Category: Shift Happens

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:

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…

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.

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.

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.

Listed alphabetically below with live links and Twitter stats:

All data retrieved around noon on August 9, 2010 from the individual’s twitter profile information.

@AmyStark

Name: Amy Stark | #Indiana

Location Indianapolis, Indiana

Bio SM scholar; author; public-speaker; Internet-infrastructure geek; perpetual student; pinch tweeter; accomplished listener

8,986 Following

9,519 Followers

517 Listed

_________________

@cherylwatterson

Name: Cheryl Watterson

Location Northern Indiana

Bio Security Specialist promoting optimum home protection strategies. Security speaker & blogger, fitness buff, wife, mom, enjoying life!

2,637 Following

2,458 Followers

63 Listed

_______________

@DaltonsBriefs

Name: Steve Dalton

Location Northwest Indiana

Bio Municipal Finance Consultant (also runner, #tcot, #indiana, #nwindiana, #IN_SM, #redin and missional Christian, #homebuilder)

9,797 Following

8,917 Followers

379 Listed

____________

@DanaMNelson

Name: Dana Nelson

Location Evansville, IN

Bio Owner: @DanaMNelson where we connect people to build community

703 Following

683 Followers

77 Listed

_______________

@DaveWoodson

Name: Dave Woodson

Location NW Indiana

Bio Real Estate & Mortgage Marketing Consultant, Tech Geek, Social Media Adventurer, Cigar Enthusiast, Speaker, Husband & Dad, eLearning – Just having fun join me

13,316 Following

14,895 Followers

286 Listed

____________________

@DukeLong

Name: Duke Long

Location U.S

Bio Broker/Owner Commercial Real Estate

536 Following

909 Followers

78 Listed

________________________

@willhardison

Name: Will Hardison

Location Indianapolis, IN

Bio Entrepreneur, Drummer, Graphic Designer, Networker, Public Speaker. willhardison.com

1,261 Following

1,203 Followers

97 Listed

*          *            *

Very unlikely to be nominated for an Oscar

While I was growing up in Ft. Wayne, Indiana International Harvester pulled out of the city taking tens of thousands of jobs with it. Slowly a cloud grew over my hometown. Early childhood memories are filled with exuberance and sunny days, kinda like Tigger. After International Harvester left, Ft. Wayne became a little Eeyore ‘ish. This experience partly fuels my passion to keep #Indiana relevant in an Information based economy.

“The change from atoms to bits is irrevocable and unstoppable…” Nicholas Negroponte.

atoms = Industrial age VS bits = Information age

Bits of data can transport: ideas, literature, art, history, commercials, religion, music, curricula—virtually everything not made of matter!
Organizations that produce goods or services to be sold via bits of data over the Internet will play a vital role in providing jobs in the information age. Negroponte also warned us “..small differences of yesterday can have suddenly shocking consequences tomorrow.”

_____

The number of years to attain 50 million users is shrinking

MySpace – 4 years

iPod – 3 years

facebook – 2 years

twitter – 3 years

If the pattern holds true, the next social media platform will take only a year to reach 50 million. This concerns me when #Indiana typically lags TWO years behind the East and left coasts. For dress lengths that’s ok. For ways to communicate with a GLOBAL audience not so much.

In PIT (post-Internet time) businesses must be nimble enough to adapt — ready to handle change with style and finesse, like tigger.

Is my logic sound?