Are we authentic?

Ever find yourself over-thinking your own tweet or @ reply on Twitter? While we all have to think about the best way to say something so that it fits within 140 characters, on several occassions over the last few weeks, I’ve found myself preparing to respond to a tweet or put forward my own thoughts, only to delete what I had typed. 

Generally one of these three reasons are to blame when I’ve backed out of a tweet:

• Not wanting to offend the person I was replying to
• Deciding not to voice an opinion that was perhaps against the general concensus
• Didn’t feel it was appropriate to share a particular thought in a public forum

Digging a little deeper into the reasons behind my own actions, I’ve begun to wonder how many others have done the same thing. I can’t image it’s just me.

I think the bigger issue lies with how authentic we are when we engage with others behind a veil of social media. I’m not talking about honesty here (i.e. telling the truth) - that’s something I do without fail, never even giving it a second thought. I’m talking about being true to ourselves by sharing what’s really on our minds.

While it’s easy enough to find articles and blogs of interest and share them with others, how many of us actually say what we’re thinking and are willing to put the time and effort into a conversation to defend our thoughts? How many of us simply go with the flow and agree with the status quo?

We all engage in and leverage social media for different reasons, but if we can’t be authentic in our thoughts and in the online conversations we strike up with others, then what’s the point? We shouldn’t have to over-think each tweet (or blog post we respond to). We have the luxury of freedom of speech, and we should be willing to use it.

Do you speak your mind? Do you think we’re authentic? Would love to hear your thoughts…

~JE

Blogging therapy… but at what age?

Over the last month, I’ve been remiss in sharing my thoughts and observations through my blog. But with so many ideas still swirling in my head, I’ve come to realize that blogging for me (and perhaps journaling for others) is perhaps the best therapy when it comes to clearing through the cobwebs and making sense of reality.

So to no surprise, after sitting down with my 12-year-old son to talk about some issues that arose today, I suggested that he may want to consider blogging as a way to get things off his chest. While a journal would be more private, a blog would allow him to not only speak his mind, but also provide an opporunity for others to learn from him.

You may be wondering what people could learn from a 12-year-old, but you see, my son has Asperger Syndrome.  It’s an autism spectrum disorder that impacts his ability to socialize and communicate effectively with others. A more detailed look at this disorder can be found here and here.

As an Aspie, my son is a frequent target for bullying; he learns differently from others; has some unique traits, talents and gifts; and battles an emotional rollercoaster daily. By publicly providing his perspectives on life, we could all see the world through his eyes.

As parents, we are constantly advocating for our children. But with more kids going online and embracing social media, I’m hoping that by sharing the best and worst of his life as an Aspie, people will gain a better understanding not only of him as a person, but also the struggles faced by the Aspie population as they wind their way through life from childhood to adolescence (and into adulthood), and as they try to make sense of things that everyone else takes for granted.

Of course, my “brilliant” idea also leads to some interesting questions (each of which could serve as an individual blog post):

• Is there a right (or wrong) age to begin blogging? And if so, what is it?
• If a tween decides to blog, what is the right platform for them to use?
• What is the best way to build a following so their message doesn’t fall on deaf ears?
• Given the issues of privacy and safety when it comes to kids going online, is it best to blog anonymously or using a pseudonym?

If you have thoughts on this topic or answers to any of these questions, please share away.

~ JE

#journchat LIVE Toronto Roundup

#journchat LIVE took place this past Monday night. The event was hosted in seven North American cities: Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and of course, Toronto.

The Toronto event took place at the office of Thornley Fallis and the great eats were supplied by Marketwire (thank you again to both organizations for your generosity!). Yours truly was both event champion and moderator.  (Photo’s from the event can be seen here).

We had a great group of people attend, including @davewire @thornley, @justmelinda, @davefleet, @vmiddleton @kjrose @karensnider @martinwaxman @jarodvhale @kaleneelizabeth, @mikesgene and of course, me (@jodiechakowitz).

Instead of getting into a full recap of what was discussed, I’ve decided to share some key takeaways from the event itself:

• We began networking (and eating!) at around 6:30pm ET, an hour ahead of the usual 7:30pm #journchat start.  After an hour, we were itching to get the conversation started, but #journchat only kicked off at 8:00pm ET.  Takeaway: Each location should allocate a set arrival time (an hour or so earlier) to keep the official start time as scheduled. For a small group like ours, the extended networking time was almost too much.
• The first question thrown out was centered on social media being banned from college stadiums. Few of us in the group were aware of the issue and it also didn’t seem to be relevant from a #journchat perspective (or at least our group didn’t think so). Fortunately, those that were in the know gave us the lowdown on the topic. Takeaway: When putting forward a question, don’t assume that everyone has seen or heard of the issue at hand. Provide links so that we have some context for the question.
• When participating in the Twitter only version of #journchat, many folks will multi-task, making a few comments here and there, checking periodically to see where the conversation is headed. Having the conversation live provided an opportunity to thoroughly discuss (and stray from) the topic at hand. Takeaway: The LIVE event opened up a lot of new avenues for continuous conversation, something that would never have happened on Twitter alone.
• Actively participating in the discussion, trying to moderate the flow of conversation and tweeting at the same time became challenging at times. Takeaway: Twitter is great for a virtual conversation, but it may not be the right tool for a LIVE event. @jarodvhale suggested that we may want to look at using Ustream for future LIVE events as an alternative to Twitter.
• In Toronto, we didn’t end up having journalist/media participation (although it looks like @mathewi and @thehartley may be on board for future events if the timing is right).  @mikesgene, who has a storied background in journalism with the CBC and is still a journalist at heart, did however add tremendous value to the conversation. Takeaway: Active media participation is the one thing lacking in this conversation – whether virtual or LIVE. Comments by folks like @antoniaz on the topic of media involvement are very telling.
• The group in Toronto seemed to be the smallest amongst those cities participating in #journchat LIVE. And I have to say that I think it worked out to our advantage. Attendance may have been much higher if #whuffaokeTO wasn’t at the same time, since a lot of PR folks chose to network with @missrogue instead. Takeaway: An intimate setting means that we got to meet and engage with other folks on a much deeper level than in a large audience setting.
• While we all agreed that the smaller setting worked well, our conversations in response to a particular question likely ended sooner than in other locations (even when we went off topic or discussed other responses we were seeing). Takeaway: The time lag between questions needs to be a bit shorter. I would recommend this for both LIVE and virtual #journchat conversations.
• We requested some clarification on Q3 (how do you define a media company?) so that we could respond accordingly, but unfortunately never got it. Takeaway: Ensure the question being asked is not ambiguous in any way so that it can be easily responded to within the right context.
• At the end of each #journchat, participants have an opportunity to get in ONE PITCH. People often provide links to their blogs, or make note of great initiatives they are working on. For the Toronto group, we chose to show our support for a local initiative, @Kilos4Kids. Takeaway: The idea of self-promotion is a great one, but why not use a forum like #journchat to spread the news about a great cause instead? On Monday night, @Kilos4Kids had less than 100 followers. Less than 24 hours later, there were more than 220. I have to think that we played a part in getting them to more than double their followers in a short space of time.

Overall, those of us in Toronto agreed that #journchat LIVE was a success, and are looking forward to the next one. Thanks and congrats to @PRSarahEvans for getting everyone on board for this initiative. All we need to do now is figure out when the next LIVE event is going to take place.

UPDATE: @PRSarahEvans also posted a #journchat LIVE recap. You can check it out here.

If you participated in #journchat LIVE from any of the seven locations, I would love your thoughts on what you thought did/didn’t work. Your input will be invaluable in ensuring successful events in the future!

~JE

#journchat LIVE Toronto

I recently provided some info on the concept of #journchat LIVE and am now very happy to share details about the Toronto event:

Date:  Monday, August 17, 2009

Networking:  6:30 – 7:30 p.m. ET

#journchat LIVE:  7:30 – 10:00 p.m. ET

Location:  Huge thanks to @thornley for providing boardroom space and Internet connectivity for #journchat LIVE Toronto. A total of 14 people can be accommodated in the Thornley Fallis boardroom.

Address:  Thornley Fallis, 21 St. Clair Ave. E, Suite 800, Toronto, ON, M4T 1L9

Refreshments: The generous folks at Marketwire will be sponsoring refreshments and snacks for #journchat LIVE Toronto.

Cost:  There is no charge for you to attend. The only commitment you need to make is to show up, share your thoughts on the topics being discussed, and enjoy connecting in person with your fellow PR peeps.

As space is limited, we encourage you to register ASAP if you plan to attend. 

You can register online at http://journchatlivetor.eventbrite.com.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

The art of self-promotion

A couple of days ago, Beth Harte (a smart marketer who writes a terrific blog and is also Community Manager for MarketingProfs) wrote a very interesting piece on the topic of self-promotion.  

For those of you who know me well, you’ll know that I’m not big on self promotion. While it’s a great concept that I agree others should embrace, it’s just not for me. Perhaps the closest I’ve come to self promotion in recent months, is using Twitter to tweet the occassional link to recent client coverage.

But on this very rare occassion, I’ve taken Beth’s post to heart, and am exploring the waters of self promotion. Provided below is a brief snapshot of recent coverage that some of our clients have gotten, thanks to the talented folks on the Echo Communications team.

 

 A. Farber & Partners Inc. is one of Canada’s leading independent licensed bankruptcy trustees, with 30 years of experience solving money problems for consumers. In response to the latest Canadian bankruptcy statistics, we proactively pitched the folks at Farber as experts on the topic. Here’s a snapshot of their coverage in response to our outreach:

Globe and Mail / BNN /  Toronto Star / Metro  

 

Wishabi is an online shopping engine designed to make shopping easy for Canadians. To address the needs of consumers who want to make even smarter buying decisions, Wishabi launched the e-Commerce industry’s first predictive intelligence technology, enabling both price and value comparisons of more than three million products. We got a great response to our inital outreach, and although only a few pieces of coverage have appeared to date, a number of top tier opportunities are currently in development.

Vancouver Sun and Gillian Shaw’s Blog / CTV

 

Descartes Systems Group enables global organizations with logistics-intensive businesses to save money by improving the productivity and performance of their operations. We secured coverage around their recent earnings, with a focus on their incredible turnaround story. I’ve also included links to some older feature coverage (since February, they have received over 250 pieces of coverage, including byline articles, features, mentions, etc.).

Globe and Mail / BNN / National Post / Fleet Owner

 

BlackBerry Partners Fund invests in companies that develop applications that make smartphones a compelling platform for media, commerce, enterprise, entertainment, and lifestyle applications. We recently secured some great coverage regarding their second annual BlackBerry Developers Challenge.

CrackBerry / ITWorld Canada / Fierce Developer / RIMarkable

We also worked directly with Nexage, one of BBPF’s most recent investments, to get the news out about their Series A round of funding. A snapshot of that coverage is listed here:

Mobile Marketer / Digital Media Wire / GigaOM / Wireless Week / Mass High Tech / Private Equity Hub

 

In early Spring, we began working closely with the smart and creative folks at Capital C on a project titled Hypercube. If you’re engaged in social media in one way or another, then you’ve likely heard about this Nissan Canada campaign to launch the all-new Nissan cube. Our role was to reach out to social media influencers and mainstream business and marketing press to secure coverage. And did we ever! This is a glimpse into coverage around this campaign.

Toronto Star / Wired / Calgary Herald / Marketing Magazine / Strategy Magazine / Metro / Social Media Explorer

 

Hopefully the approach that I’ve taken here is what Beth was referring to in her blog post. And if not, I’m not surprised. I still have a lot to learn about the art of self promotion.