Crushing It! A Social Media Love Story

It’s like radio, only louder

by deanmeistr on February 3, 2010

When I was a kid, and into my early adulthood, there were still many great storytellers on radio in the US. Jean Shepherd, most famous for his “A Christmas Story”, was on the air every night with his stories when I was a teenager. Paul Harvey would tell us “The Rest of The Story” which I would listen to midday, usually  in my car while on the road as a sales representative for that computer company named after a fruit. I thought these guys were amazing craftsmen, keeping me riveted and my mind whirling as they’d get to that final finish. What satisfaction, to be immersed in this story for 10 or 15 minutes, forgetting about my homework or, as an adult, sitting in horrible traffic jams.

As much credit I give these storytellers for using their creative imagination and their voices to spin great tales, I realize that the stories were created in partnership: as a listener, it was up to me to create the visuals in my mind, to fill in the gaps where the storyteller would jump over details, or to decide who was a hero and who was a villain. Listening to those storytellers over the radio was an active process, and now I’m engaged in even more active storytelling by following a stream of tweets about a handful of characters wrapped up in a story about getting married, breaking up, having a baby, falling in love.

Toronto-based screen-writer/author Jill Golick decided to use the tools of the Social Web to tell the story “Crushing It! A Social Media Love Story”. It’s a comic soap opera, that takes place over the course of five days, specifically during Social Media Week,  with a cast of characters that would most believably use Twitter, Facebook, blogging and YouTube in their everyday life. She hasn’t made the story strictly about social media either: the focus is on a couple about to get married, and there are no Social Media Gurus directly involved (although the title is a tribute to Gary Vaynerchuk, an early adopter of marketing his wine store through the Internet via his Wine Library webcast, and has since become an author of the book Crush It!, to inspire others). There is the best friend of the groom, co-workers, an extremely-pregnant best friend of the bride, a mom trying to figure Twitter out to keep up with her son…and intrigue! A “secret” twitter account, a spilt cup of coffee that leads to romance…and you, the audience, following on Twitter using the hashtag #cistory, gets to decide the ending.

The core story line is a work in progress, influenced by audience participation. It’s told in short bursts over the course of the day on Twitter, with additional entries to blogs and YouTube that fill out the background, enriching the experience. This is truly what transmedia is about, where many forms of media are used to tell this story, and real people interact directly with the story, affecting characters and outcome. Even Gary Vaynerchuk has started to follow some of the characters—who knows if he’ll offer some advice or get into the action?

What I find most interesting about the process is how the audience will mold and move the story. Much as Scott McCloud would say concerning cartoon/comic or sequential art stories, it’s about what happens between the panels that moves the story along.

I invite you to watch via twitter: http://www.twitter.com/crushingitstory/lists/crushing-it-story or following the hashtag #cistory. You can go on the website http://www.crushingitstory.com for more background on the story, the characters and credits as well.

Here’s the first video from the character Barbara Marks’ YouTube account, talking about how she’s about to get married (or so she thinks):

The story will take place from Monday, February 1, 2010 through Friday, February 5, 2010. Keep me posted on what you think by adding your comments here or on the website.

In the spirit of giving full disclosure about my involvement (and enthusiasm) with this story, I created the web site and am functioning as the administrator of the site. Although I’m not writing a character directly, I do play a part in providing the framework for the action to play out, and I’d like to hear what you think about the whole experience.

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Post image for If I can speak corporate, will you love me?

If I can speak corporate, will you love me?

by deanmeistr on January 12, 2010

Recently, I sat mesmerized while listening to an executive’s explanation of how he prepares to give a quarterly report to his board of directors. After listing the facts and figures that the board “most definitely wants to hear”, he finished by glancing around the room nervously and becoming silent. Eight other smart executives were there as well, looking at him, or through him: it was hard for me to tell. I don’t however, think they were as fascinated. Now, I have to tell you, I was not interested in the actual list of numbers he droned through. I was taken by how this intelligent, interesting guy, who had a lot to say about sports, family, and the current economy’s effect on business while chatting informally with his colleagues just 1o minutes before, had turned into a soft-spoken and perhaps inconsequential bore. No passion, no information analysis, and no indication of just how smart he is and why he’s good at his job. And I wondered; why I would ever want to friend him on Facebook, or connect with him on LinkedIn, or, worst of all, follow his tweets on Twitter? Who would this fellow be if he is representing his company in the social media environment?

As smart and engaging as he is personally, once he stood up to talk as a corporate executive (and, I would assume, if he had to speak to others as a “businessperson”), he lapsed into a dialect of thick corporate speak; a concoction of numbers, catch phrases and acronyms. In the 5 minutes he spoke, he never told us what course of action to take based on the numbers he disclosed nor did he reveal the consequences of what might happen if nothing changed. Sadder still, I doubt the board would have gained anything from his report, even though they really want to know what matters and what he would recommend.

So, with everyone rushing to get companies on the bandwagon of Social Media, I am concerned that there can be a wall that keeps content of value safely locked behind boring, undigested informational blather. The idea of  “safety in numbers” has an ironic twist in meaning when executives and professionals do not offer insight or comprehension to the conversation, hiding behind the less-risky method of offering volumes of content with little depth. Data gathering is not enough, it needs to be pressed into service and given meaning.

So, please do not ask a C-level executive or, for that matter, anyone in the company, to jump into social media if that person isn’t willing or able to have a forthright conversation. If the person communicating from the company’s desk cannot speak clearly, with depth and presence, and project some real saavy about what’s going on, that conversation will end more quickly than someone can leave the room if they were there in person. Actually, we’re normally far too polite to just walk out of a room when we’re bored, but the online world is a cruel place, and being “unfollowed” is just a click away.

I’m not asking for flip personal conversation or chatty filler to seem “human” or that even more abused buzzword, “authentic”. Corporate communication cannot afford to be jargon-filled and rote or superficial; it must be active and authorities should speak, authoritatively and with purpose when speaking from a corporate setting.

Otherwise, whether it’s 140 characters or 140 pages, there is no reason for anyone to listen, much less be mesmerized, engaged, or even interested.

If you have the dreaded job of delivering reports on some kind of regular basis, I’d suggest first spending the time to create conclusions that make numbers, facts and calculations have relevance and meaning. Then, whether you share them in face-to-face meetings or use a blog or any other kind of media  to present them, you’ll have engaged listeners.

Whether it’s “We have a problem, Houston” or “We’re good to go”, putting thoughtful perspective on even the most routine information-sharing will be the strongest way to create respect and engagement.

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#smchat - Mindmapping

Mind Mapping: Finding the Rainbow Connection

by deanmeistr on December 7, 2009

This post contains a MindMap summarizing takeaways from Social Media Chat from October 28, 2009.

In the song, “The Rainbow Connection,” Kermit the Frog refers to “the lovers, the dreamers, and me”. I think many of us empathize with the “me” the someplace-in-the-middle.

There’s often talk about opposites in personality and thinking; the “left-brained” (analytic) or “right brained” (creative) types, the linear or holistic types, generalizers or detail-oriented types, or even broader generalizations of people being “thinkers or doers”.  While one style or approach may dominate in each of us, there are tools and methods of exploring idea development and management that can be used by anyone.

Mind mapping, as created by Tony Buzan, is a visual tool using association through lines and proximity as the primary method of displaying relationships between ideas, concepts, objects or processes, radiating out from a centrally-located focal point.

The mind map, and variations on mind mapping (concept maps and collective brainstorming) can be a great tool to generate ideas, bridge the gaps while exploring processes, and make connections appear through “wise wanderings”. If you are willing to allow your mind to associate freely, you can make a mind map.

There is a great deal of software available to create mind maps, from educational packages through online freeware and collaborative tools, but for this example I went the route of paper, color markers and a Flair pen. I like to work this way because it’s quick and easy, particularly in adding quick doodles if an image or visual metaphor comes to mind from the conversation. If you think you can’t draw, you can do the same without adding any pictures but using colored pens to add highlights, make boxes around key points, or adding arrows to show where one thing leads to another.

Here’s my first mind map of the Twitter #SMCHAT from October 28, 2009, where the group discussed “Demystifying Mind Mapping“, hosted by Chris Jones (@sourcePOV) and mind-mapping expert Chuck Frey (@chuckfrey). For the original framing of the Q25 discussion, please read Chris Jones’ original post on mindmapping 101 or http://smchat.ning.com/forum/topics/q25-mind-maps-101 .

remix-studyWhile participating and then rereading the transcript, four themes emerged to me: Theory, Practice, Tools and Methods. I placed  Theory on top, floating ideas and concepts (the abstract or ethereal), and Practice below (with concrete, “down to earth” examples of other forms of mind mapping, using real objects). Methods and Tools seem to straddle both theory and practice, so they sit on an invisible horizon line. This divides the map into a Top/Bottom configuration, or Head and Body.

I also used more of a personal visual shorthand to move quickly, eliminating the branching lines that associate ideas while counting on proximity to define the relationship between the short phrases, doodles and symbols.

In this first version, I used the Twitter identities of chat participants to create top and bottom borders. If you were there and I didn’t list you, please know that I added the names somewhat chronologically as people entered the conversation and I let space constraints determine who was listed.

Refining the map

One question that I’ve heard raised about mind maps (and infographics in general) is whether or not they are clear, useful and convey real information to those who didn’t create the image. In many cases, yes, a mind map can easily be as clear as an outline or summary using just words; in the best cases, the addition information gleaned from visual data (including pictures, symbols, color, placement and size) can generate a completely fresh instance of ideas, add additional content with fewer words, or place emphasis, impact and  flow to direct the reader through the map.

I created a second map to make the navigation easier and to prompt additional discussion:

#SMCHAT - Mindmapping 101

#SMCHAT - Mindmapping 101

The four large branches titles are enlarged and emphasized, but I’ve filtered the content in each branch. It is a selective filter, certainly, but the point of creating this map was not only to summarize the previous discussion but to stimulate a second conversation. Chuck Frey remarked, “being able to see info represented visually helps you see “white space” opportunities – between existing ideas.” I hope you can find these through this map, and they become rainbow connections for you.

With that in mind, please join us for the next #SMCHAT  on Twitter on December 9, 2009 at 1pET : Q25R Mind Maps, the Remix. I will be moderating the chat and I hope to see you there.

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Big Ben, London-photo by Dean Meyers

London Calling

by deanmeistr on November 10, 2009

London Calling: Kensington Station

Next Tuesday, I will be speaking at Jeff Pulver’s #140 Conf: The State of Now , in London. Dean Landsman (@deanland on Twitter) and I will talk about “Digital Presence: Now and Beyond”, and we’re planning on presenting using a combination of  pre-made visuals while I will sketch notes over them, on screen, as we talk. How does this hybrid concept work? And why would I do something so risky as expose myself by drawing live as we speak, while people tweet about the conference in real time and I might also be potentially on camera?

My answer is that this way of presenting is truly “The State of Now” – just as much as typing in Google’s Wave, where you can currently see each key stroke and erasure, or watch a webinar with someone fumbling through notes, or speaking live; it is the antidote to the perfectly buttoned-up and mistake-free studio version; it is the energy of a live concert where you don’t know how the singer will sound, it is the excitement of the promise of reality TV (although currently it has become a situationally scripted affair to ensure a story line with an arc). It’s inherent in the rhythm of 140 characters, where the story unfolds in short and often candid bursts.

So, I will draw, sketch, and doodle in plain sight as Dean L.  and I speak. I may erase lines or even start over; there will be very few if any perfectly straight lines, or circles that close exactly where they started; that is the state of now.

I do expect interest, I hope for excitement, and even more than that, I hope that exposing the stream of visualization that emerges will offer a better definition of who I am and how I think. The efficiency of a powerful image cannot be beat, and the process of watching my thinking unfold has no parallel. Tying this to the twitter stream, adding these images to my flickr library, or streaming the video of the presentation will strengthen my unique digital presence.

A digital presence, now and beyond, whether for a brand, an organization, or an individual, will and should have a strong visual anchor, and I don’t mean a logo or just one symbol. A digital presence can be associated with a visual style, such as the Matrix movies’ association with the slow motion action scene; Dave Gray’s company, Xplane, associated with information graphics that explain processes and methods through visual storytelling; or President Obama’s visual presence,where he is commonly viewed as looking up and forward, off  towards some greater goal, or smiling through adversity. We see this image projected routinely on television or, more to his digital presence, in his weekly YouTube broadcasts. A visual digital presence is a multi-layered thing, because we see, think and remember in images and words that combine sequentially to tell stories.

Avatars, photographs,  color choices, diagrams,  symbols, typographic choices, drawings, or video displayed on your blog, your facebook page, your twitter background, your YouTube and Flickr accounts ; there are so many ways to create a strong, memorable digital presence. If you remember the dream of the picture phone made popular in the sixties, that era is here.

Returning to why talk about visual concepts at a Twitter conference; if you have used TwitPic even once you have used Twitter to add a visual component to your digital presence. No airbrushing necessary. More to the point, why did you pick whatever you have chosen to represent you as your avatar? Do you get the reaction you expect when people talk to you about how you look on twitter? Your digital presence will be discerned by others not just through your words but the visual way you present yourself as well.

So, as the Clash said back in 1979,

London calling at the top of the dial
After all this, won’t you give me a smile?

(Photos in article by Dean Meyers)

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How does this wall look on me?

May 13, 2009

Last Thursday evening I had the opportunity to peek into over 20 stranger’s bedrooms and other living spaces. Actually, I was invited to not only peruse, but to purchase the lamps, tables, beds….anything with a price tag on it. There were plenty of nice items to choose from, and it wasn’t just a shabby chic [...]

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I am Susan Boyle. And so are you.

April 18, 2009

20 seconds. It took 20 seconds, from hitting the “play” button on the recording to start the song for Susan Boyle to convince 3 skeptical judges and a doubting audience that she did, in fact, have a voice, and could dream a dream. There are now millions who have watched the clip on television and [...]

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Close your eyes to see

March 31, 2009

Thanks to Howard Greenstein, I was able to get into the the Social Media Club meeting in New York City last week on short notice. The details about the meeting, along with video, is posted here: http://www.socialmediaclub.org/author/howard/
I didn’t want to tweet about it, which I am finding is now a great way of making notes, [...]

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Tell the tale, enrich it with detail

March 31, 2009

Good storytelling sometimes has nothing to do with the story itself, particularly if it’s a story so familiar we can tell it to ourselves. Here’s an example of great storytelling that isn’t about the story, a familiar chestnut of a fairy tale, but the way it’s told: with humor, simplicity, and a surprising amount of [...]

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Curiosity is the glue to a good story

February 9, 2009

“What’s coming next?”
That’s the question you want every listener and every viewer to ask. You want edge-of-the-seat, gripping-the-chair attention. You want silence in the room as every eye is on you. If you’re using a whiteboard to make a presentation, you want everyone to get excited as you go to the board to draw the [...]

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25 years later: Macintosh, metaphors and the mouse

January 5, 2009

A blog post on http://mac25.org requested stories from those who were around in 1984 for the release of the Macintosh computer. At that time, I was the Sales and Tech Representative for Apple Computer for the Caribbean Region. Most of my job entailed introducing the new technology to both sales people and perspective customers.
Although we [...]

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