The first thing I do when I get in the car is unravel the twisted, mangled wires of my headphones from around the rear-view mirror, and then I jam the earbuds into my noggin’ good and deep. I plug in, baby.
Some people might listen to music or audio books—but for me, that’s more the exception than the rule. I like to listen to other people talk. It’s the kind of eavesdropping that isn’t considered rude. If they’re talking too slow—I speed them up. If I don’t like what they’ve got to say—I cuss them out and shut them off. Nobody’s feelings are hurt.
Everything I listen to lives on my android phone. I purchased an app called Pocket Casts from the android market for a couple of bucks. It keeps me organized and even downloads new episodes of my favourite podcasts automatically. Dear Pocket Casts, I would have paid more for you.
I’ve been listening to some of these podcasts for a long time. The hosts of these shows have become trusted friends, reliable sources of information—and quite literally, the voice in my head. I laugh along with them in the confines of my car as they banter good-naturedly with each other, and I become passionately and supportively outraged when one of them takes a public flogging for their opinions. I am a secret member of their elite team. So secret, even they don’t know that I’m there. Plugged in, tuned in, and always listening. I am but one in a sea of supportive listeners that these podcasters had so desperately hoped for at their onset. They have no way of knowing how intimate our relationship has become. They travel with me on vacations, and sometimes… they join me in the tub.
If you’ve never listened to a podcast before—now’s the time. It’s easy schoolin’ if you enjoy learning new things. There are thousands upon thousands to choose from, and equally as many free apps for whatever device you have to play them.
I listen to about 12 podcasts weekly. Every week I try on new ones to see if they fit, but I always manage to stay around 12. Here’s my top 3:
TWIT – Leo Laporte and John C. Dvorak are my brothers. I would go to battle for these men. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a card-carrying member of the TWIT army.
Writing Excuses – Dan and Mary give me 15 quality minutes a week. Because I’m in a hurry, and they’re not that smart.
American Life – true stories of everyday people—although, not always.
These are just a few podcasts of awesome proportions—for me. What’s on your list? Share the voice in your head.
This time of year brings all kinds of New Year’s resolutions and fresh start revelations to mind. A brand new year brings with it the marvel of wondrous possibilities and opportunity. It’s tabula rasa baby… a clean slate.
Net policy or social media policy? I hear both of these terms being thrown about as if they were interchangeable. There is a difference. There should be a difference. The main distinction is the focus on what employees can do in the web world, rather than what they can’t. An internet policy typically outlines employee internet use during work hours—and consequently the monitoring of that use. A social media policy governs the individual interactions of your employees in the social sphere—as it relates to your brand—and can be much harder to monitor once an employee has clocked out and is operating in their own time.
I’ve been following Google’s launch of Google+ Pages for brands with some anxiety. I envisioned Social Marketers everywhere flocking to Google+ and spamming my circles with brand promotions.
One of the biggest challenges I face in my day-to-day business is trying to help clients evolve their thinking. I say challenges, but I mean frustrating-bang-my-head-against-the-wall-soul-crushing experiences. It’s SO easy to think that a social media strategy is about joining social network sites as a clever way to push your same tired old junk. And you’d be kind of right. That’s exactly what a social media strategy is—because that is EXACTLY what most organizations are doing. But PEOPLE, listen up! It’s not about social media anymore—in fact, it hasn’t been for a couple of years now.
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