Time Waits for No One

September 28, 2010 Leave a comment

One of the biggest challenges of working within an international organization is dealing with time itself: if I’m in California, what time is it in Stockholm? Or Toronto? Or the Bahamas? Or Beijing? Before, all I really had to worry about was making sure that meetings and phone calls all fell within US waking hours. Not anymore.

Working within a multi-timezone framework impacts individual conversations and interactions, but it also influences the timing for social media activity. For example: what’s the best time of day to send a Tweet so it will reach the maximum number of people at any given time anywhere in the world?

Answer: there is no single, magical time that’s best for everyone. So what to do? Listen to your audience. Follow the timing of their social media interactions. When are they actively tweeting and posting to Facebook? When do things quiet down? Try to locate “sweet spots” during a 24 hour period that will reach most of your followers. Make note of which day of the week it is as well. For example, I’ve noticed a lull in conversation on Friday and Saturday evenings, with things picking back up on Sundays (makes sense).

Going back to time zones…here are some of the tools I use to make sure I’m not inadvertently calling someone in the middle of the night:

Vela Clock – a dashboard widget and iPhone app that let you make a whole list of time zones to monitor, including UTC.

Every Time Zone – a website with sliders to help you determine what time it is where, and help you plan future meeting timing.

Mashable and I must have been thinking along the same lines. Here’s their post on some free online tools for managing time zones.

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Social Media Round Table in NYC

June 28, 2010 Leave a comment

Andy Shaindlin of Alumni Futures and I are convening a day-long meeting for professionals in education – those who work in alumni relations, communications, admissions, student affairs and fundraising.

If you live in the Tri-State area, or will be in town for the CASE Summit, this is your opportunity to be a part of a group of about 15 participants who will spend the day tackling social media related topics and issues.

Join us on Thursday, July 22, 2010 for the Alumni Futures Round Table in mid-town Manhattan.

Full details and registration information available here >>

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Mobile Devices and Your Communications Strategy

June 22, 2010 1 Comment

Heading out the door? You’re probably not going too far without checking for your wallet, keys, and cell phone. According to Jan Chipchase, researcher for Nokia, it’s universal: people all over the world don’t leave home without money, keys, and their mobile telephone.

And now these three things are starting to become one thing: you can buy a cup of coffee, unlock your car, even check in for your flight…all with your phone. Who needs keys or cash when you’ve got your cellie (do people even call it that anymore?)?

Since mobile devices have clearly wormed their way into our daily lives, I pose the following question: how are you integrating mobile technology into your communications strategy?

I don’t bring this up because I expect you to run out, hire a programmer, and build a suite of mobile apps compatible with everything from the Blackberry to the iPad. Instead, I ask that you start to think critically about your audience and your goals. Use those goals as a framework for making smart decisions about mobile technology.

Do you have content that users will need and want to access while away from their computer? Your audience wants to use their phone for something useful, interesting, fun, or maybe even completely useless. The services they want to interact with may not be what you’d expect. Think beyond the content you want to deliver and instead, think of what your audience might actually want.

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Can’t We All Just Get Along: Web & Print Communications

May 31, 2010 5 Comments

I’m delivering two seminars on social media at Castle Press in Pasadena, California. Yes: a printing company has asked me to talk to its clients about web communications and social technology.

This leads me to an important point: computer-based communications have captured a great deal of attention of late. This does not mean that printed communications are useless and irrelevant. Quite the contrary, in fact: I believe that bringing together print and pixels is key to creating a cohesive, comprehensive communications strategy. Don’t let trendy software determine your communications strategy. Instead, think about your goals, audiences, budget and messages. Then, use those as the basis for developing your strategy. Just because “everyone else” is using a particular tool doesn’t mean it’s the right tool for the goals you’re trying to reach.

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Why Can’t I Quit You, Facebook?

May 16, 2010 2 Comments

There has been quite a bit of hubbub about Facebook lately, particularly about the arrogant attitude towards privacy and user data. Yes, Facebook sucks, and has managed to steadily increase its suckitude over the past few years. But even with the calls for quitting Facebook, many of us still linger (myself included).

Why?

Staying connected to friends: There are people in my life I’d lose contact with completely if I left Facebook. I like having an ambient awareness of what they’re up to and what they’re working on. These people don’t have blogs, twitter feeds or utilize other ways for me to connect with them socially online. So for right now, I don’t have a good replacement for Facebook for this purpose.

Keeping up with Facebook itself: My consulting clients’ communications strategies almost always include Facebook. I have to be a Facebook native in order to speak intelligently about it and have a grasp on its ins and outs. If I leave Facebook entirely, my intimate understanding of the user experience will weaken and eventually fade entirely. Setting up a fake profile wouldn’t give me the same ability to learn the subtle nuances, specifically the ways in which Facebook connects users to one another, to brands, to services, and to the web.

So what to do?

Give Facebook as little information about yourself as possible: Zuckerberg and crew do not need to know your address, your cell phone number, your favorite books or your relationship status. If all you want to do is find old friends, keep education info simply to find former classmates. Otherwise, get all of the irrelevant details out of your profile and lock your profile down. Don’t install applications (yes, this means Farmville, Mafia Wars and Sorority Life). The less Facebook knows about you, the better.

Set your privacy settings: If you haven’t done this yet, DO IT NOW. Don’t assume that Facebook (or any online tool, for that matter) is going to protect your privacy by default. When you set up a new profile on any site or service, check the privacy settings and the privacy policy. It just makes good sense.

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