Blogging South

We're off to SMBTV to sit on a panel about blogging.



Looking forward to sharing how it went in the next couple of days. In the meantime, go have a gander at the blog of one of the funniest people on Twitter.



.

Talkin' Turkey

Two weeks from now Amanda will be taking to the stage, kind of, as she sits on the panel for the 4th Social Media Breakfast-Tech Valley. SMBTV4 will examine:

What makes a successful blog? Is ghostwriting appropriate? How do you attract more readers? What kind of content do you write about? Is a blog right for every organization? How does blogging fit in to an overall social media strategy? Should CEOs and corporations blog?

Amanda will be there in her capacity as a founder of Trampoline and as a blogger— personally, professionally and unofficially. @amandamagee + @designtramp

The other panelists are:

Lara Kulpa, owner of Ginkgo Consulting and community admin for ProBlogger.com
@larakulpa

Christina Gleason, copywriter, blogger, and founder of Phenomenal Content LLC.
@christinagayle

Greg Dahlmann, the co-founder of All Over Albany.
@alloveralbany

SMBTV has taken the area by storm, with each breakfast selling out and having a lively stream of live tweets that run the gamut from best takeaways to funny asides. Amy Mengel puts each event together and serves as moderator.

The December 4th event, sponsored by The College of St. Rose Communications Department will take place at The American Red Cross of Northeastern New York . Annemarie Lanesey of MZA Multimedia will provide live-streaming.

For those not signed-up for the sold-out event, you can follow SMBTV on Twitter @smbtv or hashtag #smbtv You can also sign up for the waitlist.



.

ChicagHer

Trampoline sent Amanda to BlogHer 2009 in Chicago. For those of you unfamiliar with BlogHer, just click the picture to the left and visit the site. Or just call anyone who was at the Sheraton on River Street as 1,500 texting, micro-blogging, social media-loving women commandeered every available outlet, seat and cranny of space and companies like Ford, Crocs, Nikon, Tide and Tim Gunn, PepsiCo and more courted them as sponsors.

Our objective was twofold, continue our immersion into the blogging and twittering realm and have another face-to-face confab with Leslie, our coding-ace from Catapult.



Snapping riverside glamour shots with Carson Kressley was not anything we expected, but as the show is called Look Good in Pictures, we'll assume that since they uploaded the shot Carson gave it the a-ok. #ApprovalAtLongLast



After the glitz and glamour of Carson and blogebrities like The Bloggess, the morning keynote had literary heavyweights Tina Brown of The Daily Beast, Ilene Chaiken creator of Showtime's The L Word and Donna Byrd of The Root. The discussion ranged from product endorsements— Subaru was the first company who said "yes" to The L Word, and how racy is too racy— Brown lamented that it is a reality that saucy pictures get the greatest hits, and Byrd spoke about the Professor Gates incident (pre-Beer Summit).



Chicago was a beautiful host city, with the grandeur of the Loop's Millennium Park and the magic of the Grant Park shell. Even caught repeated glimpses of one of our clients.



The 2008 BlogHer was equally impressive in the surprisingly chilly in the summer (should've paid more attention Mr. Twain*) San Francisco.

So for as beautiful as Chicago and San Francisco both were, we're pretty excited that in 2010 BlogHer will be setting up camp in Gotham City.






*Mark Twain: The coldest summer I ever spent was a winter in San Francisco.


.

You Take the Good, You Take the Bad*

Opinions on social media are a dime a dozen, and it would seem that the passion of the people who love social media is evenly matched by the zeal of the naysayers.



Social media isn't the silver bullet, nor is it the devil. It is simply a tool that you can use. There are organizations that seem better suited to it, whether for the audience they are trying to reach, the staff they have to devote to it or simply their desire to participate.

We are quick to offer that the results will be gradual and the time commitment significant. Can you think of anything that isn't? Maybe those little bath capsules that turn into sponges, that happens quick and with little effort, but the satisfaction, pretty short lived.



It really boils down to this— knowing who you are and what you are and reaching out to people. Doesn't have to be thousands of people. Far better to talk to ten listening people than shout into a crowd of a thousand who aren't.

We're lucky to have a vibrant community right here in the Adirondacks, whether it's looking north to these folks, or south to these folks. Anyone can participate in social media, it starts with hello, continues with listening and eventually blossoms into a conversation.

Let's get started. My name is Amanda @DesignTramp, what's yours?


*Did we mention our hold music is chock full of '80s goodness?



.

Tit for Tat, Tips for Twits

No, we aren't calling you a twit. It's a little play on one of the biggest buzz words right now:

Twitter.

Everyone's doing it.

They are.

He is.

She is.

Of course they are.

And they are too.

Don't forget these folks.

A favorite of ours.

A lovely one.

Another goodie.

The funniest tweets ever.

This idea was sparked at Rotary as, in my role as GIT (greeter in training) I got the whispered aside: When they begin the pledge of allegiance you can stop, otherwise you'll be here forever. And honestly, I would have.

We thought, in the interest of practicing what we preach, we'd offer up the odd post (they're all a bit odd aren't they?) that gives a tip. So special thanks to Susan for today's tip, and now for a couple for you.

When "tweeting" — publishing 140 character or less posts on your Twitter account, put the @ symbol before a person's account name to alert them that you are referring to or directly addressing them.

People can then click a pre-set search from the right hand side of their Twitter homepage to call up all Tweets with @myname in them.

If you want to get on a current event band wagon, place a "hashtag" or "pound sign" ----> # in front of the word without spaces, e.g. #IranElection or #GoodGriefBillyJoelIsDivorcingAgain

This way people can search on http://hashtags.org to see all tweets about the particular term or can also search in the Twitter search, again on the right hand side of their Twitter homepage.

Tips are free. Twitter is free. And now you are free to dip your toe in the twater.



.

Twitterating Leads

Sometimes you just have to give credit where credit is due.




Bill Gathen at High Peaks Resort has done an impressive job drumming up interest, business and a vibrant stream of Tweets thanks to his "Elevate Your Rate" promotion on Twitter.

The hook: Bill sends out a Tweet at some point between 8am and 8pm with an Adirondack High Peak and its elevation. The elevation is the rate that High Peaks Resort will be offering for reservations made in the following 46 minutes, a Tweet with Whiteface Mountain's elevation of 4867 would translate to a rate of $48.67.

The promotion caught our eye (and our fancy). We've since taken advantage of the rate in order to have a little downtime in the High Peaks. The promotion really works, with the people in front of us and behind us as we prepared to check in, were all there taking advantage of the Elevate Your Rate deal. A quick tour of Twitter shows lively conversations between about-to-go Twitterers and can't-wait-to-get-up-there Twitterers. Bill has also wrapped in an entertaining Adirondack haiku series and great links to things to do in the Adirondacks via his Twitter account.

Ultimately what he has done, and done well, is engaged an audience making use of tools available to him. Time will tell if the promotion translates to second stays, but right now it's pretty clear people are talking about High Peaks Resort and Placid is getting traffic from the efforts of a savvy guy in a great hat.



Hats off to you, Bill. See you again soon.




-The Tramps

Passing Fancy or Must-Have Tool?

Sean loves to tell the story of a former boss scoffing:

"Internet? Bah, CB of the '90s."

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call social media and all the tools that go with it "the CB of the new millenium," but I would say their power rests in the hands of the user.

Doer.

Participant.

This tool that is being bandied about by everyone from newspapers and corporations to celebrities and political figures, is another layer in the greater conversation. Because for all the talk about strategies and campaigns, social media comes down to people. If the people managing your social media are not invested, enjoying themselves or incentivized in some way, it will fail.

LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook

Blogs

This new avenue for communicating is not a place for static messaging, it is an exchange*. Social media is listening and responding, engaging and affecting. Whether you want to counter a public perception of something or you want to gather information that enhances your ability to perform your job, social media can reveal new data, but you have to be social.

Social media has the potential to be an incredible tool.

It has it's doubters as any new(er) system will. But here is the rub—

If it isn't a passing fancy.
If it's more iPhone than CB.
If you continue to wonder about whether this really works...

How costly will catching up be?

*There's always some sort of disclaimer or fine print, right? Well, as much as we'd like to be the exception to the rule, we have to say this: Social media is social, unless you don't want it to be. You are in control, which means that if what you desire is simply to observe and gather information, you can arrange your tools in such a way that you are able to hear the conversations and people that interest you, or benefit you.

A Bird in Hand

A while back we had a Thai restaurant on the first floor of our building. Every once in a while when we were back working late we could hear the raucous karaoke shenanigans of the staff after closing.

This morning we found a different kind of singing downstairs, squawking might be more appropriate actually. Just outside the Trampoline Design door was this little guy:



And while we're somewhat experienced with Finch, having visited its natural habitat and spent time with the family, and know a thing or two about the early bird, this one had us ruffled.

After some gentle inter-office debate about the circle of life, survival of the fittest and "Are you sure your Dad really rescued those animals?" Trampy O'Tweet made his way home to the Magees. Poor lil cuss:


If he can survive this:



He can survive anything.

Here's hoping that this particular Trampoline project takes flight.

For Tramp Tweets follow us on Twitter.


.

A Cast of #140CharactersOrLess

Some stories virtually tell themselves.



Whether it's through a newspaper Tweet:



An in-house plug:



Or a great new mark:



The ATF rebrand launch was an exclusive-to-Facebook
overnight sensation before its official roll out.



Leading by example, participating in the conversation, and creating a community, ATF has brought itself to life on the social media stage.

This summer they'll bring equity theatre to the Charles R. Wood Theatre
stage as part of the Adirondack Theatre Festival's 15th season.









Your winning ticket.






.

A Social Gathering

Amanda spent Wednesday evening as the featured speaker for a meeting of the ARCC's young professional's organization. Having managed more than one blog for the past five years, she tallies about 500 visitors daily. Her use of blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn—combined with her firm handshake and in-person presence—drew a crowd of about 75 attendees. They listened to ideas on how to make social media work for their businesses, and talked about how to reach a new audience online.

Several in the audience asked us to post the data included in the presentation, and those folks will find some of the graphics below in this entry. Thanks to the Chamber for asking us to speak, to Mike for the photos, and to Derek for his monitor-lugging muscle.

Todd Shimkus introduces Amanda to the Young Professional's Organization.

Amanda stresses the fact that social media users can spot the same, tired old sales pitch from a mile away. And can avoid it with a simple click.

The New Dinner Party

Every generation faces the threat, if not inevitability, of obsolescence. Digital natives effortlessly manage countless social networking systems from ever-smaller and capable devices alongside valiant digital immigrants. We are all of the latter group here at Trampoline, each with varying degrees of fluency.

Next week we'll be front and center at Dango's Dugout for a social media tutorial. It might seem odd at first blush to do this at a bar, but really, distilled to its purest form, social media is a conversation. And, you talk at bars, right? We find ourselves experimenting with iPhone apps far more often than taking pulls off drinks at bars. The chance to meet with members of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce's Young Professionals Organization seemed like a great excuse to start a conversation and, perchance, have a drink.




Every day the prevalence of things like Twitter is growing. Locally, The Post-Star is using Twitter, as are WNYT, WXXA, WRGB , WTEN. Radio stations like Fly 92 and politicians from Hillary Clinton to John McCain are on Twitter. Local organizations ranging from ATF and the Glens Falls Civic Center are on Facebook, while the Times Union has a staggering number of blogs.

It doesn't matter whether you are an individual or a company or tweeting from your cubicle, blogging on your laptop, or sharing your latest shot on flickr from your iPhone, as long as you participate. Are you in?




.

Go West Young People

Ok, so the young part may be a bit of a stretch, but the west part is true. Last month we divided and set out to conquer new frontiers, specifically the slopes of Alta as Derek and Paula (with kids in tow) met with the folks at Alta.







After meetings with the folks on the mountain, Derek also met with another client and friend of Trampoline, John Duncan. The skiing was great, the laughter was robust and the future looks promising.

Further west the Magees traveled first to Seattle, navigating past Pioneer Square and on into the thick of the industrial district and finally to the headquarters of BabyLegs. Finley sat in on the meeting and made the most of her BabyLegs-clad limbs to donkey-kick and flirt her way to making Nicole Donnelly, the bubbly mastermind behind the incredibly successful company, giggle. Talk ranged from packaging creative we'd done and photography to textiles, new directions and, ironically, Alta. Nicole sent us off with fresh BabyLegs and the delicious prospect of a BabyLegs project this spring.

After BabyLegs, a quick trip to a boutique for market research for TrinaBags.



Then it was off to Yakima to meet with the gang at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital and MemFound. We arrived on the rollout day of the second of three programs for Employee Payroll Deduction. Spirits were soaring on the heels of a phenomenal first week. It was thrilling to see everyone so excited.



The participation in the program exceeded expectations and sparked talk of more t-shirts and additional deliverables. Turns out that vendors, patients and hospital higher-ups were also interested in purchasing gear. We were barely off the hospital's campus before we were dreaming up additional creative for the outstanding staff at Memorial and for the people who love the hospital.





Before heading home, the Magee girls made a dazzling appearance on the Capitol Theatre stage and a conversation about a social marketing campaign was sparked. Somewhere between the girls and their baby boomer grandparents, there is an entire audience yet to be reached. We're looking forward to the prospect of setting the stage for the Capitol Theatre to become a place of magic for millennials and gen exers.


.

Redefining

The economy, technology, consumer expectations; together they demand an evolution, if not of practice, then at least of thought. Whether it's speaking to a younger generation or finding new ways to connect people, we need to adapt.

We've been working with the Memorial Foundation in Yakima, Washington on creating a strong, multi-dimensional presence online that reflects the passion and personality of the organization and its mission. An admittedly game organization, the CEO is a self-professed "iPhone packin' Grandma," the Memorial Foundation is creating an entire online forum devoted to their donors called NetCommunity.

As the direction, capabilities and spirit of the community become more defined, we are excited to have a role with imbuing NetCommunity's face with vibrance and energy. NetCommunity presents a dedicated environment for communication and recognition, connecting donors, volunteers and beneficiaries of the many programs funded through the Memorial Foundation



The truth is, regardless of economic climate, we must still communicate; asking for gifts, proposing investments and driving a momentum of philanthropy. You might think we have reached a recession-imposed end of giving, but let's not give up hope.

Convio and JupiterResearch have released a study that gives nonprofit fundraisers new and valuable insight into the expected online giving of Americans in the upcoming holiday season. The report As we read the data, the news is good: Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! A report asked 175.6 million online users over 18 within the United States about their online giving intentions for the holiday season. Some things to note from the report:

51% say they plan to give to charities through an online avenue;
24% of these say they will give $100 or more;
Despite what they say is a worse financial situation than years prior, 46% say they plan to donate;
61% say they will give about the same amount as last year, 6% say more, 33% say less.




Where do they plan to direct their donations?

53% to faith-based charities;
43% to human and social services;
37% to disease research and health services;
37% to animal welfare;
31% to international relief and disaster assistance.

Where do we go from here? We must be fluid in our communication, striving to use the tools that reach our audience and allow us to appeal to their emotions and or sense of duty. Maybe the key will be an online forum or an HTML email, maybe it's in Facebook or YouTube.

There is a world of possibility and a community that will give if asked. Adopting the spirit the Glens Falls Hospital Foundation used when it said, Your gift this year makes our whole promise possible, your willingness to explore new avenues of communication will make anything possible.






.

Social Media: X-Country to Hometown

For the most part, we Design Tramps are from the northeast, the lone exception being Amanda, a pacific northwesterner. It was through Amanda's hometown roots in Yakima, Washington that Trampoline came to work with the Memorial Foundation and, more specifically, the Children's Village.



Children's Village, recently having celebrated its tenth anniversary, is in the midst of a capital campaign. Trampoline has been working behind the scenes with the incredible team at the Village to create copy that helps bring to life on paper and monitors, the kind of magic that is made possible through the donations they receive and via the exceptional care that is administered within the inspirationally designed walls of the Village. (Bejeweled mine-shaft elevator, anyone?)



Another piece of this gratifying project is the collaborative exploration of social media as we offer consulting on how best to harness the potential in this arena. The staff of the Memorial Foundation and Children's Village, ever-willing to go the extra mile for their mission, are diving head first into social media, from Twittering and blogging, to Alltop and (soon) Facebook. Accompanying them as they tackle this new frontier with the same passion and intensity as the Village is both an honor and an inspiration.