I don’t want to post about Twitter or Facebook again. I didn’t go to South by Southwest. I don’t have an iPhone. I’m not into March Madness. All of which means there’s not much else about which to blog today … so here’s The Great Gonzo conducting chickens clucking The Blue Danube. Stick around for Statler and Waldorf at the end.
Stop it. Just stop it.
I don’t want to know which alcoholic drink I am. (I know already: a black Russian.) I don’t want to know which Bible character I am or which Sex and the City character I am. I don’t want to know what color, videogame, type of shoe, car or ’80s movie defines me. And as much as I love his music, I really don’t care which Bruce Springsteen song I am.
All this junk is turning Facebook into one giant cootie catcher.
Feh.
This time, as Jeff Jarvis reported yesterday, it’s the Ann Arbor News — but this transition from print to Web is worth watching at least as closely as that of any other paper out there.
I’ve long felt that the future of newspapers online is to provide something that no one else can provide. There are a zillion sites that provide national news and political opinion, but how many sites provide comprehensive analysis and investigative reporting on your local school board meetings and area zoning issues? I mean yeah, there’s coverage now — but I’m talking about kicking it up to the next level … and beyond.
That is where I believe the future of local newspapers lies: Applying top-notch in-depth coverage of local news and issues in the context of a 24/7 news cycle. It’s a shift in style that’s going to require a lot of people to up their games considerably: What Huffington Post does on the national level and it starting to do on the big-city level (check out their Chicago page), local papers will need to do on the county and town levels.
It sounds like the Ann Arbor News may be headed in exactly this sort of direction. As with all newspapers transforming to online-only entities, I wish them nothing but success.
When it comes to thoughtful marketing communications, one thought to keep in mind is this: Never call yourself cool. Once you do, you’re not. That’s a determination for others to make.
So when I see some of the bio statements that people post about themselves on Twitter, I want to cringe. A few (actual) examples:
“Marketing bada$$”
“The coolest geek you’ll ever meet”
“Modern-day Renaissance man and American hero.”
I read profiles like that, and I have the same reaction as when someone says, “okay, this joke is really, really funny.” It’s usually not. And if it is, you don’t have to sell me so hard up front.
Is social media an industry? Mashable asks the question … and the conversation that ensues from readers makes for some fascinating reading.
This comment from Aaron Richard is notable: “Anyone who claims to be a ‘social media expert’ is no such thing. Being able to use Twitter is not a ‘skill.’ Knowing how to communicate with an audience or an individual *is*.”
I think there’s a lot to that. I recently read a comment on another social media article (don’t ask me to find it; the Web is lousy with them these days) that said something to the effect that no one can claim to be an expert in an area that is changing so incredibly rapidly.
Indeed, there’s no way to definitively master the world of “social media” (which is coming close to jumping the shark and becoming a buzzword of the worst kind). It’s more about being in the game and figuring out what’s appropriate for the brand, task or product at hand.
Takeaway for marketers: If you’re not in the game, get off the bench, already. Social media isn’t any sort of silver bullet, it’s one more screwdriver in the marketing communications toolbox. Use it wisely.
