The post that leads the most* Google and Bing searchers to this blog is my October 2008 rant, “Twitter is Useless.” In it, I say that if even a handful of your audience is on Twitter then it cannot be called useless; that very essence of public relations is to focus on a message and communicate that message to the intended audience via whatever communication channel that public uses and views as valid.

It’s a post that generates a decent amount of traffic here, and of course, web surfers who disagree with me.  Just this morning I received a comment from “Joe” in Atlanta: Read More…

Ever since Team Newman won a free overnight adventure to from BWI to NYC thanks to a Southwest Airlines Twitter contest, I’ve had this urge to just make up a contest of my own. You know, to see if anyone would actually play. So, this morning, I sounded the contest alarm — and people took me up on the chance to win an ugly t-shirt. Word.

I mean, I didn’t take down the Internet or anything, but so far I’ve had about a dozen folks Tweet, DM or email me pictures of Nashville – just because I asked them to.

Some observations:

1. Only one person used the hashtag, which made finding the pictures difficult
2. Even though they read about the contest on Twitter, most folks emailed me their photos
3. People are playing my game – like, really!
4. Twitter contests are empowering

I’m still receiving pics, so I’m gonna let folks have the rest of the evening to get theirs in. But be sure to check Picalicious tomorrow to see our winning photo!

So, I go to pay our first utility bill here in Our Nation’s Capital and guess what? Here in DC, we have Life Threatening Emergencies and Power Outages at our beck and call. Sweet.

Oh, and Dave is super excited about designing a logo for my run at the 2010 Miss Utility pageant. I hope they accept karaoke in the talent portion!

Reader J points out that I’ve neglected to post links to my last three Chic Geek columns here on FlackRabbit. Oops! In my defense, I was sort of going through a few major life changes, which caused me to forget and stuff. And then WordPress hated me for a bit. Sorry! BUT I never missed a Her Nashville deadline in all that moving and stressing out and whatnot. If it makes you feel better — at least my editor was happy (Hi Ashley)!

So, for the non-Nashvegas readers, here’s what you’ve been missing: Read More…

Now that CNN and Oprah have made it a household name, Twitter is as popular a term among the corporate set as “ROI,” “low hanging fruit” and “silo.” Bless them, it seems now everyone wants to do it just for sake of saying they are; kinda like staying at work til 7 p.m.

But here’s the thing: if a company can’t tell me their goal – their REASON for wanting to Twitter, blog, start a Flickr pool, etc – then I don’t want them to do it.  And you, PR pro, shouldn’t want them to either.

See, the social media skeptics and/or any business person worth their salt want you to be able to tell them how much bang they’ll get for their social networking buck. “What’s my return?” they’ll ask. Five times. You should always answer, “It depends on what your goal is and how engaged you are.” That’s not an answer they particularly enjoy hearing, but it’s the truth. And they didn’t hire a yes-man, so speak up.

Frequent readers of this blog will remember my soap box about the importance of being Smart, Active, Succinct and Sincere when dealing with the social Web.  As I’ve preached said before: successful use of social communication tools isn???t hard unless you are lazy and/or unengaged.  And then, my friends, it’s FREAKIN’ IMPOSSIBLE.

With 20 million plus Twitter-ers out there, you’ve gotta stand out to have any real traction. That’s where most tend to fail. You see, if you don’t stay active, you don’t stay long. In fact, Nielsen recently found a whopping 60 percent of Twitter-ers quit after the first month – I would wager that’s because folks like instant gratification. Once they sign up and don’t see some huge rush of followers, and don’t bother to follow other folks, they quit.

Remember that no Twitter account or Facebook fan/group/cause page, LinkedIn Group, blog or website will yield a return on your man-hour investment if you never use or update it. You???ve gotta engage. In real time. If you want a lot of followers, you???ve got to Tweet. You???ve got to follow strangers and let strangers follow you. You???ve got to respond to an @ message; reply to a relevant DM. If you don???t want to actively engage you should have started a blog, not a Twitter account. Bottom line: you can’t just sit there and let the Web surf over you.

But back to that goal. Do you have one? If you are a PR pro and your client has asked you for a Twitter account – have you asked them to tell you what they want out of it? “Because everyone else is doing it” simply doesn’t make sense when it comes to Twitter. There’s just too much clutter, too many folks out there doing it well. Mediocrity simply won’t yield returns.

So, if neither you or your client have the end-result in mind, hold off until you do. At the end of the day, your client or boss will hold you accountable for the success or failure of the company’s social media efforts – even if it was their idea.

Don’t set yourself up for an I-told-ya-so. If at first you can’t define a Twitter goal, try, try again – or just move on to the next tool in your communications box.

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When I was a kid, Michael Jackson was my absolute reason for getting out of bed each morning. So blinded by love was I that I never once realized that the belt and shirt he’s wearing in The Way You Make Me Feel makes him look like Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz.  I just thought he was, well, BAD. The good bad, you know.

I believed in his Badness so much that I proudly sported my convictions on a button, which I wore to school every.single day. (see picture – mine was JUST LIKE THAT).

I also remember my grampa being not-so-very supportive of my declaration of intent to marry MJ. I was quite serious. Mom was very sweet about it though: “If you still feel that way when you get older, we’ll talk about it.” Thanks, momma!

(sigh)

I’m quite jealous of my actual hubby for getting to see him live — twice. But as I mine YouTube for live MJ performances, I feel like I’m there. Especially when I see this one, which I remember watching, mouth gaping, as if it were yesterday:

Her Nashville Geek Graphic, June 2009

There must be something in the water here in DC. Lately, quite a few folks have asked me how to begin getting organized. My first answer is usually: make one huge to-do list.  That’s usually followed up by me loaning you a copy of David Allen’s Getting Things Done. If I’ve not yet made you read it, no worries. It’s coming.

But honestly, making lists and reading great advice isn’t going to help you if you haven’t made a pact with yourself to stick to it. It’s tough because, at first, living an organized, task-driven existence takes a lot of discipline until it becomes an actual habit. And that takes a good month or so.

Here’s how it usually goes down: you’ll be an organization rock star for the first week, but will then find yourself slipping back into post-it notes and double-booked-induced panic attacks by week three. Don’t let that sway you. Just sit down, consolidate all the brain clutter into one master to-do list, and start all over again.

I keep myself on track using tricks from both GTD and Bit Literacy, which is the book that introduced me to Goo To Do. I’m on year two of using this online to-do list; I can’t even tell you how much I love it.

Of course, I totally dig the fact that folks come to me for this sort of advice. Your questions and successes have been great inspiration for my Her Nashville columns; please keep them coming!

What about you? Are you well-organized guy/gal? Share your tips and tricks in the comments!