Last Call for the Social Media Train

I’ve said it so much that my team is just flat sick and tired of hearing me talk about it. “What?” you ask. The mantra that you HAVE to get on the social media bandwagon. If you’re not, you’re missing out – big time! Now, finally, I have an “authority” to back me up: Forbes.com. (Imagine my face with a smug look of vindication here.)

Just this weekend, Forbes.com published this article – How LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Have Changed the ROI of Leadership in the Leadership section of their website. (I’d like to give a special thank you to my dear friend John Kim who writes for PGA.com – and who is an even bigger social media junkie than I am – for letting me know about it. If you like golf or sports or politics, you should probably follow him on Twitter; he’s hysterical.)

In this article, Glenn Llopis debunks the long held C-level myth that social media doesn’t add value. He specifically points out that your personal ROI is directly related to your thought leadership activities and that social media plays a huge role how you share your point of view. Having a singular focus on your own company is short sighted because there are people out there who need your insight and perspective on what’s going on in your industry. (Think of it as Tweeting for the greater good.)

Very enlightening is the story Mr. Llopis recounts of the head of marketing for a healthcare company who told him, “our leaders are not paid to write and express their POV outside their immediate roles & responsibilities. Besides, many of them don’t write well and would tarnish their image if they tried.” My reaction is “Exactly how well does one need to write for a 140-character Twitter message?” More than half of my Tweets are just re-tweets of articles that I found compelling and that I thought others needed to know about. Contributing content to social media isn’t about writing the next War and Peace or the next Atlas Shrugged. It’s about jotting down in 140-characters (or if you’re really adventurous, a 1,000 word blog post) your ideas about what’s going on in your industry, your city, your state and beyond. It’s not rocket science. You’ve just got to get yourself out there – read what others write, comment, share.

“Ugh. I just don’t have time for that.” Really? Remember that marketing exec from the story? Fired. Replaced by someone who understands the power of social media and how to capitalize on it. Are you really sure you don’t have time for it? Depending on the relative demographic age of your team or organization, you better figure it out…and quick!

Generation Y-ers (and to a lesser extent my own Gen-X peers) are forcing the issue. Generation Y employees who have grown up with social media tend to be much more transparent in their communication with their colleagues. They have less time (and less attention span) to pay attention to things that don’t impact them personally. Similarly, they use the same measuring stick to evaluate their leaders. Is what you say concise, important and impactful? Despite whether or not you like it, you have to communicate in a way they understand, and if that means all you have to reach your audience is 140-characters, you better get really good at skinny-ing down your message to a Tweet-able format.

Fortunately, it’s not too late to start. If you aren’t sure where to begin, just snag yourself a Twitter handle and start listening to folks from your own industry. Here are just a few of the industry-specific folks I follow: @ATT, @shareatt, @ATT_ATL, @ChannelMaven, @Channel_Online, @ATTBusiness, @khalihenderson, @CloudConvergence, @CRN . I also follow @Starbucks (because they have social media down to a science) and some business/coaching and development gurus like @nilofer, @WhenIGroUpCoach, @BreneBrown, @WSJ, and @HarvardBiz.

Once you’re comfortable with how conversations flow in social media, begin to contribute content to the discussion – even if it’s just sharing links to articles you find interesting. When all else fails, ask a Gen-Y employee to help you. They’ll think it’s awesome that they get to share some of their knowledge and you’ll earn some major favor capital with them. The only thing you can’t do is sit on the platform as the train pulls away from the station. “All aboard

Tablets for Business: Android vs iPad

So the big Apple "new iPad" announcement was just a few weeks ago and we all got to see the newest iPad and it was exactly what we expected it would be: a little faster, a little better resolution and it will continue to secure Apple's position as the tablet leader for both consumer and business. Rest assured it will sell like hotcakes. But this post isn't about the iPad; it's about alternatives to iPad, specifically the alternatives running on the Android OS. For the past several months I've been using the HTC Jetstream 4G LTE from AT&T to see how it compares to the iPad for business use. This is what I've found:

It's fast. Really fast. The photo below was taken while I was riding (NOT driving) down the road near my house in Atlanta on a random Saturday. Granted, the speed is more a factor of the network and not of the device itself, but this a 4G LTE tablet so I think it's fair to highlight speed. If you were wondering how fast the AT&T 4G LTE buildouts are, now you know.



Second, it's easy to use. Like the iPad, the Android has similarly paged-screen functionality that allows you to group the apps you use most. What Android is still lacking is the ability to put similar apps into folders to minimize real estate on the screen. I really like that feature of iOS and miss it on this table. The screenshot below is of my home page and all the apps I use most. Lesser used apps are accessed by flipping to other pages.



The majority of business related apps on iPad are also available via the Android Market. I use AT&T Connect to attend online meetings using the tablet. The AT&T Backup and Go app functions well, too, though I would prefer a larger interface. (I also have the AT&T Uverse app installed to control my home DVR.) However, my favorite note taking app (UPad) and news reader app (FlipBoard) were not available on the Android Market so I had to find suitable alternatives for those. For taking paperless meeting notes, I found WritePad. WritePad does a great job of allowing you to create virtual notebooks, add photos or import content from the web. You can also easily share notebooks as PDFs using the free PDF Exporter app. It's a user-friendly and functional app but not quite as versatile as it's iPad rival.



Writing on the Jetstream is virtually impossible without the use of the HTC Scribe stylus, a separate $60 purchase on Amazon. [An aside: iPad has a boatload of available accessories which is definitely an added bonus. It took me almost 6 weeks to find an online source for a cover/case for the Jetstream.] I'll add, that one could spend a similar amount on styli (styluses, more than one stylus?) for the iPad, especially if one has a two year old who tends to pry the rubber ends off of them as fast as she can. But, I digress... Here's a sample of writing using the Scribe stylus and my finger. As FoxNews says, "we report, you decide."



I do an inordinate amount of reading for my job. In addition to keeping up on the ever-changing trends in mobility, I'm also part of the team developing our go-to-market cloud strategy for our agents and I ghost write for several industry blogs. A lot of reading. On my iPad, I love the FlipBoard app. This app functions like a virtual magazine, pulling in updated content from all the places and sources on the web (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, web sites, blogs, etc.) and consolidating it in one place where you literally flip from page to page to see the headlines or read articles. A real time saver. (If you don't have a similar app for your tablet or smartphone, you need to go get one now. I'll wait for you...) But alas, FlipBoard isn't available for Android. *sigh* But Pulse is and Pulse functions almost exactly like FlipBoard, minus the flipping part.



The UI for Pulse isn't quite as friendly as it is for FlipBoard but I can still browse through the headlines on CNET, Inc., USA Today, HBR.org, Fast Company and various other news sites. If something strikes me, I just tap it and it opens up on the right side of the screen and I can view the text only version (as pictured in the photo) or I can view the full web version of the article. I can also email, Tweet or share it on Facebook right from the app.

So far so good, huh? Here's what the Jetstream doesn't do well, or at least not as well as the iPad.

* The autocorrect isn't as smart as it is on iPad - it doesn't "learn" based on what/how I type. And it doesn't offer friendly suggestions like the iPad does. It's not a deal breaker but it does take some getting used to.
* The keyboard isn't as touch friendly as on the iPad - you have to pretty much hit the letters in the center of the keys to get them to type. Again, not a deal breaker but frustrating when you're trying to type something quickly.
* My Calendar won't synch with changes to existing appointments (including time changes and cancellations) but new appointments show up with no problem. I think this is probably an active sync issue that is unrelated to the tablet, but I'm not sure.
* Overall, the OS is just not as stable as iOS. The Android OS "locks up" and forces me to do a complete power down and power back up. Unfortunately, almost every time I've done this, I get stuck in a continuous restart loop and it takes about 30 minutes to get out of it. Frustrating to say the least, especially if you're in a hurry.

So, my final verdict? While I do love the HTC Jetstream tablet, I think I love my iPad just a tiny bit more. Overall, I think that Android tablets are a fantastic alternative to iPad and can work seamlessly for business. Like most things, it ultimately boils down to personal preference. If you're proposing tablets to customers, don't shy away from pitching an Android option. Either option can fundamentally transform how a customer runs their business and that's a win for everyone!

Just Text Me!

Well now, isn't this interesting? A new Pew Research Study has shown that 31% of U.S. adults prefer to be reached by text message rather than by an actual phone call. The study, reported on the mashable.com site, shows very high adoption of mobile phone use (83%) and texting (73%) among U.S. adults over the age of 18. In addition to the stunning stat in the headline, only about half prefer a person-to-person voice call. Only half?! Another surprising statistic was that the average mobile user sends or receives 50 text messages per day or about 1500 per month. If you have a teenager or college student, they probably send 50 before they get out of bed in the morning.

Reading the comments on articles like this one always provides an interesting study in sociology and society's changing demographics. One man commented that he's part of the 31% that prefers texting over a voice call and that he would like to see cell phone providers offer a plan that consisted of a pay-per-call voice plan with unlimited texting and data. What I found surprising was the sheer number of people who find voicemail to be a time-consuming inconvenience. Incidentally, I fall into this group. For years now, I've hated voice mail. I seldom leave voice mail messages and I check them even less frequently - for example, right now on my home U-verse voice mail I have 79 new messages (most of them hang-ups). Why? Because the people that need to physically talk to me know how to get in touch with me: they'll either call my cell, text or email me. This bothers my mother to no end. I try to explain to her that I spend 95% of my work day talking on the phone. The last thing I want to do when I come home is TALK on the PHONE.

Though all this is interesting and, to a degree, entertaining, exactly what does it mean for BUSINESS - B2B or B2C? How might this new-found preference change the communications and interactions between B2B or B2C? From the B2C perspective, I can see SMS being used to confirm your dentist appointment, notify you that your car is ready at the mechanic or that your dry cleaning is ready for pick up or that the sale with the "free gift" you've been holding out for at the Macy's cosmetics counter starts this Thursday. As for B2B, I think the jury is still out. Even so, there's probably one thing we can all agree on: brands should not take this as on open license to send SMS advertisements to us.

So, where do YOU fall on the spectrum: text message, email or voice call? Do you see this as a trend that will continue to grow as more digitally-native children "come of age?" How different might business look and act in five years because of this change in communication preference? I'd love to hear your thoughts.