Our Blog: where do you stand?

BlogOrlando: Closing Session

By: Marijean Jaggers | 09/28/2007

Chris Heuer presenting:

Josh Hallett introduced Chris and talks about a post he wrote defining social media and Chris said it was one of the best things he ever wrote (I'll look for this later and update with a link).

Three stories:

• About Scott Becker, his best friend.


• About his wife, Kristie.


• And about his friend and wedding photographer, Kris Krug.

Chris met Kris Krug online and they became friends. Then, Chris hired Kris to photograph his wedding.

Business is personal again.

In the beginning -- the baker sold directly to the customer. Then we started to organize companies. Companies then sold directly to customers. As the market evolved, "middlemen" optimized trade. Then industrialization grew with broadcast media. The company broadcast messages through the media.

The Dot Com era brought "disintermediation."

The Web introduced the idea of bypassing the media. With social media, there are simply more editors.

Social Media does something more important -- it is tearing down the walls that kept us apart. It is changing the rules that have kept us from being human inside our companies.

It's about people, having conversations. We can connect to each other directly.

Just as it was in the beginning.

Chris said, "It's messy!" We don't have control over it. Are we going to stand up or bid out?

Some rules for human organizations (rather than companies):

• Start with presumption of trust


• Make clear your intentions


• Give people a chance


• Provide power for people's passions


• "Live the life, love the life" (Jake said this, too)


• Participate in your market's conversations


• Personal pronouns are OK!


• Social media creates opportunities to be found and to connect


• Trust the conversation

Being transparent means trusting, and being trustworthy.

There's more opportunity to do what we love in this life; get out there and find it so you can be passionate about what you do.

We have to find a place to come together. It is the conversation where we meet and connect.

From the crowd: what rocks about social media is finding people. Pursue what you're passionate about and it'll happen.

To trust the conversation, we need to trust the people. Being part of a community over time is how these relationships are developed.

Linking tools such as Digg and Reddit are great for looping the conversation; helping you be found and helping you find others interested in the same topic.

Blogging is not for everyone. Twitter's not for everyone. They are tools you can use.

Chris gives an example of a client producing newsletters, at $25,000 a month. Chris suggested they convert to a blog as a replacement activity, cutting costs down to $2,000 -- a much more affordable option that is now searchable and findable. It can also exist as a future entry point for people to connect with the organization -- a much stronger option than a printed newsletter.

Josh said that e-mail is an interuption technology. E-mail newsletters don't have the option for response/comment technology. The conversation is one-sided. Another deterrent to e-mail newsletters can be found looking at open rates. Statistics on e-mail newsletters are readily available to those who publish them, as with a blog.

How we learn and build understanding:

First person -- the experience
Second person -- intention matters, trust, transparency, authenticity
Third person -- create media to connect with your market

Apple's product "open rule" -- within 30 seconds of opening their product, they want you to be in love with it.

Changing the Marketing Perspective:

• Help people buy, don't sell


• Stop spending marketing dollars only to the point of sale; invest in getting to the point of satisfaction


• Customer service is the new marketing -- Thor Muller


• The brands with the best story tellers win


• Participate in the community; give without expectations of getting


• 50 percent of all advertising doesn't work; more often than not; the other 50 percent doesn't either (don't interrupt people; it just annoys them)


• Help people save time, make money, get more done, be happy, find meaning, connect with others, and find greater satisfaction

How do we help people tell our story for us? Provide them with information by making it available for them to find.

There are, of course, people for whom social media will never be part of their lives. The New York Times is the extent of their media interaction. That's fine for them. That's fine for us.

One final thought: take time out to ponder and reflect. Individuals responded -- one had two near death experiences and another lost three close friends and was a workaholic. It took significant events to force both of them to make time to ponder and reflect. Another person said that pondering causes her to look for the good that's happened, even at the worst times.

Someone said, "Try having a six-year-old ask you why you do everything."

Chris said, "I encourage everyone to find a few minutes to think about what's happening, reflect on it, and write about it." Look for meaning, note results and learn from mistakes.

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