I'm a web strategist and aspiring know-it-all with a passion for all things digital. I've worked in PR, advertising and not-for profit industries, and now I run a creative agency. These are the things I think about, and am sometimes compelled to write. More...

Tag Archives: shel israel

Today is Good People Day

Apr 03 2008

If you don’t know who Gary Vaynerchuk is, you’re really missing out. I had never heard of him a month ago, until I kept hearing what a phenomenal guy he is. He’s a videoblogger who runs a wine business, but spends a lot of time talking about life, love and what really matters in life. And he does it in such a way that makes you want to be as passionate about ANYTHING as he as about EVERYTHING.

Gary has suggested that we make April 3 Good People Day – a day when we stop talking about the negative and recognize the people out there that make the community what it is.

You know what? I’m completely on board with this. Since I started blogging and participating in social media almost four years ago, I’ve met a ton of great people and had amazing experiences that I would not have had if it were not for the people in the community. I’m a little hesitant to put together a whole list of great people for fear of leaving someone out, but I will give a few shout outs to the good people I’ve met in the PR / Marketing community that I’m a part of.

Joe Thornley – a fellow Ottawa PR guy, who has been tireless in pulling together the Third Tuesday movement, which is spreading across the country. Joe is good people. (Gotta give Brendan props on this, too).

Joe Boughner – a friend of mine from university whose love of rants about the media is paralleled only by his love of angry punk music. He had blue hair until he sold out and started working for the man. Still, he’s good people.

Shel Israel – I’ve met Shel a few times, and he’s helped me connect with social media types in Singapore and with a lecture I gave on social media. Referring to himself as a “niceguy” in his bio is an understatement.

Collin Douma – One of the nicest people I’ve met in the advertising world, and one of my favourite bloggers to read. Definitely a good person, and definitely one to add to the list.

RichardAtDell – I met Richard at a Third Tuesday in Ottawa. I described him as “gruff and pragmatic,” and he hasn’t let me live it down. He’s more involved in the community than I think I’ve ever seen from a company rep.

Dave Fleet – Dude runs through snowstorms to raise money for cancer. That pretty much says it all.

Like I said, this is just a handful of the good people in my social graph. My friends, my family, my talented coworkers and my beautiful and talented girlfriend – it’s these good people that make life worth living. I’m going to spend my day giving thanks that those people are in my life, and I hope that you will, too.

Thanks for starting this, Gary. You’re a good person.

Shel Israel on The Social Startup

Feb 03 2008

Last week, I was asked to do a guest lecture for a class in entrepreneurship in the business school of the University of Ottawa by my friend and former professor, Bruce Firestone. The topic we agreed on was “The Social Startup.”

As I began to plan it, I realized that I could structure the talk, give some statistics on social media and give the class some quotes about why it’s important, but I quickly realized that the best way for me to show a room full of potential entrepreneurs the value of social media is to use my own network of people far more intelligent than me to share their expertise and experience as to the importance of using online networks and social media to succeed as entrepreneurs.

In the interest of sharing, I’ve decided to also post these interviews here for all to see. I’ve so far had some pretty interesting responses from people I consider extremely intelligent, not the least of which is Shel Israel – co-author of Naked Conversations and host of the yet-to-be-launched Global Neighbourhoods TV – a part of FastCompany.TV.

Here then, are Shel’s answers:

You see a lot of startups using social media to promote themselves. What would you say is the most common thing they do wrong?

Precisely that. Social Media is not to promote yourself. It is for having conversations with people relevant to your business. By being closer to them, by listen to their complaints and suggestions, a company builds better products and services. Customers feel they are being listened to and become company champions. A startup can dramatically reduce inefficiencies of marketing in initial phases.

If you were to launch or advise on a startup today, how much of your marketing strategy would involve social media?

All of it. Seriously.

Do you think it’s important for startups to be active in social media like Twitter, Facebook and blogging?

I think there is an ever-expanding warehouse of available social media tools. Companies need to choose which ones are right for their needs and then use them, not to just get the word out, but to get words and thought in, to see and understand market dynamics quickly and to adjust course accordingly. Of the three you mentioned, the mechanisms are very different. In a blog, one person does most of the talking and others listen and respond if they think the speaker is being either useful or interesting. In Twitter, you have a more egalitarian environment, where no one is in charge, but the number of zealous product champions is quite high. Facebook has gone through some rapid, and I think unfortunate changes, make it more of a tool for traditional marketers who have bady damaged the high level of credibility Facebook users had just a few months ago.

Are there any types of businesses you think should steer clear of social media as a marketing tool?

Sure companies who want to deceive themselves that they have command and control over message and markets. Companies who do not have particular loyalty to customers. Companies who make money by deceiving people.

My belief is that such companies will be replaced over time my smaller companies with superior products and services and more transparent and human attitudes toward customers.

What role has social media played in your success as an author and consultant?

We were among the first to collaborate with the blogosphere to write a book. We posted early chapter versions. people came and corrected our facts and our grammar. They suggested new people to go speak to. They told us what worked and what sucked. Robert and I adjusted course a great many times because of that collaboration.

But there’s much more that happened. Our blog followers became our book champions. They brought the book into the enterprise, the university, government, the military, libraries. They became our distribution. Their credibility became the book’s credibility. Their social networks became our book readers.

We should have given the blogosphere a co-byline with us. Without them, what happened before and after publication would have been a lot less.

In your opinion, how does a company become part of a community?

Nearly every company is part of a community, a community of buys and sellers, of investors, employees and recruits. This has been true for a very long time. What has changed is that technology now enable companies to talk with customers in a scalable, affordable and global fashion. That’s the remarkable part. It’s not the blog or the SocNet, it’s the conversation.

The trick is that to be influential in the new community a company need to understand the generosity is more valuable then ads or media campaigns. Giving people interesting and/or useful information is what helps a company. The commnity is what is now in control and companies who do not see it that way may be destined for a one-way trip to Jurassic Park to join other outmoded fossils.

If you could tell a room full of future entrepreneurs one thing, what would it be?

Listen to market conversations and find what people need. Then fill it.And there you have it – the first in a series of interviews with successful entrepreneurs and social media experts on the importance of social media for the entrepreneur. If you have any comments on the subject, or want to suggest someone that I should talk to, please feel free to contact me. I’d love to hear your suggestions.

[Photo by Flickr user WhiteAfrican]