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The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge – My Appearance on Fox 2 TV

I recently appeared on Fox 2 TV with my good friend Angela Hutti to discuss the results of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It was only about two weeks ago that I spoke at length on the Mark Reardon show about the Ice Bucket Challenge, and at that time, it seemed like it was just passing its prime. A few videos were still appearing, but they seemed to be quickly dissipating.

Sure enough, the videos quickly disappeared from our Facebook feeds. It came, it went, and it just rocked the nonprofit fundraising world. Last year, from July 29 to August 29, The ALSA raised $2.9 million. This year, same time period, it was over $100 million. Absolutely mindblowing, and I’ll be they can’t believe it themselves!

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FOX 2 STORY, if you’re having trouble with the embedded video above. As always, thank you to everyone at Fox 2 for having me on.

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.

Amy’s Baking Company – Social Media Etiquette and Advice For People That Desperately Need It

Gordon Ramsey has a show on Fox called “Kitchen Nightmares,” where struggling or failing restaurants come to be saved. I am assuming restaurants approach him, versus the other way around, and I am thinking they do this for at least two reasons: 1. To get actual help for a business that really needs it, and 2. To get some high-profile publicity. Mr. Ramsey’s show has been on the air since 2007, a fact of which I’ve been blissfully unaware. Anyway, as it is a “reality show,” I am sure the show’s producers chop up and paste together the footage to suit their needs, paint people in the light they want them to be in, and basically manipulate the story to their end. Lots of drama, yelling, slamming of fists on tables… Gordon Ramsey is not the quiet type.

And yet, for the first time ever, he walked off a show in production and said, “You people simply cannot be helped. You’re an impossible case. I’m OUTS.” He’s British; I’m paraphrasing.

After the episode aired, the fine folks at Reddit began having a field day with it. I guess Amy and Samy took exception to the fun being poked at them and melted down HARD on Facebook. This is not the first faux pas I’ve seen a company make on social media, but the breadth and depth of this freakout was notable. Multiple posts, cursing, name calling, ALL CAPS diatribes, directly interacting with people and calling them the worst of worst names… it took Facebook by storm.

Anyway, I had a chance to briefly talk about it on Fox 2 Now with Angela Hutti. My main piece of advice here was to sleep on it. This was not one of those crises that required an immediate response. No one likes to be ganged up on and called stupid and horrible. The Yelp reviews started getting so mean and fictional – just absolutely crazy things being said. As a business owner, this would infuriate me. And it’s possible that I’d be so angry, a night’s rest would do nothing for me. However, I have typed angry emails and saved as a draft, and each time I did so, I changed up the email the next day. NEVER have I said, “Yeah, that crazy stuff, sounds like exactly what I want to convey.” Rather, I’ve softened up the message every single time I’ve slept on it. If the crisis does not call for swift response, try responding after you’ve cooled down. Your calm brain thinks so differently than your agitated brain.

Here’s a page on Huffington Post with many screenshots (WARNING: graphic language), and here’s a Buzzfeed article with much of the same. Note: both contained Youtube versions of the show, but those videos have since been taken down.

Here’s a link to the story on Fox2Now, in case the embedded video above chooses not to cooperate.

Talking About Vine on Fox 2 TV

I recently appeared on Fox 2 Now with my good friend Angela Hutti to discuss the new video creation and sharing app called Vine. Watch the video, let me know what you think, and be sure to read by blog post on Vine on Falk Harrison’s blog.

Here’s a link to Fox 2’s story, in case the video embedded above decides not to work.

My Apperance on St Louis Presents

I recently appeared on “St. Louis Presents” on STL-TV with hosts Rob Desir and Aprille Trupiano to discuss Twitter. These two were a delight to be with, and both were very interested in using Twitter in a more enhanced way.

Thank you Ellen Soule for bringing this opportunity to me!

My appearance begins at the 40:40 mark – click here to be taken directly to that point. I’m done by around 47:45.

Google Plus – Discussing on Fox 2 TV

Google+ is a point of contention among social media nerds (like me). “It’s a ghost town.” “It is NOT a ghost town – if you spent some time using it, you’d figure that out.” “There’s no one there.” “There are 100,000,000 active monthly users.” “I can’t get any engagement there.” “I have deeper, more meaningful discussions on G+.”

In the 3 or so minutes I had, I tried to paint an accurate picture of the current state of Google Plus. What do you think?

BTW, here’s a great Google+ thread (WITH interaction) on my Fox 2 appearance, started by one of G+’s biggest champions, Dano Hart.

Here’s a link to the video on Fox 2’s website, in case the video embedded above doesn’t play.

Pinterest – My Appearance on Fox 2 TV

Thanks again to Angela Hutti and Fox 2 TV for having me in. This time we discussed the social media phenomenon known as Pinterest.

A link to the story on Fox 2’s site is here, and you can follow me on Pinterest here.

Talking Instagram With Angela Hutti on Fox2Now

Thanks to FOX2now and Angela Hutti for having me on to talk about my favorite photo app, Instagram. I hope to come back and do it again.

(Link to the video on Fox 2’s website, in case the embedded video above doesn’t work)

And in the irony of all ironies…