I have to chuckle though at the thought of Steve Jobs and Phoebe chatting while waiting at the gates. He’d say something courteous like hello ma’am and then strike up a conversation with a question like what did u do with your life? My gran would say something like well, I raised my children, and was a foster parent to over 140 children. I worked for UNICEF, and traveled extensively teaching and learning. I opened the first SDA church in Sanniquellie, Liberia and I also ran a 300 acre farm that was primarily rubber and cocoa but also grew other things like pineapples.

I’m sure Steve would have the generational sensitivity to understand that Gran was 93 and had no idea what a iPod was but I imagine he’d tell her about his family and that he co-founded a company that changed the way we use and see computers.

This odd pair share some real commonalities though.

1. very strong personalities.
Phoebe stood at a maybe four feet, six inches but she had a 6’7″ personality. They were both demanding, aggressive, and sometimes forceful. I think that sometimes it was intentional because they knew people needed to be pushed.

2. pioneers to lead the way
Phoebe Amanda Reeves Logan was born in 1917 in Liberia, West Africa. How common do you think it was that an African woman would and could lead a 300 acre farm and have a career as an educator, traveling to foreign companies? Steve left Apple, started over and ended up having his old company (Apple) buy his new company (NeXT) for a pretty penny. The whole time, he was clear on his objective and comfortable in the low moments that came along with his vision.

3: the void they leave:
Not sure if the death of a 93 year-old should be shocking but there’s really no other way to explain it. She’d always been here. At the funeral I heard my dad say “I never thought my mother would die.” We didn’t know life without her.

When I heard about Mr. Jobs i paused in disbelief. How could they let this brilliant guy die? I was disappointed that we couldn’t keep him longer and I wondered how Apple would continue to innovate without their not so secret weapon. They both expected greatness, showed fearless leadership and lived with conviction

- and they will both be missed.

madia

I went to google, typed in earthquake and looked at the news tab.  NOTHING.  So… I went to Twitter and BOOM!!! There were all kinds of comments.  Did you feel that?  DC earthquake started trending as a topic.  And yes… I tweeeted before I packed the laptop and ran down the stairs.  (all 16 flights thank you very much)

Twitter was first on the scene.  People were talking about traffic (so I avoided it) and my relatives and friends were communicating with me that way when the cell phone was just not working.

Now with the Earthquake behind us, Hurricane Irene is upon us.  There are a lot of cool things going on to keep people informed.  I love the google map links to Hurricane Irene information.  You can see the path and it’s really interactive. I also appreciate President Obama’s remarks and then the fact that the White House tweeted links to keep people prepared and informed.  Then again, Barry doesn’t play when it comes to social media…

So in a time of unexpected weather, Twitter was used to confirm and share stories and when there was expected weather, Twitter was used to inform and prepare folks for the weather.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.

@madia for my digital tweets @lovemadia for my music tweets.

And I’m not doing that anymore.

If the last five years haven’t proven to you that digital marketing (communications, media, etc…) is important, well I’m just not sure that reading my blog is going to be that convincing push you need.

Today, Feb. 23, 2010 I am shifting my focus. I am putting my energy into seeking out other people and organizations who believe to create an impact. I want to work with businesses who have a brand worth believing in to get them an audience of customers that share their values.

If that’s you… reach out. me@madialogan.com.

The excuse that digital media is new doesn’t work anymore. There are books, case studies, agency experts, and other things that help people understand what it is, and how to interact with it. The lack of planning is lazy and it reminds me of a quote from a book I’m reading now called Start with Why. “They never have time or money to do it right, but they always have the time and money to do it again.” and it’s true. When a large part of the rework required on these types of projects could have been avoided with planning – well there’s some missing accountability there. Why didn’t you anticipate this?

Just because you can make mistakes at a cheaper financial cost doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get the very best first product as close to right as you can. There are real risks to your brand perception and those risks should make you want to get as close to right the first time as you can.

Managing your personal brand is important for a lot of professionals.  For those of us interested in advancing in the corporate world, it makes sense to think about what your online life says about you.

Employers sometimes view job candidates’ social network pages as part of their research.  In a survey done by CareerBuilder, 45% of respondents said they did.  It goes without saying that if you enjoy posting risky or potentially offensive content, you should probably maintain your privacy filters very closely.  Maybe you should just maintain those on a site that doesn’t have your name on it…

Protect your privacy, but what about the flip side?  Could potential employers like some of what they see on your profile, and could that profile be helpful in landing you the job or at least making you stand out?  Here are some quick points:

• Don’t fake it. If you find your potential boss is into whitewater rafting, it’s probably not the best idea to say that’s one of your hobbies.  Even if you get the gig – you’d have to live with that lie for waaaay too long.
• Search yourself. I look up my search results all the time.  You’ll probably see things about your past jobs, and all of your web life. You may see things all over the spectrum from schools you attended, boards you served on, etc…  Here I scan to make sure my privacy settings are working.  If you have a very common name, then you could be safe – but social networks can search for people in different areas…
• See through their eyes. Think about the position(s) you’re applying for and what type of person they’re looking for.  Look for ways to align yourself with values you share with the company.  Look for ways to show your involvement in discussions about your industry or functional expertise.  Don’t be cheesy and obvious, but you can change your FB profile summary pretty easily.  Why not say something interesting about your work?

There are real ways to add content to your social media profile that help distinguish you from the crowd and make you a real person, not just a resume currently atop the pile.

I am a marketer, and a pretty serious one.  I am a writer.  I emphasize getting a point across – one on one or in a group.  I am a speaker.  Clearly I like to talk people and I’m pretty good at it.

I am a singer and a songwriter.  I’ve released two albums and am finally back in the studio working on the third.  My albums have digital distribution and can be found online at iTunes, Napster, Amazon, and other marketplaces.  Yeah Madia does music and Madia [a.k.a. logan] does marketing.

I always thought people should pick something, and get good at it.  It wasn’t because I didn’t think people could be good at multiple things.  I did and I do!  I think that when we summarize people in our head, we can only fit one thing.  As people we define other people in a very small box.  I think most mental summaries are a word or two.   Mother.  Musician.  Marketer.  Writer.

We define people by the role we know them to play or the role that is most prominent – and because of that, I conformed to the idea that I have to be one thing now that I’m a grown up and can no longer pass for a college student.  (maybe a grad student…)  People told me I had to pick something.

So I’m coming out to multiple groups that I have worked very hard to keep separate.  Why?

• It’s bound to happen.
• I might as well control the message. (inner marketer)
• If we’re friends you’ll hopefully make my box a lil bigger.
• If we’re not friends, maybe you’ll resist putting others in a box.

If you’re a person of multiple talents, I think letting the walls down is good.  It shows you have multiple strengths and sometimes unique insights as a result of your multiple perspectives.  They told me to pick something… but I’m ignoring that advice.

I still don’t think business gets it.  Let me be more specific.  I’m not sure that some businesses get the implementation of digital media.  They don’t understand the commitment.  Today I thought of an analogy that made so much sense I had to break my rule of not getting carried away with multiple blog posts in a day.  Since I’ve just enabled comments – this is a big move for me.  To the point.

The wedding and the marriage.

The way a lot of businesses are still interacting with digital media reminds me of the couple all excited about the wedding.  They plan.  They budget the resources to pay vendors, florists, caterers, venues, etc… and after all that, they have their day. After the day – things tend to get a little tough.  Hence the divorce rate.  I always think to myself, maybe instead of the fancy centerpieces they should have sprung for marital counseling or preparation for the journey.

In the same ways people tend to focus on the wedding and not sustaining the marriage, businesses overemphasize their foray into digital media.  Look at us we’re blogging, podcasting and tweeting.  What businesses lack is the core strategy and expectation that they will have to experiment and customize these tools to accomplish the goals they’ve set.  The idea that you’d be able to start a blog and instantly build a following, master the feedback process, and strike chords with every post is not naivete, but a bad expectation to have in the first place.  It is very much like having a marriage and believing that every day is going to be filled with rainbows and sunshine.

I’m sure you could have a big wedding that kicks off a 60 year marriage but if I had to choose I’d pick a smaller wedding and a huge 50 year anniversary party.

Businesses should celebrate their successes in digital media, not their decision to participate.  Manage leadership expectations appropriately and continue to test and perfect your approach to accomplish the goals you created.  In this case – it takes commitment to celebrate.

NY Times Article

I’ve been moved to blog because I found an article about how even educated African Americans are having a tougher time getting employment than their counterparts. The article remains one of the NYT most popular, another sign that this topic is of some concern to many people. I’m going to share a few tips that should help all job seekers market themselves a little better.

Check out the NYT article here.

I do think that African Americans have a significant social barrier in society because there are several negative stereotypes associated with being black. Some may say that all stereotypes are negative but if people assume you’re smart and good with a computer because of your race… I think that’s evidence of a stereotype working FOR you. While most people that aren’t black choose to chalk this theory up to paranoia, I’ll spend my time trying to be helpful instead of debating that idea.

Let’s state the obvious. Unemployment in the U.S. is over 10% and everybody is looking for a job. I’m entertaining offers and I have a job… soooo that leads me to believe that a lot of jobs are getting a lot of applications. Also, in tough times you have people with multiple degrees taking jobs just to get their foot in the door or worse yet, bills paid and food on the table. It’s a competitive market out there and I think you have to make yourself stand out. Hence… marketing yourself in a recession.

So here are my thoughts:

1. Use your network.
   In business school they always talked about leverage. Well leveraging your personal network of friends, former colleagues & managers is an important piece. When you apply for a job online, you are one in a stack. It’s been proven over and over that people hire based on recommendation. If you have established yourself on social networks, use them. I’m not just talking LinkedIn. Why not update your status on FB or Twitter to include the job you’d like to do? Could you upload your resume to those sites? Of Course! Send a group message to all your friends, whatev! You’re on the hunt here for your next big thing!
2. Get out of the house.
   I love my apartment just as much as you do but you’re not going to find a job sitting at the computer on theladders.com all day. Soooo you might as well get out of the house. Heading to your nearest pub probably won’t be as useful. So be strategic. Check out what events are going on around your profession. There’s a Social Media Club that meets locally. If you’re a marketer, it might be worthwhile to hit up one of their events. Use professional associations to keep you plugged in to the profession while you’re waiting for a gig. My advice is to leave the resume in the car but start talking to people. If you don’t know them I wouldn’t start with Hi, I’m looking for a job. Just socialize and try to get some cards. If the topic comes up you can mention that you’re currently in the market for a new gig but focus on what you’ve done. Life is one big interview.

More later on this topic my friends. Unfortunately (or As luck would have it) I’ve got to head to work… after all I’d like to stay employed.

In the meantime, share thoughts and questions if you have ‘em and I’ll be sure to speak to those in the next post!

I am doing some really cool things with video that I’ll remember to blog about soon!