The ultimate guide to Twitterspeak, from the FBI, of course!
June 19, 2014 Leave a comment
The ultimate guide to Twitterspeak, from the FBI, of course (PDF) http://ow.ly/yfgov
The FBI’s List of Twitter shorthand
Of Failure and Redemption: When ‘Twit’ Happens
October 8, 2012 Leave a comment
Social media and politics were made for each other. After all, when politicians get on their soapboxes, typically labeled CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, FNN, et. al., the masses get on theirs named Facebook, LinkedIn, and yes, the insta-poll of all social media, Twitter. Here are two lessons for effective social media management– pre and post crisis.
By now, you’ve heard of KitchenAid‘s unfortunate social media faux-pas. During one of the biggest media events in the past four years this obviously unintended ugly tweet was issued from the@KitchenAid Twitter account: 
I say unintended because from the moment I saw the tweet, as someone who has manned multiple social media accounts for employers and clients, I knew exactly what happened.
Just about everyone who handles multiple social media accounts uses some kind of console, a social media content management system such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or one of the other more sophisticated systems such as Sprout Social. I have no knowledge of which system the KitchenAid tweeter used (and keep in mind, it may not have even been a KitchenAid employee who did this, but someone at a social media agency) but I am certain s/he had both the KitchenAid account and a personal account loaded on the same tool, and simply forgot to switch from one to the other.
Lesson #1:
Don’t let employees, or agents, mix business and personal social media accounts on the same management tool.
Of course, the social media world exploded with criticism. But what happened next is a good primer for others on what to do when the Tweet hits the fan:.
Eight minutes later, the offending tweet was pulled and the first of a series of apology tweets were issued by Cynthia Soledad, the brand manager Click image to see larger version): 
This is a great example of digital damage control. No half-baked excuses. No “we were hacked” knee-jerk response. A quick reply, with apology, from a real person who can be contacted for more info.
Lesson #2:
Respond quickly, honestly and appropriately.
All of the above: brand damaging post on a social media site; remedial action; full accountability; full transparency — all leading to dousing the fire — happened in less that 2.5 hours.
In social media as in life, accidents will happen. KitchenAid’s response is a lesson for all.
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Moms — Online and Off
May 14, 2012 Leave a comment
I feel it’s appropriate, as we redefine the definition of “marriage”, that on Mother’s Day we recognize that the extended definition of what a mother is today. After all, the methods of conception and delivery are more varied than in the past. And children are more frequently raised by people other than their birth mother.
Mother’s Day reminds us that mothers come in all shapes, sizes and circumstances. Whether they are birth mothers, step-mothers, foster mothers, grand-mothers who are raising another generation, godmothers, savvy aunties, big sisters, guardians, mentors and more. Mothering is a skill set both learned and earned. Being a mother comes by chance to some, by choice to others.
Regardless, how do moms spend their time online? According to NeilsenWire.com (see accompanying infographic) their experience can be summed up in three words: Facebook; Twitter and blogs. In March 2012, 3 out of 4 moms visited Facebook; and 1 of 7 visited Twitter and 2 out of 5 visited blogging platforms (Blogger; WordPress and Tumblr). ‘Mommy Bloggers’ are a force representing about 1/3 of all bloggers.
Fact: The Census bureau estimates that there are 85.4 million mothers in the U.S. If she were alive today, the founder of Mother’s Day would not be among them.
Anna Jarvis never had children. She organized the first Mother’s Day as tribute to her mother in Grafton, W.Va. and Philadelphia in 1908 and later petitioned Congress to create the national holiday in 1914. It didn’t take long, however, for Jarvis to hate the very day she created due to over-commercialism.
So, let’s remove the restrictions on how we view Mother’s Day, and mothers as well. Celebrate all the women who help mold us into the people we are, and let’s do so every day of the year.
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Very Pinteresting, Why Facebook Paid $1 Billion For Instagram
April 10, 2012 Leave a comment
In advance of its much ballyhooed IPO, Facebook, which historically made acquisitions of $100 million or less, bought Instagram for cash and stock approximating $1 billion. The photo sharing mobile app, launched less than two years ago, was valued at $20 million in February 2011 and $500 million as recently as last week (based upon investor funding).
So, why pay $1 billion for it and why now? Five reasons:
- Platform. Instagram is a mobile app, and mobile represents the biggest upside for future marketing and commerce. Facebook needs more mobile features.
- Graphics. Pictures and images rule the day online. They’re compelling content that conveys the you-are-there experience with one-click satisfaction, and then love to share.
- Category killer. In two short years, it is by far the best known and most widely used mobile photo app. Go ahead, name two others (I’ll wait).
- Accelerated growth — and poised for more. Instagram launched on October 6, 2010. Two months later in December it had 1 million users. By September 2011 it grew to 10 million users, and now boasts 30 million users. And that’s with it being an iPhone only app until a few weeks ago. When its Android operating system version was finally released April 3rd of this year, it was downloaded over 1 million times in the first 12 hours. Android users effectively doubles the potential user pool. And all of this was before the hype and buzz associated with its acquisition.
- Pinterest — or, why Instagram was worth a billion bucks to Facebook. Also launched two years ago, Pinterest is likewise driven by graphics, allowing users to pin their favorites to collection boards with sharing via social nets. Like Facebook, Pinterest has a “like” function and users can comment on content. True, Instagram features user-generated photos while Pinterest links to graphics linked to the Web, but here’s why that will change. Read more of this post
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Happy 6th Birthday Twitter, But Who’s On First?
March 21, 2012 2 Comments
It’s Twitter‘s 6th birthday today (seems like we’ve been talking about it forever) and as it passes its 500 millionth user it’s a good time to think about who was on Twitter first. Now, the recognized first public tweet is from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who at 4:50 PM tweeted “just setting up my twttr“. Short and sweet, right, with the trendy Web style of the day: no vowels. Very cool, Jack, very cool.
But, some have confused it with a tweet from co-founder Biz Stone or one by the third member of the Twitter triumvirate Evan Williams and no wonder — they tweeted the exact same thing.
OK, so the three founders got together and in a show of solidarity coordinated their “first” tweets. But it doesn’t stop there. That same day six years ago it seems like everyone working on the Twitter product sent their first tweets, and at least 45 of them tweeted identically as the founders.
So, while Jack gets credit for being first, he loses points in my mind for originality (as if that matters to him) but he does get points for one first: he started the first “trending topic” in Twitter history.
They say you never forget your “first“, so here’s mine:
I know, hardly Shakespearean. So tell us, what was your first tweet?
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Bottom of the Food Chain 