alyssagardina.com - blogs

Learning to fit your life

agardina — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:26:23 +0000

We're all busy. We have work, family, hobbies, exercise, cooking, networking and, of course, sleep! During that time, social media and technology are constantly evolving. You could stay up from dawn 'til dusk just reading blogs about Internet marketing. What's a busy marketer to do?

Luckily, there are resources, articles and insights almost everywhere you look:

Blogs - I spend hours every day going through blogs. I comb through mine in Googe Reader and on my iPhone using Net News Wire. Because the RSS feeds are aggregated in one place, I don't miss much if I have a busy day. Plus, wih Google Reader's share and like functions, I can find new blogs from my friends' recommendations and skim through blogs that update hundreds of times a day.
Podcasts - Podcasts are like blogs-on-the-go. They provide in depth insight on a variety of topics, and you can listen to them anywhere: in the car, at the gym, while on the train. Podcasts come in two forms: audio and video, so you can choose which media works best for your routine.
Email Subscriptions - monthly, weekly, daily - whenever you get them, email newsletters & subscriptions often offer highlights from some of the web's best blogs and publications. My favorite, CMO, sends me a list every Friday of some of the best social media and marketing stories of the week.
YouTube/Online Video - if you need to know something specific, YouTube has a plethora of interviews and screencasts to help you out and give you advice.
Forums - Forums can be subject specific, location-based, or even as all-encompassing as Twitter and Facebook. Yes, those are most definitely forums to me. Where else can I tweet that I'm having Drupal problems and, minutes later, have offers of help from several developers?
Books in all forms - ebooks, audio books, books made of paper and dead trees. They can provide insight into strategy, trends and best practices. What am I reading right now? The Rule of Three (Affiliate). Next on my list? Trust Agents (I'm behind, I know!) (Affiliate)
Google - when in doubt, Google it. Odds are, you'll find an answer in a wiki article, Q&A site or a blog you've never explored before.

Make sure that learning fits your life. Follow a variety of resources via different media, and don't neglect your personal interests. Do you love wine? Watch Wine Library TV, read Dr. Vino and follow people on Twitter who share similar interests. Being well-rounded will help you in networking, in meetings and in creating content for your own site.

How do you make learning fit your life?

(Thanks to @twistedraisin, @karla_porter, and #teamCJ for their help!)

Social Media Challange: What I've Discovered

agardina — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:18:35 +0000

I've been taking part in the Social Media Challenge for just over a week. During that time, other participants have shared interesting blogs and intriguing posts, and my Google Reader reading list has doubled. Interestingly, I've not only added posts that fit the Challenge's requirements, but also other blogs that may be more popular, but somehow never made its way onto my RSS reader.

Here's some of the more interesting things I've discovered because of the challenge:

Reading other people's blogs really encourages you to write. When I was reading the same blogs everyday, I wasn't being inspired. The content was solid, but it was repetitive. Now that I'm reading a wide variety of blogs, I'm finding more information that I want to explore myself.

Catching up on your RSS feeds gets a lot more interesting when you're driven to comment. I added another level to my personal Social Media Challenge - before I shared or tweeted a post, I'd comment on it. This practice has made me read more critically and take part in more online conversations.

I may never read every blog relevant to my industry and interests, but I can read a lot of them - and there are a ton sharing great information, written by people who really know what they're talking about. Maybe colleges should offer electives in Blog Reading 101 in addition to English Lit. Just sayin'.

If you're taking part in the Social Media Challenge, what have you learned so far? If you're not, catch up on all the posts we've shared!

Giving the public a voice - and what it means for your nonprofit

agardina — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:16:43 +0000

CNN's iReport, New York Times using Twitter to build commentary, it seems like major news outlets are turning more and more to citizen journalists for photos, videos and context for current events. Anyone with an iPhone or a Flip camera can now be the source for the next front page story. While the consequences for journalism are numerous, this trend will also have an impact on your nonprofit in a variety of ways:

Transparency
Even if your organization doesn't currently have a substantial online or social media presence, the rise of citizen journalism means an inevitable increase in the transparency of your industry, if not your organization. Attendees can share their experiences from your events and programs on their blogs, and now, even in major publications and on major news networks. A commentary on your use of funding may no longer be contained to Twitter, but can be a headline on CNN. Public relations moves from press releases to responsiveness plans, and knowing what people are saying about you becomes more critical than ever.

Listening
Which brings me to my next point. Social media aficionados love to tout the importance of listening as part of a social media strategy. However, even if your organization isn't ready to take the step into social media, it's still important to keep track of what's being said about you on these networks. Set up Google Alerts, check Twitter Search every now and then, and look through Flickr and YouTube after major events, programs or giving campaigns to see if any new content has shown up there. You may be able to head off a problem, provide customer service, or share in content with your perspective before it gets picked up by these big players.

Content creation
Who says you can't be your own citizen journalist? Now, I'm not saying to post content other a different name - be sure to own your brand and don't decieve the public. But, if you have quality video, photos or a story to tell, get that content out there. You can share content with publications to make their lives easier, but also get some press for your cause. It's a win-win situation - the first step is to sign up and start posting.

Citizen journalism isn't a fad, it's a longterm trend, and I believe it's here to stay. With preparation, listening and giving video or photos a shot, nonprofits can prepare for this next step in journalism.

Social media and nonprofits: don't try to go it alone

agardina — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:47:14 +0000

Nonprofits are often all about collaboration. Fundraisers, mailing, events, we're great at working together as a team when we're on deadline. When we're immersed in long-term projects, however, we often get so focused and immersed that teamwork is the last thing on our minds. I came in late to the #blogchat discussion on Twitter on Sunday night, but still had a really interesting discussion with some other nonprofiteers about who does social media for their organization.

If you're doing social media for a nonprofit, you're probably in the marketing or membership department (no offense to education, volunteers or accounting, them's just the facts). In addition to running Twitter, Facebook, a blog, Flickr and YouTube, odds are you're also taking care of reports, administration and plenty of other department-related tasks.

First, breathe.

You are not an island. You're more like a penninsula.

Second, don't be afraid to ask your coworkers for help. Sure, some may think that Twitter is just for talking about what you had for breakfast or that Facebook is for college kids. But here are some tips to get even the most technologically-afraid coworker contributing:

Start with blogging. Odds are good that someone else in your organization is writing grants, reports or guides. Give them the advice to write in smaller paragraphs, and ask that they send their post to you via email before posting it. Comb through it, add some links, include a photo, and (voila!) you've got a new voice and perspective on your blog.
Offer an incentive. This may otherwise be referred to as bribery, but it works. I've offered to bake cookies for anyone that posts on the blog - not exactly honest, but it gets people in the game.
Show concrete results. If you can show that you've gotten event RSVPs on Facebook, donations on Twitter or a great contact through LinkedIn, you've got their attention. Nonprofits are usually open to outside the box thinking, as long as you can show it's worth the time. Need some more reasons? I've got plenty.

Nonprofits have a lot to gain by building a presence on social media. Conversation, awareness, resources - they're all pretty much there for the taking. Working slowly but surely, you can get your coworkers involved and really build a stellar online presence. Questions? Contact me. I've got the bribery thing down.

(And yes, this is my first post in awhile. Pot calling kettle, I've been too busy. I'm back now, though, I promise!)

Social Media: I'm giving you one (or several!) good reasons

agardina — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:36:20 +0000

Growing up, my dad and I would always read Prince Valiant in the Sunday Comics. I never got that into it, but I vividly remember one comic, where Prince Valiant has to ask a difficult, almost unanswerable, question. He asks, simply, "Why?" The villian, unable to answer, gave up. The answer?

Because.

Why should you give social media a shot? Because! Okay, there are more detailed answers than that, but, when it comes down to it, social media is a great thing to try - it requires minimal financial investment and there are tons of resources online (like this site!) to help you along the way! More specifically:

Why blog?
Blogging is a great way to tell a story. It's easy to incorporate photos, videos and links, so you can connect it to other sites. Many organizations integrate their blog with their website. You can add several authors to a blog, so each person in the organization has a chance to contribute.

Why Twitter?
Reason #1 is because you can't afford not to. In the past year, Twitter's unique visitor count has grown 1,192.13%. Granted, user accounts are being opened and abandoned at high rate as well, but it's still growing - and is now the #3 social media network. Plus, Twitter's benefits, from conversations to a wide range of user search and metrics functions, make it a great place to start a social media campaign.

Why Facebook?
If you're going to start anywhere and you want something quick and easy, try Facebook's Pages. Facebook's system allows you to add information easily and select applications that are right for your page. The pages system was recently reworked, making it very similar to Twitter.

Why Flickr/YouTube/Vimeo/Blip.TV/etc.?
Odds are, your organization has a camera (whether it's 5 years old or older remains to be seen) or maybe even a camcorder. Start taking it with you to events and uploading what you capture. Your videos may be dark, your images blurry, but having a multimedia presence is more important than your photography skills. Plus, if your photos and videos are a hit, all the more reason to put in a reqeust for some new equipment!

Why social bookmarking?
Social bookmarking is just like regular bookmarking. If you're already using the tools your Internet browser provides, it's just one small step from there to sharing what you're saving. Start an account on Delicious or StumbleUpon and install the right Firefox add-on. (You are using Firefox, right?) Now you're bookmarking and sharing.

So go give it a try! Really! Got questions? Leave a comment or contact me!

Technology Terms Translated: Social Media in Plain English

agardina — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:17:50 +0000

I'll never forget the day I told my boss that we should probably be on Twitter. Actually, I may have said, "We should be Twittering!" - this always results in a raised eyebrow and a question as to whether the word "Twittering" is work-appropriate. If you've ever had a conversation like this, you know that social media technologies aren't easy to define. Thus, I present to you a Social Media to English dictionary, so the next time someone tells you that your organization should "do a blog", you can send them here!

Blogging
A blog is anything from an online journal to a series of articles ordered in a chronological fashion. Blog entries or posts are invidiual articles that often include photos, video and links. Popular blog platforms include Blogger and Wordpress.These are free tools, but can be improved for a very low cost. Blog readers will often subscribe to your blog and read it on another website, such as Google Reader.

RSS Feeds
On a related note, a quick definition of RSS Feeds. They're lifesavers. RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" and is a way for your readers to add your blog or podcasts to a website that automatically updates when you post.

Twitter
Twitter is completely its own entity. Some describe it as "micro-blogging" (as in, blogging in 140 characters or less), but it's much more collaborative than that. It's a cross between a blog, an away message and a conversation with a random person on the street. You can request a good Twitter how-to guide (free!) here. I'll go into more depth about Twitter in the future, but, in the meantime, try it out! Make a bio with a personal twist and use Twitter search to find people who are talking about your organization or your topic (i.e. Washington D.C. food banks).

Other basic Twitter terms:

Tweet: a message published on Twitter
DM: Direct message, or message that's sent to the user and not visible on Twitter
"@" or "at": A reply that's visible to others on Twitter but specially notifies the user whose name comes after @ (for example: @agardina would be a message that I would see!)
RT: Retweet. Sharing a link or a message that someone has already "tweeted" (see definition 1!)

Facebook
It's way more than college kids. Facebook's average users now include high schoolers, Baby Boomers, and everyone in between. It's a social network where people connect by "friending", or requesting a friendship with someone. Facebook also offers applications, pages and groups - all of which can be used for your organization! Pages share information, photos and events about your organization and allow Facebook members to become Fans and receive updates.

Podcasts
A podcast is an audio or video file that's distributed via the Internet. Similar to blogs, podcasts are shared and people can subscribe online or using a program like iTunes. While the term "podcast" makes it sound like this media is only meant for iPods, don't let that fool you! You can listen to podcasts on your computer, on any MP3 player and on many mobile phones! Podcasts are great for sharing interviews, providing audio tours, or putting together quick video pieces.

Social Bookmarking
I'm sure you've bookmarked something in the past - social bookmarking just shares those links you save with the public. Tools like Delicious, StumbleUpon and Digg help you share your content with a larger audience.

I know I've left something out - leave a comment with what I've missed or fill out the contact form and I'll get back to you with more info!