Monday Night Computer Skills Volunteer Experience

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I am a volunteer teaching senior citizens computer skills. Yesterday I had the pleasure of introducing them to the world of social media. It was an extremely gratifying experience as it enabled me to focus on how I saw Web 2.0 and how I used it to keep myself abreast of the latest worldwide and industry news. I cut "The Time Warner Cable Cord" a year and half ago. Using only the internet for Movies, Shows, and News can be challenging but services like @netflix @instant_netflix @hulu @YouTube @SouthPark @ScienceChannel and @cnnbrk helped. I still look to the day when all the shows I want to watch are video streamed from my EVO, HD TV, PS3, etc.  For Social Media industry news the ones to follow are @equalman @jowyang @GuyKawasaki @NealSchaffer @adamhirsch @jeffpulver and @mashable

 

In college I tutored technical Physics while studying for my engineering science degree. I very much enjoyed seeing how I could actually help people much older than I am and seeing how it inspired them to do better.  This experience was very similar to my present experience except that now I am teaching people about social media and how to take advantage of it.  Overall my experience has been a rewarding one and it has inspired me to start blogging again.  I will continue to give these social media lectures in my community. So stay tuned. Finally, check out my Introduction to Social Media presentation on http://slidesha.re/omQO8z

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OMMA Social Conference

I attended the OMMA Social Conference and got educated by of one of the biggest and most influential brands in the world, PepsiCo.  PepsiCo’s presentation by Bonin Bough, Director of Social Media and Digital, was the best, in my opinion.  I love the entire premise of what the “Refresh” campaign stands for: the chance to make the right choice.   This re-education of how businesses must act and react to customers is revolutionary.  A people-driven economy with an open social graph enables real engagement for the brands we have an affinity for. For instance I love SONY, Sprint, Burton, Pepsi, Ben Sherman and Zoo York and would welcome the opportunity to get closer to them to get better deals, give my feedback, and feel like I’m a part of their world.

There was also a ton of conversations around Paid vs. Earned Media.  I don’t have much experience around paid media, but I love the idea that I can create my own earned media.  Earned media, or free media, is favorable publicity gained through promotional efforts other than advertising.   We all have the tools to make an amazing brand, as Gary Vaynerchuk shows us in Crush It. Traditional marketing like billboards and magazine ads don’t cut in a conversational social world, they just broadcast their message instead of engaging us in it.  Consumers are so accustomed to their old school marketing techniques they have adapted and learned to ignore it.  This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” - Albert Einstein.  As we are continually presented with new technologies, new ways of thinking, and new ways, socially, to do business we must embrace it in order to move forward. 

Lastly, I wanted to highlight the “Whuffie Factor,” or internet currency.  There are many new ways in which incentives are being used for Social Advertising.  Users should be able to decide who they want advertising to them. For example, users will be able to get more “seeds” for Farmville by watching a video advertisement of their choosing.  This example, in essence, is targeted marketing with social in its DNA. Whuffie will present more socially driven opportunities for advertisers in the future - if they put both their users and their user’s ability to choose first in the equation. 

Overall, it was a great conference and I would attend more like it to keep on learning.