25 Things

I caved and did the Facebook 25 Things meme. I've done one of these before but this has some new stuff. Enjoy. Or not. Back to normally scheduled blogging next post.

1. I live in Manhattan(finally!) with my sister and don't see myself living anywhere else. This city is unreal.
2.I lived in San Francisco this past summer for 3 months and fell in and out of love with it too quickly.
3. I'm a tech nerd and proud of it.
4. I'm addicted to my Blackberry, Twitter and email.
5. I could eat sushi for the rest of my life if needed.
6. If you talk to me when I'm watching Lost be prepared to get a death stare.
7. I play on an indoor soccer team and love it.
8. I miss Rhode Island sometimes but mostly my best friends who live there.
9. I love going to gay bars with Jay because there is NO PRESSURE.
10.I have a thing for bald guys and get made fun of for it.
11.I work in DUMBO in an all boy office and love it.
12. I have two blogs. This one: http://kmaverick.tumblr.com/ and this one: http://www.socialcocktails.com/ (One for fun one for professional)
13. My wine of choice is Chardonnay.
14. I'm growing my hair long again.
15. I don't like that one of my best friends lives so far away.
16. I make Alicia(best friend in #15) update me on the baby almost every day so I feel like I'm watching her grow up too.
17. I enjoy meeting new people and planning events.
18. I always knew I'd be in PR or something similar.
19. Chocolate chip cookies out of the oven are like food porn for me.
20. I always get along better with guys yet my best friends I met through a sorority.
21. I'm not your typical sorority girl. (None of my friends are!)
22. Girls night dinners are just as fun, if not more, than a date with a boy.
23. This is the first time when my 5 year plan includes marriage. (I also don't agree with 5 year plans)
24. My parents are possibly moving to Delaware and I'll cry the day they move out of that house.
25. Men with accents make me swoon no matter what they say.

Taking a quick step back--I'm happy right now

I received two really great emails this week. One from a friend ending with "so glad you are doing the stuff you love!" and one from my dad saying "I am so glad you made this choice." I've been at Carrot Creative for almost two months now and apparently it is showing to everyone else around me that I'm happy. I'm doing what I love and you can't beat that.

Many people say you should love where you work, do what you love and the rest will come to you. From Gary Vaynerchuk's ever inspiring speech from Web 2 Expo last year, to friends who are building a company to help people find the job they love as a living. Listen to them. Yes, many friends have lost jobs recently, received pay cuts---it sucks. Use this time to reevaluate what you want to and go from there. The rewards will come.

Basics, Outlines and a Marketing Plan

I had a conversation today about simple marketing skills. I guess studying communications in college and working in PR for almost 4 years---marketing comes to me naturally. It's what I love doing and it's what I like to do. For others, it's not as easy and I forget that.

As my interest in technology continues to grow, and my world collides with startups at different events, I'm always interested in hearing what there marketing plans are. If they have any. While I understand that product comes first before any type of marketing plan for them, I think that at some point before the final product you'll need to start thinking about how you're going to promote it. Then once your final product is done, you're all set to go and you can have a full launch. Some startups do it. They blog, they post anti-stealth---it's great. But many don't and they need to push out the news that the company is ready to go at a later time. Why wait? Why not start the buzz that something is coming? (Yes---be careful. Too much "just you wait and see" can be negative and cause for backlash if the product doesn't come out as planned. If you're almost there though, go for it. Talk it up!)

So, back to my conversation I had today with someone who works at a company that I would consider a startup. They've been around a bit, but they're still new. They don't really have a marketing plan and are looking to drive traffic to their site (like many online companies) The question came up--How do I write a basic marketing plan? While this may sound like a big task to some, you can simplify it. I tried doing this today. Hopefully my advice worked.

Without giving away all of my secrets and ideas (have to keep some in my back pocket!) here's what I told her as an easy way to start a basic marketing plan.

1. Audience: Who are you trying to reach? If you can't answer this question, there is no way to move forward. Segment your audience into tiers. From most important audience to less, figure out where they are, what they're reading, what they're doing online and off. How do you find this information? It's not easy but a simple blog search of keywords on Technorati, checking out top blogs on AllTop and some trending topic searches in major publications and market research reports from media journals like Pew are good places to start
2. Phase it out. Once you have your audience figured out, or at least segmented, map out a timeline. Phase One for pre-buzz, Phase Two for post buzz and building out how you're going to reach out, Phase Three for follow up. While the phases are very broad, use them as placeholders to fill in with details based on your product.
   
3. Be ready for change. Marketing plans are great when you make them, but if you're not willing to be flexible with it---be prepared for some trouble. The market will change. Be on top of the latest trends and adapt to what people are interested in. Two years ago, PR peeps were not thinking of sending YouTube videos created by their client as part of a pitch. Now? We LOVE them. Keep your plan flexible without breaking away from the audience and main objective and you'll be golden.

Yes, as many things are---this is vague and basic. I can provide a more detailed approach, but for now and based off the conversation I had today--let's start with this and go from there. It's a start and I'm happy to continue discussing this topic. Have other tips to add? Post in the comments.

#myfirstjob - yep I did that

#myfirstjob - yep I did that
Originally uploaded by kristin_maverick

So, today I started a Twitter meme. And it's the #1 trending topic on Twitter. Is this like winning an Oscar in social media nerd land? No. (I'm shaking my head yes)

Anyway, I recapped how this all started on the Carrot blog. (My company blog) Check it out and be sure to share your #myfirstjob!

There is more to a pie than the filling

*Note this post originally appeared on my company's blog Carrot Blog. Please comment there!

You can thank the fact that today is National Pie Day for the witty subject line. But, it’s true. Pie is more than the filling and I doubt anyone can say that they eat pie for only the dry top layer. So, where am I going with this?

I’m linking social media and pie. Yes. It’s happening. Just like a pie, you need every ingredient to make it the best that it can be. The filling is what makes it, but you can’t leave out the crust or the
topping. In fact, to some people it’s not even a proper pie if you don’t put whip cream
on it. Same with a communications plan, you need all of the ingredients for it to work.

Social media is the filling. The really great stuff that you remember because it’s not bland, usually has some exciting element or “taste” to it and has a unique flavor. But, without other ingredients like traditional PR outreach, advertising and brand defense—you don’t have the full picture or in this case the full piece of the “pie.”

John Brandon from NetworkWorld wrote a great article questioning social media’s impact-particularly around the Obama campaign and it’s use of social media. He notes that while popular sites like Facebook, YouTube, etc… all of a lot of power—they’re not the end all of communication. Did it help the Obama campaign? TOTALLY. Was it the only reason? NO.

Social media needs to be part of the equation to help the overall plan. I have yet to see a campaign only done with social media. Those recommending that plan of action are not thinking correctly and it won’t work. Other elements need to be considered to ensure a result that benefits your brand.

John says, “For those trying to use social networks to actually influence thinking,
you have to remember that most people are only paying attention to them
in a sideways glance. None of these systems are game changers. Say you’re a PR firm trying to
get your product noticed. Social media helps. What actually gets the
product noticed, though, is old fashioned advertising, word of mouth,
and favorable reviews. It also has to be a good product.”

Part of this is true as you need to drive word of mouth, reviews, etc. to the actual social media part of the campaign, but in some cases the social media element of the campaign ARE those things. Posting something through Twitter is word of mouth marketing across the campaign to drive back to a Facebook application or a live stream interview with a top executive.

The important thing to take away here is that social media IS part of a bigger equation and an important one. As you do when baking a pie, you only use a certain amount of ingredients to result in a delicious dessert—think of it in the same way you plan your comms plan as well.

The Future of PR---a Retweet?

Can. You. Imagine? This thought came to me today as I saw about 10 news announcements come through my TweetDeck. NOT when I was reading the NY Times. NOT when I was watching a new program on TV (do people still do that?)

What would this do to the PR world?

No more media lists. No more lengthy pitching to reporters. No more call downs. Just retweeting news across a large community.

Just a thought.

From my Tumblr Dashboard:

2009-01-14_1259
Originally uploaded by kristin_maverick

This made me laugh.

Oh no

Add pioneering to the list of bad PR buzz words.

PR Market Research Tip: Use Twitter

One of the easiest ways to get quick and timely market research for PR outreach is Twitter. That's my tip. Nothing crazy. Just use it.

If you're looking for quick lists of blogs people read, what they do on the weekends, favorite types of cheese...just ask. If you've developed a good network of people like I have, you'll get an instant response with great answers.

For example, today I was looking for men/sports focused blogs that guys read on a regular basis. So, I posted it on Twitter. And instantly got 20 responses. (Sample image screenshot above) Easy as pie. Now, I have a list of bloggers that I know people who interact online actually read. Not just a list I pulled from Media Map or a blogger list from 2002. The value of this list is unbelievable as compared to lists from a media search on Google.

I’ll gladly pay you my Facebook friends for a hamburger today

*Note this post originally appeared on my company's blog Carrot Blog. Please comment there!

Everyone likes friends. Friends are there for you when you need them. Friends are there to talk to you, hang out with you, have good times with. Friends in the Web 2.0 world (ugh buzz word) can mean something completely different though. Friends on Facebook may mean something to one person and something completely different to another. Friends on Twitter? You have followers. You follow them back possibly. Are they your friend? Sure. Some of them are. Others? No way.

So what’s the big deal about having a bunch of friends online? From what we’ve seen,Web 2.0 friends are there to share your ideas with, retweet your tweets, post links to your blog and help create an online presence for you or your brand. When I saw this blog today about Burger King encouraging users on Facebook to ditch friends on Facebook to get a free Whopper, my first reaction was: WHAT?. Then I thought: BRILLIANT. Getting rid of friends is actually a positive thing these days.

There is too much noise out there on social networks. There is no reason to follow 5,000 people on Twitter or friend thousands on Facebook because honestly…you’re probably not going to listen to all that they’re saying so what’s the point? You need to listen to targeted people that supply content that you’re interested in. Then, you need to respond and interact. This builds your brand and adds value to the community. Brands should do the same and interact with their audience—not just the mass community. While this may not be the overall goal of the campaign, I’m interested to see the results. How easy is it for people to just clean up some people they’re not interested in hearing about anymore for a free burger? Then, when they realize how great it is to clear out some of the clutter, will they continue to do so for their personal benefit?

What do you think?

New rule: Every time a PR person uses a buzz word God kills a kitten

OK---maybe not that harsh but I have your attention. This post about three words that PR people should never use again is great. Excited. Thrilled. Honored. Take those words out of your vocabulary, out of your pitches and out of your press releases NOW.

Instead, the author Drew Kerr, president and founder of Four Corners Communications, Inc., offers these tips to changing up the language:

• So instead of saying you're "excited be be working with" your new partner, explain the significance of the deal—what does it mean to your company and what are the ramifications?
• Instead of saying you're "thrilled" to have hired this new head of marketing, why don't you say a few unadorned specifics about what they bring to the table, and what they'll be digging into first.
• Let's elevate the art of creating quotes so that instead of being a lot of self-congratulatory and kiss-blowing jumble, they actually make executives appear to have depth, personality and insight.

What about the other words that should be banned from PR people's communication? There are tons that we've started to take out based on feedback from reporters or just realizing that it looks ridiculous on our own. We need to look smart in our conversations and use our words wisely. We should be good at this, it's half of our job!

I'll start the list. Please add in the comments section. Then use this as a reminder when you go out and represent your clients. Buzz words=BAD. Smart, thoughtful and targeted messages at the proper outlet= GOOD.

Words to remove from a PR person's vocabulary:

• Innovative.
• Groundbreaking.
• Leading. (As in "we are the leading company in the market"-unless you have definitive proof backed by a lot of stats, I guarantee you're not leading and the media will PROBABLY realize that as well)

NY Tech Meetup-a recap and a look back

Last night was the first NY Tech Meetup for 2009. Nate Westheimer's first meetup as the Organizer Elect. A packed house filled with people who matter. Smart people. People who will do big things.

I remember my first NY Tech Meetup last year in February with my friend Matt. (Pause for the holy shit it's been a year moment.) We didn't know what to expect and went on a whim. We sat in the back and watched presentations from people who I'd end up having drinks with 6 months later on a regular basis. I distinctly remember Aviary. It stuck out and I knew it'd be big. Matt and I reported back to Bite's NY office (my former company) of the event and encouraged others to go. No one was as excited as I was, but I was still determined to get more involved.

A year later, my view of the meetup and the tech community as a whole has completely changed. And that's probably why it's such a great time for everything to start to really come together. In a 6 month period I've met tons of new people, found people that have inspired me, taught me new things. Networked for my career. I even met a certain someone that ended up hiring me months after meeting him after a PodCamp NY event. Plus, there are so many more people that I still have to meet. And I know I will. That's the beauty of this whole thing and I'm excited to see what's next.

Oh, and it also looks like everyone else had a great time at the event as well.

Photo courtesy of Michael Sterne.

A lyric. A song. A time.

I use the Twitter bot "Lyric of the Day" quite often. Music inspires me and keeps me energized during the work day, de-stresses me, pumps me up at the gym or just makes me happy. While the musical tones and instruments are obviously part of the reason, lyrics always make it for me.

I also recently signed up for last.fm leaving my Pandora days behind me hoping to find different types of music that suit me. So far, they're spot on.

This song by James Morrison, "Once When I Was Little" has been on repeat for the past 24 hours since it came into my playlist. It talks about when he was younger and how everything is easier and simpler. It's so true. We didn't have bills to pay or relationships to deal with. Death wasn't part of any sentence and our biggest to-do list item was take a nap or have a snack with mom and dad. This song is a good "break" song to listen to and think back to those times.

Oh the good old days.

Favorite part of the lyrics:

Yeah I could dream more then
I believed more then
That the world could only get better
I could be free more then
I could pretend more then
That this life could only show me good times
Once, when I was little

Great acoustic version:

Favorites: The hidden gem of Twitter

One of my favorite features on Twitter is probably the least used and known. The "Favorites" button, represented by a star on the right side of the tweet is there to bookmark and "favorite" notable tweets and then store them in a section to the right of your timeline. Basically, it's a bookmark feature similar to del.icio.us or Google Bookmarks. I use it to save funny tweets, informative tweets or just tweets that strike me as interesting for that given moment. (Sample screenshot of some of my favorites above with tweets by: @nick, @ceonyc, @jschwa, @gotwalt, @littlemavs & @kortina. Follow them. They're funny and smart and just great.)

But, while many people are ready and willing to share their del.icio.us tags and content they save across the web, not many people know about this almost identical feature on Twitter.

So, why is this? Well, probably because there is no promotion around it or alert that someone even favorited it. If you favorite a tweet, you're the only one who knows you did. If your friends happen to click on your Favorites tab, then they see that you liked it. Why not set up an alert so people know you like what they're tweeting about? Twply is now emailing us of replies. (If you subscribe, I'm not. I have Twitterfox and don't need it.) Someone (or Twitter so it's not another third party service) should add in this feature sending us a note that someone favorited our tweet. Can't be that hard right?

Tumblr does it where you can "like" a post by clicking on the heart at the top of the post. It's great because you can tell where the post has traveled, if it's been reblogged or liked and so on.

With the latest craze in Mr. Tweet, people are (apparently) on a constant hunt for new influencers to follow. But honestly, the fact that the current interaction buzz on Twitter is around people following someone because of an algorithm recommendation is concerning. We know half of the stuff is just noise, so relevant, witty and interesting content is always a good thing. Why not spend more time engaging and listening to the people you've already created a relationship with on Twitter and send them some love with a favorite?

What do you think?

Side note: I sent a request to Twitter today asking about this feature. I'll blog about it once I hear back. If you agree, it'd be great to send Twitter a bunch of requests for this feature.

**UPDATE: A friend sent me a link to Favrd. A site that aggregates top tweets that have been favorited. I'm still checking it out but at least the importance of favoriting is being looked at a bit closer.

Bringing Print Back Personally

We've all heard it. Print is dying. Everyone is reading their news online. I get it. But still, there's something about reading a newspaper. Maybe it's the memories from when I was younger and I'd wake up to my father reading Newsday (there you go Long Islanders) at the breakfast table drinking his coffee and eating his bowl of cereal that makes me want to stick with this. He still does it. Maybe it's my craft of PR that makes me want to appreciate the news media as a whole and not get sucked into JUST online reading. I'll admit, I can't remember the last time I read an actual hard copy newspaper. The only reading I do offline are documents I've printed to proof read, my monthly subscription to SELF Magazine or other random gossip mags I buy to keep me busy on a commute home to my parents.

Everything I read is online. It's part of my culture and my job.

To encourage the appreciation of the print newspaper, I've decided to start buying the print edition of the New York Times on Sunday. And to encourage others, or just to document for myself, I'm going to post my top three favorite stories from the issue.

Sunday Business: Innovation Should Mean More Jobs, Not Less -Janet Rae Dupree

The stimulus money, he says, is “a wonderful opportunity” to integrate innovative technologies at a far faster pace than would otherwise be possible. “You’d have an economy and society within three to four years that would be a lot better than we have today,” Mr. Atkinson says, “and you’d create a lot of jobs.”

Beyond direct stimulus investments, he supports an initiative being circulated in Silicon Valley that seeks an information technology investment tax credit to foster innovation through the downturn.

-Really timely article, especially after Darren Herman's news announcement on Friday with Herman Blackbook. Innovation is going to be huge in 2009 as it should be, but we need to keep investment and focus on creating more opportunities and jobs to aide in this.

Sunday Styles: The Socializr -Gregory Dicum

“I’m going to have a chick drink,” said Mr. Abrams, 38, ordering a vanilla Stoli and Coke. “I got it from the ex of an ex-girlfriend. He’s a nerd like me.”

-I love the "Night Out With" articles. I think I secretly have a goal to be featured in this column. (Dear Gregory Dicum---I am fun to go out with. Let me know if you want to come hang out. ANY TIME. :) )The fact that this week we go out with a tech startup entrepreneur is just awesome because well, I'm into it.

Arts&Leisure: She’s Really Shy, but That’s a Secret - Melena Ryzik

These are the oversize, wacky-yet-true characters that Ms. Wiig, 35, has used to build an audience as a star of “SNL.” Though her fans recognize the personalities, they may not recognize the actress, who disappears weekly in middle-agedly bad outfits and worse hairpieces. (If you’re waiting for a wig pun, stop.)

-I LOVE Kristen Wiig. With the recent departure of Amy Poehler (another one of my SNL favorites) the article features the many talents of Kristen Wiig and her appeal as an extremely talented female comedian. Her back story is semi-traditional as a waitress, sales girl, etc... plus her Groundling story. For fun, here is a great link to the top 10 Kristen Wiig skits along with the Lawrence Welk show skit that makes me cry with laughter every time I watch it.

PR and progression

Are the days finally here when PR pitching moves from traditional email pitches(blah) to Twitches/Facebook posts? Not entirely. But, we're progressing and starting to have more conversations with the media vs. yelling/blasting/throwing news to them in hopes of them writing back with interest to speak about our announcement.

Darren Herman, Head of Digital Media, Group Director at The Media Kitchen yesterday posted the above tweet about upcoming news he had coming out today.

Hello brilliant. Here's why.

1-it's not intrusive. If they're interested, they'll get in touch. If they're not, so be it but the fact that he DIDN't mass email them is a bit of fresh air I'm sure.
2-It's targeted. CNET. CenterNetworks. Silicon Alley Insider. Three outlets that cover similar type news and news that is relevant to them. Plus, all three of those outlets are active on Twitter so it's more likely for them to see his tweet.
3-The most important one. He says he'd love to "chat" rather than "Can I send my press release?" I've seen those from PR people on Twitter and want to scream. He wants to chat about the news, talk about it, get feedback, figure out how they can use it. Right there he's getting the PR mix and understanding it to ensure success and results.

And the result? While he didn't tweet at TechCrunch, there is already coverage on the front page and I'm sure this goes hand in hand to Darren's thoughtfully skilled PR work. Not surprised. The news is pretty cool as well.

Predictions for 2009-a montage

Everyone has compiled predictions lists and posts this year. EVERYONE. One that is a bit different provides a face to the many influential and smart people I've read on Twitter and was pulled together by Charlie O'Donnell asking thoughtful people that he knows what their predictions in tech, innovation, etc. for 2009 were.

The result is a great montage of people sharing their ideas here. Check it out. (Oh yea, I'm on it as well towards the end of the clip.)