RonAmok!

Last week, while having breakfast with David Jacobs of Connected World Media, the topic of Shaquille O’Neal and his use of of Twitter came up. David explained how Shaq uses this new media channel to reach out and touch people…or more accurately…having them reach out and touch him. Shaq is using Twitter as some sort of live, interactive, scavenger hunt game.

For example, here is a tweet that I found from Wednesday March 25th. (Note: Shaq’s use of the 140 character limitation is creative and poetic.)

THE_REAL_SHAQ: I have oe ticket laft at will call under twitter, first one there its yurs just say twitter

Now, how is THAT for a call-to-action, marketeers? Shaq, the most physically dominating center in the history of the NBA (which is tough for this Celtics fan to say),  left a ticket at the Will Call booth and the first person who asks for those tickets under the name “Twitter” gets them.

It’s Fun. It’s Retweetable. It’s a Call-to-action…And it’s brilliant!

Thursday the 26th I witnessed another Random Act of Shaqness (complete with timestamps):

THE_REAL_SHAQ: Anybody in portland touches me rt now will get two tickets I’m at redstar cafe 16:23

MMIRKIL: @THE_REAL_SHAQ I’ll take ‘em! I’m two blocks away! 16:25

THE_REAL_SHAQ: @mmirkil u better hurry 16:26

THE_REAL_SHAQ: And the winner is @cbakes and @dondondon and @mmirkil 16:29

MMIRKIL: Going to see Shaq battle the Trailblazers tonight, courtesy of the Big Aristotle himself. Woo-hoo! 16:44

THE_REAL_SHAQ: 100 people n the prtland area just came for tickets wow portland twitterers r niiiiiice 16:53

Look closely at the timestamps. Exactly 6 minutes after he tweets his challenge, three people earn their prizes. For those who are overly focused on ROI, let’s do a cost-benefit analysis.

For a total cost of 6 tickets + 89 text characters + 6 minutes of waiting, Shaq has:

1. Created buzz about an upcoming game
2. Added to his personal brand
3. Made the NBA look new, hip, and fun
4. Gave three people a story that they’ll tell their friends for years.

The NBA needs to hire Shaq as its head of all marketing because he “gets it.”

What can your company do that is fun, retweetable, AND is a call-to-action?

Photo Credit: Army.mil

Tags: Shaq Shaquille O’Neal David Jacobs Connected World Media Twitter Random Acts of Shaqness call-to-action retweetable Ron Ploof New Media Evangelist

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of listening to Chris Brogan work the crowd at a SoCal Action Sports Network event. It’s always great to see Chris who is by far one of the smartest and nicest people you’ll ever meet.

The meeting was held at the Oakley headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California. The building’s architecture is unique, reminding me of a dwelling for either Batman or Mad Max.

Unfortunately, whatever ambiance the architecture added to the event was overshadowed by the sound system in the futuristic 400-seat amphitheater. For some reason, an odd delay made it sound as if two Chris Brogans were mouthing the same words about 50 milliseconds apart. Trust me when I say that you only need to hear one Chris Brogan at a time!

I recorded the talk with my Flip camera and did my best to make the audio more intelligible. I think that it’s passable, so here is the video for your viewing pleasure.

Since the presentation is almost an hour long, I’ve also added notes to the video. Want to jump to a specific part? Just mouse-over the little dots to see my notes.

Lastly, here are my Top Ten Broganisms from the talk:

1. “I ask Twitter everything because they’re smarter than me. There’s more of them out there.”

2. “The how-to market on YouTube and other platforms…moves millions of videos.”

3. “Facebook is not a place to blurt out your stupid message. No one gives a shit about your product as much as you do. Stop it! …It’s not about your stupid product; it never was. It’s about empowering people. It’s about making them feel badass when they are using your product. It is never about your stupid product. You just think that it is because you have to sell it. And it’s really hard to tell your boss that it’s not about your product.”

4. “Here is the magic trick of Social Media: I don’t have to listen to your stupid message. I can unfriend you. I can unfollow you.”

5. On traditional “push” marketing: “I have this really gross analogy. It’s like when I reach out to shake your hand and you put your tongue in my mouth.”

6. “Be there BEFORE the sale.”

7. “I love negative feedback because I learn from it.”

8. On pageviews: “Getting more audience doesn’t count. Getting an audience that does something is the trick.”

9. Question: What do you think of linking your Twitter account to your Facebook account? Answer: “I hate it. I think it is impolite.”

10. “If you’re not using TweetDeck; you’re not using Twitter.”

Tags: Chris Brogan SoCal Action Sports Network Oakley Social Media Video Presentation RonAmok

My good friend Arthur Nelson is a serial entrepreneur who has founded or co-founded over 20 organizations in his career. Some, like AIRINC are businesses, while others, like TERC are nonprofits. But independent of the company or its mission, he’s identified a common thread that binds them all.

“I’ve never started an organization that ended up doing what it was originally intended to do,” he once told me.

Arthur explains that most entrepreneurs begin work on a problem without having the all of the information necessary to build a successful business–information that can only be acquired through immersion in research. Before this immersion, entrepreneurs can only see symptoms. Yet after speaking with clients who are dealing with those problems, the root causes reveal a better focus for entrepreneurs to build their products and services around.

I’ve found that Arthur’s lesson is applicable to corporate adoption of New/Social Media. The only way to get a true understanding of it is through full immersion. If you’ve never maintained a blog, produced a podcast, or participated in an online community, you can’t have the intimate knowledge required to make accurate decisions about its applicability within your company. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what many companies do, chasing symptoms as opposed to causes.

Understanding New Media is like stepping into the fog. At first, you can only see the hazy outlines of objects in the distance. Yet by walking forward, additional details emerge. The deeper you walk, new outlines and additional details reveal a scene that you couldn’t have anticipated before your journey.

Take Arthur’s advice. Make a plan and then step into the fog. Head for the muffled voices. Participate with the people you encounter. Soon you’ll have a better feel for the role of New/Social Media within your organization.

Then, make the appropriate adjustments and execute your revised plan.

Photo Credit: ferronj

Tags: Arthur Nelson TERC AIRINC entrepreneur New Media Evangelist fog