I continue to be amazed at all of the interactions being had on Twitter with traditional/social media professionals and others. In fact, today’s announcement by Cision introducing their new service called JournalistTweets followed by another amazing conversation tonight on #journchat made me think about something…

Is Twitter becoming a new media platform itself?

I say this for many reasons…not just because of the Twitter hype we’re experiencing today. Let me try and explain with these 3 points:

1 – The News Push – I’ve been able to replace all of my RSS news feeds because most of the major news outlets I traditionally follow are broadcasting their news via Twitter (i.e., here is an amazing list compiled by Sarah Evans – MediaOnTwitter).

2 – The Micro Blog – Most media (journalists and bloggers) are using Twitter to market their stories or blogs to others. Granted, they are only using Twitter to supplement their “story marketing” but there is no doubt that the traffic being created by these tactics are growing rapidly.

3 – The “Conversation” – This is the biggest reason (and most powerful weapon of Twitter) I am so bold to make a statement that this is becoming it’s own media platform – like TV, radio, print, etc. On Twitter journalists are conversing with mass audiences (not just PR/Communications professionals), tapping into general interest and niche expertise alike.  In the same right, these casual conversations are becoming news themselves.

Am I going on a limb here? Perhaps drinking too much Twitter Kool-Aid? Or do you too believe that Twitter has morphed into so much more than just another social media or networking platform. Talk with me!

Back in February I wrote a post entitled Is it Too Late for Traditional Newspapers? – Like many, I believe innovation and adoption of social media and online components will be the downfall of these traditional newspapers.

Today many people continue to ask me why we are now playing in the “social media” space when our firm has been focused on traditional media relations. I always think I have a good answer for such a question, “because as traditional media evolves, organizations will have the unique ability to reach their targeted audiences without using the media as their mouthpiece.” I’ve since realized that this response fails to answer the full picture about why we are involved with social media – because many of these traditional journalists are also playing in this space.

Many others have recently weighed in on this topic including the story yesterday by @woodylewis on Mashable (@mashable) entitled, “5 Ways Traditional Media is Going Social.”

What I like most about Woody’s story is how he talks about the successful approach that John Byrne (@johnabyrne), editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek Online has had leveraging his Twitter profile. In fact, his post “What’s Your News Story Idea” John gives readers a chance to share and submit their story ideas to John and a number of other BusinessWeek editors. This looks great on the surface, but from what I’ve seen, John is truly delivering on this promise since April…2008!

Another great example of the traditional media’s use of social media would be the wiki that PR & social media expert Sarah Evans (@PRSarahEvans) put together called MediaOnTwitter listing out all of the journalists and media outlets currently on Twitter. I love this list and often forward to any PR or marketing colleague who doubts why they should be using Twitter. Not to be pitching per se as John suggests, but to be interacting with these influential journalists and to be reading their respective outlets.

What are some examples you’ve seen of traditional and social media blending together? And to Woody’s point, do you believe his closing comments, “When the economy recovers, those brands that have survived by innovating should benefit from the social media tools they’ve put in place.”? I do.

How many times have you set a goal only to have it come crashing down on you because of any number of reasons: not enough time, unachievable metrics, too many other goals, etc.?  I felt like this about 30 days ago when I learned I had Sphenoid Sinusitis at the peak of training for my first half-marathon, the 41st Drake On-The-Roads on April 25. I can remember my ENT doctor telling me (while reviewing my CT Scan of my sinuses), “Hmmm, that doesn’t look good,” as he went on to explain that my Sphenoid cavity on the left hand side (located in the middle of your head right next to your optic nerve and a major artery) was filled with something. He went on to say, “In fact, it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up to think about having to operate on this.” Always a comforting comment from your doctor:).

Long story short(er) – I was treated with 20 days of antibiotics and about 2 weeks ago I was medically cleared after my final MRI. I tell you this because after 6 months of training, I wasn’t sure if I would get a chance to run in this race…after all the hard work.

I’m happy to say that I ran in the half-marathon yesterday in Des Moines, IA. It was 50 degrees and raining at 8 a.m. The longest I had ever run was 7 miles so this would almost double my longest run, but I was dead focused on accomplishing this goal. The gun shot and…

• I quickly realized I ran the first 3 miles (pure adrenalin) at about a 7 minute pace (much faster than I typically run)
• At mile 5 I watched about 2/3 of the runners make a turn back towards the starting line (they were doing the 8K)…I SO wanted to make that turn with them…but didn’t
• Mile 7.1 I was in virgin territory (for me)
• Mile 8 my cousin (who lives in Des Moines took this picture right in front of her house) I forced a smile:)
• Mile 9 I started losing feeling in my legs but didn’t feel too winded
• Mile 10 I was fortunate to connect with a friend running in the race who gave me some amazing jelly beans for energy (thanks Jelly Belly)
• Mile 13 my feet were numb, my legs were trembling but I did what felt like a sprint…and finished

It’s great to set goals for yourself.  We will all face many hurdles and excuses about why we shouldn’t accomplish them (that’s quite easy). But when you do, it helps you realize that you can accomplish anything you want and inspires you to set and accomplish many more. I hope the same for each of you.

Have you ever accomplished a personal goal in the face of adversity? I’d love to hear about it!

For us “news junkies” we can’t help but see the stories and chaos taking place on Twitter today around Amazon.  According to reports, their supposed “glitch” resulted in several gay and lesbian authors and books being flagged as “inappropriate content.” Several folks are posting to the Twitter hash tag #AmazonFail (here is some additional background on this).

Without knowing all of the details or specifics, I have to offer up some PR thoughts to this entire situation (i.e., PR dilemma):

1. Speed of message – As many of my PR colleagues (@chrispitre & @JGoldsborough) mentioned while tweeting about this story earlier today, how could Amazon have sat on this over the weekend (regardless of it being Easter)?  As of 1 p.m. CT today, there has yet to be any statement beyond “glitch” from Amazon. Such an organization cannot afford to have their PR people (or their executive team) sitting back while getting slaughtered online & in the news.
2. Just tell the truth! – I’m not sure how much of the truth was revealed on this situation by Amazon, but when the WSJ, AP and others just have that you’ve said it was a “glitch” you aren’t quite answering the question.  Just admit, “we messed up” or “have no idea what happened but will get back to you once we do.”  Or in the spirit of yesterday’s religious holiday…”the truth will set you free!” Unfortunately it may be too late!
3. Get online – Regardless of the “facts” Amazon needs to be on Twitter, commenting on blogs, and communicating with the social media communities.  I’m not sure if this is their official Twitter profile, but it certainly appears to be “crickets chirping” on their end. This is a colossal mistake…either way you look at this issue.

I could have done a Top 10 or 20 list here but thought I’d start with the 3 most obvious:).  I’d love to hear your comments or reactions to the way Amazon is dealing with (or not) today’s situation.  Thanks!

What a pleasant surprise to wake up this morning and see that I was able to round out the list of 115 Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses in today’s The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur! 

What tips might you have added to this list? Any good anecdotes? Enjoy!

Bear with me for a minute as I’d like to quote one of my kid’s absolute favorites – Dr. Suess’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go:

“You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.”

In my opinion we are living in an extremely complex (and stressful) period of American history – the recession, new leadership, downfall of “Corporate America” as we once knew it, financial turmoil, etc. Adding to these complexities, here we are communicating in so many different ways including the relatively new social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

It hit me last week as I was laying with my 3-year old in his bed reading him this Dr. Suess favorite…life truly is a great balancing act. In fact, today we are likely balancing our day-to-day tasks and challenges while riding the unicycle (in a proverbial sense).

As a business owner, serial philanthropist, husband and father I often come to the crossroads of this great balancing act each and every day around 4:45 p.m. In fact, I often here this song by The Clash playing in my head everyday at this time – Should I Stay or Should I Go .

I’m very proud to say that I figured out at a very early age in my career, marriage and since beginning fatherhood that we all must maintain a healthy work/life balance…despite everything that surrounds us today.

I’ll be leaving work today at 5:00 p.m. as I try and do everyday. To spend the final waking hours with my two young boys…perhaps reading them a little Dr. Suess as they doze off around 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. I’m good like that.

What do you do to help manage your work/life balance? I’d love to do a follow-up post listing out all of the great ideas and suggestions. Thanks!

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past several months learning about Twitter and more recently answering the slue of questions from those new to the platform or interested learning more about it. As a result, we have recently put together a simple 90-minute crash course called…Twitter 101 (go figure:).

Here is a quick overview of this session – I would love your feedback…are we missing anything, did we focus on the wrong things, etc.?

Social Media Facts

• Social Media are platforms for interaction & relationships, not content and ads (as with traditional “old media”)
• 5 Misconceptions about Social Media:
  1. Another fad
  2. It’s for kids or teens
  3. Used by tech geeks
  4. Not for businesses
  5. A BIG waste of time
• Social networks & blogs = 4^th most popular online activity ahead of email
• 67% of overall global online community now visit these sites
• The biggest increase in visitors during 2008 to “member Community” web sites globally came from the 35-49 yr old age group (+11.3 million)

What is Twitter?

Twitter is “The world’s largest cocktail party!”  With 11 million registered users, Twitter is growing 6X faster than Facebook.

Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ “updates” known as tweets. (wikipedia)

 Twitter Crash Course

• Create your Twitter profile
• Followers – see everything you tweet; Following – you see everything they tweet
• Search for other Tweeps – “find people”
• Tweeting:
  1. Begin engaging in conversations once you have some that you’re following
  2. Do tell people what you’re doing, but less than 50% of your tweets
  3. Share useful stories, blog posts, quotes or information – you want them to share with their followers
• @ Replies
• Direct Messages or DM’s
• Retweet or RT

 Time Management

Restricting your time on Twitter is important

• Block off three 15-20 minute blocks of time throughout your day
• When you’re on Twitter – don’t reply to email, answer phone calls etc. FOCUS on Twitter, ENGAGE
• If time allows, spend the evening catching up with your tweeps; especially if your time was cut short during the workday

 Useful Twitter Sources & Sites

www.tinyurl.com – shortens any URL allowing you to include it in your tweets, keeping it within the 140 characters

www.twitpic.com – allows you to share photos on Twitter

www.tweetdeck.com – helps you organize those you’re following into categories & makes it easier to tweet with each.

www.tweetlater.com – just like Google Alerts, it uses “keywords” to help you find others that are tweeting about things you’re interested in, allowing you to follow them.

www.twellow.com – allows you to search by category or industry + same functionality of Twitter Search

www.mrtweet.net – this is your personal networking agent that looks at your existing followers and following and lines you up with others that share similar traits.

As expected, I’ve heard a lot of buzz recently that Twitter is just a “fad”, “a waste of time”, “not for business”, etc. In fact, on Monday here in Chicago I had to laugh at the report from Bob Sirott at NBC 5 who completely misses the mark about the value of Twitter saying it is, “a place to tell other people what you’re doing.”  Such a one way dialog is quite obvious when you look at Bob’s Twitter page .

I’m not at all surprised about Bob’s reaction as this is bound to happen when you see such a surge of stories in the media. To validate this increase in media conversations, I did a quick Google News search on the top social media platforms including Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.  Here’s what I found:

• #1 – 62,000 media mentions of Facebook
• #2 – 44,000 media mentions of Twitter
• #3 – 43,500 media mentions of YouTube
• #4 – 26,000 media mentions of MySpace

In fact, I’ve started doing a series of Twitter 101 sessions with individuals, businesses, organizations, etc. My goal is not to “hook” them in our wonderful world of Twitter…but to educate them about how they might be able to leverage Twitter as a valuable networking tool.

What do you think about Twitter? Is it hear to stay or just a lot of hype? Also, what are some of your best practices around using Twitter? Thanks!

Like most of you, I am hard at work trying to make a good living amidst all of the stress and negativity surrounding each of us every day. If it isn’t the recession, unemployment, financial distress, loss of home, or a slew of other negative things…it is something else. Earlier today, I was slapped with a quick dose of reality that I wanted to share with each of you.

As most of you have probably seen from my Twitter & Facebook profiles, a friend of mine that I went to college with at Drake University passed away yesterday afternoon. To put some context around this story, Shawndra was a 33 year-old mother who has been fighting colon cancer for the past 3 years. Her fight was miraculous as she became a role model for her young daughter, husband, family and the thousands of friends (like me) that have been honored to call her a friend over the years. 

So why in God’s name do I bless you with yet another dose of “bad news”…you might ask?!

It’s really quite simple. As much as we get wrapped up in our daily lives of work, blogging, social media, networking, etc. I wanted to take a minute to share Shawndra’s story with each of you in hopes that you might pass along just this one bit of advice…even though you may not know her…or me for that matter.

Folks, please remember that life has its many turns and bumps and we often get sidetracked by every such obstacle. Do me a HUGE favor and please take a minute tonight to reach out to someone (or many) that means a lot to you and your life. Tell them how much you love them and what they mean to you.

Sunday was Shawndra’s last opportunity to do this with her daughter, husband and family. They shared the love…and I felt it. Hopefully you and those you connect with tonight will feel that same love.

Thanks.