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Chris Reimer is Available For Hire

I don’t mean to darken your day, but I have some important news to share. Starting very soon, I’ll no longer be employed by Kaldi’s Coffee. Sad face emoji.

I had been hired to be Marketing Director of both Kaldi’s Coffee and a sister company, Honolulu Coffee (they have common ownership). Since my hire, needs of the two companies have changed, so my job is going away. I am grateful to have had the chance to work with some talented people, and to learn so much about something as wonderful as coffee. And it should be noted that, for now, I’m still employed there – Kaldi’s is giving me a chance to find something new and land on my feet. Simultaneously, over the past month, they allowed me to work on the release of my book without worrying about finding a way to pay our bills. I think that speaks highly of them.

It’s unfortunate things didn’t turn out the way I had hoped. Looking at it another way, this is an exciting time, as I’m officially a free agent. I’ve never looked for a job in this manner; my employment searches have always been private. This search needs to be public, as I want to give myself the best opportunity to find something great.

Here’s what I’m looking for: a marketing/communications job in St. Louis with a nonprofit organization, marketing agency, or a small-to-medium-sized company with a great team of people. My “particular set of skills” include: marketing, communication, PR, raising visibility and awareness of brands and causes, writing, improving workplace morale, and social media strategy. As many of you know, I used to be a CPA, so I also have knowledge of finance (and its impact on marketing, and vice versa).

I’m a passionate, motivational, award-winning storyteller who enjoys teaching, strategizing, and thinking about the big picture. As evidenced by my book Happywork, I’m a team player who’s not afraid of change (and if you’ve read this far, yes I enjoy long walks on the beach).

For anyone interested, you can learn more about my background and skills on my LinkedIn page, or on the About page of this website.

Please spread the word about my availability as you see fit, and keep your eyes and ears open for me. Life goes on, if you let it. Time to find the next great challenge! Lend a hand, if you can – thank you!

Ello? I Discuss the Fledgling New Social Media Platform on Fox 2 TV with Angela Hutti

Ello was all the rage a few weeks ago. Invites were like solid gold, which only spread the word further that there was a new social media kid on the block (ready to take on Facebook, of course). People were even auctioning off invites on eBay. Now we’re not hearing as much about it. A few hot weeks, and now the place makes Google Plus look like Times Square? (yes a stretch, but I was on a caffeine-fueled rage when I wrote this).

Such is the way when we’re searching for the next big thing, the next viral phenomenon, and frankly, that’s what Ello’s up against as they face off against Twitter and Facebook for mindshare and human time. (You can say these sites are not in competition, but humans have 24 hours per unit, so those hours are what a social media platform has to capture. Yes, they have to compete for our time).

Ello is a new social media platform, designed and built by a group of graphic designers, and they’re trying to do things a bit differently, including making a few, shall I say, bold promises. No ads (EVER), and they’ll never sell your personal data. They recently reorganized the company as a Public Benefit Corporation, which tells me they’re serious about keeping their word.

Learn more here.

Do they have a chance? Honestly, who cares? That’s not a negative sentiment. What I mean to say – why not give these guys a chance to do something differently. I think the pundits ask the monetization question in a sort of “gotcha” way. Must everything we do be monetized? Maybe the founders are trying to shift our thinking on privacy, on data collection, on human communication. Maybe they’re trying to change the world. Hell, I’d love to change the world, and would require no compensation in return should I succeed. Guys, maybe this isn’t about the money. Maybe it’s about doing something amazing.

Thanks Angela for having me on.

Good luck, Ello.

CLICK HERE IF THE VIDEO ABOVE DOESN’T COOPERATE

Social Media Look Ahead for 2014

What are the social media trends we should be keeping an eye on during the coming year? I recently appeared on Fox 2 TV with Angela Hutti to provide my social media look ahead for 2014. We discussed Google Plus, Snapchat and Twitter. The discussion on Twitter at the end had to be cut short due to the station’s extensive storm coverage (#snOMG2014).

What do you think? Will Google Plus make strides this year? (I don’t think so). Can B2B brands find a use for Snapchat? (no clue, but they’ll try). Will Twitter find its way into more aspects of our daily lives? (yes, it will).

CLICK HERE IF THE EMBEDDED VIDEO ABOVE IS NOT WORKING

p.s. Here’s some more reading on Snapchat, courtesy of the 1/20/14 issue of Forbes.

Social Media Year in Review – 2013

Image courtesy of Aaron Perlut

Image courtesy of Aaron Perlut

I recently joined Angela Hutti on Fox 2 TV to discuss 2013’s social media trends. Here’s what I saw when I reflected on the year.

MORE:
Mobile – More people are living their entire lives on their mobile devices. And they’re comfortable doing so.
Ads – Facebook rolled out ads in your newsfeed, and Instagram now has ads.
Hashtags – They’re in every commercial, on your TV screen while you watch your favorite show, and Facebook has adopted them.
Photos and Video – Instagram, Vine, Pinterest and Snapchat continue to rise.

LESS:
Teens on Facebook – others are trying to refute this point. Trust me – this is a big deal to Facebook. Many kids turning 13 have mobile devices, but they’re using Instagram, Snapchat and Tumblr instead of Facebook. Ask the teens you know if they are using Facebook. You will hear some “no’s.”

Or click here if the embedded video isn’t working for you

POSTSCRIPT: I’d also like to draw attention to this article. We didn’t have time to cover this during the interview, but I love Chez’s take on this. The Justine Sacco stuff is the icing on 2013’s cake.

One Tweet to a Life in Hell – The Justine Sacco Affair

Some people are scared to use social media. It seems too “Wild Wild West” to them. Some of those people are fearful of learning how to do it, some are scared to make a big mistake, and some wish for a simpler time when the definition of “friend” was narrower and “in the flesh.”

As an extrovert, I’ve found my stride in life, so to speak, on social media. The last six years have found me starting a tee company, making many life-long friends, and changing careers. I enjoy expressing myself, learning, having discussions, and entertaining myself on a daily basis.

Someday, I am bound to make a big mistake. I will offend the world at large with an inappropriate photo or tweet. I don’t think this will ever happen, but I should never say “never.” If or when it happens, I hope to have friends coming to my defense. I hope it’s something I can recover from. I hope my family doesn’t bear the brunt. Mostly, I really, really hope it never happens.

I don’t mean to say our lives are not in our control; I firmly believe we are in control of our destiny.

So what happened to Justine Sacco? A PR pro for IAC, she presented the social media community its latest scandal with her insensitive tweet about Africa. While on a plane to said continent, the tweet was blowing up worldwide and she likely knew nothing of it until she landed. Upon disembarking, if her phone was able to grab a cell tower or some wifi, she was undoubtedly slammed with tweets, emails, texts, voicemails, Facebook messages and more. That must have been a bit jarring for her. IAC quickly sacked her.

What should we make of this affair? I always like to dial down to the foundation, to the simplest and most elementary lesson to be learned. This is to say, “What should we do FIRST?” In this case, it’s “BE NICE.” Sorry to keep beating this dead horse, but that’s the first thing we all need to know.

Guys, Justine’s situation is a complicated issue. In reading the countless articles on the affair, I’ve seen the right wing attack the left wing. I’ve seen people make this an age issue, a gender issue, an unemployment issue (how can SHE have a job while I’m unemployed), a race issue, a white guilt issue, and more. You name it; everyone has an angle on this, a prism through which they judge her.

However, if Justine had just remembered rule number one – be nice to others – this would have never happened to her. So what seems complicated is actually quite simple. Be nice!

Through the millennia, since the very advent of the spoken word, we humans have harbored thoughts that we have chosen not to verbally articulate. Justine’s AIDS tweet is the latest lesson on why that’s the case. As I state in the interview I recently did with Mark Reardon on KMOX, most of us have told an offensive joke or two. Some of us have been to comedy clubs and laughed at a comedian saying horrible things. But NO, you can’t say these things on social media. Similarly, you wouldn’t say these things aloud in a crowded coffee shop, on a job interview, on a first date, or at the office water cooler. In those places, in those circumstances, you have to practice restraint.

So that means no off-color jokes about AIDS. No Hitler jokes, no Jewish jokes, no special needs jokes, none of that. You think it’s funny? That’s great – keep it to yourself. You don’t want to offend an entire continent with one tweet!

First and foremost, think of others instead of yourself. Had Justine done that, she might have considered the 1 million Americans living with HIV, or the 30 million worldwide. Let me stake out some brave territory and say AIDS is terrible. Don’t joke about it! Be nice to others.

Be nice!

To listen to my interview with Mark Reardon, HIT PLAY on the second sound file down

Other takes:

1. AdWeek initially reports on the situation.

2. Here are 16 tweets she might now wish to take back. No. 16 is way out there, in my humble opinion.

3. Here’s a robust discussion on my Facebook page about Justine and how long (if at all) we should heap scorn on her.

4. If you read nothing else on this issue, read Roxane Gay’s take on it.

5. Some additional sympathy for Justine’s plight.

6. A friend defends her, saying she’s guilty of not being good at Twitter.

7. The Twitter lynch mob.

What’s Your Personal Positioning Statement?

I’ve been giving thought to the notion that I do too much. I have Rizzo Tees. I speak. I consult. I sometimes give free advice. I volunteer. I work at Falk Harrison. I have clients. Sometimes, I find it hard to describe myself.

So I decided to try to distill it all down into a single sentence. Well, two sentences – one for work, and one for my personal brand. It may be a mistake to have two, but I have personal interests as well as a job. This is my first crack at writing a personal positioning statement:

WORK: I help organizations tell their story both online and off.

PERSONAL BRAND: My mission is to help people see the world from other people’s point of view.

What’s your 10 second elevator speech?

Marketers Ruin Everything

Gary is right about three things:

1. Marketers take tactics and abuse the hell out of them until they’re ruined.
2. The greatest marketers are all storytellers.
3. There are things like Google Glass about which we say, “No WAY am I ever going to wear that,” but we will.

Books I’m Recommending Tomorrow at My United Way Seminar

Chris Reimer book recommendations

Tomorrow I’m conducting a social media seminar and Q&A at the United Way of Greater St. Louis. Attendees from United Way-funded organizations will hear me speak about social media, and then will fire several hours of questions at me.

One thing I’ll be recommending off the bat is self-education. When working to understand social media, I have found that practice does make perfect. One hundred and ten thousand tweets later, I do have experience I didn’t before have. However, backing up one step, I’ll want the attendees to be in the right mindset before using social media to say what they have to say.

The books above will be getting a shout out, and I do hope the attendees give these works a chance. I’ve learned so much by taking to heart the messages these authors offered to the world.

Reach Out and Touch Someone with a Compliment

Sometimes, it’s the little things that make an online life worth living.

Anagramatron – Finding Two Tweets That Are Anagrams

This is weird and amazing and, quoting Matt Fitzpatrick, surprisingly addicting.

A Tumblr that locates two tweets that are anagrams of each other. WHOA.

Anagramatron