Bursting the Social Media Bubble

Bubble yum by flowers & machinery
Bubble yum by flowers & machinery

THE_REAL_SHAQ

How can u b an expert without legitimate knowledge or legitimate experience Shaq oneal
about 9 hours ago from TwitterBerry

It’s been fascinating watching the odd, mostly one-sided battle going on between so-called social media experts and traditional marketing and PR professionals, as the former continue to pound their virtual drums on a daily basis about how they’re the future and without their expertise, companies are doomed to failure.

DOOMED!

I wrote about the need for some perspective a couple of weeks ago in “Attack of the Social Media Gurus“, and have been tracking the growing backlash there with links to relevant articles as they pop up — including one of my favorites from Ad Age featuring Unilever Chief Marketing Officer Simon Clift’s wise observation: “Social media is not a strategy. You need to understand it, and you’ll need to deploy it as a tactic.” — but a recent comment by social media “rock star” Chris Brogan really rubbed me the wrong way, giving flashbacks to the explosion of the first dot.com bubble, and underscoring one of the main reasons some marketers, and the executives they report to, are reluctant to fully embrace social “media”.

Shaquille O’Neal, of all people, pretty much nailed it last night on Twitter with the aforementioned tweet.

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Upcoming Gigs: Panel, Workshop, Evolution

Upcoming Gigs

I don’t do many events these days beyond the random open mic appearance at louderARTS or Urbana, so I’m very excited about these two gigs this week, the NY Round Table Writers’ Conference and Acentos Poetry Workshop, as well as the Conversational Marketing Summit I’ll be attending in June.

NY Round Table Writers’ Conference

Friday, April 24th: 3:15 – 5pm

The Technofile: Online Writing and Blogging
Popular online literary website writers and bloggers come together to discuss the online writing outlet.

  • Guy LeCharles Gonzalez- Spindle Magazine
  • Pamela Skillings- About.com
  • Rebecca Fox- MediaBistro
  • Julie Trelstad- Plain White Press
  • Roy Sekoff- Huffington Post, moderator

Acentos Writers Workshop

Sunday, April 26th: Noon

Workshop – Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

The Acentos Writers Workshop was established with the purpose of nurturing the newer voices in the poetry community. With writers from across several genres donating their time, the workshop encourages newer writers to hone their craft, establish and create community, and perform their work in front of growing audiences. The workshop accepts writers of all backgrounds and skill level to foster growth and maximize their full potential and grow as writers.

The workshops are free. RSVP is required.

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Poem-A-Day Challenge: Days 16-19

India's Hands by Salome Gonzalez
India's Dirty Fingers by Salomé Gonzalez

I’m falling behind more frequently as the month progresses, but still trying to stick to the 30/30 goal instead of combining a few prompts into a single poem. Every one of my NaPoWriMo poems has been a first draft, but these four are especially so.

Prompt: Pick a color, make that the title of your poem, and write a poem that is inspired by that color.

Prompt: Write a poem with the following title: “All I want is (blank),” where you fill in the blank with a word or phrase of your choosing.

Prompt: Write a poem with an interaction of some sort.

Prompt: Write an angry poem. That is, a poem about someone or something that gets angry.

BLUE (for India)

It’s no surprise you favored
blue over pink from the start,
defining your own identity,
defying easy categorization.

Society prefers labels, though,
requires them to [dys]function,
loves to segregate with clever
wordplay and games of semantics.

When you chose blue and pink
nail polish, alternating fingers
that pick rocks as comfortably
as they draw dinosaurs,

I knew “special” could not contain you.

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Poem-A-Day Challenge: Days 14-15

I was stumped by yesterday’s prompt and had to sit on it for a day, so I’m doubling up to hit the halfway point right on schedule!

Prompt: “Two for Tuesday”: Write a love poem or write an anti-love poem.

Prompt: Take the title of a poem you especially like (by another poet) and change it. Then, with this new altered title, write a poem.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

The first time I was unfaithful
I ended up serving two-plus
years in the Army, sleeping
off the hangover from a year-long
fling with SoBe, her exotic,
uninhibited twin sister.

A few years later, there
was the one-night stand,
seduced by Austin, her distant
cousin, twice removed, less refined,
but with an accent to die for and
the kind of inner-beauty fairy
tales are written about.

There were others, including Virginia,
a beer goggles moment I still regret,
and when it was finally time to settle
down, I realized it would never work,
chose the quiet step-sister,
and lived happily ever after.

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Time, Inc.’s “mine” fumbles kickoff

mine: Time, Inc's custom magazine
mine: Time, Inc.'s custom magazine

“Oh, I get it. It’s very clever. How’s that working out for you?”
–Tyler Durden, Fight Club

Well, it seemed like a good idea.

Magazine publishing executives are under a lot of pressure these days after the perfect storm of a wretched economy and the deflating of the emedia bubble have wreaked havoc on their already narrow profit margins as advertising declined precipitously in 2008 and isn’t looking much better so far in 2009. Many people have lost their jobs as a slew of magazines have folded, contracted, or moved to an online-only existence, and the most optimistic projections don’t predict a turnaround before 2010.

Which magazines will still be standing next year is anyone’s guess, but in the midst of much hand-wringing and speculation, Time, Inc. launched an interesting initiative that caught my attention: mine: My Magazine, My Way — a single-sponsored, customized publication, print and digital, featuring content from up to five of their eight most advertiser-friendly brands.

I got my first issue in the mail last night and, if it represents the best effort Time, Inc. can put forward, I’d suggest selling their stock quickly if you’re crazy enough to still own any, and considering a Plan B if you work for a print-centric media company.

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Poem-A-Day Challenge: Day 13

Prompt: Write a poem that incorporates a hobby (either yours or someone else’s).

THIRTEEN LINES

“Hobby” is a loaded word,
literally defined as a distraction
from necessary evils, a pleasurable
pursuit stopped short of sin,
but Monday nights were no more
hobby than a Christian’s Sunday
morning service, the open mic
a confessional, poets, a full-throated choir
inspiring the flock, Maureen, the organist,
playing 13inis like sacred hymns, and me,
at the altar, chalice in one hand,
preaching the gospel of the Word
resurrected from the page.

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Poem-A-Day Challenge: Days 10-12

Fell behind this weekend; catching up in bulk!

Prompt: Write a poem about Friday.

Prompt: Write a poem about an object (or objects).

Prompt: Take the phrase “So we decided to (blank)” and fill in the blank. Make that your title and write a poem.

ODE TO FRIDAY

Friday used to be a relief,
a moment to exhale after
a week on the grindstone,
something to look forward to
spending money on, time
with, toasts in honor of
— the start of something
better.

Nowadays, it’s nothing more
than the name of a tacky chain
chain restaurant, a momentary
distraction, barely enough time
to catch your breath, and the start
of the countdown
to Monday.

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