Posts tagged ‘Technology’

Facebook, Health and the Pursuit of Happiness

on October 2, 2011

Facebook has become just about as integrated into American culture as apple pie. We all know apple pie tastes amazing–but when taken to the extreme and eaten on a consistent basis, it’s not exactly the healthiest food. This applies to Facebook as well. Facebook can offer a number of benefits–but it also has some potential drawbacks. And despite our shared love for Facebook, it’s important to be aware of its possible drawbacks. This post looks at a number of different research studies published in the past year that include some interesting findings.

Does Facebook help us feel more connected—or alone?

A recent set of studies found a paradox in Facebook psychology. The studies looked to answer the question: Does using Facebook help us feel more connected, or not? The results may surprise you.

The research was actually conducted through four different yet connected studies. The first study found that frequent Facebook usage relates to both increased connection–as well as increased feelings of disconnection. The second study found that disconnection motivates greater Facebook usage as a coping strategy as greater usage leads to greater connection (yes, this seems odd given the first study’s results).

The third study deprived participants of Facebook use for 48 hours. While feelings of connection decreased, the feeling of disconnection was unaffected. However, those who felt more disconnected actually engaged in increased Facebook use during a second 48-hour period.

In the fourth study, participants set a goal to reduce their use of Facebook. In setting this goal and working to achieve it, greater disconnection was felt. Those that had this feeling performed worse in achieving their goal.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Who has the best self esteem of them all?

Another study conducted by researchers at Cornell found that Facebook usage actually leads to increased self-esteem. “Facebook can show a positive version of ourselves,” associate professor Jeffrey Hancock told CNN. “We’re not saying that it’s a deceptive version of self, but it’s a positive one.”

Hancock is the co-author of a report titled, “Mirror, Mirror On My Facebook Wall: Effects of Exposure to Facebook on Self-Esteem” that was published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking. The study put 63 students in a university computer lab. Some computers were turned off with a mirror in front of it—while others were turned on showing the student’s Facebook page.

For three minutes, participants either stared at themselves in a mirror or reviewed their Facebook profile. When time was up, students were given a questionnaire to measure their self-esteem. The students who had been reviewing their Facebook profile gave more positive feedback than the others. The participants that edited their Facebook profile actually gave themselves the highest marks.

“For many people, there’s an automatic assumption that the internet is bad,” Hancock is quoted saying in an article published by CNN. “This is one of the first studies to show that there’s a psychological benefit of Facebook.”

Is the grass really greener?

Another study supports this finding as it found that those who like themselves tend to share more of themselves through social networks. And, that those more active on social networks tend to think more highly of themselves.

At the same time, another set of research published this past January, found that Facebook reinforces the idea that “the grass is always greener” and that everyone else is happier and better off than you. This research “suggests that people may think they are more alone in their emotional difficulties than they really are.” Not exactly a recipe for great self-esteem…

What does this mean for us?

Given the mixed results already discussed, we know research has also found that Facebook and social networking can help increase connectedness among certain communities–especially when it comes to our health. This post is in no way meant to be a down-with-Facebook rant. More so, here’s the take-away for us: Have a self-awareness of the good and the bad impact Facebook may have on you, to your community and in your work. Knowing and understanding the positive impact technology can have as well as its potentially harmful effects is a part of digital literacy. For those working in public Health, it’s an awareness we need to consider.

BONUS: BJ Fogg’s Psychology of Facebook class is on my need-to-do list. 

Do you know of additional research that looks into the psychology of Facebook? Please share!

flickr credit: Jason A. Samfield

Quote of the Week: Why the Web Was Won

on June 19, 2010

Have you ever been in a meeting and someone tells you: We aren’t in the behavior change business, we just want to raise awareness? You are not alone. Put take heart, there are those who know better. Especially in the times of the Web, behavior change–and micro-choices that lead to a great action–are even more possible.

In a post titled Designing for Networks, Mike Arauz captures the potential of the Web–beyond its ability to be a distribution channel, beyond its ability to influence and beyond its use in achieving awareness:

If you only use the Internet in order to raise awareness, and perhaps to influence perception, then you are missing out on what the Web was made for: to enable large networks of people to come together for effective purposes through sharing, cooperating, and organizing collective action.

It might have been okay to work towards just “awareness” in the past, but with today’s technology, we can achieve more. I believe that the Web increases our ability to measure, evaluate and influence behavior change. The thing is: Behavior change is no longer on the same playing field. Just like journalism is evolving and the media, the way we influence behavior change and achieve behavior change has evolved. We, as practitioners, must evolve with it. I recently came across another quote that embodies this belief from one of the TurningPoint Collaborative’s PDFs, The Basics of Social Marketing:

The process of heightening awareness, shifting attitudes, and strengthening knowledge is valuable if, and only if, it leads to action.

Why do we want someone to know to exercise, eat right, and get their vaccines? Because we want them to act on that knowledge to prevent disease. Why do we want teens to know that drinking impairs their ability to drive? Because we don’t want them to drink and drive and hurt themselves or others.

Your Challenge

This week, think about why the Web was won. Sure–it can house knowledge and be a database of information–but it is more and can be more for you, your organization and your cause. Think about your bottom line–What is it you want to accomplish? Solve? Create? End? Start? Because at some level it involves behavior, especially if you are working in a Web environment. Do you want people to click on a certain link, read a certain story, donate to your causes—these are all online behaviors.

PS: Do you like these challenges? Are these helpful? I want to help you in being effective. And, I know I like prompts–do you?

The One Review of the iPad You Must Read

on April 5, 2010

On the social media and tech stream this week, we have the iPad. Despite my thoughts on how the name “iPad” was determined, the iPad draws one’s curiosity.

I don’t have an iPad nor have I seen one in person, but Jeff Jarvis’ review captures two of the bigger implications of this new technology that deserve your attention.

  • Web sites vs. Apps
  • Content Consuming vs. Content Creating

I’m not going to repeat all that Jarvis says in his review–I’ll let you read his words directly as his points are worth your time and consideration. Instead, I’ll add in my own comments.

On Web sites vs. Apps: As mobile marketing continues to grow and evolve across the board (fyi: Mobile Health Conference coming up in May), this will become an ever-greater question. Not just in terms of execution and strategy, but also in terms of analytics. Many organizations are just now getting a grasp on their Web site analytics and how the data can offer insight and direction regarding an organization’s overall mission and objectives. The next phase many are working to figure out–is how to measure and assess not just a Web site–but a Web presence. The division between a site-based Web and an app-based Web will throw in another element into the analytics puzzle.

On Content Consuming vs. Content Creating: I may not have an iPad, but I do have the Barnes and Noble Nook. I love my Nook, but I want to do so much more with it. Barnes and Noble, if you’re reading this, please borrow a page from Netflix. So, I understand Jarvis’ point. As a consumer, there are times when I appreciate that my Nook is an ereader–nothing else. But there are times–where I want more. With the ipad, you have some degree of more–but not everything. Like Jarvis said, you don’t even have a camera (which seemed odd to me when the iPad launched). I think there is a need for balance. I don’t want another mini computer that I can connect to my email and social networks. I also don’t want another phone or a super machine. What I do want–is a relaxing user environment where I have the option to create, share and consume at my leisure on my terms. But then again, maybe I’m not the audience for the iPad. Maybe there are those that just want to consume–and not create or distribute.

Thoughts on Publishing and Content: I find this conversation interesting not because of the Web vs. App conversation or the hardware vs. software talk, but more so because it gets to the heart of publishing and distribution of content. The development of e-readers are changing the world of publishing and how the traditional business-model of journalism operates. Many are hoping, that if done right, it can “save” journalism. But here’s the thing: Journalism does not need saving. Instead, it needs pioneering. Perhaps, the “business-model” of journalism is where the rubber meets the road. This is where we need our innovations…  in my humble opinion.

In general, I agree with Jarvis’ main point about “implications.” How we maneuver down the road of information, communications and consumer-technology, will have implications. This is why, as consumers, it is important for us to know that our choices–where we spend our money, how we relate to information, how we choose to communicate, the type of content we consume and the type of content we produce–carries implications.

Your thoughts needed: Are the iPad, e-readers and tablets the best we can do?

*****

This post was originally going to be the quote of the week–but I couldn’t choose just one sentence to highlight as Jarvis’ whole article stretches one’s thinking.

Beyond Marketing Gadgets, Thingymagigs and Gizmos

on January 20, 2010

Define today’s concept of: marketing. Now, imagine yourself 40-50 years ago, and define marketing. Notice any big differences? Probably a few come to mind.

I bring this up because I was taught that to know where we are headed, we have to know and understand the past. Rewind back to 1969 when an article called “Broadening the Concept of Marketing” was published by Philip Kotler and Sidney J. Levy (remarkably–you can get a free copy online). My fellow social changers and social marketeers, it was this document that helped paved the way for careers, projects and initiatives we are doing today. It was this document that said marketing was a “societal activity” that can be applied for more than “toothpaste, soap and steel” but that marketing can be transferable to organizations (non-business organizations…aka, nonprofits), persons and ideas. IDEAS.

Fast forward to today, and we are still re-defining and evolving our concept of marketing. Take Seth Godin’s recent post about how we frame marketing.  Or better yet–he explains that marketing is what happens between the frames:

Marketing is what happens when you’re not trying, when you’re being transparent and when there’s no script in place.

With this sentence, one word comes to mind–authenticity. I see all the marketing, talk and chatter about the latest and greatest gizmo. I see people and organizations striving and racing. In between all that, there is authenticity. We must find it, and we must connect with it again if we are to truly be successful–and if we are truly going to make a difference. Makes me think, how will the idea of authenticity broaden marketing for future generations? Discuss.

flickr image credit: planigan412

What Creates a Revolution?

on March 12, 2009

“A revolution doesn’t happen when a society adopts new tools, it happens when a society adopts new behaviors.”

–Us Now Movie Trailer Preview

Today, I was skimming through my RSS feeds and one of my favorites had an update: Mike Kujawski’s Public Sector 2.0 blog. Mike gets social marketing (the real kind), and he is also a savvy social media professional. On his site, he posted the Us Gov movie trailer, which I had seen before on Maxine Teller’s blog, but today, the last quote (located above) really stood out to me the most.

It stood out because in it I saw a profound statement being made on behavior change. It may be due to me coming away from my talk with a class of smart Yale students, where their *good* questions focused a lot on the why of social media (measurement, literacy, behavior change, clutter vs. content, society’s relationship to technology, etc.). But, I feel like this quote gest to the heart of the relationship between social media and social marketing, and why the relationship is important.

  1. It’s not about the tools (i.e. being cool or shiny)
  2. Change (i.e. revolution, small or big) is a result of adopting/influencing new behavior (whether it be that of a society, an organization or an individual).

Currently, at an increasing rate, society is experimenting and applying social media tools, both for the good and the bad. Thus, we as practitioners need to be aware of this and how it is affecting one’s behavior. For example, I tease that in 10 years, we will be doing public health campaigns for internet addiction…but how far away is that really? We already have them for TV addiction. Take a quick look here at the Us Now documentary preview, as it’ll provide some more juices to step back and do some introspection and reflection.  

If you find this interesting and what to dig beyond the tools and really get to “what does this all mean?” Then, I also highly recommend visiting the Digital Ethnography blog and getting introduced to Professor Michael Wesch, who was named Professor of the Year for 2008. He and his students have some interesting and compelling videos on what “more than the tools” have to mean and why it’s important to know.

If you want to continue discussion on “what government may/can look like,” then I also recommend following both the Government 2.0 Club and the Government 2.0 Camp conversations (if you can’t physically attend the gathering coming up soon at the end of MArch) on Twitter too.

…because after all, what creates a revolution? and what does a revolution look like?

flickr photo credit: Wesley Fryer

Did You Know? 2 Must-See Videos to FLY Together

on October 31, 2008

My dad sent me this great video today. It makes you think. It motivates you, like @garyvee, to get off your butt and get moving. You may think that doing nothing only affects you. Tuning out is a choice. So, that can be your opinion. But, standing, means not helping others to fly.

No matter your political leanings, you must admit this quote is poetic. On NPR, a man talked about getting ready to vote for a president for the first time was being asked who he was voting for and why. He recalled this text message he received from a friend:

“Rosa sat, so Martin could walk. Martin walked, so Obama could run. And, Obama is running so our children can fly.”

What if that could be you? What if your actions could empower others to succeed. Think about the power that ripple effect could have. Whether it’s for Obama or McCain, Vote. Act. Do. No matter what, after the election, we will all need to keep moving, if not faster. Let’s get busy, and let’s FLY together. Just ask these guys:


*Don’t quote me on the stats, as I’m still trying to find this video’s source. But, it is powerful.

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The Cool Factor About Mobile

on October 22, 2008

Mobile. What do we do with this one word? We CAN do so much. Rather than go on, instead, I want to give some examples and highlight the cool factor of how mobile can add some out-of-the-box type thinking to an overall health and/or social marketing-related initiative.

(Granted, any initiative must go beyond cool, and must not be done solely for the cool factor. But, for creative juices, let’s show off some coolness.)

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Organization(s): The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the University of Georgia’s New Media Institute
Objective: Get the word out about National HIV Testing Day

Cool Factor: Personal PSAs, 24 Hours, and Collaboration.

In one day, more than 20 students from 6 universities and five AIDS organizations hit the streets with only cellphone video cameras to produce 8 short video messages to encourage youth to be tested for HIV. (Personal PSAs are those shared via mobile and social networks, in addition to being user-generated.)

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Organization(s): University of Auckland Clinical Trials Research Unit and Healthphone Solutions
Objective: Using Mobile SMS Technology to increase individual smoking cessation success.

Cool Factor: Txt2Quit. 480 Customized Text Messages. 26 Week Program.

This is a tested and research-based product produced to help individuals quit smoking. The program was presented at the Texting for Health Conference this past February, and hopes to provide the tool in multiple languages as well!

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Organization(s): The 2007 Live Earth Concerts, The Ethical Reputation Index and LightSpeed Research
Objective: 1) Measure the effectiveness among 18-45 year olds of event sponsorship and advertising in real-time and 2) Measure this audience’s interest in green issues raised by the global concerts and sponsors.

Cool Factor: Mobile as a research tool.

The first example was using mobile to raise awareness and increase a call to action. The second example offered a product to those working to stop smoking. This example expands the uses of mobile by showing how it can be used as a medium to conduct research. In case your curious, the response rate was 20% and most notably, the research was done, fast, with results given that same day.

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Organization(s): The Fair & Lovely Foundation and Hindustan Unilever Limited
Objective: Increase the visibilty and utilization of the Fair & Lovely Foundation’s scholarship program among women and girls in low-income groups in rural and urban India.

Cool Factor: Cost Effective. Wide Reaching. Full Approach.

All elements of mobile marketing were utilized in this campaign: an SMS Blast, SMS Shortcode (a code word/number individuals can respond to), interactive voice response, banner advertising, a microsite and the Lead Capturing Zone that induced the call to action for individuals to apply for the scholarship. As a result, over 44,000 student applied in 1.5 months and 2 million page impressions were gained from the banner advertising.

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Organization(s): Macmillan Cancer Support
Objective: Provide an alternative route to collect donations for those not wanting to donate online via credit or debit card.

Cool Factor: Mobile as a fundraising channel.

For this organization and through this campaign, SMS donations was the most successful mechanism with 59% of donations being made through text.

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Organization(s): Save the Children and Verizon Wireless
Objective: Provide lifesaving assistance during the natural disasters that occurred in China and Myanmar.

Cool Factor: Assists during times of emergency.

Individuals could text 4SAVE with the word ‘quake’ to donate to earthquake relief or the keyword ‘cycloce’ to contribute to the cyclone relief. Upon texting, a reply asking for confirmation will be sent and a $5 donation will be added to the person’s phone bill.

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Organization(s): Major universities and colleges across the country.
Objective: Implement an emergency notification system for all the University campus community.

Cool Factor: Campus Alert System. Emergency Preparedness.

Across the country, universities and colleges are implementing emergency alert systems through mobile and email technology to prevent another Virginia Tech tragedy. It’ll be interesting to see how other systems and institutions implement a similar strategy.

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Organization(s): mGive & Keep A Child Alive, mGive & the Washington Nationals, The MLB and the Children’s National Medical Center, mGive & The All-Star Game, Stand Up for Cancer, and Make a Wish Foundation
Objective: mGive & Keep A Child Alive: Move people to donate during Alicia Key ‘As I Am’ tour; mGive & the Washington Nationals: When the Nationals play the Houston Astros, fans will be asked to donate to the Children’s National Medical Center to fight pediatric diabetes through a mobile/text campaign; mGive & The All-Star Game, Stand Up for Cancer, and Make a Wish Foundation: fans will be asked to donate to these two non-profits during the All-Star game through a mobile program.

Cool Factor: Mobile Giving. Integrated Marketing.

Mobile giving is now becoming a trend. Through the Alicia Keys mobile campaign, over $40,000 was raised to support Keep a Child Alive. mGive itself is a social giving company that helps non-profits utilize mobile technology to increase their fundraising efforts. To see the latest campaigns (including combining broadcast television commercials with a mobile call to action), check out their blog. The Mobile Giving Foundation currently keeps a list of all 36 ongoing mobile giving campaigns.

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Organization(s): The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Objective: Provide a home site for of CDC’s mobile information about hurricane preparedness and the flu season.

Cool Factor: Government Goes Mobile.

Due to the increasing amount of dangerous hurricane like Katrina, Gustav and Ike, the CDC recently created a mobile Web site to further assist during times of emergency. I see this site growing as the use of mobile increases, but it’s a great first step and a good role model for other government agencies.

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Organization(s): Meir Panim (Network of Soup Kitchens in Israel)
Objective: Increase donations for the soup kitchens, while also communicating an individual’s impact on the cause.

Cool Factor: Shows Impact on the Spot.

Meir Panim ran an interactive campaign with banner advertisements asking individuals to ‘SMS for Lunch‘ a promotional interactive campaign: On their website a boy was featured, facing an empty plate. The site encouraged donations and once the system received the SMS, the banner changed to show a full plate of food with the boy smiling. Talk about realtime impact!

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MORE:

From these examples, we’ve seen how mobile technology can be used to:

  • Raise Awareness.
  • Provide a product.
  • Be an instrument for research.
  • Be cost-effective, fast, and provide results.
  • Be a fundraising tool.
  • Be creative.
  • Encourage mobile giving.
  • Extend a current campaign.
  • Be another medium to integrate into a marketing program.

What other mobile campaigns exist that you think have an extra dose of the cool factor?

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To 2.0 or not 2.0? That is the Government’s Question

on September 15, 2008

**This article I wrote was originally published at ReadWriteWeb on September 10, 2008. And P.S., I still don’t have the internet, but the install is scheduled for Wednesday…hence the blogging delay. Thank you for your understanding!

And we’ve got the answer. Three of them actually: Listen, learn, and let go.

Let’s face it, Web 2.0 is a buzzword. And when it comes to government, change, and innovation, we have to reach beyond buzzwords. Surprising to some, the government isn’t too far beyond.

The other week Mark Drapeau, Government 2.0 columnist for Mashable, suggested that the government is currently in a state of 1.4, at least when it comes to Twitter.* I would agree, however, as my lovely professors back in grad school taught me to say, “it depends.”

Government is doing some amazing social media initiatives to better serve their constituents, and why not – social media is all about increasing the democratization of communications. The government serves its people, and thus, it’s a perfect match.

We government-familiar types know of the greatness that is CDC – from their virtual world explorations in Whyville and SecondLife, to their numerous podcasts, e-cards, MySpace page and blog, and their CDC-TV channel, they are leading the way. But there’s more.

The EPA has its own cause on Facebook for its EnergySTAR program to stop global warming. The U.S. Intelligence Agency has it’s own data-sharing and social network-esque called Intellipedia. TSA uses its blog Evolution of Security as instrumental to its customer service abilities. Not to mention, there are currently 7 head directors and decision makers with their own blog. But, I will admit that some areas in government just need some more coaching.

If you are within government or outside of government, here are three helpful strategies to be the social media maven for your agency: Listen. Learn. And Let go.

These three strategies are listed in no particular order as they all circle one another. Think back when you learned how to ride a bike. You did not let go of the training wheels, until you have learned how to ride the bike. But, you couldn’t learn how to ride the bike, until you listened to the instructions. Same deal.

Listening

The more you learn about the space, the more comfortable you will become. This will involving listening to webinars and speakers on the topic. For starters, the CDC is having a live web dialogue on September 18th with an expert panel to talk about how government health agencies can integrate social media practices into their initiatives. There are currently 217 people signed up!

Listening also involves learning how to search, and how to search effectively. Largely, learning how to navigate the RSS feeder. I know it looks intimidating. I was at first too. But, it’s called Real Simple Syndication for a reason, because it really can be simple. Check out Google Reader or Bloglines or email me, and we can work together.

Learning

While listening, you will learn. It’s inevitable. I have best found that learning is maximized when you live with what Geoff Livingston said best in one of Buzz Bin blog posts, “You cannot underestimate the value of remaining teachable.” Attending speakers, applying your knowledge and participating in the space as an individual all help facilitate learning.

For example, Sec. Mike Leavitt and a group of world leaders came together in 2007 to create the Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog. Through this short-term blog, conversations and discussions were shared leading up to an offline Leadership Forum. Taking the lessons learned from this experience, Sec. Leavitt launched his own blog on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in August 2007.

Letting Go

As your listening and learning combines, eventually, you will feel more comfortable in letting go. And letting go can include baby steps. Like, the case of Sec. Leavitt, you can build upon past activities. Do gather the statistics. Do highlight other case studies.

• Perhaps, instead of creating your own social network, it begins with placing a web badge or banner about your initiative on a social network.
• Perhaps, instead of creating a Twitter account feed, you conduct Twitter searches for your government agency’s name and important keywords.
• Perhaps, instead of creating your own blog, first do a guest entry on an already established blog.
• Perhaps, when pitching new information or publications to traditional news outlets, see if that media organization has a relevant blog column or social media reporter and share your information with him or her.

The ideas are endless, which is why being relevant is core. Let’s not be doing things for the sake of doing them. Let’s connect in meaningful ways. The tools may be new, but the importance of relationship-building and support remain constant. I’m excited to have the opportunity to highlight in this Government 2.0 column ways our government is being innovative as we all listen, learn and let go together.

*Context and attribution corrected.

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What’s Your Social Media Ritual? Sharing My Own 15-Steps

on June 29, 2008

fireworks

At work, we’ve been talking a lot about the information scans we all do on our own…who we refer to, which sites are the best, the most useful feeds, etc. So, now, out of curiosity and from inspiration gained from Chris Brogan’s recent post: “Where I Learn More,” I’m asking: Where do you go to learn?

Brogan’s article is great, as in it, he talks about the role of influence and asks us to reflect on what influences what we learn, think, behave and believe….so close to a social marketing (the real social marketing) question my buttons were popping with techy-excitement.

Here is my average, daily, social media ritual.

Please share me yours, and perhaps we can both expand our horizons a little. =)

  1. Check my work e-mail account. Its true fellow co-workers.
  2. Check my regular Gmail account. I get various e-newsletters and feeds here such as the Ad Council Creative E-newsletter, emails from the Social Marketing listserv, Chris Brogan’s new e-newsletter and others.
  3. Check my blog email account. I get various e-newsletter and feeds here that help me stay up to date on the social media, nonprofit, and social marketing arena. Some of my favorite includes Nedra Weinreich’s Spare Change Blog, Beth Kanter’s blog/wiki, and Ogilvy PR’s 360 Digital Influence blog.
  4. Check my Bloglines feeds, to see what good posts are up and published.
  5. Check out both the nonprofit and the social media categories on Alltop.com
  6. Do a scan of: TechCrunch, Trendspotting, Read Write Web, Osocio, Non-Profit Times, NextGov, BrazenCareerist, Social Times, and others. This can depend on the day and the topic I’m currently investigating.
  7. Check old Twitter feeds I may have missed. Especially key feeds from @GeoffLiving, @Nedra, @chrisbrogan, @scobleizer, @rww, @abfdc, @allllll the others I follow on Twitter. Really, it’s a community working together and sharing. It. is. awesome.
  8. If it’s a Monday, I check out the Carnival for Non-Profit Consultants.
  9. Check in on Linkedin to see if anyone new I know has joined or connected. The homepage on Linkedin is becoming increasingly fun.
  10. Surf around the NonProfit Blog Exchange if Emily has posted some great new posts.
  11. Then, it’s on to the social bookmarks. I check my delicious, both my networks and my subscriptions. Oftentimes, those I am connected to are in a similar field or have similar interests, so thank you everyone on del.icio.us.
  12. Then, I spend a little time on Digg, and may occasionally check in on StumbleUpon. I’m really liking Mixx more and more too, though, there doesn’t seem to be as many people on it.
  13. I check up on the scoop of my work’s internal wiki.
  14. Check meetup.com for upcoming events and opportunities to take online connecting –> offline.
  15. More scooping that I probably, and I apologize, didn’t list. Though, if I remember more, I will place in the comments. There’s always MORE to learn and MORE resources to discover. =)

Important note to make: This is just the listening phase.

About the listening phase. I might do some or all of this ritual depending on the day and the time. The point is though, that my ritual is…I am always listening. Always checking in. Always asking questions. Always working to seek answers.

The FUN part, is taking it all in, reflecting, and creatively organizing the content and information in your head to implement innovative, effective communications. And, when I really want to *get wild,* I reflect further, beyond the field of communications, social media or marketing…but more to what Chris mentions, about influence. About change. About society. About trends. About what it all means.

Photo Credit: Flickr, Elias Pirasteh


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New Blogger Neighbor Andre Blackman @ Pulse and Signal, both online….and off!

on June 5, 2008

Well, you can! Andre and others will be attending HealthCamp MD in Owings, Maryland on Saturday, June 14, 2008. HealthCamp MD is being hosted by Mark Scrimshire at EKIVE. To learn more about the event, check out its wiki here. Sign up now while delegate and sponsorship spots are still available.

I recently got the opportunity to meet Andre through a Social Marketing Meetup he planned in Washington D.C. with Nedra Weinreich of the blog Spare Change. Thus, I nominated him for this week’s Blogger Neighborhood, as he too values both online and offline exchange. Enjoy!

photo credit: the woodstove

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Blog Name: Pulse and Signal

Blog Topics: Health Communication, Health Education, Social Media, Personal Technology, Consumer Behavior

About the Author: Andre Blackman graduated with a degree in Public and Community Health in 2005 but has had a passion for science/technology ever since he could remember. He loves to meet new, interesting people and think about ways to make the world just a little better. He is a firm believer in the power of people coming together for a common good and is interested in using social technologies to improve the health of others through better health communications. I use Twitter a lot (follow me @mindofandre).

If you could live on any street, what would that street be named and why?

Changemaker Lane, I want to live on a street that continually reminds me of what I should have done that day as I leave and as I come home.

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor?

I have a few but at the moment, Tiger Woods. He is focused, a family man and he runs an awesome foundation that I hope to emulate.

What first prompted you to blog?

After nearly 2 years of reading blogs and thinking about both health and technology, I decided to take the leap and start writing those thoughts down. Not too long into the blogging, I started making great friends through online communication tools and that continued to fuel my excitement for blogging!

If you customized your own license plate, what would it say and why?

URWRLD – in this day and age more than ever people have the opportunities to fulfill their dreams and achieve their personal goals…it’s your world.

What would you gift to a new neighbor as the perfect welcoming gift?

A REAL list of best places to eat and attractions in the town/city to visit. You know the corporate ones lie sometimes!

What’s your favorite blog post and why?

It would probably be when I wrote “The Importance of Sleep in the Wired Generation.” This was one of the first posts I wrote that got decent attention and even the Sleep Foundation chimed in on the comments section. It was important to me because of what I saw happening to a couple people I knew (including myself!) when trying to keep up with all the social media buzz and Web events. You barely get sleep! And lack of sleep has some detrimental effects.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from blogging?

The importance of interacting with others – the more you comment and make genuine relationships with others, the more you get back, probably even more so.

Past Blogger Neighbors Include:

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This continuous weekly series highlights different blogs and their respective bloggers in the blogosphere neighborhood. Following the great Mr. Rogers, who tells us to ‘Get to know your neighbor,’ this series introduces us to our blogger neighbors, making for a more unified, collaborative voice for the social sector. Like to nominate someone or be featured yourself? Contact me @ socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com.


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