I'm Coining a Term Today: Frienomenon

Admittedly, I'm not much a social anything (just ask my mother, she will tell you). But I've been lurking in social media long enough to know one thing: Bloggers, bigwigs of subscription-based e-blasts, myspacers, virtual community leaders, message board/chat room moderators, citizen journalists and the like often put themselves--or their personas, who can say?--"out there," create a sense of familiarity with their audience, and are then surprised that people respond to them as colleagues or friends due to a sense of commonality, respect, or connectedness. I call this phenomemon appropriately enough "frienomenon." It's the inability to recognize the inviting and illiciting (soliciting?) of feedback, dialogue, and relationships with strangers via technology and to be accountable for or responsive to those exchanges. To make matters worse, we all have our own rules and expectations and oftentimes the "social contracts" are vague--or worse, unstated. This is a real shame because there's plenty of room on the web to publish your manifesto. "Why should this matter to me," you ask? Here's how "frienomenon" affects you as a small business owner interested in social/online marketing, word of mouth advertising, social networking, etc.: If you are engaging in this activity using technology and/or if other folks are on your behalf (or not), all that's available publicly is an extension of your brand and therefore needs attention. In this wired world, we all have a voice. So if upholding a brand image of I'm-an-industry-god-you're-a-nobody works for you, by all means act that way consistently online--and tell people what rights they'll be relinquishing upfront and how you'll make them pay if they break your rules. In other words, make it a point to act like a jerk publicly and thrill your readers with Schadenfreude. I can think of a design teacher who does this right now, and I applaud his efforts, although he scares me and I wouldn't necessarily advise that path outside the ivory tower. But at least there are no surprises with him! But if you project ponies and rainbows and pots of gold, be prepared to get and respond to requests for magic. Bottom line: truth and consistency in marketing across media and communications should always be the goal.

Think Your Company Is a Leader?

Well, don't tell the media. The New York Times had a recent article quoting Tom Gable (click for bio), past editor and head of his own PR firm, that when his company reviewed wire releases for a week, they found most who cited themselves as leaders were "empty, unsubstantiated and had no news value." Amen to that! I have been trying to tell both client and non-client (read: employer) companies that everyone's a leader. To say so is only to identify yourself as a neophyte and your material as hyperbole (read: untrustworthy). Relatedly, I was thrilled to find that someone besides me out there is also saying something I strongly believe; it's Dan Wool at Arizona Public Service (APS): "great product is the best PR." I usually say "find what you do well and market THAT" (as opposed to what you want to do well). Thanks, Dan, for saying it better and for emphasizing PRODUCT. Dan's a panelist at Arizona Technology Council’s July Council Connect so if you're a tech-head in charge of PR, check it out.

The Joy of Tax

Yes, you read it correctly! I am pleased to announce that, for those who feel tax law should be a foreign language offering in college, the Arizona Department of Revenue offers affordable workshops for those planning to start a business! I attended the workshops on Retail Business and TPT today and found them very useful. For more information on the workshops or to register, click here. Another useful site is aztaxes.gov.