Forest Fair/Cincinnati Mills/Cincinnati Mall via labelscar.com

This afternoon my family and I went to the Danbarry Dollar Saver Cinema at Cincinnati Mall to see the movie Thor.  We thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but our enthusiasm was a bit tempered as we walked through the mall to get to the cinema.

It felt like a ghost town.

Granted, this was on a Tuesday afternoon and not a Saturday afternoon. Even still, I was struck by all the vacant stores and lack of foot traffic.

I remember when this mall first opened as Forest Fair Mall back in the 80s when I was in high school. It was a hopping place! The food court was packed, and there were stores all over the place. Even just six years ago when we moved back to Cincinnati from Dayton, it was still pretty busy.

Now it’s so quiet. Malls still seem to be the hangout spot for kids, but definitely not as much as they used to be.

We’re doing less shopping at malls and more online, and this isn’t all a bad thing.

What are some opportunities this situation presents itself? Here are a few ideas:

• Movie set. Cincinnati Mall reminded me of a vacant movie set. Why not fill it with some extras and bring in the action?
• Educational institution. What if it was converted to an educational campus? You got the centralized food court and ancillary wings. It could get converted into a learning facility.
• Community center/Temporary or permanent housing. In some ways a mall this big seems like its own city or community. Perhaps there’s an opportunity to make it something like that.

As our culture continues to move away from brick-and-mortar commercial facilities, we need to look for other uses for the malls and outlet stores that are becoming vacant.

What are some of your ideas?

In this video I share about the upcoming February 12, 2011 New Media Cincinnati Second Saturday event. We’re excited to have Debba Haupert from Girlfriendology.com to come and talk about how she’s built a great community around the concept of female friendship.

Whenever I’ve been a speaker at different groups around the Greater Cincinnati area about social media, and I notice there are women in the audience, I always bring up Debba and Girlfriendology.

When I first met her back in 2008, I had no clue what Girlfriendology was, but I was intrigued by the name to find out.  For the past several years, over time, she has WOWed me and others as she’s connected with other women. She inspires me as a community leader, and I’m really looking forward to learning from her this Saturday.

Click here to watch the embedded video.

“Build a little community of those you love and who love you.
Morrie Schwartz”
— Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie)

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Here are some video comments I recorded in response the the reaction to this month’s New Media Cincinnati Second Saturday being monetized.

Audio and video are not well-synced, and that probably indicates I should stop trying to record directly from my webcam into YouTube.

Click here to watch the embedded video.

As mentioned in the video, I think the discussion on finding value is one we should continue to have and it will be the topic for next month’s Second Saturday event.

Some related posts worth checking out:

• Laura Fitton is right. PodCamp was never free. (christopherspenn.com)
• Finding Value (managingthegray.com)

Crossposted to newmediacincinnati.com

The past week has shown me a lot about building community in person and online. I thought I’d share some thoughts here.

A multi-viewed, transparent approach

I am wired in a way that I’m able to see things from many perspectives in order better understand motivations. I’m okay with being the devil’s advocate sometimes.

In the time I’ve spent online, especially in recent years, I’ve noticed that people in social media value transparency. That is one major reason why I’ve tried to be the same online as I would be when you meet me in person. I think authenticity is very refreshing, and I’m sure many others will agree.

How I became a community builder

I wasn’t really interested in founding a social media community in Cincinnati in October 2007. I was very busy with a commute and work in Dayton, Ohio. And yet, I’d become passionate about networking online with others in Dayton and the Greater Cincinnati area because I wanted to find work closer to home.

In discussions with others via Twitter, instant messaging, and elsewhere, it became apparent that no one was going to step up and get something started, so I stepped up. I knew there were many podcasters in the area already who wanted to meet up, but I also saw a need to broaden the scope. I looked at what other community builders had done in other cities, being very new to this community-building thing, and decided instead of naming the group Podcasting Cincinnati to instead call it New Media Cincinnati. “New Media” at the time was the buzz word used to describe all emerging forms of media technology.

It took a few months before I got comfortable with this new role. I was still very surprised that people were coming to events I’d organized.

Two years of learning

A lot has changed in the past two years here in the social media community in Cincinnati. Social media has become more widely adopted, and this group is joined by many other great social networking groups that meet regularly – more than I even know about.

I’d like to think the reason why New Media Cincinnati is around is to provide a vehicle for people passionate about and interested in new and emerging technology to meet together. I’ve also wanted it to be a place where someone new to social media can come and feel welcome. Others have said that I’ve done a pretty good job in creating that type of environment, both online and offline.

The success of a group like this doesn’t happen through just one person, and while there are many people I can mention, I’d like to especially single out Jeff Hertlein, who created the logos for the group.

These logos have done so much to establish the New Media Cincinnati brand online.

A “newer” group

When I recently learned that someone else had created a “Newer” Media Cincinnati presence on Twitter, I checked it out and initially thought it was hilarious and interesting. I even reached out to see if there were any collaboration opportunities.

Well apparently the individual behind this group would have nothing of it, referring to the “newer” group as an elite one. I wasn’t sure if they were joking or not, but I was okay with playing along.

Brand confusion

Then I saw that many of the updates became targeted in an attempt to ridicule, and demean things I’ve been doing. Even further, since this individual has taken the logo Jeff Hertlein made for the group and added upon it, it’s no wonder that many have become confused. It would appear that the “New Media Cincinnati” brand is being undermined.

In an effort to clear up confusion, I’ve spent some time engaging people directly through private messages on Twitter, to let them know that this other account is in no way related to me and the group I run. To some, it was a surprise since they had been confused. To others, it was no surprise. All were grateful.

Personal attacks

The individual hiding behind this other account has gone at lengths to publicly mock what it is I do through the Twitter account. I have been “called out” for being a “poser”. This individual likes to point out that I currently don’t have a job, which is true. I, like over 10% of the working population in Ohio, don’t currently have a job. I’m working on that.

Some say I should let this go and just admit that criticism is going to happen.  I’ll accept that to a point.  It appears that this person, who has the ability to stop receiving updates from me by simply clicking an Unfollow button on Twitter, instead wants to take what I am saying and who I am and twist it into something stupid.

The individual behind this account has crossed the line, as evidenced by many others who are telling me they are trying to get as far away from this person as possible.

Because these comments have been targeted at me personally, I have wondered if there was something I’ve done to make this individual upset. If that is the case, I would really like to do what I can to reconcile or at least understand where this person is coming from.

Different approaches to building community

So, I see two very different ways of building community at work. On one hand you have someone hiding behind an online presence, tearing other people down. This person creates confusion by repurposing another group’s brand identity. Harassment and impersonation. Division. What does it say to you about someone who can simply unfollow someone on Twitter but instead looks for ways to be critical?  What does it say about individuals who align themselves with someone like that?

That’s certainly one approach to building community. Some would say this is the “newer” approach.

Then you have another approach. I have openly shared who I am and what I’m about. What you see online is basically what you get when you meet me in person. You can choose to follow or not; it doesn’t matter. I want to be useful, but I’m also using social media for my own purposes. If it’s not for you, fine.

I began having New Media Cincinnati community planning conference calls a few months ago to help clear the air and talk about what’s working well and what we can do better. This group remains open to anyone interested in the social media space.

Which type of community do you prefer?

[photo credit: Day 323: Come Together]

For the longest time, people keep asking about the ROI (Return on Investment) of social media. I remember in a Community Chat on Friendfeed a few months ago, Olivier Blanchard mentioned he needed to put together a Basics of Social Media ROI presentation to share. While browsing the Marketing Over Coffee website, I noticed they linked back to it.

Here’s Olivier’s presentation from Slideshare:

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My friend and independent musician Drew LaPlante likes to use the phrase, “It’s a beautiful thing.” I could say that about Twitter and Twitter search.

Using Twitter Search to track trends

One way I use Twitter is to track the presence of certain phrases over time. I subscribe to the RSS feeds for searches in Google Reader and let them sit for at least 30 days.  I’m not as much interested in the content of the individual Twitter updates(tweets) as the aggregated information. I find this exercise to be instructive in understanding trends.

What’s being said and how I might help

I had thought of doing this to identify opportunities to promote the How I Got My Job job-hunting success stories podcast. My original hypothesis was that people might be more interested in knowing about the series right when they’ve lost their jobs.

Understanding the stories data can tell

In all the data analysis I’ve ever done at work and in other projects, to better understand the stories data tell, I’ve realized it’s vital to check and verify the underlying data, and make sure assumptions are clear. That way I and others can make better business decisions.

Analyzing Twitter search trends definitely comes with a caveat.  Take this snapshot of Twitter search data, as shown by day of the week, for example:

This chart shows that, over the past 30 days, the phrases “just lost my job” and “lost my job today” have showed up on the Twitter public timeline on Wednesday the most.  Does this mean that more people are losing their jobs on Wednesdays the most? Maybe, but you cannot be sure from this visual alone.

Why? Because aggregate information like this, a gross overview of the presence of phrases or terms, ignores context. What does “just lost my job” mean to you? Does it mean today? Last week? A couple weeks ago? What about those who do not report their job loss on Twitter with these words?

Even so, Twitter search trend analysis like this is instructive to know that people are talking about losing jobs, and it identifies opportunities to share about the series.

The visual above shows the same Twitter search data over the past 30 days, but in this case by time of day. The orange bar shows what time I’ve marked the items as read in Google Reader and can be ignored.  The chart indicates more people mentioning “lost my job today” or “just lost my job” in the afternoon or evening, perhaps, after coming home from their last day of work.

How I use the data

So, what does this mean for me? It seems that promoting the show on Twitter in the afternoon would perhaps reach the largest audience that might be most receptive, and maybe doing this on Wednesday would be best.  I still need to find a way to measure whether these efforts are successful, and this could be done by checking web analytics.

What say you?

I don’t claim that this approach is without flaws, and would love to see how it could be improved.  I would like to better track the effectiveness of promotions and welcome your thoughts.  What do you think of this approach?  What would you do differently? Have you ever taken a similar approach?

April 13, 2001 UPDATE: Christopher Penn shares some additional insight into timing Twitter updates that you should read. Check out “When is the best time to tweet?”

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Last Saturday, as well as back in June, we did Questions from a Hat at New Media Cincinnati Second Saturday.  I told the group to ask any questions they wanted, whether related to social media or technology or not.  The questions were as varied as the group.

You can find some answers the group came up with via the UStream recorded videos, including ones from yesterday’s blog post.  But, I’d like to know what you think, so I’m including the questions people at last Saturday’s event asked. Pick one or more of these and share your thoughts. Feel free to add your answers in the comments or trackback via your own website.

Thanks in advance! Ready? Here we go:

1. Is anyone interfacing social media with the traditional media outlets? (i.e., combining social media with traditional media. Examples?)
2. Is Classmates.com a viable value proposition for social media in the future?
3. What was Twitter like in 2006?
4. Best place to start: Twitter, Facebook, blog, or other?
5. What WordPress plugins are you using, and what do you like best about them?
6. Explain FriendFeed.
7. Has anyone created a realistic R.O.I. (Return on Investment) measurement for social media?
8. What’s the best social media tool for a portfolio?
9. How can I drive traffic to my WordPress blog?
10. LinkedIn or Facebook? Or both?
11. Does anyone have the ability to coax info off a mostly dead laptop’s hard drive for less than 12 zillion dollars?
12. Do you see mobile marketing on the increase in US?
13. Why do you still have that profile pic? Need a new one?
14. How much networking is too much?
15. What are some tips for starting a social media community like New Media Cincinnati in an area that doesn’t have much going on?
16. Is The Pub at Rookwood Mews (where we held New Media Cincinnati) a good place to get fish and chips?
17. What is a virtual business card, and how can someone create one?
18. How can you measure Twitter conversation?
19. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck could chuck wood?
20. What are some tips for an aspiring blogger to get started?
21. How do I record video from my Firewire camera and audio from a separate microphone into my Mac computer?
22. What tools do you recommend for cleaning up your Twitter follower list?
23. What are the best Twitter applications for Blackberries?
24. How can we best monitor our children’s activities on the internet?

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(Cross-posted to newmediacincinnati.com)

Chances are, if you were following Twitter on Saturday, August 8, 2009, between 4 and 7 PM Cincinnati time, you saw updates from this month’s New Media Cincinnati Second Saturday.

The format once again was Questions from a Hat, similar to the “Scenes from a Hat” party game on Drew Carey‘s “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”. I can tell you emphatically that this format WORKS with this group! Not only does it appeal to our social natures, but it also helps spread a lot of information around in a relatively short amount of time. I’d like to say special thanks to Amybeth Hale, who live-tweeted the questions and answers on Twitter. We’re going to miss you, Amybeth, as you move to Washington state. You’re always welcome back whenever you visit!

This first video is 38:39 long.

I am SO thankful for Don and Vickie Sceifers and Tom Rockhold, who have taken over the UStream channel during the Second Saturday events. They’ve done a fantastic job managing this aspect of the event so that I don’t have to. This second video is 14:16 long.

My primary goal in using social media is to connect with as many people as possible in the Cincinnati, Dayton, and Northern Kentucky areas in order to find work much closer to home in Cincinnati.

Your use of social media will vary from mine and others, and that’s okay. Really. Let that sink in because it’s important. Don’t let others tell you how you SHOULD be using social media unless they really know what your goals are.

Did you catch that last part? That’s right. I mentioned goals. Objectives. Who would have thought that in this social media playground that goals were important?

I bet you already have goals, even though they may not clearly be defined yet. It may be something simple like exploring and learning how things work. That is perfectly fine. Seriously. Just be careful not to get caught up in the latest shiny object that comes around. Soon you’ll be wondering where the days have gone. If that has already happened to you, I’m sorry. Now is the best time to get some focus.

How I Use Social Media

I have been around this space since 2002, so in once sense that makes me feel a little bit old. But the social technology landscape has been constantly evolving, so I still consider myself as a learner.

Nevertheless, I have been able to develop some dexterity with some of the social technology tools that exist like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, podcasting, blogging, and others. I set up a page at my website, my About page, as a Virtual Business Card/Social Media Resume to indicate what I’m up to and where you can find me.

Amid all the channel fragmentation (TV, Radio, Internet), it’s important to know what your goals are in using social media. They don’t need to be the same as someone else; it’s okay if they are unique to you. I know I’m repeating myself, but it bears repeating.

My goals are selfish: I want to find work closer to home.
My goals are also unselfish: I know that in order to find the opportunities closer to home, I need to reach out and connect with those near where I am (Greater Cincinnati, OH area). I believe that the more I know about you and vice versa, the more we can help one another. The more I’m able to communicate my brand message – consistently, the more they’ll be able to take that with them and share with their connections, too.

What I Do

If you’ve connected with me on LinkedIn or Facebook, chances are you’ve received a note where I share a bit more background about myself; namely something like the following:

At my last job, I would pull information out of the business system to help other people do their jobs and make better business decisions. I did business intelligence work for a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) in Dayton, Ohio, using mainly Microsoft Office tools.

The company served as a corporate HR department for small- to medium-sized businesses. It uses a version of Microsoft Great Plains Dynamics customized by ThinkWare out of Cincinnati for the PEO industry, and it used the SQL Server database platform, where I’ve tended to spend a lot of my time.

All IT keywords aside, I was laid off last month and have a bit more time for my new and social media efforts, one of which is the New Media Cincinnati group, which I founded in October 2007. My primary goal in using social media is to connect with as many people as possible, especially in the Cincinnati, Dayton, and Northern Kentucky areas to find my next gig closer to home, whether it’s using my business intelligence expertise, social media skills, or a combination of both. It’s been an interesting journey so far.

Of course, I customize the message for the specific individuals I’m connecting with, but that’s the basic message. That’s my story and how I’m using social media: for connecting online and offline to find my next job.

How are you using social media to accomplish your goals? What advice would you give to help me and others on how to better use social media to reach our goals?

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I have had my iPod touch for about nine months now, and I have been really loving mobile computing.

One of the first applications I downloaded from the App Store was the WordPress tool. I’m actually composing this post via that tool right now!

I can’t count how many times I’ve had blog topics in my head but wasn’t near a computer to record them. Some other mobile blogging tools I’ve used include (most of these are available for use with your mobile phone)

• Twitter, still my favorite microblogging tool
• Audioblogger, a phone-blogging service that existed in 2005
• Utterli, formerly called Utterz. I haven’t used it as much lately
• Jott, now a paid service
• Brightkite, a location-based microblogging tool

What are some of your favorite tools for blogging on the go?

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