TV" rel="bookmark">There’s Sh*t On TV
With more than 700,000 fans and fewer than 80 tweets, Justin Halpern, creator of the popular Twitter account Sh*t My Dad Says (warning, many tweets are NSFW), has landed a TV deal. According to The Hollywood Reporter, CBS has picked up a comedy project based on the account and enlisted the Will and Grace co-creators to produce and help write the show.
Wow.
Lemons Into Lemonade
Halpern was forced to move back in with his parents in August and decided to launch the Twitter account based on the often-hilarious quotes offered up by his father. The quotes range from “The baby will talk when he talks, relax. It ain’t like he knows the cure for cancer and he just ain’t spitting it out,” to topics that are far more profane. The account quickly grew in popularity as people began retweeting almost all of Halpern’s posts.
As far as instant Internet celebrity goes, Halpern nailed it. He came up with a simple, creative idea, and took advantage of a viral-ready platform to help give it life. I won’t pretend that he was incredibly strategic in his approach – I seriously doubt he set out to ink a TV (and book) deal – and obviously there’s no formula for recreating his success.
But stories like these (this is the second Internet meme to be offered a TV pilot this year) showcase the increasing influence of new media tools, and, perhaps, the growing desperation of traditional media outlets.
If you’ve been ignoring this shift in media, it’s time to start paying attention. These tools are a viable, affordable option for communicating your simple, creative ideas.
And who knows, you may even get a TV deal out of your efforts.
Is Facebook Played?
A recent PC World article declared that Facebook is past its prime and preparing to pull a MySpace-like fall from the public’s use, affection and attention.
Author Hillary Rhodes says defection to Twitter, having too many friends, and the bloat of quiz updates littering news feeds all contribute to the site’s demise. While there is definitely some truth to her claims, I’m not sure that any of them are significant enough to bring down Facebook.
Rhodes bases her assumption on the fact that people who actually take the time to update their Facebook profile have nothing better to do. Twitter users are mobile – they’re not tied to their computer. People who have lives don’t waste time letting their “friends” and “fans” know about what they’re up to. Active people don’t have time to generate meaningful, enjoyable content for their friends to peruse.
This points to a basic misunderstanding of how people use Facebook. Today, there are few better options for creating and managing an event and invite list, sharing and tagging photos with friends or connecting with long-lost classmates or colleagues. Even if I only make an initial contact, sending nary a status update their way, there is still value in “friending” a person that I might have never been able to find before.
Additionally, for companies, Facebook provides opportunities to interact with your customers or clients that far surpass what is possible on Twitter. A company’s page can help create connections between fans, foster discussions that go beyond what can be communicated in 140 characters or less, share and tag photos and videos of products or team members and, perhaps most importantly, track the activity and membership of your page.
No matter how much I love and use Twitter, these features will keep me coming back to Facebook on a regular basis.
Now, if Facebook starts allowing people to “pimp” their profiles or I get a bunch of friend requests from scantily clad women in Vancouver, all bets are off and I’m moving on.
What I do
So, did you hear that I got into a Twitter fight yesterday?
I didn’t really know such a thing was possible until this weekend. I felt like Andy Bernard – “I’m not sure — but I’m pretty sure I’m in a Twitter fight.”
The whole situation got a little blown out of proportion. And I certainly helped fuel the fire.
At the core of the “duel,” as Paul Smith stated, was a miscommunication about who Shea wanted to ball-punch and what it is that I do. Had this been resolved within one or two tweets, the whole (admittedly enjoyable) situation could have been avoided.
Based on a number of comments I received yesterday, even after my post and ensuing responses, it’s clear there is still a lack of clarity about what it is I do exactly. So I’d like to explain real quickly.
My title at Greteman Group is “digital brand manager.” Simply, this means that I’m responsible for developing strategic ways for clients to leverage digital media and managing digital projects that come through our office. A big portion of my time is spent educating and equipping people in the realm of social media – obviously the hottest digital topic right now. That education involves presentations (not classes) to professional organizations and companies about what social media is, why it’s valuable, who’s using it and how to use it to enhance your brand, product or service.
That last part, the “how,” is where people get caught up and threaten my genitals. I want it to be clear that at no point during our presentations do we walk people through how to set up a Twitter account. How to tweet their thoughts. How to add a picture. Instead, we focus on objectives that can be accomplished with these tools. This strategic insight combined with our creative prowess is what people are paying for. (Sidenote: In no way does this make us social media experts. We eschew that title and firmly agree that no one can wear that title and maintain any credibility.)
If there’s still confusion about our presentations or if you think I’m still deserving of a loin-thrashing, let me know with a comment below.
Another sidenote: There was some talk yesterday about my delivering the presentation to a tweetup, and unfortunately I don’t think that’s possible. However, I am speaking at this month’s Broadcast Media Professionals of Wichita luncheon on Tuesday, May 26 at the Art Museum. I don’t know how much it costs or if it’s open to non-members, but you can contact Julie Eddy at Clear Channel Outdoor if you want more information.
Constant Vigilance
This weekend, quite a protest erupted around Amazon’s removal of more than 57,000 books – originally said to be primarily gay– or lesbian-themed – from its catalog of search results. Users tweeted their disapproval, tagging their updates with “#amazonfail,” which quickly became the hottest topic on the site.
And amazingly, Amazon was silent. No response. No explanation. Just silence.
Until Monday evening, when company spokesperson Drew Herdener said that it was just “an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error.” They’ve since provided more insight into what they think happened, blaming the glitch on a international mix-up with the terms “adult” and “erotic.”
Since coming out with this explanation (three days later), the Twitterverse has responded with two new hashtags: “#sorryamazon”. and “#glitchmyass.” It appears Amazon’s work may not be complete.
Learn From Their Mistake
This story highlights the importance of constantly listening to what’s being said about your brand through social media. Companies that choose to ignore the “social media fad” are going to miss out on huge opportunities to know how people feel and think about their products. And, more importantly, lose the chance to influence that opinion in a meaningful way.
We’re not naïve. We know that marketing managers are already strapped for time. And the thought of weekend-Twitter-watching probably ranks up there with budget forecasting for most people. But with the right tools and processes in place, it can become manageable. And, who knows, once you dive in, it might even become enjoyable.
Have you come across any clever tricks for monitoring all the conversations?
Will You Be My Friend?
With Facebook crossing the 200 million-member mark on Wednesday, it’s clear our inboxes will never be the same. I’m receiving emails from my relatives, college professors and business colleagues that I met at a professional association luncheon, inviting me to be their “friend.”
Don’t get me wrong; I like most of the people that send these requests. But am I really their friend?
The social networking phenomenon has created this weird middle ground between acquaintances and friendships. I know quite a bit about these people that I’m connected with, but we certainly aren’t what I would consider traditional friends. We don’t get together to hang out a lot. We aren’t chatting all the time. But I do care about what is happening in their lives.
These nebulous relationships create some potentially awkward professional situations. For example, what if your boss asks to be your friend? Or what about a colleague from a rival company? Should you ignore? Decline? Accept?
An article in yesterday’s Wichita Eagle shared some helpful insight. Be sure to check it out.
But we want to turn to you, our loyal readers, for additional guidance. What recommendations do you have for managing your online presence? How do you determine who becomes a Facebook friend and who is a LinkedIn connection?