Don't Like Facebook? Just Go.

Recently I have seen a lot of people announce that they are leaving Facebook. (On LinkedIn, Twitter and even Facebook, ironically.) They are sick of it, they spend too much time on it or maybe they just hate it. 

No problem. To each his own. If you feel Facebook is infringing on your time, you find yourself obsessed with it or you just don’t enjoy it… by all means, let it go. It’s not for everyone. 

I'm just sick of people making a big to-do about it. Instead of just leaving, they have to post something that usually comes off as condescending or smug. They complain about the Ice Bucket Challenge, selfies and how people don't have a real life because they spend so much time in the online one.

Selfie and Proud of It

Personally, I like Facebook. I have fun interacting with my friends and it has brought me closer to some people that would have remained casual acquaintances otherwise. I've also met a ton of new people through it.

I’m not there for serious debates or hard news. There are plenty of other places for that.

Sure, it’s not perfect. There are tons of narcissists, annoying posts and occasional fights… and maybe I do look at it a little more often that I should on certain days. But it’s not hindering me. I still have a real world social life. Actually, Facebook enhances my social life. Now when I run into people I may not have seen in a while, we have some common ground to talk about.

I recently took a trip to London and my friends loved the pictures I posted. And yes, they were selfies. I'm not ashamed of that. I had fun taking them and my friends had fun commenting on them.

It’s also a great way to connect with others for a shared experience… like during the Boston Marathon events or more recently with the death of Robin Williams. And I love the Ice Bucket Challenge. A ton of fun and raising a pile of cash for a great cause. It will be THE social media case study that people refer to for years.

And one more thing… there is nothing better than all the birthday wishes you get on Facebook. 

So if you don't want to do Facebook anymore, no problem. Just go. We'll miss you, but we don't need your drama or your lectures.

As for me, I’m staying. 

The Monster Men (Hunter Shea and I) are very excited to be a part of this event.

NY Spotlight On Success and The Paranormal Event With a Professional Expert Panel

When: Thursday. August 23rd, 7pm

Where: Chelsea Manor 138 West 25th Street New York, NY 10001

  

Join us NY Spotlight on Success at Chelsea Manor Thursday 08/23/12 beginning at 7pm for our NY Spotlight on Success and the Paranormal Event. We have assembled a diverse panel of professionals from the Paranomal Community. The panel plans to inform, educate and entertain regarding paranormal and metaphysical experiences and to help each others to understand. We are open-minded and do not judge or ridicule experiences. Our goal is to share stories, information and to receive compassionate, empathetic and friendly guidance for others who have had similar experiences.

There will be an opportunity to meet and have conversation with the panel members. As always we want you to network, build strong personal and professional relationships. Our aim to connect you with whom you need to meet and we will facilitate that in anyway we can.

Chelsea Manor was the only choice for this event. NY Spotlight On Success' and Chelsea Manor's personal experiences will be revealed on Thursday August 23rd. 

Click here for more info, bios of the panelists and to register.

Jingle All the Way with Purple Goldfish

Have you checked out The Purple Goldfish Project yet? Stan Phelps is collecting 1001 examples of Marketing Lagniappe. (Pronounced lăn-yăp.) That’s the Louisiana word that captures the way companies go above and beyond to make their customers happy and feel appreciated. (Think Baker’s Dozen.)

Out pals at Classic Shine in Greenwich are on the list.

Well, Stan found two incredibly creative and talented fellows who both write catchy jingles for businesses. They agreed to a “Jingle-Off” and both are available for viewing on the Marketing Lagniappe web site. Check them out and be sure to vote for your favorite.

And if you know a "Purple Goldfish", tell Stan about them and maybe they will make the list!

Social Media Is Everywhere, But How Does It Affect Market Research?

Here's a quick recap I wrote on a recent social media event we hosted in New York.

On Friday, June 19, 2009, several experts on social media gathered at Advanced Focus in New York City for a panel discussion on social media and what it means for market research. In order to get a broad perspective of the subject, the panel was made up of people from a wide variety of industries including market research, technology, CRM and PR.

The panel members included:
Mike Rogers, Chief Brain - Brainloaf
Mike Carlon, Moderator - MarketVision Research
Tom H. C. Anderson- Founder & Managing Partner- Anderson Analytics
Susan Roth, Vice President, Online Qualitative – TNS
Leslie Campisi, Vice President & Partner - Affect Strategies
Rob Petersen, President - BarnRaisers Group

The event was sponsored by Brainloaf, an interactive/social media company based in Stamford, CT and Jack Campisi, VP of Client Solutions, hosted the two sessions.

While opinions varied on many topics, there were a number of interesting lessons gleaned from the day. As Tom Anderson would say afterwards in his blog; “…regardless of what social media means to me, to consumers social media can mean very different things to different people. These meanings/definitions/strategies can also change rather quickly for some individuals."

Mike Carlon summed up the day nicely for both the qual and quant sides of the fence...

“On the qualitative side, social media provides a new set of tools for gathering consumer insights. As consumers become familiar with blogs, social video sharing, and video based chats, moderators can use these tools to engage consumers using methods that seem "natural" to them. We agree that there will always be a need to conduct in person qualitative interviews but are excited about adding new tools to our tool box. On the quantitative side, the vast amount of "conversations" that consumer's have about brands and/or trends open up opportunities for insight mining using text mining. Large numbers of conversations can be mined for insight and trended over time. This seems like a natural fit for those tracking the impact of PR as well as buzz around new product launches.”

Coming from the technology angle, Mike Rogers helped explain the wide variety of tools available from the social media toolbox. But he was quick to add that before you choose your tactic, you must have a sound business plan and social media strategy. Otherwise you risk wasting a lot of time, effort and money.

So what was the final conclusion?
C'mon. This is social media. There are no FINAL conclusions. It's a constantly growing and evolving thing.

I guess it's safe to say that while there is a lot of common ground between social media marketing and social media for market research, there are also many significant differences. Social media for market research presents a unique set of challenges but also offers a very exciting new facet of communication and method of insight-gathering to the field.

To request a link to the video of the event, please visit http://www.brainloaf.com/.