Twitter doesn’t take a holiday; Neither should managing your reputation

by Jaculynn Peterson on 2009/04/13

amazon_logoOver the weekend, while some gathered for family dinners or hunted for Easter eggs, and others enjoyed a day in the park, I got caught up in listening to the online buzz about Amazon and the global reaction to its new policies.

I watched as anger and dissent – like mutating airborne bacteria – rapidly diffused throughout the Social Web, from network to network and person to person…all while the giant – Amazon – slept. By the time the global bookseller got wind of the situation, Plan A – which could have been “containment,” the chance to proactively manage the situation, was no longer an option. It was time for the big bookseller to declare a public relations state of emergency and go straight to Plan B: global communication and response.

So what did Amazon do? They emailed a comment:

“There was a glitch with our sales rank feature that is in the process of being fixed. We’re working to correct the problem as quickly as possible.”

Amazon’s reply was like pouring lighter fluid on a fire.

As of this writing, the company’s blog still has not been updated and the tweets continue to pour into the stream with #AmazonFail holding its own as a top Twitter trend. There’s talk in the Twittersphere that says Amazon will “speak” tomorrow – the start of what will prove to be a very long week of defensive maneuvering.

In the end, this all could have been avoided. And there’s no excuse for it anymore. Twitter has proven itself – time and again – as a viable and valuable communications channel…in times of disaster, giving, protest, and celebration.

Twitter – like any communication tool on the Social Web – doesn’t take a holiday. It doesn’t sleep. And it doesn’t take weekends off.

And neither should you…if you care about your reputation.

RELEVANT READING:

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A sweet KISS podcasting presentation

by Jaculynn Peterson on 2009/03/21

Check out this sweet slide deck on podcasting from Kelli Matthews, who cared enough to KISS (Keep It Short and Simple) the content for readers.

Podcasting

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Information connects; Stories bond

by Jaculynn Peterson on 2009/02/27

As you can see from the image below (a graphic depiction of recent topics here at Diablogue), I’ve had News and Information on my mind. Why? I just launched a news site for our local communities.

wordle-infoconnects

While information does connect us, it’s the locally flavored stories that create the bond between us.

Image source: http://www.wordle.net

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What is news?

by Jaculynn Peterson on 2009/02/02

paulrevereNews is what you think it is.

Today, with access to unprecedented amounts of information on the Internet – including millions of blogs, comments, traditional news sites, reviews, press releases, videos, and conversations on social networks - people are choosing how and when they are receiving their information. But, more importantly, they’re choosing “what” information they want.

This is what we call news.  

It’s that simple: News is what we think it is. Just like brands are shaped by consumer perceptions, reputations are built by recommendations from friends and peers, and expert labels are earned by professional colleagues, news is defined by what we think is important. And on the Social Web today, this is gauged through our participation in telling stories and determined by our willingness to share information.

Ironically, it has been this way throughout history. For a time, however, when traditional mass media was the fastest method to share information, news was packaged for easier distribution and consumption. It may or may not have been what we considered news, but it was – at the time – the fastest way of getting “new information.” And when pieces of information somehow dripped outside of the packaged news story, it was often called a leak. Not surprisingly, though, the leaks were stories that had audiences too. Quite often leaks also became very popular “news” stories. So today, you can think of the Internet as a virtual news sieve…with leaks all over the place, each one with its own relevant audience.

Whether it’s leaking information or telling stories, we all play an important role in creating and disseminating news. And that can mean anything from stimulating global conversation to actively sharing bits of highly relevant information with members of our community. 

Welcome to the Social Web — where every visitor, reader, and contributor is also a reporter.

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A new online marketing resource for economically challenged businesses

by Jaculynn Peterson on 2009/01/29

Recently I had the pleasure to meet Ed Madison, president and CEO of Engaging Media, Inc., a leading marketing consulting and media production firm based in Portland, OR.

As a bonus during our coffee klatch, Ed announced his latest venture – Marketers Alliance – a new online community and resource for business and marketing folks like you and me.

According to Ed, the purpose of the community is to promote collaboration and information sharing among business owners and marketers, particularly in tough economic times. His vision for the community is to create:

“A global network of business and organization owners committed to supporting one another in their success.”

The timing is right for this community, not only because we are in the midst of a uniquely challenging business climate, but also because it fits squarely into that technological and anthropological infrastructure known as the Social Web. I believe the business, marketing and development professionals who quickly grasp the concept of cooperation and collaboration will fare much better than those in competing organizations in the coming year. At a minimum, companies should at least consider engaging in some healthy “coopetition” to survive.

Luckily we have social media tools like Marketers Alliance to empower us to do so. According to the site, Marketers Alliance will help you:

“Keep abreast of hot trends…in marketing, through our “Quick Tip” blog posts and podcasts. Meet peers, share your firsthand success stories – or strategies you’ve discovered from others.”

The Marketers Alliance homepage boldly states: “We promise: • profit-making strategies • lively discussions • links to hundreds of resources • live teleseminars with experts • book reviews and • special events.”

When asked how Marketers Alliance has helped him personally and professionally, Ed replied: “It’s really compelled me to stay on top of the day to day evolution of trends in marketing.  I’m also experimenting with social networking and meeting lots of cool people in the process.” He also said that the feedback about the community has been “excellent” and that “people want more” content, especially related to social media and SEO.

The thing I really like about the community is its inherent strength in offering quality and quantity audio/video content – thanks to the background of Ed Madison – which will help create a more comprehensive and robust Web 2.0 community.

You can listen here to the podcasts, which also include a couple of interviews with yours truly.

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