Can a broken arm kill Jim’s love for technology and social media? Stay tuned:
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Loyal listeners of The Hopkinson Report know a few things about me:
- I never miss a week (once in the last 118 episodes)
- I love technology, being online and all things social media
- I love mountain biking (I compared the ‘flow’ of biking to a business in Episode 113)
So when I was away for the first part of my vacation while mountain biking some epic trails in Seattle, the capable Brandon Werner filled in. But then the unexpected struck when I came back to the east coast to go biking in the rocky trails of the Pocono mountains.
Photo: Happier, 2-armed times near Seattle just days before my crash
Do you believe in social media karma? No less than SEVENTY-FOUR different people wished me happy birthday on Thursday August 19th. It was great. Everyone was so happy, and people wished me the greatest day of the year!
Well, as fate would have it, my upper arm (distal humerus) would face a 3-foot high karma boulder head-on. And lose. Badly.
The next week turned into a whirlwind of hospitals, travel, surgery, second opinions, friends, family, pain, insurance red tape, and frustration before finally making it back to NYC.
My friends said that I would somehow find a way to link my broken arm to social media.
In truth? I went the opposite way.
What did NOT matter in that week, was twitter, foursquare, facebook, marketing, viral videos, podcasts, and blog posts.
What DID matter, was family, friends, coworkers, communication and old school doctors screwing a piece of metal into me to put me back together.
I will say this:
- Text updates were great for quick communication
- Facebook is a great way to post gross photos
- E-mail is a good way to tell a story once to many people (helpful with one arm)
- The iPad is a great way to kill 3 painful hours on a train
However, all this is nothing without a real world network.
On this special edition of The Hopkinson Report, Jim is on vacation, so I, Brandon Werner (Intern 1.0 for long time The Hopkinson Report listeners) guest-hosts. I explain why Social Media is the new dividing factor between Generation Y and their Baby Boomer parents.
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On Hopkinson Report Episode 102, Jim interviewed me on my research on my generation, the millennial AKA Generation Y. This group is also called the echo-boom, as they are the children of the famous Baby Boomers. Since recording that episode, I had a revelation that will be the topic of this episode.
When I was a child, I remember my parents (baby boomers/teens of the 60′s and 70′s) used to tell me stories of how their parents “just didn’t get it”. Their formative teenage years were filled with Woodstock, the anti-Vietnam movement, Nixon… These were the years of Rock ‘N Roll and there was a sharp divide between the baby boomers and their “Greatest Generation” parents.
Through my teenage years, I never really felt that level of misunderstanding between my parents and I. In fact, my parents “got-it” almost too well. I wanted to learn drums and be in a band, my dad taught me how to do it from his own experiences, If I tried to dye my hair, my mom would show me how. The classic parent/son anti-piercing or tattoo fight? They actually encouraged them (so I didn’t really have any drive to get them). I would say I wanted to go to a Green Day concert, and my dad would ask to come with me.
From talking to my friends, this is pretty standard. Where was our rebellion or revolution? Where was our Rock ‘N Roll? Recently, after a few failed attempts to communicate exactly what I do for a living, I think I found it. Our Rock ‘N Roll is Social Media.
This podcast was recorded on Tuesday July 6, 2010, and it was a historic day for Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Superstar LeBron James. No, it was not the day that he announced which team he was going to via free agency. It was the day that LeBron joined Twitter.
Let’s look at the lessons learned from LeBron James’ first day on Twitter.
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1) Major brands need to engage in social media
Let’s face it, LeBron James is a brand. He is worth millions, is recognized worldwide, and generates revenue and profits on everything from ticket sales to merchandise. Until now, he has poked fun at Twitter, but he has finally broken down and signed up. Any major brand looking to engage with fans that does not have a social media presence does so at their own peril.
2) Your social circle strongly influences your decisions
What is the goal of nearly every company’s marketing department? To build a product with strong word-of-mouth marketing. Did you start using Google or Facebook because you saw a TV commercial about them? No. You found out about them because someone you know said “Hey, you need to check this out.”
Jim’s guest is Deanna Zandt, author of a social media book. They talk about how she got a book deal, raised money to fund it, and how she got free pizza.
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Deanna Zandt is the author of the new book, “Share This! How You Will Change the World with Social Networking” which you can find out more about at her website, DeannaZandt.com.
During our interview, we talk about the following topics:
- How the former corporate employee and self-proclaimed ‘webmonkey’ went from independent consultant to author
- The process she took to turn her training seminars into a book idea
- The “Jedi Mind Trick” philosophy her publisher uses, and how she used “the force” of social media to raise funds in order to work on her book
- How she used crowdsourcing on everything from the title to the cover — and how people reacted to it
- The free software program she used to dramatically ramp up her productivity during the writing process
And yes, she explains how she scored a free eye exam and free pizza along the way.
How does a company turn their email file into a list of powerful social media influencers? They go to Flowtown.
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Podcast Episode 101 is an interview I did at SXSW with Ethan Bloch of Flowtown.com, a service that turns email addresses into social profiles. After discussing the best way to survive the festival on no sleep and Green Tea, Jim gets down to business to find out Ethan’s story.
Topics covered: About Ethan
- Ethan’s amazing start as an entrepreneur, importing video game components and driving $13,000 worth of revenue — at age 13!
- How marketing, finance, and technology have been the three pillars of his career thus far
- His move to San Francisco, subsequent job loss, and founding of a new business
About Flowtown
- A platform that allows businesses to connect with their customers
- Starting with their email list, Flowtown generates a list of the social networks their customer base is on, allowing them to write better posts, send better tweets, and more easily target their customers
- Not only does Flowtown return age, gender, networks, and the top 50 locations, but it then creates a sort of “iTunes Smartlist for Marketers,” showing the top 50 influencers that really move the needle
The Marketing Angle
- What is Flowtown’s approach to marketing their business?
- Where does Flowtown get their customers?
- Is all this a good thing? What about user’s personal information being exposed?
- Is email dead?
Advice for Startups
- What are the challenges of being a startup?
- What is the main advantages of being a small company?
- How the “lean startup” process enables them to make quick advances in technology
- Lessons learned through a failed project, which led to 3,500 new customers on their next project
Try it yourself
Check out flowtown.com and enter your e-mail address (it’s not stored) to find out which networks you’re on.
Hey everyone, I recorded my podcast on a Sunday morning, having just got back from a run. If you’ re a long-time listener, you know I’m a big fan of running, and I’ve said many times that I have never gone on a run when trying to figure out a podcast topic and NOT come back with a clear head, tons of ideas, and boundless energy.
I’m going to talk about the gear I use, the clothing I wear, the brands I trust, and throw in three bonus how-to’s:
- How to make your own training calendar
- How to make the perfect smoothie
- How to make a framed marathon ’shadowbox’ for $25.
Note… this podcast ended up topping 45 minutes, my longest ever. I was going to break it into two parts, but decided if you’re not into running, you probably won’t listen to it, and thus won’t listen to the second part next week. However, if you ARE into running, you’ll find the entire show really valuable. So throw it on your iPod and head out for a long run.
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One of the major marketing discoveries I pointed out, is that the following companies do not own their Twitter accounts: @nike @adidas @asics @newbalance (not a corporate account) @brooks @mizuno
Can you believe this??? It blows my mind. How the heck does a $30 Billion company like Nike not own their main Twitter account?
If there’s one buzzword that resonated in 2009, it has to be Twitter, so it’s fitting that I’m ending the year with a podcast about Tweets.
The week of December 14th I was in charge of Wired’s massive 325,000 follower account (@Wired), so I want to tell you the 10 lessons learned, and break down writing the perfect tweet.
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In the podcast I give a background on how the @wired twitter account came to be, but here are the key points:
- At the end of 2008, Twitter really started gaining a lot of buzz and I knew Wired had to look at this up-and-coming platform
- I organized meetings with key decision makers and presented the pros and cons, with the data to back it up
- We decided to make @wired an interactive account (not just a feed of top stories), and that editors familiar with Twitter would rotate on a weekly basis overseeing the account
- This enabled us to give a unique voice each week (using editors from gadgets, science, transportation, programming) without burdening one individual with all the responsibility
- We started the year with only 8,000 followers, and Twitter was #49 on the list of traffic-drivers to Wired
- Three key things happened in early October… we passed 100,000 followers, we threw a party to celebrate that fact, and we were added to Twitter’s recommended follow list
- On 11/6 we passed 200,000 followers
- On 12/11 we passed 300,000 followers, and on more than one occasion Twitter was a top 10 referrer of monthly traffic
Recorded via conference call in New York City and Vancouver
September 11, 2009
Jim Hopkinson, Wired’s Marketing Guy
Ryan Holmes, CEO, Invoke Media (Creator of Hootsuite Twitter Client)
Hi, this is Jim Hopkinson, Wired’s Marketing Guy, bringing you the marketing trends that matter. Welcome.
The popularity of Twitter continues to grow, both on a personal and business level, and in this episode I interview Ryan Holmes, the CEO of Invoke Media, the creator of a Twitter dashboard client called, “HootSuite.”
Jim Hopkinson: Well, welcome everyone. I’m here today with Ryan Holmes who is the CEO of Invoke Media. Welcome, Ryan.
Ryan Holmes: Thanks a lot, Jim.
JH: So, Ryan comes to us from Vancouver. Now, Ryan, I don’t know if you know about this, but, I’m getting huge in Canada with the Hopkinson Report. I’ve got you coming in from Vancouver, I interviewed Saul Colt and Sarah Prevette from Toronto, Mitch Joel from Montreal, and maybe I’ll expand into, like, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, or something next.
RH: That’s great to hear, I’m in good company there.
JH: So, tell me about what your major company, ‘Invoke Media’, is all about. How you founded that, and then we can get into the Twitter dashboard, ‘HootSuite’, after that.
I’m huge in Canada!
After fantastic interviews with Saul Colt and Sarah Prevette (Toronto) and Mitch Joel (Montreal), I’m shifting to the West Coast to speak with Ryan Holmes, the CEO of Vancouver-based Invoke Media. Up next… Manitoba and Saskatchewan!
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
Ryan’s company is the creator of a Twitter client called Hootsuite.
What exactly is a Twitter client (also known as a dashboard)? It’s a way for individuals and companies to better manage their Twitter experience.
The adoption of Twitter definitely moves through various stages, from the initial hatred (why do I want to know what you’re having for lunch!!!) through a tiny toe in the ocean of status updates, and finally through the a-ha moment when it starts to add real value.
Some people will move through these stages faster than others, and it’s easy for power users to forget that millions of new people are signing up every day, and they’ve never used a URL shortener and don’t know what a ReTweet is.
Jim Hopkinson: Alright, I’m sitting here in Wired’s New York City office with Mitch Joel. Mitch is President of Twist Image, an award winning digital marketing and communications agency. He’s also a blogger, a podcaster, a passionate entrepreneur, and speaker, who connects with people worldwide by sharing his marketing insights on digital and personal branding. Marketing Magazine dubbed him the ‘Rock Star of Digital Marketing’, and called him one of North America’s leading digital visionaries. And, in 2008, Mitch was named Canada’s most influential male on social media, one of the top 100 online marketers in the world, and was awarded the highly prestigious ‘Canada’s Top 40, Under 40.’ And as of this week, he has another title to add. So, welcome, Mitch.
Mitch Joel: Hey man, thanks.
JH: So, what would you consider your primary job, are you the owner of an agency, a speaker, a blogger, or as of this week, an author?
MJ: My friend, Chris Brogan, who’s got chrisbrogan.com and Trust Agency, says I’m a typist, is what he says [chuckles]. No, I’m actually, definitely a digital marketing agency owner. I’ve got three partners, we have offices in Toronto, Montreal, we have about 90 employees, and I really consider what I do fundamentally, marketing. I definitely use these other cool channels to build and promote the business in a very non-pitching way, but, I consider myself a marketer, at heart.
JH: So, you have the agency, and then all these other things you do kind of help you represent the agency?
MJ: Yeah, people are really shocked to hear about, but like anytime I speak, or the book advance that I got, goes right back into the agency; I don’t take my own cut out of it. When I was teaching digital courses, all that money went into the agency. I really am trying to build the business, after years of being both an entrepreneur and working for companies, I consider myself a rottweiler – this is mine, and I’m not letting go.
And, so, I just sort of look at it as I use a lot of these channels to communicate and connect to people in a very, very non-pushy or salesy way. I’m trying also to build the industry, the interactive world that we live in. And, it’s crazy! You’ve got traditional advertising will account for 90% of the budget, compared to interactive, which is like 10% – on a good day, it’s 10%. And, so, I really do see myself a little bit as an evangelist, a person who likes to go out there and speak to small and big groups about the importance of thinking differently about marketing in this day and age. Because, I’m really on a kick lately, that I think marketers are being highly irresponsible in this marketplace.
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