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Does retrospectiveness beget perspectiveness? I always get very pensive at this time of year as it's the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). It's an obvious moment for retrospection and "futurespection" (I'm coining that word!)—examining my life and who I am, assessing relationships, asking questions, setting goals and making plans. So, as I was working on my new website and pulling together resources for BrainWrap, I naturally revisited a bunch of old files and work from the days of yore. I pulled the post below—Getting Started—from the vault. It was my inaugural blog post from my first-ever (and long since retired) blog over eight years ago. Getting Started Just trying to figure this thing out. I’d love to say I’m tech forward, but let’s face it—I’m obviously not so much if I’m just jumping on the blogwagon right now. Actually, I have a large degree of first-adopter aversion, that’s it. I wait for the tried-and-true winners to emerge and all the first-generation kinks and glitches to be upgraded and enhanced the hell out. (I’m not a patient person, but I have more patience for “waiting for perfection” than for “dealing with issues.”) That’s why, from a technical perspective, I’m just putting this together. UH-huh, wink. Or maybe I just didn’t know what to say or what “voice” I want to say it in. Or couldn’t even think of committing to a writing endeavor with any regularity or consistency. My head’s a bouncy house of creative ideas. Haven’t really had any strong feeling of how I wanted to organize them. Til now-ish. I don’t know why now. But now. Anyway, I keep catching myself pondering the stupidities of humanity (specific things, not generalities) and the weirdities of nature (again, randomly-spawned but specific things). Lately more than usual, I think, or perhaps for some reason I’m just more cognizant of it. Daily commuting, working in the city, having lived in a lot of different places/situations and done a lot of jobs – all while being an uber-critically disposed person—is fodder for the mind. It’s like life is juicing me. I thought if I got these things down on paper (blog) I could either: Let them go and move on (yay! freeing!), or Get others to weigh in and collectively we could ponder (musery loves company). Or both I suppose. Don’t get me wrong, this is MY blog; but I like others’ two cents. It all adds up, and eventually totals something greater than two cents (my original mental seed money). Rereading previous pieces is really fun...and interesting. Through the lens of today—who I am and what I'm doing, the state of the world, the technological developments and so on—what's changed? Has anything changed? Have I grown and evolved as a professional, and more importantly, as a person? Looking back often makes me want to take stock of "here and now" and envision the possibilities for the future. (Anyone else? No, just me?!) While that blog was pretty much a stream of consciousness rant site—it was called Burnpaper, like you write something on a slip of paper, set it on fire and your worries and stresses go up in flames, and then blow away as ash in the wind—I do see similarities and differences between the "then" and the "now". In regards to Getting Started, here are some things that struck me: I think I'm not *quite* as snarky and critical as I used to be. Trust me—it's a serious work-in-process. I have to constantly WORK at being more positive. It's not my natural inclination. But it's like one of those proverbial muscles you have to exercise. And I CHOOSE to move through my life up rather than down. (Of course, I'm not gonna lie, it helps that I found a wonderful, loving and super supportive partner. He makes me laugh to the point that I'm doubled over and crying. I've never laughed so much in my life. More broadly, he helps me get perspective, focus my energies on what's truly important and not take myself so seriously. All in a very healthy, not-codependent, reciprocated way to be sure.) I'm still not a patient person. This is a perpetual struggle. But, hey, it's not always all about me. I'm a reasonable, intelligent adult and can just deal with it. People watching and pondering still fascinates me! I love seeing how different people look, think, express themselves. I like to compare and contrast (read = not judge, just observe). The older I get, the more I'm able to identify the things about others that I like, and adopt them in my own way. Conversely, I notice the things that don't serve others or the world around them well, and try not to embrace those characteristics and actions. At a minimum, you can get amazing ideas and inspiration by watching others in a diversity of environments! It can still be hard as heck for me to bring order to the chaos in my soul. I still have times when it's a challenge to wrangle those creative beasts into something coherent, meaningful and fully expressive on paper. I'm not anticipating an end to this. Oh well! You still won't see me nursing wounds I got from jumping on the bleeding edge of a tech wave. I'm too analytical...doing that cost/benefit analysis and comparison chart means I'm not so fast or spontaneous when it comes to latching on to the latest innovations. And, I'm very value-oriented; so I like to make my gadgety-goodies endure til they are not working for me anymore before shelling out hard-earned shekels on new stuff. Cutting-edge technologies are immensely interesting to learn about (especially how they're implemented and solving problems), but to include them in my daily life I need the kinks worked out and the costs to come down. Other people's feedback and opinions are still valuable to me. Not in terms of defining my own identity, thoughts or self-worth. But they help me learn and progress. They widen and enhance my understanding. They open me up to opportunity and hope. It's why I try to ask questions in my blog posts and solicit comments. Has this been your experience, too? I'm pretty happy with my personal and professional trajectories. So I aspire to keep going in the same general directions. The next time I look back, I hope to see even more growth. In the interim, I just want to keep discovering and profit from the twists and turns life takes. Do you ever look back and do this kind of comparison? What did you discover? How often do you do this?

Below is something I wrote as part of the interview process for an internal communications position at a Bay Area company. While it can be a laborious task to complete pre-employment skills assessments, I totally see the merit. I got a chance to prove myself a little; but — perhaps more importantly — I had an opportunity to think about and articulate the purpose and value of the function to which I was applying to work. Also, hopefully it’s indicative of the value the company puts on this team and its mandate. Employee Communications adds value to a company by improving both the human condition and the bottom line of the organization. When a company prioritizes and provides resources for the internal communications function, these are some of the benefits that are realized: Happier employees. Employees who identify positively with their employer are more likely to perform better, work more cooperatively with colleagues, be healthier, have lower absenteeism, recommend the company as a workplace to others, and stay at the company longer. More informed employees. Spreading a consistent message across the workplace enables employees to operate from common knowledge. If everyone has the same (correct and current) information, fewer errors will be made and fewer good opportunities will be missed. Better employees. Happy, healthy workplaces don’t stay a secret. They are the places at which people want to work. Thus, these employers attract the superstars who will produce more/better results than their lower caliber industry peers. Lower operating costs. While employing top-tier employees may cost more, it is offset by the reductions in areas like HR spend (e.g., recruiting, training, termination costs), productivity losses due to vacancy/onboarding periods, healthcare claims, and so on. Higher revenues. Smarter, more talented, dedicated employees can excel at innovation in all areas of the workplace. With a more operationally efficient business and superior products/services to offer the marketplace, the company can gain and exploit advantages for financial success. As you can see, it’s a bit of a self-perpetuating cycle: Better people who are better equipped to conquer modern business challenges → More/better products/services created in a streamlined organization → Greater net profits and reputation. This win-win scenario can be attained through diligent work; enculturation of open dialogue, honesty, trust, and compassion; and executive-level buy-in. Ultimately, Employee Communications foster the continuity, development and morale of a company's human capital. It also facilitates the best possible financial position and public image for the company. In your opinion, what is the value of employee communications? How can good/bad internal comms affect an organization? What kinds of things do you (or your employers) do to provide effective/improve employee communications?

Welcome to WrapUp, a series of Q&A-based posts! My primary goal is to “learn something I can directly apply to my professional life.” For this series I’ll be interviewing or surveying a variety of folks on topics related to job roles (e.g., community manager, event manager, brand strategist) and to functions/processes (e.g., marketing automation, analytics, design) that relate to my professional scope. Feel free to contact me if you want to be interviewed! I kicked off this series with the perspectives of the very talented Albert Qian. Albert is a social media and digital marketing professional with a background in the high tech sector. He’s passionate about helping others attain employment in the field of marketing as well as assisting small businesses and start-ups with their social media through speaking and freelancing. You can follow Albert on Twitter and check out his LinkedIn profile. Define “Community Manager.” AQ: A CM is someone who manages an online community around a particular topic. They are someone who manages the conversation, handles customer support, creates conversation, and measures the ROI of the community as it relates back to the business. This is not so much a revenue center for any business, but a support function. Online communities, offline communities, either, both, or blended approach – thoughts, preferences, pros/cons? AQ: I think you need to have both. People function best face-to-face, so being able to integrate the two is ideal. I prefer to have both. What are the best/worst aspects of being a CM? AQ: The best aspect about being a community manager is being a resource-driver. If you aren’t driving resources, you aren’t doing your job. The worst part is trying to keep up with everything everybody is saying. What methods have you found useful to increase the size, engagement and reach of your communities? How do you get passive members to become active participants, contributors, and community champions/ambassadors?  AQ: The best method is organic. When running a community, it’s important to share what you are but also to deliver a value-add to someone’s life. You have to be able to really sell others on why they should be in your community. In the community you build passive members into champions by giving them good case studies to work from, like landing a successful job, getting connected, etc. What do you think will be the “next BIG thing” in the world of communities/community management? Developing trends to track? AQ: I think communities ARE the next thing. You can take a look at this from two separate areas. First, the collaborative economy (e.g., Lyft, Airbnb, Meetup) has brought people together to share ideas, things, and much, much more. People are coming offline from doing online things and getting to know each other over it as well. Second, with social networking now reaching its apex in terms of who comes out ahead (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), there’s not much room for another network to spring up and take over the reins, nor should they. I believe the second coming of social networking will be a greater rise in niche networks. We’ve already seen some evidence in this with sites like Ravelry (people who knit), Etsy (people who make stuff and sell it), and more. These communities supplement mainstream social networks and may even replace them at some point when people discover that they need to focus in order to get their greatest ROI (which can be anything from personal happiness to money). What community management tools do you recommend for hosting, managing, analyzing, etc. communities? AQ: Some tools: Facebook Groups – A great tool actually since all you have to do is create the community and people will come so long as you market. Blogging tools – You can blog on your own or use WordPress. Meetup.com – If you want to bring your community into the live time. Words of advice to other CMs? To community members?  AQ: The biggest lesson a CM can learn is that communities do not belong to the CM; they belong to the community. If you build it they will come, but it’s the members who decide if they want to stay. So, the more reasons you give them to stay and the more you let them run the punch bowl, DJ and photo booth, the more they are likely to stay. Thanks Albert! Please note: This was originally published in June 2014 on a previous blog of mine. But—as the content (with a few tweaks) is evergreen—I'm recycling it here. :-)

I once interviewed at Joe’s startup. He asked me to “write a half page on the ROI of hiring someone like you to do marketing.” (Specifically, the aspects of marketing they’d want me to focus on were PR, social media (including community), web, content, and communications.) Joe, who recognizes the need for a full-time person dedicated to marketing activities, wanted something to bring to his CEO to justify the need for another body in the office and suckler on the company payroll. I thought this was a fair request as start-up resources can be tight and bootstrapping necessitates squeezing soup from stones. When I started looking into it, I discovered it wasn’t so easy to crack the ROI nut. Apparently it’s a hot topic. Folks are debating which algorithms to use, what formulas are antiquated, the best tools for tracking and analyzing, which platforms to leverage for which audiences, the best indicators to track…. They are swapping stories and sharing case studies. It’s a lot to dig through and piece together some sort of coherent generalized idea. Ultimately, lacking more info about Joe’s company and any concrete methodologies or figures from my online searches about ROI, I sent him the following. I’ve been doing some research on the “marketing ROI” topic. Without knowing more about your company’s KPIs, it’s hard for me to really determine ROI of hiring a person like me. That said, here are some things to consider: PR In many ways PR can be high-touch. It requires a lot of time-consuming outreach and relationship building with media outlets. On the plus side, PR can result in broad and quick recognition and may be easier to track and analyze than other marketing activities. However, it requires someone to be dedicated to this discipline and regularly plan, execute, and analyze campaigns. Marketing Content & Communications I can assure you that your company needs quality content. Be it blog posts, email copy, social media responses and updates, marketing collateral—you can’t run a business without it in this era. Furthermore, the content needs to convey consistent messaging and be audience oriented (i.e., different topics and voice for partners vs consumers). It also needs to be well written in terms of grammar/language mechanics and semantics/word choice. Again, it requires someone with the right skill set to focus on this. Web / Social Media Web and social media are platforms for conveying PR campaigns and content. For the most part, ROI for social media is hard to define and track. However, it’s one of those need-to-have facets of any comprehensive, integrated marketing program. At minimum, it boosts brand and yields higher quality leads/customers and usually lowers costs associated with product launches, customer service and support, etc. So, to sum it up, you need to think of marketing spend in two ways: partly as an investment and partly as a cost of doing business. On the investment side, you’re fortifying your brand, building an engaged and mobilized community, expanding your reach, amplifying traffic, and so on. Your dollars are going toward building for longevity. From the cost of doing business perspective, the minimum bar has been raised. Without social, PR, content, etc. (aka a comprehensive and integrated marketing stack), you are losing existing and prospective customers and partners. Once marketing goals are set, benchmarks can be determined and progress/productivity of the marketing budget (e.g., ROI) can be measured. And, you need someone to be doing all these tasks on a regular basis for it to be meaningful and worthwhile. For whatever reason, I didn't end up getting that job. But, this is such a critical business concept for folks at all levels and in all roles to consider. Everyone needs to understand how they add value and why their function is important. I think more successful people lift their faces from the page (ok, screen) to see the broader picture of how all the disparate pieces fit together, and how every one of us can make the business (or project, organization, process, etc.) run better. What are your thoughts on the subject of marketing ROI? Or the ROI of any sub-component, like social media? Do you have any other info I could have included? How do you determine your marketing ROI? Is there a difference to establishing marketing ROI for B2B vs B2C?

The following is a blog post I did a few years ago. What's interesting, though, is that—while technology and society have marched on—the considerations I discuss are ever-relevant, maybe even more so. Read on and see for yourself. I recently watched The Innovation of Loneliness (video below) and read Policing Twitter – Can the existing legal system cope with the technological age?. They got me thinking about creating and managing one’s online presences and what they say about the person and how they can impact that person’s life. I recommend you check these two pieces out now, before continuing to read on here. Go ahead, I’ll wait, it’ll just take a few minutes…. The Innovation of Loneliness Crafting Your Social Persona(s) The first red flags appear when you are establishing your online profiles. You might have some for professional purposes and others for personal use. (There are legitimate reasons for segmenting your personas; I get that and agree and do this myself.) Each one is just a slice or contrived representation of You (with a capital ‘Y’). Then, when you actually start contributing to the platform, you’re posting cherry-picked images and text. How are people supposed to get close to one another and have meaningful rapports when the online ‘self’ is manufactured? There’s no spontaneity or unedited anything. Reflecting upon the Courtney Love scenario in Policing Twitter (and the many news stories on pre-teens joining Facebook without physiologically having the intellectual capabilities to grasp the full impact and longevity of what they post), I started wondering if it is really so bad to say crazy, random, uncouth, ignorant, or inarticulate things on one’s social streams. Or, at least, what’s worse: no filtering what you share or too much composing of your prose and pics? Does working towards a ‘happy medium’ by definition still compromise your ability to present your true self? Impact On Self, Impact On Others In the video, Cohen talks about connections vs conversations. Social networks let you be ‘surrounded’ by many more people than in-the-flesh allows, but we are still lonelier on average. This is a quality vs quantity issue. Your interactions are more superficial, spreading ever thinner over a greater surface area. With an ability to edit down to the best presentation of yourself, you are censoring what others can know of you. And, all too often, what people post is either inane, total BS, or regurgitation of someone else’s content (or some combo of the three…). Perhaps looking at status updates et al can be a great way to keep tabs on long-lost or far-flung friends, family, and colleagues; but where’s the grit? How are you to get the in-depth intimacy that is a hallmark or close, enduring, productive, high quality relationships? Social Media Diet I have a friend who on occasion goes on a self-imposed ‘Facebook Diet’ during which he doesn’t interface in any way with his FB account for an entire month. After the Loneliness video and Policing Twitter article, I’m seeing more merit in his approach. It may seem weird to propose this as I’m a digital marcom professional and I’m presenting this in a blog (which I will promote on Twitter, Facebook, and G+ soon!). I guess the idea of a SMD isn’t really intended to be so dramatic as to go cold turkey. As with food, alcohol, etc., the key is to moderate. Restore appropriate balances. Live a holistically healthy and well rounded life. This – for most of us – means putting down a gadget or stepping away from a keyboard. For a period of time on a regular basis. Maybe establish some boundaries for yourself (e.g., specific days/hours you allow yourself to be on social networks, limiting the number of networks/posts, etc.). It seems a bit ‘old school’ or ‘retro’ but the alternatives to online environments can be awesome. It is nice to have a phone call or video chat with someone. Or even better, meet up for coffee or cocktails or a few laughs at the comedy club. I know I feel much more gratified by: hugging my mom than sending her an email greeting, seeing my boyfriend smile than a happy face emoticon in a text message, gossiping with the girls over brunch than swapping one-liners on a social platform. These things recapture and exalt real human ties and all the associated warm fuzzies. Personal contact gives you an opportunity to take time and care with getting to know others. It enables you build powerful relationships for the long term. That is so worth it!

Ok, so what's below is from an old blog post, circa 2014ish. But I think the take-aways (scroll alllll the way down to the bottom) are still spot on; and you can extrapolate and apply to any new-to-you thing. Plus, it's cheeky and makes me think about my mom (and that makes me smile 🙂). For many months my mom had been talking about getting a smartphone. This leap into the modern age was highly encouraged by my boyfriend, a mobile tech enthusiast. After much research and back-and-forth discussion, my mom recently kicked her dumb feature phone to the curb. Now, you have to understand that my mom — though a lovely, educated, world-aware, smart lady — is NOT computer savvy. I love and respect the woman beyond expression; but geez she’s called me up at work before to ask how to copy-paste and has a pinboard (read = not Pinterest) by her computer on which she’s written down shortcuts (like Ctrl+C = Copy). Given my mom’s facility with tech, getting her onto the new phone was…is…continues to be…challenging…for all involved. However, I think we did a few things to mitigate the pain as much as possible and help pave the way for success. Prepare — We started discussing options far in advance of my mom upgrading. This was crucial because she would be switching hardware, phone plans, and provider. So many variables — all offering more and new options since the last time mom was in the market for a phone — can be overwhelming, or at least, a lot to adjust to. Allowing time gave her a chance to look into her options, ask questions, internalize the information, and get comfortable with the idea of having new gear. Educate — The pace of tech innovation is nuts! So, we had to do research to find the best phone, plan, provider, and peripherals available for my mom’s specific set of needs and wants. My boyfriend and I basically interviewed my mom to determine her phone habits (how and how much she used the phone), why she wanted a smartphone, etc. We also verified what networks have strong coverage in her area. Doing this legwork narrowed down the viable selection of phones and plans to a manageable amount, and we could be confident that whatever we picked would be a good fit for my mom. Select Wisely — Ultimately we opted for a phone and carrier combo that offered the best value and feature set for mom’s needs and budget. We chose a Windows phone because the user interface and operating system are a bit more straightforward. This ease of use will go a long way! We released her from the grip of those terrible cell phone contracts, and got her more for the same amount of money, on a pre-paid calling plan that provides unlimited talk, text, and data usage and has good coverage in her area. Personalize — Before unleashing my mom phone-in-hand, we transferred her number from her old phone to the new one and configured the basic settings (like setting up her email client to link to her email) such that they would be easiest (as we saw it) for my mom. No need for her to really stress out having to learn to do that stuff — stuff she’d do maybe once. Next we adjusted the home screen to only include what she’d need and put the most frequently used apps higher up on the screen. Lastly, my mom and I went through and tweaked little things like the call volume and ringtone. Accessorize — It was necessary to trick out the phone with all the proper accouterments. This was partly for practicality and partly because my mom has dragon lady nails, an impediment to being able to use a touch screen apparently. Mom and I had some fun picking out a case that was both protective and pretty. We got her screen protector films to keep scratches and greasy fingerprints to a minimum. And, some little dust-plug styli will help to counteract her fingernail-screen challenge. Train — This is so key. While the bf and I LOVE a constant barrage of “How do I ___ on my phone…?” emails/calls, we figured all would be happier if my mom could be self-sufficient. Based on what she’d told us earlier about how/why she uses her phone, we showed her how to do the basics: make and answer calls, check voicemail, use the camera and share pics, etc. As the new phone has more capabilities, it makes sense that she should be able to leverage the apps. So, we taught her how to text, email, use the GPS, etc. and when/why you might use one communication method over another (e.g., texting vs calling someone). Lastly, we made sure she knew how to adjust various settings, like in-call volume and home screen apps. It was great to see the cloud of confusion on her face transform to a look of accomplishment and empowerment! She still reaches out for assistance, but less frequently. (And, when she does, she’s now using the right vernacular, is asking via text messages, and is grasping the knowledge much more quickly. Way to go mom! 🙂) It was great to see the cloud of confusion on her face transform to a look of accomplishment and empowerment! I think there are some important take-aways from this experience: When embarking on making a change, do a needs assessment and learn what alternatives are out there before jumping on a “solution.” The planning and pacing will pay off. Always be open to learning and give new things a wholehearted try. Similarly, don’t abdicate your position as a teacher/mentor/leader. Everyone plays both roles at one time or another, and rightly so. Acknowledge there will be frustrations along the way, but perseverance and determination will get the goal-oriented to success. This is an age-old adage for a reason…. When working with others, strive for everyone understanding the objectives, the milestones, their roles and responsibilities, etc. Encourage and allow people be part of the process. The outcomes will be better and folks will be more satisfied. Do NOT teach your mom how to take a #selfie.

Welcome to my blog! I’m a huge advocate of trying to articulate expectations right from the start. Everyone deserves to be set up for success (me as the writer) and satisfaction (you as the reader) . While I hope to not just add more clutter to the contentverse, this blog is a writing, thinking and processing exercise for me. It's a way for me to delve deeper into the issues relevant to my professional and personal lives, the world I'm bobbling about in and how it all ties together at the macro level. While practicing my craft. Hopefully it will be a fun or productive or thought-provoking ride for all. Posts will be my musings (read = more POV-based than heavy-research based posts) on Social Media, Marketing, Communications, Business, Digital, Tech, Innovation, and related cultural/environmental impacts and influences. Plus anything else I feel like writing and sharing. I'll try to include a variety of topics and media to keep it interesting and you engaged. I'm guessing it'll be a mixed bag! It would be awesome for this blog to be a truly living document. For that to happen, I need YOU. Please share comments and feedback. I wholeheartedly respect your right to have and convey differing perspectives. You are encouraged to share–that’s what enriches the experience for everyone and pushes us to learn and understand even more profoundly. All I ask is that you: Keep it clean: No profanity or vulgarity—comment like your mom, teacher, boss, judge, spouse, child, religious leader, etc. is gonna read it. Stay on topic: If post is about SEO, puh-lease(!) don’t comment on the "creative" punctuation in previous comments. Be as succinct as possible: 'Nuf said. Respect others: My site/blog, my rules. And respect is paramount and non-negotiable. I retain ultimate editorial rights and will censor (read = delete, alter, redact) comments that violate my stated terms. Thanks and enjoy!