What? It's been a year already?

Today, most people are ending their second week of New Year’s Resolutions and evaluating their progress. And this is the point at which many people realize that they may have made some pretty unrealistic goals for themselves. Well, not to be out-done, this is also the point in the year when we like to present our own goals for 2012. We have thousands, but, to save everyone time, we whittled it down to 5.

Our Top 5 Social Media Goals for 2012:

1.     Clean Up Our Desktops They say that cleanliness is somehow related to godliness, and we think that’s a pretty good standard. So, we want to approach godliness by straightening out the documents and toys that cover both our computer desktops as well as the physical workspaces that surround our machines. Let’s revisit the world of file folder creation and, surely, some of this stuff can go in the trash. We may not hit the goal of godliness, but increased productivity would be fine, too.

2.     Make Social Part of Our DNA We understand the power of social media as a separate communication channel for a brand’s customers. Now, let’s integrate social media into our projects, strategies and campaigns from the beginning so that interaction and dialogue are central to our clients’ long-term business goals.

3.      Social is NOT a synonym for Facebook We’ve learned there’s more to social media than Facebook and even Twitter. Let’s introduce our clients to the broader spectrum of social media and the audiences that can be reached through great tools like Flickr, Foursquare, Ustream, Groupon, Tout, Viddy, Instagram, Tumblr, Slideshare, Reddit and let us not forget our old friend, the blog.

4.     Use More Video We learned the power of YouTube in 2011:
- 3rd most visited site in the world, 2nd largest search engine
- 140 million+ unique U.S. visitors per month
- Over 3 billion videos viewed each day
Campaigns like Orabrush and Cheapster have shown that YouTube can actually be the centerpiece of an ad strategy. Video is also the easiest format to spread a message quickly through social media networks. Plus, it’s fun.

5.     Remember the real meaning of “Social” The agency is filled with people, most of our clients live near one of our offices, and EVERYONE has a cell phone. Let’s take a little more time and reduce the amount of emails we’re sending to each other by doing more “real-time interfacing.” We also want to focus more on events during and around the workday where we can talk to the great people we work with that remind us why we chose agency life over, say, working in a toll booth.

Social media doesn’t make you cool

While  becoming less prevalent, I think some businesses still fall into the mindset that if they have a Facebook page and a YouTube channel they’re cool, set, and with it. “Hip”, they even might say.

However, they fail to realize this fact: Social media doesn’t make you cool – it magnifies who you already are. If you’re a stodgy, out-of-touch company, you’re not going to change anybody’s mind by getting a Facebook page. In fact, it will most likely make you look even more out of touch.

It’s the difference between trying to act cool (Microsoft) and being cool (Apple).

Take the photo above as an example. The guy is obviously where he should be – at Comic Con.

Costume? Check.

Posing? Check.

Thinks he’s awesome? Check.

On paper he’s just what he should be, given the circumstances. But it falls flat. He could be any Joe Shmoe who bought a Wolverine costume stuffed with muscles. It’s lacking.

Enthusiasm is cooler than “cool”

Now check out this guy. He’s also at the Con dressed up as the same character. He’s striking a pose. He probably made his costume at home (the lanyard full of flare and backpack with a walkie-talkie are nice touches). He also thinks he’s awesome.

Tell me: who looks more excited to be dressed up at a comic book convention? Who loves the character more? Who would you rather talk to about X-Men (if that was your thing)?

Neither person is “cool” in the traditional sense. But you can’t help but admire the second guy. He’s a bit endearing. He loves what he’s doing, he’s committed and he’s owning it.

The lesson? You don’t have to be “cool”. You just have to be enthusiastic and genuinely passionate about whatever it is you’re doing.

That’s when social media starts working for you.

Facebook just pulled off its white, satin glove and soundly smacked Groupon, LivingSocial and KSL Deals across their collective faces. That’s right. It’s on. Facebook is now in the group buying game.

Big Blue (totally just stole that title from IBM) announced Facebook Deals this week. Pardon my French, but whoopie-frickin’-do. The world needs another Groupon clone like it needs another sequel to The Land Before Time. I officially ended my tumultuous relationship with Groupon after receiving one too many mani-pedi offers (it didn’t end well) and can’t help but wonder why anyone would want yet another daily deal cluttering up their inboxes? What’s Facebook going to bring to the table that’s different/better/relevant?

From their blog:

While many Deals on Facebook offer discounts, it’s more important to us that you find interesting experiences around you to do with friends.  We’ve worked with partners and local businesses to help deliver the best social activities in your area.  And once you’ve found a deal you like, having the deal on Facebook makes it easy to share, buy and plan with your friends.

I have no idea what that means.

A little digging in the FAQs for businesses revelas that Facebook is positioning Deals to businesses as a “the opportunity to offer people unique social experiences that they can do with their friends. This encourages people to share their excitement about the experience you’re providing, not just the discount you’re offering.”

Hmmm…I’m not convinced. Perhaps I’m in a particularly cynical mood today, but just because someone discovers/buys a deal on Facebook, I don’t think that automatically means they’re going to remember to share their experience on Facebook – unless it’s an amazing experience, in which they would have shared it anyway.

Differences between Groupon/LivingSocial and Facebook Deals? Here’s what I’ve been able to discern thus far:

• There is no minimum number of deals that have to be purchased in order to trigger the deal. There are, however, caps on the number of deals available (only 100 spots available for stand up paddle surfing lessons in Santa Cruz).
• The copy is nowhere near as good as Groupon’s, which I would sometimes read for pleasure.
• It looks lik Facebook isn’t doing all the deals themselves, but have partnered with the likes of aDealio, Gilt City, HomeRun, kgb deals, OpenTable, Plum District, PopSugar City, ReachLocal, Tippr, viagogo, and zozi to offer their deals, too. I imagine Facebook takes a cut.

What do you think? Am I a jaded former group buyer or is this something consumers are going to be excited about? Sound off in the comments.

Click here to RSVP for the event on, you guessed it, Facebook. Check back here later this week for our thoughts on the town hall.

*If you aren’t on Facebook and want to participate in the town hall without using that site, there is a special page on WhiteHouse.gov with all of the information and a form to submit questions:

Mark Zuckerberg attended a BYU Technology Forum with Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. It was the first time he’s spoken at a university in such a capacity. “I’m a little bit nervous. I’ve never spoken to a stadium full of people before,” he said.  Despite that, the nerd prodigy known for his awkward interviews came across much more confident and genuine than the US Senator with years of experience addressing the public.

Autumn and I went and I have to admit I was actually pretty excited to hear him speak. It was a Q&A format with questions being pulled from BYU’s Facebook Page.

It’s not about the company, it’s about the product

A lot of the questions focused on entrepreneurship. The main gist of Mark’s comments? Do what you love. He didn’t build Facebook because he wanted to start a company – he did it because he wanted the product to exist. Even when he moved out to Silicon Valley he didn’t do it to create a business, but to glean from the vast experience there to make the product better.

What classes are most beneficial?

“Well, I wasn’t in school for that long. So I may be the wrong person to ask that question.” (Cheering from crowd.)

He mentioned how he was actually a double major in computer science and psychology. And Facebook is as much about psychology/sociology as it is technology. An interesting insight.

Advice for entrepreneurs

“You really have to love and believe in what you’re doing. That’s the most important thing. If you go to start building something…it’s hard. You encounter a lot of challenges. If you don’t completely love and believe in what you’re doing, the rational thing is for you to stop doing it.”

Zuckerberg firmly believes that the more connected people are, the more relationships they’ll be able to maintain and the more empathic and understanding they’ll become and the world will be a better place. “On hard days I step back and that’s the thing that keeps me going.”

Follow your passions people.

Hatch and Zuckerberg are friends. Really, really, really good friends.

Sen. Hatch must have slipped it in at least three times. “Mark, you and I are good friends.” “Mark, you and I have been friends a long time.” “We’ve been friends for a while now…..” Ugh.

Awkward jokes aside, the biggest cheers Hatch got was when he said government’s role in helping startup businesses was to “get out of the way” and when he said, “But you don’t want to hear from me, let’s get back to Mark.” That got overwhelming applause which, too, was awkward.

Watch it

The entire forum is available streaming on BYU’s Facebook page under the videos tab. It’s divided into three sections to be sure you start on the first one.

Overall, what do you think of Zuckerberg? Did you watch the forum? What did you think?

We’re back! After some coding ninja stuff by Tony the blog is back after its late-winter hiatus.

Yaaaaay.

Stay tuned.

Here’s a juicy little morsel to get your week started on the right foot. Who knew a glass company was dreaming this big?

Of course, this is all conceptual, proof-of-concept stuff. The biggest flaw I noticed is the kids looking down at the counter to talk to grandma. Note that you don’t see grandma’s point of view. That’s because she’d be looking straight up the kids’ noses. Not attractive.

I’m a fan of the refrigerator with videos and digital pictures on it – ala sticking things to your fridge with magnets. I’m also looking forward to the day when all the guts of a cell phone can be housed above and below the screen so we can have a clear piece of glass as the primary interface (ala Tony Stark).

I dig the ginormous signs over the interstate which change dynamically based on the traffic.

Not a fan of the all-glass controls in the car. It’s good to have tactile feedback in there so you can fiddle with the stereo/temperature without taking your eyes off the road. Of course, by the time any of this becomes reality voice recognition will eliminate that concern.

Of course the “touch your phone to a surface to transfer information” is going to be real this summer when HP releases their tablet which, if it actually ships, looks to be pretty cool.

What was your favorite part of the video and how long until all this magical goodness becomes reality? Let me know in the comments.

A big congratulations to our very own Anne Wood for making Utah Business magazine’s 40 Under 40 business leaders in Utah. We couldn’t be prouder.

Thanks everyone for sending in your awesome stories and participating in today’s events.

And the results are…

Two people tied in matching the kiss story with the employee at 4. So Micah and Michaela, drop by my office for your prize.

As for the favorite kiss story with the most votes…

“Acid drop kiss” by Lance  – who wins the flat screen TV (Which is barely considered a flat screen as it’s an old monitor the multimedia department was throwing out.)

And we want to recognize Matt J for winning the Jr. High picture contest.

Thanks again to all who helped,

The Party Committee

Does anybody else think this is hilarious? Or is it just me?

Carlee has responded to my post in our debate as to whether or not group-buying sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial should be classified as social media. Time for my rebuttal.

Defining social media

Carlee defines social media as using technology

“that enables…join[ing] forces with people that have like interests and harness those similarities for a purpose.”

That is much too broad a definition. The printing press, radio and television were all technologies that enabled like-minded people to join forces with others for a specific purpose. Fox vs. MSNBC and Howard Stern vs. Glenn Beck are just two examples of this. The missing element in Carlee’s description (and the key to social media) is the two-way communication between individuals and the ability for them to create and disseminate information to others.

This distinction in the definition of social media is critical. The masses communicating as individuals is what makes social media what it is. Social networks are the tools that enable it to happen.

“Deal-sharing communities”

My opponent (and friend) refers to Groupon and other like-minded businesses as “deal-sharing communities.” I disagree; where is Groupon’s community? Its mailing list? No. Just because we all receive the same email each morning doesn’t make us a community. Groupon doesn’t facilitate any kind of communication between users, let alone the two-way communication which has come to define social media.

That in and of itself is a huge indicator that Groupon in and of itself is not a form of social media.

To further illustrate my point: a lot of people read the New York Times each day. It’s delivered to their doorstep. They read it. If they find an article particularly interesting they’ll discuss it with their friends. Does that make the New York Times social media?

Content does not a social network make

“Is it the content that makes media social or is it the vehicle through which it is distributed?….Content is king and has been since the inception of advertising.”

While I’d argue the point about content still being king, the answer to her question lies in the question itself: media exists without the means to distribute it. Content always has. We had digital pictures and text messaging long before we had Facebook and Twitter. The part that makes media social is the ability for individuals to share it on a large scale – which comes from the facilitation the networks provide. Groupon is no more social media than an article in the New York times is – they’re forms of content waiting to be shared.

Groupon is an advertising platform + content

Groupon is a way for businesses to advertise to people through email. This isn’t social media. The fact that it encourages and rewards sharing of that advertisement with others isn’t social media. The fact that it keeps track of how many people purchase a particular product and rewards the participants with a good deal doesn’t make part of social media either.

Groupon is an ad platform. It has massive distribution. It creates content. It pushes out that content and hopes that it spreads. So do newspapers, magazines and junk mail. But it lacks the communication between individuals and/or user-generated content that would define it as social media.