One Rotary Center: A Home for 1.2 Million Members

12 Saturday Jun 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, History, Human Resources, Management Practices, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Rotary, Rotary@105

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Blogs, Club Members, History of Rotary, Management Practices, Membership Retention, One Rotary Center, Paul Harris, Public Image, Public Relations, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary Coordinators, Rotary International, Value-added

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

Paul Kiser - Public Relations Chair, Rotary District 5190

The plan was simple. On a business trip to Illinois I would go to the Rotary International (RI) headquarters in Evanston and take a few pictures to put in a future blog. Simple. No big deal. At our District Conference in May I mentioned to District Governor Elect Steve Lewis that I was going to stop by RI HQ and take some pictures. “Call them first,” DGE Steve said, “they’ll give you a tour.” Okay. That might be nice. So I called the main RI number and set up an appointment. A quick look at RI could be interesting.

One Rotary Center

A little before 10 AM on a beautiful June day I walked into the main cog of the Rotary universe: One Rotary Center. I’m instructed to go up to the 16th floor where I was greeted by Delores and another staff member at the front reception area. I told them my name and my purpose and Delores repeated, “Oh, you’re here for the TOUR!” I expected the emphasis to be on the ‘Oooh’, as if to say, ‘here’s another Rotarian here for the dog and pony tour’. But Delores sounded excited, like it was great to have a Rotarian look over the home of 1.2 million members. She called my tour guide, Amanda Runge, who promptly greeted me in the waiting area.

Amanda and her friend Paul

I learned that Amanda is not just a tour guide. She is a Program Coordinator for the 41 new Rotary Coordinators (RCs) that will serve to assist Clubs as a resource for multiple areas such as Youth Programs. RI President Elect Ray Klinginsmith created the RC post in an effort to help clubs reach a level of excellence through close-in support by knowledgeable Rotarians who have proven skills and expertise in a wide range of Rotary programs. (For more information go to this link:)

RI PE Ray Klinginsmith Discusses Rotary Coordinators

As Program Coordinator, Amanda will be the hands-on RI support out of Evanston, so I was actually interfering in her day, but you would have never known it by the attention she gave to me for almost an hour. My simple, no big deal of a tour was rapidly becoming kind of a big deal. As it turns out Amanda is a product of Rotary. Her Mother is a Rotarian and she was a participant in a five-week Rotary Exchange program to France. I knew the outgoing, friendly demeanor seemed familiar…it’s the same we see with almost every Youth Exchange student after they return to her or his host country.

Replica of the 711 office where the original Chicago club met

The Tour
After seeing ‘Room 711’, the office where most of the Rotary meetings were held for the first several months of Rotary and a look at a room of memorabilia from the office of Paul Harris, Amanda took me up to the top floor of One Rotary Center. As in most office buildings, the ‘big cog’s’ offices are around the exterior of the top floor. The difference at Rotary is that there is a type of musical chairs (or offices) in this space. Each new year the President-Elect, the President Nominee, and the President Nominee Designate change offices. The Immediate Past RI President thanked for his service as he is also moved out of his corner office. Ouch!

: Eileen Eckhouse and Amanda Runge

It was on the 18th floor that we saw the RI PE Ray in his office talking on the phone. I asked Amanda if I could take a picture of him on the phone. His Executive Assistant Eileen Eckhouse and RI PE Ray’s Number One (his full-time Rotarian Aide) Duane Sterling were both just outside his office and Amanda consulted them. Duane said,”But don’t you want a picture with him? He’ll be off the phone in a minute.”

Before I know it RI PE Ray is standing beside me introducing himself…like that was necessary…and he suggests we go over in front of the Flags of Nations in the elevator lobby for the picture. There another gentleman joined us to talk to Ray (I’m pretending were on a first name basis) and Amanda introduced me to him. It was the General Secretary of Rotary International, Ed Futa.

In Rotary a President serves for one year, the General Secretary can serve for decades. The first General Secretary, Chez Perry, served for 32 years and I refer to him as the ‘Mother’ of Rotary as he did the work that helped establish and grow our organization. My instant impression of General Secretary Ed was that he performs his duties with the same passion as Chez Perry.

I am now standing next to two of the three men that occupy the corner offices on the top floor of RI and Amanda says, “Why don’t you have your picture with both of them?” At this point reality sort of fades away. It was not supposed to be a big deal, but by the time I walked out of the building it started to hit me what had occurred. It was a big deal…and I have the picture!

RI Gen. Sec. Ed Futa (left), RI PE Ray Klinginsmith (right), and some guy (center)

After the photo op, the three of us sat down and…wait-a-minute, that’s my fantasy world. What actually happened was the gentlemen went on to do real work and Amanda continued the tour of the top floor and the next floor down, which is the Rotary Foundation. Finally, the tour ended and I bought a few things at the Rotary store and then left.

It was sheer luck of timing that I found myself standing between the two people who have a great responsibility as leaders of our organization, but I will always remember the day I stood on the top floor of Rotary International flanked by RI’s President Elect and General Secretary.

One Rotary Center does not have the significance of a religious ‘Mecca’, but that doesn’t diminish it’s importance to all of us. It’s well worth the visit and I would recommend it for anyone visiting the Chicago area. After all, it’s the home…for 1.2 million of us.

Thank you Amanda…and the rest of the RI staff!

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War Declared on Social Media: Desperate Acts of Traditional Media

02 Wednesday Jun 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, About Reno, Branding, Communication, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Public Relations, SEO, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Website

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Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, copyright infringement, Elmer, Facebook, Freedom of Speech, journalism, journalists, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Sun, LinkedIn, Management Practices, Nevada, New Business World, Newspapers, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Reno Gazette-Journal, reporters, Rotary, Sherman Frederick, Social Media, Stephens Media Group, The Old Conservative Times, traditional media, Twitter

by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

(NOTE USE AND REPRINT INFORMATION BELOW)

For the most part, the people in the traditional media (newspapers, magazines, TV, etc.) have seen the tidal wave of Social Media coming for years. They have typically adopted an if-you-can’t-beat-them-join-them strategy. The editors of our local paper have pushed their reporters (from here forward I’ll refer to them as journalists) to use Twitter and to blog in order to keep pace with the millions of reporters online that inform the world of everything from the cute thing their toddler did this week to the world event that everyone will be talking about in tomorrow’s newspaper.

Social Media has given voice to everyone and now journalists are but one voice among many, which is a problem if your living comes from your ability to be paid to have people read your stuff. In the days before blogs and Twitter, publishers and editors had the ability to control who could be heard and who could be silenced, but Social Media took away all their power and at least one publisher is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. He has declared war! He is going to sue!

The rationale for the suit is legitimate. A certain publisher (let’s call him, Elmer) at a certain Nevada newspaper (let’s call it The Old Conservative Times) has called out the demons (let’s call them lawyers…on second thought, let’s stick with demons) and is going after any website that uses copyrighted material of the The Old Conservative Times. What’s more, Elmer wants everyone else in the traditional media to get on the bandwagon with him.

I agree that anyone who steals an article from another website without crediting or revealing their original source of information is wrong. If possible, they should also link back to the original source. That’s the way Social Media works. We share information and let our friends, followers, readers know from where we got the information and, in turn, help publicize their work. Journalists, for the most part are professionals, and to steal their work and claim it as your own is unethical.

But that is not what this issue is really about for Elmer and the methods being used by The Old Conservative Times demonstrate that this is not an act of preserving the work of professional journalists. Elmer and his demons have decided to sue first and ask questions…never. Rather than contacting the offender and telling them to remove the copyrighted information, Elmer and his demons are going for the throat and filing suit with the intention of stealing the domain rights of the organization. That’s right, Elmer is using the nuclear option. No warning, just show up in court and turn over everything to Elmer. Freedom of Speech be damned, Elmer is here to tell us what we should think!

I should note that according to Elmer’s blogs he is a conservative. He hates President Barrack Obama and he takes any opportunity to spin a situation to cast a negative light on our President, or Democrats, or the elected government of the greatest nation in the history of the world. It seems about every third blog is pounding home the conservative dribble that proposes hate for our government, hate for our elected leaders, hate for the citizens of Mexico, ….you get the picture.

So Elmer is lashing out at Social Media, which is composed of people who want to be informed, but not by just those who hate, but those who can love, and everyone in between. Elmer wants traditional media to regain control of people’s hearts and minds and this Social Media thing is not acceptable! So Elmer and his demons are not seeking to correct the issue of copyright infringement, which could be done with a phone call or an email, they want to take away the voices of the Social Media, one domain at a time. Elmer also wants all his publishing friends to join him as he strikes a blow against freedom of speech for all and raises a flag on the land of the uninformed.

Hey Elmer, let me know how that works out for you…but don’t quote me, or I’ll sue you.

(Any use or reprint of part or all of this article is expressly ALLOWED for anyone,-except The Las Vegas Review-Journal, its staff, Stephens Media Group, or any affiliates, or any conservative-based organization that has made derogatory remarks about President Barack Obama, Senator Harry Reid, or Speaker Nancy Pelosi,-providing credit is given to Paul Kiser and, if possible, a link to this web address is included with the appearance.)

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Pay It Middle: The Balance between Too Much and Too Little Compensation

01 Tuesday Jun 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Communication, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Science, Social Media Relations, Violence in the Workplace, Women

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Abraham Maslow, Blogs, Compensation, Employment, HR, Management Practices, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, New Business World, Pay for Performance, performance reviews, Public Image, Re-Imagine!, Rotary

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

Yesterday I wrote an article about research that shows that too much compensation actually makes performance worse. A fellow Rotarian (thanks Skip!) sent me a link to a great video by RSA Animate that illustrates the issue and the research. If you haven’t seen it take a look:

Dan Pink: Drive and Purpose YouTube Video

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

The article is here: (Mega Executive Pay Leads to Poor Performance)

But the question is why does mega pay negatively impact performance? Here’s my theory.

The Psychology of Making Too Much Money – Barney and the Manna ATM
A man named Barney goes to withdraw $500 from his local ATM. Instead he is given $5,000. When Barney checks his balance it shows that no money was withdrawn from his account. He could go to the bank and let them know that he thinks the ATM has made a mistake but he doesn’t. Initially he is afraid that someone will discover the mistake and take the money away, but no one says anything and eventually Barney’s fear eases. Each week he goes back to the same ATM for another withdrawal and the same thing occurs. He tries other ATM’s, but he learns that it is just this one that gives him money for nothing. Soon he has built a life around getting $5,000 every week from this ATM. His fear has now subsided, but he feels a little guilty, but also a little evil.

One evening Barney is in a rush for the money and pushes a woman out-of-the-way to make his transaction. The woman is irritated but stands to the side while Barney enters in the information. When the money comes out she notices that he received $5,000 but only requested $500. She points this out to him and he denies it. She knows what she saw and she won’t be convinced. Barney offers to give her half of the money and she refuses the offer. She says she is going to tell the bank….What will Barney do to keep his lifestyle?

When examining behavior by executives and managers in the banking crisis of 2007-09, the answer to that question: “What will a man do to keep his lifestyle?” (I’m not being sexist, just accurate) is answered by the unethical business decisions that led to massive financial failures in 2008-09. Pay might purchase a person’s talents for an organization, but at a certain point, too much compensation begins to purchase the person’s ethical compass. Good decision-making is replaced by self-preservation and the future of the business is sacrificed for the financials of the current quarter.

The lesson is that too much compensation becomes a trap that will often lead to unethical decisions. Mega pay not only doesn’t improve performance, it lures executives to the dark side.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

The Psychology of Making Too Little Money – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The other side of the issue is paying too little. In 1943, a researcher named Abraham Maslow published a paper titled: A Theory of Human Motivation. The work was based on examining successful people and their living situations. From his research he concluded that there is a Hierarchy of Needs that must be met in steps, with each step supporting the next level.

In Maslow’s paper he proposes that humans must meet their basic survival needs that contribute to sustaining life as the base level of life; however, security and safety needs are the next level. All levels above that (Belonging, Esteem, and finally, Self-Actualization) are dependent on the needs of the first two levels being met.

This is the key. Employers that fail to compensate their team to the point of a living wage should expect their staff to be in a constant state of crisis and that means they cannot expect these employees to be creative and innovative in dealing with the common issues that might arise with the customer. An underpaid employee will be in a constant state of personal crisis that will lead to many issues including reliability, focus, and attitude.

The question is how much is a living wage? That takes an individual examination of the job, the market, and the economy of the region. As the video suggests, you should pay enough to take money off the table as an issue.

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Relationships and Thin Slicing: Why the Other Person Knows What You’re Really Thinking

28 Friday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Book Review, Branding, Communication, Customer Relations, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Retention, parenting, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Science, Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Violence in the Workplace

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Blink, Blogs, Club Members, Employee evaluations, Employee privacy, Employment, Four-Way Test, HR, job standards, John Gottman, Malcolm Gladwell, Management Practices, Membership Retention, negative relationships, New Business World, performance reviews, positive relationships, Public Image, Public Relations, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary District 5190, Rotary International, Social Media, Social Networking, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Thin-slicing

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

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

You’ve been warned about ‘this person’ and now you’re being introduced to them. You smile and shake his hand and say, “nice to meet you.” Visibly, you are polite and friendly; however, inside your hoping to be able to move on because even though you’ve never met him before you are preconditioned to not like him. The introduction ends and you move on believing that went things went smoothly. He walks away knowing that you dislike him and he begins to form a negative impression of you. In less than five seconds you have cemented a negative relationship…and you didn’t even know it. What happened?

Malcolm Gladwell

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, it is called it thin-slicing and it is based on solid research. Gladwell uses many examples of how the human brain picks up seemingly unseen and unheard clues and can accurately identify what is going on in a given situation. In one example, researcher John Gottman and his team coded conversations between married couples using 14 emotional identifiers (1=contempt, 2=anger, etc.) and found that they could accurately predict whether or not the couple was heading for a divorce by the subtle clues that betrayed the inner thoughts and attitudes of each person. Most of these signals lasted a second or less, but the signal clearly indicated the inner feelings of the person and the pattern of their relationship.

Gladwell argues that in a thin-slice experience we usually do not know what we know, nor why we know it, but the evidence is conclusive, we do know it. It is often described as a ‘feeling’ and people usually cannot explain it to others, so it is usually dismissed as being oversensitive. Gladwell‘s research suggests that the feeling is real and that our unconscious mind is the source of the analysis that creates a tangible, and accurate feeling and/or assessment of the situation.

: Conversations Are Never Just Casual

Based on the information in Blink one can conclude that when someone has a dislike for someone, or when people discuss someone else behind their back, the attitudes felt or expressed privately will be exposed in subtle hints the next time we meet the subject of the gossip. We are taught as children to not gossip about others, which was a valuable lesson based on what we now know; however, in the business world people often discuss work performance of subordinates with their peers or superiors. Those discussions then shape our attitudes about the subordinate, which are then revealed in our next interaction with the worker. The same can be said of any relationship, whether it be a superior/subordinate, peer/peer, Club member/member, parent/child, spouse/spouse, or any interaction between two people. Simply put, strong attitudes and opinions about another person can and will be read by that person at the next meeting.

But what is worse is once a negative relationship is formed it is almost impossible to revert it to a positive relationship. Gladwell says that if a person has contempt or other negative attitudes towards someone, even a kind or reconciliatory gesture will be misread as manipulation or motivated by a hidden agenda. That idea is reinforced by the theory of cognitive dissonance, which suggests that once we have an opinion or belief about something we will reject evidence that contradicts our opinion or belief and will even go so far as to manufacture evidence or examples to support our version of the truth.

Do We Have to Like Everyone?
Certainly we don’t have to have a positive relationship with everyone, but negative relationships tend to expend more of our energy and time. This is especially true for people in positions of leadership. Consider the time spent on emails, meetings, phone calls, and emotional stress that involve interactions with people who we have an adversarial relationship versus the support and positive reinforcement we receive through friendly relationships. It is obvious that a negative relationship that is based on our preconditioning to dislike them is not only counterproductive, but also an unnecessary waste of time and emotion.

The first step in avoiding the downward spiral of negative relationships is to recognize that our internal dislike for someone is not hidden from that person. Our actions, behaviors, and responses will be picked up and will, in turn, dictate their response to us. Gossip, whether it is causally done with friends, or professionally sanctioned as part of ‘assessment’ of subordinates is dangerous to our relationship with that person and will ultimately make our life more difficult. Most of us were taught at some point to never say anything about anyone unless you are prepared to say it to their face….it is a good rule in the home, at work, or anywhere else.

Rotary's Four-Way Test

Rotary has a Four-Way Test that is a guide to any relationship. It is meant to take Rotarians to a higher standard in business and in life. The ‘test’ is as follows:

First, is it the Truth?
Second, is it fair to all concerned?
Third, will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Fourth, will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Great words that can help us to build great relationships…even when sliced thin.

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Browser Wars: Internet Explorer losing, Google Chrome gaining ground

26 Wednesday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, History, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Public Relations, Rotary, SEO, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Website

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Apple Inc., Blogs, Browsers, Chrome, Firefox, Google, Google Aps, Internet, Internet Explorer, iPod, iTunes, Microsoft, Mozilla, Net Applications, New Business World, Public Image, Rotary, Safari, Social Media, Social Networking, Value-added

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

Paul Kiser - CEO of 2020 Enterprise Technologies, inc.

Browsers are simply a platform that facilitates our access to webpages on the Internet. They are a vehicle that takes a user to the places they want to go on the Internet. Using the auto analogy, Internet Explorer (IE) would be a utilitarian type of car….a white, 4-cylinder sedan with no air conditioning and an AM radio. That may sound like a biased description, but it is not meant to be derogatory. IE’s browser has served us for 15 years (version 1.0 was launched in 1995) in the capacity it was designed; to get us around on the web with no frills or flash. But many people are no longer satisfied with just getting there. They want more, and IE is losing market share as customers learn to expect more from their browser.

In May 2005, ninety percent of website hits were via Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. It was the 800-pound gorilla of the Internet, but by April 2010, IE users only made up about half of the Internet browser market and one group (w3schools.com) showed IE’s share down to almost one-third. The past two years have seen a major change in the industry with Mozilla Firefox’s browser in a commanding second place and Google’s new Chrome browser successfully gaining market share.

April 2010 Market Share (Ave. of data by Wikipedia)

According to a report by Net Applications, Firefox had 18.3% of the browser market in May 2008, which grew to over 24% (Wikipedia’s average is 28%) by last Fall; however, Firefox’s market share growth has been flat (most survey groups actually indicate market shrinkage) during the last seven months while Google’s Chrome browser (introduced in December 2008) has had a steady half percent growth in market share each month during the same period. It is clear that Google’s new offering is still not on the radar of most browser users, but it seems that it is nearing a Tipping Point that could create a major jump in market share by the end of this year.

May 2008 Browser Market - Data courtesy of Net Applications

Dissatisfiers Driving the Change
Internet Explorer has had the advantage of being the product of Microsoft and as such it was the default browser for most Internet users. Several attempts have been made to usurp IE but none were successful until Firefox managed to gain a foothold in 2004 and started a march to capture almost a quarter of the browser market by late last year. During its growth Firefox exposed the increasing dissatisfaction of IE users with Microsoft’s product.

The most common issue for users has been the slow response of IE browser. As everything else in the world has sped up, Internet Explorer has been slowing down. It can take a minute or more for the IE browser to load up pages. Also, many of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) services like Yahoo have embedded advertising (spam) in prominent places on the page and they don’t allow the user to delete or move the ads. These ISP pages have become the home page for many IE users and they associate the spam with the IE browser even though it is a function of the ISP, not Microsoft.

Google Chrome App Page

Chrome ‘s Speed and Apps Capturing IE Users

As people become more educated about browser alternatives, IE is likely to lose more market share to newer, flashier options. Google has used Firefox’s success with a new concept of an Internet tool to advance web browsing to a new level. Users are pleasantly surprised with Chrome’s a 15-second response time versus IE’s 30 to 60 second wait. Google’s browser also offers a wide group of applications for an easy build-it-yourself home page that doesn’t include any spam. Firefox also offers apps, but it does not have the ease of drag and drop page construction of Chrome, which makes Google’s browser feel more like an Apple product in the sense that it seems more user-friendly.

That brings up the question of where is Apple in the mix? Apple has attempted to duplicate Microsoft’s model of forcing it’s Safari browser on users of Apple’s iPod/iTunes users. In over three years in the market and despite it being included in every update of iTunes, Safari (not so goody) has failed to make any headway with consumers. Google has managed to leapfrog Apple’s product, which has to be a source of irritation for the company that wants to be the primary thorn in the side of Microsoft.

The rest of 2010 will be important to the three leaders in the browser market. Google is positioned to capture a significant percentage of the Internet users and if they end the year with a market share of 14% or more it is likely that Internet Explorer and Firefox could be in a battle for survival in 2011.

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Rotary@105: What BP Could Learn from the 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics

25 Tuesday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, History, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Rotary, Rotary@105, Science, Social Media Relations, US History

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by Paul Kiser

One of the BP oil leaks in the Gulf of Mexico

BP…formerly known as British Petroleum, has a disaster on their hands and it is not just the disaster caused by millions of gallons of crude oil spewing out in the Gulf of Mexico. They have a public relations disaster that is re-establishing the oil industry’s reputation as the sleaziest in a business world that is not known for its ethical choices. Among their biggest mistakes has been to minimize the estimates of how much oil is leaking into open water. It is obvious that at best BP executives are completely incompetent or at worst they have intentionally deceived the public. In either case, they confirm in the public’s mind that business is all about greed and that business ethics is an oxymoron.

Greed is Good

Unfortunately, business often fails to be good custodians of our society because for profit enterprise is inherently based on a motive of greed. In the 1987 film, Wall Street, Gordon Gekko (performed by Michael Douglas), says, “Greed is good.” Gekko is merely pointing out that while greed is a selfish, dishonorable emotion, it is the fuel that drives business.

The fact that business is riddled with unethical people is not new. When Rotary was born in 1905, Chicago business people were more like Gordon Gekko than like Paul Harris, the founding father of Rotary. Business was riddled with corruption and fraudulent practices.

However, those that joined Rotary created an environment that rewarded honor in business. A Rotarian sought out his fellow Rotarians with which to do business. Each member knew that business transactions became personal when you had to sit down with the customer at the next club meeting. But Rotary didn’t formally commit to a philosophy of ethics until several years after the first club was chartered, and it wasn’t Paul Harris that led the charge.

By 1912, Paul Harris had served as President of the International Association of Rotary Clubs for two years and had spent many long hours during the past seven years nurturing the birth and growth of Rotary into a major organization. As he passed the gavel to Glenn Mead, Mr. Harris stepped away from Rotary for what would be a 10-year hiatus. Had Rotary consisted of followers, the absence of a major figure like Paul Harris would have left the organization in dismay; however Rotary consists of business leaders and President Mead stepped up to the challenge and launched a new emphasis on establishing a Code of Ethics for Rotarians to follow.

It took two years and a long train ride to the 1914 Rotary Convention in Houston, Texas to put together a formal declaration of business ethics for the organization, but both the 1914 and 1915 Rotary Conventions voted to adopt eleven articles of ethical business standards. After almost 100 years, BP as well as every business person could learn several lessons that would help them avoid disasters and Public Relations nightmares by following the 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics:

The 1914 Rotary Code of Ethics For Businessmen of All Lines

My business standards shall have in them a note of sympathy for our common humanity. My business dealings, ambitions and relations shall always cause me to take into consideration my highest duties as a member of society. In every position in business life, in every responsibility that comes before me, my chief thought shall be to fill that responsibility and discharge that duty so when I have ended each of them, I shall have lifted the level of human ideals and achievements a little higher than I found it. As a Rotarian it is my duty:

To consider any vocation worthy and as affording me distinct opportunity to serve society.

To improve myself, increase my efficiency and enlarge my service, and by doing so attest my faith in the fundamental principle of Rotary, that he/she profits most who serves the best.

III

To realize that I am a business man and ambitious to succeed; but that I am first an ethical man and wish no success that is not founded on the highest justice and morality.

To hold that the exchange of my goods, my service and my ideas for profit is legitimate and ethical, provided that all parties in the exchange are benefited thereby.

To use my best endeavors to elevate the standards of the vocation in which I am engaged, and so to conduct my affairs that others in my vocation may find it wise, profitable and conducive to happiness to emulate my example.

To conduct my business in such a manner that I may give a perfect service equal to or even better than my competitor, and when in doubt to give added service beyond the strict measure of debt or obligation.

VII

To understand that one of the greatest assets of a professional or of a business man is his friends and that any advantage gained by reason of friendship is eminently ethical and proper.

VIII

To hold that true friends demand nothing of one another and that any abuse of the confidence of friendship for profit is foreign to the spirit of Rotary, and in violation of its Code of Ethics.

To consider no personal success legitimate or ethical which is secured by taking unfair advantage of certain opportunities in the social order that are absolutely denied others, nor will I take advantage of opportunities to achieve material success that others will not take because of the questionable morality involved.

To be not more obligated to a brother Rotarian than I am to every other man in human society; because the genius of Rotary is not in its competition, but in its cooperation; for provincialism can never have a place in an institution like Rotary, and Rotarians assert that Human Rights are not confined to Rotary Clubs, but are as deep and as broad as the race itself; and for these high purposes does Rotary exist to educate all men and all institutions.

Finally, believing in the universality of the Golden Rule, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them, we contend that Society best holds together when equal opportunity is accorded all men in the natural resources of this planet.

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NETGEAR = BADGEAR + BAD PR = EPIC FAIL

23 Sunday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Public Relations, Social Media Relations

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By Paul Kiser

The appropriate location for a NETGEAR DGN2000 Router Modem

Dear NETGEAR:

Bite me…

Sincerely,
Paul

One hundred and eleven days ago our 2Wire DSL Modem Router died. It died just one day short of being five years old and it took me about a day to decide what to do about it. AT&T’s ‘store’ wasn’t going to be open until the next Monday, so I decided to go with a third-party replacement. I opted for a slightly more expensive, but faster NETGEAR Modem Router that I found at Best Buy.

I brought it home and set it up, and even though followed all the procedures, I spent most of the next two days trying to trouble shoot why some of my computers could log on and some could not. I finally called NETGEAR support and I learned that all of the computers had to have the same (lower) encryption settings of Microsoft XP operating systems to prevent the intermittent problem with each of the computers. During the call the tech requested all of my password information so he could record it.

Fast Forward 109 Days
On Saturday, May 22 our Internet service stopped working and a red ‘Internet’ light indicator appeared on the NETGEAR Modem. I called AT&T and after 15 minutes of waiting I got a real person, who then transferred me into another five minutes of void. Finally a person picked up the line and listened to my issue. She was very nice, but she told me that it is a NETGEAR issue. Ultimately, I discovered she was correct.

: The phone number is bait..if you’re willing to be a sucker

I then called the NETGEAR support number where I was given another number to call. Finally, after three phone calls and over 30 minutes of run around, I had a person at NETGEAR. After explaining the problem he asked me whether I wanted to pay $70 for six months of technical support, or $100 for one year of technical support. I explained to him that I just bought this product three months ago and he told me that May 1^st was the end of the 90-day free installation support. He explained that, “…this was a common problem..” with my equipment and that “..the technical support could fix it without taking too much of my time…”

I’m sure it was all a coincidence that my 111 day-old NETGEAR DGN2000 Modem Router failed 21 days after technical support expired. I’m also sure that I could pay the $70 ransom to have the problem fixed and that it would take the technician too long to fix a ‘common problem’, but I won’t.

The fact that the product…

…has a problem that can be fixed remotely, but I can’t fix it myself without NETGEAR tech support
…that the problem occurred after less than four months of use
…that according to NETGEAR the problem is a common problem and easily fixable
…that NETGEAR has complete access to my passwords to access the configuration of my modem
…and it will only cost me another $70 to $100 to have a working device

…is enough to convince me that I’m not pouring any more money into defective NETGEAR equipment. After a Google search I discovered that at least one Amazon.com customer went through 3 new DGN2000 modems and none of them worked. There is more to this saga, but suffice to say I was disappointed by the Phone Call Center in India and their, ‘these our the only options we can offer’ excuse. When discussing public image we can us NETGEAR as an example of an Epic Fail.

P.S.: I spent all day today (Sunday) on this problem. A second call to India resulted in much the same rhetoric, with one additional option and that is I can pay a per incident fee to have them look at my modem; however, if it is not a hardware problem they keep the fee. I’m not paying NETGEAR to prove that my equipment is defective when I already know it isn’t operational. I also cannot login to the website to check the configuration myself.

The good news is that I bought a Cisco Router and an ActionTec modem and we just watch an episode of Community with no buffering issues. That was common with the NETGEAR equipment. The bad news is that it cost me another $120 and a full day of my time to make it happen. In materials and labor NETGEAR has cost me over $1000.

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The Tipping Point Explains How Twitter Works

20 Thursday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Book Review, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, History, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Science, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point

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by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

People will often to say to me, “I just don’t get Twitter.” What people have to understand is that Twitter functions like a thunderstorm in the world of ideas. In the summer, air (including water vapor) heats and rises. The water vapor in the air is wrung out of the rising air (water vapor condenses to water droplets) and clouds form. For reasons not exactly understood, a discharge of electricity leaps between the positive and negative regions. FLASH! BAM! A thunderstorm is born.

Like a summer thunderstorm, 40404* provides the environment for ideas to flash across the Internet. Jack Dorsey, the Chairman and one of the creators of Twitter eludes to this ‘electricity’ when explaining how they arrived at the name:

Ideas: Lightning on the grassy plains of Twitter

“…we wanted to capture that feeling: the physical sensation that you’re buzzing your friend’s pocket. It’s like buzzing all over the world. So we did a bunch of name-storming, and we came up with the word “twitch,” because the phone kind of vibrates when it moves. But “twitch” is not a good product name because it doesn’t bring up the right imagery. So we looked in the dictionary for words around it, and we came across the word “twitter,” and it was just perfect.

(*40404 is the SMS Code for Twitter – Read more here)

I was re-reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and he compares mass social events/phenomenons to epidemics. He offers three factors that are common to all mass social behaviors.

The Law of the Few
The Stickiness Factor
The Power of Context

Note that Gladwell’s book was first published in 2000, six years before Twitter was launched, but his three factors perfectly describe the workings of Twitter. The Law of the Few suggests that a few ‘extraordinary’ people tend to trigger mass social events. In the case of Twitter, we have users who the ability to attract masses of followers that fan out information to their followers, who continue the ‘retweets’ to their followers. A few people who have a large impact and influence throughout the world.

Not every tweet or URL of a blog, becomes a ‘Viral Tweet’ but those that do have a Stickiness Factor. They hit upon an idea or thought that causes an emotional reaction among other users, which leads to the final factor of The Power of Context. A Tweet that races across the Twitter world like lightning manages to ignite something that has been brewing in a person’s mind…more specifically brewing in the minds of many people, but somehow the Tweet or blog is the perfect polarity to cause a reaction in mass.

That is why Twitter is like a thunderstorm in the world of ideas. It provides the conditions and media for ideas and thoughts to leap out of one mind and into millions…in the flash of …well, enough with the analogy.

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Signs of the Times

19 Wednesday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Branding, Communication, History, Lessons of Life, Membership Retention, parenting, Passionate People, Random, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

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Ads, Billboards, Black Eyed Peas, Blogging, Blogs, Buddhists, Facebook, Imma Be, Management Practices, Membership Retention, New Business World, Nike, parenting, Public Relations, Rotarians, Rotary, San Francisco, Signs, Social Media, Social Networking

by Paul Kiser

Last weekend we took a short vacation in the Bay area (Pacifica/San Francisco, CA, USA.) During the trip I took notice of signs along the way and it struck me that they might say more about us…than to us. Here are some signs of note:

: Do you want to be Smart or Stupid?

Obvious Choices
This sign on Market street in San Francisco spoke a truth that you can’t argue with…but does it need to be said? In politics and entertainment we definitely see who has balls and they do seem to gather a following, but maybe it’s time we celebrate intelligence. The great outcome of social media is that people are looking deeper than just short, catchy statements that gain a “Right on!” from those who are wowed by a deceptive turn of phrase.

In politics it seems the more outrageous the idea the more excited some people get about a candidate. I’ve watched people become incensed over very sound ideas to solve our most significant problems and those same people then praise politicians that spew out hate for everything that has made our country great. I hope that this is a phase that we outgrow soon…before the ballsy people destroy all that we stand for as Americans.

: The pen is mightier than the sword

Write On!
I hadn’t seen this Nike ad before. It is in the Union Square area of San Francisco and if Nike is speaking of the explosion of Social Interactive Media then I agree!

Before the Internet and Social Media tools a small group of editors controlled who could have a voice and be published. Now new and raw ideas are being openly expressed in millions of independent blogs. Some of us could use an editor, but the beauty of this New World of communication is that the reader is the editor…it is democracy in its purest form.

: A great future is coming…today is still under construction

We’re Not There Yet
Some people seem easily frustrated that we never get ‘there’. We are in a world where change is constant and the road is always in a state of being improved. Satisfaction is the most temporary of all human feelings and people who do not understand this fact will always be deceived by bad politicians and religious fanatics who promise a perfect tomorrow if we only do exactly what they tell us.

Buddhists promote the idea of being and I think that is a great attitude to have to survive this world. Take advice from the musical group Black Eyed Peas. To me the title of one of their latest songs says it all: Imma Be. Yes the world is always changing but that is what makes it exciting. Take a break from time to time and then re-engage and have some fun!

Greet the day and be open for new possibilities

Arms Wide Open
Yes, I had to get my four year-old in on this blog. In Union Square he thought he could catch a bird. He actually knew that he couldn’t, but that did not dissuade him from trying.

I hope that he can maintain a sense of wonder and never let those that think it can’t be done hold him back from trying. There are people in this world whose sole function is to be a naysayer. These people infest anyplace where past success has built up an organization. They constantly destroy all new ideas and creativity in the name of ‘preserving the traditions.’ Don’t ever believe it! The only way to counter their negative attitude is to ignore them and move on.

Lots of choices, but where do we want to go?

Where to Go?
It doesn’t have to be confusing. We only need to remember that life happens. Today is tomorrow’s history and we choose which signs to follow to get there.

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The Quality of Relationships and Social Interactive Media

17 Monday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Communication, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Membership Retention, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

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Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Communication, Connections, Email, Facebook, Friends, Friendship, Human Interaction, LinkedIn, New Business World, Public Relations, Quality of Relationships, Rotarians, Rotary, Social Interaction, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter, Value-added

Paul Kiser - CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

by Paul Kiser

Do you love me?….Do you like me?….Do you loath me? What is the quality of our relationship?

There are some people who claim that Social Media tools like Facebook and Twitter cheapen relationships. I don’t agree. Social Interactive Media almost always increase the quantity of our relationships, but does that mean the quality of relationships is reduced?

To me that is similar to saying that because a person belongs to a Rotary club it reduces the quality of his or her relationships because they are using up their allotment of friendship in one place or that children in a family of five are not as loved as the only child in a family of three. The logic makes no sense.

A blog that decries the impact of Social Media on our relationships, combined with another blog by Carola Valdez regarding love and relationships have me thinking about the quality of relationships and the impact of tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

(Read Carola’s Blog here – note that it’s in Spanish)

I see this issue as two intertwined subjects, which are relationships and communication. A relationship describes the connection between two people and communication maintains the connection. I divide the concept of relationship into three parts that all work together to determine the bond or quality of a relationship.

Relationships Part One: Core Reactionary Characteristics (CRC)
I believe that every person has relationship ‘DNA’ . It is the combination of our inherent personality, our experiences from past relationships, and a third factor that reacts to the stimulus (or ‘chemistry, if you will) between two people. I term this set of responsive behaviors the Core Reactionary Characteristics (or CRC). I use the analogy of DNA because genes are able to attach or connect with certain genes but not to other genes in the DNA strand, which is similar to our ability to ‘click’ or not with someone else.

Social Media makes us aware of how connected we are to each other

Relationships Part Two: Environmental Factors
Just because we feel comfortable connecting with someone doesn’t mean we will become close friends. It is a combination of the old nature/nurture influences that seem to guide relationships. We may have a great ‘chemistry’ with someone, but it is our environment that controls the depth of the relationship. I like the example given in the lyrics of Alanis Morissette’s song, ‘Ironic’.

“It’s meeting the man of my dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife.”

It doesn’t have to be a love relationship that is thwarted by the situational factors, but love is the type of relationship we relate to when someone wants to write a song or make a movie. The point is that if the CRC is compatible AND given the correct time, place, and freedom to explore a relationship, a deep connection (friendship and/or love) can be formed.

Relationships Part Three: Dynamics
Finally, I think it is important to accept that relationships are dynamic, which simply means that as individuals grow and change the relationship waxes and wanes. I have a friend who had an incredibly close relationship with his wife (she passed away a couple of years ago.) On their anniversary he would say, “We’ve decided to renew our marriage for another year.” This was not meant to be as funny as most people seemed to interpret it. He truly did value the relationship and didn’t take it for granted that the marriage would be continuous. I wonder how strong all marriages would be if we knew that either party could decide not to renew the contract each year.

My point is that regardless of how strong a relationship, the fact is that two people can grow and change at different rates over time. It is rare that a relationship can maintain a high level of intensity especially if the two people are in the process of change and/or growth.

It is the combination of all three factors (CRC, Environmental Factors, and Dynamics) that determine the quality of a relationship at any given moment.

Social Media and Relationships
Social Media tools like Facebook and Twitter increase the number of people we know (quantity of relationships) but the quality of those relationships are dependent on multiple factors that have nothing to do with the tools or the media itself. In the end, the quality of the relationships are not affected positively or negatively by the quantity of relationships we have, but by the type of connection that will result of making a connection. If anything, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter make it possible to have better quality relationships because they; 1) increase the number of potential ‘best friends’, and 2) give us better communication tools to improve the quality of our connections.

More on the role of communication later….

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Rotary Magazine Dilemma Reveals Impact of Social Media

12 Wednesday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Management Practices, Membership Retention, Public Relations, Rotary, Rotary@105, SEO, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, US History, Website

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by Paul Kiser

The Rotarian magazine

Last week the Washington Post Company declared that it could no longer handle the losses of the 77 year-old Newsweek magazine and announced that it was seeking a buyer. This comes as no shock to those who are closely involved in the industry. Print media in general is under siege by competition from the Internet and there is no bottom in sight. The impact of the Age of Omni Communication is being felt by all the traditional media, including guaranteed circulation magazines like Rotary International’s The Rotarian magazine.

(Age of Omni Communication? Click here.)

Traditional Media Too Comfortable
For most of the 20th century the traditional media sources of newspapers, magazines, radio and television had settled into their respective niches. It was a balance that allowed all of the traditional media to control their share of the advertising revenue.

Print media has been accustomed to measuring success based on circulation, which means they offer numbers to advertisers that measure output, but don’t really measure effectiveness. Traditional media uses the broadcast (one-way) communication model which tends to overlook the questions of whether expensive print media ads are: 1) actually noticed by a reader, and if noticed, 2) do the ads increase sales? The analogy that print media has lived by: if you throw enough goo at a wall something will stick. It was a model of business that worked because there was no better alternative. No one had any reason to believe it would ever change.

The New World of Media
Newspapers were the first to feel the effects of the Internet. By the new millennium people were bypassing them and linking directly to news websites. Soon circulation dropped, and once circulation dropped then advertising revenue dropped. Next to go was the newspaper’s major money-maker; classified advertising. It was swept away almost overnight with the appearance of websites like Craig’s List. By 2003, newspaper revenue began a free-fall and hardest hit were investor owned newspaper groups that could not afford to lose money because they were already being trimmed to the bone in order to harvest higher dividends.

Magazine sales of Time, Newsweek and US World News Report

Magazines didn’t really see a major impact until blogs and Social Media tools like Facebook and Twitter began to dominate the world of information and communication. People began to speak for themselves and listen to raw information from sources that weren’t filtered through a small group of editors. The magazine staff saw this as heresy. How dare the public read stories that they haven’t approved! They believed that the role of the publishing world was to decide what the public should know and the Internet was full of information that they hadn’t approved.

Comfortable in their arrogance, magazine publishers thought they would survive where newspapers failed, but in 2007, popular magazines like Time and Newsweek had the floor drop out from under them. Advertisers had discovered that people were basing purchasing decisions on what other people were saying about the products/services in the Social Media. Mass advertising was losing the battle to customer reviews and person-to-person online interactions. For the first time magazines had a competing alternative that exposed the fallacy of mass advertising.

The Rotarian Meets 2010
Highly specialized magazines and membership magazines have been insulated from the fate of the rest of the print media world, but it really is a matter of time until all print media see the reality of Social Media. The official magazine of Rotary is no different and the first sign of change happened two weeks ago.

During the last week in April, Rotary International convened the 2010 Council on Legislation. This is a body of senior administrative Rotarians (all past District Governors) that review and approve changes to Rotary International policies. Among the over 200 proposed changes was a request to allow the internal Rotary magazine to be offered in an electronic format option and allow members to cancel the delivered hard copy magazine. No big deal, right? But it is a big deal.

The Rotarian Magazine is a monthly magazine with a guaranteed circulation. Every member of Rotary is required to receive it. That allows Rotary International (RI) to reach every member once a month, but it also allows RI to guarantee circulation to advertisers. No one really knows what percentage of Rotary members actually read the magazine, but in the world of advertising it is circulation that counts and it seems certain people at the 2010 Council on Legislation knew an electronic version could drastically reduce the circulation of hard copy of The Rotarian.

An electronic option is a bigger issue than just circulation numbers. This issue of electronic versus print is an example of the bigger conflict between traditional print media and Internet media. Beyond advertising revenue this is an issue of format and content.

Magazine Format versus Electronic Format
Currently, The Rotarian is a 64 or 80 page magazine (80 pages when there is a multiple page supplement). The first 30 or so pages are a mix of departments and Rotary and non-Rotary advertisements. At about page 30 the magazine starts three or four ad-free feature articles for the next 21 to 26 pages. The remainder of the magazine is small item articles, classified ads, and mostly Rotary related ads. This is a format that works for print media.

The two significant characteristics of The Rotarian print version that conflict with most models of electronic media are: 1) ads intermixed with the substance of the magazine and 2) long articles. In the most recent edition of The Rotarian (May 2010) there is one article that is 18 pages long. Internet-based reading has rejected advertising (called spam) and most information is delivered in three to five paragraphs (except, of course, my blogs which violate all the rules.) Blogs/articles that violate the rules are ignored. Therefore, to be read in an electronic format The Rotarian would have to eliminate the ads and severely trim the articles, which means a print version would either have to change or two different versions would have to be created.

There are two other options. The first is to create a version that would work with the new iPad, but that would mean members would have to purchase an iPad. The second option is to not change the format for the Internet, which would mean that most people would not read it.

Square Peg in a Round Hole
In the final analysis, a magazine is based on traditional media concepts and they do not translate to the Internet format. Social Media is focused on connections between people and sharing of ideas. A print magazine is a broadcast of information where no one cares if anyone reads it as long as the circulation numbers are good. But advertisers are getting smarter and stingier about throwing money at broadcast media.

The National Rotarian magazine

The fact is that The Rotarian is living on borrowed time. Eventually, the reality that circulation doesn’t measure anything that is relevant will cause advertisers to focus their efforts (and money) on real connections with real people. Without outside ad revenue the cost to maintain a print publication will force RI to move away from broadcast media and seek better options. The best option will be for RI to create a series of mentored blogs that allow people to read and discuss the Rotary issues that are important to them. Rotary International is already experimenting with this through Social Media tools, but there is and will be resistance to giving up traditional media.

Next year will be the centennial celebration of The Rotarian magazine. It may also be the celebration of the end of an era.

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America’s Hostile Takeover of Mexico

12 Wednesday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in About Reno, History, Lessons of Life, Random, Rotary, US History

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Alta California, Arizona, Blogs, California, Colorado, Hispanic, Illegal Immigrants, Immigration, Mexican Cession, Mexican Immigrants, Mexican-American War, Mexico, Nevada, New Mexico, Nuevo Mexico, Texas, US/Mexican Border, Utah

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

Paul Kiser

Arizona recently passed a law directed at people of Mexican descent in an effort to rid the State of ‘non-Americans’. For many Americans this topic is centered on claims of how ‘illegal’ immigrants are responsible for stealing jobs, increasing crime, and threatening to destroy almost every aspect ‘American’ life. If you want to find the person who has a raw nerve about the issue of Mexican immigrants (legal or illegal) one only has to say, “Press one for English” and that person will launch into a tirade about illegal immigrants and how they have destroyed ‘our’ country.

It is easy to forget that less than 165 years ago the United States of America “obtained” 55% of Mexico’s territory at gunpoint. The Mexican-American War was not a war as much as it was a mugging. It is now recognized that most of the rationale for the declaration of war by the United States on Mexico had little to do with defending US citizens or property and a lot to do with our designs on seizing northern Mexico. We had offered to buy much of the land prior to the war and Mexico rejected it, but after the war we paid fifty cents on the dollar.

Mexico 1847

There is a reason why the northern borders of California, Nevada, and Utah fall on the same latitude of 42 degrees North. It is because that was the northern border of Mexico after they won independence from Spain. Until 1847 the sovereign country of Mexico owned the land that is currently claimed by the States of California, Nevada, Utah, southwestern Wyoming, western and southern Colorado, southwestern Kansas, the pan handle of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Before the US takeover, northern Mexico consisted of Alta California, Nuevo Mexico, and Tejas. Many of the names of the geographic features, such as the Colorado River, retain the Mexican name still today.

How We Took Northern Mexico
After Mexico won its independence from Spain it allowed settlers to immigrate into their country, providing they agreed to become Catholics and abide by Mexican law and policies. In what is now Texas, the Americans moved into Mexico and then objected to the laws that outlawed slavery, restrictions on what crops could be grown, and becoming Catholics. Eventually the Americans declared their independence from Mexico in 1836 and a minor war ensued.

Mexico had few resources with which to fight the white illegal immigrants and restore Mexican law. After a few minor defeats the Mexican government stopped sending their army to battle with the trespassers; however, they never relinquished the land to the Texans. The white illegal immigrants then claimed to be an independent country known as the Republic of Texas. Knowing that Mexico would eventually gather enough resources to reclaim the land, the immigrants then petitioned the United States for statehood and protection of the US Army. In 1845 the United States accepted Texas’ petition to become a State and sent troops to secure the territory.

US States that occupy Mexican land (in white...ironically)

Mexico objected to the occupation of Texas or ‘Tejas’ with U.S. troops and in 1846 attacked Fort Texas. In response the U.S. Congress, under a doctrine of ‘Manifest Destiny’ (i.e.; the United States was destined to control the land from the Pacific to the Atlantic) declared war on Mexico with the intent of not only securing the Texas territory, but California as well. Meeting little resistance the United States occupied northern Mexico, including California by January of 1847 and by September had captured Mexico City.

The United States then dictated the terms of Mexico’s surrender with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty forced Mexico to ‘sell’ most it’s country to the United States for $15 million, half of what had been offered before the war.

As we consider the issue of immigration ‘reform’, it would be helpful to remember that it was the United States that aggressively took the land from Mexico in the first place and that ‘Manifest Destiny’ was a disguise for the conquest of northern Mexico.

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Social Media Book Review: The Zen of Social Media Marketing

10 Monday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Book Review, Branding, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Management Practices, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, SEO, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Website, Women

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

Book Cover

Book: The Zen of Social Media Marketing
Author: Shama Hyder Kabani
Publisher: Benbella Books
Published: April 2010
Audience: Primary: Message professionals involved in organizational internal and external communication. Also, individuals seeking to create a personal brand. Secondary: Seekers of enlightenment regarding Social Media and Professors and Teachers in many fields (e.g.; business, arts, education, communication, etc.)
Rating: (Out of 5*)
- Overall ***** (5-Must Read)
- Content ***** (5)
- Relevancy ***** (5)
- Style **** (4-down to business tone)
- Readability *** (3-read on a Kindle computer download)
- Value***** (5)
Thesis: A presentation of key aspects of Social Media and how it functions with organizational marketing.

Social Interactive Media is a very complex and variable subject. It is unreasonable for anyone to expect one book can adequately cover this topic because the Social Media tools and their use are changing daily. It is akin to asking someone to explain Art in one book….and the request is made after the Renaissance. There is much to discuss and there is still more to come. The reality is that we are still in early childhood of Social Media, but even today it can make or break governments and businesses.

Shama Hyder Kabani

Despite the impossible task the author, Shama Hyder Kabani has not only written a great book on the subject of Social Media, she is offering a solution to the problem of keeping her book relevant by updating and revising the book on the Internet. It is truly a book born in the Social Media era of handling difficult problems with New World solutions.

Teasers

Introduction – Nice comparison between Social Media and the spoon lesson in the movie ‘The Matrix”.
Chapter 1 – a) Learn how to A-C-T using a great B-O-D in Social Media. b) Strangers to Consumers to Clients.
Chapter 2 – a) What is Website 911 EMS? b) What a blog does for your website. c) Relevancy versus Content…or not
Chapter 3 – Use and abuse of Social Media.
Chapter 4 – Facebook, the coffee shop of the Internet. (I love that analogy!)
Chapter 5 – a) Twitter, it’s about the dialogue, not about you. b) What #ff means.
Chapter 6 – LinkedIn, the conference room of the Internet.
Chapter 7 – Video on Internet: a) About, b) How to, c) Why.
Chapter 8 – Social Media meets Corporate Policy.
Chapter 9 – Icing on the Social Media cake.

I discovered new information on Social Media through Shama’s book, but mostly this was a great read because she validated what I have learned, read, and witnessed in my exploration of Social Media. For me, it allows me to say to someone, if you don’t believe me, read the book. The Social Media Doubting Thomas’ need a hard copy book for information to be legitimate and that is what Shama Hyder Kabani provides to the world. She also confirmed for me that age does not equal wisdom in the world of Social Media. My experience has been that the older the Social Media ‘expert’ the more cynical and off-target the information. Shama knows her stuff and people of all ages should sit up and listen….or just leave.

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How Social Interactive Media Could Transform Higher Education

06 Thursday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in College, Consulting, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Higher Education, Independent Studies, Information Technology, Management Practices, parenting, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters, Universities

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Blogging, Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Nevada, New Business World, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Media, Social Networking, Tom Peters, Twitter, Value-added

by Paul Kiser

Mom!

A Future Phone Conversation Between Mom and her Son
Mom! I just got a flash from Dr. Ramjan..HE ACCEPTED ME!!!!…Yes!…I start his program right away….for crepe’s sake Mom, it’s not like when you went to college. I don’t have to go sit in a classroom and listen to some no-name drone on about stuff nobody cares about!….No, I’m not slamming your education, but honestly Mom why did you put up with it? Going to classes, paying for parking, student fees, and being told what professors you had to learn from, etc., etc….

Paul Kiser - CEO 2020 Enterprise Technologies

Tomorrow’s College to Be Professor Based, Not University Based?
Brick and mortar universities have created elaborate rules and policies (and fees) that tell a student what classes they must complete (some required, a few elective) to obtain a degree. Many of the classes will have facts based on outdated research that must be memorized for tests. In the end the student has a degree that includes course work that had little to do with what is going in today’s working world, but was forced on him or her by a system of Higher Education that is designed for the education of a group, not of an individual.

Social Interactive Media (SIM) tools create new options for Higher Education that could overcome many of the shortcomings of the current University environment. Here are a few issues with the status quo and how Social Interactive Media offers solutions to these issues:

Less Education at a Higher Cost – Universities are slashing budgets as they are being given less money with which to operate. This means larger classes, fewer professors, and older facilities and equipment.

SIM Solution: Eliminate the major costs of massive campuses and administrative overhead using Social Media as a student’s access to the professor. The classroom can be anywhere in the world, including in the field or in the student’s home. This is not a new idea and the use of the Internet for teaching is becoming widely accepted.

Lack of Choice – In the University environment the student has little say in what classes they will take and even less choice in the professor. The professor might be a graduate student with little or no teaching experience, or a tenured professor that has years of teaching experience, but has not performed any research in his or her field for a decade or more.

SIM Solution – Allow the student to choose the seminars and the instructors based on the information and reputation of the professors through blogs and references online. This may create a new classification of the Education Coach who advises and recommends professors and course work. Perhaps Education Coaches will be individually accredited and specialize in certain fields, or perhaps they will be accredited to help a student define a general studies (liberal arts) type program.

Inflexible Scheduling – University classes are based on the concept of group teaching, which requires all students conform their lives to the schedule determined by administrators.

SIM Solution – Individualized studies where the professor works with the student schedules programs that are mutually beneficial.

For decades there have been versions of independent study programs and in the past decade, many legitimate Internet-based colleges programs; however, the negatives of the existing University environment, exacerbated by funding shortfalls open the door to Re-Imagining higher education as a Student/Professor centered system that is relevant, rather than an administrator/bureaucratic centered system that is insensitive to the individual.

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Rotary@105: Chesley R. Perry – ‘Mother’ of Rotary

05 Wednesday May 2010

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

≈ 1 Comment

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Blogs, Club Members, History of Rotary, Management Practices, Membership Retention, Paul Harris, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary District 5190, Rotary International

by Paul Kiser

One Club and Only One Club

Most Rotarians know that Paul Harris was the Father of Rotary. He is credited with the idea for the club and today he is ‘Mr. Rotary’ to millions of Rotarians. The Chicago Rotary club was an immediate success and it achieved all that Paul Harris could have hoped for and maybe even more than he had imagined.

However, by 1909, several other business men in other cities had heard of the new Chicago Rotary club and they wanted to know more about the organization. Paul Harris was receiving letters from all over the United States asking about creating new clubs and when the second club was chartered on November 12, 1908 (San Francisco) it created an explosion of interest and letters came pouring in to Paul’s office.

The New Face of Rotary as the Organization Transforms

The work to charter new Rotary clubs brought new challenges and tasks for the organization. Chicago Club President ‘Red’ Ramsey asked a member, Chesley R. Perry, if he would take charge of club expansion or ‘extension’. Ches, as he was known by his friends, accepted. It would change the course of Rotary.

Chesley R. Perry

Ches Perry was not one of the original charter members,…not even close. He joined Rotary in late June of 1908, over three years after the organization was born. When he was asked to take on the leadership of chartering new clubs he had been a Rotarian for just over a year, but he was the right person for the job. Ches took on his task as if Rotary was his idea. At the end of his work day he would go over to Paul Harris’ office and work long hours with Paul responding to all the letters coming in from potential club organizers. Paul and Ches became a team that laid the groundwork for what was to come.

Within months after the San Francisco club was chartered four more clubs were organized in Oakland, CA; Seattle, WA; and Los Angeles, CA. By the fifth anniversary of Rotary (February 23, 1910) 12 clubs had been chartered but each club was an independent organization that adopted the Chicago Rotary club’s Constitution. The first club had been the central focus and contact for all the new clubs, but there was not a unifying organization. Now a new dilemma surfaced.

The Chicago club had become the primary entity for a rapidly growing group of Rotary clubs, but that was not the purpose of the original club. It was time to create an umbrella entity that would act on behalf of all existing clubs and qualify new clubs. It was decided to hold a convention of all Rotary clubs to establish a national Rotary organization. The task of planning a three-day convention fell to largely Ches Perry.

Years later Paul would tell of the role Ches played in his role in the fledgling Rotary organization:

“…Ches did not want to be told what to do; he did it. He did more work than I in the calling of the first convention, a great deal more….”

Like so many great Rotarians, Ches didn’t hesitate to act when action was needed.

What followed was a transformation of Rotary. The first convention was held on August 15-17, 1910 and the Rotary clubs immediately elected Ches to be the chairman of the convention. The representatives then established the National Association of Rotary Clubs of America. Paul was elected as its first President and soon after the convention the new Board of Directors asked a young 33 year-old Ches to temporarily serve as Secretary. He accepted and then served in that role until 1942 when he retired at age 65.

Ches created the Rotarian magazine (then called the National Rotarian) that every member now receives monthly. When Paul took a ten-year absence from Rotary in 1912, it was Ches that kept the organization moving forward. It may be that someone else would have stepped into the role instead of Ches and kept the main cog of the Rotary organization well oiled and in motion, but it seems that Ches was exactly the right person at exactly the right time.

As we approached the Centennial of the first Rotary Convention, let’s remember the person who cared and nurtured our organization during its most formative years: Chesley R. Perry.

Other Rotary Blog Posts

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)

How to Become Zen Master of Social Media

04 Tuesday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Consulting, Information Technology, Lessons of Life, Passionate People, Public Relations, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

≈ 8 Comments

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Bloggers, Blogging, Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, New Business World, parenting, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Rotary, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter

by Paul Kiser

Three States of Being: Taking In, Reflecting, and Giving Out

Today I read two articles that sparked a ‘Zen’ moment for me. It hit me that the ideal for a person who seeks to be Social Media Leader (or Master, if you prefer) is one who balances three different states of being.

Before I go into the three states of being I want to credit the two articles that led me to this enlightenment because I think they are well worth the read. The first article is by Tanveer Naseer titled, The Power of Reflection in Leadership. In the article he discusses the need for leaders to schedule reflection time in her or his day. I am a regular reader of Mr. Naseer’s blog because he has great insight on a wide variety of topics.

(Link to The Power of Reflection in Leadership)

The second article I came across via LinkedIn and the Social Media Network titled, The Two Essential Steps to Becoming a Thought Leader by Brandon Cox. His points are simple, but the idea of becoming a Thought Leader is an important concept for anyone who wishes to be more than a do-what-your-told drone.

(Link to The Two Essential Steps to Becoming a Thought Leader)

I want to clarify that I don’t see myself as a Zen Master of Social Media, just one who wants to walk the path, but the combination of these two articles gave me a moment of clarity about what is needed for anyone who strives to be more than a user of Social Media.

Because Social Media is a new evolution in individual communication and is constantly transforming it is necessary for a leader in Social Media to research and observe. The Zen Master of Social Media must first be a Seeker of knowledge. As Naseer puts it, he or she must climb the mountain, but the mountain of Social Media has no summit. Like so many hikes I have taken in Colorado, the top of one summit only allows you to see the next summit.

A leader of Social Media must also be a Reflector of Social Media. Learning about the function of a tool is important, but one must use the tool to truly understand the value of the it. Being a Reflector allows others to observe and learn best practices, and then to innovate new practices from the foundation laid by the ‘master’.

Finally, a leader of Social Media must be a Mentor. Giving out the knowledge gained from being a Seeker and a Reflector is an essential function of a leader. Teaching helps others to learn, but as any Teacher can tell you, their knowledge of a subject becomes solidified as they organize their thoughts to present the information to their students.

By being equal parts of a Seeker, Reflector, and Mentor the Social Media Leader will find balance and continuous growth as they seek to reach a perfect Zen state….and then they need to shut off his or her computer and go play with their children.

A Zen of a Different Kind

A Post Script: While researching for this blog I came across a new book titled, The Zen of Social Media by Shama Kabani, published by BellaBooks. I have downloaded it off of Amazon.com. I may add a follow-up blog once I have read her book, but it looks interesting!

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United and Continental Airlines: Merger with the Devil

03 Monday May 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Customer Relations, Customer Service, Human Resources, Management Practices, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Social Media Relations, Tom Peters

≈ 3 Comments

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Blogs, Customer Service, Management Practices, New Business World, Public Image, Public Relations, Publicity, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Tom Peters

by Paul Kiser

Paul Kiser – CEO of Enterprise Technologies, inc.

They are not too big to fail and personally that is the only viable option I see for United Airlines. I apologize for my tone, but United Airlines is the worst of the worst and I’m not alone in my opinion.

Today it was announced that United Airlines and Continental Airlines are officially merging. What a dumb move on Continental’s part. Here are some of the comments I picked up about this merger:

“United is nothing but a mediocre airline, I don’t think I want to be combined with that work force. Continental has better customer service, it has a better product.” (1)

A Continental Airlines pilot that didn’t want to be identified

This is a sad day…united sucks…continental is an awesome airline. Some asshole will get a HUGE bonus for this and we travelers will get sh*t for service and surly b**ches at check in from united. I really hate American business nowadays. (2)

Comment to a Blog (I masked the worst of the vulgarity)

The worst kept secret in the airline industry is that United is a dysfunctional, uncaring, arrogant, and consistently bad air carrier. It has the public image of GM when Congress was considering bailing the car maker out in 2009. Songs have been written about United’s poor customer service.

(Listen to United Breaks Guitars by David Carroll)

United Airline service can best be summarized by this slogan: “We don’t care, we don’t have to.”

United is destined for failure and this merger seems to confirm that UAL continues to take action for all the wrong reasons. This merger is done for one purpose and one purpose only: a desperate attempt to show the investors that it is doing something, anything, to avoid certain death.

United demise has been a slow, painful process of false promises, betrayals, and really, really bad management. United employees have been jerked around so many times that they no longer care about customer service. I have interacted with them enough to see that UAL has institutionalized poor customer service.

One example happened to me last year at Denver International Airport. I was flying with my four year-old boy and we were checking in for a flight from Denver to Reno on United. As we approached the ticketing area we walked past 80 or more ticket kiosks that were wide open. They were all reserved for the handful of passengers with no baggage or for international travelers, while passengers with baggage were only offered ten or so kiosks and a 30 minute wait in a long line. They had more people directing traffic for the long line than they had assisting passengers. That is not poor customer service, that’s customer loathing. United employees have heard it all, seen it all, and they see no reason to care.

My guess is that new employees at United are trained by people who are so cynical about their management and customers that they drive out any spark of hope in the rookies. That level of institutionalized hate for your job can’t be fixed without massive changes in staff. It would take a complete wipe of all levels of management and dismissal of almost all rank and file employees to excise the environment of customer hate that exists at United. A merger may make investors happy but it changes nothing in the poisonous environment that will spread to Continental after the merger.

Is there any hope? Not likely. The company name will stay United, so people will associate Continental employees with the sour employees at United. That’s not good. Jeffery A. Smisek, the CEO of Continental, will be the CEO of the new company, but United’s headquarters in Chicago will be the HQ for the new organization, which means the United ongoing leadership attitudes and problems will be retained.

Regarding the merger, Smisek said, “This combination brings together the best of both organizations and cultures to create a world-class airline with tremendous and enduring strengths.” and added, “Together, we will have the financial strength necessary to make critical investments to continue to improve our products and services and to achieve and sustain profitability.”(3)

Note that Smisek says nothing, not a word, about the 800-pound gorilla in United’s Operations, which is bad, really bad, customer service. United Airlines wouldn’t be out looking for a merger if it wasn’t a house of cards ready to collapse, but the new CEO seems blissfully ignorant that most flyers would fly anything but United.

All this is good for the customer because it will probably lead to the demise of a mega airline within 36 months after the completion of the merger and the equipment will be sold off to smaller carriers.

However, I can see a small opportunity for a turnaround, but it would be a miracle. First, it is that Public Relations professionals dream because they can go no where but up. Second, all public image is local, so it would take massive retraining of the staff to do a Tom Peters’ Re-Imagine! of the company. The extreme makeover would have to happen at the rank and file level. If they don’t buy into a 10.0 seismic shift in customer service the makeover is doomed. Investors be damned, everything would have to be done to make the passenger a VIP. No baggage fees, no accountants counting nickels and dimes.

Realistically the dynamics at United make the task impossible. Labor unions, cynical employees, authoritarian managers, accountant infestation and investor worship, all would work against the goal of excellent customer service, so that leaves the obvious option: let United die. It is unfortunate that United will take Continental down with them, but I guess they asked for it. Dumb move.

(1) Top News Article: http://topnews.us/content/218898-continental-airlines-worried-about-merging-united-airlines

(2) Joe.My.God Blog: http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/05/united-and-continental-airlines-to.html

(3) American Headline News: http://abh-news.com/united-and-continental-airlines-merge-2738.html

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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

≈ 4 Comments

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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

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

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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

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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

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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…….

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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

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

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Dissatisfiers: Why John Quit

21 Sunday Feb 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in Club Leadership, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Retention, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point

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Attrition, Blogging, Blogs, Club Members, Customer Loyalty, Employee evaluations, Employment, Executive Management, exit interviews, HR, Management Practices, Membership Retention, New Business World, Public Relations, quitting, retention, Rotarians, Rotary, Rotary Club, Value-added, volunteer organizations

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

Paul Kiser

Why Did John Quit?
In my years in management, human resources, and service club involvement I have watched many people leave organizations and periodically someone in the organization starts throwing around the ‘R’ word: Retention. What follows are committee meetings, calls for surveys, and finger-pointing. The search usually turns up discovery of a plausible single cause for the problem based upon limited evidence, followed by a shrug of shoulders because the alledged cause is almost always determined to be a reason that is out of control of the organization.

Finding the real reason for attrition for any organization is elusive because there is almost never just one reason for someone to quit. The decision to quit is typically after the person has accumulated multiple ‘dissatisfiers‘ or negative experiences that finally caused the person to make a change by leaving. Dissatisfiers can be issues about pay, benefits, or other tangible reasons; however, most negative experiences are intangible acts that weaken (or fail to strengthen) a person’s perception of belonging to the organization.

A Dissatisfier may be something small, like a person not getting thanked for his or her contribution to a special project, or something more significant, like a lack of a desired promotion. As each Dissatisfier is added the person gets closer to the decision that the organization is not meeting his or her needs.

While a group or organization may be unaware of their actions that cause a Dissatisfier for an individual, people often consciously use Dissatisfiers to drive away a member or employee from a group because it is a subtle form of discrimination that is difficult to detect and easy to blame the victim as being overly sensitive. We learn this tactic at a young age and often as a byproduct of sibling rivalry when one child torments another by subtlety annoying them until they react violently. In adults, the behavior is rarely as overt, nor does it result in violence, but can be very effective in weeding out diversity in the group.

When the Dissatisfiers are not the result of a conscious effort against a person, but rather the failure to include the person, the result can be the same. Over time the person may ultimately decide to quit for a better opportunity, or, in the case of a volunteer organization, leave for no other opportunity.

The Perfect Environment to Study Dissatisfiers
Volunteer organizations are an ideal environment to study the effect of Dissatisfiers because the issue of compensation and/or benefits (tangible rewards) can be ruled out as factors for attrition. While some may conclude that because there is no tangible rewards for a volunteer, his or her involvement is tenuous all the time; however, often an individual has a deeper commitment to a volunteer organization simply because they are involved for more meaningful reasons. That reason may be as simple as wanting to be a part of an organization that seeks to do good, but for many people who need is often more powerful than monetary gain.

Members of a volunteer organization should feel that the work they perform not only gives them a sense of accomplishment; but also gives them a sense of worth, belonging (or friendship) and pride. For a member to leave that organization means that the group failed to provide or connect the member to the key rewards of volunteer service. Attrition in a volunteer organization is often blamed on a single external factor (a bad economy) or the person (not in the organization for the right reasons) rather than examine the Dissatisfiers that they might have been able to address that would have retained that member.

To improve retention organizations need to stop looking for the single factor for attrition, and start looking for the list of Dissatisfiers that led to the decision to quit. In volunteer organizations, a member’s involvement is to fill a need of belonging and attrition can only be attributed to internal Dissatisfiers, not external factors.

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