Ian M Rountree

Copywriter, Project Manager, Digital Marketing

Co-Hosting #tweetdiner – Social Media Fatigue

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Tired Woman | Flick

Tonight on #tweetdiner, Nic Wirtz and I will be helping the crew tackle the idea of social media fatigue.

This is at once an old topic (Liz Strauss talked about social media fatigue in 2009) and a renewing concern (the tipping point I saw recently was Amber Naslund writing about social media fatigue here).

It’s hard not to feel exhaustion sometimes – always being on stage, always working the crowd. Always facing concern and disregard from the people who need your help most (if you’re a consultant or marketer as I am)… It’s stressing.

Or, for those not acclimated to the social media sphere, facing their own fatigue in the face of the unknown. Building habits that aren’t taxing, working the social muscles until they build memory and the effort needed drops – it’s a lot of work, and needs a lot of input! So how do we avoid it?

Better yet, should we avoid it?

Fatigue is a sign that growth is happening in some cases. Should we put it off, it’s like dropping from run to walk just as the hurt starts – the hurt is a sign of growth.

So, join Nic and I – along with (of course) Margie Clayman, Stanford Smith and the rest of the crew, at 8pm central time tonight – let’s talk it through.

UPDATE: The chat’s gone down, Notes From #tweetdiner – Social Media Fatigue are live!

Image by o5com.

#TEDxMB un-Wrap-Up

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I had the extreme honour of being part of the Modern Earth Tweet Team covering TEDx Manitoba yesterday – Susan Hurrell and I spent 12 hours yesterday with our duelling laptops doing the platform journalism on Twitter for the event.

Susan Hurrell and Ian M Rountree - Modern Earth Web Design Tweet Team - TEDxManitoba
Susan Hurrell and Ian M Rountree – Modern Earth Web Design Tweet Team – TEDxManitoba

But, I can’t talk about it. Not properly. Not yet. My head is still swimming a bit, from lack of sleep, 12 hours of extreme Twitter goodness, and a number of fantastic talks.

If you want to get a sense of how it went, though…

The Modern Earth Facebook page has some pictures from the event in a #TEDxMB Photo Album.

Check out the What The Hashtag stats and see the transcript. We owned the trends in Manitoba, were number 2 in Canada for the majority of the day, and got into the top 40 trends in Canada according to Trendsmap. More than 1200 tweets were sent with the tag #TEDxMB on the day, from more than 200 participants, from 5 countries on 4 continents. We’ve got tweets from Canada, the US, Hong Kong, Ghana, and Guatemala.

To put that in perspective, that’s fully one third of this week’s #blogchat activity, or two #tweetdiners, with a very niche audience, a closed attendance list, and a livestream. Very little non-new-media promotion before the event, and mostly guidance from the Tweet Team and those on the volunteer crew who were digging in as well. Not too shabby.

The Winnipeg Free Press’ Melissa Martin wrote up a pair of great recaps, as well as an article about “Fast Flying Ideas at Conference” relating the nature of the event’s speed.

UPDATE: I don’t know how I forgot to mention, but I also met Kevin Hnatiuk, Leanne Havelock, Lisa MacKenzie, Ryan Caligiuri, Matt Shepherd, Kevin Glasier and Erica Glasier at the event, and made a point of saying hi to David Pensato again – all of whom I follow and most of whom I’ve spoken to for some time on Twitter. I’ve met many people I’ve known online before, but never so many at a single event.

I’ll say more when I can. Promise.

Notes From #tweetdiner – Authenticity vs Transparency Death Match

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#tweetdiner - Good food. Good advice. Goats.I co-hosted #tweetdiner tonight!

Well, actually, was deputized to host, and the awesome @MyAgenda stepped up to the plate as well.

For those unaware, #tweetdiner is a weekly twitter chat originated by Marjorie Clayman (@MargieClayman) and Stanford Smith (@pushingsocial), which explores how people get into online community platforms, what they can do to make their experience better, and how we can all get the most out of what we do online.

First, some resources:

Dawn Westerberg published some tps for Twitter beginners, one of which was 7 reasons to attend #tweetdiner.

Russell Faust retweeted an article originally shared by Mark Ragan – 10 phrases that mean your blog post is worthless – which decries the use of the term authenticity.

during the chat, @RickCaffienated shared a link to his blog, about dealing with crises.

So what’s the beef?

We talked about authenticity and how it meets transparency, almost entirely because of this article from Margie which asks, in a nutshell, if someone does you a favour… How likely are you to criticize their future work, even if they jump the shark?

It’s an important question. There’s also a really important breakdown of how these things are most often seen online, in their mediatrope froms:

Transparency: Tweets about ham sandwiches and pet bowel activity. See also; [Too Much Information]

Authenticity: The tone by which you transmit your aim to others. See also; [Blogger’s Voice], [Personal Brand] and [Good Job Breaking It, Blogger]

What’s interesting about this is that transparency is almost never equated with letting people know that you’re an affiliate for a program, or that someone you mention is a client or employer. It’s also almost never measured against your authenticity – in the way that Margie says in her article. What’s missing from this conversation?

The idea of integrity, character, tact, and social grace.

Yes. I like transparency to some degree. But I almost stopped listening to Media Hacks when, in one episode, Chris Brogan actually left the podcast by proclamation of bowel movement. I kid you not.

And now the meat!

There were a lot of noteable notes from the chat, as always. Some of them:

@BrandSprouts: I think if you have to work hard to be authentic, you’re probably not. #tweetdiner

@RickCaffienated: my problem is that everyone assumes you’re NOT authentic/transparent in given circumstances and that assumption to me smacks of being inauthentic as well. #butthatsjustme #tweetdiner

@DWesterberg: Authenticity means I’ve lost some, won some – but probably won and lost the right ones #tweetdiner

@jaclynmullen: I think integrity is a huge determining factor for authenticity. It can also be a double edge sword. On the one hand, if you provide full disclosure & promote a product that you may be vested in, you have integrity, right? But when we know someone may have received consideration to review a product, how much do we trust their review?

We all stumbled around the same elephant (as Rick put it) for some time; authenticity is a personal trait, not a verb, and transparency seems to be the means by which we express that authenticity.

Integrity can be really easily defined as consistent authenticity over a long period of time; even as applies to social media and online communications.

The bottom line.

There was kerfuffle in the US last year when a bill passed requiring affiliation and sponsorships to be listed on blogs. That changed some of the landscape of disclosure on the web, and led in part to the discussion we had tonight. The nature of authenticity and transparency is tricky, especially as applies to the pseudo-anonymous web. Even when we’re ourselves, we’re not all of ourselves all the time.

You don’t need to share everything. But you do need to share the things that matter – like client relationships and perks – because failing to do so is is disingenuous. However, there’s a line to be drawn between enforcing openness at an uncomfortable level, and encouraging people to do the right thing.

We’re not going to get into the question of exactly what “the right thing” is tonight – ethics and morality on the web have to be another day entirely. Big, big can of worms there.

Last quote of the night:

@tsudo: Authenticity is the Aim. Transparency is part of the method. #tweetdiner

Fantastic stuff.

What are your thoughts on authenticity? Do you disclose everything, or are you cautious in your sharing? How do you think different levels of disclosure affect our integrity as people and publishers?

Find more information about #TweetDiner on What The Hashtag

Read the full conversation transcript here as well.

Notes from #blogchat – Blogging 201

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15/52 blue - FlickrBack from the great beyond, it’s time for more Notes from #blogchat! Let’s go!

Tonight was a discussion of going beyond dipping your toes in the blogosphere, and moving from 101 hobby blogging, to Blog 201 and beyond.

Firstly, I asked if anyone was actively putting any of the advice they’ve had on #blogchat to good use on their blogs.

I think the question got lost in the rush of “This is how I blogchat” – ignore that part, and read Stan Smith’s rockstar-level #blogchat methodology.

To answer, however: we’ve had a lot of good advice. (sidebars, construction topicality, etc)

Mack asked how we decide the focus of our blogs – Margie Clayman, true to form, jumped in with a note about finding inspiration in tweets and other blog posts. I concur, however; when you’re working up to the 101 level (forget 201 for now), writing what you know can be a good start. Address your own concerns and interests, and those of like mind will jump in.

Of course, as @kateyoung28 mentioned, getting people to find you when you’re starting out can be hard unless you promote. My first step is always SEO – as I’ve written about before, that’s easier than most bloggers think.

Chase Adams mentioned getting inspiration from coffee shops and other public places – something we don’t do nearly often enough (paying attention when in public). Don’t ego map yourself; pull out the headphones once in a while.

As a sidenote, Chris Garrett mentioned editorial calendars to help keep yourself on track and not miss any opportunites to write. I agree. I’d also add that plugins such as Insights (for WordPress.org blogs) are essential to making sure you link your writing in an integrated fashion to your past thoughts.

@devacoach mentioned using her iPhone to take pictures as reminders – I agree! – I use Evernote when I’ve got my laptop or phone about.

@deswalsh mentioned using Google Analytics regularly to see which past posts are performing more persistently – a 201 trick if there ever was one – so he can write similar material in the future.

Halftime! There was a lot of tomfoolery about tools here, gratuitous mentions of Evernote and other organizational tools – see the transcript for more on this part.

I asked what else, other than higher quality content, clearly demarcates a 201-level blog from a 101-level blog. @be3d said “consistent content cadence” – a term you can bet I’ll be using in the future. Consistency definitely trumps frequency in blogs.

@Josepf mentioned developing series of posts – and that’s a great tip. Series may or may not get as many comments as single, heavy hitting pillar articles, but drawing out a concept into a few different articles is one of the marks of an accustomed writer, if not a professional one. Circling a topic for a few dozen posts is vastly different to writing a targeted series. No more of this ready fire aim business.

Now – back to that Ready, Fire, Aim thing.

It’s always been my thought that online business (and thus blogs) do better when they Beta extensively, and refine as they go, toward a moving, yet identified target. More on this later this week.

Power quote time:

@savvywordpress: always remember SEO get them there, good design gets their interest, great content keeps them there + makes conversion #blogchat

Awesome, yes? This encompasses a lot of what #blogchat has been saying for a while.Quality web-work has to cover all the bases.

And that’s when Mack started asking about subscribers. The first question? Who’s got a subscribe button on their blogs. I’d argue a subscribe button is minimum table stakes for blog design – anything less than at least a “Subscribe here” link, or an orange icon is doing it wrong.

A lot of people agreed that they’ve got subscribe buttons, and know what they’re for. This is a good thing.

@superdumb (who is most definitely NOT) dropped a note about starting conversations in comments on others’ blogs that you can take home to your own. 201-level tip, for sure.

And, mercy to the masses, Dan Perez and I actually agreed on something; there’s a massive gulf in skillsets between bloggers and writers (and, I added, authors). Not all writers can blog, and not every blogger should author a book or write a newspaper column. This is important, especially when considering the move from 101 blog (hobby, mandatory action, etc) to 201, full-on, professional blogging.

Above all else, making sure you’re not just covering the minimum bases, but filling out every field and making sure you have the commitment to find the right skills and get the right support is one of the key factors in moving into Blogging at the 201 Level. Anyone can write a blog. Not everyone needs, wants, or must become a highly skilled blogger.

What do you think? What else goes on the list of 201-level blogging tips that we missed?

Read the transcript for #blogchat, November 14th 2010 here. See the #blogchat stats on What the Hashtag.

A participants’ list will be up as soon as I can get one/generate one. If you’ve got one, please do share!

Photo by Scarleth White.

Notes From #blogchat – Co-Host @ShannonPaul

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Tonight’s #blogchat featured Shannon Paul, from the Very Official Blog, and Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield. The topic was responding to comments on a company blog.

This is a pretty touchy subject – I know many new corporate bloggers feel as though the comments are the bane of their existence, or that it should be so heavily moderated it may as well not exist at all – but at the end of the day, if there’s not a discussion, there’s not a community.

Here’s what shaped up in the chat:

First of all, Shannon is a great person. Really down to earth – and it showed even in the pre-game show. Watching some of the back and forth was great, as always.

Of course, 8pm hits, and the chat was already accelerating. The mandatory introductions were mandatory, the obligatory jokes were obligatory. Pretty standard.

The first question was about scope – do you respond to every comment on your company blog? What about your personal blog? It’s an important question.

Next thing – a note from a number of people about there being no one-size-fits-all approach to comments. I have to say I agree – strategy for comments is as individual as content strategy for the blog itself.

@mattceni let me know the first SEO question came in at 8:10 – which is by no means a record, but amusing none the less.

An awesome quote from Shannon Paul – “A blog is typically a conversation, but how you define the conversation you want to have differs.”

As well, a great notice from Shannon regarding dealing with trolls and inappropriate comments – leave the emotion at home.

A couple of people mentioned that comment sections are a great way to catch things you’ve missed – aspects of a story not covered, concerns not addressed and so forth. This is fairly important, and how you as a corporate blogger react to these challenges/criticisms/revelations/bonus points is paramount to the success of the blog you’re running.

Of course, timely as always, there were some comments about back channels and more direct, discrete areas.

Halftime! No intermission!

Mack Collier made a good point that many customers who make negative comments on a company blog do so because they see it as a last resort for customer service. I tend to agree – negative may not be constructive, but usually stems from a real reason, no matter how overblown the comment is.

This said; don’t feed the trolls. Once you determine whether or not there can be a resolution to a stated issue, resolve or move on.

There were a few notes throughout the chat about setting expectations, for readers and commentators, in order to ensure that there is both appropriate respect, and appropriate relevance in comments.

Companies, unfortunately, seem to think that having comments open in the first place will draw negativity, and encourage disgruntled people to make bad comments.

Hear this: Permission given from Shannon and Mack, and just about everyone on the chat, to delete abusive comments without response. There. Now, let people comment.

Similarly – comments both positive and negative can be very power ways to gather data for use across the company. If someone speaks up – either to praise or not – use that. Interact with it, unless it’s abusive (see; do not feed trolls) and make the most of it.

All in all, company blogs need to better embrace the comment section, and let their customers – and prospects – interact in a less formal manner with them. This isn’t about diluting your brand or your message – this is about making sure you do right by people, in the arenas where it’s expected.

Participants’ List from TweepML

What The Hashtag transcript for #blogchat on October 17th

If I missed something let me know! That’s what the comments section is for!