The Daily Grind of a Work @ Home Mom...

Conferences, and events, and junkets. Oh, my!

I'm re-posting this for all you newer bloggers who are considering any upcoming events or conferences.  Also, I am about to attend an event at a local chapter of a "club" for public relations practitioners, and I'll have to remember to practice what I preach.

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We all know the type – a blogger who sits perched behind her desk all day blogging, tweeting, Facebook’ing like crazy. Telling all and leaving nothing out. Chances are, if you met her, she would be a laugh a minute, the life of the party, and your new BFF.

Or, maybe not.

Bloggers, securely fastened behind their computer screens, are very courageous people. But get them in public, and you may find that they’re not as outgoing as they seem.

Or maybe they are. But until you meet, how will you know?

The scene is familiar - at every blogger event, someone feels let down by the characters in the room. It’s happened to me. And I’m sure it’s happened to you.

But the truth is, with all the finger-pointing and “this group is so cliquey” and “who does she think she is” going on, are we really doing our part to control our experience? Or are we making our good time someone else’s problem?

Attending a blogger event is just like attending any other social or networking event - you get out of it what you put in. I’ve been to conferences where I’ve been the wallflower and come out of it having had a meh experience. But anytime I come out of my shell, put myself out there and actually behave in a way that is more magnetic, I have a ball.

It was a few months ago that a blogger attended a local event and felt snubbed by the other attendees. What’s more, she was told her seats were taken and had to find someplace to sit for herself and her child. As a person who curates events, this is unacceptable.

However, is it possible that feeling blown-off by other bloggers was largely a result of her already stressful experience? After all, everyone there was wrangling at least a kid or two. It was an evening event (whiny, tired kids). And the venue was very stimulating for the kids. Could it be that folks were having their own challenges that day?

Bloggers, PR people, or whomever we are - we are all in charge of ourselves. Social etiquette remains largely consistent under most circumstances. As adults, we control our fun. No matter where we are, it is no one else’s responsibility to ensure we meet people or enjoy ourselves. I’ll remind myself of this next time I set out in this big, bad world.

#McDonald's is foiled by its own plan #McDStories

Everyone's favorite burger and fry guy made lots of news last week.  First, there was that egregiously vile image of what is allegedly "chicken nugget batter" (aka, mechanically separated chicken) that went viral. Whether McDonald's actually makes food using this crap is still unclear. What is clear is that my children will never have to endure another chicken McNugget again.

Then, McDonald's went on the offense and created a hashtag campaign using #McDStories as the hashtag. The expectation was that supporters would share their warm and fuzzy stories of enjoying grease and fat with their families, maybe playing in the filthy, dirty playground as a child, perhaps of enjoying a birthday party in an unsanitary McD's basement.

But that's not what actually happened.  What did occur is that haters of the brand began utilizing the hashtag to spew venomous tweets at them.  Tweets like:

and

and

To be clear, this post is not a commentary on McDonald's per se.  I've been known to make a person or two late for a train as a result of a near-insane craving for chicken strips while pregnant.  And for some reason nothing hits the spot quite like a quarter pounder (no onions, extra pickles) while on a road trip.  I never feel well after indulging (the sodium?) and I always regret it, but short-term memory and all that jazz seems to prevail when I see those golden arches under the right circumstances.

But I've always believed McDonald's to be a leader in their industry (whatever you may think of said industry) since it's my understanding that they're the king of burgers (king of burgers... get it?;).  It appears I was wrong. 

In light of this latest PR fail, I'm seriously wondering who is in charge of social media over there.  I mean, ask any recently graduated intern at any agency what the number one rule is if you're a brand utilizing social and they'll all tell you - understand brand sentiment.  Never ask a question you don't know the answer to unless you're in the mood for a good, old fashioned massacring.  Because just like in real life, anything a brand says in "public" is there for the taking.  And in the case of the #McDStories incident, take they did.

Here's the thing.  This isn't a lesson on what McDonald's might have done differently or what brands can take away from this debacle.  I'll leave that to the Mashables and HuffPos of the world.  But I will say this - why does McDonald's insist on reaching into a space they don't belong in?  I've seen the brand talk about their salads, I've heard them advertise white meat.  I've read the words "well-balanced" and "nutrition" on their website and think, why?  Why try and be something that you're not?  No one goes to McDonald's for a salad unless they're with someone who's having a Big Mac attack.  And while I'm glad to see the smaller portion of fries and the apples in the Happy Meal (that we grab while on the road a couple of times a year), I'm not thinking McDonald's is any good for my kids.  I'm thinking it's convenient.  It's fast.  It's food.

So McDonald's, there you have it.  You can't fool us consumers.  Even if we eat your pink slime once in a while and your over-fried fries, we don't feel good about it.  We know it's crap.  Just ask anyone.  Oops - you already did.

 

How social media influences, well, everything

Social media here, social media there, social media everywhere.  Even as a person who loves, adores, and was an early adopter (Twitter since early 2008, yo!), the constant barrage of new sites! New apps! New social tools! even gets to me sometimes.

I don't get excited about every new popular domain name.  I'm not the first to set up an account of the latest and greatest.  I've been burned before (Google+ anyone?) and there just aren't enough hours in the day to devote time to every site Twitter says is cool.  Cuz now it's not 2008 anymore and everyone and their mother is giving opinions on Twitter (not that there's anything wrong with that, as long as you know how to properly manage your own account).   

As I write this post, I just clicked a friend's Pin and took in an inforgraphic that appeared on Mashable titled Pinterest Becomes Top Traffic Driver for Retailers [INFOGRAPHIC]. This article which appeared today, pretty much sums up what I'm about to talk about here, except I was going to apologize to Foursquare for being an early adopter-hater and then tell you how much I love Foursquare for its "Specials Nearby" feature and how I utilized it yesterday and felt soooo good about myself afterwards.

But wait.

In March of 2010. I wrote a post that I called To Foursquare or Not to Foursquare: A Cynic's View.  I was wholly unconvinced.  I even quit the location-based social networking site for a while.  Can't recall what brought me back but it was probably some little voice inside my head whispering, "go back, you've made a mistake. Second chances are for winners."

So I did.  While I don't "check-in" everywhere I go and I don't double-dip by posting my Foursquare check-ins to Facebook (which has its own check-in capes), I do use it sometimes to take advantage of retail deals.

Aaaaah.  There. I said it.  If you are an avid Foursquare'er, you've undoubtedly noticed the little box "Specials Nearby" feature at the top of your "places" page - and if you click over, you'll be privy to some retailers who are taking a chance on an unknown kid as yet unproven tactic for increasing sales.  Yesterday, I "checked-in at a large shopping complex and checked my specials.  I noticed that the kids store across the way was offering 40% off any purchase just for checking in.

SCORE.  Foursquare's stock just skyrocketed in my book.  If you have to outfit children, you know that it's a constant drain on the bank account and if you have two budding fashionistas like I do, hand-me-downs are not going to cut it.  So, Justice - nice job.  I hope others catch on to your genius.  Because yesterday, for the cost of 40% of a size 4 skirt and a size 8 dress, you got a mention on Twitter that may or may not have reached any of my 3400+ followers.  Worth it?  I can't say how it was for them but I felt like I needed a smoke after heading out the door.

Same seems to be true of Pinterest.  I only recently signed-up for the newish online pinboard.  The idea is to "pin" things that appeal to you in visual format to your board.  Of course, you have followers who see your pins and they may or may not be swayed by your influence.  Each pin, btw, automatically links back to its origins (etsy shop, online retailer, etc).  For me, I love to look at the pretty pictures and of course, one more spot to share my ideas - yay!  But in seriousness, I'm considering actually making a purchase from a pin I saw on the site.

So.  Where does this leave us.  We're moving beyond bloggers to real people.  And based on what I've seen coming out of the blogosphere lately, we're all the better for it.

One more thought - anyone have any ideas on how Pinterest might affect the B to B world?  (Not that anyone at work has tasked me to find out...)

Sometimes NO social media customer service beats bad social media customer service

This post is a long time coming.  I can't believe I'm just getting around to writing it now since I myself am a self-proclaimed online customer service junkie.  And by that I mean I hit Twitter before picking up the phone when I have an issue with a brand that needs addressing.

I've written about specific experiences here before.  I had an issue with a hard-up Toys 'r Us employee who used a credit card she created with my personal info for her Christmas shopping.  I posted about it - more than once - and finally received attention from the company.

I've utilized Twitter for customer service more times than I can count.  @ComcastBill and I are BFF's.  He has set-up appointments for me, reset my cable box for me without having to spend even one second on hold, and even sent me a new remote control - on the house - when I lost mine.  Comcast is one of the finest examples of the best of social media customer service. 

@Lexus is another example of a company that came to my rescue.  Long story short, I was facing a very expensive repair on my car (that I shouldn't have needed at all) and after letting me know that it would be $5,000 and there was nothing I could do about it and that they were "very busy", I tweeted for some help and the situation was rectified within hours.  I'm still not sure if this was a result of timing - it came on the heels of the Toyota PR Fail that garnered LOTS of attention - or if they decided to cover my repair as a result of an error on their part (as they said).  Bottom line is, I was taken care of and spent not a moment on the phone with the company.

Seems airlines are not as adept at responding to customer complaints.  Could it be because people are constantly cranky when traveling?  I have beared witness to insane people barraging agents with questions, comments and complaints when a flight is delayed or whatever. 

"WELL, WHEN WILL IT STOP SNOWING????"

You know, it's my contention that if your plane isn't taking off because it's not safe to fly, it might be annoying, but hey, at the end of the day you're not a story at the top of the hour.  Right?  Alive beats dead.

But anyhow.

Recently I tweeted @SpiritAirlines because I was annoyed by a charge I saw on my credit card.  They never responded.  When I checked out what was up with other people using Twitter to talk to Spirit, I saw a lot of angry tweets like these:

But when I checked Spirit's timeline, I see not one @.  They tweet out their sales and their news, but they don't respond to customer queries, positive or negative.  This is just TERRIBLE customer service.

Spirit Airlines either has a very dumb or very annoyed PR team. 

Spirit isn't alone in their Twitter fail.  Many brands take to Twitter simply to use it as a platform for screaming their latest news but what they don't get is that Twitter actually functions as a conversation.  When used correctly, Twitter is meant to engage with others, whether you're a blogger, a brand, a PR agency, or a regular person.  If you don't engage, you will not have Twitter success.

My advice, quick and dirty style: if you're not going to do it right, just don't do it at all.

So even though Twitter is all the rage right now, if you're going to ignore me when I talk to you, I'm taking my ball and going home.

 

Operation Shock and Awe (in Advertising)

It's no secret that sex and shock sells.  Sort of.  Except, in our very sophisticated society, even though everyone likes to be shocked and awed, we observe political correctness so as not to "offend" anyone and present our sexually explicit and anti-feminist ads in a much more subtle fashion.  But it wasn't always like that.  Yesterday's Business Insider featured a piece entitled 26 Shockingly Offensive Vintage Ads That Would Never Fly Today.  Honestly, I got a laugh out of most of these, but truth is, objectifying women and using sex to sell pretty much anything is still a rampant theme, we just use more clever presentation.

Some of my faves (Check out the Baby Soft ad for a real OMG moment - that's probably illegal today):

 

And my personal favorite:

If She Doesn't Give It To You, Get It Yourself!! 

Obviously...

Bloggers - What's in a Name?

My post on last week's Blogger U was inspired by a Facebook contact who queried her community, looking for answers to the age-old question that has plagued bloggers for centuries – are bloggers considered journalists? Writers? Columnists? Essayists? Critics? What are we? I mean, we have a public platform and we write on it. And sometimes we’re treated like something we’re not, but we’re also really smart people. So, why the constant debate?

K - centuries might be pushing it, but we've all heard the banter, seen the confusion.  So obviously my two cents were necessary.

When you write on a blogging platform, it’s my estimation that you are a blogger. And since we are in fact writing, that could make us writers as well. Sounds fair, right? I went to j-school and even graduated with a degree in journalism, but this doesn’t make me a journalist because my medium at the moment is a blog. If that should ever shift to traditional media such as television, magazines, or newspapers, I will probably use the training I received in school, adhere to the guidelines typically used by journalists, and consider myself as such. But until I actually follow the rules outlined in the AP Stylebook, I’m not a journalist.

The thing is, PR firms often mistake us for journalists so it’s understandable that we might be confused as well. Or rather, PR sometimes asks us to behave like traditional press – to disseminate information about their clients in a non-opinionated, objective manner. This behavior is just atypical of bloggers who have opinions about pretty much everything and aren’t shy to share them. Also, for most of us, unless we’re super moved by the content in a press release, we’re more likely to delete it, unread, than actually consider posting it.

Or, at least I am.

I like being contacted by PR people who know how to work with bloggers. I enjoy working with agencies that understand what separates bloggers from journalists. Because as a person who has held a job on both sides of the fence, throw in the fact that I’m a blogger as well, it can be said that I know the difference.

So that’s that. Bloggers, let’s be proud of the fact that we belong to a fast emerging community that’s not only well-respected, but slightly more interesting than “regular people.”

SEO, how I love thee (not)

I have a love/hate relationship with SEO.  When I built my first website, I could have cared less about keywords and optimizing the site for search.  I had little experience and was in a big rush to get up and running.  I figured that the love of my friends and community would get me going and keep me in it.  I was wrong.  Within a year, it was clear I needed some new tactics (and a new site consultant).

I got both and things improved for me.  I engaged in tons of blogger relations, got myself out there as much as possible, improved my keywords and re-saved my images so they would get caught in Google's web.

But not everyone uses these standard techniques to increase traffic.  Last month, retail behemoth J.C. Penney got nailed by Google for using black hat SEO tactics and was subsequently penalized for the under-handed methods in search. In other words, they were seriously busted.

But J.C. Penney is hardly alone in their foray into attempting to cheat the web.

The latest comes in the form of CSN Stores, an online conglomerate of 250 different shopping sites with individual names, and they are up to the same type of practice, only they are involving bloggers.

To continue reading this post, head over to Blogger University...

Dealing with Brands on Twitter

When brands first starting infiltrating Twitter about a year to 18 months ago recognizing it as a integral part of their customer service/marketing efforts, I'll admit to feeling annoyed.  As a very active member of the Twitter community since April 2008, the social media platform was my connection to other bloggers, to prospective opportunities, to news and as a means of "meeting" others with similar interests.  I felt like I was part of something that was sort of undiscovered because three years ago, your neighbor, your high-school boyfriend, and your mother didn't know what Twitter was.

Man, has that ever changed over the last three years.

Suddenly, my Twitter steam was filled with re-tweets from giant retailers, car companies, and every other company.  I knew then that the game had changed.  Little did I know, the change was for the better.

"About 18 or so months ago, I had an incident at a large retail store. In short, my credit info was stolen by a cashier and used to make the employee’s family members happy on Christmas morning. After receiving a bill for over $2,000 in my mailbox in January, I spent A LOT of time on the phone with the credit card company trying to get to the bottom of it, as well as to dispute the charges.

It was a lot of time spent on something I had no part in creating. And I was mad. Mad enough to take to my blog. Several times.

And then I started seeing more and more bloggers using their blogs as stomping grounds, and I have to admit it made me kind of uncomfortable. It sort of felt like when a friend starts bad-mouthing a mutual acquaintance, going off and becoming all crazy aggressive and sounding a tad insane."

Read the rest of my story about dealing with brands on Twitter at my post on Blogger University.  Come back and leave your thoughts!

Not to sound ungrateful, but... PR Fail #20098

I opened up my email the other day and found this:

Hope you’ve had a wonderful day! I’m happy to share with you the DVD release of blahblahblah’s newest romantic comedy “XXXX” starring Sexy Actress and Hot Actor, hitting shelves Feb. 8th, just in time for Valentine’s Day!

The “XXXX” Clickcast Widget is AVAILABLE:

• Awesome Content:  Plan a Moms Night In party & watch bonus features from the film
•  Host a GIVEAWAY: Post the Widget to your site and we’ll offer you 1 DVD and 1 film SOUNDTRACK for your audience!!
• View the widget HERE

TO POST THE WIDGET: 
COPY & PASTE THIS CODE (press the “HTML” button when applicable): 
<code provided here>

***Please send us a link to your post & your winners’ addresses by Feb. 16th. Banners & artwork available upon request. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions at all! 

Have a great day,

Thoughtless PR Agency Without a Clue How to Engage with Bloggers

BlogHer 10 - The Official Recap

I was trying to come up with a witty title that would actually capture the essence of BlogHer '10, much like last year's Blogher '09 - The Good, the Swag, and the Ugly, only this year's BlogHer was so boring that there was NO DRAMA to parody!  Ok, so maybe boring is the wrong word; more like, settled or chaos-free, but whatever the choice of words, let me begin by saying, BlogHer '10 looked NOTHING like last year's event and for that I'm not sorry.  (Although who doesn't love a good girl-fight.)

It began on Wednesday afternoon for me (I know, crazy), as I drove to NYC with my very cool colleagues.  We dined together (Asia de Cuba - YUM) and rested up for what awaited us on Thursday.  Thursday was a calm day filled with lunching and manicuring, until my call time of 3pm, when I hit the Hanes event at Nikki Beach.  Thanks to my friend, Colleen, I was invited to partake in Hanes' Get Comfortable event, enjoy some "Comfortini's", be treated to a hand massage, and learn how to organize my home with the help of Michael Moloney (who will actually need to come to my house in order to organize it).  While I haven't actually seen Extreme Home Makeover per se, I did recognize him and since I'm a celebrity whore, I'll take any sighting and talk it up until you'd think I'm his #1 fan.  In any event, it was really fun and I thought Hanes did a bang-up job entertaining us bloggers.

Whitney, Jodi, Myself, & Colleen 

Next up was the famed Ralph Lauren event at the beautiful RL headquarters on Madison Avenue.  While I might be a tad biased (since I played a small part in planning this event), I thought it ROCKED.  For the world's most successful clothing brand to invite us bloggers into their world and share a piece of it, was an honor.  For the folks at RL to consider us worthy of their time, attention, and resources, was really a validation that what we are doing matters, and not just a little.  The fact that David Lauren (Ralph's son and executive at RL) spent so much time with us, helping us to understand where his family came from, how the brand became what it is and where it is going, making us feel so welcome, was just. so. cool.  The cupcakes from Crumbs were, as they say, the icing on the cake, but in all seriousness, this brand presentation was so impressive, I think I sorta fell in love with David Lauren.  And you know?  They now have a fan in me.

David Lauren, Myself, and Stacy DeBroff 

Attending the Getting Gorgeous event at the Warwick Hotel was another highlight.  While BlogHer '10 was nowhere near the swag-o-rama that made BlogHer '09 infamous, if you wanted quality swag, Getting Gorgeous was where it was at.  From Miracle Jeans (which are wonderful but really I need a miracle in the form of an extreme diet or plastic surgery...) to AWESOME Remmington straightening and curling irons, to my favorite - a Wireless Portable Powermat, the event was a real scream.  I had my hair done, chatted with fellow bloggers, and met Liz Lange,  maternity clothing maven (celeb!).  While I may have been slightly sweaty upon leaving (Warwick Hotel folks, you may want to look into your a/c - it might be on the fritz), I did have a ball.  Kudos to Audrey and Vera for producing such a vibrant event. 

So, I was really looking forward to roaming the expo hall floor to see what craziness it held and what I found was somewhat shocking.  The brands were actually there to - get this - school bloggers about their products.  Imagine that!  There was no flinging of shampoo samples, no 50-pound bags of laundry detergent up for grabs, no mops or dusters for bloggers to fight each other for.  No babies lost limbs in order to secure dishwashing soap, nor did anyone become maimed in the quest for the perfect pen.  Nuts, right?

Unfortunately I made it to only one session and if I'm being honest, I only made it because it starred Jessica Bern, one of my favorite people and an awesome blogger.  She's one of the few that actually keeps it real and cares more about other people than who got invited to what junket and ZOMG,likedidyouhear is not her bag and for that I heart her.  My one regret is that i didn't find enough time to actually immerse at BlogHer '10.  I didn't mingle enough outside of private events.  I didn't meet enough random people, didn't have many impromptu meals with unlikely companions.  

So - BlogHer SanDiego in 2011.  Will I make the trek?  Likely.  But my goal for next year's journey is to be more mindful of my time, my interaction, and my food intake because EW the thai food on 56th is gross and will make you taste your thai food all night.   

Special thanks to the folks at Baby BanZ for helping to send me to BlogHer 2010 in NYC!

Sincere thanks also to the folks of the Loews Hotel event who have me seriously considering changing my blog name to "Work the Mom" since clearly, that is more fitting than my current blog name.