I have been blessed with the opportunity to take on an exciting role as part of the press staff for the blog, The Sights and Sounds, for the upcoming Chicago music festival, North Coast Music Festival.

As part of the team, I will explore a unique style of writing, contrary to the style familiar to my personal website, while blogging about artists, songs, and news prior to and following the festival.  Check out a few of my recent posts: 

Are you going to be in the City of Chicago this 4th of July weekend, but not sure what to do yet?  Come check out the big names playing at Wavefront Music Festival, to be held at Montrose Beach. 

A topic that often arises in a B2B company when discussing social media is “Why should I care?”  Marketers in B2B companies often disregard the use of social media using excuses such as time needed for such a task, return on investment, the issue of professionalism, and the underlying argument that consumers use social media, not businesses.  These so-called “reasons” are mistake number one. 

Anyone who has seen my iPhone can immediately notice three very obvious facts about me:

1. I am an iPhone lover.
2. I am an app addict. 
   
3. I would be lost without my iPhone and the immense amount of organization it has brought into my life.

I can easily spend an hour loading apps onto my phone, then spend another 6 hours testing them all out to determine whether they make the cut or not.  Some may call it obsessive, while I call it a hobby.

Quick Explanation of iPhone Exchange

Although the iPhone offers an option to sync your iPhone directly with Gmail, I give praise to the iPhone's exchange capabilities and recommend using that instead.  For those of you with an iPhone, you can access the exchange (after it has already been set up) by clicking on:


The "Settings" app -> "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" -> "Exchange" 

Everyone has their own reasons for unfollowing a person on Twitter.  Although many “Social Media Gurus” will claim there are a set of actions you definitely should NEVER do on twitter, I only agree with 50% of that statement.  Items like inappropriate comments or posting certain (ahem) vulgar pictures are obvious ways to not only get unfollowed but possibly kicked off Twitter.  Other times, these actions are merely “social faux pas” deemed annoyances.  It is important to remember that Twitter rules of engagement are built by its users.  While I may not like the way you handle your twitter, another user may.  These social norms vary from group to group, so it is important to recognize that many “rules” are merely opinions of a group of individuals believing in the same ideas.  Keep this in mind when reading my 5 reasons, as your views may reflect mine or be far from similar.  There are plenty of other reasons as well, but these are five I thought necessary to bring up. 

THE MAN BEHIND THE WORK

From the Midwest state of Indiana, a businessman has built himself a credible reputation as being an expert in the social media and marketing industry.  This successful young man and CEO of MindFrame, Kyle Lacy, has taken both the practice and education of social media into his own hands and has empowered others to utilize this new era of marketing tools.  Two very notable accomplishments that Lacy is credited for are his published book titled Twitter Marketing for Dummies, which hit the shelves in 2009, along with his 2010 book, Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself. 

A Blog refers to a website managed by one or more individuals, allowing this owner or these owners to post information. Content can range from commentary and review to even day-by-day personal writing of an individual’s activities. Used both on a professional and personal level, this tool has offered a chance for more voices to be heard and has changed the way media operates.

From Hierarchy to Network

The organization of individuals has greatly changed over time from a hierarchal system to a more flat and network style.  One definition, according to Webster, for an organization is “an administrative and functional structure.”  Meanwhile, Webster refers to a network in one part of its definition as “an interconnected or interrelated chain, group, or system.”  Separating these two definitions is the beginning of defining the former means of communication from the modern.  Early organizations represented an organization with a functional structure having a hierarchal set-up to help manage the components.  New media takes on a network approach opposing this definition by interconnecting its parts to collaborate together as opposed to working through a chain of command.  Networks represent a much more complex system when compared to a hierarchy.  From the introduction of organizational charts to the creation of the Internet and social media, our society has adapted to the changing styles of organizing.  As the way we communicate changes, our society and means of organization also alters.  Clay Shirky’s book titled Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations discusses the origins of organization and the impact of new technologies.