SRC-/-stark reAlity check http://starkrealitycheck.com /--------------------------------------------- reality alignment services ---------------------------------------------/ Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:45:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Last Week’s Tweets 2010-09-05 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=822 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=822#comments Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:00:00 +0000 Amy Stark http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=822

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]]> http://starkrealitycheck.com/?feed=rss2&p=822 0 Social Media Best Practice #3 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=810 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=810#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:43:33 +0000 Amy Stark http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=810

Be human in the very first exchange and set an expectation of involvement.

Case Story:

August 29. 2010 @mrnoobie posts: chachas-incorrect-answers-continue-to-disappoint

The following is the first comment:

#1 August 30, 2010 at 9:41 am Jacob Elsts — You’re right. Even a simple answer now has tons of ads and I’ve had to reword questions multiple tines to get the right answer. I even asked the same question without changing the wording at all and got what I was looking for after asking 3 times. Also their iPhone app is extremely complicated for a simple FAQ service.

I’ve also given up on ChaCha- it’s faster to just call my dad lol.

An official response was received from Cha Cha well over 24hrs after the original post which allowed the post to fester unnecessarily.

Comment #9 August 31, 2010 at 9:15 am Shawn Schwegman

My name is Shawn Schwegman, and I’m the VP of Web Products at ChaCha. I just wanted to chime in to apologize for any bad experience you might have had recently. We are very focused on improving the quality of our service, and I’ve forwarded your comments to folks inside of ChaCha so we can address the issues you’ve found. We have many planned improvements in the works for our service over the coming months that should greatly enhance our quality. We also have big plans for our website as well as our iPhone application.

So, thank you very much for giving us a try. Thank you for your comments. Know that we are listening and we greatly appreciate your feedback.

Humbly submitted,

Shawn

I personally knew nothing about the conversation until I read a tweet from Robby Slaughter:



Invitation to a debate



I’ve known Robby Slaughter well enough to know that if he invites me to a debate, it’s going to be fun and challenging. So I scanned Patric’s blog post then I posted the following comment:

#27 August 31, 2010 at 2:15 pm Amy Stark

Hello Shawn Schwegman— tap tap tap…. is this thing on?—Are You Listening? One canned response 5 hours ago is not sufficient Social Media attention to this discussion, it’s already spread to other platforms. I’m just sayin’

I then tweeted:


I received an email from Shawn later that day. I consider her email content as confidential, but my response to her email was:

Hey Shawn,
I first learned about the discussion because Robby Slaughter tweeted about it and welcomed other people to join in on the conversation <= from Mr. Noobie’s blog to twitter. I’m not sure if anything about it popped up on Facebook or Smaller Indiana, but things that touch twitter have a tendency to trickle down to several other platforms, because everyone on twitter is a member of at least ONE other social media platform.

The response at 9:15 – whether it was spontaneously written or not – sounded very polished, canned and safe. Then there was nothing for several hours, which allowed it to fester. You might have added something like, “I’m jam packed all day and won’t be online to see any of your responses until much later in the day, so be patient with me as I sort through these issues and I’ll check back after 5pm.”

Social media calls for the type of response you left at 8:05 which is more in line with the mores of the online culture.

  • #44 August 31, 2010 at 8:06 pm Shawn Schwegman

    All,

    I know you are frustrated, and I really want to help. I hate to be all Jerry Maguire, but I’d be in your debt if you could help me help you… ;) What are the exact questions that are being asked that get a wrong answer? That would arm me with data I need to replicate the problems you are experiencing so that I can help to fix the root of the problem. If you don’t want to provide that information, I understand, but it sure would help me isolate and resolve the issues at hand.

    Thanks again,

    Shawn

This was heartfelt and sincere. If this had been your first response, I think the situation would have been ameliorated right away and it never would have spread to twitter or any other platform.

I hope that cleared up the reasoning behind my response. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Best Regards,
Amy Stark…


]]> http://starkrealitycheck.com/?feed=rss2&p=810 14 Click. Connect. Discover. http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=799 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=799#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:57:33 +0000 Amy Stark http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=799

<

It’s a Welsh Assembly Government programme which is delivered by five partner organisations – the Wales Co-operative Centre, the Novas Scarman Group, Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services, Carmarthenshire County Council and the George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling at the University of Glamorgan.

Much of the funding for Communities 2.0 has come from the European Regional Development Fund.

The goal for this co-operative in Wales aligns closely with my goal I set when I launched The Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine in January 2009.

To my newly discovered friends at Click. Connect. Discover. BRAVO! on this video, it’s beautiful on so many levels.

Click Connect Discover from Communities 2.0 on Vimeo.

]]> http://starkrealitycheck.com/?feed=rss2&p=799 0 Social Media Matures http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=780 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=780#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:22:26 +0000 Amy Stark http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=780


As I reviewed the latest PEW data for how Americans use the Internet, I had renewed hope for the evolution of our species.

Not only did social networking use in adults 65 plus DOUBLE in one year, but twitter/status update use of 50-64 yr old adults increased by 120%. The Implications section found in The Pew Internet and American Project offers three possible reasons for this dramatic increase in social media usage in older Americans — social media in general and twitter specifically.

REASON 1: To connect with long lost friends. I was not personally keen on reconnecting with some High School alums. Although I must admit I had some sense of satisfaction clicking the IGNORE button when I received an invitation from a jock who publicly humiliated me in 9th grade geography. 

REASON 2: To connect with health care providers surrounding chronic illness issues. Hospitals from every sector (for-profit, non-profit, and government) must pay attention to this reason closely:

“… older adults are more likely to be living with a chronic disease, and those living with these diseases are more likely to reach out for support online”

Health-care providers must be prepared for an ever increasing demand to connect digitally. Houses of worship must pay close attention to REASON 2 as well. This trend means there will be an increase in the number of your members who will seek spiritual support online — in addition to hospital clergy visits — when dealing with chronic illnesses.

REASON 3: Four Words: Bridging Social Capital Group

“Bridging social capital … refers to the building of connections between heterogeneous groups; these are likely to be more fragile, but more likely also to foster social inclusion.” (Schuller, Baron, & Field, 2000)

“Refers to cooperative connections with people from different walks of life, more valuable than ‘bonding social capital’.” (Edwards)

Under reason three the Pew report states:

social media bridges generational gaps. While the results can sometimes be messy, these social spaces pool together users from very different parts of people’s lives and provide the opportunity to share skills across generational divides.

This is the MOST important reason of the three listed because it will have the greatest impact on the evolution of our species. Social media platforms — generally and twitter specifically — not only bridge generational divides, but ALL geographic and socio-economic divides, too. The magnitude of REASON 3 becomes apparent with a little use of deductive reasoning and a syllogism.

Syllogism: A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.

Premise 1:  The more diverse a bridging social capital group becomes, the better equipped they will be to solve problems. (Supporting documents: Groups of Diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of  high-ability problem solvers, Diverse Backgrounds and Personalities Can Strengthen Groups, The logic of diversity )

Premise 2: There has NEVER been a more diverse bridging social capital group than twitter in the recorded history of our species. In the same digital space you will find NASA astronauts, World Leaders, celebrities, #Indiana Geeks, Baseball greats and early technology adapters from all over the world mingling together In Real Time. The diversity of this platform will only increase in scope because at its core twitter is a text based platform that can be accessed over basic cell phones. This means there are Four Billion twitter ready devices in use at this moment in time.

Conclusion: Better solutions will arise and innovation will be super-charged as more people enter twitter’s digital space and hopefully work together to solve problems.


]]> http://starkrealitycheck.com/?feed=rss2&p=780 4 piip.IN Its Mission, Vision, Ethics, and Mood http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=763 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=763#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:46:56 +0000 Amy Stark http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=763

piip.IN is an continuation of The Tweeter’s Almanac: The Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine

The mind map below is an off-shoot of Stark reAlity Check’s Services Mind Map
















______________

_________

Mission: Project Indiana via Internet Protocol ( piip.IN and @piipdotIN on twitter ) is a collaborative project where organizations from all three sectors ( non-profit, for-profit and government ) come together to showcase Indiana’s grooviness to the world.

Vision: Keep Indiana relevant as we – collectively as a species — navigate the paradigm shift from The INdustrial Age to The INformation Age.

Governing Ethics: Transparency, Honesty, Accountability, Reciprocity and Gratuity

piip.IN ‘s INaugural favorite quote:

For forms of government let fools contest; Whate’er is best administer’d is best: For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight; His can’t be wrong whose life is in the right: In faith and hope the world will disagree, But all mankind’s concern is charity. – Alexander Pope

piip.IN ‘s Mood: Happy

Additional Information for Affiliates:

Correspondence regarding piip.IN between its affiliates and Stark ReAlity Enterprises, Inc. will occur in a Social Media public time-line ( e.g. @replies on twitter, wall-to-wall exchanges on facebook, etc…). Emails and DMs are allowed only in cases where common sense confidentiality prevails.

]]> http://starkrealitycheck.com/?feed=rss2&p=763 0 Dave Woodson — TweetUp Best Practices http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=750 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=750#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:54:40 +0000 Amy Stark http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=750

Grab a crossword puzzle before you watch the following video.

This is the result of a failed attempt to capture the tweet stream during the Blog Indiana TweetUp Panel. Video stinks but the Audio is Fabulous.


Dave Woodson tells us a little about the history and best practices of the TweetUps held in the #NWIndiana area. He gives a nod to Kathy Sipple (2009′s Most Influential Social Media Dame) as having the inaugural NWIndiana tweetup, and then later discusses publicizing TweetUps through broadcast channels with Cheryl Watterson #TweetUPMichiana !

Towards the end you hear @RockyWalls of @MediaForHire ask Dave a tough question about fashion.

]]> http://starkrealitycheck.com/?feed=rss2&p=750 2 Pre-Panel Gossip and Introductions =) http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=745 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=745#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:01:08 +0000 Amy Stark http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=745

I had a blast!

It was my goal to capture the #BIN2010 Tweet Stream, but the video is almost as exciting as watching paint dry — almost.

But the Audio is fun!  Bravo Dave Woodson, you led a great panel and sounded fabulous.

You will hear comments from the following tweeters:

@RockyWalls @NatFinn @DaveWoodson @DukeLong @DanaMNelson @WillHardison and @CherylWatterson.

It was a real pleasure to get to know you all of you better.  I’m honored to be among very smart Indiana Tweeters.

]]> http://starkrealitycheck.com/?feed=rss2&p=745 0 Raising Brand Awareness through Contests http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=713 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=713#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:44:20 +0000 Amy Stark http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=713

Case Story:

Media For Hire ran an Indiana Social Media Top Gun Contest on Facebook:

“CONTEST! We want to feature one of YOU at the end of this week’s episode. Nominate someone you think is a “Social Media Top Gun” in a comment below & the nomination w/ the most “likes” by 5pm tomorrow will be featured at the end of this week’s episode (P.S. No shame in nominating yourself).”

In the original post a few Indianapolis Social Media men were tagged.

The following edited dialog took place over <roughly> a 24-hr period. Captured below are the highlights from my perspective.

______________________________

Media For Hire ‎(Example) We’d like to nominate CHUCK GOSE for Social Media Top Gun.

Chuck Gose Thanks for the nomination. Does the person need to be located in Central Indiana?

Nope

Aaron Craig:  I also want to nominate Chis Theisen for the “Top Gun of Funny Car Commercials.”
I hope I can nominate more than one person, because I just did. Sorry if I broke the “rules.”

Media For Hire:   The official rules state that the comment, containing a nomination, with the most “likes” will win, so everyone “like” those nominations!

  • Just to be clear, we are looking for nominations of a person you think is a Social Media Top Gun, i.e. they are the best of the best in social media. Nominate by commenting, vote on a nomination by “liking” the comment.
  • Chris Theisen:  I already voted for Chuck but the other person I steal ideas from all the time is Ryan Cox. I have no witty synergistic tie in with the movie however.
  • Rich Maier:  I nominate myself, Rich Maier. I am a newbie to social media, but am a small business owner starting a family business. Besides, who else has a WW2 Troop truck parked in his drive way or a Grandfather who met Adolf Hitler??

  • Richard Orelup:   I nominate @davewoodson , because the 4sq mayor of his house Dieter (http://twitter.com/theDieterDog) said he didn’t want the nomination because it was below him (yeah, my dog has serious ego issues, though he is probably right ;) ) so he said give it to the man he thinks is the closest to him in Social Media greatness, The Daver.

  • Paul Poteet Mr Chris Theisen, a creative promoter who gets the most bang for his buck. In fact, even today we’re doing a small Cause Marketing project on our respective platforms. His mind never stops and he understands the 21st century audience for his client (HARE CHEVY by the way!) will respond best to content that is engaging, not sales pitch-y. He does have a bit of a mascot fetish.

  • Chris Theisen:   LOL on the mascot fetish. Branding Paul its all about branding. And is that first line a thinly veiled attempt to say I make you do alot of stuff? ;) Seriously though thanks!
  • Steven Shattuck I nominate Kenny Loggins.

  • Megan ‘Flynn’ Giannini I would also like to nominate Julie Perry for the “Social Media Top Gun” as well!

  • Chris Theisen Megan is a suckup! ;)

  • Michelle Morris Woah, I was told to come here and vote, but I would rather nominate myself, sorry @dave woodson!!!

  • Rick Wilkerson I nominate “The Twitter Ninja” Amy Stark. She has game.

  • Bg Kahuna:   How do I “like” the Kenny Loggins nomination from my phone?

  • Haha, Rick =) Thank You! I’m honored and humbled. I go by Erik Decker’s definition of ninja = skilled moves and a cool outfit. I just received a DM from a twitter friend (you know who you are) encouraging me to vote for a mutual friend, bu…t I’ must vote my conscience instead => Douglas Karr <= he was the 2nd person I followed on twitter.    Does Top Gun indicate a certain gender? I’m sad the contest was up for 24 hours before a female was nominated.

  • @Media For Hire this contest is a great awareness raising tactic for your brand. Recruiting people who have social media clout to recommend other people with social media clout to like you – is very clever indeed =)

  • With about an hour and a half left, we want to again clarify the rules. We are counting the number of “likes” on comments with nominations, whether they are from the same person or not. So, in essence, you can vote more than once if a person has been nominated in more than one comment. Also, the comment with the nomination itself does not count because it is not a “like,” so if you nominated, you should still “like” to votel Just FYI.

  • Richard Orelup Amy – the 3rd person nominated was a female and that was an hour in.

  • Hey Richard, do you mean? “@Cari Downs Young I nominate my daughter and anyone in my family that loves me should nominate her as well”      I don’t see a name but you are correct in that she must be a female. When I first logged on to this grou…p the ONLY nominees were: “Chuck Gose, Chad Richards, G…reg Cross, Douglas Karr, Chris Theisen, Aaron Craig” … As a matter of fact those continue to be the only nominees listed in the profile. =) Just Sayin’

  • Steve Walsh:  Woodson fans. I messed up you have to Like the Richard Orelup post for it to count.

  • Steve, you didn’t mess up. All the “likes” count no matter which comment they are on.

  • I would like to lodge a formal complaint with the governing board of the Media 4 Hire Social Media Top Gun Contest citing the following infractions:

    1) The rules have proven to be far too complicated for social media peeps to understand
    2) Th…e names of the nominees listed in the original post are still all Guys!??!
    3)I wanted to vote for Doug Karr but I can’t find where he’s nominated.

    Because of these voting contest violations, I would like to rescind my previous Doug Karr nomination and just vote for @DaveWoodson as originally asked. It will just be easier. ♥ ya Dave =)

  • Chris Theisen Amy rules were pretty easy, comment on the post with your nomination. Click like on the nomination to vote for the person nominated in the comment. Ladies dont like Rocky and Zach they are pigs. You nominated Doug in your comment :) It does appear Mr. Woodson’s huge Chicagoland drawing power will take the crown so you might as well vote for him anyways.

  • ‎@Amy, unfortunately we don’t have the budget for a complaint department, or even a governing board for that matter. Thanks for nominating and voting though! We still think you’re pretty great too. (Chris is right too, by the way, we are pigs).

  • Media For Hire We’d like to thank everyone who nominated and voted! Check out tomorrow’s new episode to see your Social Media Top Gun!

  • Chris Theisen If I dont win Im not watching ;)

  • @Chris… Are you really not going to watch? That seems a bit unfriendly … even anti-Social =) Thanks for the rules flush out, btw. I suppose — since Media 4 Hire has no governing board for the Social Media Top Gun Contest — I will… rescind my nomination rescission.

    @Media4Hire – when I said this was a brilliant tactic, I meant that sincerely. I spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon laughing right out loud as I wrote about your brand. There’s nothing like a good contest to tap into the competitive nature of Social Media Geeks. Especially #Indiana SM Geeks. That’s why Foursquare works!

    In the spirit of true transparency, I called my friend Rick Wilkerson from keywerx and asked him to nominate me because I wanted to jump into this thread. I was too proud to nominate myself, it made me feel icky for some reason.

    I want to learn everyone’s back channel story. I already revealed mine: a twitter friend DMd me asking me to vote. I looked over the thread then called Rick to ask him to nominate me! All my other interactions regarding this contest is part of the public thread.

    Who is brave enough to share their own back channel story?

    • No back channel story for me. Media For Hire was kind enough to nominate me for the “honor” and I left it at that. I nominated my own candidate and tried to keep the other comments light hearted. I’m thrilled for the attention its given Media For Hire.
    • Chris Theisen Amy I was joking about not watching. I will be at Blog Indiana festivities but will watch at night at least. I honestly dont miss a Thursday Media for Hire episode. Love them!
    • Aaron Craig:   My back story is fairly simple: Rocky tagged me in the post. However, I probably never would have been tagged in that post if it wasn’t for “officially” meeting Rock a few weeks ago at networking event where we had some great social media conversations.
]]> http://starkrealitycheck.com/?feed=rss2&p=713 0 Services Mind Map and Pricing Schedule http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=691 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=691#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:13:04 +0000 Amy Stark http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=691

Stark ReAlity Enterprises, Inc.

List of services offered by Amy Stark and Pricing Schedule:

FREEMIUM $0.00 These items will always be free:

  • Twitter Basics prezi
  • The 2009 Tweeter’s Almanac: The Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine  (free PDF download)
  • Stark reAlity Check blog  — Case Stories, Best Practices, Observations
  • Twitter interactions in @replies — within reason


BUY ME A MEAL OR BEVERAGE - Just pick up the tab price range $2.50 – $20.00+ One Hour meeting during which time I typically data dump.  Be prepared to take notes.

  • Breakfast — preferred
  • Mid-Morning Coffee or Iced Tea
  • Lunch — Locally owned establishment preferred
  • Mid-Afternoon — Dairy Queen Blizzard


PUBLIC SPEAKING – price range  Free – $10,000+ Topics include (but not limited to): Social Media, Marketing and Public Relations in the 21st Century, The Zen of Twitter, Strategic Fund-raising, Online Event Planning, Digital Dialogs, Viral Marketing Techniques, Internet Infrastructure and Internet Trends.

  • Key Note — Limited Travel Area
  • Educational / Non-Profit Organizations  –  Community Groups, Associations, Schools
  • Un-Conferences, Panel Discussions, Round-Table Discussions
  • Webinars, Tweet Chats, Internet Radio Programs


SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING – price range  $0.00 – $10,000 +

  • Day-Long Boot Camps
  • Team Lunch-and-Learns
  • Extended Length Team Trainings
  • Personalized Individual Trainings
  • Guest Blog Posts, Tip Jar Trainings, Webinars


STRATEGIC SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTING – Hourly rates are negotiated on an individual basis

  • Comprehensive Marketing and Public Relations Design — Combining traditional best practices with digital best practices
  • Online Reputation Management
  • Social Media Campaign Design — Products, Services, Missions
  • Listening = Research + Trend-Spotting + Connecting
]]> http://starkrealitycheck.com/?feed=rss2&p=691 0 The Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=680 http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=680#comments Fri, 13 Aug 2010 23:50:42 +0000 Amy Stark http://starkrealitycheck.com/?p=680

While working on my Blog Indiana TweetUp Panel discussion I was reminded of The Great Indiana Initiative

( written by Amy Stark January 27, 2009  |  First published on Smaller Indiana dot com  |  Subsequently included in The Tweeter’s Almanac with an August 2009 update found on page 60 )


I’m spearheading an organized effort to raise twitter awareness in Indiana because I want our state to remain relevant in the 21st century. Participating on the Smaller Indiana platform and attending SI events made me realize just how cool Indiana truly is, and yet NOT ONE Hoosier is listed among the top 100 twitter elite. Shame on us for hiding our light under a bushel!

If all #Indiana tweeters would come together with one voice on this project we could generate some noise and raise #Indiana’s awareness on a global scale. I call it the:

Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine

Participation in the #Indiana Initiative is easy

- just type “#Indiana” in at least one tweet a week.

Perhaps it’s naive to think eight keystrokes typed in a few tweets could make a difference, but it’s free and you only have to donate a few minutes when it is convenient for you. It couldn’t hurt! A thriving Social Media culture may keep Indiana on global radar screens for business expansion and help our state thrive in an information-based (rather than industrial-based) world.

Ideas for using the #Indiana hashtag effectively:

Favorite #Indiana memory *** Favorite #Indiana saying *** Favorite #Indiana museum *** Favorite #Indiana restaurant *** Favorite #Indiana moment at a concert or theatrical production ***  Favorite #Indiana historian or author

Major sporting events trend heavily on twitter so you can tweet about: the Colts, the #Indiana Pacers, college stats from one of our world-renowned universities, or your kid’s high school basketball team in #Auburn #Indiana. Let’s not forget that #Indiana hosts the largest single day sporting event in the WORLD! This is definitely worth tweeting about when you consider that there are a quarter of a million race car fans and yet no riots – unlike some soccer games.

Examples of the #Indiana hashtag in action:

• From @ctorres4745:: If we get more snow, I plan on taking the kids to the Ft Harrison sled hill this weekend in Lawrence #Indiana

• From @sssemester:: Go #Indiana! RT @TheLuckyGirl: Miss America is Miss Indiana Katie Stam!!

• From @bphuff:: Heading to Bodies exhibit later today. #Indiana

• From @edeckers:: We serve big-assed pork tenderloins here in #Indiana at the #SwissWineFestival – http://twitpic.com/fq12z

August Aught Nine Update

Since its launch in January, The Great #Indiana Initiative of Aught Nine produced a thriving tweet stream – from Evansville to South Bend and Richmond to Terre Haute …

To my knowledge there are no other states using a hashtag in this fashion. #Indiana is leading the way in this voluntary Social Media initiative. According to Twitter Grader, Indiana is ranked 20th among the States. A respectable showing but we can do better. Virginia is ranked 13th and Tennessee is 17th for goodness sake, surely we can kick it up a notch. Go get ‘em #Indiana!

]]> http://starkrealitycheck.com/?feed=rss2&p=680 0