I claim thee, social media, in the name of…Ow.ly?

OK. I’m a bit torn on these online tools like Ow.ly and StumbleUpon.  And yes, I know that they have been around for some time now, but I didn’t really understand my distaste for them.  Now I think I can put it into words.

When I open up a link from Twitter or someone’s blog and it brings up a banner at the top of the page indicating that someone else has tagged the page using one of these tools, it makes me feel as though they are claiming it as their own.  It’s like trying to stake your claim on the Internet.

That’s so not what social media is about.

I understand that it’s a great tool to track where posts that you write or like, and it definitely has some potential to be a basic measurement tool.  You know me, that part, I think, is great.  But what happens when I open the link and then send it on to someone else?  They open it up to see the person’s banner at the top, and suddenly the other person gets the credit even though they didn’t pass it along themselves.

Maybe I’m missing the point entirely.  Is it all about trying to see how far your own reach is?  Look how far I can get this post to travel?  Is it a way to track what posts you liked?

Most of the time I find it’s just one more thing I have to close out (like those annoying pop-up ads that somehow infiltrate my pop-up blocker).  And it just seems silly to me to try to claim responsibility for a post you didn’t write.

Think social media can teach you a lot? What about hockey players?

I must first say that I feel like such a writer.  I’ve been finding inspiration for blog posts left and right, and it always makes me feel artsy.  Justified or not, I like the feeling.

Whatever downsides a daily commute on the “L” has, the ability to spend 40 uninterrupted minutes reading a good book every morning and evening make up for and then some.  Lately my “L” book has been Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, and it has made me take a hard look at myself and my own life.

The basic premise of this book is to try to identify the indefinable qualities that make people “outliers.”  That term, I think, tends to make people think about statistics, which is exactly right.  People who are exceptionally successful or not, people who are far from average are outliers.  And Gladwell takes a good look at why.

One of his first examples is to examine professional hockey players in Canada.  The vast majority of them are born in January, February or March.  Why?  The cutoff day for peewee hockey is Jan. 1.  As kids are selected at an early age for “elite” squads, those who are born early in the year are bigger, stronger and more developed than those born in December.  These children then get the advantage of more practice and competition and eventually become the best of the best.  But it all starts with the fact that they were lucky enough to be born early in the year.

What has struck me over and over again is how much opportunity and luck have to do with success.  And just average or ordinary success.  Think Bill Gates success.  Gladwell claims that there are plenty of us who are smart enough and talented enough to be the next Bill Gates, but what we require to get there is the opportunity.

This may seem like an oversimplification, but from personal experience I believe there is great truth.  We all like to believe that what makes us special is our innate abilities and talents, but often we just happen to be in the right place at the right time.  Or in the right field at the right time working for the right employer.

I wouldn’t consider myself to be an outstanding or exceptional college graduate in any sense.  I graduated with a good GPA and with some experience.  So why do I have an amazing, rewarding job six months later when plenty of peers I believe to be far more deserving still remain unemployed?

I was in the right place at the right time.

If you remember, when I first shared my new job with everyone, I mentioned that I was asked to interview the day before my internship was ending.  I left for a two-week vacation in Australia not 24 hours after my interview.  Not that I don’t work hard or produce quality work, but I don’t doubt that timing played a role.

The reason I found my passion in the first place, I think, was luck.  When I finally decided to switch from studying biochemistry in college, I happened to grab the last seat in an Introduction to Public Relations course.  The professor of that course happened to bring in Katie Paine as one of our first guest speakers.  More than once I’ve wondered where I would be if it weren’t for my professor, Dr. Craig Carroll, and Katie Paine.

Think about your own experience.  You are talented, and you work hard.  But what opportunities have really helped propel you to where you are today?

A letter to oneself one year later — lessons from a year-long job search

Last week, Kate Ottavio wrote a letter to herself for the PR Breakfast Club blog.  She wrote to her former self about all the lessons she has learned after working for one year in PR.  This inspired me to write a letter of my own:

Dear Rebecca,

Hey lady!  Take a deep breath.  You will have your dream job in one short year, and trust me, time will absolutely fly by when you relax.  This next year will cause you some stress and frustration, but I promise you it will be worth it.

I know that you won’t believe any one else’s experience completely because they aren’t just like you, so instead I’ll tell you what I would have wanted to know when I was just starting my job search:

1. Don’t take it personally. Seriously.  I cannot stress this one enough!  It’s the roughest job climate in decades, and it will take you time to find the right job.  You should know that less than 20 percent of all graduates will have jobs this year.  Being an overachiever, I know it’s hard to accept, but you’re not alone and no one will think of less of you.
2. Compromise but know your deal-breakers. You’re going to be offered internships and part-time positions that are not ideal.  You’re going to be offered positions that are downright insulting to your intelligence.  Know the difference, and don’t be afraid to say no.  A job may not be perfect, but you should still be happy.  When you’re instincts tell you it’s a bad idea, for Lord’s sake, listen!
3. Get out more. I know, I know, you’re not a big party girl.  That’s OK.  But get out there!  Go to those networking events you think you’re too tired to go to.  Go to the ones where you don’t think you’d fit in.  Trust me, you’re bound to meet someone who will have good advice even if you don’t meet your future boss.
4. Ask everyone for advice, but don’t follow it blindly. One thing that will frustrate you the most is when your parents, professors and peers all give you different advice.  Who is right?  And will you disappoint someone by not doing what they suggested?  (This is where the relaxing part comes in again.)  Take any and all advice that feels right and you think will help, and don’t for a second worry about feelings.  You will not hurt someone by working hard for your goal.
5. Keep your expectations realistic. Always. There will be a few times when you think that you have a great job in the bag!  Just a few more details to be worked out.  And then just a few more, and then a few more weeks go by and still you’re unemployed.  Don’t stop your search until you have that offer in your hand!  If you stop because you think it’s about to happen, you’ll only feel more pressure and stress when you start back up again.
6. Make yourself happy and make friends. You’re going to find yourself in a new city far away from where you went to college.  You will feel alone and lost at times, but if you make an effort to have friends, you’ll feel much, much better in the long run.  Eat lunch and go out after work with other interns in your building or nearby.  Know your limits, but try to always say yes.  You’re a social person, and you need to have friends to be happy.
7. Be true to your passion. You know what you want to do, and you have been working hard to gain the best skills and experiences to get there.  Shouldn’t that be enough?  Unfortunately not.  But don’t lose hope.  Your passion and drive will eventually show the right person that you are the perfect fit for a job.  Trust me, and let your passion be your guide.  Oh, and don’t ever think sharing you passion is too nerdy!

I know that there is probably a lot more that you want to know about what to expect, but by not knowing, you will learn a lot in the next year.  You won’t love it, but looking back you’ll appreciate it.  Keep your head up, I know you’re destined to get where you want to go!

Sincerely,

Future Rebecca

Look Ma, I’m employed!

I must first inform you that I am writing this post from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and I am lucky enough to be sitting next to my love after five long months apart.  We have both been planning this trip for what felt like forever, but when I found him just outside customs, I don’t think it mattered to me one bit where we were.  I was just happy to have my best friend back.  I spent most of the day fighting jet lag, but tomorrow there are big plans!  The infamous Opera House and maybe the beach!  It’s almost summer here, and thank goodness for that.  Chicago winter is creeping up on me, and this will be a great change.

Friday was the last day of my six-month internship with StrategyOne, the research arm for Edelman.  I learned a great deal from my work at StrategyOne, but I was ready to move on to something different.  I had been asked to continue to work with the company as an independent contractor, and I was happy to have the opportunity to do some freelance work.  I met with someone from Edelman Digital about a month ago, and we talked about the possibility of me doing some freelance work with the Digital team as well.  Unfortunately, it seemed as though this would not be possible since I had not been an intern for Digital before my freelance work.

I have to say I was pretty bummed.  I understand that with a big company this is often “just how it works,” but I had become really excited about working with the Digital team.  My hopes were reignited Thursday morning when I was asked to come in my very last day for an interview.  A position on the Digital team had opened up, and they had thought of me first!  Eeek!

After three interviews on Friday, I had an offer in hand before the end of the day, and I stayed up late to fill out all of the necessary paperwork before leaving the country for two weeks.  Luckily my mom is amazing and offered to fax everything for me the next day.

So now it’s official: I’m the newest associate account executive for Edelman Digital!

And I could not be more thrilled for this new challenge.  I will be taking ownership of some new projects involving measurement, and even more exciting, I get to take on some pretty heavy-duty analysis, too!  I must admit I am a bit nervous, but I’m so ready to take on this role!

Wish me luck!

DR. WHAW? – October 30, 2009

Happy almost-Halloween everyone!  What a festive and gorgeous fall day it was, too.  There was a ton I missed out on today while I was hard at work, not the least of which were the following posts.  But do enjoy what I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work today!

 

DR. WHAW? – October 30, 2009

1. Facebook Launches Live Status Dashboard for Monitoring Platform Performance by Justin Smith — Talk about instant feedback!  This is pretty darn cool.  As Facebook launched its new Live Status feature yesterday, it also created an easy and instantaneous way to check how the new feature runs.  This will allow the developers to quickly and easily discover any issues and fix them.

2. The Social Media ROI presentation from the #LikeMinds conference by Olivier Blanchard — If you are at all interested in social media, then you must understand ROI and how to measure social media.  In that case, you absolutely must watch this presentation from Olivier Blanchard, who is without a doubt the authority on measurement in this space.  No more must be said, just watch!

3. Notes & reading list from the Social Network Analysis Workshop by Bill Johnston — Goodness, I wish I could have been at this Social Network Analysis Workshop!  If you were like me and couldn’t make it, this post will absolutely catch you up.  This is a great introduction to analyzing social network and your strategy involving them.  This is a great first step, and I highly recommend it.

4. Top Social Media Monitoring & Measurement Posts of the Week by Hannah Del Porto — I think I’ve said this before, but I do see the irony in featuring a post that features the best posts of the week.  This is a great list, though, and it is a bit more focused than mine, so I think it is definitely worth a look!

5. Bing for Mobile Adds Optimized Interface and Real-Time  Data by Christina Warren — Today Bing added some pretty cool new features to their mobile search.  This allows mobile users to better view and search using their search engine (as compared to Google mobile), and it also provides real-time data.  What does this have to do with measurement?  I don’t know, but it is pretty cool.  How will this change how you view the mobile Web?

6. The Trouble with Blog Influence Statistics by Shannon Paul — This is a very interesting argument against measurements like blog influence.  The claim made here is that these statistics aren’t useful because the definition of a blog isn’t clear just yet.  Make sense?  I didn’t get it right away, either, but I would recommend that you read this.  It’s an interesting theory, and I’m a bit torn.  Where do you stand?

7. Twitter Lists Rock: A Geek Review by Joe Mescher — I like this review of Twitter’s new lists feature.  I’ve seen brief reviews on Twitter, and it seems that people are torn.  Half seem to think lists are amazingly cool, while some believe that they may be just another meaningless number on which we shouldn’t focus.  What’s your opinion?  Do you have one just yet?

 

Happy Friday, y’all!  I hope to hear all your spooky Halloween stories, and I cannot wait to share some of my own.  I’ll be venturing out to the University of Wisconsin at Madison for their infamous celebration.  I have some great friends in grad school there, and I’m  happy to be visiting!  What are your plans?

DR. WHAW? – October 29, 2009

And so I’ve let another week slip away from me!  How is it already Thursday?  How is your week going so far, y’all?  Check out some of the great things I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work today!

 

DR. WHAW? – October 29, 2009

1. The SM ROI Post from Obsessed with Conformity — I love this post because the author gets it exactly right (why can’t I find his name?) in that ROI is not much more than simple mathematics.  When social media is introduced, a lot of people seem to make the equation very complicated when actually it doesn’t need to be.  It may be a bit harder to quantify social media, but this is a great post that should remind you what ROI really is and how easy it can be.

2. Mapping Your Way Through Social Media by Danny Brown — I love this new idea from Danny Brown!  Listening to social media is suddenly a huge need for a lot of companies and something that a lot of us are thinking about a lot.  We have a new need to measure and track what is being said about us online, and the idea of a social map could help to make the process a lot more simple and organized.  What do you think?  Could you use this?

3. Key Factors To Include In Competitive Analysis by Ravi — I like this look at competitive analysis because it considers search engine optimization, which has become very popular lately. There are a lot of good metrics in here that can be of great use to you when you’re looking to compare yourself with others or with your own past results.

4. Social Media as Signaling Strategy by Andrew Goodman — There has been a lot of argument lately about what the “proper use” of social media is.  I like this post because it talks about how you can use social media as a way to monitor signal and noise.  He doesn’t necessarily believe you need to use social media, but does think you should watch it and measure it.  What do you think?  Is there some credibility to this argument?

5. That’s an Insight?! by Carol Phillips — I really enjoy this post because it makes us call into question our own methods.  It relates specifically to research on Millenials, and it asks whether that new fact you just discovered is really an insight, or just plain interesting?  Know what the difference is?  You should!

6. comScore Acquires Latin American Web Measurement Company Certifica by Leena Rao — comScore has acquired yet another metrics company.   This time it’s a company very similar to itself, but it is based in Latin America and will help comScore to expand its own presence in that area of the world.  What will this mean for you?  Do you have a need to monitor Latin American Web traffic?

7. Local Search Shifts to Online, Mobile Platforms from MarketingVOX — An annual study on our search habits has shown that local search is shifting to both online and mobile platforms and fast!  It was also found that most early research was done online, whereas later research was more likely to be done offline.  Interesting stuff in here, and I wonder how this may help you?  Does this help you better understand your consumers?

 

Thank goodness it’s almost Friday, eh?  I’m happy for the end of another week as it means only one more work week before I head off Sydney, Australia, for two full weeks.  I cannot wait!  Happy Thursday, y’all!

How do you prepare when you know there won’t be time?

I’m gonna make this one short, but sweet.

The coming weeks are going to get pretty crazy for me.  I am currently working from home, but will need to be in the Chicago office to train my replacement next week.  Commuting to the office would mean driving at least four hours each day, and when you combine that with at least 40 hours of work keeping up with a daily blog seems a bit overwhelming.

Once work is finished next Friday, I have to get right home and try to prepare for a journey.  I leave first thing Saturday morning for Sydney, Australia.  The trip alone will be a 36-hour adventure, and I doubt that I will be doing much working on the trip.

So how you prepare yourself and your blog for such occasions?  What do you do if you have a daily commitment (like DR. WHAW?) that you know you will not be able to keep up during times of high stress?  Can you plan ahead?

DR. WHAW? Sunday Digest – Week-ending October 25, 2009

It has been a great week.  I got a lot done this weekend, too!  It was quite amazing!  How much did you get done?  I hope to hear that all of your weekends were productive and relaxing.  And to cap it all off here’s what I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work this week.

DR. WHAW? Sunday Digest – Week-ending October 25, 2009

1. The Case of the Missing Social Media Metrics by Rikin Diwan — I love this!  While there are many great strides toward online social media measurement, there are still some pretty big gaps.  There are some great questions in here that still need to be answered.  How can you address this lack of knowledge in your own campaigns?  How could you find the answers to these questions?

2. Social Media Measurement 2009 by Katie Paine — This is a great presentation about social media measurement from the queen of public relations measurement, Katie Paine.  This is the presentation given as the Institute of Public Relations’ measurement summit, an event I only dream of attending someday.  If you couldn’t attend, I seriously recommend you browse through her presentation.

3. 5 Free Sentiment Analysis Tools, 5 Very Different Results by Craig Hodges — I think that all companies need to be measuring, and I think there is a lot of value in sentiment analysis.  This article examines five different tools, though and shows that maybe these tools aren’t perfect.  I like that someone is taking the time to evaluate these different tools, to me that’s a pretty big deal for measurement in and of itself.

4. How to Set Up Your Google Analytics Account Structure to Avoid Headaches Later by Helen Overland — Having a Google Analytics account in the first place is a huge step in the right direction, but I love this overview of how to set up your account.  It will seriously help you make sure that you set your goals ahead of time and make sure you don’t end up confused.  I really strongly recommend this article if you’re considering using Google Analytics (and you should be) to measure campaigns or your work.

5. Introducing the Social Analytics Lifecycle by Ken Burbary and Chuck Hemann — I absolutely love this!  This shows a very insightful look into the lifecycle of social analytics and why everyone should be taking advantage of the data available through social media.  You should definitely take a look at this graphic that they have created and comment on it.  This is a perfect start, and I think it will evolve into a great tool.  What do you think?

6. “Listening” graphics have a long way to go by Mark Schaefer — I’m all about measurement, but I have never claimed that the current methods or metrics are perfect.  I love that Mark Schaefer took the time to analyze what is currently available to demonstrate what we still need.

7. Coke Weighs in on Earned Media ROI by Carol Kruse — Another big WOW!  A major corporation has weighed in on ROI, and I can’t get enough!  I’m happy to see a big player recognizing the importance of ROI and hope it will show other corporations that they need to be measuring, too.  There’s also just some plain good insight, which is worth a read in and of itself.

And with that, I intend to enjoy the rest of my weekend by being completely unproductive.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, y’all!

DR. WHAW? – October 23, 2009

And so another week ends!  I am sad to say that I will not be traveling to the University of Minnesota to visit my little sister, who is a freshman.  I’ve been feeling kind of lousy, and I felt it wasn’t safe to drive for 12 hours this weekend.  So I shall be catching up on my blog (get pumped, readers!) and getting my life organized.  I’m jet-setting off to Sydney, Australia, in two weeks, and I could not be more excited or more unprepared!  In the meantime, I bring you what I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work today!

DR. WHAW? – October 23, 2009

1. Social Media: The Need For Measurement from SEO Book — You know why I’m including this one without even clicking the link, right?  Any article that argues for the need of measurement in social media or any other medium is a must-read in my book.  So why this one in particular?  This one is thorough, and I think that with slight tweaking it could be something you show directly to a boss who needs serious convincing.  Do you agree?

2. Explaining (Some of) Google’s Algorithm with Pretty Charts & Math Stuff from SEOmozBlog — Ever wondered how Google works?  I certainly have.  This is a very thorough and straight-forward explanation of how Google works, and this information could help you to write  content that will rank higher on Google’s search pages. Interested?  You should be!

3. “Listening” graphics have a long way to go by Mark Schaefer — I’m all about measurement, but I have never claimed that the current methods or metrics are perfect.  I love that Mark Schaefer took the time to analyze what is currently available to demonstrate what we still need.

4. How Google Analytics just got a lot more powerful by Guy Kawasaki — Google Analytics recently announced a whole slew of new services, and this is a great explanation of what this means and why you should be paying attention.  He says who cares about Google Wave when there’s more to Google Analytics.  Your interest should be piqued and rightly so.

5. Social Networking ROI by Greg Gianforte — Wow!  An examination of the ROI of social networking, I love it!  I’ve not seen this before, and I’m happy to see that someone is taking a look at this.  There is no real mathematic backing here, but there is some great theoretical suggestions as to how to measure the ROI of social networking.

6. Coke Weighs in on Earned Media ROI by Carol Kruse — Another big WOW!  A major corporation has weighed in on ROI, and I can’t get enough!  I’m happy to see a big player recognizing the importance of ROI and hope it will show other corporations that they need to be measuring, too.  There’s also just some plain good insight, which is worth a read in and of itself.

7. Top 10 brand and marketing trends for 2010 by Robert Passikoff — This is a great look at what might lie ahead.  I strongly urge you to read through these and think about them seriously.  Do you think this is right?  What would you include or exclude?  It’s always important to be looking to the future, and this is a great start to what should be a broad conversation.  Weigh in!

Thank goodness it’s Friday, eh?  I’m happy to be relaxing and spending some time checking things off my to-do list this weekend.  Also, I’ll be happy to sleep in and get really better.  What are your plans for the weekend?

DR. WHAW? – October 22, 2009

Oh boy! Thursday was quite a day, eh?  There were so many good articles about measurement that I could barely keep up.  And on top of that, my flu-like symptoms were back with a vengeance.  But here it is, what I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work!

DR. WHAW? – October 22, 2009

1. How to Set Up Your Google Analytics Account Structure to Avoid Headaches Later by Helen Overland — Having a Google Analytics account in the first place is a huge step in the right direction, but I love this overview of how to set up your account.  It will seriously help you make sure that you set your goals ahead of time and make sure you don’t end up confused.  I really strongly recommend this article if you’re considering using Google Analytics (and you should be) to measure campaigns or your work.

2. Two Great Articles on Social Media and Online Advertising Statistics by Christopher Drinkut — This posit offers a look at a couple of great pieces about trends in online marketing.  And yes, I realize the irony of including this article in my summary when it is essentially a summary of two articles.  Ha. What a fantastic sentence that was!  But there really are some great insights here, and it’s worth a read!

3. 9 Vital Statistics for Tracking Site Traffic by Allen Moon — If you want to track the traffic to your Web site, this is an awesome resource if you’re just starting out.  While I wouldn’t recommend using site traffic as the sole indicator of campaign or initiative success, I think it is definitely something you should be keeping your eye on.  More traffic is good, no matter how you look at it.

4. Four tips for analysing SEO Google Analytics style by Ran Nir — Search engine optimization is one of the new “big things” in social media and online marketing.  While I don’t think I completely understand it, as with any tactic, it should be effectively measured if you plan to use it.  This is a great resource to show you how to measure your success with SEO using Google Analytics.  I would love to test this out, actually, and perhaps I should!  Then I may have an opinion about SEO.

5. The Importance of a Social Media ROI Diagnostic by Jacob Morgan — I know you have all heard about ROI and social media ROI, but have you heard about an ROI diagnostic?  It’s pretty interesting, and I think for that reason this blog post is definitely worth a read.  There is a lot to be gained from an ROI diagnostic, like a solid definition of ROI and what analytics can do for you.  Read up, y’all!

6. Using Google’s SideWiki to Monitor Your Online Reputation by Matthew Elshaw — So, you may remember there was quite the fuss over Google’s SideWiki a couple weeks ago.  Now this post suggests that it may not be entirely evil and could, in fact, be used to monitor your reputation.  This is a great introduction to how you could use SideWiki effectively.  What do you think?  Will you use this?

7. Introducing the Social Analytics Lifecycle by Ken Burbary and Chuck Hemann — I absolutely love this!  This shows a very insightful look into the lifecycle of social analytics and why everyone should be taking advantage of the data available through social media.  You should definitely take a look at this graphic that they have created and comment on it.  This is a perfect start, and I think it will evolve into a great tool.  What do you think?

And with that, I hope that y’all will have a fabulous Friday!  What’s on your schedule for the rest of the week?