Managing the Gray - Marketing for the New Media Professional

I just discovered another take on the world of tagging, posting and all around sharing what you dig on the net called Clipmarks.

My clips can be found here. Just playing around to check out the possibilities. I like that it’s just a plug in and interacts with my blogs and such. Some quirky things with the interface, but i know those will be worked out as time goes on.

Another cool tool to watch. I know I’ll be playing with it more. Still waiting for the killer app that integrates everything into one massive interactive new media playground. Yeah, I may be waiting for a while I know.

Posted in Cool Tools | Comments(7)

Managing the Gray #28 was one of those that I recorded by the seat of my pants. No show notes. Nothing but a brain full of thoughts that came to me in the shower today surrounding two events this past week that reminded me that with all the tools, widgets and gadgets that we have that none of the fun of new media would be possible without the people involved in it. That is what today’s show is all about.

Links that I mentioned in the show or that I think will be helpful include:

• Pictures from our Nashville trip
• Jeff Pulver (thank you again)
• Chris Brogan
• Christopher Penn
• Thanks to Reid Givens for the audio comment
• crayonCast
• Julien Smith’s blog post on this topic
• Twitter

The comment line is always open at 206-309-4729 so please drop in a line.

Posted in Podcast | Comments(7)

I’ve been asked by the Association of Internet Marketing and Sales Canada to speak about Second Life.

Full details of the breakfast event can be found here.

Thanks to Michael Seaton and Mitch Joel for the hookup on this event. Always great to be thought of for speaking engagements. Especially one where I get to share the stage with Jay Moonah!

Posted in second life | Comments(2)

I know I’m WAY late to the game on this. I’ve seen it on several blogs, but finally got around to watching it today after seeing it on Mitch Joel’s blog. Amazingly dead on video.

Sort of sums it up and says it all.

Posted in Video | Comments(4)

One of these days Jeff Pulver and I will meet face-to-face, but until then I’ll just have to settle exchanging e-mails, twitters and watching his videos such as this one he took after waiting in line several minutes to make a purchase at an Apple Store.

I wonder if anyone had a “talking to” after this. They sure should have.

Posted in Video | Comments(1)

Part of being involved in the new media revolution is that you spend time on the road. Time that you must still try to stay plugged in and connected and yet it’s not nearly as easy as you’d think it would be.

I’m quickly realizing that I’m getting better at it, but that I’ve got to continually evolve in order to do it better.

Top of my list is something that will allow me to read Word documents on my Black Berry. I haven’t looked, but there must be something that makes this possible. It seems to be the biggest roadblock I’ve got right now.

Also, my Logitech QuickCam blows up my laptop every time I try to do video conferencing through Skype with it. I’ve got the latest update from Skype an the latest drivers from Logitech. I long for the day when every laptop comes with a build in video camera. I can hear many of you saying “just get a mac” and I’ve actually considered it.

One day home from Atlanata and then off to New York City this weekend. Trying to schedule some meetings on Tuesday morning to fill the time I’m there.

New episode of Managing the Gray when I get back. I’m missing it!

Posted in Rambles | Comments(2)

Yesterday I got to do something that I don’t get to do nearly as often as I would like and that is talk to a classroom full of students. In fact I spoke to two different sessions of Employee Relations at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. But, get this? I never left my desk in Boston. That’s right we did it via Second Life.

How this came about is last week my Google Alerts let me know about a post by a student. I read the post and in it she talked about being on a scavenger hunt for her class that brought her by Crayonville. I left a comment because I just though this was downright cool.

A short while later I got an e-mail from the DeNel Rehberg Sedo, PhD who is the teacher of the class asking if I’d be interested in speaking to her students. I jumped at the chance.

I had the class meet me at the U-Turn Cafe just so we could be alone and chat easier. It was a lot of fun because the students had come up with questions ahead of time so there was a flurry of conversation. The first batch was pretty laid back and we talked about a variety of topics. They are mainly PR students so it made for great conversations.

The second batch was much more confrontational, but in a good way. They asked the hard questions. How can Second Life be a replacement for employee interaction? Is technology hurting how we communicate? Really good questions! It was a great back and forth.

The other big difference between the two sessions is the first were dancing around while asking questions. Exploring the space and having fun. The second all sat down formerly and didn’t move. It was quite interesting indeed.

One of the students named Lauren posted her thoughts on the second session. I’m waiting to see what the professor’s blog ends up saying about it. Or what Jill will say about it who is also a student and who talked to me a bunch on the side about the conversation and her future.

Second Life and virtual worlds will never replace human contact. As I stated yesterday I see it as a substitute or enhancement for when the situation is right. Would I have preferred to be in front of that class in person and having the same conversation? You bet I would! But, since we couldn’t do that this worked as a substitute and is better then nothing at all.

Thank you again to the class for having me. I hope it’s something I get to do more of in the future. Both in real life and in Second Life.

~ Cross posting on CC-Chapman.com, Managing the Gray and 93 Colors. ~

Posted in crayon, second life, New Media | Comments(2)

It has been about 24 hours since I (and the rest of the country based on the news) found out about the little scare here in Boston.

Some follow up thoughts and answers to questions/comments left.

• I agree that I wish we did not have to think that every single out of the ordinary thing was something bad. But, right now that’s the world we live in and it’s the mentality of a lot of people. Is it better to live in a world where our eyes are closed to the badness around us or to live in fear? It’s way to deep of a question for me to answer.
• I am upset at the police and homeland “security” because we’ve been spending so much money and they didn’t detect these things, see that they were or were not anything to worry about and take care of them? They were up for a couple of weeks
• I do think this was a horribly stupid campaign. I like the light up ideas. That’s neat and cool. Putting them under bridges over major highways is not a good idea. That’s just looking for trouble
• Did it work? Yup. The idea of stunt marketing has a place and this certainly worked from purely that angle. Everyone in the country now has heard of the television show and cartoon associated with the campaign.

All I’m asking for is that before anyone launches a campaign that they at least stop and think “what is the worse that can happen?” Then stop and think if there is a way to do the campaign, but to avoid that situation. I mean, how cool would it have been to see the entire Prudential Center light up with that guy on it suddenly at night? That would have been awesome, but instead we had a city messed up for a day.

As new marketing professionals we get to be creative, think big thoughts and try things that have never been done before.  But, does it mean we get to be stupid?

Posted in Rambles | Comments(7)

I had an interesting conversation with some friends about this topic the other night. It’s been on my mind for a while.

What it boils down to is that I want to work with a political candidates campaign to leverage new media. I want to help them effectively use the space to the fullest and not look like a fool doing it. I want to help them set up an appropriate campaign headquarters in Second Life. Get a podcast up and running where they actually embrace the conversation and engage the viewer/listener.

There are two specific candidates that I’d like to work with. John Edwards already gets the space, but I’d love to work with him. Barack Obama is another one who I’d love to help and I think is taking the steps in the right direction. I still reference his podcast episode when the White Sox won the World Series as proof that he understood the medium. There are others on the blue team that I’d be interested in working with and a few that I wouldn’t as well.
What makes me stop and ponder is what if another candidate approached me to help? I truthfully want to help as many people as possible understand new marketing and this big social playground that I love so much. But, could I do it for someone that I don’t support politically? That’s where I stop and really question things. I don’t think I could. I’m too stuck to my guns.

What about a company? I don’t know the politics of lots of the people I work with at crayon. So would we be able to take on any one campaign as a client? Not sure how that works. What does happen when your company takes on a client that you don’t believe in? Raises a lot of hmmmm moments in my brain. Noodle on it for a while and see what you come up with.

So this is a call out to the Obama and Edwards campaigns! I’m here to help.

Posted in Politics | Comments(5)