Jeff Cutler – columns, essays and opinions

What? You haven’t heard of the 140 Character Conference Series? It’s been going on for YEARS and this September (actually in two weeks) it comes to Boston for the first time. What’s the big deal? Try to follow along with the 14 reasons I’m going to this edition of the conference. Then, maybe you’ll be excited enough to attend too. Would love to see you there.

And no, even I wasn’t creative enough or so disrespectful of your time to trot out 140 reasons. Here are 10 reasons to attend. Just sayin’.

10 – You’ll get to meet Jeff Pulver. For those of you that continually call ME Jeff Pulver, that will prove once and for all that we’re different people.

9 – It’s right here in Boston. No need to hop on a plane, train, Fung Wah bus or other mode of transport. You can just ride the MBTA – might I say the ‘reliable’ MBTA – search for MBTA on UniversalHub and you’ll get why I use quotes around reliable – to the door of the conference.

8 – The topics are short. If you really don’t want to hear a session, rejoice! They’re only about 10 minutes long each so you can gloss over the blather and concentrate on the good stuff.

7 – The topics are short. If you really get excited by a speaker, you’ll get a tasty tidbit of info that you can then build on during lunch, a break or after the conference. What better way to forge a relationship or conversation with some of the smarties who’ll be speaking.

6 – One of the people speaking is me. My topic has to do with social media and the media. But I’ll probably just talk about the Gulf oil spill, tweetups and NomX3.

5 – The people speaking include names like…

Adam Gaffin (@universalhub) – Founder and editor, Universal Hub.?Alicia C. Staley (@stales) – 3 time cancer surivor?Amanda Palmer (@amandapalmer) – Artist?Amy Kiel (@Abeeliever) – Community Leader?Andy Dixon (@andydixn) – Singer Songwriter Author and Visionary?Ariel Hyatt (@cyberpr) – Founder, Ariel Publicity & Cyber PR?Bijan Sabet (@bijan) – General Partner, Spark Capital?Blake Hall (@troopswap) – co-founder, Troopswap?Bobbie Carlton (@BobbieC) – Founder, Mass Innovation Nights?C.C. Chapman (@cc_chapman)?Carissa O’Brien (@CarissaO) – President, Red Box Communications?Christopher Penn (@cspenn) – VP, Blue Sky Factory, co-founder PodCamp?Doug Haslam (@DougH) – Supervisor, Voce Communications?Erik Proulx (@eproulx) – Creator of Lemonade. Founder of Please Feed The Animals.?From the perspective of a stay-at-home dad?Geo Geller (@geogeller) – Artist, Inventor, Photographer?Georgy Cohen (@radiofreegeorgy) – Managing Editor, Web Communications, Tufts University?Jeanne Dasaro (@JeanneDasaro) – Principle, New Prosperity Initiative?Jeff Cutler (@JeffCutler) – Content Creator – Social Media Journalist?Jeff Keni Pulver (@jeffpulver) – founder, #140conf?Jeff Persch (@JPersch)?Jeffrey Hayzlett (@JeffreyHayzlett) – Author, Change Agent, South Dakotan, and sometimes Cowboy.?Jeffrey Sass (@sass) – VP Biz Dev, Myxer?Jessica Murray (@JessicaRMurray)?JessicaRandazza (@JessicaRandazza) – Community Manager, Digitas?Jodi Whalen (@augustfirst) – Owner, August First Bakery & Cafe?John Baronian (@johnbaloney)?John Daley (@Boston_Police) – Deputy Superintendent, Boston Police?John Haydon (@johnhaydon)?John Moore (@JohnFMoore) – Founder & CEO, The Lab?Keith Spiro (@KendallPress) – Director of Marketing, Kendall Press?Kevin B. Gilnack (@kgilnack) – Membership Development Associate, Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers?Kirsten Olson (@bhsprincipal) – Author of Wounded By School and the principal of Old Sow Educational Consulting.?Lane Sutton (@kidcriticusa) – Social Media Strategist/Entrepreneur/Writer (and a 13 yr old kid)?Matthew Ebel (@matthewebel) – Artist?Michael Hayes (@hayesbtv) – Wizard of Wonderments and Digital Delight, Magic Hat Brewing Company?Mike Schneider (@schneidermike) – Team Boston’s “Mr. Movember”?Miles Ward (@milesward)?Nelson de Witt (@dewittn) – Chief Story Teller?Patrick Larkin (@bhsprincipal) – Burlington High School (MA) Principal?Perry Hewitt (@perryhewitt) – Director, Digital Communications and Communications Services?Rich Nadworny (@rnadworny) – Owner & Digital Strategist, Digalicious?Roger Toennis (@Roger_Tee) – CEO, Liquid Media?Scott Henderson (@scottyhendo) – Principle, Cause Shift?Shay Totten (@ShayTotten) – Political Journalist, Seven Days?Shwen Gwee (@shwen) – Lead, Digital Strategy and Social Media, Vertex Pharmaceuticals?Stephanie Miller (@kordmiller) – Director of Digital Media, CBS Boston’s WBZ-TV & TV38?Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) – Author: Get Seen, Online Video Secrets / Founder of Boston Media Makers?Ted McEnroe (@tmcenroe) – Director of Digital Media, NECN.com?Tony Baldasaro (@baldy7) – Assistant Superintendent of Schools for SAU #16 in Exeter, NH and administrator at the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School.?Wayne Kurtzman (@WayneNH) – Volunteer Social Media Director, Destination Imagination

4 – The Back Bay Events Center is a grand place to enjoy this great learning event. Historic Boston elegance and a classic, modern venue.

3 – Topics like Social Media Rehab: A Time to Disconnect; Lemonade – The Story Behind the Story; There’s Something About Video; Music Panel; Media Panel; and more.

2 – Sponsors and organizers. Names like Virgin Atlantic, Verizon, SummerHill Venture Partners. And folks like Joselin Mane, Ellen Rossano, Laura Fitton and others have worked their tails off to put on this event.

1 – Content, content, content. The value here goes beyond what occurs on stage. Spend some time in between sessions to talk to the presenters, the organizers and the other attendees. You’ll learn more than you’d ever imagine. Ask people who have attended other 140 events.

Let me know what you hope to learn and why you’re attending. See you there.

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Tags: 140 conference, back bay events center, Boston, Jeff Cutler, jeff pulver, september 14, social media, twitter

I’ve interviewed a number of social media luminaries and asked them to give me their answers to three questions. To make this game fun, in a Jeff Cutler sort of way, I told them that they could pick the questions. I further told them that they didn’t have to reveal the questions, just provide me with the answers.

Here’s a set of answers from Bruce K. Garber of BruceKGarber.com.

1. It’s a camera in my pocket.

2. It’s my studio.

3. Every day.

If you’d like to provide your answers for this project, send them to me at jeff (at) jeffcutler [dot] com. I’ll put them in the queue and they’ll appear in the order received. *Also include your Twitter handle and one link you’d like included in the post.

Thanks!

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Tags: Boston, bruce garber, Jeff Cutler, jeffrey, meme, social media, three questions

I’ve interviewed a number of social media luminaries and asked them to give me their answers to three questions. To make this game fun, in a Jeff Cutler sort of way, I told them that they could pick the questions. I further told them that they didn’t have to reveal the questions, just provide me with the answers.

Here’s the next set of answers from Don Martelli of MS&L – Boston a local public relations firm.

1. When the ball went through Bill Bucker’s legs in the 1986 World Series

2. I’d only consider it if you threw in Jennifer Anniston

3. Bouncing off the tires of a massive tractor trailer, in a blizzard, while I drive my Chevy Chevette

If you’d like to provide your answers for this project, send them to me at jeff (at) jeffcutler [dot] com. I’ll put them in the queue and they’ll appear in the order received. *Also include your Twitter handle and one link you’d like included in the post.

Thanks!

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Tags: Boston, Don Martelli, Jeff Cutler, jeffrey, MS&L Boston, social media, three questions, white kicks

Talk to a normal human and ask them how much of their day-to-day activity is controlled by Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools. They’ll likely back away from you slowly while offering you a nice tinfoil hat to wear.

This response isn’t because you’re crazy – or because anyone who leverages, relies on or works solely with social media is foolish or ill-informed. It’s because a lot of the world still doesn’t pay attention to or understand the ways in which social media tools can be used.

I usually tell a story during my SPJ trainings. It pertains to how everyone should approach Twitter…with no expectations. This is because you can never tell if anyone is listening before you foist a message upon them. The story goes like this…

One day in Boston, a couple friends and I decided to go get coffee after filming an episode of NomX3. We thought that Starbucks made good coffee and agreed to walk to the local ‘Bucks for a cuppa. While walking down the street, I Tweeted out “Going to Starbucks near Borders in Downtown Crossing – join us!” That message got one taker and the gentleman who saw it showed up and we all enjoyed marvelous conversation and beverages.

But the point of this man’s appearance was what he told us when he showed up.

“Guys,” he said. “I almost missed your message. I had Twitter open on my screen and had just gotten back to my desk after lunch when I saw your Tweet. A few seconds later and I would have never known you were here.”

To that point, a few seconds earlier and he wouldn’t have known either. And that proves my point. Which is….

Twitter and many other tools are haphazard in how they engage people. If you are not already having a direct conversation with them, Twitter often fails as an information-sharing tool. You can’t depend on it to share your message with all your followers because at no one time are all of your followers paying attention to your missives. Not everyone gets that.

Not even Leo Laporte. He of the mini media empire. He of the 24-hours-a-day podcast network simply didn’t understand that what he experienced this week was exactly how social media behaves all the time. And the fact that he didn’t know how social media works really scared me.

But then I turned the lens on myself. I have expectations that are also out of whack. I need new tires. I know a guy who runs the Twitter account for Sullivan Tire. I sent them a note either earlier today (August 23) or yesterday (August 22) announcing that I’d be going to their Nashua store on August 24 for new tires and other work. And I asked for their help. Take a look at this picture taken at 10:30PM on August 23.

If you can’t read the tiny type, their most recent tweet was on August 18 – FIVE DAYS AGO!

What that shows all of us is that even companies that believe in social media either fall down on the job or come to the realization that they can’t be online all the time. Sadly, all it takes is the one missed Tweet or the missed engagement to put a chink in the social media trust I had in that brand.

I’m still going to get my tires and my brakes and even my oil changed. But I’ll probably be more hesitant to share Sullivan Tire’s Twitter address now that I know they let days go by without any engagement.

Worse are the companies that get into social media and then back off. These are the firms that went whole hog into Facebook and Twitter and started offering specials and events and then decided that since it wasn’t working they were done conversing with customers. That’s idiocy.

Take Summer Shack for instance. I was excited to go there for dinner tonight (and we did go – and spent $70 by the way). But before we went I hopped over to their Facebook and Twitter pages to see if they could save us a seat at the bar and if they were offering specials.

Not since July 14 (Twitter) and May 21 (Facebook) had they conversed using these media.

So, what’s that mean for social media? What’s that mean for consumers? What’s that mean for businesses? A lot. With the proper education, there are companies and brands that are selling more products and making more money than ever because they are reaching out to consumers using these tools. There are also legions of consumers who have moved away from traditional information sources and now rely on the Web and social media to inform them of deals, events and happenings in their physical community. And these same folks are focused on only buying from companies that have a social media presence.

It’s a new kind of activism I suppose. Where you might have only bought milk from the guy who had the farm in your hometown, you know only buy groceries from the shopkeeper who shares coupons online. And you might only get your tires at the place that would give you 10% off when you Tweeted their name. And you might only eat at the sushi place that shares its specials on Facebook.

I’m not saying this revolution is full-fledged or that it will have a significant impact tomorrow or the next day. But we’re moving to a time when the business that ignores communication channels will get left behind because its competition will understand that online works, and works well.

Social media might be about timing, in fact it often is. But I believe the time for social media is now. I just hope the brands I liked before are listening.

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Tags: Boston, communication, consumers, content, Facebook, jeff, jeffrey cutler, Leo Laporte, social media trainer, sullivan tire, summer shack, twit, twitter

Do you worry about your Twitter content? Do you agonize over what you’ve said on Facebook and LinkedIn? Are you bereft if everyone doesn’t agree with your blog posts?

Image from http://www.bconnected.lk/hrd/social_businesss_registration.htm – a 2008 course advertised on the Web.

Well, as much as I want everyone to like me, I subscribe to the idea that I should share my thoughts with conviction and my feelings without reservation. Because these thoughts and feeling are stuff I’d share easily and freely at a cocktail party. It’s stuff I’d tell my friends. And it’s content I wouldn’t hesitate to send in an email, text message or other missive vehicle.

But people continue to get bent out of shape over some of my thoughts. So what should I do? What’s the etiquette? Is there a precedent?

Recently I ranted about Greenpeace and now have people up in my grill about my attitude over the environment. Back in July I griped about bad communication among a group of people – and those folks still aren’t over that misunderstanding (ironic situation based on my points about our communication issues).

Therefore, I’m looking to readers to share their experiences when something they’ve written gets people all riled up. I’d like to hear from Stuart Foster, Justin Levy, Meg Fowler and Christopher Penn. I want to hear from you.

Is there a strategy to keeping people unoffended and still entertained? Should people just create their content and throw caution to the wind? And is there a stage at which the caution throwing becomes more restrained?

Share your thoughts in the comments. Or point me to documents that have explored this very issue. Thanks!

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Tags: Boston, etiquette, greenpeace, Jeff Cutler, jeffrey, Mullen, podcamp, Sametz, social media

I’ve interviewed a number of social media luminaries and asked them to give me their answers to three questions. To make this game fun, in a Jeff Cutler sort of way, I told them that they could pick the questions. I further told them that they didn’t have to reveal the questions, just provide me with the answers.

Here’s the first set of answers from Tyson Goodridge of Dialogue – a Boston Social Media Services firm.

1. I was young, and I REALLY needed the money

2. Dewars, Mexican food and Skoal Long Cut

3. A golf handicap of 15, NY Rangers win Stanley Cup again

If you’d like to provide your answers for this project, send them to me at jeff (at) jeffcutler [dot] com. I’ll put them in the queue and they’ll appear in the order received. *Also include your Twitter handle and one link you’d like included in the post.

Thanks!

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Tags: Boston, dialogue, Jeff Cutler, jeffrey, social media, three answers, tyson goodridge

That title has probably been used two gazillion times since people started blogging (and probably even before Verizon used it in an ad campaign),

but it’s appropriate today because of the following…

1 – Turner Fisheries – one of my favorite places – is having difficulty responding to their messages on Twitter. I’ve been trying to DM them, but as you know a direct message can only be sent to the people who are following you. I’m judiciously waiting for this snafu, technical or operator-error related, to be resolved. What’s the urgency? Well, I was at Turner’s last week and the service in the bar area left me wanting to share some comments with management. Sharing is hard when people aren’t listening. It’s taken me two days just to get Turners to respond to messages sent to them via social media.

2 – Zoom Products specifically the Zoom H2 I currently use have failed me. Not completely. Not in a malicious way. But in a way that made me want to finally share the story here. It’s in two parts. Hold on, I’ll give the short versions of each part.

a – I tried to contact the company last fall for review products and was roundly ignored. Never mind that I’m a professional journalist who covers the consumer tech industry and that other devices are making inroads on Zoom’s turf. They obviously didn’t hear me. (To the company’s credit, their agency of record was responsive…to a degree, but I still don’t have an eval unit in front of me.)

b - While doing an interview yesterday, my formerly trusty Zoom H2 (not a review unit, bought because it seriously is the best recorder for the money on the market) didn’t do as good a job recording my interview subject as I had hoped. I still sound glorious, but the guy I’m interviewing sounds like he’s doing a Houdini trick in a closet, with a gag on, in a neighboring town. I may have had my levels too low. Or I may have not held the mic close enough to his mouth. Or maybe he’s one of those low-talkers. Whatever the case, it’s just some more ‘hear-me-now’ pain.

So what can I do about these two things? Especially given that I’m swimming in a fishbowl of social media and technical detritus that often compels me to be stubborn about how I contact people? Do I break down and dig for the Turner Fisheries phone number and give them a call? Do I do the same with Zoom’s people?

Or do I hope they’re better at listening for their own name out in the ether than they are at addressing specific consumer issues? If I link to their sites one would presume that Google Alerts would alert them to this article. To me it’s a puzzle.

So many companies are hot to get into social media. They fret about having a Facebook page or reaching out to people on Twitter. But if your customers are elsewhere, then there’s no need for you to pretend to be here. And if you do forge a path into a social media space – you’d better be there when people reach out to you with social-media tools.

Just my opinion, but 21 years of communicating with readers, colleagues and clients—with tools as varied as construction paper, hand signals and Tweets—has given me a little understanding into what consumers/customers are looking for.

It also doesn’t hurt that I’m a customer too and putting on that hat suits me just fine too.

What do you think about how people communicate these days? And what would you advise based on my simple descriptions above? Do I call Turners? Do I write a complete blog post on the details of that day?

What about Zoom? Do I give them another chance or vow never to write about any product they have until the end of time? For Zoom it might not matter. While I might only be writing for NPR, Technology Review, the New York Post and MobileMag.com, it might make sense for them to sit up and pay attention.

Makes me wonder.

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Tags: Boston, CEA, CES, customer service, Jeff Cutler, technology review, zoom

According to one of my favorite sites, What The Hashtag (linked below), the folks who work in cloud computing and Enterprise 2.0 are rabid users of social media. While they might not use the nuanced approach of Ron Sylvester or Greg Verdino – and they might spend more time just shouting out their news than sharing and communicating – they are still pretty rabid.

Take a look at the numbers of Tweets tagged #e2conf – Enterprise 2.0 in Boston – and you’ll be amazed.

Are you Tweeting the conference? Have you ever Tweeted a conference? What’s your opinion of this type of sharing?

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Tags: Boston, enterprise 2.0, Jeff Cutler, twitter, WTHashtag

While still in the Cloud Computing session, the speakers showed a great slide – in my opinion – of questions to ask your data services provider. Pardon the blurry photo, lighting wasn’t fantastic in the ballroom.

What questions would you ask a data provider? What questions would you – as a consumer – want to ask Google or Facebook or Twitter?

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Tags: #e2conf, Boston, cloud computing, data center, Jeff Cutler, safety, technology

I cover technology events. I write about the gadgets and the tech that people use daily. I’m even a correspondent for outlets that require a technology reporter in the field when they can’t afford to send a staffer across the country or even across the ocean. So right now I’m in a session at Enterprise 2.0 in Boston and I’m realizing how dumb I really am.

The reason I say I MIGHT be dumb about Enterprise technology is because the session I’m attending is pretty empty. See the photo. This session – An Introduction to Cloud Computing – has a mere nine people in it not counting me.

I’m here because this is one of the three sessions going on right now that I thought I had a pretty good handle on. I didn’t want to start my day over my head and stymied. I also wanted to hit the ground running with a topic I know something about. But it seems that only a couple people are in that same boat with me.

What’s that mean? I’m taking it to mean one of two things…

• The conference just started and nobody is here yet

• An intro to Cloud Computing isn’t needed – especially at a conference that talks about enterprise technology at a much deeper level

It could also be that the other sessions going on right now are too targeted and specific to be of use to the conference attendees. Which brings me to a larger point – and maybe a rant. Why wouldn’t you, when running a conference, figure out the needs of your attendees a lot more carefully before renting out a venue and putting on sessions that leave hundreds of seats empty?

This is purely a philosophical question because in reality a conference organizer is racing the clock when they put on an event. Unless the event is SXSW or CES, you can’t be too certain how many people will attend and you must make educated guesses at what topics to cover.

But that’s a digression. Looking at a list of sessions over the rest of the week, there is some cool stuff happening here.

Would you be interested in attending? What stands out to you?

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Tags: Boston, cloud computing, enterprise 2.0, hurwitz, IAM, IBM