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The Brand Box

Black on White? White on Black?

Never. Always. Can’t. Won’t.

Words like these are dangerous, and especially when you’re talking about something as evolving and fluid as social media.

Uttering absolutes when it comes to what’s working or what’s possible with this new hybrid discipline implies that there are no reasonable alternatives, that perspective is irrelevant, and that the person uttering said absolute has the universal insight to speak from every standpoint.

Which, to utter an absolute of my own, is impossible.

“Social media is never about numbers.”

“You can’t use social media for sales”

“Twitter won’t work that way.”

On one hand, we’re trying to say that social media tears down barriers and levels playing fields, and in the same breath, we’re saying that businesses better play by our “rules” or else. We’re saying that it’s all about celebrating individual voices, but heaven help the voice that disagrees with ours. Individually, we have our preferences for how social media “feels” when it’s done right, and we’re quick to lash out when we feel like something’s been done incorrectly.

That’s stifling innovation, and we’re doing ours

The Social Media BlueprintJanuary 5

I’ve been working away behind the scenes on an initiative that I’m hoping is going to be helpful to you, and is going to put my money where my mouth is for all the times I talk about doing and building rather than just talking.

I’m building the framework for a social media blueprint, and I want to share it with you. I’m going to do that in a couple of different ways.

Right Here: The Blog

The blog is home base for me, so over the course of the next few months, I’m going to be building and riffing on the social media blueprint. I’m sure I’ll end up on tangents once in a while (after all, sometimes post inspiration strikes in strange places). But by and large, I’m going to keep taking about different concepts and practices dedicated to these areas:

Research, Listening and Observation: Best practices, case studies, and resources to learn all you can about the social media space before building a plan of your own.

Auditing and Readiness Assessment: Asking the practical (and sometimes tough) questions about the current state of your business and what challenges and opportunities you’re likely to face when starting out in social media.

3 Words For Each of UsJanuary 1

Freaking Chris Brogan is being brilliant and making me think again. Sigh. He’s got a post up today that talks about defining your goals in three words. What I love is that his words aren’t completely concrete. They’re interpreted completely based on circumstance, and I’ve no doubt they’ll evolve as his work does this year.

So I thought I’d play along, breaking my own resolution not to write about resolutions, but with a bit of a different take. Instead of telling you what my goals are, I’m going to share three words I hope you’ll push ME towards this year, and then three words that I hope you’ll do something with too. Sound okay?

What I Hope You Ask of Me

Clarity. I want you to keep me focused on the things that matter to you and your business, not just the latest trends or topics that are floating around. I hope you’ll help keep my voice compelling, but distinctive enough that I make an impact on your world, even in little ways. And I’d love for you to keep forcing me to see the top of my desk. Regularly.

Activation. Make me prove it th