Internet's Dark Secret: It's Made of People!

Like 'Soylent Green,' the mysteries of the Internet are easy to unravel when you realize this: It's people. The Internet is made out of people.

Twitter, Facebook, search engines, websites, video, monitoring software...

The point of all of these tools is to help people connect and communicate. You've got to fulfill the expectations of the people on the other ends of these tools for them to work for you.

So don't be overwhelmed, intimidated or turned off by the technology. And conversely, don't make it all about the technology. Make it about the people. (Just don't actually turn the people into food. That's not supposed to happen until 2022, the year in which the film, Soylent Green, is set.)

But do add Soylent Green to your Netflix queue, and while you're at it, add SNL's the Best of Phil Hartman, who could impersonate Charleton Heston like no other before or since.

Think you're following 1,000 Tweeps? Actually it's closer to 40.

Twitter's supercharged adoption rates have taken it from nine million unique visitors in March to 17 million in April.

But recent scrutiny of Twitter adoption rates have turned up two interesting results:

• 60% of users who start an account abandon it within a month. (Source: Nielsen)
• 10% of its active users are responsible for 90% of the Tweets. (Source: Harvard Business School)

Based on these metrics, while my account might indicate that I'm following 2,000 people on Twitter, I'm actually following more like 800 (40% of 2,000). And, 10% of them--80 people--are responsible for 90% of what I see. The other 720 folks are responsible for a smattering of Tweets.

To see if these numbers bore out, I reviewed an hour of incoming Tweets and counted closer to 150 individuals and news feeds of which no more than 10 people or outlets were responsible for multiple Tweets. This is not scientific by any means, but it tells me I'm following users who are twice as active as the average. This is what I'd expect to see since I tend to follow other communicators and journalists; however, it still illustrates the point that only a small percentage of followers are consistently contributing to Twitter.

What do these trends mean for communicators and their clients? Well, for one, it means Ashton Kutcher does not have 2.1 million followers -- he has 840,000, max of which 84,000 would fall into that most active 10% and who are, therefore, likely to be on Twitter at the moment he sends a Tweet. And now the question is whether that's the 84,000 who really care what Kutcher has to say? (And could it be that high? ;-)

But enough about Kutcher. What this post is intended to illustrate is that amassing large audiences is not as important as targeting and attracting followers that care about and share your interests.

And, in that respect, social media is no different than all forms of communication that preceded it. The first commandment remains 'know thy audience.'

If you're being followed by 1,000 people, keep in mind that 600 of them are no longer using Twitter because they didn't get it. Of the 400 remaining, only 40 of them can be expected to really engage.

So take stock and identify who those 40 people are, find more like them, serve that audience as best you can, and consider cutting loose those who may be cluttering your communications rather than adding to them. Approach your social networks with the same discipline you use to build a direct mail or media list--you want the highest response rate possible so pay close attention to your followers' profile.

And if you're someone who is an above average user on Twitter, help newcomers and encourage them to stay by engaging with them, recommending TweetDeck and other tools that improve the experience, and so on. Think of it as your community service.

Communicate at a Glance

The Internet has changed our reading habits.

If you're like most people, you don't read online as much as you scan. And in all fairness, with so much information available to you, who can blame you?! Reading a website word-for-word makes about as much sense as admiring a field flower-by-flower or a grove tree-by-tree.

As communicators, we recognize these behaviors and preferences and leverage them for better results.

I've been talking about 'at a glance' communication for the last two years, by which I mean information that communicates the message with one look. Headings, subheadings, short bulleted lists, diagrams, images and captions all help to achieve this outcome.

Paragraphs of full prose kill this effect.

With attention in short supply, smart communicators are turning to visuals to engage their audiences. Economy of words and efficiency are essential to getting your point across.

However, there is a time and a place to use a lot of information: when you are trying to show 'at a glance' that you're the experts or the best source for something. In that case, employ the opposite tact and overload your communications with links, words, inserts, papers, slides -- no one may read any of them but, 'at a glance,' they'll get the message that you've got a lot to say or show, which must mean you've got a lot to offer.

Sea Change in Communications

I've spoken with many communicators who share my awareness and understanding that a sea change is taking place in our industry. The advent of social media and networks coinciding with the historic dismantling of traditional media models are tectonic shifts pushing out this sea change.

Where I see a problem at this juncture is the disconnect between communicators and those that they counsel.

Too many clients and prospects remain anchored to the communication practices of the past and are unable to see or accept what's coming at them on the horizon. What's worse, they disregard the advice of the people who watch that horizon for a living! Yes, this lends itself to a macabre business analogy wherein we fail to recognize the peril we're in until it's right on top of us.


The five primary objections are that (1) social networks are time wasters, (2) social media is too time consuming, (3) these tools are only for teens and twenty-somethings, (4) they are fringe communications activities and are not useful for reaching customers, media or influencers, or (5) they are filled with irrelevant drivel.

All are dead wrong.

If you're a decision-maker with an organization who's realizing a little late that it's time to act, my best advice is that you hire someone who knows what you don't--a communications team with a range of personnel who has invested in understanding these tools, developing best practices and formulating policies that account for a Web 2.0 world.

Take decisive action and get to the social media high ground swiftly; avoid wallowing around trying to find your own way; and recognize that the cost of waiting or going it alone will far outweigh the cost of getting it done right and quickly.

Social Media for Community Leaders

I've presented on social media to the San Diego Press Club, Southern California electronics industry pros, and, as of today, community leaders from across North San Diego.

Leadership North County is a nine-month program for government, business and nonprofit leaders that takes 30 students from across North San Diego County . I took the program in 2003.

The event was at Oceanside's KOCT studios. Before my talk (see slides below), they heard from a panel led by KPBS's Alison St. John with Tom Fudge of KPBS, Catherine Garcia of NBC 7/39, and Kent Davy of the North County Times. Later in the day, Dick Daniels of RMD Communications led a session on interviewing with traditional media and Brett Sondrup of NCTimes.com shared the innovations taking place at their local daily newspaper (check out http://my.nctimes.com for example).

This was a room full of very smart, motivated and connected people. I really wondered how this group of very involved community members would respond to the seachange in communications that they were being presented.

Social Media For Community Leaders Ss

View more presentations from Julie Wright.

Mark Tucker with AECOM Energy in Solana Beach suggested that whereas newspapers used to drive many of our beliefs and behaviors, the recommendations of 30 regular people on Twitter now seemed to have a mini-Oprah effect, as he put it.

David Tarr, Director of Career Technical Education at Escondido Charter High School noted that with this explosion of outlets for your message, you have to be more careful than ever about what you post because it's going to be there forever. Others echoed that concern, but Tarr also saw the benefits of using social media for communicating with a limited budget as did others.

Tarr was concerned about letting students loose on social media sites which was interesting because several others suggested high school students could be hired to help them get this work started. (I understand people thinking that some young kid is going to make all of this easy for them, but that's a fantasy. FYI, if you're looking for the easy route and that's driving your communications decision-making, you're destined for disappointment.)

Jim Farley, who runs a family foundation, noted that new social media tools allowed you to skip the media and go directly to your audience or stakeholders.

Ligeia Heagy, who works for the City of Vista as a Management Analyst in the Engineering Department, suggested that municipalities need to communicate using whatever tools their residents expect.

Janene Shepherd, Aide to the Deputy Mayor for the City of Oceanside, noted that as soon as you discover what works for you that tool may fade out of fashion.

Jeremy Raimo, an orthopedic service line administrator with Tri-City Medical Center, felt that so many diversified outlets meant that you had to now carefully choose the right one to reach your audience. For instance, Twitter is a great medium for connecting with people aged 45 to 54--a fact that I'd shared and that apparently changed his perception about who's using social media.

Troy Strand, Executive VP of Independent Energy Solutions in Vista, said it's all about time more than anything. He could use that same time to work on the company's strategic plan, for instance, although he could see the value in raising his company's profile via social networks.

After a lot of discussion, it appeared that social media policy was the missing link for this group of leaders--which is the subject of a blog post of its own.

Digital Billboards Getting the Message Out

Las Vegas loves them and California's trying to outlaw them: digital billboards.

Today, I was talking about digital billboards with Chris Jennewein, senior vice president and publisher at Greenspun Interactive, responsible for the Las Vegas Sun and Las Vegas Weekly website properties, among others.

Jennewein, who led SignonSanDiego.com several re-organizations ago, is now leading multiple news sites in one of the communities hardest hit by the real estate bubble. While the San Diego Union-Tribune continues its slow hari kari, Jennewein is glad to have found Greenspun and be building something up rather than tearing it down. (Yes, there have been some layoffs over the past 10 months, but nothing like what's happening at San Diego's daily and its web properties.)

So, this brings me around to the digital billboards. As the LasVegasSun.com looked at its advertising options a few months ago, it was also looking at its bottom line. It focused on digital billboards as a good value, but also as a medium that would catch Las Vegas residents during their daily commute rituals.

Then the LasVegasSun.com took it one farther and asked the billboard owners if they could change the electronic display daily? Yes, they could. Well, if we could change the display once a day, how about four times a day? Yes, I guess, if that's what they really wanted, they could do that too.

Now, four times a day, the website's 25 character news headlines are broadcast on billboards around the city.

The site gets the branding value but it also gets the benefit of a direct response mechanism in that consumers can take immediate action and log in to read more when they're at their desk.

An interesting example of a news organization interacting with and engaging its readers. It might only work in Vegas, but before California's state legislators get fired up about the evils of digital billboards, they should pause to balance that against the good that news organizations and other advertisers do. And then they should consider whether their bazillion cardboard campaign signs at intersections are a worse blight and distraction!

Wall Street Journal rules more twit than Twitter

The Wall Street Journal has issued rules for its journalists regarding their Twitter and Facebook behavior. Clearly written without any understanding of how social media works or benefits good journalism, these rules will only serve to handicap reporters and further alienate readers from the paper's content.

Social media is just another way of getting things done -- developing relationships with sources, conducting interviews, responding to readers, and driving readers to the paper's content. Gawker shared examples of how the paper's staff flagrantly (and in the case of @karaswisher, famously) flout these rules. (Thankfully.)

For an example of 'best practices' for journalists using Twitter, check out this thoughtful post by Leah Betancourt, digital community manager at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, Minn. A.K.A. @l3ahb3tan on Twitter.

I'll keep the post short, but for the love of the newspaper industry, work it out WSJ!