Social Media Strategy, Moderation & Management Musings

Ha, oh well. I guess that I have not kept up with my last blog post, to post more. Well as they say in sports, you are only as good as your last game, so here goes.

Over the past year+ I have worked at Autodesk as their Social Engagement manager. I have a team of 3 people who help to manage all Community and Social engagement from a Customer support perspective. The team is great and we have accomplished many things over the past year. During this period, I have seen a significant shift in the understanding of what our team manages and how important that we are. I have also noticed a shift with other groups trying to get more and more involved, in not only a reactive manner, but in more of a proactive approach.

Many teams are now proactively hosting webinar’s and AMA’s (ask me anything). They are registering on our community forums and taking the training that my team has put together. They are actively involved on our forums, without “tasking” them to do so, but rather they feel compelled to.

I am not trying to “tout our teams horn” by any means. I am just trying to point out the shift which I am seeing, and wondering if you are also seeing this. It does not matter what business that you are in, or what team you are on. Are you seeing this more and more as well?

As always, thanks for reading!

I know that for a lot of my Social Media & Community Manager friends that I have, this is not “Breaking News”, but I did want to point out 2 most recent events that are very cool examples of how these outlets are changing the way that we communicate and interact, both online and offline:

1. The announcement by the FBI of their capture of Whitey Bulger. Can you imagine, a little past midnight, they send out a Tweet to let their followers know of the event. Can you imagine how quickly the word spread. Now I know that twitter does not have the mass-adoption of other outlets, but still it is pretty cool that they did this.
2. During the NHL awards last night, Jay Mohr hosted the event and pronounced Steve Yzerman’s last name incorrectly. 5 minutes go by and an award was presented. They go to commercial and when they come back from commercial, Jay asks the “Twitterverse” to relax, letting them know that he made a mistake, and that “it is live TV, mistakes happen…….

I could not find the clip, but if you watch the replay’s, you will see what I am talking about.

I don’t know about you, but I think that is pretty cool the way that Social Media channels are being brought into the off-line world. What are some other examples that you can think of?

Ok, let’s have a change of pace here. In an effort to learn more about the different types and kinds of beer out there, I would like to ask you what your favorite beer is and why? I have a couple that truly span the spectrum of types.

Fat Tire Sunshine Wheat

In the Summer I really like Fat Tire’s Sunshine Wheat, with a slice of lemon. While I can not get this on the East coast at the moment, I remember days in California and Arizona where I would pop the top of one of those and really enjoy the flavor. Very refreshing and light. As their website outlines, the beer offers a crisp, refreshing alternative to heavier-bodied heffe-weizens.

Not granted I do truly love the Amber Ale as well, as that is another favorite of mine. but in the heart of the summer, this really hits the spot.

To my disappointment, for whatever reason there is, The New Belgium Brewery does not distribute this far East. I have had it in Wisconsin and in some southern atlantic states, but not this far north. Please, and I beg of you, please begin distributing to the North East!

Sierra Nevada Big Foot

Now when it comes to heavier, stronger beers, you do have to come hard, or stay home, which is why I choose this Seasonal Favorite from Sierra Nevada. Sierra Nevada brews a very tasty Big Foot Barley Wine. This is a very flavorful concoction that will drop you to your knee’s after 2 or 3. Definitely not for the casual beer drinker, this beer is for individuals who are looking to sit down and enjoy.

With it’s dark, reddish hue, and deep rich flavor, it is definitely not overpowering when you have just 1. I love it up her in NH when we get a storm and I have to snow-blow my driveway, I always crack one of these and put it in the snowbank and have a sip with every pass. It really helps the time go by, as well as serves as a nice way to resolve the back pain.

What are your favorite 1-2-3 beers and why? Please share your thoughts as well as this post with others.

As always, thanks for reading.

Let me 1^st start out by saying that I am not a runner. I had never run a race before and had not planned to before about 1 minute to race time, on New Years Eve day, in Londonderry NH (Millennium Mile Race). Yup, that is right, I waited for the last possible minute. Crazy, yes – did I pay for it, absolutely. So I figured, “1 mile, it can not be that bad” when my oldest daughter made the decision to run the entire way. I was planning to stick back with my youngest daughter, and run for a little while, walk for a little while, and really just take it easy. About a minute before the start of the race my wife decides that she is going to stay back with my youngest daughter, and says “why don’t you just run?” Now I am not one to back down from a challenge, or about to tell my daughter that I can’t run beside her because I am not “dressed” or prepared for it, so I say “Sure!” and try to get mentally prepared for the race – 45 seconds to go.

As we get closer to the starting line, I begin to jog and think to myself, “this is not going to be that bad.” The first quarter mile goes by rather quick, and I am keeping pace with my daughter, trying to push her a little bit. We cruise by the ½ mile banner and I am still good, and am surprised that my daughter is doing so well. Around the ¾ mark my daughter starts to fade a little bit, so I drop back and continue to coach her in breathing and kicking her legs, to be light on her feet.

As we finish, I grab her hand and tell her that we need to continue to walk for a little while to keep our muscles from tightening. I feel fine for the rest of the day, now granted my thighs are hurting, but feel good. Ok, phew, I survived. My daughter is faring much better than I.

Then I wake up on January 2^nd. My thighs are no longer hurting, they are on fire. I feel like I ran a 10 mile race (or can only imagine this is what it feels like). My daughter has minimal complaints and looks to be fairly normal.

On to day 3. Day 3 starts off as Day 2 started off, thighs are still hurting, but now I have the same pain right above my feet, within my shins. As the day a progresses, the pain seems to subside a little bit, but the pain still lingers.

So now what does stretching have to do with strategy you ask??

Well if I were able to plan in advance for this, know what I was in for and prepare for what was ahead of me, I would have been able to limit the after-effects of my efforts. Eating a solid meal the night before (and not running it on New Years Eve day!!!) drinking a lot of fluids in advance as well as stretching and ensuring that my muscles were ready for the undertaking ahead of me.

This goes the same for Social Media Strategy. If you are not ready to get involved, don’t. Do the appropriate research, ask the appropriate questions and prepare for your undertaking. Do not just get involved because someone says that you should. And if they do, make sure that you have enough time to prepare.