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Monthly Archives: April 2010

Car Dealership Re-Imagines Customer Service

30 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Tom Peters

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Auto, Auto Dealerships, Camry, Car, Car Dealerships, Carson City, Carson City Toyota, Nevada, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Recall, Rotary, Starbucks, Tom Peters, Toyota, Value-added

by Paul Kiser

Car Dealerships: A Scorpion on the Fox’s Back

The world revolves around certain truths and we hold these truths to be self-evident. One absolute truth is that interactions with a car dealership will leave the customer feeling soiled, dirty…robbed. It’s bad enough to buy a car from a dealership, but then to have to go back for regular servicing is rubbing metal shavings in the wound.  Bad customer service at a car dealership is a fact, like the sun rising in the morning, or traffic lights always being red when you’re late for a critical appointment.

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

Last year we bought a car and admittedly the experience was not what I expected.  I attributed the unusually positive experience to the fact that we had our loan pre-approved through USAA and to already completing an Internet search for the car we wanted.  The dealership we finally did business with was located in Carson City, Nevada and they were willing to close the deal over the phone (and fax)…with no haggling. I gave them the results of my search through USAA and they found a car with most of the features, gave me a price that was close to what I expected and we were done. It was a freak situation.

However, regular servicing on the car would still force us to go back to the dealership, so despite our positive experience, I set my expectations appropriately low for return visits. I should note that our car is a Toyota Camry and yes, part of the service I had done this week was the accelerator assembly recall work.  I didn’t get upset about the recall. Cars are incredibly sophisticated systems and I’m amazed that we don’t have more problems.  I know other people are outraged, but honestly, if this had been a problem with GM cars we would have all said, “GM cars still suck.” But because is was Toyota, we all had higher expectations.

I am confident that our Camry is a quality product, but experience has trained me to expect the dealerships to behave like the scorpion who stings the fox.  The story is about a scorpion hitching a ride on the fox so that both of them can cross a river, but partway across the scorpion stings the fox, dooming both of them. In one version of the story, when the fox asks why the scorpion stung him he answers that it is in his nature. Likewise, bad customer service is in a car dealership’s nature.

Carson City Toyota: Do They Not Understand?  Their Supposed to be Bad!

On Monday I called to make an appointment. They asked me when I wanted to bring it in.  “Thursday,” I said, expecting a response that this week was booked, maybe next week.  Instead he responded, “What time do you want to bring it in?” This guy had to be new, because he didn’t understand how the game works in the auto service world.  He apparently didn’t know that the customer doesn’t schedule the appointment time.  The dealership always schedules the time and they always manage to find the most inconvenient time of the day to drop the car off. But I wasn’t going to tell him his job so I said, “10 AM?”  He said, “That will work fine.”  Now I knew this guy was not only new, this was probably his first day.

My plan was to go in and drop off the car and go to a Starbucks for the rest of the day.  They said it would take three to four hours, which is car dealership speak for six to eight hours. I hoped to drop it off and get out of there as quickly as possible. Most car dealerships can be scary places and the Service Waiting Area is usually a modified storage room with an old TV that is tuned to Fox News or a Soap Opera.

Carson City Toyota just prior to opening the new location.

I knew that Carson City Toyota had just moved into a new facility and I expected to be a new version of the same old thing.

My first shock was that instead of parking the car outside and turning over the keys to some overworked and poorly paid clerk at a counter, this dealership has a huge, fully enclosed car drop off area.  I pulled my car inside and the service person immediately met me, introduced himself (Greg), asked all the questions, looked over the car, and then took me to his office to enter in all the information needed to pass to the service staff.  I decided that he must be the new guy I talked to on the phone because he was entirely too attentive and efficient for a seasoned car service professional. He confirmed it would be three to four hours for all the work to be done.

I told him I was going to walk to the nearby Starbucks and he said that would be fine, or if I needed a shuttle somewhere he could have me dropped off.  He showed me how to go through the new building to get to the front but as he walked me into the heart of the dealership we came to the ‘Waiting Area’.

A Waiting Area for VIP’s…the Customer?

I looked over the room and thought, “Mother of God!”   This was not what a Waiting Area in a car dealership is supposed to be!  The waiting area was the size of two or three Starbucks. There was a floor to ceiling stone wall with a fireplace and a large flat screen TV.  In front of the wall were 12 or so sofa-type chairs with a desk-like arm on the side, all facing the fireplace/TV wall. To one side was a cafeteria-style refreshment area with a variety of coffee/tea offerings and free small pastries. I was impressed!

I walked through this beautiful tiled lounge area only to discover that I had only observed half of the waiting area.  On the other side was the mirror image with another 12 or so sofa-type chairs.  The only difference was that instead of a refreshment station along the wall they had installed a laptop computer counter with power outlets and bar stools. They even had free WiFi!

Carson City Toyota is a car dealership that obviously values their customers and treats the customer with kindness! What is wrong with them!

I was committed to my Starbucks Chai Tea, so I walked the block to the store and settled into my normal routine.  At three hours on-the-dot Greg called and said, “I’m sorry Mr. Kiser, but they do not have the car ready yet.” Yep, he’s new.  Rule No. 1 in the world of auto service is that you don’t keep the customer informed because if you do it once, the customer will expect it all the time. I told Greg that I was settled in and it was not a problem. He told me he would call me when it was ready.

A little over an hour later Greg called me again and said that the car was almost ready. I wrapped up what I was doing and walked back to the dealership. When I got there I learned that my car was being washed…at no charge. I settled the bill and a few minutes later my car was ready for me…parked as close as possible without driving it into the waiting area.

It’s been 24 hours and I’m in still in awe.  One thing I know is that the experience we had last year when we bought the car was not a fluke. Customer Service is not an accident at Carson City Toyota.

For decades Tom Peters has been preaching about things like ‘taking care of the customer’, ‘creating a new paradigm’, and rising above the customer’s expectations.  Peters wrote the book on Re-Imagining the business.  It appears to me that Carson City Toyota has read the book and is writing their own chapter.

(This blog was not paid for, nor solicited, nor approved by Carson City Toyota.)

More blogs

  • Death of All Salesmen!
  • Aristotle’s General Rules on Social Media
  • Social Media:  What is it and Why Should You Care?
  • Social Media 2020:  Keep it Personal
  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
  • Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?
  • Fear of Public Relations
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
  • Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

Death of ALL Salesmen!

29 Thursday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Consulting, Information Technology, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Management Practices, Marketing, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Sales, Salesman, Salesperson, Selling, Social Media

Dear Mr. Webster:

Please remove the following words from your dictionary:  ‘Sales‘, ‘salesman‘, ‘salesperson‘, ‘selling‘, ‘advertise‘, ‘ads‘, …oh, and while you’re at it, remove that word, ‘metrics‘.

My reasons are as follows:  While there are still gullible people who can be manipulated into buying something they don’t need, ‘selling‘ is an illegitimate word for today’s socially interactive, connected, and informed world.  It can be eliminated.

The same is true for ‘advertising‘. The idea of annoying people while they are involved in an activity like reading, watching TV, or listening to music has forced people to find alternatives to being inflicted with a sales pitch as payment for doing something they enjoy. In a social interactive world we don’t need to be assaulted.  People will discover good products and services through mass personal communication, therefore, advertising can also be eliminated.

As for the irksome term ‘metrics‘, it makes people giggle when some pompous fool uses it, so ….wait, nevermind ….keep ‘metrics’, it helps me identify our village idiots.

Thanks so much.

Sincerely,

Paul Kiser

Attention Must Be Earned!: Don’t Sell, Educate

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

Selling is a term that implies aggressiveness and manipulation.  It gives business owners the mistaken belief that if customers aren’t buying their product or service that it must be the fault of the ‘Sales’ team.

Here’s a thought: If people aren’t buying what you’re selling, maybe it’s because your products or services SUCK!

If a person doesn’t need a product or service, ‘selling’ them it will only lead to buyer’s remorse/regret and make the customer irritated at the company that manipulated them. Selling is the act of a desperate person who doesn’t believe in their product or service, but still hopes that they can find a sucker to bite. Selling something a person doesn’t need is a scam and it should be reserved for companies that have no honor or dignity.

The only time a product or service should be purchased is when it is needed by a customer and/or when it will improve the customer’s life.  Usually, a customer is not aware of all the products or services that can improve their life and that is an opportunity to educate, not sell.  Education is a service that makes the customer smarter.  It is not aggressive, nor desperate and it leads to a stronger bond between the customer and business.  Education is offered by a consultant that has his or her customer’s best interest in mind.

To educate a customer requires that the consultant know the client/customer.  The consultant should not be working for her or his company, but rather for the client. What is on the line is the brand, not of the company, but of the consultant.  A person who ‘sells’ damages his or her reputation and the person who educates becomes a valuable resource.

Educating rather than selling is a simple concept, but so few businesses seem to grasp it.  Why?  Because too many business think in the short-term – “What are our sales this month?” It’s a bad way to do business and it leads to pressure to ‘make a sale’. If revenue is down there are three possibilities.

  1. The customer has been well-taken care of and doesn’t need anything else now.
  2. The customer doesn’t realize that your company has a solution that they need.
  3. The customer knows your products/services suck.

If the situation is the first reason (a satisfied customer), then the consultant has done his or her job well!  A consultant can only take action if the situation is the second reason (needs more education.) However, if business is down because of the third reason (inferior product/service) then it is the business owner’s fault, not the consultant’s.

It is time to stop abusing customers. Start treating them with respect.  Kill your sales staff (well, not literally) and all terms that suggest manipulating the people who keep you in business.  It is a win-win for everyone.

More blogs

  • Aristotle’s General Rules on Social Media
  • Social Media:  What is it and Why Should You Care?
  • Social Media 2020:  Keep it Personal
  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
  • Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?
  • Fear of Public Relations
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
  • Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

Aristotle’s General Rules of Social Media

27 Tuesday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Communication, Ethics, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Passionate People, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, New Business World, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Rotarians, Rotary, Rules of Social Media, Social Media, Social Networking, Stereotypes online, Twitter

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

We learn the rules as we gain new experiences

Most people would not walk up to a stranger on the street and say, “I’m so f*&king happy! I just got laid!”; however, there are many people who might say this, or some other inappropriate remark on Facebook, Twitter, or more likely, MySpace.  It sometimes can be easy to think that writing online is his or her online diary, but the reality is that when sharing your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter, you are sharing to the general public, and those thoughts will be recorded for all time. Unfortunately, there are no rules of etiquette, except that abusers (as defined by other Users) can be identified and the operators of the service can ‘de-member’ them.

(Blog – Social Media: What is it and why should you care?)

However, Social Media (SM) is the ultimate democracy in that it is self-correcting.  On most Social Media tools members choose who they want to ‘friend’ or ‘follow’, so if someone is offended by the posts or practices of another member they can stop including them in his or her circle of friends. That is why there is significant peer pressure to abide by the unwritten rules.

How Rules are Formed in New Media
Historically, when any new method of communicating is established the rules of the media are created by the people who use the media.  It is a system of experimentation where new concepts are tested and those that work become the unwritten rules.  A good example is Western theatre which was formalized by the Greek civilization.  The Greek playwrights established the characteristics of comedy and tragedy, but it was later observers, like Aristotle, who saw patterns in the different genres of plays and put these ‘rules’ down in writing for others to understand and follow.

Social Media has started out in the same way, with the Users creating unwritten rules and observers trying to identify and discuss those rules. The difference with the Social Media tools is that everyone has different pet peeves, which means the rules vary from User to User.  Still, by using personal experiences and listening to the experiences of others it is possible to identify general traits and rules of Social Media.

User Types
There are some stereotypes that seem to find a home in one or more of the online social networks.  Here are a few:

  • Sit-Down Comic – This person has posts about everyday life and can often find the absurdity in her or his life to present to others.  For the older crowd, think Erma Bombeck and for the younger crowd, think Paula Poundstone as examples.
  • The Informer – This person typically posts informative items on a topic and may provide links to blogs or websites that elaborate on the subject.  Often this is the person who wants to establish/brand themselves as the expert on the subject and uses SM to gather a following of believers.
  • All About Me – This person is not at the level of humor of the Sit-Down Comic but tends to have a running dialogue about his or her life.  It would be easy to identify this person with the teenage girl, but to varying degrees you can usually find people of both genders and all ages who fall into this category.  To most, this User can be annoying; however, her or his circle of friends is often compact and consists of other Users who want to hear the diary of a friend.
  • Pollyanna – This person seems driven to spread good cheer to all. Typically they quote others, but the quotes are always positive and uplifting.  However, if the posts are used a vehicle for the person to preach and pray online then the User risks being unfriended by those who are not as zealous.

Some photos should just go away

  • The Photo Op – This person loves their camera, or at least photos. Often they are one of the other stereotypes I’ve mentioned, but they like to dress their posts with pictures.  It can be great if they are a good photographer showing interesting photos…or bad if it is all pictures of them in varying states of embarrassing or incriminating poses.
  • The Observer – This is the most mysterious User. They never comment or post, they just read other User’s posts. In some ways they can be creepy if they are male, but bizarrely okay if they are female.

There are some stereotypes in SM that are often seen as bad or annoying. They typically have a high loss rate in friends/followers:

  • The Hoser – This person floods the network with posts.  Sometimes it is for a short period of time each day (an hour or so) and sometimes it’s for multiple times during the day. This is the person who wants to dominate the conversation. It may be that these users just need to be loved, but my money is that they just need therapy.
  • The Political Nazi – This person has an opinion and wants everyone know what that opinion.  It can be appropriate if all of their friends are like-minded, but if not, their connections will soon shrink to just the like-minded.
  • The Salesman – For most, the fastest unfriend/unfollow is the Salesman. People like the Social Media tools because they want to connect to real people, and not to someone trying to sell something. I’m amazed by people who just don’t get that SM is not a billboard for their use, but everyday someone tries to Amway/Mary Kay their friends or promote their service.
  • Tally Ho – This person believes that quantity of friends=success, and so they are driven by getting the most friends or followers.  They will do or try anything to get their numbers up.  They are a number Ho.
  • Prime Time Host – This person creates the impression that they are the person in charge and you are on his or her show.  They tend to be online and connected all the time, ready to make comment on anything.  They have a life….and it is spent watching you!

Typically a user of SM does not fit into one single stereotype, but is a combination of many online personalities.  Regardless of the characteristics of the User, the unwritten rules have more control over all User types.  These rules are mostly common-sense concepts.

Aristotle’s General Rules of Social Media

Chart 1 - Social Appreciation Scale

Overposting and/or  Underposting – This is when a User is too visible or not visible enough on the media. On Chart 1 is a best guess at what turns Users on, or turns them off regarding the volume of posts by other Users.  There is no good way to measure this value in the real world because most people just react when they’ve seen too many posts from one person and unfriend them. I would guess that an average of one or two posts an hour is near the ideal. Too few posts and a User becomes invisible, and posting excessively makes a User is too visible. The scale is a 1 to 10 rating with 10 being the ideal.

Be Interesting, Be Fun – It’s one thing to inform people, but if all your posts are a lecture delivered in 48 parts, then you become boring.  Crossing over different stereotypes throughout the day makes for more interesting reading.

NEVER, EVER, EVER SELL on Social Media – Be the expert, inform, but anything that smacks of advertising will be interpreted as spam.

Age Mismatches – It’s okay to follow or friend younger or older Users, but older Users need to be restrained in commenting on younger Users posts.  It will always be interpreted as creepy regardless of the intention.  Yes, you have wisdom, but younger people don’t care to have another father or mother watching over them and it’s more likely to be seen as a sexual come-on.

Be Real, but Not Too Real – It’s okay for people to know your political and religious opinions, but they should be showing like a bra strap and not like exposed underwear. Passion is great, but it is exhausting and uncomfortable for others. The same goes for emotions, unprofessional conduct (drunk photos) and mating behavior (sexy talk, photos).

It’s Forever – Jimmy Buffet has a song that refers to a tattoo as a “permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.”  That’s a good way to think about the Social Media. Anything written online is there to stay…forever.  That scares many people, but if you just remember that your online self is just an extension of who you are in a public place like a mall or church, then you can keep your comments and emotions in perspective.

Social Media is the most empowering personal tool that has been invented since the automobile. It has the potential to change a person’s life…for better or worse.  For years, the Social Media as been making or breaking the public and political figures that we all look up to, or down on. Companies and governments are being heavily influenced by the impact of SM.  It is hard to overstate what tools like Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are having on our lives, but the people who participate will have an advantage over those who don’t and those that participate need to know the rules.

More Articles

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  • WiFi on Southwest Airlines: Is it ‘Shovel Ready’?
  • Starbucks makes a smart move: Free WiFi
  • Two Barbecues and a Wedding
  • Foul Play: FIFA shows what less regulation offers to business
  • Rotary New Year: Retread or Renaissance?
  • The Shock of the McChrystal Story: The story is over before the article is published
  • Tony Hayward: The very model of a modern Major General
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  • One Rotary Center: A home for 1.2 million members
  • War Declared on Social Media: Desperate Acts of Traditional Media
  • Pay It Middle: The Balance between Too Much and Too Little Compensation
  • Mega Executive Pay Leads to Poor Performance
  • Relationships and Thin-Slicing: Why the other person knows what you’re really thinking
  • Browser Wars: Internet Explorer losing, Google Chrome gaining ground
  • Rotary@105:  What BP Could Learn from the 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics
  • Twitter is the Thunderstorm of World Thought
  • Signs of the Times
  • Rotary Magazine Dilemma Reveals the Impact of Social Media
  • How Social Interactive Media Could Transform Higher Education
  • How to Become a Zen Master of Social Media
  • Car Dealership Re-Imagines Customer Service
  • Death of All Salesmen!
  • Aristotle’s General Rules on Social Media
  • Social Media:  What is it and Why Should You Care?
  • Social Media 2020:  Keep it Personal
  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
  • Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?
  • Fear of Public Relations
  • Dissatisfiers: Why John Quit
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
  • Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

Rotary: New Polio Strategy in the Works

23 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Membership Retention, Public Relations, Rotary, Rotary@105

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Tags

Club Members, History of Rotary, Membership Retention, Polio, Polio Eradication, Public Image, Public Relations, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary International, WHO, World Health Organization

by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser - Rotary District 5190 Public Relations Chair - RC of Reno Sunrise, NV

Is the fight against polio too narrow?  A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article by Robert A. Guth suggests that Bill Gates, a recent champion of eradicating polio, and other major players in the polio fight are reconsidering the focus on eradicating one disease in favor of a broader based approach.

(Read the WSJ article here.)

Since the 1980’s Rotarians have been closely involved in the attempt to eradicate polio with the belief that it would be accomplished by the year 2000.  But that didn’t happen despite major efforts of Rotary International, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and our own Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Polio Worldwide Cases

By the year 2000 the new cases of polio were down to less than a 1000, and the hope was that a strong second effort would eliminate polio.  For the last ten years millions of dollars have been raised to accomplish the goal and in the past few years the Bill Gates Foundation has joined the effort.  Despite all the dedicated effort we are no closer to eradication than we were in 2000, in fact, we may be farther behind.

However, there is ample evidence that the money and effort spent over the last ten years have not been in vain.  When efforts have been halted due to political and/or religious issues the number of new cases skyrockets, and not just in the local region. It is no exaggeration to say that a polio outbreak in the United States is only 14 hours away.  So are we locked in a never-ending battle with polio?

That is part of the reason the major players in the fight against polio are considering a different strategy. Polio is able to keep a foothold in the world, in part, because of larger health issues in many countries.  A lack of clean water, proper treatment of human waste, poor health care, and other diseases that weaken human resistance, all create an environment where polio can thrive.  If we can improve the health standards in rest of the world we can not only make progress against eradicating polio, but also deal a blow to a wide range of diseases that have plagued those who are least able to fight back.

According to the WSJ article, next month the nations of the WHO will be asked to vote on a revised strategy.  The battle against polio will be remain at the center of the strategy, but additional efforts to improve health in affected regions will be part of the effort.  The hope is to choke off the conditions that allow polio to breed.

It will be a big challenge as the polio fight is currently $1.2 billion short in meeting the budget for the next three years; however, the risk of not taking action could be much more expensive for all of us.

Other Rotary Blog Posts

  • Rotary:  Club Websites Not Optional
  • Rotary@105:  April 24th – Donald M. Carter Day
  • Rotary@105:  What kind of animal is Rotary International?
  • Rotary:  The Man in the Yellow Hat as the Ideal Club President?
  • Rotary@105:  Our 1st Rotary Club Dropout
  • Rotary Public Relations and Membership: Eight Steps to a Team Win
  • Rotary: All Public Relations is Local
  • Best Practices:  Become a Target!
  • Fear of Public Relations

Social Media: What is It and Why Should You Care?

21 Wednesday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Information Technology, Public Relations, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, New Business World, Public Image, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter

by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

“It’s a big waste of time,” is the most common reaction I hear when discussing Social Media (SM) with a novice or rookie user. That statement is followed by, “How do you have the time?”  It’s hard to discuss the topic with non-believers of the SM tools like Facebook or Twitter because the subject is difficult to comprehend if one does not understand the impact of the new world of communication created by the Internet.

The best place to start would be to attempt to define the term ‘Social Media.’

Social Media is the personal interactive use of Internet through fixed and portable devices (computers, phones, etc.) that allow text, voice, and/or visual communication and sharing of information that is accessible to multiple people in real-time, near real-time, or available as a file location at a web address.

Note that phone calls on cell phones don’t fall into the Social Media category; however,  a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) call using the Internet is subject to debate.  My take on the issue is that a VoIP call falls in the Social Media category because it bypasses the traditional phone system and it is personal interaction that can include multiple people.

Still not clear?  Here’s a Kiser Rule of Thumb: If it allows a user comment or user response then it is a Social Media tool. That includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, personal blogs, instant messaging, Flickr, email, music and video sharing sites, etc. under the Social Media umbrella.  Wikipedia has a great list of Social Media tools.

(Wikipedia – Social Media Definition and Examples)

Why is Social Media NOT a Waste of Time?

To understand the value of Social Media you have to understand what has changed for individual communication over the last 40 years.  For simplicity I’ll do it in chunks of 20 years.

1970 – The height of the Age of Mass Communication.  Individual remote (not face-to-face) communication was possible only by phone and postal service mail. Long distance phone calls were expensive and mail was slow. Mass communication was possible through one-way, strictly controlled, expensive media like newspapers, magazines, billboards, radio, and television. Society’s flow of communication was primarily one-way and the individual was a receiver.

1990 – The dawn of the Age of Interactive Communication. Individual remote communication was possible via phone, postal service mail, and email.  Email allowed rapid personal interactions that avoided the long-distance fees of the traditional phone company and the sloth-like speed of the postal service.  This made email it an inexpensive and rapid method of personal communication.  Internet websites offered a new type of mass communication that bypassed the control and expense of newspapers, radio, and television. Society’s flow of communication was beginning to become two-way.

The Age of Omni Communication connects people

2010 – The Age of Omni Communication.  Individual remote communication has become group remote communication with random conversations between strangers who often find they have similar interests. Communication has few geographic barriers only economic, political, and geographic technology disparities.  Discussions between people on social media sites influence micro groups of people who may be observers, but don’t necessarily engage in the conversation; however, they gain new insight and understanding by being a silent third-party.  A person can  now express her or his ideas through blogs and social media sites that allow freedom of expression and opinion never known in the history of the world.  Mass communications now struggles to compete with free market communication and finds itself too slow and too expensive. Society’s flow of information is moving in multiple directions at the same time creating a flood of knowledge for those who are connected.

People can choose not to engage in the new Social Media tools, but a person will likely become more and more frustrated and mystified by a world that seems to ignore him or her.  The best analogy of what non-SM users will experience by staying disconnected is that of a classroom where some people are in on a joke and the teacher is wondering why everyone is laughing.

Next > Aristotle’s Rules of Social Media

Other Blogs about Social Media and Public Relations

  • Social Media 2020:  Keep it Personal
  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
  • Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?
  • Fear of Public Relations
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
  • Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

Rotary: Club Websites Not Optional

19 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Club Leadership, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Website

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Club Members, Club Website, Facebook, GM, History of Rotary, LinkedIn, Membership Retention, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotarians, Rotary Club, Rotary District 5190, Rotary International, Social Media

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Looking In From Outside: Understanding Our Public Image

Paul Kiser - Rotary District 5190 Public Relations Chair - RC of Reno Sunrise, NV

When Congress was considering giving survival loans to American car manufacturers it was interesting to see the reaction of the American public. There were calls by many to let the car manufacturers fail even if it meant forcing hundreds of thousands of Americans out of a job. This is a great study in Public Relations, or the lack of it. The American auto industry spends millions of dollars to advertise.  From a standpoint of ‘publicity’ they have one of the largest shares of advertising power of all the industries in America.

But while the auto industry may be giants in ‘publicity’, they suck at Public Relations.  How bad do you have to be at Public Relations to have your customers and potential customers wanting to see you fail?  A key component to Public Relations is understanding your ‘public image’ and that involves looking at your organization as an ‘outsider.’ The auto industry either was blissfully ignorant of their public image, or just didn’t care.  It’s an easy mistake to make, but it’s almost always a fatal error.

A Rotarian sees our organization from an inside view.  She or he typically understands and accepts the purpose of Rotary and values the organization as fulfilling a significant role in her or his life, as well as in the local and world communities.  Whether it is by design or by accident, the leadership of the Rotary Club creates an internal public relations message that is communicated both actively and passively to the membership. From that internal message the member forms an attitude and opinion of what Rotary means to them.

However, when discussing the positive and negative aspects the Club’s public image we must ignore everything that we have learned from the internal message and put ourselves in the place of the person who knows nothing about Rotary.  This is a critical step if we are to understand the strengths and weaknesses of our external public relations message.

In fact, the issue goes farther than assuming a person knows nothing about Rotary because in many cases people have heard of Rotary and they have a skewed and/or false impression of the organization. The person who is not a member of Rotary either:

  1. Doesn’t know about Rotary
  2. Knows, but doesn’t understand the purpose of Rotary
  3. Has a false and/or misleading impression of Rotary and therefore doesn’t believe that the organization to be worthwhile
  4. Knows and understands the purpose of Rotary, but doesn’t want to participate in the organization for some reason

Of these four reasons, the first three require additional information for the person to make an informed decision about participating in, and/or supporting Rotary club’s programs and projects.

Making Clubs More Accessible

The challenge is to somehow make more information available to the public about Rotary, the Rotary club, and our purpose as a service organization.  We can do this through one-on-one contact, which is a valuable tool; however, even with a one-on-one contact the person is seeing Rotary through the eyes of one Rotarian and that member may not have all the information needed for the person to make an informed decision about the purpose and value of Rotary.  Even attending a club meeting will not provide enough information for a person to understand why Rotary might be an organization that could meet her or his personal needs.

In addition to one-on-one contact, we can also purchase advertising and send out public service announcements to inform the general public of the scope and purpose of Rotary; however, people may be exposed to the message for only a few seconds, which may create more questions than answers.

The problem is that we need to make information about a Rotary Club more accessible.  This would be hard under normal circumstances, but at the same time we are looking to ramp up Public Relations to make Clubs more accessible, the world of communication and information technology is undergoing a metamorphosis.

Communication 2010:  Not Your Father’s, but, Your Children’s Internet.

By 1995, it was clear that the Internet, and websites in particular, were going to become a valuable business tool, but to find a company’s website you typically had to know the web address.  By early in the new century, Google had created a search engine that was so effective, it began to replace phone books and print advertising as tools to market and provide information about an organization.

In addition to websites, the explosion of new social networks like Facebook and Twitter have changed the landscape of Marketing and Public Relations. Traditional methods of communicating information are being replaced with an Internet media that is so rapid that even oppressive governments find it difficult to keep pace and silence their citizens.

The changes in information communication have happened so fast that a ten year-old child in 2000 has seen the birth and rise of Google; the Blackberry; text messaging; MySpace; Facebook, Twitter, and all the other Social Media.  That ten year-old child of 2000 is now a twenty year-old adult in 2010 and they have seen newspapers and magazines first falter, then collapse as the new media displaces slow and expensive with fast and inexpensive.

Accessibility is the Alpha and Omega of Public Relations in 2010

A Rotary Club exists for one and one half hours once a week.  The Club is inaccessible to most of the public the remaining 166.5 hours of the week. To become more accessible we must bypass yesterday’s traditional methods for communication and information sharing that are no longer viable options as effective Public Relations tools.  Clubs must learn to use communication methods that will allow accessibility to the public using today’s technology and we must be prepared to change our methods in order to adapt to new technologies.

While a Club website is hardly a new idea, many clubs fail to have even this basic Public Relations tool.  The Club website creates a 24/7/365 presence that allows it to be accessible to anyone in the world.  The Club website is the ultimate membership recruitment tool as it can offer a full explanation of the club, and its projects and programs.  In addition, the website can give an interested person direct access to someone who can help them take the next step to becoming a member.  An updated and dynamic Club website can no longer be considered an option for any Club that seeks to remain relevant in the community.  It is absolutely essential for successful external Public Relations.

A great example of a Rotary Club website is the Rotary Club of Reno New Generations.  It has a great look, and it has several functions that use Social Media tools.

(See their website at www.renonewgenrotary.org)

It is easy to overlook how critical Public Relations can be to a Club’s survival, but for every Club that is scratching their heads over why recruiting new members is so difficult, take a hard look at your Club website…or lack of one.

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Social Media 2020: Keep it Personal

19 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Human Resources, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters

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Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Employee privacy, Employment, Facebook, HR, LinkedIn, Management Practices, Marketing Yourself, New Business World, Public Image, Re-Imagine!, Rotarians, Rotary, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, Twitter

by Paul Kiser

Part of the challenge in learning new things is getting enough information until you can hit that magic ‘A-HA!’ moment when the information starts falling into place.  Most of my ‘A-HA!’ moments occur when listening to someone who has insight on the topic AND they can frame the information in such a way that it makes everything else I’ve learned fall into place.

For over 20 years many of my A-HA! moments have come after reading Tom Peters, but recently my A-HA! moments on Social Media have come from listening to people like Dr. Bret Simmons.

(www.bretlsimmons.com)

Dr. Bret Simmons http://www.bretlsimmons.com

He is well ahead of me on the learning curve of Social Media, but I am finding my course in the digital jungle easier by the path he is blazing for the rest of us common fools.  He has a unique perspective that I appreciate, and it doesn’t hurt that we both share a mutual distaste for archaic human and public relations management practices.

A few months ago I listened to him talk to a group of young professionals. During the talk he caused an A-HA moment for me.  He said, “use your name” in the Social Media arena. That seems terribly simple, but it is a foreign concept to many.  He went on to say that the message that a person conveys to him by not using their real name is that they don’t value him enough to share his or her identity.

(Listen to Dr. Bret Simmons talk about Personal Branding)

I go farther than Dr. Bret, because when someone doesn’t use their own name..full name..I wonder what they are hiding.  I can certainly understand situations where using a full first and last name may be a personal security issue; however, if you’re in the business world and you want to build your individual brand then you must use your real name.

My father’s generation expected to work for one or two employers during their career. In the past 40 years that concept has died.  What has replaced it is an attitude by employers of a one-way contract.  They want the employee to pledge complete loyalty, but in return they have no obligation of offering the employee job security. Building your personal brand is the only job security you have in today’s market.

In today’s environment your name should be the address for your website, the title of your blog, and identify you on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Your resume is not what you have on paper, it is what you have out on the Internet and the quicker you accept that fact, the faster you can start working on developing your public image and engage in the today’s market.

Does that mean you risk embarrassing yourself?  YES!  Get over it.  With each embarrassment you will become a little better at self-monitoring, both online and face to face.  We are human beings and if you don’t get a job because of something you said two years ago then you have dodged a bullet.  Any employer who is looking for the perfect employee is going to be staffed with people who don’t risk failure and that is not the company to be associated with in today’s world.

You owe it to yourself and the rest of the world to create your own personal brand. If you don’t then expect your tag line to be, “would you like fries with that, sir?”

Other Blogs about Social Media and Public Relations

  • Social Media 2020:  Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media
  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
  • Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?
  • Fear of Public Relations
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
  • Does Anybody Really Understand PR?


Social Media 2020: Who Shouldn’t Be Teaching Social Media

18 Sunday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Information Technology, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

LinkedIn, New Business World, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary District 5190, Rotary International, Seminars, Social Media, Social Networking, Teaching

In Social Media, wading is okay for amateurs

by Paul Kiser

If you take 100 people to a nice sunny beach a certain percentage will sunbathe and never touch the water, another percentage will get ankle-deep, another group will go waist deep, and so on until you get to the group that is swimming in the water all day until it’s time to go home.

In the ocean we know as Social Media there are some who fear it and avoid it; there are some who will create an account but not even complete their profiles; and there will be some who are very careful who they ‘friend’ or follow, avoiding anyone not vetted. Finally, there are the people who dive in and will connect up with almost anyone who follows or friends them.

Personally, I’m in the latter group.  I try to friend or follow as many as possible.  I do have some standards.  If someone follows me on Twitter I go to their page and check out the posts. If the posts are all ads/commercials then I don’t follow them.  If the posts seem like they are a real person who isn’t desperately trying to sell me something, I follow them.

I certainly respect someone who tries to limit her or his social connections to people they know because that is within most people’s comfort zone, but it does tell me that the person is not really into the Social Media as a serious participant.

Ironically, people who adopt this limited connection philosophy are sometimes being selected to teach others on how to use the Social Media and this is scary to me.  Think of it this way, who would you rather have teach you how to cook?  A person who lives and breathes food and does it everyday and knows the kitchen like they were born there, or the person who only knows a few recipes, cooks occasionally, and always sticks to the recipes they know.

For people who fear cooking, they may want the less adventurous cook, but for people who need to understand cooking, they need to learn from the person who knows it best.  The same is true for Social Media.

Both intellectually and emotionally, Social Media presents the opportunity to grow and expand, but you have to get all the way in order to reap the benefits.  There may be a person out there in the digital world who has a lead to a great job, or a lead to the customer that could double a company’s business, but the person who limits his or her connections is never going to know about the opportunities missed because they have rejected the person who has the information they need.  Staying in your comfort zone is tidy, but not useful and it makes a person less competitive and less knowledgeable.

So, if your attending a seminar on Social Media and an ‘expert’ tells you to keep to people you know, then that is the sure sign that this person doesn’t understand Social Media.  It also means that the person who selected this ‘expert’ is afraid of Social Media and was looking for someone to justify her or his fear of it.

What should you do in this situation?  Just smile at them and then tweet me ASAP.  I want to know who is serving up snake oil.

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

Other Blogs about Social Media and Public Relations

  • Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010
  • Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?
  • Publishing Industry to End 2012
  • Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?
  • Fear of Public Relations
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!
  • Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

Rotary@105: April 24th – Donald M. Carter Day

17 Saturday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Rotary, Rotary@105

≈ 1 Comment

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Club Members, History of Rotary, Paul Harris, Public Relations, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary District 5190, Rotary International, Rotary policies

by Paul Kiser

For 364 Days a year, thousands of Rotary Clubs around the world are involved in programs and projects to help the local, regional, national, and international communities, but on one day, EVERY Rotary Club is asked to do a community service project.  This year that day will be April 24, 2010.

Throughout Rotary we know this day as Rotarians at Work Day, but I like to think of it as Donald M. Carter Day.  Who was Donald M. Carter?

If you do a Google search for him you will find a few articles that mention his name. You might find out that he was a patent attorney and that he was involved in attempting to obtain a patent on the Rotary cog icon, but that would hardly justify naming a day after him.  If fact, to most Rotarians, Donald M. Carter is no one special….unless they know the early history of Rotary.

When Rotary was formed in 1905, Rotarians in the inaugural club established two reasons as the ‘purpose’ of Rotary.  They were as follows:

  1. The promotion of the business interests of its members
  2. The promotion of good fellowship and other desiderata ordinarily incident to social clubs.

In 1905, Rotary was a networking club that promoted business within the membership. The organization was established for the sole benefit of the members.

In April of 1906, a patent attorney named Donald M. Carter was approached by Frederick Tweed, a new Rotarian, and encouraged to join.  Carter was interested and asked about the objectives of the club.  When told of the two stated purposes of Rotary and shown the newly created Club Constitution, he declined and said that a club should have a higher ideal, some ‘civic’ purpose.  Tweed then suggested that Carter join and propose the new purpose to the club.

At this moment Carter could have just said ‘no’.  He could have thanked Tweed and sent him off with a handshake.  Rotary might have remained a business networking club existing solely for the benefit of the members…but Carter didn’t say ‘no’ to Tweed, or ‘no’ to his desire for a higher ideal for the organization.

The next month Donald M. Carter became a member of Rotary and later that year he composed the third purpose of Rotary:

3.  The advancement of the best interests of Chicago and the spreading of the spirit of civic pride and loyalty among its citizens.

The third purpose was adopted in 1907 and Rotary ceased to become an inward focused group of business men.  It became a group of people who promoted service and pride in the larger community outside of business and Rotary.

So on April 24, 2010, let’s give a nod and a smile to Donald M. Carter who gave Rotary a challenge to be more than a pursuit of the personal interests of the members, and instilled the value of community service and civic pride into every member.

Thanks Donald.  I glad you were a Rotarian!

A Century of Service by David C. Forward

(Special thanks to David C. Forward and his book, A Century of Service:  The story of Rotary International.  Book is available at www.shop.rotary.org)

Other Rotary Blog Posts

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  • Rotary@105:  Our 1st Rotary Club Dropout
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  • Rotary: All Public Relations is Local
  • Best Practices:  Become a Target!
  • Fear of Public Relations


Upcoming Posts in April 2010

16 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Fiction, Information Technology, Public Relations, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

≈ Leave a comment

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Blogging, Blogs, Facebook, Fiction, History of Rotary, LinkedIn, New Business World, Paul Harris, Paul Kiser, Preview, Public Image, Public Relations, Rotarians, Rotary International, Social Media, Social Networking

Over the next week or so I will post blogs on the following topics:

Social Interactive Media

  • Understanding the new Social Media terminology
  • The Value of Using Your Real Name on the Internet
  • Aristotle’s Rules of Facebook
  • Aristotle’s Rules of Twitter
  • Aristotle’s Rules of LinkedIn

Rotary

  • Rotary@105:  April 24th – Donald M. Carter Day
  • Public Relations Resources from RI
  • Rotary@105:  Ches Perry – Rotary’s ‘Mom’
  • Public Image is defined by Member Behavior
  • Rotary@105:  2010-11 is a Special Centennial

Fortnight

  • Chapter Five

You can subscribe to this blog or just keep checking back.  Thanks for your support and feedback!

Social Media 2020: Can You Make Money by Blogging? Part II

15 Thursday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, CA, Likely, Making Money, Supply and Demand

Last night I was asked the question, “Can you make money by blogging?” In Part 1 of this article I gave the answer, but I probably should elaborate.

Paul Kiser

Disclaimer: I am not now, nor have I ever been a card-carrying professional blogger.

I have never made a dime (penny, nickel, quarter, etc.) from blogging.  As such, I can’t speak to those who are raking it in by blogging….but I suspect that there are not many profiting from blogging.  Why?

Make Money By Blogging? NOT Likely!

First, the market for blogging is a supply and demand thing.  The Internet gives access to anyone who has an connection, a device to connect, the capability to use the device, and the ability to read and write.  That’s how many potential bloggers are out there who want to talk about something. The number of consumers of blogs is relatively small because there are not a lot of people who care about the thoughts of someone else, unless they are saying something really interesting or teaching something that the reader wants to learn.  Simply put, the supply of bloggers and blogs exceeds the demand for their work and therefore there is no market.

To put it in financial terms, even if you could get a reader to pay you $0.10 (ten cents) to read one of your blogs one time you would need 2000 readers a week, or 286 readers per day to make $200/week at blogging.  I’m probably not a great example, but I work pretty hard at producing blogs and on a good day I have 20 readers.

Second, blogging is like acting or teaching.  Your value as a blogger is determined by your ability to entertain or teach, or both.  Few can blog so well that they can gather the audience to read their work, and even fewer could gather an audience willing to pay for the privilege.

Blogging is about Branding.  It tells the world who you are and what you think.  Blogs may help others understand the value (skills, knowledge, and experience) of the blogger, which may lead to new job opportunities, or if you’re really good, a blogger might get paid for speaking or consulting.  There are ways for groups of bloggers to combine efforts in a mega-blog site that uses advertising to pay the bloggers, but that is for people who have established themselves as great bloggers.

For me, blogging is about enjoying the process of writing and expressing my thoughts….but if anyone wants to pay me…….

Other Blogs about Social Media and Public Relations

Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010

Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?

Publishing Industry to End 2012

Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?

Fear of Public Relations

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!

Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

Social Media 2020: Can You Make Money by Blogging

15 Thursday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, New Business World, Public Image, Publicity, Social Media, Social Networking

No.

Social Media 2020: Did Women Legitimize the Social Media?

14 Wednesday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Random, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Women

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Facebook, Internet, LinkedIn, New Business World, Re-Imagine!, Rotarians, Rotary, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, Twitter, Women

Here’s a question for you to ponder.

Would Social Interactive Media (SIM) be where it is today if women hadn’t put their stamp of approval by becoming active users?

Did Women make Social Media acceptable to the World?

I’m not talking about numbers, because 60% of Facebook users are women, so it’s obvious that they have had an important impact in the volume of users, but I’m talking about legitimizing it for everyone else. I don’t want to get into stereotyping, but as George Clooney’s character in Up In the Air said, “It’s faster.”

Consider that, with the exception of having sex, most men need a reason for becoming involved in an activity.  Men don’t shopping; they go to a store to purchase.  A man may say that he plays golf just for the enjoyment of the game, but don’t let anyone kid you, a man’s golf score can make or break his day.

Women, by contrast, don’t need to have a reason to go to the store or play golf.  They can find pleasure in just doing the activity.  For a woman, life doesn’t need justification to be enjoyed.

Now look at the Social Media arena.  I often find that men are the most phobic when it comes to participating in Social Media.  They mistrust and fear it.  Often the comment is, “I just don’t understand what the purpose is!”  And there lies the stereotyped gender difference.  Men need a reason (and they tend to leave their participles dangling.)

Women don’t need a reason.  The format of sharing information and ideas is in their comfort zone and that’s all they need.  Women are accustomed to be judged by others, so they don’t fear being judged online.  Women are also better self-monitors, so they know how to control their emotions when they post and tweet.

I believe that it was the acceptance of Social Media by women that pushed it into the mainstream.  Now, men are just trying to keep up…and trying to find a justification, a ‘reason’, to explain why participation in Social Media is important….hmmm…how’s that working out for us, guys?

Other Blogs on Social Media and Public Relations

Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010

Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?

Publishing Industry to End 2012

Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?

Fear of Public Relations

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!

Does Anybody Really Understand PR?



Social Media 2020: Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010

13 Tuesday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Human Resources, Information Technology, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Book, Facebook, HR, LinkedIn, Management Practices, New Business World, Public Image, Publicity, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, Twitter

A lot has changed in the last nine years in regard to the world of Public Relations.  In Part One I compare the fable presented in the Late 1990’s book, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson to the reaction towards today’s new world of Social Media.  In Part Two of this series I compare how we looked at Public Relations in 2001 versus how we look at it today.

Paul Kiser

(Read Part One of this series – Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?)

Public Relations 2001:  The Power of Third-Party Media

In 2001, Public Relations was more distinct.  A person could easily identify the roles and responsibilities. Publicity was defined as earning the attention of third-party media of an organization through free media channels. Promotion described the use of paid third-party media advertising (newspaper, radio, TV, phone book, mail, etc.) to gain public attention.  It was easier to define Public Relations in 2001 because it consisted of three distinct roles:  1) The organization seeking publicity/promotion, 2) the third-party media, and 3) the target audience.

Of the three roles, the third-party media was considered a deity.  The goal of PR professionals (and non-professionals) was to gain favorable attention of those key people in the third-party media so that they would talk about you to their audience.  You could buy your way into the hearts and minds of the media, but the goal was to seduce the media and gain their favor.  Journalists, newspaper editors, television news directors, and other media professionals had the power to make or break the public image of company and/or influence customers purchasing habits.  The people in the media were the gatekeepers to the public.

In 2001, the Internet was not new, but it was still primarily a place of email and websites.  PR professionals were promoting websites as another tool in their arsenal to reach the public, but many organizations still had their doubts about the importance of how a website could increase their business.  A few could see beyond the existing uses of the Internet.  Some of those gifted few might have imagined a world where junk mail and the yellow pages would become obsolete, but the idea of masses of people in continuous connection to each other was hard to fathom by almost everyone, especially PR professionals.

The New Cheese: The Individual

Tom Peters - author of Re-Imagine! New Business Excellence in a Disruptive World

One person who saw something brewing in the early part of the new millennium was Tom Peters.  In his 2003 book, Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age, he devoted a chapter to Individual Branding.  He suggested a future where the skills and experience of the individual would be key to ‘New Business’.  A world where a person isn’t swallowed up as a commodity in the belly of a corporation, but rather as an independent professional that companies would compete to have on their team.

(Go to Tom Peters Re-Imagine! website)

In 2003, it seemed hard to imagine how an individual could become relevant in a business world that often captured employees and then made them sign non-disclosure, non-compete, we-own-you agreements.  The ability for someone to market themselves was severely restricted, if not, banned outright by the corporation that made no promises of job security, but demanded total loyalty.

Perhaps Peters could see that the blogging sites of 2001-03 were signaling a new age of individualism; perhaps there were trends in place that Peters could project in the future; or perhaps (and this is my theory) that Peters has the ability to travel in time; but with the development and massive growth of Social Interactive Media in the last five years, Peters accurately predicted a new world of branding of the individual that is now a reality.

The Individual Trumps False Corporate and Media Gods

The rapid growth of Facebook and Twitter are two of the significant factors that changed the world of Public Relations.  Facebook made Social Media acceptable to millions.  Social Media allowed an individual to connect with hundreds of other people without the approval or denial of a third-party media deity.  Ideas, opinions, and knowledge were now being shared and it all bypassed the traditional gatekeepers.  It is hard to say what was the critical mass flash point that pushed Social Media into the mainstream, but once Facebook exceeded 100 million users there was no doubt that the Age of the Individual had dawned.

Twitter’s contribution to the age of the individual was two-fold.  The 140 character limitation for Twitter messages created a need to link to blogs, articles, and websites to fully convey new information and ideas; therefore, the practice of embedding links into a Tweet became commonplace.  That spurred a new connectivity of an individual’s ideas and opinions to the rest of the world.  Prior to Twitter, a blog was primarily found via a Google search, but a Tweet brought more attention to the general public without relying on a deliberate search, AND, the Tweet put new information out to an audience that was already interested in the topic.

The second impact of Twitter was a continuous flow of connectivity.  As a Social Media tool it put people in touch with each other 24/7/365.  While other Social Media tools could make a similar claim, Twitter encouraged users to stay connected and placed a priority on real-time interaction.  This was a pace of communication that corporations, with layers of control and approval, were not equipped to handle.  The corporate practice of running every statement or concept by a Public Relations professional before it goes public was not possible in the world of real-time information.  Twitter was designed for communication of individuals, not corporations, which is exactly the way users wanted it.

A Different Flavor of Cheese

Nobody will deny that Public Relations is still not a viable function in today’s world, but the old concept of the worship of third-party media like newspapers has been lost.  Discussing the Internet and Social Media when a newspaper professional is in the room is like discussing a new girlfriend in front of someone who used to date her and got dumped.  Public Relations is no longer an effort to make the best possible impression with the public as it is about being genuine.  Users of Social Media can spot a fake PR effort and anything that smacks of a corporate sell job is rejected…permanently.

To survive in a world of ‘Social Media Relations,’ corporations no longer can hide behind the perfect façade of Public Relations.  A business will be judged by the sum of its individuals and that means less control and manipulation of its employees.  The successful company will unshackle its people to dazzle its customers with their expertise of the business, and their competitors will tremble in fear.  It’s a new world, but not for those who don’t adapt and adopt.

Tom Peters world of New Business is here and Public Relations can no longer hide behind the curtain in New Oz.

Other Blogs on Social Media and Public Relations

Publishing Industry to End 2012

Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?

Fear of Public Relations

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!

Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

Social Media 2020: Who Moved My Public Relations?

12 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Information Technology, Management Practices, Public Relations, Random, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Blackberry, Newspapers, Promotion, Publicity, Spencer Johnson, The Publicity Handbook, Who Moved My Cheese

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

Twelve years ago the book, Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson was published.  It gave us fable about mice and men and how each handles change.   In the book Johnson’s mice discover the cheese is all gone and immediately begin to search for a new supply of cheese; however, the when the humans discover the cheese is gone they assume someone has moved it and become angry because they saw themselves as victims of change.

I think we can apply this lesson to the field of Public Relations.  Some are handling the massive changes in the field with acceptance and are adapting to the new paradigm, but some are taking a more human approach and seeing themselves as victims.

The new social media like Facebook, Twitter, and blogging are seen by some as evil, corrupt, and useless.  Some business people feel it is unfair that people are making purchasing decisions from information they glean off the free social media sites when they are paying for advertisements to influence them.  Some in the traditional media (newspapers, commercial TV, radio, etc.) may feel it is unfair that their sources of revenue are abandoning them for inexpensive promotional tools on the Internet.  It’s all soooo unfair.

Someone moved Public Relations and it’s just not right!

I mention this because a few weeks ago a friend let me borrow a book called The Publicity Handbook by David R. Yale and Andrew J. Carothers.  It was published by McGraw-Hill in May of 2001.  In the nine years since it was published the field of Public Relations was moved.  What we knew and understood about communication and media in 2001 has little to do with the world of communications and media of 2010, and the speed of change seems to be accelerating.  Consider just a few of the changes since 2001:

  • Newspaper Circulation: Down 21% from 2001 (55.6 M) to 2009 (44.0 M) and newspapers lost over 10% in 2009 alone.
  • Newspapers Closed: 105…in the first seven months of 2009.
  • Social Media Sites: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. all started after 2001.
  • Blackberry Smart Phones: 2002

So what can a book on publicity have to say that has any value in today’s environment?

Quite a bit. The Publicity Handbook is a good foundation for anyone who is trying to learn the basics of the field of publicity and I it is a book I would recommend; however, for me, it gives a measure of how much has changed in the past nine years.

Next —  Social Media 2020:  Public Relations 2001 vs Social Media Relations 2010

Other Blogs on Social Media

Publishing Industry to End 2012

Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn?

Fear of Public Relations

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…Oh My!

Does Anybody Really Understand PR?

Rotary@105: What Kind of Animal is RI?

12 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Management Practices, Membership Retention, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary@105

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

2010 Council on Legislation, Code of Policies, Council on Legislation, Manual of Procedure, Ray Klinginsmith, RI Constitution, Rotary Council on Legislation

Paul Kiser - Rotary District 5190 Public Relations Chair - RC of Reno Sunrise, NV

by Paul Kiser

When considering the care and feeding of any beast one must first decide what kind of beast you have, and that is not an easy task when examining the beast known as Rotary International (RI).  I’ve been thinking about this because in two weeks RI will hold the 2010 session of the Council on Legislation (CoL).  This meeting is charged with approving new policies and policy changes that will determine what RI will be, or not be, for the next three years.

If you don’t understand what I’m talking about…you are not alone and some background might be helpful.

Rotary International is a separate and distinct organization. We, as Rotarians, do not belong to Rotary International.  The individual Rotary Club is a member of Rotary International, but the club members are not. It’s a fine line, but a very important one.  Our clubs have a voice in RI, but individual members do not.

RI is governed by the Manual of Procedure (MoP), the Rotary Code of Policies, and the RI Constitution.  The Council on Legislation decides changes, deletions, and additions to the governing documents.  This happens once every three years…yes, I said once every three years.  After the Council on Legislation meets during the last week of this month (April 2010) it will not reconvene until 2013.

The Rotary Theme Logo for 2009-10

Individual members cannot propose changes to the Council on Legislation (because they are not members of RI), so for a Rotarian to propose a change to RI policies and procedures she or he must get his or her Club to do it. Once a Club has decided to propose a change to the Council on Legislation they must:

  1. Propose the change almost two years prior to the Council of Legislation (2008 deadline for 2010 CoL)
  2. Have that proposal approved by the majority of clubs in the District
  3. Gain the approval of the Council Services (Administrative Staff at RI) that the proposed legislation is legitimate

The Council on Legislation only sees the proposed legislation that survives all of these hurdles and many proposed changes die in RI’s Council Services review process.

It is noteworthy that all things RI are handled by two groups of people. District Governors (past and present) consist of one group.  They serve in various capacities in governing RI, including serving as District Representative to the Council on Legislation.

The second group is almost invisible to the rank and file of Rotary.  That group is the administrative staff at RI.  The RI staff is governed by the MoP, Code of Policies, and the RI Constitution; however, they also serve as the gatekeeper, and in the case of the Council on Legislation, the Council Services division has significant power to allow or deny legislation to be presented to the CoL.

Change in RI is controlled by who is allowed to make the decisions and by the drawn-out approval process.  Part of the challenges we face in making Rotary relevant for 2010 and beyond is the fact that our organization is not structured to allow changes to be done quickly, or in some cases, at all.  Our RI beast is governed by policies and procedures that, for the most part:

  1. can only be changed once every three years
  2. proposed changes must be submitted in two years in advance
  3. proposed changes must be filtered through the District Governors who may not support the change

Whether intentional or not, this process is designed to be resistant to change.  When it comes to adapting to a new environment the RI beast is a dinosaur in a world that changes in the time it takes to post a Tweet.  As we attempt to make Rotary relevant to the professionals in today’s world we must find a more representative and responsive method for making meaningful changes.

Rotary International’s President Elect, Ray Klinginsmith, tells us it is time we found some new traditions and this year’s RI Theme is “The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands.”  The sentiments seems to reflect that it is time for Rotarians to step up and Re-Imagine our organization…but we now need to clear out those roadblocks that seek to keep Rotary from becoming all it can be.

Other Rotary Related Blogs

  • Rotary:  The Man in the Yellow Hat as the Ideal Club President?
  • Rotary@105:  Our 1st Rotary Club Dropout
  • Rotary Public Relations and Membership: Eight Steps to a Team Win
  • Rotary: All Public Relations is Local
  • Best Practices:  Become a Target!
  • Fear of Public Relations

Leash Your Accountant Now!

09 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Accountants, Evil, Executive Management, Star Trek, Value-added

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

Accountants are evil.  They are generally nice people…outside the company walls, but that changes once they walk into an office.  Once in their natural environment an accountant becomes a ravenous predator that feeds on nickels and dimes.  Like any beast they need to be caged and carefully watched.

The problem with accountants as business managers is simple.  They hate the customer.  Customers are messy, demanding, fickle, illogical, expensive, unreliable, and in general, not conducive to an orderly stream of revenue.  For accountants the world breaks down to revenue and expenses.  Everything that is ‘business’ falls into these two categories.  For accountants business is about increasing revenue or decreasing expenses or both.  Everything else is irrelevant.

Your Typical Accountant Eating the Customer's Money

To an accountant the customer is an income stream and they want that income stream to be efficient and reliable.  Accountants get down right testy when customers defy the rules of their little world and become demanding and emotional.

By now those few accountants who might be reading this are probably fuming.  How dare I say accountants hate the customer!  Most accountants would vehemently argue that they love the customer!  That they wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for the customer!

But what they love is the customer’s money…the nickel and dimes.  They love to romp through a company and institute new policies, slash budgets, shut down experimental divisions, and in general kill anything that smacks of fun or excitement.  Show me a happy accountant and I’ll show you a company where the employees are considering other job offers and customers are re-thinking their loyalty.  Show me an unhappy accountant and I’ll show you a company where the leadership keeps them on a short leash and as far away from the customer as possible.

Unfortunately, most businesses go through a cycle where money becomes an issue and then somebody lets the accountants out of the cage and they start chasing all the loose nickels and dimes.  In the short-term the bottom-line might improve which reinforces the myth that the problem with the company was not giving the accountants free reign in the first place.

Then the company begins a slow death.  Customers discover that the business no longer provides value-added service

(See Previous Blog on Surprising the Customer)

and employees and managers find that the little extra money that they had to provide better service and/or address problems has been eaten up by accountants.  What follows is company stagnation.

Mr. Spock from the Original TV Series Star Trek

All this stems from a lack of control on the accountants.  Accountants should be able to tell you how much money is in the bank and where it was spent, but then they need to be muzzled.  If a company is going to succeed or fail it will be done by giving the customer what they want, when (or before) they want it.  Business is emotional.  It is driven by intangible things like satisfaction, surprise, joy.  Accountants don’t get emotion.   Like Mr. Spock on Star Trek, accountants see emotion as irrelevant because it isn’t a revenue or expense.

The moment an accountant says, “you know we could save $x.xx, if we just…” is the moment that a CEO needs to say, “Don’t you have something that needs ledgered?”

Do that and everyone else will be happy, especially your customers!

Ahem…I now apologize to my accountant friends..I still love you Dave!

More Paul Kiser Blogs

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Rotary@105:  Our 1st Rotary Dropout

Best Practices:  Become a Target

Rotary: District 5190 Public Relations District Assembly Session Materials

08 Thursday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Public Relations, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM)

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PowerPoint, Rotary District 5190, Rotary District Assembly

Paul Kiser - Rotary District 5190 Public Relations Chair - RC of Reno Sunrise, NV

This Saturday, April 10th, Rotary District 5190 will be holding the annual District Assembly training sessions for the Club Leadership of 2010-11.  I have significantly revised the RI Public Relations PowerPoint Presentation and Study Guide.  While our initial efforts in Rotary Public Relations have been to focus on ‘publicity’ I have attempted to enhance our effort to encompass all aspects of Public Relation including public image awareness and using the Public Relations Committee to assist in building both an Internal Message and an External Message.

Session One (50 minutes) covers the Public Relations Committee Roles and Responsibilities.

Session Two (50 minutes) covers Goal Setting for the Public Relations Committee.

Session Three (50 minutes) give to Case Study Exercises including an exercise that role plays a call from a reporter to the Club President.

Below are the Presentation and Study Guide:

Rotary District 5190 – District Assembly Training: Public Relations

This is the Study Guide for the PR Sessions of District Assembly

PR Worksheets for District Assembly Sessions

(Note that questions for Case Study TWO must be obtained independently from me to protect the integrity of the exercise.)

You may also want to review my Blogs about Rotary and Public Relations:

Rotary Public Relations and Membership:  Eight Steps to a Team Win

Rotary:  All Public Relations is Local

Rotary: The Man in the Yellow Hat as the Ideal Club President?

07 Wednesday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Crisis Management, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Retention, Public Relations, Random, Rotary

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Curious George, Management Techniques, Membership Retention, Rotarians, Rotary Club

Paul Kiser - Public Relations Chair - Rotary District 5190 (Northeast CA/Northern NV

The Man in the Yellow Hat seems to be overwhelmed by the adventurousness of his pet monkey, better known to the world as Curious George, but at closer inspection George’s owner has a style about him that allows the little monkey to have the freedom to be creative, while not stifling his enthusiasm.  It is a model that could help every Rotary Club President understand that individual members need the freedom to fail if a club is to be successful.

If you are blessed with a four year-old you probably have some screen time with the Public Broadcast Service (PBS) young children’s programming known as PBS Kids.  Among the many children’s programs offered by PBS Kids is the Curious George series that began in 2006 and based on the Curious George books.

Most people over 50 may remember Curious George from the seven children’s books written from 1941 to 1966 by Margaret and H.A. Rey.  In both the book series and the PBS Kids program the owner of Curious George is the Man in the Yellow Hat (let’s abbreviate that to MITYH) who is never identified by a name.  (A 2006 animated movie did name him, but I’m not going to acknowledge that feeble attempt to put a name on a character that the original authors intentionally left unnamed.)

What I find fascinating is the relationship between Curious George and the MITYH.  For those who have not watched the PBS Kids program, The MITYH and Curious George live in a flat (presumably in New York) and George is the MITYH’s pet monkey.  As an animal owner he would likely be arrested for not controlling his animal.  George is often left alone for vast stretches at a time and he always get into mischief when the MITYH is absent.  Fortunately for the MITYH, it seems that the cartoon world has no Humane Society or ASPCA to interfere with the relationship between a man and his monkey.

(Link to PBS Kids)

Curious George - Monkey making mischief

If you watch the show you will see a pattern of disaster that is always preceded by the MITYH leaving the flat and saying, “Be a good little monkey.”  George then proceeds to solve a problem, understand how something works, or tries to be helpful, which always results in a mess.  What is surprising is the tolerance level of the MITYH and his neighbors and friends.  They always seem to understand that George will be George and all is forgiven.  At the end of each episode George has a new understanding of how the world works and all problems are fixed and everyone ends up happy.

So what does this have to do with a Rotary Club?  First, let me be clear, I’m not trying to infer that Rotarians are a bunch of monkeys…although I have been involved in some meetings where it seemed that the behavior of the members could be best described as Simian in nature.  Rotarians are all human and typically a creative group of people.  But because we all come from a business-related background our first thought as a Club President is to ‘manage’ the members.  I would suggest that it is not the best strategy.

As volunteers, Rotarians represent a vast resource of knowledge, skills, and creativity that is unique in the world.  Few organizations can put together the quality of people that Rotary attracts without offering significant compensation and benefit packages.  Rotary’s only asset is its members, but it is an asset that is more valuable than gold regardless of the current market price.

But our members are an asset, not a commodity.  Each day as a Club President is a gift.  The Club President represents a group of people who belong to the Rotary Club simply because they want to be, and not because of any quid pro quo.  It is a mistake to belief they belong because they want to be managed.

That is the magic of the MITYH’s style can be applied to the Rotary Club.  He doesn’t try to ‘manage’ his monkey.  Indeed, the MITYH acts as if it his pleasure to be able to simply be associated with George.  Sometimes it almost seems that he intentionally finds reasons to leave George alone to explore his world and create mischief with the understanding that all will work out in the end.

Often the MITYH is embarrassed by George’s actions, but his embarrassment is short-lived, and never does the MITYH decide that he needs to control George more to save face.  Nor does the MITYH decide that George must become more involved and assign George to a committee.  The MITYH offers opportunities and then walks away.  Never does he judge or attempt to manipulate…but he is always there to help clean up.

The Man in the Yellow Hat has a style that is unique in a world that values and teaches ‘managing’ other people in order to achieve his or her goals , but I think we could all learn a lot about working with talented volunteers from the example of empowering without fear of failure.   Our members deserve no less.

Other Paul Kiser Rotary Blogs

Rotary@105:  Our 1st Rotary Club Dropout

Rotary Public Relations and Membership: Eight Steps to a Team Win

Rotary: All Public Relations is Local

Best Practices:  Become a Target!

Fear of Public Relations

Positive Harm Part II: Downs and Ups

06 Tuesday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in About Reno, Lessons of Life, parenting, Random

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Doctors, Healthcare, Nurses, Renown, tonsillectomy

Play Surgery before the big day.

Yesterday our 4 1/2 year-old son, Alexander had his tonsils and adenoids removed.  In Part I of this story

(See Positive Harm to Our Son Doesn’t Feel Okay)

I talked about the concerns of harming our child in order to make him healthier and our efforts to prepare him for the experience.  It is impossible to know whether that preparation was good or bad, but we certainly have seen the downs and ups of the experience and the problems of too much knowledge.

The Downs of Surgery Eve

On Sunday night we did another session of play surgery before bed and then just before he went to sleep I reminded him that there would be some pain after the surgery and that we would be with him until he went into the OR. That was probably a mistake. Alexander woke up just before 1:00 AM crying.  He said his throat hurt, then his ears, then his head.  His Mom took it at face value, but he didn’t have a fever and at times the pain was only the throat, so I was more suspicious.  He was clearly scared and violently battled to stay with Mom and wanted me to stay away.

We were able to get him to sleep in 10 minute chunks, but he always woke up crying.  To me it was clear he was terrorized by the thought of going to the hospital in a few hours.  Needless to say, none of us slept the rest of the night.

Mood Recovery Before Surgery

Alexander at home a few hours post op

At the hospital he fell asleep in Mom’s arms in the waiting area and got about an hour in before we were moved into a pre-op room.  When he woke up he was still in a foul mood, but he wasn’t crying.  In the pre-op room I decided to see if I could get his mind off of the surgery.  He had been given a stuffed duck during his tour of the surgery area the week before so I began flying ‘Quackers’ around the room.  That got him to laugh and lifted his spirits some.

A Boy Rests

The staff at the Renown was aware of his fears (I got the sense they had experienced one or two patients with a similar concern) and they all worked to help him get his mind off of the surgery.  Nurse Toni, (the nurse that gave us a  tour of OR the week before,) checked in on him, and his pre-op nurse (I can’t remember her name) did a great job of asking him questions and involving him in the conversation.  By the time the anesthesiologist came in Alexander was no longer focused on the surgery and he continued to talk directly to Alexander…and listening to him.  By the time the star of the show, Dr. Jenny Van Duyne, entered the room Alexander was ready to hold court.  When it came time for Alexander to go to the OR, he had no problem taking a wagon ride away from Mom and Dad.

The next 45 minutes were blessfully short and when Dr. Van Duyne came out we knew everything went as planned.  She explained that he had one very large tonsil and she put in one stitch to keep the back of the mouth symmetrical, but everything else looked good.

Recovery Room Down and Up and Down

Post surgery was no cake walk, but the important note is that it was after the surgery…meaning the scary part for us was over.  Alexander was groggy and hurting post op but he did what he need to do.  He drank liquids and rested.  Again the Renown staff did great.  Nurse Kim was his post-op nurse and she kept close tabs on us and did not hesitate to give pain meds if she thought they were needed.

If either of us had felt that Alexander wasn’t getting the best care we could have been difficult parents for the staff.  We were both exhausted and feeling very protective; however, I don’t remember any time where I felt that Alexander was being neglected.  Alexander did his part by drinking water, eating two Otter Pops, and he even went potty.

All was going as planned until we were ready to leave.  Just as I picked Alexander up he lost his cookies, or in this case his Otter Pop.  It could have been a lot worse but Nurse Kim had made sure we had the emesis (sick) bag at the ready.

Roller Coaster at Home

Alexander - 26 hours post op...vacuuming

Since being home we have dealt with the challenge of getting Alexander to take his medicine (which tastes horrible), vomiting right after taking medicine, sleep in four-hour stints at night, and a really sad and hurting boy.  We have also experienced a boy who wants to vacuum and clean the furnace air filter.  He feels good for about two hours at a time today and then he doesn’t.  Hopefully, each day he will feel stronger.

Our journey is long from over, but we are able to see that doing positive harm to our child was for the best.  We know that he will sleep better and feel better.  In hindsight I would have not discussed the scary parts of the surgery as much.  The pain is best dealt with at the time it hurts, not feared before it happens.

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Fortnight: Chapter 4 – The Devil in the Details

04 Sunday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in All Rights Reserved, Fiction, Fortnight, Murder Mystery

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LCI Gwen Ortiz, Murder Mystery

CHAPTER 4
The Devil in the Details


Friday, May 15, 2020 3:27 PM MDT

In the few hours that past, Gwen had done a week’s worth of work.  She was a person that could focus intently on one task, but could also stop and take care of another detail and then return to the original task without missing a beat.  The pressure of a P1 case only made her focus on the murder scene more intense.  Gwen was efficient, but thorough.  Every detail, picture, and fact had been referenced and entered on her tablet screen she carried with her.  The tablet never left her hand, or if she needed both hands she could attach it to her arm.  It was roughly the size and thickness of small yellow note pad of her grandfathers.’  He had a bunch of them in a filing cabinet in their garage when she was a child but she hadn’t seen a real yellow pad for years.

All the data Gwen entered was transmitted immediately to her personal server and to two backup servers.  She could access the case file anywhere in the world.  As a matter of protocol, Tommy, the ISPO, assigned the encryption key code in the flash form that he sent her to authorize her to be the LCI on this case, however, no one but Gwen’s team would be authorized to access the case file unless she was removed from the case.

After walking around the building several times, both inside and out, she had an exact knowledge of the layout of the murder scene.  In her mind she had worked out the possible scenarios of how the killer had entered the building and how the victim was executed.  In all scenarios the victim must have voluntarily come to the building, entered it, and kneeled on the floor.  Perhaps it was all done at gunpoint, but based on the lack of marks on the body and no evidence of a struggle at any of the entrances; the victim did not fight back at any point.  That allowed Gwen to rule out almost all ‘kidnapping/murder’ situations.

Gwen couldn’t be positive, but Elizabeth McKay must have known the murderer and likely came to the warehouse unaware of his or her intent.  That was the only scenario that made sense.  If that was the case then the murderer had been able to convince McKay trust him or her.  That gave Gwen some hope.  A person can gain the trust of a few people who will be gullible enough to walk into a murder, but it is nearly impossible to get 14 people to do it.  It was likely that McKay was the closest person to the murderer; therefore it was unlikely the other 13 potential victims would be as trusting.  In addition, McKay likely knew some or all of the other potential victims and they knew her.

At about noon Gwen decided to leak the information and victim’s name to the media.  She knew that it would increase the chances of identifying the murderer and make the potential victims on the alert for any strange requests from people they knew.  Gwen figured she had at least five or six days and maybe a month before the murderer would try to kill someone else.  This murder probably took a month or more to plan and execute, so Gwen would have time to assemble a team and train them in her style of investigation before they would have to deal with another body.

As the LCI on the scene she had to oversee the handling of the scene including and the removal of the body. She had dismissed the paramedics soon after arriving. She knew the body would have to lay there for several hours and she respected the time of others. All of the police administrators left within an hour of her arrival this morning. They knew hanging around would be inappropriate, as their job was to hand off murder cases, not investigate. One patrol unit stayed according to the policy that was established back in 2016 when a murderer came back, or perhaps had hidden out at the crime scene, and killed the LCI and the CSI team.  After that it was determined that at least two patrol officers must stay on scene until everyone leaves.

The CSI team had finished up an hour ago and left. A recovery unit picked up the body and was now driving out of the parking lot.  Gwen had been in contact with the landlord and a representative had stopped by and given Gwen the run down on the property…who leased it last, who had access, who looked at the warehouse in the past year, etc.  The building rep transmitted the details to Gwen as they talked.

The most of the doors were the old style key locked doors, but two were card/keycode locks.  The bad news was that the locks had not been changed in at least six years.  The rep told Gwen that the building had been rented by five businesses and one church in the past six years so the number of people who might have had access to a key was impossible to determine.  Either the murderer was smart or lucky, or both.

By now Gwen had over 150 flashes regarding this case in her IN box. Technology was great, but it was overwhelming and unforgiving. Every document she received, every response she gave, or didn’t give would be a part of the case and subject to being presented in court. Attorneys would pour over her flash traffic looking for things they could turn against her and the case the DA would make in court. If the DA couldn’t get a conviction then police administrators would be even less forgiving than the attorneys.

As Gwen walked out of the shadow of the building she squinted in the bright sunlight.  The sun still felt strong and warm.  Gwen looked down along the side of the building and saw her new car.  She had almost forgotten that she had it.  Her old car was a used 2014 model that didn’t have all the new communication and data technology.  Gwen could work out of the passenger seat in the new car and have access to more office functions than were available in most brick and mortar office buildings.  She headed to the passenger side of the car and then realized she should leave the area.  If Gwen stayed to work it would mean the patrol unit would have to stay and guard her. She opted to go get coffee somewhere and sort through the ever-growing digital file of messages.

She wasn’t familiar with this warehouse area so she tapped the tablet screen and it lit up.  She touched the button on the touch screen that said, “Find Me”.  Instantly she had a live view of her location from a satellite in orbit. It showed her car, the parking lot, the building. She touched the reverse zoom icon and the image pulled up and showed about a ten block area. She had coffee shops on auto label and a coffee cup appeared on the image just a few blocks east of her current location. She closed the car door and said “Start” and the car began to hum.

Her tablet rang as she walked into the Starbucks. She grimaced. She hated talking on her phone in places where people were socializing. She turned around and went back outside. Before she answered she looked at the number. It was one of the LCI’s she had contacted to join her on this case.

Jake was older. He used to handle murder cases and had been very successful, but four years ago he decided to only handle large theft cases. Gwen had worked with him a few times as an intern and after she got her license she asked him about his decision to change. He told her that one day after a murder-suicide case he was paid $10,000 for proving the obvious…the husband killed his wife and child before killing himself. Jake then wondered if the husband realized that someone was going to make $10,000 off of his deranged act of cold-blooded murder. Jake decided he wasn’t to take any more money because someone’s violent act. Gwen knew this case would be a tough sell, but she wanted Jake on this case and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“How’s it going Jake,” she began.  “Gwen, I know that tone,” he replied.  Gwen reminded herself that you don’t get to be a good LCI without being able to read the prosody in the voice.  “I need to contract you,” Gwen said.  He paused for a moment and then said, “You lose something?”  Gwen took a short breath and then said, “I’m the lead on a P1.”

For a moment Jake felt a little burst of pride that Gwen was selected for the most important case an LCI could be assigned after only a few years on the job, but he knew exactly what this meant and why she was calling him.  “So you’ve lost your mind…I don’t do those….no value,” he said.  Gwen was not going to let him brush her off.  She said, “Look, it’s big and I need your help in finding two more LCI’s to help us.  You can stay in the office and keep us on track.  I need you on this case.”  Gwen voice didn’t noticeably change when she said ‘I need you’ but Jake could tell that Gwen was being absolutely sincere.

Gwen had natural abilities, but she had correctly identified her weakness…the lack of long-term experience.  Jake saw that her plan to have him to run the inside of the case was the perfect solution.  In his career he had never been the lead on a P1 case, but he had been on a P1 team five times and he saw lead LCI’s succeed and fail.  This late in his career he had no desire for the pressure of being the lead, but a P1 case was just too good of an opportunity to thumb his nose at and he could be a valuable mentor for Gwen and the rest of the team.  Still, he didn’t want to look too easy.  He said, “Let’s get together and talk it through…but I’m not saying ‘yes’, understood?”  “Understood,” she replied.  She smiled.  He just said ‘yes.’

Gwen gave Jake the information to access the case file and made plans to meet Jake at 7 PM and then went back inside.  She could leave Jake to pick the other two LCI’s and he could task both of them out throughout the course of the investigation.  Using him as a resource and task master would free her up to follow the investigation in the field.

She was feeling very pleased with herself until she saw a red light flash on her tablet.  It was a new flash and in the description it said, “FBI – URGENT.  This was not good.  Were they taking over the case?  She had hoped that since they didn’t show up at the crime scene that they were uninterested in her case….that’s right, she reminded herself, it was her case.  She opened the flash and saw that it was a request for operational progress briefs every 48 hours.  It would have been better if the FBI would not be involved at all, but this wasn’t as bad as she feared.  She would just put two daily reports for the DA together and submit them to the FBI.

The rest of the backed up flash traffic were mostly predictable.  She was pleasantly surprised that $300,000 was already deposited in her investigation fund and that four credit cards were waiting for her at Denver C & C Center.  Unfortunately, she had to pick them up by 5 PM or wait until Monday.  She headed out to the car.  It would look bad if police administration had expedited her credit cards only to have them sit on someone’s desk all weekend.  This is one of those issues that would haunt her even though she wouldn’t have anyone to give the credit cards to until Monday at the earliest.

Gwen’s was clearly irritated.  She was the lead LCI on a P1 case and her priority right now was an errand.  She knew she needed to get her team on board quickly so she didn’t get caught up in little details like picking up plastic late on Friday afternoon.

The Earlier Fortnight Chapters

Chapter One & Two

Chapter Three

Positive Harm to Our Son Doesn’t Feel Okay

03 Saturday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in About Reno, Lessons of Life, parenting, Random

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

adenoids, boys, hospitals, parenting, pediatrics, Renown, surgery, tonsillectomy, tonsillitis, Tonsils

Alexander prepares for 'play' surgery

On Monday we will get up early and take our four and a half  year-old boy, Alexander, to Renown Hospital in Reno.  He is basically healthy…that is when he doesn’t stick a plastic bead up his nose,

See Blog Post

but he snores and is awaken at night because his tonsils have grown too large and block his airway when he sleeps.  He also has a persistent cough at night that comes and goes.   We are confident this is absolutely necessary as his Dentist (Dr. Stoker), his Family Practitioner (Dr. McCarthy), and two Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialist have all agreed:  Tonsils Must Go.

Play Surgery to Prep for the Real Surgery

Still, it is getting harder to shrug off that this surgery is going to hurt him and there are always risks and complications that can’t be anticipated.  Parents may not be required to take the Hippocratic Oath (First, Do No Harm), but even so, it’s instinct for most of us, and when we turn Alexander over to Dr. Jenny Van Duyne on Monday morning we will be asking her to hurt our son.  Yes, in the long run he will be better off, but that doesn’t change the fact that when he comes back from surgery he will be injured.

Our Play Operating Room

Ironically, I was pushing for us to have him checked out and to have this surgery done.  I had my tonsils out when I was around six and I was eating crackers the next day.  My older brother Mike had his done around the same time and as a teenager he had a much harder time recovering from the surgery.  Of course, that was back in the days of rusty, old surgery instruments when doctors sharpened knives with a leather strap…okay, it wasn’t that bad, but it  was almost 50 years ago.

Post Play Surgery Recovery Room

It doesn’t seem that the surgery has changed that much and the recovery time is one to two weeks, so this is not an overnight hurt that will be better the next day.  We also know he gets worried and scared in unfamiliar situations, so we took him for a tour of the Operating Room last week and Nurse Toni did a great job of reassuring him.  He’s also watched a DVD over and over that was produced to help children overcome their fears of this surgery.  Finally, we’ve been practicing the before, during, and after surgery with me as the doctor (complete with poofy shower cap) and him as the really good patient.  So far, so good, but Monday morning will be the final exam for all of us.

I was thinking that this was going to be harder on Mom than Dad, and in the end I will likely push my fears aside for Alexander and Mom, but it still feels odd….I don’t know, maybe it’s just the poofy shower cap.

Other Paul Kiser Blogs

Census 2000 VS Census 2010

Who uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, & LinkedIn?

Publishing Industry to End 2012

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Oh My!

Publishing Industry To End 2012

03 Saturday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Information Technology, Management Practices, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Recreation, Social Interactive Media (SIM)

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Amazon.com, books, ebooks, iPad, Kindle, Publishing, Publishing Houses

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

I find doomsday groups to be entertaining.   The idea that they have some mystical gift or special knowledge to see into the future and predict a coming disaster is comical and pathetic at the same time.  However, we mere humans can analyze situations and trends and look forward to see change in process.  Such a change is apparent in the publishing industry and it doesn’t take a belief in mythology to see what is coming.

There have been three elements to publishing: The Author, The Publisher, and The Reader.  The publisher has been part of this formula because it has been the critical link between the author and the reader; however, the Internet and Social Media tools like blogs have bypassed the publisher.  In addition, a  new publishing paradigm has emerged that allows authors to publish low-cost books one-at-a-time in defiance of the industry’s it-can’t-be-done attitude.  Now the publishing industry is scrambling to stay relevant to a world that they often abused by manipulating prices and the market.

For centuries publishers controlled who could or could not be an author because the great, and all-powerful wizards behind the curtain saw themselves as the gatekeepers that could predict what the free market wanted.  They are the poster child of private enterprise.

The textbook industry was the most abusive to authors and readers by creating a system of profiteering off of the source of the knowledge (authors) and the recipients of the knowledge (students).  In January, I wrote a blog on another website (see below) about the limited future for textbook publishing.

Apple's new iPad (courtesy Apple, inc.)

This morning National Public Radio (NPR) did a piece on today’s launch of Apple’s new iPad (one of thousands the media did this week) and how the publishing industry is facing a new reality.

See or listen to the NPR here…or hear 🙂

NPR mentions Lulu.com which is a web-based enterprise that allows authors to publish books on paper or electronically for ebook Readers like iPad and Kindle.  The author can get up to $10.00 per book on an iPad ebook that costs $13.99 and $8.00 on a standard book that costs $19.99 including shipping.  In addition, there are no upfront costs and the books are only printed after they are ordered.  Lulu has used today’s technology to do what the publishing industry has said could not be done:  publish books one at a time at a rational price.

Check out Lulu.com

The publishing industry has become irrelevant in the Social Media age.  By 2012 the publishing industry will be well on their way to the archives unless they dump everything they know about publishing and start over with a new model.  I predict they won’t be able to do it.

Textbook Publishing on Thin Ice
Originally published January 2, 2010

Periodically you can foresee the rapid change of an industry that has managed to keep to their old ways long after its expiration date.  While the newspaper industry has run head-on into the Internet/Digital age, the textbook industry has managed to fly under the radar and avoided facing the reality that awaits them.

Anyone who has, in the past 30 years, 1) attended college, 2) has had someone they know attend, or 3) maintained a pulse; knows that college textbooks have been overpriced.  Today a typical paperback textbook costs from $75 to $150 and hardcover textbooks cost even more.  The rationale for this has been that the small print runs for textbooks make the production costs high.  While the faculty of colleges and universities have not been playing an active role in driving the cost of textbooks, they have been a partner in the racket by determining what books students will be required to purchase for his or her class, thus taking the buyer out of the supply and demand equation.  The professor requires the book and the publisher sets any price they want.

The problem is that as we become fully immersed in the Digital Age the issue of cost of printing is ripped away from the publishers leaving them standing naked in the world of books.  It can’t be to long (if it is not already happening) that a smart college or university President is going to see the competitive advantage by requiring faculty to provide all textbooks digitally and at a lower cost to the student.  That will allow the institution to trade higher tuition for lower material cost to the student.  The student still won’t win, but at least the false cost of textbooks will not be used to take their money.

Other Paul Kiser Blogs

Who Uses Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, & LinkedIn?

Rotary@105:  Our 1st Rotary Dropout

Re-Imagining Starbucks

02 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Management Practices, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Tom Peters

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Coffee, Facility Planning, Re-imaging, Remodeling, Starbucks

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

One last discussion about Starbucks and I’ll cross it off my list.

When I originally planned to write about Starbucks it was to indulge myself in exploring “What if”.  I agree with Tom Peters, author of Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age, who thinks we need to rethink the way we do business.   I think it is important exercise for all organizations to look at where they’re at today and boldly experiment with new ideas, services, and products.

Tom Peters book, Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age

As I discussed in my last post on Starbucks,

(See Starbucks:  A Tradition in Surprising the Customer)

there is a need to constantly surprise the customer with value-added products or services.  Starbucks has a history of giving the customer a strong value-added product and service; however, the company has gone through a phase of retreat, which if continued will be a slow downward spiral that will eventually lead to the demise of Starbucks.

So the next logical phase is to leap forward with bold new ideas.  When I say bold, I mean the kind of stuff that leaves people firing Facebook posts and Tweets to their friends about the crazy new product, service, or experience.

Starbucks Next Generation
If I were designing the next generation of Starbucks locations. Here are some of the key elements I would consider:

  1. Maintain the anchor as a fresh Coffee/Tea retail outlet
  2. Expand the customer base with focus on Women and Business customers
  3. Value-Added changes that enhance the Third Place concept
  4. Increase traffic and time spent in store
  5. Diversify the revenue base in ways that make sense
  6. Develop partnerships that make sense, but in line with the Starbucks ‘feeling’
  7. Remodeling to improve the technology and use ‘Green’ building design techniques.

The Starbucks Center

Starbucks in Reno, Nevada at Keystone and I-80

I think most existing Starbucks locations are too small to initiate any advancement of a value-added service.   In addition, after five years any store layout becomes stale, so some type of remodel is needed.   My idea would be to take twenty percent of the existing stores and remodel them into three-story facilities. A sub ground level, a ground level, and an upper deck.

Sub-Ground Level
Part of this level should be a kitchen/storage area, but the rest could be:

  • Meeting rooms for public use or Starbucks Life Center programs*
  • Public office space (renting by the hour)
  • Kitchen area for grill type service
  • Hourly child care play room

*Starbucks Life Center would be a revenue-producing program of classes/seminars/training at minimal cost on any subject or skill; however, sales-type programs/training would be forbidden. This might be a program run by Starbucks or merely approved and schedule via Starbucks.

Ground Level
This level would be the main coffee/tea bar area with the following enhancements:

  • The Public area(s) would be known as Conversation Zone.
  • Noisy equipment should be recessed and sound deadening used to minimize intrusion into Conversation Zone
  • Electronic order pads in Conversation Zone.  Customers could order and pay via e-pads or at a self-order station.
  • Stores offering made-to-order non-traditional fresh grilled food would have a Maitre d’ who would oversee the Conversation Zone and assure quality of service.
  • The Drive Thru would offer drinks and prepared food only.
  • Whole beans/bulk teas and Starbucks specialty items (cups, etc.) would be in a gift store area known as the B&B store.

Top Deck
In my vision of the next gen of Starbucks, the top deck would be known as the Fourth Place.  Plants and partitions in some stores to create a pub-like feel would be one option, or a glass enclosed central deck with an open deck surrounding the central deck.  It could be reserved for parties, but mostly it would be a quiet area to drink your coffee, talk, and re-engage in life.

Partnerships
In addition to expanding the Starbucks store I would enlist key partnerships or new Starbucks Divisions that would create adjacent enterprises to a Starbucks location where the Conversation Zone/Top Deck could be shared.  One thought is a Wine or Pub Bar.  Another is a Children’s Library or a Children’s Experience Center where parents could sign their child up for a class that supplements the Public School curriculum.  The parent could relax with friends in the Conversation Zone while her or his child is taking a class.

Back to Reality
The point is not about the substance of the ideas, but about the need for every organization to periodically dream or Re-Imagine!   Customers like consistency and familiarity, but the also like to be pleasantly surprised. What will Starbucks look like in 2014?  I don’t know, but I believe they will either look boldly exciting and different, or they will be irrelevant.

Other Paul Blogs in this Series

Starbucks One

Starbucks:  A Tradition in Surprising the Customer

All Paul Blogs @

Paul Kiser Blogs

Census 2000 VS Census 2010

02 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Lessons of Life, Random

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2010 Census, Census, Economic Crisis, War, Y2K

While there is much more discussion about the 2010 Census than is really necessary, and while I still can’t figure out why a mailed form is any more secure or accurate than doing it on the Internet and saving a few million trees, there is one thing that is significant to me.  What has changed in 10 years.

The 2010 Census Form

Ten years ago things were pretty good.  We had hope of a great new century and we had all survived Y2K…remember, planes were going to fall out of the sky, banks were going to lose all the data, and anarchy was going to descend.  But it didn’t happen and life was good.

Then came the election of 2000, 9-11-2001 (planes did fall out of the sky), War in Afghanistan, War in Iran, Space Shuttle Columbia exploding, Enron, a deteriorating economy, $4 billion/mo. in Iran, a tsunami that killed approximately 250,000, Bush re-elected, Hurricane Katrina, the Surge, $4.00+ gas prices, the economic disaster,  massive job cuts, home values plummeting, banks failing, and a Republican party trying to sabotage America so their failures don’t look as bad….and we were worried about a computer problem?

This decade brought fear and hate to a new level in the world.  It may be remembered as the worst decade since the 1960’s for unhappy people and negative world events and yet we all survived, somehow.

Alexander Kiser October 16, 2005

But the Census doesn’t count events, it counts people and on that score things were pretty good.  The 2010 Census will report three new lives:  my son, my granddaughter, and my grandson.  It will also show that both my daughters married in this decade.  It will also report one less life, my mother, and there were other losses, but for the most part they were people who lived full lives.

I can’t say that this decade was a great decade, but personally it was a good decade and that’s enough for me.

(Another Recent Paul Blog:  A Better Parent, not Perfect.)

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Other Pages of This Blog

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  • Familius Interruptus: Lessons of a DNA Shocker
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  • Six Things The United States Must Do
  • Why We Are Here: A 65-Year Historical Perspective of the United States

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  • Road Less Traveled: How Craig, CO Was Orphaned
  • GOP Political Syndicate Seizes CO School District
  • DNA Shock +5 Years: What I Know & Lessons Learned
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  • Blindsided: End of U.S. Solar Observation Capabilities?
  • Inspiration4: A Waste of Space Exploration

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