Supporting Education With Social Media

As a product of both private and public education, and an alum of a state school (Go Cougs), I feel very strongly about access to a quality education.

So when I was given the opportunity to help out with a new education initiative with the Wenatchee School District I jumped at the chance.

The project is called Wenatchee Learns and I'm providing new media strategy and administration support to the project. It's basically a city-wide focus group aimed at gathering information from current and past Wenatchee learners to help shape

the future of local education.

Here's an amazing video about the project by the very talented North Central Washington director and film maker Charley Voorhis.

Wenatchee Learns from Voortex Productions on Vimeo.

Recently we embarked upon a like drive/scholarship fundraising project, partnering up with the global fruit magnate Stemilt Growers. The folks from Stemilt pledged to donate $1 per like to the Wenatchee Learns Facebook page (up to $1,500).

In about two weeks we've gathered about 700 new likes but we're only halfway from our ultimate goal. So I came up with this poster campaign so people can show their support in a unique and personal way – with a photo.

My hope is that the idea will catch on and become a popular way to show support for local education through social media. If you'd like to be totally awesome and show your support, here's a downloadable PDF version of the poster you can print and share!

Wenatchee Learns iSupport Poster

Twitter Tact – Social Media Manners

My momma always said, "Manners matter."

And that's true for the new media frontier too.

Being polite is just as important (if not more) in digital communication as it is in real life.

In fact with the lack of voice intonation and body language it's even more important to practice good manners online than when communicating face to face.

Much of building online relationships rests on manners – whether you're writing as a brand or a company or as a single entity.

Just like real life – no one wants to talk to a jerk.

So with that in mind I jotted down three simple things that help foster relationships online (and in person for that matter):

1) Listen

A no-brainer. But there's nowhere else to begin. Like ALL communication, people mostly want to talk about themselves. That's not a slight anyone in particular it's just a plain fact about people.

A conversation is like a tennis game – the ball (a topic) is served, volleyed and returned. One of the players can't grab the ball and run, that's called keep-away and it defeats the point of playing tennis in the first place. It's important to return the ball.

Unfortunately some approach communication, whether online or in person, to be a game a keep-away in which you hold onto the attention for as long as you can. But it costs them the game. It costs them the game because no one wants to play with them.

2) Respond

Always tweet back. Promptly respond to blog comments. "Like" people's Facebook links comments and retweet with abandon. Show thankfulness for people's interest in your content and show interest in theirs. Validate others by validating their thoughts.

Whether or not you agree with everything everyone says, legitimize others by responding with legitimacy.

And always, always, always remember:

Social media is a communications medium – so communicate.

Twitter is one of those platforms where people seem to completely disregard normal rules of communication and instead operate by some sort of hybrid sense of social hierarchy. Some only respond to those with a greater or equal number of followers, which I find to be petty and shallow.

3) Engage

Social media is not a broadcast medium. It's a two-way street. Communication flows back and forth between communicator and audience. Writing a blog post or creating original content is merely the first step in what ideally becomes a conversation.

As much as we may try to pretend that digital communication is different and new, it's not. It's still communication, plain and simple. Being polite, being a good listener and being considerate still hold as much (or even more) merit as they once did.

The only thing the Internet does is make it easier to have MORE communication. Think about that...

Wenatchee's History In 2 Minutes

A short video on Wenatchee's history that I produced for the Wenatchee Museum and Cultural Center.

Halloween In A Small Town

Halloween in small towns like Wenatchee, Washington have an old-timey feel. Like you stepped into the 50s and you're experiencing that little slice of Americana when communities were close-knit and people celebrated the changing of the seasons together.

On Halloween night in Wenatchee everyone's out on the streets, taking a turn about the neighborhood so the kids can get their candy.

Although Wenatchee's not perfect, not by a long shot, it's night's like these that I really feel thankful to live in a real American town like Wenatchee.

Tearing Through Paper: The Future Of Communication

Bands Battle At Taste Of The Harvest

Wenatchee, Washington is a quaint little slice of Americana.

With a population just over 30,000, it's a centennial city with a nationally registered historic downtown and an economy reliant on the summer and fall cherry, apple and pear harvests.

It's large enough to have traffic at 5, a vibrant arts and culture scene and a few homeless people but small enough you can walk downtown, get a cup of coffee in the morning and see your dentist, a couple from your gym and that girl from that party who's name you can't recall.

Because the economy is so heavily invested in the agricultural crop the two biggest events in town are the spring "Apple Blossom Parade" and the fall "Taste of the Harvest" festival.

Last year, I helped judged the "Improv Chef Cook Off" – Wenatchee's equivalent of "The Iron Chef" and it was a great time. Though I didn't adhere to customary cooking competition rules...

I cleaned my plate, smacked my lips in appreciation and asked for seconds.

Check out this video I made:

So naturally this young squire was not invited back to sup this year – though I think that mainly due to the fact that they didn't have a cook off...

So this year I took pictures!

Mainly because one of my clients, Caffe Mela, organized and sponsored the Battle of the Bands and since I work for them it's kinda my job to help promote it...

But it was a great show!

The Pacific Northwest is a region with a rich and vibrant arts community. Great musicians, painters and writers live here and I really think that a lot of people who live here are spoiled. They take it for granted and pass by great music and great bands just because their poster isn't above a urinal or on a billboard.

Nevertheless, we here in Washington state enjoy great music and THIS year I had mine eyes opened to a luminescent young star by the name of Pickwick.

Everyone knows the Seattle music scene is blowing up right now – The Head And The Heart, Macklemore and more. But what I'm telling you right now is that this band, Pickwick, is going to be big, huge!

They headlined tonight after the Battle of the Bands wrapped up and all I can say is wow, wowy, wowzers!

As Brian from Poor Folks put it, "I thought R&B was dead, but it's not!"

I agree. This band, comprised of a bunch of super-white-looking, flanneled hipsters but they make beautiful, soulful music that would make Reggie Young break down and cry.

Check out this little tune from them:

It's not from tonight but you get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Yikesy-maroo!

I Interview The Town's Salty Old Man

I've been working on a blog series for the local Chevy/Subaru/Cadillac dealership, Cascade Auto Center, and my first interview was with Wenatchee's resident "dirty old man" Harold Schroder.

Harold's a mostly-to-semi-retired, self-proclaimed "hustler" and he's not one to mince words.

He's been a bail bondsman, a real estate magnate and just about everything else one does when one buys low and sells high. We already knew each other because we haunt the same morning hotspot, Caffe Mela (another client of mine).

Now I've always been one of those people who gets along with older people famously – the "straight-shootin'" mentality and antiquated idioms intrigue me and older people usually like me because I love a good story.

So Harold and I get along.

Usually we sit at the bar and make small talk about life, love and ALWAYS, ALWAYS women. I'll cackle embarrassedly like a schoolgirl as Harold makes off-color remarks to the attractive baristas. He gets a kick out of harrying them like a fox gets a kick out of terrorizing the hen house. And I must admit – I live vicariously through him at those moments because a man my age would NEVER, EVER get away with saying the things he does (it's quite cathartic).

But the fact is – Harold's a really sweet guy. And if you take a moment to talk to him you realize it.

One thing many people don't know about him is how much he loved his late wife, Cathy. She died about six years ago and you can tell he misses her. It's kind of heartbreaking.

While preparing for this interview I was setting up the camera and chairs and such while Harold was talking to another old man, a friend of his who just happened to be at the dealership. They were talking about their recently deceased wives and I was struck by the intimacy of their conversation.

"How long ago did yours pass?"

"Oh, about six years now."

"Yeah, it's hard without 'em."

"Hell. It's hard with 'em! But there's not much to do without a good woman..."

Perhaps it was because of that pre-interview conversation that Harold wanted to inquire about my own love life. Which is bleak – to say the least.

But he persisted in asking about the details of my situation and so I told him. My last girlfriend was a smart but obstinate (part of the appeal really) lawyer and alas, she moved back to Seattle.

Thus, letting me off the hook in my mind. But Harold saw things differently.

He advised me to go find her, get her and marry her post-haste. In fact, his theory on marriage goes a little something like this: "Quick! Before she notices!"

In fact, he married his wife after the first date. He told me that he stole his beloved from, "Some dumbshit that didn't know what was happening." He took her on a date, she wouldn't sleep with him, so he asked her to marry him.

50-odd years, two kids, a family and a life later...

Here, watch our conversation for yourself:

"Is she smart?"

"Yeah."

"Why's she going with you?"

Haha.

Campy, but effective.

Check out this video. It's campy. It's cliche. It's low quality.

But it's effective.

I shot this with a FlipCam, produced it with iMovie and published it on Facebook and Twitter.

Sure it's not high quality, in any sense of the phrase, but it gets peoples' attention.

And isn't that what media's all about?

A Little Baseball Video

Check out this little video I made for the Wenatchee AppleSox a few days ago:



Nothing major - in fact it's a bit of a cliche "Rocky" spoof - but it gets the job done and illustrates my point about new media marketing needing to be consistent, creative, dynamic and engaging as opposed to high production quality and slick bells and whistles.

Twitter's New Photosharing Revamp - Pretty Cool

Twitter's been undergoing some interesting changes lately (including purchasing TweetDeck) and their new photosharing revamp is pretty slick.

Check it out:

The Family Business Makes It To New Media

So guess who's got a logo and Facebook page?

This guy.

Whaddya think?

Originally I was going to go with "Branding, Quality Content and Social Media Marketing" but y'know – there's a lot more to digital marketing than just Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. Plus the term "social media" suggests a certain informality – it makes one think it's something anyone who is active on Facebook can do. And that is not the case.

It's kinda like the difference between public access and primetime. Sure, both are broadcasted but it's all about how many people pay attention....

But please click "like" on my Facebook page because I need all the followers I can get. I just set it up and don't have many friends yet.

Will you be my friend?

Skiing To Baseball: Social Media Alla' Time

A big part of being a freelancer writer, or marketing consultant, or new media Ronin ... whatever you wanna call it it - is constantly finding new clients.

(Side note, "New Media Ronin" is my favorite of those three titles and may or may not be on my card...)

But point is, working for yourself is a challenge.

Yes, it's nice being your own boss. It's also perpetually nerve-wracking. Next month I could be making twice as much as I am this month. But then again - I could be making half of what I am now.

So necessity ... er ... necessitates I keep signing clients. So I recently picked up the local summer league amateur club, the Wenatchee AppleSox.

If you don't know much about baseball - summer leagues are where all the good college players go to cool their heels during their summers. And by "cool their heels," I mean make a name for themselves and show the pro scouts what they're made of.

It's a really interesting time to watch baseball players because it's where the mental and physical aspects of the game of baseball really coalesce and make or break players.

It's where the wheat is separated from the chaff, so to speak.

But my job isn't to wax poetic about bygone aspirations of pro ball - it's to get people excited about baseball. So that's what I plan to do.

The season starts June 3rd and so far a few of the highlights of what I've done is make the AppleSox mascot, Coyote, a Facebook page. And I made this video:



Nothing major - just a little messing around in iMovie.

Follow the AppleSox on Facebook and Twitter to keep track of my progress through the season.

Go AppleSox!

Why I Love 'The Twitter' (Prt. I: Content is King)

I once read a Tweet that went, "Facebook makes you hate people you know and Twitter makes you love people you've never met."

That, ladies and gents, pretty much sums it up ...

Facebook is a relationship-based network while Twitter is content-based.

When it comes to Facebook you usually know the people who populate your feed. And let's be honest - how many people from high school or your last job share your taste in music, political beliefs or interest in 18th Century romantic literature? (Or to be more honest, who else among your peer group just finished the latest episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta and want to rant about how Laquisha got her weave pulled out?)

Probably not many. And the people you actually know and interact with on a regular basis would judge you for your voyeuristic quirk, compelling you to keep tabs on the dredges of humanity residing along the Jersey Shore or the suburbs of "Hotlanta."

If you're honest you run the risk of alienating the people you actually know.

Enter, Twitter and the Meme.


Personal enough to get to know someone but not personal enough to have to meet face to face.

You can be MORE honest about your views because it's not like you have to attend a cocktail party with anyone 3 months down the road. There's no mutual acquaintances, no small talk, no chit chat.

You have 140 characters to say what you think - so say it. And points are awarded for being clever.

Meanwhile, in Facebook-land, you have to justify why you think things like child labor human trafficking are morally reprehensible to the likes of your Grandma, 2nd grade teacher and ex-girl friends.

Granted, Twitter takes more effort, it's harder to use and it's more obscure. But those are the things that make it great!

You're perceived solely about what you think - not by reputation, action or who your friends are.

Scary when you think about it....

Checking In Kinda Creeps Me Out

Dominick Bonny is at Caffe Mela getting a cup of coffee.

Dominick Bonny is at Nike Town buying new shoes.

Dominick Bonny is at Dr. Miller's receiving a colonoscopy.

Some things are better left off social networks.

Until very recently I maintained that geolocation and social networks shouldn't mix.

Everyone knows about the Facebook Check In application by now and personally, I've been reluctant to engage in the relatively new Facebook feature. My initial reaction to the development was: "Ugh, too far Facers..."

I thought it re-enforced the stereotype that social networking is nothing more than a collection of narcissistic nitwits obsessively cataloging every mundane detail of their lives in lieu of actual social interaction.

It wasn't until Facebook deals came along that I began to change my opinion about "checking in." Deals is basically Facebook taking FourSqaure's checking in function and marrying it to Group On's discount deals function and adding the mass popularity of Facebook.

It's pretty much a holy trinity of good ideas.

Typical Zuckerburg, taking someone elses' good idea and executing it better than anyone else can.

With Deals you can incentivize check ins and give those who check in a reward, in the way of a discount. You can also claim group discounts - prompting people to bring their friends. You can also give a donation to charity through deals - which is kinda cool.

As a social media marketer with service businesses as clients the implications of these apps are exciting and could make for increased business. As a social media user I still have my reservations about engaging in the activity personally.

This piece by The Onion kinda summed it up for me:



But I guess I'd better get with the program.

Dominick Bonny is in his kitchen, toasting a bagel.

Work, Work, Work (with Embeds!)

So this ski season I took a job as a snow reporter for Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort.

Yes, there is such a thing as a "snow reporter" and it's actually quite challenging. You have to know and describe all the different types of snow, weather terminology, terrain conditions and most importantly: what that all that will mean to the average rider.

Anyway, this photo is of the quarter pipe we had set up in the base area this week. I wish I could say I took that shot but I didn't. It was one of the guys from Evo Gear.

Mission's just 12 miles outside of Wenatchee and the upside of the job is I get to ski for free.

The downside is I start at 4 a.m.

Basically, I wake up at 3:15, drive up to the mountain, hop on a snow mobile and ride it up to the summit.

On my way I check temperatures and snow levels at two markers. Then I jump back on the sled and high-tail it back to the lodge so I can update five websites, record a telephone snow report people call for updates and then record a short radio report to send to area stations.

Here are a couple examples, the first one is from Thursday, Feb. 10 and the second is from yesterday, Feb. 12, 2011.



I'm usually off by 8 a.m. and I can ski all day if I want. However, I rarely do because once I'm done snow reporting my main job starts - new media consulting.

And Mission Ridge is actually one of my clients. So follow us on Facebook and Twitter.



The stuff I do for them is all new media stuff - blogging, tweeting, Facebook, photo work, copy writing, strategy, video production, etc. Take a look at their blog - I help write it and take some of the photos.

I'm actually working with a couple fellow Cougs too. The web guys is Nick Winters of Ridgeline graphics and the video dude is Richard Lutz. It's all about the WSU.

Here's a series of shots I took during the Mountain Music Festival we've got going on every Saturday night.



So yeah - I'm a busy boy...

If you wanna check out some of my other clients here are some links. The first is to Caffe Mela's blog, which I also write. Our last blog post went viral - which makes me happy.

And here's a link to the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center's blog. We did a lot of new media marketing for their annual wine gala recently and got a record-breaking number of people attending this year.

That's probably not just due to Facebook and blogging, but hey, I thought it was neat...

Totally Awesome

Working on 'ze foto taking

So basically in my new job I'm a freelance journo for hire and one of the things I've been working on is improve the ole' photography skillz. Here are some shots I took up at Mission Ridge recently.



What think you?

My Personal Whirlwind (aka Life of Late)

Life has been whirlwind as of late - I've changed more during the last three months than during the entire 25 years prior.

In September I moved to Wenatchee to take a job as a reporter at the local business journal and hated it. I was happy and grateful to get a job as a journalist after graduation. Getting a job as a reporter right out of college is a tough thing these days.

But in college I worked hard, paid my dues, spent copious amounts of time in the newsroom, and became editor-in-chief of WSU's Daily Evergreen - a 12,000 readership daily. The next step was to get a job as a reporter. So I did.

I moved up here and decided I would listen a lot and say a little, start back at square one, and be polite to everyone. And I was. And it worked well - with sources.

But being a new media kid in an old media company was a bit like being an unsuspecting lamb wobbly walking into the wolves' den. If you haven't heard - print media is dying. Older journalists are scared and confused and print media companies are doing one of two things: 1. Embracing new media and transitioning to the new norm or, 2. burying their heads in the sand, downsizing and hoping the Internet will just GO AWAY.

But it's not going away. And I'd had enough of being treated like dirt, overworked and underpaid. I wasn't raised to be the sort of fool who waits around for orders or gratefully accepts scraps from his master's table when there's opportunity to be had and money to be made.

So I went into business for myself. I went to the dark side: marketing.


I signed my first client two days after walking out of my former newsroom with nothing more than a handful of business cards and righteous anger.

Since then I've started working with Mission Ridge Ski and Board Resort, Caffe Mela coffee shop and the Wenatchee Valley Museum. I'm doing social media and digital media for them - which is what my business, Strategically Social, is all about.

I've also been freelancing for the Wenatchee World writing business stories and writing for their satellite site: The Leavenworth World.

And other than a setback as of late (my truck, computer and iPhone all got stolen yesterday, while I was at Mass) things have been good.

I've been happy and busy and best of all - there's competition to be had and competition to be won.

I shoulda been a business major...

Marketing and such...

So ... I recently made the move to marketing. Or, as hardcore journos would put it, I made "the move to the dark side."

But hey, it's more fun, more creative and more lucrative – so goodbye print. And hellooooo new media!

Anyway, one of my clients is Mission Ridge Ski and Board Resort and one of the things I've been tasked with is promoting a hip, youthful atmosphere for the mountain.

And this is one way to go about that. See, I get up at 3 a.m. to do the morning snow report – I ride a snow mobile, record snow levels, update websites, send a mas e-mail, texts and record for the radio but when it comes to Facebook, video and the website I suggested we have a pretty girl do it.

See, I am a firm proponent of the "pretty girl garners more attention" school of thought. So we snagged Alex from the Mission Ridge ski team and I think she preforms quite nicely. She is a former ski model and sponsored by Rossignol after all...

But I can't take credit for the video production – that was fellow Coug alum and video BAMF Nick Winters.

The campaign's only in its second week now and I think we're gonna do great things this season. I'll keep you posted...