#StarWars taught me a PR lesson -- 38 years later

As a 9-year-old in the late 1970s who came of age during the first Star Wars trilogy, I couldn't get enough of this fictional tale of spaceships and storm troopers and Skywalkers. I stumbled upon a discovery inside a comic book that provided a relevant lesson four decades later. Read my LinkedIn post.

We're used to selfies. Why not self-scoring on Facebook?

In this post on LinkedIn, I argued that social media giant Facebook needs to allow its users to self-score their posts. If their pal has lost his parent, I want him or her to know it will be seen. Give it a "5" on a 1 to 5 scale after being posted. A cute photo of his dogs? Love 'em, but score it a 2. Yes, I advocated Facebook users provide their content as well as score their content. Trust me, self-scoring could be the best thing since selfies. Why? Because it's selfless. Read my LinkedIn post.

What I'm usually doing ...

 

"Tweeting while charging."

Photo courtesy of Bob Burchfield of @aroundindy, taken July 27, 2014. Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

LinkedIn: Social-separation anxiety after a workplace exit

I've identified a syndrome that strikes communications managers or digital strategists responsible for creating/curating/expanding their employer's social media platforms. I call it social-separation anxiety. Read the full LinkedIn article.

LinkedIn: On Springsteen, Born to Run, and not being happy with your finished product

If Springsteen was unhappy with what turned out to be a masterpiece, what hope do the rest of us mortals have? Read my LinkedIn article.

LinkedIn: 1M writers, but missing a journalism voice

My readership on LinkedIn is, honestly, pathetic compared to the audience I had back in my full-time reporter days, which was over 1 million in 21 years in the industry. I'm OK with my limited reach. Why? Read the article.

LinkedIn: Facebook's new 'responsive to messages' metrics mean more work

Many of you who oversee Facebook pages for your business or nonprofit may have taken notice of a new metric designed to reward social managers that excel at customer service. [Or who desire to.] The 'very responsive to messages' option appeared very recently on a few of my pages, and on one of my accounts I got the Facebook equivalent of a green light. Read my story.

Core values of the Chimney Safety Institute of America

3 ways to avoid the 'abandoned house' effect on your social accounts

Some social media accounts remind me of the gym that fills up in January, then just a month later, turns into a ghost town. People set goals and have noble agendas at the outset, but let them fall by the wayside. It's a shame when this happens, but at least the letdowns occur out of the limelight.

Not so with social media.

Inactivity on any channel is bad for your brand, but on Twitter, especially, malaise is truly magnified. Whereas creating an account is the easiest part in the whole process, maintenance is where most misfire. And an abandoned account lines right up there on my no-no list along with ...

[Continue reading this post on my LinkedIn page.]

Scorekeeping social fallout from the Indiana governor

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act [RFRA] in late March at a private ceremony featuring a number of conservative religious leaders.

Perceived to be a wolf in sheep's clothing because it protects businesses that object to/won't serve gay patrons, the backlash intensified nationally, and quickly. Politicians, celebrities, businesses, thought leaders ... took to social to express individual outrage about the General Assembly and Pence's actions; call it embarrassment-by-association; in the Hoosier state capital, Indianapolis took umbrage at the verbal slings and arrows being wrongly aimed toward a progressive, inclusive city.

Don't judge all Hoosiers on the misguided actions of one, went the thinking. Blamehim, not us. 

[Continue to read this post on LinkedIn]

Spock, six years, and social behaviors

February 2015 marked my sixth anniversary using social media, a publishing revolution that elevated, then upended, my previous occupation ... then paved the way for a new career in public relations. Unlike newspapering, where multiple sets of eyes (and fingers) controlled/manipulated my content, in social you are on your own. There's a breath-of-fresh-air freedom in this aspect. It's also terrifying, and time-consuming (just choosing a headline for this post proved daunting). 

I've long been an advocate of Twitter, YouTube and Facebook as a direct-to-stakeholders wunderkind for businesses and nonprofits, but I'll not get into work for this post. I'm focusing on what social behaviors" @spaldobusiness has learned. My top 10.

Want to read more? This post continues on my LinkedIn page.