new_punishment

Seriously, I can see the practical applications of a site – which allows you to post images or snippets of information that you want to refer to or influence your friends’/spouses’ gift selections – but I can’t help the feeling that I’m looking at my sister’s scrapbook! I keep expecting to see pictures of acid wash jeans, Bon Jovi or perhaps Johnny Depp.  Admittedly, I am connected with two local women at this point, but what happens if I connect to a male Pintrest page? What images do men share? Music? Clothes? Recipes? Well, I guess I’m gonna find out. Oh, and another thing , Pintrest – it would make perfect sense in todays social world to be able to invite friends via Twitter accounts, rather than just email & Facebook. Or is that just me? Perhaps – but I can’t seem to decide what I want to pin at this point in time ….

***NOTE***

Follow-up! Since this hasty morning post, I have taken time to reflect, and read Jeff Harper’s blog post and I’m currently reconsidering my point of view …

Your SM person should be loveable but edgy!

This is an often over-looked finer point of any successful Social Media campaign. Your SM person needs to be smart. Not necessarily book smart, but certainly street smart. Witty. Quick with the come back, without compromising your brand. Smart.

Yes, your SM person needs to be technology savvy. They should have a sold understanding of your product/service. They should defend your brand image, but never put your company’s integrity in question. They should “Think, before they Tweet” but still – do this quickly.

In the constant feed of SM wallpaper, your company’s message needs to be outstanding. It should be entertaining, informative and likeable. Really, your SM presence needs to emulate a late night talk-back host, who you’d like to see host the Emmy Awards (Think; Jane Lynch, Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert or Jimmy Fallon). Lovable, yet pushing the envelope. Edgy. Smart.

Oh, and they should never type the word fcuk.

c/- http://www.mbaonline.com

Back in the day ...

Steve Jobs has been in the media spotlight recently since resigning as CEO of Apple. A Globe & Mail article implied that: “Steve Jobs right up there with Edison and Ford“.

Not surprisingly, this has caused quite a stir among the interwebs … including my associate Robert Snell in his recent blog post. While I certainly agree with Robert’s point that “…the Globe and Mail compare Jobs to Edison or Ford and I am really not sure how these even begin to compare.” it is my opinion that the Globe and Mail is gushing a little for journalistic impact. I should probably have spent a little more time researching this post before I started – but I’m sure you don’t want a computing history lesson.

However, my understanding is that Steve jobs was more of a “hacker” when he started out in his garage building the first PC prototype. The group of young innovators (including Bill Gates) had a vision and set about making their vision a reality. Fast forward several years and that vision has become two PC corporations.

My opinion is that there were fundamental differences in these concepts. The vision Steve Jobs had was to make things work, reducing roadblocks in the user interface (UI) and allowing the average person the ability to enjoy the computing experience.

Here’s the differentiator between Apple & Windows: Apple Macintosh made the HARDWARE and the SOFTWARE.

With that came the freedom to make things work the way they were designed to. Then I believe Steve Jobs took that to the next level with creating hardware (iPods, iPhones, iMacs & iPads) that were just sexy. Not clunky PC purely utilitarian devices that mostly worked – when the software was able to integrate correctly with the hardware.

He was also passionate about his companies products and was a master of presentation (have you seen an Apple product launch?) and had an ability to command the room (podcast?) with almost magician-like ability. Don’t take your eyes off his hands, you never know what will appear! He really was the Ringmaster of the Apple Macintosh circus.

To conclude; I don’t think it was about the man’s creations. The analogy that came to mind after reading Robert’s blog post was that Apple products became the Harley Davidson of computers. He didn’t invent the PC, or the mp3 player, or the tablet computer (in the same way that Harley Davidson didn’t invent the motorcycle) – but you WANTED them over all others. Your trusted them. In marketing terms, they really just had (and still have) a brand presence that dominates! Apples products became part of the daily vernacular. But, Steve Jobs is the glue. I doubt that Harley Davidson would lose much market share if their CEO was to step down – I have no idea who he/she is. But Steve Jobs was the man with the vision, passion and stage presence to captivate a market (perhaps several generations) and still is the face of his companies products.

I certainly don’t think you can compare Jobs to Edison or Ford for his creations alone,  but the man is still an icon.

I get a real kick out of statements like this.  Especially when I ask the person if they have a Linked In account and they reply “Well, yes – but that’s different”.

Actually it’s not.

If you have a Linked In account, view your friend’s/family’s photo albums online, view YouTube videos or utilize Goto Meeting you are using Social Media.

Oh, and you probably consider yourself a grown-up. But, guess what – MANY adults also use Twitter, Google+ and Facebook too. Many adults are making social & business connections, promoting their products/services and as a result making money. Which one are you?

Exceeding Expectations … I’m sure you are aware of this term, especially in relation to customer service. But what about just general experience? Although, in retrospect I’m not really proud of this – but I have to say, prior to visiting Upper Clements Fun Park – I had low expectations. Is this a symptom of previous Nova Scotia “tourist’ destinations? Think: Citadel Hill, Peggy’s Cove, PEI Bridge, etc? Perhaps. To be honest, all I really expected was zip lines and perhaps a paddling pool. Wow – was I wrong. This is quite a facility!

One point I must make, is that the pricing policy is confusing and makes payment a little … exacerbating – especially when the staff member can’t clearly articulate what is included. Still, once in the gates, my 3.5yr old boy was engrossed with all there was on offer – even if he was a little too short to experience some of the rides.

Upper Clements Fun Park is – expansive. Obviously no Disney World or Magic Mountain, but well maintained, reasonably modern, easily navigated/accessible, clean, and the staff are very friendly! The layout integrates with the surrounding foliage/geography, plus there is a sense of ‘flow’ between rides and amusements.

4 adults and 3 kids (aged 3.5 to 6.5) had a full day of rides, fun, food (did I mention there is a licensed restaurant?) and interaction. Often parents were able/required to accompany children on amusements/rides – which was actually a bonus! However, I did watch a parent (with some amusement, I might add) cringing with fear on the Ferris Wheel – but most parents seemed to thoroughly enjoy this family interaction.

This is in noway a contracted or sponsored review. Rather, a legitimately authentic glowing review, as a result of first-hand experience and after seeing families thoroughly enjoy the facilities/staff for a day of memorable fun and adventure. I would highly recommend The Upper Clements Fun Park to parents of children aged 3 – early teens. Fun in a pristine outdoor environment with rides to thrill and entertain – even scare!

Just make sure you fully understand the pricing options before you enter.

I saw a great new video today from Radian6 on YouTube:

Which, in my opinion, was great on 2 levels. Obviously the Radian6 social media monitoring platform is groundbreaking and possibly the most expansive service available. But in addition to the content, the post-production that went into ‘engaging’ the viewer is very impressive. Use of ‘hand-drawn’ text/graphic elements that seem to interact with the presenter (Marcel Lebrun) is not only entertaining and clever, it really helps to convey the message(s) that Marcel is communicating. I actually found myself wanting to hear him talk more, just to see how these elements continued to interact with his presentation. That’s what effective and engaging communication is all about, right? Take a look and see for yourself.

Image credits: BioTechnology & Metro News

1 – Human Harbour Hopper: No, not the kind you can load people onto to view the wonders of our historic city and enjoy the fictional historical non-events that make this city (sound) great to tourists, but rather a human canary (think Toilet Duck) to keep tabs on the amount of effluent/amoebas currently inhabiting “Nature’s Ocean Playground”. Imagine the crowds of tourists this would attract to watch him bobbing in the harbour at the Halifax waterfront, providing water quality updates? Then there’s souvenirs – t-shirts, air fresheners, bobble heads, do-it-yourself Petri Dish Kits, etc.

2 – Concert Promoter: ‘Nuff said.

3 – Eastlink TV Presenter: “Story Time, with PK” will provide magical tales of long forgotten good deeds that created great business opportunities and promoted growth in the HRM. Peter would take us through the wonders of past efforts to encourage new citizens to join our communities and create a thriving business environment in HRM that he was able to mastermind in his many years as mayor of our fair city. Listen closely kids, many of these heroic deeds were actually performed long before you were born, and have since slipped into local folklore.

4 – Professional Card Shuffler: Have you seen those hands working there magic during Council Meetings? Peter would be wise to use those specialized skills at the Halifax Casino. Don’t worry if he doesn’t know the “rules” yet, he has mastered making things up as he goes along.

5 – Haircut model for local Hairdressing colleges: Seriously, that mop needs some regular attention.

Go here!