02 · 22

Note to the Media: It's 'Visits', Not 'Hits'

This is one of my digital 'sticking' points. I was watching Oprah this morning and she cited a YouTube video that accrued 'Five Million Hits'. I couldn't help but to groan.

Why?

In most cases, tv personalities, news anchors and producers actually mean 'visits', not hits. The term 'hit' actually devalues the metrics someone is trying to convey.  A hit can simply mean that a web page appeared after someone clicked over to said page. These hits could also have a large bounce rate, meaning a user clicked to the page, didn't see something they liked and turned away quickly, in some cases, under a minute.  In addition, there are various ways to count the visit. Did the page load? How much of the page loaded? How much of the video actually played? 

Not so black and white now, is it?
02 · 22

How the Chicago Police Department Could Use Social Media

Chicago_police

Chicago startup, Everyblock, took a healthy stab at making police reports public, enabling interested parties to know what's going on in their backyards. This is a logical move in getting information out to the public, but I think the Chicago Police Department can do more.

Now and then, our household gets phone calls from members of the Fraternal Order of Police. Just yesterday, we received a phone call from a nice gentleman who was asking about donations to buy bullet proof vests. Yes, bullet proof vests. I'm not sure if this phone call came from the FOP or from an affiliate organization, Michael picked up the phone. With a baby in his hand and me running errands, he couldn't chat too long. After hearing about his experience with the phone call I thought, 'Couldn't they raise some cash using social media'?

So I started digging around. After some unscientific research, here are some immediate ideas that come to mind for how CPD can take advantage of social media:

Facebook
The Chicago Police Department has a Facebook page. With over 7,000 fans, the admins behind the page post updates regarding gun control and other important CPD topics they think we should no about. What I don't see is a two-way dialogue between the fans and the cops.  I can see how this is an overwhelming task, given how large Chicago is - so why not divide the Facebook page up by precincts?  This would make things alot more manageable and important neighborhood CAPS meetings could easily be viewed by neighbors.

Twitter
There is indeed a CPD Twitter account, but it hasn't been updated since May. By reactivating their Twitter activity, along with including lists of precincts, CPD could instantly become a daily source for Chicagoans across the city.  The CPD should take a look at how  @JoetheCop uses Twitter. Joe is a police officer and does a bang-up job of keeping Chicagoland digerati up to speed on stories. Joe spoke at my recent Gals' Guide Summit and was a wealth of knowledge.

Online Fundraising
Instead of the phone calls that are being made to raise money for those vests, why not institute an online campaign using a service like ChipIn? I receive numerous invites to donate to friends' Breast Cancer walks. These donations live on an individual walker's profile. This same technology can be instituted for the Fraternal Order of Police, for example.

Brand Building
That's right, I said 'brand'. The Chicago Police Department, like other organizations, is a brand. I'm the kind of citizen that actually likes to know my cops. A few men in blue live in my building, so I have the good fortune of saying hello, asking how their day was and getting the scoop on neighborhood news.  Getting to know the people behind the uniform is a big piece of community building. Creating some sort of basic profile of local, beat police officers could do wonders for community ties. Maybe it's a Ning page.  Privacy is a concern, of course, but including basic information such as precinct, beat, hometown, favorite pizza joint, etc. can't hurt.

iPhone App
I'd love the ability to use my phone to report a crime, namely crazy drivers.

Should any member of the CPD want to chat further, I live up the street from the 1st District police station. 

Signed,
Your Neighbor
02 · 21

The Ricky Gervais Show: A Smart Way to Repurpose Content

Ricky_gervais

As I peruse the new HBO shows this season, I came across 'The Ricky Gervais Show'. Having already a received a heads-up of this new series at the Gervais-hosted Golden Globe Awards, I was interested. Gervais is hysterical.

When I learned what the show actually was, I thought, 'Brilliant'. Originally a series of podcasts, The Ricky Gervais show is now an animated series - taking the audio from the podcasts that already aired years ago. Interesting fact: the original podcasts earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most downloaded podcasts.

What makes this interesting is that Gervais and crew recognized that a) they are funny b) people like their content and c) many folks still don't know what podcasts are

So...

Why not take the content that put them in a record book, add some fun animation and repurpose as a series on HBO? New audience and a new stream of  revenue. Voila.

Another example of repurposing content? 37 Signals. They've turned their start-up tips into a popular eBook and are coming out with a new how-to guide for entrepreneurs.
The next time you think your 'old' content can't be redone for a new audience, think again.
02 · 19

An App for the Little Black Dress

As I flipped through 'shape' magazine, I came across this full page ad: an app for getting your girlie figure in shape for that little black dress..complete with videos.

Photo

Sent from my iPhone

02 · 18

What A Chicago Alderman Does and What Should Change

Pastedgraphic

The big buzz in Chicago today is interesting: our Mayor posted an online 'ad' to find two replacement aldermen for the 1st and 29th Wards. I'm  a fan of this method - let the public know about a position and enable them to apply accordingly. What is missing from this process is the 'what' behind what an alderman's $100+ salary is supposed to accomplish?
The job application asks potential aldermen to ensure they don't owe the city any cash, have not been convicted of a crime, lived in the ward for a year, etc. As I scoured the press looking for such job descriptions, I came up empty. As a voting member of city council, it befuddles me as to why I can't seem to find detailed job requirements - especially when an alderman can change the shape of one's neighborhood (new bar opening, new condo going up, new stop light at elementary school).
I've lived in Chicago since 1998 and have done work in my own ward, the 2nd. From what I understand, aldermen do everything from review new business applications,  question developer proposals, approve rezoning requests, install stop lights and keep in close contact with the police department. I also know that the entire constituency of a ward can and should contact the alderman for whatever issues they have. These issues include everything from lack of parking places to construction workers that begin tinkering away at a new high-rise at 7:30 am.
As the Mayor looks to appoint two new members of the 50 Aldermen Crew in Chicago, may I suggest the following enhancements to the whole aldermanic system:
-list all of the duties expected of an alderman
-easily make the voting history of each alderman public and online
-ensure that each ward office has ample staff to answer emails/requests from all members of the ward
-reach out to both renters and owners, educating them on the ins and outs of the ward
-educate residents as to what fundraisers actually do
-conduct bi-weekly or monthly ward meeetings
-create an iPhone app for each ward, enabling immediate requests/questions sent to each ward's central office
-require each ward to have an up-to-date web site, utilizing the latest social media/community tools

Anyone else have any suggestions?
02 · 16

Confessions of A Recovering Measurement-aholic

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 Bring back the excel spreadsheets, pivot tables, data warehouses and three-a-day ROI check-ins.I'm on an exploratory mission to see what happened to tracking online activity for all digital media.
Let's go back a few years. I would go to work everyday and the first thing I did was boot up my PC and run reports. Massive, immense reports that tracked every single click and impression that worked on behalf of Orbitz' eMarketing campaigns. From affiliate marketing to email campaigns to our banner buys, every activity was filtered down into reports. These metrics dictated what optimization activities I would conduct that morning. I lived in URL tracking parameters, A/B tests, DFA tags and measuring the amount of time it took to purchase a plane ticket over a set amount of days.  It was one of the most rewarding parts of my job - I KNEW what happened as a result of that media buy I approved or the tracking tags that I sent over to our partners at Big Search Giant, Large Sports Network, Big Ad Network, etc.
It was addicting. I realized that I'm still addicted to numbers.
Fast forward to present day. I know that media planners and eMarketing teams continue to run these same numbers daily, proving the value of their digital strategies. Why can't these same principles be applied to social media?
Yes, I know tracking the ROI of social media isn't as simple as tracking a paid banner buy, but I'm on a quest to bring back the tracking accountability that made the web what it is today. For example, it is possible to track the amount of time someone visited your site, selected an action (say 'Become a Fan'), lingered on that link and then visited your Facebook page. From there, couldn't we then track the conversion rate of that same person becoming a fan? Take things a step further and track the activities of your fans, by segments (I love segments), to see what Fan Perks whet their digital palettes.
Another example. Tie in the paid and non paid keywords that bring folks to your site and line those up with the social media actions you want people to take. Do they match up? If they didn't match up, what do you need to optimize the landing pages of your site to ensure that folks follow you on Twitter or hand over their email address?
Addicting, isn't it?:)
02 · 09

The Latest in Digital Spam: Twitter Hashtag Hijacking

Le_web
To Twitter users, the hashtag isn't a new concept: attend an event and use a hashtag with any given word or phrase to organize tweets from the said event. For example, if you were at a big gathering of pizza lovers, you might use the hashtag <#pizza> in your Twitter stream. Fellow attendees of that event, along with observers, can follow discussions by simply following the #pizza designation. This practice comes in handy during large conferences, blogger events or live chats.

Event organizers are taking hashtags to another level, in the form of displaying a large screen at an event, keeping track of the live hashtag conversation for all to see. The image in this post comes from the Le Web conference in Paris. In the last month, I've experienced or seen six separate examples of Hashtag Hijacking: where someone deliberately uses an event's hashtag to have their tweets (often disgruntled) show up and 'crash the party'. 

Example at the Pizza Event:

"I hate pizza in general, why have a party about it?" #pizza
"I'm having a party at 123 Maple Lane! Leave that party and come to mine!" #pizza
"*(&(*&(*&(*&(*&(*&*(&(*_)(_)()_!!!!!" #pizza

I don't know the answer to stop these practices, but I do see them occuring more often - and it's unfortunate. The hashtag was meant to connect people on one topic of discussion, but is now being used to disrupt that conversation and draw attention to the Hijacker.

Have you experienced this lately? How have you  mitigated the situation?

02 · 07

Interview: Bill Kurtis and the Future of Media

I had the good fortune of meeting Bill Kurtis at the opening of Columbia College's Media Production Center (look for video and pictures of that event soon). Always a fan of history and meeting people that paved the way for the likes of me, let's just say I was gushing behind my Flip.

A seasoned journalist, Mr. Kurtis provides his own POV on what undergraduates need to know and how media is changing. Note, he mentions 'individual work stations', which to many of us means podcasting, ala the likes of Leo Laporte's studio in Petaluma.

Thanks for the chat, Mr. Kurtis (no I can't seem to call him 'Bill').

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02 · 06

Every Person Needs a Geek in Their Life

Geek

Foursquare check-ins surpassed the 1 million mark - in one week. Who would have thought that folks are competing to be the Mayor of their local Target? 

Tools like Twitter, Dodgeball and Foursquare were initially used by a small number of niche technology and gadget enthusiasts. These are the same folks you may have made fun of in the grocery or airport security line. The same people that were staring into their PDAs, punching (tweeting) away and letting their friends know what they were doing. The same people that made you say, 'Why on earth would I want to tell people I'm standing in a slowly security line?'

As I sit typing this, a television commercial from a popular mobile company used the word 'apps' in their voiceover.

Entertainment shows like 'Access Hollywood' have a plethora of new content for their segments - celebrity tweets.

The President of the United States let me know that his DNC chat was happening in 20 minutes.

Pre-Chicago Primary, my Facebook inbox was flooded with local politicians inviting me to join their group or page.

The sooner you find that 'geek' in your life, the better. This person should serve as your connection to what's new in the gadget/tech/web site/social media world. As the developments continue, your Resident Geek will keep you posted of any pertinent changes along the way. Having a Go-To Geek also mitigates the problem of Information Overload that happens time and time again: trying to understand a concept, along with all of the nuances at one time.

I serve as that Geek to my husband, family, close friends and any clients I've served in a former and past life.

Who's your Geek?

image c/o Julia Roy

02 · 05

Behind the Scenes of the Nexus One

I recently had drinks with some friends that work at Google. Each of them had a Nexus One in their pocket. I had the chance to check out the interface first hand, while sifting around with the apps. With the short time I spent with the device, I was impressed. When it comes to innovation and technology, we are seldom exposed to the 'how' behind the way things were created.  Thanks to Mashable, I found this gorgeous series of videos documenting the concept of the Nexus One:


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