DISQUS

People are so scared of standing up for what they believe in. They live in fear of having thoughts different than everyone else. They're afraid of being unique.

Thanks, Danny, for reminding us there's no reason to be afraid. We're all different anyway. Why not be loud and proud, right?! ;)

I've been thinking about this recently, Danny, so kudos for reading my mind :)

Every time I meet someone from Twitter for the first time at a tweet-up or networking event or bar or whatever, that connection is strengthened a ton. And then when I see them again at another event, that connection is strengthened a ton more.

At the same time, there's folks I talk to all the time that I've yet to meet in person, and our connections are strong too.

But as you say, I'm not talking about thousands of people here. I'm talking about a few handfuls of real connections that matter. Not just shooting the shit or trying to sell each other lawn mowers. Real connections.

In high school, a week or so before my band's next show, I'd head over to Kinkos and copy dozens of flyers onto neon colored paper. Then my band and I would head over to another high school in our district where we had some friends and put flyers on all the cars in the parking lot.

We thought that putting as many flyers as possible on as many cars as possible would equal more people at the show.

Nope. People are so jaded to flyers on cars already, I'm willing to bet 99% of ours were thrown out. Only really our friends at that high school knew who we were and would consider going to our show.

Seems obvious to me now, but to the uneducated and unexperienced, quantity always seems to be the answer. If we had just targeted those who liked our style of music...

I understand that they concentrate much of their efforts on their client work and that is a good thing. But as you said, two months is a lifetime on the web. If a few days had passed before they reacted, that would be understandable. But two months? No excuse.

Not listening is one thing. But not listening and then after two months deciding to complain about a fake account defaming you is a whole different story. Obviously people defaming you isn't that big of a deal since you put little effort into monitoring your brand.

I apologize if I'm coming across too harsh here. But anybody who hangs out in these spaces (ie, a PR firm such as Tanner) hears this listening and monitoring stuff day in and day out. It's like addition and subtraction at this point - basic.

An "innovative and imaginative" company shouldn't still be learning their multiplication tables.

I knew about Len and Richard but the other 3 are brand new to me. Thanks for the new reads Stuart!

I agree with Keli. Unfortunately, switching to a new company is often times as much of a pain as it is staying with the horrible company.

Seems to end up being the lesser of two evils. Sad part is, they shouldn't all be evils.

While I don't enjoy people bickering back and forth (which happens from time to time), I do enjoy when comments take the post beyond the original topic and evolves the discussion into something new. For me, that's the conversation flowing naturally.

There have been many a time where I've found greater insight in the comments of a post than in the post content itself. And I'm not saying the post wasn't amazing. The conversation it generated was even more amazing.

Count me in on the Coronas! :)

Great idea here Danny! I find little value in the lists of random names people blurt out over Twitter. Your idea is an excellent way of explaining the personal reasons you have behind your recommendations and letting people actually get to know your them. Looking forward to more!

Speaking like a human is so important. I think many companies alienate themselves from customers because they don't talk like real people but instead speak like cyborgs. A simple change like that can go a long way.

This is definitely the time to buckle down and start using these "social media" tools to actually do something. It's going to remain shiny to those who don't understand it fully, but that's all the more reason for those who do to showcase what this is all capable of.

Being scared of having an opinion is being scared to be a person. The thing that is awesome about humanity is the fact that we all have our own dislikes, likes, opinions, hates, loves, etc. that unite us with others and at the same time provoke deep thinking with others.

Playing it safe will get you nowhere (except exactly where you are right now).

I think you have some good steps here. I'd add a step before number 1: don't be afraid. Show some confidence. If you have something to support your opinion, then get out there and open discussion.

I'm along the lines of Suzemuse with this one. "Social media" is still a bubble full of people who "get it". There's a wide world out there of people who don't "get it". So these companies aren't really reaching the "everyman"...they're reaching a small segment of the overall market that is communicating in these channels.

And I'm willing to bet the reason you're asked to review products is more for the fact that you have 23,243 readers (as of this writing) than the fact that you're an "everyman". If they truly wanted to reach joe schmoes, wouldn't they just pick random bloggers with some readers rather than bloggers with at least 20,000 readers?

I love what you do Chris and enjoy your conversations, don't get me wrong. But I find it far fetched that you're the "everyman" these days.

I understand your point Michael. But the thing that's crazy is that this "interacting" companies are slow to learn isn't anything earth shattering. It's simply treating people like people.

The sad part is companies aren't used to treating people as such. They're used to treating people like numbers, like mindless robots, and ensuring that we continue to act that way. Now that people have more tools to voice their opinion, companies are confused. Their numbers are talking...and making decisions...

Congrats! Sounds like something fun and challenging :)

Such a simple concept but so very important. You can try and sell your product a zillion different ways, but the way that relates to the customer the best is the way that will win.

If you're not translating your message to relate, you're probably not being very effective.

It's true, we all get stuck in our routine at one point or another. You're right, though, we must break free and try something new.

Adam Singer brought up a good point awhile ago on a post of mine relating to this very topic. He mentioned how patterns aren't always bad if you analyze and learn from them.

You said it so perfectly, Chris: "If you have to tell me you're the best, you're not.".

The companies that ARE the best and are confident in that are the companies whose customers speak for them. They don't spend money on trying to sell themselves to potential customers - the customers sell their friends on it.

Jeff, I think you have a very important point here. There's levels of engagement when it comes to this stuff. I'd say Visa was on a lower level of engagement, where they tried to integrate a real story by a real person.

I think a further level of engagement would be along the lines of what you're saying. Make the ad even MORE about Bill and less about Visa. Who is Bill? Why does he do what he does?

And to your point about conforming to their process, I agree with you. With this sort of story and person, I think they could have pushed the envelope a bit by leaving the traditional television advertising medium and trying some sort of online interactive experience.

If you treat your customers like people, you're going to succeed. This is where most companies miss the boat. They fail to connect with their customers or potential customers as real people with real stories. Instead, they're caught up in measurements, numbers, and margins.

Your customers don't give a crap about last quarter's profits. They care that you relate to people who can dance like nobody's business.

As Maria said, everything adds up to your message, your reputation. It's up to you to determine what that message is and what effect it has on you and your business.

I'm almost always a fan of independent retailers over big box stores, for all the reasons you detailed out here so nicely. The small guys stand for something. The big guys stand on top of someone.

Great point, Jim. If everyones an expert, is anyone really an expert?

Very nice sir! Dare I ask a question? ;)

What would you say to really niche bloggers who write for a specific community (whether it be 10 people or 110 people) and have no interest in the "outside world"? Those not interested in getting on the top blog sites or becoming famous or affecting many outside their specific niche?

Well done Danny!

Definitely need to remember the basics. Tools will come and go, be effective and non effective, grow and shrink. But you need to know your core values and goals that those tools support.

I think you're right. Many people scramble to think of some meaningless answer instead of just saying they don't know. As you said, it's not appropriate for every question but it definitely shows a sign of confidence. You may not know but you'll sure as hell figure it out!

This is great example of people getting caught up in the tools rather than the underlying concepts.

Video is not dead. The model of broadcasting video with no interactivity (traditional television) will probably fall by the wayside, but video will continue to progress and grow in other realms (online).

Writing is not dead. People may write less with actual pens and write less on actual paper but writing will continue to progress and grow in other areas (online).

Susan's video is an excellent example of the types of merging that can (and will) occur.