About Human Decency...

A few nights ago, I was in Milwaukee, WI having dinner with friends when I was temporarily separated from the group.  I began tweeting that I was lost in an unfamiliar neighborhood and attempted calling my friends but none of them answered.  At that point, I was taken in a car by three gentlemen of African descent.  They drove me to a dead end road underneath a very large bridge by the side of a river.  They forced me out of the car and one of them put a gun to my head.  He demanded my iPhone and my wallet which I reluctantly gave to him and then they took off.  It's kind of a blur at this point, but the only thing that sticks out in my mind is the 30 seconds from when we pulled up to the river to the time they peeled out.  In that 30 seconds, I have never been more afraid in my entire life.  It was surreal, something you typically only see in movies, but it was actually happening.  I had just gotten my iPhone a few days prior so I am not sure if there were any features that could have alerted the authorities in that short period of time, but I wish there was.  In browsing some emergency apps online, the only one I can find that may be useful in this situation:

- Silent Bodyguard is an app that sends E-mail, TXT, and Facebook/Twitter messages with your GPS location every 30 seconds to emergency contacts.

Technology being what it is, why haven't we come up with an app that can alert the police/EMS personnel of our location if an emergency arises? I mean, there are EPIRB, ELT, PLB devices that alert authorities immediately of our location and are responded to instantly, but they are often bulky and emit noise and some type of signal light.  How is there no iPhone app that, with the press of a button, can call the police immediately to your location? Is there something like this out there that I am missing?

Apps aside, I am beginning to lose faith in humanity.  The reason I never expected something like this to happen is because it's hard for me believe the level of disrespect it takes to put a gun to some ones head and take something that they have worked diligently from nothing for.  I'm not rich, by any means, but I'm no longer poor either.  The fact is, a little less than a year ago, I was homeless (living on a friends porch), enrolled in college, near starving, and I hadn't a dime to my name.  I didn't even have a phone at that time.  As embarrassing as that is to share, it makes me all the more proud to say that  in that time I was able to climb back up on my feet.  I spent last summer working odd (legitimate) jobs for cash.  For three months after that I worked three fourteen-hour nights a week at a factory 187 miles away while going to school full-time.  I then found an excellent job in my field that I love, pays well, and is close to home.  I am bouncing back stronger than ever and it is not happening by doing nothing, going out partying and finding some out-of-towner easy target to rob.  It makes me sick that people exist that think this type of thing is okay, and what makes it worse is that society has gotten to the point where they can turn a blind eye to it.  I did.  None of us think something like this can happen to us until it does.  So we don't do anything to stop it.  Kind of like none of us think a Tsunami will never wash away our home, a plane will bring down our workplace, or fire will consume our house.  You don't have to like everyone, but you must certainly respect their right to pursue and achieve happiness.  

So long as space exists, 

So long as sentient beings exist, 

I will exist, 

In order to help, in order to serve, 

In order to make my own contribution.

365 Birthdays a Year...Personalizing Social Media

I’ve been talking a lot lately with some Social Media Marketing Guru’s from #usguys and #smmeasure and reflecting on a statement someone made to me:

 “Social media is about building relationships; it’s about knowing your customer and becoming friends with them.” – Everyone on Twitter

It occurred to me, in my consideration of this statement, that some people that choose to represent themselves as my friend may not actually know me at all.  To test this theory, I recently conducted an informal Facebook experiment in which I changed my birthday.  On March 9, 2011 at 10:26 AM, I updated my status:

“If i listed my birthday on facebook as tomorrow(which it's not) I wonder how many of my "friends" would still say "Happy Birthday" to me...we'll call this social experiment #1-A "Let's See Who Knows It's Not My Birthday Tomorrow" and social experiment #1-B "Let's See Who Leaves a "Happy Birthday" Comment Despite Todays Status. Shhhh...don't tell!”

I continued to change my birthday every day for four days.  The results are in and are impressive:

-          36 people responded with birthday praise-this is 6.8% of my network.  On my real birthday (December 3), I got 75 similar posts (14.1% of my network).

o   32 of these are people I actually know personally including:

§  9 people I have celebrated my birthday with in the last 2 years.

§  3 co-workers (one whom sits in the office next to me and ate my treats when it WAS my birthday, actually sent me a singing e-card at work).

§  3 women I have had a “relationship” with.

§  4 Fraternity Brothers.

§  AND 3 members of my own family, including my oldest sister!

-          To be fair, 13 people or 2.4% of my network (including 7 family members and 2 co-workers) publicly called out that it was not, in fact, my birthday.

In a world where your “friends” aren’t even your friends, how are you supposed to befriend the customer? 

The reason people (whether they admit it or not) are afraid of Social Media is not because of the change itself; rather, what the change is destroying.  Customers are people, not “followers” and Friends are Friends, not “friends”.  We need something personal, something real.  Social Media makes them feel that they are losing that personal relationship.  When done right, social media can be the perpetual motion of marketing.  But, in order to do Social Media right, we must reflect on the things we are attempting to preserve with this change.  We must bear in mind the traditional values of genuine human existence; Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship, and authentically represent ourselves, our brands, and our companies as a reflection of those values. 

**continuing to ponder what this means to me, and ways to improve my social media experience. Advice welcome…**