Blue Helm

Is Steve Jobs tweeting? Investors beware!

I co-own a social media agency, so I obviously spend a lot of time encouraging business people to use social media to market their products and services in an effective way. Profit is the bottom line, so professionals need to understand how to incorporate social media into their overall marketing efforts.

And sure, that’s essential for marketing, PR and advertising teams, small business owners and any individual or group that’s responsible for promoting their company.

But what about CEOs of large corporations? They’re ultimately responsible for the well-being of their company. Shouldn’t they jump into personal Facebook accounts, Twitter feeds, LinkedIn profiles and blog posts? Shouldn’t they use social media to interact with their customers and shareholders?

Well, probably not. A recent study suggests that “64% of CEOs at the world’s 50 largest companies aren’t engaging with social media.” I think that’s okay. Here’s why:

1. A CEO’s words create too much volatility. He or she can’t just jump on Twitter and mention that the company is merging with Microsoft. And it’s going to be so much fun! What antitrust laws? All under 140 characters. The CEO of a huge company using Twitter or Facebook or a blog to spout off personal musings about the company is a PR and shareholder nightmare. No bueno.
2. You’re the CEO of a multi-billon dollar conglomerate. You should be too busy to use social media. You have scores of marketing and advertising and, well, social media experts to do all the online marketing for your company you need. And these people can’t very well run a personal page for you, because that runs the risk of sounding phony. And phony is bad for business.
3. If it’s a public company, the FCC’s Regulation Full Disclosure states that anytime a CEO speaks, a current or potential investor must be able to hear it. One CEO explains that the FCC has “not yet defined whether Twitter is at Reg. FD or the blog is Reg. FD or if Facebook is Reg. FD. They have said at times it is or sometimes it isn’t — it’s still not fully defined.” So a CEO must be cautious with regulatory rules before jumping on the social media bandwagon.
4. No one expects such a CEO to be using social media. (At least not now.) No one is criticizing Rupert Murdock or Steve Jobs or Robert Iger for not updating their personal Twitter account in three days.

Of course, the above blog post does not apply to the CEO of all CEOs, Her Majesty Winfrey. All hail.

Why is Google Chrome growing like crazy and Internet Explorer slowly losing market share? Speed and the consumer are the answers.

You might think I’m just saying Chrome is faster when I mention speed. While that may be true, that’s not the kind of speed I mean. This is not about Chrome or Internet Explorer per se. It’s about Microsoft.

Microsoft is a great company. It’s full of genius people creating marvelous new technologies and products. But why is Internet Explorer losing market share? Why is Apple, a major competitor of Microsoft, growing so quickly? Why are people projecting that the Windows mobile operating system will be all but gone within the next 4 years? The main problem is Microsoft’s lack of company speed and disconnect from the consumer.

Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about: About nine years ago Microsoft started developing a revolutionary technology now known as Microsoft Surface. They were developing the first multi-touch multi-user computer! This was before cellphones where being used by the masses. At this point only cool people like Zack Morris and his Dad had them. This technology was unheard of, and is still really cool. Click here to check it out in this 2008 video demonstration.

That video is two years old! So what the heck happened? Why is Apple the golden child of phones, tablets, and MP3 players? Because Apple released their technology quickly and in a format where average customers could consume it. Microsoft had the technology, they had the money, they had plenty of smart people around, but they just didn’t have the foresight or the speed to be the first to come out with a product that could be used by the masses, a.k.a. the iPad.

This brings us to Internet Explorer and the recent reports of its continuing loss of market share. Internet Explorer has been around for a long time, and for a while was the only real browser you could realistically use, which resulted in a poor product. Now we have Firefox, Safari, and Chrome (my favorite) which have improved on an otherwise slow and annoying experience. Internet Explorer 9 may have improved its speed and a few other issues, but it’s too late. The brand is broken. People who have abandoned Internet Explorer, like myself, have left IE forever and will convince as many people as they can to get away from it. Why? Because Internet Explorer only improved when it had to, not because they cared about developing a quality product. If they were connected with the consumer they would have improved their product long before other browsers corrected the problems.

The point of this post isn’t to rail on Microsoft. The point is to drive home the importance of understanding the consumer and getting your products or services out as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality. If you don’t provide what people can use when they need it, then you will lose sales to your competitors. It’s simple economics.

Since I co-founded Blue Helm almost eighteen months ago I’ve been preaching the importance of social networking for business professionals. In uncertain economic times like these, it’s imperative to take advantage of each effective networking tool available, even if you already have a job. Case in point:

Until a couple of months ago my father worked as Director of Compensation at a large hospital in Florida. When he discovered LinkedIn over a year ago, he recognized the potential it had to help him network with other business professionals, even though he already had a secure job. He created a LinkedIn profile and began connecting with dozens of people. He joined LinkedIn groups that brought others from his profession together. He took a few minutes each day to grow his online network, never allowing his profile to lie dormant. He made sure his resume on LinkedIn was current, professional and creative. He used language in his profile that detailed specific talents he possesses and professional victories he’s achieved, avoiding generic or clichéd terms. For example, under his “Specialties” category on LinkedIn, he wrote:

“Compensation structure and design, competitive pricing analyses, HCROI and HVCA human capital metric to strategy analysis, executive compensation and long-term incentive plan design, annual salary and bonus planning process, performance appraisal process, M&A workforce integration, compensation statistical analysis, benefit plan design, funding arrangements, contribution methodologies, cost containment strategies, 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b).”

Now I don’t know what the heck any of that means, but the executives at a large railroad holding company in Florida did, and they were impressed. A recruiter, looking for an expert in Compensation, stumbled upon my father’s LinkedIn profile and introduced him to folks at this railroad company. They offered him a higher-paying job as their new Director of Compensation, which he just accepted. It was an unexpected blessing for our family.

All thanks to social networking. The moral of the story is that it’s silly not to take advantage of tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or blogging, especially to build your brand as an individual or business. But you can’t just use them, you must use them well. Create online profiles that are detailed, charismatic and that accurately portray your professional skills. Like a good resume, it should stand out and be accurate. Even if you currently have a job, you should be growing your social networks.

As our friend Whitney Young said, “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”

By now you’ve probably heard about Twitter’s big announcement. Basically Twitter is overhauling its website. All I have to say is that it’s about time! I’ve always thought Twitter was a messy website with many needed changes and it sounds like it may finally be fixing a lot of those problems.

One thing I’ve heard a few times is that Twitter is trying to be like Facebook. If that’s true, I hate to break it to you Twitter, but you’re not Facebook. That’s ok! You don’t want to be Facebook. We already have a Facebook. Twitter is valuable the way it is. Really this conversation boils down to what Twitter and Facebook are.

Facebook is a network for friends. It’s a much more intimate network. In general, people don’t want to be friends with complete strangers. On Facebook people are more willing to share personal updates and expect to converse with those they’re close with. Yes, Facebook has features like pages, questions, and the public posts feature that allows your posts to be seen by the world, but in general people on Facebook want to be more private.

On Twitter people can connect with pretty much anyone. They can connect with industry leaders, celebrities, random bloggers, and anyone else you can think of. You may have a conversation with a complete stranger or even someone you admire that otherwise you would never be able to connect with. It’s a wonderful way to network, get your name/business/project out in the open, to promote yourself and your product and to connect with the world. Twitter provides opportunities that, at the moment, are impossible on Facebook.

In the end, I really don’t think Twitter is trying to be Facebook. I think Twitter is finally trying to get their product up to snuff. Don’t forget how far Facebook has come over the years.

For some reason I have recently been watching a lot of “Wheel of Fortune.” In light of my recent TV viewing I started looking up clips of funny game show contestants. I hope you enjoy these:

I love Pat’s face at the 44 second mark.

This is probably my favorite one