How Social Media Shapes Society, Business

ULS presents: February Entrepreneur's Forum

Keeping in line with Social Media Week, Ultra Light Startups brought in four experts to discuss the rapidly changing world of social media for this month’s entrepreneurs forum.

This month’s panelists included:
Bryan Hamilton with Razorfish
Dan Maccarone with Hard Candy Shell
Alex Rainert with kgweb
Christopher-Ian Reichel with Viacom/MTV Networks

The panel broke down several questions including: What is a social website?
What makes a site social? Why people participate online?

The panel pointed out that eventually, people would be forced to understand that the very concept of privacy is changing because of social media. The concept of privacy is changing daily as the information highway gathers more and more data.

The panel addressed the fact that staging a social media campaign has never been easier because of powerful platforms such a Facebook and Twitter. However, just because the tools are available, doesn’t mean anyone should rush into it. The panel says that there are a variety of things to consider before launching any social media campaign. For instance, if your company sells lawn mower parts, is it really necessary to really have a social media strategy in the first place?

Bryan Hamilton with Razorfish says it’s important to set goals before undertaking any social media campaign. Map out the people, businesses or community where you want to direct your efforts. Once priorities have been set, then decide how you want to reach them.

Once your social media network is up and running, Alex Rainert with kgweb says business owners must find ways to get their users to interact with them. He says that customer/user feedback is critical to keep any site moving forward. Rainert says the feedback should be used to shape and mold the most effective message possible.

Dan Maccarone with Hard Candy Shell singled out Twitter and Foursquare as particularly worthwhile because with those platforms, one gets to choose who they interact with. Bryan Hamilton added that one should be very wary of their first 10,000 users, because they are the people who will shape and define each site.

Dan Maccarone advised new businesses to you use Facebook, because it’s already established and you are more likely to find people the people you are trying to reach.

Later, during the question and answer session, someone asked if there was room for a new social media network, besides Facebook or Twitter?

There was some disagreement, but the consensus was that someone might come up with a better site than Facebook. However, overtaking a site like Facebook wouldn’t happen overnight, because the site is already linked in (no pun intended) with a wide variety of partners and social media sites.

Toyota Praying for a PR Miracle

Toyota issues a public apology, but is it too late?

The embattled Toyota Motor Corporation is pulling out all the stops on a massive public relations campaign to stop the bleeding from weeks of negative press.

The once stellar Toyota image may have been permanently tarnished by widespread recalls amid reports that multiple models of cars and trucks have accelerators that stick.

Jim Lentz, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Sales was on the Today Show this morning trying to talk his way out of this Public Relations nightmare and Toyota ran full page ads in several national newspapers this weekend trying to undue the national breakdown in trust.

This PR blitz comes on the heels of a federal investigation into the Indiana manufacturer that sold the “reportedly” faulty accelerators to Toyota and other automakers.

It’s too early to tell if this PR campaign will be successful. Lentz insists that from here on out, Toyota is going to take great care of its customers. However, even if that happens, Toyota has a long road to travel before any true customer confidence is restored.

Harvard Business School Puts Social Media to the Test

Brian Kenny, CMO of Harvard Business School

Brian Kenny, the Chief Marketing Officer for Harvard Business School (HBS) was in New York City this week to discuss his professional journey into the world of social media. He says HBS is actually embracing the behavioral shift brought on by social media and that the school is going to great lengths to harness viral marketing opportunities.

HBS is using social media for a variety of endeavors including publicizing faculty work, reaching out to potential students, customer service and event promotion.

However, with any social media program, there is some risk involved. Kenny says at first, it was difficult for the university to understand that successful social media efforts involve giving up a certain amount of control.

There are going to be events that garner negative attention and there will be people who post negative comments. The goal is to be involved enough in the social media spectrum, so that you can steer negative attention or press into a more positive venue.

Turning a negative into a positive, is often the best way to deal with a bad situation that is generating unfavorable press.

Kenny also spoke about Buzz versus Risk making the following four points:

• Social Media is not just another marketing and communications channel
• Technology is not social, people are social
• Go to where the communities already exist
• Embrace the shift, but pay attention to your brand in the realm of social media

Expert Panel Discussing PR, Branding, and Buzz January 7th in New York City

Date	Thursday, January 7, 2009
Time	6:30pm – 9:00pm
Location	Sun Microsystems
Address	101 Park Avenue, 4th floor New York, NY 10017

Topics:                                

Why is brand important to a tech startups?

What difference does a good (or bad) brand make for the likelihood of a startup’s success?

How important is a good name and domain name for your startup? How do you come up with a good name?

When is it worth it to buy a domain name?

What is PR / public relations? How is it different from marketing?

What is buzz? How can it be generated and sustained?

What is the purpose of PR for a startup?

How does PR and branding fit into an overall marketing strategy?

When should a startup focus on PR rather than other marketing priorities (social media marketing, traditional media, CPC, CPM, etc)

Interacting with the press – targeting publications/journalists, writing pitches, developing press packets, etc.

When to hire a PR agency vs. do it yourself.

What are some success stories of tech startups using PR to their advantage? Horror stories of bad PR?

John Adams, Founder of BizBriefs (Moderator)

Panelists:

Lloyd Trufelman, Founder and CEO of Trylon SMR
Karl Schmieder, Founder of MessagingLab
Rachel Honig, Managing Director, G.S. Schwartz & Co.
Todd Barrish, Managing Director of LaunchSquad

Pay for Vacation by Going on Vacation – What a Concept

Roomorama has short term rentals in Paris right now.

There’s an old saying stating that if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. However, there is an exception that every traveler should know about. A New York based company has a way for travelers to fund their vacations and trips buy renting out their apartments when they head out of town.

The concept is simple, you do the traveling and Roomorama can actually work out a short-term rental for your apartment when you are gone. Or if you are traveling to one their listed cities, you will be able to find a short-term rental of your own.

This is a safe and sensible service you can use time and time again. There’s nothing wrong with letting your home earn money for when you’re on the road. This is a stress fee alternative to the confines of the dreaded hotel room that seem get a little smaller every time you check in.

Payments are handled online, so you won’t get stuck carrying large amounts of cash. Hosts will be at ease knowing that their guest has paid up front. Guests will know that their money is secure until they check-in and deliver the payment code. Roomorama makes the entire transaction as easy as a hotel check-in without getting stuck in a long line at the front desk.

Roomorama is known for their superior customer service and accessibility to make sure each process is handled smoothly and efficiently.

The area of influence for this company continues to grow reaching out to seven cities in United States, two in Canada and four in Europe. Here’s a listing of their ever-expanding base of cities or click here and check it out for yourself.

North America

1. Boston
2. Chicago
3. L.A.
4. Miami
5. New York
6. San Fran
7. Washington DC
8. Toronto
9. Vancouver

Europe

1. Barcelona
2. London
3. Paris
4. Rome

Ultra Light Startups to Spotlight PR, Branding, and Buzz

January 2010 Entrepreneur's Forum

On January 7, 2010, Ultra Light Startups is hosting an expert panel on PR, Branding, and Buzz. After six months of covering and blogging about the various events put on by Ultra Light Startups, I’m now pleased to actively participate and moderate the first Entrepreneur’s Forum of the upcoming new year.

Our panel of experts will include:
Todd Barrish, Managing Director, LaunchSquad
Rachel Honig, Managing Direct, G.S. Schwartz & Co.
Karl Schmieder, Founder, MessagingLab
Lloyd Trufelman, Founder of Trylon SMR, publisher of NYConvergence

PR, Branding, and Buzz are terms that have various and ever changing meanings as the “new media” technology evolves around each one of us. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, WordPress and LinkedIn seem to launch a new application or sharing tool almost every week.

My company, Bizbriefs, has used many of these tools in conjunction with one another to help various businesses boost their SEO rankings and divert more attention to their websites.

What I’ve found is that it’s not how you use one of these social media tools by themselves, but how you can link them together and start a viral campaign with a targeted audience.

Every business owner seems to have a favorite social media site, just one that they feel most comfortable using. However, not using other site options to support their efforts, means losing out on potential prospects and future customers.

In conducting several social media campaigns during the past three years, I’ve learned that there are certain steps you should take before just diving in.

1. You have to identify the true audience your customers are trying to reach first.
2. Once that’s done, you must craft the message or the image that each company wants to portray to the online community.

Too many times, companies want you to just get started, without knowing the message they want to deliver or what audience they hope to reach.

To learn more about branding, buzz and PR strategies, join us at for the first Entrepreneur’s Forum in 2010 sponsored by Ultra Light Startups.

Lodging Industry’s 6 Year Growth Streak in Jeopardy

The numbers were encouraging for the Lodging Industry in 2008, but 2009 promises to be a much different story. Total industry revenue rose for the sixth straight year in 2008, according to The 2009 Lodging Industry Profile recently released by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). Lodging statistics for 2009 won’t be available until mid-2010.

Total industry revenue rose in 2008 to $140.6 billion, up from $139.4 billion in 2007. More than 58-million international travelers came to the United States in 2008 smashing the 2007 mark by 2-million. Overseas travel alone jumped 6% totaling more than 25 million visitors.

“The positive numbers illustrate that interest from both U.S. and international travelers translated into real dollars supporting a strong tourism product in 2008,” says AH&LA CEO Joseph A. McInerney.

However, the sunny outlook appears to dim quickly in 2009 with an expected 8% decline in the number of foreign visitors due to an unstable global economy and fluctuating exchange rates.

Another lodging option (instead of hotels) is also emerging in the form of short term furnished apartments. An organization called Roomorama is renting out apartments in several major metropolitan areas including several cities in Europe. This gives travelers the option of getting away from the strips and finding a little piece of home even when they are on the road.

Moderate growth is expected to return to the lodging industry in 2010 and 2011, but nothing close to the record numbers reached in 2008.

See the Rock Center Tree Light Up the Night

Planning a trip to New York City to see the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree? The tree lighting ceremony is traditionally held on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving. This year’s 2009 ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2, 2009.

There is so much to see in the city during the month of December even if you can’t make the actual lighting ceremony the tree is up throughout the month of December, the Rockefeller Ice Rink is always a hit and shop owners across the city have pulled out all the stops for their storefront displays.

Hotel rooms are hard to come by, but there is another and more comfortable option sure to be a hit whether you are traveling with the family or are on your own. Roomorama is the new travel option where instead of a hotel – you can book short-term rentals in furnished apartments.

FUN ROCKEFELLER TREE FACTS:

Type of Tree: Norway Spruce

Height: At least 65 feet tall

Width: At least 35 wide

More than 5 miles of lights will adorn the tree

Trees don’t normally grow that big in the forest, they usually come from someone’s yard.

The city doesn’t pay for the tree – the tree comes from a proud donor each year

The tree gets recycled by the Boy Scouts producing 6,000 pounds of mulch

Ultra Light Startups Takes on the Bootstrapping vs. Venture Funding Debate

Girlsrock.com presentation at Ultra Light Startups

Ultra Light Startups enjoyed its greatest turnout ever on Thursday night for the Bootstrapping vs. Venture Funding Forum at Sun Microsystems in New York City. The event kicked of with multiple entrepreneurs pitching their business models and concepts to a packed house.

Each company founder had 60 seconds to present to the audience with businesses ranging anywhere from dating sites to female gaming sites.

One company called siftsort.com helps people gather all of their critical personal information into one place electronically. The company rep says the idea came from seeing the desperate people who had no documents to prove who they were in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Next up was the Bootstrapping and Venture Funding debate.

The moderator:
Owen Davis, the Managing Director at NYC Seed.

The panelists:
• Art Chang – CEO of Tipping Point Partners
• Brian Cohen – President of iFluence PR and Board Member at New York Angels
• Mark Davis – IT Venture Capitalist at DFJ Gotham Ventures
• Dennis Mortensen - Director of Data Insights at Yahoo!

There were definitely opposing ideologies on the panel that made for a spirited debate at times this evening.

Mark Davis with DJF Gotham Ventures began the discussion by saying, “If you need a lot of money to start a small business, you probably shouldn’t do it.”

Davis has written multiple articles about when people should and should not start a business.

As to the bootstrapping versus venture funding question, Brian Cohen pointed out that many companies bootstrap at first and then seek venture funding once they really get the company rolling and gaining strength.

Mark Davis cautioned that it’s very important for new company owners to be careful and save more money than you think you need. “It’s important to plan ahead and save a little bit of capital. Then raise the money you need when you need it.”

Art Chang says most new company owners have to go through a learning process when starting a company and that the majority of angel investors want nothing more than to see them and their new ventures succeed.

Dennis Mortensen from Yahoo made it clear that he believes in Bootstrapping over Venture Funding. He says that venture funding is not always the smartest the thing to do with your new business.

One person in the audience asked Art Chang about the risk of angel investors stealing company ideas during presentations. Chang indicated that he thought the risk was very low saying, “Ideas are a dime a dozen – it’s all about execution and follow through of the person putting the company together.”

Serial Entrepreneur Outlines Social Media Strategies for Business

Michael Lazerow, entrepreneur and founder of Buddy Media, recently spoke about the power of social media sites at the Web 2.0 Conference in New York City. He addressed the implications of Facebook, Google and other social technologies where he says millions of people are having conversations everyday. Lazerow says businesses now have a simple decision, Socialize or Die.

Lazerow’s Law:  As social networks get larger, the speed at which content flows gets faster

Lazerow states that it only took social networks 4 years to penetrate 50% of the households in the United States. He says that’s astronomically faster than any other communications medium in history.

The potential to reach massive audiences has never been greater with more than 300 million people sending out 45 million updates per day.

If Facebook were a country, Lazerow says it would be the third largest country in the world. Another reason it’s critical for people to socialize their sites by opening up audience conversations on their Facebook or Twitter site pages. This can be accomplished by ensuring that users are treated to very easy and user-friendly tools.

Lazerow says another important tool is to establish an “Ecosystem of Sharing.” If the user has to hunt or search for how to interact with your site, you’ve already lost them. He also stressed the importance of creating engaging experiences, by using a combination of social data and personal experiences.

USING FACEBOOK TO SET YOUR BUSINESS ON FIRE

• Set your presence and update your content at least three times a week. Post these things on your wall.
• Facebook publishing offers the potential for geometric/exponential growth.
• Develop strategies to draw people to your Facebook Fan Page – get them into the conversation.