The Kmiec Ramblings

I’ve been dying for a tool that would aggregate all of my social networking sites and activities into one nice little feed.  Bonus points would be had for something that would also let me publish once to ALL my social networking sites.  I’ve looked at Strands, Twine, and Digsby.  All have their pros and their cons.  However, the best options I’ve come across is EventBox, from Cosmic Machine.  Here’s the list of elements it aggregates.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Flickr
• Digg
• Pownce
• RSS
• Reddit

That’s a pretty comprehensive list. It’s not perfect though.  There are a few flaws.

1. It’s desktop software, no cloud/web based.
2. It’s not free; $15.00 during the beta period.
3. It’s MAC only.

I was going through some random photos from this summer and came across this GREAT gem. We took this photo at Walter Library on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.

I’m not an Obama fan. That much I’ve made clear on this blog here, here, and here.  But, I’m also able to put aside my political preferences and acknowledge his campaign’s mastery of the interactive space, specifically in social media.  When Obama was running against Hillary (my choice) I wrote that his success vs. the Clinton juggernaut could really be boiled down to the how they approached twitter.

This site did an even better job of showing the disparity in how Obama succeeded in the social media space, while McCain failed.  For example what the people on twitter thought about them.

Definitely make some time to read the whole post. You can start to see how your footprint in the social media space can be indicative and in some cases predictive of success.

Agreeing on what we measure in the first step.

We also need to collectively align on:

• How we measure
• How often we measure
• How often we report
• When we optimize

The data we provide is only as good as our ability to act on the information.

This is the mantra I follow on every project.

Really enjoyed this great read by Paul Dunay.  His post focuses on how to hit a homerun with cause marketing. He made a great choice in electing to single out Lee as a shining example of a brand that really gets it.

Some of the highlights for success:

• Empower participants
• Embrace the transparency
• Communicate regularly
• Tag everything
• Ensure consistency in the look and feel
• Do your homework do not “pitch” bloggers
• Be prepared for commentary

I worked on lee in the mid-90s when I was at Fallon.  At that time, we were trying to help them find their “center.”  After going in a variety of directions, including bringing back Buddy Lee, they really seem to have it their stride.  These are GREAT principles to embrace the next time you consider a cause marketing strategy.

Once again, great advice from Michael Leis. In this blog post for iMedia Connection, Michael riffs on the 4 key questions you need to ask before deciding if social media is a viable option for your brand/project. I don’t want to steal the thunder, so I’ll only give you the four questions and not the brilliant commentary.

1. Do you have inventory? Is it valuable to your audience?
2. What ways does your audience use technology?
3. Are you ready for help to be its own reward?
4. Are you willing to apply people to the solution?

Bet that got your attention  It got mine when the headline appeared in my Twitter stream. Good read, great video interview, and solid information for using with your clients. Check it out here.

Thanks to Kevin Doohan for posting this.  He posted some great advice from the November 2008 Harvard Business Review that I’m re-posting.

1. You’re bringing me news that does not require action.  Don’t show up with bad news at 4:00 on Friday, unless it is business critical.
2. You want a decision from me. Bring possible solutions to the problem and your thoughtful recommendation.
3. You want personal advice and counsel from me (not as the boss, and without expecting action on my part - it’s your job to solve the problem).
4. You want to complain about someone. Bring that person along with you or we won’t have a happy meeting.

I really dig #4, it’s something I really believe in.

Gotta love this photo sent to me by daycare.

MSNBC offers a fantastic widget (seen below) for tracking the election coverage. Visit this link to see the MANY options MSNBC is offering.