It‘s understandable not every business was going to jump on the social media bandwagon right from the get go, it’s scary being a leader and innovative. Some need case studies to examine before consideration; others would rather sit on the sidelines observing the competition before joining the party. All this makes sense, who knew Facebook would grow to over 500M accounts and location-based applications would become so popular?

When I think about which industries could easily take advantage of the latest tools and technology, none come to mind more than the food industry including: restaurants, bars, culinary tours, catering companies, and the like. The ability to share exquisite photos, videos, blogs, specials, etc. and get community involvement before, during, and after the sale make for simple implementation once you get the basics down. While we’re starting to see more adoption by those in the food industry, too many missed opportunities are still occurring.

Location-based applications like Foursquare and Gowalla are starting to have real impact for brick and mortar companies as reported by SmartBlog on Restaurants. As more and more businesses learn how to manage customer reward programs and mobile marketing, others will quickly jump on board. As it is, we’re seeing rapid growth on Foursquare:

Most of today’s top celebrity chefs are on Twitter ranging from Bobby Flay to Rachel Ray. They’re quickly learning that one of the best ways to garner interest is to connect with the masses by removing the gatekeepers and share their behind the scene updates. Watching a program on the food network is no longer a solo activity. Find your favorite foodies to discuss Iron Chef, Mission Impossible, and Next Food Network Star in real-time on Twitter, Hulu, or some other food chat site. Not to be forgotten in all of this is the advertising opportunities available targeting a market clearly interested in all things food.

Below are some tips and suggestions on possible social media strategies for those in the food industry. What’s important to understand is how quickly technology is changing, thus requiring a need to stay informed by ‘playing’ in the space or hiring someone who is already doing it.

• Find out who is talking about your Brand online through various search criteria
• Create a strategy on how your Brand will interact with supporters, advocates, and those complaining
• Determine which platforms are best suited for your Brand and spend the most time there
• Automate your listening by keywords and location
• Consider if a blog makes sense in your overall strategy
• Examine if creating a YouTube site makes sense to house videos
• Encourage customers to review their experience on Yelp and other similar sites
• Share high quality photos of your food
• Figure out if you can implement a ‘customer contest’ promotion
• Utilize location-based applications, reward patrons who frequent your location the most
• Organize ‘Eat-ups’ to create buzz, exposure, and community involvement
• Start a newsletter
• Develop a Facebook Page for your Brand

While the list above is not comprehensive, it should provide plenty of ideas to get started. The decision to continue waiting will only delay potential growth and benefits. If there is currently nobody within your organization who has the technical ability and understanding to pull this off, consider hiring a consultant or a full time employee. The cost of not getting involved is something you can’t afford much longer.

You can have your cake and eat it too!

I’m not Chris Brogan nor am I trying to be however he’s easily in my top 3 of people I learn from on Twitter so after reading his blog My Twitter Presence this morning, I thought I would follow suit and hey, it was his suggestion anyway. Seeing that I just finished celebrating my two year Twitter anniversary, I can’t think of a better time to reflect on how I’ve been using the tool and what lies ahead. It’s been a great two years so far.

When I first started, I sat back and watched how others did their thing. Some impressed while most did what you’d expect – excessive self promotion. I quickly learned how to sift through the garbage to find the hidden gems, links to enjoyable blogs, videos, and podcasts. Over time, our growing networks can become a double edge sword as you want to remain engaged yet make sure you don’t lose sight of the bigger picture, attending to your business.

These days I spend a fair amount of time on Twitter conversing with friends, clients, community members, and others that one day might lead to prospects. The dirty truth is out, there’s a business motive to my madness. That doesn’t lessen the enjoyment I get when I’m able to help others or engage in silly conversations where the end goal is nothing more than a few laughs (discussed in What’s the ROI of Making People Laugh). For me, it not all about business yet business is always on my mind.

One of the biggest challenges most seem to face on social networks is determining the proper business/personal ratio. While I think it’s challenging to keep track of actual statistics for every tweet, I think it’s important to constantly assess if you’re following your own rules, whatever they may be. Chris discussed his 12:1 rule (promoting others more than himself) and in theory it sounds great. In reality, I find very few people able to pull this off and sustain it over the long term. Twitter seems to live by the 1:1 rule but that doesn’t mean we can’t strive for better.

My Twitter Goals

While my goals haven’t changed over time, how I view Twitter and my thoughts on how to get more out of it constantly evolve. My list below is not in order of importance:

• I use Twitter to get breaking or most talked about local and worldwide news
• I use Twitter to connect with my local community on a variety of topics
• I use Twitter to help others in need
• I use Twitter to find prospects for my business
• I use Twitter to find potential business partners
• I use Twitter to get ideas
• I use Twitter to help promote my network & myself
• I use Twitter to stay current on trending topics

I manage several accounts so the amount of time I spend sharing content, conversing with others, and doing research to find others is more than most. Monitoring my activity and results on a periodic basis helps me determine if I’m on the right track or need to make adjustments. Hopefully you’re doing the same analysis. Like Chris, I’d be happy to check out your blog on this topic.

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Comedians like Chris Rock and Adam Sandler make plenty of money, more than you and I combined. It makes perfectly good sense on why they work so hard to entertain their fans by spending hours each day perfecting their craft. Does that mean that we shouldn’t focus on putting smiles on the faces of our family, friends, and followers because we’re not compensated? One of the constant discussions happening in the social media bubble is determining how much time should we concentrate on business talk vs. casual personal engagement. While there’s no secret formula, it’s abundantly clear that almost everyone likes to laugh.

Don’t believe me?

Think back to some of your funniest tweets. We’ve all had moments where we’re in the zone, something witty crosses our mind which we instantly share on the social stream causing a flood of LOL’s, ROTF, and hahaha’s. We feel good. We feel proud. We feel like we’ve done something worthwhile. In reality, we didn’t do anything special like splitting atoms or complete a triathlon yet we feel like a million bucks. The question then becomes, what have we really accomplished and is there something to gain?

No matter what side of the fence you sit regarding personal branding, you’d be hard pressed to convince anyone that making people feel good is a bad thing. I’m not suggesting you squat on Twitter all day making jokes unless of course your name is Dane Cook, in which case have at it. Most people need to be diligent with how they spend their time as we’re constantly being pulled in a thousand directions. As it is, we’re hearing people are having a hard time finding few precious minutes to eat, how in the world can we expect them to make a fart joke?

Here is a list of potential benefits from making others laugh:

• People want to engage with you
• You help someone who is having a bad day
• Some might check out your website, blog, or profile potentially leading to business
• Your jokes get shared on the social stream resulting in more followers and advocates
• You’re asked to speak at an event after demonstrating your wit and charm
• You connect with others that normally wouldn’t occur without this common bond

Sure you might not get a check sent to your house every time you make someone smile, laugh, or chuckle. There’s probably no promotion in your future for cracking people up but that’s ok, you’re able to see the forest through the trees. If ROI is really that important, why do we do anything that doesn’t provide immediate benefit or some other perk down the road?

So go ahead and make us laugh…it might get you more than you think.

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Has this ever happened to you?

You’re walking around when someone approaches and asks if you are…you? They know your name, or if different – Twitter name, along with your most recent updates. They’ve been following your latest trip, speaking engagement, and car accident shared on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The glee in their eye tells you everything you need to know, they think you’re special.

If you’ve been spending the past year or longer on the most popular social networking sites, the story above has most likely occurred. Especially if you’ve been engaging and sharing as opposed to fire-hosing messages. As our networks increase daily, the likelihood of our content landing in the laps of others increases exponentially. The amount of information we’re learning about one another in this hyper-fast communication era is changing the landscape of relationship building.

Look at your network today. Has it grown significantly over the past couple of years or is it roughly the same size? For most people, developing and nurturing a large network of professionals in a variety of industries makes good business sense. Just look at groups like LBN and BNI as examples. Today more than ever our business comes from referrals, friends, online exposure and those we work hard to develop synergy within our non-competing core competencies.

There will come a day in the not too distant future where we won’t be talking about social media, or rather we won’t mention it by name like we do now. The Internet will continue to evolve and those taking advantage of staying connected, providing value, and sharing relevant content will do well compared to their counterpart. Individuals and companies resistant to learning the latest technology will continue to fall further behind the competition.

I’m constantly reminded how voyeuristic of a society we are. People are tracking our every move, latest connections, and most current whereabouts. If you ever start thinking people aren’t paying attention to you, you’d probably be wrong. Sure they might not comment back or give you any indication that they’re tuned in but trust me, they are. If your network is small or you’re just getting started, naturally you’ll have fewer peeking behind the curtains but be assured, they’re lurking.

Are you happy with what they see?

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Social Media has impacted many industries from music, retail, eateries, and more. Lately, I’ve been fascinated by what’s happening over at Channel 7, WXYZ in Metro Detroit. Over the past year or so there have been several discussions at networking events re: whose watching local news from Gen Y and Interactive folks with a resounding, “Not Me”.

People said the news was filled with too many negative stories, didn’t highlight all the good that’s happening in our community. In addition, many would say that spending time on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks would allow the most important news to find them. I was sure the local news was up against a fight they couldn’t win, much like the newspaper industry. That was before the on-air talent got involved.

We’ve heard for quite some time that all we want from our favorite brands is the ability to communicate with them. We want logos to have a face and personality and we want access to the people behind the scenes. Some companies have done a wonderful job delivering on these newly created expectations, maybe none more than the crew over at WXYZ.

Up early in the morning? Go check out @wxyzalicia @victorjfaust or @enicole19 and see what they’re up to and if you’re able to produce a creative tweet, it might just get on the air. The gatekeepers have been removed, the ability to connect with you favorite Twitter person is just a few keystrokes away. More of a night owl? Visit @sclarkwxyz and the #backchannel crew. Big sporst fan? Maybe you want to check out what @TomLeyden is talking about. Day or night they got you covered. Hey, maybe that should be their new slogan.

The word conversion gets discussed almost as much as ROI. What WXYZ has masterfully done is to get the folks on Twitter to tune into their broadcasts. They’re not just connecting online, Stephen Clark has gone to local conferences and interacted with the peeps. He’s demonstrated his country singing chops on stage for those interested in attending local venues. Most recently, I’ve been coordially invited to tour the WXYZ facilities & hang out during one of their broadcasts. I’d say they’ve figured out the conversion game just fine.

Want to create new advocates, fans, and supporters?

Watch the news and maybe you’ll get a few pointers.

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What happens when your expectations aren’t met?

You get pissed, frustrated, disappointed, and let down. You want to tell the world how you’ve just been wronged and need justice in the public court of Twitter appeals. The problem is you were the one that set the expectations in the first place.  Yep, I said it…you are wrong sometimes!

There are countless examples we’ve all seen where someone complains about service from <fill in your favorite cable provider>.  Sure they’re frustrated, they’ve set the expectation that their cable will work 100% of the time. The moment that 100% is compromised they’re owed an apology, 3 months service for free, and applause from their followers for sticking it to the man. In reality, expecting flawless service from our cable, mobile, and Internet providers is our fault as we’ve set the expectation beyond what is reasonable.

Technology is intricate and spammers are sneaky

You’re telling me you’ve never had an off day? There are no mistakes in your reports? The moment we let someone else down we wouldn’t want them going on Twitter and telling the world that you totally forgot about an appointment you scheduled a few weeks ago. We’re human and humans make mistakes. Too often we like to point out failures from those around us for fear of having someone point the finger at us.

That’s not to say you can’t get frustrated when someone or something doesn’t work as advertised. We’ve all wanted to punch the monitor from time to time the moment our computers fail. The difference today compared to a few years ago is there’s now a strong Internet presence to share our stories. That can be a good thing when we’re being fair and quite damaging when we’re being reckless.

With social’s popularity we’re now expecting every large brand to be monitoring communication about their company 24/7. Sure, the smart companies have already figured out a way to incorporate customer service or related departments into the social stream but we’re still in the infancy of this new movement. In time, more and more organizations will become proficient in handling customer complaints, questions, and inquiries.

Expectations get miscommunicated all the time. We thought a prospect was going to call us back by the end of the week yet they never agreed to that, it was just assumed. You thought your wife was going to pick up the pizza because she works next door to the pizza joint…but you never had the conversation. Whenever you find these situations arise, ask yourself if the expectations were: communicated, agreed upon, and understood by all parties involved.

So what are some of the takeaways from this post?

• Almost nothing works 100% of the time
• People like attention and complaining garners attention
• The larger the brand, the more we expect perfection
• We’re perfect

What are your thoughts on expectations? Do you think that we sometimes set expectations that our favorite brands can’t deliver on? I’d love to hear your feedback.

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Want more Twitter followers?

The answer will not be found in this post, sorry guys. I’m not that kind of salesman, offering solutions that are only cosmetic and superficial in nature.

No, this is a blog of another sort. The dialog below really tells the story.

The secret’s out, I’ve been giving Henry dance lessons for several months now. Not only that, I’ve been coaching him on overcoming his insecurities. See, it’s not so easy when you’re a vertically challenged immigrant from the Philippines. It’s natural he would need a boast of confidence from time to time. Knowing that I’m Jewish and as Henry states, “Jews make great movie directors” made me an obvious choice for being his agent. I’m throwing in the counseling sessions for free.

Don’t think my work has paid dividends? How then would you explain what’s been happening for Henry of late? First there was his talk at LA2M, followed by keynotes at: TIE Conference, iCE Amsterdam Mobile Conference, 360iDev iPhone Developer Conference and now this, lead role in an upcoming movie: Hustle Dragon!

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Gaming the System? Not being authentic, transparent?

I think Henry has played his cards just right.

Every now and again I enjoy having really deep conversations bordering on the verge of uncomfortable. Like a first time skydiver preparing to jump, the adrenaline rush helps remind you that you’re alive. The other day I wrote about why I watch reality television and specifically discussed one of my favorite shows – Deadliest Catch.

This past week’s episode featured the late Captain Phil Harris, who passed away earlier this year during taping of the current season. It’s clear based on everyone’s reaction he was a beloved man amongst all his family,friends, and acquaintances. This was not acting; the puffy red eyes and tears that rolled down their checks were not makeup. This was reality television as hardly shown before. Naturally, it got me thinking…

What do you want your legacy to be? What do you hope people will say about you when you’re no longer around?

During this past week’s episode they aired clips of Phil’s funeral where one person after another got up to share their Phil stories. The the main ‘Crabbers’ (Captain of a crab boat), Phil’s sons, and camera man responsible for filming Phil all the way to the bitter end, sat around reminiscing as they laughed and cried in front of a national audience demonstrating that authenticity and transparency are not just buzz words used in social media circles.

For just a moment, put yourself in that situation. Everyone’s standing around talking about you.

If it happened tomorrow, what do you think they’d say? What would you want them to say?

Have you begun to create a legacy or is that something for down the road? Sure we can always do more; I’m interested in exploring the question right now, in real-time. What, if anything is holding you back from reaching your desired status, for lack of a better term?

The tears didn’t come from just the guys on TV, I noticed my throat get a little tight and mouth dry while watching the last episode. Being a fan for the entire six seasons thus far, I’ve gotten to know the main characters on what seems like an intimate basis through the camera’s powerful storytelling. I’d love to hear your stories and thoughts on legacy, I find it to be a fascinating topic.

There’s a certain fascination with looking into the crystal ball trying to figure out what the future looks like. During interviews, companies ask candidates where they see themselves in five years as if they actually had put some thought into it. When we look at business plans, we review forecasts and prognostications in hopes of landing funding from angel investors. Now that social media has hit mainstream (discussed on TV, radio, and most other media), I can’t help but wonder what the future holds.

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It won’t be called social media, it’ll just be business

So many of us get caught up using catch phrases and jargon when we could easily just say what’s on our minds. It’s easier to dump the word transparency into the laps of our readers without giving context to what it means in a particular situation. New words will emerge to replace old ones. As a society, we like to label everything as to make it fit into a neat little box.

In time, someone much smarter than me will rename the phrase ‘social media’ but we’ll all know it as ‘doing business’. Most everyone will be online connecting with others as if we’ve always done it that way. Just like mobile phones, there will come a time when we can’t remember life without social media. As I’ve written before, we’ll have a harder time remembering when we first met and how long we’ve known each other. Time blurs history.

Technology will continue to advance beyond our current comprehension

Who could have predicted ten years ago that augmented reality would exist? For those not familiar, as described by Wikipedia it’s a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery. Below is a short video demonstrating GE’s augmented reality coming to life.

There is so much money for those creating mobile, iPad, and similar device applications that we’ll be blown away by what the hordes of developers produce. In time, most everyone will be conducting video chats on their phones replacing audio-only functionality. Many will spend more time on their pocket devices than their PC’s and laptops which for some is already happening.

Having a strong network will mean everything

This is no great revelation, we’ve been learning for quite some time how important networking is in our lives. Whether we’re looking for a job, developing business partners, or getting questions answered, we’ll rely even more on our trusted networks as time goes on. Those that fail to develop a strong group around them will struggle to compete. The saying, ‘It’s not what you know but who you know’ will continue to rule the day on levels we can’t comprehend. Some of your friends today will become extremely successful with access to events, planes, and people that will greatly impact your lifestyle.

With so many entrepreneurs starting their own business, the shift of the industrial workforce will be greatly impacted as Seth Godin often points out. Web developers will partner with graphic designers, marketers will partner with PR folks, and consultants will partner with anyone who can complement their service offerings. While this is already beginning to happen, over the next 5-10 years this trend will most likely explode creating smaller organizations who can handle complex projects in-house.

Predicting the future is alway challenging no matter what the subject matter is. It’s hard to stretch our minds beyond what we’ve already seen and experienced yet everyday someone gets a little closer to the next greatest invention or discovery. Social media evangelists are working hard to integrate products and services with fundamental strategies in hopes of producing noteworthy results. As the old saying goes, “We’re only as limited as our imagination”.

So what will will the future look like in ten years?

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I know, you hate reality TV and don’t understand the fascination with its popularity. Big Brother was one of the 1^st reality shows shown in the US dating back to 1999 and since then, dozens upon dozens of similar type shows have aired with mixed reviews. While some choose to go the scripted route (see The Hills), others try to be as real as possible as evidenced by the Deadliest Catch, my favorite show of them all.

What is it that draws people in?

The same reason we watch train wrecks, sporting event, and major storms…the outcome is unpredictable which makes it intriguing. For every successful reality show that hits, there are easily 20 or more that flop but that could be said for all programming. Show like American Idol, Bachelorette, and Survivor (yes, it’s still on) draw huge rating numbers demonstrating our infatuation with the format. The reasons people tune in vary but one common thread seems to be learning lessons we can take away. Whether we’re learning how NOT to treat someone, what characteristics draw people in versus push them away, or what drives people to act a certain way mirror everyday life.

The other day I had an interesting conversation with a friend on Twitter re: The Bachelorette. Her strong reaction of never wanting to be on a show like that got me thinking, what is the makeup of someone who is willing to go on National television and most likely embarrass themselves somewhere throughout the process? Is getting 15 minutes of fame that desirable that you’re willing to be humiliated in hopes of getting discovered? One thing’s for certain, there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of aspiring young talent looking for their shot.

Getting back to the Deadliest Catch, this season has been my favorite so far with many storylines to follow. Below is a short clip of the show in case it hasn’t hit your radar. Basically, it’s a bunch of Captains and their crews attempting to catch the elusive King, Opilio, and Blue crab in the Bering Sea, located between Alaska and Siberia. The conditions are brutal from 20 foot waves, freezing weather, and danger lurking around every corner causing several deaths every year. You can try and script the storyline all you want but there’s no staging the environment, hence the name deadliest catch.

On the show’s 6th and current season we learn of a missing dad, drug addiction, veteran fishermen getting pushed to their limits physically and emotionally, and a crew that loses their captain (Phil Harris – shown in video above) after a major stroke that he isn’t able to recover from. Two of Phil’s sons begin fighting with each other from the overwhelming emotion of seeing their father pass. Deadliest Catch has a little bit of everything and besides the extreme fishing, challenging situations that we have to deal with on a daily basis.

What can we learn from the show?

• How to deal with difficult family dynamics
• Overcoming obstacles
• What characteristics are found in leaders
• Working in extreme conditions and succeeding
• How difficult it is to catch crab

Yes, it’s possible to learn from scripted television shows like LOST, ER, and Seinfeld but for me the real learning is in observing human behavior whether it be in person or on TV. What programming do you enjoy watching and what, if anything are you learning from them?

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