What Netscape Navigator can teach us about finding social media experts

The current shortage of PR and ad/social media hybrid experts today reminds me of a similar situation back in the late 90’s. Back then another merger of talents was in demand – graphic artist meets computer programmer – or what became the web designer. It played out something like this.

With the explosion of that historic program called Netscape Navigator people started to finally get what opportunities lay in yonder Internet hills (or as they used to say – the World Wide Web.) Pages could be actually interacted with. Designers knew how to put together wonderful print layouts but interactivity, not so much. It was pretty rare to find an amazing programmer (who tended to be more analytical vs. creative) that could appreciate great design and vice versa. Job openings quickly appeared around the globe but for the most part – the talent cupboards were pretty bare.

So where did the talent come from to start off?

Most were self-made, self-taught artists or programmers that took a risk and generally combined a hobby with a job skill. For some this was like a dream come true and they thrived in the new environment. These folks were passionate about their new combined skills and blazed new trails in design and interactivity. For others, it was a stretch either one way or another and while they filled a need they didn’t win any awards for web design. And for those who thought they might like to get into the field but didn’t have either programming or design backgrounds it was tough going at first to find any courses to take. It was also a time when a lot of the tools were just coming on to the market to assist with web design, some with single purposes and pretty first generation, others eventually becoming full-on suites and making it easy for more to enter the field and for the job to be done quickly, with more interactivity and with better design.

Of the talent that did exist they were quickly gobbled up by three different orgs:

• the early adopter corporate brands who were ready to take advantage of the web and got the concept
• the early adopter agencies who recognized the future of the medium as a channel to customers
• the specialty shops that sprouted up and focused only on web and interactive design

Of course there were also those who chose to go it alone and freelance their talents to any of the above.

So, I ask, doesn’t this sound all to familiar?

While still a vast majority of PR and advertising is done via traditional channels, consumers and business clientelle alike are being attracted to the power of social media. It’s the power to interact or converse this time vs. traditional, one-way static message delivery. And the Netscape Navigators of today in social media are the Web 2.o applications and sites making it easy for consumers to grasp and utilize the power of social media to live, play and work.

And where are the social media experts coming from now to fill these new social media PR and social media ad positions? Again, most are self-made, self-taught folks from PR or advertising who love the whole idea of social media and are participating passionately in it in their personal lives. And where are the few that exist today going:

• the early adopter corporate brands who are ready to take advantage of social media and get the concept
• the early adopter agencies who recognize the future of the medium as a channel to communicate with customers
• the specialty shops that are sprouting up and focus only on social media marketing and/or PR

Of course there were also those who chose to go it alone and freelance their talents to any of the above.

Again, we are in the early stages of tools where some are available to do individual tasks while others are evolving into full suites to assist in making the job of working with social media quicker, easier and with the ability to analyze and garner better relationships etc…

Finally we are also in the middle of a hiring crunch. Demand is big for social media experts and most of the self-made folks are already taken. So what is the path to quickly fill these roles? Here are a few ideas and examples of what’s happening now.

• Becoming a self-made, self-taught practitioner is easier than most think – While working with social media requires a bit of an understanding and comfort with “technology” Web 2.0 applications take most of the “scary” right out of it. Its really about just jumping in, learning and experimenting. And since social media is all about conversations and sharing you can join lots of networks where others already in the space are more than happy to help you along. As Jason Falls pointed out at our recent Third Tuesday gathering, “everyone can be a social media expert.”
• Conferences and unconferences are popping up all over the place. Want to meet the rockstars of social media? Pick out a few conferences and hang out with the gang. I’ve found that social media types are some of the friendliest bunch you’ll ever meet. Don’t be shy.
• Some leading-edge universities and colleges are now including the teaching of social media PR and marketing best practices in their curriculum. PR and ad shops are driven a lot by the energy of young minds so hopefully more institutions of higher learning will add courses related to social media sooner rather than later.
• Some early-adopter agencies are taking on the task of training their own staff in a big way. Agencies are partnering up with social media experts and exposing their talent to skills and tools required to give clients what they are now demanding in a big way. This is a great way to kick start the process quickly followed up by staff diving in on their own and joining the social media world at both work and home.
• Corporations are creating positions specifically to listen and engage with clients and potential clients through social media. Many are sourcing talent from within – those who are already personally passionate about social media and have the conversational skills and aptitudes to take on the roles. Other corporations as well as agencies are also opening up and allowing staff to contribute to the firm’s blog. In the era of transparency and openness consumers are applauding the move to do this as much as the opportunity to engage in the brands they love.
• Private seminars and webinars are available more and more to walk people through the ABC’s of engaging in social media. While they can be great ways to get up to speed quickly on best practices attending a course is simply not the be all and end all. Social media PR and marketing requires one to roll up the sleeves eventually and dive right in. It’s like deciding to have kids – you can never make sense of it or pick the perfect time – you just decide one day and you go for it. It’s only after you do this that you look back and say you were so glad you did.

As a reference I found a few great examples of progress happening now to fill the needs of the industry.

- Laura Porto Stockwell tweeted today that she got her Master of Media Studies from The New School with a focus in social media. She also pointed out that Forrester had just released a study on the topic of hiring social media folks. It’s written by Jeremiah Owyang.

- Elizabeth Albrycht mentioned in a tweet that she’s teaching social media at a communications school in Versailles, France

- Chris Nadeau pointed out the Center for Social Media at the School of Communication at American University.

- Nathan Gilliatt tweeted and reminded me of a SMA course at CMU and their Wiki on the topic of research and analysis of social media. Great reference list for those wanting to go deeper on the topic.

- and finally, and while I’ve run across many others, here is an example of a student bravely joining the social media sphere, Laurie Scheniman, a PR student at Centennial College. She’s definitely on the road to becoming one of our industry’s newest social media experts.

March 18th, 2008 - Posted in social media | | 5 Comments

Lines blur when the customer “is” the publisher

I read something the other day and I wish I could remember where.  But it struck me when I did.  Yes, as with some of the most striking things you read, the idea was simple and rather obvious after I read it.  Simply put, customers are cutting out the middleman when it comes to publishing content.  Why jump up and down to see if you can get mainstream media to cover a story you think needs to be covered when you can sit down and publish it yourself.  And go ahead and choose the medium you want as well – audio, video, text or a combo.  And why rely on hope where the few you want to read the story find it in all that mass media – post it where they gather online – go direct.

So what does this mean for a public relations specialist?  Well it means that you and the person down the hall in charge of customer service or “customer relations” are about to become best of friends.  An unhappy customer tweeting or blogging about a less than satisfying customer service experience is equivalent to someone yelling at the top of their lungs about it in a store – customer service manager to the rescue.  But because this same experience happened online and could likely show up in the same RSS reader list as that article from a mainstream publisher its now on the PR manager’s radar too.

So while the Customer Service Manager has always seen the mainstream reporter as just another customer to keep happy (though perhaps even extra happy), the PR manager has traditionally only focused on the media and customer stories that have eventually hit the mainstream media as stories.  There is no question that the PR side faces more change with this new arrangement.  However there are also opportunities for collaboration between the two areas.

- Public relations needs to have more input on the way services and products are delivered (their backgrounds allow them to see where potential issues can form.)

- Customer service needs to react quicker to potential issues that arise on the sales floor (traditional media takes time to pull together a story – customers can blog or tweet from their cell phones instantly.)

What are some other ways both customer service (relations) and public relations can work together?

March 11th, 2008 - Posted in social media | | 5 Comments

Feel the power of disruptive technology

Sometimes we get into the mode of accepting the status quo as well, acceptable. But often it isn’t and deep down we know there has to be something better. Well, a month ago a colleague and I ran into what I would consider something as close to disruptive as you can get. And we found it in all places, the Montreal Airport washroom. How many of you have cursed when you wash your hands and look around for paper towel only to discover it has been displaced by the dreaded wimpy air hand dryer. With so much emphasis on being environmentally friendly these days you’d think we’d be happy. But alas, the old wimpy traditional air hand dryer is just that – wimpy. It barely does anything to dry hands. In fact I think just standing there holding your hands out sans dryer is pretty close to the same in the effectiveness category.

But hark, what goes there in the Montreal Airport. The Xlerator. So powerful is the wind coming out of this puppy that you swear your skin may peel off. But boy does it do the trick. It actually does what it should – it dries your hands as quickly as a paper towel but without the waste.

Something so simple yet so effective. And viral as well. The Xlerator does such an amazing job that in every place I’ve seen it installed strangers are talking to strangers “Wow, that’s amazing.” Kids are telling their parents. Colleagues are joking to colleagues. And it’s just about a hand dryer. Just goes to show that if you invent something purple, it doesn’t matter what the category is, word will spread and the traditional will quickly become passe.

March 11th, 2008 - Posted in Seth Godin, viral | | 3 Comments