Welcome back! My last post recaptured about half of the splendor that was Wednesday's 140 Character Conference Meetup in New York City. Today's post is going to wrap up the remaining speakers that were squeezed out of that post thanks to my mushy reflection upon the serendipitous humanity that embraces #140conf events in general.
Away we go!
After Anthony Massucci shared his funny anecdote about the delay between a news story breaking on Twitter vs. the local paper, Mo Krochmal (@krochmal) took the stage.
Mo is probably the coolest Assistant Professor of Journalism over at Hofstra University simply for the fact that he used to require his students to have Twitter accounts. Now that's some homework I could get used to!
Mo no longer forces his students to contribute to the social media platform, but he does encourage them to "be on Twitter" nonetheless.
How, you ask? Mo expects his journalism students to:
- be able to harness the awesome power of search.twitter.com
- understand the importance of trending topics
- be able to judge a legitimate profile from a spammy one
He concluded by smartly pointing out that when it comes to Twitter, there's a conversation going on whether we participate or not. If we don't take action, we're irrelevant. Who wants to be irrelevant? That's what I thought.
Next up was self-proclaimed geek Aneta Genova (@bobbintalk), an accessory designer, fashion blogger and instructor at Parsons The New School for Design and the Academy of Art University Online.
Aneta's mission in life is to marry her two passions, technology and fashion.
Would you believe that way back when, her team pitched the idea of stylish leather carrying cases for iPods to top companies in the fashion industry? Their response: "What's an iPod?"
(More responses: "It's not big enough to put cigarettes in. What am I supposed to do with it?" I bet they're really kicking themselves in the butt now with their stiletto heels. Ouch.)
Aneta confirmed that in part due to their creative, hand-on personalities, "fashion people don't care about Twitter" (fashion designers, not fashionistas). But her background in Computer Science and fascination with digital media led her to blog about her life in the fashion industry; from there, she headed to Twitter to compliment the blogs. Despite the small niche, she has met a good amount of people who share her two passions.
She wrapped up with a profound remark concerning her teaching career: "The things you learn you know forever. The things you study you may forget tomorrow."
Next up was Andrew Hazen (@andrewhazen) to share the skinny on the FTC and Blogging.
Did you know that on December 1st of this year, the FTC will be changing the guides for product and service endorsements for the first time since 1980? That's right - the face of paid blogging is about to change forever.
Many bloggers that are paid to write reviews for products already disclose the whole compensation factor- but these new rules are going to up the ante, so to speak.
For example, any violation of the new guidelines carries a $11,000 fine. That's quite a fee for a freelance blogger, dontcha think? As Andrew put it, "The Internet is the cheapest medium around, but now, it's the least free."
Remember: when it comes to T.V. commercials, advertisers don't have to disclose a thing. Andrew highlighted the example of a food commercial:
- You don't know that the super hot girl sitting on the front steps actually chews and swallows that meaty hamburger from the fast food chain.
- You're simply led to believe that because she's holding it up.
- Even though she was most likely paid to salivate in the presence of the burger, she doesn't have to disclose that to you.
Why don't commercials have to include a black and white disclaimer like blog posts? That paradox surely bakes *my* noodle.
Next up was Nichelle Stephens (@niche), editor of Pepsi We Inspire.
Nichelle emphasized the fact that Twitter is a fabulous tool for listening to the masses. Her job with Pepsi is to incorporate diversity and multiculturalism into the corporate brand- two concepts that give many big brands the willies.
She lamented that many companies either fear diversity or are afraid of tackling it the wrong way; these anxieties often cause them to not even attempt to reach a multicultural audience.
But as Nichelle wisely pointed out, we're living in a multicultural world no matter what, and that will never, ever change. Rather than avoid this fact, Nichelle encourages companies to use Twitter to tap into millions of conversations and get a better foothold on the wants and needs of their diverse demographics.
Last but certainly not least, Jeffrey Hayzlett (@jeffreyhayzlett), CMO at Kodak (say cheese!) took the stage, and for many, stole the show.
Here are some gems from his animated, unapologetic, captivatingly hilarious presentation:
- Kodak is using social media for reaching out as well as listening
- Favorite metrics tools include Radian 6 and PeopleBrowsr
- Kodak is hiring a Chief Listening Officer (no joke... email tom@kodak.com to join the 2000+ applicants!)
- This Chief Listening Officer will act as the air traffic controller for conversations about Kodak across social media platforms, i.e. Twitter
For Kodak, there are 4 Es to social media marketing
- Engage - conversations occur with us or without us. Be aware! Soak up the compliments as well as the complaints- that's the only way to get things done.
- Educate - the team at Kodak not only educates the public on their products, they are educated by the public and their opinions of said products.
- Excite - build up enthusiasm about new products by starting product-related conversations, tease the audience, invite them to participate in contests that influence the outcome of a new gadget.
- Evangelize - ultimately, the goal of social media marketing is to get your target audience to fall in love with your product and become loyal customers.
And here are some of Jeff's tips for social media marketing:
- Don't go 100% digital - there has to be a blend of traditional marketing and new media marketing.
- Find out what your specific customers like (remember the one to one intimate opportunities social media provides) and tailor your marketing techniques accordingly
- Some people really love to be contacted via direct email marketing. For Jeff, it's a complete turn-off.
- Some people enjoy learning about new products on Twitter. For some, the platform is used solely for friendly conversation.
One of Jeff's final thoughts really resonated with me; it summed up how I felt about the #140conf Meetup, and how I feel about Twitter in general:
"You follow me. I follow you. We meet up, and we hug."
Awwww!
Well, that about wraps up this review of the #140conf Meetup in New York City.
On Sunday, I'll be heading to Los Angeles for the actual 140 Character Conference... two days jam packed with talks about Twitter, spoken by social media lovers to social media lovers.
I'll be posting write-ups of the presentations both days, so be sure to stay tuned if you want to get the skinny without heading to Hollywood!
