Teenagers learn it the hard way

Last week, I read an article in the New York Times about a phenomenon called ‘sexting’. In other words: adolescents sharing  pictures of themselves via their smartphones. And as the term ‘sexting’ suggests, these pictures usually reveal more skin than is advisable during puberty.

Three teens from Lacey were actually charged after texting a nude picture of a girl to everybody in their contact list. It took them just a few seconds.

While I was walking through the corridors at Brookline High School, this poster caught my eye. I guess the next generation learns the rules of social media the hard way…

Is social media bigger in Boston than in Amsterdam?

Before I left Amsterdam, I had lunch with an former colleague, Michael Minneboo. Out of the blue he asked me if he could interview me about my blog and what it was about. Since it was only five days before our departure to Boston, I wasn’t really prepared for this question. However, Michael managed to make this video out of it. Well done, Michael!

I almost forgot, one of my main questions at that time was whether organisations in Boston integrate social media more easily in their business strategies or not.

My first impression
After three months, I have noticed that I could visit events, meetups or seminars where marketeers, community managers, PR and other communication professionals get together on a weekly basis, if I wanted to. Discussing social media strategies, sharing best practices or other valuable information.

In addition, all restaurants and cafés have a Twitter handle, a Facebook page and provide special offers on Foursquare. Hospitals use social networking tools to inform patients. Social media policies are integrated in introduction programs for employees. An incubator like MIT turns Cambridge into a breeding place for innovative start-ups like no university in the Netherlands is capable of. (I sincerely hope the TU in Eindhoven is, one day). Start-ups and communication agencies all seem to have a blog, which is regularly updated and not only by the junior PR executive. And the entire team, including the CEO, is engaging with audiences on Twitter.

On the other hand,  most corporations still struggle with transparency. 25% of the companies ban social media at work, compared to only 8 % in the Netherlands…

20 social media tools worth checking out

Social media tools come and go quicker than ever. On the 22^nd social media breakfast in Boston I’ve learned about a bunch of new tools that I’ve never heard of before. Or let me put it this way: there is a lot more out there then Hootsuite, Tweetdeck or Tweetreach.

Because I’m sure many of you might want to know about these social media tools as well, I listed them below.

Some of these tools (try to) measure social media ROI, others provide you with social CRM or are able to schedule your tweets in a smarter way. I haven’t checked them all out myself, yet. So see for yourself what it can do for you and if it works out for your business. And – maybe even more important – find out if it fits your budget, because not all of them are free…

So here they are, the social media tools to check out:

• Co-Tweet
• MarketMeSuite
• NutshellMail
• Socialmention
• Sysomos
• Radion6
• Crimson Hexagon
• BufferApp
• Timely
• Sprinklr
• Crowdbooster
• Social Flow
• Prime research
• Spreadfast
• Tap11 analytics
• Sprout Social
• Raventools
• Nimble
• Jitterjam
• Klout

There is no such thing as a tool that meets the needs of all companies. Besides, the possibilities to measure social media engagement can change overnight. That’s why big companies like Monster.com don’t sign up for any long term agreements with vendors. According to Kathy O’Reilly from Monster.com many vendors are willing to provide you with a free-trial.

Other panelists who contributed to this list of social media tools are Janet Aronica from oneforty, Ben Boardman from Marketwire & Sysomos and Forrester analyst Zach N. Hofer-Shall.

Want to add tools to the list? Please feel free to drop a line in the comments.

Millennials ad from Time Magazine

I have to say, the image of graduates flying over a QR-code and the red frame that is so recognisable for Time Magazine  are nicely blended together by the art director. But as a copywriter it was the wordplay that turned a little smile on my face when I walked by this ad last weekend. Just enough to make me look forward to the next issue. Mission accomplished…

How to send a press release: do’s and don’ts

Press releases sent in a PDF-file will never be as effective as a press releases copied as plain text in an email.

Why? Because a journalists receives over ten or maybe even hundred(s) of these emails a day. Imagine opening an inbox full of press releases every morning. What would you do if you’d be the journalist? Exactly, hit the delete button. So what should you do as a PR person?

Guerilla marketing on legs

An ad agency in New Zealand came up with a great piece of guerilla marketing for Superette, a clothing company. DDB Auckland made sure that their ads where not only shown on one location.

How they managed to do this?

What is Watson all about?

I’ve been reading tweets and blogs about Watson, the computer that knows the answers to almost all questions in the TV show Jeopardy. Not being familiar with the format of Jeopardy at all, it took me a while to understand what the fuzz was all about. For my Dutch readers, just check this video below

Fortunately, I was able to attend PR Advanced at Boston University last Saturday. Where Jon Iwata, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at IBM, explained briefly what the story behind Watson is  all about.

Overheard: a student on the phone

[..] So, I’m like, what is he saying?
Like,
if I don’t like to work hard?
Or like,
that I’m not like one of these students
he likes?
But if I’m like, you know….
…what he’s like,
then like,
what would I be like? […]

Is this the Facebook-generation talking, or what?

Valentine’s Day in the US

The chocolate cheesecake we had during the Sunday Brunch at the Pringle‘s

It was Saturday, February 12, when a  lady in a lunch bar – it was packed – offered us her table. She just had a few drinks with her husband and was about to leave anyway. The conversation that followed indicates how different the Dutch think about Valentine’s Day compared to the Americans 🙂

 

Wim: Oh, thanks very much.

Lady: You’re welcome, have a happy Valentine’s day.

Wim: Is that today?

Lady (astonished): Boy, you’re in trouble!

The first month as an expat in Boston

What was I expecting before we left Amsterdam and moved to Boston? I didn’t really have a clear picture in my head. The only thing I thought of was that it probably would feel like being on a holiday in the first two or three weeks. Since we had so many things to arrange before we could actually leave, arriving on the other side of the ocean would give us some sort of relief as well. Did it really?