IS based on my race) and it’s this persons attempt at ruffling my feathers. I know that.

But as I think about all of the comments I see online on a daily basis and the back and forth about race , particularly as it relates to the Presidential Election, I can’t help but wonder if the cloak of anonymity is providing an outlet for bigots of all races to share their truest, ugliest feelings. Are there some simply welcoming the opportunity to speak their mind without repercussions?

My question is this: Are online forums, communities and comments areas across news websites providing an accurate depiction of our society? Are the things being written representative of what people wish they could actually verbalize? Or is this a phenomenon only taking place online because it’s essentially a free-for-all? What do you think?

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Inside a Community Managers inbox

October 22, 2008 in Community Building, user generated content | Tags: , , , | 2 comments

In an effort to illustrate just how daunting the job of an online community manager can be, I’ve started sharing selected snippets of some of the e-mails I receive from members, with the members who send them via my editor’s blog.

There seems to be a real interest and it shows the community just how petty some of their peers can be. Many openly express in the comments areas of my posts that they would never want to do my job. Others have indicated that they would “pray for me and my inbox.”

If you’re up for a good laugh, or cry…read through some of these. Have a bottle of aspirin nearby.

  1. “Please tell me why when I made a decent comment concerning a very real thing …about putting a hex on something that it gets deleted? I see that this person I referanced this to also had his comment deleted? I did not call names, was not rude.”
  2. You accept constant trash, and *I* get a nasty gram. Please……..
  3. Angela - we need the ability to block people off group blogs.
  4. “The sports section is overrun by crazy people and everytime UNC is mentioned all the fools come out and no one can talk about nothing!!”
  5. Dang it Angela….. are you gonna get rid of this jerk or not??????
  6. Ok, Angela here we go again please remove the current cowboy blog this a violation.
  7. Their are currently 2 blogs with half naked men and lewd suggestive comments being made if there is truly NOT a double standard at ____ these must be flagged NOW and warnings issued. Please follow terms and conditions as set out by ____ or not at all. Allow all viewing of the human body or none at all, both genders.
  8. I put a comment on the story about the son killing the father in Lee County- there has been some more about this story in the Sanford Herald and the son is being futher investiaged by Sanford Police about another killing that took place a couple of years ago. Please take my comment off.
  9. I havent disobeyed ANY of the rules so why cant I post anymore?
  10. I live in Florida and come to the ____ website every day because I am from NC and have family–children, mother, etc. in NC. I used to post comments quite frequently. Since you changed to this ____ nightmare it is so cumbersome it is a huge waste of my time. I can’t figure out how to just plain leave a comment on a story. Please, not all of us want to BLOG or whatever. It is not our life work. Sometimes we just want to make a simple comment.
  11. “I think your word filter really sucks. I was trying to post a response to the story of the Eagle and I have a pet bird. She is a Cockatiel and as since I used that word twice, the filter would not let the post go through.
    Now please tell me what is so offensive about the word “Cockatiel” when it is describing a small Parrot from Australia. I ran a dictionary check on the word “cock” and it was listed 10 times and neither definition was in the least bit offensive.
    But I suppose I’ll just get the regular computer response back.”
  12. This morning I was trying to use the word cracker as in I ate crackers this morning and it was blocked. Why? Trying to block this for racial reason???
  13. I frequently go to your sites and look at feed back ref to your news stories. I am sick of this lady. Her abuse of language, non factual statements are discusting. Please take her completely down. I know that you have fixed it where she can’t do it from the story site but she is still on your link. Here is her link.I feel sorry for both familes and I feel that her ranting and raving is not helping the healing of the familes and the communities.
  14. I guess I will have to contact ABC 11 and ask them if they would like to investigate the discrimination of the ____ team in regards to allowing negative comments about gay people but not african american people.
  15. “I didnt realize my actual name was going to show up on a post I had made, it was certainly not a bad post but I’d rather not have my name shown up. I changed my screename however someone responded with my realhame and I was just wondering if you could please edit the thread and remove my full name. Really appreciated it.”

Does your inbox look anything like this? Do tell!

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Don’t be afraid to tell users to ‘get lost’

October 23, 2008 in Community management | Tags: , , | 7 comments

I know that many of my colleagues and peers will disagree with me here, but I believe there can come a time when you, the community manager have to enforce your guidelines publicly. I am going to go further to say that you may even have to use someone as an example for all to witness.
Not ideal, I know.
But before you balk and get ready to tell me how this will destroy a community, let me tell you that I’ve done it and it didn’t back fire in the way you would think.

Now, keep in mind that it does depend on the type of community you manage. My site is connected to a traditional news organization and it’s also very local, so our topics run the gamut. It’s essentially a free-for-all in terms of content. You never know what to expect, so you just expect it all.

Martin Reed wrote a post a while back called Never forget who is in charge of your online community.

When I read it back in June, I think I was on the verge of doing just that. Our one year anniversary was approaching, as was my review, and I found myself getting so caught up in growing the community and making sure I didn’t offend, that it was getting unwieldy.

Well, that moment has certainly passed. Just yesterday I wrote a blog that was very direct. Here is an excerpt:

If you want to be here, act like it. If not, go somewhere else. The internet is huge. Find your niche. It’s out there. Thanks, and have a great day.

Yes, it sounds harsh but the people it applied to knew it, and so did everyone else.
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Five mistakes to avoid when marketing through online communities

October 25, 2008 in marketing tips | Tags: , , , , | 3 comments

If you have a product or service that you think most people or a large percentage of the people in an online community would find interesting, I think you should delve right in and give it a shot. After all, isn’t one of the goals behind marketing in online communities to essentially capitalize on the sheer numbers and niche topics?

If done right, it can be quite effective. If done wrong, as it most often is in my opinion, it can backfire in a way that can turn ugly fast. I’ve seen it time and time again. A well-intentioned individual joins the community and casually starts mentioning their travel site or automotive services complete with links in every post and the promise of a discount.

What often happens next is they receive a slew of comments from the natives about the community not being a place to sell their services and it’s all downhill from there.
I once saw a user upload 750 images of wristwatches. Seriously. It was his entire catalog. Need I say what happened to him?

I call it the scarlet letter, “S.” it stands for SPAM. It’s a word you don’t want to be associated with in an online community. Trust me. So, before you jump right in to the next community, here are five things you shouldn’t do. Remember, this isn’t the do list, it’s the don’t list.

Don’t:

  1. Add links to your website in every single blog and comment you post.
  2. Write blogs with titles like: “Great deals on travel” and only mention your organization. It’s the quickest way to illustrate a lack of genuine interest in the community.
  3. Start blogging about your product or service the minute you create a profile. It will be noticed.
  4. Misrepresent yourself as a satisfied customer, just to convince others to get on board.
  5. Disrespect the culture of the community. Take time to see how things work before you jump in and shake things up.

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A word to non-profits: Stop depending on traditional media

October 27, 2008 in marketing tips, social media | Tags: , , , , | 1 comment

One of the messages I tried hard to drive home during a session I held at the NC Center for Non-profits Statewide Conference two weeks ago, was this: Stop depending on the news media to tell your story!

It’s amazing that in this day and age of social media, many organizations and industries are still so heavily reliant on traditional media. I got the feeling during an informational lunch which was hosted by the Marketing Director of a local TV station and attended by several leaders of non-profit organizations, that everyone around the table would give their left arm just to know the magic secret behind getting news coverage.

“How do we get you to come to our events,” one woman asked.
As a former assignment manager at numerous TV stations, I know that there is no magic secret and I told them as much. I even went further to tell them that I was one of many managers in newsrooms across the country, who routinely tossed their well-crafted press releases in the recycling bin.

I saw shock on the faces of many. I went on to discuss the 22 minute news hole and the plight of producers charged with presenting the best and most important news of the day during that time frame. Couple that with a small number of news crews, and throw in a 2-alarm fire, and the chances of your festival or major fund raising event getting coverage are really slim. Actually the chances are pretty much non-existent.

“Have you ever thought about shooting your own video and providing it to the station?” I asked.
“We can do that?”

Yes, but you can also post your own video on YouTube and other video sharing sites. You can post it on your own website, or provide a link. You can submit it to communities that accept user-generated video. And that’s just a start. There’s so much that can be done beforehand to generate buzz that doesn’t involve traditional media.

It’s a brave new world, where you control a lot more than you once did, so learn the ropes and get involved. With social media comes freedom and it’s time for non-profits to break free.

Additional Resource

Finding The Social Media Platform That Works For You

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: micro-blogging communities)


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Here’s why no one reads your press releases but you

October 28, 2008 in marketing tips | Tags: , , | 1 comment

I’ve been an assignment manager at numerous TV stations throughout my career, and that involved making hard decisions about news coverage. There was always more than we needed and the day file was typically flooded with news releases.

Unfortunately, most of them found a home in the bottom of the recycling bin. I know that’s not what you want to hear if you are the one who poured over the document with the goal of creating a masterpiece, but it’s true. The good news is you have the power to change that.

Here is what you can do to keep your press release out of the recycling bin and the deleted items folder of Outlook.

  • Make them shorter! A press release is not a novel. Remember that.
  • Stop burying the lead. If the reader has to read through three paragraphs to find the most pertinent information, he never will.
  • Write a snappy headline. Try headlines that are five words or less, and make it descriptive. Avoid long company names. I don’t need to read the company’s name in the headline unless its a major news maker.
  • Experiment with different layouts. Are the words”for immediate release” a necessity? Think about it.
  • Stop using the phrase “for immediate release.” I know it’s customary but isn’t that assumed in most cases?
  • Ditch the history lesson and provide links. Is it necessary to provide such lengthy paragraphs about the history of each company mentioned? Try using “for more information” and providing links to additional information.

I suggest playing around with your press releases with the goal of making them mean and lean. And now for something fun. I will transform a press releases (into a mean, lean informational machine, (free of charge, of course) for the first two people who send me an e-mail with “Make me mean and lean” as the subject.

I will contact you later requesting the press release of your choice and we will go from there. All you have to do is give me permission to display the original and the new version in a future blog post.

Send it to angeladconnor-at-yahoo.com.

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Stop flaunting and start sharing your social media savvy

October 30, 2008 in social media | Tags: , , , , , , | 4 comments

There’s a fine line between the verb “flaunt” and it’s more docile and giving half-sister: the verb “share.” Some of us need to revisit that little fact.
By us, I mean the early adopters, the bold bloggers, the talented twitterers, frantic friendfeeder’s and facebooker’s, courageous community managers, die-hard digg’ers, excellent evangelists and super-sized social media saints!

Forgive me if you’re none of the above, but you get my drift and I’m betting that at least one of the above descriptions fits you to a tee!

I’ve written a few posts lately where I seemed to go on and on about the lack of social media knowledge that exists among specific industries and the resistance that we all deem futile. In many cases, it isn’t resistance at all. It’s simply a lack of understanding, coupled with preconceived notions of unreasonable time commitments and technological prowess, neither of which are requirements to get in the game.

I attended one conference where we were all discussing Social Media 3.0 just 24 hours after giving a presentation to a large group that didn’t even understand Social Media 0.5. I’m convinced there
are plenty more where they came from and I fear that we could be leaving behind the very people who need us most.

That conference changed me. It made me think very hard about my purpose and the more I think through it, I see an amazing opportunity to teach. As I reach out to those in my various networks who are much savvier than I am, my main goal is to extrapolate every piece of knowledge and wisdom they have to offer to better myself and increase my personal knowledge. I know that we all do. That’s the power of vast networks.
I ask you to turn the tables for a minute and think of all of the people who want to extrapolate your knowledge on the most basic level. Can you give it to them, and in a way they will understand?

If you are a leader of the pack, consider stepping down a notch or two and getting back to basics. Share yourself and what you know. The key word is share. There will be time to flaunt later and that vast network of yours will be waiting for you to do just that.
Remember, if you give a man to fish, he’ll eat for a day. But if you teach a man to fish……

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Need more user-generated content? Ask for it!

November 1, 2008 in Community Building, social media | Tags: , , | 1 comment

What do you do when you realize user-submissions are getting low, or your community members seem to be slacking in the photo uploading department? What about when the quality of blogs seems to be tanking and decent conversations are nowhere to be found?

You could complain about it, pour over last months stats and simply hope that things will get better, or drown your sorrows in a series of diet cokes or another beverage of your choice while staring at your monitor. Or, you can ramp up and move into overdrive.

As the community manager it is your job to engage users, so engage. Keep in mind that people love to talk about themselves and share their opinions. They also like to tell what they know, so why not ask them to do all three?

I’ll give you the beginning of several questions and you fill in the blanks based on what’s happening in your community, what people are talking about or anything you find interesting.

What’s your favorite ____________?
What do you think of _________?
Have you seen the new movie, _________?
Do you plan to visit __________?
How much money do you spend on _______?

And if it’s photos your after, be specific. The holiday’s are coming so ask for holiday photos.
Draw out the competitive spirit and ask for pictures of holiday decorations. Put on a contest if you want to get things moving quickly and offer a cool prize.

It can be tough when you depend on others to produce content, but if you make it worth their while and make sure they know how much you value the time they take to do it, things begin to look up fast. I’ve already got several ideas in the works and recently put on a contest called “November madness.” Anyone who picks the winners in the federal and state races will win a prize. People love prizes, so give them what they want.
What you’ll soon find is, it will ultimately get you what you want.

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What effect will an African-American President have on user-generated content?

November 6, 2008 in user generated content | Tags: , , , | 3 comments

obamaThis is a question I don’t want to ponder, and unfortunately I believe I know the answer. I wish I didn’t but I do. I’ve seen it in full effect since the election of Sen. Barack Obama two days ago and it is truly disheartening.

While we as a county have certainly opted for change and the racial lines seem to be blurring, this change is clearly an atrocity to some who will likely use the web and the “cloak of anonymity” I’ve mentioned many times before, to share their anger and spread their hate.

Among some of the content I’ve dealt with today were comments about black criminals getting off easy now because they will have backing “straight from the top,” watermelon seeds being planted at the White House, appointing “Reverend Ike” as Secretary of the Treasury, and Richard Pryor, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin to other positions in his Cabinet. Not to mention all of the other stereotypical madness that is so easy to deliver via keyboard.

Am I writing this blog while emotional? Yes, and that could be good or bad. You decide. But as the Managing Editor of User-Generated Content at WRAL.com and GOLO.com, it is my job to develop guidelines for how we manage UGC and I deal with a great deal of it. So this is affecting my job. It’s affecting something I believe in.

So yes, I’m emotional but this is my blog and this is where I chose to vent today. So thank you for hearing me out.

Now, I will go home, reapply my thick skin before bed and come in tomorrow to live and work another day. There is no alternative, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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To heck with social media, they don’t even use e-mail

November 9, 2008 in social media | Tags: , , , | 1 comment

Those are the words I heard from one furniture industry professional after a presentation I gave last week in High Point, North Carolina to members of WITHIT, an organization for women in the home furnishings industry.

Everyone in the audience seemed pretty pleased with what they’d learned and were quite eager to start blogging, showcasing their products and services in a new way and considering all of the other options presented during the session.

The questions came rapidly, which is always a good sign but I also heard lots of questions steeped in reality. Their reality, as told to me after the session by a very major player in the industry includes seeking buy-in from the patriarchs of family-owned businesses, who are on many fronts quite averse to change. . This is no easy task, as some of these patriarchs do not even use e-mail. And for those who do have an e-maill account, getting them to actually open an e-mail can be akin to climbing to the top of Mt. Everest.

So, what professionals in this industry need to do, as did those before them is illustrate the benefits of social media and how it can connect them to existing customers, lead them to new ones and help them create and grow an online brand that is equal to or better than their offline brand.

Just as I learned of the struggles of the non-profit sector last month, I am now very concerned about the plight of furniture industry professionals faced with the curmudgeon factor, that could prove to be a major barrier to entry.

What they may have to do is start making those connections on their own, get out in the social media world and see what happens. Prove that it works on your own, because sometimes you have to forget about permission and ask for forgiveness instead.

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Pimp my feed reader

November 17, 2008 in social media | Tags: , , , , | No comments

While perusing my feed reader tonight I realized that I am in need of some fresh voices, new inspiration and mind-blowing ideas.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe I follow some of the best in the business and come in contact with good ideas often, but it’s time to mix it up a little.

I am still very interested in social and traditional media, and managing online communities but I’ve also become quite intrigued with various aspects of online marketing, personal branding (thanks, Chris Brogan) and book publishing.

I am just about done with what will be an amazing book proposal, following on the coattails of my ebook 18 Ways to Engage users Online (yes, I’m confident) and I need to add some of the best brains in the business to my reader.

So, who do you read on a daily basis? Who is your Twitter VIP? Which FriendFeeds send you into creative overdrive? Do tell. It’s time I take it to the next level and I’m ready to be blown away.

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Slideshow: 18 Ways to Engage Users Online

November 15, 2008 in Community Building, social media | Tags: , , | 1 comment

18 Ways to Engage Users Online
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: community networks)

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Are you in Facebook purgatory?

November 13, 2008 in social media | Tags: , | No comments

Face⋅book pur⋅ga⋅to⋅ry
(pûr’gə-tôr’ē, -tōr’ē)
noun

  1. A prolonged state of being unconfirmed as a Facebook friend but not officially ignored, either. Often happens to those who repeatedly seek friendships from people who don’t know them or find them utterly unbearable.

This term was mentioned in passing by Peter Shankman at an event in Raleigh on November 12, 2008. The definition above is my interpretation. He says he often has lots of people sitting in Facebook purgatory.
Have you been there or are you holding others there? Better yet, do you have any other terms for this location?
Come on…have some fun!

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Beam me up Scotty, my feed-reader is down!

November 13, 2008 in Blogs | Tags: , , | No comments

Just logged on to Bloglines to see what my favorite bloggers are writing about today and I see this:

bloglinesHow horrible. How can we possibly survive without our blogs. An atrocity!

Social media dependency at it’s best.

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This is a personal blog. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer. Feel free to challenge me, disagree with me, or tell me I’m completely nuts in the comments section of each blog entry.

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