LOST IN MASTICATION

UC Irvine hosted a budget write-in this week and I can’t imagine why we’re still putting pen to paper.

While delivering letters in bulk to our state legislators is much more civil and respectful than the protests and disobedience that have been observed around UC campuses this past month, aren’t there more innovative, collaborative and effective ways in which to communicate our dismay with the state of the State and University?

After all, isn’t the University of California the top public institution in the world?  Don’t we produce Nobel Prize winners and Fulbright Scholars, life-saving research and game-changing technology?

Advice to UC students.  Take what you know best — Facebook, YouTube, Twitter — and turn it into a campaign that legislators can’t ignore, toss aside, or hand to an aide to craft a scripted response.

The write-in would have been a good opportunity for student leaders to flip out their mobile phones and interview each other about the personal impact the fee hike will have on them come the new academic year.  It was a chance for students to plead their hardships, share their personal stories, and talk about their needs… and to tell their stories through a new medium to legislators and public citizens alike.

If just a 1,000 students from each campus joined a Facebook fan page or custom website that integrates Facebook Connect (or the like) and allow students to voice their concerns online – that would be a collective power of 10,000 voices telling their story to the public. The public and media can then help pay it forward and tell tens of thousands of other people how devastating the fee hikes are.

A letter only goes to one person, and your voice may or may not ever be heard.  But new media content can be shared, redistributed, repackaged, emailed, linked, tweeted…  The same effort put into a letter can be put into a message that has the potential to be heard across the world.

And all it takes it the one story that becomes viral.  The one story that tugs at the hearts of the voters of California, the philanthropist across the globe, and the legislator who votes on the UC budget.

How about a video profile of how much it costs to be a bio major:  How much are your textbooks?  What additional lab fees do you pay?  And how are you able to afford the expensive rent around Westwood, Irvine, Santa Barbara?

Letter-writing campaigns didn’t even work in my time as a UCSA Legislative Affairs member or ASUCD External Affairs Chair.  What worked were the face-to-face meetings with the educational committee members, staffers for the legislators or better yet the legislators themselves.

Today, students have the best tools at their fingertips: new media and social networks.  Whether it’s a student, parent, professor or staff member speaking, why aren’t we using these innovative communication mediums, which are either no-cost or low-cost, to effectively lobby the State and its citizens?

A collective voice is a powerful thing when used the right way.

Protesting and rioting may have worked in the 1970s.  But times are different. Technology is different.

The UC’s budget is an obvious mess, and I have strong personal opinions about it.  What it boils down to though, is there’s plenty of blame to spread.  But I don’t think it’s too late to make a new media move — the right move — to influence change from the ground up.

Picket signs, the wood sticks and magic markers to poster board is so last millennium, and so un-ecofriendly.  If you want to be heard, to be green, to be innovative with your message, take a lesson from the 2008 Presidential elections.  That wasn’t that long ago…

THEN

Marketing and branding were about pushing your message to consumers. You sold them what they never knew they wanted.

Marketing used to be all about the product or service. What made your product unique from anything else on the market? What was the value-add in your version versus a competitor? Did you have the best price or experience for the money?

Branding was all about the image of that product or service. What perception did you want your customers to have about your company? What did customers feel about consuming what you had to offer?

NOW

Marketing and branding are responses to real-time customer demands and needs. Customers are telling you what they want. You are listening – more than ever – to the consumer, instead of dictating to them what they can or cannot live without.

Marketing is now much more than the product or service.  While people still connect with an object such as a particular coffee brand or airline, it’s not enough to sell how tasteful your peppermint latte is or the extra 6-inches of legroom compared to a competitor.

Likewise, branding is now about customer interaction (not to be confused with customer service), corporate social responsibility, online culture and community, and much more.

Making this shift to social media isn’t an easy move. Wait too long to get on the bandwagon, and you’ve lost your first-mover advantage. Act too fast, and you may not have a well thought-out strategy.

So how do you know whether to jump into the next new web trend? How do you evaluate your presence in that landscape? How do you use the new media tool in such a way that no one else is using it? Thinking outside the box and being innovative with the new media tools will help in setting your company, brand and product apart.

Whether it’s a mobile app, interactive website that has nothing to do with your product and everything about your consumers, there’s definitely a niche that you can create for yourself within your industry that will accomplish the original goals of branding and marketing.

Here are a few new media integration examples that are successful at tying together “new marketing” and “new branding” into the digital customer experience:

Sonicare: Adopt-a-Tooth

The Sonicare Facebook application keeps the user engaged over and over again by encouraging good dental hygiene through a “pet” tooth.  Take better care of our “canine” and be privy to special gifts and promotions.

When someone takes action with their pet tooth, it can appear on their friends news feeds, and is always visible on the owner’s profile.

In today’s social network landscape where the popularity of social gaming such as Mafia Wars and Farmville are growing exponentially, it’s smart for a brand to jump into the arena with the right interactive app.

Coke Zero Facial Profiler

Coca-cola claims that Coke Zero has been one of the most successful product launches in its history. In the two years since its release, Coke Zero has sold nearly 450 million cases and is available in more than 100 countries. So why not take this success and broad reach to connect your fans online?

That’s exactly what cokezero.com does. The site says nothing about the product except for a wordmark that includes the tagline “Real Coke Taste. Zero Calories.”  Instead, their site is home to the Facial Profiler application, which uses Facebook Connect to troll tagged images of you to help find your look-alike.

The premise? A social experiment: If millions of people like you enjoy Coke Zero, then there surely is another person that looks like you that enjoys Coke Zero.

USAA Mobile App

Your new media presence doesn’t always have to be through a web browser. USAA takes personal finance management to a whole new level with their iPhone app. Unique features include:

• Deposit@Mobile — Depositing a check is as simple as snapping a photo.
• ATM Locator — Find the closest ATMs.
• Loan Calculator — Estimate monthly payments on a loan.
• Rental Car Locator — Find the nearest Avis, Budget or Hertz location.
• Accident Checklist — Record accident details to help you file a claim.

[Unfortunately, this isn't a well thought out post, and completely un-researched.  I write this blog-post-turned-essay as a way to spark constructive discussion about the Web and the way it is transforming lives.]

Happy 40th birthday Internet.

The first test that led to the operation of the Internet happened on September 2, 1969.  Many other things happened that summer, including the Apollo 11 lunar landing and Woodstock.  All three events changed the course of history in then unimaginable ways.  None, however, has affected individual lives as much as the Internet.

The Internet made the Web possible. (By comparison, the Web is only half the age of the Internet.)

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the Web has changed so much about our society, culture and habits.  Many are embracing it, while others will continue to shun it.  Regardless of which side you’re on, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the Web is here to stay.

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Check Vark out on Sunday’s New York Times… Congrats, Vark Team!

A few months ago, I wrote a post introducing Aardvark (aka Vark) – a service where your question is broadcast to those mostly likely able to answer it within the Aardvark community.

Vark has been really useful because I can broadcast a specific question without clogging Facebook or Twitter feeds, and count on someone with at least a basic knowledge of my query, to point me in the right direction.

Today, I got an email from CEO Max Ventilla:

Since you’ve blogged about Aardvark in the past, I thought you might be interested in some exciting developments…

…Anyone can join now at http://vark.com using their Facebook account. (We’re integrating with other social networks very soon.)

[Fan them on Facebook too.]

This is a great move on the part of Aardvark.  They’ve really come a long way in the last few months, partly thanks to the growth in number of users.  Once it reaches critical mass, it’s value will increase exponentially.

Five more suggestions that I think will make their tool and brand name powerful are:

1. Allow my Vark Q&As to be published to social network feeds, particularly on Facebook, Twitter and FriendFeed.
2. Facebook app that can also be a tab within a profile where friends can see your Vark profile, and question/answers.
3. iPhone app (this is already in the works)
4. And if an exact or very similar query has already been answered, to automatically “reuse” that answer for faster responses (with a like/dislike option).
5. Vanity URL to profile.  (I’d like “vark.com/sherry”.)

I enjoy Vark because it’s (almost) anonymous social networking: I’m interacting with strangers to help them out, and vice versa.  If you use the instant messaging (IM) tool for Vark, the unexpected randomness of questions breaks up my work day.  Vark “interrupts” subtly by asking “Are you there?” and you can choose whether to engage or not by typing “sure”, “busy”, or “pass”.

Try it out… you’ll be surprised at how much you actually know.

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This Mother’s Day weekend, Facebook is rolling out a new profile feature that allows you to show your immediate family members in you bio.  There are plans to expand this to extended family members in the near futue as well.

Facebook has come a long way from a college network.  It’s really built itself as a community for classmates, professional networks and family members alike.  In the past six months alone, I’ve seen friends and family that I never thought would join Facebook take on to social networking.

If you missed this a couple months back, Facebook also let’s you create private family groups now.  I think this is a great way to cut down on email invites and links.  Click here to start your family page.

Some protests are taken to the streets, others through petition or boycotts.  Today, an issue a half a world away is gaining momentum online through social networks and new media platforms.

The New Zealand Internet Blackout – which I first read about on Read Write Web (@rww) – is an online social media movement that asks Kiwi’s and non-Kiwi’s alike to protest against the Guilt Upon Accusation law ‘Section 92A‘ :

…that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny. This is due to come into effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by the National Party.

Find out how exactly to update your Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and Web site profiles at the Creative Freedom Blackout page.

Here are some images you can use for your profiles. Just right-click to save to your desktop and upload to your profile pictures:

I’ve blacked out Twitter, Facebook and this blog.

I did my obligatory post on the randomness of me:

1. It did not say that I would have bad luck for seven years if I didn’t do it.
2. The first person that tagged me is someone I don’t know too well, and I felt like I got to look into his soul. So I wanted to share back.
3. Whatever I wrote on this list, I would be remembered for at my memorial service – not the 25 skeletons in my closet, which are reserved for those who I’ve shared those experiences with.
4. And because as much as I’d like to say I’m a trailblazer… I am a conformer.

OK – I’ll end there.  25 Random Things is the only fad I’ll succumb to… Until the next one from a friend – who I may or may not be friends with in real life – tags me in Facebook and inspires me all over again.

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I often get the comment from my Facebook friends that I must be updating my status all day long.  In fact:

Twitter integrates really well with Facebook.  Let your Facebook friends know what you’re up to or what you find interesting by updating your Tweets (hopefully through a third-party Twitter app).  If you’re not already integrating the two, here’s a simple look at how.

1. Search “Twitter” in the upper right search box.  The Twitter App should be the top result that looks like this:



2. Click on “View Application”, then “Go to Application” and “Allow Access”:



3. Sign in at the prompt to your Twitter account from Facebook:



4. Once you’re signed in, “Allow Twitter to Update Your Facebook Status”:



5. Finally, click on “Allow Status Updates:

To see the Twitter App setting after setting up your Twitter feed to Facebook, simply click on “Edit” in your “Applications” window at the upper right of your “Home” page:

The Twitter App will default to the following setting, which I recommend:

That’s it!  If you have any questions, feel free to message me in Twitter @sherrymain or in Facebook.

I took a photo of this quote by Margaret Mead at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. because times have changed oh so much…

Thanks to the new Internet, the young are making history and telling the story as it happens…

In some ways, I think we are also now predicting history as we piece together the actions of the masses who post their continuous status – whether it be on Facebook, Twitter or other online social mediums. We document history through blogs, tweets, loopt, etc. and will do so more exponentially as geotagging becomes prevalent over the next few years.

Take the disaster in Mumbai, for example and the microblog buzz about it hours before any major news outlet reported on it this past fall.  Or the story of @jamesbuck who tweeted a single word, “Arrested” from Egypt and ignited action across the globe in Berkeley, CA.  I had just started using Twitter and did not understand it’s power, until I heard the story of @jamesbuck… and I was glued to the story and my Twitter account for days.

Yes.

This is an interesting topic because on my trip to Steamboat Springs with the in-laws I had a discussion with my mother-in-law – who works on marketing for the City of San Dimas – on how Facebook groups, Twitter, etc. could help communications for the city.

Whether the community will use the tool or not is a separate question.  But eventually, when the masses get hip with social media, a city’s ability to be ahead of the curve will be crucial to its public relations.  And this will become more evident in a disaster situation such as wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc.

In addition, it’s a cost-saving and time-saving measure when social media is incorporated into its strategy.  Not only should social media tools be used to commuicate outward to a community, but city leaders should use it as a forum to listen to its people.

If I were a mayor, I’d immediately implement the following:

TWITTER: An account for the mayor, city council members, and the city.

E-NEWSLETTER: An opt-in email system where residents can find out the latest about new measures, road closures, school sign-ups, recreation, etc.

WIKI: The best way to learn and share about a city is to solicit the expert residents in the community.  DavisWiki is a great examples (and a resource I wish would have existed while I lived there!).  Some of the cool things I wish I had a one-stop resource for in my city (and surrounding cities) include:

• City Life Outdoor Activities, Study Spots, Entertainment, Local Publications, Night Time, Music Scene, Volunteer Opportunities, Schools, Research & Development, Libraries, Gyms, Local Art, Retail, Public Services,  Medical Services, Spiritual Organizations

• Food and Drink Grocery Stores, International Foods, Restaurants, Coffee Shops, Catering, Buffets, Cheap Food, Breakfast, Lunch Specials, Vegetarian Options, Vegan Options, Alcohol

• City Orientation Town History, Glossary, Breaking News, Weather, Environment, Geography, Davis At-a-Glance, Social Structures, Organizations, Local Politics, Media, Member Pages, Outskirts, Parks, Greenbelts, Transportation, Driving in Davis, Gas Stations, Bike Paths, City without a car, Rental Housing Guide, Residences, Apartments, Cooperative Housing, Links to nearby wikis

My prediction is that business owners will jump on the Wiki bandwagon because it will serve as a free advertisement of their business and is more telling than an entry in the yellow pages when photos, videos and reviews are incorporated.

That said, someone please start a local Wiki!  I’d be a willing and able participant.