42 Pts on a Double Word Score » Rantin’

Measuring influence in social media

Joe Boughner — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:12:28 +0000

Are you tired of arbitrary measures of influence based on some proprietary “score?” Tired of some black magic algorithm you don’t understand telling you how influential you are?

No. Me neither.

Introducing Influnc – the new standard of online influence. Want to know how influential you really are? Check it out.

Infographic: Writing a social media strategy

Joe Boughner — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:15:52 +0000

My podcasting co-conspirator Bob has a great post up on his blog, blasting PR and comms pros who troll their community mailing lists looking for “sample” social media strategies. It made me wonder (and comment, as you can see if you scroll down in his post) – are these people absolute hacks?

It also inspired this, the latest in my ever growing collection of snarky infographics. Cause who doesn’t love an infographic, right?

Seriously. There are nuances that make social media different from other media but if you know how to write a well-researched comms plan you can incorporate social media tools into it.

And if your social media strategist has never written any kind of strategic outreach plan? I’d recommend finding a new one.

Social media folks: This is why people hate you

Joe Boughner — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:31:36 +0000

Another in the growing collection of my snarky graphics / comics.

Click to embiggen the snark

A dark day for minor hockey

Joe Boughner — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:11:51 +0000

UPDATE (12/20/2010): Sanity prevails.

The following is an open letter I sent to the Ontario Minor Hockey Association following the suspension of Coach Greg Walsh of Peterborough. Coach Walsh pulled his team off the ice after hearing racist slurs directed at two of his players. The Toronto Star has the details of the suspension.

I’d like to make it clear that while I”m a coach and member of the board of directors of the Ottawa Centre Minor Hockey Association, I’m writing this letter as an individual and the opinions expressed are mine.

Dear OMHA officials,

I’ve been a minor hockey coach since 2003 and I can say in no uncertain terms that I have never been more embarrassed to be part of the minor hockey community than I am today.

The decision to suspend Coach Walsh for the season sends absolutely the wrong message to the kids who displayed exactly the same sort of team spirit and sense of respect that we are supposed to be cultivating in them.

I understand that you dealt with the racist slur incident to the best of your ability. And I understand that Coach Walsh was automatically suspended for the next game as a result of his actions. But the decision to issue supplemental discipline – entirely optional supplemental discipline – is an affront to the values that we as mentors and role models are supposed to uphold.

You had the opportunity to take a stand this week; to send a clear message that not only will racist and hateful acts not be tolerated in our sport but that those who are brave enough to stand up in the face of such acts will be supported and rewarded. You failed. And in so doing you failed every single coach, volunteer and player that believes that the arena should be a safe place for everyone.

Shame on you.

Joe Boughner

photo credit: rpeschetz

RIP #FAIL, he writes optimistically

Joe Boughner — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:05:54 +0000

Several weeks ago, someone I follow on Twitter – and I am really sorry that I can’t remember who – made a wonderfully concise critique of the ubiquitous #FAIL hashtag. Since Twitter’s search is borked and can’t retrieve results more than a week old these days (ROFLMAO TWITTERFAIL!), I’m going to have to paraphrase. In a nutshell, though, the argument was this:

When you apply the same descriptive hashtag to an unsuccessful military strategy that led to the death of hundreds as you do to your cat getting its head stuck in a paper bag, the hashtag has lots its impact.

It’s like calling a political rival a flip-flopper. Once upon a time that comment stung (for reasons that escape me, frankly) but it’s so overused these days it means absolutely nothing.

That in and of itself is reason enough to save yourself five characters and abandon the once-clever zinger of a hashtag. But, really, I think the overwhelming adoption of the tag hints at a bigger problem that social media only serve to exacerbate.

Me!

We’re really, really selfish.

Seriously, search for #FAIL on Twitter and see what you get. Most days, it’s a steady stream of people complaining because some product or service didn’t meet their expectations. This product didn’t meet my needs and thus it’s a failure. I got an unexpected outcome and thus the system is a failure.

In some cases, this is appropriate. In others? Well, not so much.

It’s like we can’t understand that we’re not always the target market. Or we refuse to acknowledge that, gee, maybe we did something wrong. Nope. It’s a fail. As though every company, every system and every interaction should be tailored to me and me alone.

If a brand isn’t active on social media channels, it’s a fail. If a brand is active but doesn’t respond quickly enough, it’s a fail. If a brand responds quickly enough but in a way that doesn’t satisfy someone’s expectations, it’s a fail.

It’s insanity. And it needs to stop.
photo credit: action datsun