Intro – Jeanette Pham

Being loyal Summerfest-goers with digs in the Third Ward, the sōsh office was happy to hear that Summerfest was giving out free tickets to opening day on July 14^th.  We wasted no time printing our tickets, planning for a lunchtime outing to our favorite Milwaukee festival come summer.

But then the question came: Will we be able to find these tickets five months from now? Five people with five tickets and five months to misplace them? The odds aren’t great that we’re all going to be able to lay our hands on those printouts when the big day arrives.

Which got us thinking about how we would have implemented Summerfest’s very generous free opening day promotion – not only to alleviate the need to keep track of these printed passes, but also to better leverage the overall promotion to the benefit of both Summerfest and its fans. Here are some thoughts from our team:

Michelle D’Attilio

I went through the process of entering my contact information into the form which asks only for your email address and a company code. Initially I am thinking this is great, it’s a simple form and I think those are the best when you are reaching out to the masses. So I continue on and am taken to the page where I am told to print my ticket. Being a versed internet user, I know that I can do a quick Save As and just save my ticket, but I’m guessing a lot of people may not know this.

Here is where I feel the biggest misstep is: Regardless of whether I print my ticket or save the document, this event is 5 months away. I am likely to lose the ticket or forget where it’s been saved. It’s my impression that Summerfest has at least two goals with the promotion, one: to collect contact information of those who attend the fest; and two: to get as many people as possible through the gates on opening day.

Our solution: Collect cell phone numbers and distribute a scan-able code via text message days before the event. Think of it as you would your boarding pass for an airplane. That puts the ticket right in the palm of the fest-goer’s hand, when and where they need it.

Jeanette Pham

Once you have those cell phone numbers, it’s a natural to text updates to interested fans on the musical acts as they book with Summerfest. How great would it be to opt in for those updates, be the first to know who’ll be taking the stages, and have a handy link supplied to let you spread the news to your friends via social media? Summerfest could also include a direct link in the text updates to buy tickets for the Marcus Amphitheater shows, helping fans to purchase their tickets as soon as the act is announced. It’s a win for the fans, who are eagerly waiting to find out who’ll be performing, and it’s a win for Summerfest as they provide a great fest-goer experience even before Summerfest opens its gates with timely information delivered in a personal way and a means to spread the Summerfest message exponentially. Throughout Summerfest, ticket specials could also be sent as text alerts. Or, all of this – and more – could be done through a Summerfest app…

Jabril Faraj

One of the many packed, free concerts at the week-and-a-half-long Summerfest music festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We stand strong behind that idea that Summerfest’s most important upgrade should be venue wifi. If Summerfest were to partner with local providers in order to provide wifi across the grounds, there are so many possibilities. With this service, festival-goers would have the ability to easily access the Internet (currently, in part because of the volume of people, 3G Internet access is extremely limited and slow), which would then allow attendees to post via Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms online as well as uploading pictures, videos and other content of concerts immediately, right from the fairgrounds. Right now, that content is there but Summerfest is missing a huge opportunity to take advantage of — and aggregate — some incredible user-generated content simply because people are unable to share the content they want to (because of the current lack of Internet accessibility). This is an issue that Summerfest needs to address as soon as possible.

One of the best ways to utilize this content, as previously mentioned, would also be through a dedicated Summerfest smartphone app. Currently 62 percent of cell phone users in the U.S. between the ages of 25 and 34 own a smartphone — and that number is up from 41 percent in the third quarter of 2010. A Summerfest app would not only allow the festival to include show times and specials announcements to reach attendees while they are on the grounds but could also be used in order to collect this shared content and, then, utilize it even after Summerfest is over.

Here we are in this great city with this great festival and even after all these years there is so much potential. We see Summerfest and social media/mobile initiatives as natural partners and would like to see The World’s Largest Music Festival benefit from the incredible potential of these initiatives.

In Closing – Jeanette Pham
So, in closing, we’d all like to say “Thanks” again to Summerfest for the free opening day tickets! As always, we’re looking forward to it, and we can’t wait to see what’s new this year

This is where content comes in. What are you sharing with your fans? Why should they look at it? Why should they talk back? Believe it or not, what you’re sharing with your fans really does make a difference. Let’s think about it in terms of value. Why do you do engage in certain activities? Because you believe, in some way, engaging in that action will provide you with some sort of value, something you didn’t have before. Talking with your friends, going to work, buying something new: all these actions provide you with something you didn’t have before.

What, then, is the magic formula for businesses who want to keep their audience/following engaged? I call it The ‘three Cs’: Constant, Compelling Content. OK, it’s not really three Cs…it’s really not even two Cs (give me a break, will ya!). However, regardless of the label or distinction, I’ve found this is one of the best ways to describe what brands should be sharing with their followers.

Think about it. What is the best way to both gain and retain fans online? Make sure you’re giving them something that will benefit them and make sure you’re giving it often. Yes, it’s true that some of your content may (read: will) be slightly less compelling — at least to different people. For example, for a food manufacturer or retailer, tweets containing coupons may (read: will) be more valuable to some people than other, just as other fans or followers will adore the signature recipes you’re sharing with them and others, yet, will simply await the clever tidbits of language you construct. This is what people will interact with. This is what people will share. And that is one of the many ways an online presence can dramatically increase brand awareness. But it all starts with the content.

A professor once told me: “Just give me what I want and I’ll be happy.” Isn’t that really all that people are looking for? They want something that is valuable to them, something they can use, something that can make them more knowledgable, something that they find funny. It’s that simple. So, what have you been sharing lately?

So what is Wheaton really arguing? He gives three examples. First, Wheaton points to TimeWarner and USAA who he applauds for having attentive and impressive social media working for them. However, he then goes on to say that TimeWarner’s great Twitter presence in the New York area didn’t stop him from switching to DirecTV (after all, you do get every NFL game free, included in your DirecTV package…) and that Twitter didn’t even exist when he switched to USAA — that, instead, it was “horrible service from other banks intent on nickel-and-diming customers,” that made him switch. Wheaton’s third example is a brand we all know well: Apple. He goes through a list of potentially objectionable events, which Apple was involved in, but then goes on to say that we didn’t really care about any of those instances when it came to buying Apple products. Why? Because, Wheaton says, “…what Apple did do is meet consumer needs.”

And, in this, he is precisely right. Why is he correct? Because, throughout these three examples, we see the same trend pop up. Product is paramount (surprise, surprise). And it really is — what is the biggest thing that will make people buy your product (and keep coming back)? “Marketing” can only get you so far; marketing can only get people in the proverbial door. Marketing doesn’t make sales. Superior products make sales. Laurie Fallucca, vice president of marketing for Palermo Villa, Inc., the parent company of Palermo’s Pizza, a national frozen pizza brand based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, talked about the importance of providing quality to your customers in a recent interview with BizTimes Milwaukee. “The best advice I ever received was to make a quality product that you would not think twice about serving to your own family.” She said, “When was the last time you ever regretted buying the very best?”

Now, traditional marketers will probably disagree with me. After retweeting the Wheaton article and expressing my dismay at its subject matter, I had a Twitter discussion with a marketer about what ”marketing” actually is. She pointed to a long marketing mainstay — the four “P’s”. They are, of course: product, price, promotion (communication of the marketer in the marketplace) and place (getting the product to the consumer). So, most marketers (and I’m assuming Wheaton, as well) would then ascribe to the idea that product is marketing. But is it?

First, we can look at Wheaton himself…even he separates “product” from “marketing” — not once but — twice throughout the article. Second, we can look at the three examples he presents in order to, essentially, denounce the effect of social media. In the cases of TimeWarner/DirecTV, USAA and Apple, all of his complaints/praises were product-based. A better cable package, better customer service (yes, still product) and “meeting consumer needs” with better computers, the iPod, iPhone and iPad. None of his examples even touch on any other “facet” of marketing. Finally, let’s do a real-world analysis that doesn’t take any of Wheaton’s assertions into account. Out of the four “P’s” (product, price, promotion and place), what does a traditional marketing department/agency really have control over? Promotion? Of course; this is their main function. Price? Yes, it is often the marketing department that proposes a certain price-cut or special in order to drive sales. Place? Yes, marketers research target markets, etc. and then are able to recommend where to place the product! That’s the thing — most marketing departments, and certainly agencies, have little to no real effect on the quality of the products they are “marketing”. That’s why most companies have both a marketing and a product team.

So, if we’ve distilled the argument down enough to agree that we are actually arguing, not for more marketing, but for better products, then I completely agree (and, I hope, Wheaton would too). This is where the catch is: social media adds a great deal of transparency to your company and your products. If you want to “re-brand” you actually have to re-brand, you can’t just make new ads that say you are. But if you have a product you believe in, this is where social media and conversation can add true value. How else do you educate people about your great products than talking about them and, in turn, hoping that other people start talking about them too? At a time where we have an unprecedented access to extremely rapid and far-flung communication, what better way to reach people? You can reach people all over the country (or world, for that matter) with the click of a mouse. Yes, I agree with Wheaton, to an extent, that social media is only a piece of the puzzle — but, “oh my!”, is it a big piece. And it’s just getting bigger.

This infographic from Mashable shows the shift that is happening right now from traditional media, advertising and marketing to the social web. Some of the most telling numbers: 44 percent of direct mail is never opened, 86 percent of people no longer watch television commercials and 84 percent of 25 to 34 year olds have left a website because of an “irrelevant or intrusive ad.” People are buying XM radio instead. Ninety-one percent of users have unsubscribed to a company’s email they had previously opted into. What people are saying is, “I’m fed up with being bombarded with useless ads!” They want something real…and, like it or not, conversation is real. Both B2C and B2B companies are using social media in extraordinary and revolutionary ways in order to get more business and increase their sales.

The bottom line, which a commenter on Wheaton’s piece pointed out, is that, “[his] experience with a sponsored tweet [isn't] any different than one with a traditional ad that you could have just as easily ignored. ” No type of marketing is a sure-fire way to generate sales…that’s why it’s called marketing and not sales. The advantage, however, that social media gives you is that you’re building real relationships with your (potential) customers. It might not work right away — but that’s how relationships go, isn’t it? Just keep talking, keep listening and maybe, just maybe, you’ll earn their trust. And I’ll take that over a one-time sale any day.

In reality, like many (dare I say millions?) of us, I didn’t know Steve. I’ve never sat at the other end of a boardroom table and watched him make magic. I’ve never sat across a dinner table from him or exchanged thoughts on life while sitting in front of a living-room fireplace. I’ve never looked at him across a perfectly sterile, spotless desk and told him how long he had to live. And, yet, I feel perfectly fine calling him “Steve.” Not Steve Jobs…just Steve.

Because, the truth is, we all knew Steve. Everyone who has ever used an Apple product — the original Apple II, the iMac and iBook, the MacBook and, more recently, the iPod, iPhone and iPad — has touched a little bit of Steve’s genius. Steve has changed all of our lives in one way or another.  Whether it was forever altering the way we listen to music and use our phones or, almost unintentionally, dramatically improving the lives of autistic children and their parents through Apple technology (check out these parents’ stories of how the iPod and iPad have helped improve their children’s quality of life).

Steve and Apple set out to help Bono and U2 take on disease in Africa.

I recently had a friend mention to me — disdainfully — that Steve wasn’t a noted philanthropist. My initial reaction and response (which I still consider the right one) was that Steve has done so much more, he has affected so much more positive change in the world through Apple (something he had control over) than even millions of dollars in charitable donations could have done. And, aside from the fact that I think it’s wrong to question someone’s character — after they have died — because of an apparent lack of monetary giving, it is well-known that the initiatives Jobs was involved in were truly making change. Bono who, along with U2, founded the (RED) campaign said in a Washington Post article, “Apple’s contribution to our fight against AIDS in Africa has been invaluable…[they gave] tens of millions of dollars that have transformed the lives of more than two million Africans through H.I.V. testing, treatment and counseling. This is serious and significant. And Apple’s involvement has encouraged other companies to step up,” Bono wrote. “Just because he’s been extremely busy, that doesn’t mean that he and his wife, Laurene, have not been thinking about these things.” And two of Jobs’ close friends told the Huffington Post that: “Jobs had said that he could do more good by expanding Apple.”

The bottom line: this world is a better place because of Steve. This world is better off because of the doors that Steve — and his technology — has opened for so many different people. Autistic. H.I.V/AIDS infected. You. Me. We all owe him a debt of gratitude.

So, all I can really say is:

Thanks, Steve.

Downtown Milwaukee as seen from Lake Michigan, the second largest of the Great Lakes.

No longer can anyone say that Milwaukee isn’t on the cutting edge of what are quickly becoming two of the most sought after and necessary industries in the world today. In 2009, the Greater Milwaukee Committee had a hand in creating the first organization of its kind in the United States — the Milwaukee Water Council. This council, whose goal is, “To align the regional fresh water research community and water-related industries to establish the Milwaukee 7 Region as the World Water Hub for water research, economic development, and education,” is doing some very exciting work of its own. In fact, so much so, that the United Nations recently designated Milwaukee as a “Global Compact City,” recognizing the area internationally as a “center of fresh water expertise.”

This initiative was long overdue as was the international recognition. Now, The GMC is taking it even further. The committee has received a 500,000 dollar grant in order to form a technology council in Milwaukee that will be called MiKE (a play on “Innovation in Milwaukee”). According to the Milwaukee Journal, MiKE will, “work to develop high-tech talent for design and technology start-ups and connect them with local manufacturers, establish an incubator called Open MiKE to promote open-source entrepreneurship, and create a MiKE council, a leadership group that will guide the growth of the design technology sector [in Milwaukee].”

Spreenkler now resides in the old Lane Bryant and Express spaces while Art Milwaukee makes its home on The Grand's basement level.

The MiKE council will be co-chaired by two executives — one from Kohl’s Corp. and one from Briggs Stratton Corp., which are both based is Southeastern Wisconsin — while the GMC’s partners in this initiative include Art Milwaukee, BizStarts Milwaukee, Creative Alliance Milwaukee, Spreenkler Talent Labs and the GMC Talent Dividend. Many of these partners also occupy space in the recently-rejuvenated Plankinton building of The Grand Avenue Mall in the heart of downtown Milwaukee.

Telvin Jeffries, executive vice president of human resources at Kohl’s, said in an article by the BizTimes, “One of our region’s greatest resources is its talented workforce which is continuously bolstered by the students graduating from our world-class colleges and universities,” Jeffries said. “The design/tech cluster provides an outstanding opportunity to both leverage these professionals and attract new talent to our region. Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin have the potential to become a nationally – even internationally –recognized center of innovation. Building this cluster is a significant step in that direction.” And he’s absolutely right. This is exactly what organizations like Spreenkler and the year-old Art Milwaukee are trying to do — showcase Milwaukee — and this grant (and the formation of MiKE) will allow that to happen on an even larger scale. Needless to say, it’s kind of exciting.

On that note, please come to the MiKE kick-off and open house on Oct. 6 at Spreenkler Talent Labs in the Grand Avenue Mall, where Open MiKE will be housed. This will be a joint event, in conjunction with Art Milwaukee’s one-year birthday party. You can also register here for the “Meet MiKE” portion before the open house. Hope to see you there!

Until next time. Get Social!

The {94} labs companies and staff.

After 12 weeks of grueling work, long hours, short nights and a lot of energy drinks, the 14 companies that took part in this round of the {94} labs incubator are finally presenting their products and what they’ve accomplished over the last three months. I was able to travel along to Madison, Wisconsin, and the UW-Madison campus for the dress-rehearsal today and the actual presentation and event tonight. And, let me tell you, there’s some exciting stuff going on here! I hope to provide a quick explanation of each team and their concept and then, afterwards, talk a bit about the ideas I’m most excited about (cause, let’s be real, they’re all exciting).

Jungol – a web application that helps organizations easily connect and collaborate with each other online. Equipped with tools like to-do lists, file-sharing, and discussion boards, Jungol makes it easy for organizations to: 1) Build synergy with other organizations around similar causes, 2) Create new advantageous partnerships, and 3) Reduce administrative expenses and inefficiencies. Focused, at least initially, towards the many non-profit and community organizations that operate in the U.S.

Door 6 – a mobile game development company that’s working on a space Role Playing Game for android and IOS. The team has developed a cross-platform game engine from the ground up.

Quasi Electronics Inc. – Circuit – a web-based tool for electronic design projects targeting the rapidly growing non-professional market of students, DIYers, artists and inventors. Circuit is easy to use, allowing simple sharing and collaboration of projects among users. Quasi’s partnerships with industry suppliers and manufacturers let users purchase parts and printed circuit boards within the app, saving users time and money.

Servique – builds relationships between customers and contractors in the services industry. Today there’s a lot of asymmetrical data about quality, cost, and availability of service contractors floating around the web. Servique’s online platform provides one touchpoint for consumers to find, hire, and pay contractors while providing contractors with a set of online tools they need to run and grow their businesses.

Curating a list of trusted contractors definitely provides a huge amount of value to homeowners. There is also a long list of other service industries Servique could eventually expand to.

Open Education - a mathematics system that will allow students and teachers to work and interact together on a simple user-friendly interface. Students will be able to solve problems step by step electronically, with the ability to show their work and receive help from teachers. Teachers will have the ability to track their students’ progress instantaneously, both on a group level and individually.

This looks like a great start to changing the way the next generation learns. Their presentation mentioned the U.S. is currently 25th worldwide in math education; these guys are aiming to change that.

Socle Inc. – Socle6 - a social network that differs from other networks in that it tries to enhance your social life offline instead of trying to build an online profile. The site requires users to put friends into groups, allowing users to select which of their friends they want to share with. Socle is working to create an open user experience. Seems a little like what Google is doing with Google+ but Socle6 is also making the online experience more private. It will allow you to contact larger groups of friends than is possible through other methods (ex: text messaging) yet still maintain your privacy.

Shindig - a social-powered event booking platform that connects attendees, artists, and venues by leveraging existing social networks in unique ways. The goal is to make great events happen with little/no risk for venues or attendees.

Think of Groupon/Kickstarter for live, local music. These guys also had one of the most polished presentations, showcasing their exciting product very well.

SASR Inc. – NoteCast - an iPad application, which is a solution for students to access things they miss in class by connecting online. The app will include screen casting of notes and professor loaded content, as well as a place for students to communicate with professors, classmates and even friends.

This product has massive potential as we are beginning to see a shift in post-secondary education to electronic note-taking and electronic textbooks. Look out!

ScioMD - a web software that shows patients their medical results in an easy to understand format.

The results sheets are super-simple, super-cool and, more importantly, very easily understandable. This presentation definitely caught my eye with their vastly improved and colorful display of patient results.

Style Shuffler - a web application that provides a unique way to shop online. Through complex, but easy-to-use tools, shoppers get the ultimate personalized online shopping experience.

Think Pandora…but for clothes. Sound great? Yeah, I thought so. The company already has their eyes on a couple other products/industries whose consumption align with the abilities of the platform.

72 Web Design - a company that designs full featured, professional campaign websites for candidates who cannot afford to spend tens of thousands of dollars. Their long-term goals are to provide an online campaign management suite in order to “bring political campaigns into the information age.”

Searium Studios - a company currently developing a 2D role-playing game to be released on the PC and xbox platforms. The goal is to bring a new touch to a genre that has been falling apart (both 2d and role-paying games) as well as more active and innovative gameplay.

Date Check Pro - a company working on Date Check Pro, the first software as a service (SaaS) expiration date management system. Date Check Pro saves significant time and money for grocery stores by allowing them to easily and efficiently manage expiration dates on products in the entire store.

While this might not be the most “sexy” product per se, there is a huge opportunity in this industry and they seem to be taking full advantage of it.

Jawnt - is a web marketplace where anyone can find a tour or activity created and hosted completely by locals in that area. The idea is to create unofficial and unique tours by giving people a locals view of things to do.

Jawnt follows the AirBnB model of allowing local contact and, hopefully, facilitating more rewarding and “real” getaways or vacations. This could be a great way to explore the “hidden gems” of a locality and stay away from the “tourist-y” attractions that may not speak to its true character.

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So, there’s lineup. Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. Now, for some of my favorites:

Shindig is something that I, personally, am very excited about. As a huge music (and live music) fan, I often struggle with where to find new, quality acts. I hope that Shindig will give live music nuts everywhere the opportunity to find great, local live music wherever they are (eventually, of course).

ScioMD was one of the best presentations in terms of eye-catching slides and could be a huge improvement in the way that health care operates on a day-to-day basis. By clearly showing patients where they are in terms of a few relevant categories and, then, showing the patients what they can do to actually improve their health on a daily basis, ScioMD has the potential to drastically change the face of doctor-patient interaction.

NoteCast and Open Education are both a step in the right direction for furthering (or righting) education in the United States. Both companies clearly see the problems and are providing easy, simple, yet effective, ways to make learning and teaching much more efficient.

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There you have it! It’s a great group of extremely talented individuals; I can’t say enough, from what I’ve seen, about the level that each of these companies is performing at. I can’t wait to see what happens.

Until next time! Get Social.

Full Disclosure: I travelled to Madison with the Shindig team and personally know a number of people associated with the Spreenkler Incubator.

A group of next-generation employees hard at work at their computers.

As a result of the Industrial Revolution during the 19th and 20th centuries, an entire new industry (no pun intended) of jobs was created. Granted, there was never an extremely large recession because — in the transfer of a large portion of the workforce from agricultural to, now, industrial jobs — the demand for food and, therefore, agricultural jobs stayed constant or, most likely, even increased (because of the Industrial Revolution, the great increase in technology, mass-production, etc. the first great modern cities were born and their creation was followed by massive population growth). In short, the largest source of employment at the time didn’t go out of demand before the shift to industrial employment happened; that was not the case for us.

In the wake of job outsourcing and the massive layoffs caused by the Great Recession, we have seen an Internet/tech startup bubble emerge. This wave of young entrepreneurs is literally transforming the face of employment in the United States in ways that many people could never have guessed even 25 years ago. But isn’t that how it always happens? Why, then, are some of us so opposed to the direction we are beginning to head? Were there those who opposed industrialism? Sure. However, it wasn’t in the face of the economic turmoil and upheaval that we are facing today. With almost 1 in every 10 American’s unemployed, we are officially desperate.

There is cause for encouragement, though. Some of the largest of these companies and leaders of the pack are, most likely, names you already know quite well: Facebook and Twitter. Facebook has more than 2,000 employees, Twitter has — most likely, by this point — has more than 500 employees and both companies are continuing to grow at staggering rates. However, not only have these two startup giants created a great deal of jobs on their own; they have also helped to create and fuel a completely new industry that has allowed for job growth outside only what those two companies employ (obviously there are a multitude of businesses that the social media industry comprises, be these are a couple of the largest).

This bubble has allowed for the creation of social media agencies (such as ourselves), social media departments in agencies (and on the client side) and then you also see all the startup businesses that were possible because of these companies: TweetDeck & Hootsuite (the two biggest Twitter clients), Radian6 (and other monitoring software), North Social & Wildfire (social apps for Facebook) and additional off-shoots such as Scoville (venue curation for Foursquare).

However, not only is this phenomenon creating jobs right now but also influencing schooling and the education and skills high school, college or returning students are acquiring in order to compete in a new, creative, ever-changing and evolving 21st century job market. Who knows what will come down the line but it appears that the impact of the current entrepreneurial boom on the economy will be deep and far-reaching.

So, why is this good? With this realignment and shift in people’s focus — when it comes to education — I’m hoping that we will see more and more people moving away from industrial labor careers and education into more creative jobs and industries that will continue to push the boundaries of what we, as humans can accomplish. Imagine. The more people we have thinking up new, better, more efficient and effective ways to do things, the better off we’ll be in the long run. It also boils down to a, presumably, more mobile, agile and intellectual working class. Sounds like exactly what we need to get back on track.

Some people claim that we are at the bottom of an exponential explosion of knowledge and technology; I’d tend to agree. What do you think?

Author Chris Brogan leading a discussion at unGeeked.

If you don’t know about unGeeked, it is a series of some of the most highly regarded and most valuable social media conferences there are. With an overwhelming deluge of conferences left, right and all over the country, it’s hard to know which ones will actually be informative, educational and — most importantly — will have that golden mix of people. UnGeeked, which hosts conferences in Chicago, Boston and Toronto, is that convention.

With a discussion/speaking format that throws PowerPoints, slides and “presentations” to the wind, unGeeked provides an ideal environment to learn and grow in your social media knowledge. Also, as Sarah Worsham says in this blog post, the people are the real draw. Not only does unGeeked attract some very high-profile speakers — or, as they like to call them, discussion leaders — but those speakers are, for the most part, very open and willing to talk with, help and get to know the people there. Not to mention that, more than likely, there’s a large contingent of regular attendees who could out-social-media many speakers at various other social media retreats.

In short, we’re super excited about sosh getting an opportunity to lead a discussion this year in Toronto and we want to see you there! As speakers, we get a special discount to share with you all. So, here it is…

Discount code: unGeekedSosh (Use for 5% off 3-day early bird and 3-day regular. Does not include 2-day.) Early bird tickets are still available, so get them while you can!

So, what exactly is Google+ then? I think is might be better if I start by telling you what it’s not. It’s not Facebook, it’s not Twitter and it’s certainly not Buzz, Orkut or any of the other “social” projects that Google has blundered their way through in the past. In terms of features and layout Google+ is definitely closer to Facebook however there are some distinct differences and, on top of that, maybe the most important thing is that Plus just doesn’t feel like Facebook, which is definitely a plus (too corny?) in my book.

Plus is neatly organized with some standout, innovative features. The most noticeable (mostly because it’s essentially the first step) is “Circles.” Circles is a new, fun and more effective way to organize the people you interact with. Just as you interact differently with different groups of friends, connections or acquaintances, Google+ allows you to group friends into different social circles such as “friends, family, classmates, co-workers and other custom groups.” This mechanism sets the stage for Plus’ other features and is a great, intuitive way to approach sharing and privacy.

The other feature that has initially drawn a lot of attention is a group video chat component called “Hangouts.” When Gundotra and his team thought through the question of why group video chat hasn’t become popular they stumbled upon some interesting insights. This Mashable article describes the answer they came to: “[Gundotra] compared it to knocking on a neighbor’s door at 8 p.m. — most people don’t do it because it isn’t a social norm. However, if a group of friends are sitting on a porch and you just happen to walk by, it’s almost rude not to say hi.” This is why, instead of inviting friends to chat individually, anyone can “start a hangout,” which puts you into a chat room by yourself and lets your friends know you’re available and they can drop in if they like.

Both of these features go to address what, in a TechCrunch article, Gundotra called a problem in online sharing: “We believe online sharing is broken. And even awkward,” he said. “We think connecting with other people is a basic human need. We do it all the time in real life, but our online tools are rigid. They force us into buckets — or into being completely public,” he continues. “Real life sharing is nuanced and rich. It has been hard to get that into software.” This is their attempt and, at first glance, it seems like a pretty good one.

Enough about what Plus does, let’s talk about what it will be. Google+ is (as I said before), by no means, a Facebook copycat. In fact, I see Plus as the antithesis of its massive counterpart. Google+ is a smarter, sleeker and cleaner platform that includes all the great Google services we use every day along with the innovations of Circles and Hangouts. Among some of these are built-in gchat and email functionality (which basically takes the place of messages). And we’re just starting out. Google has made it clear that this “project” will be ongoing and ever-evolving. They plan on rolling features out little by little and it sounds as if the team is very open about the direction the early testing takes them, and the platform.

And I say platform, but one of the things I really love about Plus is that it’s so much more than that. Google has taken steps to fully integrate Google+ (hence the “+”) into the entire online and browsing experience. I can share a post and see any notifications right from the Google homepage (or any Google page, for that matter). This is one of the areas that Facebook could have some trouble catching up because, while I’m surfing the internet, I’m doing it all under my Gmail address. Granted, many sites have adopted Facebook connect (so you can sign in using your Facebook account) but Google is really the reigning champion of the open web. If Google can exploit this weakness and make Google+ an integral part of a user’s web-surfing experience they could give Facebook a lot of trouble — and pretty quickly, at that.

I won’t say flat-out that Google+ will be the death of Facebook, although it very well could be. Google has all the tools and the ability to turn out, when all is said and done, a more simple, more professional and more easily accessible product. But, even if it never comes to that, some healthy competition never hurt anyone.

Until next time, keep tweeting, posting and blogging! Get social.

Disclaimer: I received the field testing invite through a connection on the product team for Google+ but I was not asked by anyone at Google to write this post, nor did I receive any product incentives of any kind. 

Another good article on Google+:

Google Plus…Me? Securing a Google+ Invite Isn’t Easy Yet – Techland

This satirical writeup that I saw the other day plays off of those previously mentioned articles by presenting its tips in the most ridiculous way possible…and it got me thinking: ‘If I could write an article that highlighted what I thought were the best Twitter practices, what would I say?’ Well, here it is: don’t be a jerk.

When it really comes down to it, social media is nothing more than an amplification of our day-to-day, person-to-person interactions. And are there tricks when it comes to that? No. So, it would hold that this concept transfers right over to the world of Twitter too. Here are just a couple pointers that fit into my ‘don’t be a jerk’ ideology.

1. Be yourself.

Though this is a pretty obvious point to make, people tend to overlook it. They think, “I’m not interesting, why would anyone want to listen to what I have to say?” I’ll tell you right now that everyone (or at least most people) are interesting. Everyone has a story to tell and everyone has something that they know more about than most people. Play up your areas of expertise, don’t sell yourself short.

2. Don’t be creepy.

This is a big one and, unfortunately, if you’re naturally creepy it’s a hard thing to get around. But, for those of us who aren’t intrinsically frightening, it’s something to keep in mind. As in every offline relationship, there are levels of comfort that you get to with a certain person after a given amount of time. Now, granted, this is different for every person and every relationship but just as I wouldn’t ask someone I’ve just met to go on a week-long vacation to Mexico — just the two of us–, I’m also not going to @ mention someone on Twitter I’ve just met and ask them to come over to my house for a night of wine, cheese and a Star Wars trilogy marathon. Just as in real life, don’t come on too strong, it takes time for relationships to build. But don’t worry, the Star Wars marathons will come eventually.

3. Be real.

This is, obviously, slightly similar to being yourself but it goes a little further. Just in the way that people don’t like it when someone says one thing and does something different or acts in a way that isn’t consistent with what they’re saying, the same goes for social media and Twitter in particular. Just be open, honest, transparent and (even though I hate this word for how cliché it is) genuine. If you’re that kid who’s trying way too hard to be popular or make the cool kids like you (or, of course, if you’re just being a jerk) people see through that very quickly and, just as social media is an amplification of interaction, so your jerky or attention-craving tendencies will be amplified and easily identified in the extremely small world of social media.

So, basically…be yourself: be funny if you’re funny, be quirky if you’re quirky and you even have license to be a little weird. Just don’t be a jerk.

Until next time, happy tweeting, posting and blogging! Get social.