Welcome Lauren Bird to SMBD!

 

Hello Social Media by Design readers! My name is Lauren Bird and I am proud to now be a part of this Social Media team! I live and breathe social media. You name it, I’ve probably tried it. What I love about social media is that it’s constantly changing. You can never say that you know everything there is to know about social media. It constantly grows, adapts and changes with the times. Just when you think you know social media, it transforms.

I hope to bring you some spunk, new ideas, new research, and a bit of creative drive.

Outside of social media, I love hanging out with my fiancé and two chocolate labs. I recently graduated from college with a degree in business management. I started my college education at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado with an emphasis on broadcast media. After my third year at CU I followed my heart against all the criticism and moved to San Antonio with Brendan (my now fiancé who then was my boyfriend). I finished up school online at Colorado State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business management.

When I’m not helping out at Social Media by Design, I work full time at SilverHorn Golf Club where I am an office manager and run all the social media for SilverHorn. Besides working at SilverHorn I also have my own small business called The Elephant’s Trunk- an online greeting card shop and a creative lifestyle blog.

I look forward to evolving my social media techniques and learning all that I can while being a part of the Social Media by Design team.

What Depression Taught Me About Social Media

It’s not enough. At least not for me. Relying on synthetic connections through an augmented reality will never replace my need to be social in face-to-face interactions. It will never replace my need to collaborate and create things, ideas, and memories.

In September last year I left BradfordLawton to venture out on my own, working from my home office. I’m blessed to have their support, as well as the support of family and friends. But nobody warned me that after 15 years of working collaboratively, you might experience a fundamental emotional shift while trying to re-evaluate your self-worth.

A couple of therapy sessions later, I had a “duh” moment. I am a social person. Yeah, I know. Not that mind-blowing to you, but it was to me! Connecting authentically with others online will never replace the need to see a person’s face, to hear their laugh, to share live interactions in real-time. So, here’s what I have learned through this depression…

The goal is not what it seems. The goal isn’t to have a million followers or fans. The goal is to create real, vulnerable, authentic connections that extend beyond the WWW into real life. Sometimes that means you have to be painfully aware and transparent about who you are. I believe this holds true for brands online as well.

This is why social communities work. We are all social. To the core of who we are as human beings, we naturally group ourselves together in similar groups in real life, so we will do the same in online communities. Gratification comes with being in the right place at the right time online to find those genuine connections, just like in real life. As a brand, you can strive to create these arenas for your consumers to connect with you online, but you can never replace the need for your community to meet face-to-face to cultivate deeper relationships. And why would you? Letting your community see behind the curtain is a great way to take people from followers to friends personally, and from consumers to brand ambassadors professionally.

Visual Arts & Social Media…

Last Friday was date night for the Hensons. We had a blast enjoying the unique musical, Stomp at the Majestic Theatre. The chimes ring and we take our seats before the lights start to dim. I pull out my phone to snap a picture and share with my friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare. Take a look…

Not very scandalous. Other than having horrible lighting, I didn’t think twice about it being a bad idea. We weren’t taking a picture of the stage or actors, but we were taking pictures of ourselves. An usher reminded us, harshly, that no photography is allowed inside the beautiful historic venue.

It made me wonder, why hasn’t this artistic and liberal visual arts industry jumped on board with this new media? Here’s what I found…

Security Reasons: According to this article on AskPlayBill.com, it really depends on each show. But what are the security issues? Revealing high-profile actors’ locations? Preventing terrorism? Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find any further explanation of this reason.

Copyrighted Curtains: Seriously. Not making this up. The chance that someone might recreate the curtain of the show, yes the red velvet curtain or a specially made curtain, is just way too great of a risk to take in exchange for free public buzz about the theatre or the show. This falls under intellectual property law, which is really at the heart of why you and I cannot take pictures in a theatre.

By banning photography, the creative team feels a little more protected from potential intellectual theft. But, as you see above, pictures are still taken. So it doesn’t work. It just deters word-of-mouth advertising.

Many theaters are adopting social media marketing initiatives. The Majestic Theatre has over 7,600 fans on their Facebook page and over 1,000 followers on Twitter. I reached out to organizers to get more in-depth information on how they are integrating social media into their marketing strategy, but have not heard back.

It will be interesting to see how this creative visual arts industry defines itself in the social sphere in the next couple of years, and what impact our ever-growing digital social awareness will have on the theatre in return.

Social Networking in France

Sometimes you have to breakaway and disconnect to get back to the core of what “it” is all about. Not only is it okay to do so, it’s necessary! I’m tagging along with the BradfordLawton team on a trip to Uzes, France. Lounging around in this beautiful B & B, I realized that a lack of wifi on my iPhone has actually been a blessing. Instead of formulating my next Facebook message or using social media apps on my phone to disconnect from the people around me, I am forced to look up. And look around. And appreciate the people and connections that are right in front of me. In fact, my phone was lost all day yesterday and… dare I say I did not miss it?! I am having too much fun connecting authentically, genuinely, and in real-time! I believe it’s these real world experiences that we all crave and try to imitate through digital communications. These experiences heighten our understanding of communication in universal way, across language barriers, cultural differences, etc., to uncover the one thing that makes good food, good wine, beautiful scenery, and everything else in life bland if it’s not a part of the equation. And that’s the people.

So, here’s a few shots of the beautiful people I have connected with, so far, during my trip to France…

This is Philippe & Marie, who are a charming couple! They live in an old train station in Uzes that they converted into a beautiful house, and they have been married for seven years… since they got remarried! Yes, that’s right. They were married, divorced, and then remarried! They have two grown daughters.

This is Marta & Ana Karin.

Oh, what a character Ana Karin is! She’s a model out of Paris, she owns and runs this B & B, takes care of two children, she makes croissants (not from a silver tube!), breads, and jams from scratch. Oh… and she makes the bowls and coffee mugs we use every morning, which are beautiful!

Despite a lack of wifi (or possibly thanks to a lack of wifi!) I have had the pleasure of meeting some new friends who I am a huge fan of, getting back to the roots of what it means to be social. Social networking in France.

Just for fun, here are some more shots from our adventures so far. Enjoy!

QR Codes. A Fad or the Future?

The first time I ever noticed a QR code was at SXSW this year. This is the first QR code I ever thought scan-worthy.

Unfortunately, it must not have been that great, because I can’t remember now what happened on the other side of pulling out my phone, launching the app, and scanning the code. That’s the challenge when it comes to QR codes. The benefit (or at least the possibility of a benefit) must be worth at least the amount of time it takes to scan the QR code.
Or it has to make something easier. As long as it takes to scan a QR code, it can take longer to launch a smart phone web browser, type in a URL, and then navigate to an area within that website. This is why I suggested QR codes for the April street guerilla campaign for Goodwill Industries of San Antonio. BradfordLawton sent out almost a dozen drivers to drive around high traffic areas around the city with these boxes on top of their cars…

When helpful citizens tried to flag down the driver, they received a gift card to Goodwill and a t-shirt. But I wanted to find a way to take this campaign from the street to online community engagement. So, here’s what I suggested to the agency.
Spot us on the street. Snap a photo. Upload it to Goodwill’s Facebook page and you might win a new iPad. To help people get the photo from their phone to our Facebook page, I suggested we use QR codes on the t-shirts we handed out. Take a look.

Kid not included. She’s my greatest work so far. 😉
Not only did this strategy increase fans by a couple hundred within a week, but it also increased engagement. The QR code was not only helpful during the campaign, but now there are hundreds of San Antonians who will wear this shirt, and continue to promote not only the brand, but also their presence online.
The usefulness and longevity of QR codes doesn’t rely on the technology, rather on how we are using it. So, what’s the coolest QR code you’ve seen? I would love to hear what motivated you to scan.

Tweeting is a Lot Like Praying

So, I’m sitting in church on Sunday. The room is packed with people of all ages, eager to get filled up. The band plays and we greet each other. Pastor Jeff comes on stage and starts the sermon. Everyone sits down and pulls out their bibles phones. This got me to thinking about how technology has played such a fundamental role in shaping not only our communications and connections with each other, but also with Him.

I realized, Tweeting is a lot like praying.

1. The first message is the hardest. 

Do you remember your first tweet? Let me rephrase that question. Do you remember how long it took to post your first tweet? I remember how overwhelming it was to construct that first message in 140 characters. What could I have to contribute to an already superfluous flow of information that was worth anybody’s attention?

We work really hard to make sure every word is perfectly constructed. We over-analyze to the point of missing the point sometimes. However, this challenge is not exclusive to twitter. It’s something we have to overcome when commuting not only with each other, but also with Him. In the beginning, I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. I over-analyzed and criticized every thought. But it didn’t matter. I did it. And continued to do it. Until something changed. I started focusing more on the communication, and the outcome of that communication, than on myself. I gained confidence. I got into a rhythm.

2. It takes commitment. 

God likes to hear from you. Praying sporadically doesn’t do it. Tweeting once a month doesn’t do it either. Both take a full commitment. And not commitment from the “good” version of you. Both audiences like to see the real, authentic you. Flaws and all. You get what you give in both relationships.  And both have a great ROI. Eternal life. Great friends.

3. Results Vary.

God isn’t going to pay your bills, buy you a new car, or fix all your problems. But He will change your life. Twitter isn’t going guarantee you a social life. But it can connect you to people in your area you never would have met otherwise, or help you find a friend half a world away with the same interest. With both forms of communication, distance no longer matters.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think!

Are we there yet?

We all have “those” friends on Facebook that we can’t stand. Shoot, sometimes it’s our own family members. The distant cousin who can’t post without dropping the F-bomb. An Aunt who decides Facebook is her soap box to tell everyone how horrible President Obama is. Which makes me wonder, are we experiencing a saturation of social experiences that negate the very reason for connecting with each other? I read a couple different posts this week that lead me to believe we are starting to shift from mass consumption & mass networks, to targeted and selective consumption with meaningful & useful relationship.

Amber Naslund (@ambercadabra), VP of Social Strategy for Radian6, writes in her latest blog post at brasstackthinking.com, “It can be easy to get swept up in wanting more connections, more nodes, more superficial touches that make you feel surrounded and supported and even liked or heard.” In her blog, she opens up about things she wants her friends to know. And she asks others to join in as well. Some of the most interesting and rewarding relationships have come from my connections on twitter.

While showing vulnerability, this novel idea demonstrates how we are truly longing to make authentic connections in our online communications. What we are looking for in social communication is evolving. We realize the difference between an acquaintance and an authentic connection. And we no longer want to waste our time on weak connections. We’re ready to cut through the superfluous to get to the meat of what our online relationships are all about.

This goes for both the relationships we make and the tools we use online. Colleen Pence (@colleenpence) of Social Media Mentoring tweets “…realizing that the technology that used to inspire & thrill me is dragging me down & making me sad/disoriented/worn out.”

Enter Google+. In an article on CNN, a recent Harvard grad who has been invited to use Google+ during its trial stage, says “I saw Facebook and twitter as marketing tools, not social networks for my benefit. But I joined Google+ immediately because I trust that Google makes its products for the benefit of the Internet consumers…makes being on the Internet more efficient and specific to the kind of information I’m consuming.” Another student says, “Now that we have all learned what a social network really is, and realized that it doesn’t really help to have 1,000+ friends, I look forward to starting afresh with Google+ by only adding the people that I regularly keep in contact with.”

We are ready to cut through the superficial social clutter and devote our time and energy towards the select relationships that mean the most to us, and the tools that allow us to do it more efficiently.

So, on this roller coaster ride to the destination of fulfilling the human need for full, rewarding relationships, I have to ask, are we there yet? Are you on superficial relationship overdrive & technology overload? Are you into micro-communities or do you prefer having a large group of casual “friends”?

Let me know what you think!

These are a few of my favorite links.

I won’t attempt to sing Julie Andrew’s iconic song, but you get the point. Over the past year or so, I have searched  for some of the best websites for driving social media, branding, and advertising creativity. Here are some of my favorites.

1.) Mashable

Yeah, this one is on everyone’s top list these days. But I have to mention it. If you only have time to visit one website, go here. They are constantly updating the site with fresh content, information and news on your favorite sites like Facebook, twitter, YouTube, etc.

2.) BrandflakesForBreakfast

One blog, not a lot of back pages to search through, great content. For creative branding ideas, this is where you go to get the scoop (I’m so punny!).

3.) Social Media Examiner

This is a great site for those who are on the front end of their social media research. They break it down in simple terms, with posts like “How to Build a Free Social Media Monitoring Dashboard” and “Getting Started with Social Media: A Resource Guide“. Great resource for newbies when they start to feel overwhelmed by all the platforms out there.

4.) AdWeek

Specifically, their advertising & branding blog, AdFreak. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to like them on Facebook. It’s easy to forget this is “work” when you are toying around here. They find the most entertaining, creative, unique, funny, different, weird, freaky, or occult advertising campaigns and put them all in one place to spur your creativity.

5.) Ad Age

This is a great resource for ad agencies that are incorporating SM into their client services. They do a great job of giving an overall picture of how agencies should seamlessly fold in online social media platforms into their advertising strategy, AND why it matters. A little dry, but very informative.

Hope this helps! I would love to know which websites you find most helpful. Feel free to comment or e-mail me at Taylor Henson Online at Gmail dot-com.

How many logos can you spot in Logorama?

Following up on my last post about logos on the big screen, here’s an interesting digital short that’s made up of only logos.  Produced by French collective, H5, Logorama has won a handful of prestigious awards including an Academy Award and the Kodak Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Take a look and see how many logos you can recognize.

Logo Design in Our Favorite Shows

Logos are all around us, from the drive-thru sign at McDonald’s to computer monitors we stare at everyday. Yeah, take a look. There’s probably a little Apple or Dell icon right in front of you. The magic of graphic design isn’t limited to any one medium. Here’s a look at some logos we’ve come to love via our favorite TV shows & sitcoms.