On Giving Thanks

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2676/4117112741_1ce0f76f90_m.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2676/4117112741_1ce0f76f90_m.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 140px;" /></a>For those of us in the U.S., we have just celebrated Thanksgiving. It's a time of year when we gather with friends and loved ones to celebrate and give thanks for all that we have and all that we are.<div><br /></div><div>I thought it was entirely appropriate then, to mention that the first segments of Ford's famed Fiesta Movement is coming to a close. And Ford has a lot to be thankful for. A bit of background, just in case you're not familiar with the program.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Beginning of a Movement</b></div><div>First of all, why the term "movement"? The Brand & Content Alliance team that put this program together likened it to a social movement - which as defined by <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/movement">dictionary.com</a> is <i>a diffusely organized or heterogeneous group of people or organizations tending toward or favoring a generalized common goal</i>. The collective awareness of and excitement around this new vehicle would be the goal.</div><div><br /></div><div>In late 2008, Ford re-launched the Fiesta as an all-new vehicle in Europe. The name had been around for some 30 years, but the new Fiesta was to be something special indeed. This would Ford's first truly global platform car, which means that it will be nearly identical in any country you find it. Since the car was already available in Europe and would not launch in the U.S. until the spring of 2010, there was a unique opportunity at hand.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, earlier this year, Ford announced that we would be making 100 Euro-spec Fiestas available to individuals or teams who proved they were socially vibrant and could take part in a 6-month long experiment, during which we would loan them a vehicle. The only requirement was that they would have to produce one video a month based on a theme (<a href="http://www.fiestamovement.com/missions/1">Travel</a>, <a href="http://www.fiestamovement.com/missions/2">Technology</a>, <a href="http://www.fiestamovement.com/missions/3">Style/Design</a>, <a href="http://www.fiestamovement.com/missions/4">Social Activism</a>, <a href="http://www.fiestamovement.com/missions/5">Adventure</a>, <a href="http://www.fiestamovement.com/missions/6">Entertainment</a>). Other than that, the Fiesta Agents (they received assignments, or "missions," from Mission Control) could say whatever they wanted about the vehicle. And we aggregated all of their content on <a href="http://www.fiestamovement.com/"><b>fiestamovement.com</b></a> - unedited, uncensored, in real time.</div><div><br /></div><div>In addition to building buzz, we solicited feedback from the agents as to what they liked and didn't like about the vehicle. We shared that input directly with our engineering team and they were able to make a few tweaks to the North American version of the Fiesta before production was locked down.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Results</b><br />The program is just winding to a close, but the output has been impressive. </div><div><ul><li>Of the 700 or so videos that the agents have produced, we've seen <b>6.5 million</b> views on YouTube. </li><li>Their Flickr photos have been viewed more than 670,000 times</li><li>There have been over 3.4 million impressions of Fiesta Movement on Twitter. </li><li>Over 50,000 hand-raisers have indicated that they want more information about the vehicle as it goes on sale</li><li>97% of those 50,000 do <b><i>not</i></b> own Ford vehicles. </li><li>There is a 58% level of awareness of the Fiesta - for a vehicle that's not even available in this country yet, which is the equivalent of the awareness of some of our vehicles that have been in market for 2-3 years.</li><li>All with $0 in traditional advertising.</li></ul></div><div>More information on the vehicle and the program can be found <a href="http://media.ford.com/mini_sites/10031/fiestamovement/"><b>on Ford's Media site</b></a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>It's a Celebration</b></div><div>To help celebrate the success of our agents, Ford is <a href="http://fiestamovementcelebration.eventbrite.com/">throwing a little party</a> - a fiesta of sorts, you might say - in <b>Hollywood</b> on <b>Tuesday, December 1</b>. We're hoping to make it the world's largest <a href="http://www.wordspy.com/words/tweetup.asp">tweetup</a> - and <a href="http://fiestamovementcelebration.eventbrite.com/"><b><i>you're invited</i></b></a>. Not only that, but as a community, we can work together to make the record a possibility. More on that in a moment. </div><div><br /></div><div>The event will salute the agents - some 90% of whom will be in attendance - with awards. The band <a href="http://www.weareparachute.com/">Parachute</a> will perform and music will be spun by <a href="http://www.djpesce.com/">DJ Pesce</a>, all while <a href="http://www.current.tv/">Current TV</a> roams around, giving you a chance to be seen on television. Not to mention that the North American Ford Fiesta will be revealed <i>for the first time</i>. Add to that some celebrities, weblebrities and lots of interaction, and you've got a rockin' party.</div><div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/fiestafiesta-743265.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/fiestafiesta-743238.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 118px;" /></a><br /><br /></div><div><b>Here's Where You Come In</b></div><div>We'd love to see you at the party. Here are the details:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Date:</b> Tuesday, December 1, 2009</div><div><b>Time:</b> 8:00 p.m.</div><div><b>Location:</b> Hollywood Palladium, 6215 W. Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA (<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=6215+W+Sunset+Blvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90028&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.144864,66.621094&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=6215+W+Sunset+Blvd,+Los+Angeles,+California+90028&z=16">map</a>)</div><div><br /></div><div>You can <a href="http://fiestamovementcelebration.eventbrite.com/"><b>RSVP on Eventbrite</b></a><b> </b>if you think you'll be in California next week. If not, please share the link with anyone in your network who might be in the area and encourage them to attend. There are a number of social networks built into Eventbrite, or you can tweet out something like this:</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Ford Invites You To a Hollywood Fiesta! <a href="http://bit.ly/FiestaParty">http://bit.ly/FiestaParty</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>We'd like to make sure we've got lots of people there who are connected to the program, the agents, or to our extended networks in some way. This is a great way to show the power of social media.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Giving Thanks</b></div><div>As I intoned in the opening paragraph, this time of year is about giving thanks and also about reflecting on what's happened in the past year. I'm reminded of Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town," in which the characters were reminded that it's important to stop and consider the little things in life. One of them lamented:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>"It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another."</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>You can imagine that the Fiesta Agents, with their frenetic schedules over the last six months, have had little time to reflect. But already, even before the program is over, I've already seen a few of them stop to acknowledge how lucky they've been to be part of the program. Notably <a href="http://hilarymchone.blogspot.com/2009/11/nyu-to-fiesta-movement-in-18-years.html"><b>Hilary McHone</b></a> (aka <a href="http://twitter.com/BrooklynHilary">@BrooklynHilary</a>) and <b><a href="http://natashasartcandy.com/2009/11/18/thankyou-ford/">Natasha Wescoat</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> (<a href="http://twitter.com/natasha">@natasha</a>). There may be others; these are the ones I recall seeing in a blur last week.</span></b></div><div><br /><center><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SmVUVe_dCAA&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SmVUVe_dCAA&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></center><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We have a lot to be thankful for at Ford this year. But that will be another post. Until then, I hope I'll be able to see you in Hollywood. If you can't be there, follow the #fiestamovement hashtag on Twitter on Tuesday night. It'll be a real fiesta.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Related article</span>: <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2009/12/fords-got-reason-to-fiesta.html"><b><i>Ford's Got a Reason to Fiesta</i></b></a></div>

On Giving Thanks

For those of us in the U.S., we have just celebrated Thanksgiving. It's a time of year when we gather with friends and loved ones to cel...

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Enough Is Enough

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3054/2633173976_ed752090da_m.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3054/2633173976_ed752090da_m.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 180px;" /></a><div>The spam and other unsolicited DMs I've been getting on Twitter have finally gotten to me. And I'm going to be taking action. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">A Bit of Background</span></div><div>You know the kind of direct messages I'm talking about, all with spammy links in them:</div><div>"Is this you on here?"</div><div>"I just gave you a High Five! Check it out"</div><div>"Hey, I got some free ringtones from here"</div><div>"Hey, can you take this quiz thingy?"</div><div>"I found out my IQ. You should too."</div><div>"I lost a bunch of weight doing this."</div><div><br /></div><div>And many, many more.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lots of the direct messages I get are of the automated sort when people first start following me. Having been someone who used to do that - mainly to let people know how I preferred to communicate - I can understand the need to do that. But what I've been seeing lately is out of control. It's gotten to the point where these disruptive DMs have crippled my ability to monitor and respond to legitimate direct messages. I'm spending more time deleting or ignoring messages, at the risk of missing messages from people I want to hear from.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Reciprocity</span></div><div>For a long time, I've believed that when someone follows me on Twitter, it's common courtesy to follow them back. What I have to say shouldn't be any more important than what anyone else has to say - that's one of the great features of social networks: true democracy at work. I realize that this isn't everyone's style, but it's been something I consciously chose to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>A tool I've used pretty successfully to manage this (rather than eat up my time manually following people back) has been <a href="http://www.socialoomph.com/"><b>SocialOomph</b></a>, which was previously known as TweetLater. It allows you to automatically follow (and unfollow) people back, among other nifty features.</div><div><br /></div><div>But lately, my Twitter stream as well as my direct message inbox has been polluted with spammy posts. The recent addition of Twitter lists, which have allowed me to begin to categorize some of the people I follow, has been helpful - <b><a href="http://twitter.com/ScottMonty/lists">you can check mine out here</a> </b>- but I'm finding it's not enough.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">No More</span></div><div>I've decided that from now on, I can no longer afford to follow people back automatically, so I'm suspending that feature from my SocialOomph account. If you wish to be followed by me, you'll have to request it and I'll have to ensure that what you're saying provides value to me. </div><div><br /></div><div>In addition, I'm going to be unfollowing anyone who spams me with these Facebook-like apps that send automated direct messages or anyone who DMs or @s me their latest money-making schemes. </div><div><br /></div><div>I haven't gotten to the point where I'm purging and rebuilding my Twitter followers, nor do I feel like I need to go that extreme thanks to the addition of lists, but if this level of spammy behavior keeps up, I may have to revisit that decision.</div><div><br /></div><div>I suppose this is a natural extension of a service or platform going mainstream. But for those who use Twitter for more meaningful connections and communications, it's frustrating. I hope that Twitter management has a plan to try to minimize this.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Update</i></b>: reader <a href="http://www.andy-michaels.com/">Andy Michaels</a> notes that SocialOomph has <a href="http://www.socialoomph.com/optout"><b>an opt-out service</b></a> that takes care of automated DMs.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i>Image credit: </i><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49503157467@N01/2633173976/"><i>Chris Pirillo</i></a><i> (Flickr)</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>

Enough Is Enough

The spam and other unsolicited DMs I've been getting on Twitter have finally gotten to me. And I'm going to be taking action. A Bit ...

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When Worlds Collide

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/96/234008516_06a65b5e45_m.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/96/234008516_06a65b5e45_m.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 180px;" /></a>Well, it's finally here. Twitter and LinkedIn have decided to combine forces. This is pretty significant, and I know that it'll make it easier to share job opportunities and other more networking opportunities that are more professional in nature.<div><br /></div><div>I won't bore you with all of the details, but you can now update your LinkedIn status via Twitter, and your Twitter status from LinkedIn. If you'd like to see how to go about it, check out <a href="http://blog.linkedin.com/2009/11/09/allen-blue-twitter-and-linkedin-go-together-like-peanut-butter-and-chocolate/"><b>the post on the LinkedIn blog</b></a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the features I like best is how you can select which updates you want posted to LinkedIn - everything or just those posts tagged with #in.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/share-settings-759520.png"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/share-settings-759519.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 80px;" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>In December of 2008, <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2008/12/i-was-honored-to-receive-email-from.html"><b>I predicted that Twitter would attain legitimacy</b></a> in 2009. Aside from it being used by pretty much every major media outlet, not to mention a good number of celebrities, I think we're there. The fact that a site as grounded in the business world as LinkedIn would choose to align with Twitter is a huge nod to the 140 character service.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, two things need to be considered as these seemingly different worlds come together:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. If LinkedIn <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2009/03/social-network-shorthand.html"><b>is the business meeting and Twitter is the cocktail party</b></a>, we need to be very careful with the alcohol intake at work, so to speak. ;-)</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Twitter has its own language - some of which can be very confusing to outsiders. As our updates cross into new territory, we need to be mindful of how our networks understand us. This tweet from <a href="http://www.mandiengram.com/">Mandi Engram</a> says it all:</div><div><br /><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.scottmonty.com/uploaded_images/mandiengram_tweet-721551.PNG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 154px;" /><br /></div><div><div>So there you have it. Twitter. LinkedIn. Two great tastes that taste great together. Or something like that.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What do you think? Will you use this service?</b></div><div><br /></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Image credit: </span></i><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/79907828@N00/234008516/"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">K e v i n</span></i></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> (Flickr)</span></i></div></div>

When Worlds Collide

Well, it's finally here. Twitter and LinkedIn have decided to combine forces. This is pretty significant, and I know that it'll make...

Read more »