I have written about Twitter often and not because I am an expert, but because I am an avid student and constantly seeking the best way to use the communication tools we have. It is interesting how quickly humans become accustomed to certain behavior and how easy it is to rile them up when that behavior has to be altered or censored for even a short time.        When Twitter crashes, every other channel lights up.  Yesterday, my company’s email server crashed and I took to Twitter to get messages out, as well as receive messages.  It has become a major communication channel for me.

And while I am less than an expert, I am usually tweeting every weekday and quite regularly with several individuals and/or groups using Twitter and TwitterChats.  And I often find myself advising clients to create a Twitter profile or two. Use it now, it’s free and it’s new tech, and, oh, by the way, it’s free. I like to pummel them with the free part. Explaining about hash tags and how to search tweets is quite another thing. Yes, I know it’s the pound or number sign; just call it hash tag.

Disruptive Innovation.  Hard to accept and once you do accept, even more difficult to let it go and move on to another, the next newer – bigger – better technology. Remember the fax machine? Mortgage companies are hanging on to that dinosaur for dear life. What about the typewriter? I walked past an office window last week and there, sitting on an assistant’s desk, was a typewriter. At first I thought it was just for show - an antique on display and then I realized that poor assistant was still using it – ugh… Remember holding your hands up high enough and how difficult it was to actually pound down those keys… I went back to my desk and kissed my PC, patted my laptop, and praised my mobile device.

Where do you sit in the current tech revolution/evolution? If you are reading this, you obviously, on some level, embrace social media. But there are so many aspects to what technology has done for business, in general. CRMs have replaced the desktop Rolodex, paper/hard copies of résumés have been replaced by word docs and PDFs and int he form of an online professional profile.  And in the last five years, we have seen CRMs evolve from hardware to software to hanging in the Cloud.

A few years ago, at a Ribbon Cutting ceremony for an online business, I asked, half-joking, “So, do you think we will ever run out of cyberspace?”  They pondered my question, started to laugh, stopped themselves, looked at each other, then back at me and said, “That’s a good question.”  Then I popped off about being a cyberspace realtor and selling space, raising the prices when the stock market or gas prices soared. They just looked at me. Cyber-geeks. The geek forest has definitely evolved but it is not quite as deep nor as affable as it used to be…

Little did I know then that people would be trade real money for online currency to buy a field on Farmville.  Makes my head spin to think what the next five years will bring.

And yet, I stand and scream, “Bring it!”
Who am I calling a Cyber-Geek?

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four, happily engaged to Tom, residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a daily contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

Like Me!

I sat on my couch munching the contents of a bag of regular Tostitos. Nothing better than hanging with my kids, tortilla chips and some homemade guacamole.  Chips and a movie, this time?  Ghost Ship, a family favorite  - there is a fantastic twist scene when all is revealed, check it out some time.

While snacking, I went to grab the bag of chips and noticed the Facebook button on the bag. Yep, Tostitos expects consumers to login, look up their fan page, and then “like” them.  I think the fact that I am eating right of the bag proves I like them.  But there you have it, Permission Marketing. Bring the consumer to you. Compel the consumer to follow a trail of bread crumbs and convert curiosity into brand loyalty. If you “like” the product, you have consented to contact, you have consented to receipt of future coupons or emails or ads up and down the right-hand side of your Facebook wall.

I have been talking about this exact thing for a few years now, actually advocating for it. But I must admit, it’s kind of scary to see it come to fruition. The potential was undeniable, it was exciting and different. It was new, it was contemporary and Corporate America seemed to shun the possibilities – for awhile. That is until a few took the plunge. I remember just two years ago seeing random companies adding Twitter and Facebook buttons to their advertising. Over three years ago, I consulted smaller companies and convinced them to create fan pages and start engaging. They were eager to learn more, especially when I told them their competition wasn’t doing it. Yet.

Currently, I like over 170 pages – translatable into a brand, product, service, person, or form of art. That’s down about fifty from last Fall, as I recently went through my Facebook likes and deleted those that I didn’t remember even liking, those I no longer liked, or those I saw no need to like and no longer wished to receive messages from. I will filter through my “likes” again soon – Spring Cleaning, as it were.

Facebook is now considered a strong and necessary marketing strategy. With its rate of growth, it will not be long before the number of FB profiles reaches One Billion, predicted to happen this summer or sooner. That is a lot of consumers – all in one place, all in one database.  Most companies get the picture of what that represents. Chance. Opportunity. Growth. Branding. But it also means maintenance. It isn’t easy, it won’t be easy. Make it worth the endeavor, not a wasted effort. The payoff will be a direct result of what is put in. It will require consistent work . That means exertion, which means it isn’t free.

So the old selling point of: Social Media is FREE?  Umm, no longer applies.

Do you think liking a brand, product, service, person, or art form that you don’t really like, that you don’t really use, that you don’t really care about helps that company / person?  Facebook is about YOU.  It is about you getting what you want.  I personally love the ads on Facbook, I love the tech/algorithms that make that happen.  It is incredible where we have come from and the future is intriguing and a bit scary, as well.

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

You Mean There's Rules?

How often should you update your social media profiles? Recently, I did a walk through our offices and reminded the employees that they need to go to LinkedIn and update their profiles. Several looked at me blankly, one even said to me, “Am I supposed to have a profile?” I nodded patiently and said in my normal, playfully acerbic tone, “Yes, you need to have a LinkedIn profile.” She looked at the others around the room as if I had chopped her head off.  I guess the “playful” part of my tone didn’t shine through.

It is easy for me to forget that not everyone has had a profile for five or six years. Not everyone thinks regular updates and profile maintenance are necessary. I do and my co-workers know that I do. In a busy, growing company, LinkedIn and other professional networks have served as a great help in my efforts to recruit for or promote my company, yes – I’m gonna say it: branding.  And personally, I gain an  understanding of my connections’ positions and how I can help them, how they can help me.

LinkedIn is the ultimate professional networking tool, even with its constant updates and changes. I also have profiles on many other networks claiming to be the next LinkedIn.  For instance, years ago Plaxo considered LinkedIn direct competition, but it has evolved from trying to compete to becoming, basically, a cloud-based Rolodex and a great birthday reminder tool, which was always its greatest strength.  I love sending eCards to friends, as well as professional connections; it is a great way to let someone know you are thinking of them and another way to maintain inactive or passive relationships. You never know when an inactive relationship will blossom into a full-blown active one.

And of course, there are other online networking profiles floating around out there. My personal social media philosophy has always been: There are an awful lot of details available about you on the internet- take control of your online persona and have what YOU control be the dominating sources, the highest ranked listings in a Google search about you. I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing what is out there about you. For example: go to pipl.com, type your name into the search bar and see what comes up about you. The listings of personal information are all available on line. Next go to Google and type in your name in the search bar, but search in “images.” Other surprises await you. Not only information you put online about yourself, but also details that your connections post online are all cached somewhere and are retrievable.

Be careful and be in control.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I was always a huge proponent of having an open Facebook. I use it for business and professional networking, so I want people to be able to find me and feel free to contact me. But I also like feeling secure and up until a year ago, I have always felt secure online. That was no longer true after a few harassing emails and messages through Facebook and other networks. I constantly update my privacy settings on Facebook and now avidly block followers on Twitter. Also, like many of my friends, I have closed my Facebook chat function. Why? Because I want to continue to use social media in my work and just like any other tool, there are evolving rules regarding its use.

I choose to continually evolve with the rules.

photo credit 
Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

What is Social Media? It’s a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers.

Three years ago, this was part of the definition of Social Media given by Answers.com, as stolen from Wikipedia. I find the last part the most interesting: “readers into publishers.”  And I am sure there are industries besides journalism that are still being shaken up.

Sociology, the study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society - connected to Technology, the scientific method and material used to achieve a commercial or industrial objective. Whether they occur at a grocery store or in a bar over a martini, connections matter, and more connections than ever are being made with the help of technology - the internet and social media.

In 1991, a man was pulled from his car and beaten by several police officers in Los Angeles.  One year later, three police officers charged in this incident were acquitted and trouble broke out; riots in the streets of Los Angeles ensued. I remember standing in a gas station the morning the riots began. I stood beside my car while a man on the other side of the pump stood beside his. Our eyes met and I couldn’t look away from him, he couldn’t look away from me. We just stared at each other and a moment of clarity occurred. I was not like that. He was not like that. Not all people were like those police officers, not all people were like the rioters. We were not like that. We never said a word, just nodded to each other and drove away. Thousands of arrests were made and over fifty people died during that week of rioting.

Sociology fails because people fail.

There are parts of the world today where you cannot check your friend’s status on Facebook. You cannot connect to Twitter. I heard a story of how a woman’s home was forcefully entered and the satellite dish in her basement was destroyed – you could not watch the news in Iran unless it was propaganda delivered by the Iranian government, the foreign press had been/has been banned. How many have been /will be arrested? How many have died or will die?  We may never know.

Technology fails because people fail.

It doesn’t matter how many friends technology brings you.
It doesn’t matter how social media serves you.
If man cannot serve man, it just doesn’t matter.

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the US Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

A New Revolution

A world that finds distress necessary seems to be emerging. I don’t really understand it, but it seems to be true even as we recognize the need to ease distress, solve an issue, change a course, innovation and provoking thoughts or actions occur. Provocation has, on more than one occasion, driven home the need to rethink or transform. It is a continual itch that needs to be scratched, a bottomless hole that needs to be filled, and an oft-asked question begging to be answered.

More than a mild irritation that is easily soothed by calming words or Neosporin, revolution comes along when what is currently in place is no longer working or relevant. Thomas Jefferson said, “Every generation needs a new revolution.”  So, what revolution have we, this current generation of business?

The perpetual swell of technology and the speed with which we communicate have initiated a whole new way to master human resources, to create partnerships and create continuing biz opportunities. When I first entered the corporate world, the fax machine was invaluable and snail mail was the preferred way of sharing important information. Email quickly took over and increased the tempo to our favorite song.

IM, Social Networks, Twitter, Gamification, and Location Tech continue to evolve the face of sourcing, marketing, presenting, negotiating, and selecting. Thank goodness. Think of how different our lives might be without the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google. Especially in the wake of recent economic changes. Evolution, actual revolution was imminent, continues to be imminent.  It will not slow down – it may even increase. Are you ready?

Relationship-building will become even more imperative as we enter the next evolution.

Anyone can tweet – where is their face?
Anyone can join a social network and add a hundred new contacts in a day – where is the handshake?
Anyone can find the perfect match for the perfect job online – where is the voice and personal engagement?

Don’t be anyone.

Be the someone whose voice is recognized.
Be the someone whose client knows you look good in red or that you like deep dish pizza.
Be the someone who knows the value of engagement.

Be someone.

Every generation needs a new revolution…

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

just plug in

“Without continual growth and progress,
such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”

Where is your office? Do you have a traditional work arrangement in a corporate environment or are you on the road more than a broken yellow line? Is your office in a corner of your home and are you one of the new virtuals? Perhaps your office is in a black bag in the form of a lap top and you don’t leave home without it, ever.

More and more people are working the mobile/virtual way these days. The advantages are many and although “more spare time”  seems to be one of them, it can be merely a sad and unreachable illusion.

Going virtual or in-house (<-your own) solves many economical issues and is also an green or pro-environmental alternative.

Pros
• Less traffic = less pollution = less time lost due to commuting
• Less company overhead = company money saved = more money earned potential
• Less time away from home = cut day care costs for aging parents or smaller children
• Less stress = less friction at home and at work = less illness = less time off from work

And while these all sound great, related and unexpected complications will most likely arise. Those that have the opportunity to clock in when they want tend to do just that.  Anytime, anywhere.  Converse to the advantages, disadvantages loom and can easily cloud an otherwise sunny virtual day.

Cons
• Longer working hours, because you can and it’s there.
• Sleep is disrupted because minds are preoccupied and wander to your in-house, virtual office more easily.
• Requires individuals to be self-driven and enterprising – not everyone is.
• Less commitment to colleagues and employers, as well as to clients or customers due to less developed personal relationships and less face-to-face interaction.

These disadvantages are weighty but with so many clear-cut advantages, there has to be a way to make it work. Given the continuing state of the economy, it would appear that going virtual is becoming more popular and will probably be around for a while, if not forever.

5 Rules for Going Virtual – How to Make it Work

1.  If you are self-employed or work with a small group, clearly define all roles. Written job descriptions and /or contracts with specific duties outlined will distribute the work load evenly while creating and presenting clear expectations for all.

2.  Have defined working hours. Allotting time for email, research, and conference calls will assist in efforts to not overdo it. Rules like, “No computer after 7pm” may seem unreasonable at first but will force you to be more productive during daytime hours.

3.  DO NOT have your computer in your bedroom. How can you possibly rest soundly with a constant work reminder just feet away? When I first started working virtually four years ago, I fell into terrible sleeping habits.  It wasn’t until I moved my computer out of my room that I was able to sleep soundly for 6-7 hours each night.

4.  Make an effort to meet with co-workers/employers and clients or customers regularly, face-to-face, as often as is feasible.  Skype helps considerably, but it isn’t a perfect solution, find the balance of real life and virtual relationship building that works for you.

5.  Create goals that force you to grow and stretch, that are difficult, that improve your work ethic, but it is extremely important to not only make them attainable but also achievable.

With Skype, Twitter, Facebook, G+, ubiquitous wifi, and mobile “everything,” the crazy technologies foreshadowed in a Dick Tracy comic strip are no longer so far-fetched.  Until “Beam me up” is a reality, virtual is surely the wave to catch.

But it doesn’t work without effort and it certainly is not easy.  And it isn’t for everyone.

The author of the quote at the top?  “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” <-Benjamin Franklin said it… OVER 200 years ago.  Pretty smart guy, then and now.

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.