7/26/11

 

What is Google+ and do I need it?

More on Google+ ... maybe it chooses you.

Labels: , , ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 8:49 AM 0 Comments

6/30/11

 

Google Plus

Google-plus

And here comes Google Plus!

Below is a good overview on Facebook's new competitor: 

"Everything You Need To Know About Google Plus"

and the Google's Demo: http://www.google.com/+/demo/

Will it replace Facebook? Or just by early adopters? We... shall... see.

Labels: , ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 7:43 AM 0 Comments

4/28/11

 

Reading: Ten Measures of Social Media ROI For Your Brand

Here's a great article to read on Ten Measures of Social Media ROI For Your Brand. The main takeaway is the misuse of social media by many to just amplify / count follows and not use social tools as a way to further integrate themselves into their community and improve their business process.

The comments below are thought-provoking, read them, they bring up new points and enhance the discussion on what exactly IS your ROI / measurement!  It's a discussion I often have with clients, and all these points made within the article and comments are worthwhile to consider.

 

Labels: , ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 12:48 PM 0 Comments

1/26/11

 

Oh, Facebook, How We Mistrust Thee...

http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/01/no-opting-out-from-facebook-turning-your-check-ins-likes-into-ads.ars

Labels: , , , ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 5:49 PM 0 Comments

11/19/10

 

Action Alert: Support Richmond's Community Garden Program!!!

We interrupt this blog which normally pertains to media and technology
for the following Richmond, VA action alert:

Thanks so much to everyone that attended Richmond City Council’s Health and Human Services Committee meeting on Wednesday to support the City of Richmond’s request to create a Community Garden Program. The Committee voted to forward the papers to City Council for the Public Hearing which is scheduled for Mon. Nov. 22 at 6PM in City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, City Hall.

As there were a few citizens that attended the meeting on Wed. and spoke in opposition to the program, we’re encouraging interested parties to attend the meeting on Mon. night and speak in favor of the program. Please forward this to members of your organization and others that may be interested. We would appreciate your support of this important program!

For those that are seeing this information for the first time, please follow the links to see details about the city’s proposal to create a Community Garden Program to offer city owned parcels to the public for use as community gardens.

http://eservices.ci.richmond.va.us/applications/clerkstracking/getPDF.asp?NO=2010-229 link to ordinance for Community Garden Program

http://eservices.ci.richmond.va.us/applications/clerkstracking/getPDF.asp?NO=2010-R181 link to resolution for parcels for Community Garden Program



Labels: ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 9:17 AM 0 Comments

3/24/10

 

Social Media Is A Bubble

Yesterday, Umair Haque asserted on Harvard Business Review that Social Media Is A Bubble: http://blogs.hbr.org/haque/2010/03/the_social_media_bubble.html

Bud Caddell's responded: 
@bud_caddell: is social media a bubble? my response to @umairh's post from the HBR blog, http://bit.ly/b2ME5X

Both articles make valid points.
They don't surprise me so, because it just reflects the levels and degrees we all encounter in "real life." You can take the Pokemon approach and try to be the popular kid collecting large numbers of friends, yet not focus on deep relationships; you can also be the kid, maybe a bit quiet, who has a few, close friends who appreciate all their odd quirks and will be there for a lifetime.

How do you feel? Sometimes I find it fun and meaningful to share, reach out across cultural and geographical spans...and sometimes I pull back and go through extremely private stages, where I focus on a Salon mentality vs. The Public Community Potluck. 

Both are fine...

But for business, it's always good to keep yourself out there, to be open, and sometimes the bonus is the unexpected personal reward for doing so: friends.

And yes, I mean "friends in real life met through internet tools."

I'm about to go through a pull back of public sharing. No reason, just... I'm in the mood to do so.  It's that season and cycle again.

But sensing that, I also reflect on the real friends who are a real part of my life that I met PURELY through social media / online tools.

Think of our real friends in rural Pamplin: In a town with a population of 199, I would say, if I had to guess, that 95% of the people we've met were through the internet.

In New York, I have professional people in my field I would like to get to know that I've encountered purely through social media that I suspect could touch my life on a more real life, personal level. Through social media, I've gotten to know their merit, but also their humor and personality.

That's a lot of real life enhancement, a lot of real community, thanks to the internet / social media... Bubble? Maybe, but isn't everything?

Labels: , ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 9:04 AM 0 Comments

2/11/10

 

#SnOMG Doesn't Stop Data

No, really, #SnOMG was fun!

Until yesterday, when the blizzard hit as our children were on a school bus truckin' up Interstate 64...
But even then, once they were safe, I enjoyed it and, on my lunch break, even attempted my first cross country skiing! And I only broke one pole!!!! (I never said I was graceful.)


Here's what we rounded up this week to consider:
Thanks for listening…

I'm Copeland Casati, of Copeland Casati Media,
the original C3 in Richmond creative arts and media since 1999.

You can reach me at copeland@copelandcasati.com, or on twitter, @copelandcasati.

Facebook  Twitter  Google Profile  Posterous

Labels: , , , , , ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 2:42 PM 0 Comments

1/18/10

 

Not An Expert

Many clients have mentioned they fear entering social media until they "get a really good grasp on the situation." I have assured them that while general pointers, links to article overviews are helpful, really, they just need to start experiencing it while remembering that if they maintain basic business poise and acumen, they'll be all right.

“DON’T WORRY IF YOU DON’T KNOW ‘ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING’ BEFORE STARTING OUT.”

Really. You don't need to sit in a hot conference room for three hours.  If you're a client, I've explained the basics.  If you have questions, we're here to help. Read this feed, visit these sites below, but just do it.

From Intersection:
(hat tip to client and investment author, Bob Fisher of "The Naked Portfolio Manager" for sending this on)



**Read Intersection's entire post here..**.

Here is a slideshare you might enjoy seeing that is geared towards lawyers, but you can certainly apply it to your own business:
http://www.slideshare.net/guest6ff91c/lawyers-social-media-2908272

Lawyers And Social Media
View more documents from guest6ff91c.
Oh, and the lawyer that is featured on slide 27, Durrette Bradshaw’s Chris Hill?  How did he get in this worldwide agency’s presentation?

He did because *I* saw the reporter request in one social platform, and then, because I know Chris on twitter, notified him: “Hey here’s a good pr / outreach opportunity for you to be in a publication since you’re a lawyer using twitter…go contact that reporter right away!”
And now his brand is being exposed worldwide…

Adverse to the long day sitting in a presentation? Read up, you'll get the picture:
Mashable's Guide To Twitter
...and Facebook...
and LinkedIn...
...should be enough to getcha started.

Labels: ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 8:20 AM 0 Comments

10/22/09

 

Richmond Media + Advertising Roundup from C3, Copeland Casati Media (since 1999...)


  • Hope you had a chance to catch my cousin, Nancy Ross Hugo, as she discussed her book, "Remarkable Trees of Virginia" on NPR this week. Above is one tree that holds a very special place in my heart that's in her book... not to mention the children... : )

    You can listen to her on With Good Reason on NPR here.  The program also discusses mercury poisoning in waterways, a subject important to us all.

  • On to tech! Real time search, and the democratization of data, stepped forward, again this week:
    At lunchtime Wednesday, Danny Sullivan wrote:
    "Bing To Do Deal With Twitter, Launch Its Own Twitter Search

    AllThingsD has reported that Microsoft will announce a deal with Twitter today to gather its real time data. We’re able to confirm that from a source as well and provide some additional details.
    The deal will make Bing the first major search engine to have access to Twitter’s “Firehose” of tweets. It’s not exclusive, however. Google potentially could still do a deal, too."
    Read it all about why this is important here! >>
  • And not to disappoint, right at 3 pm came the tweet from twitter's CEO...



  • I discovered via the web a young girl giving a compelling speech to world leaders about a precious resource: water.
    Watch it here >>


  • And the night before, I watched some Richmond, Virginia heroes, doing their part like this young girl before you, to make our community, hence larger world, a better place.

    Thanks to The Valentine Richmond History Center and its sponsors, whom each year spotlight community activists, all "Average People" who discovered a need in our local community, worked on how to address it, and strode forward to make our community better, often with few resources.

    Read all about these local leaders here:
    2009 Richmond History Makers

  • And for all of you using social media to sell, sell, sell: Stop, think. Sure you can search on terms that apply to your own business and reach out and engage them. But read the context. 

    I had just found out our child has a not just severe, but a life threatening allergy, told to carry multiple epi-pens at all times.  Crushed, devastated, my-world-ending, I mentioned it on twitter.

    Within seconds I received this:

    I promise you that the last thing I want to do right now is hear a chirpy voice telling me to "check out" some "adorable" clothes for allergy-ridden children.

    If you think EMAIL is easy to misinterpret or not convey subtleties of feeling (I'm sure this person meant well), think about how easy it is to come off wrong in 140 characters.

  • Back to Wave: We did a lot more testing on Wave this week, and the conference call application means that you don't need a phone with that functionality any more to pull people onto one line. I am excited to see what other applications are developed by others this year.

    My fave, though, is 6Round's Video app- http://www.6rounds.com/?icode=6wave
    (Except now I'm gonna have to make sure to brush my hair more often...)

    To see more Google Wave apps, visit here: http://wave-samples-gallery.appspot.com

  • And finally, stop comparing yourself to others, focus on your own mission, your business identity and voice... it's more about how you interact with your peers, and to not hold rulers like page rank as a constant measure. Shouldn't ya have gotten over that in high school? 

    Ah, but right when you think you can totally dismiss the popular crowd, TechCrunch explains why it, and twitter, are still important, and that all twitter data (not just the popular crowd) will be key in future ranking results.  Here's the difference: page rank is based on web sites; twitter data is interactions, often ranked in popularity, yes, but how is that twitter popularity garnered? By reaching out, connecting.  So don't sit in the corner by yourself; reach out.

    Don't feel like you have to try to be a cheerleader or jock, join the "typical popular crowd" - the beauty of twitter / social is that there is a community for all of us, interested in your interests.  So I'll see ya in the cafeteria - I'll be at a table huddling with a good book, and you're welcome to sit with me!

    Still skeptical as to why your business should be focused on social? Check out these stats.

    Thanks for listening!
    ...If you note any trends or local media items of note, feel free to send 'em on!

    I'm Copeland Casati, of Copeland Casati Media,
    the original C3 in Richmond creative arts and media since 1999    .

    You can reach me at copeland@copelandcasati.com, or on twitter, @copelandcasati. If you are a Facebook user, we can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Copeland-Casati-Media-C3/52352550685

Labels: , , , , ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 9:11 AM 0 Comments

10/9/09

 

Richmond Media Musings October 9th:

The FTC's new rules on social media, especially in regards to the "up to an $11,000 fine" had bloggers everywhere talking. I thought of the trend towards aggregation of content, of local Richmond aggregators such as RichmondBizSense.com, RVABlogs.com, RichmondGoodLife.com... and wonder about FTC liability.


I spoke briefly with NBC 12 regarding this subject, but would like to also add some excerpts from my twitter feed for more thought:
  1. @dbrowell I suspect it will be up to the blogger to prove their innocence, and that is what I've never liked @ govn't entities..

  2. Let's also bring in the RT - if you rt, that implies endorsement. How does RT affect product FTC liability? #nbc12

  3. [And how that heck are ya supposed to disclose within 140?!?] #nbc12

  4. #nbc12 And b/c of aggregation- if your blog is posted elsewhere and you didn't disclose in that particular area pulled in, are you liable?

  5. #nbc12 1st they start with the @dooce's and big bloggers, but think: has any govn't agency ended in 30yrs? So after they get the big fish...
(Thanks to Chip Temple of McSweeney, Crump, Childress & Temple for furthering the FTC discussion off line...)

And finally, for all of the non-organic keepers of the gate:
Thanks to Google's SideWiki, you no longer own your web site.
Put that in yer corncob pipe & smoke it. Can't wait to see what spam & pornbots will do with this...

I also thought about health care and twitter this week when I ran across this:


I'm still not seeing health care professionals on social media locally as other industry counterparts (like lawyers in 2008, for example, although a recent article states only 6% of lawyers are on twitter, yet look at the advantages!).  I thought of the benefits Richmond doctors could similarly use this way to engage their community, branding themselves locally, when I spied this feed, pictured above, quoted below, earlier this week:
  1. Metrics: After Twitter event, 20 people requested info/consults; 16 were surgery candidates; 14 surgeries performed. That's ROI!

  2. Interesting: a couple of Aurora's nurses are heavily involved in Twitter


  3. The Numbers: Before the surgery, Aurora had 900 Twitter followers. Immediately after, they had 2K. Now, they have over 5,300 #smhc

  4. Aurora Health did a live broadcast of a double-knee replacement on Twitter. Helped position hospital as tech & ortho leader #smhc
@riggrl has quite a bit of good social media health care advice, so if you are in a medical / hospital field you might enjoy following her on twitter.  Through her, I also discovered @EdBennett, who has some good social media policy advice and more for a hospital environment.

Richmond Grid had a nice mention of our hard work with Richmond's twestival, benefitting Tricycle Gardens:

@ThatJonesGirl and I are always willing to shout over a rowdy crowd for a good cause... : )

[Up next: More on branding. And ethics.  We tend to find those subjects fascinating. Don't you?]

Thanks for listening!
...If you note any trends or local media items of note, feel free to send 'em on!

I'm Copeland Casati, of Copeland Casati Media,
the original C3 in Richmond creative arts and media since 1999.

You can reach me at copeland@copelandcasati.com, or on twitter, @copelandcasati. If you are a Facebook user, we can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Copeland-Casati-Media-C3/52352550685

Labels: , , ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 4:59 PM 0 Comments

9/16/09

 

Weekly Media + Technology Richmond Roundup

Another frenetic week... typing fast. This week at work we have been teleconferencing through Paris, Colorado, Los Angeles, and... and... I know I'm forgetting... oh, yes:
Canada!
*Phew.*

I, for one, am looking forward to camping; not in our prefab house kit, but like we did, before: In the '60s aluminum teardrop camper, this time exploring Virginia state parks.


Like an earlier post on Personal Brands, we revisit some similar topics this week as the subject continues...


Here's our weekly Richmond roundup:




























Thanks for listening!

...If you note any trends or local media items of note, feel free to send 'em on!

I'm Copeland Casati, of Copeland Casati Media, the original C3 in RVA media since 1999.

You can reach me at copeland@copelandcasati.com, or on twitter, @copelandcasati. If you are a Facebook user, we can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Copeland-Casati-Media-C3/52352550685


Labels: , , , ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 11:00 AM 0 Comments

8/26/09

 

Richmond media roundup for week of August 27th: "We may all be in a conversation, but be aware you may be just as culpable."

Watched a sad local story blow up nationally today...

I volunteered for the Richmond SPCA when starting my business ten years ago. They were right down the street from our home at the time in Richmond's North Side, and, as I had no water cooler or company break room, I would go often at lunchtime to take a break and spend my lunch running the dogs there.

Many hours per week were spent in my "kennel clothes" (I kept them separate from the rest of my laundry - if you spend a lot of time in shelters you know what that smells like...) lifting big dogs I didn't know (yet) by myself down from the second tier of kennels, both of us struggling down from the combined weight to the concrete floor where they then stood impatiently ready to run (and did they run) with abandon outdoors in the field. (Or as much racing as you can do on a leash with a human attached...)

Back then, it was a decrepit-but-well-run shelter on Chamberlayne Avenue, before the SPCA moved later to it's new, nationally recognized facilities and became an admired model of achievement for shelters everywhere.

Today I watched the news that "SPCA EXEC KILLS DOG" blow up across the nation with a biased eye.
I wholeheartedly support the organization (they've saved over 20,000 animal lives since 2002, you?), I was a volunteer there, and knowing the staff and success of the organization, I support the Starr family; I knew the dog, Louie, that died.

I can not help but wonder...
Why was there such little mention of the SPCA's explanation in local new media?
One organization "just retweeted people's reactions" on twitter, turned around to defend its actions, yet never included the link in their twitter feed, just (as of last time I checked) spewed reactions from people who pretty much only knew, "SPCA CEO KILLS DOG IN HOT CAR."

(Later, much later, they said they included the SPCA statement on their website. But that's another channel, as outdated as the term is; It's another feed, and one which I did not visit that day. I WATCHED TWITTER. I want to know where their journalism was on TWITTER.)

Glancing at that voice today reminded me why I don't listen to that feed, as much as I like the product.
(Lesson for organizations: Encourage multiple staff to have voices, it's a good thing.)
So this week locally in Richmond media, we revisit journalism vs. "conversation", especially when the supposed journalists are "just re-tweeting" without including links they know present the voice of the organization debated.

It will be interesting to watch the pr, media, journalism, and legal debate that will certainly follow over the next week.

Just remember: She did not know a dog was in her car when she drove to work that morning. It was put there, elderly, docile, used to riding in cars, by a family member. How many times have you been doing yard work in your back yard, taken the wheelbarrow full of brush to the curb, only to have your spouse ask you something from the front door? Do you go inside, forgetting the unlatched gate? Did the pets get out? Did they get hit? Were you prosecuted? Did your spouse, not knowing you left the gate open, lose their job?

And to the "journalists" that happily fanned the flames?:
What is your new media responsibility as journalists?
We may all be in a conversation, you may have the "right" to throw out misleading information, but be aware you may be culpable.

Labels: ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 8:02 PM 1 Comments

7/29/09

 

Richmond Reflective Roundup on Media, week of August 6th.


I may be at the beach this week, but I'm still watching you....
Thinking about the week in #RVA media...
  • Last Wednesday will now hereforth be proclaimed, "Didja-Hear-About-Microsoft-And-Yahoo Day." And, as usual, breaking news moved much more quickly on twitter, whether it be Microsoft/Yahoo or Clinton in North Korea...
  • AddATweet. I bemoaned, "Why, WHY I didn't know about you yesterday when I was going off on my rants over the $50,000 twitter lawsuit by Horizon Realty Group and didn't have time to log in and leave comments everywhere I wanted..???? Ergh."
    http://bit.ly/2T5PU7
  • Speaking of Horizon Realty Group's $50,000 twitter lawsuit... Everyone in business should read this post: http://www.copyblogger.com/horizon-realty-group/
  • Well, well, that's all depressing so why... Why don't we change the subject now. (ahem.)

    Hey, it's wedding season! Anyone out there have a friend in the process of getting married? Have they stressed over the guest list? Are they griping about which side does what? Do you fear they are turning into Bridezilla?

    Well, last week this couple reminded us all that getting married doesn't have to be all pomp and circumstance-y. Lissen up, RVA (and yes, ESPECIALLY RVA):



    By the way, I know it's tacky to ask for gifts, but I would feel remiss if I didn't mention the following from the couple's website:
    "Our wedding entrance dance to Forever...yeah, forever. For more information or to make a donation towards violence prevention please visit our website: http://www.jkweddingdance.com/"

    I think domestic violence prevention and education is a great cause and worthy of mentioning here for possible donations. Visit the site- there are great stories and pictures and this couple gave their special day to focus ON A GREAT CAUSE.
  • Important Richmond interactive events this week?
    Welllllllllllllllll... there was #rvapower, Style Weekly's conversation on "power"...

    I liked what @MightyCasey had to say:

    MightyCasey

    • Is influence a better determinant of "power" than what your socio-economic position? Claire Gastagna used "capacitor" to describe power
    • Great points being made about power being tied to a "job" - maybe better measure/descriptor would be.voice instead of power? #rvapower
    • At #rvapower event listening to trailblazers - only 1 grrl, Claire Guthrie Gastagna, but she's a power center all on her own.
  • Here's an interesting site that is Richmond-centric: RVAtweets.com. They aggregate twitter hashtags that are specific to Richmond. So, for example, you can use #RVApower as an example: http://rvatweets.com/tag/rvapower

    And here's just what's goin' on around #rva (note this site also pulls in Flickr photos tagged with a particular hashtag as well...)
  • And more on twitter...
    • There was an inundation of spam, (but hey, where is there not? Overall twitter has done a great job as spam/mal watchdogs.) AND
    • a patent infringement suit. That should be taken Very. Seriously. As an entrepreneur: Oh twitter, this is when other business owners need to stand behind you.
    • And, speaking of twitter, here's the latest in-depth look: (from Sysomos) http://sysomos.com/insidetwitter

  • NEWSFLASH: This just in: That cute sweet couple that got married last week has divorced!


  • P.s. I was genuinely sad when I saw that video until I realized that YES they were kidding. I genuinely, sincerely hope they life happily ever after. They seem to have such great hearts, friends, family... and a TWISTED SENSE OF HUMOR!!!! ; )

    This is a great example how people can come together to highlight a great cause / non-profit more than they ever could just telling their family and friends about it. Think about how many people now know about the Sheila Wellstone Institute.

    Here's more about this special couple, and the non-profit:
    "Violence prevention and intervention is an important issue to both Jill and Kevin. Jill's current PhD work focuses on breaking cycles of violence in society. She has also worked in restorative justice and community mediation. Kevin is headed to law school due to his passion for social justice.

    Sheila Wellstone was an advocate, organizer, and national champion in the effort to end domestic violence in our communities."

Thanks for listening...
...If you note any trends or local media items of note, feel free to send 'em on!
I'm Copeland Casati, of Copeland Casati Media, the original C3 in RVA media since 1999.

You can reach me at copeland@copelandcasati.com, or on twitter, @copelandcasati. If you are a Facebook user, we can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Copeland-Casati-Media-C3/52352550685

In the meantime... I'm heading back to the beach!

Labels: , , , ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 7:54 AM 0 Comments

7/22/09

 

Some Fools Wanna Put Me On TV.


Telecommuting to you, from the prefab house kit, on a tractor battery and blackberry hook-up, I confirm:
Thaz right, you heard it true: Some Fools Wanna Put Me On TV.

What do they want me to do? Muse on stuff.
So here are my social media musings for the week:

  • Richmond city council, and future area zoning meetings.
    That’s ok, I don’t want to go to them either.

    But thanks to a few passionate people that do, I can now follow what they’re thinking and add my own two cents to their discussion while the meetings are going on!

    On twitter, the use of hashtags (# before a word) helps people to mark and follow posts about an event or issue.

    Last week a few brave souls covered the Richmond city council meeting. If this interests you, you can read what they said by going to the search box in twitter and typing in the hash tag, #citycouncil.
  • Tuesday offered two media events from which to choose, #steakchat and refresh richmond.

    #steakchat focused on the Artists and Arts in Richmond, while refresh richmond had an informal mixer for people that are in new media, information and technology fields.

    From their site:
    "refresh richmond is a community of designers, developers and other web professionals working to improve the creative, technical and professional aspects of new media endeavors in the Greater Richmond area."
  • #smcrva or #hashbrownnetworking?
    The Richmond Social Media Club, @smcrva, is an event where twitter social media enthusiasts and professionals pay money to meet in a large, raucous crowd, drink heavily and talk about their personal brand. ; ) *

    *KIDDING, kinda. : ) There are very nice cool people there, especially those that organize it. I'm making gentle fun of the mood of past attendees, not the group's fantastic programming.
    And the next topic is super:
    Summer of Social Good:     from their website:
    "Summer of Social Good is the first large scale online charitable campaign to raise funds strictly online through the power of Social Media and the Internet. The goal is to use the power of "Social Influence" via Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Blogs and other online media to raise an unprecedented amount for a fund benefiting The Humane Society, LIVESTRONG, Oxfam America and WWF from June 1st until August 28th, 2009. All proceeds from this month's event (after expenses) will be donated to Summer of Social Good!"
    But tickets are hard to come by... so... you could head out to #hashbrownnetworking!

    What's #hashbrownnetworking (or hasbrownnetworking, depending on your humor)? Well, instead of eating yummy steak sandwiches in hallowed museum halls, this crowd meets at the local Waffle House.
    But who can resist hash browns? Or that it's free? Bring on the TweetUp! : )

    What's a TweetUp, you say?
    It's where people who enjoy twitter actually meet in (drum roll) REAL LIFE.

    You can learn about Hashbrown Networking here: http://www.richmondwiki.org/wiki/Hashbrownnetworking
  • The site on which you just learned about Hashbrown Networking is Richmond Wiki.org, where you can add and edit information about Richmond. You can find information on interesting things to do, and discover vibrant businesses and people that make Richmond such a great town. Visit them at Richmond Wiki.org.
  • And if you're on twitter and are looking for some neat things to do in Virginia, follow @VAStateParks. They highlight cool events happening RIGHT HERE in our state parks. Do you guys realize all the neat, interesting things we can do there?!?

    Find out here: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks

    I am looking forward to telecommuting to you from a Virginia state park soon in my 1960s Scotty camper...
  • Now for the seedy side of local RVA twits. There is a blog, and hashtag, created by some RVAers that enjoy documenting their debauchery online. Check out this month's drama of their split into fighting factions: http://omgwtfrva.com, and the splintered-off http://omgwtfrva.net. On twitter their hashtag is #omgwtfrva. This group is not for those mindful of courteous demeanor. But if you enjoy staggering through bars eating tater tots and braying karaoke, this may be the "Oh My Gosh What The Frickin', RVA" site for you!!!
    (That's what the f stands for, right?)
  • I always wonder about groups / people that air their dirty laundry so-- do you think they don't think their employer (or future employer) won't read it? (Do we really care?) If so, you'd better be very careful when you call in sick if you've been documenting belting karaoke and munching tater tots until the wee hours of the next day- data is public, and your employers might be listening.

    Otherwise, you might end up like Scotty, who got an office job, where his penchant for documenting his antics did Not. End. Up. So. Well. For. His. Career.
    (I hope I'm sending chills of realization down someone's spine... SPOOOOOOOOOOOOKY. ... eh. )
  • Speaking of employers being aware of what their employees are doing, how about our local schools? Chesterfield county schools are now on twitter and Facebook, and the superintendent is even going to blog: http://bit.ly/iFX9g This will be a great opportunity for faster and more communication for school employees and parents... however, if I were a student... ; )
  • And if you're doing anything you don't want your employer or school to discover, then you should also know... Richmond POLICE are on twitter: @richmondpolice

    ...and not only are they on twitter, they are also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RichmondPolice
    Oh yes, they are.
  • Any-hoo, on FaceBook, last week they streamlined the process for users whom have been hacked (CAREFUL what apps / what links you visit!) to more easily regain control of and restore their account. Learn more at InsideFacebook's article, http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/07/17/facebook-launches-updated-process-for-recovering-compromised-accounts/
  • And what IS up with all of those crazy FaceBook apps? Do you really want to give your profile information to random people you don't know? Just to take a quiz on "Which Movie Star Are YOU..." ? Really?

    Right now, all of my relatives are sending me FaceBook requests for an application entitled...
    "We're Related."
    Moi: "I already know that, because we're related." Why.     WHY? ; )
  • In twitter developments, as of this week, when you roll over a user profile , link, or photo, that information is revealed thanks to integration with bit.ly and more.

    Rolling over a profile to have a popup of who that is, is very helpful for reminding you whom you follow. Except, I know who I follow because I carefully select the voices in my head, not to just strive to add as many followers as possible... ? That must be for people who have no idea whom is in their community... ?

    What I *DO* find valuable is the ability to track how many people from twitter are clicking links, and the new, automated Re-Tweet feature.

    A re-tweet (RT) is when you forward on someone's post on twitter, crediting them, to your followers. Previously in twitter you just typed "RT" then copied the post and author. Automating it has been a nice improvement.

    Just as nice is how, when you see a post that is a reply to someone, you can roll over "in reply to..." and see the post to which your person-of-interest responded! (Stalking was never so easy!)
  • Heeeeeeeeey... Remember when people would google "miserable failure" and it would result in a picture of George Bush?
    Well... it had to happen... thaz right, y'all:     go to google and type in "worst failure ever."

    Yep, Obama got Google bombed: http://tinyurl.com/mbkzzx
  • Twitter hashtags of note:
    I know, hashtags can have backlash, plus trending topics are often not of value to me, but I found these interesting, maybe you will too:
    #HowDareYou
    #BlameDrewsCancer
  • Coming soon: to discuss: Google Wave.
  • And congratulations all around, Amazon and Zappos! Awwww, y'all so cute: Make sure to send out pictures from the honeymoon!
  • Social media. Social media involves the timeless building of your own community, not just the latest shiny new toy.

    Who ARE these people in this new town hall?
    Here's some data for you via     @    socialmedia2day : http://socialmediatoday.com/SMC/110196
  • Lookin' for something to do this weekend? Check out The 48 Hour Film Project. If local film events and opportunities interests you, you can follow the Virginia Film Office on twitter: @VFO
If you note any trends or local social items of note, feel free to send 'em on!
I'm Copeland Casati, of Copeland Casati Media, the original C3 in RVA media since 1999.

You can reach me at copeland@copelandcasati.com, or on twitter, @copelandcasati. If you are a Facebook user, we can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Copeland-Casati-Media-C3/52352550685

Labels: ,


# posted by Passive Solar Prefab Homes @ 6:57 PM 0 Comments

4/16/09

 

Digital Ghosts


So it's a beautiful sunny day, and I'd like you to think about death with me for a moment. Hang in there with me for a second, I promise it's relevant. Lately I've had several occasions where talking to friends or even updating my own Social media accounts I've paused and thought...

"What are we going to do with all these accounts when the users aren't here anymore?"

I was in a very real discussion some time ago about whether to leave a list of all one's social media accounts and passwords attached to your will, with instructions to either notify your network you're deceased, or simply delete the account.

So far the only cases we have to study are those of unexpected tragedy (or the rare elderly person who was exceptionally hip) but it seems that for the most part Myspace and Facebook pages turn into memorials when their user passes away. What about Flickr? Youtube? Picasa? The countless other places you and I (and everyone else) now have accounts for saving the things that amuse us and archiving things we love?

Will we someday have vast regions of these social networking sites dedicated to the deceased, full of their pictures, comments, favorite bands, and quips? Or will the companies that run the sites eventually have to enact some sort of inactive account policy and delete those accounts?

I don't know, but I thought maybe you'd have some ideas.

Oh, and happy Thursday. Back to work!

Labels:


# posted by Amy @ 9:42 AM 1 Comments

1/29/09

 

#WhoAmI Really? The Personal Side of Twitter


It's Thursday afternoon, and Twitter is bogging down and backing up. The 'fail whale' is being triggered as a mass of people post atypically personal information about themselves and broadcast it to all of Twitter... Why? Because @barefoot_exec invited them to using #WhoAmI.

I chimed in as well. Partly because describing myself in 140 characters was an intriguing challenge; partly because I wanted that anonymous congregation to know who I really was (even if only for a second... the massive number of incoming responses washed over and refreshed the feed almost instantaneously.)

Part of me believes that there is not a place in Social Media for personal idiosyncrasies, and that you should maintain professionalism in any venue where you may encounter business opportunities. But as Copeland mentioned in the office earlier today, 2009 may be the end of the veil between professional and personal. Companies have been checking out current and prospective employees using their online social profiles for some time, but as an employee it was just something to consider when you were letting your friends take and tag pictures on FaceBook and MySpace.

2009 might be the year where everyone admits we're human, and that in the age of complex 24/7 social networking you either need to have an unmanageable number of profiles, or you had better like the person you really are.

Labels: , , ,


# posted by Amy @ 3:01 PM 0 Comments