What is Social Media?

Definitions often differ depending on the source. Ask any two people what "green" means and you'll get two different answers. "Social media" is no different.

Much like "sustainability," "green,"
"conservation" and "eco-friendly" are interchangeable to the average person, so are "Web 2.0," "new media," "blogging" and "social media." Social media can refer to anything from MySpace to my phone. Seriously, you could fit King Kong under that umbrella.

Wikipedia defines social media as "primarily Internet and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings." Although as broad and undefining a definition as that may be (I love the use of "primarily"), it is overall a safe synopsis.

That said, do you ever get the feeling this is a fad term? One of those phrases that's all-encompassing because nobody "owns the market" yet, hence it hasn't been branded and defined? I do.

Part of the problem with defining social media is that it's the sum of many individual parts, or media "micro-markets":

• Publishing - Blogger, WordPress, Wikipedia, Digg
• Social Networks - LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook
• Virtual Worlds - Second Life, IMVU, Habbo
• Discussions - Skype, Phorum, Google talk
• Microblogs - Twitter, Pownce, Plurk
• Oh, there's much more.

Even these micro-markets are not set in stone. Over time they'll shape shift and shrink as players fight to the death for social media supremacy. While they all may have unique features within unique categories, as with any market, the invisible hand will smack them around until only a few select sites claim the majority of visitors. We've already seen this happen with search engines...

As this digital Darwinian evolution continues over the next few years, definitions will change and "social media" and its many parts will become more clear. In the meantime, the number of social media sites will continue to increase daily, with definitions emerging and expiring all the while. Give it time and we'll get our real definition.

Other resources and defintions:

Just What is Scoial Media, Exactly?
Social Media Marketing Campaigns: How to Set goals and Define Your Target Market
Social Media in Plain English (YouTube video)

Presidential Inauguration Coverage 2009

The inauguration of President Barack Obama today symbolized a shift in our society. A shift in governmental policy, political ideology, national power, and, as much as anything, a shift in the creation, distribution and relevance of user generated news and information.

Couldn't be there for the historic presidential inauguration today? No worries. Information documenting the inauguration was everywhere in a flash. Photos were uploaded to Flickr, videos were added to YouTube, and podcasts were updated on sites across the web, before, during and after the inauguration. Twitter was a roar rather than a "tweet," with people from around the world updating millions of others with personal accounts of the historic day in 140 characters or less.

Internet users can view the path the Obamas took to the inauguration, follow the inaugural parade route, and see D.C. landmarks in 360-degree panoramics with the "street view" function on Google Maps. In addition to education and communication, the internet and technology have closed the geography gap to some degree.

Live videos were being streamed by national media like CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, ABC, CBS - nothing new here - but also by bloggers and individuals who have no media background; only a camera and internet connection. Technorati search results for "inauguration" totaled 34,000+ blog posts, with more than 17,000 new posts in the past 48 hours.

Media are now acknowledging, or in many cases encouraging, the marriage of mass media and user generated content. Using Microsoft's "Photosynth" technology, some media are creating 360-degree panoramic images of Obama's inauguration and the events in D.C. from user generated images and photographs.

Capturing "The Moment" that Obama took the oath of President, CNN's 3-D images are online here.
MSNBC's "360-degree views of D.C." are here.

Can Joe the Plumber Blogger and others honestly have a voice in an event of this magnitude and historical significance? If I might borrow a line from our 44th President, "Yes, we can."

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Addition to original post: Read The Huffington Post's article - The Audacity of the Presidential Inauguration Committee: or This Land is Whose Land?

Lest we think all mass media have seceded a fight for exclusivity and superiority, HBO secured sole TV broadcasting rights to the "We Are One" concert at the Lincoln Memorial this past Sunday, January 18, 2009. Way to share the live historical moment with the masses, guys.

See the archived "We Are One" video.

YouTube On Your TV

YouTubers and couch potatoes alike can rejoice in the arranged marriage of YouTube and TV.

The website www.youtube.com/tv (currently in beta) offers YouTube users a "10-foot television viewing experience through a streamlined interface that enables [users] to discover, watch and share YouTube videos on any TV screen with just a few quick clicks" of the remote. One more reason to quit that New Year's
resolution to exercise and be active!

Full post: YouTube blog

My Take

YouTube's ultimate goal is to create universal access to web videos through television. Sure, why not? I can't wait to see the "YouTube channel NEW on Time Warner Cable" commercials in a couple of years. You folks with DirecTV, well you'll just have to watch funny fart videos and All-Star campaigns on TV the old fashioned way: Going through a PS3 or Wii game console.

Million dollar thought: Nintendo should develop a "game" for Wii that allows players to create animated YouTube videos. Act it out, load it up, bring 'em in. Imagine Wii users creating dance routines and sports games highlight reels for YouTube. Anybody could be a digital Billy Blanks or Stewart Scott. It's a whole new ballgame, literally.

Exciting or exhausting? You decide.

NBA Stars Go Viral for Votes

If presidential candidates can campaign successfully on the internet, why can't athletes?

NBA players went all out for the annual All-Star Game with online campaigns to garner votes for roster spots. Positions are decided partially by fan votes as well as coaches' votes.

Last year the Toronto Raptors' Chris Bosh received headlines (and votes) from his YouTube video that parodied a used-car salesman (at right). Encouraging fans to vote him into the NBA All-Star game, Bosh's video has been viewed more than 685,000 times and the star forward was selected to the 2008 West team.

New year, new online campaigns...

• Amar'e Stoudemire - vote4amare.com RESULT: Starter
• Devin Harris - YouTube RESULT: Selected as a reserve
• Joe Alexander - SeeJoeDunk.com RESULT: Just missed dunk contest selection to...
• Rudy Fernandez - Dunks on YouTube (below) RESULT: Selected for dunk contest

The internet is a vast space with plenty of room for fans to support players (whether they deserve it or not). Take Knicks guard Stephon Marbury. "Starbury" hasn't played a game all season, but had no less than five fan sites lobbying on his behalf for All-Star votes. Count for yourself: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Five! Ah, ah, ah! (Best Count Chocula laugh)

More impressive than a player who hasn't suited up for a game this season making the All-Star ballot, is the online support for him. Yet another demonstration of the changing face of media and the influence of user-generated content on business and society today.

Look for this social media campaigning to continue over the years, not only with sports stars and politicians, but with musicians, artists, religious advocates, organizations, groups, schools, businesses, governments and individuals - everybody. That's not a half court heave. It's a slam dunk guarantee.

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Addition to original post: NBA.com announces the 2009 All-Star starters.

Peter Shankman Speaks at NC PRSA Banquet - Video

The first few minutes they're trying to get his microphone and the projector to work, but bare with it, Peter Shankman has great social media experience and insights.

Wayne Sutton TV streamed the presentation live. The video is archived here:

Social Media Stumble

Social media advice: Don't post, write, Tweet, IM or otherwise distribute any message via social media that you don't want read.

Simple as that sounds, Peter Shankman of Help A Reporter Out (HARO) posted a great example of how a professional public relations practitioner can make an amature (and costly) mistake.

Just hours prior to delivering a presentation on digital media to FedEx's global communications group in their headquarters city of Memphis, an exec at PR giant Ketchum (NY office) Tweeted this message:

"True confession but I'm in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, 'I would die if I had to live here!'" (referring to Memphis)

A FedEx employee saw it and called him on it - with a slew of Ketchum execs copied on the message. Ouch. Needless to say, everyone should think twice before publishing any information these days.

Original story: Be Careful What You Post

U.S. unemployment rate reaches 7.2 percent...

The AP reports today that unemployment rates continued their historic rise in December to 7.2 percent. More than half a million Americans were sent home for good in one month - again. The United States unemployment rate was last this high 16 years ago.

Where others see depression (oops, mentioned the "D" word), I see opportunity. The unemployed folks are building a small army. With nearly one in every 10 Americans out of work, we're 11+ million strong. The image above does not depict a crowd in search of food and government checks, but rather an army in search of answers and government action.

No, not the action taken by lawmakers to give U.S. automakers billions in bailouts. We're certainly glad to hear that Rick Wagoner and General Motors (GM) will receive $13.4 billion to assist their needs, but in the words of Luke Skywalker when asked to join the dark side, "What's in it for me?"

If a long term solution is the answer, why didn't the government implement one a long time ago? It is now an accepted fact that the current recession, entering its second year, is the longest in 25 years.

As a communication professional, I understand that traditional news media are bound to objectivity (for the most part). Thus the opportunity and power of social media, user controlled media, can be further realized. As of 11:20 a.m. (eastern), an "unemployment" search on Technorati yielded more than 42,000 results with roughly 900 new related posts each day this week.

The economy may be discouraging, but it is very encouraging to see the conversation continue online; to read how this recession and unemployment affects others, how real people are dealing with real tough times, and most of all, to feel like I'm not alone. I'm not suggesting that thousands of unemployed Americans will gain employment by discussing it online, but at least we stand a better chance of being heard.

Here are some recent unemployment posts/blogs:

• EconomPic Data (good breakdown of unemployment demos)
• Unemployment vs. Underemployment (same blog, different post on "35% of US thinks we are in a Depression")
• "New Employment Growth Sector: Unemployment Centers" (Bad sign)
• Argument that unemployment is closer to 15% (You be the judge)

Real people, real lives, really unemployed:

• Outpost Mavarin
• Mr. Mom Blues (older, but telling)
• The 'Lil Bee (Even NYC girls are unemployed)
• Unemployment (YouTube video - I wonder if mental health facilities saw an influx in admissions during 2008. Good research topic for 2009...)

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Related news - My "Recession 'PR'oof" post discusses the resistence of the public relations and marketing industries to a recession.

Recession "PR"oof

The Berlin Wall falls. Five U.S. presidents in the Oval Office. U.S. national debt ratio more than doubles. Microwaves outsale range ovens. Heath Ledger is born and dies. Watergate scandal and fallout. Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's home run record. More than a billion people gain access to the world wide web.

What do all of these events have in common? They all have taken place since the last time U.S. unemployment claims were as high as they are today. The economic crisis worsened further this past month as employers cut more than 500,000 jobs in November, the largest one month decline since 1974. More than a million jobs have been lost since September. With a president-elect waiting to take the nation's reigns and the government acknowleding that the country has been in a recession since late 2007, hope may still be on the horizon.

One industry's gloom can be another's gold. The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) held its 2008 Annual “Masters of Marketing” Conference in October, where attendees including client-side marketers, media and creative agencies and others were polled about their marketing and media budgets, plans and tactics going forward. The findings are encouraging for those in marketing communications. Following is a sample of the results:

• 67 percent reported they "will spend more" or "spending will be constant/no changes"
• Of that 67 percent, 26 percent plan to increase spending by more than 10 percent

Public relations in particular is and will continue to be an essential piece of the fiscal pie. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Department of Labor) estimates that the number of "public relations specialists" will increase to nearly 300,000 by 2016, an increase of roughly 18 percent. The forecast for public relations practitioners is mirrored internally.

• Social media integration was selected as the "marketing discipline" most likely to promote growth, with 28 percent of respondents choosing it as their top choice
• Next most important: Grassroots/viral public relations (19 percent)

Chuck Werle, an Asheville, NC-based public relations professional, gives a synopsis of the difference between advertising and public relations. "Advertising is what you tell others about yourself, your products or your services. Public relations is what others tell about you."

That definition in mind, it's easy to understand the pending marriage of social media and public relations. It's as natural and fitting a match as cereal and milk. One is seemingly incomplete without the other. Sure, businesses can still post online ads on Facebook or create pop up videos where you catch the monkey and win, but as with traditional media PR has always been superior in credibility.

The opportunity is ripe for public relations professionals to integrate with social media; post podcasts, build blogs, tweet on Twitter, mingle on MySpace. Create relationships and authenticity. Help others to tell about you, your products or your services (or your clients').

The reason social media still feels refreshing and new despite its age is that the message pipeline, although growing more narrow, is nowhere near as clogged in social media as with other media. For now it's "real," and a real opportunity for PR departments and businesses.

If your business hasn't caught the wave yet, it's not too late to grab a board and get your feet wet. Social media is growing. Approximately 25 percent of the Inc. 500 reported that "social media was very important to their business/marketing strategy" in 2007, reports The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research. That number increased to 44 percent in 2008. The growth is staggering even on a global scale. According to Comscore, "social networking use grew 25 percent year over year worldwide."

Think social media like Facebook and MySpace are for teens and twenty-somethings? Think again. Rapleaf report on the gender and age of social media users.

- Justin Moore

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The emergence of Web 3.0 ("Semantic Web"). The electric car is revived. U.S. economic debt eliminated. Abagail Breslin wins an Oscar. Carolina Panthers win the Super Bowl. U.S. national unemployment rate dips below 3 percent. First female U.S. President.

All events transpiring during the next 34 years(?)

Day 3 - Overnight Success is Overrated

Insurance companies are always hiring. It doesn't matter whether the economy is in recession or banks are lending or whether people even have jobs and money to purchase insurance. Nope. Doesn't matter. Insurance companies are always hiring.

But the glass is half full. Really. I've only drank half of my afternoon glass of milk. And I'm confident that my means of self promotion are effective (if done correctly). Covering the basics of job hunting:

• I have my random ramblings on Blogger (you're looking at 'em) - I like the functionaility of this blogging site. Pretty straightforward "wysiwyg" (what you see is what you get) formatting, easy linking and image uploads, editable posts and posting options, and chances are you're already registered with Google: Picasa, iGoogle, Gmail, YouTube, Alerts, etc.
• LinkedIn profile is updated and I'm requesting/receiving recommendations from past colleagues.
• The 'ol resume is being planted on job search sites: Monster, Career Builder et.al.
• I've updated my profile with PRSA (surprised to find how outdated certain aspects of this site are - job postings for one :)
• And I'm networking, or trying to. Wanna go to lunch?

"Patience and perserverence have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." - John Quincy Adams

Day 1 - Optimism

The morning is bright, the air is fresh and the carpet is vaccumed. Perfect start to my first day of nitty gritty job hunting! I've spent nearly two weeks just updating my resume/portfolio and getting samples and the like together - not to mention kicking off a certain blog. I highly recommend the occasional 30,000 foot view of your accomplishments. It's almost certainly better than you think. It's getting others to take notice that is the challenge!

So where does a public relations and marketing professional begin their job search? Perhaps through a previous work contact? Monster.com? A friend of their mother's neighbor's babysitter? Nope. Try Craig's List. I admit I have about as much experience with Craig's List as the Detroit Lions do with winning football games (oh! that's a good one). But I figure this could be my gold mine - I may spend hours panning for precious stones and end up with mud and rocks. BUT, I could hit it big. Don't know unless you try, right?

I'll give the 'ol Charlotte Chamber of Commerce site and the local business directories a good looking over as well - and here's to hoping there are plenty of potential businesses! I need all the odds on my side. And hey, if my career's yellow brick road doesn't inersect with Craig's List, well, there's always that friend of my mother's neighbor's babysitter :)

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On a side note, I came across RealPeopleRealStuff.com earlier today (not a job site, but kinda cool). This site is meant to be a Craig's List/YouTube hybrid. At the very least it's another good example of how social media continues to merge and evolve. Admittedly I haven't gone through the site completely, but it has potential and relates to Craig's List - so there you have it.

Adventures in Social Media

Free Social Media Tip of the Day: Including funny pictures of cats in your post/story helps lead to increased popularity on Digg. Seriously.

Having worked professionally in the public relations and marketing field over the past few years (and maintaining my own blog now - whoot!), I've witnessed first hand the rise of social media as both a means of personal expression and, well, socializing, as well as a business tool.

I think everyone involved with social media these days realizes its importance and that it has been around longer than most people think; some folks just didn't catch the early flight. But fret not, this is one delay that can work to your benefit. To continue with the airlines metaphor (hadn't planned to go that route, but it seems to be working); imagine going to the airport with no luggage, no tickets and no destination in hopes of embarking on a fantastic worry-free vacation. Riiiight.

Well social media is a bit like that too. There's so much out there now with sites like MySpace, Facebook, Second Life, YouTube, Slashdot, Flickr, Digg, Twitter, Youmeo, my blog, his blog, your dog's blog, etc. They all fit under the social media umbrella but with distinctly different services and personalities. That said, you can't expect your marketing campaigns, new product discussions, blog popularity and whathaveyou to "take off" unless you're on the right flight - this also means you need to pack accordingly and embark at the right time!
(Need a travel planner? I'm available :)

Here's an example: A major consumer product company, which will remain anonymous, wanted to increase their presence in the social media world during peak season, thus reaching their target audience on a deeper, more personal level. Their initial thinking was that by creating a page on MySpace and/or Facebook where they could bring their character logo to life and interact with potential customers they would increase brand awareness and reach more potential customers. Sounded plausible until I did some basic internet surfing research for them and discovered that the vast majority of popular branded characters (Ronald McDonald, Wendy, Mr. Clean, etc.) have dozens of imposter pages, most of which contain vulgar and otherwise non-brand friendly content. Needless to say, I helped them go in another, more relevant direction...

Moral of the story: Don't be the Clark Griswold of marketing, take time to plan your and/or your clients' social media trip(s) accordingly!

Allo, allo!

Good morning, good day and good night - in case you stop here. For those brave souls that care to venture on, my name is Justin Moore and I am an unemployed public relations and marketing professional living outside Charlotte, NC. Intriguing, I know. If you're reading this, I either referred you here to see what a diligent and skilled worker I am (how'm I doing?), or your search engine made a mistake :) I kid. Never can get enough of that Google juice though, that's part of what I do!

I've carved out this little knook of the internet as a place to show some of my work and offer more info about myself for those select businesses and individuals that may be in a position to hire someone with exemplary communications skills (it's my blog, I'll endulge if I want). Feel free to check out some work samples on the right menu bar or contact me for more specific stuff - I've worked in many areas of the biz and have tried to categorize on this blog for convenience and viewing sake, but I'm happy to oblige requests. But lest I appear too greedy or self serving with my online abode, I feel that there's potential for an interesting sub-plot here...

We all know of the country's economic woes and unemployment issues (look Ma, I'm a statistic!) So I wonder if my adventure, as I optimistically refer to it, could be a micro-case study of sorts. Charlotte is considered one of the few shining markets (even if faint) in a tarnished economy - so how hard could it be for a college grad with professional experience to get a job in the Queen City? We'll find out! And personally, I'm rooting for the guy... stay tuned.

But why should you care? You don't know me on a personal level and have no reason to feel for or relate to my situation. Lets fix that :) You can find out all all kinds of things "about me" to the right. The elevator speech version - I graduated from ECU (go Pirates!) with a Comm. degree and worked in Greensboro as an account executive at a public relations and marketing firm for a couple years. We were small in staff but big in clients. I did it all - media relations, market research, tours, brand positioning, corporate communications and writing, creative design, web editing, media training, event management - really, the list goes on. I'm a newlywed to my best friend of more than six years. We're such good friends that when she was offered a good paying job doing what she loves (textiles design, and lets face it, you can't be picky here), your's truly made the move with no resistance. We found out about the job/move just as we were getting married (mid-October) and had all of three weeks to get married, plan and execute a move and bravely enter the unemployment market during arguably the worst economic crisis of this lifetime (well, I did). Stress has no meaning to me anymore, throw me in the deep end!

I got a lot going for me though - I write (and actually enjoy it), I'm good with people in many different situations and environments, I'm resourceful (sounds basic, but some folks still can't attach files to emails) and I commit and see things through to completion - remember the 6+ years stat prior to my marriage? I get the job done. Whatcha got?

That's me in a 10-story ride to the lobby. Feel free to stick around, I think it'll get better. Oh, did I mention I'm open to criticism and actually learn from it? Drop me a line anytime. There is no set framework for this blog, only to plant myself out there in this crazy social media world and see what grows. Add water at will.