Maybe that thinking will lead to doing.

This year, Blog Action Day will bring world focus to charity: water, a non-profit organization working to get clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations.  Like to the people in Africa, where women often walk over 40 billion hours each year to water sources (most often polluted) to carry cisterns weighing over 40 pounds back to their families.

Can you imagine their struggle?  For these people, there’s no escape.  Every sip is a gamble.

Right now, there are about 3,500 blogs expected to unite for the cause.  That amounts to about 27,790,300 readers who will learn more about the children that suffer needlessly and painfully, and the cost of polluted coastal waters on the global economy.  If you’re like me, you’ll be astonished to learn that your favorite jeans took about 1800 gallons of water to produce.

On Friday,voices will mingle and become amplified.  The message will reach farther and be heard more clearly.  Now’s the time.

Here’s where you can start:  catch the tweets by following @blogactionday.  Share the message with your networks.  Shout it from your car during traffic, it doesn’t matter.  Just get the word out.

Do something meaningful yourself.  Visit Amazon and buy a copy of Age of Conversation 3: It’s Time To Get Busy! edited by DrewMcLellan and Gavin Heaton.  Lots of writers contributed to this book about putting social media into practice (moi included).  Profits from the sale of the book are all being funneled back into Charity: water.  How’s that for goodness?  You get a great book *and* you help a community in need.

Make a donation.  Pledge your birthday.  Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth.  Pass on the bottled water and head for the filtered through the fridge.  Surely there are clothes in the laundry that could be recycled again before really needing to be washed. There are so many things we can do to change learned (or lazy) behaviors.  Give it some thought and make a commitment today. You’ll feel better for it.  And so will those in need.

I had the opportunity to partner with Successful Blog author Liz Strauss, and let me say I’m darned lucky. Not only is Liz the fairy godmother of relationships and conversations, but she can identify kernels of ideas and say big things about them.  Things that get her readers thinking.  And you can be sure, they’re always listening to Liz.

The post I co-authored was published today and is titled “It’s so easy to get stuck repeating what we already know.” And you guessed it, it’s about making assumptions, not being in tune with your audience, the misapprehension of academic intelligence and practical intelligence, and a few other things too.

(More) Magic Happened

As you can see from the screen shot below, Liz announced the post this morning on Twitter. Some loyal followers checked out the post, then visited my blog and Twitter page. Voila! Cool stuff happened (Heather pumps fist in the air, yells “Score!”).  This morning, I gained about 27 new followers who likely wouldn’t have otherwise discovered me.

Celebrate! New peeps!

A Bigger, Better Following

Having people’s interest is really great, and on some level validating. But I’m not overly concerned with the number of folks in my Twitter sphere.  What I AM jazzed about is the new opportunities that were given to me today, as a result of the increase in followers.

Blessed with a larger network of friends, I can now bounce ideas off more people, my chances of discovering new links and tools has improved, I’ve  gained insight into new fields and strengthened insight into fields held in common.  There are more people for me to discuss things with, more people to be inspired by and learn from. Not to mention challenged, and even humbled, by. Like my own advisory council.  How cool is that?

Partnering With Peeps

Yeah, this “new followers” gig is a sweet one (for me). The trick is to honor their new interest by sharing the best I have to offer.  I sure will try.  Together, we’re as good as greater than the sum of our parts. Isn’t that the essence of social media?

Thank you, new followers.  Separately, we’re good.  Together, we’re great!

I’m talking about “So why do you do all this Internet stuff, anyway?” kind of different. What-planet-are-you-from kind of different.

Which is interesting, considering I’ve been married for 14 years.  I understand him better than he understands himself. How can he not know why I do this?

And while my husband could tell you my most hated animals (there are two, and thanks to my friend Angie insisting that bats are not a bird there may now be three–way to add to my neurosis) and my favorite flower (he can never find them), he doesn’t know why I blog or connect on Facebook or Twitter. He doesn’t get it.  “So you write and put it out there and then what? Maybe someone reads it, maybe they don’t?  What do you get out of it?”

Well to put it succinctly, I guess he’s right.  My fragile writer’s ego would like to believe that at least SOMEBODY besides myself checks out my material and finds it useful (I can’t even claim my mother as a frequent site visitor, much to my chagrin).  But my feverish hope does not a following make.  I’m no Jeremiah, or Lee, or Chris, or Brian or…

So why do I do it?  Or, considering the blogosphere (gazillion new blogs added per minute and bajillion estimated Twitter universe), maybe the question really should be “Why do WE initiate (write) or participate (witty rejoinders or sharing)?”

I’ve got this theory, and I believe in it strongly.  Here goes:

Throughout history, mankind has used technological advancements to unite and progress the interests of our people, those within our spheres.  We used fire to warm and feed ourselves, industry to grow and develop our reach and influence, and (skip a few years) now microprocessors, fiberoptics, satellites, and other gizmos to bring Grandma to a computer screen near you.

Hold that thought.

Increasingly, we (consumers) are using technology to filter marketing and advertising messages. We use spam filters to block junk email, Caller ID to block telemarketers, TiVo to short-circuit TV commercials, XM to listen screaming car-ad-free, and RSS to strip out ads.

Whew.  That’s better, right?

Circle back to that thought-on-hold, the one about technology historically bringing people together. So what happens when a society deviates off its hundreds-of-years-established autonomic response? When it veers off its predetermined course?

It self-corrects. (cue glorious Alleluia! music, lights, white doves)

We deployed countless filters that succeeded in mitigating the amount of unsolicited, misdirected, and downright annoying messaging (yes, I call myself a marketer, an agency gal no less, and I dare say these things).  But these filters effectively removed our known connection points with brands, and by extension, each other.  We were not feeling the love.

Enter blogging, microblogging, social networking, social friending, ad nauseum. We’re now using technology (once again) to unite, to support, to protect, to inform, to design, to solve, and to share. Like the Tinkertoy metaphor I used in an earlier post (Social Media is a Child’s Toy), these modern technologies and platforms are enabling us to stay connected.  To get connected.

So what I’m saying here is:  Early days-technology connected. Recent days-technology filtered, left void. Current days-technology connected.

Case in point, each day I see on Twitter an @reply from one significant member to another along the lines of “…so glad to have met you at the blah blah conference..” These are folks I know @ Tweet each other already. Comments like these are further evidence of how technology enables like-minded people to connect, share, commune, and bond–authentically–often without a human physical connection.  Simple fact, humans want to join.  We want to relate and commiserate. We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

So I tell my husband that yes, actually I get quite a lot [of satisfaction and pleasure] out of blogging and networking. Blogging gives me a creative outlet for my writing that is different than that I use at work. It lets me work through my “bunny trail” thoughts and express them, if only to the Cloud. Networking gives me a platform for sharing and learning…I just love checking out the links that get recommended around Twitter. I’m smarter for every shared link I’ve followed.

How would you answer the questions, “why do you blog? what do you get out of it?”  Share a comment. I would really like to know your motivations and interests.

Like this post? Find it funny and insightful (self-promotion pitch)? Then join the 3 others that receive Insights and Ingenuity’s RSS feed and be part of an *elite* crowd!  No, seriously–thanks for your eyeballs!

I found out about the project last week from Shel Holtz when reading his blog (he wrote about inclusion).  I’m a little apprehensive of throwing my hat into the ring, given the esteemed company, but the maverick in me decided it was worth a shot (i.e., “embracing my Inner Maverick”).  I’d like to grow the insightsandingenuity readership and following, and this Project is potentially one way to do that (assuming, of course, that the blog doesn’t get puked on).

Nervous glances and throat clearing aside, here is my contribution:  I suggest social media platforms (particularly blogs and communities like Facebook) are founded on equal parts Control and Self-Expression. And before you snarkily commence with witty repartee like “Well, yeah! Duh!” please note that I believe this is true for both sides of the interaction equation – the content contributor (blogger) as well as the content participant (blogee).

Modern society places the consumer at the center of myriad of pressure points, from an economic group pressue, to societal pressures, to political pressures, to technology pressures, ad nauseam.  Those pressure points (in my opinion) affect common, shared values (like Control and Self-Expression), and drive the proliferation and adoption of goods & services associated with those values.  Consumers use their own personal filters to determine what role and priority the value(s) has in their own life.

For those persons who place a high value on Control, they are just as likely to want to produce and distribute high quality Web content (perhaps out of frustration for that Web material that they cannot control) as they are to want to selectively parse and filter available or found content (think of the measure of selectivity that tools like iGoogle and other aggregators provide).

Similarly, for those valuing Self-Expression (yes, sometimes the value outcomes overlap) may see Facebook and Twitter as a way to imprint their personalities, preferences, and opinion upon others.  A Tweet can encourage those following to “Join me!” or merely serve as a podium for a rant.

Example:  Control
A) As someone who enjoys writing and marketing, I’d like to contribute the conversation and ideally influence its direction.
B) As someone monitoring the marketing blogosphere, you have the ability to filter out my conversation at will.

There, you have it.  Simple Control, exercised by both sides.

I believe the “best practice” element becomes instrumental when considering precisely what niche you (the content author) want to claim for yourself.  A measure of control can keep your content focused and your authority quotient respectable.  Conversely, I suggest authors temper their ability (free reign?)  to control content by reflecting on the potential value gained by referencing specific brands or other proper nouns.

In some cases – as with my recent post “Dear Valued Patient(s),” nothing could have been gained by calling out the name of my physician’s practice.  The point lay with the paradigm (“Dear patient” greeting with “…it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to serve you…” claim).

So where might this project lead?  I’ll tap Sam Meers, Matt Dickman, Mack Collier, and Seth Godin to continue carrying the torch (hey, I aim high! and *sigh* I only personally know one of ‘em.  no sense putting on airs!).

• [is it considered a] credible source -
  • is it viable stuff, something I can trust and leverage?
• [is it considered a] valuable source -
  • is it good stuff, something deep, engaging, interesting?
• specific preferences of the delivery media or vehicle -
  • can I get it how I want it?
• specific preferences regarding frequency or accessibility -
  • can I get it when I want it?
• degree of personalization or customization available -
  • can I get it the way I want it?
• confidence of reputation or endorsement -
  • how is it considered by others like me?

These are just a few ways – I suspect there are many more – in which today’s consumers parse, filter, and evaluate the wealth of information (data, stories, suggestions, news, ideas, entertainment) available to and pushed onto them each day.

Clearly, as marketers and communicators, our battlefield is wrought with line-of-sight obstacles.  Messages can be junked as fast as someone can set up a mailbox rule.  Calls can be screened with a national list, as can some print publications.  Our radio spots are tuned out thanks to XM and Sirius, and expensive broadcast buys are gone and forgotten due to the expeditious TiVo.  What’s a good-intentioned, clever marketer to do?

Good thing you know that the communications (promotion/advertising/public relations) plan that got you here, won’t get you there.  Big “T” There, as in across the line into Success Storyville, Case Study Utopia, and ROI Heaven.

In a recent imediaconnection article titled “It’s a Blogger’s World; Learn to Fit In,” author Nanette Marcus suggests that while marketers have a more expansive selection of tools with which to reach consumers, “. . .you will need to know their rules before you can play in their sandbox.”  Knowing the rules of engagement is key.

A few basic (paraphrased) rules Ms. Marcus mentions include:

1. Find the right audience for your brand
2. Take the risk; let the positive and negative come out in the wash
3. Give it the College try and experiment

What could that mean to you, a marketer struggling to capture some attention?  A few suggestions:

1. Do Your Homework. Use every data source at your disposal, and beg for those you don’t yet have, to build (and maintain) strong profiles of your top key audiences.  The data set should be so robust, you could essentially build your own prototypes thanks to the depth and breadth of knowledge.  Okay, so maybe not prototypes (this isn’t the movies), but certainly glossy personas.
2. Seed the Oyster. Since you know know who your targets are – you know where they run, rest, relax, sleep – you could begin to hedge the level of risk you might bear if you chose to approach them, attempt a dialogue, provide a platform, and encourage them to consider and comment about you.  Hey, it won’t all be pretty, to be sure.  But if you can help define the “Where” part of the consumer conversation equation, then you have a chance at shaping the “What” and “How.” It’s what you don’t know (or choose to ignore) that could paralyze you.
3. Push boundaries.  Norms are only there because someone established them.  There’s no real force field that will make you bounce off and careen into the stratosphere if you touch the wrong thing or make the wrong move.  Research, plan, review with peers, enlist consultants, integrate holistically, and test.  Evaluate. Then retest. The word is multivariate.  An honest, well-executed miss is easily forgiven.

Your consumers are out there.  Capture their attention with a strong story, charm them with your candor and sincerity, ask permission to try something new and then give it all you’ve got.

Blogger’s Annon.

Hi, my name is Heather Rast.  I’m a blogging neophyte.  I’ve been blogging now for 12 days.  I’m already an addict.

Anyone that knows me is aware that I enjoy creative writing.  Snappy messages in greeting cards, funny anecdotes in emails, and then there’s my hobby.  Yes, I’m also writing abook (who isn’t?).

I’d been dying to actively participate in a blog where the conversations could be real and candid, reflect some personal element without being a recount of the day’s activities (do I really need to tell people that I yelled at my kids about Pop-Tarts this morning?).  The topics would talk about consumers and communications, blow a kiss at the healthcare vertical, and encourage a hug or two from respected peers.

So far, I’ve talked a little and (blush here) even proffered a chaste kiss or two.  Have received a couplea hugs, but since I can be touchy-feely, I’m definitely wanting more.  I’m a little insecure, folks, so please give up the hugs (post comments, in case you were’t following the ‘relationship’ analogy).

Imagine my surprise when I checked my personal email today to find a LinkedIn connection invitation from Larry Mickelberg, and a short comment re: my previous post (see Surface Texture).  How cool is that?  It’s like a stepped program:  1) read an industry pub 2) dig a story 3) blog about said story and interesting quote 4) receive a connection invitation.  Snap!  It’s like that.

So beyond my pleasant and immediate surprise that a VIP at a large prestigous firm asked to make my acquaintence, I was also caught off guard at, well, the immediacy of it all.  I guess I shouldn’t have been, when I really dissect it:  blog is public, complete name and title and company were referenced; I list my LinkedIn profile on my “About” page, etc.  Talk about connecting the bunny trails!  Or maybe its the convergence of the trails.  Hm.  Will have to ponder that.

So some take-aways, I think are as follows:

1. A blog or networking site is public and accessible to all.  Or at least you must presume so.  Like a person accepting an alcoholic drink at a restaurant, you must take your blogging responsibly.  Do so with regard for your forum, your audience, and your referral entity or person.
2. Say what you mean, but be very comfortable with your words and the context and tone.  I’ve been in more than one situation where an email of mine was misinterpreted because someone inferred something that I didn’t mean to imply.  Or they mistook a particular style to be an indication of my interest level.
3. Attribute properly.  I guess it was old habits from college that made me include all of Larry’s deets, but what if I hadn’t?  What would the implications, or possible ramifications, have been?
4. Consider the space.  I’ll go vulnerable here, but this was my first personal experience with some downstream effect due to user-generated media.  Conceptually, I have understood the power and place, but this is my first personal experience (well, except for some inclusion in my employer’s blog, geovoices.wordpress.com.  but there I’m one of many voices and IMO don’t get enough podium time ). This revelation brings a whole new dimension to my grasp of “what if?” and how clients can grab hold.

I’ve always had a passion for consumers – what motivates them, inspires them, the ways they learn, the way they process, their decision stages/cycles.  I like helping position products (nowdays, services) and craft messages to precisely align with the unanswered need or desire that consumers have.  When you think hard about it, marketers are pretty much puppet masters without the evil chuckle.

Anyway, I think I need to go draw a graph or a chart, or throw together a picture – something to help cement how a blog post  (nay, an article mention) (both posting and reading are singular activities, but in the big picture are involving much larger audiences) evolved into a new connection between two individuals.

Powerful stuff.  Anybody know how we can harness this potent power for our clients in a way that adds value, relevancy, and authenticity to the proposed relationship?

Gotta go.  But I’ll be blog again tomorrow!