Meet Ryan Osborn. Ryan started as a Page, moving on to becoming a Production Assistant and now holds the role of Director of Social Media at NBC News. That’s right – Ryan gets to work with the NBC News teams and implement Social Media strategies. I would call this a dream job!
Ryan found time in his very busy schedule to discuss the use of Social Media at the network. You can learn more about Ryan here.
Listen to the audio version below or download a copy of the interview transcript.
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I like Pizza. My 5 kids like Pizza. Pizza is good. Getting the right experience is good. That being said, you have really let me and my kids down recently.
Let me back up and tell you the story.
Recently, my twins had their 5th birthday party. We had about a dozen 5 year olds over for a party with a bounce house. Oh how they loved the bounce house. Per my kids request I ordered Pizza Hut, not my choice of Domino’s ,because they like the stuffed crust. (Hey I like the crust to, but feel loyal to Dominos, plus they have a great social marking)
Being the tech savvy guy I am, I ordered my pies via your website, it was a very easy experience. So, far so good right? Well then the pizzas arrived. They were wrong., well 2 of them were. The other 4 were fine. We quickly adapted to the problem and moved on.
Then the following week my family wanted more Pizza Hut. One look from those kids and I gave in. Ordering pizza again via your Iphone app. I went to pick up the pizzas and again, they were wrong. I worked it out with the person at the counter.
Now, being the calm cool guy I am I posted this:
To your credit your responded with:
and this:
I was impressed! I had thought, wow you really care! You listen! You monitor conversations on twitter. Also, I figured you must of saw these tweets:
So, I quickly sent you a direct message as you requested. Yes, I follow directions well. So that is where I think you really dropped the ball with the @pizzahut. See, I have not heard back from you in 2 days. Are you done with me? What was the point in having me contact you directly? I am just wondering. I would think you would want to respond to me, have me write a blog post about how you hit a home run with your use of social media. I would tweet about it and others would Retweet it. There would be great buzz on twitter about it.
Sincerely,
Dave (the guy whose family likes stuffed crust)
First, let me congratulate you on your monthly magazine. It is a magazine, I still look forward to getting every month (along with my bible, Entertainment Weekly). It is great to get a magazine that has reviews, comment and articles about people I actual know instead of, say, Spencer and Heidi.
I am writing you this letter because you, well, do not get it.
You put out this well-done resource with articles about new technology, design, leadership, blah, blah, blah. It was something that told me, “Fast Company is a resource that is creditable and a good source for things in the Social Media/Online area.” That was until yesterday, when I got invited to take part in your “Influence Project.” See, first I got this teaser email back in June:
Hi Dave, it’s Rebecca from Fast Company and I want to share with you a very new, soon-to-be launched project.
The project? It’s a fun experiment called The Influence Project that will visualize and track how active influence spreads, the reach of people’s social graph, plus it will map degrees of separation, etc. By participating in the program, you can more accurately measure your active influence on your networks. Everyone’s photo will land in the pages of Fast Company plus interesting stories from the program will also be covered by the magazine as well as online.
We’ll ping you Wednesday with more detailed info. And for being one of the first to jump in, we’d like to give you something back. We’ll email you the link to the site the eve prior to launch to check it out.
Looking forward to seeing you in The Influence Project and feel free to get in touch anytime.
Best,
Rebecca
The Influence Project :: Fast Company
I thought, “Cool, I am looking forward to this amazing metric, new technology and new way to measure influence. Wow, maybe they will give Klout a run for their money.”
Then I got this email:
Dave,
Thank you for participating in Fast Company’s The Influence Project.
You’re about to find out how influential you really are.
Remember:
1) You can use any means to spread your unique link to your online network.
We shortened it for you so you can share on Twitter and Facebook.
2) Your goal is to influence as many people to click on it as possible.
3) You want those people to sign up as well, since they will be spreading
your influence along with their own.
4) You can track how your influence has grown, where it’s lead, and where
you stand at any time on the site.
5) Your picture is going to be in the November issue of Fast Company
magazine, where we’ll reveal the most influential person online!
Thank you,
The Fast Company team
Ummmm…a link? You’re measuring influence by the number of people I get to click on a link? A lousy link? Are you kidding me? Is this a joke? I know — you’re punking me right? Where is Ashton Kutcher?
Oh, you’re serious… this is your great project? Well, I hate to break it to you. It’s flawed. No, really, it is. See look…
If I have a network of 100 people and I get 100 people to click the “link,” but there is another person that has a network of say 100,000 people and gets 1,000 to click it, they have more influence? I am far from being a math wiz, but I do not see how that person has more “influence.” They have a larger network, but a smaller success rate.
Also, you are looking at influence being based on clicking a link? Did I mention that? I promise you that somewhere right now, someone is setting up a contest that says “Wanna have a chance at winning $1,000? Just click this link.” Oh, and that link would be the influence project link. So they get to buy influence, kinda like Bernie Madoff.
Bottom line, you’re measuring influence on getting people to click a link. You are way off base.
Well, thanks for reading my letter. I appreciate it. Also, I was looking to renew my subscription and wondering if I can get the Fast Company clock radio this year instead of the blanket? Is that okay? I mean, I do not want to influence you into doing it…
Last year, I spoke at the 140tc in Los Angeles and had an amazing time. One of the best panels there was a celebrity panel put on by Dr. Drew. He lead the panel of: Tony Hawk, Loni LoveLeVar Burton and others to discuss how they use Twitter. Afterward, I got to spend some time with Dr. Drew. I discussed with him, one thing that he had not asked. “Why they use Twitter and what is in it for the celebrity.” He agreed and stated he had tried to get them to comment on it, but none of them would go there. This has always stuck with me.
So, that discussion has taking me here to this. Something I want to try. Interviewing others about their use of not just Twitter,because there is more to social media then just Twitter, but social networks, online branding, blogging, communities, and lots more.
I started by producing an interview with Heroes creator Tim Kring using Second Life last month. I moved on to a short interview with Yvette Nicole Brown of the tv show Community. Which brings me to the next interview I am going to do with actor Lou Diamond Phillips.
For this interview, I plan on recording the interview and posting here on the site. Nothing daring or out of the box I know. What I want to do is ask questions about his use of social networking sites, interactions with his community and such.
…But I need your help!
Lou has agreed to let me get the questions ahead of time from online communities or via my blog. As he put it, ” I think it is a great idea to include the Twitterverse.”
So, what would you like to ask actor Lou Diamond Phillips? Here let me give you some ideas. I will do it in list form, becuase people like lists:
- How and why he uses Twitter.
-His online interactions with fans.
-Why he is not on Facebook.
-Maybe about his SyFy tv show Stargate Universe which just finished season 1.
-It could be about something about La Bamba, Stand and Deliver, Young Guns, his stage work or even his poker skills
I need your help to make this awesome! So bring it!
So leave a question here, send me a Tweet, leave it on Facebook.. heck email me. I will need them by June 25, 2010 and of course I will give you credit for the question!
Thought I would share this interview I produced for Second Life last month. This will created complete in the online world of Linden Labs, Second Life. My good friend and radio personality Hooman Khalili did the interview. It was really fun and Tim Kring was a great interview. Yes, some would say virtual worlds like Second Life, have.. “Jumped The Shark”. I have to say getting the instant feedback from the audience and questions, made it really fun.
What do you think? Are interviews with avatars a waste?
Yvette Nicole Brown is one of the amazing stars on the hysterical TV show Community on NBC and a user of Social Media. You may know her from such shows as Girlfriends, Entourage, The Office,That’s So Raven,Curb Your Enthusiasm,Half & Half, Sleeper Cell, House, Two and a Half Men,That 70’s ShowandBoston Legal. I had a great conversation with Yvette to discuss her career, Community and how she uses Social Media.
Dave Peck: Yvette, I want to thank you for taking time out to have this interview with me. You have a lot going on these days! Can you tell me how you got started in acting?
Yvette Nicole Brown: I started in commercials and then branched out into bit parts on television and in movies. I’m still navigating the beginning stages of my film career, but luckily TV-wise, I’ve landed on a cool show working with folks I absolutely ADORE!
DP:What was the role that you thought “Wow, I might be on to something here?”
YNB:This is random, but probably the role of “Doris Thumper” on “Boston Legal”. It was my first meaty role on a drama and I got to sing, dance (a bit) and be funny (in a painfully shy, dramatic way. LOL!) That I pulled it all off amongst all the acting greatness that was the cast of that show (!!!) continues to be one of my proudest moments and memories as an actress.
DP: What made you get started with Twitter? Were you easily hooked?
YNB: I was primarily a Facebook girl when I started to hear about this hot “NEW” thing called Twitter. The idea of it intrigued me, but still I avoided it for the longest time. Primarily–and this is gonna sound silly–because “friends” on Twitter are called “followers”. For some reason, having “followers” just felt wrong to me. I didn’t feel worthy to have folks following me (LOL!) and I felt the weight of possibly not having anywhere worthwhile to “lead” them. If they’re following, I should be taking them somewhere, right? But after a while, I realized that it was just a word and the challenge of saying something informative or funny in 140 characters was too big of a draw to ignore.
And yes, I was INSTANTLY hooked! Though it took me quite a while to learn all the ins and outs. I didn’t even know that there was an “@” page at first. Two weeks in, I was mortified to realize that lots of people had sent tweets to me that I had never responded to. So I spent like a DAY sending a response tweet to EVERYONE who had written me since I joined. It wasn’t easy, but I got thru everybody. And though it’s a bit harder to do now, I still try to respond to most of the tweets I get… or at least to the questions. To not respond seems rude. I want folks to know that what they have to say matters to me.
DP: What other Social Media tools are you using? i.e do you use YouTube? Facebook? MySpace?
YNB: I’m on Myspace still… though I rarely check it.
And I’m still on Facebook… which I check daily, though I am WAY behind on reading and responding to facebook emails. (I have both a FB Personal Page and FB Public Page )
*In my defense, from what I can see, my inbox has been overrun by invites to events that are mostly in other STATES. Um, how does that happen, exactly? LOL! So I don’t feel so bad about hardly ever checking it.
DP: What do you enjoy about interacting with the online communities most?
YNB: I love the immediacy of Facebook and Twitter (in particular). Anything that’s on my mind or that I want folks to know I can instantly put it out there. Sometimes to my detriment (HA!) Twitter is like a public diary for a lot of folks who use it. And though I try to keep the really personal stuff out of the 140 characters I post; a lot of my daily activities (and surely what I’m watching and what I think of it second by second) finds their way into my tweets. And within seconds I can hear what other folks are thinking. It’s been awesome!
DP: What do you like least about interacting online?
YNB: My least favorite part about interacting online is that it’s easy to forget that I don’t know most of the folks on my pages and they don’t know me. You forget how handy it is to interact with folks you have a sort of “shorthand” with. My friends know my sense of humor and my heart. So even if I word a tweet wrong, they know the spirit in which I wrote it, for the most part. At times, I’ve had to explain myself and my intentions a bit more than I’d like. And I’m explaining things—for the most part—to strangers. That’s a weird feeling. And I will never understand how folks can take an innocuous tweet and slant it negatively. That I just don’t get. And don’t get me started on same day/ East Coast spoilers! LOL!
DP:What kind of reactions do you get when you respond to fans online? Are they blown away? Are you getting the interaction or response you thought you would with Twitter? More, less?
YNB: I started responding to folk first on my imdb page and I’ve continued the practice on each social networking site I join. And I’m still surprised at how shocked people are that I respond. A lot of people even doubt it’s really me saying thanks and answering questions; which I find hilarious. Responding has just always seemed like the kind thing to do. I wouldn’t ignore a compliment or question I received face to face. It’s no different just because it’s online. As for whether it was the response I wanted, I never had a particular response in mind. I’m just happy folks enjoy my work and are kind enough to let me know. That is a blessing.
DP: Do your followers make you laugh with their replies? Any specific interaction that you recall making you laugh?
YNB: My followers (still have a hard time with that word, lol!) are AWESOME! And quite a few are very funny. I feel like together we have created an open, positive atmosphere where all are welcome… as long as they respect folks and are kind. It may seem hokey, but life is hard enough. Who wants to log on and be bombarded with nonsense and strife. I don’t like it and I don’t want it on my page. Luckily, I’ve been blessed to be “followed” by like-minded individuals. And those who bring mess or are looking for some, don’t usually stay on my page long. It’s all too sunshine and rainbows for most of them. And I wish them well as they go. LOL!
DP:Was there any celebrity in particular that follows you that you thought to yourself, “How cool that this person is following ME?!”
YNB: I remember when I found out singer/songwriter India.Arie was following me I was like, “Say WHAT?!” I adore India and her music and to think that she was even aware of me, much less following me was almost TOO much! The same goes for Debbie Allen! Ms. Allen should NOT know I’m somewhere breathing air! LOL! That she does is miraculous at a level I can’t even quantify!
DP: There is a great YouTube video showing the cast of Community’s reaction when you found out you were being renewed. What can you tell me about that moment? How do you feel that it’s on the Internet forever?
YNB: That video shows the EXACT range of emotions I went through. I’ve been told by my friends and family that my face shows EVERYTHING I’m thinking. So it’s ALL there. I was TERRIFIED then OVERJOYED. LOL! And I love that it’s on the Internet “forever”. It’s an honest moment between me and my friends as we heard the fate of a show we love making dearly. That the news was good makes the viral nature of our little video that much sweeter.
DP: Any plans for Yvettenicolebrown.com in the future?
YNB: Do I personally have plans for the future? Or do I have big plans for my website? Which one, Dave?! Ah, I’m just gonna answer both! LOL! Personally, I just wanna keep making folks laugh as “Shirley” on Community. Don’t have any big dreams aside from that one. Being on an NBC Thursday night comedy kinda fulfills most of my childhood acting dreams! J As for the website, I did it all by myself, which I’m really proud of. That said, I’d LOVE to figure out how to add video. But baby steps.
DP: Thanks for you time Yvette!
Yvette Nicole Brown can be seen on the TV show Community, Thursdays 8 p.m /7c on NBC, as well as on Hulu, iTunes and Twitter!
So you want to get traffic to your website you say? You want to be an online rockstar? You want to build your brand online? You want to be the next Ijustine or Chris Brogan?
Well let me tell you a secret.. its easy. You just need to use the right tools and tricks. Let me share with you some of the free, simple and easy ways to do it. These are things I try to do whenever possible. I will do this in list form, as people like lists!
-Setup a Flick Account and post photos of things your doing.
-Post to your Youtube account
-Setup a Linkedin account and write a bio about who you are and what you are doing.
-Setup a Twitter Account and network with people in your industry/field, as well as those looking for information on it.
-Use Google Reader and share items
-Leave comments on others blogs. How else are you going to become part of a community?
-Create a personal website to be your single point of resource. Have all these are social networking sites link to it.
-Be Honest when your wrong. Trust me, I make mistakes a lot, when they are pointed out to me, I share this on my networks
-Thank people in your community when they Retweet, Share, Repost, Pass on, Plurk, etc something you have said or created
-Make your personal website easy to use and easy to pass the information on.. i.e install widgets like Tweetmeme,Facebook Like, and Sharethis
-Do you know who your competition is? What they are doing? Go check them out
-Have a Facebook Fanpage
-Use the same username/handle everywhere you can. Grab it whenever a new social networking site comes up
-Have a web presence everywhere you can.
-Use a site like Ping.fm to post to multiple sites
-Yes you should have a page on MySpace.. it can not hurt.
-Have you looked at FourSquare and Gowalla to find a way to use them? Geolocation is hot right now!
-Make sure to add your website to Google, Yahoo and Bing. It makes it easier for people to find you.
-Do not always “Shout Out” what you are doing. It is called “Social Networking” be social. Interact with others, ask questions, and comment back. Do not just talk about yourself.. you will fail.
-Go to Meetups, Tweetups, conferences, mixers..whatever you want to call them. All of the above is great, but you can not beat real life face time! Check out sites like Meetup and Upcoming for events
These are just some off the top of my head.. what are some of your tips and tricks?
I could go on but you get the idea. It just did not make a different. Did anyone really think people would mass exodus Facebook over the privacy control issues?
People are not going to give up
-seeing pictures of their friends,
-party invites
-reconnecting with people they have not spoken with since 2nd grade.
-Hearing about how wonderful life is for other people.
-Getting Birthday wishes from people they barely know
Bottom line this should not come as a shock to anyone that nothing happened. Facebook, is here to stay. Heck if 10 million people had left yesterday it would still have over 390 millions users! Sure it will morph and change like anything else, but unlike MySpace, it seems to be here for the long haul.
Heck take a look at the facts of Facebook:
So did you even think for a moment about quitting Facebook?
Shopping online, in the scheme of things, it is a pretty new experience. Most people prefer to go to the store, walk the aisles and find what they are looking for. They want to be able to touch, feel and play with what they are about to buy. Not me, I am happy to just go to my computer and find what I am looking for using my web browser.
This week my family needed a new dishwasher and my wife and I could not find time to make it out to get one. So, we decided to do the whole thing online with Sears. I have to say, Sears could not have made it any easier. They seem to have the perfect mix of traditional and online interactions. Let me share with you some of the “High Points & Low Points” of dealing with Sears. I will do it in list form, as people like lists!
- When placing the order online with Sears I was able to pay a percent with Paypal, Gift Cards, a coupon and debit card. Yes I paid in one transaction with 4 different payments combined!
- I had a question, I clicked on the “Live Chat” and had someone answer a question about the item.
- There was a rebate available for the dishwasher. Their systems flagged it for me. Then after the purchase they sent me an email that had a hyperlink to it. I was able to complete the form, print and mail it all within minutes.
-I never got a confirmation call about when the dishwasher was going to be delivered. I decided to stay home to wait. Being the calm cool person I am I tweeted:
Sears quickly replied:
Then I posted:
I must say.. I was impressed. They responded to my tweet within 10 minutes and I got a calls in the same amount of time! Amazing, great save! They did great!
- The dishwasher was installed last night and it does not fit. Story of my life. I called Sears this morning and alerted them to the issue. An employee named Chris stayed on the phone with my wife and I for about 20 minutes and helped us find one that fit. He was great. After placing the order I got another call from Edwin. He stated his goal was to make sure everything is handled properly. He will be the single point of contact for the removal of the first dishwasher and the replacement of second dishwasher! He gave me his direct line, his hours, etc.
-Then I go a direct message via Twitter from @MySears…it said:
..hmmmm an automated DM.. not good.
As of this post, I am waiting for the second dishwasher, Ill let you know how the rest of it goes.
Overall, I have to say my experience with Sears has been really good. I really like the fact they have found a good mix of using tools like Paypal, Twitter, emails and traditional live person customer service.
I have a good friend, who for some reason about 10 years ago decided to leave lovely California and move to, Nashville. Yes, he did it for a woman. No, they are no longer together. Today, he is happily married with kids, and owns a Smoothie King.
He has been updating his Facebook status with info on the flooding in his area. I had heard in passing about the flooding but did not really pay attention. That was until he started updating his Facebook status with links to videos and websites.
I thought, I should go check what was happening and get more info. I went to CNN.com and saw this:
Where were the amazing links that my friend had? Where was info on the flooding? I could find info on:
-Porn Director Seeks Office
-3-D Gaming
-Photographer Captures Arctic
..and then yes I saw it small references to the flooding in Nashville. With boring articles.
Here is my point, wouldn’t the page have more impact, more information and be more informative if they used things like YouTube and Twitter? Things my friend had been posting?
Here let me list some of them for you, people like lists:
Amazing right? Wouldn’t these videos grab you more and heck, be more informative? More “WOW” factor! More “POP”
Then you have Twitter, where there are real time updates and comments by people. Why is there no feed up? Here is a sample..
Again, comments from real people being shared by real people. I know you have that Ireport thing and your trying, but well.. try a little harder. Okay?
Seems to me your missing the mark here.
Gee, I cant imagine why traditional media is having problems…
The same goes for Debbie Allen! Ms. Allen should NOT know I’m somewhere breathing air! LOL! That she does is miraculous at a level I can’t even quantify! 
