Over the past few weeks I have come across a number of projects and initiatives being led by “unorganizations” — groups of people who come together for a common cause, but who are independent agents and not a formal corporation, organization or association of any sort. The first was, of course, the recent unconference that […]
The Catch-22 of Collaboration & Social Media
I Need Social Media! Clients regularly approach MiXT Media Strategies requesting social media help: Can you help me set up a Facebook page? How do I “do” Twitter? I want to “use” bloggers to broaden the reach of my marketing campaign—where do I find them? These are the wrong questions for two reasons. First, these […]
ATK: real-world AFK (away from keyboard)
AFK (away from keyboard) is “in-world” speak for the state of your SecondLife avatar when you’re not operating him/her. I’ve also heard this state referred to as “asleep” or “latent.” I sought out this terminology a week or so ago when I noticed the opposite phenomenon. I was with a group of social media cronies at a conference […]
Government Irony
So, back in October 2008, I received a “save the date” e-mail from my alma mater, Georgetown University, about Transition 2009, a conference by The School of Continuing Studies that would be taking place soon after the inauguration of now President Barack Obama. I selected the “learn more” option and signed up to receive e-mail updates as more […]
Peter Kim Calls it Social Business
Per my last blog post, I’ve been grappling with the contradiction between “marketing” and “social media.” Though usually viewed as a progression from old to new, the terms more often seem like opposites to me. Today I read and commented on Peter Kim’s blog post, “It’s Time to Transform.” I couldn’t agree more with his assessment […]
Becoming a Truth Organization
What we refer to as “social media” really has very little to do with media. Media –from cameras to demographics–is a set of filters. Filters obscure the truth by focus as well as by omission. Social media strips away the filters upon which content shops–news organizations, marketing consultancies, ad agencies and PR firms–have relied over the past century, and […]
The Fallacy of Opacity
Do you remember the game show “Let’s Make a Deal” from the ’70s? Basically contestants had to choose between the “deal” that was presented to them by the emcee and what was behind “curtain #1,” or #2 or #3… Now even though they knew they could end up with 150 jars of peanut butter or a […]
Will Twitter Kill the Holiday Card?
I spent way too much time this weekend gathering snail mail addresses for the 250 (!) family photo holiday cards that we ordered and obligated ourselves to send. As I e-mailed address requests to a few friends and contacts for whom I didn’t have up-to-date info, I wondered why the heck we were doing this in […]
What if Obama’s Work Progress projects were digital?
“The country demands bold, persistent experimentation. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something!” -Franklin Delano Roosevelt There have been a number of news articles over the past week, e.g. CBS News’ FDR’s New Deal Blueprint For Obama, that liken Obama’s economic recovery plan to the Work Progress Administration […]
Inability to comment on comments stifles the conversation
I just finished reading Keith Burtis’ great guest post on Chris Brogan’s blog, “Twitter- To Converse or to Broadcast-THAT is the Question.” As I scrolled and skimmed through the comments to get down to the bottom and add my own comment, it dawned on me how strange it is that the participatory medium of blogs that […]
