Category: Shift Happens

We are in the midst of a paradigm shift similar to the one following Gutenberg’s invention in the 1450s, only this one’s global, it moves at the speed of light and it’s on steroids. History shows us that chaos and uncertainty ruled the day during these major cultural shifts. It’s easy to find examples of this chaos right now, just ask any newspaper journalist or recording artist.

When things are this volatile it feels much safer to stick with business as usual, however sometimes business as usual means you’ll be OUT of business in less than five years. A Commercial Real Estate broker who chooses NOT to participate in social media is like a 1905 blacksmith whose specialty is horseshoes.  He’s certain that the best approach is to keep his head down and keep working. He deludes himself by thinking, “Things will be just fine because my skills will always be valued. After all … only few people have cars.”

Think of social media platforms as virtual networking events where you can connect with industry leaders and potential clients – not restricted by space or time. You do not need to physically be at a Chamber After Hours event to participate, you can network at 4:00am when you can’t sleep. Social media platforms are also a great training ground for learning the language of the Internet. Every industry that wants to thrive in the 21st Century must learn the language of the Internet -Commercial Real Estate Brokers are not exempt.

Even if you don’t want to master the skill or leverage its power – you must understand the social media paradigm shift to protect your reputation. One of my favorite quotes to illustrate this truth comes from Winston Churchill, “A lie gets half way round the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on.” Now a lie can travel to millions of Internet users around the world at the speed of light.

If you perform a regression analysis on major communication paradigm shifts, – when the new technology was introduced and the number of years required for that new technology to reach 50 million users – it’s reasonable to interpolate the next major paradigm shift will occur next Tuesday at 2:45 am EST.
Years to reach 50 million users:
My Space – 4 years
Twitter – 3 years
Facebook – 2 years

I’ve been asked to appear on the #GeekSpeak Panel discussion regarding Net Neutrality.  @KLFLegal  @edeckers @dszp @codatory will be on the panel, too. As I mentioned to John Fox — aka @IndyGeekNet — when he invited me, I’m very interested in this topic.   I used to be a telecom geek, now I’m an Internet infrastructure geek.  Internet Protocol – I P – is also the language of twitter, btw, but I will resist the urge to whip out my twitter soapbox.

In order to understand net neutrality I thought I would start at the very beginning. The following excerpt is from a paper entitled:

U.S. Public Policy and ICANN: a small U.S. nonprofit serving over one billion people globally. Although written less than three years ago, the title is wrong. It’s now FOUR BILLION.

Commonly known as a Father of the Internet, Vinton Cerf was there as the developer of protocols that facilitated this data flow. […] He has often been photographed wearing a T-shirt with an image that claims, “IP on Everything.” Generally admired within the community for his technical genius and sense of humor, Cerf understands the psyche of early technology adapters.

[…] The National Telecommunication and Information Administration wisely recognized the organic nature of the Internet and they, “encouraged bottom-up development of networking technologies through work at NSF… […]

By the mid 90s, this new technology became the grass-roots mass communication device envisioned by the National Science Foundation, and anyone with a computer, a connection and the desire, had a voice in this new public forum. […]

.. the DoC would create ICANN, a nonprofit organization, to be responsible for the, “technical coordination of the [Domain Name System] DNS to the private sector in a manner that promotes stability and security, competition, bottom-up coordination, and representation.” To that end, ICANN encourages every member of the Internet community to participate in the decision-making process, and encourages competition through for-profit registrars. The de-centralization of registrars virtually created a new global industry…”

“I often quote myself. I find it adds spice to the conversation” ~George Bernard Shaw

The #Indiana Social Media Summit exists to:  =>foster healthy competition    =>generate a list of SM best practices     =>create feelings of goodwill and unity     =>showcase #Indiana’s grooviness to the world     =>encourage all involved to laugh at themselves.

These favorite (fave) tweets were selected from the “What the Hashtag” transcript set up by @KMullett

Fave SMackdown tweet #10

RT @PorterLaura: #in_sm10 Congrats to all the winners!!! Next year, Evansville presence will be bigger

Fave SMackdown tweet #9

RT @kmullett The #IN_SM10 is a fun time and great event…sharing the #SM love.. From #FortWayne group

Fave SMackdown tweet #8

RT @JessicaReed We’ve got some people for the #Bloomington #IN_SM10!

Fave SMackdown tweet #7

RT @ScLoHo: Kevin, can you hear Me say hello repeatedly? ( #IN_SM10 live at http://ustre.am/rZjS) cc @kmullett

Fave SMackdown tweet #6

RT @ripsup RT @bgkahuna ..Vote early & often #IN_SM10 <-Hey, that’s our motto from up here in Chicagoland, thieves.

Fave SMackdown tweet #5

RT @KathySipple — @davewoodson is the Dame? What’s up with that? Congrats, Dave! #IN_SM10 …

Fave SMackdown tweet #4

RT @DebbieValiant RT @nancymyrland: Go get ’em Amy! ( #IN_SM10 live at http://ustre.am/rZjS)

Fave SMackdown tweet #3

RT @sbh_bruce ..probably..over 1 million combined followers, w/ all the influencers in the room @brewhouse #in_sm10

Fave SMackdown tweet #2

RT @efriedland I find it endlessly entertaining and hilarious to watch the drama surrounding the #in_sm10 awards.

Fave SMackdown Tweet #1

RT @quincyzikmund: nice to see tech companies working TOGETHER in #Indiana #IN_SM10

In a conversation with Noah Coffey after the event, I told him that the Indiana Social Media Summit to be an “Open Source at Zero Cost” project. Open Source in that everything is OPEN to the public and it’s a collaborative effort – Zero cost = no cost to the end user.  There must always be a way for someone to participate with no barrier to entry except for a digital device with a connection to the Internet.

This list will be sent to Chris Theisen from Hare Chevrolet ( who graciously offered to help with the FormStack ballot ) at Noon December 21 EST.  No changes to the final ballot will be accepted after that time.

INstructions for Voters.

You will be required to provide a first and last name plus your twitter handle so that Chris can set up the ballot to send a tweet when you vote. You will be required to answer a brief question before you vote for the individual categories by clicking one of two options (see below).

There is a randomize option so that the order of nominees will be different each time the ballot is accessed.

__________________________

Most Influential Dame – Must Check One Box:

I am voting for this peep because she is the Most INfluential Dame listed on the final ballot.
OR
I am voting for this peep because she asked me to vote.

Nicole Misenick, Casey Mullins, Saundra Hadley, Elizabeth Cecconi, Lorraine Ball, Julie Perry, Diane Brooks, Mary Biever, Dana Nelson, Heather Schoegler, Lindsay Manfredi

______________________

Most Influential Dude — Must Check One Box:

I am voting for this peep because he is the Most INfluential Dude listed on the final ballot.
OR
I am voting for this peep because he asked me to vote.

Ryan Martin, Scott Howard, Anthony Juliano, Dave Woodson, Keith Bansemer, Kyle Lacy, Jerry Richardson, Jim Petrie, William Merkel, Barry Skalski, Douglas Karr, Bob Burchfield, Ryan Cox

________________________

Most Influential UP & Comer — Must Check One Box to Vote:

I am voting for this peep because she/he is the Most INfluential Up & Comer listed on the final ballot.
OR
I am voting for this peep because he/she asked me to vote.

Susan Davis, Muhammad Yasin, Andrew Hoffman, Chantelle Flannery, Casey Valiant, Paul Poteet, Josh Humble, El Pacero, Jeff Vanasdal, Stephanie Eppich Daily,  Steve Shattuck, Sara Croft, TweetUp Michiana, Allison Carter, Jay Mattingly, Jen Crutchfield, Chris Sanderson, Taylor Brough

_________________

#Indiana’s Nicest Social Media Peep — Must Check One Box to Vote:

I am voting for this peep because she/he is the Nicest Peep listed on the final ballot.
OR
I am voting for this peep because he/she asked me to vote.

Richard Orelup, Cherie Lowe, Derek Pillie, Will Hardison, Debbie Valiant, Edgar Diaz, Stephanie Krol, Nancy Myrland, Aaron Craig, Evan Finch, Jenn Lisak, Cory Shutters, Jean Bansemer, Kari Hulse, Doug Theis, Shawn Quick-Raflik, Annie Zoll, Kelly Karrmann, Jillian Koeneman

______________________

#Indiana’s Grooviest Social Media Campaign or Peep — Must Check One Box to Vote:

I am voting for this campaign or peep because they are The Grooviest option listed on the final ballot.
OR
I am voting for this organization or peep because they asked me to vote.

West Coast Tacos, Jan Dye, Wendy Moyle, Jake Vernon,@MusicalFam, Tina Schumacher, Steven Kelly, @ForkOut, @HolidayWorld, Jim Irsay, @drfeelgoods, United Way of Central Indiana, Startup Weekend, Irvington Halloween Festival, @nwitweetup

______________________

#Indiana’s Most Ethical Social Media Company or Peep — Must Check One Box to Vote:

I am voting for this organization or peep because they are the Most Ethical option listed on the final ballot.
OR
I am voting for this organization or peep because they asked me to vote.

Fuzework Studios, Jodi Dean, Spearia Indy, Rob Rohena, @12StarsMedia, @ExactTarget, @EvansvilleWatch, Vicki Bohlsen, @TrendyMinds, Firebelly Marketing, Craig D. Crook

Below please find the stipulations placed on reserving a free ticket to the SMackdown event at Scotty’s Brewhouse on E. 96th in Indy:

____________

DO NOT Reserve a Ticket without reading the “This ticket is absolutely free, BUT*….” statement below.

I really mean it.

On December 30, 2010 at 1:30PM EST cities all across Indiana – from the banks of the Ohio River River to the shores of Lake Michigan – will connect via Ustream to watch the Official Awards Ceremony taking place at Scotty’s Brewhouse on the North Side of Indy.

Attendees will be invited to arrive at Scotty’s around noon when the frivolity, fried dill-pickle eating, and lots of fun will ensue. The Awards Ceremony will begin promptly at 1:30PM EST.

The tickets are free for this event with a few CAVEATS:

BY RESERVING A TICKET you agree to the following:

IF YOU RSVP and learn you will not be able to attend before December 28, 2010 at 11:59AM EST — you PROMISE to pay a $10 donation to Goodwill-Indy.org AND release the ticket for someone else immediately!

IF YOU RSVP and learn you will not be able to attend this event after Noon EST December 28th — you PROMISE to pay a $10 donation to Goodwill-Indy.org PLUS send a worthy substitute in your stead. This is just common courtesy. Scotty’s Brewhouse will make special arrangements to have an appropriate number of staff on hand to accommodate the SMackdown. Please respect him and his wait-staff.

IF YOU RSVP, are unable to attend the SMackdown and you fail to send a worthy replacement — you PROMISE to donate $25.00 to Goodwill-Indy.org plus go to Scotty’s soon thereafter to enjoy a nice lunch or dinner and — not only leave a generous tip to your server but — seek out the wait-staff who counted on a tip from you at SMackdown Event and slip ’em a fin. =)

If the above stated conditions are not met by January 29, 2011 you agree to public reminders.  Amy Stark will engage with you on twitter in @mentions to hold you accountable beginning January 30, 2010.

*there always seems to be a big but