Category Archives: Column

How to Host a Tweetup

I’ll admit it, this isn’t a topic that really requires much writing – unlike my first book on mountain biking. So I spent about 37 minutes tonight writing the attached eBook before settling down to watch Downton Abbey on PBS.

This shot taken by Derek Peplau at Nogup3 - a Boston Tweetup - you can find more of Derek's shots at http://www.flickr.com/photos/peplau

The title is self-explanatory. If you don’t know how to host a tweetup, this is the book for you. Just click on the link below and it will download for you. You will know how to host a tweetup and you’ll be the envy of all your friends and business colleagues. This is really Tweetups made easy, and the mystery of successful Tweetups will be solved.

I welcome your comments and ideas for future books. Enjoy!

How To Host A Tweetup

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Girl Bloggers and Boy Bloggers

Right now, everyone in social media is doing content marketing. They’re either getting paid well for it or they’re struggling to find work and keep getting fired because they overpromised the returns companies would see from social. I fall into the former category, but I still consider myself a struggling author/content marketer/SocMed Guru because I’m doing the cobbler’s kids routine. I don’t write enough on my own sites to keep people coming back – some people say you need to do something daily and do it well every day to get people to notice…like what the sun does over the water each evening.

Maybe you’ve done it too. You write some magnificent posts that get people thinking. You get some comments rolling and think you’ve got it made. Then you wander away for a few minutes and suddenly months have gone by and the blog is stagnating.

Happens to everyone. But the approach upon return is dictated by your gender. Seriously. Think about men and women and how we cultivate and maintain our friendships. We’re drastically different and I posit we’re the same way online. To wit…

Women agonize over seeing old friends again. They bear the weight of the world on their soul when trying to figure out the right things to say and the right way to break into conversation with friends from ages ago. Maybe these women have shared secrets and fears and more…but separate them for a while and it’s like recreating the relationship.

Men are not that complex. Separate us for four minutes or for four score and you get the same result. “Hey dickface, your Astros still blow. How’s work? Want a beer?” That’s it. If men are real lucky, they’ll get a man hug and maybe some chicken wings…but the angst isn’t there when guys reconnect.

That brings me to my point about blogging hiatuses. When a woman abandons her blog for a bit, she apologizes like a repentant mass murderer when she returns. A guy just jumps back in and says, “here’s what’s going on, enjoy!”

So, read the above one more time so you didn’t miss any nuance or sarcasm and then hear me clearly, “Here’s what’s going on, enjoy!”

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Customer Engagement – Wegmans Style

Some of you might know Gretchen, my better, smarter and seemingly more socially influential half. Recently, she was spurred by her love of the Wegmans grocery store chain to organize the #wegupma event – essentially a rented van full of friends and family that arrived and reveled in the grand opening of the Northborough, MA Wegmans store.

She wrote a blog post about her experience at the grand opening and also included in that post a little sadness. During our trip to Wegmans (the grand opening was also attended by 24,994 other rabid fans), she forgot to purchase plastic wrap and paper towels.

Well, Wegmans is on the social media ball. They tweeted at us all day, followed and retweeted our photos of the grand opening. Engaged with us about our experiences. And when they saw that Gretchen forgot her paper towels and plastic wrap, they called her.

Actually, Kevin Russell, store manager at the new Wegmans called her. He left a message saying that he felt sorry that our Wegmans experience was incomplete and was sending a delivery to our house in Hingham. Seriously. TO OUR HOUSE, 47 miles away. Here’s the video of what we found on the porch when we got home today…

So, if you run a company that might be having some trouble understanding the right and wrong ways to engage using social media, I urge you to take a lesson from the Wegmans team. They spend time paying attention to what people are sharing about them on the Web (active listening), and they actually think about what matters to people – being heard and being valued.

If you don’t think this type of activity pays off, ask yourself if your business could benefit from 25,000 people coming to your next grand opening.

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Books We Don’t Need to See. Social Media Musing.

Just back from the #bbf2011 (Boston Book Festival), I sat down to think about my books. While this connects peripherally to my girlfriend’s new job at Raising a Reader, it was more of an angst-ridden veiled confession that I have too many books.

And I do. Just take a quick look in this shelf among the “Dummies” books and the books I’ve written (see poster on top), there are multiple social media, classic literary and just plain fun books. But are they really all useful? Should they have been published at the expense of wasting paper, inflating egos and eventually filling landfills and wood stoves?

I say not. But it’s too late for the selection of books on these shelves – I’ll gladly pass some of the good ones along to friends and family who want to read them. Today, I’m going to give you a quick list of fictional social media titles that should never be written (even though some publishers will feel compelled to do so).

Bear in mind that some books that are already out there have some very real value. I’ve even had session attendees ask me for the best books on Twitter – so there is a market for more than you realize. Here we go…

Facebook Status Updates 101 – How to Leverage Facebook to Gain Friends and Influence People

Checking In – Using Foursquare to Get Your House Robbed

Wijacking Your Way to the Top – Using Free Wifi to Save $60 a Month on Fios

Tweetups – Using Twitter to Invite People to a Party

Hashtags and the Rules to Follow

NSFW! The Most Popular Videos on YouTube

Always Be Charging. Why Dead iPhones Happen to Good People.

The Social Media Fishbowl and How to Avoid the Toilet

So, what are some of your favorites of the books already out there? What book would you buy to demystify the Internet – or would you just Google it? And what are some of the subjects and tools you think need no special explanation in today’s socially connected community?

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Speaker Wanted? Call Me. Social Media and Content Road Trip.

If you’re familiar with the business environment, companies are increasingly getting on board with social media communication tools. They’re becoming motivated to learn about social media and by extension, they’re hosting more on-site and peripheral training events where their entire … —yes, there’s more—

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Marketing THROUGH Influencers, Not Marketing TO Them.

Interesting comments today from Matt Britton of Mr. Youth. The company was formed as an “antidote for traditional media burnout in the youth market.” The company is working with BING to create brand success by “marketing THROUGH influencers” and not by … —yes, there’s more—

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I’m a reader. Location-Based Marketing…and other books.

The package arrived earlier today and I grabbed it away from the cat and ripped into it. Inside was a book – nay, a guide – that explained to anyone who would sit still long enough in one place (irony) … —yes, there’s more—

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Sustainable Transportation. Genuine Communication. New Media Helps?

In my continuing quest to be a more responsible member of society and someone who saves money on transportation, I have been looking at alternative-fuel vehicles and those of different sizes. Most of you know that I ride a scooter … —yes, there’s more—

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When was May? Training and Travel Begin Again…SocMed Style.

Earlier this year, my father died. It was as bad as you can imagine and like other humans, I’m dealing with it. What I miss most about him is actually his presence as a sounding board and as someone with whom to discuss my travels and travails.

It’s been almost four years since a good portion of my professional income started coming in via keynotes, panels and professional training sessions. In that time, I’ve given around 100 presentations and spoken to audiences as varied as bloggers and professional journalists; housewives and university presidents; Fortune 100 CMOs and hobbyist podcasters. And with each audience came a different story.

Now, three months after his death on April 5, I take pause to think about how I might share my upcoming adventures. To rattle it off, I have a Lesbian and Gay Journalist Conference in August, The Social Media Integration event in September, SPJ/RTDNA also in September, Cable Communicators of America in October, Tech Day Camp in October, Journalism Interactive in October, BlogWorld in November and a few ‘camps’ in the middle.

Most recently, I even did an impromptu fill-in role at WordCamp Boston for a speaker who was running a little late.

Ultimately, I think it’s the excitement of teaching others about content, communication, social media and marketing that makes it all fun. It really brings out the kid in me because I valued the teachers I had all through my life. But that brings me full circle to one of the best teachers I ever had and the realization that at a time when I could be teaching him stuff and sharing my adventures, he’s no longer around.

And I’m just a kid who still wants to share a smile and a story.

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Ugliest! Ever.

I have been doing a lot of content work for organizations worldwide and decided that I wanted to add some info to my sites, too. But I got sidetracked and started monkeying with the look and feel and theme of … —yes, there’s more—

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