Cute cartoon re: practicing faith in the 21st century

How do you even begin blogging about a tech-savvy priest?  Like this.

Catholics get a bad rep for being old school in their ways.  The traditional and conservative rituals of Catholicism, Mormonism, and other old religions are perceived to be too broken down for the modern lifestyle.  But there’s nothing old school about this priest.

Meet Fr. Mike, a Jesuit priest and co-director of Magis Alumni Relations at Seattle University.  For many years, I have admired Fr. Mike’s homilies during mass at the Chapel of St. Ignatius (for you non-Catholics, a homily is a summary of the gospel during mass that priests use to translate the scripture in ways we can spiritually apply them to our daily lives).  I’ve always wondered how I would be able to share his thoughts with the world without making the message sound too religious or cult-like, because that’s exactly how it would be perceived.

Thanks to the most tech-savviest priest I know, I won’t have to wonder anymore.  For the past year, Fr. Mike has been posting his homilies on Facebook, the social networking platform he uses to connect with the SU community.  I’ve been impressed with his ability to build a spiritual community online, especially among college students who often spend time on social networking sites to share their latest pictures and innuendos from last weekend’s rager.  Not only is he sharing his human and discerning reflections about spirituality and life, he is facing the stigma that has loomed over the priest community for many years with a simple commodity:  Transparency.

Being transparent about things can help bring down walls in many situations.  The less you share, the less people will know, and the more you share, the more people will know.  It’s as simple as that.  But I’m not trying to condone that being fully and always transparent is good.  There are benefits to keeping profiles private (as I do with Facebook) to a closed network of people you personally know, but that discussion can be saved for another time.

What I do want to share is Fr. Mike’s willingness to embrace technology to invite people to have a modern conversation within a community that is commonly perceived as being too structured and traditional.  I know there are contemporary religious groups that have already embraced new technologies, but I think it is easier to incorporate them with a congregation based upon 20th century roots.  It is commendable to see a religious leader going against the reputational grain within a religious community that is perceived to have high adversity to change.

In addition to enlightening homilies on Facebook, Fr. Mike has joined the latest social phenomenon of Twitter and he plans on launching a blog this summer.  If I could make a personal request, I’d love to subscribe to a podcast of all homilies from the Chapel of St. Ignatius. Imagine the possibility of a cultural and religious movement if priests around the world invited people to listen through new communication mediums!

Because religious or not, I’m pretty confident someone is willing to listen.

If you have heard about #AmazonFail, #Oprah, #HudsonRiverCrash in the past few months, you probably fall into one of these categories:

• Taking the leap onto the Twitter bandwagon
• On the cusp of joining Twitter but don’t want to manage another social networking site
• Maybe considering it, but still too much effort to tell if I’ll be onboard
• Twitter still sucks

Haters, don’t say I didn’t warn you. But thanks for keep me motivated.

I’ve gotten a lot of responses, comments, and feedback from my January entry “To Twitter, or not to Twitter”. Since then, Twitter has vomited all over the world. Even the latest Miss USA pageant (yes, I watched this and you can judge me) had incorporated Twitter animations like “Look at me, I’m Twittering” edited above people in the audience typing away on their cell phones. I am also seeing postings like:

“Follow me on Twitter!”

“I’m finally on Twitter but I don’t get it.”

Twitter had already reached critical mass, but it has really taken off within the past few months. Since 2007, there are 700% more Twitterites worldwide and 1000% in the US (comScore, March 2009). Given the related events in the past few weeks, such as Ashton’s million followers challenge and the Oprah Effect, I am twiddling my thumbs for the next comScore release of Twitter data.

I had a hunch that this so called “spike” was coming, though I didn’t know when it would happen or what would cause it to spike. One thing I do know is that Twitter is not a steroid version of a Facebook update. No one cares if you are brushing your teeth or if you are feeding your dog.

So why should you care? Let me count the ways.

Niche Content

It’s the relatable content that is going to drive Twitter to the next level, whether that the content is national breaking news or content that is niche focused. I think Twitter is diverse enough to be utilized by different industries, but it will take some time to create a “niche critical mass”.

Some niche focused Twitter examples that I know exist today are:

• Amber Alerts (@Amber_Alert)
• Job Listings (@journalism_jobs, @jobsmedical, @freelance_jobs)
• PR announcements (@TaxDayTeaParty, @coachella)

Some other niche focused Twitter examples that I think could benefit from micro-blogging (they may already exist):

• Car sales
• Real Estate listings
• Stock quotes

Imagine if I were to follow my stock quote, Seattle Times, Craigslist posting for cars, local marketing events, etc. – I could log into my Twitter each morning to get my latest feed of (desired) information. But, the pseudo RSS capability isn’t the only added value of Twitter.

Virtual Think Tank

If you really want to use Twitter to tell the world that you are having a Big Mac or going for a walk, go right ahead. But in my opinion, that’s what Facebook is for.  Most people (not businesses) use Facebook as a true social network. It is a modern way of keeping in touch with your family and friends. You update your pictures and status to let a closed group of social networks know what you’re up to.

I think Twitter is a bit different. They provide the audience for you to share niche content with. It is a way to let the world know your brain provoking thoughts and to share links to interesting sites or breaking news—and Twitter serves as your dumping station. This is why most people who end up linking Twitter with Facebook updates decide to disconnect the two platforms later on. Content on Twitter is meant to be public, otherwise, what’s the point of using it? You have Facebook if you want to keep things private to people you know. If you’re not comfortable with communicating and brainstorming with the public, then maybe you should just stick with Facebook updates.

Interacting with your Fans

On that “going public” note, you should also consider interacting with your audience. Twitter is not only a platform where you can share information, but also to network with your followers. Check out Twitter’s help section, and discover the different techniques such as hashtags, re-tweets, and direct replies.

I do want to share a pretty cool use of Twitter I had never come across before.  During a lecture on social media by Adam Metz, there was a live Twitter feed on a big screen of all the tweets being posted in the room. The audience would tweet during the presentation and use an event-unique hashtag to show up on the aggregated feed, which ignited real time discussion even before he started taking questions. Talk about prematurely engaging your audience and creating a transparent environment for knowledge sharing. I can totally see this practice being implemented in conferences and the classroom (maybe it already is).

So, there. Thanks to your feedback, I managed to deliver a resource focused Twitter kool-aid post for your consumption. Perhaps the next comScore data will lead to part trois.

[posted on Flip the Media]

Image by Microsoft Advertising at Cannes 2009

Don’t believe everything you hear.  Microsoft can be innovative, too.

The online advertising industry is a special interest network and there are lots of us out there.  We are always looking for the next big thing, checking to see who is testing the water, what is driving the latest optimization idea, and how everyone is leveraging the information.  In the advertising world, I think new ideas have a shorter shelf life than one hit wonders, therefore it is imperative to keep reinventing the wheel.  If you don’t, you’ll easily find yourself running behind everyone else.

I came across a podcast for Microsoft Advertising during my search for online advertising “listening” material.  I was proud to see that an old colleague of mine, Jason Yormark, had spearheaded this innovative form of reaching out to the online advertising community.

This was a smart move for Microsoft Advertising, because it helps enhance reputation, provide the latest product information, and create another location for applicable audiences.  For me, it definitely re-affirmed perception of the brand, especially after going through numerous brand changes in the past four years.  I’m especially impressed with episodes that provide value to clients, such as “Holiday Search Tips/Tricks”, “Keyword Research Tips”, and “Choosing the Right PPC Strategy and Agency Selection”.

There is one caveat I’d like to point out: the podcast can be heavily search focused.  Since Microsoft Advertising provides a wide range of ad opportunities, there is room for information about rich media executions, engagement mapping, and search + display synergy campaigns.  Why not let the world know what we’re up to?

The moral of this story (or blog) is that a podcasting strategy can help increase customer awareness and loyalty to your brand.  If you’re not communicating with your audience, you’re dead.

Subscribe to the Microsoft Advertising Podcast

Given the plethora of premature scholarly readings about the current state of online business and media, The Cluetrain Manifesto offers an entertaining and taboo approach about the impact and trends of the Internet.  Collaborated by four subject matter experts of the online business community, the book reveals stories about historical milestones, and then contributes predictions of what else is to come.  It begins with 95 theses that are used as focal points throughout the book, providing a captivating intelligence that confronts bureaucratic companies about their outdated best practices that could prohibit a healthy revolution of the Internet business.  With quotations from contemporary figures and a business-like writing style, the book dives into topics that are worth exploring-specifically the current catastrophes of the Internet, the common voice of society about revolutions of the Internet, and indication of where society and business are heading in the online world.

The book introduces the current state of online revolutions and its impact on businesses as a complete disaster.  It begins with a review of the Internet history, particularly about the explosion of the World Wide Web and how it eventually influenced our economies in both positive and negative ways.  The birth of the Internet transformed the management and production of goods and mass media.  Thanks to the Internet, markets grew significantly, but also it provided a low barrier of entry for domestic and international competitors.  On the other hand, traditional forms of media and means of doing business began to shift, because expected results began to become inevitable.  It became obvious that you could no longer teach old tricks to dogs of business, and Locke made it clear that change is absolutely necessary.  Part of the change is acquiring a liberal outlook that empowers all people to exchange ideas rather than referring to established ways of running a business.  This can be achieved by standardizing an environment that is inclusive to open conversations and analysis of new thoughts.  However, the book does not suggest any baseline for this idea.  An all-encompassing environment is good, but without basic boundaries, ideas are not scalable to carry out their purpose.

Online voice has become more powerful than ever.  It is also easier to hear the common voice of societies because the Internet has created a culture that makes it easier for anyone and everyone to communicate and express opinions on a variety of topics.  Throughout the book, the authors make it evident that influential power has become disproportional between corporations and the average Joes.  If the big dogs don’t recognize the muscle behind viral marketing, they will one day become overruled in their old regime.  As the Internet grows, conversations will follow.  Specifically in the chapter “Markets Are Conversations”, corporations may ask why conversations are important, and it is because they contain the meat of what will become the marketplace.  While I see the benefits behind the value of conversations, it would be interesting to study the difference in impact among various industries.  For example, the book refers to retail examples how consumers can publicize a bad service or product and influence companies to accommodate to their needs.  It would be interesting to see specific results about how conversations have persuaded the government or education markets.

Conversations will carry on whether they like it or not, therefore, an action plan is needed for prepare for the future path of societies and businesses.  The book heavily focuses on what corporations should do to create a more inclusive environment and to conform to the revolutions of the Internet.  For example, they suggest specificities around intranets and work expectations.  Having an action plan is good, but what about preparing for unforeseen results?  Did the authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto think about back-up plans, in case a new phenomenon entered the online industry?  I enjoyed the book, and agreed with many of the arguments, but when foreseeing the future, it is important to prepare for the best and for the worst.

On the whole, The Cluetrain Manifesto is an appropriate read for all audiences who share an interest in any form of the digital media or online business industry, because it reviews best practices of the past, and how it needs to be modernized to adapt to current revolutions.  The authors present a conversational and witty voice that is amusing, while capturing key messages of the Internet and its impact on business and society.  They challenge the reader to question the big elephant that currently sits in the room of the World Wide Web, and to help individuals to recognize their potential contribution to the current and future revolution of business.  I would highly recommend all senior management of every corporation to read this book and become liberated to help create the path for the standardization of future business practices.  Without the realizations that The Cluetrain Manifesto has to offer, corporations may need to prepare for a big wake-up call to face the future business as we know it.  As a laissez-faire minded individual contributor, that might be not such a bad idea.