Opinions on Business and Social Media…

In my last post, I briefly described an interesting phenomena that is occurring in today’s business climate. I believe we are seeing an emerging demographic of consumers: Passionate Fans.

I believe it truly began with MacWorld and the ever interesting PC vs. Mac debates. Suddenly, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were celebrities whose every movement represented their brand.I understand that there is a history of management representation (Lee Iacocca and Chrysler, who filed for bankruptcy today), but it has truly reached a fever pitch, or tipping point, with advances in social media.

Some people really love their purchased products, and a select few love them so much they carry the banner of the manufacturer. Take a look at the picture below.

I don't know if this is real but...

Apple has built a brand of cool, innovative, expensive, and elitist technology (except for their iPod, they just want everyone to have 10 of those). Steve Jobs dresses, talks, and acts the part. And there are Apple users out there who dress, talk, and act the same company line. Only… they are the buyer, not the employee. I think it’s interesting. If you think I’m crazy, feel free to check out the blog of Fake Steve Jobs, or perform a Twitter Search for Steve Jobs. The largest account has over 49,000 followers.

Zappos.com is an online apparel store with a focus on service and customer satisfaction. I mentioned them in my last post. Their CEO, Tony Hsiesh, is a millionaire, and a seemingly cool guy. Their company has been listed as one of the most admired and most fun work environments in the country. I do not know Mr. Hsiesh, nor do I have any relation to Zappos. Can someone please explain to me why he is one of six people I follow on Twitter? He tweet’s about everything from Southwest Airlines, blankets, and swine flu (his most recent as of this post) to his attendance at Brittany Spears concerts to da Vinci quotations. And I’m not the only one who is caught up, he has over 500,000 followers on Twitter.

I read these tweets with a chuckle, wondering what this seemingly insignificant connection is doing to build his brand. Same goes for Sir Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin Int’l. I knew he had an island, but I didn’t know he sponsored Formula One Race Car Teams, and good ones at that!

Heck, I even follow Shaquille O’Neal, and I’m thinking the genuine humor of his Twitter Account would tempt me into buying a sequel to his ill-fated rap attempt (Shaq-Fu if I’m not mistaken). It’s that good. These people are building their company brand through sheer personality, and people love it!

I would love to see the numbers for companies whose CEO’s are active in social media. I bet their seeing better revenues and higher customer satisfaction, even if they haven’t changed one aspect of their business model. I guess you can call it the “Tom” effect from the good old MySpace days. If you were a MySpacer, you always had at least one friend! Tom Anderson didn’t even own the company by the time I joined, but he was still my first friend.

The building of Tom’s personality (or avatar, if you will) via MySpace turned into countless press releases, news stories, and blog posts.  I’m relatively confident the Harvard Business Review will be writing case studies on this very topic, if they haven’t already.

I would love to see some market research into consumer behavior and spending habits before and after experiencing companies in the social media atmosphere. I for one believe that most would be more likely to buy from someone they are “friends” with or that they are “following.” Am I wrong?

Facebook realized the power of social media in advertising/brand building with the launch of their ill-fated Beacon project. They were confident if your news feed told you what people were buying, you would probably follow suit. Unfortunately, from a learning standpoint, the program didn’t last long enough to glean any real results. Henceforth Facebook has followed the Twitter model and just allowed you to talk about anything you want via Status Updates. Let’s see where that goes!

As I watched the NBA playoffs on TNT, I noticed that on their station graphics, they have both the Twitter and Facebook icons. They also have the announcers mention that TNT coverage of the playoffs extends onto these mediums. I mean, we are watching a live basketball game on the television, and the station is reminding us we can get updates in 140 characters or less (Twitter) if we so choose. I want to call this stuff revolutionary, but I’m not quite prepared to do that. They can’t make money…

Twitter has just started developing a revenue model. Facebook is close to breakeven, but by no means profitable. I find this interesting in comparison to the people and companies utilizing these services successfully to improve their products. Where is it all going to go?

On a blog note, today has been the most active day in my year plus history, which is what prompted me to write a second post. Tell your friends! Make comments! I just might crack 100 views for the day, in which case, I’m going to celebrate.

This post is probably disjointed and for that I apologize, but I find the interaction of business and social media to be fascinating and would love to learn more about it.

Four Mistakes Employers Are Making In This Job Market…

It’s easy enough to find a dozen articles listing the mistakes job hunters make in their search. There are hundreds of experts extolling the virtue of a perfect resume. Some are even willing to write it for you for a small fee. Well gee, thanks for your commitment.

Unfortunate for all of the job seekers, it truly is an employers market. And because of this, many companies are openly taking advantage of the applicant pool. My question is, just because it’s possible at this point in time, does it make it right? Furthermore, will there be any long term ramifications to companies who  are so quick to forget their pledges to the importance of human capital? When the tables are turned, will these potential employees revolt against their unjust treatment in the marketplace?

Honestly, I’m not sure, but if I were them, I would definitely keep a mental checklist of all the ridiculousness that is a job search in this recession. Regardless of current economic conditions, I believe that many (note: I refuse to believe that every company is doing this, and I would love to hear from hiring managers who are bucking this trend) companies are making big mistakes when it comes to their hiring process, and I’ve listed the four I believe are the biggest.

1) Posting Jobs To Build Applicant Pools
We’ve seen it time and time again, although we’re not always sure of what is actually happening. Company X or Recruiter Y will post a fabulous job, chalk-full of benefits and awesome job responsibilities. They will post this job across the internet. They will collect resumes, and conveniently ask about your gender, race, and any other information they can glean from your profile/resume/etc. They probably already have the candidate in mind, or they aren’t actually hiring for the position currently. But when they do, it was publicly listed, and as an EoE (Equal Opportunity Employer), they have fulfilled their requirements. This tactic is the equivalent of the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires that all teams hiring for a coach must interview a minority candidate. I think the idea is necessary, but it’s practical application has been anything but successful.

So you apply for all of these wonderful jobs littered about the web and,

2) You never hear anything.
In my humble opinion, a no is a no is a no, but it’s a heck of a lot better than dead space. As much as automated responses annoy me, at least I know for sure that my application/resume/cover letter/hard work/prayers/etc. have entered into the pile with everyone else’s. That in and of itself feels like an accomplishment. Surely employers know that in today’s climate, people are applying for hundreds of jobs just to get a single interview. Why not set-up an automated response, or even better, a real hiring manager/human resources person to respond. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should exist.

And even for the few lucky enough to get that first interview,

3) Employers ignore your financial and time considerations
A friend of mine just finished his fourth interview with a company. The first, a preliminary phone interview, went well and he was excited about meeting face to face. The company was located 60 miles from his home. He drove for an hour plus to attend the interview, and the person who was scheduled to meet with him could not, so he was interviewed by another non-hiring employee. He then drove an hour plus home. He also had to utilize toll roads, and the total cost of his trip was over $20. They then called him for a second live interview, and just recently, his third. My friend has spent $60 dollars and well over six hours for the opportunity to potentially maybe get this draw against commission and no benefits position within the company. They also informed him, on his 4th interview, that there were other people applying for the position and they weren’t sure if he was the right fit. Ouch.

Even if a potential employee can navigate through this gauntlet, there is always,

4) The Lowball Offer
Company X or Recruiter Y love you as an applicant. They even want to make you an offer! Unfortunately, after all of the back and forth over minimum salary requirements, bonuses, benefits, etc., their offer comes in the (e)mail, and it shortchanges your value. They know it, and you know it. They have changed the time from, “the right fit for the right value” into “how desperate is this guy/gal.” Is that a company you want to work for, or a company you will stay with once the “market returns?” I’m not so sure companies such as this are taking a long view of their “most important resource.”

Call me crazy, but if/when I have the survive this maze of employment, I’ll remember who the honest and ethical players were, and I guarantee I won’t forget who ignored me, laughed at me, pretended to be interested, disregarded my needs, or anything else that devalued me as an employee.

I still remember Proctor and Gamble’s cumbersome online application for college interns, and how quickly I was rejected from that program. I’ve always heard how great of a company they are to work for, but I have no real interest. The application didn’t leave much room for expression of individuality, and I never made it to the interview round. It’s possible I wasn’t qualified, but I don’t think they could have known that through their limited questionaire.

I just can’t believe that economic turmoil universally equates into bad hiring practices. I would love to hear about companies who are still treating their employees, or prospective employees, the right way, and I honestly believe that those companies will emerge stronger than ever, with a more loyal following of employees, customers, and fans.

I wonder what fanship will do to the corporate landscape over the next five years. I really like Richard Branson. I think he’s brilliant, and I’m a big fan of the openness of his Twitter account. Yet I don’t think I’ve ever purchased anything that in any way helps Virgin’s bottom line. Maybe I will, just because of his tweets. Same thing with Zappos. Free Shipping both ways! They give people free shoes if there is a problem! I mean, sounds like an awesome company. I just haven’t ever bought shoes online. If I do, I know that’s where I’ll go, but it hasn’t materialized yet. I wonder.

Two of my favorites out there right now:
http://www.lifehacker.com
A great site about simple productivity.

http://www.armchairculture.com
A diverse and sometimes hilarious site about any and everything, written by a good friend.

To the blogroll they go!

And now that he’s back…

It has been some time since I’ve entertained myself, and a select few others, with any of my sociopoltical econbiz babble. But I must admit, it feels good to be back.

Understandably, it’s been a rough quarter for business people around the globe. I wish I could say I was immune, or rather my company was immune, but that is not the case.

I have been working as a financial analyst for a utility contractor that specializes in horizontal directional drilling. It’s pretty innovative technology, and our drill teams are truly industry experts. I however, cannot quite consider myself the same. I’ve been tasked with all financial projections, statements, and project estimation thus far. Since I’ve assumed these duties, our 2nd quarter outlook has improved by about 40%, which is good news. However, I have begun to process of identifying my next great opportunity, if only because I am currently operating on an island of numbers, where none of my co-workers, nor my boss, have any strong desire to work within the realities of corporate finance. The business has operated quite well on feel and gut instinct, so even though market conditions have changed substantially, none of the key players want to adapt the business model or become more efficient. I’m making incremental progress, but I’m meeting a lot of resistance along the way, and I’m truly beginning to feel that I can grow more as a professional and be more useful in another environment.

Strangely enough, I’ve been out of the loop in regard to politics, and the rest of the business world. The last unemployment number I saw was 8.1% nationally, and I also saw an interesting statistic that showed Palm Coast, FL (my hometown) tied for 17th in the country for highest unemployment rate. I believe we were somewhere in the 11-12% range.

I’ve taken a much more active interest in my community and my state, and so far my efforts have been rebuffed at every turn. This is the first time in my life where wanting to get involved and help isn’t enough, and these few situations have been draining. I attended a state democratic party meeting, and I loved how accessible all of my party representatives were at the time, but was appalled at their lack of interest in anything I had to say, and even more appalled at their complete lack of follow through.

I must admit I think they are wrong on multiple counts regarding party strategy, and I’m sure that this belief has influenced my perception of them. I also decided to get involved in a local education committee tasked with performance issues within my school district. I spent two hours listening to people complain about everything under the sun, and when I reviewed the committees past activity, I found it to be ridiculous. In three years, this unnamed committee proposed a meager 36 resolutions to the school board. Upon quick analysis, 15 of these proposals were pet projects of the individuals involved that in no way even attempted to perform the duties of the committee (improving performance in schools), 15 of the projects might have some value with proper research and execution, and only 8 of the proposals were home runs. This alone was frustrating enough, but when I inquired into the acceptance of these proposals, or their performance, I was told that the committee did not track any of their proposals after submittal.

If we can’t take the time to research, advocate, track, analyze, and amend, how can we expect to improve an education system in disarray?

Beyond these setbacks, everything has been going well. I received my open water diving certification, and scuba diving is a truly wonderful experience. I recommend it to anyone with the time and a bit of money. I’m slowly falling into the twitter trap, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. As a news source, it’s incredibly useful. For some humor (@The_Real_Shaq), it also works quite well. But as a “I need to tell everyone everything all the time” tool, I find it obnoxious. I’ll revisit this feeling in three months, in less than 140 characters.

It really looks like this...

Sporcle.com has helped to keep me sane in the workplace (People are more productive when utilizing diversions in the workplace. See!) Hulu is growing on me, although they need better search. I’ve also found some excellent blogs that I’ll slowly add to the roll. The first, one of my very good friends, who is three months into his career as an affiliate marketer for an Internet start-up. Check it out here.

I decided to go on a diet and start exercising. Terrible decision, but it’s working. Terrible in that I love food. I mean, like I really enjoy cooking and eating almost any kind of food. Apparently, Italian food is not as healthy as I once pretended it was. But it is the best decision for me, and I’ve been an athlete most of my life, so I don’t want to let the stresses associated with life turn me into something I’m not.

Well, that’s all I have time for today, but it was fun to get back into the swing of things. I’ll be typing at everyone soon enough!