Originally published yesterday on the Social Media Club blog.

Special thanks to Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells for encouraging us to blog on the SMC site about some work we are performing on behalf of Save Darfur. This week marks the beginning of an aggressive campaign to take advantage of the administration change and use social media to encourage President-elect Obama to action and end the Darfur genocide.

The Save Darfur Coalition’s "Be A Voice For Darfur" postcard campaign seeks to ensure that Darfur is a top priority for the Obama Administration. Obama has already promised “unstinting resolve” to end the Darfur Genocide.   The effort, which aims for no less than 1 million postcards to be emailed, blogged and snail-mailed to President-elect Obama within his first 100 days in office. 

The hottest part is the unveiling of a petition application developed in conjunction with Facebook Causes. Other social media components include an influencer relations campaign, and a Darfur Blogger Toolkit with videos, photos, and other resources at http://www.addyourvoice.org/pages/blogger_toolkit.  And of course, there’s the mandatory Twitter hashtag: #voice4darfur .

The appalling genocide in Darfur continues – now in its sixth year and at the price of nearly half a million lives. Ironically, this December marks the 60^th anniversary of the United Nations  Genocide Convention, and we are still dealing with this horrific issue.

The time to for action is now, and in a year when many of us are suffering financial hardship, we can still make a difference. Signing the petition, tweeting or writing blog posts  are great ways to help without expending a lot of cash. 

This is a great example of social media for social good.  But for it to work, you, the Social Media Club member needs to believe in the cause and do something about it. Help us end genocide, and spread the word to your friends online and with other local Social Media Club members

Jason Falls posted on Drew McLellan’s The Marketing Minute blog regarding the importance of listening in social media. What makes this post particularly interesting is that it goes beyond describing how to listen using Google Alerts, Twitter, and RSS. Jason also offers examples from Comcast Cares, Dell Computers and others about how listening and then responding candidly is improving outcomes for companies.

Kami Huyse responds to criticism that social media is cult like. Kami says, “Unless you can call the printing press, radio or television a cult,” no it’s not cult like. Check out Kami’s post on Communication Overtones and see why Kami advises, “…Remember that the tools, while interesting and important, are never the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to be an effective communicator.”

Kevin Dugan provides details on a few Twitter tools for Strategic Public Relations readers. Tools Kevin details include a way to sort your followers and those you ignore, a Twitter news alert, a “personal Twitter assistant,” “an informal media database – in reverse,” and “an early alert system for media looking for sources.” For all the details on these tools check out Kevin’s post, and add a few of your own favorites.

Jason Little explains why the social media press release (SMR) is a more powerful marketing tool than the traditional text release. “What better way to market your company than through a concise press release that includes a 2-minute video or audio clip of the release?” asks Jason. Visit Q4Blog for SMR details and to see a great example.

Twitter has grown, but stayed much the same in 2008. That doesn’t mean that others aren’t leveraging Twitter’s success. According to Louis Gray, BigTweet, a cool new bookmarklet site that allows web content sharing on your Twitter account, is doing just that. Louis Says, “BigTweet’s bookmarklet means you can do it from anywhere, without leaving that page. The service’s added symbols and double the characters are also a plus.” Check out LouisGray.com for all the details on BigTweet.

Given that we’re recovering from a big Thanksgiving meal, it’s appropriate to reflect on what we’re thankful for. On his blog, Saad Kamal provides details on seven social media tools that he’s thankful for, because they make his life as a blogger easier. Some tools he highlights are Mint, Google Adsense and Wordpress. Visit Saad’s post for his full list and explanations, and let the community know what tools you’re thankful for.

“Enough about me, what do you think about me?”

“You? You? I called about me, myself and I!”

Sounds like a pretty bad conversation. Yet, that’s often what you see when corporate types start promoting their wares in social channels or when “personal brands” deliver their cultivated messages to us (Sheep Meadow Image by Joe Schlabotnnik).

In its own right these types of chats limit the conversation to a very contrived one-dimensional activity. Or worse, just the same old marketing BS delivered to you in a new form. Heck, these efforts can be just flat-out anti-social.

Let’s look at some of the etymology at play here. The much overused word social has many definitions, including, “pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations.” Inevitably the words companionship and relations are involved in defining social. Going way back, social is derived from the Latin word socius, which means sharing, associated, or allied.

This should tell you truly social media — something that at LComm we simply define as the wide variety of two-way conversational media forms — involves more than one person or entity. Great social media from organizations and marketers engages the larger whole on topics that are more diverse than simple product discussions or contrived messaging.

By addressing the larger whole, good social media serves the community. Intelligent marketers understand that their stakeholders’ interests represent the heart of the conversation, thus their needs supersede a desire to talk about self, product, services or solutions. Even Star Trek’s Spock knew this when after sacrificing his life to save the Enterprise, he said, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few… or the one.”

See video clip of this epic scene from Star Trek II.

Back to etymology. Community also has similar lessons to offer: “A social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.” Hmm, I wonder if personal brands, messages or sales pitches need apply to this shared activity.

At least we can be grateful for one thing this year: No more turkey from this guy!

See you next week!

Jennifer Laycock makes an interesting observation on the Search Engine Guide about having a post Tweeted. Jennifer says that in addition to reaching additional eyeballs, Twitter traffic is important because it is an engaged community accustomed to leaving comments. Jennifer says, “The true value in your blog traffic is in the visitors who add to the conversation and who engage with you to share their own thoughts, ideas and feedback.”

NTEN’s Peter Deitz says, “Raising money in 2012 will require creativity and foresight. Micro-philanthropy — that ambiguous term that refers to all things socially networked, small-scale, and charitable — will have matured.” Check out Peter’s post for specifics, from hiring the social savvy to using technology such as the iPhone, on how to get the funds you need in the changing economic environment.

“Sometimes it’s good for brands to get into trouble — that is, for customers, and the public generally, to begin to question if a brand is what it says it is,” says Scott Baradell. Why? A crisis acts as a wakeup call. It sends a message that stagnation is not an option. Read Scott’s post on Media Orchard to see how a crisis can make a brand reevaluate itself and make improvements.

Mack Collier captures the essence of social media in his post on The Viral Garden. Mack’s post reminds readers that social media is about using conversations to build trust. With trust companies and customers can develop an understanding of each other. Understanding creates barriers of entry, innovative product development, focused marketing efforts, etc.

How can internet startups get off the ground during this down economy, especially when so many internet services are free? Profy’s Svetlana Gladkova says, “I may be too naïve but as it is I think that we will continue watching the entire internet industry slowly stagnating because of inability to turn great ideas into successful businesses.” Svetlana thinks new monetization efforts across the internet are needed. Check out her post on Profy for her detailed ideas, and share your own.

I just tweeted for the 10,000th time. So what the heck does that mean? I am a Twittering fool? 20 months, 10,000 tweets, 3,000 followers. What learning have I gleaned from all this (image by Sonny Gill)?

Twitter remains a strange place. That’s what I’ve learned.

It’s just weird in a captivating, yet maddeningly ugly way. Twitter represents heaven and hell at the same time. It captures the best of life, and some of its ugliest aspects. Twitter is a big ole bazaar, and there’s nothing quite like it.

There will likely be variants, imitators, and maybe even the acquisition of Twitter. Who knows, who cares? Given my longevity and frequency, I’ll probably still be tweeting.

Fourteen observations about Twitter:

1) Twitter sucks until you start following about 100 people.

2) It’s the most viral place I’ve ever seen. Ask Motrin.

3) You can follow everyone or not. It doesn’t matter, because people can still follow and “@” you, and you can still converse with them. I know that now. Since I can’t deal with more than 500 people in my stream, it’s hard to get me to follow you.

4) Isn’t it amazing that suddenly there’s a competitive marketplace for Twitter books with Warren Whitlock already published, and both Laura Fitton “Pistachio” and Shel Israel rushing to be next?

5) I don’t believe in Pistachio’s theory of micro-messages (an idea propagated by Joel Comm in his Twitter book, too) or micro-sharing. I find it hard to believe that Twitter is in itself a place to build a solely focused social media consultancy. I like Laura personally and am happy to see her prospering, but I don’t get it. Just saying, but hey, proof is in the bank account. I’ll shut up on that topic. Or maybe I’ll just ask her to ’splain it to me!

6) Qwitter is for the self-absorbed. Get over it, and get into real conversations, will ya?

7) Real people on Twitter don’t treat it like a popularity contest for their “personal brands.” They just be. Get it. Know what I’m sayin’, Shaq?

8) The amount of people following you doesn’t mean crap. It’s a number to drop in conversations. Influence is determined by value, and whether or not people believe in you enough to do something.

9) Stalkers, trolls, and not so nice people live on Twitter. Just like reality.

10) Trying to please all the Tweeple is impossible. Instead it’s better to find Tweeple like you or that at least can engage you so the conversation is worth your time. And their’s.

11) Twitter is a place people can take too seriously. The world exists without Twitter. Really. It does.

12) If you tell people to unfollow you, they usually won’t. Damn.

13) Jousting with Amanda Chapel is a serious waste of time. That’s why the last time I sauteed Brian Conolly - oops, Chapel was really the last time.

14) If you let the tyranny of the un-urgent — a.k.a. Twittering all the time — drive you, there can be seriously negative results in your life. Most weekends and every vacation I just turn it off.

Today I asked some other long-term Twitterer’s the lessons they’ve learned. Here they are:

Very public, socially-catalyzed non-profit activity can humanize a company in a much more meaningful way than just highlighting “a personal voice” on the blog. Showing a human heart across the company touches people in a genuine way, especially in a time when people throughout the country really need the help!

In fact from a corporate marketing standpoint, this is exactly when a company should be seen contributing to society and encouraging its people to very publicly pitch in and help causes. The key is that the activity needs to be genuine, truly representing the company’s views.

“Our collective reality is borne of our interactions. We can and must create a different pattern than that we are facing with the economic slowdown,” said Conversation Agent Valeria Maltoni in an email interview.

“I was talking with some friends the other day about how this Christmas will be about love,” said Maltoni. “There is nothing more energizing, nothing more powerful than the conscious decision to be there for one another. We don’t use the “L” word inside organizations often. Demonstrating resiliency is also about looking to help those who are facing less fortunate circumstances. In the end, we are all connected.”

And what means more, personal brands deployed by a company or publicly investing in our society? Or even better, using these critical social media tools to encourage our companies and their extended networks of vendors, investors and customers? To help our fellows who are suffering?

Real voices on a blog and social responsibility both provide transparency inside the company’s soul, but human contact can only go so far sometimes. Has comcastcares’ Frank Eliason changed Comcast’s public perception? It’s really just a start. Corporate integrity demonstrated through real actions often means more.

Incorporating Social Responsibility

We practice this ethos at Livingston, both in our recommendations and our actions. Our blog represents only a small example of how we are giving back. Here’s just a sample:

As a team our activities are deep and consistent in this regard. In fact, we gave Qui Diaz her own social cause practice to foster this important activity.

We’re not the only firm pushing companies to get more engaged with social causes. Edelman has its Good Purpose effort. According to Edelman, over 83 %of consumers are willing to change consumption habits to make tomorrow’s world a better place. Another big agency, Fleishman-Hillard conducted a study reaffirming this:

A recent national opinion survey of Americans found that knowledge of a company’s commitment to social responsibility influences purchasing behavior more than lower prices do.

The business case is clear (hat tip: Richard Becker). Social responsibility means more to customers.

Now More Than Ever

Because they are small and subject to charitable donations, they too are endangered by the current economic situation. As the Washington Post reported yesterday, many non-profits face their extinction or demise.

There will be no bail-out for the non-profit industry from Congress. While the auto industry certainly has a big impact on our economy, so does the non-profit industry. In fact, social causes and other non profits do more than just provide jobs, they seek to better our society in a variety of ways, from supporting the arts to feeding the poor.

Now more then ever companies need to show their human side… and do it with more than a little “flair” on their blog. The economy may be an excuse to cut costs, but charities still need our help.

That’s why I refuse to send our clients meaningless mugs or gift baskets for the holidays. We give money and services on their behalf to charities. We use those resources to impact and change our world. That means even more this year, when our country really needs these charities to get through what will be one of the toughest times in living memory.

Updated at 12:19 a.m.

Shel Holtz and John Havens just published the book “Tactical Transparency.” The latest entry in the growing library of social media books is a very strong one. I highly recommend it to executives and communicators considering social media for any organization, but particularly within enterprises or non-profits that have 20 or more people working for them.

Here’s my video review:

Some more color… The thing I took away from the book was the theme of transparency, and how critical this new level of visibility is for organizational social media. While personality matters, this book is about more comprehensive corporate social media, and as such it’s more important to show the entity’s logic, efforts, reasons, as well as its people. In essence, what personality adds for the individual, transparency provides to the larger entity.

In addition, I really liked how Holtz and Havens blended brick and mortar examples of transparency with online versions. The reality is online works so much better when it’s integrated into traditional communications. It’s great to see a book recognize that.

My only minor critique is an overly strong focus on blogs as a tool. In comparison, while social networks are well discussed, they are not as well documented. With each passing year, I feel that social networks have become an increasingly critical component of corporate social media.

All in all, I rated it five stars on Amazon, and will be buying additional copies to provide to colleagues and clients. Well done, Shel and John! Buy Tactical Transparency today!

Cerado Ventana connects customers to brands in spaces such as their blogs, personal start pages and cells phones. Created by Cerado, a provider of mobile and web-based software services, Cerado Ventana offers a wide array of features designed and implemented by customer requests.

Features include:

• News & Info: provides the latest information in real time.
• Search: allows you to search across multiple information sources
• Connect & Network: connect with customers, employees and fans through social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.
• Do Business: purchase products, register for conferences or donate online with one click
• Integrate Anywhere: bridge the web and mobile worlds through a Cerado Ventana network
• Provide Support: build your customer service reputation by reaching out to customers from anywhere

Cerado Ventana addresses the needs of brands and customers. Brands have the opportunity to create and manage ventanas of their company, networks, events, etc. and deploy them through mobile devices or the web, broadening their ways to reach customers. The ventanas enable brands to find customers that are talking about them online – allowing the brands to engage in the conversation and build relationships with customers. Through this system, customers can address five aspects of business relationships: research, purchase, support, connection and conversation. The relationship building also helps brands connect their customers to the sales teams, support staff, and to easily find product information.

If you own an iPhone or Blackberry, you can immediately deploy their mobile-based app and/or blog widget through personal start pages, like iGoogle. You can also integrate Cerado Ventana with a blog sidebar. All you have to do is purchase Cerado Ventana, create your ventanas and with one click – become connected. Examples of ventanas include: Blog World Expo, GigaOm’s Mobilize Conference, and Zappos.

Here is an intro video of Cerado Ventana:

Buzz Meter Ranking: 4 out of 4 Buzz Bees

Positive: Lots of brands are looking for better and more efficient ways to connect with customers. An issue is that these organizations do not know how to connect with customers beyond the brick and mortar and regular online sites; Cerado Ventana addresses this.

Negative: Building relationships takes a while and is not free. Cerado Ventana’s starting price is $499, but don’t let this hinder you from connecting you to your customers.

Conclusion: As they’ve stated, “Cerado Ventana is the new platform for bringing people, information and business together,” and I believe that Cerado is successfully doing this. Cerado Ventana is an excellent investment that brands should consider using.

Fellow Georgetown University adjunct and SEC social media wonk Mark Story aptly dubbed the current post election government 2.0 craze a meme. And in doing so, he tagged me. It’s been a while since we’ve updated our ongoing coverage of the federal government’s adoption of social media, and the current excitement does prompt a new post. Why? Because, 15 years of DC-based experience tells me what a great challenge Obama faces bringing open online conversation to the world of federal government — in spite of his social media savoir faire.

To answer Mark’s question, I think the great social media promise for the Obama administration lies in freeing data. Tons of taxpayer data from poverty figures to weather information should be available to us all, but it’s trapped in ancient legacy IT systems.

Freeing data and serving taxpayers with access and usage will create a new world of context for Americans. Tim O’Reilly’s dream of a democratized web can come true. This will allow true governance and service to the taxpayer.

Social conversation with the government seems much less stimulating. While useful to governance, like most business or organizational social media it will be one dimensional. Consider the TSA blog.

More importantly, Obama has a great task ahead of him. I’ve sold more than $30 million worth of communications contracts to the federal government. I know how public affairs and IT departments conflict over web communications. And I know how legal precautions, procurement and legacy contractors can absolutely kill change in the government.

In reality, because of the way the federal government works, a good expectation for aggressive, systematic communications change in the government is two to three years. Consider that the Navy is leading the charge with the first set of social media guidelines for an entire agency.

Here are six reasons why Obama isn’t going to be turn the switch on walking in the door:

1) Sheer Girth: We’re talking about 26 federal agencies here, each the size of their very own automobile manufacturer. Think changing those organizations are hard? Try moving a bureaucratic organization that’s got no adherence to Wall Street, no real accountability to anyone (please don’t say Congress), with decades of strange processes and legal entanglements, legacy contracts already in place, and demoralized staff that have been abused for eight years by incompetent political appointees.

2) Culture of Fear: Government employees are afraid that if they do communicate, they will have their butts handed to them courtesy of the Washington Post or some other “investigative reporter” seeking to expose government ills. Think that’s wrong? Welcome to beltway reality, where scandals and incompetency are written about and discussed regularly. Every communication must be filtered through public affairs to protect agencies from embarrassment. The command and control ethos reigns here.

Just like any traditional enterprise, controlling the message and negative feedback will be huge issues for the bureaucratic public affairs departments. Often these folks are the last to adopt. Expect the public affairs department to fight for control on the government communications front for years.

3) Welcome to the World of Beltway Bandits: Sorry Silicon Valley. We actually have more IT workers than you do, in large part because of the federal government.

Massive IT companies hold legacy contracts in almost every agency, and big companies like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon won’t be quick to allow their private billion dollar systems be replaced by web app du jour. These local giants will do everything they can to protect their contracts, including lobbying and leveraging deep relationships throughout the agency procurement cycle.

4) CIOs: Government officials like to protect their budgets, and not yield them. Like a feudal system, the CIO’s office can function like a warlord, holding sway over multi-year million dollar contracts. Opening IT to the socialized web will not be easy here for a variety of reasons, but most importantly surrendering budget — even in a time of restricting budget — will not happen.

5) Security and Privacy: Securing government data is not just a priority, it’s essential. The more defense and security oriented, the harder it will be to sway government bodies to open data and information for the social web. Beefing up technologies like PHP-based WordPress will be a must.

6) Appointees and Procurement: These processes will slow down the process, too. Consider the following points:

No, the challenges for Obama are deep and significant. I expect change we will, but we won’t quickly. Think the 2010-2011 timeframe.

Because the conversation to date has been dominated by non beltway insiders, I’d like to tag some folks in the know. Andrea Baker, Chris Dorobek, Mark Drapeau and Helen Mosher, what do you think social media can do under Obama?