Using Social Media to Promote Your Event: Step 1

We are the lead organizers for Podcamp Hawaii, coming this fall to Honolulu on October 24 & 25th. I'll be using our company blog to share the behind-the-scenes planning process. Since it is an "unconference" there are several things that we do differently.

First off, we are making this happen over a very short time span. Part of this is my insanity to be sure, but in reality the internet facilitates the short time frame quite well. In any case, it adds a sense of focus and urgency, which I generally find helpful in getting things done.

Background
We actually bought the URL (www.podcamphawaii.com) 3 years ago. So in one sense we have been noodling on it that long, and a year aog began talking with one of our colleagues, Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central. Todd has also been active in the podcamp circuit, so it hosting an event locally was naturally on both of our minds.

Two Months Ago
We had a few meetings with the local techies who wanted to have an unconference. Planning got underway though we have had some fits and starts. As is usual, more people want to talk about than do the work, so we've been orienting ourselves to getting a critical mass of dedicated, reliable people. Ideas are great and we want them, so part of our initial planning involves getting the word out and letting people talk back to us.

Step One: Agree on a date and location and begin publicity

1. Create a logo
   • Nothing new or un about this. Get yourself a cool logo!
2. Create an event on Upcoming.org. This site lets you list your event for free.
   • If you belong to groups, it also gets listed under those (such as "Web 2.0).
   • If you have friends there, they see your new events.
   • Anyone can mark themselves as "Attending" or "Interested*
   • People can put your event on their calendars - it's a great "save the date" tool.
   • Many people subscribe to a group's RSS Feed. That means your event gets out to thousands of people you don't even know.
   • The site also allows people to leave comments on your event, get a map to your event. and upload pictures related to your event.
3. Get a Twitter account. This lets people follow you and your progress.
   • Twitter is exponential networking. You can tap into the people who follow you, and ask them to "re-tweet" or tell those who follow them.
   • Let's say 100 people follow Podcamp Hawaii. Another organizer, Neenz, has over 900 followers, who each have their own followers. Get it? When she mentions podcamp hawaii, hundreds and sometimes thousands will see it.
   • Post frequent updates to keep the buzz alive among the Twitterati - some of the most verbose and connected people on the planet!
4. Create a Flickr account or Group Pool: Podcamp Hawaii
   • Flickr is a photo sharing site. My partner @Shane made a group for Podcamp Hawaii, and searched for pictures of the Hawaii Convention Center, the location of our event. He invoted those photos to join our group, with the iunderstanding that we could use those photos on our web site.
   • Most have accepted and voila! We have gorgeous photos without having to take a single one.
   • We agree to provide attribution, so that helps those photographers get their word out.
   • Plus, we are helping to promote the venue, who is giving us fantastic rates!
5. Create your official conference "tag" PodcampHawaii2008
   • The web is increasingly organized by tags. People in the know will add this tag to each relevant photograph, blog post, podcast, and video they create, so their media gets attached to our event. It's a win-win for both of us.
   • Mention your tag on Twitter and on your Upcoming page, and every where else you can so people memorize it effortlessly.
   • People wanting to know more can search for that tag, and find out far more about the event than we could ever produce ourselves.
   • People will themselves use variations of your official tag, so keep an eye for those too. Notice we added the year to the official tag, in hopes there will be additional events in subsequent years. Here are the search results for the plain podcamphawaii tag.

Results
Within less than a week, we had 50 people signed up on Upcoming and we have over 90 Twitter followers (without really trying there yet). Sponsors are coming forward to us, wanting to get in before we have even finished our sponsorship package. Life is good.

Next step is getting up the web site and starting an email list. I'll talk more about that in another post.

UPDATE: I changed the title of this post and the next one to better reflect the content. Used to be "Planning a Web 2.0 Conference."

Free Idea: Podcaster-in-Residence Saves Hawaii Tourism?

I have always loved the concept of artist-in-residence or writer-in-residence, like our client Lannan supports. It is an altruistic gesture in most cases, a generous soul or organization that supports a creative person in finding her/his muse, or voice.

Alas I am a Capricorn and many roads lead back to business in my mind. I was at a meeting today with Robin Graf, Stacy Keen, and Nancy Daniels at their hotel, The Wyland Waikiki. We were talking about PodCamp Hawaii and we were agreeing how every blogger/podcaster is a "travel blogger" when in Hawaii. This place is like no other in the USA, and there are stories to show and tell literally every where you are.

So I had this great idea! What if a hotel sponsored a podcaster-in-residence?

At first I thought for an extended one month stay.
Posting 2-3 videos a week, capturing the moments, the stories, the guests, the staff - in sum the personality of the hotel. But in this case, it would be not exclusively about the podcaster finding her muse, but also about creating media for the hotel. The Hawaii hotel industry is feeling pain right now. We've had two airlines go out of business and the price of oil aka plane flights has gone up. Hawaii also is just coming out of a massive expansion and upgrade of capacity, and plenty of people complain about the high rates.

Then I Thought About a Rotating Podcaster-in-Residence.
What about inviting several podcasters to spend 4-7 days in your hotel? And post 2-3 videos? You would then get a diverse collection of styles, both cinematic and content-wise. You could leverage the audience of several name-brand podcasters, instead of just one.

Naturally, I am Biased Towards Video Bloggers.
What's not to love about video? Especially if you are not the one doing all the shooting, editing, encoding, and posting. He He.

Radical Cherry on Top: Shared Among Several Hotels & Restaurants
What if someone like the HVCB sponsored this, and had a social media expert plan out the campaign, set up the site and hosting mechanisms, found the right podcasters, etc. and it was all shared among the many? Fewer costs per place, more diversity of content, broader audience appeal. The more I type the more I like this idea.

_What are Free Ideas? They are just that. I have more than I can use, so I am going to be adding Free Idea posts on a regular basis. We all know that as hard as it is to come by a good idea, it's even harder to execute. So if can, can! If want our help, contact us.

Friday Buzz Report for Bare Feet Blog 080725

I feel like starting virtually very post here with a mea culpa. I have so many blog ideas but often run out of time. After all, we also produce an almost daily video podcast which takes a couple of hours each, and now I am helping to create the unconference PodCamp Hawaii. Of course I Twitter and FriendFeed too, so this mea culpa is now pau! Follow to the end - as I will bring this back to you.

I have some fun news to share and I am practicing talking about us more. I love "pimping out" my friends and clients, but get a frog in my throat when it comes to bragging about our own work.

Beach Walks on Tube Mogul Top 40
Our internet TV show, Beach Walks with Rox, is #26 on Tube Mogul's Top 40 list for June. Tube Mogul is a service that distributes and tracks your videos across multiple sites. It is a great time saver, as I can upload one file and Tube Mogul will send it to as many as 12 other video aggregation sites. We actually only send to 4 sites, so making it onto the leader board is an even greater accomplishment! They have over 30,000 users, so we like being #26, slighty ahead of Mahalo Daily and just behind Sony Pictures and in the company of Rocketboom and Next New Networks.

Top Social Marketing Blog
Also this week, and more of a surprise, this blog was featured on a listing of the Top Social Marketing Blogs. This follows in part from our listing on SocialMedia.Alltop.com, which features the web's best social media blogs.

Diva Marketing Sites Us for Blogger Relations
I participated in my friend Toby Bloomberg's blogger relations survey, and was quoted in her summary report. You can read more about my position on Bloggers vs. Journalists and if you like, check out our Blogger Relations Policy.

Why Does This Matter to You?

1. Hawaii can claim us as a social media expert right here in the ʻāina, ready to assist you with developing and executing a social media campaign. You can take advantage of our expertise, as well as our deep and wide social network of thought leaders.
2. You can realize that success comes from persistence - even when it is spread across seemingly disparate channels. We practice a lot of "be here now" in running our business, and while it may look unfocused or diverse, it is all infused with our attention. And in an attention economy that is just the right currency to be building and spending.
3. By being willing to share my name with my survey feedback, I earned the bonus publicity. Know when to step out from the anonymity cloak; it's a great way to let others help you share your expertise.

Have you left a blog comment today? Remember, you are of the main beneficiaries when you do!

Blogosphere Updates

Jason Calacanis Quit Blogging Altogether
The internet is a fascinating place. It so rules the day for a certain subset of humanity, while many more others have yet to really dip their toes in. This week, we are seeing a dramatic shift in how we communicate online, why we communicate, and how we can be both transparent and in control at the same time.

Jason is the CEO of Mahalo.com, a human powered search engine. He was the co-founder of Weblogs, Inc. with Brian Alvey, and the GM of Netscape. Weblogs was sold several years ago and was one of the key markers putting "blogging" and "business" next to each other on the map. In Jason's own words:

Today the blogosphere is so charged, so polarized, and so filled with haters hating that it's simply not worth it. I'd rather watch from the sidelines and be involved in a smaller, more personal, conversation.

Blogging Still Makes Sense for Business
Meanwhile, most companies still have not even started to blog, and if you read this blog, you know there are many reasons why blogging can help your business. So to Robin Graf, General Manager of the Wyland Waikiki Hotel, who just started blogging last month, I ask please don't quit! There are literally these many vast mini-cultures that co-habit the internet space. Count me among the many who want to know what it's like running a hotel in Hawaii.

What do we do about the trolls, and spammers, and haters?
There are w-a-y too many of them online for my pleasure. I do a combination of setting up filters and rules, followed by exercising my ignoring muscle After 16 years of working online, it is herculean!

My favorite rule is to simply post a comment policy, much like the one Scoble et all were discussing on FriendFeed. Moderating or editing or deleting comments used to be a sign of wimpiness. No longer. It has become a reasonable policy for avoiding the negative underbelly on the internet. I have stated on my YouTube page:

We share beautiful scenery, original Hawaiian music, and lots of Aloha and positive energy. Lame or rude comments will be deleted.

Starve these suckers of a platform and they will go away. One of the people on a friend's paddling team sent a terribly nasty email to her coach, and BCC'd the entire team of 40+ paddlers. People that is not how you use email. IMO she should be banned from the team, at least for this season. And yes, now the club probably wants to have an email policy.

It's really pretty simple, when it comes to blogging and business.

Be curious before critical. Add instead of subtract. Manage your manners.

Do that and you'll be welcomed just about everywhere.

Wasting Time or Making Hay on the Internet

I tripped across this report of the top 10 time wasters in the Internet from InternetSafety.com. I'm taking it at face value, (rather then spend time checking out the methodology) because my point relates to the concept not the actual data points themselves.

But first, here is the list, no particular order:

• Social Networking Sites — Recent statistics show that over 170 million people are active users of the two most popular two social networking sites, Facebook.com and MySpace.com.
• Online Videos — The YouTube phenomenon continues to spill over into the workplace. Well over 100 million YouTube videos are watched each day.
• Adult Sites — Even though most companies have policies in place prohibiting viewing of sexually-explicit content at work.
• Shopping — According to one study, 70 percent of all online purchases occur between the hours of 9AM and 5PM.
• Vacation Planning — Whether simply as a stress reliever or because of job dissatisfaction, planning vacations remains a top pastime at work.
• Job Searches — As counterintuitive (and indiscreet, given that they’re at work) as it may seem, most people look for a new job during working hours, using their current employer’s computer resources and email accounts.
• News and Blogs — Harris Interactive found that 15% of men and 6% of women spend time each day on blog sites.
• Online Auctions — Among the top shopping sites are the auction services such as eBay, uBid, and auctions.yahoo.com.
• Online Games — As if Solitaire wasn’t enough, games.yahoo.com, congregate.com, popcap.com, images.google.com/imagelabeler, and forumwarz.com are all popular.
• Gambling Sites — The National Council on Problem Gambling reports that 60% of all U.S. adults have gambled in the past year; two million U.S. adults meet the criteria for problem gambling.

Here at Bare Feet Studios we like to focus on solutions not just complaining, and we believe in holding up standards within our industry and peers. In that light, how can you as a company come to grips with this kind of data?

Many companies would (and have) simply shut down access to many of these sites and even to internet in general. This is the wrong response IMO. First it simply creates demand for that which can't be had - basic human psychology that even us smartie pants in the internet business cannot change over night.

Secondly, it deprives you of using these tools to your advantage. What these surveys don't ask, is, "What business tips or benefits did you acquire while surfing the web for personal reasons at work?" You see, there is gold in them there personal surf expeditions.

Why Would a Company Allow or Even Encourage Personal Web Surfing?

• Employees might discover sites that can help grow the business, suggest new market trends, uncover bad PR, etc. You want them to be able to share that without fear of repercussions.
• Employees can learn new skills in how to use the "social web." Being able to participate in online discussions, comment on appropriate blogs, and use the tools are very valuable to a company.
• Being proactive is almost always more effective than being reactive.
• We know people watch our Beach Walks with Rox videos at work. In fact, many report it is a daily habit, as "it puts my head on straight" or "drains off stress". That is worth real money to a company! How else do you help people re-orient and stay calm?

Most larger companies understand that you really don't get 8 productive hours a day out of employees. (You hire experts like us if you want high hourly-based productivity.) So what if you were to have an Internet Use Policy like this:

We know you have internet access at your desk and it makes sense to use our high speed connection. We are happy to make this available to you, with the following conditions:

• Your personal surfing is limited to no more than one hour a day (taken on breaks and previously approved personal time);
• You can assure us this does not impair your work, and may even enhance it.
• You completely avoid the following sites, which pose unacceptable liability risks and/or are bandwidth hogs: all adult sites, matchmaking sites, gambling and gaming sites, and online auctions;
• You are allowed to watch clean videos, do some personal shopping and travel planning, research heath, parenting, and lifestyle questions;
• If you really want to search for a new job, we hope you will come to us first to discuss how your job can be more rewarding for you;
• Please be aware we do have tracking software in place and violations of this policy will be addressed on a case by case basis. Our flexibility on allowing certain activities for certain amounts of time is balanced by our intolerance for violations.

You see, I view the internet much more as a resource than a expense. Like all resources, it takes a grounded grown-up to manage them wisely. Treating your employees as adults encourages them to respond accordingly. Why not develop a capture system that solicits tips from employees, learned while being online, to share with others? (Interested? I have ideas for you on this. Contact me)

Do you think this is doable in your company? If not, why not? Or the managers more scared or the employees less trustworthy? Whose responsibility is it to improve the situation?

The Social Way to Give & Get Satisfaction

GetSatisfaction.com was launched in September, 2007, and is really gaining traction these days, as Twitter is one of its most active clients.

What is it? It's a new way that customers and companies can use public forums to solve problems. Companies can pro-actively use the site as their main location to address customer service issues, or customers can create their own company discussions. More technically, it is a social web application built with Ruby on Rails

application that allows companies to outsource some of its customer service functions whereby company reps and the general public can both help others who are experiencing problems with a given company's products or services.

Here's how they describe themselves:

Get Satisfaction is a direct connection between people and companies that fosters problem-solving, promotes sharing, and builds up relationships. Thousands of companies use this neutral space to support customers, exchange ideas, and get feedback about their products and services. Get Satisfaction is open, transparent, and free. You’re free to ask, free to answer, and free to start a new conversation. Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate: companies, employees, customers — anyone with an opinion, an answer, or something to say.

Here are some of the things I like about, that are also common characteristics of many social web applications:

• It is easy to use, like a good forum, so the abilty to start working in it is fast. Discussions are threaded, and there are visual icons to give a quick glance as to the nature of each discussion.
• The energy there is far more neutral than in a company-hosted site or a consumer-only site. Each of those tend to favor one or the other side of the conversation, and to invite flaming. So far, Get Satisfaction seems to attract more maturity and general interest in solving problems, which is not to say some discussions don't get heated. They sometimes do.
• It allows both a company and a customer to start a discussion. In some cases, customers can help each other. In ideal cases, the company in question joins the conversation. This allows those people who love a product or service to not only evangelize it, but to directly support it. Companies take note: These are your most valued customers!

For more information:

You can read a very insightful interview with the founder over at FastCompany:
"...why customer service is the new marketing, why you should bring edge users into the core of your business, and how a company you might expect to get it (Facebook) and one you might not (Comcast) are taking very different approaches."

Be Here Now Marketing: How United Airlines Can Take Advantage of Flight Delays

Everyone knows the airlines are hurting. What I don't understand is why they seem unable to learn from the recurring problems they experience to be both more efficient and to actually convert them into marketing moments. Here's a real life example with several free ideas I have for United Airlines, or any airline really.

The Case of the Cancelled Flight

Shane and I were booked to travel from DTW to ORD to LAX to HNL on Sunday, June 29th. Shortly after we landed in Chicago from our first leg (a brief one hour flight) I got an auto alert on my phone saying the next leg was cancelled. I immediately got on the phone to start the re-booking process. Although it was just noon in Chicago, they told me there were no more seats available to either or LAX (Los Angeles) or SFO (San Francisco) both of which have flights to HNL.

Let's stipulate these generic facts:

• ORD is United's largest hub.
• There is one Customer Service counter in the entire Concourse B, with 22 gates.
• Going west we gain time; that means more wiggle room for getting home.
• United has flights to LAX and SFO about every 2 hours.
• It's a 4.5 hour scheduled flight from ORD to LAX/SFO.
• There are flights leaving LAX/SFO for HNL as late as 11 p.m. Chicago time.
• I am a Premier flyer with UA, a designation earned by flying 25,000 miles or more each year.
• UA databases already track me, my miles, my status, etc so that I can have priority seating, etc.
• There are several self-service kiosks adjacent to the human-staffed Customer Service stations.

So how is it possible there was not another plane to be put in service, at their largest hub? How over-booked are the airlines to not have a few extra seats across several flights to two different destinations? We could not even get to LAX or SFO, much less on to HNL. How much does it cost the airline to have to rebook and provide meals and lodging in the event of a cancellation? Consider direct costs as well as labor costs for all the face-to-face interactions that were required to handle each of the interrupted travelers.

Now let me stipulate these case-specific facts:

• Although we were able to re-book via phone (albeit via India) we still had to stand in line to get a hotel voucher and find out the status of our luggage.
• Shane stood in line for 2 HOURS and 33 MINUTES at the lone Customer Service counter.
• The counter was staffed with one or two agents, and at one point, all agents left and there was no one behind the counter (see photo above). The vacancy lasted about 5 minutes.
• UA was willing to rebook us on American Airlines, for a flight at 8 p.m. into LAX. We would have to overnight there. They were not willing to give us a pass to the Red Carpet Club so we could get some work done for the 6 hour wait.
• I spent $50 of my own money to buy drinks for people in line, some of whom waited even longer than two and a half hours.
• No one was using the kiosks; they were told they must see a Customer Service agent to get boarding passes and vouchers.

How United Could Make Friends Instead of Enemies During a Flight Cancellation

1. Attend to your most loyal customers immediately and differently.
   • Send automated phone alerts to Premier customers with the following offer:
     • Please come to the Red Carpet Club on a free day pass where we will give you priority re-booking and refreshments and you can wait out the delay in a quiet setting suitable to working and resting.
     • If you like, you can join the Red Carpet Club today for a one-time savings of 20%. If you are already a member, we will provide you with XX credit to your renewal fees (or XX miles to use as you please.)
     • We apologize for the inconvenience you are experiencing and hope these measures will minimize the difficulties to you.
2. Utilize existing resources more efficiently and even create selling opportunities.
   • Red Carpet Club staff normally are not very busy; let them handle your most loyal customers. This will also relieve some of the burden on the public Customer Service counter.
   • It can create an up-sell opportunity out of a crisis.
   • I asked three different agents for a pass and they all responded with, "Oh no, we can't do that, no, no" as if I had asked for a private charter to get to my destination.
3. Use the staff and data you have remotely, more efficiently.
   • Allow the staff who is doing the re-booking to also issue food and lodging vouchers.
   • Allow customers to print new boarding passes and vouchers from the self-service kiosks.
   • Allow the customer to choose from a list of pre-approved hotels, when applicable.
   • Create a marketing agreement with someone like Target or P&G to have emergency comfort kits on hand. With a voucher printed from the kiosk, a customer could pick up a kit that includes a toothbrush, personal hygiene samples, and a few coupons for later use.
   • This would dramatically speed up the process of getting customers on their way and make them feel understood and appreciated for the predicament they are in.
4. Provide for basic human needs because it's a safety issue too.
   • If a long line situation is necessary in the short term, then have someone handing out water or simple refreshments. The terminal at O'Hare has wonderful light-filled skylights. It was also very hot and stuffy and I can easily see a situation of dehydration causing a more serious problem, especially for an older passenger.
   • I took it on myself to go buy 20 bottles of cold water and soda to hand out - you would have thought I was Mother Teresa! Thinking ahead to people's basic human needs can help people connect with you positively.
   • My father, 84, said to me, "I can't imagine what I would have done. I wouldn't be able to stand in line that long. What would have happened?" In his case, he would have simply paid whatever it took to get out of the situation, and, he would be on the phone next day raising holy hell with the airline's executives and his own travel department. One influential traveler can direct an entire company to stop using your airline.
5. Higher Tech Options
   • Develop hand-held computers (like Apple and Hertz use) to print out vouchers so a mobile agent could be in line processing the simpler cases.
   • Assign passengers to groups, and ask them to return in staged, 15-minute increments. Give them a number or card for their group. This would allow them to rest in a nearby gate or eat or use bathroom facilities the majority of their time.
   • What about using those vibrating hand-held devices many crowded restaurants use? Again, it lets people use their wait time productively instead of being tortured to stand on their feet in a long hot line.

Bottom Line - There is Opportunity Here

Chicago is United's major hub. What a great place to have products and systems in place for the inevitable cancellations and delays. These are regular occurrences that seem to throw the airlines into crisis every time they happen. They could be marketing moments and irritations instead.

I asked one agent, wasn't there one other plane, given the hub status, to put into service? She responded that it was the end of the month and they were running out of personnel hours. The inadequately-staffed Customer Service counter reflected this also. Dear companies, at some point you've got to stop cutting back on people.

Overbooking and and capacity cuts are also max'd out. You would think the many flights a day from ORD to LAX/SFO could absorb one cancelled flight's worth of passengers, but that was not true on Sunday.

The airlines plan for the big things, but the little things that truly affect millions and define their impressions of your brand and over-burden your personnel? Largely ignored.

Little things can make a big difference and would actually save money I believe. Some one-time programming upgrades would allow existing kiosks to handle passengers. Having some comfort kits could help your branding and might actually be free - I can imagine companies wanting to have that type of access to travelers to introduce their products. Providing water or a few chairs? That's basic humanity.

Of course these are just one person's ideas, born from "being here now" (with a wink to @PatrickByers). To gather more ideas, instead of having a formal survey that doesn't really allow the customer to describe her experience, how about setting up a customer service forum? Many will not be easy to implement, but what are the real costs of delays and the incumbent stress and out of pocket compensations?

As a loyal United customer, I want to see them succeed! I regularly pay an extra $100-200 to get my preferred seating and extra leg room. There are many of us who are actually on your side, but please, we don't want to be tested any more than this.

On the other hand, what if in a year we could start reading blog posts like United Takes the Pain out of Flight Delays or Get Stuck Here if You Have to Get Stuck. Air travel has turned into an equally miserable experience for both passengers and airline staff. Let's turn this airship around and take advantage of both the hub structure and the data mining that are readily available to the airlines so we can help ourselves more and stop having the heinous history repeat itself.