Joel Comm's Blog, page 35

Top Five Ways I Engage Others on Facebook – Episode #4

When choosing a primary social media platform, no two individuals or brands are going to have the same experience. We all vary in how useful we find each site. It think it’s important that use of social media be both effective and engaging. For me, that means that I have to be able to have a community that speaks to me and that I have to enjoy the platform. Even though I literally wrote the book on Twitter, I have found Facebook to be a more engaging platform for me personally. In this episode of The Top 5 Scope, I share the Top Five Ways I Engage Others on Facebook. I think you’ll see a theme throughout and maybe you’ll have suggestions for how social media is working for you.

Top Five Reasons I Love Flying First Class – Episode #3

Who doesn’t like to fly First Class? I do a lot of traveling. And because I put so many miles on my United Premier account, I often get upgraded. It really makes a huge difference! In this episode of The Top 5 Scope, I talk about the Top Five Reasons I LOVE Flying First Class! See if you agree with these and let me know if you would add any others to the list.

Top Five Reasons to Prepare Notes for Your Periscope – Episode #2

If you are going to broadcast content via live streaming, it’s a good to know what you are going to talk about. I’ve discovered that preparing notes for my livestreams makes everything go smoother. In Episode #2 of The Top 5 Scope, I discuss the top five reasons to prepare notes for your Periscope broadcast.

The Top 5 Scope – For Those Who Love Lists

When I was a teenager, there was a very popular book released called “The Book of Lists.” The book contained just about every kind of list you could imagine from news, politics, human interest, entertainment, sports and other categories. I was fascinated by lists and always enjoyed discovering how things ranked. Today, we have the Internet to provide us with all kinds of lists. There are hundreds or even thousands of sites dedicated to enumerating on the best, fastest, strongest, happiest and whatever other adjectives you want to use to classify people, places and things. As you might imagine, I enjoy making my own lists as well. And as I thought about some show ideas I could use to create a live stream on Periscope, I realized that a list show would lend itself to all kinds of original content. So this week I launched The Top 5 Scope, a daily (at least I’ll try) Periscope broadcast that will deliver my own top five list. The subject matter will be anything from business and social media to entertainment and lifestyle. In other words, you’ll never know what you are going to get! The shows will range in length from 10 minutes to 20 minutes. The goal is to deliver content and engage with viewers in a way that doesn’t consume a lot of my time or your time. I’m not creating a set schedule to do my daily broadcast, but if you are following me on Periscope you will be notified when I go live. Since Periscope is owned by Twitter, simply follow me on Twitter and then follow me on Periscope. When possible, I’ll also simulcast these live broadcasts on Meerkat and/or Live for Facebook Mentions. With that said, here is Episode #1 of The Top 5 Scope. It’s titled “The Top 5 Reasons for Doing this Show.” Makes sense, right? Enjoy and please be sure to comment below. If you have ideas for a Top 5 Scope you’d like to see, let me know.

TED @ IBM Stirs the Imagination and Inspires the Soul

The TED conferences have done a great job of bringing the best and brightest together for a number of years now. Known for brief insightful and educational talks on thousands of different topics, attending a TED event means you are prepared to hear ideas you’ve never heard before. This year, I was invited to attend TED @ IBM, a unique TED event conducted in partnership with IBM. As you might imagine, being associated with IBM means that many of the talks would somehow have technology and a focus on the future as a core component. The theme of the event was Necessity and Invention, and I was privileged to be the official Social Reporter on behalf of IBM. It’s always exciting to go behind-the-scenes at an event such as this, and showing up at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts the day before did not disappoint. With great attention to detail and an intent to provide both attendees and speakers with a memorable experience, the TED and IBM teams collaboratively worked well together. While IBM provided a live video stream of the event for those unable to attend, a “war room” was set up for the IBM Social Business to be able to execute on tweets, photos and posts as the event unfolded. On event day, every seat in the event center was occupied. The lights went down and the event began… What happened next could only be described as a whirlwind of discovery, imagination, creativity and inspiration, as speaker after speaker took the stage with a message to share. When you have an opportunity to deliver a TED Talk, you want to make sure it comes from a place of great significance to you. After all, if it is important to you, odds are your message will resonate with others as well. We all live in our own bubbles, both personally and professionally. But in just a few hours, we were brought into the world of Sneakerheads, Qubits, entrepreneurism in Africa, stuffed animals that help diabetic children be healthier, ways to reverse the negative impact of plastics, humor-generating computers and more. It was a captivating afternoon of fresh ideas, new horizons and the promise for a better future. If you follow me, you’ll know that I’m not a big fan of mainstream news sources. They focus way too much on the negative things happening around us. But I believe there is far more good in the world than bad. And I believe a majority of individuals and businesses are seeking to make a positive difference. TED @ IBM also choose to focus on life-affirming messages that provided hope and encouragement. Almost every talk spoke to me in some way (one was just way over my head!) And along the way, I tweeted and captured images of the speakers to invite others into the experience. Here are just a few of images and topic-setting thoughts that I posted along the way. My friend, Tamara McCleary, was on hand to host the Livestream and to participate in a half-time Blab along with me. You can experience the energy of that time by watching the replay of our stream below. And while the talks truly were worthy of the TED platform, leaving all of us with new ways of thinking about our world as we returned back to our own bubbles, there was one more element that really put the icing on the cake of any live event… the people. The only thing better than being a part of something like this is sharing it with friends. Of course, TED @ IBM did not disappoint. There’s something about social media that has not only introduced us to many new friends, but it has also facilitated the deepening of already-existing relationships. So coming together with my friends at TED @ IBM and sharing the experience with them multiplied the magic of the day. I’d like to give special thanks to the IBM Social Business team for inviting me to be a part of TED @ IBM! Have you ever been to a TED event? If you were to give a TED Talk, what would the subject be? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Flying Monkeys and the Secret to Getting Attention

How many times have you received a promotional item sporting a brand logo and thought “wow, that’s really cool?” More often than not, the swag received at trade shows is unmemorable. Cheap pens, coffee mugs, lame t-shirts, pads of paper and beverage koozies featuring a company logo are commonplace. If you go to an expo floor, you are sure to walk away with your share of stuff that you’ll wonder why you picked up in the first place. Specialty item vendors make a killing printing up custom stuff, most of which gets tossed shortly after it is received. My question is, why would you pay to create something that is not going to stand out? Why not get attention by providing something that your prospects and customers will actually remember? Back in 2008, I came across a little novelty item that made me smile. It’s called the Slingshot Flying Monkey. Basically, it’s a stuffed toy monkey with rubber bands in his arms. When you deploy the little simian, he flies across the room and makes a wonderfully obnoxious screeching sound sure to alert the dog. I found a way to purchase the monkeys in bulk and created a custom patch sporting my company’s logo. We stuck the patch the cape of the masked monkey and sent them to peers and associates during the holiday season along with a note. As a result, I received emails and letters thanking me for the creative gift. Some told me their kids got a hold of it and were driving them crazy with it. Others said the dog enjoyed the new chew toy. But for the most part, sending this item accomplished the goal of getting attention. Being a 13-year old disguised in a 51-year old body, I still make a habit of bringing a flying monkey with me when I speak and finding an opportunity to send it flying into the audience from the stage. You’re never too old to have fun! In fact, the flying monkey became so associated with my brand that I challenged my team to battle it out in the Flying Monkey Office Olympics. In 2010, I was inspired to write a book based on the various ways that people could make money online with their content. The book was called KaChing: How to Run an Online Business that Pays and Pays. Inspired by Staples’ famous “easy button” (that was easy), I thought it would be cool if there was such a thing as a KaChing Button. When pressed, the button featuring a green dollar sign would make the ubiquitous and universal kaching cash register sound. When my efforts to find such a button turned up nothing, I decided to manufacture the button myself. The KaChing Button was an instant hit! That year, not only did I send them out as gifts to peers and associates, but they were also sent to editors along with a review copy of the book. Needless to say, the button went a long way towards getting attention. Today, the KaChing Button is sold via Amazon.com, and they are purchased each and every day. I always enjoy when someone makes a video demonstrating the KaChing Button, as Mari Smith once did. So what are the things you should consider when creating a promotional item that will serve its purpose? 1) Does it get attention? Unless your custom printed pen is gold-plated or hi-tech, odds are it won’t get attention. Unless your t-shirt sports a cool design (and most do not), it won’t get worn. It will get tossed in the Salvation Army donation bin. And unless your coffee mug makes people smile when they are having their morning cup of Joe, odds are it won’t get used. Your promotional item must first grab the attention of the recipient. Imagine how you would feel if you received the item (and try not to be biased). Does it grab your attention? If not, it probably won’t make much of an impact with the recipient either. 2) Will the recipient keep it? The custom pen might get tossed in the drawer, but the odds of it being used or of anyone actually paying attention to what is on the pen are quite small. A USB storage device with a custom logo could be worthy of keeping. But I’ve got a couple dozen of them in my drawer and I couldn’t tell you what logos are printed on them. I don’t care. I just kept them for their potential utility. You want to create something people will keep because of its uniqueness AND utility. 3) Will the recipient USE it? Once you have overcome the first two obstacles, you now reach the stage that makes all the difference. Not only does the KaChing Button get attention and remain in the possession of the person receiving it, but it is used on a regular basis. I hear all the time that their button sits on their desk within reach. That way they can press it when a sale is made or just because they want to smile. The keep it AND they use it. Now THAT is brand reinforcement. And they remember where it came from. It’s not difficult to come up with your own promotional item that will grab attention. It merely takes creativity, a playful spirit and no fear of the flying monkey. What promotional items have you received that meet these criteria? I’d love to hear about it in the comments field below!

Top 4 Sites to Post Your Articles

When I get started on the web in 1995, there were fewer than 20,000 sites. You could say as a first mover I had an advantage in getting my content indexed and found. Of course, there were far fewer people on the web searching for content, so perhaps it is all relative. Today we have millions of websites with fresh content being published every day. There are millions of minutes of videos being uploaded and it seems like podcasting is the new thing to do. (Both are worthy efforts, to be sure.) But despite the rise of online video and podcasting, there is still great power in, and demand for, the written word. This is the reason I continue to blog. In fact, I believe having your own personal blog is one of the most powerful long-term plays you can have. The biggest reason is that it is the only place you can post your content that is fully under your control. There’s absolutely no telling how other sites may change their terms of service in the future. And there’s no guarantee that an account containing your content will remain open. But with a blog, you choose the theme. You select the look and feel. You post content. You drive traffic. And you monetize it any way you want. If the site is going to be shut down, it’s because you’ve been hacked or your ISP went offline. The bottom line is it’s all you, baby. It’s why I list your own website as the number one place to post your articles. I’ve been blogging since 2003 and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon. But there are certainly other places you may share content in order to build an audience, gain favor with search engines or drive traffic. Number two on my list is LinkedIn Pulse. While favor is provided to the 500 LinkedInfluencers who were fortunate enough to secure a position in the LinkedIn content distribution channel a few years back, the Pulse publishing program is now open to anyone to share their articles. Simply click the “Publish a Post” link on your profile page and away you go. With typical word processing functionality and the ability to embed images and links, Pulse provides an opportunity to expose your content to the LinkedIn audience. If your topic is compelling it might just gain traction. When I first started blogging on Pulse, I had one article that reached 100,000 views. Since it has become more mainstream, my views have fallen dramatically. But occasionally a piece will resonate with people and the views will increase. Next up at number three, and perhaps the place most likely to overtake Pulse in ability to gain readers and increase exposure is Facebook Notes. A feature that has been treated like a red-headed stepchild at K-Mart for a number of years, Notes has just received an overhaul and is now integrated with your account in a way that seemingly makes sense. Notes doesn’t really even appear on your main Facebook page. You have to search for it and you will discover it listed as an app. I’m still trying to figure out how to add it to my menu as a favorite. Notes provides a very simple interface. Like Pulse, you can upload a photo (which I highly recommend. They are attention-getting!) But there are fewer formatting tools. Type in your headline, embed additional photos and save your Note. What makes this worthwhile is that the Note is then shareable to your personal page or your fan page. It displays just like any other post. But when a viewer clicks to “read more”, they are taken to a full page display which is more elegant than the standard Facebook format and it reads more like a publication. Readers make like, comment and share your Note just as they would any other post. Of course, with their membership of over 1.5 billion people, Facebook definitely has an advantage with developing this blogging tool should they choose to do so. Finally, the fourth site is one I have recently started paying attention to. It’s called Medium, and it is the brainchild of Evan Williams. Does his name sound familiar? Think Twitter and the pieces will start coming together. A pure content-only site, Medium is presented as a blogging platform. It’s simple, easy-to-use and uncluttered. That not only makes it appealing for those looking to discover content without the social network noise, but it also means there is great opportunity for you to publish your content there. I’m still pretty new to Medium, but I like what I see so far. You can find my work here. To my knowledge, Facebook’s pages aren’t indexed by the search engines. That means if you post on your blog and Facebook you aren’t likely to face the duplicate content penalty imposed by the search engines. I’m not sure I can say the same for LinkedIn Pulse and Medium, so publish the same content there at your own risk. What other sites do you like for posting your content? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Why I Have Stopped Following Your Posts on Facebook

Dear Friend, I really enjoy the doorway into your life that Facebook provides me. Even though we may not have the opportunity to speak or see each other often (if at all), I appreciate discovering what’s happening in your world. I enjoy reading your posts, seeing your photos, clicking your links when a story interests me and participating in the spontaneity that social media offers. But there’s something I need to tell you. It’s something that is really bothering me. I recognize that you may not care that I am bothered, and that’s okay with me. But I feel compelled to share my thoughts just the same because I’m not sure you are aware of the effect some of your posts have had on me, and perhaps others. You may have some strong opinions surrounding the issues of the day. You may be passionate about your faith. And you may have deeply held social and political positions that are guiding forces for how you live your life. I think it’s essential that we all stand for something. Politically, I believe it’s important to know what you want in a candidate and that you take your civic responsibility seriously. I also believe it’s important to explore your spirituality and seek to develop that part of yourself. Of course, if you have no spiritual beliefs, I respect that as well. We all are free agents and get to make decisions for ourselves. However, one time you made a post that communicated your political, social or religious opinion in such a way that you unwittingly told me I was stupid for not agreeing with you. Oh, it wasn’t directed at me because you probably don’t know how I feel about the issue. But whether you knew it or not, you were speaking to me by lumping me in with the group you were speaking against. I try not to get offended and I chalk it up to your right to think, feel or believe however you want. But your polarizing post did make me groan just a little bit. I let it go. Who am I to tell others how they should or should not share on social media? But then it happened again. And then again. And yet… again. I try to avoid TV news and mainstream newspapers. Their focus on the worst of what is happening in the world is an unnecessary distraction that can become quite depressing. I don’t shelter myself from the harsh realities of the world, but I believe that my greatest contribution comes when I surround myself with optimistic people who are making a positive difference. Frankly, I believe there is WAY more good things happening in the world than there are bad. But you wouldn’t know it from listening to, reading or watching the news. Because of your repeated highly opinionated posts focusing on your political, religious or social stance, I have unfollowed you on Facebook. Oh, we still have the “friend” connection. But I no longer see anything you post. Not only does that apply to the rants which label me or anyone like me as “stupid” or “idiotic”, but it also means I miss out on the stuff I enjoy seeing from you. The photos, the interesting thoughts and the meaningful events of your life that you choose to share are no longer appearing on my feed. That’s unfortunate. When you use social media to make blanket statements with emotionally charged opinions, surely you realize that you are going to offend a lot of people. I know you recognize that not everyone thinks or feels the way you do. But perhaps you aren’t aware that those who think different than you are all over your friends’ list. I, too, have some very definite positions on politics, social issues and matters of spirituality. And in the past, I have probably offended others by expressing them brashly. What I discovered is that my online (and offline) rants didn’t have any positive net effect on others. They just served to alienate people. That led to a shift in how I approached people and our differences. I would no longer use my blog or newsletter to share these opinions. And now that we have social media which allows us to reach our entire friend list with one post, it’s easier than ever to “carpet bomb” our friends, family, associates and followers with our beliefs. But just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD. After all, aren’t people the most important thing? Certainly, I fully expect those who specialize in politics to share political messages. I’m not surprised to find someone representing a social movement to be sharing messages and news related to that movement. And if a spiritual leader isn’t talking about their spirituality in a public forum, perhaps there is something wrong. I’m not saying there isn’t a place for discussing the critical topics of the day. There most certainly is. But blasting an entire group of people via social media is not the same as having an open, honest and thoughtful discussion with others who are interested in having that discussion. As much as I admire the devotion of a group of people to enter into the “enemy” grounds and telling those opposed to them why they are terribly wrong to believe/support/think as they do, it’s obvious that such efforts have little effect, except to further polarize. I recently saw a video of this exact thing taking place, but I won’t actually name names because it in itself could be divisive. That would make this letter ironic! I get it. There are times I see a story that infuriates me. It fills me with righteous indignation. And at that moment I feel like nothing is more important than for YOU to know how I feel about it! But that’s just my emotion running away with me. It’s actually a loss of self-control and an attempt to prioritize how I feel about something above the […]

18 Days Without You

I disappeared. Well, it wasn’t like I suddenly gained the power of invisibility (though I think that would be pretty nifty.) But to those who read my blog, subscribe to my newsletter, send me email or messages, or follow me on social media, I may have well been invisible. For eighteen days, I pulled the plug on all of the above, essentially disconnecting from the relationships I have with so many on a daily basis. No work email. No blog posts. No email newsletters. And no posting OR reading any social media. No Facebook, Twitter, G+, Instagram, Blab, Meerkat, Periscope or any other means of sharing what I am doing on interacting with what others are doing. During this time, I went off by myself for the entire time. It doesn’t matter where I went because it wasn’t about the destination. It was about taking a solo journey without family or friends and removing myself from the social engagement that has become part of the fabric of my life. I did use text messaging and Skype to stay in touch with a select few family members and friends, but it was limited. Buffer was useful for scheduling a handful of Tweets and Facebook fan page posts, so if you saw something pop up while I was away it was because it was automated. There were over one thousand photos taken during my journey, but I didn’t share a single one. My iPhone and iPad were with me, so I created a new folder and placed all my social apps and email app into it. Then I dragged the folder to the last page on my devices and aptly titled it “Keep out.” (In case I needed a reminder.) Oh, and I also didn’t shave. True story as my now-scruffy face will attest to. So the inevitable question those of you reading may be asking is “did I miss being connected?” The surprising answer is no. Not really. The first couple days or so I instinctively thought about opening Facebook and email just out of habit. But then I remembered that I’d decided I wasn’t doing that, and stopped myself. It wasn’t difficult. In fact, it was MUCH easier than I thought it would be. I took plenty of photos that were worthy of sharing, but I felt like they were special to me in the moment and I wanted to keep them to myself. That’s not to say I won’t be sharing any of these photos in the future. But it’s likely that some of them will be used for photoquotes, rather than to tell the story of where I was and what I was doing. I’m thankful for a virtual assistant who managed my email and was instructed to forward only essential email to an unused address set up for such a purpose. I think she contacted me regarding three or four issues, but it’s amazing how much could wait until I returned. So what did I learn? First of all, I need to do this more often. Now don’t get me wrong. I do love the relationships that are formed and deepened on social media. And I truly enjoy the technology. But… I’m not sure. I’ll just say “but” for now because I don’t know what to say next. Returning is just as much of the process of discovery as unplugging and I am asking myself some tough questions even as I write this. Second, I noticed that as soon as I logged in to email and social that there is a ton of catching up to do. There are public posts, private messages, tweets, emails and other prompts that may require a reply from me. I teach others that you should always be the master of your social media domain and not the other way around. Whether or not I catch up or not is really a test to see if I can continue to let some things go. It means that not everyone will get a reply and some may get their feelings hurt. But having healthy boundaries means recognizing what I am capable of and what I am willing to do. Finally, it’s nice to be missed. I think we can easily take each other for granted. Knowing that there are those who missed my thoughts, musings, rants and general silliness reminds me that I am having an impact on others’ lives. I think it’s easy to question ourselves and ask if we are making a difference. We all need positive reinforcement. Coming back to a warm welcome is just a nice thing. You may still wonder where I went and what I did. Only a few know the answer to that question and I’m currently opting to not discuss it for a few reasons. I’m still processing the experience. And I think being back home will allow reflection to continue and perhaps bring additional revelation to mind. I don’t want to talk about it yet because I think I still have more to learn from it. And more importantly, there is something empowering about keeping something special to yourself. When we share our lives through posts and photos, those experiences become public and others experience either by relating to similar experiences or by living vicariously through us. However, having a phone packed with photos that tell stories which are mine and mine alone makes the experience more special… almost sacred. It’s like posting to Facebook and selecting the “only me” option instead of Public or Just Friends. Except in this case not even Mark Zuckerberg gets to peak inside. We talk about being addicted to social media. But for me, there were no withdrawal symptoms. There was only me doing what I wanted to do, where and when I wanted to do it. And I found it quite liberating. I’m not sure what it all means. But I believe it means that I need to unplug more often, whether it be for an extended […]

The Great Social Media Sabbatical of 2015

As many computers and devices as I’ve owned in my life, you’d have thought my mother’s umbilical cord was actually a fiber optic cable jacking me directly into the matrix. As many hours as I have spent on the web and checking email, you might think that my last name should really have been “Com” and not “Comm.” And as many times as I have posted, tweeted, shared, liked, commented, favorited or retweeted on social media since 2007, some could make the case that I eat, drink and sleep social media. The fact of the matter is, I am highly connected. And I love it! I love how technology enriches my life. And more importantly, I love how social media connects me with others in a truly meaningful and significant way. What would I do if I wasn’t able to engage with my family, friends and associates via Facebook? How will I know what is happening on Blab if I am not there to participate? I have a feeling the world will keep turning without me. But what might I learn about myself from orchestrating such an exercise? In the twenty years I’ve been doing business online, I think I have fully unplugged for just a few one-week periods. As of Thursday, September 17th at noon, I am planning to do something I’ve not done before. I’m going dark on social media AND in my business. No Facebook, not even to look. No Twitter, with notifications completely turned off. No Google Plus, as if anyone cares! No Instagram, though I suspect I will be taking plenty of my photos on my iPhone still. No Blab, Periscope, Meerkat or Live for Facebook mentions live-streaming. I won’t be broadcasting and I won’t be watching. AND, get this, NO email! Not only do I intend to experience a time without social, but I will be unavailable for business opportunities. My VA will be monitoring everything and will contact me should there be a significant opportunity. (I don’t like turning away $10,000 keynotes, even for an important experiment such as this!) The question has been asked, where I am going? That’s not the point. Whether I stay at home or travel, I will still have the opportunity to connect to the web from wherever I am. Whether a staycation or globe-trotting, the greatest challenge will not be finding a way to connect. The challenge will be staying disconnected. And so, while I will be using my phone for calls and text messaging to keep up with those closest to me, I will not be found in the social space until the first week in October, date TBA. You’ll know I’m back when I pop in and say “Hey, I’m back! Didja miss me at all?” During this time, I will be using my iPad to play games. But more importantly, I’ll be documenting my time away. I want to share the feelings and thoughts I have as I feel the urge to connect, but choose not to. I want to share the discoveries I make along the way and to find out if I am missing something for all the noise. I’ll be back. There is much sharing to do. There is much Blabbing to do. And there is much connection that will continue to take place. But I expect to come back detoxed, with a renewed sense of direction. This is not goodbye. It’s “See you soon.” Do Good Stuff! Joel