Category Archives: Facebook
Drowning in Mediocrity, Social Media Needs More Feedback
Social media and those who play within the realm continue to believe that their world, while played out in public forums, remains private and exempt from the rules of society. The belief is simple, I’m a private person, my life is my life and outside comment or critique is unwarranted and unfair. This is never more true than when any event is offered suggestions on improvement, any talk reviewed, any tweet argued or any decision publicly condemned, however, for some reason social media continue to propagate a system where providing suggestions is wrong.
Let’s break it down though because we cannot all be so insane as to not recognize the world for how it is, can we?
When a movie comes out, a lot of work has been put into it (good job team!). Lights, sound, acting, directing, writing, are just some of the tasks (and people) who are behind the movie. If it’s not a particularly good movie, it’s necessary to let them know what was wrong – a reviewer steps up and provides his or her insight on why the movie was bad, or good, or both. It’s a job that was incredibly important to us before the internet because it let us know if a movie was worth seeing or not. However, this changed with the development of the internet and sites like IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes, which allows everyone to review things – anonymously. Everyone could voice their opinion without fear of reprisal or counterattack.
Having gotten used to and coddled with the protection of anonymity, we were free to say anything we wanted to anyone without having to show our faces. This is where the problem begins.
Fast-forward to the last few years, where the development of social media has swept the world and marketing departments – where the ‘Social Media Influencer’ has become a staple in social media strategy. Social media changed the web to bring people back into the fold. No longer was “BobFromCanada” who we could interact with – now it was “Zach Bussey from Toronto, here’s his website, what he looks like, what he does, his employment history, his friends, his passions and how he takes his coffee.” All of a sudden, the anonymity we had been using for ten years was erased and now if you wanted to stay ahead of the curve (or use social media to your advantage), you had to be yourself. Social media brought light to darkness and those still hiding in the shadows rightly earned the name ‘Trolls’.
Here’s where the disconnect lies… while we have a new openness and ability to connect with real people, what we refuse to acknowledge is the place for (and necessity of) people who are willing to provide suggestions and ideas on improving. Living a public lifestyle where every shit we take, every place we eat, every thing we see or overhear and every event we plan is blasted out to everyone we know by face or screen name, doesn’t come without a response – and sometimes that response is going to be in the form of honest review. However, we don’t acknowledge the place for this, a place for someone to say: You can do better. You can be better. Here is how… The sentiment is “I deserve praise, that’s it. Any kind of public suggestion is unwarranted. Leave me to do what I do; it’s not your place to comment.” Every other thing in our lives (movies, celebrities, cars, restaurants), we accept the place for reviews and suggestions. When it’s about us though? No thanks!
We need to get it through our thick skulls that without people telling us how we can do better, we’re going to drown in a sea of mediocrity.
Remember this? Thank god for negative feedback!
While the world outside of social media look for ways to improve, and knows how to take criticism, suggestion and ideas by using them to grow, improve and be better… social media people have decided that they aren’t part of the real world. In regards to a recent event that occurred, I asked people who attended what they thought of the event and under the condition of anonymity (there is that word again) they agreed to provide me with their overview – which was overall positive but offered suggestions of improving for next year. In a couple cases, they wanted to remain anonymous for fear of attack. They believed that if they voiced a concern or suggestion that they would be publicly vilified for their ideas. How sad is it that with all this access to people, ideas, and different thoughts, that the majority of us shut our mouths because we fear how the people, organizations or person might respond to our ideas? Sadder still, that there’s clear proof that those who might respond would confirm these fears.
This brings me back to the necessity of providing reviews which point out flaws and provide suggestions on how to fix them, and why we should be encouraging them to speak more. This role, or character trait is NOT an easy one. Constantly under the pressures of polarization – staunch supporters and opponents, there is no middle ground for anyone who wants to see something improve. Either what you say is going to be accepted or vilified. Even if the content of their review is balanced to provide positives and negatives along with ideas on improvement, the people who read will only read it in one way or the other.
Social media, especially, needs more people to stand up and say “Hey, this was a problem, and here’s an idea how to fix it“. With so many mediocre things being sold to businesses under the guise of “Social Media Strategy”, with so many social media events being mediocre, and with so many actions of social media people being mediocre (at best) the room for improvement is massive and should be in greater demand. Or we can just continue to keep our mouths shut and forever accept that we can only be mediocre.
Personally, I refuse to accept that. So please, rather than agreeing with this, give me some suggestions on how I can improve! We’ll both be better off for it.
I’m a Social BLAZR
If you missed the announcement on Friday, I’m really excited to announce that I’ve been selected as one of eight Social BLAZR’s in the world. Motorola hosted a contest globally to find the people blazing their own trail in the social media world… broken down into 4 different geographic regions – Canada, United States, Europe and Singapore, we submitted our mini-story and then public voting occurred.
So, for winning this contest I get a bunch of great Motorola gear along with the brand new Android based RAZR smartphone (one of my favourite flip phones in its former incarnation) and some cash… Over the next few months, I’ll naturally be doing some reviews on the various pieces of Motorola gear and my experiences with them. I’m such an Android lover, so thank god that the RAZR is using that operating system or I might be disappointed.
I want to thank @Motorola for hosting the contest and to everyone who may have voted for me. I also want to congratulate my fellow Canadian Social BLAZR @Listen2Lena and all the other competitors in the contest!
Oh and to the other Global Social BLAZRs:
United States: @cruiter + @missnormalee
Europe: @angelitama + @paulobrien
Singapore: @mellyandme + Ow Tai Zheng
Boxing Returns to Ontario!
People are sometimes shocked to learn that I’m a boxing fan. Mostly because I hate MMA. I get why people might be shocked to learn this… but it just seems like 95% of MMA is who can mount the other man and hold him there for as long as possible and periodically stroke him with their fist. If I wanted to watch that, there’s a whole internet that could provide me with ‘safe for TV gay porn’.
Boxing is so much better. I might even become a boxer one day! They’ll make a movie about me called “The Pugilist Case of Rocky Bussey” where all my life I never once prepared for a fight, until one day in my late 50s I realize it’s my calling. Actually, I do have a little bit of a secret desire to learn a little bit one day. Always good to be quick on your feet and with your hands. ;)
Anyway, I’ve noticed a severe lack of boxing in Toronto. In fact, in all my years in Toronto, I haven’t even heard of any events! Until now… October 22nd at Hershey Centre in Mississauga! This is a big event put on by Hennessy Sports, and features a card that’s designed to be a ‘Quebec vs Ontario’ series of matches. Montreal is the boxing capital of Canada, this is supposed to take some of the glory back to Ontario! While not in Toronto directly, this is the first step to bringing boxing to venues like the ACC.
Co-Headlined by a Super Featherweight matchup between Ontario’s Undefeated (15-0-1 with 7KOs) Logan McGuiness versus a world championship challenger and Quebecer, Benoit Gaudet and also with Undefeated Samuel Vargas of Mississauga taking on Ahmed Cheikho of Montreal in a walterweight match up. Others on the bill include Lionell “Lonnie B” Thompson, Dillon Carman, Brandon “Bad Boy” Cook, Ibrahim “Firearm” Kamal, Natasha Spence, and Jeremy Abbott vs Harrison McBain.
You can purchase tickets on Ticketmaster.
OR!
You can win some through me! The great folks at Hennessy Sports have hooked me up with several pairs of tickets to giveaway! So here’s how to possibly win:
1. 1 entry: Follow Hennessy Sports on Twitter. Then comment here.
2. 1 entry: Like Hennessy Sports on Facebook. Then comment here.
3. 1 entry: Tweet “@HSportsCanada I want to see live boxing here in Ontario on #October22!”
Next Level Dating Mixology Mixers: Clinton Paul
One time I went to a speed dating event and I promised myself then and there – never again. See, here’s my problem… I’m actually pretty shy, so putting me in a room full of people who I’ve never met and then having me talk to them for a few minutes… naturally my first impression is the worst thing ever. Honestly, I don’t think I had one match that night (but if we’re being honest, none of them really appealed to me much either besides this one brunette… but I’m pretty sure I asked what she does for work 4 times in 3 minutes, so there goes that one.)
I am better under two conditions… either I have to know them a bit first (thus why I like social media), or the atmosphere has to be fun/involve a drink or two. Dating events are typically pretty tense in my experience, so when a friend told me about an event his friend was organizing through her new company, Clinton Paul, I was eager to learn more about what it was and if it would appeal to me. I like doing favours for friends (Yes, my blog is nepotism friendly!), so I was happy to provide them with some blog coverage, but then I learned about them some more and a favour turned into a desire to blog about it! There’s enough lonely hearts in Toronto, and in the social media world especially to warrant some upscale dating opportunities! They touch on a bunch of things I like – entrepreneurship, social media, dating AND, best of all, they answered the questions that might help get me laid!
What makes your dating events different than other ones?
6 simple points of difference:
- We are not speed dating. Our events are based on activities that are fun, non-threatening and interactive. This allows for guests to relax, flirt and have real conversations with each other without the formality of “dating in a hurry”. The pressure is off.
- Our marketing strategy is geared towards professionals, with the intent to establish a client base with similar interests and ambitions.
- We are making a commitment to having as much of an equal number of females to males for each event. (At this time are only offering heterosexual events, with a keen interest in expanding).
- We have a suggested age range for each event so that it is loose enough for those interested in meeting above or below their age but is also restrictive enough so that our match-ups are not way off base. Our research shows that the majority of females date 5 years below or above their age, and that the majority of males date 8 years below and 3 years above their age.
- Easy registration! We do not ask for a laundry list of characteristics and traits from our guests. We believe relationships of any level are built from a foundation beyond looks, body type and interests. It’s nice to have something in common, but opposites also attract. Relationships and romance cannot be quantified.
- The awkward standing around ritual that exists at other singles events is eliminated. Our events are planned such that our guests rotate through the room and meet everyone else at the event. They bond and form relationships over light competitions and activities, so you are in no way required to catalyze your own mingling.
Will the numbers balance out – by that I mean, in a perfect world, would every person be able to pair off at the event?
In a perfect world, yes! Though we cannot guarantee an exact balance of numbers, we are committed to acquiring a close ratio of males to females for each event. Moreover, our events work best when our numbers balance out, so we make it a priority to try to ensure they do!
How are you marketing your dating events?
Social media all the way! Through facebook, twitter, foursquare, meetup and youtube we aim to provide our fans with poll questions, interesting facts and statistics about dating, married life and lifestyle in general as well as give them an update on our event listings. Through our blogs and vlogs we hope to put a face to our company and make a stand for a human approach to dating. Moreover, we have and will continue to do face-to-face campaigning throughout the GTA.
Can you explain more about how social media is helping?
Through social media we have been able to get the word out about our company and our events. We are able to learn about who would be interested in what type of events and focus our advertising. Our friends have been more than happy to repost links and garner interest and attention on our behalf. Social media is our key outreach strategy and will continue to be!
Are you single/dating/married? If so, how did you and he(she?) meet?
Sheila – dating. Good old Canadian story. Our brothers played hockey on the same team for 3 years, and on the last game we both came to watch. 2 beers, a trip to see Ninja Turtles and a smooch or two later, we were set.
Melanie – single and loving every minute of it! I date with the intention of finding the right guy but have not found a anyone who can hold my attention…yet.
Had/have you been to a lot of dating events?
Before we started our business we didn’t feel as though there was any need. We’ve since scoped out a few of our competitors to be sure we had a clear point of difference. We thought it was a great idea in theory but found the execution of them to be awkward and didn’t reach the potential it could be…hence the birth of Clinton Paul!!
What is the BEST advice you have for a single guy who’s basically undateable? Should I be going for girls with bad faces, but great bodies and personalities? Should I not be so picky?
Alright, seriously. Confidence. We are of the “Hitch” philosophy, anyone can date anyone. If any kind of guy came up to us with a little bit of swagger, we would definitely give him the time of day… and maybe more than that ;) It’s all in the approach.
What’s a good number of *belt notches* that a guy should have by the time he’s 25? As a scientist, what number is best?
From where we are sitting, it doesn’t matter as long as he’s got the goods when its crunch time. All jokes aside though, a guy with little experience is easier to shape into your perfect lover and an experienced gentlemen may show you a thing or two.
Is it true that women decide within the first 30 second whether or not they are interested in a guy?
Melanie – yes. 10 seconds actually. Might be why I’m single. ;)
Sheila – I think if anything it’s the other way around. Common misconception – ladies can be won over.
Your event, how many people will be there?
Each event has a different amount of people. Generally somewhere between 40 – 60 per event.
Where and when is it?
Our first event is September 22, 2011 at 7:00pm. It’s taking place at the BartenderOne training facility at Empire Lounge at 50 Cumberland Street (Cumberland and Bay). With the closest metro being either Yonge or Bay.
And what does it cost?
This event is $80 + HST. Included is 4 cocktail creations, 3 flare lessons, a cocktail trivia station, 8 professional mixologists, lip-smacking hors d’oeuvres and an opportunity to meet friends and potential lovers.
Anything else?
We currently host 1 event per week that vary in price, activity and suggested age groupings. Some of our events include a Beerology Mixer being held at the Bier Markt, a Casino night taking place at Fallsview Casino and an Indoor Beach Volleyball Mixer for more active singles.
We take suggestions of events and offer free tickets to those who came up with the concept, so anyone can create their ideal mixer. Email us at info@clintonpaul.ca anytime! We also specialize in event concept and creations for private and corporate events.
Check them out at: ClintonPaul.ca, on Facebook, or on Twitter.
Social Media Influencers Suck
The Social Media Influencer is a new concept that has only recently become a term to describe a group of people that marketers and/or public relations people can attempt to exploit to their perceived advantage. The problem with this, and what marketing and public relations firms will realize very quickly is that – Social media influencers suck.
I’m about to let you into the mind of a typical social media influencer, the patterns they exhibit, the reason they exist in the social media world and what their general beliefs are towards brands, marketers and public relations pitches. I’m going to lay everything out on the table for you and let you make up your own mind. I can speak with some certainty though because, well, I’ve been considered a social media influncer for a while now. I also know many people in marketing and PR and have heard their nightmare stories about failed campaigns or ones gone wrong. Not only that, I also know essentially ALL the other social media influencers within the Toronto market and have had long conversations with most about this topic.
These same people are bound to disagree with what I’m about to lay out for you, and it’s due to self preservation – we don’t want it to end. It’s also why there has been a ton of hyperbole in blogs lately.
1. The Mind of a Social Media Influencer
The mindset of a typical influencer is pretty basic: we want invites, products and services. We feel we deserve it because of what we do after receiving it – we blog, tweet and share it on Facebook. Our blog readers read it, our thousands of followers on Twitter see it and our close friends on Facebook listen to what we say. Simply stated, we give you access to the people we know, and we’re giving it to you rather cheaply.
The Problem? The more we get, the more entitled we become. The more we demand. The more we expect. With little to no oversight as to what we do after the fact, we can blog/tweet/facebook and our end of the deal is done. Oh, you didn’t see any results, sales, visits to your site? Not our problem.
2. The Patterns
The patterns of a typical social media influencer are pretty apparent – whoever can hook us up is who matters until 24 hours or less after the event or product is received. We’re only interested in one thing – FREE! Most of us don’t actually care about your product, event or service. We hold no loyalties to your brand. You are the flavour of the day and as soon as our ‘contract’ is done, you’re out the door. (I’ve only recently broken this pattern – I’m loyal to my friends at @FordCanada and my beer buds at @CarlsbergCanada. Other imported beers and truck companies need not apply) This is why you’ll see us blog about the car Toyota lent us one day, the one that Honda lent us the next, the one that GM lent us a week later, and the one that Ford lent us. Each of them has the best cars ever – and we love them so much (as long as they are willing to give us another one soon?)
3. Our Raison D’Etre
We exist for a reason, and it matches the pattern – FREE! Sure, we’re more than willing to tweet about your event as long as you have free foods and booze – oh and it sure as hell better be open bar! If it’s only two drink tickets, we’re going to bitch and moan about that. We like to drink… on your buck! We swear to god, if we show up at your event and you make us pay? We’re going to be PISSED about how cheap you are! You want us to write about your stupid product and pay for it?! What the hell do we look like? Normal suckers who buy that stuff in stores? Gimme a break. If you want us to write about you, you better be compensating our buzz, our stomachs, our tech gear or our wardrobe, otherwise you’re no good to us.
4. Beliefs about Brands, Marketers + PR Pitches
Generally, we know you guys have a whole bunch of money and you’re just looking for some people with influence to talk about you. We know you’re not going to ask us to actually deliver any minimum results – as long as we try, that’s good enough for you. Thank god, because to be honest, we’re not sure if we could actually drive traffic to your site. We also know you don’t really do much research into us, because if you did, you’d know we just blogged about your competitor last month, and another 6 weeks ago, and another 2 months ago.
Heh, switchers like us aren’t really the best spokespeople for your product because after two or three competitors – people just don’t listen to us like they first did. BUT, we should be able to get you a dozen or so followers on Twitter, maybe some Likes on Facebook. But as influencers, we’re just here to try out your product! Ironically, if you just gave out the cellphones, tickets, freebies and products yourself to the people who actually buy it, it would probably spread more online and with better results – one’s you can actually gauge well. But please, keep em coming – we love it!
5. Why We Suck
We’re social media influencers and we influence people. But, the people we typically influence are other social media influencers. We all go to the same parties to hang out, we all tweet the same things at these same parties, and we all blog the same things (just with different pictures of ourselves).
We suck though because people who aren’t invited… the jerks who are just social media people and have no influence who you hope will listen to us and buy the product, service or attend the event… well they dislike us because we get all the invites while they get nothing. We sometimes extend the invites to those people and let them be in our awesome company at the super mega awesome events… but most of the time, they have to sit at home and live vicariously… and vicarious is losing the ‘ar’ and now they are just vicious.
Basically, we would never buy your product. You’re giving it to us for free, so why would we? And if we run out, we’ll just ask you for more OR a competitor will come in and give us theirs and that will be our new favourite. We only go to your events if there’s free food, but especially if there’s free booze! Open bar! If there isn’t, fat chance we stick around longer than it takes to consume those two drinks. But don’t worry, we’ll blog it all… someone might read it and be jealous about the good time we had – but they likely won’t buy either. And those who we do influence? They got the same invite and the same products, so there goes that one… Leaving us with the inferior non-influencers… Well, they’re getting more and more bitter because it’s the same 4 dozen of us invited everywhere, while they are forced to just watch from the sidelines. We suck. It’s pretty obvious. We just can’t believe you haven’t realized it yet.
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The question, “why would I bite the hand that feeds?” is bound to come up. It has nothing to do with resentment or my own bitterness. I’m getting more invites and offers than ever. The reason is simple - I think we can do better! For too long we’ve been given a silver spoon for which we could base careers on. The problem is, I, formerly, (we collectively) are just looking for a handout. Bloggers talk about a product once, and never remember them again. We can, and SHOULD do better.
As a new media, if we as bloggers and influencers want to be treated and taken seriously with bigger and better offers to get our ‘influence’ on the public, we need to act, behave and perform seriously. We can’t keep the status quo! We need to deliver results. Deliver return on the investment put into us. We should not be a roll of the dice, a gamble. We may not always succeed, but we need to be held accountable, both for our great successes (so we can learn what works) and our failures (so we can learn what doesn’t). If we don’t… like all media, whether it’s TV, Radio, Print or Web – we’ll be canceled. We suck… let’s be better!
To the Brands, Marketers and PR folks… this is also a request to you to break the mold. Deal with new people. Invite everyone. VIP should be VIP. Work with people who care. Develop long term relationships with bloggers rather than short term – zero/low return one offs. Develop brand loyalty with actual buyers rather than switchers/deal/freebie seekers. Give feedback to bloggers about the success or failure of their posts. You’re the initial gatekeepers, so start using that to your advantage. We need to work together – for our benefits and yours. The path to success isn’t a one time event, it’s ongoing and long term – why should marketing/PR be any different? We suck… we can be better!
