sorel husbands denholtz

Enjoy the latest on the state of the web from The Oatmeal. (Not for those perturbed by profanity.)

Google+’s Circles sound like a fantastic idea. Here is an easy way to sort your friends out. No more sharing nightclub pictures with your ten-year old friends! You can pick and choose which sets of your friends you want to share with.

When I first set up my Google+ account, I sliced and diced my friends into all sorts of categories. But then, when I went to share something, I couldn’t really remember who was in each group. And in fact, I just wanted to share with almost everyone. It wasn’t long until I went back and deleted most of my circles. I have now narrowed it down to basically 3 that I use: People I follow (I don’t share with this group — I just read what they have to say and possibly comment), people I share with just about all the time (basically, my “friends”), and professional contacts (with whom I might share something business-related, but nothing personal).

Guess what? With the exception of the Following group, this is exactly how I have Facebook configured. I know I am not alone in this: having the ability to micro-dice my audience hasn’t turned out to be that helpful, most of the time, and in fact, it’s kind of exhausting.

I have been pondering why circles have turned out not to be very helpful, and I think there are two primary reasons.

1) Google+ is not a reciprocal environment. I may put you in a circle determined by whether I want to share with you — but you may not even be following me! So my circle isn’t accomplishing what I want it to do. In this, it is more like a Twitter list than a sharing circle.

2) To me it’s all about Persona, NOT about Audience. Depending on where I am and who I am interacting with in real life, I take on a different persona (or, if you prefer, different aspects of my persona). Here in this blog, I am a social strategist. Elsewhere I may be the mother of a kindergartener, or a neighbor, a friend, or a colleague. In each of these contexts, my persona shifts slightly. I am more likely to share some things and less likely to share others. Neither Facebook nor Google+ facilitates shifting into different Personae, because I don’t always know who is interested in which aspect of my persona.

I thought about this recently when I wanted to share on Facebook that we had been assigned the kindergarten we had hoped for. This post received something like 30 comments and likes from all different people. Had I chosen who I should share with (a school friends circle perhaps?), many people who actually were interested never would have seen the post. OK, maybe they were humoring me, but still, do you see the point?

I want circles to work in the opposite way — I want people to be able to opt into my different personae or circles or whatever you want to call them. Imagine if I had a set of public circles where I could share around topics that were appropriate in that context. Just as at a PTA coffee klatsch I would only share certain aspects of my life, and at work I might share a different set. The set of people that I would share with in each environment aren’t organized around a specific interest — they are contextual. I know who I am in each context, and behave accordingly.

I’m not saying that this is easily doable, if it is even possible. I am just saying this is why Google+ Circles don’t work — for me. They are backwards. I am trying to share to people who may or may not be interested (or even listening), so in the end I share to most, and follow others.

Those of you really paying attention may have noticed that I have posted little to Google+. That is a whole other issue — I haven’t yet figured out what I would share there that I don’t already share on Facebook or Twitter. This post maybe?

But when I do share there, you can bet that it will be one of three ways: to friends, to professional connections, or publicly. My other circles? Just filters for the stream.

Are circles working better for you?

This came up recently with a client. Although it may seem obvious as I spell it out here, I believe we often lose sight of the fundamental concept that drives social media: people want to share. They share articles, pictures, videos, opinions, ideas, jokes. They share our content and come back for more.

I often hear people talk about how to build audiences without mentioning sharing. Or else they are attempting to make something “viral” without understanding why it would be shared.

More simply:

The magic of sharing is that when it works, it is enormously successful at building audiences. Effective knowledge dissemination builds audiences, and and large audiences facilitate knowledge dissemination.

The point of all this is not only do you have to have something worth sharing, it has to also be easily share-able. Make sure your web site supports your social media efforts.  Just look at TED.com for a fantastic example of content worth sharing, made easy to share.

Really, this video (“The world is obsessed with Facebook”) says it all.

I almost forgot to post this — here is the third of three sessions I blogged at the recent CMO Thought Leadership Summit here in San Francisco. This post can also be found at theCMOClub.com. This one was another round table.

From Sponsorship to Co-Creation for Education and Causes

• Matt Yale – Deputy Chief of Staff, US Dept of Education (via Skype)
• Stefan Weitz – Director, Microsoft, REDU
• Michelle Kydd-Lee – Exec Dir CAA Foundation (Creative Artists Agency)
• Moderator: Mark Bonchek – Social Architect

Education is one of the most serious problems facing our country today. Serious enough to move moderator and parent Mark Bonchek to tears. And as Michelle Kydd-Lee responded, “Being emotional is what it is all about.” And thus the question was presented to us: how can a room full of CMOs help Americans understand and respond to the need for teachers? How do we address the drop out rate? Education is a product and people aren’t buying.

Over the next few years we will need 1.6 million teachers to address population growth, replace retiring baby boomers, and fill already empty teaching spots across the country. The greatest need is for African American men, but all kinds of teachers are needed. Without a strong education system the country is in trouble. Even if you don’t like kids and don’t like schools, you should care about the future of the country.

Bing, in the form of REDU, has partnered with the Department of Education to begin to reach people. Michelle and the CAA Foundation is working with them to include celebrities to help raise awareness. But more effort is needed.

As has often been said, doing good is good business. Bing has gotten strong repeat traffic as a result of REDU. Delta partnered with Habitat for Humanity and customer loyalty and employee retention both went up.

The request: What could you, or your organization, do to help make people care? All ideas, suggestions, and participation welcome.

Here is the second of the three sessions I blogged at the CMO Club. This one was a roundtable discussion. This post can also be found on theCMOClub.com.

CMO Thought Leadership Roundtable: A Smarter Strategic Marketing Mix — Optimizing Across Digital and Traditional Media

• Kenya Jackson, VP Marketing, Target
• Terri Graham, CMO, Jack in the Box
• David Hudson, CEO, NM Incite

Another title for this session might have been: “How do you best integrate social media into your marketing mix” given how much of the discussion focused on effectively leveraging social media. However we also heard from Target’s Kenya Jackson about their marketing mix, which goes beyond traditional and digital media to include signage and product packaging – and may even include sales associates.

Terri Graham kicked off the conversation with a case study from a cross-platform campaign for Jack in the Box. She credits the success of this campaign to the integration of social media from the outset, as well as the focus on “keeping it real.” They don’t tack social media on at the end; it is part of the plan, and part of the ideas, from the beginning.

David Hudson identified the concern that often holds companies back from leveraging social medial: How do we measure it? It’s clear that this is still an evolving field, although they have been able to demonstrate that exposure to sentiment drives purchases.

Target is looking at their mix (including broadcast, circulars, print, web, signage, packaging) from the customer’s point of view, in order to understand what really brings her into the store. And once she is there, what gets her to purchase? Should different departments within the store be presented differently? This would be a significant shift for the retailer. An interesting question was posed: could the store itself be considered social media?

Kenya Jackson considers their team members to be a “media type” – they are each representing the brand every day. Best Buy’s 3000 employees responding on Twitter are another example of the integration of online and offline branding through employee participation.

I found this discussion particularly compelling. For years, the internet was a place apart from real life. It was not particularly interactive, or, well, human. Now, it has developed into a social and engaging place, coming to resemble the real world more and more. And as the web becomes more social, we see that the line between online and offline is blurring. Does social media stop within the computer? I don’t believe the answer to that is clear yet, but the trend is there: we now do online what we do offline. We discuss the news, shop with our friends, share photos. Does the conversation end when we turn off the computer? Of course not.

Marketers have always been trying to sit at the family’s dinner table. Social media may just be the best way to join that conversation.

Guest blogger Sorel Husbands Denholtz often discusses social media at the dinner table and food with her online friends.

This week I was invited by Ellen Seebold to be a guest blogger at the CMO Thought Leadership Summit, hosted here in San Francisco by The CMO Club. I was fortunate enough to listen in on three very interesting sessions. Below is my blog post from the first of these. It can also be found on theCMOClub.com.

KEYNOTE: Don’t Compete but Change the Game, speaker: Robert Kriegel.

What seemed at first to be a fairly straightforward talk by Robert Kriegel about the critical role of marketing in a world with rapidly changing technology quickly morphed into a whirlwind, astonishing discussion of how to be a winner – and have fun at the same time. Summarizing an hour of rapid-fire ideas and examples into a brief blog post is just about impossible, so I will simply recap highlights and key messages. Imagine everything below presented with fantastic energy and humor, well peppered with anecdotes.

Winners think ahead. Winners break the rules. The companies that win don’t respond quickly to change – they create the change. Think Apple, Cirque de Soleil, Domino’s Pizza. (Really. At one point, the fastest-growing fast-food restaurant.) These ”change-ready organizations:”

• Constantly challenge the status quo. They don’t cling to old thinking, or “we’ve always done it that way.”
• Always look for bold, innovative out-of-the-box ideas.

Customers’ needs are always shifting, and winning businesses continuously redefine their role with the customer.

Kriegel identified two major obstacles to innovation and gave us some tools for managing them. The second was predictable: fear. The first, however, may have surprised some: Focusing on working faster and harder. He implored us all to step back from the action to make room for our best ideas. If you are deep in the front lines, you will never get ahead. You need to be able to look at the future, not just what is right in front of you and your business.

To cope with fear, he proposed two simple steps. First, a reality check. Just how likely is that negative outcome? And then remain aware of the big picture while focusing on doing what is manageable. Take small steps. And if it is a bit uncomfortable, embrace that feeling. You are in the “challenge zone.” If it’s comfortable, it’s not new.

He left us with this thought: Everything that applies to work is just as true in daily life. What are the sacred cows in your life? You can end up doing and being more than you ever thought possible. Take risks, break rules, stoke the fires of passion, chase dreams, have a hell of a lot of fun.

I felt inspired at the end of his talk, I have to admit.

I am pondering the topic of social media overload.

I love that everything is becoming social. I am convinced this is the way of the future, as we are naturally social beings. Just the other day, I sat with a friend in a video iChat window, comparing shoes on Piperlime. Social shopping. Felt natural. And yes, the shoes are on their way now.

And I love Facebook. I love to see what my friends are up to. I love that I now have a small window into the lives of relatives that I never see otherwise.

And I love what I do. I love to think about how business, brands, non-profits and other organizations can connect with people using social media tools.

So it’s all good.

But here’s the thing. There is just so must to keep up with. I mean, I could easily fritter my entire life away on Facebook between posts shared by friends and news from all 353 pages I “like.” And then there is Twitter. A treasure trove of links to pursue. And on top of that I have a really scary RSS inbox with all the blogs I meant to stay on top of. And new technologies to check out. And new apps to experiment with on the iPad or the iPhone. And. And. And. OK, must breathe now.

And then I come across posts like this one about how to follow 15,000 people on Twitter and my head just about explodes.

No one can possibly keep up with it all. OK, some people are better at it then others, and I suspect most of them are employed as social media experts. This has been the number one question I have been asked AFTER speaking engagements. No one seems to ask it publicly, but they approach afterward wondering how to cope. So I am thinking about it. I definitely cope by, well, just not dealing with everything. But what are the filters that I am using to prioritize? A related question, and the one that always comes up from clients (and potential clients), is “how do I find the time to add social media into my job?”

I hope to find the time to write more about this as I process it. But meanwhile, what do you think? Do you feel overwhelmed at times by social media? Or has it simplified your life?

I will be giving a webinar on social media strategy this coming Wednesday morning. It is targeted towards museums  but is likely to be of interest to anyone who is facing the question of how to approach social media strategically.

Check out this video preview and see if it’s for you.

A colleague writes about Yelp’s check-ins, and it got me to wondering:

Here’s the thing I don’t get about Yelp’s check-ins (yes, I was looking into this very recently) — they don’t show up anywhere. I couldn’t find check-in histories on my friends’ pages nor on the businesses’ pages.

For example, if I look up the California Academy of Sciences on Foursquare, I can see that over 1100 different people have checked in there. On Yelp, nothing of the sort. I assume it is just a matter of time, but it left me wondering where the check-ins go. They seem to just vanish.

I agree with Bruce, much more useful information when you check in on Yelp, but the history piece would be nice too.

And that still leaves us with the question of why check in at all. I use Foursquare — very erratically. I just can’t seem to get all that excited about badges, nor about being mayor of my local gas station.

Here’s a fun quick quiz to see how ready you are. From the Red Cross. Enjoy!

Thanks to the CDC — all the information you need to prepare for a zombie apocalypse. It could happen.

I just came across this on LifeHacker and had to share it. Finally a use for evil trans-fat-laden Crisco. I have some in my cupboard because it is hard to find other shortenings, but I really would prefer to not cook with it. Now I can just keep it with the emergency supplies!

Make an Emergency Candle Out of a Tub of Crisco

The kitties have brand new collars. Muddle is a pirate, Zelda has hearts (our daughter’s request). It was good I checked because Muddle’s old break-away collar no longer opened. So now I have learned that I have to remember to check those collars periodically.

Looking at my to-do list from a couple posts ago, here is what I have done:

• Did not put rabies tags on collars. They were too big. I decided the only scenario where we need them is if we have to put the cats in a shelter, so they will be with their other paperwork and the carry cases. Did replace collars, however.
• Went online and updated all of their microchip information. They are now identifiable!
• Put animal alert decals at the front and back doors.
• Instead of a first aid kit, I bought a book: Pet First Aid from the Red Cross. Maybe I will get a kit later, but for now, this will have to do, along with the first aid supplies I have for people.
• Do not have a portable litter box — just need to stop by hardware store and pick up a plastic dish tub. There are very few scenarios where we need this: We would have to be shut out of our  house, yet still have the cats with us. In the car, maybe? I do plan to have something on-hand — right now if I had to, I have one in the camping gear. (All of which we might grab if we really had to evacuate. I keep it all next to the emergency supplies.)
• Still need to pick up some extra litter, or at least set some aside. But if we had to use dirt or sand, I’m sure the cats would figure it out eventually.
• I took photos of the kitties. Not very good ones, but they are recognizable. I made single pages with a picture of one cat, her name and our contact info. I will put one copy of each with our household kit, and in each of the go-bags in our cars.
• I made cards with their vet’s contact info, as well as the phone number and address of Animal Control, which we know will be a shelter in case of emergency.
• I copied all of their immunization records.
• And finally, I decided that if we did somehow need to flee with the cats, it would be good to have cat harnesses with leashes. Not that the cats would like it, but it might be useful. So I ordered them today and will add them to the kit.

To recap:

In go-bags in our cars, I have photos of the cats, vet and shelter contact info.

At home, ready to grab and go, I have:

• Carriers
• Harness/leash
• Vaccine records
• Photos
• First aid book
• Cat food
• Emergency contact info (vets and shelters)

I was looking on Petco‘s web site to see if they carried first aid kits for pets, since they are fairly near to me. Instead I found this: and online course teaching basic first aid for animals. I can’t tell if you learn much beyond the basic first aid you might already know for people, but a dozen or so people seemed thrilled with it.

This is not an endorsement — just sharing what I found in case anyone is interested.

I am also still trying to figure out what goes into a pet first aid kit that might be different than a people first aid kit.

As you know, part of the purpose of this blog is to keep me accountable as I move through all of this. So this post will summarize my personal to-do list, based on the previous post.

• Put rabies tags on cats collars
• Figure out if microchips are up-to-date
• Make copy of vaccination records
• Obtain
  • First-aid kit
  • Alert decals
  • Portable litter box
  • Extra litter
  • Better carriers? Ours are cardboard from when they were adopted. Hmmm…
  • Make list of emergency contact #s
  • Create photos of cats, put copies in all go-bags and emergency kits.
  • Print out my instructions and place with emergency kit.

I think that’s it! Much less scary now that I sorted it all out. Now I know what I need to do this week.

The hardest thing for me about this whole project has been sifting through all the information out there. There are plenty of sites with checklists, but I find that the checklists barely distinguish between minimum preparedness and full-on-I-can-live-for-30-days-or-even-a-year preparedness, or even first steps and next steps. They seem to be all or nothing. And since I am trying to create manageable tasks here, it can all be a little overwhelming. Even something as seemingly simple as pets seems to have many sets of instructions.

Following is what I have learned about being prepared to take care of your household animals in an emergency. Most of it applies to cats and dogs; other pets (birds, rodents, reptiles etc) may require more specialized handling. Visit RedCross.org for more specific information on other animals.

Everyday readiness:

• Cats and dogs should always have a collar with current license (if applicable) and ID tags.
• Consider micro-chipping your pets.
• Aquariums should be fastened down to a low table.
• Bird cages should have secure latches.
• Keep your pets’ vaccines up-to-date.
• Plan with neighbors how you can help each other if one or the other is unavailable.

Have on-hand for emergencies:

• An animal rescue alert sticker visible to rescue workers. But know that they are going to look for and help people first.
• Carriers, crates, leashes, muzzles for transportation. Pillowcases are a good option for transporting cats and other small animals.
• Have a go-bag for each pet:
  • Water, food & medicine for at least one week.
  • Non-spill bowls, manual can opener (this should be in your food kit anyway)
  • Pet-specific first aid kit
  • Waste collection (litterbox + litter, plastic bags)
  • Pet bed, blankets, toys, other comfort items. Heating pad for reptiles.

In case of evacuation:

• Do your best to locate your animals and keep them with you. However, many shelters do not accept pets (other than service animals). Know where the closest animal shelters are.
• Write EVACUATED across any rescue alert stickers if possible
• If you must leave your pets behind:
  • Mark your door or window with chalk or marker indicating # and type of pets in the home. Also evacuation date.
  • Leave plenty of water in a large open container that cannot be tipped over.
  • Leave plenty of food, preferably in timed feeders.
  • Do NOT tie up your pet in your home.

Remember, animals, like people, react differently under stress. Your pets may panic, hide, try to escape, scratch or bite. If you are transporting them, keep them under control with leashes or carriers.

Paperwork:

• Emergency numbers: vet, animal shelters, emergency animal hospitals, animal care and control
• Recent photo of your pet, and of you with your pet with detailed description (for proof of ownership and reunification purposes)
• Immunization records and information on any medical or behavioral problems
• Microchip records
• Make a copy of all these instructions and keep it with your own go-bag. You won’t remember it all!

A useful checklist I came across: Red Cross Pet & Disaster Safety Checklist

I’ve been researching pet preparedness, but derailed myself by looking at go-bags again. If you have been reading along with me, you know that I finally bought a 4-person kit that I put into our primary car. I added a few things to it, but not much.

What I had not done was put a bag in Jon’s car or at his workplace. (I work from home.) His car is always in a parking garage right near his office, so I have been resisting putting a bag in both places, but I think I am being foolish.

After reading way too many reviews, I settled on this one: Quakehold! 70280 Grab-n-Go Emergency Kit, 2-Person 3-Day Back Pack. It’s not the most complete, but it has the basics and I can supplement it. And even though it is branded “Quakehold” on Amazon, it seems to actually be the ReadyAmerica bag, same as I purchased before (in the 4-person version), so I am comfortable with the quality. One key thing that I think is missing is a radio/flashlight/phone charger, so I am also picking up a couple of these: Ambient Weather WR-088 Emergency Solar Hand Crank AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio, Flashlight, Cell Phone Charger (Blue) with Cables.

The purpose of these bags are really to sustain Jon solo, or possibly with our daughter. There are extremely few scenarios where we would all three be together with Jon’s car or at his office.

Ok, back to pet care!

Smoke detector batteries are all functioning. 4 out of 5 flashlights found. Have to figure out how to convince the 5-year old that her flashlight needs to stay in her room. I have this feeling it’s in the car, so will check there next.

Now, on to pet care readiness.

If you are here for the first time, let me tell you what this is all about. Basically, I realized that I and my family were woefully unprepared for earthquakes, or really, any major disaster. Yet, when I started looking into what I needed to do to prepare, most of what I found was overwhelming. I also realized that getting prepared can be stressful, and that in itself was blocking me.

So I decided to start blogging my progress, and also to break it down into discreet tasks so that it was more manageable. Some weeks I have been more successful than others. This blog is the story of that journey.

I have tried to categorize every post so that this can be a resource as well. Eventually I will better organize what I have learned and done so that this can be more of a tool for others.

Meanwhile, welcome, enjoy the ride!