Social Media Experiment 4: World’s First Book Written Using Social Media & A Google Document.

As a social media consultant, I need to constantly come up with new and inventive ways to use Social Media. A few days ago I started a new Art/Social Media project. It involves a Google Word Document and thousands of willing participants from various Social Media networks to come together to write a book.

Here are some excerpts from the document:

This is a Social Media experiment that will become a work of art. The concept is simple: write a book with the assistance of thousands of participants across the globe using only Social Media and a Google Document. I will leave this Google Document open for exactly 1 year starting from October 16th, 2012. At the end of this time frame, I will then close the document and publish the work.

The premise of this concept came from my love of Technology, Social Media, and Art. I’ve always wanted to combine all three, but could never figure out how; until now. Social Media really has changed the way we communicate and view ourselves to certain extent. The sheer volume of users around the World is staggering and with instant language translation programs the sky’s the limit, as the old saying goes.

Everyone and anyone who contributes to the work will be acknowledged as an author. Feel free to add to the story as you want. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. There will be others correcting and revising as time goes on. Try to work with other’s words, phrases, or sentences to create a plot and storyline. Every aspect of the book needs to be created including, but not limited to: Title Page, Chapters Page, Annotations Page, etc. This is chaos theory; anything can happen. This could be a complete success or an absolute failure. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see what happens. At the bottom of the page please type your name in so I can put it into the record. This will be a lot of fun! Please forward this link to as many people you know that would want to contribute.

It’s really a gamble to see how things will eventually play out and look. The best thing about this project is the exact same thing as the worst aspect of this project; which is not knowing what will happen, when, by whom, and how. There are literally an infinite number of things that could go right or wrong with this project. I have no control over what will be said, nor will change any content. Anyone could write anything they wanted and it will be published. My hope is that a community will form and build upon previous words, phrases, paragraphs, etc.

I love that anything can happen.

Here is a link to the document so that you can join along in the project. http://bit.ly/socialbookproject

Don’t forget to Byte Back and leave me a comment!

Tags: art, organic social media, Social Media, social media experimient
Posted in: Future Social Media, Social Media Experiments, Social Media Posts |

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June 2011 LinkedIn Poll: What Social Media or Social Networking site has performed best for you so far?

For June 2011, I chose this question for my LinkedIn Poll: What Social Media or Social Networking site has performed best for you so far?

For so many businesses figuring out the healthy balance of attention to which Social Media or Social Networking site is almost a roadblock in itself. For some Twitter is amazing lead generating tool. For some it’s a complete waste of time. Same thing goes for Facebook and LinkedIn and other networks. Each Social Media outlet has it’s own personality and followers there within. The culture and behavior between networks varies quite a bit.

The best advice would be to see how people communicate within a certain network. Once you have a better understanding of HOW others communicate in a particular network you can look at your business and figure out how you want to be perceived to each of these outlets. (Note: Just because you blast your information to somewhere doesn’t mean it’s going to be received in the desired way.)

Context and content are always king.

As a Social Media Consultant, it’s paramount for me to understand that balance of attention and performance. We all have finite time to work on something; might as well make it worth it, right?

Byte Back!

Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, linkedin poll, SMM, social, Social Media, social media marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter
Posted in: Facebook, LinkedIn, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter |

Comments: 947 Comments

May 2011 LinkedIn Poll: How well do you really understand Social Media & Social Networking?

For May 2011, I chose this question for my LinkedIn Poll: How well do you really understand Social Media & Social Networking?

I ask this question to clients and non-clients all the time and the response tends to be, “I think I know what I am doing.” This is absolutely unacceptable. You could be doing more harm than good. I know I don’t have to explain this to you, but Social Media & Social Networking are incredibly powerful tools that can/should/could/will transform your business into something modern and adaptable to contemporary life. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc. when used in an organized way that is customized to your business can radically alter what you think success could look like.

Keeping up with what goes on in Social Media can make the difference between having a dated and/or inconsistent message online (which could lead to an exodus of your brand’s advertising effort) and having a contemporary and consistent online (which would increase the likelihood that your campaign could be successful). It might seem daunting of a task to keep up with everything on a daily or even weekly basis. Hell I read about 75 articles a day and I still don’t know everything. The important thing is to find a resource that consistently gives credible and useful information to save or refer back to. I can’t stress this point enough. Knowledge is power and there is always room for improvement, not matter how well you THINK you are doing.

I have a section on the lower right side of my blog called: Social Media News. There are some really great sites that I visit on a daily basis and I encourage you to check them out for yourselves. You’ll be glad you did. As a Social Media Consultant, I advise so many types of clients and businesses on resources and possibilities. Keep learning! Keep wondering! It’s ok if you don’t know it all. (little secret…no one does.) There is never a moment I would EVER call myself an expert or a guru. I’m an avid student that is constantly learning, just like you.

Byte Back!

Tags: linkedin poll, social, Social Media, social media consultant, social networking
Posted in: Facebook, Formspring, Foursquare, Internet Marketing Consulting, LinkedIn, Social Media Consulting, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter |

Comments: 3 Comments

Social Media Experiment – Pet Portraits – Portrait of Bailey (Chris Espiritu)

An old high school buddy of mine, Chris Espiritu aka @MrEspiritu, recent told me that he had to make the tough choice to put his beloved dog, Bailey down. It was gut wrenching just to think about that long drive to the vet’s office and say that last goodbye. A little over 2 years ago, (wow!) my parents made the tough choice of putting our beloved dog, whose name happened to be Bailey as well, down. I know that feeling Chris and I’m sorry for your loss.

I truly felt connected to Bailey through this drawing. I can’t explain it in words, but when I do these drawings…I feel like they are sitting right in front of me allowing me to be present to them.

- Social Media Marketing and Social Networking can not only dramatically increase the viability of the bottom line to a small business, but also the visibility as well. The potential to reach an enormous customer base and increase the overall ROI of an Internet Marketing budget is there. You just need to think a bit outside the box.

Check out my other Recent Pet Portraits.

Pet Portraits by Andrew David Baron

Tags: drawing, pet portrait, pet portraits, social, Social Media, social media consultant, social media consulting, social media experimient, social media marketing, Social Media Posts
Posted in: Facebook, LinkedIn, Pet Portraits, Social Media Consulting, Social Media Experiments, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter |

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Keeping a finger on the pulse of Social Media.

Yesterday on Mashable there was an article posted about Pepsi’s latest foray in Marketing & Social Media. The article was entitled: Pepsi Vending Machine Lets You Gift Drinks to Friends Via Social Media.

The other day I had an in-depth conversation with Robert Caruso aka @fondalo regarding an idea for an amazing Social Media / Social Networking business that could prove lucrative and forward thinking. I blink for a moment and a major corporation / worldwide master of Social Networking has beaten me to the punch. Am I sullen for not receiving proper acknowledgment? Believe it or not; No. I actually feel vindicated that an idea that I had / predicted awhile ago is now happening. In fact to the contrary, it proves that my ideas and thought processes are perfectly in tuned to what is really happening out there in the Social Media stratosphere.

During the course of the conversation, Robert and I went back and forth about the pros and cons to such an idea and the overall cost, ROI, Social Media value, etc. What is interesting is that we both agreed that only a handful of companies on the planet would be able to currently acheive this concept; lo and behold yesterday Pepsi reveals their concept. This is an incredibly epic leap forward for not only businesses, but for Social Media in general.

The main similarity to what Pepsi is going to do and my overall idea is the use of Social Media at the point of sale. There are a whole slew of things that Pepsi didn’t even consider that would make this campaign so much more effective, that I will not reveal in this article for obvious reasons. (If Pepsi wants to hear my ideas…I’m certainly open to talk to them, but by no means am I going to just give that out.)

As as Social Media Consultant, I’m convinced that this seriously very tip of the iceberg of what is truly possible for small, medium and large businesses. In this rapidly changing environment of new forms of media and advertising, it behooves a business no matter how big or small to stay on top of what is happening around them.

Byte Back!

Tags: Facebook, foursqaure, geosocial, geosocial networks, LinkedIn, social, Social Media, social media marketing, social networking, socialmedia, Twitter
Posted in: Facebook, Foursquare, Future Social Media, LinkedIn, Social Media Consulting, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Posts, social networking, Twitter, Video |