The Social Path

Help use the power of Twitter to build a Tanzanian school.

I love seeing nonprofit projects like Tweetsgiving, a 48-hour effort launched at noon today to help raise funds for a new school in Tanzania. The organizers, Epic Change, say that each $10 donation provides one brick for the school. The goal is to hit $10,000 (or 1,000 bricks) by the end of the 48-hour period.

Join me in donating to this cause, which — if successful — could spark even more people to accomplish good deeds through the powerful networking tools we so often take for granted.

On the Tweetsgiving site, the coordinators ask you to help spread the word by posting a note on Twitter about what you're thankful for this year. "Just tweet from the heart and be sure to include the #TweetsGiving tag and a link to http://tinyurl.com/4thanks." (Here's mine.)

Recommended reading: The Advergirl Social Manifesto.

When it comes to the evolving world of marketing, there are few people whose opinions I value more than Leigh "Advergirl" Householder. So it's been especially great to see her posting more and more about social media.

Specifically, I wanted to share Leigh's four-part Social Manifesto on "How companies are using social media." To give you a sense of her street cred, I should tell you Leigh is a brand strategist at Ologie in Columbus, Ohio, and is the one-woman powerhouse behind Advergirl.com.

Here are Leigh's four tips on using social media for business:

1.  Let your customers or employees support each other. Build a central hub where they can ask questions, collect ideas and celebrate the brand.

Example: Best Buy's Blue Shirt Nation.

2. Activate ambassadors. Some brands have a leg up in social media. Their fans already consider the brand a part of their personal identities. For these lucky brands, the best course is simply to motivate their fans to take the brand into the social world by giving them the right tools, soap boxes or, heck, bling.

Example: Victoria Secret PINK.

3. Listen for new insights. Imagine if you could get the very best development or marketing ideas you’d never thought of from people who actually use your product.

Example: Bell Canada

4. Give people something they need. Fill a gap, provide a bridge, be the tool people can’t live without.

Example: FedEx Launches a Package.

Of course, you shouldn't stop after reading just this series. Be sure to subscribe to Advergirl. Very few bloggers — if any — offer an equal mix of practicality, experience and foresight.

Speaking of which, here are a few more recent Advergirl posts of note:

• Social media etiquette
• How brands SHOULD use social media

Live-streaming your death: Suicide in the age of Web video.

This morning, I was interviewed by ABC News for their coverage of a 19-year-old who killed himself while broadcasting live on the life-streaming site Justin.tv.

Most times, it seems we've become jaded about the fact that people share everything online — their sex lives, their deepest fears, the minutia of their daily commutes. But suicide via social media remains a topic that strikes a macabre chord with mass media and Web enthusiasts alike.

Here's the excerpt from the ABCNews.com story that includes my perspective:

David Griner, a social media strategist for Luckie & Company, said that while public deaths are not new, online chatrooms provide an especially accessible forum for those debating suicide.

"The social Web tends to create a sideshow atmosphere, like public executions in the 1700s," said Griner. "The anonymity and lack of personal connection bring out the worst in people."

Griner points out that there have been several other online suicides, and some have been faked as well.

In February 2008 a girl who identified herself only as "90 Day Jane" wrote an anonymous blog chronicling the days leading up to her death. The blog turned out to be a hoax, and "Jane" later described it as an "art project."

The United Kingdom had an online suicide in March 2007, when 42-year-old Kevin Whitrick hanged himself while others watched. According to the BBC, some onlookers tried to stop him while others urged him on.

"The explosion of high-speed Internet access in the past few years has made it so that almost anyone can broadcast a live video in front of a global audience," said Griner. "It's impossible for sites like Justin.tv to monitor everything that's going on, so that puts the burden on the community to help stop bad things from happening."

Griner believes that those who encourage suicidal people are simply a sad reality of an unrestricted World Wide Web. Even so, some potential suicides are prevented on the Internet as well.

"You'll always have the morbid jerks who yell 'Jump!' when someone's on a rooftop, and you'll always have people threatening suicide in a public venue," said Griner. "And while it's easy to focus on the abundance of bloodthirsty trolls online, the bright side is that the Internet also gives more decent people the opportunity to intervene and try to save a life."

"Most times, they just need someone to talk to, and the Internet is the only forum they have."

So what are your thoughts? As I write this, there have already been more than 130 comments on the article, and I'd love to hear what you folks have to say about the tough issues raised by this sad story.

The lessons to be learned from Motrin's mommy mess.

I don't usually cross-post stuff between The Social Path and AdFreak, but it's worth checking out my post today on Motrin's mom-blogger disaster. Here's the ad in question:

Here's an example of the responses that have been posted by baby-wearing moms:

And here are a few lessons all of us ad folks should take away from the Motrin mommy headache:

1. Always be sure you're monitoring your campaigns, ads, etc. after launch. Sure, this can mean checking your e-mail on nights and weekends, but it's better than getting sandbagged the morning after a late-night blitzkrieg by angry bloggers.

2. Test new ads with your target audience. I realize this sounds like Advertising 101 stuff, but the hard truth is that many ads get released into the wild without much pre-launch feedback. I'm not advocating an extensive set of focus groups for every spot, but with a hyper-focused ad like this, it wouldn't be tough to bounce it off a few online moms before pulling the trigger.

3. Ask yourself a lot of tough questions. "What's the worst way this can be interpreted?" "If you were looking for a reason to hate this ad, what would you say?"

4. Mildly off topic, but: Let's all take a break from using kinetic type in ads. I know it's the new hotness — there's Chrysler's pocket pony ad, all those Ford F150 spots featuring Dennis Leary, etc. — but please, let's see some moderation, people.

How video sharing and streaming are changing everything

Just gave this presentation to the Luckie staff at lunch. You're welcome to enjoy the slideshow, but the pizza's all gone.

The Video Revolution

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: 2.0 web)

A first step to open government with Change.gov

Throughout the lengthy presidential campaign, it's been incredible to watch the candidates and their supporters embrace the rapidly evolving tools of social media.

But I have to be honest. I expected the social engagement would end the day a victor was announced.

I was wrong.

In an impressive show of foresight and outreach, President-elect Obama's transition team has launched Change.gov, a site that offers information about the new administration while also encouraging Americans to share their thoughts.

There's a blog, which kicked off with a YouTube clip of Obama's victory speech. There's a page to "share your hopes for an Obama Administration and a government for the people." There are bios and lengthy details of executive priorities.

There are gaps where information might be added later, such as a secion aimed at helping Americans find volunteering opportunities. But all in all, it's an impressive and rapid start for an administration committed to open government.

Of course, when you ask questions, you better be prepared to do something with the answers. There are no spaces for public comment yet on Change.gov, and it'll be interesting to see how the site balances openness with moderation.

UPDATE: A group of Republicans has launched RebuildTheParty.com to encourage a party-wide commitment to social media and other emerging tools: "Winning the technology war with the Democrats must be the RNC's number one priority in the next four years." Thanks to Jeremiah Owyang for the tip.